Pope: The missionary zeal of Fray Serra challenges us, his witness provokes us
Rome (AsiaNews) - There are three key aspects to the life and example of Friar Junípero, , Apostle of California: his missionary zeal, his Marian devotion and his witness of holiness And his work of evangelization "challenge us. Sometimes we stop and thoughtfully examine their strengths and, above all, their weaknesses and their shortcomings. But, I wonder, if today we are able to respond with the same generosity and the same courage to God's call", pondered Pope Francis this morning, celebrating a Mass at the Pontifical North American College on the Janiculum Hill.
The Pope was at the College to mark a Day of Reflection sponsored and organized by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and the Pontifical North American College and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, on the theme: "Fray Junipero Serra, the apostle California, witness of holiness ". The Day aims to raise awareness about the life, the mission and witness of holiness of Fray Junipero Serra (1713-1784), and to encourage devotion in view of the canonization to take place in Washington on September 23 next, during Pope Francis’ Apostolic Journey in the United States of America.
The Pope's homily inspired by the passage from the Acts of the Apostles: " I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth". These words of the Lord, says Francis, show us the missionary nature of the Church, sent by Jesus to go out and proclaim the Gospel. The disciples experienced this from the first moment when, after the persecution broke out, they left Jerusalem (cf. Acts 8: 1-3). This was true also for the many missionaries who brought the Gospel to the New World and, at the same time, defended the indigenous peoples against abuses by the colonizers. Among these missionaries was Friar Junípero; his work of evangelization reminds us of the first “12 Franciscan apostles" who were pioneers of the Christian faith in Mexico.
This missionary "ushered in a new springtime of evangelization in those immense territories, extending from Florida to California, which, in the previous two hundred years, had been reached by missionaries from Spain. This was long before the pilgrims of the Mayflower reached the North Atlantic coast. There are three key aspects to the life and example of Friar Junípero: his missionary zeal, his Marian devotion and his witness of holiness".
Focusing on the concept mission the Pope said: "What made Friar Junípero leave his home and country, his family, university chair and Franciscan community in Mallorca to go to the ends of the earth? Certainly, it was the desire to proclaim the Gospel ad gentes, that heartfelt impulse which seeks to share with those farthest away the gift of encountering Christ: a gift that he had first received and experienced in all its truth and beauty. Like Paul and Barnabas, like the disciples in Antioch and in all of Judea, he was filled with joy and the Holy Spirit in spreading the word of the Lord".
Such zeal, he underscored, "excites us, it challenges us! These missionary disciples who have encountered Jesus, the Son of God, who have come to know him through his merciful Father, moved by the grace of the Holy Spirit, went out to all the geographical, social and existential peripheries, to bear witness to charity. They challenge us! Sometimes we stop and thoughtfully examine their strengths and, above all, their weaknesses and their shortcomings. "
But, he asks the Pope, "today we are able to respond with the same generosity and the same courage to the call of God, who invites us to leave everything to worship him, to follow him, to find him in the face of the poor, to proclaim to those who have not known Christ and, therefore, did not feel embraced by his mercy. The testimony of Friar Junipero calls us to get involved, personally, in the continental mission, which is rooted in Evangelii Gaudium ".
After considering its devotion to Mary, addressed to Our Lady of Guadalupe, he invited those present to contemplate the witness of holiness of Brother Junipero "so that all Americans rediscover their own dignity, and unite themselves ever more closely to Christ and his Church ", the Pope recalled" many other "saints who have distinguished themselves with different charisms in the Americas.
This communion of saints, he described as "a powerful gust of holiness sweep through all the Americas during the coming Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy! Confident in Jesus’ promise, which we heard today in the Gospel, we ask God for this special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We ask the Risen Jesus, Lord of all ages, that the life of our American continent may be rooted ever more deeply in the Gospel it has received; that Christ may be ever more present in the lives of individuals, families, peoples and nations, for the greater glory of God"
Pope Francis concluded praying that this “manifested in the culture of life, brotherhood, solidarity, peace and justice, with a preferential and concrete love for the poor, through the witness of Christians of various confessions and communities, together with believers of other religious traditions, and people of upright conscience and good will. Lord Jesus, we are merely your missionary disciples, your humble co-workers so that your Kingdom may come”.
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08/06/2022 18:25
