Entry 0295: Reflections on the Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary
Time by Pope Benedict XVI
On eight occasions during his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI delivered reflections on the Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time, on 21 August 2005, 27 August 2006, 26 August 2007, 24 August 2008, 23 August 2009, 22 August 2010, 21 August 2011, and 26 August 2012. Here are the texts of eight brief reflections prior to the recitation of the Angelus and two homilies delivered on these occasions.
APOSTOLIC
JOURNEY TO COLOGNE
ON
THE OCCASION OF THE XX WORLD YOUTH DAY
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Dear Friends,
We have come to
the conclusion of this marvellous celebration and indeed of the 20th World
Youth Day. In my heart I sense welling up within me a single thought: “Thank
you!”. I am sure - and I feel - that this thought finds an echo in each one of
you. God himself has implanted it in our hearts and he has sealed it with this
Eucharist, which literally means “thanksgiving”.
Yes, dear young
people, our gratitude, born from faith, is expressed in our song of praise to
him, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who has offered to us a great sign of his
immense love.
Our “thank you”,
to begin with, rises up to God - only he could have given it to us in this way,
as it was -, and our thanks are now extended to all those who have been
involved in its preparation and organization.
World Youth Day
was a gift, but, as it developed, was also the result of much work. For this I
must renew my gratitude particularly to the Pontifical Council for the Laity,
under its President Archbishop Stanis³aw Ry³ko, ably assisted by the Secretary,
Bishop Josef Clemens, who for years was my Secretary, and also to my Confrères
from the German Bishops’ Conference, in the first place, of course, to the
Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Joachim Meisner. I am grateful to the political
and administrative Authorities, who have made a great contribution, who have
generously helped and who have ensured that each event has run smoothly.
In a particular
way I thank the many volunteers from all of the German Dioceses and from all
the nations. A cordial word of thanks goes also to the many contemplative
communities who have supported us in prayer during this World Youth Day.
And now, as the
living presence of the Risen Christ in our midst nourishes our faith and hope,
I am pleased to announce that the next World Youth Day will take place in Sydney , Australia
APOSTOLIC
JOURNEY TO COLOGNE
ON
THE OCCASION OF THE XX WORLD YOUTH DAY
EUCHARISTIC
CELEBRATION
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI
Prior to
Mass, the Pope said the following:
Dear Cardinal
Meisner,
Dear Young
People,
I would like to
thank you, dear Confrère in the Episcopate, for the touching words you have
addressed to me which introduced us so appropriately into the Eucharistic
celebration.
I would have
liked to tour the hill in the Popemobile and to be closer to each one of you,
individually. Unfortunately, this has proved impossible, but I greet each one
of you from the bottom of my heart. The Lord sees and loves each individual
person and we are all the living Church for one another, and let us thank God
for this moment in which he is giving us the gift of the mystery of his
presence and the possibility of being in communion with him.
We all know that
we are imperfect, that we are unable to be a fitting house for him. Let us
therefore begin Holy Mass by meditating and praying to him, so that he will
take from us what divides us from him and what separates us from each other and
enable us to become familiar with the holy mysteries.
***
Dear Young
Friends,
Yesterday
evening we came together in the presence of the Sacred Host, in which Jesus
becomes for us the bread that sustains and feeds us (see Jn 6: 35), and
there we began our inner journey of adoration. In the Eucharist, adoration must
become union.
At the
celebration of the Eucharist, we find ourselves in the “hour” of Jesus, to use
the language of John’s Gospel. Through the Eucharist this “hour” of Jesus becomes
our own hour, his presence in our midst. Together with the disciples he
celebrated the Passover of Israel, the memorial of God’s liberating action that
led Israel
from slavery to freedom. Jesus follows the rites of Israel . He recites over the bread
the prayer of praise and blessing.
But then
something new happens. He thanks God not only for the great works of the past;
he thanks him for his own exaltation, soon to be accomplished through the Cross
and Resurrection, and he speaks to the disciples in words that sum up the whole
of the Law and the Prophets: ”This is my Body, given in sacrifice for you.
This cup is the New Covenant in my Blood”. He then distributes the bread and
the cup, and instructs them to repeat his words and actions of that moment over
and over again in his memory.
What is
happening? How can Jesus distribute his Body and his Blood?
By making the
bread into his Body and the wine into his Blood, he anticipates his death, he
accepts it in his heart, and he transforms it into an action of love. What on
the outside is simply brutal violence - the Crucifixion - from within becomes
an act of total self-giving love. This is the substantial transformation which
was accomplished at the Last Supper and was destined to set in motion a series
of transformations leading ultimately to the transformation of the world when
God will be all in all (see I Cor 15: 28).
