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Pope Benedict XVI- Homilies |
"The
Church Invites Us Proudly to Lift Up This Glorious Cross"
Homily Given on the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross
H.H. Benedict XVI
Apostolic Journey to Lourdes, France
For the 150th Anniversary of the Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin
Mary
September 14, 2008
www.zenit.org
Dear Cardinals,
Dear Bishop Perrier,
Dear Brothers in the episcopate and the priesthood,
Dear pilgrims, brothers and sisters,
"Go and tell the priests that people should come here in
procession, and that a chapel should be built here." This is the
message Bernadette received from the "beautiful lady" in the
apparition of 2 March 1858. For 150 years, pilgrims have never
ceased to come to the grotto of Massabielle to hear the message
of conversion and hope which is addressed to them. And we have
done the same; here we are this morning at the feet of Mary, the
Immaculate Virgin, eager to learn from her alongside little
Bernadette.
I would like to thank especially Bishop Jacques Perrier of
Tarbes and Lourdes for the warm welcome he has given me, and for
the kind words he has addressed to me. I greet the Cardinals,
the Bishops, the priests, the deacons, the men and women
religious, and all of you, dear Lourdes pilgrims, especially the
sick. You have come in large numbers to make this Jubilee
pilgrimage with me and to entrust your families, your relatives
and friends, and all your intentions to Our Lady. My thanks go
also to the civil and military Authorities who are here with us
at this Eucharistic celebration.
"What a great thing it is to possess the Cross! He who possesses
it possesses a treasure" (Saint Andrew of Crete, Homily X on the
Exaltation of the Cross, PG 97, 1020). On this day when the
Church's liturgy celebrates the feast of the Exaltation of the
Holy Cross, the Gospel you have just heard reminds us of the
meaning of this great mystery: God so loved the world that he
gave his only Son, so that men might be saved (cf. Jn 3:16). The
Son of God became vulnerable, assuming the condition of a slave,
obedient even to death, death on a cross (cf. Phil 2:8). By his
Cross we are saved. The instrument of torture which, on Good
Friday, manifested God's judgement on the world, has become a
source of life, pardon, mercy, a sign of reconciliation and
peace. "In order to be healed from sin, gaze upon Christ
crucified!" said Saint Augustine (Treatise on Saint John, XII,
11). By raising our eyes towards the Crucified one, we adore him
who came to take upon himself the sin of the world and to give
us eternal life. And the Church invites us proudly to lift up
this glorious Cross so that the world can see the full extent of
the love of the Crucified one for all, for us men. She invites
us to give thanks to God because from a tree which brought
death, life has burst out anew. On this wood Jesus reveals to us
his sovereign majesty, he reveals to us that he is exalted in
glory. Yes, "Come, let us adore him!" In our midst is he who
loved us even to giving his life for us, he who invites every
human being to draw near to him with trust.
This is the great mystery that Mary also entrusts to us this
morning, inviting us to turn towards her Son. In fact, it is
significant that, during the first apparition to Bernadette,
Mary begins the encounter with the sign of the Cross. More than
a simple sign, it is an initiation into the mysteries of the
faith that Bernadette receives from Mary. The sign of the Cross
is a kind of synthesis of our faith, for it tells how much God
loves us; it tells us that there is a love in this world that is
stronger than death, stronger than our weaknesses and sins. The
power of love is stronger than the evil which threatens us. It
is this mystery of the universality of God's love for men that
Mary came to reveal here, in Lourdes. She invites all people of
good will, all those who suffer in heart or body, to raise their
eyes towards the Cross of Jesus, so as to discover there the
source of life, the source of salvation.
The Church has received the mission of showing all people this
loving face of God, manifested in Jesus Christ. Are we able to
understand that in the Crucified One of Golgotha, our dignity as
children of God, tarnished by sin, is restored to us? Let us
turn our gaze towards Christ. It is he who will make us free to
love as he loves us, and to build a reconciled world. For on
this Cross, Jesus took upon himself the weight of all the
sufferings and injustices of our humanity. He bore the
humiliation and the discrimination, the torture suffered in many
parts of the world by so many of our brothers and sisters for
love of Christ. We entrust all this to Mary, mother of Jesus and
our mother, present at the foot of the Cross.
In order to welcome into our lives this glorious Cross, the
celebration of the Jubilee of Our Lady's apparitions in Lourdes
urges us to embark upon a journey of faith and conversion.
Today, Mary comes to meet us, so as to show us the way towards a
renewal of life for our communities and for each one of us. By
welcoming her Son, whom she presents to us, we are plunged into
a living stream in which the faith can rediscover new vigour, in
which the Church can be strengthened so as to proclaim the
mystery of Christ ever more boldly. Jesus, born of Mary, is the
Son of God, the sole Saviour of all people, living and acting in
his Church and in the world. The Church is sent everywhere in
the world to proclaim this unique message and to invite people
to receive it through an authentic conversion of heart This
mission, entrusted by Jesus to his disciples, receives here, on
the occasion of this Jubilee, a breath of new life. After the
example of the great evangelizers from your country, may the
missionary spirit which animated so many men and women from
France over the centuries, continue to be your pride and your
commitment!
When we follow the Jubilee Way in the footsteps of Bernadette,
we are reminded of the heart of the message of Lourdes.
Bernadette is the eldest daughter of a very poor family, with
neither knowledge nor power, and in poor health. Mary chose her
to transmit her message of conversion, prayer and penance, which
fully accord with words of Jesus: "What you have hidden from the
wise and understanding, you have revealed to babes" (Mt 11:25).
