Entry 0298: Reflections on the Twenty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary
Time by Pope Benedict XVI
On eight occasions during his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI delivered reflections on the Twenty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, on 11 September 2005, 17 September 2006, 16 September 2007, 14 September 2008, 13 September 2009, 12 September 2010, 11 September 2011, and 16 September 2012. Here are the texts of eight brief reflections prior to the recitation of the Angelus and three homilies delivered on these occasions.
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
Next Wednesday,
14 September, we will be celebrating the liturgical Feast of the Triumph of the
Cross. In the Year dedicated to the Eucharist this feast acquires a particular
significance: it invites us to meditate on the deep and indissoluble bond
that unites the Eucharistic Celebration and the mystery of the Cross.
Every Holy Mass,
in fact, actualizes the redeeming sacrifice of Christ. “Every priest who
celebrates Holy Mass”, our beloved John Paul II wrote in the Encyclical
Ecclesia de Eucharistia, “together with the Christian community which takes
part in it, is led back in spirit” to Golgotha and to the “hour” of his death
on the Cross (no. 4).
The Eucharist is
therefore the memorial of the entire Paschal Mystery: the passion, death,
descent into hell, Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven; and the Cross is the
moving manifestation of the act of infinite love with which the Son of God
saved humankind and the world from sin and death.
For this reason,
the sign of the Cross is the fundamental act of our prayer, of Christian
prayer.
Making the sign
of the Cross - as we will do during the Blessing - means saying a visible and
public “yes” to the One who died and rose for us, to God who in the humility
and weakness of his love is the Almighty, stronger than all the power and
intelligence of the world.
After the
consecration of Holy Mass, the assembly of the faithful, aware of being in the
real presence of the Crucified and Risen Christ, exclaims: “Christ has
died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again”. With the eyes of faith, the
Community recognizes the living Jesus by the signs of his passion and with
Thomas can repeat, full of wonder: “My Lord and my God!” (Jn
20: 28).
The Eucharist is
a mystery of death and of glory like the Crucifixion, which is not an accident
on the journey but the way by which Christ entered into his glory (see Lk
24: 26) and reconciled the whole of humanity, overcoming all enmity. This
is why the liturgy invites us to pray with trusting hope: Mane
nobiscum, Domine! Stay with us, Lord, who has redeemed the world with your
Holy Cross!
Mary, present on
Calvary beneath the Cross, is also present
with the Church and as Mother of the Church in each one of our Eucharistic
Celebrations (see Ecclesia de Eucharistia, no. 57). No one better than
she, therefore, can teach us to understand and live Holy Mass with faith and
love, uniting ourselves with Christ’s redeeming sacrifice. When we receive Holy
Communion, like Mary and united to her, we too clasp the wood that Jesus with
his love transformed into an instrument of salvation, and pronounce our “Amen”,
our “Yes” to Love, crucified and risen.
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
The Pastoral
Visit which I recently made to Bavaria
was a deep spiritual experience, bringing together personal memories linked to
places well known to me and pastoral initiatives towards an effective
proclamation of the Gospel for today. I thank God for the interior joy
which he made possible, and I am also grateful to all those who worked hard for
the success of this Pastoral Visit. As is the custom, I will speak more of this
during next Wednesday’s General Audience. At this time, I wish also to add that
I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my
address at the University
of Regensburg
Now, before the
Marian prayer, I would like to reflect on two recent and important liturgical
events: the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, celebrated on 14
September, and the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, celebrated the following
day.
These two
liturgical celebrations can be summed up visually in the traditional image of
the Crucifixion, which portrays the Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross, according
to the description of the Evangelist John, the only one of the Apostles who
stayed by the dying Jesus.
But what does
exalting the Cross mean? Is it not maybe scandalous to venerate a shameful form
of execution? The Apostle Paul says: “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling
block to Jews and folly to Gentiles” (I Cor 1: 23). Christians,
however, do not exalt just any cross but the Cross which Jesus sanctified with
his sacrifice, the fruit and testimony of immense love. Christ on the Cross
pours out his Blood to set humanity free from the slavery of sin and death.
Therefore, from
being a sign of malediction, the Cross was transformed into a sign of blessing,
from a symbol of death into a symbol par excellence of the Love that overcomes
hatred and violence and generates immortal life. “O Crux, ave spes unica!
O Cross, our only hope!”. Thus sings the liturgy.
The Evangelist
recounts: Mary was standing by the Cross (see Jn 19: 25-27). Her
sorrow is united with that of her Son. It is a sorrow full of faith and love.
The Virgin on Calvary participates in the
saving power of the suffering of Christ, joining her “fiat”, her “yes”, to that
of her Son.
Dear brothers
and sisters, spiritually united to Our Lady of Sorrows, let us also renew our “yes”
to God who chose the Way of the Cross in order to save us. This is a great
mystery which continues and will continue to take place until the end of the
world, and which also asks for our collaboration.
May Mary help us
to take up our cross every day and follow Jesus faithfully on the path of
obedience, sacrifice and love.
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Papal
Summer Residence, Castel Gandolfo , Sunday, 16
September 2007
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
The liturgy
today once again presents for our meditation Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel, one
of the loftiest and most moving passages of all Sacred Scripture. It is
beautiful to think that on this day throughout the world, wherever the
Christian community gathers to celebrate the Sunday Eucharist, the Good News of
truth and salvation rings out: God is merciful love.
The Evangelist
Luke has gathered in this Chapter three parables on divine mercy: the two
shortest ones which he has in common with Matthew and Mark are the Parables of
the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin; the third, lengthy, articulate and proper to
him alone, is the famous parable of the merciful Father, commonly known as the
parable of the “Prodigal Son”.
In this Gospel
passage, we almost seem to hear Jesus’ voice revealing to us the Face of his
Father and our Father. Basically, this was the reason he came into the world:
to speak to us of the Father; to make him known to us, his lost children, and
to revive in our hearts the joy of belonging to him, the hope of being forgiven
and restored to our full dignity, the desire to dwell for ever in his house
which is also our house.
Jesus recounted
the three parables of mercy because the Scribes and Pharisees were muttering
bad things about him since they had noticed he permitted sinners to approach
him and even eat with him (see Lk 15: 1-3). He then explained in his
typical language that God does not want even one of his children to be lost and
that his soul overflows with joy whenever a sinner is converted.
True religion
thus consists in being attuned to this Heart, “rich in mercy”, which asks us to
love everyone, even those who are distant and our enemies, imitating the
Heavenly Father who respects the freedom of each one and draws everyone to
himself with the invincible power of his faithfulness.
This is the road
Jesus points out to all who want to be his disciples: “Judge not... condemn
not... forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you....
Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6: 36-38). In
these words we find very practical instructions for our daily conduct as
believers.
In our time,
humanity needs a strong proclamation and witness of God’s mercy. Beloved John
Paul II, a great apostle of Divine Mercy, prophetically intuited this urgent
pastoral need. He dedicated his Second Encyclical to it and throughout his
Pontificate made himself a missionary of God’s love to all peoples.
After the tragic
events of 11 September 2001, which darkened the dawn of the third millennium,
he invited Christians and people of good will to believe that God’s Mercy is
stronger than all evil, and that only in the Cross of Christ is the world’s
salvation found.
May the Virgin
Mary, Mother of Mercy, whom we contemplated yesterday as Our Lady of Sorrows at
the foot of the Cross, obtain for us the gift of always trusting in God’s love
and help us to be merciful as our Father in Heaven is merciful.
APOSTOLIC
JOURNEY
OF
HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
TO FRANCE ON THE
OCCASION OF THE 150th ANNIVERSARY
OF
THE APPARITIONS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY AT LOURDES
(SEPTEMBER
12 - 15, 2008)
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Prairie,
Lourdes
Dear
Pilgrims, dear brothers and sisters!
Every day,
praying the Angelus gives us the opportunity to meditate for a few moments, in
the midst of all our activities, on the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son
of God. At noon, when the first hours of the day are already beginning to weigh
us down with fatigue, our availability and our generosity are renewed by the
contemplation of Mary’s “yes”. This clear and unreserved “yes” is rooted in the
mystery of Mary’s freedom, a total and entire freedom before God, completely
separated from any complicity with sin, thanks to the privilege of her
Immaculate Conception.
This privilege
given to Mary, which sets her apart from our common condition, does not
distance her from us, but on the contrary, it brings her closer. While sin
divides, separating us from one another, Mary’s purity makes her infinitely
close to our hearts, attentive to each of us and desirous of our true good. You
see it here in Lourdes ,
as in all Marian shrines; immense crowds come thronging to Mary’s feet to
entrust to her their most intimate thoughts, their most heartfelt wishes. That
which many, either because of embarrassment or modesty, do not confide to their
nearest and dearest, they confide to her who is all pure, to her Immaculate
Heart: with simplicity, without frills, in truth. Before Mary, by virtue of her
very purity, man does not hesitate to reveal his weakness, to express his
questions and his doubts, to formulate his most secret hopes and desires. The
Virgin Mary’s maternal love disarms all pride; it renders man capable of seeing
himself as he is, and it inspires in him the desire to be converted so as to
give glory to God.
Thus, Mary shows
us the right way to come to the Lord. She teaches us to approach him in truth
and simplicity. Thanks to her, we discover that the Christian faith is not a
burden: it is like a wing which enables us to fly higher, so as to take refuge
in God’s embrace.
The life and
faith of believers make it clear that the grace of the Immaculate Conception
given to Mary is not merely a personal grace, but a grace for all, a grace
given to the entire people of God. In Mary, the Church can already contemplate
what she is called to become. Every believer can contemplate, here and now, the
perfect fulfilment of his or her own vocation. May each of you always remain
full of thanksgiving for what the Lord has chosen to reveal of his plan of
salvation through the mystery of Mary: a mystery in which we are involved most
intimately since, from the height of the Cross which we celebrate and exalt
today, it is revealed to us through the words of Jesus himself that his Mother
is our Mother. Inasmuch as we are sons and daughters of Mary, we can profit from
all the graces given to her; the incomparable dignity that came to her through
her Immaculate Conception shines brightly over us, her children.
Here, close to
the grotto, and in intimate communion with all the pilgrims present in Marian
shrines and with all the sick in body and soul who are seeking relief, we bless
the Lord for Mary’s presence among her people, and to her we address our prayer
in faith:
“Holy Mary, you
showed yourself here one hundred and fifty years ago to the young Bernadette,
you ‘are the true fount of hope’ (Dante, Paradiso, XXXIII:12).
Faithful
pilgrims who have gathered here from every part of the world, we come once more
to draw faith and comfort, joy and love, security and peace, from the source of
your Immaculate Heart. Monstra Te esse Matrem. Show yourself a Mother
for us all, O Mary! And give us Christ, the hope of the world! Amen.”
