Entry 0307: Reflections on the Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary
Time by Pope Benedict XVI
On eight occasions during his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI delivered reflections on the Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, on 6 November 2005, 12 November 2006, 11 November 2007, 9 November 2008, 8 November 2009, 7 November 2010, 6 November 2011, and 11 November 2012. Here are the texts of eight brief reflections prior to the recitation of the Angelus and two homilies delivered on these occasions.
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
St
Peter’s Square, Sunday, 6 November 2005
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
On 18 November
1965, the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council approved the Dogmatic Constitution
on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum. This Document is one of the
pillars on which the entire Council is built. It addresses Revelation and its
transmission, the inspiration and interpretation of Sacred Scripture and its
fundamental importance in the life of the Church.
Gathering the
fruits of the theological renewal that preceded it, Vatican II put Christ at
the centre, presenting him as “both the mediator and the sum total of
Revelation” (no. 2). Indeed, the Lord Jesus, the Word made flesh who died and
rose, brought to completion the work of salvation, consisting of deeds and
words, and fully manifested the face and will of God so that no new public
revelation is to be expected until his glorious return (see no. 3).
The Apostles and
their successors, the Bishops, are depositories of the message that Christ
entrusted to his Church so that it might be passed on in its integrity to all
generations. Sacred Scripture of the Old and New Testaments and sacred
Tradition contain this message, whose understanding develops in the Church with
the help of the Holy Spirit.
This same
Tradition makes known the integral canon of the sacred Books. It makes them
directly understandable and operative so that God, who has spoken to the Patriarchs
and Prophets, does not cease to speak to the Church and through her, to the
world (see no. 8).
The Church does
not live for herself but for the Gospel, and it is always in the Gospel that
she finds the direction for her journey.
The conciliar
Constitution Dei Verbum emphasized appreciation for the Word of God,
which developed into a profound renewal for the life of the Ecclesial
Community, especially in preaching, catechesis, theology, spirituality and
ecumenical relations. Indeed, it is the Word of God which guides believers,
through the action of the Holy Spirit, towards all truth (see Jn 16: 13).
Among the many
fruits of this biblical springtime I would like to mention the spread of the
ancient practice of Lectio divina or “spiritual reading” of Sacred
Scripture. It consists in pouring over a biblical text for some time, reading
it and rereading it, as it were, “ruminating” on it as the Fathers say and
squeezing from it, so to speak, all its “juice”, so that it may nourish
meditation and contemplation and, like water, succeed in irrigating life
itself.
One condition
for Lectio divina is that the mind and heart be illumined by the Holy
Spirit, that is, by the same Spirit who inspired the Scriptures, and that they
be approached with an attitude of “reverential hearing”.
This attitude
was typical of Mary Most Holy, as the icon of the Annunciation symbolically
portrays: the Virgin receives the heavenly Messenger while she is intent on
meditating upon the Sacred Scriptures, usually shown by a book that Mary holds
in her hand, on her lap or on a lectern.
This is also the
image of the Church which the Council itself offered in the Constitution Dei
Verbum: “Hearing the Word of God with reverence...” (no. 1).
Let us pray that
like Mary, the Church will be a humble handmaid of the divine Word and will
always proclaim it with firm trust, so that “the whole world... through hearing
it may believe, through belief... may hope, through hope... may come to love” (ibid.).
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Saint
Peter’s Square, Sunday, 12 November 2006
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
In Italy ,
the annual Day of Thanksgiving is being celebrated today. Its theme is:
“The earth: a gift for the whole human family”.
In our Christian
families, children are taught to always thank the Lord prior to eating with a
short prayer and the Sign of the Cross. This custom should be preserved or
rediscovered, for it teaches people not to take their “daily bread” for granted
but to recognize it as a gift of Providence .
We should become
accustomed to blessing the Creator for all things: for air and water, precious
elements on which life on our planet depends, as well as for the food that
through the earth’s fertility God offers to us for our sustenance.
Jesus taught his
disciples to pray by asking the Heavenly Father not for “my” but for “our”
daily bread. Thus, he desired every person to feel co-responsible for his
brothers so that no one would want for what he needs in order to live. The
earth’s produce forms a gift which God has destined “for the entire
human family”.
And here we
touch on a very sore point: the drama of hunger which, although it has recently
been addressed at the most important institutions such as the United Nations
and in particular at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), continues to
be very serious.
The last annual
report of the FAO has confirmed what the Church knows very well from her direct
experience of the communities and missions: more than 800 million people
are living in a condition of undernourishment and too many, especially
children, die of hunger.
How should we
cope with this situation which, though repeatedly renounced, shows no sign of a
solution and indeed, in some respects is worsening?
It is certainly
necessary to eliminate the structural causes linked to the system for
regulating the world economy, which destines the majority of the planet’s
resources to a minority of the population. This injustice was stigmatized on
various occasions by my venerable Predecessors, the Servants of God Paul VI and
John Paul II. To be effective on a wide scale, it is necessary “to convert” the
model of global development, required not only due to the scandal of hunger but
also by environmental and energy emergencies.
Yet, every
person and every family can and must do something to alleviate hunger in the
world by adopting a lifestyle and consumption compatible with the safeguarding
of creation and with criteria of justice for those who cultivate the land in
every country.
Dear brothers
and sisters, today’s Thanksgiving Day invites us, on the one hand, to give
thanks to God for the fruits of agricultural work; and on the other, it
encourages us to commit ourselves concretely to defeat the scourge of hunger.
May the Virgin
Mary help us to be grateful for the benefits of Providence and to foster justice and
solidarity in every part of the globe.
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
St
Peter’s Square, Sunday, 11 November 2007
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
Today, 11
November, the Church remembers St Martin, Bishop of Tours , one of the most celebrated and
venerated Saints of Europe. Born of pagan parents in Pannonia ,
in what is today Hungary ,
he was directed by his father to a military career around the year 316. Still
an adolescent, Martin came into contact with Christianity and, overcoming many
difficulties, he enrolled as a catechumen in order to prepare for Baptism. He
would receive the Sacrament in his 20s, but he would still stay for a long time
in the army, where he would give testimony of his new lifestyle: respectful and
inclusive of all, he treated his attendant as a brother and avoided vulgar
entertainment. Leaving military service, he went to Poitiers
in France
near the holy Bishop Hilary. He was ordained a deacon and priest by him, chose
the monastic life and with some disciples established the oldest monastery
known in Europe at Ligugé. About 10 years
later, the Christians of Tours, who were without a Pastor, acclaimed him their
Bishop. From that time, Martin dedicated himself with ardent zeal to the evangelization
of the countryside and the formation of the clergy. While many miracles are
attributed to him, St Martin is known most of
all for an act of fraternal charity. While still a young soldier, he met a poor
man on the street numb and trembling from the cold. He then took his own cloak
and, cutting it in two with his sword, gave half to that man. Jesus appeared to
him that night in a dream smiling, dressed in the same cloak.
Dear brothers
and sisters, St Martin ’s charitable gesture
flows from the same logic that drove Jesus to multiply the loaves for the
hungry crowd, but most of all to leave himself to humanity as food in the
Eucharist, supreme Sign of God’s love, Sacramentum caritatis. It
is the logic of sharing which he used to authentically explain love of
neighbour. May St Martin help us to understand
that only by means of a common commitment to sharing is it possible to respond
to the great challenge of our times: to build a world of peace and justice
where each person can live with dignity. This can be achieved if a world model
of authentic solidarity prevails which assures to all inhabitants of the planet
food, water, necessary medical treatment, and also work and energy resources as
well as cultural benefits, scientific and technological knowledge.
Let us turn now
to the Virgin Mary so that all Christians may be like St
Martin , generous witnesses of the Gospel of love and tireless
builders of jointly responsible sharing.
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
St
Peter’s Square, Sunday, 9 November 2008
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
The liturgy
today has us celebrate the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, called the “mother
and head of all the Churches of the Urbe and Orbe”. Actually,
this Basilica was the first to be built after the Edict of the Emperor Constantine
who, in 313, conceded to Christians the freedom to practice their religion. The
same Emperor gave Pope Miltiades the ancient estate of the Laterani family and
had the Basilica, the Baptistery and the Patriarchate built for him, the latter
being the Bishop of Rome’s residence, where Popes resided until the Avignon era. The
dedication of the Basilica was celebrated by Pope Silvester in about 324 and
the temple was dedicated to the Most Holy Saviour; only after the 6th century
were the names of Sts John the Baptist and John the Evangelist added, from
which came its common name. This occasion initially only involved the city of Rome ; then, from 1565
onwards, it extended to the entire Church of the Roman rite. Hence, honouring
the holy building is meant as an expression of love and veneration for the
Roman Church “which”, as St Ignatius of Antioch affirms, “presides in charity”
over the entire Catholic communion (see Epistula ad Romanos, 1, 1).
