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Pope Benedict XVI- Homily |
EUCHARISTIC
CONCELEBRATION WITH THE NEW CARDINALS
AND PRESENTATION OF THE CARDINAL'S RING
Solemnity of Christ, King of the Universe
H.H. Benedict XVI
Vatican City
Saturday, November 25, 2007
www.zenit.org
Your
Eminences,
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The
Solemnity of Christ, King of the Universe, the crown of the
liturgical year, is enriched by the acceptance into the College of
Cardinals of 23 new members whom, according to tradition, I have
invited to concelebrate the Eucharist with me today. I address to
each one of them my cordial greeting, which I extend with fraternal
affection to all the Cardinals present. I am also pleased to greet
the delegations from various countries and the Diplomatic Corps of
the Holy See; the numerous Bishops and priests, the men and women
Religious and all the faithful, especially those from Dioceses
entrusted to the pastoral guidance of some of the new Cardinals.
The
liturgical Feast of Christ the King gives our celebration an
especially significant background, outlined and illuminated by the
Biblical Readings. We find ourselves as it were facing an imposing
fresco with three great scenes: at the centre, the Crucifixion
according to the Evangelist Luke's account; on one side, the royal
anointing of David by the elders of Israel; on the other, the
Christological hymn with which St Paul introduces the Letter to the
Colossians. The whole scene is dominated by the figure of Christ,
the one Lord before whom we are all brothers and sisters. The
Church's entire hierarchy, every charism and ministry, everything
and everyone are at the service of his Lordship.
We must
begin from the central event: the Cross. Here Christ manifests his
unique Kingship. On Calvary two opposite attitudes confront each
other. Some figures at the foot of the Cross as well as one of the
two thieves address the Crucified One contemptuously: If you are the
Christ, the Messiah King, they say, save yourself by coming down
from the cross. Jesus reveals instead his own glory by remaining
there on the Cross as the immolated Lamb. The other thief
unexpectedly sides with him, and he implicitly confesses the royalty
of the innocent, just One and implores: "Jesus, remember me when you
come into your kingly power" (Lk 23: 42). St Cyril of Alexandria
comments: "You see him crucified and you call him King. You believe
that he who bears scoffing and suffering will reach divine glory" (Comment
on Luke, Homily 153). According to the Evangelist John, the
divine glory is already present, although hidden by the
disfiguration of the Cross. But also in the language of Luke, the
future is anticipated in the present when Jesus promises the good
thief: "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise"
(Lk 23: 43). St Ambrose observes: "He prayed that the Lord would
remember him when he reached his Kingdom, but the Lord responded:
Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.
Life is being with Christ, because where Christ is, there is his
Kingdom" (Exposition of the Gospel according to Luke, 10,
121). The accusation: "This is the King of the Jews", written on a
tablet nailed above Jesus' head thus becomes the proclamation of the
truth. St Ambrose further notes: "The writing is correctly placed
above the Cross, because even though the Lord Jesus was on the
Cross, yet his royal majesty shone from the height of the Cross" (ibid.,
10, 113).
The
Crucifixion scene in the four Gospels constitutes the moment of
truth when the "veil of the Temple" is torn and the Holy of Holies
appears. The maximum revelation of God possible in this world occurs
in Jesus Crucified, because God is love and the death of Jesus on
the Cross is the greatest act of love in all of history. Well then,
on the Cardinal's ring that I will consign in a few moments to the
new members of the Sacred College is portrayed precisely the
Crucifixion. This, dear new Cardinal-Brothers, will always be an
invitation for you to remember of what King you are servants, on
what throne he has been raised and how he has been faithful to the
end in overcoming sin and death with the power of divine mercy.
Mother Church, Spouse of Christ, gives you this symbol in memory of
her Spouse, who loved her and gave himself up for her (cf. Eph 5:
25). Thus, wearing the Cardinal's ring, you are constantly called to
give your life for the Church.
If we
now cast a glance at the scene of the royal anointing of David
presented in the First Reading, an important aspect on royalty
strikes us, namely, its "corporative" dimension. The elders of
Israel go to Hebron, they seal a covenantal pact with David,
declaring to consider themselves united to him and wanting to be one
only with him. If we relate Christ to this image, it seems to me
that this same covenantal profession applies very well precisely to
you, dear Cardinal-Brothers. You too who form the "senate" of the
Church can say to Jesus: "Behold, we are your bone and flesh" (II
Sam 5: 1). We belong to you, and we want to be one only with you.
You are the Shepherd of the People of God, you are the Head of the
Church (cf. II Sam 5: 2). In this solemn Eucharistic celebration we
want to renew our pact with you, our friendship, because only in
this intimate and profound relationship with you, Jesus, our King
and Lord, does the dignity that has been conferred upon us and the
responsibility it bears have sense and value.
