Meeting with Clergy and Religious (13 May 1982)

On Thursday, 13 May 1982, the Holy Father met with clergy and religious at Fatima. In his address, the Pope exhorted them, even if they are obliged to take up secular work, not to forget that the are primarily priests, religious.

Dear fathers, brothers and sisters,

1. To you, who are in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ, grace, mercy and peace, in the truth and love of the Holy Spirit which has been granted to us (cf. 1 Thess 1, 1; Rm 5, 4) !

These words of the apostle Saint Paul express my feelings and anticipate my votes this afternoon, in this meeting, which is of particular importance for me and, I believe I can say, for you too. It is a great joy, and it is beautiful to be with you - priests, men and women religious and seminarians from Portugal - and to be able to greet you and speak to you personally.

I feel filled with feelings of jubilation, gratitude and hope when I can meet with consecrated people or those preparing for consecration; it is a state of mind that has in me the intensity and vibration of a rare encounter, as if it could never be repeated, with people very dear to me. I too, by divine grace, am a priest of Jesus Christ; and every day my esteem for the priesthood and consecrated life grows in me, for what they represent and contribute to the mission, life and treasure of the Church, the mystical Body of Christ. The Pope loves you in the Lord!

The communion of feelings that unites me with you for the rest of my life, at this moment, makes us feel, in a certain way, the mysterious reality of the "Body" of our holy Church illuminated by the maternally affectionate "gaze" of our Lady. And here in Fatima, where she is so loved and venerated, in greeting her with affection, I invite you to look at her inspiring example and, as an "elder brother", on behalf of everyone I ask for her blessing as a Mother, in supplication: " Mother of mercy, show us Jesus, blessed fruit of your womb”!

And with his blessing and patronage, we confidently raise our hearts to God, our Father, and in thanksgiving: because he loves us and "it was he who loved us first" ( 1 John 4:10); it was not us nor our fathers who took the initiative, who chose to be created, baptized and incorporated into his Church. The initiative started from "original love", principle without principle, from which the Holy Spirit proceeds for the Son; yes, it was a very liberal initiative of the charity of God the Father, who wanted to lavish and does not cease to lavish his goodness, to be created by his extraordinary and merciful benevolence and, then, called freely to participate in his life and glory (cf. Ad Gentes , 2) in this ecclesial condition, which is ours. Blessed be God!

2. And with our hearts in God, we turn our gaze once again to the Mother and imagine her blessing and affectionate response, telling us: “Jesus Christ? Observe, you can discover it in her signs. And there are many of these signs! And at this moment, perhaps he would add - to my confusion - the "sign" is the Pope. It goes beyond his person because he only lends the image of him to him "Jesus Christ". With this image, I want to sincerely say how limited I feel and, at the same time, responsible before him, Christ, and you.

And the moments of the Lord with "his own" present themselves to my spirit, with those whom even then he did not call "servants but friends" (cf. John 15:14), to whom he confided and spoke heart to heart: of his sorrow for the multitudes, "like sheep without a shepherd" ( Mt 9, 36), like "fields ripe for the harvest", without having hands for the work ( Mt 9, 37); of the meaning of "yes" for this work - without material security ( Mt 10, 9), nor personal abilities ( Mt 10, 20) nor simple good will ( Jn 15, 14) - but availability, born from a simple, full heart of trust in the strength of God ( Mt 10, 16), of fear and courage ( Mt 10, 27). Finally to his "his friends" about him, he spoke frankly and about what was closest to their hearts.

And the Pope today wishes to do the same; without going beyond the "sign" of the great Friend of all of us.

3. You, priests and religious, consecrated your lives to the service of the Gospel, in a moment of generosity! You were “chosen” ( Jn 15, 16); and today you are the "called" by God, to whom he entrusted the marvelous gift of this special vocation, in function of the whole Church "to go and bear fruit", a fruit that remains (cf. Jn 15, 16). You are God's gift to the Church in Portugal. I congratulate you and thank the Lord for your generous presence in this ever lush "field" and for your collaboration in serving and announcing the Good News of salvation.

Look: God is a good expert of difficulties, of the "weariness of the day and its heat" ( Mt 20, 12); and he is faithful; on his part, the graces necessary for perseverance and a happy response to the vocation will never be lacking. And I'm sure there will be no lack of generosity and docility on your part. And, it couldn't be otherwise. After so many benefits received and many others that we still expect from God, wouldn't we be ashamed - asks a holy Bishop - of denying the only reward that he asks for, love for himself and for our neighbor? We would dare to close our hearts. . . to the Father and refuse to be truly children and to serve others, our brothers? (cf. S. Gregory Nazianzen, Serm ., De pauperum amore, 23: PG 35, 887).

