Visualizzazione post con etichetta contemplation. Mostra tutti i post
Visualizzazione post con etichetta contemplation. Mostra tutti i post

domenica 18 luglio 2021

ECOLOGY OF THE HEART - ECOLOGIA DEL CORAZON

 

Pope Francis: “Jesus gives us a valuable teaching. Even though he rejoices on seeing his disciples’ happiness due to the wonders of their preaching, he does not spend time giving them compliments or asking questions. Rather, he is concerned about their physical and interior tiredness. And why does he do this? Because he wants to make them aware of a danger that is always lurking there for us too: the danger to be caught up in the frenzy of doing things, to fall into the trap of activism where what is most important are the results that we obtain and the feeling of being absolute protagonists. How many times this happens in the Church: we are busy, we run around, we think that everything depends on us and, in the end, we risk neglecting Jesus and we always make ourselves the centre. This is why He invites His disciples to rest a bit with Him on their own. It is not only physical rest, but also rest for the heart. For it is not enough to “unplug” ourselves, we need to truly rest. And how do we do this? To do so, we must return to the heart of things: to stop, to remain in silence, to pray so as not to go from the frenzy of work to the frenzy of times of relaxation. Jesus did not neglect the needs of the crowd, but each day, before anything else, he would withdraw in prayer, in silence, in intimacy with the Father. His tender invitation – rest a while – should accompany us. Let us beware, brothers and sisters, of efficiency, let us put a halt to the frantic running around dictated by our agendas. Let us learn how to take a break, to turn off the mobile phone, to contemplate nature, to regenerate ourselves in dialogue with God.

Nonetheless, the Gospel tells us that Jesus and his disciples could not rest as they had wished. The people find them and flock to them from all sides. At which point, he is moved with compassion. This is the second aspect: compassion, which is God’s style. God’s style is to draw near, compassion and tenderness. How many times we find this phrase in the Gospel, in the Bible: “He had compassion on them”. Touched, Jesus dedicates himself to the people and begins to teach again (cf. vv. 33-34). This seems to be a contradiction, but in reality, it is not. In fact, only a heart that does not allow itself to be taken over by hastiness is capable of being moved; that is, of not allowing itself to be caught up in itself and by things to do, and is aware of others, of their wounds, their needs. Compassion is born from contemplation. If we learn to truly rest, we become capable of true compassion; if we cultivate a contemplative outlook, we will carry out our activities without that rapacious attitude of those who want to possess and consume everything; if we stay in touch with the Lord and do not anesthetise the deepest part of ourselves, the things to do will not have the power to cause us to get winded or devour us. We need – listen to this – we need an “ecology of the heart”, that is made up of rest, contemplation and compassion. Let us take advantage of the summertime for this! It will help us quite a bit”.

 

Papa Francisco “Jesús nos da una valiosa enseñanza. A pesar de que se alegra de ver a sus discípulos contentos por los prodigios de su predicación, no se alarga en felicitaciones y preguntas, sino que se preocupa de su cansancio físico e interior. ¿Y por qué hace esto? Porque quiere ponerles en guardia contra un peligro que está siempre al acecho, también para nosotros: el peligro de dejarse llevar por el frenesí del hacer, de caer en la trampa del activismo, en el que lo más importante son los resultados que obtenemos y el sentirnos protagonistas absolutos. Cuántas veces sucede también en la Iglesia: estamos atareados, vamos deprisa, pensamos que todo depende de nosotros y, al final, corremos el riesgo de descuidar a Jesús y ponernos siempre nosotros en el centro. Por eso Él invita a los suyos a reposar un poco en otro lugar, con Él. No se trata solo de descanso físico, sino también de descanso del corazón. Porque no basta “desconectar”, es necesario descansar de verdad. ¿Y esto cómo se hace? Para hacerlo, es preciso regresar al corazón de las cosas: detenerse, estar en silencio, rezar, para no pasar de las prisas del trabajo a las de las vacaciones. Jesús no se sustraía a las necesidades de la multitud, pero cada día, antes que nada, se retiraba en oración, en silencio, en la intimidad con el Padre. Su tierna invitación -descansad un poco- debería acompañarnos: guardémonos, hermanos y hermanas, del eficientismo, paremos la carrera frenética que dicta nuestras agendas. Aprendamos a detenernos, a apagar el teléfono móvil, a contemplar la naturaleza, a regenerarnos en el diálogo con Dios.

Sin embargo, el Evangelio narra que Jesús y los discípulos no pueden descansar como querían. La gente los encuentra y acude desde todas partes. Entonces el Señor se compadece. He aquí el segundo aspecto: la compasión, que es el estilo de Dios. El estilo de Dios es cercanía, compasión y ternura. Cuántas veces, en el Evangelio, en la Biblia, encontramos esta frase: “Tuvo compasión”.