APOSTOLIC
JOURNEY
OF
HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
TO FRANCE ON THE
OCCASION OF THE 150th ANNIVERSARY
OF
THE APPARITIONS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY AT LOURDES
(SEPTEMBER
12 - 15, 2008)
EUCHARISTIC
CELEBRATION ON THE OCCASION
OF
THE 150th ANNIVERSARY OF THE APPARITIONS
OF
THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
Prairie,
Lourdes
Dear
Cardinals,
Dear Bishop
Perrier,
Dear Brothers
in the episcopate and the priesthood,
Dear
pilgrims, brothers and sisters,
“Go and tell the
priests that people should come here in procession, and that a chapel should be
built here.” This is the message Bernadette received from the “beautiful lady”
in the apparition of 2 March 1858. For 150 years, pilgrims have never ceased to
come to the grotto of Massabielle to hear the message of conversion and hope
which is addressed to them. And we have done the same; here we are this morning
at the feet of Mary, the Immaculate Virgin, eager to learn from her alongside
little Bernadette.
I would like to
thank especially Bishop Jacques Perrier of Tarbes
and Lourdes for
the warm welcome he has given me, and for the kind words he has addressed to
me. I greet the Cardinals, the Bishops, the priests, the deacons, the men and
women religious, and all of you, dear Lourdes
pilgrims, especially the sick. You have come in large numbers to make this
Jubilee pilgrimage with me and to entrust your families, your relatives and
friends, and all your intentions to Our Lady. My thanks go also to the civil
and military Authorities who are here with us at this Eucharistic celebration.
“What a great
thing it is to possess the Cross! He who possesses it possesses a treasure”
(Saint Andrew of Crete , Homily X on the
Exaltation of the Cross, PG 97, 1020). On this day when the Church’s liturgy
celebrates the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Gospel you have
just heard reminds us of the meaning of this great mystery: God so loved the
world that he gave his only Son, so that men might be saved (see Jn
3:16). The Son of God became vulnerable, assuming the condition of a slave,
obedient even to death, death on a cross (see Phil 2:8). By his Cross we
are saved. The instrument of torture which, on Good Friday, manifested God’s
judgement on the world, has become a source of life, pardon, mercy, a sign of
reconciliation and peace. “In order to be healed from sin, gaze upon Christ
crucified!” said Saint Augustine
(Treatise on Saint John, XII, 11). By raising our eyes towards the
Crucified one, we adore him who came to take upon himself the sin of the world
and to give us eternal life. And the Church invites us proudly to lift up this
glorious Cross so that the world can see the full extent of the love of the
Crucified one for mankind, for every man and woman. She invites us to give
thanks to God because from a tree which brought death, life has burst out anew.
On this wood Jesus reveals to us his sovereign majesty, he reveals to us that
he is exalted in glory. Yes, “Come, let us adore him!” In our midst is he who
loved us even to giving his life for us, he who invites every human being to
draw near to him with trust.
This is the
great mystery that Mary also entrusts to us this morning, inviting us to turn
towards her Son. In fact, it is significant that, during the first apparition
to Bernadette, Mary begins the encounter with the sign of the Cross. More than
a simple sign, it is an initiation into the mysteries of the faith that
Bernadette receives from Mary. The sign of the Cross is a kind of synthesis of
our faith, for it tells how much God loves us; it tells us that there is a love
in this world that is stronger than death, stronger than our weaknesses and
sins. The power of love is stronger than the evil which threatens us. It is
this mystery of the universality of God’s love for men that Mary came to reveal
here, in Lourdes .
She invites all people of good will, all those who suffer in heart or body, to
raise their eyes towards the Cross of Jesus, so as to discover there the source
of life, the source of salvation.
The Church has
received the mission of showing all people this loving face of God, manifested
in Jesus Christ. Are we able to understand that in the Crucified One of
Golgotha, our dignity as children of God, tarnished by sin, is restored to us?
Let us turn our gaze towards Christ. It is he who will make us free to love as
he loves us, and to build a reconciled world. For on this Cross, Jesus took
upon himself the weight of all the sufferings and injustices of our humanity.
He bore the humiliation and the discrimination, the torture suffered in many
parts of the world by so many of our brothers and sisters for love of Christ.
We entrust all this to Mary, mother of Jesus and our mother, present at the
foot of the Cross.
In order to
welcome into our lives this glorious Cross, the celebration of the Jubilee of
Our Lady’s apparitions in Lourdes
urges us to embark upon a journey of faith and conversion. Today, Mary comes to
meet us, so as to show us the way towards a renewal of life for our communities
and for each one of us. By welcoming her Son, whom she presents to us, we are
plunged into a living stream in which the faith can rediscover new vigour, in
which the Church can be strengthened so as to proclaim the mystery of Christ
ever more boldly. Jesus, born of Mary, is the Son of God, the sole Saviour of
all people, living and acting in his Church and in the world. The Church is
sent everywhere in the world to proclaim this unique message and to invite
people to receive it through an authentic conversion of heart. This mission,
entrusted by Jesus to his disciples, receives here, on the occasion of this
Jubilee, a breath of new life. After the example of the great evangelizers from
your country, may the missionary spirit which animated so many men and women
from France
over the centuries, continue to be your pride and your commitment!
When we follow
the Jubilee Way in the footsteps of Bernadette, we are reminded of the heart of
the message of Lourdes .
Bernadette is the eldest daughter of a very poor family, with neither knowledge
nor power, and in poor health. Mary chose her to transmit her message of
conversion, prayer and penance, which fully accord with words of Jesus: “What
you have hidden from the wise and understanding, you have revealed to babes” (Mt
11:25). On their spiritual journey, Christians too are called to render
fruitful the grace of their Baptism, to nourish themselves with the Eucharist,
to draw strength from prayer so as to bear witness and to express solidarity
with all their fellow human beings (see Homage to the Virgin Mary,
Piazza di Spagna, 8 December 2007). It is therefore a genuine catechesis that
is being proposed to us in this way, under Mary’s gaze. Let us allow her to
instruct us too, and to guide us along the path that leads to the Kingdom of
her Son!
