Excellency Mons. Rafic Nara
Very Rev. Father Custos of the Holy Land Fr. Francesco Patton
Rev. Father Guardian Fr. Woychech Bollos
Rev. Father Parish Priest Fr. Ibrahim Sabbaha
Very Rev. Mons. Natale Albino
Dear Franciscan brothers,
Priests, men and women religious
Brothers and sisters
May the Lord give you peace!
Finally in Nazareth…. After two years I return to the house of the Most Holy Virgin, to the house of Saint Joseph. Truly with a heart full of gratitude I return among you, brothers and sisters of Nazareth, and for the first time as bishop. And it is precisely the feeling of gratitude that accompanies me. Yes, gratitude to God for his mercy and love for me. Gratitude to my religious family, the Custody of the Holy Land, for their constant support and accompaniment. And today your welcome to me. Thanks to the father Custos, Fr. Francesco Patton for his presence, to the guardian father, Fr. Woychec for the invitation, to father Rodrigo, my eternal gratitude to all the Franciscan brothers. My gratitude to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, thank you Monsignor Rafic for your fraternal presence. It is a grace to serve the Mother Church of the Holy Land, in the portion of the Church present in Cyprus.
However, dear brothers and sisters, my gratitude in God today goes to the Most Holy Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, who trained me in the school of Nazareth. Yes, in the mystery of the incarnation, here in Nazareth we understand “Who we are”, and consequently it becomes clear “what we must do and how we must be. Mary, despite understanding the very high mission that God entrusted to her, remained a humble servant from the first moment. The day that the Patriarch and the Apostolic Nuncio called me to ask for my consent and communicate that the Holy Father Pope Francis had appointed me bishop, my mind, my heart took me back to Nazareth. And I accepted as the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph taught me, that we can say “no” to our interests, to our projects. But to God’s plan, we must say: yes, “fiat”. For this reason I chose as my episcopal motto: “Secumdum Verbum tuum”. According to Your Word….
The mission of the bishop is not easy, we know this… but the solutions for all the questions, for all the difficulties are present in the Word, in the “Verbum”, in Christ. It is the message of the Gospel of Saint Mark that we have heard. Our mission is “unity”. The Word brings us to unity, even if we are different, with different characters, different cultures, different charisms, but our love for the Church surpasses all diversity. And the unity in Christ surpasses the levels of Blood kinship, in becoming for one another, Mothers, sisters and brothers. It’s beautiful but also a challenge. Overcoming the level of relationships even within our families. The risk is remaining in grudges, in things from the past.
And here in Nazareth we learn the method: The “Knosis”. In the Incarnation, God lowers himself, the fathers of the Church say that even geographically God could not lower himself more…
To lower yourself is to go towards your brothers, it is to take the first step. And rediscover in our brothers and sisters the presence of the Lord… the Action of the Lord. Not recognizing this is a sin against the Holy Spirit. And many ask what are these sins against the Holy Spirit? It is not recognizing God’s action. And not recognizing God’s action generates ingratitude, racism, and indifference in us.
Brothers and sisters, how much good it did me to return to Nazareth after 2 and a half months of Episcopal Ordination. And to thank… “EvCaristò Poli”, in the Greek language, the language of Cyprus. It is the origin of the Word Eucharist. “Shikran Ekitir”…. And together with the Word of the Gospel I would like to say: among you, I have mothers, sisters and brothers… And beloved brothers and sisters, let us begin to serve the Lord, seeking together the face of the Father, to be authentic witnesses of the joy of belonging to his Son Jesus Christ, to his Church, to the Mother Church of Jerusalem present in Nazareth, in Cyprus. Amen!