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Pope Francis’ address to the Catholic Community of Luxembourg
Notre-Dame Cathedral, Luxembourg – Thursday, 26 September 2024
‘Have compassion on those who have been abandoned’.
Words of His Holiness Pope Francis after the testimonies at the meeting with the Catholic Community
I would like to take up what you said about the drama of migration. Let us not forget a refrain that appears again and again in the Bible, in the Old Testament: the widow, the orphan and the stranger.
Already in the Old Testament, the Lord said ‘Have compassion on those who have been abandoned’.
At that time, widows, orphans, foreigners and migrants were abandoned. Migrants are part of this revelation.
I thank the people and the Government of Luxembourg for what they are doing to help migrants. Thank you!
* * *
Your Royal Highness,
Your Eminence and Brother Bishops,
Dear Sisters and Brothers!
I am very happy to be here with you in this magnificent Cathedral.
I thank His Royal Highness the Grand Duke and his family for their presence; Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich for his kind words, as well as Diogo, Christine and Sister Maria Perpetua for their testimonies.
Our meeting takes place during an important Marian Jubilee: the Church in Luxembourg is commemorating four centuries of devotion to Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted, Patroness of this country. This Marian title corresponds well with the theme you have chosen for this visit: “To serve”.
Consoling and serving are in fact two fundamental aspects of the love that Jesus has given to us, the love he has entrusted to us as our mission (Jn 13:13-17 – 13 You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant[a] is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.`), and that he has shown as the only path to full joy (Acts 20:35 – In all things I have shown you that by so toiling one must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”).
For this reason, in the prayer for the opening of the Marian Year, we will ask the Mother of God to help us be “missionaries, who are ready to bear witness to the joy of the Gospel”, conforming our hearts to hers in order “to place our lives at the service of our brothers and sisters”.
Let us pause now to reflect on three words: service, mission and joy.
First of all, service.
We have just heard that the Church in Luxembourg wants to be “the Church of Jesus Christ, who came not to be served, but to serve” (Mt 20:28 – even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.; Mk 10:45 – For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many).
In this regard, the image of St. Francis embracing the leper and healing his wounds was also used.
In the context of service, I would like to emphasize an aspect that is very urgent today, namely welcoming others.
I mention this here among you precisely because your country has a centuries-old tradition in this regard, a tradition that is still alive, as Sister Maria Perpetua reminded us.
We heard of it in the other testimonies and in your repeated cries of “todos, todos, todos!”, “everyone, everyone, everyone!”.
Yes, the spirit of the Gospel is a spirit of welcome, of openness to all; it does not allow any kind of exclusion. I therefore encourage you, to be faithful to your heritage, to the riches you possess, and to continue to make your country a welcoming home for those who knock at your door seeking help and hospitality.
To welcome is a requirement of charity but above all it is a question of justice, as St. John Paul II stated when he recalled the Christian roots of European culture.
He encouraged the young people of Luxembourg to pave the way for “a Europe marked not only by goods and commodities, but by values, by men and women, by hearts”,
a Europe in which the Gospel is shared “through the words you proclaim and your loving actions”, both words and deeds.
I emphasize that we are in need of a Europe and a world in which the Gospel will be shared through the words you proclaim together with your loving actions.
Secondly, Mission
This brings us to the second theme: mission.
The Cardinal Archbishop has just spoken about an “evolution of the Church in Luxembourg in a secularized society”.
I liked the expression that the Church must develop, mature and grow in a secularised society..
We cannot close ourselves off in sadness, resignation or resentment.
On the contrary, we must accept the challenge while remaining faithful to the Church’s emduringl values.
We should rediscover and appreciate these values as paths for evangelization, moving beyond an approach of simple pastoral to one of missionary proclamation, and this requires courage.
To do this, the Church must be ready to evolve.
This can be done through the examples Christine mentioned: sharing responsibilities and ministries, walking together as a missionary community, and making synodality a permanent way of relating among its members.
Our young friends showed us the value of this kind of growth by performing a scene from the musical ‘Laudato Si’. Well done! They did very well. Thank you for this gift! Your work is the result of a collaborative effort involving many people in the archdiocese.
It is also a prophetic sign for us in two ways. Firstly, your work reminds us of our responsibility towards our “common home” and that we must care for it rather than oppress it.
At the same time, it also makes us think that if we live out this mission together, it will become a beautiful piece of music that we can sing to proclaim the beauty of the Gospel to all.
It is also important for all of us to remember that what motivates us to be missionaries is not the need to fulfil quotas or to proselytize, but rather our desire to make the joy of encountering Christ known to as many brothers and sisters as possible..
And here I would like to recall a beautiful expression of Benedict XVI: “The Church does not grow by proselytism but by attraction”.
So, as we overcome difficulties, the living power of the Holy Spirit is at work within us!
Love moves us to proclaim the Gospel, which opens us to others.
Accepting the challenge of this proclamation allows us to grow as a community, helping us to overcome the fear of new ways and to gratefully receive the contribution of others.
This is a beautiful, healthy and joyful dynamic that we would do well to cultivate in ourselves and in those around us.
Thirdly, Joy
And so we have come to the third word: joy.
Diogo recalled his experience of World Youth Day and shared with us the joy he experienced during the Vigil, as he waited for our meeting, side by side with other young people from all peoples and nations.
He also described the excitement of waking up the next morning surrounded by so many friends. During the preparation for this event in Portugal, he was full of enthusiasm, and now, a year later, he is full of joy to be reunited with other young people here in Luxembourg. Do you see?
Our faith is full of joy, it is a “dance”, because we know that we are children of a God who is our friend, who wants us to be happy and united, who rejoices above all in our salvation (Luke 15:4-32; finding the lost sheep).
In this regard, please remember that the Church is being damaged by those sad, dull, long-faced Christians. No, these are not really Christians.
Please, have the joy of the Gospel that makes us believe and grow so much.
Finally, I would like to remind you of another beautiful tradition of your country.
I am told that you celebrate the Spring Procession, which takes place in Echternach at Pentecost.
This procession commemorates the tireless missionary efforts of St Willibrord, who evangelized these lands.
The whole town pours out into the streets and dances through the squares, accompanied by the many pilgrims and visitors who join them. In addition, the procession becomes a great unified dance.
Let us remember that King David danced before the Lord and that this is an expression of faithfulness. The old, the young and all dance together – even in the rain, as was the case this year! – as they made their way towards the Cathedral, giving an enthusiastic testimony to the beauty of walking together and meeting their brothers and sisters around the table of the Lord, in memory of this saintly pastor. I would just like to add a brief word: please do not lose the ability to forgive. You know that we all have to forgive; but do you know why? Because we have all been forgiven and we all need forgiveness.
Dear sisters, dear brothers, the mission the Lord entrusts to us is beautiful.
Let us console and serve, following Mary’s example and with her help.
Thank you to all the consecrated persons, for the work you do, and to all the seminarians, priests, and everyone.
I thank you for helping the needy with such generosity. For where there is need, there is Christ.
I bless you and pray for you. And please also pray for me. Thank you.