In their hearts,
people always and everywhere have somehow expected a change, a transformation
of the world. Here now is the central act of transformation that alone can
truly renew the world: violence is transformed into love, and death into
life.
Since this act
transmutes death into love, death as such is already conquered from within, the
Resurrection is already present in it. Death is, so to speak, mortally wounded,
so that it can no longer have the last word.
To use an image
well known to us today, this is like inducing nuclear fission in the very heart
of being - the victory of love over hatred, the victory of love over death. Only
this intimate explosion of good conquering evil can then trigger off the series
of transformations that little by little will change the world.
All other
changes remain superficial and cannot save. For this reason we speak of
redemption: what had to happen at the most intimate level has indeed
happened, and we can enter into its dynamic. Jesus can distribute his Body,
because he truly gives himself.
This first
fundamental transformation of violence into love, of death into life, brings
other changes in its wake. Bread and wine become his Body and Blood.
But it must not
stop there; on the contrary, the process of transformation must now gather
momentum. The Body and Blood of Christ are given to us so that we ourselves
will be transformed in our turn. We are to become the Body of Christ, his own
Flesh and Blood.
We all eat the
one bread, and this means that we ourselves become one. In this way, adoration,
as we said earlier, becomes union. God no longer simply stands before us as the
One who is totally Other. He is within us, and we are in him. His dynamic
enters into us and then seeks to spread outwards to others until it fills the
world, so that his love can truly become the dominant measure of the world.
I like to
illustrate this new step urged upon us by the Last Supper by drawing out the
different nuances of the word “adoration” in Greek and in Latin. The Greek word
is proskynesis. It refers to the gesture of submission, the recognition
of God as our true measure, supplying the norm that we choose to follow. It
means that freedom is not simply about enjoying life in total autonomy, but
rather about living by the measure of truth and goodness, so that we ourselves
can become true and good. This gesture is necessary even if initially our yearning
for freedom makes us inclined to resist it.
We can only
fully accept it when we take the second step that the Last Supper proposes to
us. The Latin word for adoration is ad-oratio - mouth to mouth contact,
a kiss, an embrace, and hence, ultimately love. Submission becomes union,
because he to whom we submit is Love. In this way submission acquires a
meaning, because it does not impose anything on us from the outside, but
liberates us deep within.
Let us return
once more to the Last Supper. The new element to emerge here was the deeper
meaning given to Israel ’s
ancient prayer of blessing, which from that point on became the word of
transformation, enabling us to participate in the “hour” of Christ. Jesus did
not instruct us to repeat the Passover meal, which in any event, given that it
is an anniversary, is not repeatable at will. He instructed us to enter into
his “hour”.
We enter into it
through the sacred power of the words of consecration - a transformation
brought about through the prayer of praise which places us in continuity with Israel
and the whole of salvation history, and at the same time ushers in the new, to
which the older prayer at its deepest level was pointing.
The new prayer -
which the Church calls the “Eucharistic Prayer” - brings the Eucharist into
being. It is the word of power which transforms the gifts of the earth in an
entirely new way into God’s gift of himself, and it draws us into this process
of transformation. That is why we call this action “Eucharist”, which is a
translation of the Hebrew word beracha - thanksgiving, praise, blessing,
and a transformation worked by the Lord: the presence of his “hour”.
Jesus’ hour is the hour in which love triumphs. In other words: it is God
who has triumphed, because he is Love.
Jesus’ hour
seeks to become our own hour and will indeed become so if we allow ourselves,
through the celebration of the Eucharist, to be drawn into that process of
transformation that the Lord intends to bring about. The Eucharist must become
the centre of our lives.
If the Church
tells us that the Eucharist is an essential part of Sunday, this is no mere
positivism or thirst for power. On Easter morning, first the women and then the
disciples had the grace of seeing the Lord. From that moment on, they knew that
the first day of the week, Sunday, would be his day, the day of Christ the
Lord. The day when creation began became the day when creation was renewed.
Creation and redemption belong together. That is why Sunday is so important.
It is
good that today, in many cultures, Sunday is a free
day, and is often combined with Saturday so as to constitute a “week-end” of
free time. Yet this free time is empty if God is not present.
Dear friends!
Sometimes, our initial impression is that having to include time for Mass on a
Sunday is rather inconvenient. But if you make the effort, you will realize
that this is what gives a proper focus to your free time.
Do not be deterred
from taking part in Sunday Mass, and help others to discover it too. This is
because the Eucharist releases the joy that we need so much, and we must learn
to grasp it ever more deeply, we must learn to love it.
Let us pledge
ourselves to do this - it is worth the effort! Let us discover the intimate
riches of the Church’s liturgy and its true greatness: it is not we who
are celebrating for ourselves, but it is the living God himself who is
preparing a banquet for us.
