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Address of Pope Francis to the Bishops of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands,
Priests, Deacons, Consecrated Men and Women, Seminarians and Catechists
Shrine of Mary Help of Christians (Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea) – Saturday, 7 September 2024
” Three aspects of our Christian and missionary journey
The courage to begin, the beauty of being together, and the hope of growth“
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I greet you all with affection: bishops, priests, men and women religious, seminarians and catechists.
I thank the President of the Episcopal’ Conference for his words, and James, Grace, Sister Lorena and Fr Emmanuel for their testimonies.
I am happy to be here, in this beautiful Salesian church. The Salesians know how to do things well.
This is a diocesan shrine dedicated to Mary Help of Christians: Mary Help of Christians,
I was baptized in the parish of Mary Help of Christians in Buenos Aires – a title so dear to St. John Bosco; Maria Helpim, as you affectionately invoke her here.
In 1844, when Our Lady inspired Don Bosco to build a church in Turin in her honor, she made this promise to him: “Here is my home, from here my glory.”
Mary promised him that, if he had the courage to start building this Shrine, great graces would follow.
And so it happened: the church was built, and it is wonderful – but the one in Buenos Aires is more beautiful! – and has become a center of evangelization, a center of the formation of young people and a center of charity. it has become a point of reference for many people.
In this way, the beautiful Shrine in which we find ourselves, which is inspired by this history, can also be a symbol for us, especially in relation to three aspects of our Christian and missionary journey, as the testimonies we have heard have emphasized: the courage to begin, the beauty of the present time and the hope of growth.
First: the courage to begin.
The builders of this church began the enterprise with a great act of faith, which bore fruit, but which was only possible thanks to the many other courageous beginnings of those who preceded them.
The missionaries arrived in this country in the middle of the nineteenth century and the first steps of their work were not easy, some attempts even failed.
But they did not give up: with great faith and apostolic zeal they continued to preach the Gospel and to serve their brothers and sisters, often starting again where they had failed, and making many sacrifices.
We are reminded of this by these stained glass windows through which the sunlight smiles at us in the faces of the Saints and Blesseds: women and men of every background, linked to the history of your community: Peter Chanel, protomartyr of Oceania, John Mazzucconi and Peter To Rot, martyrs of New Guinea, and then Teresa of Calcutta, John Paul II, Mary McKillop, Maria Goretti, Laura Vicuña, Zeffirino Namuncurà, Francis de Sales, John Bosco, Maria Domenica Mazzarello.
All the brothers and sisters who, in different ways and at different times, starting and restarting works and journeys, have contributed to bringing the Gospel among you, with a colorful wealth of charisms, animated by the same Spirit and the same love of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 12:4-7; 2 Cor 5:14).
It is thanks to them that we are here and that today, despite the challenges that are not lacking, we continue to go forward, without fear – I do not know if always –, knowing that we are not alone, that it is the Lord who acts, in us and with us (cf. Gal 2:20), making us, like them, instruments of his grace (cf. 1 Pet 4:10). This is our vocation: to be instruments of the Lord’s grace.
And in this regard, also in the light of what we have heard, I would like to suggest to you an important way to direct your “departures”: that of the peripheries of this country.
I am thinking of those who belong.to the most disadvantaged sections of urban population, as well as those who live in the most remote and abandoned areas, where there is sometimes a lack of the most basic necessities.
And I still think of those marginalized and wounded, both morally and physically, by prejudice and superstition, sometimes even at the risk of their lives, as James and Sister Lorena reminded us.
The Church wants to be especially close to these brothers and sisters, because in them Jesus is present in a special way (cf. Mt 25:31-40), and where he, our Head, is, we, his members, are also there, belonging to the same body, ” joined and knit together by every joint ” (Eph 4:16 – from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love.).
And please, don’t forge closeness and intimacy!
You know that the three most beautiful attitudes are closeness, compassion and tenderness.
If a consecrated man or woman, a priest, a bishop, the deacons are not close, they are not compassionate and they are not tender, they do not have the Spirit of Jesus.
Do not forget this: closeness, compassion, tenderness.
The beauty of being together
This brings us to the second aspect: the beauty of being together.
We can see it symbolized in the kina shells that adorn the presbytery of this church, a sign of prosperity.
They remind us that here the most beautiful treasure in the eyes of the Father is us, gathered around Jesus, under the mantle of Mary, spiritually united with all the brothers and sisters whom the Lord has entrusted to us and who cannot be here, inflamed by the desire that the whole world may know the Gospel and share with us its strength and light.
James asked how the enthusiasm of the mission can be communicated to the youth.
I don’t think there are any “techniques” for this.
But one tried and tested way is precisely that of cultivating and sharing with them our joy of being Church, a welcoming home, made of living, chosen and precious stones, placed by the Lord side by side and cemented by his love (cf. 1 Pt 2:4-5 – 4 Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God’s sight chosen and precious; 5 and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.).
Thus, as Grace reminded us, by remembering the experience of the Synod, by esteeming and respecting one another and by placing ourselves at the service of one another, we can show them and all those who meet us how beautiful it is to follow Jesus together and proclaim his Gospel.
The beauty of being together is not so much in the great events and moments of success, but rather in the fidelity and love with which we strive to grow together each day.
The hope of growth
This brings us to the third and final aspect: the hope of growth.
In this Church there is an interesting “catechesis in images” of the crossing of the Red Sea, with the figures of Abraham, Isaac and Moses: patriarchs made fruitful by faith, who received as a gift many descendants for their faith (cf. Gen 15:5; 26:3-5; Ex 32:7-14).
This is an important sign, because it encourages us today, to have confidence in the fruitfulness of our apostolate, continuing to sow small seeds of goodness in the furrows of the world.
They seem tiny, like a mustard seed, but if we have confidence in them and do not stop sowing them, by God’s grace they will sprout and produce a rich harvest (cf. Mt 13:3-9) and trees capable of welcoming the birds of the air (cf. Mk 4:30-32).
Saint Paul says this when he reminds us that the growth of what we sow is not our work but the Lord’s (cf. 1 Cor 3:7), and Mother Church teaches it when she emphasizes that it is God, through our efforts “who brings his kingdom to come on earth” (Conc. Ecum. Vat. II, Decr. Ad gentes, 42).
That is why we continue to evangelize, patiently, without being discouraged by difficulties and misunderstandings, not even when they arise where we least want to encounter them: in the family, for example, as we have heard.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us thank the Lord together for the way in which the Gospel is taking root and spreading in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Continue your mission in this way, as witnesses of courage, beauty and hope!
And do not forget God’s style: closeness, compassion and tenderness.
Always go forward with this style of the Lord!
I thank you for what you do,
I bless you all from my heart and I ask you, please, not to forget to pray for me, because I need it, thank you!
