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Pope Benedict XVI- Homilies |
"Sanctity
Was His Ideal"
Homily on Pius XII on the Anniversary of his Death
H.H. Benedict XVI
St. Peter's Basilica
October 9, 2008
www.zenit.org
Cardinals,
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and Priesthood,
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
The passage from the Book of Syracide and the prologue from the
First Letter of Saint Peter, proclaimed as the first and second
reading, offer significant points for reflection in this
Eucharistic celebration, during which we remember my venerable
predecessor, the Servant of God Pius XII. Exactly fifty years
have passed since the time of his death, which occurred in the
first hours of October 9 1958. The Syracide, as we heard,
reminded those who wish to follow the Lord that they must
prepare themselves to face new trials, difficulties and
suffering. To not be overcome by these -- he admonishes -- one
needs a righteous and constant heart, faithfulness to God and
patience united to an inflexible determination in continuing on
the path of good. Suffering sharpens the heart of the Lord's
disciple, just as gold is purified in the furnace. The sacred
author writes: "Whatever happens to you, accept it, and in the
uncertainties of your humble state, be patient, since gold is
tested in the fire, and the chosen in the furnace of
humiliation" (2:4).
On his part, Saint Peter in the pericope that was proposed to
us, turning to the Christians of the communities of Asia Minor
who "bear all sorts of trials", goes beyond this: he asks them
to feel, despite all this, "great joy" (1 Pet 1:6). Proof is in
fact necessary, he observes, "so that the worth of your faith,
more valuable than gold, which is perishable even if it has been
tested by fire, may be proved -- to your praise and honour when
Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Pet 1:7). And then, for the second
time, he exhorts them to be joyous, rather exult "with a joy so
glorious that it cannot be described" (see 1:8). The profound
reason of this spiritual joy is the love for Jesus and the
certainty of His invisible presence. He makes the believers'
faith and hope unshakeable, even when faced with the most
complicated and harsh events of existence.
In the light of these Biblical texts we can read about the
earthly life of Pope Pacelli and his lengthy service to the
Church, which began in 1901 under Leo XIII and continued with
Saint Pius X, Benedict XV and Pius XI. These Biblical texts help
us, above all, to understand which was the source he drew from
for his courage and patience in his pontifical ministry, during
the troubled years of World War II and the following ones, no
less complex, of reconstruction and difficult international
relationship of history called "the Cold War."
"Miserere mei Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam": with
this invocation from Psalm 50(51), Pius XII began his testament.
And he continued: "These words, conscious of being unworthy and
unequal, which I pronounced the moment I gave, trembling, my
acceptance of the election as Supreme Pontiff, with greater
conviction I repeat now." This was two years before his death.
To abandon oneself in the hands of the merciful God: This was
the attitude my venerable Predecessor constantly cultivated, the
last of the Popes born in Rome and belonging to a family tied to
the Holy See for many years.
In Germany, where he was the Apostolic Nuncio, first in Munich
of Bavaria and then in Berlin until 1929, he left behind
grateful memories, especially for having collaborated with
Benedict XV in the attempt to stop the "useless slaughter" of
the Great War, and for having realized from the beginning the
danger of the monstrous Nazi-Socialist ideology with its
pernicious anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic root. He was created a
Cardinal in December 1929, and shortly after became the
Secretary of State. For nine years he was a faithful
collaborator of Pius XI, in a time marked by totalitarianism:
Fascist, Nazi and Soviet Communism, all condemned by the
encyclicals "Non Abbiamo Bisogno," "Mit Brennenbder Sorge" and "Divini
Redemptoris."
"Whoever listens to my words, and believes in the one who sent
me, has eternal life" (Jn 5:24). This assurance made by Jesus,
which we have heard in the Gospel, makes us think back to the
hardest moments of the Pontificate of Pius XII when, realizing
the loss of any human security, he felt the need, even through
constant ascetic effort, to belong to Christ, the only certainty
that never sets. The Word of God thus becomes the light of his
path, a path in which Pope Pacelli had to comfort the homeless
and persecuted persons, dry the tears of suffering and the
crying of so many victims of the war. Only Christ is the true
hope of man; only entrusting the human heart to Him can it open
up to love that overcomes hate. This knowledge followed Pius XII
in his ministry as the Successor of Peter, a ministry that began
when the menacing clouds of a new world conflict grew over
Europe and the rest of the world, which he tried to avoid in all
ways: He called out in his message on the radio on August 24
1939: The danger is imminent, but there is still time. Nothing
is lost with peace. Everything can be lost with war" (AAS, XXXI,
1939, p. 334).
The war highlighted the love he felt for his "beloved Rome," a
love demonstrated by the intense charitable work he undertook in
defense of the persecuted, without any distinction of religion,
ethnicity, nationality or political leanings. When, once the
city was occupied, he was repeatedly advised to leave the
Vatican to safeguard himself, his answer was always the same and
decisive: "I will not leave Rome and my place, even at the cost
of my life" (cf Summarium, p. 186). His relatives and other
witnesses refer furthermore to privations regarding food,
heating, clothes and comfort, to which he subjected himself
voluntarily in order to share in the extremely trying conditions
suffered by the people due to the bombardments and consequences
of war (cf A. Tornielli, "Pio XII, Un uomo sul trono di Pietro").
