Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, You who have come in such large numbers to take part in this national pilgrimage, as well as all of you who are following it from home through the media. We, the bishops of Madagascar, would like to express our deep gratitude to you for having responded to our invitation and for having brought this jubilee initiated by Pope Francis to life spiritually. With you, we take up Mary's song: ‘My soul exalts the Lord’ and we repeat with her: ‘What shall I repay the Lord for all the good he has done me?’....
This pilgrimage coincides with our gratitude to Pope Francis, who has offered us this year as a jubilee year of hope and unspeakable joy, in union with the universal Church. We have also had the joy of welcoming a new Pope, His Holiness Leo XIV. None of us has forgotten the special love Pope Francis had for Madagascar, and he has treasured in his heart and in his office the fond memories of his visit here in 2019. What sadness it was to learn of his departure for the Father's House, after his hospitalisation. But everyone recognises how many great things he achieved, and this jubilee that we are celebrating today is still a gift from God through him.
While we were still in sorrow, we received the joy of the Risen Christ, who said to his chosen successor, Leo XIV: ‘Peace be with you all’. It is this Easter joy that we experience together today.
Congratulations to all of us! We have received a new Pope, and we have been filled with graces through this pilgrimage!
We will now return home to our places of life, but we, your bishops, wish to leave you a spiritual seed so that this time spent together will not be a mere parenthesis, but will bear fruit in our spiritual and daily lives.
We have consecrated our country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is worth remembering that the Heart of Mary is the shortest route to the Heart of Jesus. The heart, as we know, is not just a vital organ, but the very place where love resides and from which it springs. There is no true love that does not start from the heart. And this Heart to which we have entrusted our nation is a Sacred Heart, which makes it unique. God alone is holy, so the Heart of God that beats for us all is a Heart of love, to which we have entrusted our nation. To love is always to seek the good of others. The Heart of Jesus has been given to us as the perfect model for learning and living true love.
This, then, is the essential message for all of us:
We cannot simply proclaim that the Heart of Jesus is holy without seeking to imitate that love in our lives.
All of you gathered here or following us through the media at home, alone or with your family, you are sent to be hearts beating like Jesus', to live and spread his love wherever you are: in your families, at school, at work, in politics, in the search for the common good, in society, in respect for the environment, in town and village... The Heart of Jesus is holy, and our hearts become holy too when they rest in him and imitate his love.
We are all invited to love and to be loving. It's not with fine words that we love, but with visible and concrete actions. So we, your bishops, repeat to you these words of Saint Augustine: ‘Love truly, and do what you will’.
Show in everything you do that your heart is that of Jesus. Stay away from evil, revenge, gratuitous backbiting, corruption, lies, slander, unjustified insults on social networks... All these attitudes are part of our daily lives, but they are not signs of love, so they are not suitable for a heart united to the Heart of Jesus.
Strive to be full of love, mercy and forgiveness in order to build peace, first within yourselves, and then around you, in the whole country. Increase your love of your neighbour, because the heart beats not only for itself, but for others. This is what we have been celebrating especially during this pilgrimage: the Heart of Jesus who did not keep his love to himself, but offered it to the world. Have the courage to come out of selfish love to love others: your fellow human beings, nature, and God who loves us infinitely. A stable society is never built on hatred. And without love, as Jesus taught us, there can be no peaceful and fraternal Malagasy society. Only sincere, not hypocritical love can give our world a dignified image.
We bishops are convinced that even if only fervent Catholics living from the Heart of Jesus were to radiate love in their actions and commitments, this would already be enough to transform our society and our country.
But this is not yet fully the case. That's why we urge you to return home and sow more love, and to pray to the Heart of Jesus that our hearts may be like his.
Finally, we are in a Jubilee Year of Hope. And the highest hope is the risen Jesus. Base your faith and hope on him, for he is the only one who will never betray you. It is the risen Christ who founded the Church, hence our joy today at belonging to this Church and celebrating our faith in it. Have the courage to be true Catholics, full of hope, who can change the world if they are rooted in Christ. Don't be ashamed of your Catholic faith, but don't be arrogant Catholics. Be Catholics filled with love, whose hearts beat in unison with the Heart of Jesus. Be Catholics not only in name, but in deed and in spirit. Don't be discouraged by the trials of life, don't give in to injustice, corruption or favouritism. Always trust in God, whatever happens. Take care of each other, according to our beautiful Malagasy wisdom: ‘A house in the north and one in the south, let the homeless find refuge there. ‘May our society never be destroyed by violence or injustice, and may the powerful never enrich themselves at the expense of the little ones, because our people are full of Christians with hearts like Jesus', and full of hope.
We, your bishops, bless you by granting you a plenary indulgence for all the spiritual efforts you have made during this pilgrimage. May God's blessing accompany you on your return home. May your hearts be filled with joy, because they are filled with Jesus, and may this joy last, because it comes from him who is risen and alive, he who promised us peace and who remains with us forever. Tell your loved ones how happy the bishops are to have prayed with so many of you. And tell them that we are praying unceasingly for you and for our beloved country.
O gentle and humble Jesus, make our hearts like yours.
May God bless you abundantly!
