«Whoever is in Madrid is from Madrid». For this reason the Pope explains that he is, therefore, according to the Iberian proverb, “from Madrid”. He touched, in what seemed like two days, power and poverty. He shook the hands of rulers and politicians and those of the most fragile, the excluded, the volunteers who spend their lives for others. AND he prayed with the children in a vigil which, with over 500 thousand enthusiastic surrounding him, almost seemed like a World Youth Day.
Love is always at the centre, that gaze which, as the motto of the visit says, must “rise”, to rest on dreams, on projects, on relationships, on God. He says this clearly when meeting the operators and clients of “Cedia 24 horas”, that is, the information and reception center which keeps its doors open day and night. «Even Christians, on many occasions, allow themselves to be infected by attitudes marked by worldly ideologies or by political and economic orientations that lead to unjust generalizations and misleading conclusions”, he says quoting his apostolic letter Dilexi te. And he adds: «The fact that the exercise of charity is despised or ridiculed, as if it were the fixation of some and not the incandescent nucleus of the ecclesial mission, makes me think that we must always read the Gospel anew, so as not to risk replacing it with a worldly mentality. It is not possible to forget the poor, if we do not want to leave the living current of the Church that flows from the Gospel and fertilizes every historical moment.”
He embraces them, after listening to the testimonies of Niurka, a 33-year-old lawyer who arrived in Spain from Cuba, “pregnant and alone”, of Khadry, a Senegalese who arrived in the country “in the middle of the pandemic without knowing where to start again”, of Alicia, a volunteer for the parish Caritas and involved in the Proyecto Esperanza – Adoratrici project.
They bring a gift to the Pope a ribbon, like those that are given to newborns in the hospital, with the names of Ares and Athenae, the children of Niurka, the copy of the residence permit of Khadry, who in the meantime has found work and is back on his feet, the sandals, in memory of Moses in front of the burning bush, a sign “of respect, of service and of many paths shared together with those who suffer the most”.
The land of those who suffer “is holy land that must always be defended”, underlines the Pope. And he invites us to cultivate a heart sensitive to the needs of others, keeping alive in us the desire for the good that God has placed in our very humanity and which faith liberates and strengthens.” Che also asks, as Pope Francis did, to always look those who suffer in the eyes «and to make help first of all a meeting of brothers united in the single embrace of the Father. Pope Francis also insisted a lot on this. He asked: “When you give alms, do you look the beggar in the eyes? Do you touch his hand to feel his flesh?” and concluded: “Almsgiving is not charity. The one who receives the most grace from almsgiving is the one who gives it, because he allows himself to be looked at by the eyes of the Lord.” Those who truly love “don’t limit themselves to giving something: they listen, they dialogue, they try to understand the situation and its causes (…) attentive to material and also spiritual needs, to the integral promotion of the person”.
An invitation that also extends to young people. He answers their questions and concerns. He invites them to form families, cites the Letter to Diognetus to say that believers are the soul of the world. And he entrusts them with a mission: «Being human. Yes, be human! Men and women of flesh and blood. Not appearances, but reliable faces. People who seek justice because they are hungry for it, like for daily bread. People who desire an honest and upright life, because they willingly do to others what they would like others to do to them. Be human as Christ is, the perfect man, the Risen One who shares history with us, in every time. Cultivating this commitment, look to the Apostles, the first Christians, inhabitants of a pagan world. Following their example, be missionaries of the Gospel in the face of the material and spiritual poverty of our time, knowing full well that our faith is a lifestyle, which is fulfilled in charity. This, dear young people, is the virtue that changes history most of all. You can change the world. Do it with love.”
