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Pope Benedict XVI- Apostolic Journey to USA |
 Homily at St. Patrick's Cathedral
"Communicate the Joy Born of Faith and the Experience of God’s Love"
Pope Benedict XVI
New York City, USA
April 19, 2008
www.zenit.org
Here is the
homily Pope Benedict XVI gave today during a Mass he said in St.
Patrick's Cathedral for clergy and religious.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
With great affection in the Lord, I greet all of you, who
represent the Bishops, priests and deacons, the men and women in
consecrated life, and the seminarians of the United States. I
thank Cardinal Egan for his warm welcome and the good wishes
which he has expressed in your name as I begin the fourth year
of my papal ministry. I am happy to celebrate this Mass with
you, who have been chosen by the Lord, who have answered his
call, and who devote your lives to the pursuit of holiness, the
spread of the Gospel and the building up of the Church in faith,
hope and love.
Gathered as we are in this historic cathedral, how can we not
think of the countless men and women who have gone before us,
who labored for the growth of the Church in the United States,
and left us a lasting legacy of faith and good works? In today’s
first reading we saw how, in the power of the Holy Spirit, the
Apostles went forth from the Upper Room to proclaim God’s mighty
works to people of every nation and tongue. In this country, the
Church’s mission has always involved drawing people "from every
nation under heaven" (cf. Acts 2:5) into spiritual unity, and
enriching the Body of Christ by the variety of their gifts. As
we give thanks for past blessings, and look to the challenges of
the future, let us implore from God the grace of a new Pentecost
for the Church in America. May tongues of fire, combining
burning love of God and neighbor with zeal for the spread of
Christ’s Kingdom, descend on all present!
In this morning’s second reading, Saint Paul reminds us that
spiritual unity -- the unity which reconciles and enriches
diversity -- has its origin and supreme model in the life of the
triune God. As a communion of pure love and infinite freedom,
the Blessed Trinity constantly brings forth new life in the work
of creation and redemption. The Church, as "a people made one by
the unity of the Father, the Son and the Spirit" (cf. Lumen
Gentium, 4), is called to proclaim the gift of life, to
serve life, and to promote a culture of life. Here in this
cathedral, our thoughts turn naturally to the heroic witness to
the Gospel of life borne by the late Cardinals Cooke and
O’Connor. The proclamation of life, life in abundance, must be
the heart of the new evangelization. For true life -- our
salvation -- can only be found in the reconciliation, freedom
and love which are God’s gracious gift.
This is the message of hope we are called to proclaim and embody
in a world where self-centeredness, greed, violence, and
cynicism so often seem to choke the fragile growth of grace in
people’s hearts. Saint Irenaeus, with great insight, understood
that the command which Moses enjoined upon the people of Israel:
"Choose life!" (Dt 30:19) was the ultimate reason for our
obedience to all God’s commandments (cf. Adv. Haer. IV, 16,
2-5). Perhaps we have lost sight of this: in a society where the
Church seems legalistic and "institutional" to many people, our
most urgent challenge is to communicate the joy born of faith
and the experience of God’s love.
 I am particularly happy that we have gathered in Saint Patrick’s
Cathedral. Perhaps more than any other church in the United
States, this place is known and loved as "a house of prayer for
all peoples" (cf. Is 56:7; Mk 11:17). Each day thousands of men,
women and children enter its doors and find peace within its
walls. Archbishop John Hughes, who -- as Cardinal Egan has
reminded us -- was responsible for building this venerable
edifice, wished it to rise in pure Gothic style. He wanted this
cathedral to remind the young Church in America of the great
spiritual tradition to which it was heir, and to inspire it to
bring the best of that heritage to the building up of Christ’s
body in this land. I would like to draw your attention to a few
aspects of this beautiful structure which I think can serve as a
starting point for a reflection on our particular vocations
within the unity of the Mystical Body.
The first has to do with the stained glass windows, which flood
the interior with mystic light. From the outside, those windows
are dark, heavy, even dreary. But once one enters the church,
they suddenly come alive; reflecting the light passing through
them, they reveal all their splendor. Many writers -- here in
America we can think of Nathaniel Hawthorne -- have used the
image of stained glass to illustrate the mystery of the Church
herself. It is only from the inside, from the experience of
faith and ecclesial life, that we see the Church as she truly
is: flooded with grace, resplendent in beauty, adorned by the
manifold gifts of the Spirit. It follows that we, who live the
life of grace within the Church’s communion, are called to draw
all people into this mystery of light.
This is no easy task in a world which can tend to look at the
Church, like those stained glass windows, "from the outside": a
world which deeply senses a need for spirituality, yet finds it
difficult to "enter into" the mystery of the Church. Even for
those of us within, the light of faith can be dimmed by routine,
and the splendor of the Church obscured by the sins and
weaknesses of her members. It can be dimmed too, by the
obstacles encountered in a society which sometimes seems to have
forgotten God and to resent even the most elementary demands of
Christian morality. You, who have devoted your lives to bearing
witness to the love of Christ and the building up of his Body,
know from your daily contact with the world around us how
tempting it is at times to give way to frustration,
disappointment and even pessimism about the future. In a word,
it is not always easy to see the light of the Spirit all about
us, the splendor of the Risen Lord illuminating our lives and
instilling renewed hope in his victory over the world (cf. Jn
16:33).
Yet the word of God reminds us that, in faith, we see the
heavens opened, and the grace of the Holy Spirit lighting up the
Church and bringing sure hope to our world. "O Lord, my God,"
the Psalmist sings, "when you send forth your spirit, they are
created, and you renew the face of the earth" (Ps 104:30). These
words evoke the first creation, when the Spirit of God hovered
over the deep (cf. Gen 1:2). And they look forward to the new
creation, at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the
Apostles and established the Church as the first fruits of a
redeemed humanity (cf. Jn 20:22-23). These words summon us to
ever deeper faith in God’s infinite power to transform every
human situation, to create life from death, and to light up even
the darkest night. And they make us think of another magnificent
phrase of Saint Irenaeus: "where the Church is, there is the
Spirit of God; where the Spirit of God is, there is the Church
and all grace" (Adv. Haer. III, 24, 1).
This leads me to a further reflection about the architecture of
this church. Like all Gothic cathedrals, it is a highly complex
structure, whose exact and harmonious proportions symbolize the
unity of God’s creation. Medieval artists often portrayed
Christ, the creative Word of God, as a heavenly "geometer",
compass in hand, who orders the cosmos with infinite wisdom and
purpose. Does this not bring to mind our need to see all things
with the eyes of faith, and thus to grasp them in their truest
perspective, in the unity of God’s eternal plan? This requires,
as we know, constant conversion, and a commitment to acquiring
"a fresh, spiritual way of thinking" (cf. Eph 4:23). It also
calls for the cultivation of those virtues which enable each of
us to grow in holiness and to bear spiritual fruit within our
particular state of life. Is not this ongoing "intellectual"
conversion as necessary as "moral" conversion for our own growth
in faith, our discernment of the signs of the times, and our
personal contribution to the Church’s life and mission?
For all of us, I think, one of the great disappointments which
followed the Second Vatican Council, with its call for a greater
engagement in the Church’s mission to the world, has been the
experience of division between different groups, different
generations, different members of the same religious family. We
can only move forward if we turn our gaze together to Christ! In
the light of faith, we will then discover the wisdom and
strength needed to open ourselves to points of view which may
not necessarily conform to our own ideas or assumptions. Thus we
can value the perspectives of others, be they younger or older
than ourselves, and ultimately hear "what the Spirit is saying"
to us and to the Church (cf. Rev 2:7). In this way, we will move
together towards that true spiritual renewal desired by the
Council, a renewal which can only strengthen the Church in that
holiness and unity indispensable for the effective proclamation
of the Gospel in today’s world.
Was not this unity of vision and purpose -- rooted in faith and
a spirit of constant conversion and self-sacrifice -- the secret
of the impressive growth of the Church in this country? We need
but think of the remarkable accomplishment of that exemplary
American priest, the Venerable Michael McGivney, whose vision
and zeal led to the establishment of the Knights of Columbus, or
of the legacy of the generations of religious and priests who
quietly devoted their lives to serving the People of God in
countless schools, hospitals and parishes.
