ORDINARY
PUBLIC CONSISTORY
FOR THE CREATION OF NEW CARDINALS
EUCHARISTIC CONCELEBRATION WITH THE NEW CARDINALS
Solemnity of the
Annunciation of the Lord
Saint Peter's Square
Saturday, 25 March 2006
The
Divine Wellspring Flows Through a Privileged Channel: The
Virgin Mary
Dear Cardinals
and Patriarchs,
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
For me it
is a source of great joy to preside at this concelebration with
the new Cardinals after yesterday's
Consistory,
and I consider it providential that it should
take place on the liturgical Solemnity of the Annunciation of
the Lord and under the sunshine that the Lord gives us. In
the Incarnation of the Son of God, in fact, we recognize the
origins of the Church. Everything began from there.
Every historical
realization of the Church and every one of her institutions must
be shaped by that primordial wellspring. They must be shaped by
Christ, the incarnate Word of God. It is he that we are
constantly celebrating: Emmanuel, God-with-us, through whom the
saving will of God the Father has been accomplished.
And yet - today
of all days we contemplate this aspect of the Mystery - the
divine wellspring flows through a privileged channel: the
Virgin Mary.
St Bernard speaks
of this using the eloquent image of aquaeductus (cf.
Sermo in Nativitate B.V. Mariae: PL 183, 437-448). In
celebrating the Incarnation of the Son, therefore, we cannot
fail to honour his Mother. The Angel's proclamation was
addressed to her; she accepted it, and when she responded from
the depths of her heart: "Here I am... let it be done to me
according to your word" (Lk 1: 38), at that moment the eternal
Word began to exist as a human being in time.
From generation to generation, the wonder evoked by this
ineffable mystery never ceases. St Augustine imagines a dialogue
between himself and the Angel of the Annunciation, in which he
asks: "Tell me, O Angel, why did this happen in Mary?". The
answer, says the Messenger, is contained in the very words of
the greeting: "Hail, full of grace" (cf. Sermo 291: 6).
In fact,
the Angel, "appearing to her", does not call her by her earthly
name, Mary, but by her divine name, as she has always been seen
and characterized by God: "Full of grace - gratia plena",
which in the original Greek is
6,P"D4JTµXv0, "full of grace",
and the grace is none other than the love of God; thus, in the
end, we can translate this word: "beloved" of God (cf. Lk
1: 28). Origen observes that no such title had ever been given
to a human being, and that it is unparalleled in all of Sacred
Scripture (cf. In Lucam 6: 7).
It is a title
expressed in passive form, but this "passivity" of Mary, who has
always been and is for ever "loved" by the Lord, implies her
free consent, her personal and original response: in being
loved, in receiving the gift of God, Mary is fully active,
because she accepts with personal generosity the wave of God's
love poured out upon her. In this too, she is the perfect
disciple of her Son, who realizes the fullness of his freedom
and thus exercises the freedom through obedience to the Father.
In the Second
Reading, we heard the wonderful passage in which the author of
the Letter to the Hebrews interprets Psalm 39 in the light of
Christ's Incarnation: "When Christ came into the world, he
said: ..."Here I am, I have come to do your will, O God'" (Heb
10: 5-7). Before the mystery of these two "Here I am"
statements, the "Here I am" of the Son and the "Here I
am" of the Mother, each of which is reflected in the other,
forming a single Amen to God's loving will, we are filled
with wonder and thanksgiving, and we bow down in adoration.
What a great
gift, dear Brothers, to be able to conduct this evocative
celebration on the Solemnity of the Lord's Annunciation! What an
abundance of light we can draw from this mystery for our lives
as ministers of the Church!
You above all,
dear new Cardinals, what great sustenance you can receive for
your mission as the eminent "Senate" of Peter's Successor! This
providential circumstance helps us to consider today's event,
which emphasizes the Petrine principle of the Church, in
the light of the other principle, the Marian one, which
is even more fundamental. The importance of the Marian principle
in the Church was particularly highlighted, after the Council,
by my beloved Predecessor Pope John Paul II in harmony with his
motto Totus tuus.