The Word of God
during this Solemnity recalls an essential truth: the stone temple is the
symbol of the living Church, the Christian community, that the Apostles Peter
and Paul had, in their Letters, already understood as a “spiritual building”,
constructed by God with the “living stones” that are the Christians, upon the
one foundation that is Jesus Christ, who is in turn compared to the “cornerstone”
see 1 Cor 3: 9-11, 16-17; 1 Pt 2: 4-8; Eph 2: 20-22). “Brethren,... you are God’s
building”, St Paul
writes, and he adds, “God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Cor 3:
9c, 17). The beauty and the harmony of churches, destined to render praise to
God, invites us human beings too, though limited and sinful, to convert
ourselves to form a “cosmos”, a well-ordered construction, in close communion
with Jesus, who is the true Holy of Holies. This reaches its culmination in the
Eucharistic liturgy, in which the “ecclesia” that is, the community of
baptized finds itself again united to listen to the Word of God and nourish
itself on the Body and Blood of Christ. Gathered around this twofold table, the
Church of living stones builds herself up in truth and in love and is moulded
interiorly by the Holy Spirit, transforming herself into what she receives,
conforming herself ever more to her Lord Jesus Christ. She herself, if she
lives in sincere and fraternal unity, thus becomes a spiritual sacrifice
pleasing to God.
Dear friends,
today’s feast celebrates an ever current mystery: that God desires to build
himself a spiritual temple in the world, a community that adores him in spirit
and truth (see Jn 4: 23-24). But this occasion reminds us also of the
importance of the concrete buildings in which the community gathers together to
celebrate God’s praises. Every community therefore has the duty to carefully
guard their holy structures, which constitute a precious religious and
historical patrimony. For this we invoke the intercession of Mary Most Holy, so
that she might help us to become, like her, a “house of God”, living temple of
his love.
PASTORAL
VISIT TO BRESCIA
AND CONCESIO
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
At the end of
this Solemn Celebration, I thank those who were responsible for the liturgical
animation, and everyone who collaborated in various ways in the preparation and
realization of my Pastoral Visit to Brescia .
Thank you all! I also greet those following us on radio and television, as well
as those watching from St Peter’s Square, particularly the many volunteers of
the Unione Nazionale Pro Loco d’Italia. At this Angelus prayer, I wish
to recall the profound devotion for the Virgin Mary of the Servant of God
Giovanni Battista Montini. He celebrated his first Mass in the Shrine of Santa
Maria delle Grazie, the Marian heart of your city, not far from this square. In
this way he placed his priesthood under the maternal protection of the Mother
of Jesus, and this bond accompanied him throughout his life.
As his ecclesial
responsibilities grew, he developed an ever broader and more organic concept of
the relationship between the Blessed Virgin Mary and the mystery of the Church.
In this perspective, his closing Discourse at the Third Session of the
Second Vatican Council on 21 November 1964 remains memorable. That session
had promulgated the Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium which in
the words of Paul VI “has as its summit and crown an entire chapter dedicated
to Our Lady”. The Pope noted that it was the most ample synthesis of Marian
doctrine ever elaborated by an Ecumenical Council, aimed at “manifesting the
face of the Holy Church
Echoing the
words of Paul VI, today we too pray: O Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, we
entrust to you the Church
of Brescia
PASTORAL
VISIT TO BRESCIA
AND CONCESIO
EUCHARISTIC
CONCELEBRATION
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
I have great joy
in being able to break the Bread of the Word of God and of the Eucharist with
you here, in the heart of the Diocese of Brescia, where the Servant of God
Giovanni Battista Montini, Pope Paul VI was born and educated in his youth. I
greet you all with affection and thank you for your warm welcome! In particular
I thank Bishop Luciano Monari, for his words to me at the beginning of the
celebration and with him I greet the Cardinals, Bishops, priests and deacons,
the men and women religious and all the pastoral workers. I thank the Mayor for
his words and his gift, and the other civil and military Authorities. I address
a special thought to the sick who have gathered in the Cathedral.
At the heart of
the Liturgy of the Word this Sunday the 32nd in Ordinary Time we find the
figure of the poor widow or, more precisely, we find her gesture when she
dropped her last coins into the collection box of the Temple treasury. Thanks to Jesus’ attentive
look it has become the proverbial “widow’s mite” and indeed is synonymous with
the generosity of those who give unsparingly the little they possess. However,
I would like first of all to emphasize the importance of the atmosphere in
which this Gospel episode takes place, that is, the Temple of Jerusalem Temple was
the place of public and solemn worship, but also of pilgrimage, of the
traditional rites and of rabbinical disputations such as those recorded in the
Gospel between Jesus and the rabbis of that time in which, however, Jesus
teaches with unique authority as the Son of God. He judges the scribes severely
as we have heard because of their hypocrisy: indeed, while they display great
piety they are exploiting the poor, imposing obligations that they themselves
do not observe. Indeed, Jesus shows his affection for the Temple as a house of
prayer but for this very reason wishes to cleanse it from improper practices;
actually he wants to reveal its deepest meaning which is linked to the
fulfilment of his own Mystery, the Mystery of his death and Resurrection, in
which he himself becomes the new and definitive Temple, the place where God and
man, the Creator and his creature, meet.