Through your
love for the Eucharist you will also rediscover the Sacrament of
Reconciliation, in which the merciful goodness of God always allows us to make
a fresh start in our lives.
Anyone who has
discovered Christ must lead others to him. A great joy cannot be kept to
oneself. It has to be passed on.
In vast areas of
the world today there is a strange forgetfulness of God. It seems as if
everything would be just the same even without him.
But at the same
time there is a feeling of frustration, a sense of dissatisfaction with
everyone and everything.
People tend to
exclaim: “This cannot be what life is about!”. Indeed not. And so,
together with forgetfulness of God there is a kind of new explosion of
religion. I have no wish to discredit all the manifestations of this
phenomenon. There may be sincere joy in the discovery. But to tell the truth,
religion often becomes almost a consumer product. People choose what they like,
and some are even able to make a profit from it.
But religion
sought on a “do-it-yourself” basis cannot ultimately help us. It may be
comfortable, but at times of crisis we are left to ourselves.
Help people to
discover the true star which points out the way to us: Jesus Christ! Let
us seek to know him better and better, so as to be able to guide others to him
with conviction.
This is why love
for Sacred Scripture is so important, and in consequence, it is important to
know the faith of the Church which opens up for us the meaning of Scripture. It
is the Holy Spirit who guides the Church as her faith grows, causing her to
enter ever more deeply into the truth (see Jn 16: 13).
Beloved Pope
John Paul II gave us a wonderful work in which the faith of centuries is
explained synthetically: the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I myself
recently presented the Compendium of the Catechism, also prepared
at the request of the late Holy Father. These are two fundamental texts which I
recommend to all of you.
Obviously books alone are
not enough. Form communities based on faith!
In recent
decades, movements and communities have come to birth in which the power of the
Gospel is keenly felt. Seek communion in faith, like fellow travellers who
continue together to follow the path of the great pilgrimage that the Magi from
the East first pointed out to us. The spontaneity of new communities is
important, but it is also important to preserve communion with the Pope and
with the Bishops. It is they who guarantee that we are not seeking private
paths, but instead are living as God’s great family, founded by the Lord
through the Twelve Apostles.
Once again, I
must return to the Eucharist. “Because there is one bread, we, though many, are
one body”, says St Paul
(I Cor 10: 17). By this he meant: since we receive the same Lord and
he gathers us together and draws us into himself, we ourselves are one.
This must be
evident in our lives. It must be seen in our capacity to forgive. It must be
seen in our sensitivity to the needs of others. It must be seen in our
willingness to share. It must be seen in our commitment to our neighbours, both
those close at hand and those physically far away, whom we nevertheless
consider to be close.
Today, there are
many forms of voluntary assistance, models of mutual service, of which our
society has urgent need. We must not, for example, abandon the elderly to their
solitude, we must not pass by when we meet people who are suffering. If we
think and live according to our communion with Christ, then our eyes will be
opened. Then we will no longer be content to scrape a living just for
ourselves, but we will see where and how we are needed.
Living and
acting thus, we will soon realize that it is much better to be useful and at
the disposal of others than to be concerned only with the comforts that are
offered to us.
I know that you
as young people have great aspirations, that you want to pledge yourselves to
build a better world. Let others see this, let the world see it, since this is
exactly the witness that the world expects from the disciples of Jesus Christ;
in this way, and through your love above all, the world will be able to
discover the star that we follow as believers.
Let us go
forward with Christ and let us live our lives as true worshippers of God! Amen.
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
Today, 27
August, we commemorate St Monica and tomorrow we will be commemorating St Augustine , her son:
their witnesses can be of great comfort and help to so many families also in
our time.
Monica, who was
born into a Christian family at Tagaste, today Souk-Aharàs in Algeria , lived her mission as a
wife and mother in an exemplary way, helping her husband Patricius to discover
the beauty of faith in Christ and the power of evangelical love, which can
overcome evil with good.
After his
premature death, Monica courageously devoted herself to caring for her three children,
including Augustine, who initially caused her suffering with his somewhat
rebellious temperament. As Augustine himself was to say, his mother gave birth
to him twice; the second time required a lengthy
spiritual travail of prayers and tears, but it was crowned at last with
the joy of seeing him not only embrace the faith and receive Baptism, but also
dedicate himself without reserve to the service of Christ.
How many
difficulties there are also today in family relations and how many mothers are
in anguish at seeing their children setting out on wrong paths! Monica, a woman
whose faith was wise and sound, invites them not to lose heart but to persevere
in their mission as wives and mothers, keeping firm their trust in God and
clinging with perseverance to prayer.
