10/04/2017, 14.37
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Pope: The task of Christians is to be missionaries of hope

This is demonstrated by the "many Christians who did not abandon their people when the time of persecution came. They stayed there, where even tomorrow was uncertain, where nothing could be done, they were hoping for God. " In March 2018 a pre-synodal meeting with young Catholics, young people from different Christian denominations and other religions and non-believers.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "The task of Christians in this world is to open spaces of salvation" to bring hope, because "the true Christian is this: not grumbling and angry, but convinced by the strength of the resurrection that no evil is infinite. " This is demonstrated by the "many Christians who did not abandon their people when the time of persecution came. They stayed there, where even tomorrow was uncertain, where nothing could be done, they were hoping for God. "

"Missionaries of Hope Today" was the theme of Pope Francis general audience today, also marked by good wishes of those present for his onomastic, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi.

During the audience, the Pope also announced that from 19 to 24 March 2018 the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops has convened a pre-synodal meeting to invite young people from different parts of the world: both young Catholics and young people from different Christian confessions and other religions, as well as non-believers. An initiative, he said, that "is part of the path of preparation for the next General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will be on Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment, in October 2018. With this path the Church wants to listen to the voice, sensitivity, faith, and also the doubts and criticisms of young people. For this, the conclusions of the March Meeting will be transmitted to the Synod Fathers. "

Earlier, with the 30,000 people on St. Peter's Square, Francis said he wanted to talk about "missionaries of hope" at the beginning of October, which "the Church dedicates specifically to mission, and even to the feast of San Francis of Assisi, who was a great missionary of hope! ".

"In fact, the Christian is not a prophet of misfortune. The essence of his proclamation is the opposite: it is Jesus, who died for love, and who God rose up again on Easter morning. This is the core of the Christian faith. If the Gospels stopped at the burial of Jesus, the story of this prophet would add to the many biographies of heroic characters who gave their lives for an ideal. The Gospel would then be nothing more than an edifying and consoling book, but it would not be an announcement of hope. But the Gospels do not close on Good Friday, they go beyond; and it is precisely this fragment to transform our lives. The disciples of Jesus downtrodden on that Saturday after his crucifixion; that rock rolled on the door of the tomb had also closed the three exciting years they had with the Master of Nazareth. It seemed that everything had ended, and some, disappointed and frightened, were already leaving Jerusalem. "

 

"But Jesus rises! This unexpected fact overthrows and subverts the minds and hearts of the disciples. Because Jesus rises not for himself, as if his revival was a prerogative to be jealous of: if he ascends to the Father it is because He wants his resurrection to be part of every human being, and drag every creature up with him. And on the day of Pentecost the disciples are transformed by the breath of the Holy Spirit. They will not only have good news to bring to everyone, but they will be different from before, as they are born to a new life. "

"How beautiful it is to think that you are announcers of the resurrection of Jesus not only in words but in the facts and in the testimony of life! Jesus does not want disciples able to repeat formulas learned by heart. He wants witnesses: people who propose hope with their way of welcoming, smiling, loving. Above all to love: because the strength of the resurrection makes Christians able to love even when love seems to have lost its reason. There is something 'more' that inhabits Christian existence, and that is not simply explained by the strength of the soul or greater optimism. It's as if believers were people with a piece of heaven above their heads, accompanied by a presence that some cannot even fathom. Thus, the task of Christians in this world is to open space for salvation, to be a regenerated cell able to restore vitality to what seemed lost forever. When the sky is cloudy, it is a blessing for those who know the sun. The true Christian is this: not grumbling and angry, but convinced by the strength of the resurrection that no evil is infinite, no night is endless, no man is definitely wrong, no hatred is invincible to love.

"Certainly, sometimes the disciples will pay for the hope they have been given by Jesus. We only have to think of many Christians who have not abandoned their people when the time of persecution has come. They stayed there, where even tomorrow was uncertain, where no kind of projects could be made, they were hoping for God. Who has had the grace to embrace the resurrection of Jesus can still hope against hope. Martyrs of all times, with their allegiance to Christ, tell us that injustice does not have the last word in life. In the Risen Christ we can continue to hope. Men and women who have a reason to live resist more than others in times of misfortune. But those who have Christ at their side really do not fear. And for this reason, Christians are never easy and accommodating people. Their mildness must not be confused with a sense of insecurity and remorse. Saint Paul urges Timothy to suffer for the gospel: "God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of strength, charity, and prudence" (2 Th 1,7). Fallen, they always rise. That is why the Christian is a missionary of hope. Not on his own merit, but thanks to Jesus, the grain of wheat that fell on earth and died bringing forward abundant fruit (cf. Jn 12:24). "

Finally, in the Arabic greeting, the Pope called for the blessing of "the Middle East and the whole world from all evil and from all terrorism and from the Evil One!".

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