The episode of
the widow’s mite fits into this context and leads us, through Jesus’ gaze
itself, to focus our attention on a transient but crucial detail: the action of
the widow, who is very poor and yet puts two coins into the collection box of
the Temple
treasury. Jesus is saying to us too, just as he said to his disciples that day:
Pay attention! Take note of what this widow has done, because her act contains
a great teaching; in fact, it expresses the fundamental characteristic of those
who are the “living stones” of this new Temple, namely the total gift of
themselves to the Lord and to their neighbour; the widow of the Gospel, and
likewise the widow in the Old Testament, gives everything, gives herself,
putting herself in God’s hands for others. This is the everlasting meaning of
the poor widow’s offering which Jesus praises; for she has given more than the
rich, who offer part of what is superfluous to them, whereas she gave all that
she had to live on (see Mk 12: 44), hence she gave herself.
Dear friends,
starting with this Gospel icon I would like to meditate briefly on the mystery
of the Church, the living Temple
of God
I am glad that
guided by your Bishop’s Pastoral Letter you are examining in depth the
Eucharistic nature of the Church, this Church which the Servant of God Paul VI
loved passionately and sought with all his might to make understood and loved.
Let us reread his Pensiero alla morte, the part where, in the last
section, he speaks of the Church. “ I could say”, he writes, “that I have
always loved her... and that it seems to me I have lived for her and for
nothing else; but I would like the Church to know it”. These are the accents of
a palpitating heart and he continues: “Lastly, I would like to understand her
fully, in her history, in her divine plan, in her final destiny, in her
complex, total and unitary composition, in her human and imperfect consistence,
in her adversities and her sufferings, in her weakness and in the wretchedness
of so many of her children, in her less sympathetic aspects and in her eternal
aspiration to fidelity, love, perfection and charity. The Mystical Body of
Christ”. “I would like”, the Pope continues, “to embrace, greet her and love
her in every being of whom she is made up, in every Bishop and priest who
serves and guides her, in every soul who lives and illustrates her; I would
like to bless her”. Moreover, his last words were to her, as to the bride of
his whole life: “And what shall I say to the Church, to whom I owe everything
and whom was mine? May God’s Blessings be upon you; may you be aware of your
nature and your mission; may you have a sense of humanity’s true and profound
needs; and walk in poverty, in other words free, strong and in love with Christ”.
What can be
added to such lofty and intense words? I would just like to underline this last
vision of the Church “poor and free” which evokes the Gospel figure of the
widow. If it is to succeed in speaking to contemporary humanity the ecclesial
community must be like this. Giovanni Battista Montini had particularly at
heart the Church’s encounter and dialogue with the humanity of our time in all
the seasons of his life, from the early years of his priesthood until the
Pontificate. He dedicated all his energy to serving a Church which would
conform as closely as possible to his Lord Jesus Christ so that in encountering
her contemporary men and women might encounter him, Christ, because their need
for him is absolute. This was the basic desire of the Second Vatican Council
with which Paul VI’s reflection on the Church corresponds. He wanted to expound
programmatically on some of her salient points in his first Encyclical,
Ecclesiam Suam of 6 August 1964, at a time when the conciliar Constitutions Lumen
gentium and Gaudium et spes had not yet been written.
With that first
Encyclical the Pontiff sought to explain to all the Church’s importance for
humanity’s salvation and, at the same time, the need to establish a
relationship based on mutual knowledge and love between the ecclesial community
and society (see Enchiridion Vaticanum, 2, p. 199, no. 164).
“Conscience”, “renewal”, “dialogue”; these were the three words that Paul VI chose to express his principal “policies”, as he himself describes them at the beginning of his Petrine ministry, and all three concern the Church. First of all comes the need for her to increase her self-awareness: of her origins, nature, mission and final destiny; secondly, comes her need to renew herself, to cleanse herself by looking at her model, Christ. Lastly there is the problem of establishing relations with the modern world (see ibid., pp. 203-205, nos. 166-168). Dear friends and I am addressing in a special way my Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood how can we fail to see concerning the Church, the need for her in the plan of salvation and her relationship with the world that is still absolutely central today? And, indeed, that the developments of secularization and globalization have made it even more essential, in the confrontation on the one hand with the disregard for God and on the other with the non-Christian religions? Pope Montini’s reflection on the Church is more timely than ever; and even more valuable is his exemplary love for her, inseparable from his love for Christ. “The mystery of the Church”, we read once again in the Encyclical Ecclesiam suam, “is not to be confined to the realms of speculative theology. It must be lived, so that the faithful may have a kind of intuitive experience of it, even before they come to understand it clearly” (ibid., no. 37). This presupposes a robust inner life which, the Pope continues, is thus “the richest source of the Church’s spiritual strength. It is the means, peculiarly its own, whereby the Church receives the sunlight of Christ’s Spirit. It is the Church’s natural and necessary way of expressing her religious and social activity, her surest defence and the cause of her constant renewal of strength amid the difficulties of the secular world” (see ibid., no. 38). It is precisely the Christian who is open, the Church open to the world, that need a robust inner life.
