VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 127
DATE 08-07-2015

Summary:
- Mass in Bicentennial Park: our faith is always revolutionary
- To the world of education: "we can no longer turn our backs on Mother Earth"
- To the representatives of civil society: gratuity, solidarity and
subsidiarity
are learned in the family and practised in society
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 Mass in Bicentennial Park: our faith is always revolutionary
 Vatican City, 8 July 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father's day began with a meeting
with the bishops and bishops emeritus of Ecuador, in Bicentennial Park in
Quito.
After greetings from the president of the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference,
Archbishop Fausto Gabriel Travez O.F.M., the Pope spoke with the bishops
formally, behind closed doors.
 The meeting lasted around a hour, after which the Pope travelled by popemobile
to the park, in the space previously occupied by the former airport and known
as
the "lung of Quito", due to its 125 hectares of trees. He greeted the more than
one and a half million faithful attending the Holy Mass for the Evangelisation
of Peoples, at which the Holy Father presided, concelebrating with 1,200
priests.
 In the improvised sacristy he put on the liturgical vestments - stole,
chasuble
and miter - made in the Ecuadorian region of Azuay by local artisans and by the
Descalzed Carmelites with the symbols of a calla lily, representing St. Mariana
de Jesus, the first Ecuadorian saint, and the Heart of Jesus, to which Ecuador
is consecrated.
 In his second homily in Latin America, the Pope spoke about liberation:
liberation from social inequality and sin, the need for inclusion at all levels
and evangelisation as a vehicle for unity of aspirations, sensibilities and
hopes.
 He began by paraphrasing Jesus' remark at the Last Supper - The word of God
calls us to live in unity, that the world may believe - and added, "I think of
those hushed words of Jesus during the Last Supper as more of a shout, a cry
rising up from this Mass which we are celebrating in Bicentennial Park. Let us
imagine this together. The bicentennial which this Park commemorates was that
of
Latin America's cry for independence. It was a cry which arose from being
conscious of a lack of freedom, of exploitation and despoliation, of being
'subject to the passing whims of the powers that be'.
 "I would like to see these two cries joined together, under the beautiful
challenge of evangelisation. We evangelise not with grand words, or complicated
concepts, but with 'the joy of the Gospel', which 'fills the hearts and lives
of
all who encounter Jesus. For those who accept his offer of salvation are set
free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness, loneliness, and an isolated
conscience'.
We who are gathered here at table with Jesus are ourselves a cry, a shout born
of the conviction that his presence leads us to unity, 'pointing to a horizon
of
beauty and inviting others to a delicious banquet'.
 "'Father, may they be one ... so that the world may believe'. This was Jesus'
prayer as he raised his eyes to heaven. This petition arose in a context of
mission: 'As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world'.
At
that moment, the Lord experiences in his own flesh the worst of this world, a
world he nonetheless loves dearly. Knowing full well its intrigues, its falsity
and its betrayals, he does not turn away, he does not complain. We too
encounter
daily a world torn apart by wars and violence. It would be facile to think that
division and hatred only concern struggles between countries or groups in
society. Rather, they are a manifestation of that 'widespread individualism'
which divides us and sets us against one another, they are a manifestation of
that legacy of sin lurking in the heart of human beings, which causes so much
suffering in society and all of creation. But is it precisely this troubled
world, with its forms of egoism, into which Jesus sends us. We must not respond
with nonchalance, or complain we do not have the resources to do the job, or
that the problems are too big. Instead, we must respond by taking up the cry of
Jesus and accepting the grace and challenge of being builders of unity.
 "There was no shortage of conviction or strength in that cry for freedom which
arose a little more than two hundred years ago. But history tells us that it
only made headway once personal differences were set aside, together with the
desire for power and the inability to appreciate other movements of liberation
which were different yet not thereby opposed.
 "Evangelisation can be a way to unite our hopes, concerns, ideals and even
utopian visions. We believe this and we make it our cry. In our world,
especially in some countries, different forms of war and conflict are
re-emerging, yet we Christians wish to remain steadfast in our intention to
respect others, to heal wounds, to build bridges, to strengthen relationships
and to bear one another's burdens. The desire for unity involves the delightful
and comforting joy of evangelising, the conviction that we have an immense
treasure to share, one which grows stronger from being shared, and becomes ever
more sensitive to the needs of others. Hence the need to work for inclusivity
at
every level, to strive for this inclusivity at every level, to avoid forms of
selfishness, to build communication and dialogue, to encourage collaboration.
We
need to give our hearts to our companions along the way, without suspicion or
distrust. Trusting others is an art, because peace is an art. Our unity can
hardly shine forth if spiritual worldliness makes us feud among ourselves in a