In his
spirituality and in his tireless ministry, the presence of Mary
as Mother and Queen of the Church was made manifest to the eyes
of all. More than ever he adverted to her maternal presence in
the assassination attempt of 13 May 1981 here in St Peter's
Square. In memory of that tragic event, he had a mosaic of the
Virgin placed high up in the Apostolic Palace looking down over
St Peter's Square, so as to accompany the key moments and the
daily unfolding of his long reign. It is just one year since his
Pontificate entered its final phase, full of suffering and yet
triumphant and truly paschal.
The icon of the Annunciation, more than any other, helps us to
see clearly how everything in the Church goes back to that
mystery of Mary's acceptance of the divine Word, by which,
through the action of the Holy Spirit, the Covenant between God
and humanity was perfectly sealed. Everything in the Church,
every institution and ministry, including that of Peter and his
Successors, is "included" under the Virgin's mantle, within the
grace-filled horizon of her "yes" to God's will. This link with
Mary naturally evokes a strong affective resonance in all of us,
but first of all it has an objective value.
Between
Mary and the Church there is indeed a connatural relationship
that was strongly emphasized by the Second Vatican Council in
its felicitous decision to place the treatment of the Blessed
Virgin at the conclusion of the Constitution on the Church,
Lumen Gentium.
The theme of the
relationship between the Petrine principle and the Marian
principle is also found in the symbol of the ring which I
am about to consign to you. The ring is always a nuptial sign.
Almost all of you have already received one, on the day of your
episcopal ordination, as an expression of your fidelity and your
commitment to watch over the holy Church, the bride of Christ
(cf. Rite of Ordination of Bishops).
The ring which I
confer upon you today, proper to the cardinalatial dignity, is
intended to confirm and strengthen that commitment, arising once
more from a nuptial gift, a reminder to you that first and
foremost you are intimately united with Christ so as to
accomplish your mission as bridegrooms of the Church. May your
acceptance of the ring be for you a renewal of your "yes", your
"here I am", addressed both to the Lord Jesus who chose you and
constituted you, and to his holy Church, which you are called to
serve with the love of a spouse.
So the two dimensions of the Church, Marian and Petrine, come
together in the supreme value of charity, which
constitutes the fulfilment of each. As St Paul says, charity is
the "greatest" charism, the "most excellent way" (I Cor 12: 31;
13: 13).
Everything in
this world will pass away. In eternity only Love will remain.
For this reason, my Brothers, taking the opportunity offered by
this favourable time of Lent, let us commit ourselves to ensure
that everything in our personal lives and in the ecclesial
activity in which we are engaged is inspired by charity and
leads to charity. In this respect too, we are enlightened by the
mystery that we are celebrating today.
Indeed, the first
thing that Mary did after receiving the Angel's message was to
go "in haste" to the house of her cousin Elizabeth in order to
be of service to her (cf. Lk 1: 39). The Virgin's initiative was
one of genuine charity; it was humble and courageous, motivated
by faith in God's Word and the inner promptings of the Holy
Spirit. Those who love forget about themselves and place
themselves at the service of their neighbour. Here we have the
image and model of the Church!
Every
Ecclesial Community, like the Mother of Christ, is called to
accept with total generosity the mystery of God who comes to
dwell within her and guides her steps in the ways of love. This
is the path along which I chose to launch
my Pontificate, inviting everyone, with my first Encyclical, to
build up the Church in charity as a "community of love" (cf.
Deus Caritas Est,
Part II).
In pursuing this
objective, venerable Brother Cardinals, your spiritual closeness
and active assistance is a great support and comfort to me. For
this I thank you, and at the same time I invite all of you,
priests, deacons, Religious and lay faithful, to join together
in invoking the Holy Spirit, praying that the College of
Cardinals may be ever more ardent in pastoral charity, so as to
help the whole Church to radiate Christ's love in the world, to
the praise and glory of the Most Holy Trinity. Amen!
© Copyright 2006
- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
