Streamed live on Jun 1, 2014
Pope Francis meets the partecipants in the 37th National Conference of the Holy Spirit Renewal, in Rome.
Francis at Rome’s Olympic Stadium: “The devil wants to destroy the family”
(©REUTERS) THE POPE AT ROME'S OLYMPIC STADIUM
Today Francis addressed 52 thousand faithful at the Charismatic Renewal gathering at Rome's Olympic Stadium: “The elderly are the Church’s wisdom and yet they are cast aside”
GIACOMO GALEAZZIROME
“At first I thought Renewal was a samba school,” the Pope joked and the whole stadium roared with laughter. Then he warned: “When someone thinks they are important, that’s when the plague hits.” Finally, he kneeled down as faithful prayed at the end of his speech, asking the Lord to bless him, just as Francis had asked of them to do straight after his election on 13 March 2013, from the central Loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.
“Someone is missing here, possibly the most important people: grandparents. They are the guarantors of our faith.” Francis’ words totally threw the organisers of the Charismatic Renewal Convocation (Renewal in the Spirit – RNS), who only expected four people to speak at today’s meeting at the Olympic stadium: a priest, a young boy, a married couple and a disabled person.
“Like good wine, the elderly have freedom given to them by the Holy Spirit,” the Pope said, recalling the presentation of Jesus in the Temple, where he met two elderly people, Simeon and the prophetess Anna. “The elderly are the Church’s wisdom and yet we cast them aside,” the Pope said. That elderly lady, Anna, canonized “gossip” because instead of gossiping, she went around saying that the Saviour had come. Grandmothers and grandfathers are our wisdom and strength.” “May the Lord always give us elderly people who pass onto us the memory and wisdom of the Church and the sense of joy with which Simeon and Anna greeted promises from afar,” Francis said.
He asked the thousands of priests gathered to “be close to the people and to God.” “Lord, look at your people who await the Holy Spirit; look at the young; look at the families; look at children; look at the sick; look at priests; at the consecrated men and women; look at us bishops. Look at everyone and grant us that holy inebriation, the inebriation of the Spirit, which allows us to speak in all languages, the languages of charity, always standing by the side of those brothers and sisters who need us. Teach us not to fight over power, teach us to be humble, to love the Church more than our party, to receive the Spirit, Lord send your Spirit upon us.”
After recalling the masses he celebrated in Buenos Aires with RNS, the Pope said: “Thank you. I feel at home with you.” “Married couples are sinners just like everyone else, but they want to continue with love, in all its fecundity. They continue in the faith, bearing children.” This was Francis’ response to the words pronounced by a young bride who greeted Francis on behalf of all families. “Let us pray to the Lord and ask him to protect the family in the crisis with which the devil wants to destroy it,” the Pope said. “Families are the domestic church where Jesus grows in the love of a married couple, in the lives of their children. This is why the devil attacks the family so much,” Francis explained. The devil doesn’t want it and tries to destroy it. The devil tries to make love disappear from there.”
Francis crossed a section of the stadium pitch on foot to get to the stage. He was accompanied by the president of RNS, Salvatore Martinez and the Regent of the Papal Household, Fr. Leonardo Sapienza. Some of the delegates who stood along the course which had been marked out for the Pope, shook his hand. In the meantime, the crowds cheered, sang and called out Francis’ name. In his brief greeting to the Pope, Martinez reminded faithful that Francis wanted them to call out Jesus’ name, not his.
Martinez started singing “Jesus is Lord” in Spanish and Francis joined in. “Holy Father,” RNS’ president continued, “clearly there are no football teams here today, no Roma, no Lazio; our coach is the Holy Spirit and you are our captain, you are the one proposing the team strategy: if we send Jesus onto the pitch, we’ll win. Everyone will win, above all the sick.” “You kept your word when we said that after thirty six years we wanted to move our Convocation from Rimini to Rome and you said to us: “I’ll come”,” Martinez said to Francis. But keeping our word meant asking for a miracle of love: 1300 volunteers worked to get the stadium ready last night.” The crowds exploded into joyful cheering at these words and Martinez continued: “The great gift is the unity which will be the sign of our credibility. We were born with Paul VI, we grew up and matured with John Paul II and now here we are with you. Pentecost is not some red number in the calendar. This is an open-air cenacle. Pray for us and over us.”
A number of cardinals were present on the pitch (including Comastri, Vallini, De Giorgi and Rylko) and bishops (Gänswein, Fisichella and D'Ercole among them). “Only one word comes to mind which I would like to communicate to you priests,” Francis said: “closeness. Closeness to Jesus Christ in prayer and in worship. Closeness to the Lord and closeness to the people, the people of God who have been entrusted to us.”
Finally Francis sent out an appeal: “ Seek the unity of Renewal, the unity that comes with the Trinity and I shall be waiting for all you charismatics, from all around the world, to celebrate your great jubilee together, on Pentecost 2017, in St. Peter’s Square.” A reference to the movement’s roots, traced by Cardinal Suenens, one of the Council’s greats and by Bishop Helder Camara.”
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