The following are more quotes taken from various speeches and homilies given by Pope Francis during his historic recent visit to Poland.

God is in them

At the conclusion of a Way of the Cross in Krakow, the Pope said: “Where is God, if evil is present in our world, if there are men and women who are hungry and thirsty, homeless, exiles and refugees? Where is God, when innocent people die as a result of violence, terrorism and war? Where is God, when cruel diseases break the bonds of life and affection? Or when children are exploited and demeaned, and they too suffer from grave illness? Where is God, amid the anguish of those who doubt and are troubled in spirit?

“These are questions that humanly speaking have no answer. We can only look to Jesus and ask him. And Jesus’ answer is this: ‘God is in them.’ Jesus is in them; he suffers in them and deeply identifies with each of them. He is so closely united to them as to form with them, as it were, ‘one body’.”

At the service of others

In the same address, the Pope said: “Humanity today needs men and women, and especially young people like yourselves, who do not wish to live their lives ‘half way’, young people ready to spend their lives freely in service to those of their brothers and sisters who are poorest and most vulnerable, in imitation of Christ who gave himself completely for our salvation.

“In the face of evil, suffering and sin, the only response possible for a disciple of Jesus is the gift of self, even of one’s own life, in imitation of Christ; it is the attitude of service. Unless those who call themselves Christians live to serve, their lives serve no good purpose. By their lives, they deny Jesus Christ.

“This evening, dear friends, the Lord once more asks you to be at the forefront of serving others. He wants to make of you a concrete response to the needs and sufferings of humanity. He wants you to be signs of His merciful love for our time.”

Love and service

During Mass with priests, religious, consecrated people and seminarians in Krakow, the Pope said: “In other words, the life of Jesus’ closest disciples, which is what we are called to be, is shaped by concrete love, a love, in other words, marked by service and availability. It is a life that has no closed spaces or private property for our own use. Those who choose to model their entire life on Jesus no longer choose their own places; they go where they are sent, in ready response to the one who calls. They do not even choose their own times.

“The house where they live does not belong to them, because the Church and the world are the open spaces of their mission. Their wealth is to put the Lord in the midst of their lives and to seek nothing else for themselves. So they flee the satisfaction of being at the centre of things... ”

Let us pray

From the window of the residence of the Archbishop of Krakow, the Pope said: “Jesus came to take us on his shoulders. He asks us to pray. We pray for all those who today are in the world: the hungry, the thirsty, the doubters, the sick, who are on their own, those who feel the weight of so many doubts and guilt. Who suffer so much…

“Let us pray for all the sick children, innocent, who carry the Cross for children. We pray for so many men and women who are tortured in many countries; for prisoners who are all piled up there, as if they were animals.”

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)