Shalom … Welcome!

Each week we let Saint Pope John Paul II share meaningful signposts to spark socio-economic resolves through justice and righteousness combined with mercy and compassion; in short, love.

Shalom! This beautiful word, so dear to you, means salvation, happiness, and harmony.Peace is a gift of God, a fragile gift placed in human hands that all humankind must safeguard. ¹

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Every Christian [person of faith] feels called to share the pain and difficulty of the 'other' in whom God Himself is hidden. However, this opening to the needs of others implies a truly warm welcoming.It entails the fruit of the new heart which God gives us. Such fruit must mature through concrete behavior. Consider entering into the spirit of service.Look for the good of the other. Be willing to share with another. Commit to combat that pride that isolates us from our neighbors.

The atmosphere of welcoming is increasingly necessary for confronting today's diverse forms of distancing ourselves from others. This is profoundly evidenced in the problem of millions of refugees and exiles, notwithstanding in the phenomenon of racial intolerance. How does one overcome thebias toward the person whose only 'fault' is searching for work and better living conditions outside his own country?Why feel threatened and fearall who are different?

The Word of the Lord acquires new relevance in the face of the needs of so many people who search for housing, struggle for work and seek education for their children. Regarding these people, the welcoming of them remains a challenge for the Christian community. Everyone can live with dignity as a child of God!

I urge every Christian [person of faith] to evidence his walk with God through a concrete sign of love toward those in need, recognizing in this person the face of God and repeating, as if almost face to face: "I was poor, I was marginalized ... and you welcomed me" (Exodus 23: 9; Matthew 25: 40).

As a result of this commitment, the light of hope will again be ignited for many people. ²

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Shalom! This is my cordial greeting to you and the entire Jewish community of Rome. May God, in His goodness, protect and bless each one of us. May he especially bless all who forge a path of friendship and peace among the men and women of every race and culture.

May God make us builders of peace, with the consciousness that, when humanity works for peace, we help make the world become better. ¹

*1 Excerpted from:

ADDRESS OF JOHN PAUL IITO THE CHIEF RABBI OF ROME,DR. RICCARDO DI SEGNI

Thursday, 13 February 2003

http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/2003/february/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20030213_rabbino-roma.html

*2 Excerpted from:

MESSAGE OF JOHN PAUL IIFOR LENT 1998

From the Vatican, 9 September 1997

http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/messages/lent/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_09091997_lent-1998.html