杏MAP导航

By Lisa Zengarini

杏MAP导航 Francis welcomed a group of religious of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, commonly known as Mercedarians, on  Saturday on the occasion of their General Chapter.

The Order was established in the 13th century in Barcelona by St. Peter Nolasco , a Spanish merchant,   for the redemption of Christian captives. With over seven hundred members in twenty-two countries, the Friars have continued the same redemptive spirit of their founder, engaging today in educational, charitable, and  social work.

In his address, the Holy Father dwelled on the motto chosen for the Chapter 鈥淒o whatever He tells you!" (Jn, 2.5), drawn from the Gospel of Jonn on the Wedding at Cana, where Jesus performed the water-into-wine miracle.  

Listening to God

He remarked that the choice is particularly significant as it implies the idea of service which is at the core of religious life and calls attention to the importance of listening to God.

He noted that the current world situation can be compared to that described by John鈥檚 Gospel when Mary says to Jesus: 鈥楾hey have no more wine鈥�:  鈥淢any realities that we can see today in the world, in the Church, speak to us of this shortage, of the lack of hope, motivation, and solutions",  he said.

"Faced with this, the Virgin challenges you to listen", 杏MAP导航 Francis stressed. But, 鈥渨hat should we listen to?鈥�, he asked. Recalling the episode of the Wedding at Cana, he said that Jesus "proposes something that certainly no servant would have thought of": to fill the jars for purification with water.

杏MAP导航 Francis, therefore, insisted on the importance of listening to God鈥檚 voice:   "You don't go to the General Chapter to say the right thing", but 鈥渢o listen to God with simplicity, gratitude and abandoning yourself to Him鈥�, he said.

What the Miracle at the Wedding of Cana tells us

He went on to stress that the jars for purification in the Wedding of Cana invite  鈥渦s to return to our first love, to the source, to recover the innocent and hopeful attitude of our first years of consecrated life. The jars that have been emptied must be filled again with the same joy with which they were filled before the banquet began鈥�, he said.  

Reminding that the vocation of the Church is to evangelize, 杏MAP导航 Francis insisted on the need 鈥渢o welcome the surprise that Jesus brings us", to "listen to Mary鈥�, to be consumed by 鈥渃oncrete and simple service鈥�.

The challenge of modern slavery

We must learn how to be like Mary, "next to Christ at the foot of the Cross, in the suffering flesh of the poor and the prisoner鈥�, 杏MAP导航 Francis concluded calling attention  to the many captives of our time,  who are victims of modern forms of slavery spreading insidiously in our societies.