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Pope Benedict XVI- Apostolic Journey to the Holy Land |
"Children
Have a Special Role to Play in the Growth of Their Parents in
Holiness"
Homily on Nazareth's Mount of Precipice
In a Mass that concluded the Year of the Family launched by
the Catholic Church in the Holy Land
H.H. Benedict XVI
Nazareth
May 14, 2009
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
"May the peace of the Risen Christ reign in your hearts, for as
members of the one body you have been called to that peace!" (Col
3:15). With these words of the Apostle Paul, I greet all of you with
affection in the Lord. I rejoice to have come to Nazareth, the place
blessed by the mystery of the Annunciation, the place which
witnessed the hidden years of Christ's growth in wisdom, age and
grace (cf. Lk 2:52). I thank Archbishop Elias Chacour for his kind
words of welcome, and I embrace with the sign of peace my brother
Bishops, the priests and religious, and all the faithful of Galilee,
who, in the diversity of their rites and traditions, give expression
to the universality of Christ's Church. In a special way I wish to
thank all those who have helped to make this celebration possible,
particularly those involved in the planning and construction of this
new theatre with its splendid panorama of the city.
Here in the home town of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we have gathered to
mark the conclusion of the Year of the Family celebrated by the
Church in the Holy Land. As a sign of hope for the future I will
bless the first stone of an International Center for the Family to
be built in Nazareth. Let us pray that the Center will promote
strong family life in this region, offer support and assistance to
families everywhere, and encourage them in their irreplaceable
mission to society.
This stage of my pilgrimage, I am confident, will draw the whole
Church's attention to this town of Nazareth. All of us need, as Pope
Paul VI said here, to return to Nazareth, to contemplate ever anew
the silence and love of the Holy Family, the model of all Christian
family life. Here, in the example of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, we come
to appreciate even more fully the sacredness of the family, which in
God's plan is based on the lifelong fidelity of a man and a woman
consecrated by the marriage covenant and accepting of God's gift of
new life. How much the men and women of our time need to
reappropriate this fundamental truth, which stands at the foundation
of society, and how important is the witness of married couples for
the formation of sound consciences and the building of a
civilization of love!
In today's first reading, drawn from the book of Sirach (3:3-7,
14-17), the word of God presents the family as the first school of
wisdom, a school which trains its members in the practice of those
virtues which make for authentic happiness and lasting fulfillment.
In God's plan for the family, the love of husband and wife bears
fruit in new life, and finds daily expression in the loving efforts
of parents to ensure an integral human and spiritual formation for
their children. In the family each person, whether the smallest
child or the oldest relative, is valued for himself or herself, and
not seen simply as a means to some other end. Here we begin to
glimpse something of the essential role of the family as the first
building-block of a well-ordered and welcoming society. We also come
to appreciate, within the wider community, the duty of the State to
support families in their mission of education, to protect the
institution of the family and its inherent rights, and to ensure
that all families can live and flourish in conditions of dignity.
The
Apostle Paul, writing to the Colossians, speaks instinctively of the
family when he wishes to illustrate the virtues which build up the
"one body" which is the Church. As "God's chosen ones, holy and
beloved", we are called to live in harmony and peace with one
another, showing above all forbearance and forgiveness, with love as
the highest bond of perfection (cf. Col 3:12-14). Just as in the
marriage covenant, the love of man and woman is raised by grace to
become a sharing in, and an expression of, the love of Christ and
the Church (cf. Eph 5:32), so too the family, grounded in that love,
is called to be a "domestic church", a place of faith, of prayer and
of loving concern for the true and enduring good of each of its
members.
As we reflect on these realities here, in the town of the
Annunciation, our thoughts naturally turn to Mary, "full of grace",
the mother of the Holy Family and our Mother. Nazareth reminds us of
our need to acknowledge and respect the God-given dignity and proper
role of women, as well as their particular charisms and talents.
Whether as mothers in families, as a vital presence in the work
force and the institutions of society, or in the particular vocation
of following our Lord by the evangelical counsels of chastity,
poverty and obedience, women have an indispensable role in creating
that "human ecology" (cf. Centesimus Annus, 39) which our world, and
this land, so urgently needs: a milieu in which children learn to
love and to cherish others, to be honest and respectful to all, to
practice the virtues of mercy and forgiveness.
Here too, we think of Saint Joseph, the just man whom God wished to
place over his household. From Joseph's strong and fatherly example
Jesus learned the virtues of a manly piety, fidelity to one's word,
integrity and hard work. In the carpenter of Nazareth he saw how
authority placed at the service of love is infinitely more fruitful
than the power which seeks to dominate. How much our world needs the
example, guidance and quiet strength of men like Joseph!
Finally, in contemplating the Holy Family of Nazareth, we turn to
the child Jesus, who in the home of Mary and Joseph grew in wisdom
and understanding, until the day he began his public ministry. Here
I would simply like to leave a particular thought with the young
people here. The Second Vatican Council teaches that children have a
special role to play in the growth of their parents in holiness (cf.
Gaudium et Spes, 48). I urge you to reflect on this, and to let the
example of Jesus guide you, not only in showing respect for your
parents, but also helping them to discover more fully the love which
gives our lives their deepest meaning. In the Holy Family of
Nazareth, it was Jesus who taught Mary and Joseph something of the
greatness of the love of God his heavenly Father, the ultimate
source of all love, the Father from whom every family in heaven and
on earth takes its name (cf. Eph 3:14-15).
Dear friends, in the Opening Prayer of today's Mass we asked the
Father to "help us to live as the Holy Family, united in respect and
love". Let us reaffirm here our commitment to be a leaven of respect
and love in the world around us. This Mount of the Precipice reminds
us, as it has generations of pilgrims, that our Lord's message was
at times a source of contradiction and conflict with his hearers.
Sadly, as the world knows, Nazareth has experienced tensions in
recent years which have harmed relations between its Christian and
Muslim communities. I urge people of good will in both communities
to repair the damage that has been done, and in fidelity to our
common belief in one God, the Father of the human family, to work to
build bridges and find the way to a peaceful coexistence. Let
everyone reject the destructive power of hatred and prejudice, which
kills men's souls before it kills their bodies!
Allow me to conclude with a word of gratitude and praise for all
those who strive to bring God's love to the children of this town,
and to educate new generations in the ways of peace. I think in a
special way of the local Churches, particularly in their schools and
charitable institutions, to break down walls and to be a seedbed of
encounter, dialogue, reconciliation and solidarity. I encourage the
dedicated priests, religious, catechists and teachers, together with
parents and all concerned for the good of our children, to persevere
in bearing witness to the Gospel, to be confident in the triumph of
goodness and truth, and to trust that God will give growth to every
initiative which aims at the extension of his Kingdom of holiness,
solidarity, justice and peace. At the same time I acknowledge with
gratitude the solidarity which so many of our brothers and sisters
throughout the world show towards the faithful of the Holy Land by
supporting the praiseworthy programs and activities of the Catholic
Near East Welfare Association.
"Let it be done to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38). May our
Lady of the Annunciation, who courageously opened her heart to God's
mysterious plan, and became the Mother of all believers, guide and
sustain us by her prayers. May she obtain for us and our families
the grace to open our ears to that word of the Lord which has the
power to build us up (cf. Acts 20:32), to inspire courageous
decisions, and to guide our feet into the path of peace!
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