4. I would like to spend time with each of you and talk about your loving dialogue with God; on that personal story, a beautiful story, certainly, which began with Baptism, until the day when you "left everything" to follow Christ; and then continued along your journey with him, as chosen by God. But since this is not possible, I want to say to everyone, as if I were speaking to each one individually: Christ is the only way, the measure and the purpose of your life; he is the Christ of the beatitudes and of the completeness of the gift of himself "for the sake of the kingdom of heaven".

And we could go through the different beatitudes. Without the possibility of this, we take the spirit of poverty as an example: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" ( Mt 5:3).

In a society that gives value only to having, in which the ever new aspiration for well-being and comfort seems to prevail, and which so frequently allows itself to be fascinated by luxury in direct contrast with the evident misery, poverty, and above all the spirit of poverty, it is a challenge. A challenge for everyone, for the rich and for the poor in material goods, and a challenge in particular for those who have made a "profession" of evangelical poverty.

Evangelical poverty is something more than a simple renunciation of material goods; it is abandoning oneself, "getting lost" in God. One day Christ told of a merchant who chose a precious pearl and exchanged everything he owned to buy it (cf. Mt 13, 46). He valued the choice of superior goods, "of great value", granted to those who know how to proceed wisely. After this option, Peter dared to ask Christ about these "superior values", for which he had left everything to follow the Master; and he obtained the well-known answer: a hundred times in the present life and eternal life (cf. Mt 19, 27-29).

When we think back to this exchange that we also made, in the light of the clarification obtained from Saint Peter, will it be that we ourselves and others do not hesitate to verify the fulfillment of the Lord's promise? Will our intimate attitude and external behavior that others see always be one of serene possession of this "hundredfold" and of the hope of eternal life? Or it will seem more likely that we do not abandon everything - questions, "hypotheses" without hypotheses, human "securities", "bonds", which do not allow us to avoid all risks, etc. - and that therefore we receive nothing more than any other non-"chosen", who is totally committed to walking the present life?

5. It is certainly not enough to abandon everything, as you know, brothers and sisters: it is necessary to follow Christ, with a continuous effort to identify with him and his cause. We are in the world, without being of the world, representing among men the signs of the truth and of the presence of Christ in the world. We give him our whole being with the manifestation of him, so that he continues to exist, doing good (cf. Acts 10, 38).

This "transfer of ownership" offer of ours marked us with a particular sign that has become our identity. With all our dignity as persons "we belong to Christ". Everyone who sees us must be able to recognize this unique identity of ours without difficulty. To facilitate mutual welcome in meetings and gatherings, it is now common practice for people to display their photograph and personal data clearly visible; and, without embarrassment, each one is easily identified and called by his name. It should always be like this for us too: allowing others to start a dialogue, tacit or open, with the priest, with the religious man or woman, and even with the seminarian already identified, called by name as "chosen by God", approximately attitudes and external behavior.

Just as it is difficult to live and bear witness to evangelical poverty in a "consumer society" and abundance, it is also difficult in an era of secularization to be referred to as religious, in the Absolute of God. The tendency towards leveling, when it is not for the inversion of values ​​seems to favor people's anonymity: to be like most people, to go unnoticed. Instead, it is the characteristic of being "salt" and "light" (cf. Mt 5, 13ff), that Christ's appeal continues in the world, especially for those who consecrate themselves to him. Equally, the promise remains with full force: "As many as confess me before men, them will I confess before my Father" ( Mt 10, 32).

Beloved brothers and sisters: the "singularity" of the Master has earned him very unflattering names ( Mt 10, 24). And the disciple is no more than the Master. The first disciples left us testimony by appearing to us "full of joy at having been considered worthy of suffering torments for the name of Jesus" ( Acts 5, 42); and the current generation of the Church must be the bearer of this testimony.

6. Fidelity to God and to men requires interior and spiritual freedom so that some can participate effectively in the mission of Christ. Your vocation is a gift for this mission. You are called to work for the kingdom of God. And here, I want to dwell a little on this reflection with you: the apostolic and pastoral commitment.

The tasks of the Church and in the Church are various: from the ministry to simple and hidden services and jobs that require culture, together with people of different conditions; but always close to man. And for this reason, many initiatives have arisen, inspired by the Holy Spirit, to respond to the various calls and needs of times and places. A simple look at this assembly already indicates this variety of forms at the service of the Kingdom, at the same time that the perennial vitality of the Church is manifested, with its constant concern, embodied by the Founders of religious families and apostolic movements, each with its opportunities and its merits.

