Pope Francis proclaimed Pope Albino Luciani blessed, the pontiff who remained in the chair of Peter for only 33 days. On the facade of St. Peter's Basilica the tapestry with the portrait of Pope Luciani has been exhibited; the work was created by the Chinese artist Yan Zhang. The feast of the new blessed will be celebrated every year on August 26, the day of his election to the papal throne in 1978. At the ceremony present the head of state Sergio Mattarella and many other authorities. The miracle attributed to Luciani concerns the healing of Candela Giarda, an Argentine girl suffering from severe encephalopathy who was healed thanks to the miracle attributed to Pope John Paul I. The healing of Candela, at the time eleven years old, took place on 23 July 2011 in Buenos Aires.
Albino Luciani
The new blessed Albino Luciani "he lived like this: in the joy of the Gospel, without compromise, loving to the end ”, Pope Francis underlined in the course of his homily. Quoting the words of John Paul I at the Angelus of September 1968, Bergoglio recalled: “We ourselves are the object of an everlasting love on the part of God '. Timeless: it never disappears from our life, it always shines on us and lights up even the darkest nights. And then, looking at the Crucifix, we are called to the height of that love. To purify ourselves of our distorted ideas about God and our closures, to love Him and others, in the Church and in society, even those who do not think like us, even our enemies ”.
John Paul I.
The pontiff, in the course of his homily, then recalled the words of John Paul I at the general audience of 27 September 1978. "To love: even if it costs the cross of sacrifice, silence, misunderstanding, solitude, to be hindered and persecuted. Because - John Paul I continued - if you want to kiss Jesus crucified, 'you can't help but bend over the cross and let yourself be pricked by some thorn in the crown, which is on the Lord's head'. Love to the end, with all its thorns: not half-done things, accommodations or quiet living. If we do not aim high, if we do not risk, if we are satisfied with a rose water faith, we are Jesus says, like someone who wants to build a tower but does not calculate well the means to do it. He 'lays the foundation and then' is unable to finish the job '.
The pope of the last is blessed
“If, for fear of losing ourselves, we give up giving ourselves, we leave things unfinished: relationships, work, the responsibilities entrusted to us, dreams, and even faith. And then we end up living halfway. Without ever taking the decisive step, without taking off, without risking for the good, without really committing ourselves to others. Jesus asks us this: live the Gospel and you will live life, not halfway but completely. Without compromises".
Bergoglio highlighted another trait of the new blessed. “He embodied the disciple's poverty, which is not only detaching oneself from material goods, but above all overcoming the temptation to put one's self at the center and seek one's glory. On the contrary, following Jesus' example, he was a meek and humble shepherd. He regarded himself as the dust on which God deigned to write. So he said: 'The Lord has recommended so much: be humble. Even if you have done great things, say: we are useless servants' ”.
Albino Luciani, the goodness of God in a smile
"With a smile, Pope Luciani managed to convey the goodness of the Lord. A Church is beautiful with a happy, serene and smiling face, which never closes its doors, which does not sour hearts, which does not complain and does not harbor resentment. she is not angry and impatient, she does not present herself in a surly way, she does not suffer from nostalgia for the past. Let us pray to our father and brother, let us ask him to obtain "the smile of the soul". we ask, in his words, what he himself used to ask: 'Lord, take me as I am, with my defects, with my shortcomings, but let me become as you wish me'.
(Photo archive italiani.it)
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