Building Bridges in a Fractured World: 

The Table and Banquet of Solidarity

Living in a fractured world, with so many wounded along the way, we are called to solidarity. We must become tents and field hospitals, as Pope Francis invites us. It is essential for the Church to take risks in building solidarity and fraternity, breaking down the walls that divide us. We must be a prophetic Church, inviting everyone to the banquet of God’s love and generosity.

A misfortunate event

In the light of faith, I try to revisit an unfortunate event that occurred several weeks ago. I was the victim of a motorcycle accident. Lying in the middle of the road, help arrived immediately. Pure gratitude and generosity from the people who came to my aid! Minutes after the incident, I was already in the emergency room at a hospital. The speed with which I was cared for in response to the urgency of my situation and the way I was treated left a deep impression on me.

This event reminds me, first of all, of the burial of Jesus, which took place on the eve of the great feast of Passover. Indeed, there was no time to lose. Moreover, it invites me to reflect on His resurrection, which is the reason for our hope and highlights the urgency of sharing this news.

The urgency to go out and meet

The Gospel of John illuminates my memory: Jesus is buried in a new tomb “almost in haste,” because of the start of the Sabbath. Then, hurriedly, the women go to the tomb before dawn on the first day of the week. Mary Magdalene finds the stone rolled away and runs back to tell Peter and the beloved disciple what had happened (John 20:1-10). Both run to the tomb, and Mary probably follows them.

This urgency resonates as the call to solidarity that we face today. We must act with the same urgency in our service to those wounded along the way.
As the Church, we must run toward the marginalized, the displaced, and the forgotten, bringing with us the light of the Gospel and the love of God.

The missionary urgency to invite everyone to the banquet is more vital than ever. Amid conflicts and the vicissitudes of the journey, we must strive to meet the Risen One. In discovering the signs of His love, the rolled-away stone, we are invited not to keep the news to ourselves but to share it and spread it with urgency. As the Lord says to us: “Go tell my brothers and sisters that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (John 20:17).

The meal

We have wept before the tomb, perhaps feeling like the servants who had been invited to the wedding feast but did not respond positively to the invitation.
But the sign of the resurrection is that the stone has been rolled away, and the Master speaks our names. The sign of the resurrection is that the wedding feast is prepared and everything is ready to celebrate. With new wine and new garments, gifts from the King Himself (cf. Mt 22:1-14).

The Mission: Reaching out to humanity

The mission is to constantly reach out to all humanity, to the ends of the earth, inviting them to encounter and communion with God.

God’s love and mercy are accessible to all, and as believers, our task is to extend this invitation to everyone, wherever they are on their spiritual journey.

God walks with His people, and we, His people, go out to meet Him. We recognize that the Kingdom's banquet is free, and it comes to us as we go toward it. We must share the joy of the wedding feast with "everyone, everyone, everyone," inviting them to join the celebration.

Going out

In his message for World Mission Day 2024, Pope Francis warns against the risk of a Church that does not let the Lord out. He has often spoken of the temptation of a self-referential Church, one centered on itself, clinging to traditions with nostalgia for the past. The pope insists that the entire Church must continually "go out with its Lord and Master to the crossroads of today’s world."

"The drama of the Church is that Jesus continues to knock at the door, but from inside, so that we may let Him out! So often, we become a Church […] that does not let the Lord out, that keeps Him as its 'own thing,' whereas He came for the mission and wants us to be missionaries," he affirms.

The guests at the banquet

Moreover, the pope emphasizes that the least and the marginalized of society are the King’s special guests. The universal mission requires everyone's commitment, and it is necessary to follow the path toward a fully synodal and missionary Church at the service of the Gospel.

This call urges us to recognize Jesus in our brothers and sisters and to spread, with urgency and joy, the Good News of His resurrection. We must actively participate in the King’s banquet, sharing His love and kindness with everyone we meet along the way. It is urgent to make the last and the marginalized understand that they are special guests at the banquet. The mission to bring the Gospel to all peoples must reflect the same style as the one to whom it is announced, as Pope Francis mentions in his message: How can we transform our local communities and churches into tents and field hospitals to offer our solidarity to those in greatest need?

* Pedro Emilio Ramirez Ramos is a priest of the Quebec Foreign Mission Society. He was born in Maracay, Aragua, Venezuela. He was ordained a priest in 2015 and was sent on mission to Cambodia that same year. He is currently a member of the Central Council of the QFMS and Director of the missionary animation service.