As for
Augustine, his whole life was a passionate search for the truth. In the end,
not without a long inner torment, he found in Christ the ultimate and full
meaning of his own life and of the whole of human history. In adolescence, attracted
by earthly beauty, he “flung himself” upon it - as he himself confides (see
Confessions, 10, 27-38) - with selfish and possessive behaviour that caused
his pious mother great pain.
But through a
toilsome journey and thanks also to her prayers, Augustine became always more
open to the fullness of truth and love until his conversion, which happened in
Milan under the guidance of the Bishop, St Ambrose.
He thus remained
the model of the journey towards God, supreme Truth and supreme Good. “Late have
I loved you”, he wrote in the famous book of the Confessions, “beauty,
ever ancient and ever new, late have I loved you. You were within me and I was
outside of you, and it was there that I sought you.... You were with me and I
was not with you.... You called, you cried out, you pierced my deafness. You
shone, you struck me down, and you healed my blindness” (ibid.).
May St Augustine obtain the
gift of a sincere and profound encounter with Christ for all those young people
who, thirsting for happiness, are seeking it on the wrong paths and getting
lost in blind alleys.
St Monica and St Augustine invite us to
turn confidently to Mary, Seat of Wisdom. Let us entrust Christian parents to
her so that, like Monica, they may accompany their children’s progress with
their own example and prayers. Let us commend youth to the Virgin Mother of God
so that, like Augustine, they may always strive for the fullness of Truth and
Love which is Christ: he alone can satisfy the deepest desires of the human
heart.
BENEDICT XVI
ANGELUS
Papal Summer Residence, Castel
Gandolfo , Sunday, 26 August 2007
Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
Today’s
liturgy presents to us enlightening yet at the same time disconcerting words of
Christ.
On his
last journey to Jerusalem
someone asked him: “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And Jesus answered:
“Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter
and will not be able” (Lk 13: 23-24).
What
does this “narrow door” mean? Why do many not succeed in entering through it?
Is it a way reserved for only a few of the chosen?
Indeed,
at close examination this way of reasoning by those who were conversing with
Jesus is always timely: the temptation to interpret religious practice as a
source of privileges or security is always lying in wait.
Actually,
Christ’s message goes in exactly the opposite direction: everyone may enter
life, but the door is “narrow” for all. We are not privileged. The passage to
eternal life is open to all, but it is “narrow” because it is demanding: it
requires commitment, self-denial and the mortification of one’s selfishness.
Once
again, as on recent Sundays, the Gospel invites us to think about the future
which awaits us and for which we must prepare during our earthly pilgrimage.
Salvation,
which Jesus brought with his death and Resurrection, is universal. He is the
One Redeemer and invites everyone to the banquet of immortal life; but on one
and the same condition: that of striving to follow and imitate him, taking up
one’s cross as he did, and devoting one’s life to serving the brethren. This
condition for entering heavenly life is consequently one and universal.
In the
Gospel, Jesus recalls further that it is not on the basis of presumed
privileges that we will be judged but according to our actions. The “workers of
iniquity” will find themselves shut out, whereas all who have done good and
sought justice at the cost of sacrifices will be welcomed.
Thus,
it will not suffice to declare that we are “friends” of Christ, boasting of
false merits: “We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets”
(Lk 13: 26).
True
friendship with Jesus is expressed in the way of life: it is expressed with
goodness of heart, with humility, meekness and mercy, love for justice and truth,
a sincere and honest commitment to peace and reconciliation.
We
might say that this is the “identity card” that qualifies us as his real “friends”;
this is the “passport” that will give us access to eternal life.
Dear
brothers and sisters, if we too want to pass through the narrow door, we must
work to be little, that is, humble of heart like Jesus, like Mary his Mother
and our Mother. She was the first, following her Son, to take the way of the
Cross and she was taken up to Heaven in glory, an event we commemorated a few
days ago. The Christian people invoke her as Ianua Caeli, Gate of
Heaven. Let us ask her to guide us in our daily decisions on the road that
leads to the “gate of Heaven”.
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Papal
Summer Residence, Castel Gandolfo , Sunday, 24
August 2008
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
This Sunday’s
liturgy addresses to us Christians but also at the same time to every man and
every woman the double question that one day Jesus put to his disciples. He
first asked them: “Who do men say that the Son of man is?”. They answered him
saying that some of the people said John the Baptist restored to life, others
Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. The Lord then directly questioned the
Twelve: “But who do you say that I am?”. Peter spoke enthusiastically and
authoritatively on behalf of them all: “You are the Christ, the Son of the
living God”. This solemn profession of faith the Church continues to repeat
since then. Today too, we long to proclaim with an innermost conviction: “Yes,
Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”. Let us do so in the
awareness that Christ is the true “treasure” for whom it is worth sacrificing
everything; he is the friend who never abandons us for he knows the most
intimate expectations of our hearts. Jesus is the “Son of the living God”, the
promised Messiah who came down to earth to offer humanity salvation and to
satisfy the thirst for life and love that dwells in every human being. What an
advantage humanity would have in welcoming this proclamation which brings with
it joy and peace!
“You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God”. Jesus answers Peter’s inspired profession
of faith: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the
powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven Rome
and Successor of Peter: to serve the inner unity that comes from God’s peace,
the unity of those who have become brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.
In the face of
the enormous responsibility of this task, I am increasingly aware of the
commitment and importance of the service to the Church and the world that the
Lord has entrusted to me. I therefore ask you, dear brothers and sisters, to
support me with your prayers so that, faithful to Christ, we may proclaim and
bear witness together to his presence in our time. May Mary, whom we invoke
with trust as Mother of the Church and Star of Evangelization, obtain this
grace for us.
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Courtyard
of the Papal Summer Residence, Castel Gandolfo ,
Sunday, 23 August 2009
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
You see my hand,
it is free of the plaster cast but it is still a bit lazy: I shall have to
remain for a while at the school of patience, but we are making progress!
You know that
for several Sundays the Liturgy has proposed for our reflection Chapter Six of
John’s Gospel, in which Jesus presents himself as the “Bread of life... which
came down from Heaven”, and, he adds: “if anyone eats of this bread, he will
live for ever: and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my
flesh” (Jn 6: 51). To the Jews who were arguing heatedly among themselves,
questioning: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (v. 52) and the world
still debates it Jesus replies in every age: “unless you eat the flesh of the
Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (v. 53). We too should
reflect on whether we have really understood this message. Today, the 21st
Sunday of Ordinary Time, let us meditate on the last part of this chapter in
which the Fourth Evangelist mentions the reaction of the people and of the
disciples themselves. They were shocked by the Lord’s words to the point that
having followed him until then they exclaimed: “This is a hard saying; who can
listen to it?” (v. 60). After this, “many of his disciples drew back and no
longer went about with him” (v. 66) and the same thing has happened over and
over again in various periods of history. One might expect Jesus to seek
compromises to make himself better understood, but he does not mitigate what he
says. On the contrary, he turns directly to the Twelve and asks them: “Will you
also go away?” (v. 67).
This provocative
question is not only addressed to listeners in his time, but also reaches the
believers and people of every epoch. Today too, many are “shocked” by the
paradox of the Christian faith. Jesus’ teaching seems “hard”, too difficult to
accept and to put into practice. Then there are those who reject it and abandon
Christ; there are those who seek to “adapt his” word to the fashions of the
times, misrepresenting its meaning and value. “Will you also go away?” This
disturbing provocation resounds in our hearts and expects a personal answer
from each one; it is a question addressed to each one of us. Jesus is not
content with superficial and formal belonging, a first and enthusiastic
adherence is not enough for him; on the contrary, what is necessary is to take
part for one’s whole life “in his thinking and in his willing”. Following him
fills our hearts with joy and gives full meaning to our existence, but it
entails difficulties and sacrifices because very often we must swim against the
tide.
“Will you also
go away?”. Peter answers Jesus’ question on the Apostles’ behalf, and in the
name of believers of every century: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the
words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you
are the Holy One of God” (vv. 68-69).
Dear Brothers
and Sisters, at this moment we too can and want to repeat Peter’s answer, aware
of course of our human frailty, of our problems and difficulties, but trusting
in the power of the Holy Spirit which is expressed and manifested in communion
with Jesus. Faith is a gift of God to man and at the same time man’s free and
total entrustment to God; faith is docile listening to the word of the Lord who
is the “lamp” for our feet and a “light” for our path (see Ps 119[118]: 105).
If we open our hearts to Christ with trust, if we let ourselves be won over by
him, we can also experience, like, for example, the holy Curé d’Ars, that “our
only happiness on this earth is to love God and to know that he loves us”. Let
us ask the Virgin Mary always to keep awake within us this faith imbued with
love, which made her, a humble girl of Nazareth, the Mother of God and Mother
and model of all believers.
