Holy Mass in the Seravalle Stadium, San Marino

On Sunday, 29 August 1982, the Holy Father celebrated Holy Mass in the Seravalle Stadium, San Marino. In his homily, the Pope said, "For a genuine Christian concept of freedom, we must first of all refer to the words of Jesus, addressed to those who believed in him: ‘If you remain faithful to my word, you will truly be my disciples; you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. . . Truly I say to you: whoever commits sin is a slave to sin. . . Therefore if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed’" (Jn 8, 31-36). 

1. “Show us, Lord, your way, / guide us on the right path” ( Ps 26 [27], 11).

These words of the Psalmist, which we sang before the Gospel, can constitute the starting point of our reflection on the Liturgy of today's Sunday. And, at the same time, they give me the opportunity to thank the Lord for having "guided my path" up to here, to the glorious Republic of San Marino, and for being able to send my warmest greetings to all of you, dear San Marino people.

I address a special thought to the Captains Regent and the other political and civil authorities present at this Eucharistic celebration; I greet with intensity of feeling Monsignor Giovanni Locatelli and, with him, all the priests and faithful of the diocese of San Marino-Montefeltro; I greet each of you and express my gratitude for the cordiality with which you welcomed me.

I am truly pleased to be among you, as the first successor of Peter to visit this Republic and I pray that this extraordinary ecclesial event will be a cause of joy for all of you and above all a healthy opportunity to delve deeper into the reasons for your being Christians. The joy, however, is not only due to this circumstance: my soul is pleased to perceive and breathe here that ancient and robust, pure and noble atmosphere, which is typical of institutions tested by history, which have been able to challenge the centuries , true to themselves, yet in step with the new times.

This land has never renounced its freedom and its national and religious identity, in accordance with the inspiration of the origins linked to the figure of San Marino, rightly considered by tradition not only the protector, but also the founder of your Republic.

2. San Marino is a highly evocative name, for you San Marino people and for everyone; it recalls a long series of events. and of noble deeds, sometimes epic, in defense of civil autonomy always inspired by the values ​​of the Christian faith. It is a name linked to the life of a holy Christian, longing for solitude, dedicated to prayer, vigorous in facing the hardships of work, an unconquered lover of freedom.

It is not our task, especially in this solemn moment dedicated to the Eucharistic prayer, to delve into historical questions and even edifying episodes that can get lost in a legendary halo favored by a different sensitivity of times gone by. Here it is interesting to state, with adherence to historical reality, that the cult paid to San Marino since the first centuries of the Christian era and the free community founded on Mount Titano are connected to the eminent figure of an eminent follower of Christ who, having come to the light of truth and to the life of grace, he offered, even in public life, an evangelical testimony of a "layman" consistent with his own faith and fearless in the defense of human dignity.

You are all familiar with the words attributed to Saint Marino, which he said before his death: “Filii, relinquo vos liberos. . .: children, I leave you free”. They form, so to speak, the ideal historical, political and legal foundation of your Republic; they, in the local context of the time, referred to the territory of your Community and interpreted the most felt aims of the incipient institutions; from a historical perspective, they gave rise to a political autonomy which has remained intact to this day and which opens up vigorously towards the future.

Rightly therefore, since the 11th century, when a stronger sense of municipal freedoms awoke in souls and the cities elected their own Patron Saints, the people of this land, who had long had their own patron saint in San Marino, began to invoke him as a Conservative and Supporter, but above all as an Author of freedom.

Those same words, recalled above, an ideal plot of San Marino life, in the pastoral context of my visit today and even more so in the liturgical context of this Eucharistic celebration, evoke and announce the transcendent message of "Christian freedom" typical of your Saint, witnessed in many circumstances from your ancestors and valid for all ages until the end of the ages.

3. What does this message of freedom in the Christian sense consist of?

The question is very important, indeed essential and unavoidable, because we know well that there are different and opposing interpretations of the value of "freedom", with practical consequences that are often in conflict with each other.

For a genuine Christian concept of freedom, we must first of all refer to the words of Jesus, addressed to those who believed in him: “If you remain faithful to my word, you will truly be my disciples; you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. . . Truly I say to you: whoever commits sin is a slave to sin. . . Therefore if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed" ( Jn 8, 31-36). Jesus makes authentic freedom depend first of all on knowledge of the total truth of the mystery of God, announced and witnessed by himself, and then, as a consequence, on detachment from evil, that is, from sin, transgression of the moral law.

Saint Paul, who knew the word of the Lord well and at the same time the drama of every man, because of the intimate conflict between good and evil, praises the greatness and richness of the freedom brought to us by Christ (cf. Gal 4, 31 ), which consists in the emancipation from the slavery of sin and its law of death (cf. Rom 6, 22; 8,2 and 2 Tim 4, 18) and in the ability to live according to the law of good, that is, according to the Spirit of God. The Apostle, in fact, categorically states: "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" ( 2 Cor 3, 17).

Therefore, if freedom is the greatest gift given by God to man, created in his own image and therefore rational and strong-willed, it is also the most precious fruit of the redemptive work of Christ which made it possible for man to internal autonomous option of good, even if this is not always felt by existential experience.

This gift of freedom then entails a serious responsibility: the very high and essential task of adhering to the law of God, for which the full and perfect use of freedom is achieved by the one who is capable of "drawing" the greatest love from it for others. St. Paul, once again, is an authoritative teacher in this regard, with these words addressed to the Galatians: “You, brothers, have been called to freedom. Provided that this freedom does not become a pretext for living according to the flesh, but through charity serve one another" ( Gal 5, 13-14).

In the framework outlined so far, allow me to now repeat what I wrote in my first encyclical: "Jesus' words: "You will know the truth and the truth will make you free" contain a fundamental need and at the same time a warning: the need for an honest relationship with regard to truth, as a condition of authentic freedom; and the warning, also, to avoid any apparent freedom, any superficial and unilateral freedom, any freedom that does not penetrate the whole truth about man and the world" (John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis , 12).

The use of freedom in the light of Christian truth and with the help of grace must then become charity, love, donation; that is, it must bear the fruits of the Spirit which are joy, peace, patience, benevolence, goodness. . . (cf. Gal 5, 22). With an expression of Augustinian flavor I will say: the truth has set us free; charity must make us servants of one another!

4. Threats to freedom.

Christian freedom, which is truly "perpetual freedom" because it is founded on the acceptance and respect of the eternal personal Absolute: God, is however continually threatened by errors and behaviors opposed to its roots and teleological dynamism outlined above.

What are the current threats to Christian freedom? The errors of today and always, that is, the atheistic, agnostic or simply enlightened vision of life, lead, sometimes for unacknowledged reasons of power, to make transcendent values, the foundation of freedom and human dignity, vanish in the various institutions of the social structure. In a word, an non-religious vision of man and history leads to the violation of divine law, and therefore to the incorrect use of freedom.

Saint James, in today's reading, recommends us to "welcome with docility the word that has been sown in us" ( Jas 1:21), that is, faith in God, who in Christ has come to meet us and redeemed us.

This faith must increasingly be made fruitful by accepting its concrete needs. If, neglecting the divine seed of faith, only certain others are cultivated, these will sooner or later prove inadequate and insufficient. In the fruit, however, which matures from faith, what also comes from other, non-illegitimate fruits is contained and ennobled.

This applies in a particular and emblematic way to the life of the family, the fundamental cell of society, based on marriage. This, in fact, was elevated by Christ Jesus to the dignity of a sacrament to strengthen and sanctify the love of the spouses, wanted by God to be indissoluble and faithful since the origins of humanity, like the institute that derives from it.

“Therefore let no man put asunder what God has joined together” ( Mk 10:9). The conjugal union cannot and must not be undermined by any human authority; this is true whether marriage is considered from a natural or sacramental perspective.

For these reasons, the Church can neither change nor attenuate its teaching on marriage and the family; it deplores any attack either against the unity of marriage or against its indissolubility, such as divorce.

The Church also clearly states that marriage, by its nature, must be open to the transmission of human life, when Providence makes it a gift, and in any case respectful of it from conception. Such is the sublime procreative mission entrusted by God to spouses; it entails, together with a very high responsibility, an excellent dignity guaranteed by God himself.

Even with regards to school, it is necessary to offer the young person, that is, the citizen of tomorrow, an education that takes into account those sublime truths which, already honored by their fathers, offer a sure and exhaustive answer to the great questions of the human heart, freeing it from coils of anguish and desperation, and also offering him the sense of the usefulness of pain and the tiring earthly journey.

5. Dear San Marino people, your Community must remain faithful to the ideal heritage built over the centuries on the impulse of its Founder.

It is increasingly necessary, precisely to oppose the current threats to freedom, to form consciences according to a Christian morality that is not superficial and external, such as that which Christ rejects with very strong words in today's Gospel (cf. Mt 7, 21-23), but built on respect for one's own freedom and that of others and above all on respect for the sacred Will of God, who is the Creator and Giver of Freedom. This requires wise austerity of life and fidelity in prayer, especially in community Eucharistic prayer.

May the future of San Marino be built on such terrain!

I hope for God's blessing on your journey today and tomorrow and I commend you all to the Lord and the greatness of his grace, during this Eucharistic celebration, "so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" ( Eph 3:19). Amen!
 

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