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Pope Benedict XVI- General Audiences |
General
Audience
On the Trip to Malta
"The Plan of the Love of God is Even Greater than the Storms"
H.H. Benedict XVI
April 21, 2010
www.zenit.org
Dear brothers and sisters:
As you know, last Saturday and Sunday I undertook an apostolic journey
to Malta, on which I would like to reflect briefly today. The occasion
of the pastoral visit was the 1,950th anniversary of the Apostle Paul's
shipwreck on the coasts of the Maltese archipelago and of his sojourn on
those islands during almost three months. It is an event that occurred
around the year 60 and which is recounted with abundant detail in the
book of the Acts of the Apostles (chapters 27-28).
As happened to St. Paul, I also experienced the warm welcome of the
Maltese -- truly extraordinary -- and because of this I express again my
most heartfelt and cordial gratitude to the president of the republic,
to the government and to the other state authorities, and I fraternally
thank the bishops of the country, along with all those who collaborated
in preparing this festive meeting between the Successor of Peter and the
Maltese people. The history of these people for 2,000 years is
inseparable from the Catholic faith, which characterizes its culture and
traditions. It is said that in Malta there are 365 churches, "one for
each day of the year," a visible sign of this profound faith!
It all began with that shipwreck: After drifting for 14 days, pushed by
the winds, the vessel that transported the Apostle Paul and many other
persons to Rome, ran aground on a sandbank of the Island of Malta. That
is why, after the very cordial meeting with the president of the
republic, in the capital Valletta -- which had the beautiful framework
of the joyful greeting with so many boys and girls -- I went immediately
on pilgrimage to the so-called Grotto of St. Paul, near Rabat, for an
intense moment of prayer. There I was also able to greet a large group
of Maltese missionaries.
To think of this small archipelago in the center of the Mediterranean,
and how the seed of the Gospel arrived in it, stirs a sentiment of great
amazement in face of the mysterious plans of Divine Providence: Arising
spontaneously is gratitude to the Lord and also to St. Paul, who, in the
midst of that violent storm, kept his confidence and hope and
transmitted them also to his travel companions. From that shipwreck, or
better, from Paul's subsequent sojourn in Malta, was born a fervent and
solid Christian community, which after 2,000 years is still faithful to
the Gospel and makes an effort to combine it with the complex questions
of the contemporary age. This, naturally, is not always easy, nor is it
taken for granted, but the Maltese know how to find in the Christian
vision the answer to the new challenges. A sign of this, for example, is
the fact of having kept firm their profound respect for unborn life and
for the sacredness of marriage, choosing not to introduce abortion and
divorce in the country's juridical system.
Hence, my journey had as its objective to confirm in the faith the
Church that is in Malta, a very living reality, well ordered and present
in the territory of Malta and Gozo. This community met in Floriana, in
Granai Square, before the Church of St. Paul, where I celebrated Holy
Mass, in which there was participation with great fervor. It was for me
a motive of joy and also of consolation, to feel the particular warmth
of that people, which gives the feeling of a great family, united by the
faith and Christian vision of life. After the celebration, I wished to
meet with some victims of abuses on the part of members of the clergy. I
shared with them their suffering and, overwhelmed, I prayed with them,
assuring them of the Church's action.
If Malta gives the impression of a great family, one must not think
that, because of its geographic conformation, it is a society "isolated"
from the world. This is not so and one sees it, for example, in the
contacts that Malta has with several countries and because of the fact
that Maltese priests are in many nations. In fact, the families and
parishes of Malta have been able to educate many young people in the
sense of God and of the Church, so much so that many of them have
responded generously to Jesus' call and have become presbyters. Among
these, many have embraced the missionary commitment ad gentes, in far
off lands, inheriting the apostolic spirit that impelled St. Paul to
take the Gospel where it had not yet arrived. This is an aspect that I
have stressed, namely, that "faith is strengthened when it is given to
others" (Redemptoris Missio, 2). Malta has developed on the trunk of
this faith and now opens to several economic, social and cultural
realities, to which it offers a precious contribution.
Clearly Malta has often had to defend itself in the course of the
centuries -- and this is seen by its fortifications. The strategic
position of the small archipelago obviously attracted the attention of
the different political and military powers. And yet, Malta's most
profound vocation is the Christian vocation, that is, the universal
vocation of peace! Malta's famous cross, which everyone associates with
that nation, has waved many times in the midst of conflicts and
struggles; but thank God, it has not lost its authentic and lasting
meaning: It is the sign of love and reconciliation, and this is the true
vocation of peoples who receive and embrace the Christian message!
