By Deborah Castellano Lubov
“Saint Augustine, speaking of the primacy of God in the Christian life, affirms that, ‘God is everything, your everything. If you are hungry, God is your bread; if you are thirsty, God is your water; if you are in darkness, God is your light that never fades; if you are naked, God is your everlasting garment.” Indeed, we would do well to ask ourselves: to what extent are these words true for me? How much does the Lord satisfy my thirst for life, love or light?'”
Pope Leo XIV made this observation when receiving the Daughters of Divine Charity, Sisters of the Order of Saint Basil the Great, Augustinian Sisters of Amparo, and Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Hearts, in the Vatican on Monday.
Rootedness in Christ
In his remarks, the Holy Father noted, that “this rootedness in Christ is what led those who went before us – men and women like us, with gifts and limitations like ours – to do things they perhaps never thought they could achieve.”
Moreover, the Pope marveled, it enabled them to sow seeds of goodness that, enduring throughout the centuries and across continents, have now reached practically the entire world, “as your presence here demonstrates.”
Inspired by holiness
He recalled that some of the nuns were present due to their General Chapter, and others for their Jubilee pilgrimage, while stating in both cases, they have come to the tomb of St Peter “in order to renew their love for the Lord and your fidelity to the Church.”
While noting their Congregations were founded at different times and in distinct circumstances, the Holy Father recalled that their histories “share a common thread that can be seen in the light of such great historical witnesses to the spiritual life as Augustine, Basil and Francis, whose asceticism, courage and holiness of life inspired your founders to foster new ways of serving others.”
This, he said, is evident in their care for the weakest, including children, poor girls and boys, orphans, migrants, and more recently for the elderly and the sick as well as many other ministries of charity.
Faced with important choices
“Your response to the challenges of the past and the vitality of your present,” Pope Leo XIV highlighted, “make clear that fidelity to the ancient wisdom of the Gospel is the best way forward for those who, led by the Holy Spirit, undertake new paths of self-giving, dedicated to loving God and neighbor and listening attentively to the signs of the times.”
With this sentiment, Pope Leo reminded them of their important responsibility.
“You are faced with important choices that will determine your future, that of your sisters and of the Church Herself,” he highlighted, stressing that, “For this reason, it seems most appropriate to conclude by reiterating, for all of us, the beautiful hope expressed by Saint Paul in addressing the Christians of Ephesus.
St Paul had said, “I pray that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Finally, before imparting his Apostolic Blessing, Pope Leo thanked the religious sisters for their work and fidelity and prayed the Blessed Mother accompany them. – Vatican News
