Dear brothers and sisters,

I greet you, and I thank Mr. Eduardo Pisa, delegate of the archdiocese of Mexico City for the administration of ecclesiastical assets, for the words he addressed to me. It is a great pleasure for me to be able to meet you, and I repeat the phrase that is said in Mexico: “My home is your home”. Indeed, for all Catholics, the Vatican too is like their home; it is a place where the children of the Church can meet and praise God in their family.

What we are experiencing is very sad, how wars can bring destruction to all the human family, causing suffering and poverty. And this makes us lose the sense of being a family, of respecting and tolerating each other, even with our differences and difficulties. The struggle takes first place, and we forget that in a family, things are settled with patience, with love, in dialogue, sharing points of view and the needs of each person, to help each other reciprocally. The culture of our time is infested by individualism and closed-mindedness. And gradually we are seeing the consequences of our consciences being numbed by comfort, which leads us to lose sight of those who are suffering or rejected. And unintentionally, we are acquiring that tendency of concentrating on ourselves, the famous “I”, “me”, “mine”, “with me”, “for me”. It is a habit that can take hold of anyone subconsciously. Beware!

Some months ago, I said to a group of Spanish businesspeople that the Catholic entrepreneur, to be able to be a sign of God’s presence in the world of the economy and employment, must take care of his or her relationship with the Lord. The most important capital we can have is spiritual capital. When the Lord touches our hearts, we broaden our outlook and are capable of seeing how many people are in need, of taking care of creation: we are capable of placing in first place the common good, the “we” proper to a family, to set aside the worldly logic of “I”, of success, dominance, money, excluding others. Each one of us is called to contribute so that society has more and more artisans of peace and a culture of encounter; and so that in the Church, the builders of a community where all, without exception, feel welcomed and loved by the Lord, are multiplied.

And with regard to taking care of the relationship with God, we know that to do so it is necessary for there to be good priests, since they are the shepherds of the people of God. I am pleased to see that you love the Church and are concerned with her ministers. It is the right of the faithful to have well-formed priests, who joyfully nourish the community of believers with the Word and the Eucharist; and who also bear witness to a life devoted to others. I therefore encourage you to pray for priests, giving thanks to God for the charisms with which he enriches all the ecclesial family, and interceding for them in their many hardships. And in the same way, I invite you to be close to them and to help them so that they are able to focus their energies and their creativity on the exercise of their pastoral ministry.

I would like to conclude by commending you to the protection of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Take care of her how she is: simple, black, and do not let anyone ideologize her. Just as she is. She asked for a house to be built in which all her children would be able to visit her to bring their hopes and sorrows. Therefore, the Basilica of Guadalupe is the image of the Church, who welcomes all her children.

May she take care of you and your families, and encourage and accompany you in your worthy projects. God bless you. And please, I ask you not to forget to pray for me. Thank you.

________________________________________

Holy See Press Office Bulletin, 17 February 2023