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Pope Benedict XVI- Homilies |
Homily at Mass for Priests and Religious
"The Cross...Represents the Definitive Triumph of
God's Love"
Nicosia, Cyprus
June 5, 2010
zenit.org
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
The Son of Man must be lifted up, so that whoever
believes in him may have eternal life (cf. Jn
3:14-15). In this Votive Mass we adore and praise
our Lord Jesus Christ, because by his Holy Cross he
has redeemed the world. Through his death and
resurrection he has thrown open the gates of heaven
and he has prepared a place for us, so that we, his
followers, may be granted a share in his glory.
In the joy of Christ’s saving victory, I greet all
of you gathered here in Holy Cross Church and I
thank you for your presence. I greatly appreciate
the warmth of the reception you have given me. I am
particularly grateful to His Beatitude the Latin
Patriarch of Jerusalem for his words of welcome at
the beginning of Mass and for the presence of the
Father Custos of the Holy Land. Here in Cyprus, a
land that was the first port of call on Saint Paul’s
missionary journeys across the Mediterranean, I come
among you today, following in the great Apostle’s
footsteps, to strengthen you in your Christian faith
and to preach the Gospel that offers life and hope
to the world.
The focus of our celebration today is the Cross of
Christ. Many might be tempted to ask why we
Christians celebrate an instrument of torture, a
sign of suffering, defeat and failure. It is true
that the Cross expresses all these things. And yet,
because of him who was lifted up on the Cross for
our salvation, it also represents the definitive
triumph of God’s love over all the evil in the
world.
There is an ancient tradition that the wood of the
Cross was taken from a tree planted by Adam’s son
Seth over the place where Adam was buried. On that
very spot, known as Golgotha, the place of the
skull, Seth planted a seed from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, the tree in the midst of
the Garden of Eden. Through God’s providence, the
work of the Evil One would be undone by turning his
own weapons against him.
Beguiled by the serpent, Adam had foresaken his
filial trust in God and sinned by biting into the
fruit of the one tree in the garden that was
forbidden to him. In consequence of that sin,
suffering and death came into the world. The tragic
effects of sin, suffering and death were all too
evident in the history of Adam’s descendants. We see
this in our first reading today, with its echoes of
the Fall and its prefiguring of Christ’s redemption.
As a punishment for their sin, the people of Israel,
languishing in the desert, were bitten by serpents
and could only be saved from death by looking upon
the emblem that Moses raised up, foreshadowing the
Cross that would put an end to sin and death once
and for all. We see clearly that man cannot save
himself from the consequences of his sin. He cannot
save himself from death. Only God can release him
from his moral and physical enslavement. And because
he loved the world so much, he sent his
only-begotten Son, not to condemn the world – as
justice seemed to demand – but so that through him
the world might be saved. God’s only-begotten Son
had to be lifted up just as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the desert, so that all who looked upon
him with faith might have life.
The wood of the Cross became the vehicle for our
redemption, just as the tree from which it was
fashioned had occasioned the Fall of our first
parents. Suffering and death, which had been a
consequence of sin, were to become the very means by
which sin was vanquished. The innocent Lamb was
slain on the altar of the Cross, and yet from the
immolation of the victim new life burst forth: the
power of evil was destroyed by the power of
self-sacrificing love.
The Cross, then, is something far greater and more
mysterious than it at first appears. It is indeed an
instrument of torture, suffering and defeat, but at
the same time it expresses the complete
transformation, the definitive reversal of these
evils: that is what makes it the most eloquent
symbol of hope that the world has ever seen. It
speaks to all who suffer – the oppressed, the sick,
the poor, the outcast, the victims of violence – and
it offers them hope that God can transform their
suffering into joy, their isolation into communion,
their death into life. It offers unlimited hope to
our fallen world.