And how can we forget his Christmas radio message of December
1942? In a voice breaking with emotion he deplored the situation
of "the hundreds of thousands of persons who, without any fault
on their part, sometimes only because of their nationality or
race, have been consigned to death or to a slow decline" (AAS,
XXXV, 1943, p. 23), a clear reference to the deportation and
extermination of the Jews. He often acted secretly and silently
because, in the light of the concrete realities of that complex
historical moment, he saw that this was the only way to avoid
the worst and save the largest possible number of Jews. His
interventions, at the end of the war and at the time of his
death, received numerous and unanimous expressions of gratitude
from the highest authorities of the Jewish world, such as, for
example, the Israeli Foreign Minister Golda Meir, who wrote:
"During the ten years of Nazi terror, when our people went
through the horrors of martyrdom, the Pope raised his voice to
condemn the persecutors and commiserate with their victims";
ending emotionally: "We mourn a great servant of peace."
Unfortunately, the historical debate on the figure of the
Servant of God Pius XII, which has not always been the calmest,
has prevented us shining a light on all the aspects of his
multifaceted Pontificate. There was a great multitude of
speeches, addresses and messages delivered to scientists,
doctors, and representatives of the most varied categories of
workers, some of which even today still possess an extraordinary
relevance and continue to be a concrete point of reference. Paul
VI, who was his faithful collaborator for many years, described
him as an erudite man, an attentive scholar, open to modern
means of research and culture, with an ever-strong and coherent
fidelity both to the principles of human reasoning, as well as
to the intangible depository of the truth of faith. He
considered him a precursor of Vatican Council II (cf Angelus of
10 March, 1974). From this point of view, many of his writings
deserve to be remembered, but I will limit myself to quoting
from only a few. With the Encyclical "Mystici Corporis,"
published on 29 June 1943, while war still raged, he described
the spiritual and visible relationships that unite men to the
Word Incarnate, and he proposed integrating into this point of
view all the principle themes of ecclesiology, offering for the
first time a dogmatic and theological synthesis that would
provide the basis for the Conciliar Dogmatic Constitution "Lumen
Gentium."
A few months later, on 20 September 1943, with the Encyclical "Divino
Afflante Spiritu" he laid down the doctrinal norms for the study
of Sacred Scripture, highlighting its importance and role in
Christian life. This is a document that bears witness to a great
opening to scientific research on the Biblical texts. How can we
not remember this Encyclical, during the course of the work of
this Synod that has as its own theme "The Word of God in the
Life and the Mission of the Church"? It is to the prophetic
intuition of Pius XII that we owe the launch of a serious study
of the characteristics of ancient historiography, in order to
better understand the nature of the sacred books, without
weakening or negating their historical value. The deeper study
of the "literary genres," whose intention is to better
understand what the sacred author meant, was viewed with a
certain suspicion prior to 1943, in part thanks to the abuse
that had been made of it.
The Encyclical recognized that it could be applied correctly,
declaring its use legitimate not only for the study of the Old
Testament, but also the New. "In the present day indeed this art
-- explained the Pope -- which is called textual criticism and
which is used with great and praiseworthy results in the
editions of profane writings, is also quite rightly employed in
the case of the Sacred Books, because of that very reverence
which is due to the Divine Oracles." And he added: "For its very
purpose is to insure that the sacred text be restored, as
perfectly as possible, be purified from the corruptions due to
the carelessness of the copyists and be freed, as far as may be
done, from glosses and omissions, from the interchange and
repetition of words and from all other kinds of mistakes, which
are wont to make their way gradually into writings handed down
through many centuries" (AAS, XXXV, 1943, p 336).
The third Encyclical I would like to mention is the "Mediator
Dei," dedicated to the liturgy, published 20 November 1947. With
this document, the Servant of God provided an impulse to the
liturgical movement, insisting that "the chief element of divine
worship must be interior. For -- he writes -- we must always
live in Christ and give ourselves to Him completely, so that in
Him, with Him and through Him the heavenly Father may be duly
glorified. The sacred liturgy requires, however, that both of
these elements be intimately linked with each another. ...
Otherwise religion clearly amounts to mere formalism, without
meaning and without content."
We cannot do other then than acknowledge the notable impulse
this Pontiff gave to the Church's missionary activity with the
Encyclicals "Evangelii Praecones" (1951) and "Fidei Donum"
(1957), that highlighted the duty of every community to announce
the Gospel to the peoples, as Vatican II would go on to do with
courageous strength. Pope Pacelli had already shown this love
for the missions from the outset of his Pontificate when in
October 1939 he had wanted to consecrate personally twelve
bishops from mission countries, including an Indian, a Chinese
and a Japanese, the first African bishop and the first bishop of
Madagascar. One of his constant pastoral concerns, finally, was
the promotion of the role of lay people so that the ecclesial
community could make use of all its possible energy and
resources. For this too the Church and the world are grateful to
him.
Dear brothers and sisters, while we pray that the cause of
beatification of the Servant of God Pius XII may continue
smoothly, it is good to remember that sanctity was his ideal, an
ideal he never failed to propose to everyone. This is why he
promoted the causes of beatification and canonization for
persons from different peoples, representatives of all states of
life, roles and professions, and granted substantial space to
women. And it was Mary, the Woman of salvation, whom he offered
to humanity as a sign of certain hope, proclaiming the dogma of
the Assumption, during the Holy Year of 1950. In this world of
ours, which, like then, is assailed by worries and anguish about
its future; in this world where, perhaps more than then, the
distancing of many from truth and virtue allows us to glimpse
scenarios without hope, Pius XII invites us to look to Mary
assumed into the glory of Heaven. He invites us to invoke her
faithfully, so that she will allow us to appreciate ever more
the value of life on earth and help us to look to the true aim
that is the destiny of all of us: that eternal life that, as
Jesus assures us, already belongs to those who hear and follow
his word. Amen!
[Translation issued by the secretary-general of the Synod of
Bishops]
Look
at the One they Pierced!
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary
