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Pope Francis address to bishops, priests, missionaries,
consecrated persons and pastoral workers of Mongolia
Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral (Ulaanbaatar), Mongolia – Saturday, 2 September 2023
“taste and see that the Lord is good”
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Thank you, Your Excellency, for your kind words. Thank you Sister Salvia, Father Peter Sanjaajav and Rufina for your testimonies. Thank you, all of you, for your presence and your faith! I am happy to be with all of you.
The joy of the Gospel is what has motivated you, consecrated men and women in religious life and in ordained ministry, to be here and to dedicate yourselves, together with your lay sisters and brothers, to the service of the Lord and of others.
I thank God for this, in the words of a beautiful prayer of praise, Psalm 34, which I would like to use to share some thoughts with you. The Psalm invites us to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (v. 9).
“Taste and see”, because the joy and the goodness of the Lord are not fleeting; they remain within us, giving flavor to our lives and making us see things in a new way, just as you said, Rufina, in your beautiful testimony.
I would like, then, to “taste” the flavor of the faith in this country, recalling above all, the faces, the stories and the lives given for the Gospel. Giving one’s lives for the Gospel. This is a beautiful way to define the missionary vocation of Christians, and especially, how this vocation is lived by Christians here. To spend one’s life for the Gospel!
I would begin by remembering Bishop Wenceslao Selga Padilla, the first Apostolic Prefect, a pioneer in the contemporary history of the Church in Mongolia, who built this cathedral.
Here, however, the faith does not date back simply to the nineties of the last century; it has ancient roots.
The events of the first millennium and the work of evangelization carried out by missionaries of the Syriac tradition along the Silk Road were followed by a remarkable missionary outreach.
How can we fail to mention the diplomatic missions of the thirteenth century, and the apostolic care manifested by the appointment, around the year 1310, of John of Montecorvino as the first Bishop of Khanbalik, with responsibility for this entire vast region of the world under the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty?
He provided the first translation of the Psalms and the New Testament into Mongolian.
This great story of passion for the Gospel was taken up again, in an extraordinary way, with the arrival in 1992 of the first missionaries of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who were joined by members of other institutes, diocesan priests and lay missionaries.
Among all of them, I would like to highlight the energy and zeal of Father Stephen Kim Seong-hyeon.
Let us also recognize, all those many faithful servants of the Gospel in Mongolia who are here with us now and who, having spent their lives for Christ, can “see” and “taste” the wonders that His goodness continues to work in you and through you. Thank you.
Why should anyone give their life for the Gospel?
This is a question I would ask you. As Rufina said, the Christian life moves forward by asking questions, like children who always ask new questions, because at their age they do not understand everything.
The Christian life draws us close to the Lord and always asks questions, so that we can better understand the Lord, better understand his teaching.
Spend your life for the Gospel because you have “tasted” the God who made himself visible, touchable and approachable in Jesus.
Yes, Jesus is the good news, meant for all peoples, the message that the Church must constantly proclaim, embody in her life and “whisper” to the heart of every individual and all cultures.
God’s language is very often a slow whisper, that takes its time; this is how God speaks.
The experience of God’s love in Christ is pure light that illuminates and transforms our countenance.
Brothers and sisters, the Christian life is born of contemplating the face of the Lord; it is about love, the daily encounter with the Lord in his Word and in the Bread of Life, and in the faces of others, the needy and the poor in whom Jesus is present. You have reminded us of this, Sister Salvia, in your testimony. Thank you!
You have been here for more than twenty years and have learnt to how to speak to this people; thank you.
In these thirty-one years of presence in Mongolia, you, dear priests, consecrated persons and pastoral workers, have embarked upon a wide variety of charitable initiatives, that absorb much of your energy and reflect the merciful face of Christ the Good Samaritan.
This is, in a sense, your calling card, and it has made you respected and appreciated for the numerous benefits provided to many people in various fields: from social assistance and education, to health care and the promotion of culture.
I encourage you to continue along this path, which has proved so fruitful and beneficial for the beloved Mongolian people, with gestures of love and acts of charity.
At the same time, I urge you to taste and see the Lord, to keep returning to that original “gaze” from which everything began.
Otherwise, our strength will fail and our pastoral ministry will be in danger of becoming an empty performance of services, a list of duties that in the end will only lead to weariness and frustration.
But when we remain in contact with the face of Christ, seeking him in the Scriptures and contemplating him in silent adoration before the tabernacle, we come to see him in the faces of those we serve and experience an inner joy that brings peace to our hearts, even in the midst of hardship,.
This is what we need, today and always: not people who run around, busy and distracted, carrying out projects but sometimes seem resentful of a life that is surely not easy.
Instead, a Christian is someone who is capable of adoration, worshiping in silence.
And then, from this adoration comes activity. But do not forget adoration.
We have somewhat lost the meaning of adoration in this pragmatic century: do not forget to adore and, from adoration, to act.
We must return to the source, to the face of Jesus and to “taste” his presence, for he is our treasure (Mt 13:44 –The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.), the pearl of great price for which it is worth spending everything (cf. Mt 13:45-46 – Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.).
Our Mongolian brothers and sisters, who have a strong sense of the sacred and – as is typical here in Asia – an ancient and complex religious history, look for your witness and are able to recognize if it is genuine.
This is a testimony that you must give, because the Gospel does not grow by proselytizing, but by witnessing.
When the Lord Jesus, sent his disciples into the world, he did not send them to spread political theories, but sent them to bear witness by their lives to the newness of his relationship with his Father, now “our Father”, which is the source of concrete fraternity with every person and every people.
The Church born of this mission is a poor Church, sustained only by authentic faith and by the unarmed and disarming power of the Risen Lord, capable of alleviating the suffering of wounded humanity.