In the course of
her catechesis, the “beautiful lady” reveals her name to Bernadette: “I am the
Immaculate Conception”. Mary thereby discloses the extraordinary grace that she
has received from God, that of having been conceived without sin, for “he has
looked on his servant in her lowliness” (see Lk 1:48). Mary is the woman
from this earth who gave herself totally to God, and who received the privilege
of giving human life to his eternal Son. “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let
what you have said be done to me” (Lk 1:38). She is beauty transfigured,
the image of the new humanity. By presenting herself in this way, in utter
dependence upon God, Mary expresses in reality an attitude of total freedom,
based upon the full recognition of her true dignity. This privilege concerns us
too, for it discloses to us our own dignity as men and women, admittedly marked
by sin, but saved in hope, a hope which allows us to face our daily life. This
is the path which Mary opens up for man. To give oneself fully to God is to
find the path of true freedom. For by turning towards God, man becomes himself.
He rediscovers his original vocation as a person created in his image and
likeness.
Dear Brothers
and Sisters, the primary purpose of the shrine at Lourdes is to be a place of encounter with
God in prayer and a place of service to our brothers and sisters, notably
through the welcome given to the sick, the poor and all who suffer. In this
place, Mary comes to us as a mother, always open to the needs of her children.
Through the light which streams from her face, God’s mercy is made manifest.
Let us allow ourselves to be touched by her gaze, which tells us that we are
all loved by God and never abandoned by him! Mary comes to remind us that
prayer which is humble and intense, trusting and persevering, must have a
central place in our Christian lives. Prayer is indispensable if we are to
receive Christ’s power. “People who pray are not wasting their time, even
though the situation appears desperate and seems to call for action alone” (Deus
Caritas Est, 36). To allow oneself to become absorbed by activity runs the
risk of depriving prayer of its specifically Christian character and its true
efficacy. The prayer of the Rosary, so dear to Bernadette and to Lourdes pilgrims,
concentrates within itself the depths of the Gospel message. It introduces us
to contemplation of the face of Christ. From this prayer of the humble, we can
draw an abundance of graces.
The presence of
young people at Lourdes
is also an important element. Dear friends, gathered this morning around the
World Youth Day Cross: when Mary received the angel’s visit, she was a young
girl from Nazareth
leading the simple and courageous life typical of the women of her village. And
if God’s gaze focussed particularly upon her, trusting in her, Mary wants to
tell you once more that not one of you is indifferent in God’s eyes. He directs
his loving gaze upon each one of you and he calls you to a life that is happy
and full of meaning. Do not allow yourselves to be discouraged by difficulties!
Mary was disturbed by the message of the angel who came to tell her that she
would become the Mother of the Saviour. She was conscious of her frailty in the
face of God’s omnipotence. Nevertheless, she said “yes”, without hesitating.
And thanks to her yes, salvation came into the world, thereby changing the
history of mankind. For your part, dear young people, do not be afraid to say
yes to the Lord’s summons when he invites you to walk in his footsteps. Respond
generously to the Lord! Only he can fulfil the deepest aspirations of your
heart. You have come to Lourdes
in great numbers for attentive and generous service to the sick and to the
other pilgrims, setting out in this way to follow Christ the servant. Serving
our brothers and sisters opens our hearts and makes us available. In the
silence of prayer, be prepared to confide in Mary, who spoke to Bernadette in a
spirit of respect and trust towards her. May Mary help those who are called to
marriage to discover the beauty of a genuine and profound love, lived as a
reciprocal and faithful gift! To those among you whom he calls to follow him in
the priesthood or the religious life, I would like to reiterate all the joy
that is to be had through giving one’s life totally for the service of God and
others. May Christian families and communities be places where solid vocations
can come to birth and grow, for the service of the Church and the world!
Mary’s message
is a message of hope for all men and women of our day, whatever their country
of origin. I like to invoke Mary as the star of hope (Spe Salvi, no.
50). On the paths of our lives, so often shrouded in darkness, she is a beacon
of hope who enlightens us and gives direction to our journey. Through her “yes”,
through the generous gift of herself, she has opened up to God the gates of our
world and our history. And she invites us to live like her in invincible hope,
refusing to believe those who claim that we are trapped in the fatal power of
destiny. She accompanies us with her maternal presence amid the events of our
personal lives, our family lives, and our national lives. Happy are those men
and women who place their trust in him who, at the very moment when he was
offering his life for our salvation, gave us his Mother to be our own!
Dear Brothers
and Sisters, in this land
of France
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Courtyard
of the Papal Summer Residence, Castel Gandolfo ,
Sunday, 13 September 2009
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
On this Sunday,
the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, the word of God calls us into question with
two crucial questions that I shall sum up in these words: “Who do you say Jesus
of Nazareth is?”. Then: “Is your faith shown in your works, or not?”. We find
the first question in today’s Gospel, where Jesus asks his disciples: “Who do
you say that I am?” (Mk 8: 29). Peter’s answer is loud and clear: “You are the
Christ”, in other words the Messiah, the consecrated one of God, sent to save
his People. Therefore Peter and the other Apostles, unlike the majority,
believe not only that Jesus is a great teacher or a prophet but far more. They
have faith: they believe that God is present and active in him. However,
directly after this profession of faith when Jesus announces openly for the
first time that he must suffer and be killed, Peter himself opposes the
prospect of suffering and death. Jesus must then rebuke him sternly, to make him
understand that it is not enough to believe that he is God but that,
impelled by charity, it is necessary to follow him on the same path,
that of the Cross (see Mk 8: 31-33). Jesus did not come to teach us philosophy
but to show us a way, indeed the way that leads to life.
