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Saint Vincent de Paul
Roman Catholic Church
979 Avenue C -
Bayonne, New Jersey 07002
(201) 436-2222 Fax:(201) 437-5235
Founded 1894
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[Pope Benedict XVI]
  Pope
Benedict XVI
Apostolic Journey to the United States
April 15 - 20, 2008
Prepared text as released by the Vatican of
Pope Benedict's homily Saturday morning, April 19, 2008, during Mass in
St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City with 3,000 priests, deacons and
Religious men and women:
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. |