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HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS
BENEDICT XVI
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
Fifth Sunday of Easter, 20 April 2008
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In the Gospel we have just heard, Jesus tells his Apostles to put
their faith in him, for he is “the way, and the truth and the life”
(Jn 14:6). Christ is the way that leads to the Father, the truth
which gives meaning to human existence, and the source of that life
which is eternal joy with all the saints in his heavenly Kingdom.
Let us take the Lord at his word! Let us renew our faith in him and
put all our hope in his promises!
With this encouragement to persevere in the faith of Peter (cf. Lk
22:32; Mt 16:17), I greet all of you with great affection. I thank
Cardinal Egan for his cordial words of welcome in your name. At this
Mass, the Church in the United States celebrates the two hundredth
anniversary of the creation of the Sees of New York, Boston,
Philadelphia and Louisville from the mother See of Baltimore. The
presence around this altar of the Successor of Peter, his brother
bishops and priests, and deacons, men and women religious, and lay
faithful from throughout the fifty states of the Union, eloquently
manifests our communion in the Catholic faith which comes to us from
the Apostles.
Our celebration today is also a sign of the impressive growth which
God has given to the Church in your country in the past two hundred
years. From a small flock like that described in the first reading,
the Church in America has been built up in fidelity to the twin
commandment of love of God and love of neighbor. In this land of
freedom and opportunity, the Church has united a widely diverse
flock in the profession of the faith and, through her many
educational, charitable and social works, has also contributed
significantly to the growth of American society as a whole.
This great accomplishment was not without its challenges. Today’s
first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, speaks of
linguistic and cultural tensions already present within the earliest
Church community. At the same time, it shows the power of the word
of God, authoritatively proclaimed by the Apostles and received in
faith, to create a unity which transcends the divisions arising from
human limitations and weakness. Here we are reminded of a
fundamental truth: that the Church’s unity has no other basis than
the Word of God, made flesh in Christ Jesus our Lord. All external
signs of identity, all structures, associations and programs,
valuable or even essential as they may be, ultimately exist only to
support and foster the deeper unity which, in Christ, is God’s
indefectible gift to his Church.
The first reading also makes clear, as we see from the imposition of
hands on the first deacons, that the Church’s unity is “apostolic”.
It is a visible unity, grounded in the Apostles whom Christ chose
and appointed as witnesses to his resurrection, and it is born of
what the Scriptures call “the obedience of faith” (Rom 1:5; cf. Acts
6:7).
“Authority” … “obedience”. To be frank, these are not easy words to
speak nowadays. Words like these represent a “stumbling stone” for
many of our contemporaries, especially in a society which rightly
places a high value on personal freedom. Yet, in the light of our
faith in Jesus Christ – “the way and the truth and the life” – we
come to see the fullest meaning, value, and indeed beauty, of those
words. The Gospel teaches us that true freedom, the freedom of the
children of God, is found only in the self-surrender which is part
of the mystery of love. Only by losing ourselves, the Lord tells us,
do we truly find ourselves (cf. Lk 17:33). True freedom blossoms
when we turn away from the burden of sin, which clouds our
perceptions and weakens our resolve, and find the source of our
ultimate happiness in him who is infinite love, infinite freedom,
infinite life. “In his will is our peace”.
Real freedom, then, is God’s gracious gift, the fruit of conversion
to his truth, the truth which makes us free (cf. Jn 8:32). And this
freedom in truth brings in its wake a new and liberating way of
seeing reality. When we put on “the mind of Christ” (cf. Phil 2:5),
new horizons open before us! In the light of faith, within the
communion of the Church, we also find the inspiration and strength
to become a leaven of the Gospel in the world. We become the light
of the world, the salt of the earth (cf. Mt 5:13-14), entrusted with
the “apostolate” of making our own lives, and the world in which we
live, conform ever more fully to God’s saving plan.
This magnificent vision of a world being transformed by the
liberating truth of the Gospel is reflected in the description of
the Church found in today’s second reading. The Apostle tells us
that Christ, risen from the dead, is the keystone of a great temple
which is even now rising in the Spirit. And we, the members of his
body, through Baptism have become “living stones” in that temple,
sharing in the life of God by grace, blessed with the freedom of the
sons of God, and empowered to offer spiritual sacrifices pleasing to
him (cf. 1 Pet 2:5). And what is this offering which we are called
to make, if not to direct our every thought, word and action to the
truth of the Gospel and to harness all our energies in the service
of God’s Kingdom? Only in this way can we build with God, on the one
foundation which is Christ (cf. 1 Cor 3:11). Only in this way can we
build something that will truly endure. Only in this way can our
lives find ultimate meaning and bear lasting fruit.
Today we recall the bicentennial of a watershed in the history of
the Church in the United States: its first great chapter of growth.
