Abandon comfort and take the Gospel to all Peripheries: Pope
Vatican City, 18 December 2013: Pope Francis on Tuesday wrote a letter to Fr. Jose
Narlaly, minister general of the Order of the Holy Trinity for the Redemption of the
Captives, to commemorate the eighth centenary of the death of its founder St. Juan
de Mata, and the fourth centenary of the passing of St. Juan Bautista de la Concepcion,
reformer of the order. According to Vatican Information Service, in his letter, the
Pope joins with the Order in giving thanks to the Triune God for saints' outstanding
contribution to the Church and conveys a “simple message of encouragement and spiritual
closeness, and the hope that they will serve as an impulse to and company in enthusiastic
and determined progress on the spiritual path they have traced, for the glory of the
thrice Holy and the good of those who face various trials”.
The Pope recalled
the exemplary lives of the two saints who, upon hearing the call of God, dedicated
themselves fully to the most needy. “We are all called to experience the joy that
springs from the encounter with Jesus, to conquer our selfishness”, he said, “to reach
out of our 'comfort zone' towards all the peripheries in need of the light of the
Gospel”.
“The Trinitarians are clear - and from this we should all learn –
about the fact that in the Church, responsibility and authority should be lived as
service. Therefore, our action must be removed from any desire for wealth or personal
promotion, and must seek to put all the talents we receive from God to the service
of the common good, to be able to manage them, like good administrators, for the purpose
for which they have been granted; that is, to alleviate the suffering of the most
disadvantaged. This is Christ's will, and for this reason the houses of your Family
always keep their doors open, offering a brotherly welcome”.
The Pope encouraged
the Order to continue to imitate Christ and, with the strength of His Spirit, to offer
themselves with humility in the service of the poor and the imprisoned. “Today there
are many … do not seek, therefore, for your works and apostolic initiatives, any basis
other than 'the root of charity' and 'the will of Christ', which my predecessor, Innocent
III, considered to be the essential pivots of this new way of life, approved by his
apostolic authority”. Source: VIS