(Vatican Radio) YYoung people in religious life gathered at St Peter’s Square on Tuesday evening, for a prayer vigil at the beginning of World Meeting of Young Consecrated Men and Women.
Listen to Christopher Wells’ report:
Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo, a Franciscan and Secretary for the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life presided at the prayer vigil Tuesday night in St Peter’s Square. The vigil marked the opening of World Meeting for Young Men and Women Religious, which is taking place in the context of the Year of Consecrated Life. The meeting aims at helping young religious “to live an experience of formation through a biblical, theological-charismatic, and ecclesiological study of the fundamental elements of the consecrated life”; “to offer a space for sharing their own realities, desires and expectations of formation”; and “to celebrate and witness to the beauty of their own specific vocations.”
The young people were welcomed to St Peter’s by the Prefect of the Congregation, Cardinal João Braz de Aviz. With the prayer vigil, he said, “we want to go immediately to Him, to Jesus Christ, together, as His disciples, and as sons and daughters of our founders and foundresses, allowing ourselves to be seduced by Him, as in the first moments of our calling.” Cardinal Braz de Aviz called on them to listen “with the hearts of sons and daughters to the Word of God, always secure and illuminating, especially if we strive to live it in our days.”
The vigil began with an entrance procession of fifty of the young religious who carried lighted lamps in commemoration of the fifty years since the events of the Second Vatican Council. An icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary was enthroned, as the young men and women religious were entrusted to the Mother of God, that they might be enable to “wake the world” with prayer, prophetic witness, and presence in the existential peripheries of poverty and thought.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
During the
Extraordinary Consistory last February, after I greeted the Pope Francis before
the start of the first session, he turned
to me and said: “I have an idea: to come to Cuba”. I shared with him my enthusiasm at the
idea and suggested he add it on to his
visit to Latin America in July. The Holy Father looked a bit perplexed, as Cuba
was out of the way and the extended
journey would already span three countries. But he said: “We shall see”. In the afternoon
session of the second day, Pope Francis motioned for me to come up to his table
and he said, smiling: “I have decided to come to Cuba and I’ve already told Msgr
Angelo Becciu. A visit to Cuba will be
added onto my journey to the United States in September”. I answered him: “Your
Holiness, I am returning to Cuba with tremendous joy!”, and I thanked him. I then heard him say something that touched
me even more deeply: “It’s the least I can do for you all”. I have the good fortune
of being the only Archbishop to receive three Popes in the same See. During
that final afternoon of the Consistory,
many recollections of these three popes flew through my mind in such
rapid succession that I was barely able to follow the speeches of my brother
Cardinals. I recalled with deeply
filial affection St John Paul II’s visit to Cuba — this pope had risen on the
horizon of my vocational discernment like a bright beacon, he had led me to become, first, a
young Bishop of Pinar del Río (1978) and, three years later, to be the Archbishop of Havana (1981). Then, at the Consistory of 1994, it was he
who created me cardinal. What closeness and fatherly affection I always sensed,
what steadfast support at every moment, even when, at the end of his precious
life, all his strength seemed to have left him! For economic and social
reasons, at the start of the 90s, Pope John Paul ii was unable to accept the
Cuban Bishops’ invitation to visit our country, an invitation he very much
wanted to accept due to his interest in the situation of our Church, which had
lived through situations similar to his own Poland. Several years passed
before our invitation was accepted by the Pope. In 1998, nearing the close of
the millennium, weakened in the few years that had passed since we invited him,
Pope John Paul II was finally able to embark on his emotional visit to Cuba. It
would remain a ray of sunshine for the Church in our country and a milestone in
her history and in that of the Cuban people as a whole. In his opening address
to Cuba and the world, he made reference to our country’s isolation from the
American continent and from the world,
calling for this isolation to be
broken — “May Cuba, with all its magnificent potential, open itself up to the
world, and may the world open itself up to Cuba”. This call resounded around
the world; it can still be heard today and it grows stronger with every event
that seems to confirm the hope and prayer of that Holy Shepherd. An example was
last 17 December, when the presidents of Cuba and the United States announced
