| Consecrated in the truth of
God's love Cross
reveals that we find ourself by giving our life away, receiving God's
unmerited gift of love
On Saturday morning, 19 July [2008],
the Holy Father presided at Holy Mass at St Mary's Cathedral with
Australian Bishops and clergy. Present were a number of seminarians and
novices of religious Orders, whom Pope Benedict XVI specifically
addressed. After the Eucharistic celebration the Pope had lunch at
Cathedral House with approximately 65 Australian Bishops and his
entourage. The following is the Pope's Homily.
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.
God will never be silenced
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.
Enter discipleship deeply
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.
|