Pope Francis made a pastoral visit to Belgium from September 26 to 29. and Luxembourg.
The lessons learned during this brief and intense visit were organized around two slogans: "To Serve" and "On the Way, with Hope".
Welcome, mission, joy
"To serve" was his motto in LuxembourgA country committed, after the Second World War, to the promotion of unity and solidarity in Europe.
In his meeting with the Catholic community, held in the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Luxembourg, he inaugurated a Marian Jubilee on the occasion of four centuries of devotion to the Virgin Mary. Maria, Comfort of the afflicted, Patroness of the country.
He paused to consider three words: service, mission and joy.. In relation to service, he emphasized the spirit of hospitality: "I encourage you to remain faithful to this heritage, to this richness that you have, to continue to make your country a welcoming home for all who knock on your door asking for help and hospitality."(Speech, 26-IX-2024). A duty of justice and charity, which leads, as John Paul II said in this country in 1985, to share the message of the Gospel. "in the word of the proclamation and in the signs of love".. Francis insisted on the unity between the word of proclamation and the signs of love at this time in Europe and the world.
With respect to the missionThe Church, in the context of a secularized society such as the European one, must progress, mature and grow: "The Church, in the context of a secularized society such as the European one, must progress, mature and grow.It does not withdraw into itself, sad, resigned, resentful, no; but accepts the challenge, in fidelity to the values of always, to rediscover and revalue in a new way the ways of evangelization, passing more and more from a simple proposal of pastoral care to a proposal of missionary proclamation.".
Thirdly, he emphasized that our faith "is joyful, 'dancing', because it shows us that we are children of a God who is a friend of man, who wants us to be happy and united, and that nothing makes him happier than our salvation.".
Two calamities of the moment
Ya in Belgium The papal visit - a bridge between the Germanic and Latin worlds, between southern and northern Europe, between the continent and the British Isles - took place under the emblem "On the Way, with Hope".
In addition to noting the "two calamities" of this moment, the demographic winter and the hell of war, Francis pointed out that the Church is aware of the painful anti-witnesses in her midst, namely the child abuseThe Pope said it is necessary to ask for forgiveness and to resolve this situation with humility. The Pope indicated that it is necessary to ask for forgiveness and to resolve this situation with humility. It is necessary, he added, "that the Church always find in herself the strength to act with clarity and not to conform to the dominant culture, even when that culture uses - by manipulating them - values that derive from the Gospel, but only to draw from them illegitimate conclusions, with their consequent burdens of suffering and exclusion." (Meeting with authorities and civil society, Brussels, 27-IX-2024).
Expanding borders
On September 27, the successor of Peter met with university professors at the Catholic University of Louvain. He began by enunciating the first task of the university: "To offer comprehensive training so that people acquire the necessary tools to interpret the present and project the future". In this line, he pointed out that universities should be "generative spaces" of culture, of passion for the search for truth and at the service of human progress."In particular, Catholic athenaeums, such as this one, are called 'to bring the decisive contribution of the leaven, salt and light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of the living Tradition of the Church, which is always open to new scenarios and new proposals'." (Const. ap. Veritatis gaudium, 3).
In this context, the Pope invited them to "expanding the frontiers of knowledge".. "It is not -he explained- to increase notions or theories, but rather to make academic and cultural training a vital space that embraces life and questions it.".
In this way it will be possible to overcome the temptations of weak (and relativistic) thinking and of scientistic or materialistic rationalism. Two temptations related to each other by a renunciation or reductionism in relation to truth.
"On the one hand, we are immersed in a culture marked by the renunciation of the search for truth; we have lost the restless passion to inquire, to take refuge in the comfort of weak thinking - the drama of weak thinking - to take refuge in the conviction that everything is equal, that one thing is worth the same as another, that everything is relative".
"On the other hand, when speaking of truth in university contexts and also in other areas, we often fall into a rationalist attitude, according to which we can only consider true what we can measure, experience, touch, as if life were reduced only to matter and the visible. In both cases the limits are reduced".
In relation to these two attitudes, the Pope spoke of "weariness of spirit" and "soulless rationalism," illustrating them with Kafka and Guardini. Seeking the truth is certainly exhausting," he said, "because it engages us, challenges us and asks us questions. "we are more attracted to an easy, light and comfortable 'faith' that never questions anything".. On the other hand, if reason is reduced to the material, wonder is lost, and then the itinerary of thought fails and the question of the meaning of life, which can only be fully recognized in God, is silenced.
