Pope: Hiroshima and Nagasaki are a warning against the ‘illusion of security’ based on ‘nuclear threats’
At the end of Wednesday's audience, the pontiff recalls ‘the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing’, calling on the “contemporary world,” marked by “tensions and bloody conflicts,” to use the instruments of “justice, dialogue, and fraternity.” In his catechesis, he emphasizes that love is not the result of chance, but of a conscious choice. And the Eucharist is not celebrated “only on the altar, but also in everyday life.”
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are a warning to the “contemporary world” which, although marked by conflicts and tensions, bases its illusion of security on the “threat of mutual destruction,” remarked Pope Leo XIV at the conclusion of his general audience on Wednesday in St. Peter's Square, the second weekly meeting with the many pilgrims present after his break in Castel Gandolfo.
These words recall the atomic tragedy of which today marks the 80th anniversary and which the pontiff had already mentioned yesterday in a message to Mons. Alexis Mitsuru Shirahama, bishop of Hiroshima, read by the apostolic nuncio in Japan, Mons. Francisco Escalante Molina, during the Mass for peace celebrated in the Japanese city.
On that occasion, the pope repeated the words of one of the hibakusha, the survivors of the US atomic bombings on August 6 and 9, 1945, stating that “the person of love is the person of courage.”
Returning to today's audience, the Pope said: "Today marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima, and in three days we will remember that of Nagasaki. I wish to assure all those who have suffered the physical, psychological, and social effects of these events of my prayers. Despite the passing of the years, those tragic events constitute a universal warning against the devastation caused by wars and in particular by nuclear weapons. I hope that in the contemporary world, marked by strong tensions and bloody conflicts, the illusory security based on the threat of mutual destruction will give way to the instruments of justice, the practice of dialogue, and trust in fraternity."
Before reciting the Our Father in Latin and greeting the crowd, the pontiff addressed a thought “to young people, the sick, and newlyweds. Today we celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration of Christ. May the luminous face of the Lord be for you a source of hope and comfort,” the pope said.
In his catechesis preceding the final greetings, Leo XIV—continuing the cycle of jubilee reflections on “Jesus Christ, our hope”—resumed the journey “to discover the face of Christ, in whom our hope takes shape and substance.”
Today, in particular, began the journey of reflection “on the mystery of the passion, death, and resurrection,” starting with a word “that seems simple but holds a precious secret of Christian life: prepare.” A ‘practical’ question [“Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” (Mk 14:12)], which is “full of expectation.”
And Jesus' response in Mark's Gospel “seems almost like a riddle,” in which “the details become symbolic” [Go into the city and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you (v. 13)], where a man carries a jar, a gesture “usually feminine at that time,” in which everything seems to be “arranged in advance.”
The pontiff recalls the “upper room already prepared,” which indicates that God “always precedes us.” “Love,” explains Pope Prevost, "is not the result of chance, but of a conscious choice. It is not a simple reaction, but a decision that requires preparation. Jesus does not face his passion out of fatalism, but out of fidelity to a path he has accepted and followed with freedom and care. This is what consoles us: knowing that the gift of his life comes from a profound intention, not from a sudden impulse.“
And this place, adds the pontiff, ”is, in the end, our heart: a ‘room’ that may seem empty, but is only waiting to be recognized, filled, and guarded. Easter, which the disciples must prepare, is in fact already ready in the heart of Jesus.“ And grace ”does not eliminate our freedom, but awakens it. God's gift does not cancel our responsibility, but makes it fruitful.“
Pope Leo warns that ”today, as then, there is a supper to be prepared. It is not just a matter of liturgy, but of our willingness to enter into a gesture that transcends us. The Eucharist is not celebrated only on the altar, but also in everyday life, where it is possible to live everything as an offering and thanksgiving. Preparing to celebrate this thanksgiving does not mean doing more, but making room. It means removing what clutters, lowering expectations, and ceasing to cultivate unrealistic expectations. Too often, in fact, we confuse preparations with illusions that “distract” us, while “preparations orient us.”
This is “what Jesus experienced with his own,” the pontiff recalls, “while they still did not understand, while one was about to betray him and another was about to deny him, he prepared a meal of communion for all.”
In anticipation of “the Lord's Passover,” the pope explains in his catechesis, “every gesture of availability, every gratuitous act, every forgiveness offered in advance, every effort accepted patiently is a way of preparing a place where God can dwell.”
Hence the invitation “to prepare the place of communion with God and among ourselves,” and as we do so, we may discover “that we are surrounded by signs, encounters, words that point to that spacious and already prepared room where the mystery of infinite love is celebrated unceasingly, sustaining us and always preceding us.” And in which, he concludes, “life can truly flourish.”
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05/08/2005
06/08/2020 10:04
