that she is our Mother. A Mother who learned, amid so many hardships, the   
   meaning of the words: 'Do not be afraid, the Lord is with you'. A Mother who   
   keeps saying to us: 'Do whatever he tells you'. This is what she constantly   
   says   
   to us: 'Do whatever he tells you'. She doesn't have a plan of her own; she   
   doesn't come to tell us something new. Rather, she prefers to remain silent,   
   and   
   simply accompanies our faith with her own.   
    "You know this from experience. All of you, all Paraguayans, share in the   
   living memory of a people who have made incarnate these words of the Gospel.   
   Here I would like especially to mention you, the women, wives and mothers of   
   Paraguay, who at great cost and sacrifice were able to lift up a country   
   defeated, devastated and laid low by an abominable war. You are keepers of the   
   memory, the lifeblood of those who rebuilt the life, faith and dignity of your   
   people, together with Mary. You lived through many difficult situations which,   
   in the eyes of the world, would seem to discredit all faith. Yet, inspired and   
   sustained by the Blessed Virgin, you continued to believe, even 'hoping against   
   all hope'. And when all seemed to be falling apart, with Mary you said: 'Let us   
   not be afraid, the Lord is with us; he is with our people, with our families;   
   let us do what he tells us'. Then and now, you found the strength not to let   
   this land lose its bearings. God bless your perseverance, God bless and   
   encourage your faith, God bless the women of Paraguay, the most glorious women   
   of America.   
    "As a people, we have come home, to this house of all Paraguayans, to hear   
   once   
   more those words which are so comforting: 'Rejoice, the Lord is with you'. They   
   are a summons to cherish your memory, your roots, and the many signs which you   
   have received as a people of believers tested by trials and struggles. Yours is   
   a faith which has become life, a life which has become hope, and a hope which   
   leads to eminent charity. Yes, like Jesus, may you be outstanding in love. May   
   you be bearers of this faith, this life and this hope. May you, Paraguayans,   
   continue to build these up this country's present and future".   
    The Holy Father invited those present to join him in prayer: "Here, in your   
   Eden of Caacupe, are your people, Virgin most pure, who offer you their love   
   and   
   their faith". Her exclaimed, "All together: here, in your Eden of Caacupe, are   
   your people, Virgin most pure, who offer you their love and their faith. Pray   
   for us, Holy Mother of God, that we may be worthy of the promises and graces of   
   our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen".   
    Following the Holy Mass, the Pope commended Paraguay to Our Lady of the   
   Miracles of Caacupe, repeating the act by his predecessor St. John Paul II on   
   18   
   May 1988, during his visit to the Shrine as part of his apostolic trip to   
   Paraguay.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis responds to the "builders of society" in Paraguay   
    Vatican City, 12 July 2015 (VIS) - The Leon Condou Sports Centre in Asuncion   
   was the location of the Pope's meeting with the so-called "society-builders" in   
   Paraguay - that is, school and university professors, artists and   
   businesspeople, journalists, women's associations, agriculturalists and   
   indigenous groups. The Holy Father answered various questions from those   
   present, whom he greeted first with the following words:   
    "Seeing all of you together, each coming from his or her own sector or   
   organisation within beloved Paraguayan society, each bringing his or her own   
   joys, concerns, struggles and hopes, makes me grateful to God. In other words,   
   it seems that Paraguay is anything but dead, thank God. When a people is   
   unengaged and listless, passively accepting things as they are, it is a dead   
   people. On the contrary, I see in you great vitality and promise. And God   
   always   
   blesses this. God is always on the side of those who help to uplift and improve   
   the lives of His children. To be sure, problems and situations of injustice   
   exist. But seeing you and listening to you helps renew my hope in the Lord Who   
   continues to work in the midst of His people. You represent many different   
   backgrounds, situations and aspirations; all together, you make up Paraguayan   
   culture. All of you have a part to play in the pursuit of the common good. In   
   the present condition of global society, where injustices abound and growing   
   numbers of people are deprived of basic human rights and considered expendable,   
   to see you here before me is a real gift.   
    The first question was from a young person who expressed his concern regarding   
   the construction of a society characterised by fraternity, justice, peace and   
   dignity for all.   
