Cardinal Parolin: Christians can offer hope with the beauty of Christ's love

Christians are called to share their experience of the beauty of God, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.

People of faith find in God, who became flesh, "the wonder of living", he said in a message written to the participants in an annual meeting of the Communion and Liberation movement.

"This surprising discovery is perhaps not the greatest contribution that Christians can offer to support people's hope", particularly at a time of great difficulty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, he wrote in a message, released by the Vatican on August 17. .

The meeting of 18-23 August was to be broadcast in live streaming from Rimini, Italy, and was to include some events in the presence of the public, following the restrictions in place to curb the spread of the virus.

The theme of the annual meeting was: “Without wonder, we remain deaf to the sublime”.

The dramatic events that have occurred in recent months "have shown that the wonder of one's own life and the lives of others makes us more aware and more creative, less likely to (feel) discontent and resignation," said a press release dated 13 July on the meeting on the event website MeetingRimini.org.

In his message, sent to Bishop Francesco Lambiasi of Rimini, Parolin said that Pope Francis conveyed his greetings and his hopes for a successful meeting, assuring the participants of his closeness and prayers.

Amazement is what "sets life back in motion, allowing it to take off in any circumstance", wrote the cardinal.

Life, like faith, becomes "gray" and routine without wonder, he wrote.

If wonder and amazement are not cultivated, one becomes "blind" and isolated within oneself, attracted only by the ephemeral and no longer interested in questioning the world, he added.

However, expressions of genuine beauty can direct people along a path that helps them encounter Jesus, he wrote.

"The pope invites you to continue to collaborate with him in witnessing the experience of the beauty of God, who became flesh so that our eyes may marvel at his face and our eyes may find in him the wonder of living," he wrote the cardinal.

"It is an invitation to be clear about the beauty that has changed our lives, concrete witnesses of the love that saves, especially to those who now suffer most".