MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR THE 110th WORLD DAY OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES 2024
(Sunday, 29 September 2024)
God walks with his people
Dear brothers and sisters!
Last 29 October marked the conclusion of the First Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. This session allowed us to deepen our understanding of synodality as part of the Church’s fundamental vocation. “Synodality is mainly presented as a joint journey of the People of God and as a fruitful dialogue between the charisms and ministries at the service of the coming of the Kingdom” (Synthesis Report, Introduction).
Emphasizing the synodal dimension allows the Church to rediscover its itinerant nature, as the People of God journeying through history on pilgrimage, “migrating”, we could say, toward the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. Lumen Gentium, 49). The biblical narrative of Exodus, depicting the Israelites on their way to the promised land, naturally comes to mind: a long journey from slavery to freedom prefiguring the Church’s journey toward her final encounter with the Lord.
Likewise, it is possible to see in the migrants of our time, as in those of every age, a living image of God’s people on their way to the eternal homeland. Their journeys of hope remind us that “our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil 3:20).
The images of the biblical exodus and of migrants share several similarities. Like the people of Israel in the time of Moses, migrants often flee from oppression, abuse, insecurity, discrimination, and lack of opportunities for development. Similar to the Jews in the desert, migrants encounter many obstacles in their path: they are tried by thirst and hunger; they are exhausted by toil and disease; they are tempted by despair.
Yet the fundamental reality of the Exodus, of every exodus, is that God precedes and accompanies his people and all his children in every time and place. God’s presence in the midst of the people is a certainty of salvation history: “The Lord your God goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you” (Deut 31:6). For the people who came out of Egypt, this presence manifested itself in different forms: a pillar of cloud and fire showing and illuminating the way (cf. Ex 13:21), the meeting tent that protected the ark of the covenant, making God’s closeness tangible (cf. Ex 33:7), the pole with the bronze serpent assuring divine protection (cf. Nm 21:8-9), manna and water (cf. Ex 16-17) as God’s gifts to the hungry and thirsty people. The tent is a form of presence especially dear to the Lord. During David’s reign, God chose to dwell in a tent, not a temple, so that he could walk with his people, “from tent to tent and from dwelling to dwelling” (1 Chr 17:5).
Many migrants experience God as their traveling companion, guide and anchor of salvation. They entrust themselves to him before setting out and seek him in times of need. In him, they find consolation in moments of discouragement. Thanks to him, there are good Samaritans along the way. In prayer, they confide their hopes to him. How many Bibles, copies of the Gospels, prayer books and rosaries accompany migrants on their journeys across deserts, rivers, seas and the borders of every continent!
God not only walks with his people, but also within them, in the sense that he identifies himself with men and women on their journey through history, particularly with the least, the poor and the marginalized. In this we see an extension of the mystery of the Incarnation.
For this reason, the encounter with the migrant, as with every brother and sister in need, “is also an encounter with Christ. He himself said so. It is he who knocks on our door, hungry, thirsty, an outsider, naked, sick and imprisoned, asking to be met and assisted” (Homily, Mass with Participants in the “Free from Fear” Meeting, Sacrofano, 15 February 2019). The final judgment in Matthew 25 leaves no doubt: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (v. 35); and again “truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me” (v. 40). Every encounter along the way represents an opportunity to meet the Lord; it is an occasion charged with salvation, because Jesus is present in the sister or brother in need of our help. In this sense, the poor save us, because they enable us to encounter the face of the Lord (cf. Message for the Third World Day of the Poor, 17 November 2019).
Dear brothers and sisters, on this day dedicated to migrants and refugees, let us unite in prayer for all those who have had to leave their land in search of dignified living conditions. May we journey together with them, be “synodal” together, and entrust them, as well as the forthcoming Synod Assembly, “to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a sign of sure hope and consolation to the faithful People of God as they continue their journey” (XVI Ordinary General Assembly Synthesis Report: Proceeding Along the Journey).
Prayer
God, Almighty Father,
we are your pilgrim Church
journeying towards the Kingdom of heaven.
We live in our homeland,
but as if we were foreigners.
Every foreign place is our home,
yet every native land is foreign to us.
Though we live on earth,
our true citizenship is in heaven.
