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Pope Benedict XVI- Addresses |
POPE'S
ADDRESS TO AUSTRIAN VOLUNTEERS
"God Wants Persons Who Love Together With Him"
Wiener Konzerthaus, Vienna
H.H. Benedict XVI
September 9, 2007
Mr President,
Archbishop Kothgasser,
Dear Volunteers and Honorary Members of the different Charitable
Agencies in Austria,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
and above all: Dear young friends,
I have looked forward with particular joy to this meeting, which
takes place near the end of my visit to Austria. And naturally there
is the further joy of having heard not only a marvellous piece by
Mozart, but also, unexpectedly, the "Vienna Choir Boys". Heartfelt
thanks! It is good to meet people who are trying to give a face to
the Gospel message in our communities; to see people, young and old,
who concretely express in Church and society the love which we, as
Christians, must be overwhelmed: the love of God which enables us to
see others as our neighbours, our brothers and sisters! I am filled
with gratitude and admiration when I think of the generous volunteer
work done in this country by so many people of all ages. To all of
you, and to those who hold honorary and unremunerated positions in
Austria, I would like today to express my special appreciation. I
thank you, Mr. President, you, Archbishop Kothgasser, and, above
all, you, the young people representing volunteer workers in
Austria, for your beautiful and profound words of greeting.
Thanks be to God, many people consider it an honour to engage in
volunteer service to individuals, groups and organizations, or to
respond to specific needs concerning the common good. This kind of
involvement is first of all an occasion for personal growth and for
active and responsible participation in the life of society. The
willingness to take up volunteer work can have various motivations.
Frequently it is simply born of a desire to do something meaningful
and helpful, and out of a desire for new experiences. Young people
rightly and naturally also discover in volunteer work a source of
joy, positive experiences and genuine camaraderie in carrying out a
worthwhile project alongside others. Often these personal ideas and
initiatives are linked to a practical love of neighbour; the
individual thus becomes part of a wider community of support. I
would like to express my gratitude and heartfelt thanks for the
remarkable "culture of volunteerism" existing in Austria. I wish to
thank every woman and every man, all the young people and all the
children -- the volunteer work carried out by children is at times
impressive; we need only think of the activity of the Sternsinger at
Christmastime; you, dear Archbishop, have already mentioned this. I
would also like to express gratitude for the efforts, large and
small, which often go unnoticed. Thank you and Vergelt's Gott [May
God reward you!] for your contribution to building a "civilization
of love" at the service of everyone and the betterment of the
nation. Love of neighbour is not something that can be delegated;
the State and the political order, even with their necessary concern
for the provision of social services, -- as you, Mr President, have
said -- cannot take its place. Love of neighbour always demands a
voluntary personal commitment, and the State, of course, can and
must provide the conditions which make this possible. Thanks to such
involvement, assistance maintains a human dimension and does not
become depersonalized. Volunteers like yourselves, then, are not
"stopgaps" in the social fabric, but people who truly contribute to
giving our society a humane and Christian face.
Young people especially long to have their abilities and talents
"awakened and discovered". Volunteers want to be asked, they want to
be told: "I need you" -- "You can do it!" How good it feels to hear
words like these! In their human simplicity, they unwittingly point
us to the God who has called each of us into being and given us a
personal task, the God who needs each of us and awaits our response.
Jesus called men and women, and gave them the courage needed to
embark on a great undertaking, one to which, by themselves, they
would never have dared to aspire. To allow oneself to be called, to
make a decision and then to set out on a path -- without the usual
questions about whether it is useful or profitable - this attitude
will naturally bring healing in its wake. The saints have shown us
this path by their lives. It is a fascinating and thrilling path, a
path of generosity and, nowadays, one which is much needed. To say
"yes" to volunteering to help others is a decision which is
liberating; it opens our hearts to the needs of others, to the
requirements of justice, to the defence of life and the protection
of creation. Volunteer work is really about the heart of the
Christian image of God and man: love of God and love of neighbour.
Dear Volunteers, Ladies and Gentlemen. Volunteer work reflects
gratitude for, and the desire to share with others, the love that we
ourselves have received. In the words of the fourteenth-century
theologian Duns Scotus,[1] Deus vult condiligentes -- God wants
persons who love together with him. Seen in this light,
unremunerated service has much to do with God's grace. A culture
which would calculate the cost of everything, forcing human
relationships into a strait jacket of rights and duties, is able to
realize, thanks to the countless people who freely donate their time
and service to others, that life is an unmerited gift. For all the
many different or even contradictory reasons which motivate people
to volunteer their services, all are ultimately based on a profound
solidarity born of "gratuitousness". It was as a free gift that we
received life from our Creator, it was as a free gift that we were
set free from the blind alley of sin and evil, it was as a free gift
that we were given the Spirit with his many gifts. In my Encyclical
I wrote: "Love is free; it is not practised as a way of achieving
other ends".[2] "Those who are in a position to help others will
realize that in doing so they themselves receive help; being able to
help others is no merit or achievement of their own. This duty is a
grace".[3] By our commitment to volunteer work, we freely pass on
what we ourselves have received. This "inner logic" of
gratuitousness goes beyond strict moral obligation.
