Pope: Far from the spotlight, there are signs of God’s presence

Zulio Fonseca – Vatican News

After the hot summer days, St. Peter’s Square once again received thousands of believers and pilgrims for the traditional public audience.

During his catechism on Wednesday (6 September), Pope Francis recalled his recent trip to Mongolia, which took place from 31 August to 4 September. The Pontiff began by expressing his gratitude to all those who accompanied his activities in the Asian country with prayers. He expressed his thanks to the authorities who officially welcomed him, in particular President Khurelsukh as well as former President Enkhbayar, who extended the official invitation to visit the country.

Humble and happy church

Francis said he remembers with joy the local church and the Mongolian people: a noble and wise people, who showed me so much kindness and affection, “Today I would like to receive them to the heart He recalled this trip.

One might ask, as Francis noted:

“But why does the Pope go to such lengths to visit a small flock of the faithful? Because it is precisely there, far from the limelight, that you often find signs of the presence of a God who does not look at appearances, but at the heart. The Lord does not seek center stage, but the simple heart of those who desire in Him and love Him without being visible, without wanting to be distinguished from others.I have had the grace to find in Mongolia a Church that is humble and happy, in the heart of God, and I can testify to you of their joy in meeting for a few days also in the heart of the Church.

Passionate preachers of the gospel

And the Supreme Pontiff shed light on the touching story of that small Christian community that arose by the grace of God and through the apostolic zeal of some missionaries who were sent to that unknown country because of their passion for the Gospel.

Highlighting the hard and tireless work the Church has done over the years, the Pope made it clear that the word “catholic” means “universal,” and added: “It is not a matter of universality that harmonizes, but of universality that harmonizes.” educate. This is Catholicism: universality incarnate, aware of the good where you live and serving the people with whom you live.

Then the Pope recalled the “House of Mercy” which he inaugurated on the last day of the trip, the first act of charity in Mongolia.

“This space expresses all components of the local church: an open and welcoming place, where everyone’s misery can unabashedly communicate with God’s mercy that lifts and heals. This is the testimony of the Mongolian Church, with missionaries from different countries who feel one with the people and are happy to serve them and discover The beauty is already there.

“The missionaries did not go there to preach, and that is not evangelical, they went there to live like the Mongolian people, speak their language, bear the values ​​of that people and preach the gospel in the style of that culture,” Francis added.

There is always some richness to discover

The Pope stressed the beauty of meeting with the entire Mongolian people, and said that by listening to their stories, he was able to admire more the religious research that he lived there.

Referring to the ecumenical interreligious meeting, Francis emphasized that Mongolia has a great Buddhist tradition, where many people live in silence that condemns them in a sincere and radical way, through altruism and struggle against their passions.

For Francisco, it is important to know how to perceive and recognize the good: “However, often we value others only in so far as they correspond to our ideas. On the contrary, God asks us to look with an open and benevolent gaze, because, without falling into Harmful syncretisms and easy Erinies, there is always some richness to be discovered: in people as in cultures, in religions as in nations.

“For this reason, it is important, as the Mongolian people do, to look up, towards the light of the good. Only in this way, on the basis of recognizing the good, can a common future be built; only by valuing the other can we help him improve. This happens to people and to the population as well. On the other hand, God acts with us in this way: He looks at us with His love, with trust, with the gaze of the heart.

One of our public audience moments this Wednesday, September 6th

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At the end of the catechism, the Holy Father said it was good to be in the heart of Asia. And he stressed the importance of entering into a dialogue with that great continent, to pick up its messages, know its wisdom, its way of seeing things, and embracing time and space.

“It was good for me to meet the Mongolian people, who preserve their roots and traditions, respect their elders and live in harmony with the environment: they are a people who look up to the sky and feel the fragrance of creation. Thinking of the boundless and silent expanses of Mongolia, let us be encouraged by the need to expand the boundaries of our gaze, So that we can see the good in others and be able to expand our own horizons.

Pope Francis concluded his speech, exhorting everyone: “I beg you: expand your limits, do not make yourselves captive to smallness, allow yourselves to enlarge your hearts, to be close to all people and all civilizations.”