simultaneously the reinstatement of diplomatic relations between the two
countries with the opening of embassies in their respective capitals. And so began a new phase in diplomacy between
two nations that have been separated for more than 50 years. During that
historic announcement the two presidents thanked Pope Francis for his part in
the process that led to this reconciliation and paved the way for coexistence
and dialogue. Behind this agreement stands Pope Francis’ discrete but effective
and clear conviction: that the creation
and fostering of dialogue is
indispensable in the resolution of
tension and conflict. It’s not the first time he has stood by that conviction
in his pontificate, but perhaps the continuously tense situation between Cuba and the US made it all
the more important for the Holy Father’s silent intervention. The path of dialogue
between religions, of the Church’s dialogue with other Christian confessions
and with Judaism, was significantly strengthened by Pope John XXIII and
his convocation of the Second Vatican
Council, which brought the Church, in a renewed way, into the concrete history
of humanity in the 20th century. This call to dialogue was accepted by Pope
Paul vi, who admirably promoted it throughout his pontificate. The best
expression of that is contained in a few decisive words from Pope Montini:
“Dialogue is the new name of love”. With these words the Pope illustrated how
human beings must relate and the style that must prevail in the Church, among
nations, among different groups in society and between Christians and the the
world. The Pontificate of St
John Paul ii was enveloped in this journey of dialogue. He lived through a difficult dialogue as bishop
in his native Poland, but he nevertheless promoted it, even when it seemed
barren and impossible. His direction and his teachings were faithful to that
fundamental spirit of Vatican II, in which he himself had participated. Seeing these things
close up, I found in Pope Benedict xvi a
clear continuity with the Church’s line of interaction with the modern world,
in her structures, in her political-social function and in the realm of ideas
and conceptions that underlie current thought. In the latter context, Pope
Benedict expressed himself magisterially: in his brilliant contribution to the
style in which the Church dialogues, in his literary and personal contact with
modernity and in the formulation of his thought
regarding dialogue in interreligious, social and political spheres. All
these constitute an inestimable treasure
in the understanding of the fundamental role of dialogue in the life of
the Church and of all Christians. In June 2012, the current Pope emeritus
visited Cuba as a pilgrim during our jubilee
— we were celebrating the 400th anniversary of the rediscovery of the
statue of Our Lady of Charity, Patroness of Cuba, which had been lost at sea. In an unforgettable conversation, the Pope
expressed his happiness about the trip, for which we, the Cuban bishops, were
so grateful. He warmly recalled the official welcome he had received, and the
friendly gestures towards him. It was in that context that he spoke of dialogue
as the rightful path of the Church. On various occasions I have cited these
words from Pope Benedict, who struck me by the conviction with which he spoke
them. He said: “Dialogue is the only path for the Church…. The Church is not
in the world to change governments, but to penetrate the hearts of men and
women with the Gospel”. Pope Benedict XVI said this to me just before stepping down
from the See of Peter. When, some months later, we Cardinals
gathered together for the
conclave that would quickly elect Cardinal Bergoglio as Supreme Pontiff, I had
the opportunity to speak with the future Pope about Latin America and Cuba. At
a certain moment in the conversation, while
alluding to dialogue and its importance in the current climate of grand
transformation in Latin America, I remembered
my last conversation with Pope Benedict. He had said to me that dialogue was the only path for the
Church in her relationship with political structures. Applying his words to the context at hand, I repeated them to the future Pope Francis,
who raising his arms up in the air,
exclaimed: “This should be written on a plaque and placed at the entrance of
every city in the world”, and he repeated it, word for word: “The Church is not
in the world to change governments, but
to penetrate the hearts of men and women with the Gospel”. He then added:
“Every social and political climate should be accompanied in a climate of
dialogue”. Shortly after Cardinal
Bergoglio was elected to the Chair of Peter, we were filled with joy over
having a Latin American Pope. He was someone close to us, who had handed to
the Episcopate of Latin America in
Aparecida, Brazil, the conviction that the Church is Christ’s mission for our
people, that we all, bishops, priests, and lay people, should be conscious of
our being missionaries. Seeing that the new Pope would surely communicate that evangelical