Without volunteer service, society and the common good could not,
cannot and will not endure. A readiness to be at the service of
others is something which surpasses the calculus of outlay and
return: it shatters the rules of a market economy. The value of
human beings cannot be judged by purely economic criteria. Without
volunteers, then, no state can be built up. A society's progress and
worth constantly depend on people who do more than what is strictly
their duty.
Ladies and Gentlemen! Volunteer work is a service to human dignity,
inasmuch as men and women are created in the image and likeness of
God. As Irenaeus of Lyons, in the second century, said: "The glory
of God is the living man, and the life of man is the vision of
God".[4] And Nicholas of Cusa, in his treatise on the vision of God
went on to develop this insight: "Since the eye is where love is
found, I know that you love me… Your gaze, O Lord, is love…. By
gazing upon me, you, the hidden God, enable me to catch a glimpse of
you… Your gaze bestows life… Your gaze is creative".[5] God's gaze
-- the gaze of Jesus fills us with God's love. Some ways of looking
at others can be meaningless or even contemptuous. There are looks
that reveal esteem and express love. Volunteer workers have regard
for others; they remind us of the dignity of every human being and
they awaken enthusiasm and hope. Volunteer workers are guardians and
advocates of human rights and human dignity.
Jesus' gaze is connected with another way of seeing others. In the
Gospel the words: "He saw him and passed by" are said of the priest
and the Levite who see the man lying half-dead on the wayside, yet
do not come to his help (Lk 10:31-2). There are people who see, but
pretend not to see, who are faced with human needs yet remain
indifferent. This is part of the coldness of our present time. In
the gaze of others, and particularly of the person who needs our
help, we experience the concrete demands of Christian love. Jesus
Christ does not teach us a spirituality "of closed eyes", but one of
"alertness", one which entails an absolute duty to take notice of
the needs of others and of situations involving those whom the
Gospel tells us are our neighbours. The gaze of Jesus, what "his
eyes" teach us, leads to human closeness, solidarity, giving time,
sharing our gifts and even our material goods. For this reason,
"those who work for the Church's charitable organizations must be
distinguished by the fact that they do not merely meet the needs of
the moment, -- as important as this is -- but they dedicate
themselves to others with heartfelt concern… This heart sees where
love is needed, and acts accordingly".[6] Yes, "I have to become
like someone in love, someone whose heart is open to being shaken up
by another's need. Then I find my neighbour or -- better -- then I
am found by him".[7]
Finally, the commandment of love for God and neighbour (cf. Mt
22:37-40; Lk 10:27) reminds us that it is through our love of
neighbour that we Christians honour God himself. Archbishop
Kothgasser has already quoted the saying of Jesus: "As you did it to
one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" (Mt 25:40).
If Jesus himself is present in the concrete man or woman whom we
encounter, then unremunerated service can bring us to an experience
of God. Sharing in human situations and needs leads to a "new" and
meaningful kind of togetherness. In this way, volunteer work can
help bring people out of their isolation and make them part of a
community.
To conclude, I would like to mention the power of prayer and its
importance for everyone engaged in charitable work. Praying to God
sets us free from ideologies or a sense of hopelessness in the face
of endless needs. "Even in their bewilderment and failure to
understand the world about them, Christians continue to believe in
the ‘goodness and loving kindness of God' (Tit 3:4). Immersed like
everyone else in the dramatic complexity of historical events, they
remain unshakably certain that God is our Father and loves us, even
when his silence remains incomprehensible".[8]
Dear members and volunteer workers of charitable organizations in
Austria, Ladies and Gentlemen! Whenever people do more than their
simple duty in professional life and in the family -- and even doing
this well calls for great strength and much love -- , and whenever
they commit themselves to helping others, putting their precious
free time at the service of man and his dignity, their hearts
expand. Volunteers do not understand the term "neighbour" in the
literal meaning of the word; for them, it includes those who are far
away, those who are loved by God, and those who, with our help, need
to experience the work of redemption accomplished by Christ. The
other, whom the Gospel calls our "neighbour", thus becomes our
privileged partner as we face the pressures and constraints of the
world in which we live. Anyone who takes seriously the "priority" of
his neighbour lives and acts in accordance with the Gospel and
shares in the mission of the Church, which always looks at the whole
person and wants everyone to experience the love of God. Dear
volunteers, the Church fully supports your service. I am convinced
that the volunteers of Austria will continue to be a source of great
blessing and I assure you of my prayers. Upon all of you I invoke
the joy of the Lord which is our strength (cf. Neh 8:10). May God in
his goodness be ever close to you and guide you constantly by the
help of his grace.
[1] Opus Oxoniense III d. 32 q. 1 n. 6.
[2] BENEDICT XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 31.
[3] Ibid., 35.
[4] Adversus Haereses IV, 20, 7.
[5] De visione Dei / Die Gottesschau, in Philosophisch-Theologische
Schriften, hg. und endgef. von Leo Gabriel, übersetzt von Dietlind
und Wilhelm Dupré, Wien, 1967, Bd. III, 105-111.
[6] BENEDICT XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 31.
[7] JOSEPH RATZINGER / BENEDICT XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, New York,
2007, p. 194.
[8] BENEDICT XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 38.
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