futile quest for power, prestige, pleasure or economic security. And this on
the
backs of the poorest, the most excluded and vulnerable, those who still keep
their dignity despite daily blows against it.
 "Such unity is already an act of mission, that the world may believe.
Evangelisation does not consist in proselytising, for proselytising is a
caricature of evangelisation, but rather evangelising entails attracting by our
witness those who are far off, it means humbly drawing near to those who feel
distant from God in the Church, drawing near to those who feel judged and
condemned outright by those who consider themselves to be perfect and pure. We
are to draw near to those who are fearful or indifferent, and say to them: 'The
Lord, with great respect and love, is also calling you to be a part of your
people'. Because our God respects us even in our lowliness and in our
sinfulness. This calling of the Lord is expressed with such humility and
respect
in the text from the Book of Revelations: 'Look, I am at the door and I am
calling; do you want to open the door?' He does not use force, he does not
break
the lock, but instead, quite simply, he presses the doorbell, knocks gently on
the door and then waits. This is our God!
 "The Church's mission as sacrament of salvation also has to do with her
identity as a pilgrim people called to embrace all the nations of the earth.
The
more intense the communion between us, the more effective our mission becomes.
Becoming a missionary Church requires constantly fostering communion, since
mission does not have to do with outreach alone. We also need to be
missionaries
within the Church, showing that she is 'a mother who reaches out, showing that
she is a welcoming home, a constant school of missionary communion'.
 "Jesus' prayer can be realised because he has consecrated us. He says, 'for
their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth'.
The
spiritual life of an evangeliser is born of this profound truth, which should
not be confused with a few comforting religious exercises, a spirituality which
is perhaps widespread. Jesus consecrates us so that we can encounter him,
person
to person; an encounter that leads us in turn to encounter others, to become
involved with our world and to develop a passion for evangelisation.
 "Intimacy with God, in itself incomprehensible, is revealed by images which
speak to us of communion, communication, self-giving and love. For that reason,
the unity to which Jesus calls us is not uniformity, but rather a 'multifaceted
and inviting harmony'. The wealth of our differences, our diversity which
becomes unity whenever we commemorate Holy Thursday, makes us wary of all
temptations that suggest extremist proposals akin to totalitarian, ideological
or sectarian schemes. The proposal offered by Jesus is a concrete one and not a
notion. It is concrete: 'Go and do the same' he tells that man who asked, 'who
is my neighbour?'. After telling the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus says,
'Go and do the same'. Nor is this proposal of Jesus something we can fashion as
we will, setting conditions, choosing who can belong and who cannot; the
religiosity of the ‘elite'. Jesus prays that we will all become part of a great
family in which God is our Father, in which all of us are brothers and sisters.
No one is excluded; and this is not about having the same tastes, the same
concerns, the same gifts. We are brothers and sisters because God created us
out
of love and destined us, purely of his own initiative, to be his sons and
daughters. We are brothers and sisters because God has sent the Spirit of his
Son into our hearts, crying 'Abba! Father!'. We are brothers and sisters
because, justified by the blood of Christ Jesus, we have passed from death to
life and been made 'coheirs' of the promise. That is the salvation which God
makes possible for us, and which the Church proclaims with joy: to be part of
that 'we' which leads to the divine 'we'.
 "Our cry, in this place linked to the original cry for freedom in this
country,
echoes that of St. Paul: 'Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!'. It is a
cry
every bit as urgent and pressing as was the cry for independence. It is
similarly thrilling in its ardour. Brothers and sisters, have the same mind as
Christ: May each of you be a witness to a fraternal communion which shines
forth
in our world!
 "And how beautiful it would be if all could admire how much we care for one
another, how we encourage and help each other. Giving of ourselves establishes
an interpersonal relationship; we do not give 'things' but our very selves. Any
act of giving means that we give ourselves. 'Giving of oneself" means letting
all the power of that love which is God's Holy Spirit take root in our lives,
opening our hearts to his creative power. And giving of oneself even in the
most
difficult moments as on that Holy Thursday of the Lord when he perceived how
they weaved a plot to betray him; but he gave himself, he gave himself for us
with his plan of salvation. When we give of ourselves, we discover our true
identity as children of God in the image of the Father and, like him, givers of
life; we discover that we are brothers and sisters of Jesus, to whom we bear
witness. This is what it means to evangelise; this is the new revolution - for
our faith is always revolutionary - this is our deepest and most enduring cry".

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 To the world of education: "we can no longer turn our backs on Mother Earth"
 Vatican City, 8 July 2015 (VIS) - The Pope's second meeting with Ecuadorians
took place in the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, a private

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