On their spiritual journey, Christians too are called to render
fruitful the grace of their Baptism, to nourish themselves with
the Eucharist, to draw strength from prayer so as to bear
witness and to express solidarity with all their fellow human
beings (cf. Homage to the Virgin Mary, Piazza di Spagna, 8
December 2007). It is therefore a genuine catechesis that is
being proposed to us in this way, under Mary's gaze. Let us
allow her to instruct us too, and to guide us along the path
that leads to the Kingdom of her Son!
In the course of her catechesis, the "beautiful lady" reveals
her name to Bernadette: "I am the Immaculate Conception". Mary
thereby discloses the extraordinary grace that she has received
from God, that of having been conceived without sin, for "he has
looked on his servant in her lowliness" (cf. Lk 1:48). Mary is
the woman from this earth who gave herself totally to God, and
who received the privilege of giving human life to his eternal
Son. "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let what you have said be
done to me" (Lk 1:38). She is beauty transfigured, the image of
the new humanity. By presenting herself in this way, in utter
dependence upon God, Mary expresses in reality an attitude of
total freedom, based upon the full recognition of her true
dignity. This privilege concerns us too, for it discloses to us
our own dignity as men and women, admittedly marked by sin, but
saved in hope, a hope which allows us to face our daily life.
This is the path which Mary opens up for man. To give oneself
fully to God is to find the path of true freedom. For by turning
towards God, man becomes himself. He rediscovers his original
vocation as a person created in his image and likeness.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, the primary purpose of the shrine at
Lourdes is to be a place of encounter with God in prayer and a
place of service to our brothers and sisters, notably through
the welcome given to the sick, the poor and all who suffer. In
this place, Mary comes to us as a mother, always open to the
needs of her children. Through the light which streams from her
face, God's mercy is made manifest. Let us allow ourselves to be
touched by her gaze, which tells us that we are all loved by God
and never abandoned by him! Mary comes to remind us that prayer
which is humble and intense, trusting and persevering, must have
a central place in our Christian lives. Prayer is indispensable
if we are to receive Christ's power. "People who pray are not
wasting their time, even though the situation appears desperate
and seems to call for action alone" (Deus Caritas Est,
36). To allow oneself to become absorbed by activity runs the
risk of depriving prayer of its specifically Christian character
and its true efficacy. The prayer of the Rosary, so dear to
Bernadette and to Lourdes pilgrims, concentrates within itself
the depths of the Gospel message. It introduces us to
contemplation of the face of Christ. From this prayer of the
humble, we can draw an abundance of graces.
The presence of young people at Lourdes is also an important
element. Dear friends, gathered this morning around the World
Youth Day Cross: when Mary received the angel's visit, she was a
young girl from Nazareth leading the simple and courageous life
typical of the women of her village. And if God's gaze focused
particularly upon her, trusting in her, Mary wants to tell you
once more that not one of you is indifferent in God's eyes. He
directs his loving gaze upon each one of you and he calls you to
a life that is happy and full of meaning. Do not allow
yourselves to be discouraged by difficulties! Mary was disturbed
by the message of the angel who came to tell her that she would
become the Mother of the Saviour. She was conscious of her
frailty in the face of God's omnipotence. Nevertheless, she said
"yes", without hesitating. And thanks to her yes, salvation came
into the world, thereby changing the history of mankind. For
your part, dear young people, do not be afraid to say yes to the
Lord's summons when he invites you to walk in his footsteps.
Respond generously to the Lord! Only he can fulfill the deepest
aspirations of your heart. You have come to Lourdes in great
numbers for attentive and generous service to the sick and to
the other pilgrims, setting out in this way to follow Christ the
servant. Serving our brothers and sisters opens our hearts and
makes us available. In the silence of prayer, be prepared to
confide in Mary, who spoke to Bernadette in a spirit of respect
and trust towards her. May Mary help those who are called to
marriage to discover the beauty of a genuine and profound love,
lived as a reciprocal and faithful gift! To those among you whom
he calls to follow him in the priesthood or the religious life,
I would like to reiterate all the joy that is to be had through
giving one's life totally for the service of God and others. May
Christian families and communities be places where solid
vocations can come to birth and grow, for the service of the
Church and the world!
Mary's message is a message of hope for all men and women of our
day, whatever their country of origin. I like to invoke Mary as
the star of hope (Spe Salvi, 50). On the paths of our
lives, so often shrouded in darkness, she is a beacon of hope
who enlightens us and gives direction to our journey. Through
her "yes", through the generous gift of herself, she has opened
up to God the gates of our world and our history. And she
invites us to live like her in invincible hope, refusing to
believe those who claim that we are trapped in the fatal power
of destiny. She accompanies us with her maternal presence amid
the events of our personal lives, our family lives, and our
national lives. Happy are those men and women who place their
trust in him who, at the very moment when he was offering his
life for our salvation, gave us his Mother to be our own!
Dear Brothers and Sisters, in this land of France, the Mother of
the Lord is venerated in countless shrines which thereby
manifest the faith handed down from generation to generation.
Celebrated in her Assumption, she is your country's beloved
patroness. May she always be honoured fervently in each of your
families, in your religious communities and in your parishes!
May Mary watch over all the inhabitants of your beautiful
country and over the pilgrims who have come in such numbers from
other countries to celebrate this Jubilee! May she be for all
people the Mother who surrounds her children in their joys and
their trials! Holy Mary, Mother of God, our Mother, teach us to
believe, to hope and to love with you. Show us the way towards
the kingdom of your Son Jesus! Star of the sea, shine upon us
and lead us on our way! (cf. Spe Salvi, 50). Amen.
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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