This way is love
which is an expression of true faith. If someone loves his neighbour with a
pure and generous heart it means that he truly knows God. If instead someone
says he has faith but does not love his brethren, he is not a true believer.
God does not dwell within him. St James clearly affirms this in the Second
Reading of this Sunday’s Mass: “Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead”
(Js 2: 17). In this regard I would like to cite a passage from St John
Chrysostom, one of the great Fathers of the Church, whom the liturgical
calendar today invites us to commemorate. In commenting precisely on the verse
from the Letter of James quoted above, he writes: “A person moreover may have a
righteous faith in the Father and in the Son, as in the Holy Spirit, but if he
does not have a righteous life, his faith will not serve him for salvation.
Therefore, when you read in the Gospel: “This is eternal life, that they know
you as the one true God’ (Jn 17: 3), do not think that this verse suffices to
save us: a most pure life and conduct are essential” (cit. in J.A.
Cramer, Catenae graecorum Patrum in N.T., Vol. VIII: In Epist. Cath.
et Apoc., Oxford
1844).
Dear friends,
tomorrow we shall be celebrating the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross and the
following day, that of Our Lady of Sorrows. The Virgin Mary, who believed in
the word of the Lord, did not lose her faith in God when she saw her Son
rejected, abused and crucified. Rather she remained beside Jesus, suffering and
praying, until the end. And she saw the radiant dawn of his Resurrection. Let
us learn from her to witness to our faith with a life of humble service, ready
to personally pay the price of staying faithful to the Gospel of love and
truth, certain that nothing that we do will be lost.
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
In today’s
Gospel chapter 15 of St Luke Jesus recounts the three “parables of mercy”. When
he speaks of “the shepherd who goes after the lost sheep, of the woman who
looks for the lost coin, of the father who goes to meet and embrace his
prodigal son, these are no mere words: they constitute an explanation of his
very being and activity” (Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, no. 12). In fact,
the shepherd who finds the stray sheep is the Lord himself who lays upon his
shoulders, with the Cross, sinful humanity, in order to redeem it. The prodigal
son, then, in the third parable, is a young man who having obtained his
inheritance from his father “took his journey into a far country, and there, he
squandered his property in loose living” (Lk 15: 13). Reduced to a penniless
state he was obliged to work as a servant, even accepting to satisfy his hunger
with food intended for animals. Then, the Gospel says, “He came to himself” (Lk
15: 17). “The speech he prepares for his homecoming reveals to us the full
extent of the inner pilgrimage he is now making... leading “home’... to himself
and to the father”. (Benedict XVI Jesus of Nazareth, Doubleday, 2007,
Chapter 7, p. 205). “I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father,
I have sinned against Heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called
your son; treat me as one of your hired servants’” (Lk 15: 18-19). St Augustine wrote: “The
Word himself calls you to return, and with him is a place of unperturbed rest,
where love is not forsaken unless it first forsakes. “While he was yet at a
distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and
kissed him” (Lk 15: 20) and, full of joy, had a feast prepared.
Dear Friends,
how is it possible not to open our hearts to the certainty that in spite of
being sinners we are loved by God? He never tires of coming to meet us, he is
always the first to set out on the path that separates us from him. The Book of
Exodus shows us how Moses, with confident and daring pleas, succeeded, so to
speak, in moving God from the throne of judgement to the throne of mercy (see
32: 7-11). Penitence is the measure of faith and through it one returns to the
Truth. The Apostle Paul writes: “I received mercy because I had acted
ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Tm 1: 13). Returning to the parable of the son who
goes “home”, we note that when the elder brother appears, indignant at the
festive welcome given to his brother, it is again the father who reaches out to
him and begs him: “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours”
(Lk 15: 31). Only the faith can transform selfishness into joy and renew true
relationships with our neighbour and with God. “It was fitting to make merry
and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is
found” (Lk 15: 32).
Dear Brothers
and Sisters, next Thursday I shall be going to the United Kingdom where I will beatify
Cardinal John Henry Newman. I ask all to accompany me with prayers on this
Apostolic Journey. Let us entrust to the Virgin Mary, whose Most Holy Name is
celebrated in the Church today, our journey of conversion to God.
PASTORAL
VISIT TO ANCONA
BENEDICT
XVI
ANGELUS
Shipyard
of Ancona
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
Before
concluding this solemn Eucharistic celebration, the prayer of the Angelus
invites us to reflect on Mary Most Holy to contemplate the abyss of love from
which the sacrament of the Eucharist comes.
Thanks to the
Virgin’s “fiat” the Word made flesh came to dwell among us. In
meditating on the mystery of the Incarnation, let us all turn, with our minds
and hearts, to the Shrine of the Holy House of Loreto, only a few kilometres
from here. The region of the Marches
is illuminated by Mary’s spiritual presence in her historical Shrine which
makes these hills even more beautiful and delightful! At this moment I entrust
to her the city of Ancona, the Diocese, the Marches and the whole of Italy, so
that faith in the Eucharistic Mystery, which makes present the Risen Christ, a
source of hope and comfort in daily life, especially at the most difficult
moments, may always be alive in every town and in every village, from the Alps
to Sicily.
Today our
thoughts also turn to September 11th, 10 years ago. In remembering before the
Lord of Life the victims of the attacks perpetrated on that day, as well as
their families, I invite leaders of nations and people of good will always to
reject violence as a solution to problems, to resist the temptation to hate and
to work within society, drawing inspiration from the principles of solidarity,
justice and peace.