    "Youth is a time of high ideals", said the Pope. "I often say that it is   
   really   
   sad to see a young person who is out of work. It is important that you, the   
   young, and there are indeed many young persons here in Paraguay, realise that   
   genuine happiness comes from working to make a more fraternal country! It comes   
   from realising that happiness and pleasure are not synonymous. Happiness, joy,   
   is one thing, but fleeting pleasure is another. Happiness is built up, it is   
   something solid which edifies. Happiness is demanding, it requires commitment   
   and effort. ... Paraguay has a large population of young people and this is a   
   great source of enrichment for the nation. So I think that the first thing to   
   do   
   is to make sure that all that energy, that light, does not disappear from your   
   hearts, and to resist the growing mentality which considers it useless and   
   absurd to aspire to things that demand effort. ... Be committed to something,   
   be   
   committed to someone. This is the vocation of young people so don't be afraid   
   to   
   take a risk on the field, but play fairly and give it your best. Don't be   
   afraid   
   to give the best of yourselves! Don't look for easy solutions beforehand so as   
   to avoid tiredness and struggle. And don't bribe the referee. I ask you not to   
   fight the good fight alone. Try to talk about these things among yourselves,   
   profit from the lives, the stories of your elders, of your grandparents, for   
   there is great wisdom there. 'Waste' lots of time listening to all the good   
   things they have to teach you. They are the guardians of that spiritual legacy   
   of faith and values which define a people and illumine a path. ... Jesus   
   extends   
   to you an invitation through the memory of your people. ... Fraternity,   
   justice,   
   peace and dignity are concrete and real, otherwise they are useless. They are   
   constructed with the work of each day. And so, how do you shape those ideals,   
   daily and concretely? Even if you make mistakes, make amends, get up again and   
   move forward - make progress with concrete steps. I confess to you that I feel   
   somewhat allergic ... to very eloquent discourses; those who know the speaker   
   end   
   up saying, 'What are liar you are!' This is why words on their own are not   
   enough. If you give your word of honour, then make sacrifices each day to be   
   faithful to that word, to be committed!   
    The second question related to dialogue as a means to advance the project of a   
   fully inclusive nation. "Dialogue is not easy. There exists also a 'theatrical   
   dialogue' by which I mean that we rehearse dialogue, play out the conversation,   
   but it is subsequently all forgotten. ... For example, I think about that   
   dialogue we have in the Church, interreligious dialogue, where different   
   representatives of religions speak to each other. We sometimes meet to speak   
   and   
   share our points of view, and everyone speaks on the basis of their own   
   identity: 'I'm Buddhist, I'm Evangelical. I'm Orthodox, I'm Catholic'. Each one   
   explains their identity. They do not negotiate their identity. This means that,   
   for there to be dialogue, that fundamental basis of identity must exist. And   
   what is the identity of a country? - and here we are speaking about a social   
   identity - to love the nation. The nation first, and then my business! ...   
   That is   
   identity. That is the basis upon which I will dialogue. If I am to speak   
   without   
   that basis, without that identity, then dialogue is pointless. Moreover,   
   dialogue presupposes and demands that we seek a culture of encounter; an   
   encounter which acknowledges that diversity is not only good, it is necessary.   
   Uniformity nullifies us, it makes us robots. The richness of life is in   
   diversity. For this reason, the point of departure cannot be, 'I'm going to   
   dialogue but he's wrong'. No, no, we must not presume that the other person is   
   wrong. I dialogue with my identity but I'm going to listen to what the other   
   person has to say, how I can be enriched by the other, who makes me realise my   
   mistakes and see the contribution I can offer. It is a process of going out and   
   coming back, always with an open heart. ... This is the culture of encounter.   
   Dialogue is not about negotiating. Negotiating is trying to get your own slice   
   of the cake. ... Dialogue is about seeking the common good. Discuss, think, and   
   discover together a better solution for everybody. ... During dialogue there is   
   conflict. This is logical and even desirable. Because if I think in one way and   
   you in another and we walk together, there will be conflict. But we mustn't   
   fear   
   it, we mustn't ignore it. On the contrary, we are invited to embrace conflict.   
   ...   
   Conflict exists: we have to embrace it, we have to try and resolve it as far as   
   possible, but with the intention of achieving that unity which is not   
   uniformity, but rather a unity in diversity. ... True cultures are never   
   closed in   
   on themselves - cultures would die if they closed in on themselves - but are   
   called to meet other cultures and to create new realities. ... Without this   
   essential presupposition, without this basis of fraternity, it will be very   
   difficult to arrive at dialogue. If someone thinks that there are persons,   
   cultures, or situations which are second, third or fourth class surely things   
   will go badly, because the bare minimum, a recognition of the dignity of the   
   other, is lacking. There are no first, second, third, fourth categories of   
   persons: they are all of the same lineage".   
    The third question was, "How do we hear the cry of the poor in order to build   
   a   
   more inclusive society?". The Pope responded, "It is important not to exclude   
   anybody, and not to exclude oneself, because everybody needs everybody. A   
   fundamental part of helping the poor involves the way we see them. An   
   ideological approach is useless: it ends up using the poor in the service of   
   other political or personal interests. Ideologies end badly, and are useless.   
   They relate to people in ways that are either incomplete, unhealthy, or evil.   
   Ideologies do not embrace a people. You just have to look at the last century.   
   What was the result of ideologies? Dictatorships, in every case. Always think   
   of   
   the people, never stop thinking about the good of the people. ... To really   
   help   
   people, the first thing is for us to be truly concerned for individual persons,   
   and I'm thinking of the poor here, valuing them for their goodness. Valuing   
   them, however, also means being ready to learn from them. The poor have much to   
   teach us about humanity, goodness, sacrifice and solidarity. As Christians,   
   moreover, we have an additional reason to love and serve the poor; for in them   
   we see the face and the flesh of Christ, who made Himself poor so as to enrich   
   us with His poverty. ... Let us reflect carefully. The poor person is just   
   like me   
   and, if he or she is going through a difficult time for many reasons, be they   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)