Pope’s message to refugees – Exaudi

The Holy Father invites us to pray for “those who have had to abandon their lands in search of decent living conditions”. People, he writes, who live “the experience of God as a traveling companion”: “How many Bibles, Gospels, prayer books and rosaries accompany emigrants on their journeys across deserts, rivers , the seas and the borders of all continents.

We publish below the Message of the Holy Father Francis for the 110th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which will be celebrated on Sunday September 29, 2024 on the theme: “God walks with his people”.

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Message from the Holy Father

Dear brothers and sisters :

God walks with his people

Dear brothers and sisters !

Last October 29 marked the conclusion of the first session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. This session allowed us to deepen our understanding of synodality as part of the fundamental vocation of the Church. “Synodality presents itself above all as a common journey of the People of God and as a fruitful dialogue between charisms and ministries at the service of the advent of the Kingdom” (Summary report, Introduction).

The emphasis placed on the synodal dimension allows the Church to rediscover its itinerant nature, as the People of God traveling through history on pilgrimage, “migrating”, one could say, towards the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. Lumen Gentium, 49). We naturally think of the biblical story of the Exodus, representing the Israelites on their way to the promised land: a long journey from slavery to freedom prefiguring the Church’s path towards its final encounter with the Lord.

Likewise, it is possible to see in the migrants of our time, as in those of all times, a living image of the people of God on the way to the eternal homeland. Their journeys of hope remind us that “our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil 3:20 p.m.).

Images of the biblical exodus and migrants share several similarities. Like the people of Israel in the time of Moses, migrants are often fleeing oppression, abuse, insecurity, discrimination and lack of development opportunities. Like the Jews in the desert, the migrants encounter many obstacles on their way: they are tested by thirst and hunger; they are exhausted by work and illness; they are tempted by despair.

Yet the fundamental reality of the Exodus, of all exodus, is that God precedes and accompanies his people and all his children in all times and in all places. The presence of God in the midst of the people is a certainty of the history of salvation: “The Lord your God goes with you; he will not let you down nor forsake you”(Deut. 31:6). For the people coming out of Egypt, this presence manifested itself in different forms: a pillar of cloud and fire showing and lighting the way (cf. Ex 13:21), the tent of meeting which protected the ark of the covenant, making the closeness of God tangible (cf. Ex 33:7), the pole with the brazen serpent ensuring divine protection (cf. Nm 21:8-9), manna and water (cf. Ex 16-17) as gifts from God to hungry and thirsty people. The tent is a form of presence particularly dear to the Lord. During David’s reign, God chose to dwell in a tent, not a temple, so that He could walk with His people, “from tent to tent and from dwelling to dwelling” (1 Chr 17:5).

Many migrants consider God their traveling companion, their guide and their anchor of salvation. They confide in him before leaving and seek him out when needed. In him they find consolation in times of discouragement. Thanks to him, there are good Samaritans on the path. In prayer, they entrust their hopes to him. How many Bibles, Gospels, prayer books and rosaries accompany migrants on their journeys across the deserts, rivers, seas and borders of all continents!

God doesn’t just walk with his people, but also In them, in the sense that he identifies with the men and women who go through history, in particular with the most deprived, the poor and the marginalized. We see here an extension of the mystery of the Incarnation.

This is why the encounter with the migrant, as with any brother and sister in need, “is also an encounter with Christ. He said it himself. It is he who knocks at our door, hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick and imprisoned, asking to be welcomed and helped” (Homily and mass with participants in the “Free from Fear” meeting, Sacrofano, February 15, 2019). The final judgment of Matthew 25 leaves no doubt: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (v. 35); and again “truly I tell you, as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me” (v. 40). Each encounter on the path represents an opportunity to encounter the Lord; it is an occasion loaded with salvation, because Jesus is present in the sister or brother who needs our help. In this sense, the poor save us, because they allow us to encounter the face of the Lord (cf. Message for the Third World Day of the PoorNovember 17, 2019).

Dear brothers and sisters, on this day dedicated to migrants and refugees, let us unite in prayer for all those who have had to leave their land in search of dignified living conditions. May we journey with them, be “synodal” together and entrust them, as well as the next Synodal Assembly, “to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a sign of sure hope and consolation for the faithful people of God while ‘he will continue on their path’ (XVIth Ordinary General Assembly Summary report: Continuing the journey).

Pray

God, Father Almighty,
we are your pilgrim Church
on the way to the Kingdom of Heaven.
We live in our homeland,
but as if we were strangers.
Every foreign place is our home,
yet every native land is foreign to us.
Even though we live on earth,
our true citizenship is in heaven.
Let’s not let ourselves become possessive
from part of the world
you gave us as a temporary home.
Help us to keep walking,
with our migrant brothers and sisters,
towards the eternal home which you have prepared for us.
Open our eyes and our hearts
so that each meeting with those who need it
becomes an encounter with Jesus, your Son and our Lord.
Amen.

Rome, Saint John Lateran, May 24, 2024, Memory of the Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians

FRANCIS