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On the second and final day of his visit to Malta, Pope Francis spoke of migrants and of mercy to others.
Everyone is deserving of mercy, whether they’re foreigners or simply people in need of compassion, he said at the Grotto of St Paul in Rabat.
He went on to speak of Malta’s tradition of hospitality that goes back to the time of St Paul, whose ship was wrecked on its coast.
People welcomed Paul and his companions and “treated them with rare humanity, recognising that they were in need of shelter, security and assistance,” Francis reminded the crowd.
“No one knew their names, their place of birth or their social status. They knew only one thing – that these were people in need of help.”
Francis went on to ask God to help humanity “to recognise from afar those in need, struggling amidst the waves of the sea, dashed against the reefs of unknown shores.
“Let us light fires of fraternity around which people can warm themselves, rise again and rediscover hope. Let us strengthen the fabric of social friendship and the culture of encounter, starting from places such as this.”
After leaving the Grotto, Francis paid a visit to migrants at Hal Far’s Peace Lab.
Continuing to speak of migrants and of mercy, he urged the faithful to “respond to the challenge of migrants and refugees with kindness and humanity”.
Showing his empathy and understanding of migrants’ experience, Francis noted the experience of being uprooted and being forced to become a refugee left its mark on those affected.
“Not just the pain and emotion of that moment, but a deep wound affecting your journey of growth as a young man or woman.”
It takes time to heal that wound; it takes time and most of all it takes experiences of human kindness.
There’s also much to be said for sharing the journey with others. This way, people can experience the benefits of living alongside others, sharing things with them and bearing their burdens together.
There are numerous difficulties faced by refugees and the communities they seek to integrate themselves into, he said.
“I think of these reception centres, and how important it is for them to be places marked by human kindness! We know how difficult that can be, since there are always things that create tensions and difficulties.
“Yet, on every continent, there are individuals and communities who take up the challenge, realising that migrations are a sign of the times, where civility itself is in play.”
Being patient while building a new life is a reality which can stretch people’s coping mechanisms as well, he conceded. But building a new life “takes time, immense patience and above all a love made up of closeness, tenderness and compassion, like God’s love for us”.
Francis finished telling everyone he dreamed they “who are migrants, after having received a welcome rich in human kindness and fraternity, will become in turn witnesses and agents of welcome and fraternity”.
Source
- Malta Today
- Cruc Now
- Image: ABC News
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