That is why the world needs the Cross. The Cross is
not just a private symbol of devotion, it is not
just a badge of membership of a certain group within
society, and in its deepest meaning it has nothing
to do with the imposition of a creed or a philosophy
by force. It speaks of hope, it speaks of love, it
speaks of the victory of non-violence over
oppression, it speaks of God raising up the lowly,
empowering the weak, conquering division, and
overcoming hatred with love. A world without the
Cross would be a world without hope, a world in
which torture and brutality would go unchecked, the
weak would be exploited and greed would have the
final word. Man’s inhumanity to man would be
manifested in ever more horrific ways, and there
would be no end to the vicious cycle of violence.
Only the Cross puts an end to it. While no earthly
power can save us from the consequences of our sins,
and no earthly power can defeat injustice at its
source, nevertheless the saving intervention of our
loving God has transformed the reality of sin and
death into its opposite. That is what we celebrate
when we glory in the Cross of our Redeemer. Rightly
does Saint Andrew of Crete describe the Cross as
“more noble, more precious than anything on earth
[…] for in it and through it and for it all the
riches of our salvation were stored away and
restored to us” (Oratio X; PG 97, 1018-1019).
Dear brother priests, dear religious, dear
catechists, the message of the Cross has been
entrusted to us, so that we can offer hope to the
world. When we proclaim Christ crucified we are
proclaiming not ourselves, but him. We are not
offering our own wisdom to the world, nor are we
claiming any merit of our own, but we are acting as
channels for his wisdom, his love, his saving
merits. We know that we are merely earthenware
vessels, and yet, astonishingly, we have been chosen
to be heralds of the saving truth that the world
needs to hear. Let us never cease to marvel at the
extraordinary grace that has been given to us, let
us never cease to acknowledge our unworthiness, but
at the same time let us always strive to become less
unworthy of our noble calling, lest through our
faults and failings we weaken the credibility of our
witness.
In this Year for Priests, let me address a special
word to the priests present today, and to those who
are preparing for ordination. Reflect on the words
spoken to a newly ordained priest as the Bishop
presents him with the chalice and paten: “Understand
what you do, imitate what you celebrate, and conform
your life to the mystery of the Lord’s Cross”. As we
proclaim the Cross of Christ, let us always strive
to imitate the selfless love of the one who offered
himself for us on the altar of the Cross, the one
who is both priest and victim, the one in whose
person we speak and act when we exercise the
ministry that we have received. As we reflect on our
shortcomings, individually and collectively, let us
humbly acknowledge that we have merited the
punishment that he, the innocent Lamb, suffered on
our behalf. And if, in accordance with what we have
deserved, we should have some share in Christ’s
sufferings, let us rejoice because we will enjoy a
much greater gladness when his glory is revealed.
In my thoughts and prayers I am especially mindful
of the many priests and religious in the Middle East
who are currently experiencing a particular call to
conform their lives to the mystery of the Lord’s
Cross. Through the difficulties facing their
communities as a result of the conflicts and
tensions of the region, many families are taking the
decision to move away, and it can be tempting for
their pastors to do likewise. In situations of this
kind, though, a priest, a religious community, a
parish that remains steadfast and continues to bear
witness to Christ is an extraordinary sign of hope,
not only for the Christians but for all who live in
the region. Their presence alone is an eloquent
expression of the Gospel of peace, the determination
of the Good Shepherd to care for all the sheep, the
Church’s unyielding commitment to dialogue,
reconciliation and loving acceptance of the other.
By embracing the Cross that is held out to them, the
priests and religious of the Middle East can truly
radiate the hope that lies at the heart of the
mystery we are celebrating in our liturgy today.
Let us all take heart from the words of our second
reading today, which speak so beautifully of the
triumph that was in store for Christ after his death
on the Cross, a triumph in which we are invited to
share. “For God raised him high and bestowed on him
the name which is above every name, that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on
earth and under the earth” (Phil 2:9-10).
Yes, beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, far be
it from us to glory except in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ (cf. Gal. 6:14). He is our life, our
salvation and our resurrection; through him we are
saved and set free.
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