Vatican
City, 14 September 2013 (VIS) – Walk, build and confess. Pope
Francis indicated this itinerary – the same one he proposed at the
beginning of his ministry – to members of the Equestrian Order of
the Holy Sepulchre participating in a pilgrimage to Rome to mark the
Year of Faith, during his audience with them on Friday afternoon in
the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.
The
pilgrimage, he said, to explain the first term, is a symbol of human
and Christian life and “each one of us may be a 'vagrant' or a
'pilgrim'. In our time, we see many people who are 'vagrants', who
are deprived of an ideal in life and often incapable of finding
meaning in the events of the world. In pilgrimage you give the sign
that you do not wish to be vagrants. Your path is a part of history,
in a world where boundaries are ever-expanding, many barriers fall
and our paths are tied ever more closely to those of others. Be
witnesses to deeper meaning, to the light faith brings; know how to
preserve the great wealth of values, of past wisdom, while intensely
living in the present, committed to today's world and looking to the
future, opening horizons of hope through your work in order to give a
more human face to society”.
“The
Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem has a history
dating back almost a thousand years; yours is one of the most ancient
welfare and charitable Orders still active today. … Building with
charity, compassion and love”, continued Francis, emphasising that
the pilgrimage has a charitable aim, to benefit the inhabitants of
the Holy Land, especially those most in need and who “are living
through moments of suffering, tension and fear, and also our
Christian brothers who suffer greatly. I greet and embrace them with
great affection; to all, Christian and otherwise, I assure my daily
prayer”.
However,
their constructive path stems from “confessing the faith ever more
profoundly, and grows from the continual commitment to nurturing your
spiritual life, from permanent formation for an ever more genuine and
coherent Christian life. This is an important point for each one of
you and for the entire Order … the profession of faith and the
witness of charity are closely connected and are the strengths and
qualifying aspects of your action”.
“An
ancient bond links you to the Holy Sepulchre, the perennial memorial
of Christ crucified who was laid there, and of the Risen Christ who
vanquished death. May Jesus Christ, crucified and resurrected, be
truly at the centre of your existence and of every personal and
collaborative project. Believe in the redemptive power of the Cross
and of the Resurrection, to offer hope and peace. The Land of Jesus
is in particular need! Faith does not distance us from the
responsibilities we are called to assume, but on the contrary
triggers and drives us towards concrete effort to build a better
society”.
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