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Pope Benedict XVI- Apostolic Journey to the Holy Land |
"It
Is Essential that You Should Be United Among Yourselves"
Address after Vespers with bishops, priests, religious and
ecclesial movements of Galilee
H.H. Benedict XVI
Shrine of the Annunciation in Nazareth
May 14, 2009
Brother Bishops,
Father Custos,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It is profoundly moving for me to be present with you today in the
very place where the Word of God was made flesh and came to dwell
among us. How fitting that we should gather here to sing the Evening
Prayer of the Church, giving praise and thanks to God for the
marvels he has done for us! I thank Archbishop Sayah for his words
of welcome and through him I greet all the members of the Maronite
community here in the Holy Land. I greet the priests, religious,
members of ecclesial movements and pastoral workers from all over
Galilee. Once again I pay tribute to the care shown by the Friars of
the Custody, over many centuries, in maintaining holy places such as
this. I greet the Latin Patriarch Emeritus, His Beatitude Michel
Sabbah, who for more than twenty years presided over his flock in
these lands. I greet the faithful of the Latin Patriarchate and
their current Patriarch, His Beatitude Fouad Twal, as well as the
members of the Greek-Melkite community, represented here by
Archbishop Elias Chacour. And in this place where Jesus himself grew
to maturity and learned the Hebrew tongue, I greet the
Hebrew-speaking Christians, a reminder to us of the Jewish roots of
our faith.
What happened here in Nazareth, far from the gaze of the world, was
a singular act of God, a powerful intervention in history, through
which a child was conceived who was to bring salvation to the whole
world. The wonder of the Incarnation continues to challenge us to
open up our understanding to the limitless possibilities of God's
transforming power, of his love for us, his desire to be united with
us. Here the eternally begotten Son of God became man, and so made
it possible for us, his brothers and sisters, to share in his divine
sonship. That downward movement of self-emptying love made possible
the upward movement of exaltation in which we too are raised to
share in the life of God himself (cf. Phil 2:6-11).
The Spirit who "came upon Mary" (cf. Lk 1:35) is the same Spirit who
hovered over the waters at the dawn of Creation (cf. Gen 1:2). We
are reminded that the Incarnation was a new creative act. When our
Lord Jesus Christ was conceived in Mary's virginal womb through the
power of the Holy Spirit, God united himself with our created
humanity, entering into a permanent new relationship with us and
ushering in a new Creation. The narrative of the Annunciation
illustrates God's extraordinary courtesy (cf. Mother Julian of
Norwich, Revelations 77-79). He does not impose himself, he does not
simply pre-determine the part that Mary will play in his plan for
our salvation: he first seeks her consent. In the original Creation
there was clearly no question of God seeking the consent of his
creatures, but in this new Creation he does so. Mary stands in the
place of all humanity. She speaks for us all when she responds to
the angel's invitation. Saint Bernard describes how the whole court
of heaven was waiting with eager anticipation for her word of
consent that consummated the nuptial union between God and humanity.
The attention of all the choirs of angels was riveted on this spot,
where a dialogue took place that would launch a new and definitive
chapter in world history. Mary said, "Let it be done to me according
to your word." And the Word of God became flesh.
When we reflect on this joyful mystery, it gives us hope, the sure
hope that God will continue to reach into our history, to act with
creative power so as to achieve goals which by human reckoning seem
impossible. It challenges us to open ourselves to the transforming
action of the Creator Spirit who makes us new, makes us one with
him, and fills us with his life. It invites us, with exquisite
courtesy, to consent to his dwelling within us, to welcome the Word
of God into our hearts, enabling us to respond to him in love and to
reach out in love towards one another.
In the State of Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Christians
form a minority of the population. Perhaps at times you feel that
your voice counts for little. Many of your fellow Christians have
emigrated, in the hope of finding greater security and better
prospects elsewhere. Your situation calls to mind that of the young
virgin Mary, who led a hidden life in Nazareth, with little by way
of worldly wealth or influence. Yet to quote Mary's words in her
great hymn of praise, the Magnificat, God has looked upon his
servant in her lowliness, he has filled the hungry with good things.
Draw strength from Mary's canticle, which very soon we will be
singing in union with the whole Church throughout the world! Have
the confidence to be faithful to Christ and to remain here in the
land that he sanctified with his own presence! Like Mary, you have a
part to play in God's plan for salvation, by bringing Christ forth
into the world, by bearing witness to him and spreading his message
of peace and unity. For this, it is essential that you should be
united among yourselves, so that the Church in the Holy Land can be
clearly recognized as "a sign and instrument of communion with God
and of the unity of the entire human race" (Lumen Gentium, 1). Your
unity in faith, hope and love is a fruit of the Holy Spirit dwelling
within you, enabling you to be effective instruments of God's peace,
helping to build genuine reconciliation between the different
peoples who recognize Abraham as their father in faith. For, as Mary
joyfully proclaimed in her Magnificat, God is ever "mindful of his
mercy, the mercy promised to our forefathers, to Abraham and his
children for ever" (Lk 1:54-55).
Dear friends in Christ, be assured that I constantly remember you in
my prayer, and I ask you to do the same for me. Let us turn now
towards our heavenly Father, who in this place looked upon his
servant in her lowliness, and let us sing his praises in union with
the Blessed Virgin Mary, with all the choirs of angels and saints,
and with the whole Church in every part of the world.
© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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at the One they Pierced!
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