Here, within the context of our need for the perspective given
by faith, and for unity and cooperation in the work of building
up the Church, I would like say a word about the sexual abuse
that has caused so much suffering. I have already had occasion
to speak of this, and of the resulting damage to the community
of the faithful. Here I simply wish to assure you, dear priests
and religious, of my spiritual closeness as you strive to
respond with Christian hope to the continuing challenges that
this situation presents. I join you in praying that this will be
a time of purification for each and every particular Church and
religious community, and a time for healing. I also encourage
you to cooperate with your Bishops who continue to work
effectively to resolve this issue. May our Lord Jesus Christ
grant the Church in America a renewed sense of unity and
purpose, as all -- Bishops, clergy, religious and laity -- move
forward in hope, in love for the truth and for one another.
Dear friends, these considerations lead me to a final
observation about this great cathedral in which we find
ourselves. The unity of a Gothic cathedral, we know, is not the
static unity of a classical temple, but a unity born of the
dynamic tension of diverse forces which impel the architecture
upward, pointing it to heaven. Here too, we can see a symbol of
the Church’s unity, which is the unity -- as Saint Paul has told
us -- of a living body composed of many different members, each
with its own role and purpose. Here too we see our need to
acknowledge and reverence the gifts of each and every member of
the body as "manifestations of the Spirit given for the good of
all" (1 Cor 12:7). Certainly within the Church’s divinely-willed
structure there is a distinction to be made between hierarchical
and charismatic gifts (cf. Lumen Gentium, 4). Yet the very
variety and richness of the graces bestowed by the Spirit invite
us constantly to discern how these gifts are to be rightly
ordered in the service of the Church’s mission. You, dear
priests, by sacramental ordination have been configured to
Christ, the Head of the Body. You, dear deacons, have been
ordained for the service of that Body.
You, dear men and women religious, both contemplative and
apostolic, have devoted your lives to following the divine
Master in generous love and complete devotion to his Gospel. All
of you, who fill this cathedral today, as wells as your retired,
elderly and infirm brothers and sisters, who unite their prayers
and sacrifices to your labors, are called to be forces of unity
within Christ’s Body. By your personal witness, and your
fidelity to the ministry or apostolate entrusted to you, you
prepare a path for the Spirit. For the Spirit never ceases to
pour out his abundant gifts, to awaken new vocations and
missions, and to guide the Church, as our Lord promised in this
morning’s Gospel, into the fullness of truth (cf. Jn 16:13).
So let us lift our gaze upward! And with great humility and
confidence, let us ask the Spirit to enable us each day to grow
in the holiness that will make us living stones in the temple
which he is even now raising up in the midst of our world. If we
are to be true forces of unity, let us be the first to seek
inner reconciliation through penance. Let us forgive the wrongs
we have suffered and put aside all anger and contention. Let us
be the first to demonstrate the humility and purity of heart
which are required to approach the splendor of God’s truth. In
fidelity to the deposit of faith entrusted to the Apostles (cf.
1 Tim 6:20), let us be joyful witnesses of the transforming
power of the Gospel!
Dear brothers and sisters, in the finest traditions of the
Church in this country, may you also be the first friend of the
poor, the homeless, the stranger, the sick and all who suffer.
Act as beacons of hope, casting the light of Christ upon the
world, and encouraging young people to discover the beauty of a
life given completely to the Lord and his Church. I make this
plea in a particular way to the many seminarians and young
religious present. All of you have a special place in my heart.
Never forget that you are called to carry on, with all the
enthusiasm and joy that the Spirit has given you, a work that
others have begun, a legacy that one day you too will have to
pass on to a new generation. Work generously and joyfully, for
he whom you serve is the Lord!
The spires of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral are dwarfed by the
skyscrapers of the Manhattan skyline, yet in the heart of this
busy metropolis, they are a vivid reminder of the constant
yearning of the human spirit to rise to God. As we celebrate
this Eucharist, let us thank the Lord for allowing us to know
him in the communion of the Church, to cooperate in building up
his Mystical Body, and in bringing his saving word as good news
to the men and women of our time. And when we leave this great
church, let us go forth as heralds of hope in the midst of this
city, and all those places where God’s grace has placed us. In
this way, the Church in America will know a new springtime in
the Spirit, and point the way to that other, greater city, the
new Jerusalem, whose light is the Lamb (Rev 21:23). For there
God is even now preparing for all people a banquet of unending
joy and life. Amen.
© Copyright 2008 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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