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Courtyard
of the Papal Residence, Castel Gandolfo , Sunday,
22 August 2010
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
A week after the
Solemnity of her Assumption into Heaven the Liturgy invites us to venerate the
Blessed Virgin Mary with the title of “Queen”. We contemplate the Mother of
Christ crowned by her Son, in other words associated with his universal
kingship, as she is portrayed in numerous mosaics and paintings. This year too
the Memorial falls on a Sunday, receiving a greater light from the word of God
and from the celebration of the weekly Easter. In particular, the image of the
Virgin Mary as Queen finds important confirmation in today’s Gospel, where
Jesus declares: “Behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first
who will be last” (Lk 13: 30). This expression is typical of Christ as it
clearly reflects a theme dear to his prophetic teaching, because the
Evangelists recorded it several times although differently formulated. Our Lady
is the perfect example of this Gospel truth, namely that God brings down the
proud of this world and raises the humble. (see Lk 1: 52).
The small and
simple young girl of Nazareth
became Queen of the world! This is one of the marvels that reveal God’s Heart.
Of course, Mary’s queenship is totally relative to Christ’s kingship. He is the
Lord whom after the humiliation of death on the Cross the Father exalted above
any other creature in Heaven and on earth and under the earth (see Phil 2:
9-11). Through a design of grace, the Immaculate Mother was fully associated
with the mystery of the Son: in his Incarnation; in his earthly life, at first
hidden at Nazareth
and then manifested in the messianic ministry; in his Passion and death; and
finally, in the glory of his Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven. The Mother
did not only share the human aspects of this mystery with the Son. She also
shared, through the work of the Holy Spirit within her, his profound intention,
the divine will, so that the whole of her poor and lowly life was exalted,
transformed and glorified, passing through the “narrow door” which is Jesus
himself (see Lk 13: 24). Yes, Mary was the first person to take the “way” to
enter the Kingdom
of God
In the history
of the cities and peoples evangelized by the Christian message there are many
testimonies of public veneration in some cases even institutional of the
queenship of the Virgin Mary. Today, however, let us as children of the Church
above all renew our devotion to the One whom Jesus bequeathed to us as Mother
and Queen. Let us entrust to her intercession the daily prayer for peace,
especially in places where the senseless logic of violence is most ferocious;
so that all people may be convinced that in this world we must help each other,
as brothers and sisters, to build the civilization of love. Maria, Regina
pacis, ora pro nobis!
APOSTOLIC
JOURNEY TO MADRID
ON
THE OCCASION OF THE 26th WORLD YOUTH DAY
18-21
AUGUST 2011
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Cuatro
Vientos Air Base, Madrid
Dear Friends,
You are now
about to go back home. Your friends will want to know how you have changed
after being in this lovely city with the Pope and with hundreds of thousands of
other young people from around the world. What are you going to tell them? I
invite you to give a bold witness of Christian living to them. In this way you
will give birth to new Christians and will help the Church grow strongly in the
hearts of many others.
During these
days, how often I have thought of the young people at home who are waiting for
your return! Take my affectionate greetings to them, to those less fortunate,
to your families and to the Christian communities that you come from.
Let me also
express my gratitude to the Bishops and priests who are present in such great
numbers at this Day. To them all I extend my deepest thanks, encouraging them
to continue to work pastorally among young people with enthusiasm and
dedication.
[Spanish]
I greet the Archbishop of the Forces affectionately and I warmly thank the
Spanish Air Force, which very generously permitted Cuatro Vientos Air Base on
this, the centenary of the foundation of the Spanish Air Force. I place all
Spanish Air Force personnel and their families under the maternal protection of
Our Lady of Loreto.
In this context,
I recall that yesterday marked the third anniversary of the grave accident at Barajas Airport
I am pleased now
to announce that the next World Youth Day will be held in 2013, in Rio de Janeiro . Even now,
let us ask the Lord to assist all those who will organize it, and to ease the
journey there of young people from all over the world, so that they will be
able to join me in that beautiful city of Brazil .
Dear friends,
before we say good-bye, and while the young people of Spain pass on the World Youth Day cross to the
young people of Brazil ,
as Successor of Peter I entrust all of you present with this task: make the
knowledge and love of Jesus Christ known to the whole world! He wants you to be
the apostles of the twenty-first century and the messengers of his joy. Do not
let him down! Thank you very much.
[French]
My dear young people of the French-speaking world, today Christ asks you to be
rooted in him and with him, to build your lives upon him who is our rock. He
sends you out to be his witnesses, courageous and without anxiety, authentic
and credible! Do not be afraid to be Catholic, and to be witnesses to those
around you in simplicity and sincerity! Let the Church find in you and in your
youthfulness joyful missionaries of the Good News of salvation!
[English]
I greet all the English-speaking young people present here today! As you return
home, take back with you the good news of Christ’s love which we have
experienced in these unforgettable days. Fix your eyes upon him, deepen your
knowledge of the Gospel and bring forth abundant fruit! God bless all of you
until we meet again!