“Conscience”, “renewal”, “dialogue”; these were the three words that Paul VI chose to express his principal “policies”, as he himself describes them at the beginning of his Petrine ministry, and all three concern the Church. First of all comes the need for her to increase her self-awareness: of her origins, nature, mission and final destiny; secondly, comes her need to renew herself, to cleanse herself by looking at her model, Christ. Lastly there is the problem of establishing relations with the modern world (see ibid., pp. 203-205, nos. 166-168). Dear friends and I am addressing in a special way my Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood how can we fail to see concerning the Church, the need for her in the plan of salvation and her relationship with the world that is still absolutely central today? And, indeed, that the developments of secularization and globalization have made it even more essential, in the confrontation on the one hand with the disregard for God and on the other with the non-Christian religions? Pope Montini’s reflection on the Church is more timely than ever; and even more valuable is his exemplary love for her, inseparable from his love for Christ. “The mystery of the Church”, we read once again in the Encyclical Ecclesiam suam, “is not to be confined to the realms of speculative theology. It must be lived, so that the faithful may have a kind of intuitive experience of it, even before they come to understand it clearly” (ibid., no. 37). This presupposes a robust inner life which, the Pope continues, is thus “the richest source of the Church’s spiritual strength. It is the means, peculiarly its own, whereby the Church receives the sunlight of Christ’s Spirit. It is the Church’s natural and necessary way of expressing her religious and social activity, her surest defence and the cause of her constant renewal of strength amid the difficulties of the secular world” (see ibid., no. 38). It is precisely the Christian who is open, the Church open to the world, that need a robust inner life.
Dear friends
what an invaluable gift for the Church the lesson of the Servant of God Paul VI
is! And how exciting it is, every time, to learn from him! It is a lesson that
concerns all and involves all in accordance with the various gifts and
ministries with which the action of the Holy Spirit has enriched the People of
God. In this Year for Priests I would like to stress how this lesson concerns
and involves priests in particular, for whom Pope Montini always reserved
special affection and concern. In his Encyclical on priestly celibacy he wrote:
““Laid hold of by Christ’ unto the complete abandonment of one’s entire self to
him, the priest takes on a closer likeness to Christ, even in the love with
which the eternal Priest has loved the Church his Body and offered himself
entirely for her sake.... In fact “the consecrated celibacy of the sacred
ministers manifests the virginal love of Christ for the Church and above all
the virginal and supernatural fecundity of this marriage” (Sacerdotalis
caelibatus, no. 26). I dedicate the great Pope’s words to the many priests
of the Diocese of Brescia, well represented here, as well as to the young men
in formation at the Seminary. And I would also like to recall the words that
Paul VI addressed to the students at the Lombard Seminary on 7 December 1968,
when the difficulties of the post-conciliar period had to contend with the
ferment in the world of youth: “So many”, he said, “expect of the Pope
sensational work, energetic and decisive interventions. The Pope does not
consider he should follow any other line than that of trust in Jesus Christ,
whose concern for his Church is greater than for anyone else. It will be he who
rides out the storm.... This expectation is neither sterile nor inert; rather,
it is attentive watching in prayer. This is the condition Jesus chose for us so
that he might fully carry out his work. The Pope too needs the help of prayer”
(Insegnamenti VI, [1968], 1189). Dear Brothers and Sisters, may the
priestly example of the Servant of God Giovanni Battista Montini always guide
you, and may St Arcangelo Tadini whom I have just venerated during my brief
stop at Botticino intercede for you.
While I greet
and encourage the priests, I cannot forget, especially here in Brescia , the lay faithful
in this region who have shown extraordinary vitality in their faith and
actions, in the various fields of the associated apostolate and of social
commitment. In the Insegnamenti of Paul VI, dear friends of Brescia , you can find
ever precious instructions for facing the challenges of the present time
including, above all, the financial crisis, immigration and the education of
youth. At the same time, Pope Montini did not miss an opportunity to underline
the primacy of the contemplative dimension, in other words the primacy of God
in human experience and therefore never tired of promoting the consecrated life
in the variety of its aspects. He deeply loved the many-facetted beauty of the
Church, recognizing in it the infinite beauty of God which shines on Christ’s
Face.
Let us pray that
the brightness of divine beauty may be resplendent in all our communities and
that the Church may be a luminous sign of hope for humanity in the third
millennium. May Mary, whom at the end of the Second Vatican Council, Paul VI
wished to proclaim Mother of the Church, obtain this grace for us. Amen!