For this reason, governments and secular institutions have nothing to fear from the Church’s work of evangelization, since she has no political agenda to advance, but is sustained by the silent power of God’s grace and a message of mercy and truth, that promotes the good of all.
In order to carry out this mission, Christ has structured his Church in a way that reminds us of the harmony that exists among the various members of the human body.
He is the head, the one who constantly guides us, pouring forth into his body – into us – his Spirit.
He is at work above all in those signs of new life which are the sacraments.
In order to guarantee the authenticity and effectiveness of the sacraments, he instituted priestly order, characterised by an intimate union with him, the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for the flock.
You, Father Peter, were called to this mission, and I thank you for sharing your experience with us.
In the same way, the holy people of God in Mongolia have the fullness of spiritual gifts.
From this perspective, I urge you to see in your bishop, not a manager but the living icon of Christ, the Good Shepherd, who gathers and guides his people; a disciple filled with the apostolic charism of building up your fraternity in Christ and rooting it ever more deeply in this nation and its noble cultural heritage.
The fact, then, that your Bishop is a Cardinal is an even greater sign of closeness: all of you though physically distant, are very close to the heart of Peter.
And in turn, the whole Church is close to you and to your community, which is truly Catholic, universal, and which directs the love of all our brothers and sisters throughout the world to Mongolia, in a great outpouring of ecclesial communion.
Let me emphasise that word: communion.
The Church cannot be understood in a purely functional way.
No, the Church is not a business, she does not grow through proselytism, as I said.
The Church is something else.
The word “communion” explains well what the Church is.
In this body of the Church, the bishop is not an administrator of its diverse elements, perhaps even on the basis of the principle of majority, but he leads on the basis of a spiritual principle, in which Jesus himself becomes present in the person of the bishop to ensure communion in his mystical Body.
In other words, unity in the Church is not a matter of order and respect, nor is it simply a good strategy for “teamwork”; it is a matter of faith and love for the Lord, of fidelity to him.
Therefore, it is important that all ecclesial elements to remain firmly united around the bishop, who represents Christ alive in the midst of his people, and that we build that synodal communion which we preach and which greatly helps the inculturation of the faith.
Dear missionaries, “taste and see” the gift that you are, taste and see the beauty of giving yourselves completely to Christ, who has called you to be witnesses of his love here in Mongolia.
Continue to do this by cultivating communion.
Do it through the simplicity of a frugal life, in imitation of the Lord, who entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey and who was stripped even of his garments on the cross,
May you always be close to the people, with that closeness that is God’s way.
God is close, merciful and tender.
Closeness, compassion and tenderness: treat people as such, taking personal care of them, learning their language, respecting and loving their culture, not allowing yourselves to be tempted by worldly forms of security, but remaining steadfast in the Gospel through exemplary moral and spiritual lives.
Simplicity and closeness!
Never tire of bringing to Jesus the faces and the situations you encounter, the problems and concerns.
Dedicate time to daily prayer, which will enable you to persevere in the work of service and to draw consolation from the “God of all consolation” (2 Cor 1:3), and thus bringing hope to the hearts of all those who suffer.
Brothers and sisters, closeness to the Lord assures us that, as Psalm 34 tells us, “those who fear him have no want…; those who seek the Lord lack no good thing” (vv. 9-10).
Certainly, the faults and problems of life also affect believers, and evangelizers are not exempt from the burden of worry that is part of our human condition.
The Psalmist does not hesitate to speak of evil and evildoers, but he reminds us that the Lord hears the cry of the humble and “delivers them out of all their troubles”, for he “is near to the brokenhearted, and rescues those who are crushed in spirit” (vv. 18-19).
For this reason, the Church presents herself to the world as a voice of solidarity with all who are poor and needy; she refuses to remain silent in the face of injustice and works quietly for the dignity of every human being.
Beloved brothers and sisters, in your journey as missionary disciples, you have a sure support: our Heavenly Mother, who – and I was so happy to discover this! – wanted to give you a tangible sign of her gentle and caring presence by allowing an image of herself to be found in a garbage dump.
In a place for refuse, this beautiful statue of the Immaculate Mother appeared.
She herself, free and unstained by sin, wanted to come so close to us that she descended to the dregs of society so that from the filth of a garbage dump the purity of the Blessed Mother, our Heavenly Mother, could shine forth.
I also learned about the beautiful Mongolian tradition of Suun dalai ijii, the mother with a heart as big as an ocean of milk.
According to the Secret History of the Mongols, a light from the upper opening of a ger impregnated the mythic queen Alungoo; you, however, can contemplate in the motherhood of the Virgin Mary the working of the divine light that, from on high, daily accompanies the steps of your Church.
When you raise your eyes to Mary, then, may you find refreshment in the knowledge that being ‘small’ is not a problem, but a resource.
God loves smallness, and through it he loves to accomplish great things, as Mary herself testifies (Lk 1:48-49). Brothers and sisters, do not worry about small numbers, limited success, or apparent insignificance.
That is not the way God works.
Let us keep our gaze fixed on Mary, who in her smallness is greater than the heavens, for she carried in her womb the One whom the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain (cf. 1 Kings 8:27).
Brothers and sisters, let us entrust ourselves to her, and pray for a renewed zeal and an ardent love that will tirelessly and joyfully bear witness to the Gospel.
Onwards! Be courageous, do not tire of going forward. Thank you for your witness!
The Lord Himself has chosen you and believes in you; I am with you and I say to you with all my heart thank you; thank you for your witness, thank you for your lives poured out for the Gospel!
Persevere, constant in prayer and creative in charity, steadfast in communion, joyful and meek in everything and with everyone.
I cordially bless you, and keep you in my prayers. And I ask you, please, not to forget to pray for me. I thank you.