It is therefore necessary to invoke the Holy Spirit to widen the frontiers, not only of refugees, but also of culture and knowledge, especially at the service of the weakest (cf.God to think aboutSalamanca 2010).
Evangelization, joy and mercy
On Saturday, September 28, the Pope met with the Belgian bishops, priests and pastoral workers in the Basilica of the Sacro Cuore of Koekelberg. To face the present moment, he proposed three paths: evangelization, joy and mercy..
We are in the midst of a time and a crisis that invites us to return to the essential path: evangelization. "A time - the Bible calls it 'kairos' - that has been offered to us to shake us, to challenge us and to change us.". The crisis is manifested in the fact that "we have gone from a Christianity established in a welcoming social framework to a 'minority' Christianity, or rather, a Christianity of witness.".
This, Francis observes, calls for the courage of an ecclesial conversion, in order to face the necessary transformations in terms of customs, models of reference and languages of faith, so that they may be better placed at the service of evangelization (cfr. Evangelii gaudium, 27). Concretely, we need to be more open to the demands of the Gospel in order to overcome uniformity and open ourselves to diversity, to reach out more and better to a society that no longer listens to it or is distancing itself from the faith.
The second path to travel is joy. "It is not -The Pope explains. of joys associated with something momentary, nor of consenting to models of evasion or consumerist amusement; but of a greater joy that accompanies and sustains life even in dark or painful moments, and this is a gift that comes from above, from God.".
It is, therefore, the joy of the heart aroused by the Gospel: "It is knowing that along the way we are not alone and that even in situations of poverty, sin and affliction, God is close to us, takes care of us and will not allow death to have the last word.". God is close, closeness.
At this point, Francis quoted a phrase of Joseph Ratzinger before he became pope, when he wrote that one rule of discernment is the following:"where humor dies, there is not even the Holy Spirit (...). And vice versa: joy is a sign of grace." (The God of Jesus ChristBrescia 1978).
Third, there is the itinerary of mercy., Mercy is necessary to change our heart of stone in the face of suffering, especially that of the victims of abuse or of those imprisoned for mistakes made, because no one is lost forever.
Before taking his leave, the Pope evoked a painting by the Belgian painter René Magritte, entitled The act of faith: "It represents a door closed on the inside, but with an opening in the center, it is open to the sky. It is an opening that invites us to go beyond, to look forward and upward, to never close in on ourselves, never in ourselves.".
He added: "I leave you with this image, as a symbol of a Church that never closes its doors - please, never closes its doors - that offers everyone an openness to the infinite, that knows how to look beyond. This is the Church that evangelizes, that lives the joy of the Gospel, that practices mercy.".
Integral development and search for truth
The Pope rejoiced at the meeting with university students in the aula magna of the Catholic University of Louvain (28-IX-2024). They greeted him with a hymn alluding to the encyclical Laudato si' in jazz style. He was then read a letter that posed some challenges, including in a critical way certain aspects of Catholic doctrine. In his response, Francis, in his response, picked up on the concerns about the future and the anguish of uncertainty, while pointing out how hope is our responsibility.
With reference to integral development, he pointed out that "refers to all people in all aspects of their lives: physical, moral, cultural, socio-political; and it opposes any form of oppression and discarding. The Church denounces these abuses, committing herself first and foremost to the conversion of each of her members, of ourselves, to justice and truth. In this sense, integral development appeals to our holiness: it is a vocation to a just and happy life for everyone.".
After alluding to the role of women in the Church and the importance of study, she referred to the search for truth, without which life loses meaning. "Study makes sense when it seeks the truth, when it tries to find it, but with a critical spirit [...]. And in seeking it, one understands that we are made to find it. Truth makes itself found; it is welcoming, available, generous. If we give up searching for truth together, study becomes an instrument of power, of control over others." He added: "And I confess to you that it saddens me when I find, anywhere in the world, universities that only seek to prepare students for profit or power. It is too individualistic, without community".
He also wanted to emphasize the connection between truth and freedom: "You want freedom, be seekers and witnesses of truth! Trying to be credible and coherent by means of the simplest daily decisions.".
Finally, in his homily at Mass on Sunday, September 29, the Pope developed the trinomial of openness, communion and witness. And he announced that he would initiate the process of beatification of King Baldwin, so that "by your example as a man of faith enlighten the rulers".. The day before, at the tomb of this Catholic sovereign (who in 1992 abdicated for 36 hours in order not to sign the law on the legalization of abortion), Francis asked to imitate his example at a time when the "criminal laws" and wished that his cause for beatification would advance.
