This Friday, the ceremony for the imposition of the archiepiscopal pallium on Monsignor Adalberto Martínez Flores was held in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Asunción, led by the nuncio Monsignor Eliseo Arioti. Coincidentally, the religious today celebrates his 71st birthday, and in his homily he expressed his concern for the moral recovery of the nation, just as he entrusted himself to Chiquitunga, the first Paraguayan Blessed.
He thanked all the people for their presence and spiritual closeness during the ceremony and stated that he entrusts himself to prayers. “Please pray for me. For the faithful fulfillment of this mission that the Church places on my shoulders today, I ask for the intercession of Blessed María Felicia de Jesús Sacramentado, dear Chiquitunga”, she concluded.
During his homily, Martínez Flores expressed that on this special day, as well as on a daily basis, he humbly recites: “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me rest in green meadows… He renews my strength. Guide me along the path of good… I will fear no evil, because you are with me. We make the psalm our own to recite it every day of our lives”.
Monsignor pointed out that the Lord knows his frailty and his littleness and, nevertheless, has anointed him with the balm of his Grace so that, together with the successor of Peter, Pope Francis and with his brother bishops, they can shepherd their flock in the Church. particular of Asunción who pilgrims in Paraguay.
“The pallium that I receive as Metropolitan Archbishop has been woven with the wool of the lambs that the Pope blesses every year on the feast of Saint Agnes, and reminds us of the lambs and sheep of Christ, which He entrusted to feed Peter and who entrusts us to continue taking care of them. I thank Pope Francis for having noticed this server to call him to be pastor of this portion of the People of God. From this Metropolitan Headquarters of Asunción, I express once again my feelings of fidelity and obedience asking for his paternal blessing”, he emphasized.
The imposed pallium is a religious garment that carries the symbol of unity, communion and charity that comes from Rome, where on June 29 it was delivered to about 44 metropolitan bishops. Since 2015, Pope Francis has pre-blessed the pallium and it is no longer delivered in Rome, but by the archbishops of the dioceses in various parts of the world.
Martínez maintained that the gospel teaches that to feed the flock, the indispensable condition is love. “For all the times we have denied him, the Lord asks us: Do you love me? Despite our weaknesses and sins, our infidelities, the Lord gives us the opportunity of sincere conversion to say: ‘Lord, you know that I love you,’ he explained.
He mentioned that the bishop, nor the cardinal, is a prince of the Church. On the contrary, he is there to serve others: “Whoever wants to be first, he must be the servant of all,” says the Lord, “reflects Monsignor.
“As missionary disciples, guided by the magisterium of Pope Francis, we assume that the Church is synodal, missionary and Samaritan, that she is called to leave herself and go to the peripheries, without fear of getting muddy or suffering blows for going out into the streets. and assume the suffering flesh of Christ in the faces of the little ones, of the vulnerable, of the excluded, of those discarded from society: indigenous people, peasants, children, women, the elderly, the unemployed, drug addicts, the sick without hospitals or medicines, hungry without bread, the prisoners who overcrowd our prisons in subhuman conditions”, he stressed.
Read more: Monsignor Adalberto Martínez will receive today, on his 71st birthday, the imposition of the Archbishop’s Palio
At another point, Monsignor said that the strength and integrity of the family is at the center of pastoral concern; especially the most vulnerable families, without social protection, without access to a decent life; families with children without affection, disoriented, without education or direction.
“In the bosom of the family is the present and the future of the herd. The destiny of the country is forged in it. Where life is threatened, where human dignity is struck by injustice, inequity, corruption and impunity, the Church is called to raise her prophetic voice and, secondarily, collaborate with mercy to relieve pain. and the needs of the impoverished in our society,” he said.
Likewise, he stressed that as metropolitan archbishop, together with his brother bishops of the Paraguayan Episcopal Conference, the Archdiocesan and National Clergy, the Conference of Religious of Paraguay and the entire People of God, they have the urgent mission of enlightening with the Gospel the shadows and social sins that threaten the lives of our people.
Likewise, Monsignor Adalberto stressed that Paraguay urgently needs signs of hope from those who are responsible to society. “Although we address ourselves primarily to the baptized, the task of the common good belongs to everyone, without distinction of religious creed or political parties. It is an appeal to all people of good will, good citizens who are called to be part of a national crusade for the moral healing of the nation. This is an urgent and urgent task”, he stressed.
In particular, he invited the laity to be missionary disciples of Jesus Christ in their environments and not to evade the direct responsibility of ‘transforming realities and creating just structures according to the criteria of the Gospel’.
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“The great challenge is to face the difficult reality of society, increasingly violent and disintegrated, from the Christian faith of the baptized in the world. Likewise, we will put great effort and the necessary efforts to favor spaces for dialogue between the actors and sectors of our society, which lead to social peace along the path of justice and equity”, he pointed out.
Finally, Martínez affirmed that being a pastor means knowing, leading, congregating in unity, giving life, that this is a mission of pastors. “Mission, in a broad sense, of all people who have a responsibility to others in the Church and in families, in society,” he added.