NEW YORK, APRIL 19, 2008 - Here is
the homily Benedict XVI gave today during a Mass he said
in St. Patrick's Cathedral for clergy and religious.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
With great affection in the Lord, I greet all of you,
who represent the Bishops, priests and deacons, the men
and women in consecrated life, and the seminarians of
the United States. I thank Cardinal Egan for his warm
welcome and the good wishes which he has expressed in
your name as I begin the fourth year of my papal
ministry. I am happy to celebrate this Mass with you,
who have been chosen by the Lord, who have answered his
call, and who devote your lives to the pursuit of
holiness, the spread of the Gospel and the building up
of the Church in faith, hope and love.
Gathered as we are in this historic cathedral, how can
we not think of the countless men and women who have
gone before us, who labored for the growth of the Church
in the United States, and left us a lasting legacy of
faith and good works? In today’s first reading we saw
how, in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles went
forth from the Upper Room to proclaim God’s mighty works
to people of every nation and tongue. In this country,
the Church’s mission has always involved drawing people
"from every nation under heaven" (cf. Acts 2:5) into
spiritual unity, and enriching the Body of Christ by the
variety of their gifts. As we give thanks for past
blessings, and look to the challenges of the future, let
us implore from God the grace of a new Pentecost for the
Church in America. May tongues of fire, combining
burning love of God and neighbor with zeal for the
spread of Christ’s Kingdom, descend on all present!
In this morning’s second reading, Saint Paul reminds us
that spiritual unity -- the unity which reconciles and
enriches diversity -- has its origin and supreme model
in the life of the triune God. As a communion of pure
love and infinite freedom, the Blessed Trinity
constantly brings forth new life in the work of creation
and redemption. The Church, as "a people made one by the
unity of the Father, the Son and the Spirit" (cf. Lumen
Gentium, 4), is called to proclaim the gift of life, to
serve life, and to promote a culture of life. Here in
this cathedral, our thoughts turn naturally to the
heroic witness to the Gospel of life borne by the late
Cardinals Cooke and O’Connor. The proclamation of life,
life in abundance, must be the heart of the new
evangelization. For true life -- our salvation -- can
only be found in the reconciliation, freedom and love
which are God’s gracious gift.
This is the message of hope we are called to proclaim
and embody in a world where self-centeredness, greed,
violence, and cynicism so often seem to choke the
fragile growth of grace in people’s hearts. Saint
Irenaeus, with great insight, understood that the
command which Moses enjoined upon the people of Israel:
"Choose life!" (Dt 30:19) was the ultimate reason for
our obedience to all God’s commandments (cf. Adv. Haer.
IV, 16, 2-5). Perhaps we have lost sight of this: in a
society where the Church seems legalistic and
"institutional" to many people, our most urgent
challenge is to communicate the joy born of faith and
the experience of God’s love.
I am particularly happy that we have gathered in Saint
Patrick’s Cathedral. Perhaps more than any other church
in the United States, this place is known and loved as
"a house of prayer for all peoples" (cf. Is 56:7; Mk
11:17). Each day thousands of men, women and children
enter its doors and find peace within its walls.
Archbishop John Hughes, who -- as Cardinal Egan has
reminded us -- was responsible for building this
venerable edifice, wished it to rise in pure Gothic
style. He wanted this cathedral to remind the young
Church in America of the great spiritual tradition to
which it was heir, and to inspire it to bring the best
of that heritage to the building up of Christ’s body in
this land. I would like to draw your attention to a few
aspects of this beautiful structure which I think can
serve as a starting point for a reflection on our
particular vocations within the unity of the Mystical
Body.
The first has to do with the stained glass windows,
which flood the interior with mystic light. From the
outside, those windows are dark, heavy, even dreary. But
once one enters the church, they suddenly come alive;
reflecting the light passing through them, they reveal
all their splendor. Many writers -- here in America we
can think of Nathaniel Hawthorne -- have used the image
of stained glass to illustrate the mystery of the Church
herself. It is only from the inside, from the experience
of faith and ecclesial life, that we see the Church as
she truly is: flooded with grace, resplendent in beauty,
adorned by the manifold gifts of the Spirit. It follows
that we, who live the life of grace within the Church’s
communion, are called to draw all people into this
mystery of light.
