NEW YORK, APRIL 20, 2008 - Here is
the homily delivered by Benedict XVI today during the
Mass he celebrated today in Yankee's Stadium on the last
day of his U.S. trip.
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.
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Benedict XVI's Homily at Yankee's Stadium
"Look to the Future With Hope"