Meanwhile, the common denominator, first means and most effective way to evangelization by participating in the mission of Christ in the Church, remains the person with his testimony of life. The other means and ways that materialize in works and initiatives, of greater or lesser favor among the recipients of evangelization, must never go unnoticed and, even less, make us forget what you are: priests, men and women religious. Even when for justified reasons, you have to carry out secular tasks, this fact remains auxiliary and subordinate to your primary condition and function.

Never diminish this identity and do not forget the exact purpose of the ministry and apostolic service to which you have been called: to lead the men-brothers of our days to communion with the Holy Trinity. In our time, there is a growing temptation to seek security in property, science, prestige and power. With your fidelity to all the compromises made with the priestly Order and with your consecration to Christ, generously living in poverty, chastity and obedience, you will warn men against this false security; you will remember their eschatological dimension and point to the "kingdom of heaven", to which you consecrated your ability to love.

7. The level of pastoral and apostolic performance will always be in proportion to the measure of your fidelity in Christ to this compromise of love. It is this fidelity that frees the heart and inflames the spirit of total love for Christ and for his brothers in the world (cf. Perfectae Caritatis , 1.12). And know it well, fidelity is obtained and maintained through union with the Lord, with the constant and profound renewal of prayers and sacraments, in order to maintain the splendor of life in grace: "because without Me, you can do nothing" the Lord himself tells us ( Jn 15:5).

Here, brothers and sisters, I would like to point out that this is the focus of my message to you today. If there were not a perfect balance between your life with God and the activities carried out at the service of men, not only the work of evangelization in which you are engaged would be compromised, but also your personal condition as evangelized people. Prayer is the soul of your work for the Kingdom: liturgical prayer, centered in the Eucharist, received and lived with that purity of conscience which requires recourse to the sacrament of Reconciliation, celebrated devoutly, which does not allow palliatives; the Liturgy of the Hours, which marks the rhythm of continuous adoration, in spirit and truth, with the "beloved" presence of the Virgin in prayer, the Servant of God, model of those who want to serve the Lord.

8. With the need to be a witness of life, the duty of announcing the salvation of Christ must equally be understood as it was expressed by Saint Peter: "we cannot refrain from speaking" ( Acts 4, 20). There will always be the opportunity to sow; but the seed can only be of truth and good; as it will only be fruitful if wrapped in the guise of prayer and meditation and study of the Word of God, according to the reading of the authentic Magisterium.

Today the wonderful means of communication inform us of everything and not always with exemption and objectively; for this reason there are many things that need to be clarified, oriented and helped in the choice. Always have at heart the sense of sharing in knowledge and adherence to the Truth, which you have already identified in Christ (cf. Jn 14:6); and with love, faithful to the truth, you adopted the rule of Saint Francis of Assisi: bring faith where there is doubt.

It is for the truth, first of all, that union is built: the communion of minds easily transforms into a union of hearts, in the convergence of intentions, towards the same cause. A kingdom divided against itself cannot subsist (cf. Luke 11, 17). The divided apostolate destroys itself. And we know that it will be divided if we give in to the temptation of exclusivism, contrary to the right diversity of gifts and charisma, or to the temptation of isolation, disinterest or arrest in relation to the work of others, without following a program or common pastoral plans.

If there is diversity of gifts, services and operations, the source is the same and "to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common advantage" ( 1 Cor 12, 7).

9. When I began to study your beautiful language, this popular saying stuck in my mind: “It is through speaking that people understand each other”. The union of the forces of the workers of evangelization requires a purpose and this in turn will be found through authentic dialogue, also with its components of an affective order. How beautiful and important it is to meet as brothers, on a deeper level than just the communication of concepts! Also meet for friendship, to share spiritual goods in affirmation of human fullness, in voluntary and genuine poverty in the spirit. Every time there are these meetings - your experience will tell you, certainly - with brothers in the ministry, in common life or in the apostolate, our sense of life and participation in the mission of Christ is reinvigorated. Afterwards, we observe, it was the Master who told us: "in this everyone will recognize that you are my disciples, if you love one another" ( Jn 13, 35).

And here it would be appropriate to broaden the considerations on the validity of dialogue in charity to a whole series of vital situations. I limit myself to just two simple indications:

- the case of elderly people (priests, men and women religious), in this International Year of the Third Age, and disabled people: a word of lively sympathy and an affectionate greeting to them, telling them: you are important for the Church of Christ, today like yesterday. With Saint Peter Chrysologus, I ask you: make your heart an altar; and, with all confidence, offer your body as an offering to God, with faith and generosity! The Pope loves you and blesses you!

