Most Holy Father,
Exactly 25 years ago, at this time, the
Cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel elected you to the office
of the Successor of St Peter, and you said your "yes" to the grace
and burden of that office.
Twenty-five years ago, Cardinal Pericle
Felici, Pro-Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals, solemnly
announced to the crowd waiting in St Peter's Square: "Habemus
Papam". Twenty-five years ago, from the Loggia of the Blessings,
you imparted the Urbi et Orbi Blessing for the first time
and, with an unforgettable Address, instantly won the hearts of the
Romans as well as of the many people across the world who were
following you and listening to you. You said at that time that you
came from a distant country, but we saw immediately that the faith
in Jesus Christ that shone from your words and from your whole
person overcomes all distances; that in the faith we have all grown
close to one another. Right from the start you enabled us to
experience this force of Christ that breaks down barriers and
creates peace and joy.
In these 25 years as Vicar of Jesus Christ
in the apostolic sucession, you have tirelessly travelled the world,
not only to bring to men and women the Gospel of the love of God
made flesh in Jesus Christ, beyond all geographical boundaries; you
have also crossed the continents of the spirit, often far from one
another and set against each other, to bring strangers close, to
make the distant friends, and to make room in the world for the
peace of Christ (cf. Eph 2: 17). You have spoken to young and old,
to the rich and the poor, the powerful and the humble - after the
example of Jesus Christ - and you have always shown special love for
the poor and defenceless, bringing to all a spark of God's truth and
love. You have proclaimed God's will fearlessly, even when it was in
opposition to what people thought and desired. Like the Apostle
Paul, you can say that you have never sought to flatter with words
nor to be honoured by mankind, but have watched over God's children
as a mother. Like Paul, you too felt drawn to people and wanted to
help them share not only in the Gospel but also in your own life
(cf. I Thes 2: 5-8). You have undergone criticism and insults,
arousing, however, gratitude and love, and causing the walls of
hatred and unfamiliarity to crumble.
We can note today that you have put your
whole being into serving the Gospel and have let yourself be spent
by it (II Cor 12: 15). In your life the word "cross" is not merely a
word. You have let yourself be wounded by it, body and soul. Again,
like Paul, you too bear suffering to complete in your earthly life
what is still lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of the
Body of Christ which is the Church (cf. Col 1: 24).
Holy Father, today the whole Church thanks
you for your service in the past 25 years. A great many non-Catholic
sisters and brothers, people of good will and of other religions and
beliefs, also thank you. With our prayers, we would like to entrust
you to the inexhaustible goodness of Our Lord, who called you and
has guided you along your whole journey. We pray that he may also
make you feel the light of his presence at this time, too. We salute
you with the ancient words of the Church: "Dominus conservet te
et vivificet te et beatum te faciat in terra!".
This is a beatitude that also
depends - as we well know - on the fidelity of all of us to your
person and to your task as Successor of Peter. We gladly make the
most of this opportunity to reaffirm to you our desire to persevere
"cum Petro et sub Petro" in our service to Christ and to the
Church.
With these sentiments, we say to you with
heartfelt feeling: "Congratulations, Holy Father!
Homily of John Paul II at the Mass of
Thanksgiving>>>
