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Pope Benedict XVI- Homilies |
 "Begin Today to Grow in Your Friendship With Jesus"
Homily
at Mass in Cimangola
H.H. Benedict XVI
Luanda, Angola
March 22, 2009
www.zenit.org
The following is the homily Pope Benedict XVI gave today to
at a Mass he presided over with bishops of the IMBISA
(Interregional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa), held in
Cimangola, on the outskirts of Luanda.
Dear Cardinals,
Brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
"God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (Jn
3:16). These words fill us with joy and hope, as we await the
fulfillment of God's promises! Today it is my particular joy, as
the Successor of the Apostle Peter, to celebrate this Mass with
you, my brothers and sisters in Christ from throughout Angola,
São Tomé and Príncipe, and so many other countries. With great
affection in the Lord I greet the Catholic communities from
Luanda, Bengo, Cabinda, Benguela, Huambo, Huìla, Kuàndo Kubàngo,
Kunène, North Kwanza, South Kwanza, North Lunda, South Lunda,
Malanje, Namibe, Moxico, Uíje and Zàire.
In a special way, I greet my brother Bishops, the members of the
Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa, assembled
around this altar of the Lord's sacrifice. I thank the President
of CEAST, Archbishop Damião Franklin, for his kind words of
welcome, and, in the person of their Pastors, I greet all the
faithful in the nations of Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique,
Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.
Today's first reading has a particular resonance for God's
people in Angola. It is a message of hope addressed to the
Chosen People in the land of their Exile, a summons to return to
Jerusalem to rebuild the Lord's Temple. Its vivid description of
the destruction and ruin caused by war echoes the personal
experience of so many people in this country amid the terrible
ravages of the civil war. How true it is that war can "destroy
everything of value" (cf. 2 Chr 36:19): families, whole
communities, the fruit of men's labor, the hopes which guide and
sustain their lives and work! This experience is all too
familiar to Africa as a whole: the destructive power of civil
strife, the descent into a maelstrom of hatred and revenge, the
squandering of the efforts of generations of good people. When
God's word -- a word meant to build up individuals, communities
and the whole human family -- is neglected, and when God's law
is "ridiculed, despised, laughed at" (ibid., v. 16), the result
can only be destruction and injustice: the abasement of our
common humanity and the betrayal of our vocation to be sons and
daughters of a merciful Father, brothers and sisters of his
beloved Son.
So let us draw comfort from the consoling words which we have
heard in the first reading! The call to return and rebuild God's
Temple has a particular meaning for each of us. Saint Paul, the
two thousandth anniversary of whose birth we celebrate this
year, tells us that "we are the temple of the living God" (2 Cor
6:16). God dwells, we know, in the hearts of all who put their
faith in Christ, who are reborn in Baptism and are made temples
of the Holy Spirit. Even now, in the unity of the Body of Christ
which is the Church, God is calling us to acknowledge the power
of his presence within us, to reappropriate the gift of his love
and forgiveness, and to become messengers of that merciful love
within our families and communities, at school and in the
workplace, in every sector of social and political life.
Here in Angola, this Sunday has been set aside as a day of
prayer and sacrifice for national reconciliation. The Gospel
teaches us that reconciliation, true reconciliation, can only be
the fruit of conversion, a change of heart, a new way of
thinking. It teaches us that only the power of God's love can
change our hearts and make us triumph over the power of sin and
division. When we were "dead through our sins" (Eph 2:5), his
love and mercy brought us reconciliation and new life in Christ.
This is the heart of the Apostle Paul's teaching, and it is
important for us to remind ourselves: only God's grace can
create a new heart in us! Only his love can change our "hearts
of stone" (cf. Ezek 11:19) and enable us to build up, rather
than tear down. Only God can make all things new!
It is to preach this message of forgiveness, hope and new life
in Christ that I have come to Africa. Three days ago, in
Yaoundé, I had the joy of promulgating the Instrumentum Laboris
for the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of
Bishops, which will be devoted to the theme: The Church in
Africa in Service to Reconciliation, Justice and Peace. I ask
you today, in union with all our brothers and sisters throughout
Africa, to pray for this intention: that every Christian on this
great continent will experience the healing touch of God's
merciful love, and that the Church in Africa will become "for
all, through the witness borne by its sons and daughters, a
place of true reconciliation" (Ecclesia in Africa, 79).
