“Free” is the verb chosen by Bishop of Bergamo, Francis Beschifor the third day of the diocesan pilgrimage between Austria and Hungary. He shared it with the faithful during the Mass on Saturday 29 June, celebrated in the Gothic church of Santa Maria sulla Riva in Viennaso called because the Danube flows behind it. To free us from the chains of sin and fear that threaten to overwhelm mankind. But also a thought for those who are physically in chains and for those who work in prisons: “The situation in prisons is very difficult, let’s remember them too,” said Monsignor Beschi.
Saturday also marked the celebration of Saints Peter and Paul, whose stories truly represent a story of liberation. In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter’s chains are told, which are loosened and fall off. And Paul’s certainty, the Bishop recalled in his homily, is that “the Lord will deliver me from every evil”. Just as in the story of the two apostles, even in the life of all of us there can be chains that imprison and constrain us. «There are many chains that pass through people’s lives – said Monsignor Beschi –. Some people sometimes perceive family relationships as a chain: what should represent life, the joy of living, the hope of living is perceived as a chain. Then there are some situations that seem to have no way out, we feel chained, and not just our feet and our hands.” Even everyday habits, if transformed into vices, can deprive one of freedom: «I am thinking of addictions, such as drugs and gambling, which are not easy to free oneself from – the Bishop further highlighted –. Breaking free from chains is a huge thing, but we usually don’t do it alone.“. As in the example of Saint Peter, support is needed to return to being free. In fact, “the whole Church prays for Peter: so we too, if we pray for the people who are dear to us and who we feel are in need of liberation, we are doing a great thing.”
Chains can also present themselves in the form of fear. «Fear spreads, it seems to me that in recent years we have seen it grow. It’s like something subtle that affects our lives a little. The recent war has added to other fears», such as the financial crisis of 2008 and the pandemic that brought Bergamo to its knees. How can fear be overcome? «When Jesus says “do not be afraid” he does not evoke courage, he rather evokes faith: it is faith that frees us from fear – added Beschi -. I too happen to be distressed, however, the moment I draw on faith again, I feel a strength that makes me resist the power of fear.” It is the Lord, therefore, who frees us from this chain, as we read in the Psalm: “The Lord has freed me from all fear.”
Finally, the liberation from evil. Certainly from physical evil, from moral evil, but also “from the evil of sin: this great joy of the gift of God’s forgiveness truly frees us from the power of sin, from the power of evil”, concluded Bishop Beschi. On Sunday morning the 127 pilgrims will leave the Austrian capital towards Hungary. A first stop will be made in the city of Fuori, halfway between Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna. In the afternoon we will then enter the city of Pannonhalma, famous for the majestic thousand-year-old Benedictine monastery, the first founded in Hungarian land. Among other things, it is said that the holy bishop Martin of Tours, one of the founders of monasticism in the West, was born here.
