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Pope leaves Peru with message of hope


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Source: Vatican News Service

An immense crowd gathered at Las Palmas Air Base, Lima, for Pope Francis' final Mass in Peru yesterday. Reflecting on the day's readimgs, the Pope said: "The Lord sets out on a journey: to Nineveh, to Galilee, to Lima, to Trujillo and Puerto Maldonado… the Lord comes here.. He sets out to enter into our individual, concrete histories."

Pope Francis said God wants "to be with us always." That means "here in Lima…in the routine of your daily life and work…amid you aspirations and anxieties…within the privacy of the home and the deafening noise of our streets."

He warned that under this conditions, the same thing that happened to Jonah can happen to any of us. Because of the "pain and injustice" in our cities, we can be tempted "to flee, to hide, to run away."

In the city, there are those who have the means to develop their personal and family life, but left behind are many "non-citizens", "the half-citizens" or "urban remnants," he said. "They are found along our roadsides, living on the fringes of our cities, and lacking the conditions needed for a dignified existence," Francis said. "It is painful to realize that among these urban remnants all too often we see the faces of children and adolescents. We look at the face of the future."

"Seeing these things in our cities and our neighbourhoods - which should be places of encounter, solidarity, and joy - we end up with what we might call the Jonah syndrome: we lose heart and want to flee," the Holy Father decried. "We become indifferent, and as a result, anonymous and deaf to others, cold and hard of heart. When this happens, we wound the soul of our people."

Recalling his consistent theme of the need to care for those on the fringes, Pope Francis called on the faithful to be a "timely antidote to the globalization of indifference". He calls on people to be like Jesus, who walked through the city with his disciples.

"Jesus continues to walk on our streets. .. He knocks today, as he did yesterday, on our doors and hearts, in order to rekindle the flame of hope and the aspiration that breakdown can be overcome by fraternity, injustice defeated by solidarity, violence silenced by the weapons of peace.

"Jesus continues to call us; he wants to anoint us with his Spirit so that we too can go out to anoint others with the oil capable of healing wounded hopes and renewing our way of seeing things."

The Pope concluded by reminding the immense crowd gathered at the air base that Jesus continued to give us hope. But he cannot reach the far corners of the earth without "daring and courageous witnesses".

"Today the Lord calls each of you to walk with him in the city, in your city. He invites you to become his missionary disciple so that you can become part of that great whisper that wants to keep echoing in the different corners of our lives: Rejoice, the Lord is with you!"

After the Mass, Pope Francis said: "I Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, Archbishop of Lima, for his kind words, you my Brother Bishops for your presence, and all those who have helped to make this visit leave me with such an indelible impression.

I am grateful to all who have made this journey possible. Above all, I thank President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, the civil authorities and the thousands of volunteers whose quiet and selfless devotion made everything run smoothly. I am grateful to the organising committee and to all those whose dedication and efforts made my visit possible. Being with you has been very good for me. I thank you.

I began my pilgrimage among you by speaking of Peru as a land of hope. A land of hope because of its biodiversity and the beauty of its landscapes, which help us to discover the presence of God.

A land of hope because of its rich traditions and customs, which have shaped the soul of this people.

A land of hope for its young people, who are not the future but the present of Peru. I urge them to discover in the wisdom of their grandparents and their elders, the DNA that guided their great saints. Do not lose your roots! And you, grandparents and elders, keep passing on to the new generations the traditions of your people and the wisdom that charts the path to heaven. I urge all of you not to be afraid to be the saints of the XXI century.

Dear Peruvian brothers and sisters, you have so many reasons for hope. I have seen this and have "touched" it in these days. Protect your hope. There is no better way to protect your hope than to remain united, so that these reasons for hope may grow day by day in your hearts.

Hope in God does not disappoint (Rom 5:5). You are in my heart.

God bless you. And please, do not forget to pray for me.

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