In these two hundred years, the face of the Catholic community in
your country has changed greatly. We think of the successive waves
of immigrants whose traditions have so enriched the Church in
America. We think of the strong faith which built up the network of
churches, educational, healthcare and social institutions which have
long been the hallmark of the Church in this land. We think also of
those countless fathers and mothers who passed on the faith to their
children, the steady ministry of the many priests who devoted their
lives to the care of souls, and the incalculable contribution made
by so many men and women religious, who not only taught generations
of children how to read and write, but also inspired in them a
lifelong desire to know God, to love him and to serve him. How many
“spiritual sacrifices pleasing to God” have been offered up in these
two centuries! In this land of religious liberty, Catholics found
freedom not only to practice their faith, but also to participate
fully in civic life, bringing their deepest moral convictions to the
public square and cooperating with their neighbors in shaping a
vibrant, democratic society. Today’s celebration is more than an
occasion of gratitude for graces received. It is also a summons to
move forward with firm resolve to use wisely the blessings of
freedom, in order to build a future of hope for coming generations.
“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
he claims for his own, to proclaim his glorious works” (1 Pet 2:9).
These words of the Apostle Peter do not simply remind us of the
dignity which is ours by God’s grace; they also challenge us to an
ever greater fidelity to the glorious inheritance which we have
received in Christ (cf. Eph 1:18). They challenge us to examine our
consciences, to purify our hearts, to renew our baptismal commitment
to reject Satan and all his empty promises. They challenge us to be
a people of joy, heralds of the unfailing hope (cf. Rom 5:5) born of
faith in God’s word, and trust in his promises.
Each day, throughout this land, you and so many of your neighbors
pray to the Father in the Lord’s own words: “Thy Kingdom come”. This
prayer needs to shape the mind and heart of every Christian in this
nation. It needs to bear fruit in the way you lead your lives and in
the way you build up your families and your communities. It needs to
create new “settings of hope” (cf. Spe Salvi, 32ff.) where God’s
Kingdom becomes present in all its saving power.
Praying fervently for the coming of the Kingdom also means being
constantly alert for the signs of its presence, and working for its
growth in every sector of society. It means facing the challenges of
present and future with confidence in Christ’s victory and a
commitment to extending his reign. It means not losing heart in the
face of resistance, adversity and scandal. It means overcoming every
separation between faith and life, and countering false gospels of
freedom and happiness. It also means rejecting a false dichotomy
between faith and political life, since, as the Second Vatican
Council put it, “there is no human activity – even in secular
affairs – which can be withdrawn from God’s dominion” (Lumen Gentium,
36). It means working to enrich American society and culture with
the beauty and truth of the Gospel, and never losing sight of that
great hope which gives meaning and value to all the other hopes
which inspire our lives.
And this, dear friends, is the particular challenge which the
Successor of Saint Peter sets before you today. As “a chosen people,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation”, follow faithfully in the
footsteps of those who have gone before you! Hasten the coming of
God’s Kingdom in this land! Past generations have left you an
impressive legacy. In our day too, the Catholic community in this
nation has been outstanding in its prophetic witness in the defense
of life, in the education of the young, in care for the poor, the
sick and the stranger in your midst. On these solid foundations, the
future of the Church in America must even now begin to rise!
Yesterday, not far from here, I was moved by the joy, the hope and
the generous love of Christ which I saw on the faces of the many
young people assembled in Dunwoodie. They are the Church’s future,
and they deserve all the prayer and support that you can give them.
And so I wish to close by adding a special word of encouragement to
them. My dear young friends, like the seven men, “filled with the
Spirit and wisdom” whom the Apostles charged with care for the young
Church, may you step forward and take up the responsibility which
your faith in Christ sets before you! May you find the courage to
proclaim Christ, “the same, yesterday, and today and for ever” and
the unchanging truths which have their foundation in him (cf.
Gaudium et Spes, 10; Heb 13:8). These are the truths that set us
free! They are the truths which alone can guarantee respect for the
inalienable dignity and rights of each man, woman and child in our
world – including the most defenseless of all human beings, the
unborn child in the mother’s womb. In a world where, as Pope John
Paul II, speaking in this very place, reminded us, Lazarus continues
to stand at our door (Homily at Yankee Stadium, October 2, 1979, No.
7), let your faith and love bear rich fruit in outreach to the poor,
the needy and those without a voice. Young men and women of America,
I urge you: open your hearts to the Lord’s call to follow him in the
priesthood and the religious life. Can there be any greater mark of
love than this: to follow in the footsteps of Christ, who was
willing to lay down his life for his friends (cf. Jn 15:13)?
In today’s Gospel, the Lord promises his disciples that they will
perform works even greater than his (cf. Jn 14:12). Dear friends,
only God in his providence knows what works his grace has yet to
bring forth in your lives and in the life of the Church in the
United States. Yet Christ’s promise fills us with sure hope. Let us
now join our prayers to his, as living stones in that spiritual
temple which is his one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Let us
lift our eyes to him, for even now he is preparing for us a place in
his Father’s house. And empowered by his Holy Spirit, let us work
with renewed zeal for the spread of his Kingdom.
“Happy are you who believe!” (cf. 1 Pet 2:7). Let us turn to Jesus!
He alone is the way that leads to eternal happiness, the truth who
satisfies the deepest longings of every heart, and the life who
brings ever new joy and hope, to us and to our world. Amen.
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