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Pope to Deacons: Don’t Be Stingy With Your Time by Deborah Castellano Lubov
To be faithful servants, you can’t be stingy with your time, but give it generously even at the most inconvenient moments.
Pope Francis urged deacons to realize this during the concluding Mass of the Jubilee for Deacons in St. Peter’s Square this morning.
This specific Jubilee is a celebration for deacons, along with their wives and children, in Rome, May 27-29. They were invited from all around the world to make this pilgrimage to the Eternal City on the occasion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.
In his homily, the Pontiff reflected on what makes one a faithful servant, noting three elements: availability, meekness, and having a ‘healthy heart.’
Availability
“One who serves is not a slave to his own agenda, but ever ready to deal with the unexpected, ever available to his brothers and sisters and ever open to God’s constant surprises. One who serves is open to surprises, to God’s constant surprises,” the Pope stressed.
Even if it means giving up well-deserved rest or what you enjoy doing, Francis underscored, “a servant knows how to open the doors of his time and inner space for those around him, even at odd hours.”
“One who serves is not worried about the timetable,” Francis said off the cuff. “It deeply troubles me when I see a timetable in a parish: “From such a time to such a time”. And then? There is no open door, no priest, no deacon, no layperson to receive people… This is not good.
“Don’t worry about the timetable: have the courage to look past the timetable.”
A servant, the Pope highlighted, learns each day how to detach himself from doing everything his own way and living his life as he otherwise would. “One who serves cannot hoard his free time; he has to give up the idea of being the master of his day,” he said.
He told the deacons that if they show they are available to others, their ministry “will not be self-serving, but evangelically fruitful.”
Meekness
Turning to meekness, Francis reminded Deacons to imitate the Lord himself, who is “meek and humble of heart” and Who lived to serve. Similarly, like Jesus, the Pope urged, be patient, kind and present.
“These are the characteristics of Christian service; meek and humble, it imitates God by serving others: by welcoming them with patient love and unflagging sympathy, by making them feel welcome and at home in the ecclesial community, where the greatest are not those who command but those who serve (cf. Lk 22:26).”
In meekness, the Pope stressed, is how deacons’ vocation as ministers of charity mature.
Healthy Heart
Being ready to serve, he also noted, requires a healthy heart: “a heart healed by God, one which knows forgiveness and is neither closed nor hardened.”
The Pope encouraged them to pray daily to be healed by Jesus and to grow more like Him.
“You can offer the Lord your work, your little inconveniences, your weariness and your hopes in an authentic prayer that brings your life to the Lord and the Lord to your life,” he said.
Pope Francis concluded, reminded the deacons that by putting these three elements into practice, they will become and remain effective servants of Christ, able to encounter and help those most in need.
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On ZENIT’s Web page:
Pope’s Homily: https://zenit.org/articles/popes-homily-at-jubilee-for-deacons/
Pope’s Angelus Address: https://zenit.org/articles/angelus-address-lets-pray-with-syrian-children-for-peace/
On the NET:
More Information on the Jubilee for Deacons: http://www.iubilaeummisericordiae.va/content/gdm/en/roma/grandi-eventi/2016-05-29-diaconi.html
ANGELUS ADDRESS: May Mary Support World Youth Day in Krakow by ZENIT Staff
Below is a ZENIT translation of Pope Francis’ Angelus address today at the end of the Holy Mass celebrated in St. Peter’s Square on the occasion of the Jubilee of Deacons. Before reciting the midday prayer, the Pope said the following words:
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Before the Angelus:
At the end of this celebration, I wish to extend a special greeting to you, dear deacons, who have come from Italy and other countries. Thanks for your presence here today, but most of all, your presence in the Church!
I greet all the pilgrims, in particular those from the European Association of Schützen historians; participants in the “Way of Forgiveness” promoted by the Celestiniano Movement; and the National Association for the Protection of Renewable Energy, committed to educating others to care for creation.
I also remember that today marks the National Day of Relief, aimed at helping people to live the final stage of their earthly existence well. I also remember the traditional pilgrimage to the Marian Shrine of Piekary in Poland, that is brought to completion today: May the Mother of Mercy support families and young people on their way to the World Youth Day in Krakow.
Next Wednesday, June 1st, on the occasion of International Children’s Day, the Christian communities of Syria, both Catholic and Orthodox, will together make a special prayer for peace, which will have children themselves as its protagonists. The Syrian children invite children from around the world to join their prayer for peace.
For these intentions, let us invoke the intercession of the Virgin Mary, as we entrust to her the life and ministry of all the deacons in the world.
Angelus Domini …[Original text: Italian] [Translation by Deborah Castellano Lubov]
Pope’s Homily at Jubilee for Deacons by ZENIT Staff
Below is the Vatican-provided translation of the Pope’s homily during the Holy Mass concluding the Jubilee for Deacons this morning in St. Peter’s Square. Deacons and their families from all around the world were invited to make a pilgrimage to Rome in order to participate in this major gathering on the occasion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. This Jubilee for Deacons, May 27-29, was a celebration for deacons, along with their wives and children:
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“A servant of Jesus Christ” (Gal 1:10). We have listened to these words that the Apostle Paul, writing to the Galatians, uses to describe himself. At the beginning of his Letter, he had presented himself as “an apostle” by the will of the Lord Jesus (cf. Gal1:1). These two terms – apostle and servant – go together. They can never be separated. They are like the two sides of a medal. Those who proclaim Jesus are called to serve, and those who serve proclaim Jesus.