Dear friends, this is the message that the Pope is bringing to
you and your children. You have received power from the Holy
Spirit to be the builders of a better tomorrow for your beloved
country. In Baptism you were given the Spirit in order to be
heralds of God's Kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and
grace, of justice, love and peace (cf. Roman Missal, Preface of
Christ the King). On the day of your Baptism you received the
light of Christ. Be faithful to that gift! Be confident that the
Gospel can affirm, purify and ennoble the profound human values
present in your native culture and traditions: your strong
families, your deep religious sense, your joyful celebration of
the gift of life, your appreciation of the wisdom of the elderly
and the aspirations of the young. Be grateful, then, for the
light of Christ! Be grateful for those who brought it, the
generations of missionaries who contributed -- and continue to
contribute -- so much to this country's human and spiritual
development. Be grateful for the witness of so many Christian
parents, teachers, catechists, priests and religious, who made
personal sacrifices in order to pass this precious treasure down
to you! And take up the challenge which this great legacy sets
before you. Realize that the Church, in Angola and throughout
Africa, is meant to be a sign before the world of that unity to
which the whole human family is called, through faith in Christ
the Redeemer.
The words which Jesus speaks in today's Gospel are quite
striking: He tells us that God's sentence has already been
pronounced upon this world (cf. Jn 3:19ff). The light has
already come into the world. Yet men preferred the darkness to
the light, because their deeds were evil. How much darkness
there is in so many parts of our world! Tragically, the clouds
of evil have also overshadowed Africa, including this beloved
nation of Angola. We think of the evil of war, the murderous
fruits of tribalism and ethnic rivalry, the greed which corrupts
men's hearts, enslaves the poor, and robs future generations of
the resources they need to create a more equitable and just
society -- a society truly and authentically African in its
genius and values. And what of that insidious spirit of
selfishness which closes individuals in upon themselves, breaks
up families, and, by supplanting the great ideals of generosity
and self-sacrifice, inevitably leads to hedonism, the escape
into false utopias through drug use, sexual irresponsibility,
the weakening of the marriage bond and the break-up of families,
and the pressure to destroy innocent human life through
abortion?
Yet the word of God is a word of unbounded hope. "God loved the
world so much that he gave his only Son ... so that through him,
the world might be saved" (Jn 3:16-17). God does not give up on
us! He continues to lift our eyes to a future of hope, and he
promises us the strength to accomplish it. As Saint Paul tells
us in today's second reading, God created us in Christ Jesus "to
live the good life", a life of good deeds, in accordance with
his will (cf. Eph 2:10). He gave us his commandments, not as a
burden, but as a source of freedom: the freedom to become men
and women of wisdom, teachers of justice and peace, people who
believe in others and seek their authentic good. God created us
to live in the light, and to be light for the world around us!
This is what Jesus tells us in today's Gospel: "The man who
lives by the truth comes out into the light, so that it may be
plainly seen that what he does is done in God" (Jn 3:21).
"Live", then, "by the truth!" Radiate the light of faith, hope
and love in your families and communities! Be witnesses of the
holy truth that sets men and women free! You know from bitter
experience that, in comparison with the sudden, destructive fury
of evil, the work of rebuilding is painfully slow and arduous.
Living by the truth takes time, effort and perseverance: it has
to begin in our own hearts, in the small daily sacrifices
required if we are to be faithful to God's law, in the little
acts by which we demonstrate that we love our neighbors, all our
neighbors, regardless of race, ethnicity or language, and by our
readiness to work with them to build together on foundations
that will endure. Let your parishes become communities where the
light of God's truth and the power of Christ's reconciling love
are not only celebrated, but proclaimed in concrete works of
charity. And do not be afraid! Even if it means being a "sign of
contradiction" (Lk 2:34) in the face of hardened attitudes and a
mentality that sees others as a means to be used, rather than as
brothers and sisters to be loved, cherished and helped along the
path of freedom, life and hope.
Let me close by addressing a special word to the young people of
Angola, and to all young people throughout Africa. Dear young
friends: you are the hope of your country's future, the promise
of a better tomorrow! Begin today to grow in your friendship
with Jesus, who is "the way, and the truth and the life" (Jn
14:6): a friendship nurtured and deepened by humble and
persevering prayer. Seek his will for you by listening to his
word daily, and by allowing his law to shape your lives and your
relationships. In this way you will become wise and generous
prophets of God's saving love. Become evangelizers of your own
peers, leading them by your own example to an appreciation of
the beauty and truth of the Gospel, and the hope of a future
shaped by the values of God's Kingdom. The Church needs your
witness! Do not be afraid to respond generously to God's call,
whether it be to serve him as a priest or a religious, as a
Christian parent, or in the many forms of service to others
which the Church sets before you.
Dear brothers and sisters! At the end of today's first reading,
Cyrus, King of Persia, inspired by God, calls the Chosen People
to return to their beloved land and to rebuild the Temple of the
Lord. May his words be a summons to all God's People in Angola
and throughout Southern Africa: Arise! Ponde-vos a caminho! (cf.
2 Chr 36:23) Look to the future with hope, trust in God's
promises, and live in his truth. In this way, you will build
something destined to endure, and leave to future generations a
lasting inheritance of reconciliation, justice and peace. Amen.
© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Apostolic
Journey:
March 17-23, 2009. Visit to Cameroon and Angola, Vatican Coverage...
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at the One they Pierced!
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
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