There
now remains for us to admire the third part of our "triptych" that
the Word of God places before us: the Christological hymn of the
Letter to the Colossians. First of all, we make the sentiments of
joy and gratitude that pour forth from it our own, for the fact that
the Kingdom of Christ, the "inheritance of the saints in light", is
not only something seen from a distance but a reality in which we
are called to partake, into which we have been "transferred", thanks
to the redemptive action of the Son of God (cf. Col 1: 12-14). This
graced action opens St Paul's soul to the contemplation of Christ
and his ministry in its two principal dimensions: the creation of
all things and their reconciliation. The first aspect of Christ's
Lordship consists in the fact that "all things were created through
him and for him... in him all things hold together" (Col 1: 16-17).
The second dimension centres on the Paschal Mystery: through the
Son's death on the Cross, God has reconciled every creature to
himself, has made peace between Heaven and earth; raising him from
the dead he has made him the firstborn of the new creation, the
"fullness" of every reality and "head of the [mystical] body", the
Church (cf. Col 1: 18-20). We find ourselves again before the Cross,
the central event of the mystery of Christ. In the Pauline vision
the Cross is placed within the entire economy of salvation, where
Jesus' royalty is displayed in all its cosmic fullness.
This
text of the Apostle expresses a synthesis of truth and faith so
powerful that we cannot fail to remain in deep admiration of it. The
Church is the trustee of the mystery of Christ: She is so in all
humility and without a shadow of pride or arrogance, because it
concerns the maximum gift that she has received without any merit
and that she is called to offer gratuitously to humanity of every
age, as the horizon of meaning and salvation. It is not a
philosophy, it is not a gnosis, even though it also comprises wisdom
and knowledge. It is the mystery of Christ, it is Christ himself,
the Logos incarnate, dead and risen, made King of the
universe. How can one fail to feel a rush of enthusiasm full of
gratitude for having been permitted to contemplate the splendour of
this revelation? How can one not feel at the same time the joy and
the responsibility to serve this King, to witness his Lordship with
one's life and word? In a particular way this is our duty, venerable
Cardinal-Brothers: to proclaim the truth of Christ, hope of every
person and the entire human family. In the wake of the Second
Vatican Council, my Venerable Predecessors, the Servants of God Paul
VI, John Paul I and John Paul II, have been authentic heralds of
Christ's royalty in today's world. And it is for me a motive of
consolation to be able to always count on you, both collegially and
individually, to bring to fulfilment with me the Petrine Ministry's
fundamental duty.
In
conclusion, I would like to mention an aspect that is strongly
united to this mission and that I entrust to your prayer: peace
among all Christ's disciples, as a sign of the peace that Jesus came
to establish in the world. We have heard the great news of the
Christological hymn: it pleased God to "reconcile" the universe
through the Cross of Christ (cf. Col 1: 20)! Well then, the Church
is that portion of humanity in whom Christ's royalty is already
manifest, who has peace as its privileged manifestation. It is the
new Jerusalem, still imperfect because it is yet a pilgrim in
history, but able to anticipate in some way the heavenly Jerusalem.
Lastly, we can here refer to the Responsorial Psalm 121, belonging
to the so-called "Song of Ascents". It is a hymn of the pilgrims'
joy who, going up toward the holy city and having reached its doors,
address the peace-greeting to them: shalom! According to
popular etymology Jerusalem is interpreted as a "city of peace",
whose peace the Messiah, Son of David, would have established in the
fullness of time. We recognize in Jerusalem the figure of the
Church, sacrament of Christ and of his Kingdom.
Dear Cardinal-Brothers, this Psalm expresses well the ardent love
song for the Church that you certainly carry in your hearts. You
have dedicated your life to the Church's service, and now you are
called to assume in her a duty of utmost responsibility. May the
words of the Psalm find full acceptance in you: "Pray for the peace
of Jerusalem"! (v. 6). Prayer for peace and unity constitutes your
first and principal mission, so that the Church may be "solid and
compact" (v. 3), a sign and instrument of unity for the whole human
race (cf.
Lumen Gentium,
n. 1). I place, or rather, let us all place
your mission under the vigilant protection of the Mother of the
Church, Mary Most Holy. To her, united to her Son on Calvary and
assumed as Queen at his right hand in glory, we entrust the new
Cardinals, the College of Cardinals and the entire Catholic
community, committed to sowing in the furrows of history Christ's
Kingdom, the Lord of Life and Prince of Peace.
© Copyright 2007 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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