Pope Benedict XVI - World Youth Day 2008 |
"We
Can Be Tempted to Make Faith a Matter of Sentiment"
Homily during Mass with Clergy, Seminarians, and Religious
His Holiness Benedict XVI
St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, Australia
July 19, 2007
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In this noble cathedral I rejoice to greet my brother Bishops and
priests, and the deacons, religious and laity of the Archdiocese of
Sydney. In a very special way, my greeting goes to the seminarians
and young religious who are present among us. Like the young
Israelites in today's first reading, they are a sign of hope and
renewal for God's people; and, like those young Israelites, they
will have the task of building up the Lord's house in the coming
generation. As we admire this magnificent edifice, how can we not
think of all those ranks of priests, religious and faithful laity
who, each in his or her own way, contributed to the building up of
the Church in Australia? Our thoughts turn in particular to those
settler families to whom Father Jeremiah O'Flynn entrusted the
Blessed Sacrament at his departure, a "small flock" which cherished
and preserved that precious treasure, passing it on to the
succeeding generations who raised this great tabernacle to the glory
of God. Let us rejoice in their fidelity and perseverance, and
dedicate ourselves to carrying on their labours for the spread of
the Gospel, the conversion of hearts and the growth of the Church in
holiness, unity and charity!
We are about to celebrate the dedication of the new altar of this
venerable cathedral. As its sculpted frontal powerfully reminds us,
every altar is a symbol of Jesus Christ, present in the midst of his
Church as priest, altar and victim (cf. Preface of Easter V).
Crucified, buried and raised from the dead, given life in the Spirit
and seated at the right hand of the Father, Christ has become our
great high priest, eternally making intercession for us. In the
Church's liturgy, and above all in the sacrifice of the Mass
consummated on the altars of the world, he invites us, the members
of his mystical Body, to share in his self-oblation. He calls us, as
the priestly people of the new and eternal covenant, to offer, in
union with him, our own daily sacrifices for the salvation of the
world.
In today's liturgy the Church reminds us that, like this altar, we
too have been consecrated, set "apart" for the service of God and
the building up of his Kingdom. All too often, however, we find
ourselves immersed in a world that would set God "aside". In the
name of human freedom and autonomy, God's name is passed over in
silence, religion is reduced to private devotion, and faith is
shunned in the public square. At times this mentality, so completely
at odds with the core of the Gospel, can even cloud our own
understanding of the Church and her mission. We too can be tempted
to make the life of faith a matter of mere sentiment, thus blunting
its power to inspire a consistent vision of the world and a rigorous
dialogue with the many other visions competing for the minds and
hearts of our contemporaries.
Yet history, including the history of our own time, shows that the
question of God will never be silenced, and that indifference to the
religious dimension of human existence ultimately diminishes and
betrays man himself. Is that not the message which is proclaimed by
the magnificent architecture of this cathedral? Is that not the
mystery of faith which will be proclaimed from this altar at every
celebration of the Eucharist? Faith teaches us that in Jesus Christ,
the incarnate Word, we come to understand the grandeur of our own
humanity, the mystery of our life on this earth, and the sublime
destiny which awaits us in heaven (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 24). Faith
teaches us that we are God's creatures, made in his image and
likeness, endowed with an inviolable dignity, and called to eternal
life. Wherever man is diminished, the world around us is also
diminished; it loses its ultimate meaning and strays from its goal.
What emerges is a culture, not of life, but of death. How could this
be considered "progress"? It is a backward step, a form of
regression which ultimately dries up the very sources of life for
individuals and all of society.
We know that in the end - as Saint Ignatius of Loyola saw so clearly
- the only real "standard" against which all human reality can be
measured is the Cross and its message of an unmerited love which
triumphs over evil, sin and death, creating new life and unfading
joy. The Cross reveals that we find ourselves only by giving our
lives away, receiving God's love as an unmerited gift and working to
draw all men and women into the beauty of that love and the light of
the truth which alone brings salvation to the world.
It is in this truth - this mystery of faith - that we have been
"consecrated" (cf. Jn 17:17-19), and it is in this truth that we are
called to grow, with the help of God's grace, in daily fidelity to
his word, within the life-giving communion of the Church. Yet how
difficult is this path of consecration! It demands continual
"conversion", a sacrificial death to self which is the condition for
belonging fully to God, a change of mind and heart which brings true
freedom and a new breadth of vision. Today's liturgy offers an
eloquent symbol of that progressive spiritual transformation to
which each of us is called. From the sprinkling of water, the
proclamation of God's word and the invocation of all the saints, to
the prayer of consecration, the anointing and washing of the altar,
its being clothed in white and apparelled in light - all these rites
invite us to re-live our own consecration in Baptism. They invite us
to reject sin and its false allure, and to drink ever more deeply
from the life-giving springs of God's grace.