- relations with the coordinating authorities: here, the dialogue, calm in docile and loyal collaboration and in obedience, achieves inestimable and mutual advantages, which can be used to enrich oneself personally and for the treasure of the Church, and for the effectiveness of the work of evangelization.

And, broadening the concept of dialogue, I would say that to avoid the danger of a gradual impoverishment of priestly and consecrated life, due to "difficulty" if not ankylosis, we must maintain contact with the sources of our initial basic formation, we must wait for the continued training; equally for an adequate announcement of the Good News, a dialogue with the culture of our environment is essential, in a constant commitment to choice and actualization so that the reasons for the hope that animates us can be accepted (cf. 1 Pt 3 , 15) and we wish to transmit them to the others.

10. Something would be missing from the joy of our meeting if we did not pay a brief visit, in spirit, to the brothers and sisters who consecrate their lives to contemplation, and live their personal self-giving in silent meditation and seclusion "for the love of the kingdom of heavens."

And what do we tell them?

First of all, we will express our fraternal and joyful gratitude for what they are and what they represent for us, for the mission of the ecclesial community and for the world, placed as they are in the heart of the mystery of the Church. The contemplative life is absolutely vital for the Church itself and for humanity, always in need of purifying and renewing oxygen of grace, aspirated and distributed for these prayers and hidden immolations of our contemplative brothers.

Even more: their silent immolation proclaims the Absolute of God and pushes brother-men to question themselves about the meaning of life; and his love for him, applied in adoration and supplication, is lavished in the history of men themselves: of those who already know and of those who do not yet know the Lord of history and the salvation that he proposes; both must build justice and fraternal coexistence more and more, according to divine plans.

And I would like to repeat to them something that I feel more keenly on this pilgrimage to Fatima, but which I always have in my heart when I address contemplatives: pray and sacrifice yourselves for us and for all those who pray, for those who cannot pray, for those who do not know how to pray and for those who do not want to pray! And the God of peace be with you always!

11. And to the new brothers - the seminarians or those who are about to embrace the consecrated life - I also want to address them a word of great affection, from the soul and with great trust. You occupy a special place in the heart of the Pope, in the hope of the Church and, especially in the Church of this country, of many praiseworthy traditions in terms of priestly and religious vocations. In you I see and greet the aspirants to the priesthood and religious life from all over Portugal. And I can tell you: what a nostalgia for my times as a seminarian, and what a joy to be with you today!

But on the horizon of this joy, even here in Portugal there are clouds, which spontaneously bring us the memory of the Lord's exclamation: "the harvest is great, but the workers are few" ( Lk 10, 2). And with this memory, an appeal rises from my heart to all those who are interested in this problem - which is all the People of God - to dedicate all their good will to the field of vocations: with constant prayers, with example, especially on the part of those already "chosen", and with adequate pastoral action, starting from the family, passing through the various communities and the school, up to the overall pastoral plans and programming. I know that you are already committed to this and I want my words to comfort and encourage you.

And to those who in the Seminaries and Formation Houses give the best of themselves to cultivate with the affection of Mother Church these plants destined to bear fruit in holy priests and religious men and women, I want to affirm with all my esteem and repeat to them, despite they already know: you are not alone in your generous and precious work; the whole Church accompanies you. Know that the Pope supports you and appreciates you, as do your Bishops and your religious Superiors. May your collaboration always be blessed by God!

And you, my young friends, cultivate ideals, love life and give it a noble purpose. You are in a moment of existence in which you have to speak a lot to the God of men, in order to later be able to speak to men about God. There is a cliché that you certainly know, but which I would like to remind you: "there are three "very", which they reward three others: a lot of study, a lot of science; a lot of reflection, a lot of wisdom; many virtues, much peace”. Courage!

Brothers and sisters:

The poor in spirit is the one who believes and abandons himself to the Gospel of God's charity and mercy and lives it daily; the consecrated person is the one who affirms and lives in himself the absolute dominion of God, who wants to be all in all (cf. 1 Cor 15, 28); the evangelizer is the one who proclaims the Good News that is in his heart and who transforms it internally and frees him spiritually. Be faithful to your sublime vocation!

And may the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church - our Lady of Fatima - be always present in your life, with her example and her protection, and may she obtain for you constant serenity, consolation and joy from her Son Jesus Christ, in whose name I bless you, with all my heart.
 

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