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Pope Benedict XVI- Homilies |
"The
Human Being Is Free and His Freedom Remains Fragile"
Homily during a Pastoral Visit to Czech Republic
H.H. Benedict XVI
Brno, Czech Republic
September 27, 2009
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
"Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest" (Mt11:28). Jesus invites each of his disciples to spend time
with him, to find comfort, sustenance and renewal in him. This
invitation is addressed in a special way to our liturgical assembly
which, in accordance with the ecclesial ideal, brings the whole of
your local Church together with the Successor of Peter. I greet each
and every one of you: firstly the Bishop of Brno, to whom I am
grateful for the kind words he addressed to me at the start of the
Mass, and also the Cardinals and the other Bishops present. I greet
the priests, deacons, seminarians, men and women religious, the
catechists and pastoral workers, the young people and the many
families here. I pay my respects to the civil and military
authorities, particularly to the President of the Republic and the
First Lady, to the Mayor of the City of Brno and the President of
the Region of Southern Moravia, a land rich in history and in
cultural, industrial and commercial activity. I should also like to
extend warm greetings to the pilgrims from the entire region of
Moravia and the nearby dioceses of Slovakia, Poland, Austria and
Germany.
Dear friends, regarding the character of today's liturgical
assembly, I gladly supported the decision, mentioned by your Bishop,
to base the Scripture readings for Mass on the theme of hope: I
supported it in consideration of the people of this beloved land as
well as Europe and the whole of humanity, thirsting as it does for
something on which to base a firm future. In my second
Encyclical,Spe Salvi, I emphasized that the only "certain" and
"reliable" hope (cf. no. 1) is founded on God. History has
demonstrated the absurdities to which man descends when he excludes
God from the horizon of his choices and actions, and how hard it is
to build a society inspired by the values of goodness, justice and
fraternity, because the human being is free and his freedom remains
fragile. Freedom has constantly to be won over for the cause of
good, and the arduous search for the "right way to order human
affairs" is a task that belongs to all generations (cf.ibid.,
24-25). That, dear friends, is why our first reason for being here
is to listen, to listen to a word that will show us the way that
leads to hope; indeed, we are listening to the only word that can
give us firm hope, because it is God's word.
In the first reading (Is 61:1-3a), the Prophet speaks as one
invested with the mission of proclaiming liberation, consolation and
joy to all the afflicted and the poor. Jesus took up this text and
re-applied it to himself in his preaching. Indeed, he stated
explicitly that the prophet's promise was fulfilled in him (cf. Lk
4:16-21). It was completely fulfilled when by dying on the cross and
rising from the dead he freed us from our slavery to selfishness and
evil, to sin and death. And this is the message of salvation,
ancient and ever new, that the Church proclaims from generation to
generation: Christ crucified and risen, the Hope of humanity!
This word of salvation still resounds with power today, in our
liturgical assembly. Jesus addresses himself lovingly to you, sons
and daughters of this blessed land, in which the seed of the Gospel
has been sown for over a thousand years. Your country, like other
nations, is experiencing cultural conditions that often present a
radical challenge to faith and therefore also to hope. In fact, in
the modern age both faith and hope have undergone a "shift", because
they have been relegated to the private and other-worldly sphere,
while in day-to-day public life confidence in scientific and
economic progress has been affirmed (cf. Spe Salvi, 17). We all know
that this progress is ambiguous: it opens up possibilities for good
as well as evil. Technical developments and the improvement of
social structures are important and certainly necessary, but they
are not enough to guarantee the moral welfare of society (cf. ibid.,
24). Man needs to be liberated from material oppressions, but more
profoundly, he must be saved from the evils that afflict the spirit.
And who can save him if not God, who is Love and has revealed his
face as almighty and merciful Father in Jesus Christ? Our firm hope
is therefore Christ: in him, God has loved us to the utmost and has
given us life in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10), the life that every
person, even if unknowingly, longs to possess.
"Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest." These words of Jesus, written in large letters above the
entrance to your Cathedral in Brno, he now addresses to each of us,
and he adds: "Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls" (Mt 11:29-30). Can we remain
indifferent in the face of his love? Here, as elsewhere, many people
suffered in past centuries for remaining faithful to the Gospel, and
they did not lose hope; many people sacrificed themselves in order
to restore dignity to man and freedom to peoples, finding in their
generous adherence to Christ the strength to build a new humanity.
In present-day society, many forms of poverty are born from
isolation, from being unloved, from the rejection of God and from a
deep-seated tragic closure in man who believes himself to be
self-sufficient, or else merely an insignificant and transient
datum; in this world of ours which is alienated "when too much trust
is placed in merely human projects" (Caritas in Veritate, 53), only
Christ can be our certain hope. This is the message that we
Christians are called to spread every day, through our witness.
Proclaim it yourselves, dear priests, as you remain intimately
united to Jesus, as you exercise your ministry enthusiastically,
certain that nothing can be lacking in those who put their trust in
him. Bear witness to Christ, dear religious, through the joyful and
consistent practice of the evangelical counsels, indicating where
our true homeland lies: in Heaven. And you, dear young people, dear
lay faithful, dear families, base on the firm foundation of faith in
Christ whatever plans you have for your family, for work, for
school, for activities in every sphere of society. Jesus never
abandons his friends. He assures us of his help, because nothing can
be done without him, but at the same time, he asks everyone to make
a personal commitment to spread his universal message of love and
peace. May you draw encouragement from the example of Saints Cyril
and Methodius, the principal patrons of Moravia, who evangelized the
Slavic peoples, and of Saints Peter and Paul, to whom your Cathedral
is dedicated. Look to the shining testimony of Saint Zdislava,
mother of a family, rich in works of religion and works of mercy; of
Saint John Sarkander, priest and martyr; of Saint Clement Maria
Hofbauer, priest and religious, born in this diocese and canonized
one hundred years ago, and of Blessed Restituta Kafkova, a religious
sister born in Brno and killed by the Nazis in Vienna. May you
always be accompanied and protected by Our Lady, Mother of Christ
our Hope. Amen!
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