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Pope Benedict XVI- Homilies |
"Jesus
Invites His Disciples to the Total Giving of Their Lives"
Homily at the Canonization Mass
H.H. Benedict XVI
St. Peter's Basilica
October 11, 2009
The following is a translation of the homily Pope Benedict XVI
delivered today at the canonization Mass of the following blessed:
Bishop Zygmunt Szsczęsny Felińsk, founder of the Congregation of the
Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary; Dominican Father Francisco
Coll y Guitart, founder of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters
of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Father Jozef Damiaan
de Veuster of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and
Mary and of the Perpetual Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament of
the Altar; Father Rafael Arnáiz Barón of the Order of Cistercians of
the Strict Observance; Sister Marie de la Croix (Jeanne) Jugan,
founder of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Dear
brothers and sisters!
"What must I do to inherit eternal life?" This is the question that
opens the brief dialogue we heard in the Gospel, between a man,
identified elsewhere as the rich young man, and Jesus (cf Mk
10:17-30). We do not have very many details about this nameless
character: all the same from the little we do have we are able to
perceive his sincere desire to attain eternal life by living an
honest and virtuous existence on earth. In fact he knows the
commandments and has obeyed them since childhood. And yet all of
this, while important, is not sufficient -- says Jesus -- there is
one thing missing, but it is an essential thing. Seeing then that he
is willing, the Divine Master looks at him with love and proposes
the qualitative leap, he calls him to the heroism of sanctity, he
asks him to abandon everything and follow him: "Sell what you own
and give the money to the poor...then come, follow me!" (V. 21).
"Then come, follow me!" This is the Christian vocation that flows
from a proposal of love by the Lord, and that can be realized only
thanks to our loving reply. Jesus invites his disciples to the total
giving of their lives, without calculation or personal gain, with
unfailing trust in God. The saints welcome this demanding invitation
and set about following the crucified and risen Christ with humble
docility. Their perfection, in the logic of a faith that is humanly
incomprehensible at times, consists in no longer placing themselves
at the center, but choosing to go against the flow and live
according to the Gospel. This is what was done by the five saints
who today, with great joy, are being put forward for veneration by
the universal Church: Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński, Francisco Coll y
Guitart, Jozef Damiaan de Veuster, Rafael Arnáiz Barón, Marie de la
Croix (Jeanne) Jugan. In them we can contemplate the realization of
the words of the Apostle Peter: "Look, we have left everything and
followed you" (V. 28) and the consoling reassurance of Jesus: "There
is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father,
children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will
not receive a hundred times as much...and persecutions too, now in
this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life" (VV.
29-30)
Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński, Archbishop of Warsaw, founder of the
Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary, was a great witness of
faith and pastoral charity in very difficult times for the nation
and for the Church in Poland. He dealt zealously with the spiritual
growth of the faithful, and in helping the poor and orphans. At the
Ecclesial Academy of St Petersburg he oversaw the well-founded
formation of priests. As the Archbishop of Warsaw, he encouraged
everyone towards an interior renewal. Prior to the insurrection of
January 1863 against the Russian annexation, he warned the people
against the futile shedding of blood. However, when the uprising
occurred and was put down, he courageously defended the oppressed.
Under the rule of the Russian Czar he spent 20 years in exile in
Jaroslavl in Siberia, without being able to ever return to his
diocese. In every situation he stuck steadfastly to his trust in
Divine Providence and prayed the following: "O, God, protect us not
from tribulations and from the worries of this world... only
multiply the love in our hearts so that with the deepest humility we
may maintain infinite trust in Your help and in Your mercy...".
Today may his dedication to God and to men, full of trust and of
love, become a shining example for all the Church.
Saint Paul reminds us in the second reading that "the word of God is
living and effective" (Hb 4:12). In it, the Father who is in heaven,
lovingly speaks to all his children of all eras (cf. Dei Verbum,
21), allowing them to know his infinite love and, in this way,
encouraging them, consoling them and offering to them His plan for
salvation of humanity and of each person. Conscious of this, Saint
Francis Coll eagerly dedicated himself to its proclamation,
faithfully accomplishing his vocation in the Order of Preachers, in
which he worked. His passion was preaching, for the most part in an
itinerant manner and following the form of "popular missions", with
the goal of proclaiming and enlivening the Word of God for the
peoples and cities of Catalonia, thus leading the people to the
profound encounter with Him. An encounter that elevates the heart to
conversion, to receive with joy the divine grace and to maintain
constant dialogue with Our Lord through prayer. For this, his
evangelizing activity included great devotion to the sacrament of
Reconciliation, an outstanding emphasis on the Eucharist and a
constant insistence on prayer. Francis Coll reached the hearts of
others because he transmitted what he himself lived with passion,
that which burned in his heart: the love of Christ, his devotion to
Him. For the seed of the Word of God to encounter fertile ground,
Francis founded the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the
Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with the goal of providing
an integral education to children and youth, so that they could
discover the unfathomable wealth that is Christ, this loyal friend
who will never abandon us nor tire of being by our side, animating
our hope with his Word of life.