Lastly, through
the intercession of Mary Most Holy, I pray that the Lord reward all those who
have worked for the preparation and organization of this Eucharistic Congress
and I cordially address my warmest greeting!
PASTORAL VISIT TO
ANCONA
EUCHARISTIC
CELEBRATION
FOR
THE CONCLUSION OF THE
25th
ITALIAN NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
Shipyard
of Ancona
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
Six years ago,
the first Apostolic Journey of my pontificate took me to Bari for the 24th National Eucharistic
Congress. Today I have come to conclude solemnly the 25th, here in Ancona . I thank the Lord
for these intense ecclesial moments that strengthen our love for the Eucharist
and see us united round the Eucharist! Bari and Ancona, two cities facing the
Adriatic Sea; two cities rich in history and in Christian life, two cities open
to the East, to its culture and its spirituality; two cities which the themes
of the Eucharistic Congresses have helped to bring closer to each other: in
Bari we commemorated how “Without Sunday We Cannot Live”; today our
gathering is under the banner of the “Eucharist for Daily Life”.
Before offering
you some thoughts, I would like to thank you for your unanimous participation:
in you I spiritually embrace the whole of the Church in Italy . I address a grateful
greeting to Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, President of the Episcopal Conference,
for the cordial words he addressed to me also on your behalf; to Cardinal
Giovanni Battista Re, my Legate at this Congress; to Archbishop Edoardo
Menichelli of Ancona-Osimo, to the Bishops of the Metropolis and of the Marches
and to those who have come in great numbers from every part of the country.
With them, I greet the priests, deacons and consecrated men and women, as well
as the lay faithful, among whom I see many families and many young people. I
also extend my gratitude to the civil and military authorities and to all
those, in their various capacities, who have contributed to the success of this
event.
“This is a hard
saying; who can listen to it?” (Jn 6:60). The reaction of the disciples – many
of whom abandoned Jesus – to his discourse on the Bread of Life in the
Synagogue of Capernaum is not very different from our own resistance to the
total gift he makes of himself. For truly accepting this gift means losing
oneself, letting oneself be involved and transformed, as the Apostle Paul
reminded us in the Second Reading: “If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we
die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the
Lord’s” (Rom 14:8).
“This is a hard
saying”; it is hard because we often confuse freedom with the absence of bonds,
in the conviction that we can manage by ourselves, without God who is seen as a
restriction of freedom. This is an illusion that does not take long to become a
delusion, giving rise to anxiety and fear and, paradoxically, leading to
nostalgia for the bonds of the past: “Would that we had died by the hand of the
Lord in the land of Egypt…”, the Jews in the wilderness said, as we heard (Ex
16:3). In fact, only in openness to God, in receiving his gift, do we become
truly free, free from the slavery of sin that disfigures man’s face, and
capable of serving the true good of our brethren.
“This is a hard
saying”; it is hard because man often succumbs to the illusion that he can “make
stones become bread”. After setting God aside, or after having tolerated him as
a private choice that must not interfere with public life, some ideologies have
aimed to organize society with the force of power and of the economy. History
shows us, dramatically, that the objective of guaranteeing everyone
development, material well-being and peace, by leaving out God and his
revelation, has been resolved by giving people stones instead of bread.
Bread, dear
brothers and sisters, is “a fruit of the work of human hands”, and this truth
contains the full responsibility entrusted to our hands and to our ingenuity;
but bread is also and before that: “a fruit of the earth”, which receives the
sun and the rain from on high: it is a gift to ask for that takes away all our
pride and enables us to invoke with the trust of the humble: “Our Father… give
us this day our daily bread” (Mt 6:11).
The human being
is incapable of giving life to himself, he understands himself only by starting
from God: it is the relationship with him that gives our humanity consistence
and makes our life good and just. In the “Our Father” we ask that his name
be hallowed, that his kingdom come, that his will be done. It is
first and foremost God’s primacy that we must recover in our world and in our
life, because it is this primacy that enables us to discover the truth of what
we are, and it is in knowing and following God’s will that we find our own
good; giving time and space to God, so that he may be the vital centre of our
existence.
Where should we
start from, from what source, in order to recover and to reaffirm the primacy
of God? From the Eucharist; here God makes himself so close that he makes
himself our food, here he makes himself energy on the often difficult journey,
here he makes himself a friendly presence that transforms. The Law given
through Moses was already considered as “bread from Heaven”, thanks to which Israel became
the People of God, but in Jesus the ultimate and definitive word of God becomes
flesh, comes to meet us as a Person. He, the eternal Word, is the true manna,
the Bread of Life (see Jn 6:32-35) and doing the works of God is believing in
him (see Jn 6:28-29).
At the Last
Supper Jesus summed up the whole of his life in an act that is inscribed in the
great paschal blessing to God, an act that he lives as Son in thanksgiving to
the Father for his immense love. Jesus broke the bread and shared it, but with
a new depth, because he was giving himself. He took the cup and shared it so
that all might drink from it, but with this gesture he was giving the “new covenant
of his Blood”, he was giving himself.
Jesus
anticipated the act of supreme love, obedience to the Father’s will: the
sacrifice of the Cross. His life will be taken on the Cross, but he was already
offering it himself. So it is that Christ’s death is not reduced to a violent
execution but was transformed by him into a free act of love, of self-giving,
which passed through death itself victoriously and reaffirmed the goodness of
creation that came from God’s hands, that was humiliated by sin and redeemed at
last. This immense gift is accessible to us in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
God gives himself to us, to open our life to him, to involve it in the mystery
of love of the Cross, to make it share in the eternal mystery from which we
come, and to anticipate the new condition of full life in God, of which we in
live expectation.