This is no easy task in a world which can tend to look
at the Church, like those stained glass windows, "from
the outside": a world which deeply senses a need for
spirituality, yet finds it difficult to "enter into" the
mystery of the Church. Even for those of us within, the
light of faith can be dimmed by routine, and the
splendor of the Church obscured by the sins and
weaknesses of her members. It can be dimmed too, by the
obstacles encountered in a society which sometimes seems
to have forgotten God and to resent even the most
elementary demands of Christian morality. You, who have
devoted your lives to bearing witness to the love of
Christ and the building up of his Body, know from your
daily contact with the world around us how tempting it
is at times to give way to frustration, disappointment
and even pessimism about the future. In a word, it is
not always easy to see the light of the Spirit all about
us, the splendor of the Risen Lord illuminating our
lives and instilling renewed hope in his victory over
the world (cf. Jn 16:33).
Yet the word of God reminds us that, in faith, we see
the heavens opened, and the grace of the Holy Spirit
lighting up the Church and bringing sure hope to our
world. "O Lord, my God," the Psalmist sings, "when you
send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew
the face of the earth" (Ps 104:30). These words evoke
the first creation, when the Spirit of God hovered over
the deep (cf. Gen 1:2). And they look forward to the new
creation, at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended
upon the Apostles and established the Church as the
first fruits of a redeemed humanity (cf. Jn 20:22-23).
These words summon us to ever deeper faith in God’s
infinite power to transform every human situation, to
create life from death, and to light up even the darkest
night. And they make us think of another magnificent
phrase of Saint Irenaeus: "where the Church is, there is
the Spirit of God; where the Spirit of God is, there is
the Church and all grace" (Adv. Haer. III, 24, 1).
This leads me to a further reflection about the
architecture of this church. Like all Gothic cathedrals,
it is a highly complex structure, whose exact and
harmonious proportions symbolize the unity of God’s
creation. Medieval artists often portrayed Christ, the
creative Word of God, as a heavenly "geometer", compass
in hand, who orders the cosmos with infinite wisdom and
purpose. Does this not bring to mind our need to see all
things with the eyes of faith, and thus to grasp them in
their truest perspective, in the unity of God’s eternal
plan? This requires, as we know, constant conversion,
and a commitment to acquiring "a fresh, spiritual way of
thinking" (cf. Eph 4:23). It also calls for the
cultivation of those virtues which enable each of us to
grow in holiness and to bear spiritual fruit within our
particular state of life. Is not this ongoing
"intellectual" conversion as necessary as "moral"
conversion for our own growth in faith, our discernment
of the signs of the times, and our personal contribution
to the Church’s life and mission?
For all of us, I think, one of the great disappointments
which followed the Second Vatican Council, with its call
for a greater engagement in the Church’s mission to the
world, has been the experience of division between
different groups, different generations, different
members of the same religious family. We can only move
forward if we turn our gaze together to Christ! In the
light of faith, we will then discover the wisdom and
strength needed to open ourselves to points of view
which may not necessarily conform to our own ideas or
assumptions. Thus we can value the perspectives of
others, be they younger or older than ourselves, and
ultimately hear "what the Spirit is saying" to us and to
the Church (cf. Rev 2:7). In this way, we will move
together towards that true spiritual renewal desired by
the Council, a renewal which can only strengthen the
Church in that holiness and unity indispensable for the
effective proclamation of the Gospel in today’s world.
Was not this unity of vision and purpose -- rooted in
faith and a spirit of constant conversion and
self-sacrifice -- the secret of the impressive growth of
the Church in this country? We need but think of the
remarkable accomplishment of that exemplary American
priest, the Venerable Michael McGivney, whose vision and
zeal led to the establishment of the Knights of
Columbus, or of the legacy of the generations of
religious and priests who quietly devoted their lives to
serving the People of God in countless schools,
hospitals and parishes.
