On Monday, February 20, the Pope received in audience the members of the “Circolo San Pietro” or association named after St. Peter. The association helps the needy in Rome on a daily basis. Its motto: “Prayer, Action and Sacrifice”.
Jānis Evertovskis – Vatican
Meeting “at the tomb of St. Peter” in the Vatican, for the association, is like a return to the sources, to the roots, from where the love and faith of its members arise, which animates them and moves them forward – said Francis, starting his address. He thanked God for all the good they were doing, as well as for themselves.
These are people who devote their efforts, time and energy to creatively, patiently and persistently serve the wounded stepchildren of this life. They operate in soup kitchens, support centers, accommodations, and provide assistance to families and children who are in the “Bambin Gesù” hospital. “I see in you a Good Samaritan”, said the Pope.
The Good Samaritan, about whom Luke writes in the Gospel, moved by compassion, approaches the wounded man lying on the side of the road and gives him help. He doesn’t know this person. He is a stranger and in a sense an “enemy” because he did not see and despised the Samaritans. But he approaches because he has a soft heart. It is not fortified. It is capable of showing tenderness.
“And that’s the first thing I want to recommend to you: gentleness,” emphasized Francis. “Be careful, I’m not talking about sentimentality, no. I am talking about the character of God’s love that is needed today more than ever.”
“In a society that is often poisoned by a culture of indifference and abandonment, we as Christians are called to go against the flow with a culture of gentleness, that is, to care for others as God took care of us, of me, of you, of each of us. We see this in the Gospel: how Jesus goes to the little ones, the marginalized, the last ones. He is the Good Samaritan who gave his life for us, for us who need mercy and forgiveness”.
The second thing that the Pope asked us not to forget was the following: We are able to truly love others to the extent that we recognize that we ourselves are loved by God. We are built up when we allow the Lord to build us up every day. And we can experience this in the silence of prayer, when we let go of our roles, take off our masks and stand before Him as we are. Then God can fill our heart with his Spirit, with his compassion and tenderness. That way we will be able to move forward. Not us, but He with us. Francis added that this is where the secret of the Christian life and especially the ministry of charity is to be found.
In conclusion, the Holy Father assured that he accompanies those present on their mission around Rome with his prayers and supplications Salvation of the Roman People Our Lady to protect and defend the people they meet and their families.