Yet what does
starting from the Eucharist in order to reaffirm God’s primacy entail for our
daily life? Eucharistic communion, dear friends, wrenches us from our
individualism, communicates to us the spirit of Christ dead and risen, and
conforms us to him. It closely unites us with our brethren in that mystery of
communion, which is the Church, where the one Bread makes many one body (1 Cor
10:17), fulfilling the prayer of the Christian community recorded in the Book
of the Didaché: “As this broken bread was once scattered on the mountains and
after it had been brought together became one, so may your Church be gathered
together from the ends of the earth unto your kingdom” (ix, 4).
The Eucharist
sustains and transforms the whole of daily life. As I recalled in my first
Encyclical: “Eucharistic communion includes the reality both of being loved and
of loving others in turn”, therefore, “A Eucharist which does not pass over
into the concrete practice of love is intrinsically fragmented” (Deus
Caritas Est, no. 14).
The
2,000-year-old history of the Church is spangled with saints whose existence is
an eloquent sign of how in communion with the Lord and from the Eucharist a new
and intense assumption of responsibility comes into being at all the levels of
community life; thus a new positive social development is born which is centred
on the person, especially when he or she is poor, sick or in need. Being
nourished by Christ is the way not to be foreign or indifferent to the fate of
the brethren, but rather to enter into the same logic of love and of the gift
of the sacrifice of the Cross; anyone who can kneel before the Eucharist, who
receives the Body of the Lord, cannot but be attentive in the ordinary daily
routine to situations unworthy of the human being; anyone who can bend over the
needy in the first person, who can break his own bread with the hungry and
share water with the thirsty, who can clothe the naked and visit the sick person
and the prisoner (see Mt 25:34-36).
This person will
be able to see in every individual that same Lord who did not hesitate to give
the whole of himself for us and for our salvation. A Eucharistic spirituality,
then, is the true antidote to the individualism and selfishness that often mark
daily life. It leads to the rediscovery of giving freely, to the centrality of
relationships, starting with the family, and pays special attention to
alleviating the wounds of broken families.
A Eucharistic
spirituality is the soul of an ecclesial community which surmounts divisions
and antagonism and appreciates the diversity of charisms and ministries,
putting them at the service of the Church, of her vitality and mission. A
Eucharistic spirituality is the way to restore dignity to the days of human
beings, hence to their work, in the quest for its reconciliation with the times
of celebration and of the family, and in the commitment to overcome the
uncertainty of precarious situations and the problem of unemployment.
A Eucharistic
spirituality will also help us to approach the different forms of human
frailty, aware that they do not dim the value of a person but require
closeness, acceptance and help. A renewed educational ability will draw
strength from the Bread of Life, attentive to witnessing to the fundamental
values of existence, of knowledge of the spiritual and cultural heritage; its
vitality will enable us to dwell in the human city with the readiness to expend
ourselves on the horizon of the common good in order to build a fairer and more
brotherly society.
Dear friends,
let us start out from the Marches
with the power of the Eucharist in a constant osmosis between the mystery we
are celebrating and the contexts of our daily life. There is nothing authentically
human that does not find in the Eucharist the form it needs to be lived to the
full: may daily life therefore become a place of spiritual worship, in order to
live in all circumstances the primacy of God, as part of a relationship with
Christ and as an offering to the Father (see Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation
Sacramentum Caritatis, no. 71). Yes, “man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4): we live by
obedience to these words, which are living bread, until, like Peter, we consign
ourselves with the understanding of love: “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” (Jn 6:68-69).
Like the Virgin
Mary, let us too become a “womb”, willing to offer Jesus to the people of our
time, reawakening the deep desire for that salvation which comes only from him.
I wish the whole Church which is in Italy a good journey with Christ,
the Bread of Life! Amen.
APOSTOLIC JOURNEY
TO LEBANON
(14-16 SEPTEMBER 2012)
BENEDICT XVI
ANGELUS
Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
Let us
turn now to Mary, Mother of God, Our Lady of Lebanon. Let us ask her to
intercede with her divine Son for you and, more particularly, for the people of
Syria
and the neighbouring countries, imploring the gift of peace. You know all too
well the tragedy of the conflicts and the violence which generates so much
suffering. Sadly, the din of weapons continues to make itself heard, along with
the cry of the widow and the orphan. Violence and hatred invade people’s lives,
and the first victims are women and children. Why so much horror? Why so many
dead? I appeal to the international community! I appeal to the Arab countries
that, as brothers, they might propose workable solutions respecting the
dignity, the rights and the religion of every human person! Those who wish to
build peace must cease to see in the other an evil to be eliminated. It is not
easy to see in the other a person to be respected and loved, and yet this is
necessary if peace is to be built, if fraternity is desired (see 1 Jn
2:10-11; 1 Pet 3:8-12). May God grant to your country, to Syria and to the Middle
East the gift of peaceful hearts, the silencing of weapons and the
cessation of all violence! May men understand that they are all brothers! Mary,
our Mother, understands our concern and our needs. Together with the Patriarchs
and Bishops present, I place the Middle East
under her maternal protection (see Propositio 44). May we, with God’s
help, be converted so as to work ardently to establish the peace that is
necessary for harmonious coexistence among brothers, whatever their origins and
religious convictions.
