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Pope Benedict XVI- Homilies |
Homily in Sulmona
"Let Us Not Be Afraid to Be Silent"
Sulmona, Abruzzi
July 5, 2010
zenit.org
I am delighted to be with you today and to celebrate
this solemn Eucharist with you. I greet your pastor,
the bishop Monsignor Angelo Spina: I thank him for
the warm expressions of welcome that he addressed to
me on behalf of everyone, and for the gifts he gave
me, which I truly appreciate as “signs” -- as he
himself called them -- of the affective and
effective communion that binds this people of the
dear land of Abruzzo to the Successor of Peter. I
greet the bishops and archbishops who are present,
the priests, the religious, the representatives of
the ecclesial associations and movements. I address
a deferent thought to the mayor, Dr. Fabio Federico,
grateful for his courteous welcome address and for
the “signs,” and gifts, to the representative of the
government and the civil and military officials. I
give special thanks to those who generously offered
their cooperation for this pastoral visit of mine.
Dear brothers and sisters! I have come to share the
joys and hopes, the toils and efforts, ideals and
aspirations of this diocesan community. I know well
that at Sulmona too there is no lack of
difficulties, problems and worries: I think, in
particular, of those who concretely live their lives
in precarious conditions because of the lack of
work, the uncertainty of the future, physical and
moral suffering and -- as the bishop recalled --
because of the sense of loss that followed the
earthquake of April 6, 2009. I want to reassure
everyone of my nearness and that I remember you in
prayer, as I encourage perseverance in witness to
human and Christian values deeply rooted in the
faith and history of this area and its population.
Dear friends! My visit takes place on the occasion
of the Jubilee Year proclaimed by the bishops of
Abruzzo and Molise to celebrate the 800th
anniversary of birth of St. Peter Celestine. Flying
over your land I was able to contemplate the beauty
of its landscape and, above all, admire some places
closely linked to the life of this renowned figure:
Mount Morrone, where Peter lived as a hermit for
many years; the Hermitage of Sant’Onofrio, where in
1294 he received news of his election as Supreme
Pontiff, which occurred at the conclave in Perugia;
and the Abbey of Santo Spirito, whose main altar was
consecrated by him after his coronation in the
Basilica of Collemaggio in L’Aquila. In April of
last year, after the earthquake that devastated this
region, in this basilica I myself came to venerate
the casket that contains his remains and leave the
pallium that I received on the first day of my
pontificate. More than 800 years have passed since
the birth of St. Peter Celestine V, but he remains
in history on account of the notable events of his
pontificate and, above all, because of his holiness.
Holiness, in fact, never loses its own power of
attraction, it is not forgotten, it never goes out
of fashion, indeed, with the passage of time, it
shines with ever greater luminosity, expressing
man’s perennial longing for God. From the life of
St. Peter Celestine, I would like to gather some
teachings that are also valid for our days.
Peter Angelerio was a “seeker of God” from his
youth, a man who was desirous to find the answers to
the great questions of our existence: Who am I?
Where do I come from? Why am I alive? For whom do I
live? He went in search of truth and happiness, he
went in search of God and, to hear his voice,
decided to separate himself from the world and to
live as a hermit. Silence thus became the element
that characterized his daily life. And it is
precisely in external silence, but above all in
internal silence, that he succeeded in perceiving
God’s voice, a voice that was able to guide his
life. Here a first aspect that is important for us:
We live in a society in which it seems that every
space, every moment must be “filled” with
initiatives, activity, sound; often there is not
even time to listen and dialogue. Dear brothers and
sisters! Let us not be afraid to be silent outside
and inside ourselves, so that we are able not only
to perceive God’s voice, but also the voice of the
person next to us, the voices of others.
But it is important to underscore a second element
too: Peter Angelerio’s discovery of God was not only
the result of his effort but was made possible by
the grace of God itself that came to him. What he
had, what he was, did not come from him: it was
granted to him, it was grace, and so it was also a
responsibility before God and before others. Even if
our life is very different from his, the same thing
is also true for us: the entirety of what is
essential in our existence was bestowed upon us
without our intervention. The fact that I live does
not depend on me; the fact that there were people
who introduced me to life, that taught me what it
means to live and be loved, who handed down the
faith to me and opened my eyes to God: all of that
is grace and not “done by me.” We could have done
nothing ourselves if it had not been given to us:
God always anticipates us and in every individual
life there is beauty and goodness that we can easily
recognize as his grace, as a ray of the light of his
goodness. Because of this we must be attentive,
always keep our “interior eyes” open, the eyes of
our heart. And if we learn how to know God in his
infinite goodness, then we will be able to see, with
wonder, in our lives -- as the saints did -- the
signs of that God, who is always near to us, who is
always good to us, who says: “Have faith in me!”
In interior silence, in perceiving the Lord’s
presence, Peter del Morrone developed a lively
experience of the beauty of creation, the work of
God’s hands: he knew its deepest meaning, he
respected its signs and rhythms, he used it for what
is essential to life. I know that this local Church,
like the others of Abruzzo and Molise, are actively
engaged in a campaign of sensitivity to and
promotion of the common good and of safeguarding
creation: I encourage you in this effort, exhorting
everyone to feel responsible for their own future,
and that of others, respecting and caring also for
creation, fruit and sign of God’s love.
In today’s second reading, taken from the Letter to
the Galatians, we heard a beautiful expression of
St. Paul, which is also a perfect spiritual portrait
of St. Peter Celestine: “For me the only boast is in
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, through which
the world has been crucified to me and I to the
world” (6:14). Truly the cross was the center of his
life. It gave him the strength to face bitter
penances and the most difficult times, from youth to
his last hour: he was always aware that through it
comes salvation. The cross also gave St. Peter
Celestine a clear awareness of sin that was always
accompanied by an awareness that was just as clear
of God’s mercy for his creature. Seeing the
wide-open arms of his crucified God, he felt himself
transported into the infinite sea of God’s love. As
a priest he experienced the beauty of being the
administrator of this mercy, absolving penitents of
sin, and, when he was elected to the See of the
Apostle Peter, he wanted to grant a special
indulgence called “The Pardon.” I would like to
exhort priests to be clear and credible witnesses of
the good news of reconciliation with God, helping
the man of today to recover the sense of sin and
God’s forgiveness, to experience that superabundant
joy that the prophet Isaiah spoke to us about in the
first reading (cf. Isaiah 66:10-14).
Finally, a third element: St. Peter, although he
lived as a hermit, was not “closed in on himself”
but was filled with passion to bring the good news
of the Gospel to his brothers. And the secret of his
pastoral fruitfulness was precisely in “abiding” in
the Lord, in prayer, as we were also reminded by
today’s Gospel passage: the first priority is always
to pray to the Lord of the harvest (cf. Luke 10:2).
And it is only after this invitation that Jesus
outlines some of the essential duties of the
disciples: the serene, clear and courageous
proclamation of the Gospel message -- even in
moments of persecution -- without ceding to the
allurement of fashion nor to that of violence and
imposition; detachment from worry about things --
money, clothing -- confiding in the providence of
the Father; attention and care especially for the
sick in body and spirit (cf. Luke 10:5-9). These
were also the characteristics of the brief and
trying pontificate of Celestine V and these are the
characteristics of the missionary activity of the
Church in every age.
Brothers and sisters! I am among you to confirm you
in the faith. I would like to exhort you, firmly and
with affection, to remain solid in that faith that
you have received, which gives meaning to life and
gives one strength to love. May the example and
intercession of the Mother of God and of St. Peter
Celestine accompany us on this journey. Amen!
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
Look
at the One they Pierced!
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary
