BENEDICT XVI: LIVING LENT IN ECCLESIAL COMMUNION OVERCOMING SELFISHNESS AND RIVALRIES

Vatican City, 14 February 2013 (VIS) – Yesterday at 5:00pm, the Holy Father presided over the rite of blessing and imposition of ashes. Traditionally, the celebration is held in the Roman Basilica of Santa Sabina but, given the large influx of persons and the desire of the cardinals and bishops of the Roman Curia to accompany the Pope in the final acts of his pontificate, it was moved to St. Peter's Basilica. Before the ceremony, Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., address a brief greeting to the pontiff, expressing the "emotion and respect not only of the Church, but of the entire world" for Benedict XVI on the news of his decision to renounce the Petrine ministry. Following are ample excerpts from the Holy Father's homily.

"Today, Ash Wednesday, … we have gathered to celebrate the Eucharist following the ancient Roman tradition of Lenten station Masses. This tradition calls for the first 'statio' Mass to take place in the Basilica of Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill. Circumstances, however, have suggested that we gather in the Vatican Basilica. We are great in number around the tomb of the Apostle Peter, also to ask for his intercession for the Church's journey in this particular moment, renewing our faith in the Supreme Pastor, Christ the Lord. For me, this is a opportune occasion to thank everyone, especially the faithful of the Diocese of Rome, as I prepare to conclude my Petrine ministry, and to ask for special remembrance in your prayers."

"The readings that have been proclaimed give us the idea that, with God's grace, we are called to make our attitudes and behaviours take concrete form this Lent. Above all, the Church proposes to us once again, the strong appeal that the prophet Joel addresses to the Israelites: Thus says the Lord: 'return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning'. Note the expression 'with your whole heart', which means from the centre of our thoughts and feelings, from the roots of our decisions, choices, and actions, with a gesture of total and radical freedom. But is this return to God possible? Yes, because there is a strength that doesn't reside in our hearts but that springs from God's own heart. It is the power of His mercy. … This return to God becomes a concrete reality in our lives only when the Lord's grace penetrates to our innermost being, shaking it and giving us the strength to 'rend our hearts'. Again the prophet makes God's words ring out: 'Rend your hearts, not your garments'. Indeed, even in our days, many are ready to 'rend their garments' in the face of scandals and injustice―naturally moved by others' situations―but few seem willing to act on their own 'heart', on their own conscience, and their own intentions, to let the Lord transform, renew, and convert them."

"That 'return to me with your whole heart' then is a reminder that involves not just the individual but the community. In the first reading we have heard: 'Blow the horn in Zion! Proclaim a fast, call an assembly!' … The dimension of community is an essential element in faith and the Christian life. … This is important to remember and to live in this Lenten period: each of us must be aware that the path of penitence is not to be faced alone, but together with our many brothers and sisters in the Church."

"Finally, the prophet focuses on the prayers of the priests who, with tears in their eyes, turn to God saying: 'do not let your heritage become a disgrace, a byword among the nations! Why should they say among the peoples, "Where is their God?"' This prayer makes us reflect on the importance of the witness of faith and the Christian life on the part of each of us and our communities to reveal the face of the Church as well as how this face, at times is disfigured. I'm thinking in particular of the blows to Church unity and the divisions in the ecclesial body. Living Lent in a more intense and evident ecclesial communion, overcoming selfishness and rivalries, is a humble and precious sign for those who are far from the faith or indifferent to it."

"'Behold, now is the time of favour; behold, now is the day of salvation', The Apostle Paul's words to the Christians of Corinth resound for us too, with an urgency that allows for no omissions or inactivity. The word 'now', repeated again and again, says that we cannot let this moment pass us by, it is offered to us as a unique and unrepeatable opportunity. The Apostle's gaze focuses on the sharing that Christ wanted to characterize his existence, taking on everything human even to the point of bearing the very burden of humanity's sin. … The reconciliation offered to us has had a high price, that of the cross raised on Golgotha, on which was hung the Son of God made man. God's immersion in human suffering and in the abyss of evil lies at the root of our justification. 'Returning to God with our whole heart' during our Lenten journey passes through the Cross, following Christ on the road to Calvary, to the total gift of our self. …"

"In the Gospel of Matthew, part of the so-called Sermon on the Mount, Jesus refers to three fundamental practices required by Mosaic Law: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. They are also traditional directives on the Lenten journey to respond to the invitation to 'return to God with our whole heart'. But Jesus emphasizes that it is both the quality and the truth of the relationship with God that determine the authenticity of every religious gesture. This is why He denounces religious hypocrisy, the behaviour that wants to appear a certain way, the attitudes seeking applause and approval. The true disciple doesn't serve himself or the 'public', but serves the Lord in simplicity and generosity. … Our witness, then, will always be more effective the less we seek our own glory and we will know that the reward of the just person is God himself, being united to Him, here, on the path of faith and at the end of our lives, in the peace and light of meeting Him face to face forever."

IN BAPTISM JESUS IS IN SOLIDARITY WITH US

Vatican City, 13 January 2013 (VIS) – This morning in the Sistine Chapel the Holy Father baptised 20 children born in the past few months and children of employees of the Vatican City State.

In his homily the Pope recalled that, once an adult, Jesus began his public ministry by going to the River Jordan to receive a baptism of penitence and conversion from John. "Was Jesus in need of penitence and conversion?" the pontiff asked. "Certainly not. And yet … he wanted to place himself alongside the sinners … expressing God's nearness. … He demonstrates solidarity with us, with the weariness we feel in trying to convert, trying to leave aside our selfishness, trying to tear ourselves away from our sins, in order to tell us that, if we accept Him in our lives, He is capable of lifting us back up and leading us to the height of God the Father. … Jesus truly immersed himself in our human condition … and is capable of understanding our weakness and fragility. This is why He is moved to compassion. He chooses to suffer with human beings, to be penitent along with us. This is God's plan that Jesus wants to accomplish: the divine mission of healing the wounded and tending the sick, of taking upon himself the sin of the world."

Afterwards he explained that, at the moment that Jesus lets himself be baptised by John, "the heavens open and the Holy Spirit is visibly manifest in the form of a dove while a voice from above expresses the Father's pleasure, recognizing His Son, the Only Begotten, the Beloved. … Thus the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled … the Lord God comes with power to destroy the works of sin and his arm exercises dominion to disarm the Evil One. However, we realize that this arm is the arm extended on the cross and that the power of Christ is the power of He who suffers for us. This is the power of God, which is different from the world's power. This is how God comes, with the power to destroy sin."

Through Baptism, the children baptised today "will be united profoundly and for all time with Jesus, immersed in the mystery of His power … in the mystery of his death, which is the source of life, in order to participate in His resurrection, to be reborn to new life … The heavens have also opened over your children and God says: these are my children with whom I am well pleased. Included in this relationship and freed from original sin they become living members of the one body that is the Church and become capable of fully living their call to holiness so that they might inherit the eternal life obtained for us through Jesus' resurrection."

Addressing the parents who had asked for Baptism for their children, the Holy Father highlighted that they show their "faith, the joy of being Christians and of belonging to the Church. It is a joy that springs from the awareness of having received a great gift from God: faith, a gift that none of us could have merited but which has been freely given to us and to which we have responded with our 'yes'. ... The path of faith that begins today for these children is based, therefore, on a certainty, on the experience that there is nothing greater than knowing Christ and communicating friendship with Him to others. Only in this friendship are the great potentialities of the human condition truly revealed and what is beautiful and liberating can be experienced."

He reminded the godparents that to them falls "the important duty of sustaining and helping the parents in their task of educating. … May you always know how to set a good example for them through exercising the Christian virtues. It is not easy to openly and uncompromisingly express that which you believe in, especially in the climate we are living in, faced with a society that often considers those who live their faith in Jesus as old-fashioned and out of date. In the wake of this mentality, even Christians run the risk of seeing their relationship with Jesus as limiting, as something that inhibits self-realization. … But that is not so! It is precisely through proceeding along the path of faith that we come to understand how Jesus exercises the liberating activity of God's love in us, which allows us to overcome our selfishness …. in order to lead us to a full life in communion with God and openness to others. 'God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.' These words from the First Letter of John express with remarkable clarity the heart of the Christian faith: the Christian image of God as well as the resulting image of mankind and its path."

"The water with which these children will be baptised in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, will immerse them in the 'source' of life that is God himself and will make them into His children. The seed of the theological virtues, inspired by God―faith, hope, and love―the seed that is today planted in their hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit, must always be nourished with the Word of God and the Sacraments, so that these Christian virtues might grow and arrive at their full maturity, until they make of each one of these a true witness of the Lord," he concluded.

THE THREE WISE MEN WERE SEEKERS AFTER GOD

Vatican City, 6 January 2013 (VIS) - Today, Sunday the Solemnity of the Lord's Epiphany, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Holy Mass in the Vatican Basilica and conferred episcopal ordination on Angelo Vincenzo Zani, elected titular archbishop of Volturno and named secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education; Fortunato Nwachukwu, elected titular archbishop of Acquaviva and named apostolic nuncio to Nicaragua; Georg Ganswein, private secretary to Benedict XVI, named titular archbishop of Urbisaglia and prefect of the pontifical household; and Nicolas Henry Marie Denis Thevenin, elected titular archbishop of Eclano and named apostolic nuncio to Guatemala. Concelebrating with the Holy Father were Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, SDB, Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, and the four archbishops-elect. The rite of ordination took place after the proclamation of the Gospel and the announcement of the date of Easter, which will be celebrated on 31 March this year.

During the homily the Holy Father spoke of the Three Wise Men, referring to them as "seekers after God", for whom "the truth meant more than the taunts of the world". Speaking about what it means to be a bishop the Pope affirmed that he "must be courageous" and have "the courage to contradict the prevailing mindset".

Below you will find the complete text of Benedict XVI's words:

"For the Church which believes and prays, the Wise Men from the East who, guided by the star, made their way to the manger of Bethlehem, are only the beginning of a great procession which winds throughout history. Thus the liturgy reads the Gospel which relates the journey of the Wise Men, together with the magnificent prophetic visions of the sixtieth chapter of the Book of Isaiah and Psalm 71, which depict in bold imagery the pilgrimage of the peoples to Jerusalem. Like the shepherds, who as the first visitors to the newborn Child in the manger, embodied the poor of Israel and more generally those humble souls who live in deep interior closeness to Jesus, so the men from the East embody the world of the peoples, the Church of the Gentiles – the men and women who in every age set out on the way which leads to the Child of Bethlehem, to offer him homage as the Son of God and to bow down before him. The Church calls this feast “Epiphany” – the appearance of the Godhead. If we consider the fact that from the very beginning men and women of every place, of every continent, of all the different cultures, mentalities and lifestyles, have been on the way to Christ, then we can truly say that this pilgrimage and this encounter with God in the form of a Child is an epiphany of God’s goodness and loving kindness for humanity (cf. Tit 3:4).

Following a tradition begun by Pope John Paul II, we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord also as the day when episcopal ordination will be conferred on four priests who will now cooperate in different ways in the ministry of the Pope for the unity of the one Church of Jesus Christ in the multiplicity of the Particular Churches. The connection between this episcopal ordination and the theme of the pilgrimage of the peoples to Jesus Christ is evident. It is the task of the Bishop in this pilgrimage not merely to walk beside the others, but to go before them, showing the way. But in this liturgy I would like to reflect with you on a more concrete question. Based on the account of Matthew, we can gain a certain idea of what sort of men these were, who followed the sign of the star and set off to find that King who would establish not only for Israel but for all mankind a new kind of kingship. What kind of men were they? And we can also ask whether, despite the difference of times and tasks, we can glimpse in them something of what a Bishop is and how he is to carry out his task.

These men who set out towards the unknown were, in any event, men with a restless heart. Men driven by a restless quest for God and the salvation of the world. They were filled with expectation, not satisfied with their secure income and their respectable place in society. They were looking for something greater. They were no doubt learned men, quite knowledgeable about the heavens and probably possessed of a fine philosophical formation. But they desired more than simply knowledge about things. They wanted above all else to know what is essential. They wanted to know how we succeed in being human. And therefore they wanted to know if God exists, and where and how he exists. Whether he is concerned about us and how we can encounter him. Nor did they want just to know. They wanted to understand the truth about ourselves and about God and the world. Their outward pilgrimage was an expression of their inward journey, the inner pilgrimage of their hearts. They were men who sought God and were ultimately on the way towards him. They were seekers after God.

Here we come to the question: What sort of man must he be, upon whom hands are laid in episcopal ordination in the Church of Jesus Christ? We can say that he must above all be a man concerned for God, for only then will he also be truly concerned about men. Inversely, we could also say that a Bishop must be a man concerned for others, one who is concerned about what happens to them. He must be a man for others. But he can only truly be so if he is a man seized by God, if concern for God has also become for him concern for God’s creature who is man. Like the Wise Men from the East, a Bishop must not be someone who merely does his job and is content with that. No, he must be gripped by God’s concern for men and women. He must in some way think and feel with God. Human beings have an innate restlessness for God, but this restlessness is a participation in God’s own restlessness for us. Since God is concerned about us, he follows us even to the crib, even to the Cross. “Thou with weary steps hast sought me, crucified hast dearly bought me, may thy pains not be in vain”, the Church prays in the Dies Irae. The restlessness of men for God and hence the restlessness of God for men must unsettle the Bishop. This is what we mean when we say that, above all else, the Bishop must be a man of faith. For faith is nothing less than being interiorly seized by God, something which guides us along the pathways of life. Faith draws us into a state of being seized by the restlessness of God and it makes us pilgrims who are on an inner journey towards the true King of the world and his promise of justice, truth and love. On this pilgrimage the Bishop must go ahead, he must be the guide pointing out to men and women the way to faith, hope and love.

Faith’s inner pilgrimage towards God occurs above all in prayer. Saint Augustine once said that prayer is ultimately nothing more than the realization and radicalization of our yearning for God. Instead of “yearning”, we could also translate the word as “restlessness” and say that prayer would detach us from our false security, from our being enclosed within material and visible realities, and would give us a restlessness for God and thus an openness to and concern for one another. The Bishop, as a pilgrim of God, must be above all a man of prayer. He must live be in constant inner contact with God; his soul must be open wide to God. He must bring before God his own needs and the needs of others, as well as his joys and the joys of others, and thus in his own way establish contact between God and the world in communion with Christ, so that Christ’s light can shine in the world.

Let us return to the Wise Men from the East. These were also, and above all, men of courage, the courage and humility born of faith. Courage was needed to grasp the meaning of the star as a sign to set out, to go forth – towards the unknown, the uncertain, on paths filled with hidden dangers. We can imagine that their decision was met with derision: the scorn of those realists who could only mock the reveries of such men. Anyone who took off on the basis of such uncertain promises, risking everything, could only appear ridiculous. But for these men, inwardly seized by God, the way which he pointed out was more important than what other people thought. For them, seeking the truth meant more than the taunts of the world, so apparently clever.

How can we not think, in this context, of the task of a Bishop in our own time? The humility of faith, of sharing the faith of the Church of every age, will constantly be in conflict with the prevailing wisdom of those who cling to what seems certain. Anyone who lives and proclaims the faith of the Church is on many points out of step with the prevalent way of thinking, even in our own day. Today’s regnant agnosticism has its own dogmas and is extremely intolerant regarding anything that would question it and the criteria it employs. Therefore the courage to contradict the prevailing mindset is particularly urgent for a Bishop today. He must be courageous. And this courage or forcefulness does not consist in striking out or in acting aggressively, but rather in allowing oneself to be struck and to be steadfast before the principles of the prevalent way of thinking. The courage to stand firm in the truth is unavoidably demanded of those whom the Lord sends like sheep among wolves. “Those who fear the Lord will not be timid”, says the Book of Sirach (34:16). The fear of God frees us from the fear of men. It liberates.

Here I am reminded of an episode at the very beginning of Christianity which Saint Luke recounts in the Acts of the Apostles. After the speech of Gamaliel, who advised against violence in dealing with the earliest community of believers in Jesus, the Sanhedrin summoned the Apostles and had them flogged. It then forbade them from preaching in the name of Jesus and set them free. Saint Luke continues: “As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonour for the name of Jesus. And every day… they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah” (Acts 5:40ff.). The successors of the Apostles must also expect to be repeatedly beaten, by contemporary methods, if they continue to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that can be heard and understood. Then they can rejoice that they have been considered worthy of suffering for him. Like the Apostles, we naturally want to convince people and in this sense to obtain their approval. Naturally, we are not provocative; on the contrary we invite all to enter into the joy of that truth which shows us the way. The approval of the prevailing wisdom, however, is not the criterion to which we submit. Our criterion is the Lord himself. If we defend his cause, we will constantly gain others to the way of the Gospel. But, inevitably, we will also be beaten by those who live lives opposed to the Gospel, and then we can be grateful for having been judged worthy to share in the passion of Christ.

The Wise Men followed the star, and thus came to Jesus, to the great Light which enlightens everyone coming into this world (cf. Jn 1:9). As pilgrims of faith, the Wise Men themselves became stars shining in the firmament of history and they show us the way. The saints are God’s true constellations, which light up the nights of this world, serving as our guides. Saint Paul, in his Letter to the Philippians, told his faithful that they must shine like stars in the world (cf. 2:15).

Dear friends, this holds true for us too. It holds true above all for you who are now to be ordained Bishops of the Church of Jesus Christ. If you live with Christ, bound to him anew in this sacrament, then you too will become wise men. Then you will become stars which go before men and women, pointing out to them the right path in life. All of us here are now praying for you, that the Lord may fill you with the light of faith and love. That that restlessness of God for man may seize you, so that all may experience his closeness and receive the gift of his joy. We are praying for you, that the Lord may always grant you the courage and humility of faith. We ask Mary, who showed to the Wise Men the new King of the world (cf. Mt 2:11), as a loving mother, to show Jesus Christ also to you and to help you to be guides along the way which leads to him. Amen".