APOSTOLIC JOURNEY
TO LEBANON
(14-16 SEPTEMBER 2012)
MASS OF THE CONSIGNING
OF THE POST-SYNODAL APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION
FOR THE MIDDLE EAST
HOMILY OF HIS
HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI
Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
“Blessed
be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” (Eph 1:3). Blessed be God
on this day when I have the joy of being here with you, in Lebanon , to
consign to the Bishops of the region my Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia
in Medio Oriente! I offer heartfelt thanks to His Beatitude Bechara Boutros
Raï for his kind words of welcome. I greet the other Patriarchs and Bishops of
the Eastern Churches, the Latin Bishops of the neighbouring regions, and the
Cardinals and Bishops who have come from other countries. I greet all of you
with great affection, dear brothers and sisters from Lebanon
and from throughout this beloved region of the Middle East ,
as you join with the Successor of Peter in celebrating Jesus Christ crucified,
dead and risen. My respectful greeting goes also to the President of the
Republic, to the Lebanese authorities, and to the leaders and followers of the
other religious traditions who have elected to be present this morning.
On this
Sunday when the Gospel asks us about the true identity of Jesus, we find
ourselves transported with the disciples to the road leading to the villages
around Caesarea Philippi. Jesus asks them: “Who do you say that I am?” (Mk 8:29).
The moment he chose to ask this question is not insignificant. Jesus was facing
a decisive turning-point in his life. He was going up to Jerusalem , to the place where the central
events of our salvation would take place: his crucifixion and resurrection. In Jerusalem too, following
these events, the Church would be born. And at this decisive moment, Jesus
first asks his disciples: “Who do men say that I am?” (Mk 8:27). They
give very different answers: John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets!
Today, as down the centuries, those who encounter Jesus along their own way
give their own answers. These are approaches which can be helpful in finding
the way to truth. But while not necessarily false, they remain insufficient,
for they do not go to the heart of who Jesus is. Only those willing to follow
him on his path, to live in fellowship with him in the community of his
disciples, can truly know who he is. Finally, Peter, who had dwelt with Jesus
for some time, gives his answer: “You are the Christ” (Mk 8:29). It is
the right answer, of course, but it is still not enough, since Jesus feels the
need to clarify it. He realizes that people could use this answer to advance
agendas which are not his, to raise false temporal hopes in his regard. He does
not let himself be confined to the attributes of the human saviour which many
were expecting.
By
telling his disciples that he must suffer and be put to death, and then rise
again, Jesus wants to make them understand his true identity. He is a Messiah
who suffers, a Messiah who serves, and not some triumphant political saviour.
He is the Servant who obeys his Father’s will, even to giving up his life. This
had already been foretold by the prophet Isaiah in today’s first reading. Jesus
thus contradicts the expectations of many. What he says is shocking and
disturbing. We can understand the reaction of Peter who rebukes him, refusing
to accept that his Master should suffer and die! Jesus is stern with Peter; he
makes him realize that anyone who would be his disciple must become a servant,
just as he became Servant.
Following
Jesus means taking up one’s cross and walking in his footsteps, along a
difficult path which leads not to earthly power or glory but, if necessary, to
self-abandonment, to losing one’s life for Christ and the Gospel in order to
save it. We are assured that this is the way to the resurrection, to true and
definitive life with God. Choosing to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ,
who made himself the Servant of all, requires drawing ever closer to him,
attentively listening to his word and drawing from it the inspiration for all
that we do. In promulgating the Year of Faith, which is due to begin next 11
October, I wanted each member of the faithful to renew his or her commitment to
undertaking this path of sincere conversion. Throughout this Year, then, I
strongly encourage you to reflect more deeply on the faith, to appropriate it
ever more consciously and to grow in fidelity to Christ Jesus and his Gospel.
Brothers
and sisters, the path on which Jesus wishes to guide us is a path of hope for
all. Jesus’ glory was revealed at the very time when, in his humanity, he
seemed weakest, particularly through the incarnation and on the cross. This is
how God shows his love; he becomes our servant and gives himself to us. Is this
not an amazing mystery, one which is at times difficult to accept? The Apostle
Peter himself would only come to understand it later.
In
today’s second reading, Saint James tells us to what extent our walking in the
footsteps of Jesus, if it is to be authentic, demands concrete actions. “I, by
my works, will show you my faith” (Jas 2:18). It is an imperative task
of the Church to serve and of Christians to be true servants in the image of
Jesus. Service is a foundational element of the identity of Christ’s followers
(see Jn 13:15-17). The vocation of the Church and of each Christian is
to serve others, as the Lord himself did, freely and impartially. Consequently,
in a world where violence constantly leaves behind its grim trail of death and
destruction, to serve justice and peace is urgently necessary for building a
fraternal society, for building fellowship! Dear brothers and sisters, I pray
in particular that the Lord will grant to this region of the Middle
East servants of peace and reconciliation, so that all people can
live in peace and with dignity. This is an essential testimony which Christians
must render here, in cooperation with all people of good will. I appeal to all
of you to be peacemakers, wherever you find yourselves.
Service
must also be at the heart of the life of the Christian community itself. Every
ministry, every position of responsibility in the Church, is first and foremost
a service to God and to our brothers and sisters. This is the spirit which
should guide the baptized among themselves, and find particular expression in
an effective commitment to serving the poor, the outcast and the suffering, so
that the inalienable dignity of each person may be safeguarded.
Dear
brothers and sisters who are suffering physically or spiritually, your
sufferings are not in vain! Christ the Servant wished to be close to the
suffering. He is always close to you. Along your own path, may you always find
brothers and sisters who are concrete signs of his loving presence which will
never forsake you! Remain ever hopeful because of Christ!
© Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Book by Orestes J. González
