2023-11-08 11:33:00
Pope Francis’ Public Vision Sermon: Madeleine Delbrelin, a zealous evangelist and servant of God.
Joey Kariveli, Vatican City
Pope Francis has granted a weekly public visit to the Vatican once more this Wednesday (08/11/23). The meeting place was the open courtyard of St. Peter’s Basilica. When the Pope arrived at the square in a white open vehicle set up for all to see, the joy of the crowd erupted in applause and cheers in the courtyard. Along with him, the papa, carrying a few boys and girls in the vehicle and moving through them greeting the people, occasionally stopped the toddlers who were brought to him by the bodyguards and affectionately patted them on the cheek, blessed them and kissed them on the head. Near the steps leading to the pulpit, the Pope disembarked the children who were with him from the carriage. Then, when the vehicle ascended the steps to the stage, the Pope got out of it and at 9.00 am Rome time, 1.30 pm India time, the public darshan program began with the trinity hymn. Then the scriptures were read in different languages.
“You are the salt of the earth. How can the salt be salted once more? It is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a pillar, but on a pedestal. Then it gives light to everyone in the house. Thus men will see your good works. Let your light shine before them to glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5,13-16
After this reading, the Pope continued his series of exhortations, which he gives during his weekly audience, on the saints who are models of evangelizing zeal. This week the Pope introduced the French Servant of God Madeleine Delbrel.
Pope’s keynote speech in Italian:
Maid of God Madeleine Delbrelin
Dear brothers and sisters, good day!
Among the many witnesses of evangelistic zeal, among those zealous witnesses, I present today a twentieth-century French woman, the Servant of God Madeleine Delbrel. Born in 1904 and dying in 1964, she was a social activist, writer and yogini who spent more than three decades living with the poor and working class in the suburbs of Paris. Amazed by her encounter with the Lord, she noted: “Once we know the Word of God, we have no right not to accept it; once we have received it we have no right not to allow it to be embodied in us; once it has taken shape in us we have no right to keep it as our own: from that moment we belong to those who inhabit it” (Holiness of the Laity, Milan 2020, 71) These lines of hers are beautiful.
From agnosticism to a life of faith
She had no faith in anything; After a teenage life of agnosticism, Madeleine, at the age of twenty, stunned by the testimony of her believing friends and her friends, meets the Lord. Then she, giving expression to the deep inner thirst she felt, became a seeker of God and realized that “the void that called forth the pain within her” was God seeking her (Bewitched by God. Letters 1910-1941 Abbagliata da Dio. Corrispondenza , Milan 2007, 96). In the heart of the Church and in the heart of the world, the joy of faith leads her to mature a choice of life totally dedicated to God, simply sharing in fraternity the life of the “people in the street”. She said to Jesus poetically: “Even when laziness asks us to stop, we must go on, to be with you on your way. You have chosen us to be in a strange state of balance, a state of equilibrium that can only be in motion, can only be stable and stay in one momentum. It is like a bicycle that cannot stay straight unless the wheel turns. […] We can only remain upright by advancing, by moving with the thrust of the tide.” This she calls “the spirituality of the cycle” (Goose in Love. Meditations and Poems, Milan – Umorismo nell’Amore. Meditazioni e poesie, Milano 2011, 56) 2011, 56). In dynamism, in movement Only, if we are in the balance of faith, it is an imbalance, but that’s what it is: like a bicycle. If it stops moving, it cannot stop.
Outward mobility
Madeleine had an outwardly moving heart. She responded to the cry of the poor and unbelievers. She felt that the living God of the gospel should burn within her until she might bring its name to those who had not yet found God. With this attitude, turning to the turmoil of the world and the cries of the poor, Madele felt that she was called to live the love of Jesus fully and literally, from the oil of the Good Samaritan to the vinegar of Calvary. Because by loving it completely without holding back and allowing ourselves to love to the extreme, the two orders of love are incarnated in us and become one” (La vocation de la charité, 1, Œuvres complètes XIII, Bruyères-le-Châtel, 138-139).
Evangelism that evangelizes him
Finally, Madeleine teaches us another thing: namely, that we are evangelized by evangelizing. So she says, echoing the words of Saint Paul: “Woe to me if the work of the gospel does not evangelize me”. By evangelizing, one evangelizes himself. This is a beautiful theory.
Beliefs should be constantly tested
Looking at this witness of the Gospel, we realize that the Lord is present in the personal or social situations and circumstances of our lives and that we too are called to live our time, to share the lives of others and to join in the joys of the world. In particular, it teaches us that the secular environment of the world also helps us to conversion, because contacts with non-believers force the believer to undergo a continuous re-examination of his own belief system and to rediscover the faith in its essence (cfr Noi delle strade, Milano 1988, 268s). May Madeleine Delbrelin teach us to live this faith that we can say “dynamic”, this fruitful faith that transforms every act of faith into an act of charity in evangelization. Thanks.
Greetings
Following the keynote address, a summary of the Pope’s homily, which was in Italian, was read in various languages, including English and Arabic, and at the end of each reading, the Pope greeted the speakers in Italian.
Pray for those suffering from war
During the public meeting, the Pope remembered the people suffering from the war and invited everyone to pray for them. The Pope said that we should not forget the suffering people of Ukraine and Palestine and Israel. Wishing that the Lord may lead us to a just peace, the Pope remembered the suffering children, the sick and the elderly. Papa said that there are many young people who die. War is always failure: don’t forget. Papa repeated that it was a defeat.
Closing salutation and benediction
At the end of the public visitation, the Pope, as usual, greeted the elderly, the sick, the young and the newlyweds. The Pope recalled that the dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Rome’s cathedral, the seat of the Pope as bishop of the Diocese of Rome, will be celebrated on November 9. The Pope wished that this anniversary would instill in all the aspiration to become active stones in the service of the Lord. Then, following the Lord’s Prayer in Latin, “O Heavenly Father,” the Pope gave his apostolic blessing to all.
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