Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Four years ago, exactly today, my beloved Predecessor, the
Servant of God John Paul II, ended his pilgrimage on earth,
after not a brief period of great suffering. We celebrate the
Holy Eucharist for the repose of his soul, while thanking the
Lord for giving him to the Church for so many years as zealous
and generous Pastor. His memory, which continues to be alive in
people's heart, brings us together this afternoon, as
demonstrated also by the uninterrupted pilgrimage of faithful to
his tomb in the Vatican Grottoes. Therefore, I preside over this
Mass with emotion and joy, while greeting you and thanking you
for your presence, dear faithful coming from different parts of
the world, especially from Poland, for such a significant event.
[In Polish]
I would like to greet the Poles, particularly Polish youth. On
the fourth anniversary of the death of John Paul II, accept his
appeal "Do not be afraid to entrust yourselves to Christ. He
will guide you, he will give you the strength to follow him
every day and in every situation" (Tor Vergata, Vigil of Prayer,
Aug. 19, 2000). I hope this thought of the Servant of God will
guide you on the paths of your life, and lead you to the
happiness of the morning of the Resurrection.
[In Italian]
I greet the cardinal Vicar, the cardinal archbishop of Krakow,
and the other cardinals and prelates; I greet the priests and
the men and women religious. I greet you in a special way, dear
young people of Rome, with this celebration you prepare
yourselves for the Word Youth Day that we will live together
next Sunday, Palm Sunday. Your presence brings to mind the
enthusiasm that John Paul II was able to infuse in the new
generations. His memory is a stimulus for all of us, gathered in
this basilica where on many occasions he celebrated the
Eucharist, to let ourselves be illumined and challenged by the
Word of God, just proclaimed.
The Gospel of this Thursday of the fifth week of Lent proposes
for our meditation the last part of Chapter 8 of John, which
contains a long dispute over the identity of Jesus. Shortly
before he had presented himself as "the light of the world"
(12), using on three occasions (24, 28, 58) the expression "I
am," which in a strong sense alludes to the name of God revealed
to Moses (cf. Exodus 3:14). And he adds: "If any one keeps my
word, he will never see death" (51), thus declaring he was sent
by God, who is his Father, to take to men the radical
deliverance from sin and death, indispensable to enter into
eternal life. However, his words wound the pride of his
interlocutors, and also the reference to the great Patriarch
Abraham became a motive for conflict. "Truly, truly , I say to
you, before Abraham was, I am" (8:58).
Without mincing words, he declares his pre-existence and,
therefore, his superiority in respect of Abraham, arousing --
understandably -- the scandalized reaction of the Jews. But
Jesus cannot be silent about his own identity; he knows that, in
the end, the Father himself will vindicate him, glorifying him
with death and resurrection so that, precisely when he is raised
on the cross, he is revealed as the only begotten of God (cf.
John 8:28; Mark 15:39).
Dear friends, meditating on this passage of the Gospel of John,
the consideration arises spontaneously of how difficult it is to
witness to Christ. And our thought goes to the beloved Servant
of God Karol Wojtyla -- John Paul II -- who from his youth
showed himself a bold and daring defender of Christ: He did not
hesitate to consume all his energies in order to spread the
light everywhere; he did not accept to give in to compromises
when it was a question of proclaiming and defending [Christ's]
truth; he never tired of spreading [Christ's] love. From the
beginning of his pontificate until April 2, 2005, he was not
afraid to proclaim to all and always that Jesus alone is the
Savior and the true Liberator of man and of all men.
"I will make you exceedingly fruitful" (Genesis 17:6). If giving
witness of one's adherence to the Gospel has never been easy, we
are certainly comforted by the certainty that God makes our
commitment fruitful, when it is sincere and generous. The
spiritual experience of the Servant of God John Paul II also
seems significant to us from this point of view. Looking at his
life, we see realized in it the promise of fruitfulness made by
God to Abraham, which is echoed in the first reading, taken from
the Book of Genesis. It could be said that, especially in the
years of his pontificate, he engendered many sons and daughters
in the faith. You are visible signs of this, dear young people
present this afternoon: you, young people of Rome and you, young
people from Sydney and Madrid, who represent ideally the
multitude of boys and girls who have participated in the by now
23 World Youth Days in different parts of the world. How many
vocations to the priesthood and to consecrated life, how many
young families determined to live the evangelical ideal and to
tend to holiness are united to the testimony and the preaching
of my venerated Predecessor! How many boys and girls have been
converted, or have persevered on their Christian path thanks to
his prayer, his encouragement, his support and his example!
It is true! John Paul II was able to communicate a great amount
of hope, founded on faith in Jesus Christ, who "is the same
yesterday and today and for ever" (Hebrews 13:8), as the motto
of the Great Jubilee of 2000 stated. As affectionate father and
attentive educator, he indicated sure and firm points of
reference indispensable for all, in a special way for youth. And
in the hour of agony and death, this new generation wished to
manifest to him that it had understood his teachings, silently
recollected in prayer in St. Peter's Square and in so many other
places of the world. Young people felt that his disappearance
constituted a loss: "Their" Pope was dying, whom they regarded
as "their father" in the faith. They realized at the same time
that he was leaving them as inheritance his courage and the
consistency of his testimony. Had he not underlined many times
the need for a radical adherence to the Gospel, exhorting adults
and young people to take this common educational responsibility
seriously? I have also wanted to take up this longing of his,
pausing on different occasions to speak of the educational
emergency that concerns families, the Church, society and
especially the new generations today. In the age of growth,
young people need adults capable of proposing their principles
and values: They see the need for persons that are able to teach
with their life, rather than with words, to spend themselves for
lofty ideals.
But where can one get the light and wisdom to carry out this
mission, which involves every one in the Church and in society?
It is certainly not enough to take recourse to human resources;
it is necessary to trust in the first place in divine help. "The
Lord is faithful forever": This is how we prayed a while ago in
the Responsorial Psalm, certain that God never abandons those
who remain faithful to him. This reminds us of the theme of the
24th World Youth Day, which will be held at the diocesan level
next Sunday. The theme is taken from St. Paul's first Letter to
Timothy: "We have our hope set on the living God" (4:10). The
Apostle speaks in the name of the Christian community, in the
name of all those who have believed in Christ and are different
from "others who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13), precisely
because they hope, nourish confidence in the future, a
confidence not based on ideas or human foresight, but on God,
the "living God."
Dear young people, we cannot live without hope. Experience shows
that every thing, and our own life, runs the risk, can collapse
for any reason internal or external to us, at any moment. It is
normal: Everything that is human, hence hope, has no foundation
in itself, but needs a "rock" on which to anchor itself. This is
why Paul wrote that Christians are called to base human hope on
the "living God." He alone is sure and trustworthy. What is
more, only God, who has revealed the fullness of his love in
Jesus, can be our firm hope. In him, our hope, we have in fact
been saved (cf. Romans 8:24).
However, pay attention: In times such as these, given the
cultural and social context in which we live, the risk can be
stronger of reducing Christian hope to an ideology, to a group
slogan, to an exterior coating. There is nothing more contrary
to Jesus' message! He does not want his disciples to "recite" a
part of his teaching, perhaps that of hope. He wants them to
"be" hope, and they can be so only if they remain united to him!
He wants each one of you, dear young friends, to be a small
source of hope for your neighbor, and to be, all together, an
oasis of hope for the society in which you are inserted. Now,
this is possible with one condition: That you live of him and in
him, through prayer and the sacraments, as I have written you in
this year's message. If Christ's words remain in us, we will be
able to carry high the flame of that love that he has enkindled
in the earth; we can carry high the flame of faith and hope,
with which we advance toward him, while we await his glorious
return at the end of time. It is the flame that Pope John Paul
II has left us as inheritance. He has given it to me, as his
Successor; and this afternoon I hand it over once again, in a
special way, to you, young people of Rome, so that you continue
to be morning watchmen, vigilant and joyful in this dawn of the
third millennium. Respond generously to Christ's call! In
particular, during the Priestly Year that will begin next June
19, make yourselves readily available if Jesus calls you to
follow him on the path of priesthood and of consecrated life.
"This is the favorable moment, this is the day of salvation."
Along with the Gospel, the liturgy has exhorted us to renew now
-- and every instant is a "favorable moment" -- our determined
will to follow Christ, certain that he is our salvation.
Finally, this is the message that John Paul II repeats to us
this afternoon. While we entrust his chosen soul to the maternal
intercession of the Virgin Mary, whom he always loved tenderly,
we very much hope that from heaven he will not cease to
accompany us and intercede for us. That he will help each one of
us to live, as he did, repeating with full confidence day after
day to God, through Mary, Totus tuus. Amen!
[Translation by ZENIT]
© Innovative Media, Inc.
Look
at the One they Pierced!