zeal, I could not but ponder what Pope Benedict had said about the Church’s
mission: “The Church is in the world to penetrate the hearts of men and women
with the Gospel”. This is what the new Pope had repeated to me with such
profound conviction, and which fervently inspires his pontificate. This is Pope Francis,
who will soon be with us in Cuba: a
missionary pope who comes to our little country, as he did to Sarajevo, Sri
Lanka or Albania; who comes to a country which has overcome isolation and
distance, thanks also to the dialogue that the Church and the Popes of 20th
century fostered. And it was Pope Francis who spurred and supported dialogue
between the people and the governments of Cuba and the US. He comes among us to reaffirm the missionary
condition of the Church and her preference for the little ones, the poor. He
comes as a missionary of mercy. No other
motto could better describe him in this world of ours laden with hardship,
loneliness, every form of poverty, faded hopes and void of God, where love is
seen as a game in which sad losers and
false victors play for themselves and never manage to find true Love. And this has thrown the family, whose role is
irreplaceable in the formation of new generations, into crisis, which is why it
is at the centre of the Holy Father’s pastoral concern. There is an essential link between the family
and the restlessness and longing of the young people, whom Pope Francis will meet
in Havana on Sunday evening. That meeting will, thus, be a very special moment
during his visit to our country. The God who is Love
will be presented in Cuba by Pope
Francis — to young people, to families, to priests, to sisters and to everyone:
the merciful God who understands and forgives. In the “José Martí” Plaza de la Revolución,
before the altar where Pope Francis will preside at the Eucharistic
Celebration, there will be a giant display of the Merciful Christ spanning ten
floors of the National Library. At this moment, our Cuban people, like all
people of the earth, need to
experience mercy, not pity or mere
condescension, but understanding of the human heart in all its restlessness and
limitations. We will feel the encouragement of one who reaches out to us to
lift our soul with simplicity and humility, just as Pope Francis will know how
to do in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, as he passes through the
streets of Havana, and especially during his meeting with young people. How much can really be done in such a short
period of time, just a glimpse of the
Pope passing by in the distance? Sometimes a glance, a gesture, a smile is all
it takes to know that God comes among us and that, through his Vicar on earth,
Christ is visiting his people. Thus we welcomed St
John Paul ii, Pope Benedict XVI, and thus we wait for Pope Francis. The people
have not always been the same: some have gone to God the Father, many have
emigrated. Emigration has left its mark on every family in Cuba; it is a perennial temptation for our youth. The
emigration of young people and the low
birth rate means that the population of Cuba is rapidly declining and aging,
and this worries us all; but we also have other worries at the moment. Facing the new path
that appears to be opening now before the Cuban people, with all its risks and
its benefits, our people, believers for the most part, must turn their gaze to
God and place their future in the hands of merciful Jesus. The Holy Father will
invite them to do just that. Therein lies our hope. Pope Francis will come to spread hope among
us. It is no more than trusting in the
action of a merciful God who will help us in the future to overcome these risks
and to discover, also with His help, that the benefits can outweigh the risks on this new path opening before us,
if we are capable of making room in our lives for God. This must free our families and our young
people from the paralyzing skepticism,
that is alien to the Christian faith and in which God is never present. The
Pope comes to tell us something new in this new moment of our history. This is surely the presentiment of the people
of Cuba as they wait for Pope Francis. I am certain that those
who welcome him with an attitude of faith, as one who comes in the name of the
Lord, will not be disappointed. It’s true that the people of Cuba want progress
and prosperity to the fair benefit of all, but not only that; on the spiritual
level our people long for stable love and endurance in the family, for peace in the life of the family and the
nation. In short, they long to
enjoy a life of reconciliation and
happiness. This is not a hopeless yearning,
so long as in our hearts we do not forget that God is the giver of every
good thing and that in Him nothing is impossible. Pope Francis comes
precisely for this reason, that we do not forget this, that we do not forget
God, and he will be welcomed by our people with devotion and love. His presence
in Cuba will leave an indelible mark, of this I am certain. by Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, Cardinal Archbishop of Havana…