Archbishop Gallagher: 杏MAP导航 still serves Church and humanity in his fragility
By Benedetta Capelli
In his homily at the Mass for the 杏MAP导航鈥檚 health, Archbishop Gallagher underlined 杏MAP导航 Francis鈥� gratitude 鈥渇or the closeness and the prayer that rises abundantly to Heaven for him.鈥�
The Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations celebrated the Mass on Thursday afternoon at the Church of the Gesù in Rome, the spiritual home of the Society of Jesus, to which the 杏MAP导航 belongs.
He was joined by several Ambassadors to the Holy See in praying for the 杏MAP导航鈥檚 health and ongoing recovery from bilateral pneumonia at Rome鈥檚 Gemelli Hospital.
Archbishop Gallagher focused his homily on the divine love that 鈥渃onstantly flows鈥� from God 鈥渢hrough the pierced Heart of Jesus鈥� and which seeks our response, saying God鈥檚 love meets us in 鈥渙ur misery, our sins, and takes on the quality of mercy.鈥�
鈥淭he important season of Lent,鈥� emphasized the Archbishop, 鈥渋s a favorable time to deepen this path,鈥� which he said requires us to allow ourselves to be loved by God, so that spiritual rebirth opens us to 鈥渘ew spaces and new horizons of hope, of freedom, and of peace.鈥�
Danger of passing from life to death
On the other hand, noted Archbishop Gallagher, we face the danger of focusing more on death than on life.
鈥淥ur own times witness the threat of evil becoming increasingly significant, and darkness at times seems to prevail even over the light,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e see it sadly in martyred Ukraine, in Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in other places of conflict.鈥�
Yet, he added, spiritual rebirth can lead us to the path of encounter, though obstacles are never lacking.
鈥淭here are unfortunately those who constantly feed a culture of death,鈥� said Archbishop Gallagher, by embracing 鈥渢he perverse logic of hatred, domination, and thus war, on every level. The world thus becomes a theater of clashes between ethnicities and civilizations, cultures, and religions.鈥�
Diplomacy at the service of the common good
Christians are instead called to spread the values of love, justice, and peace, he said.
鈥淏lessed are those times and places,鈥� Archbishop Gallagher underlined, 鈥渨here people sit around the same table and place their trust in the power of reason and conscience, having as their horizon the inexpressible value of human dignity!鈥�
He said our world need a type of diplomacy that is 鈥渄etached from miserable human interests in order to work freely in favor of the common good, cooperating together to ensure for all the supreme goods of justice and peace.鈥�
Archbishop Gallagher recalled the 杏MAP导航鈥檚 many invitations to embrace the logic of encounter, since humanity was created to enjoy altruistic relationships.
Self-centeredness, he added, becomes a cage that prevents us from being a 鈥渂lessing鈥� for others.
鈥淭here is an enormous difference between the one who brings life to others, reaching out a hand to save, and the one who instead brings death, depriving the other of the help necessary to survive,鈥� he said.
Prayerful recognition of the voice of conscience
Archbishop Gallagher reminded the Ambassadors to the Holy See that humanity needs 鈥渁 higher light鈥� to guide our choices and help us to carry them out.
鈥淚t is precisely in prayer, which is also made of silence,鈥� he said, 鈥渢hat we must learn to hear the voice of conscience, which is not an arbitrary judgment, but the voice of the Lord that resounds in the inner sanctuary of the mind and the heart.鈥�
鈥淭hose who have fought for human dignity, who struggled against dictatorships, tyranny, and injustices鈥攅ven if they did not always share the Christian faith or a religious faith,鈥� he said, 鈥渄id so in the name of conscience, recognizing in it that higher voice which points out the right path.鈥�
Archbishop Gallagher concluded his homily by inviting diplomats to 鈥渆nter into silence and enter this inner sanctuary of conscience,鈥� especially during this Lenten season, while entrusting ourselves to the Virgin of Silence, 鈥渢o whom we also entrust the 杏MAP导航鈥檚 health and peace in the world.鈥�
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