By Deborah Castellano Lubov
“The Church thanks you for all the good you accomplish wherever love is needed, often in very difficult situations. She also thanks you for the path of renewal which you have been pursuing for some years now, aimed at a greater fidelity to the Gospel…” Pope Leo XIV told Members of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, in a message he addressed to them on the occasion of the Solemnity of the Order’s Patron, Saint John the Baptist. At the same time, he encouraged them, “Continue in this direction!”
In the text, the Holy Father urged the Order’s members to let Saint John the Baptist, their heavenly Patron, illuminate their lives and mission.
Pope Leo recalled that the Order has as its aim “tuitio fidei”, the defense of the faith; and “obsequium pauperum”, the service of the poor, observing, “These are two aspects of one and the same charism: a faith that is propagated and safeguarded through loving dedication to the poor, the marginalized, to all those in need of support and help.”
Proclaiming love of God
“It is not enough,” the Pope stressed, “to merely assist the needs of the poor.” Rather, he insisted, “one must proclaim to them the love of God, both in word and in witness.” If this is lacking he said, the Order would lose its religious character and be reduced to a philanthropic organization.
The Pope called on each to offer love to others and accordingly, “to concretely transmit faith in the God who is love, offering the experience of His nearness.”
He told them to protect and preserve the faith with the Apostle Paul’s advice on how to arm ourselves, namely, “to put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
Worldliness
Certainly, for the many praiseworthy works the Order accomplishes throughout the world, Pope Leo acknowledged, many means, including financial ones, and various intermediaries, are needed. “But,” he underscored, “it is always necessary to keep the means in their proper place, as instruments at the service of the goal.”
Since achieving good ends requires good means, the Pope said, one must avoid temptations that “can easily appear under the guise of good, giving the illusion that noble goals may be pursued with means that may ultimately prove contrary to God’s will.”
“We must constantly make our own the teaching of Jesus,” Pope Leo said, “who did not ask the Father to take us out of the world, since He sends us into the world, but who reminded us that we are not of the world, as He is not of the world…”
Journey of renewal
Recalling their ongoing journey of renewal, Pope Leo reminded them, “it cannot be merely institutional or normative,” but “must be, above all, interior and spiritual, for this gives meaning to the changes in your rules.”
This path of conversion, “even if difficult and demanding,” the Pope reassured them, is sustained by the grace of the Risen Spirit.
Fostering prayer
The Holy Father also pointed to formation as “a fundamental aspect of all institutes of consecrated life,” and “is particularly demanding due to the complexity of candidates’ life experiences today.” This makes a specific formation for formators more necessary than ever, he said, stressing that without it, they remain superficial and ineffective.
Formation, he stressed, “must aim, above all, at fostering prayer: both liturgical and personal, nourished by solitude and silence—dimensions all the more necessary when one is dedicated to serving others, so that such service may become a testimony to the love of God who makes Himself present.”
Finally, Pope Leo called it “a great source of hope” that some Professed members wish to begin an experience of community life, adding, “I heartily encourage this desire, for community life is a concrete way of being formed in mutual charity.” – Vatican News