[German]
My dear friends! Faith is not a theory. To believe is to enter into a personal
relationship with Jesus and to live in friendship with him in fellowship with
others, in the communion of the Church. Entrust the whole of your lives to
Christ and bring your friends to find their way to the source of life, to God.
May the Lord make you happy and joy-filled witnesses of his love.
[Italian]
My dear young Italians! Greetings to all of you. The Eucharist that we have
celebrated is the risen Christ present and living in our midst: through him,
your lives are rooted and built upon Christ, strong in faith. With this
confidence, depart from Madrid
and tell everyone what you have seen and heard. Respond with joy to the Lord’s
call, follow him and remain always united to him: you will bear much fruit!
[Portuguese]
Dear Portuguese-speaking young people and friends, you have met Jesus Christ!
You will be swimming against the tide in a society with a relativistic culture
which wishes neither to seek nor hold on to the truth. But it was for this
moment in history, with its great challenges and opportunities, that the Lord
sent you, so that, through your faith, the Good News of Jesus might continue to
resound throughout the earth. I hope to see you again in two years’ time at the
nest World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro ,
Brazil
[Polish]
Dear young Poles, strong in the faith, rooted in Christ! May the gifts you have
received from God during these days bear in you abundant fruit. Be his
witnesses. Take to others the message of the Gospel. With your prayers and
example of life, help Europe to rediscover its
Christian roots.
APOSTOLIC
JOURNEY TO MADRID
ON
THE OCCASION OF THE 26th WORLD YOUTH DAY
18-21
AUGUST 2011
FINAL
MASS
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION
Cuatro
Vientos Air Base, Madrid
Dear Young
Friends:
I have been
thinking a lot about you during this time in which we have been separated. I hope
you have been able to get some sleep in spite of the weather. I am sure that
since dawn you have raised up your eyes more than once, and not only your eyes
but above all your hearts, turning this occasion into prayer. God turns all
things into good. With this confidence and trusting in the Lord who never
abandons us, let us begin our Eucharistic celebration, full of enthusiasm and
strong in our faith.
***
HOMILY
Dear Young
People,
In this
celebration of the Eucharist we have reached the high point of this World Youth Day. Seeing
you here, gathered in such great numbers from all parts of the world, fills my
heart with joy. I think of the special love with which Jesus is looking upon
you. Yes, the Lord loves you and calls you his friends (see Jn 15:15).
He goes out to meet you and he wants to accompany you on your journey, to open
the door to a life of fulfilment and to give you a share in his own closeness
to the Father. For our part, we have come to know the immensity of his love and
we want to respond generously to his love by sharing with others the joy we
have received. Certainly, there are many people today who feel attracted by the
figure of Christ and want to know him better. They realize that he is the
answer to so many of our deepest concerns. But who is he really? How can
someone who lived on this earth so long ago have anything in common with me
today?
The Gospel we
have just heard (see Mt 16:13-20) suggests two different ways of knowing
Christ. The first is an impersonal knowledge, one based on current opinion.
When Jesus asks: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”, the disciples
answer: “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others
Jeremiah or one of the prophets”. In other words, Christ is seen as yet another
religious figure, like those who came before him. Then Jesus turns to the
disciples and asks them: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter responds with
what is the first confession of faith: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the
living God”. Faith is more than just empirical or historical facts; it is an
ability to grasp the mystery of Christ’s person in all its depth.
Yet faith is not
the result of human effort, of human reasoning, but rather a gift of God: “Blessed
are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,
but my Father in heaven”. Faith starts with God, who opens his heart to us and
invites us to share in his own divine life. Faith does not simply provide
information about who Christ is; rather, it entails a personal relationship
with Christ, a surrender of our whole person, with all our understanding, will
and feelings, to God’s self-revelation. So Jesus’ question: “But who do you say
that I am?”, is ultimately a challenge to the disciples to make a personal
decision in his regard. Faith in Christ and discipleship are strictly
interconnected.
And, since faith
involves following the Master, it must become constantly stronger, deeper and
more mature, to the extent that it leads to a closer and more intense
relationship with Jesus. Peter and the other disciples also had to grow in this
way, until their encounter with the Risen Lord opened their eyes to the
fullness of faith.
Dear young
people, today Christ is asking you the same question which he asked the
Apostles: “Who do you say that I am?” Respond to him with generosity and
courage, as befits young hearts like your own. Say to him: “Jesus, I know that
you are the Son of God, who have given your life for me. I want to follow you
faithfully and to be led by your word. You know me and you love me. I place my
trust in you and I put my whole life into your hands. I want you to be the
power that strengthens me and the joy which never leaves me”.
Jesus’ responds
to Peter’s confession by speaking of the Church: “And I tell you, you are
Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church”. What do these words mean?
Jesus builds the Church on the rock of the faith of Peter, who confesses that
Christ is God.
The Church,
then, is not simply a human institution, like any other. Rather, she is closely
joined to God. Christ himself speaks of her as “his” Church. Christ cannot be
separated from the Church any more than the head can be separated from the body
(see 1 Cor 12:12). The Church does not draw her life from herself, but
from the Lord.
Dear young
friends, as the Successor of Peter, let me urge you to strengthen this faith
which has been handed down to us from the time of the Apostles. Make Christ,
the Son of God, the centre of your life. But let me also remind you that
following Jesus in faith means walking at his side in the communion of the
Church. We cannot follow Jesus on our own. Anyone who would be tempted to do so
“on his own”, or to approach the life of faith with that kind of individualism
so prevalent today, will risk never truly encountering Jesus, or will end up
following a counterfeit Jesus.
Having faith
means drawing support from the faith of your brothers and sisters, even as your
own faith serves as a support for the faith of others. I ask you, dear friends,
to love the Church which brought you to birth in the faith, which helped you to
grow in the knowledge of Christ and which led you to discover the beauty of his
love. Growing in friendship with Christ necessarily means recognizing the
importance of joyful participation in the life of your parishes, communities
and movements, as well as the celebration of Sunday Mass, frequent reception of
the sacrament of Reconciliation, and the cultivation of personal prayer and
meditation on God’s word.
Friendship with
Jesus will also lead you to bear witness to the faith wherever you are, even
when it meets with rejection or indifference. We cannot encounter Christ and
not want to make him known to others. So do not keep Christ to yourselves!
Share with others the joy of your faith. The world needs the witness of your
faith, it surely needs God. I think that the presence here of so many young
people, coming from all over the world, is a wonderful proof of the
fruitfulness of Christ’s command to the Church: “Go into all the world and proclaim
the Gospel to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15). You too have been given
the extraordinary task of being disciples and missionaries of Christ in other
lands and countries filled with young people who are looking for something
greater and, because their heart tells them that more authentic values do
exist, they do not let themselves be seduced by the empty promises of a
lifestyle which has no room for God.
Dear young
people, I pray for you with heartfelt affection. I commend all of you to the
Virgin Mary and I ask her to accompany you always by her maternal intercession
and to teach you how to remain faithful to God’s word. I ask you to pray for
the Pope, so that, as the Successor of Peter, he may always confirm his
brothers and sisters in the faith. May all of us in the Church, pastors and
faithful alike, draw closer to the Lord each day. May we grow in holiness of
life and be effective witnesses to the truth that Jesus Christ is indeed the
Son of God, the Saviour of all mankind and the living source of our hope. Amen.
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
On the past few
Sundays we have meditated on the “Bread of Life” discourse, which Jesus gave in
the Synagogue of Capernaum after satisfying the hunger of thousands of people
with five loaves and two fish. The Gospel today presents the disciples’
reaction to this discourse, a reaction which Christ himself deliberately
provoked.
First of all,
the Evangelist John — who was present with the other Apostles — says: “After
this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him” (Jn
6:66). Why? Because they did not believe in the words of Jesus who said: “I am
the living bread which came down from heaven... he who eats my flesh and drinks
my blood has eternal life” (see Jn 6:51, 54); words that were truly difficult
to accept, incomprehensible. This revelation — as I have said — was
incomprehensible to them because they understood it in a purely literal sense,
whereas these words foretold the Paschal Mystery of Jesus, in which he was to
give himself for the world’s salvation: the new presence of the Blessed
Eucharist.
Seeing that many
of his disciples were deserting him, Jesus turned to the Apostles, asking them:
“Will you also go away?” (Jn 6:67). As on other occasions it was Peter who
answered on behalf of the Twelve: “Lord, to whom shall we go?”. We, too, might
wonder: to whom should we go? “You have the words of eternal life; and we have
believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn
6:68-69).
We have a
beautiful comment of St Augustine
on this passage. In one of his sermons on John 6 he says: “See how Peter, by
the gift of God and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, understood Him. How other
than because he believed? ‘You have the words of eternal life’. For You
have eternal life in the ministration of Your body [Risen] and Your blood
[Yourself]. ‘And we have believed and have known’. He does not say: ‘we
have known and then believed’, but ‘we have believed and then known’. We
believed in order to know; for if we wanted to know first, and then to believe,
we should not be able either to know or to believe. What have we believed and
known? ‘That You are Christ, the Son of God’; that is, that You are that
very eternal life, and that You give in Your flesh and blood only that which
You are” (In Evangelium Johannis tractatus, 27, 9). St Augustine addressed
this homily to his believers.
© Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Book by Orestes J. González