Do not let us become possessive
of the portion of the world
you have given us as a temporary home.
Help us to keep walking,
together with our migrant brothers and sisters,
toward the eternal dwelling you have prepared for us.
Open our eyes and our hearts
so that every encounter with those in need
becomes an encounter with Jesus, your Son and our Lord.
Amen.
Rome, Saint John Lateran, 24 May 2024, Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians
FRANCIS
Prayer of St Francis of Assisi
Novena
Prayer of St Francis of Assisi
The “Prayer of St. Francis” offers us is a chance to pause, pray and reflect on who it is that we are and what it is that we are created to do, and it honours the great peacemaker, lover of all creation, and icon of holiness from Assisi. May the prayer show us a way to live.
The prayer, known worldwide, was probably written in the 20th century, appearing in 1912 in a small spiritual magazine called La Clochette (the little bell). It was published in Paris by a Catholic association known as La Ligue de la Sainte-Messe, (The Holy Mass League) founded in 1901 by a French priest, Father Esther Bouquerel (1855-1923). The prayer bore ‘Belle priere a faire pendant la messe’ (A Beautiful Prayer to say during the Mass) and was published anonymously. The author could have possibly been Father Bouquerel himself, but until now the identity of the author remains a mystery.
You will see from where we get one of the best known and loved Hymns of Christian tradition
‘Make me a channel of your peace’.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred,
Let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, Joy.
O Divine Master grant that I may
Not so much seek to be consoled
As to console;
To be understood,
As to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
And it is in dying that we are
Born to eternal life.
—o0o—
Franciscan Blessing Prayer
May the Lord bless you. May the Lord keep you. May He show His face to you and have mercy. May He turn to you His countenance and give you peace.
Quote from St Francis of Assisi
“Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
Franciscan Prayer for Divine Guidance through the Day
Direct, we beg You, O Lord, our actions by Your holy inspirations, and carry them on by Your gracious assistance, that every prayer and work of ours may begin always with You, and through You be happily ended. Amen.
The Canticle of the Creatures
The most well-known writing of St. Francis is probably the Canticle of the Creatures, in which the Saint from Assisi poetically praises God in and through various elements of the created order. The fundamental spiritual insight of the Canticle is that each aspect of God’s creation gives glory and praise to God by being what it was created to be. The Sun praises God by giving the world light; the wind praises God by bringing every kind of weather; and the Earth praises God by sustaining us through producing fruits, flowers and herbs. All of God’s creation perfectly praises God because each element does what it was intended to do.
Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord,
All praise is Yours, all glory, all honour and all blessings.
To you alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.
Praised be You my Lord with all Your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun,
Who is the day through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour,
Of You Most High, he bears the likeness.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
In the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
And fair and stormy, all weather’s moods,
by which You cherish all that You have made.
Praised be You my Lord through Sister Water,
So useful, humble, precious and pure.
Praised be You my Lord through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night
and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You my Lord through our Sister,
Mother Earth
who sustains and governs us,
producing varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.
Praise be You my Lord through those who grant pardon
for love of You and bear sickness and trial.
Blessed are those who endure in peace,
By You Most High, they will be crowned.
Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Death,
from whom no-one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Blessed are they She finds doing Your Will.
No second death can do them harm.
Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks,
And serve Him with great humility
—o0o—
Building Hope with Open Hearts – Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Farrell
Building Hope with Open Hearts
Pastoral Letter – Archbishop Dermot Farrell
1 September 2024
JESUS’ CONCERN IS FOR OUR HEARTS… he seeks to draw us close, heart-to-heart with him. ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.’ (Mt 11:28). Jesus calls us to closeness with God, into intimacy with the One who gives us life, and invites us into the relationship that brings us into fullness of life (see Jn 10:10). It is in the depth of our hearts (see Mk 7:6) that we meet God as we respond to the mysteries of life, and are brought into silence and wonder.
This relationship is the deeper – one might say, sacred – foundation of our life in the Church. With Christ – through him, and with him, and in him – we live out the gospel, we live out of the words and actions of Jesus that have been handed on to us.
This relationship with Jesus is also the foundation of Building Hope, as we’ve been calling our journey of renewal in the Archdiocese of Dublin: as people of faith, ‘encounter with the person of Jesus makes us who we are, and shapes what we do’. (Statement of Mission, February 2022).