A natural crossroads, Malta is at the center of migration routes: men
and women, like St. Paul before them, arrive on the Maltese coasts, at
times impelled by conditions of life that are too harsh, by violence and
persecutions, and this entails, naturally, complex problems on the
humanitarian, political and juridical plane, problems that have
solutions but that are not easy, but which must be sought with
perseverance and tenacity, coordinating interventions at the
international level. It is good to do this in all the nations that have
Christian values at the root of their constitutional charters and
cultures.
The challenge to reconcile the lasting validity of the Gospel in today's
complexity is fascinating for all, but especially for young people. In
fact, the new generations perceive it more strongly, and that is why I
wished, despite the brevity of my visit, that a meeting not be lacking
in Malta with young people. This was a moment of intense and profound
dialogue, made even more beautiful by the environment in which it took
place -- the port of Valletta -- and by the enthusiasm of the young
people. I could not fail to remind them of St. Paul's youthful
experience: an extraordinary, unique experience and yet able to speak to
the new generations of every age, by that radical transformation that
followed the encounter with the Resurrected Christ. Therefore I saw the
young people of Malta as the potential heirs of St. Paul's spiritual
adventure, called, like him, to discover the beauty of the love of God
that has been given to us in Jesus Christ; to embrace the mystery of the
cross; to be victors precisely in the trials and tribulations, not to be
afraid of the "storms" of life, or of shipwrecks, because the plan of
the love of God is even greater than the storms and shipwrecks.
Dear friends, this, in synthesis, has been the message I took to Malta.
However, as I pointed out, I have received much from that Church, from
those people blessed by God, who have been able to collaborate
effectively with his grace. Through the intercession of the Apostle
Paul, of St. Gorg Preca, priest and first Maltese saint, and of the
Virgin Mary, whom the faithful of Malta and Gozo venerate with such
devotion, may they be able to progress always in peace and in
prosperity.
[Translation by ZENIT]
[The Pope then greeted pilgrims in several languages. In English, he
said:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This past weekend I had the joy of visiting Malta for the nineteen
hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Saint Paul's shipwreck and his
three-month sojourn there. I am deeply grateful to the civil and Church
authorities, and to all who received me so warmly. At the Grotto of
Saint Paul I thanked God for the abundant fruits of faith, holiness and
missionary zeal which the preaching of the Apostle has brought forth on
those islands. The Christian vision, so deeply rooted in Maltese life
and culture, continues to provide inspiration for meeting the great
social and moral challenges of the present time. The vitality of the
faith in Malta was evident in the joyful celebration of Mass before the
Church of Saint Publius. As a natural crossroads, Malta has never been
isolated or self-enclosed, nor has the Maltese cross, which I saw waving
everywhere, ever lost its authentic meaning as a signs of love and
reconciliation. The challenge of passing on the perennial wisdom and
truth of the Gospel belongs in a particular way to the younger
generation. At the port of Valletta, I challenged Malta's young people
to look to Saint Paul's spiritual journey as a model for their own, to
let their lives be changed by an encounter with the Risen Christ, and to
trust that God's loving plan is more powerful than any storm or
shipwreck along the way.
I welcome the newly-ordained deacons from the Pontifical Scots College,
together with their family members and friends. Upon all the
English-speaking visitors present at today's Audience, especially those
from Finland, Norway, Sweden, Indonesia, the Philippines, Canada and the
United States, I invoke the joy and peace of the Risen Lord.
©Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[In Italian, he said:]
I greet so many students of every order and degree, whom I thank for
their numerous participation, with a particular thought for the Nazareth
Institute of Rome, and I encourage them to persevere in the generous
commitment of Christian witness in the school sector.
A special thought goes, finally, to the other young people, to the sick
and to newlyweds. Next Sunday, the fourth Sunday of the season of
Easter, the Day of Prayer for Vocations will be celebrated. A hope that
you, dear young people, will find in the dialogue with God your personal
response to his plan of love; I invite you, dear sick, to offer your
sufferings so that numerous and holy vocations will mature. And you,
dear newlyweds, draw from daily prayer the strength to build a genuine
Christian family.
[Translation by ZENIT]
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