Jozef De Veuster, who in the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of
Jesus and Mary received the name of Damiaan, when he was
twenty-three years old, in 1863, left his home in Flanders to
proclaim the Gospel on the other side of the world, the Hawaiian
Islands. His missionary activity, which gave him so much joy,
reaches its summit in charity. Not without fear and repugnance, he
chose to go to the Island of Molokai to serve the lepers who were
there, abandoned by all; thus he exposed himself to the disease they
suffered from. He felt at home with them. The Servant of the Word
thus became a suffering servant, a leper with lepers, during the
last four years of his life.
To follow Christ, Father Damiaan did not only leave his native
country, but he also risked his health: therefore he received
eternal life, as the Word of Jesus that was proclaimed in the Gospel
today says (cfr. Mk 10:30).
On the 20th anniversary of the canonization of another Belgian
saint, Brother Mutien-Marie, the Church in Belgium has gathered once
again to give thanks to God for one of its sons recognized as an
authentic servant of God. We recall, faced with this noble figure,
that charity makes unity: it gives birth to it and makes it
desirable. In following Saint Paul, Saint Damien leads us to choose
the good battle (cf. 1 Tim 1:18), not those that lead to division,
but those that gather together. He invites us to open our eyes to
the lepers that disfigure the humanity of our brothers and today
still calls, more than for our generosity, for the charity of our
serving presence.
Turning to today’s Gospel, to the youthful figure who presents his
desires to Jesus, wanting to be something more than a reliably
obedient to the duties imposed by the law, he is in contrast with
Brother Rafael, canonized today, who died at the age of twenty seven
as an Oblate of the Trappists of Saint Isidore de Duenas. He too was
from a well-to-do family, as he said himself, with a "slightly
dreamy spirit", whose dreams however, did not vanish in front of the
attachment to material possessions and other goals that worldliness
insists on at times. He said yes to the proposal to follow Jesus, in
an immediate and decisive way, without limits or conditions. Thus he
set out on his path, which from the moment in the monastery when he
realized that he "did not know how to pray ", led him in just a few
years to the summit of spiritual life, where he describes with great
simplicity and naturalness in many writings. Brother Rafael, still
close to us, continues to offer, through his example and his works,
a fascinating journey, especially for young persons who are not
satisfied easily, but who aspire to the full truth, the most
inexpressible joy, reached for the love of God. "Life is love...
This is the only reason to live," said the new Saint. And he
insists: "From the love of God come all things." May the Lord
receive one of the last prayers by Saint Rafael Arnáiz, while he
gave his entire life up to Him, pleading: "Take me and give Yourself
to the world." May he be given to reinvigorate the interior life of
Christians today. May he be given so that his Brothers in the
Trappists and the monastic centers can continue to be a beacon that
reveals the intimate yearning for God which He placed in every human
heart.
Through her admirable work in the service of the poorest elderly,
Saint Marie de la Croix is also like a beacon to guide our societies
which must always rediscover the place and unique contribution of
this period of life. Born in 1792 in Cancale, Brittany, Jeanne Jugan
was concerned with the dignity of her brothers and sister in
humanity whom age had made vulnerable, recognizing in them the
person of Christ Himself. "Look at the poor with compassion, she
would say, and Jesus will look at you with goodness on your last
day". This compassionate gaze on the aged, drawn from a profound
communion with God, was carried by Jeanne Jugan throughout her
joyous and disinterested service, practiced with gentleness and
humility of heart, wishing to be herself a poor person among the
poor. Jeanne lived the mystery of love by peacefully accepting
darkness and divesting herself of all material possessions until her
death. Her charism is always relevant, while so many aged persons
suffer different types of poverty and solitude, sometimes even
abandoned by their families. The spirit of hospitality and fraternal
love, founded on limitless trust in Providence, which Jeanne Jugan
drew from the Beatitudes, illuminated her whole existence. The
evangelical impulse is followed today throughout the world in the
Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor, which she founded
and which bears witness to her following the mercy of God and the
compassionate love of the Heart of Jesus for the littlest ones. May
Saint Jeanne Jugan be for the elderly a living source of hope and
for the persons so generously placing themselves at their service a
powerful stimulus to pursue and develop her work!
Dear brothers and sisters, let us give thanks to the Lord for the
gift of sanctity that today shines in the Church with a singular
beauty. While I salute each of you affectionately - Cardinals,
Bishops, civil and military authorities, priests, religious,
faithful lay people of different nationalities who are taking part
in this solemn Eucharistic celebration - I would like to invite all
of you to let yourselves be drawn by the shining example of these
Saints, to allow yourselves to be guided by their teachings, so that
our whole existence can become a hymn of praise to the love of God.
May we gain this grace through their heavenly intercession and,
above all, the maternal protection of Mary, Queen of the Saints and
Mother of humanity. Amen.
© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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at the One they Pierced!
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