APOSTOLIC
JOURNEY TO SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA AND BARCELONA
(NOVEMBER
6-7, 2010)
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Square
of the church of the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
My Dear
Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Yesterday, in Porto Alegre , Brazil
Today I had the
great joy of dedicating this church to him who, being the Son of the Most High,
emptied himself and became man, and who, under the watchful care of Joseph and
Mary, in the silence of the home of Nazareth, taught us without words of the
dignity and the primordial value of marriage and the family, the hope of
humanity, in which life finds its welcome from conception to natural death. He
has taught us also that the entire Church, by hearing and putting his word into
practice, becomes his family. And he has exhorted us to be a seed of fraternity
which, sown in every heart, nourishes hope.
Filled with
devotion to the Holy Family of Nazareth, a devotion spread among the Catalan
people by Saint Joseph Manyanet, the genius of Antoni Gaudí, inspired by the
ardour of his Christian faith, succeeded in raising this sanctuary as a hymn of
praise to God carved in stone. A praise of God which, as with the birth of
Christ, has had as its protagonists the most humble and simple of people. In
effect, Gaudí, through his work, sought to bring the Gospel to everyone. For
this reason, he conceived of the three porticos of the exterior of the church
as a catechesis on the life of Jesus Christ, as a great Rosary, which is the
prayer of ordinary people, a prayer in which are contemplated the joyful,
sorrowful and glorious mysteries of our Lord. In collaboration with the parish
priest Gil Parés, he also designed and financed from his own savings the
creation of a school for the children of the workers and of the poorest
families of the neighbourhood, which was at that time a outlying suburb of Barcelona . He brought
concrete reality to the conviction, saying: “The poor must always find a
welcome in the Church, which is an expression of Christian charity.”
This morning I
also had the satisfaction of declaring this church a minor basilica. In it, men
and women of every continent can contemplate the façade of the Nativity. In
prayer, let us now consider the mystery of the Incarnation and lift up our
prayer to the Mother of God with the words of the Angel, as we entrust our
lives and the life of the entire Church to her, while imploring the gift of
peace for each and every person of good will.
APOSTOLIC
JOURNEY TO SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA AND BARCELONA
(NOVEMBER
6-7, 2010)
HOLY
MASS WITH DEDICATION OF THE CHURCH
OF
THE SAGRADA FAMILIA AND OF THE ALTAR
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
Dear Brothers
and Sisters in the Lord,
“This day is
holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep. … The joy of the Lord is your
strength” (Neh 8:9-11). With these words from the first reading that we have
proclaimed, I wish to greet all of you taking part in this celebration. I
extend an affectionate greeting to their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain who have
graciously wished to be with us. I extend a thankful greeting to Cardinal Lluís
Martínez Sistach, Archbishop of Barcelona, for his words of welcome and for his
invitation to me to dedicate this Church of the Sagrada Familia, a magnificent
achievement of engineering, art and faith. I also greet Cardinal Ricardo María
Carles Gordó, Archbishop Emeritus of Barcelona ,
the other Cardinals present and my brother bishops, especially the auxiliary
bishop of this local church, and the many priests, deacons, seminarians,
religious men and women, and lay faithful taking part in this solemn ceremony.
I also extend a respectful greeting to the national, regional and local
authorities present, as well as to the members of other Christian communities,
who share in our joy and our grateful praise of God.
Today marks an
important step in a long history of hope, work and generosity that has gone on
for more than a century. At this time I would like to mention each and every
one of those who have made possible the joy that fills us today, from the
promoters to the executors of this work, the architects and the workers, all
who in one way or another have given their priceless contribution to the
building of this edifice. We remember of course the man who was the soul and
the artisan of this project, Antoni Gaudí, a creative architect and a
practising Christian who kept the torch of his faith alight to the end of his
life, a life lived in dignity and absolute austerity. This event is also in a
certain sense the high point of the history of
this land of Catalonia
The joy which I
feel at presiding at this ceremony became all the greater when I learned that
this shrine, since its beginnings, has had a special relationship with Saint Joseph . I have been
moved above all by Gaudí’s confidence when, in the face of many difficulties,
filled with trust in divine Providence , he would
exclaim, “Saint Joseph
will finish this church”. So it is significant that it is also being dedicated
by a Pope whose baptismal name is Joseph.
What do we do
when we dedicate this church? In the heart of the world, placed before God and
mankind, with a humble and joyful act of faith, we raise up this massive
material structure, fruit of nature and an immense achievement of human
intelligence which gave birth to this work of art. It stands as a visible sign
of the invisible God, to whose glory these spires rise like arrows pointing
towards absolute light and to the One who is Light, Height and Beauty itself.
In this place,
Gaudí desired to unify that inspiration which came to him from the three books
which nourished him as a man, as a believer and as an architect: the book of
nature, the book of sacred Scripture and the book of the liturgy. In this way
he brought together the reality of the world and the history of salvation, as
recounted in the Bible and made present in the liturgy. He made stones, trees
and human life part of the church so that all creation might come together in
praise of God, but at the same time he brought the sacred images outside so as
to place before people the mystery of God revealed in the birth, passion, death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In this way, he brilliantly helped to build
our human consciousness, anchored in the world yet open to God, enlightened and
sanctified by Christ. In this he accomplished one of the most important tasks
of our times: overcoming the division between human consciousness and Christian
consciousness, between living in this temporal world and being open to eternal
life, between the beauty of things and God as beauty. Antoni Gaudí did this not
with words but with stones, lines, planes, and points. Indeed, beauty is one of
mankind’s greatest needs; it is the root from which the branches of our peace
and the fruits of our hope come forth. Beauty also reveals God because, like
him, a work of beauty is pure gratuity; it calls us to freedom and draws us
away from selfishness.
We have
dedicated this sacred space to God, who revealed and gave himself to us in
Christ so as to be definitively God among men. The revealed Word, the humanity
of Christ and his Church are the three supreme expressions of his
self-manifestation and self-giving to mankind. As says Saint Paul in the second reading: “Let each
man take care how he builds. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that
which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:10-11). The Lord Jesus is the
stone which supports the weight of the world, which maintains the cohesion of
the Church and brings together in ultimate unity all the achievements of
mankind. In him, we have God’s word and presence and from him the Church
receives her life, her teaching and her mission. The Church of herself is
nothing; she is called to be the sign and instrument of Christ, in pure
docility to his authority and in total service to his mandate. The one Christ
is the foundation of the one Church. He is the rock on which our faith is
built. Building on this faith, let us strive together to show the world the
face of God who is love and the only one who can respond to our yearning for
fulfilment. This is the great task before us: to show everyone that God is a
God of peace not of violence, of freedom not of coercion, of harmony not of discord.
In this sense, I consider that the dedication of this church of the Sagrada
Familia is an event of great importance, at a time in which man claims to be
able to build his life without God, as if God had nothing to say to him. In
this masterpiece, Gaudí shows us that God is the true measure of man; that the
secret of authentic originality consists, as he himself said, in returning to
one’s origin which is God. Gaudí, by opening his spirit to God, was capable of
creating in this city a space of beauty, faith and hope which leads man to an
encounter with him who is truth and beauty itself. The architect expressed his
sentiments in the following words: “A church [is] the only thing worthy of
representing the soul of a people, for religion is the most elevated reality in
man”.
This affirmation
of God brings with it the supreme affirmation and protection of the dignity of
each and every man and woman: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple? … God’s
temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Cor 3:16-17). Here we find joined
together the truth and dignity of God and the truth and dignity of man. As we
consecrate the altar of this church, which has Christ as its foundation, we are
presenting to the world a God who is the friend of man and we invite men and
women to become friends of God. This is what we are taught in the case of
Zacchaeus, of whom today’s gospel speaks (Lk 19:1-10), if we allow God into our
hearts and into our world, if we allow Christ to live in our hearts, we will
not regret it: we will experience the joy of sharing his very life, as the
object of his infinite love.
This church
began as an initiative of the Association of the Friends of Saint Joseph, who
wanted to dedicate it to the Holy Family of Nazareth. The home formed by Jesus,
Mary and Joseph has always been regarded as a school of love, prayer and work.
The promoters of this church wanted to set before the world love, work and
service lived in the presence of God, as the Holy Family lived them. Life has
changed greatly and with it enormous progress has been made in the technical,
social and cultural spheres. We cannot simply remain content with these
advances. Alongside them, there also need to be moral advances, such as in
care, protection and assistance to families, inasmuch as the generous and
indissoluble love of a man and a woman is the effective context and foundation
of human life in its gestation, birth, growth and natural end. Only where love
and faithfulness are present can true freedom come to birth and endure. For
this reason the Church advocates adequate economic and social means so that
women may find in the home and at work their full development, that men and
women who contract marriage and form a family receive decisive support from the
state, that life of children may be defended as sacred and inviolable from the
moment of their conception, that the reality of birth be given due respect and
receive juridical, social and legislative support. For this reason the Church
resists every form of denial of human life and gives its support to everything
that would promote the natural order in the sphere of the institution of the
family.
As I contemplate
with admiration this sacred space of marvellous beauty, of so much faith-filled
history, I ask God that in the land of Catalonia new witnesses of holiness may
rise up and flourish, and present to the world the great service that the
Church can and must offer to humanity: to be an icon of divine beauty, a
burning flame of charity, a path so that the world may believe in the One whom
God has sent (see Jn 6:29).
Dear brothers
and sisters, as I dedicate this splendid church, I implore the Lord of our
lives that, from this altar, which will now be anointed with holy oil and upon
which the sacrifice of the love of Christ will be consumed, there may be a
flood of grace and charity upon the city of Barcelona and its people, and upon
the whole world. May these fruitful waters fill with faith and apostolic
vitality this archdiocesan Church, its pastors and its faithful.
Finally, I wish
to commend to the loving protection of the Mother of God, Mary Most Holy, April
Rose, Mother of Mercy, all who enter here and all who in word or deed, in
silence and prayer, have made this possible this marvel of architecture. May
Our Lady present to her divine Son the joys and tribulations of all who come in
the future to this sacred place so that here, as the Church prays when
dedicating religious buildings, the poor may find mercy, the oppressed true
freedom and all men may take on the dignity of the children of God. Amen.
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
St.
Peter’s Square, Sunday, 6 November 2011
Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
The
Biblical Readings of this Sunday’s Liturgy invite us to extend the reflection
on eternal life that we began on the occasion of the commemoration of the
faithful departed. On this point there is a clear difference between those who
believe and those who do not believe or, one might likewise say, between those
who hope and those who do not hope.
Indeed
St Paul wrote
to the Thessalonians: “but we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning
those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1
Thess 4:13). Faith in the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ in this sphere
too is a crucial divide. St Paul always reminded the Christians of Ephesus that
before accepting the Good News they had been “separated from Christ, alienated
from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12). Indeed the religion of
the Greeks, the pagan cults and myths, were unable to shed light on the mystery
of death; thus an ancient inscription said: “In nihil ab nihilo quam cito
recidmus” which means: “how quickly we fall back from nothing to nothing”.
If we remove God, we remove Christ and the world falls back into emptiness and
darkness. Moreover, this is also confirmed in the expressions of contemporary
nihilism that is often unconscious and, unfortunately, infects a great many
young people.
Today’s
Gospel is a famous parable that speaks of ten maidens invited to a wedding
feast, a symbol of the Kingdom
of Heaven
Let
us ask Mary, Sedes Sapientiae, to teach us true wisdom, the wisdom that
became flesh in Jesus. He is the Way that leads from this life to God, to the
Eternal One. He enabled us to know the Father’s face, and thus gave us hope
full of love. This is why the Church addresses the Mother of the Lord with
these words: “Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra” [our life, our sweetness
and our hope]. Let us learn from her to live and die in the hope that never
disappoints.
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Saint
Peter’s Square, Sunday, 11 November 2012
Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
The
Liturgy of the Word this Sunday gives us two widows as models of faith. They
are presented in parallel: one in the First Book of Kings (17:10-16) and the
other in the Gospel of Mark (12:41-44). Both these women are very poor and it
is precisely this condition that speaks of their great faith in God. The first
appears in the series of narratives about the Prophet Elijah. In a time of
famine, he receives an order from the Lord to go to pagan territory near Sidon , outside Israel . There he meets a widow and
asks her for water to drink and a little bread. The woman replies that there is
only a handful of flour and a drop of oil, but, since the Prophet insists and
promises her that, if she listens to him, flour and oil will not be wanting;
she listens and is rewarded.
The
second widow in the Gospel is noticed by Jesus at the Temple
in Jerusalem ,
to be precise at the treasury, where men and women are giving alms. Jesus sees
this woman throwing two coins into the treasury; he then calls his disciples
and explains that her contribution is greater than that of the rich, because,
while they gave of their plenty, the widow put in “everything she had, her
whole living” (Mk 12:44).
From
these two biblical passages, wisely juxtaposed, one can learn a valuable lesson
about the faith. It appears as an interior attitude of he who bases his life on
God, on the Word, and trusts totally in him. Being a widow in antiquity was in
itself a condition of grave need. This is why in the Bible widows and orphans
were people whom God cared for in a special way: they have lost their earthly
support but God remains their Spouse, their Parent.
Yet,
Scripture says that the objective state of need, in this case being a widow,
does not suffice: God always asks for our free adherence to faith, that it is
expressed in love for him and for our neighbour. No one is so poor that he
cannot give something. And, in fact, both of these widows from today
demonstrate their faith by carrying out an act of charity: one for the Prophet
and the other by almsgiving. Thus they attest to the inseparable unity between
faith and love, as between love of God and love of one’s neighbour — as the
Gospel of last Sunday reminded us. Pope St Leo the Great, whose memory we
celebrated yesterday, affirmed this: “On the scales of divine justice the
quantity of gifts is not weighed, but the weight of hearts. The widow deposited
in the Temple
treasury two small coins and by doing so surpassed the gifts of all the rich.
No gesture of goodness is meaningless before God, no mercy is left barren” (Sermo
de jejunio dec. mens., 90, 3).
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Book by Orestes J. González