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Pope Benedict XVI- Homilies |
"If
We Are United to Christ, We Can Truly Love"
Homily in Turin
H.H. Benedict XVI
May 2, 2010
Dear brothers and sisters!
I am happy to find myself with you on this festive day and to
celebrate this solemn Eucharist for you. I greet everyone present,
in particular the pastor of your archdiocese, Cardinal Severino
Poletto, whom I thank for the warm address to me on behalf of
everyone. I also greet the archbishops and bishops present, the
priests, religious, the representatives of ecclesial associations and
movements. I turn deferentially to the mayor, Dr. Sergio Chiamparino,
grateful for the courteous address and greeting, to the
representatives of the government and to the civil and military
officials, with a special thanks to those who generously offered
their cooperation for the realization of this pastoral visit of
mine. I bear in mind those who were not able to be present,
especially the sick, those who are alone and those who find
themselves in difficulty. I entrust to the Lord the city of Turin
and all its inhabitants in this Eucharistic celebration, which, as
every Sunday, invites us to participate in a communal way at the
twofold table of the Word of truth and the Bread of eternal life.
We are in the Easter season, which is the time of the glorification
of Jesus. The Gospel that we have just heard reminds us that this
Glorification is realized through the Passion. In the paschal
mystery, Passion and Glorification are closely joined; they form an
indissoluble unity. Jesus says: “Now the Son of Man is glorified,
and God is glorified in him” (John 13:31) and he says this when
Judas leaves the Upper Room to carry out the plan of his betrayal,
which will lead to the Master’s death: precisely at that moment
Jesus’ glorification begins. The Evangelist John makes it clear: he
does not, in fact, say that Jesus was glorified only after his
passion, through his resurrection, but shows that his glorification
is begun precisely with the passion. In it Jesus manifests his
glory, which is the glory of love, which gives its entire self. He
loved the Father, doing his will to the very end, with a perfect
oblation; he loved humanity, giving his life for us. Thus, already
in his Passion he was glorified, and God is glorified in him.
But the Passion is only the beginning. Thus Jesus says that his
glorification is also to come (cf. 13:32). Then the Lord, in the
moment that he announces his departure from this world (cf. 13:33),
almost as a testament to his disciples to continue his presence
among them in a new way, gives them a new commandment: “I give you a
new commandment: that you love one another. As I loved you, love one
another” (13:34). If we love each other, Jesus will continue to be
present in our midst.
Jesus speaks of a “new commandment.” But what is new about it?
Already in the Old Testament, God gave the commandment of love; now,
however, this commandment has become new insofar as Jesus makes a
very important addition to it: “As I loved you, love one another.”
What is new is precisely this “loving as Jesus loved.” The Old
Testament did not give any mode of love but only formulated the
precept to love. Jesus, however, gave himself to us as model and
source of love. This is a love without limits, universal, able to
transform all the negative circumstances and all the obstacles into
occasions for progress in love. In centuries past the Church that is
in Turin knew a rich tradition of sanctity and generous service --
as the archbishop and the mayor pointed out -- thanks to the work of
zealous priests, men and women in both active and contemplative
religious communities and faithful laypeople. Jesus’ words thus
acquire a particular resonance for this Church, a Church that is
generous and active, beginning with her priests. Giving us the new
commandment, Jesus asks us to live his own love, which is the truly
credible, eloquent and efficacious sign that announces to the world
the Kingdom of God.
Obviously with our own power we are weak and limited. There is
always a resistance to love in us and in our existence, there are
many difficulties that provoke divisions, resentment and rancor. But
the Lord promised us to be present in our life, making us capable of
this generous and total love, which knows how to overcome all
obstacles. If we are united to Christ, we can truly love in this
world. Loving others as Jesus loved us is possible only with that
strength that is communicated to us in our relationship with him,
especially in the Eucharist, in which his Sacrifice of love that
generated love is made present in a real way.
