Pope Francis says "The poor and excluded are the privileged recipients of the Gospel; they occupy a preferential place in the heart of God..."
MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
ON THE OCCASION OF THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SPANISH CÁRITAS FOUNDATION
To Manuel Breton Romero
President of Spanish Caritas
Dear brother:
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the foundation of Cáritas Española, I wish to send you and all the members of that Institution a cordial greeting. The motto they have chosen for this celebration sums up the lived history well: “75 years of love for others”. It is a service that continues in the present and that opens to the future with hope, knowing how to see the face of Christ crucified in so many people who suffer, offering them friendship, help and consolation. This jubilee is a propitious occasion to thank the Lord for all the love given and also an opportune time to discern, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the paths for this new stage.
I would like to point out three characteristics that cannot be missing from this itinerary. First, keep in mind that the path of Caritas is the "path of the last". The poor and excluded are the privileged recipients of the Gospel; they occupy a preferential place in the heart of God, to the point that he himself “became poor” (cf. 2 Cor 8:9). But we cannot wait for them to knock on our door, but we must go out to meet them, seek their integral well-being and their full development, recognizing their dignity and their rights.
It is also a “path of mercy”, since this is the style of God, who seeks and approaches the weakest to care for them with compassion and tenderness. To follow this path, an attitude of continuous conversion and configuration with Christ is necessary, since only to the extent that we make his feelings and attitudes ours, our charity will be more active and effective.
Finally, it is also a "path of renewal", because the new realities of poverty require that we care for both people and our common home, and that we are willing to walk the paths of the culture of encounter and charity. , articulating the local with the global, working from those close to us, but with a universal horizon (cf. Carta enc. Fratelli tutti, 142).
I encourage you to persevere with joy and decision in the activities and projects that you carry out in the Spanish dioceses, and that extend beyond territorial borders, in favor of so many brothers and sisters who need our closeness, love and solidarity.
May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin take care of you and accompany you. And please don't forget to pray for me.
Fraternally,
FRANCIS
Rome, Saint John Lateran, June 15, 2022
ON THE OCCASION OF THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SPANISH CÁRITAS FOUNDATION
To Manuel Breton Romero
President of Spanish Caritas
Dear brother:
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the foundation of Cáritas Española, I wish to send you and all the members of that Institution a cordial greeting. The motto they have chosen for this celebration sums up the lived history well: “75 years of love for others”. It is a service that continues in the present and that opens to the future with hope, knowing how to see the face of Christ crucified in so many people who suffer, offering them friendship, help and consolation. This jubilee is a propitious occasion to thank the Lord for all the love given and also an opportune time to discern, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the paths for this new stage.
I would like to point out three characteristics that cannot be missing from this itinerary. First, keep in mind that the path of Caritas is the "path of the last". The poor and excluded are the privileged recipients of the Gospel; they occupy a preferential place in the heart of God, to the point that he himself “became poor” (cf. 2 Cor 8:9). But we cannot wait for them to knock on our door, but we must go out to meet them, seek their integral well-being and their full development, recognizing their dignity and their rights.
It is also a “path of mercy”, since this is the style of God, who seeks and approaches the weakest to care for them with compassion and tenderness. To follow this path, an attitude of continuous conversion and configuration with Christ is necessary, since only to the extent that we make his feelings and attitudes ours, our charity will be more active and effective.
Finally, it is also a "path of renewal", because the new realities of poverty require that we care for both people and our common home, and that we are willing to walk the paths of the culture of encounter and charity. , articulating the local with the global, working from those close to us, but with a universal horizon (cf. Carta enc. Fratelli tutti, 142).
I encourage you to persevere with joy and decision in the activities and projects that you carry out in the Spanish dioceses, and that extend beyond territorial borders, in favor of so many brothers and sisters who need our closeness, love and solidarity.
May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin take care of you and accompany you. And please don't forget to pray for me.
Fraternally,
FRANCIS
Rome, Saint John Lateran, June 15, 2022
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