9 novembre 2009
OMELIA PER ASSISI,
9 novembre 2009
Cari fratelli e sorelle,
abbiamo oggi il privilegio di accogliere, accanto al povero, umile e grande Francesco, alcuni illustri scienziati di tutto il mondo, i quali in questi giorni hanno discusso in Vaticano, presso la Pontificia Accademia delle Scienze, su di un tema nuovo ed appassionante: la questione della vita nel Cosmo. E’ questo un tema molto appropriato in quest’Anno Internazionale dell’Astronomia.
Do a tutti loro, come a voi, un cordiale benvenuto.
Siccome, però, l’omelia della Messa è in italiano, pensando che sia la lingua della maggioranza dei presenti, consentite che io dica loro qualche parola in inglese, la loro comune lingua di lavoro.
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Illustrious Ladies and Gentlemen of the Sciences,
Dear Friends,
It is my pleasure to address each of you with a word of welcome in this place, which is not only sacred to Christians, but also very significant to non-Christians and non-believers, and in general for Western culture.
According to the most wide-spread opinion, also among believers, the significance of Francis derives from him having been a worker for peace, and a man in love with nature. This is very true, but it would be like stating that the sun illuminates and warms. You scientists can say something more: why it illuminates, why it warms.
The same thing can be said about Francis. In reality, the original thrust of the message and of the person that was Francis through the centuries is his spirituality, and it is not as simple as it may appear; because otherwise, it would have quickly dissipated and it would not have attracted unto itself so many men and so many women in the course of the centuries.
With reference to the Gospel of this Sunday, which I will relate in Italian because of the participants, I will try to focalize on two fundamental aspects of the spirituality of St. Francis.
The first one: Love for evangelical poverty, intended as the acknowledgment that true wealth is Jesus Christ; and because of this, the heart of Francis was there, where his treasure was. A poverty that he wanted to live as Christ had lived it. And the mystery of evangelical poverty is that it gives total interior liberty, and is a source of human richness, and at times also of prosperity, for the lives of others.
The second one: The love of Christ crucified, which in him was an extremely ardent love, as shown by the stigmata that were inflicted in his body. Outward expression of this great love for Christ crucified was seen in that same poor vestment he wore, made in the form of a cross, and the letter “t” which accompanied his signature. Christ crucified is foolishness and weakness for the world – says Paul the Apostle – but it is the wisdom and strength of God. Francis lived of him, because in Christ crucified is manifested the totality of God’s love for us; it is from him that we receive the greatest fecundity of life.
Without this love for Christ on the cross, without this ideal of the beauty in poverty, which lets shine all the splendor of divine richness, Francis would have had little to say to the men of his time, and little to say to us, today, as well.