Your Eminence, Cardinal José
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

This is the last event of my Apostolic Journey in Madrid, but I am truly delighted that it is with you, the volunteers. Each and every one of you — and many others who couldn’t be here this morning — deserve a very special “thank you,” because you have given your time, your service, and you have done so out of love for the Lord, the Church and the Pope. My heartfelt gratitude to all of you!

I would also like to thank the two speakers who shared their testimonies with us, as well as those who made the video and participated in the musical performance.

I heard that, from the very beginning, you responded enthusiastically to the call for volunteers, and your numbers exceeded the original request within just a few days. As a result, the needs have been more than met. Some of you took time off work, while others dedicated themselves full-time for months. Each of you gave what you could, offering your heart, hands, ideas, talents and smiles. May God reward you as only he knows how!

I would like to share a simple reflection with you, which can be summarized as follows: Christians are called to bring the leaven of selflessness to the world.

Jesus used the image of yeast in a parable about the kingdom of heaven, recorded by Matthew, the Evangelist: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened” (Mt 13:33). Your experience these past few days, like that of so many brothers and sisters who volunteer in similar circumstances — such as during last year’s Jubilee — is a sign of the kingdom to come because of one essential characteristic: selflessness.

Selflessness is like leaven that makes the human, ethical and spiritual dimensions of a society grow, and it is a distinctive element of the “City of God.” In a world that is constantly influenced by a logic of self-interest and profit, where the term “growth” is reduced to the economic-financial sense, it is important to think and live according to a more authentic mentality that leads to integral human development. This is the mentality we find in the Gospel, which says: “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you?” (Lk 6:33-34).

Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ came to bring the leaven of the kingdom of heaven into the world. He mixed it with the dough of our ailing humanity to heal it from within, with the water and blood of his sacrifice and with the fire of the Holy Spirit. After his death and resurrection, he sent his disciples, with the power of the same Spirit, to be signs and instruments of his kingdom, the kingdom of love, of justice, of peace. This is accomplished through preaching, but even more so through a way of life that conforms to the Gospel in the way we think and behave. An essential feature of this way of life is the generosity you have shown these past few days here in Madrid. Thank you! Perhaps the statistics do not reflect it, but we know that, in these days, thanks also to you, this city has grown, for it is closer to the kingdom of God. Is it our own merit? No! It is all his grace! This is the secret: the love of God, which moves the sun and the stars, also moves the hearts of those who have encountered “the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:35).

Sisters and brothers, let us continue on this path, with humility and meekness, without any presumption, but firm in faith and generous in service! May the Virgin Mary grant you to be leaven of the kingdom always and everywhere. Thank you! And see you in Rome!

After blessing the cornerstone

Gift of the Chalice

And I would also like to leave this chalice here in Madrid as a gift for the whole family, as a sign of communion within the Church. May we never forget what we celebrate in the memorial of Christ, who has saved us.

Apostolic blessing

Thank you very much.