Here, within the context of our need for the perspective
given by faith, and for unity and cooperation in the
work of building up the Church, I would like say a word
about the sexual abuse that has caused so much
suffering. I have already had occasion to speak of this,
and of the resulting damage to the community of the
faithful. Here I simply wish to assure you, dear priests
and religious, of my spiritual closeness as you strive
to respond with Christian hope to the continuing
challenges that this situation presents. I join you in
praying that this will be a time of purification for
each and every particular Church and religious
community, and a time for healing. I also encourage you
to cooperate with your Bishops who continue to work
effectively to resolve this issue. May our Lord Jesus
Christ grant the Church in America a renewed sense of
unity and purpose, as all -- Bishops, clergy, religious
and laity -- move forward in hope, in love for the truth
and for one another.
Dear friends, these considerations lead me to a final
observation about this great cathedral in which we find
ourselves. The unity of a Gothic cathedral, we know, is
not the static unity of a classical temple, but a unity
born of the dynamic tension of diverse forces which
impel the architecture upward, pointing it to heaven.
Here too, we can see a symbol of the Church’s unity,
which is the unity -- as Saint Paul has told us -- of a
living body composed of many different members, each
with its own role and purpose. Here too we see our need
to acknowledge and reverence the gifts of each and every
member of the body as "manifestations of the Spirit
given for the good of all" (1 Cor 12:7). Certainly
within the Church’s divinely-willed structure there is a
distinction to be made between hierarchical and
charismatic gifts (cf. Lumen Gentium, 4). Yet the very
variety and richness of the graces bestowed by the
Spirit invite us constantly to discern how these gifts
are to be rightly ordered in the service of the Church’s
mission. You, dear priests, by sacramental ordination
have been configured to Christ, the Head of the Body.
You, dear deacons, have been ordained for the service of
that Body.
You, dear men and women religious, both contemplative
and apostolic, have devoted your lives to following the
divine Master in generous love and complete devotion to
his Gospel. All of you, who fill this cathedral today,
as wells as your retired, elderly and infirm brothers
and sisters, who unite their prayers and sacrifices to
your labors, are called to be forces of unity within
Christ’s Body. By your personal witness, and your
fidelity to the ministry or apostolate entrusted to you,
you prepare a path for the Spirit. For the Spirit never
ceases to pour out his abundant gifts, to awaken new
vocations and missions, and to guide the Church, as our
Lord promised in this morning’s Gospel, into the
fullness of truth (cf. Jn 16:13).
So let us lift our gaze upward! And with great humility
and confidence, let us ask the Spirit to enable us each
day to grow in the holiness that will make us living
stones in the temple which he is even now raising up in
the midst of our world. If we are to be true forces of
unity, let us be the first to seek inner reconciliation
through penance. Let us forgive the wrongs we have
suffered and put aside all anger and contention. Let us
be the first to demonstrate the humility and purity of
heart which are required to approach the splendor of
God’s truth. In fidelity to the deposit of faith
entrusted to the Apostles (cf. 1 Tim 6:20), let us be
joyful witnesses of the transforming power of the
Gospel!
Dear brothers and sisters, in the finest traditions of
the Church in this country, may you also be the first
friend of the poor, the homeless, the stranger, the sick
and all who suffer. Act as beacons of hope, casting the
light of Christ upon the world, and encouraging young
people to discover the beauty of a life given completely
to the Lord and his Church. I make this plea in a
particular way to the many seminarians and young
religious present. All of you have a special place in my
heart. Never forget that you are called to carry on,
with all the enthusiasm and joy that the Spirit has
given you, a work that others have begun, a legacy that
one day you too will have to pass on to a new
generation. Work generously and joyfully, for he whom
you serve is the Lord!
The spires of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral are dwarfed by
the skyscrapers of the Manhattan skyline, yet in the
heart of this busy metropolis, they are a vivid reminder
of the constant yearning of the human spirit to rise to
God. As we celebrate this Eucharist, let us thank the
Lord for allowing us to know him in the communion of the
Church, to cooperate in building up his Mystical Body,
and in bringing his saving word as good news to the men
and women of our time. And when we leave this great
church, let us go forth as heralds of hope in the midst
of this city, and all those places where God’s grace has
placed us. In this way, the Church in America will know
a new springtime in the Spirit, and point the way to
that other, greater city, the new Jerusalem, whose light
is the Lamb (Rev 21:23). For there God is even now
preparing for all people a banquet of unending joy and
life. Amen.
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Pope's Homily During Mass at St. Patrick's
"Communicate the Joy Born of Faith and the Experience of God’s Love"