Dear friends, may this celebration, in the presence of the Successor
of Peter, be a moment of rededication and renewal for the whole
Church in Australia! Here I would like to pause to acknowledge the
shame which we have all felt as a result of the sexual abuse of
minors by some clergy and religious in this country. Indeed, I am
deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured,
and I assure them that, as their Pastor, I too share in their
suffering. These misdeeds, which constitute so grave a betrayal of
trust, deserve unequivocal condemnation. They have caused great pain
and have damaged the Church's witness. I ask all of you to support
and assist your Bishops, and to work together with them in combating
this evil. Victims should receive compassion and care, and those
responsible for these evils must be brought to justice. It is an
urgent priority to promote a safer and more wholesome environment,
especially for young people. In these days marked by the celebration
of World Youth Day, we are reminded of how precious a treasure has
been entrusted to us in our young people, and how great a part of
the Church's mission in this country has been dedicated to their
education and care. As the Church in Australia continues, in the
spirit of the Gospel, to address effectively this serious pastoral
challenge, I join you in praying that this time of purification will
bring about healing, reconciliation and ever greater fidelity to the
moral demands of the Gospel.
I wish now to turn to the seminarians and young religious in our
midst, with a special word of affection and encouragement. Dear
friends: with great generosity you have set out on a particular path
of consecration, grounded in your Baptism and undertaken in response
to the Lord's personal call. You have committed yourselves, in
different ways, to accepting Christ's invitation to follow him, to
leave all behind, and to devote your lives to the pursuit of
holiness and the service of his people.
In today's Gospel, the Lord calls us to "believe in the light" (Jn
12:36). These words have a special meaning for you, dear young
seminarians and religious. They are a summons to trust in the truth
of God's word and to hope firmly in his promises. They invite us to
see, with the eyes of faith, the infallible working of his grace all
around us, even in those dark times when all our efforts seem to be
in vain. Let this altar, with its powerful image of Christ the
Suffering Servant, be a constant inspiration to you. Certainly there
are times when every faithful disciple will feel the heat and the
burden of the day (cf. Mt 20:12), and the struggle of bearing
prophetic witness before a world which can appear deaf to the
demands of God's word. Do not be afraid! Believe in the light! Take
to heart the truth which we have heard in today's second reading:
"Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and for ever" (Heb
13:8). The light of Easter continues to dispel the darkness!
The Lord also calls us to walk in the light (cf. Jn 12:35). Each of
you has embarked on the greatest and the most glorious of all
struggles, to be consecrated in truth, to grow in virtue, to achieve
harmony between your thoughts and ideals, and your words and
actions. Enter sincerely and deeply into the discipline and spirit
of your programmes of formation. Walk in Christ's light daily
through fidelity to personal and liturgical prayer, nourished by
meditation on the inspired word of God. The Fathers of the Church
loved to see the Scriptures as a spiritual Eden, a garden where we
can walk freely with God, admiring the beauty and harmony of his
saving plan as it bears fruit in our own lives, in the life of the
Church and in all of history. Let prayer, then, and meditation on
God's word, be the lamp which illumines, purifies and guides your
steps along the path which the Lord has marked out for you. Make the
daily celebration of the Eucharist the centre of your life. At each
Mass, when the Lord's Body and Blood are lifted up at the end of the
Eucharistic Prayer, lift up your own hearts and lives, through
Christ, with him and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, as a
loving sacrifice to God our Father.
In this way, dear young seminarians and religious, you yourselves
will become living altars, where Christ's sacrificial love is made
present as an inspiration and a source of spiritual nourishment to
everyone you meet. By embracing the Lord's call to follow him in
chastity, poverty and obedience, you have begun a journey of radical
discipleship which will make you "signs of contradiction" (cf. Lk
2:34) to many of your contemporaries. Model your lives daily on the
Lord's own loving self-oblation in obedience to the will of the
Father. You will then discover the freedom and joy which can draw
others to the Love which lies beyond all other loves as their source
and their ultimate fulfilment. Never forget that celibacy for the
sake of the Kingdom means embracing a life completely devoted to
love, a love that enables you to commit yourselves fully to God's
service and to be totally present to your brothers and sisters,
especially those in need. The greatest treasures that you share with
other young people - your idealism, your generosity, your time and
energy - these are the very sacrifices which you are placing upon
the Lord's altar. May you always cherish this beautiful charism
which God has given you for his glory and the building up of the
Church!
Dear friends, let me conclude these reflections by drawing your
attention to the great stained glass window in the chancel of this
cathedral. There Our Lady, Queen of Heaven, is represented enthroned
in majesty beside her divine Son. The artist has represented Mary,
as the new Eve, offering an apple to Christ, the new Adam. This
gesture symbolizes her reversal of our first parents' disobedience,
the rich fruit which God's grace bore in her own life, and the first
fruits of that redeemed and glorified humanity which she has
preceded into the glory of heaven. Let us ask Mary, Help of
Christians, to sustain the Church in Australia in fidelity to that
grace by which the Crucified Lord even now "draws to himself" all
creation and every human heart (cf. Jn 12:32). May the power of his
Holy Spirit consecrate the faithful of this land in truth, and bring
forth abundant fruits of holiness and justice for the redemption of
the world. May it guide all humanity into the fullness of life
around that Altar, where, in the glory of the heavenly liturgy, we
are called to sing God's praises for ever. Amen.
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