Cardinal Marini called for solidarity, creation protection and ecumenism

The entire Christian community, also due to the Holy Father’s personal appearance, unveils its true face – said Cardinal Piero Marini in his sermon on Heroes’ Square. This true face –added the President of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses – is the admission and openness appearing in the image of a mother with outstretched arms to accommodate all men and women, of all peoples and nations.

“Look around and see” – sounds the prophet - : they all come together to see you. Your sons come from afar, and your daughters are brought in their laps. (…), treasures of nations pour in here.” – as Cardinal Marini cited Prophet Isaias. The Cardinal expressed his joy that the Altar is surrounded by varied cultures and traditions, through which we renew “the strong, still simple gesture of faith and brotherly community.”

The Cardinal reminded of Pope Francis’ first Apostolic Exhortation, the Evangelii Gaudium, worded on his dream of a Church with open gates. As Cardinal Marini expressed: “now this holy community, having received life’s bread and drank from the chalice, step by step is going to break up so to get his way towards every destination, just like the seeds into the furrow of the ground. They are going to open those new ways that form the mysterious fabric of God’s kingdom.” He invited the faithful “for sharing with others, to heal, uplift and give a helping hand, and to approach their fellow humans with the words of peace and acts of reconciliation upon returning to their homes, schools, offices, business, holiday sites.”

Cardinal Marini was of the belief that the Holy Spirity “instills courage into us so to stand in front of the world the same way Jesus did once.” He emphasized that just as Jesus “We do not have to rule, rather have to serve. We do not belong to the great ones of the world, but rather to the little sons of God’s Kingdom, and we are not the lords of the things, but pilgrims only.”

The President of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses outlined: “the celebration of Christ’s Eastern secret should bring joy not only to the faithful’s heart, but should touch the world itself we are living and working in.” The salvation deriving from the Eucharist thereby develops to be the culture of the Eucharist that is able to insist people “to step and approach Lord’s needy and the poor, to focus at first on the common good, to spread social peace, to preserve and care for the created world, to be generous in the ecumenical dialogue, and to share the difficulties.” These are the signs in which we celebrate the memory of Jesus, who “gave his life for us, in the very certainty that God’s love –incarnated in Christ- is stronger than evil, violence and death.”

As to the Vatican Cardinal, this approach is able to transform all kinds of Christian communities to “turn into a broken bread for the life of the world”, thereby following the example of our Redeemer, who entirely gave himself. “Thus we can take over the consistency of the Eucharist, which cannot separate the Christ’s body from the Head, that is, it confesses the sacramental communion between Christ and the parts of his body.”

As a conclusion, Cardinal Piero Marini expressed his thanks to Pope Francis, for his joint celebration with the faithful at the closing mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress. He also called attention to the sources and summit of the Church life and mission, to the mystery of the Eucharist. He wished that the Budapest Statio Orbis holy mass would bring “living water that is able to heal the Christian communities across the world.”