Conmovido, Jesús se dedica a la gente y comienza a enseñar (cfr. vv. 33-34). Parece una contradicción, pero en realidad no lo es. De hecho, solo el corazón que no se deja secuestrar por la prisa es capaz de conmoverse, es decir, de no dejarse llevar por sí mismo y por las cosas que tiene que hacer, y de darse cuenta de los demás, de sus heridas, de sus necesidades. La compasión nace de la contemplación. Si aprendemos a descansar de verdad, nos hacemos capaces de compasión verdadera; si cultivamos una mirada contemplativa, llevaremos adelante nuestras actividades sin la actitud rapaz de quien quiere poseer y consumir todo; si nos mantenemos en contacto con el Señor y no anestesiamos la parte más profunda de nuestro ser, las cosas que hemos de hacer no tendrán el poder de dejarnos sin aliento y devorarnos. Necesitamos -escuchad esto-, necesitamos una “ecología del corazón” compuesta de descanso, contemplación y compasión. ¡Aprovechemos el tiempo estivo para ello! Nos ayuda mucho”

 Angelus, 18 July 2021

EN  - ES  - IT ]

wwww.vatican.va


 

giovedì 17 settembre 2020

CONTEMPLANTING AND CARING - CONTEMPLER ET SOIGNER - CONTEMPLAR Y CUIDAR - KONTEMPLATION UND PFLEGE -CONTEMPLARE E AVERE CURA

Pope Francis: 

Become guardians of life 

and earth 

with contemplation and care


 Arabo  - Croato  - Francese  - Inglese  - Italiano  - Polacco  -

 Portoghese  - Spagnolo  - Tedesco 


Continuing his catechesis on the current pandemic in the light of the Church’s social doctrine, the Pope at his weekly General Audience on Wednesday stresses the importance of caring for each other and contemplating the world in which we live.

By Vatican News

“Contemplating and caring: these are two attitudes that show the way to correct and rebalance our relationship as human beings with creation.” Those were Pope Francis’ words at the weekly General Audi ence held in the Courtyard of San Damaso in the Vatican.

 Care for each other

Speaking to the faithful gathered on Wednesday, the Pope stressed that in order to come through this pandemic it is necessary to “to look after and care for each other.” “We must support those who care for the weakest, the sick and the elderly,” he said, because they “play a vital role in today's society, even if they often do not receive the recognition and remuneration they deserve.” This care, Pope Francis went on to say, “must also address our common home” “All forms of life are interconnected”, he continued, “and our health depends on that of the ecosystems that God created and entrusted to us to care for.”

Contemplation best antidote

 “The best antidote against the misuse of our common home is contemplation,” said the Pope. He added, that without contemplation “it is easy to fall prey to an unbalanced and superb anthropocentrism, which gives excessive importance to our role as human beings, positioning us as absolute rulers of all other creatures.” Pope Francis went on to say, “A distorted interpretation of biblical texts on creation has contributed to this misinterpretation, which leads to the exploitation of the earth to the point of suffocating it.” “We believe that we are at the centre, claiming to occupy God's place; and so we ruin the harmony of His design. We become predators, forgetting our vocation as custodians of life.”

Our mission is to care for our common home

The earth needs to be worked, so as to live, the Pope noted, but it must not be exploited. Instead, our mission, he pointed out, is to care for our common home. “Our poorest brothers and mother earth lament for the damage and injustice we have caused, and demand we take another course.” Therefore, the Pope underlined, it is important to recover the contemplative dimension. When we do this, Pope Francis explained, people discover the intrinsic value of things given to them by God.

Speaking in off the cuff remarks, the Pope said that those who do not know how to contemplate nature and creation, do not know how to contemplate people in all their richness. And those who exploit nature, end up exploiting people and treating them like slaves. “This is a universal law,” he said. “Those who know how to contemplate,” he continued, “will more easily set to work to change what produces degradation and damage to health. They will strive to educate and promote new production and consumption habits, to contribute to a new model of economic growth that guarantees respect for our common home.”

"Guardians" of creation

Those who follow the path of contemplation and caring, emphasized the Pope, “become ‘guardians’ of our common home, guardians of life and hope.” This is needed in order to preserve and protect our common home for future generations, he added. In particular, he mentioned the indigenous peoples, to whom, he said, “we all owe a debt of gratitude.”

But the Pope also spoke of “those movements, associations, popular groups, which are committed to protecting their territory with its natural and cultural values. These social realities are not always appreciated, and at times they are even obstructed; but in reality they contribute to a peaceful revolution, the ‘revolution of care’”.

Concluding his catechesis, the Pope stressed that everyone has a role to play in caring for creation. “Each one of us can and must be a ‘guardian of the common home’, capable of praising God for His creatures, and of contemplating and protecting them.”

 

 Arabo  - Croato  - Francese  - Inglese  - Italiano  - Polacco  - Portoghese  - Spagnolo  - Tedesco 



lunedì 29 agosto 2016

CCEE - CEC : TIME FOR CREATION - TEMPO PER LA CREAZIONE

Time for Creation – let’s Pray Together to Appreciate and Care for the Gift of Creation

Tempo per la Creazione - Preghiamo insieme per apprezzare e avere cura del dono della creazione
A common statement of Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE), Conference of European Churches (CEC) and European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN)

St. Gallen/Geneva, August 29, 2016

Respect, appreciation and contemplation of Creation are the common concern of Christian Churches. The Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC), on the occasion of the Day for Creation, call for common prayers and to strengthen ecumenical work to care for Creation. 
According to the Gospel, responsibility for the environment can never be detached from responsibility for other human beings: for our neighbour, for the poor, or the forgotten, all in a true spirit of solidarity and love. Respecting Creation means not only protecting and safeguarding the earth, water and other parts of the natural world. It is at the same time expressing respect for human beings who share those gifts and bear responsibility for them. Therefore, together with all Christians, we endeavour joyfully to witness Jesus Christ, «for in Him were created all things in heaven and on earth» (Col. 1, 16).
We remember Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s thought that the most urgent problem besetting our Churches is the way in which we live our Christian life in the face of contemporary cultural and social challenges. This means we must relate to each other within the context of the world we all live in. This is an original definition of “oikos”, meaning “the house”. The “common house” we care for, is made up of both the natural world and of human relationships.....

TIME FOR CREATION

TEMPO PER LA CREAZIONE