Pope in Malta: God is present wherever love reigns

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Source: Vatican News

After arriving on the island of Gozo by catamaran on Saturday afternoon, Pope Francis lead prayers at the National Marian Shrine of Ta' Pinu. He began recalling how Mary and John stood at the foot of Jesus' Cross. "Everything seemed lost, finished, forever."

Pope Francis recalled that Jesus took upon himself our sins and questioned "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" This likewise is "our prayer at times of suffering" he said.

Here, in place of the splendid building we see today, there stood only a tiny chapel in a state of disrepair. Its demolition was decreed: it seemed to be the end. Yet a series of events would turn things around, as if the Lord wanted to say to this people too: 'You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight is in her, and your land Married" (Is 62:4).'" That little church, he said, became the national shrine, a destination for pilgrims and a source of new life.

Pope Francis recalled that Pope St John Paul II, who died on that same day, 2 April in 2005, also came to this shrine as a pilgrim, describing it as "a place that once seemed forsaken," that "now revitalizes faith and hope within the People of God."

In light of this, the Pope said we must try to appreciate the meaning of Jesus' "hour" for our own lives. That hour of salvation, he noted, renews our faith and our common mission.

We must return to the origins, to the nascent Church that we see beneath the Cross in the persons of Mary and John.

"What does it mean to go back to those origins? What does it mean to go back to the beginning?" First, he explained, it means rediscovering the essentials of our faith .. that is to say our relationship with Christ and our announcing the Gospel to the world.
Speaking off the cuff away from his prepared text the Pope said: "This is the joy of the Church: to evangelize."

The Maltese Church, the Holy Father said, can share a rich history from which great spiritual and pastoral treasures can be drawn. "However, the life of the Church - is never merely 'a past to remember.' but a 'great future to build,' always in docility to God's plans."

Reflecting on what it takes to build this great future, he said "How important in the Church is fraternal love and the welcome we show to our neighbour!"

Pope Francis said the Lord reminds us of this at the hour of the cross, in entrusting Mary and John to each other's care. "He urges the Christian community of every age not to lose sight of this priority: 'Behold, your son,' 'Behold, your Mother' (vv. 26.27). It is as if he said, 'You have been saved by the same blood, you are one family, so welcome each other, love one another, heal each other's wounds.'"

This, he said, involves "leaving behind suspicions, divisions, rumours, gossip and mistrust. "Be a 'synod,' , 'journey together.' For God is present wherever love reigns!"

The Pope pointed out that mutual welcome, "not out of pure formality but in the name of Christ, remains a perpetual challenge," especially for ecclesial relationships, "since our mission will bear fruit if we work together in friendship and fraternal communion."
"You are two beautiful communities, Malta and Gozo, just as Mary and John were two!"

The Holy Father told those present: "be the polar star guiding you to welcome one another, to foster familiarity and to work in communion!" He told them to go forward and to do so "always together!" "Welcome is also the litmus test for assessing to what extend the Church is truly evangelical."

This "is the Gospel we are called to put into practice: welcoming others, being 'experts in humanity' and kindling fires of tender love for those who know the pain and harshness of life."

In Paul's case too, the Pope said, something important was born of that dramatic experience, "for here Paul preached the Gospel and thereafter many preachers, priests, missionaries and witnesses followed in his footsteps."

Pope Francis gave special words of gratitude to to the many Maltese missionaries who spread the joy of the Gospel throughout the world, to the many priests, women and men religious, and to all present before him.

"You are a small island, but one with a great heart."

The Holy Father also called Malta a treasure in the Church and for the Church. After the crowds applauded, he said smiling, "I state another time: You are a treasure in the Church and for the Church."

"To preserve that treasure, you must return to the essence of Christianity: the love of God, the driving force of our joy, which sends us forth to the world; and the love of our neighbour, which is the simplest and most attractive witness we can give before the world."

Pope Francis concluded" "May the Lord accompany you on this path and the Holy Virgin guide your steps. May Our Lady, who asked us to pray three "Hail Marys" to remind ourselves of her maternal heart, rekindle in us, her children, the fire of mission and the desire to care for one another. May Our Lady bless you!"

Read an English translation pf the full prepared homily text here: www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2022/documents/20220402-malta-preghiera.html