The Lord was the first to show us this. He, the Word of the Father, who brought us the good news (Is 61:1), indeed, who is the good news (cf. Lk 4:18), became our servant (Phil 2:7). He came “not to be served, but to serve” (Mk 10:45). “He became the servant (diakonos) of all”, wrote one of the Church Fathers (Saint Polycarp, Ad Phil. V, 2). We who proclaim him are called to act as he did, “merciful, zealous, walking according to the charity of the Lord who made himself the servant of all” (ibid.). A disciple of Jesus cannot take a road other than that of the Master. If he wants to proclaim him, he must imitate him. Like Paul, he must strive to become a servant. In other words, if evangelizing is the mission entrusted at baptism to each Christian, serving is the way that mission is carried out. It is the only way to be a disciple of Jesus. His witnesses are those who do as he did: those who serve their brothers and sisters, never tiring of following Christ in his humility, never wearing of the Christian life, which is a life of service.
How do we become “good and faithful servants” (cf. Mt 25:21)? As a first step, we are asked to be available. A servant daily learns detachment from doing everything his own way and living his life as he would. Each morning he trains himself to be generous with his life and to realize that the rest of the day will not be his own, but given over to others. One who serves cannot hoard his free time; he has to give up the idea of being the master of his day. He knows that his time is not his own, but a gift from God which is then offered back to him. Only in this way will it bear fruit. One who serves is not a slave to his own agenda, but ever ready to deal with the unexpected, ever available to his brothers and sisters and ever open to God’s constant surprises. One who serves is open to surprises, to God’s constant surprises. A servant knows how to open the doors of his time and inner space for those around him, including those who knock on those doors at odd hours, even if that entails setting aside something he likes to do or giving up some well-deserved rest. One who serves is not worried about the timetable. It deeply troubles me when I see a timetable in a parish: “From such a time to such a time”. And then? There is no open door, no priest, no deacon, no layperson to receive people… This is not good. Don’t worry about the timetable: have the courage to look past the timetable. In this way, dear deacons, if you show that you are available to others, your ministry will not be self-serving, but evangelically fruitful.
Today’s Gospel also speaks to us of service. It shows us two servants who have much to teach us: the servant of the centurion whom Jesus cures and the centurion himself, who serves the Emperor. The words used by the centurion to dissuade Jesus from coming to his house are remarkable, and often the very opposite of our own: “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof” (7:6); I did not presume to come to you” (7:7); “I also am a man set under authority” (7:8). Jesus marvels at these words. He is struck by the centurion’s great humility, by his meekness. And meekness is one of the virtues of deacons. When a deacon is meek, then he is one who serves, who is not trying to “mimic” priests; no, he is meek. Given his troubles, the centurion might have been anxious and could have demanded to be heard, making his authority felt. He could have insisted and even forced Jesus to come to his house. Instead, he was modest, unassuming and meek; he did not raise his voice or make a fuss. He acted, perhaps without even being aware of it, like God himself, who is “meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29). For God, who is love, out of love is ever ready to serve us. He is patient, kind and always there for us; he suffers for our mistakes and seeks the way to help us improve. These are the characteristics of Christian service; meek and humble, it imitates God by serving others: by welcoming them with patient love and unflagging sympathy, by making them feel welcome and at home in the ecclesial community, where the greatest are not those who command but those who serve (cf. Lk 22:26). And never shout, never. This, dear deacons, is how your vocation as ministers of charity will mature: in meekness.
After the Apostle Paul and the centurion, today’s readings show us a third servant, the one whom Jesus heals. The Gospel tells us that he was dear to his master and was sick, without naming his grave illness (v. 2). In a certain sense, we can see ourselves in that servant. Each of us is very dear to God, who loves us, chooses us and calls us to serve. Yet each of us needs first to be healed inwardly. To be ready to serve, we need a healthy heart: a heart healed by God, one which knows forgiveness and is neither closed nor hardened. We would do well each day to pray trustingly for this, asking to be healed by Jesus, to grow more like him who “no longer calls us servants but friends” (cf. Jn 15:15). Dear deacons, this is a grace you can implore daily in prayer. You can offer the Lord your work, your little inconveniences, your weariness and your hopes in an authentic prayer that brings your life to the Lord and the Lord to your life. When you serve at the table of the Eucharist, there you will find the presence of Jesus, who gives himself to you so that you can give yourselves to others.
In this way, available in life, meek of heart and in constant dialogue with Jesus, you will not be afraid to be servants of Christ, and to encounter and caress the flesh of the Lord in the poor of our time.[Original text: Italian] [Vatican-provided translation]
Gospel for Sunday, May 29 by ZENIT Staff
Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God,
and he healed those who needed to be cured.
As the day was drawing to a close,
the Twelve approached him and said,
“Dismiss the crowd
so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms
and find lodging and provisions;
for we are in a deserted place here.”
He said to them, “Give them some food yourselves.”
They replied, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have,
unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.”
Now the men there numbered about five thousand.
Then he said to his disciples,
“Have them sit down in groups of about fifty.”
They did so and made them all sit down.
Then taking the five loaves and the two fish,
and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing over them, broke them,
and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
They all ate and were satisfied.
And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets.
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