By Pope Benedict XVI

Christ the Light Makes Unity Possible

Dear Brothers and Sisters

I welcome you with joy and I thank you for coming. I greet each one of you and through you I greet the Bishops' Conferences, Communities and Ecumenical Institutions of Europe. I extend a special greeting to the Presidents of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences and of the Conference of European Churches and I thank them for expressing your fraternal sentiments

Your visit is a further opportunity to shed light on the ties of communion that bind us in Christ and to renew our desire to work together to achieve full unity as soon as possible.

Next Assembly in Romania
I am especially pleased to meet you once again today, after taking part yesterday in the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in St Paul's Basilica. You have desired to set out on the European ecumenical pilgrimage, which will culminate in the meeting at Sìbiu, Romania, in September 2007, from this very spot: Rome, where the Apostles Peter and Paul preached and were martyred. This is all the more significant because the Apostles first proclaimed to us that Gospel which we are called as Christians to proclaim and witness to in Europe today.

In order to make this proclamation more effective, we wish to continue our courageous journey in search of full communion. The theme you have chosen for this spiritual programme - "The light of Christ enlightens all: The hope of renewal and unity in Europe" - demonstrates that this is Europe's true priority: to work to make Christ's light radiate and illuminate with renewed energy the steps of the European Continent at the beginning of the new Millennium.

I hope that Christ's light will illuminate every stage of this pilgrimage and that the next European Ecumenical Assembly will help make the Christians of our countries more aware of their duty to witness to the faith in today's cultural context, often marked by relativism and indifference. This is an indispensable service to offer to the European Community which has extended its frontiers in recent years.

The Christian roots of Europe
Indeed, for the success of the unification process on which it has embarked, Europe needs to rediscover its Christian roots, making room for the ethical values that are part of its vast, consolidated spiritual heritage. As disciples of Christ, it is our lot to help Europe become aware of this special responsibility in connection with its peoples. Only if we have the courage and determination, however, to take the path of reconciliation and unity will our Christian presence be incisive and enlightening.

The question that my beloved Predecessor John Paul II asked himself in his Homily at the Ecumenical Celebration for the First Special Assembly for Europe of the Synod of Bishops on 7 December 1991 is alive in my mind: "In a Europe which is proceeding towards political unity can we accept that the very Church of Christ is a factor of division and discord? Would this not be one of the greatest scandals of our time?" (L'Osservatore Romano English edition, 9 December 1991, n. 6, pp. 1-2).

How important it is to find in Christ the light to make headway on the path to unity! This effort is demanded of us all, dear representatives of the Churches and Ecclesial Communities of Europe, because we all have a specific responsibility for the ecumenical progress of Christians on our Continent and in the rest of the world.

After the fall of the Wall that divided the countries of East and West in Europe, the encounter between peoples is easier; there are more opportunities to increase our reciprocal knowledge and esteem with an enriching mutual exchange of gifts; and we feel the need to join forces to face the great challenges of the present day, starting with those of modernity and secularization.

Experience amply shows that sincere, brotherly dialogue generates trust, eliminates fear and preconceived notions, dissolves difficulties and opens people to serene and constructive comparison.

Dear friends, for my part I renew here the determination I expressed at the beginning of my Pontificate to take on as a priority commitment and to spare no effort in the task of rebuilding the full and visible unity of all Christ's followers.

I thank you again for your welcome visit and I ask God to accompany with his Spirit your preparations for the next European Ecumenical Assembly in Sìbiu.

May the Lord bless your families, Communities and Churches, and all those in every region of Europe who proclaim themselves to be disciples of Christ.

Your People Need Bishops of Charity, Humility, Simplicity of Life

Your Eminence,
Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,

I am pleased to offer you my fraternal greetings at the time when you are making your visit ad limina Apostolorum. In coming to strengthen the bonds of communion with the Bishop of Rome and thereby with the entire Episcopal College, you wish to show your attachment, and that of all your faithful, to the Successor of Peter. I hope that your common prayer at the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul and your meetings with the Roman Curia will bring you joy and comfort in your ministry and give you new enthusiasm.

I greet with affection the Pastors and faithful of the Ecclesiastical Provinces of Kinshasa, Mbandaka-Bikoro and Kananga, in which you are responsible for building up the Body of Christ and guiding the People of God. At a time when Catholics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo along with all people of good will are preparing to live events important to their Nation's future, I would like to express my spiritual closeness to you, raising to the Lord a fervent prayer that they may persevere with firm hope in building peace and brotherhood!