It is in this context that I speak to you today about the Building Hope Pastoral Strategic Planning Resource 2025–2027. After three years of prayer, reflection and tentative action, this Planning Resource brings us to a significant new phase of Building Hope. It asks of us an ‘open heart’, open to Christ and to his Spirit, as together, we seek to build our partnerships of parishes – Building Hope with Open Hearts. These materials are the result of broad consultation and dialogue, prayer, reflection, action, and further reflection, undertaken in parishes and partnerships of parishes. I ask you all to join with me in using the resources developed here, as you explore creative and courageous ways to renew the Church in our diocese.
In order to support this initiative in the coming weeks, Workshops associated with the Building Hope Planning Resource, which I ask parish leaders to attend, will seek to guide us, using a synodal method of PRAYER – REFLECTION – PLANNING, taking action together in parishes and partnerships of parishes over the coming three years, 2025–2027. In engaging with this resource, we are called to encourage each other. This will mean moving beyond certain worries that we understandably have, as well as facing up to the ‘resistance’ that often surfaces when we need to change. This is the vision of Building Hope with Open Hearts.
In his letter for the World Day of Prayer for Creation, published today (1 September 2024), Pope Francis puts it this way: ‘As people who dare to dream, we must dream with our eyes wide open, impelled by a desire for love, fraternity, friendship and justice for all’ (Pope Francis, Hope and Act with Creation, 2). As he always does, the Holy Father underlines how the Holy Spirit guides us ‘in embracing the humility of those who care for others and for all of creation.’ (Hope and Act with Creation, 5).
Strange as it may be to our ears: nothing fruitful happens in the Church without the Holy Spirit (see Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium – Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 4, and Saint John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio, 18). Nothing changes for the good without the Holy Spirit, ‘the Lord, the giver of life,’ as we constantly pray in the Creed. We have much to learn in this respect. When we look at the story of the early Church, in the Acts of the Apostles, or in the letters of Saint Paul, we see ‘that the true protagonist in the history of the church is the Holy Spirit… Opening up to listen to the Spirit is not about detecting rare and subtle signals; it means looking at how, in concrete terms, the gospel challenges [our] life,’ our way of being with each other in our parishes and in the world (see Cardinal José Tolentino Mendonça, The Mysticism of the Present Moment (Mahwah NJ: Paulist, 2021), p. 111).
Our faith calls us to open our hearts, not only to renewing our own commitment to Christ, but to rediscovering our parishes and partnerships of parishes as places of mission. It is the whole Church that is missionary, not just priests and religious (see Second Vatican Council, Apostolicam Actuositatem – Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, especially 1–2). Long before the Second Vatican Council, this was one of the great insights of Frank Duff, a man of profound faith, and a Dubliner through and through. As we pray in our Building Hope Prayer: ‘May our hearts and minds be filled with your Word, bringing forth truth, justice and peace.’
In all our parishes, in every parish of this Diocese, there are vibrant communities who live out the gospel, who live out of the words and actions Jesus has handed on to us. Those vibrant communities may now be small, but smallness is not the issue. Smallness was never an issue for Jesus, and smallness is never an issue for his heavenly Father, with whom he is one (see Jn 10:30): ‘Do not be afraid, little flock…” (Lk 12:32). Remember “the Mustard Seed… the smallest of all seeds…” (Mt 13:31–32)! Smallness is not an issue for the Father of Jesus, because the Creator sees the potential in what He has created: God sees what things can be. God looks at what creation can give, what all can become.
The Church in Europe finds itself in a time, both of decline and of new beginning. The decline is there for all to see. However, Christ calls people of faith to look at the Church from the standpoint of his Father. Let us look at the Church – and the world – with the eyes of God. Smallness is not an end-point, but a beginning. This is how the Church began. It is always how the Church begins. Let us find our way, step-by-step, working more deeply together, as we build our partnerships of parishes, embracing the road the Spirit is bringing us on, in such a way that, as Pope Francis says, ‘our lives can become a song of love for God, for humanity, with and for creation’ (Hope and Act with Creation, 9).
May God who has begun this good work in us bring it to completion.
Dermot Farrell
Archbishop of Dublin
1 September 2024