I would like to say, then, a word of encouragement especially to the
priests and deacons of this Church, who dedicate themselves with
generosity to pastoral work, and to the religious. Sometimes being a
worker in the Lord’s vineyard can be tiring, duties multiply, there
are so many demands, there is no lack of problems: Know how daily to
draw from this relationship of love with the Lord in prayer the
strength to convey the prophetic announcement of salvation;
re-center your existence on what is essential in the Gospel;
cultivate a real dimension of communion and fraternity in the
presbyterate, in your communities, in relationships with the People
of God; in service testify to the power of love that comes from on
high.
The first reading that we heard indeed presents a special way of
glorifying Jesus: the apostle and his fruits. Paul and Barnabas, at
the end of their first apostolic trip, return to the cities that
they have already visited and reanimate the disciples, exhorting
them to remain solid in the faith, because, as they say, “we must
enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations” (Acts
14:22). Christian life, dear brothers and sisters, is not easy; I
know that there is no lack of difficulties, problems, worries in
Turin: I think in particular of those who concretely live their
lives in precarious conditions, because of the scarcity of jobs, the
uncertainty of the future, physical and moral suffering; I think of
families, young people, of old people who often live in solitude,
the marginalized, immigrants. Yes, life leads to many difficulties,
many problems, but it is precisely the certainty that comes from
faith, the certainty that we are not alone, that God loves everyone
without distinction and is near to everyone with his love, that
makes it possible to face, to live through and to overcome the toil
of daily problems. It was the universal love of the risen Christ
that moved the apostles to go out of themselves, to spread the word
of God, to spend themselves without reserve for others, with
courage, joy and serenity. The Risen One has a strength of love that
overcomes every limit, that does not stop at any obstacle. And the
Christian community, especially in the situations that are the most
pastorally demanding, must be a concrete instrument of this love of
God.
I exhort families to live the Christian dimension of love in simple
daily actions, in family relationships, overcoming divisions and
misunderstandings, in cultivating faith, which makes communion still
stronger. Also in the rich and diverse world of the university and
culture, witness to the love that today’s Gospel speaks of is not
lacking, in the capacity for attentive listening and humble dialogue
in the search for Truth, certain that it is the same truth that
comes to meet us and draws us. I would like also to encourage the
effort, often difficult, of those who are called to look after the
public sphere: Collaboration to pursue the common good and make the
city ever more human and habitable is a sign that Christian thought
about man is never against his liberty but in favor of a greater
fullness that finds its realization only in a “civilization of
love.” To everyone, in particular the young people, I want to say
never to lose hope, that which comes from the risen Christ, from
God’s victory over sin and death.
Today’s second reading shows us precisely the final outcome of
Jesus’ resurrection: it is the new Jerusalem, the holy city, that
comes down from heaven, from God, prepared as a bride for her
husband (cf. Revelation 21:2). He who was crucified, who shared our
suffering -- as the sacred Shroud also reminds us in an eloquent way
-- is he who is risen and wants to reunite all of us in his love. It
is a stupendous, “powerful,” solid hope, because, as Revelation
says: “[God] will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death
will be no more, nor will there be any mourning or lament anymore,
because the former things will pass away” (21:4). Does the holy
Shroud not communicate the same message? In it we see, as in a
mirror, our sufferings in the sufferings of Christ: “Passio Christi.
Passio hominis.” It is because of this that the Shroud is a sign of
hope: Christ faced the cross to put up a wall against evil; to make
us see, in his passion, the anticipation of that moment in which for
us too, every tear will be wiped away, when there will be no death,
no mourning, no lament anymore.
The passage from Revelation ends with this statement: “He who sits
upon the throne says: ‘Behold, I make all things new’” (21:5). The
first absolutely new thing realized by God was Jesus’ resurrection,
his heavenly glorification. It is the beginning of a whole series of
“new things” in which we also have a share. “New things” are a world
full of joy, in which there are no more suffering and destruction,
there is no rancor and hate, but only the love that comes from God
and transforms everything.
Dear Church that is in Turin, I have come 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 and that gives
meaning to life; never to lose the light of hope in the Risen
Christ, who is able to transform reality and make all things new; to
live God’s love in a simple and concrete way in the city, in the
neighborhoods, in communities, in families: “As I have loved you,
love one another.”
Amen.
Look
at the One they Pierced!
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary
