We publish the full text of the Holy Father’s speech to the members of the Neocatechumenal Way received in the Hall of Blessing in the Vatican on Monday 19 January.
In the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you!
Queridos hermanos y hermanas,
dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!
I am pleased to meet so many of you. I greet the members of the international team of the Neocatechumenal Way, Kiko Argüello, María Ascensión Romero and Don Mario Pezzi, as well as the Bishops and priests who accompany you.
A special thought goes to the families present here, an expression of your missionary yearning and of that desire that must always animate the whole Church: to announce the Gospel to the whole world, so that everyone can know Christ.
Precisely this desire has always animated and continues to fuel the life of the Neocatechumenal Way, its charism and the works of evangelization and catechesis which represent a precious contribution to the life of the Church. To everyone, especially to those who have drifted away or to those whose faith has weakened, you offer the possibility of a spiritual journey through which to rediscover the meaning of Baptism, so that they can recognize the gift of grace received and, therefore, the call to be disciples of the Lord and his witnesses in the world.
Animated by this spirit, you have lit the fire of the Gospel where it seemed to be going out and you have accompanied many people and Christian communities, awakening them to the joy of faith, helping them to rediscover the beauty of knowing Jesus and encouraging their spiritual growth and their commitment to witness.
In particular, in addition to formators and catechists, I would like to express my gratitude to the families who, welcoming the interior impulse of the Spirit, leave the security of ordinary life and set out on mission, even in distant and difficult territories, with the sole desire to announce the Gospel and be witnesses of God’s love. In this way, the itinerant teams made up of families, catechists and priests, participate in the evangelizing mission of the whole Church and, as Pope Francis stated, contribute to “awakening” the faith of “non-Christians who have never heard of Jesus Christ”, but also of many baptized people who, despite being Christians, “have forgotten (…) who Jesus Christ is” (Speech to adherents of the Neocatechumenal Way, 6 March 2015).
Living the experience of the Neocatechumenal Way and carrying forward the mission also requires, on your part, uan interior vigilance and a wise critical ability, to discern some risks that are always lurking in spiritual and ecclesial life.
You propose to everyone a path of rediscovery of Baptism, and this Sacrament, as we know, by uniting us with Christ, makes us become living members of his body, his only people, his only family. We must always remember that we are the Church and that, if the Spirit grants each one a particular manifestation, it is given – as the Apostle Paul reminds us – “for the common good” (1Cor 12,7) and therefore for the very mission of the Church. Charisms must always be placed at the service of the kingdom of God and of the one Church of Christ, in which no gift of God is more important than others – if not charity, which perfects and harmonizes them all – and no ministry must become a reason to feel better than one’s brothers and exclude those who think differently.
Therefore I also invite you, who have met the Lord and live his following in the Neocatechumenal Way, to be witnesses of this unity. Your mission is particular, but not exclusive; your charism is specific, but bears fruit in communion with the other gifts present in the life of the Church; the good you do is a lot, but its aim is to allow people to know Christ, always respecting everyone’s life path and conscience.
As guardians of this unity in the Spirit, I urge you to live your spirituality without ever separating yourself from the rest of the ecclesial body, as a living part of the ordinary pastoral care of the parishes and its various realities, in full communion with the brothers and in particular with the priests and the Bishops. Go forward in joy and with humility, without closure, as builders and witnesses of communion.
The Church accompanies you, supports you, is grateful for what you do. At the same time, it reminds everyone that “where there is the Spirit of the Lord, there is freedom” (2 Cor 3:17). Therefore the proclamation of the Gospel, catechesis and the various forms of pastoral action must always be free from forms of constraint, rigidity and moralism, so that they do not cause feelings of guilt and fears instead of internal liberation.
Dear ones, I thank you for your commitment, for your joyful testimony, for the service you carry out in the Church and in the world. I encourage you to continue with enthusiasm and I bless you, while I invoke the intercession of the Virgin Mary to accompany you and keep you. Thank you!
