Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

Today’s liturgy invites us to reflect on the hospitality shown by Abraham and his wife Sarah, and later by the sisters Martha and Mary, who were friends of Jesus (cf. Gen 18:1-10; Lk 10:38-42). Every time we are invited to the Lord’s Supper and share in the Eucharistic meal, it is God himself who “comes to serve us” (cf. Lk 12:37). Yet God first knew what it was to be a guest, and today as well, he stands at our door and knocks (cf. Rev 3:20). In Italian, the same word can mean both “guest” and “host.” On this summer Sunday, let us reflect on this interplay of giving and receiving hospitality, for without it our lives are impoverished.

Humility is needed to offer hospitality, but also to receive it. It also takes courtesy, attentiveness and openness. In the Gospel, Martha risks missing out on some of the joy of this exchange. She is so caught up in preparing to welcome Jesus that she nearly spoils a unique moment of encounter. Martha is a generous person, but our Lord calls her to something more than generosity alone. He calls her to leave her preparations behind and to come and spend time with him.

Dear brothers and sisters, our lives can only flourish if we learn to be open to something greater than ourselves, something that brings us happiness and fulfillment. Martha complains that her sister has left her alone to serve (cf. v. 40), but Mary is completely caught up in Jesus’ words. She is no less practical than her sister, nor less generous, but she recognized what was most important. kThat is why Jesus chides Martha. She was missing an opportunity to share in a moment that would have brought her great joy (cf. vv. 41-42).

The summer season can help us learn how to slow down and become more like Mary than Martha. Sometimes we too fail to choose the better part. We need to take time to rest and try to learn better the art of hospitality. The holiday industry wants to sell us all sorts of “experiences,” but perhaps not the ones we are really looking for. Every genuine encounter is free; it cannot be bought, whether it is an encounter with God, with others or with nature. We need only learn the art of hospitality, which includes both welcoming others and allowing ourselves to be welcomed. We have much to receive, not only to give. Abraham and Sarah, despite their advanced years, found themselves being parents after they welcomed the Lord himself in the three visitors. We too have so much life ahead of us, remaining to be welcomed and embraced.

Let us pray to Mary Most Holy, our Mother, who welcomed our Lord, bore him in her womb, and together with Joseph gave him a home. In her, we see the beauty of our own vocation, the vocation of the Church, to be a home open to all and in this way to welcome her Lord, who knocks at our door and asks our permission to enter.

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After the Angelus prayer

Dear brothers and sisters,

This morning I celebrated the Eucharist in the Cathedral of Albano.  It was a significant moment of ecclesial communion and encounter with the diocesan community.  I thank His Excellency Bishop Viva who is present here and all those who worked to organise this beautiful celebration.  I offer my best wishes to the entire diocesan community!

Tragic news continues to arrive in these days from the Middle East, especially from Gaza.

I express my profound sadness regarding last Thursday’s attack by the Israeli army on the Catholic Parish of the Holy Family in Gaza City, which as you know killed three Christians and gravely wounded others.  I pray for the victims, Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad, Najwa Ibrahim Latif Abu Daoud, and I am particularly close to their families and to all the parishioners.  Sadly, this act adds to the continuous military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship in Gaza.

I again call for an immediate halt to the barbarism of the war and for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

I renew my appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and to respect the obligation to protect civilians, as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force and the forced displacement of the population.

To our beloved Middle Eastern Christians I say: I deeply sympathise with your feeling that you can do little in the face of this grave situation.  You are in the heart of the Pope and of the whole Church.  Thank you for your witness of faith.  May the Virgin Mary, woman of the Levant, dawn of the new Sun that has risen in history, protect you always and accompany the world towards the dawn of peace.

I greet all of you, faithful of Castel Gandolfo and all of the pilgrims present here.

I greet the young participants of the pilgrimage organised by the Catholic Worldview Fellowship, who are visiting Rome after several weeks of prayer and formation.

I thank the International Forum of Catholic Action for promoting the “Prayer Marathon for Leaders”: the invitation, addressed to each one of us, is to pause today between 10 am to 10 pm to pray for just one minute, asking the Lord to enlighten our leaders and inspire in them projects for peace.

In these weeks, some families of the Focolare movement are in Loppiano for the “International School of New Families.”  I pray that this experience of spirituality and fraternity will make you firm in the faith and joyful in the spiritual accompaniment of other families.

I greet the students, teachers and staff of the Catholic Institute of Technology, which has its headquarters here in Castel Gandolfo.  I greet the Agesci Gela 3 Scout Group, engaged in the Jubilee pilgrimage that will end before the tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis.  I also greet the young people of Castello di Godego, who are engaged in a service experience with Caritas of Rome, and I greet the faithful of Palermo and those of Sarsina.

Also present are the members of the folkloristic group “O Stazzo,” as well as the musical band of Alba de Tormes.

In a few days I will return to the Vatican, after these two weeks that I have stayed here in Castel Gandolfo.  I would like to thank all of you for your hospitality and wish all of you a happy Sunday!