In recent years your Country has lived through lethal conflicts leaving deep scars in peoples' memories. During this tragedy that especially affected the eastern part of your Country, you did not fail to deplore the extortions committed by using strongly-worded messages, calling on local leaders to demonstrate responsibility and courage so that the peoples might live in peace and security.

I encourage the Bishops' Conference to make a unanimous and daring effort to remain vigilant in order to guide the progress underway.

Synod to build solidarity
Important periods of ecclesial life have marked these years. You recalled, Your Eminence, the Great Jubilee of the Incarnation. You also mentioned the year 2005, in which the 10th anniversary of the publication of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Africa was celebrated. In convoking this Assembly, Pope John Paul II desired to foster an organic pastoral solidarity throughout the African Continent, so that the Church might bring a credible message of faith, hope and charity to all people of good will for a new missionary impetus in the particular Churches.
At a time when some Dioceses are celebrating the centenary of their evangelization, I hope that each one of you will make the effort to stress the centrality of the Gospel and in so doing, the pastoral consequences for the life of the local communities, in order to renew the apostolic zeal of pastors and faithful so that moral, spiritual and material reconstruction will unite communities in a single family, as a sign of brotherhood for your contemporaries.

The Church carries out her prophetic mission of proclaiming the Gospel with courage and enthusiasm, paying ever greater attention to the call of the Spirit and in ever closer intimacy with Christ. This mission, to which the Risen Lord calls his disciples who cannot shirk it, is yours in a special way, dear Brothers in the Episcopate, because "the Bishop's work of evangelization, aimed at leading men and women to faith or to strengthening the faith within them, is an outstanding manifestation of his spiritual fatherhood" (Pastores Gregis, n. 26).

Evangelize by your way of life
I therefore encourage you, by your example and the transparency of your life closely united to Christ, to proclaim Christ's Gospel tirelessly and to allow yourselves to be renewed by him, remembering that the Church lives on the Gospel, never ceasing to find in it directions for her journey.

Only if each one of the faithful allows his or her personal and community life to be joined to the Word of Christ, who asks for a personal and adult response of faith through authentic and lasting conversion with a view to social fruitfulness and brotherhood among all, can the Gospel profoundly illumine their consciences and transform cultures from within. May your charity, humility and simplicity of life also be a stimulating witness for your priests and faithful, so that they may all progress in truth on the path of holiness.

You emphasize the need to bring about an in-depth evangelization of the faithful. The living Ecclesial Communities, present in every corner of your Dioceses, clearly reflect this local evangelization; it makes the faithful ever more mature in their faith, in a spirit of evangelical brotherhood which encourages all of them to try to think together about the various aspects of ecclesial life, especially prayer, evangelization, attention to the poorest people and the self-funding of parishes.

These communities are also a valuable defence against the attack of the sects, which exploit the gullibility of the faithful and lead them astray by proposing a false vision of salvation and of the

In this perspective I encourage you to be extremely careful about the quality of the continuing formation of community leaders, especially catechists, whose devotion and ecclesial spirit I praise, and to ensure that they possess the spiritual, intellectual and material conditions that enable them to carry out as well as possible their mission under their Pastors' responsibility.

Be very careful also that these living Ecclesial Communities are truly missionary, not only eager to welcome Christ's Gospel, but also to bear witness to it to others. Nourished by Christ's Word and by the Sacraments of the Church, the faithful will find the necessary joy and strength for a courageous witness of Christian hope.

Especially in these times which are particularly crucial for your Country, may you remind the lay faithful of the urgent need for them to take on the renewal of the temporal order, calling them "to bring to bear upon the social fabric an influence aimed at changing not only ways of thinking but also the very structures of society, so that they will better reflect God's plan for the human family" (Ecclesia in Africa, n. 54).

Show closeness to your priests
My thoughts turn affectionately to all your priests, diocesan priests and those who belong to religious institutes, collaborators of the order of Bishops established by Christ as ministers at the service of the People of God and all people.

I am aware of the difficult conditions in which many of them exercise their mission. I thank them for their often heroic service with a view to the spiritual growth of their communities. Show them your closeness by your permanent presence in your Dioceses. Also develop your capacity for trusting dialogue with them, making yourselves attentive to their human, intellectual and spiritual growth, so that, through the search for holiness in the exercise of their ministry itself, they may be authentic educators in the faith and models of charity for the faithful.

It is also your task to urge your priests to strive for excellence in their spiritual and moral life. In particular, you should remind them of the unique bond that links the priest to Christ. Its depth and vitality are expressed by priestly celibacy lived in perfect chastity. You should also see to their continuing formation so that they may penetrate ever more deeply into the mystery of Christ. May they enlighten the conscience of the faithful and build solid missionary communities rooted in and centred on the Eucharist, at which they preside in Christ's Name. "All priests share with the Bishops the one identical priesthood and ministry of Christ. Consequently, the very unity of their consecration and mission requires their hierarchical union with the order of Bishops" (Presbyterorum Ordinis, n. 7).

In this perspective, I also encourage you to develop increasingly the bonds of communion in the heart of your diocesan presbyterate. As you pointed out in your quinquennial reports, long drawn out conflicts have sometimes had a negative effect on the unity of this presbyterate, encouraging the development of tribalism and power struggles that can be disastrous for building up the Body of Christ and are sources of confusion for the faithful.

I urge each one to rediscover that deep priestly brotherhood which is proper to ordained ministers, in order to achieve the unity that attracts people to Christ. Encourage your priests to help one another to practise fraternal charity, proposing to them in particular certain forms of community life that will help them grow together in holiness, faithful to their vocation and mission and in full communion with you.

It is your task to pay constant attention to the quality of the formation of future priests. I give thanks with you for the generosity of many young men who, having heard Christ's call to serve him as priests in the Church, have been admitted to the seminaries to continue their discernment.
However, it is important - it is a pastoral requirement for the Bishop, the first representative of Christ in priestly formation - that the Church exercise increasingly her grave responsibility in the discernment and guidance of priestly vocations.

Selection of formation staff
This is especially true in the choice of formation teachers, whose demanding work I take this opportunity to praise. Under the rector's authority, the seminary community is built up around them. May their human and spiritual maturity, their love for the Church and their pastoral wisdom help them carry out with justice and dependability the beautiful mission of ascertaining the spiritual, human and intellectual capacities of priesthood candidates.

To conclude, I make my own the remarks through which the Synod Fathers very rightly conveyed what they felt should be fundamental attitudes to be acquired for a fruitful priestly ministry: "There is need to form future priests in the true cultural values of their country, in a sense of honesty, responsibility and integrity... in such a manner that they will [be]... solidly spiritual, ready to serve, dedicated to evangelization, capable of administering the goods of the Church efficiently and openly, and of living a simple life as befits their milieu" (Ecclesia in Africa, n. 95).

Dear Brothers in the Episcopate, at the end of our meeting I invite you to hope. The Good News has been proclaimed in your Land for more than a century.

I thank the Lord for the generous work of all the agents of evangelization, including numerous missionaries who made the implantation and growth of your Church possible. I ask you today to continue courageously the evangelization that your predecessors began.

May God's Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo never lose the joy of believing and of making known the Gospel of Christ the Saviour! May your communities, sustained by the witnesses of faith in your Country, especially Bl. Marie Clémentine Anwarite Nengapeta and Bl. Isidore Bakanja, be the prophetic signs of a humanity renewed by Christ, a humanity set free from resentment and fear.

As I entrust you to the motherly intercession of the Virgin Mary, I very gladly impart an affectionate Apostolic Blessing to you and to all the priests, men and women religious, catechists and faithful of your Dioceses.

'Shine with the Love of Christ, Light of the World'

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today's Feast of Jesus' Presentation at the temple 40 days after his birth places before our eyes a special moment in the life of the Holy Family: Mary and Joseph, in accordance with Mosaic law, took the tiny Jesus to the temple of Jerusalem to offer him to the Lord (cf. Lk 2: 22). Simeon and Anna, inspired by God, recognized that Child as the long-awaited Messiah and prophesied about him. We are in the presence of a mystery, both simple and solemn, in which Holy Church celebrates Christ, the Anointed One of the Father, the firstborn of the new humanity.

The evocative candlelight procession at the beginning of our celebration has made us relive the majestic entrance, as we sang in the Responsorial Psalm, of the One who is "the King of glory", "the Lord, mighty in battle" (Ps 24[23]: 7, 8). But who is the powerful God who enters the temple? It is a Child; it is the Infant Jesus in the arms of his Mother, the Virgin Mary. The Holy Family was complying with what the Law prescribed: the purification of the mother, the offering of the firstborn child to God and his redemption through a sacrifice.

In the First Reading the Liturgy speaks of the oracle of the Prophet Malachi: "The Lord... will suddenly come to his temple" (Mal 3: 1). These words communicated the full intensity of the desire that had given life to the expectation of the Jewish People down the centuries. "The angel of the Covenant" at last entered his house and submitted to the Law: he came to Jerusalem to enter God's house in an attitude of obedience.

Christ unites God and man
The meaning of this act acquires a broader perspective in the passage from the Letter to the Hebrews, proclaimed as the Second Reading today. Christ, the mediator who unites God and man, abolishing distances, eliminating every division and tearing down every wall of separation, is presented to us here.

Christ comes as a new "merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people" (Heb 2: 17). Thus, we note that mediation with God no longer takes place in the holiness-separation of the ancient priesthood, but in liberating solidarity with human beings.

While yet a Child, he sets out on the path of obedience that he was to follow to the very end.
The Letter to the Hebrews highlights this clearly when it says: "In the days of his earthly life Jesus offered up prayers and supplications... to him who was able to save him from death.... Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him" (cf. Heb 5: 7-9).

The first person to be associated with Christ on the path of obedience, proven faith and shared suffering was his Mother, Mary. The Gospel text portrays her in the act of offering her Son: an unconditional offering that involves her in the first person.

Mary is the Mother of the One who is "the glory of [his] people Israel" and a "light for revelation to the Gentiles", but also "a sign that is spoken against" (cf. Lk 2: 32, 34). And in her immaculate soul, she herself was to be pierced by the sword of sorrow, thus showing that her role in the history of salvation did not end in the mystery of the Incarnation but was completed in loving and sorrowful participation in the death and Resurrection of her Son.

Bringing her Son to Jerusalem, the Virgin Mother offered him to God as a true Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. She held him out to Simeon and Anna as the proclamation of redemption; she presented him to all as a light for a safe journey on the path of truth and love.

'The consolation of Israel'
The words that came to the lips of the elderly Simeon: "My eyes have seen your salvation" (Lk 2: 30), are echoed in the heart of the prophetess Anna. These good and devout people, enveloped in Christ's light, were able to see in the Child Jesus "the consolation of Israel" (Lk 2: 25). So it was that their expectation was transformed into a light that illuminates history.

Simeon was the bearer of an ancient hope and the Spirit of the Lord spoke to his heart: for this reason he could contemplate the One whom numerous prophets and kings had desired to see: Christ, light of revelation for the Gentiles.

He recognized that Child as the Saviour, but he foresaw in the Spirit that the destinies of humanity would be played out around him and that he would have to suffer deeply from those who rejected him; he proclaimed the identity and mission of the Messiah with words that form one of the hymns of the newborn Church, radiant with the full communitarian and eschatological exultation of the fulfilment of the expectation of salvation. The enthusiasm was so great that to live and to die were one and the same, and the "light" and "glory" became a universal revelation.

Anna is a "prophetess", a wise and pious woman who interpreted the deep meaning of historical events and of God's message concealed within them. Consequently, she could "give thanks to God" and "[speak of the Child] to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem" (Lk 2: 38).
Her long widowhood devoted to worship in the temple, fidelity to weekly fasting and participation in the expectation of those who yearned for the redemption of Israel culminated in her meeting with the Child Jesus.

Dear brothers and sisters, on this Feast of the Presentation of the Lord the Church is celebrating the Day of Consecrated Life. This is an appropriate occasion to praise the Lord and thank him for the precious gift represented by the consecrated life in its different forms; at the same time it is an incentive to encourage in all the People of God knowledge and esteem for those who are totally consecrated to God.

An eloquent sign
Indeed, just as Jesus' life in his obedience and dedication to the Father is a living parable of the "God-with-us", so the concrete dedication of consecrated persons to God and to their brethren becomes an eloquent sign for today's world of the presence of God's Kingdom.

Your way of living and working can vividly express full belonging to the one Lord; placing yourselves without reserve in the hands of Christ and of the Church is a strong and clear proclamation of God's presence in a language understandable to our contemporaries. This is the first service that the consecrated life offers to the Church and to the world. Consecrated persons are like watchmen among the People of God who perceive and proclaim the new life already present in our history.

I now address you in a special way, dear brothers and sisters who have embraced the vocation of special consecration, to greet you with affection and thank you warmly for your presence.

I extend a special greeting to Archbishop Franc Rodé, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and to his collaborators who are concelebrating with me at this Holy Mass.

May the Lord renew in you and in all consecrated people each day the joyful response to his freely given and faithful love. Dear brothers and sisters, like lighted candles, always and everywhere shine with the love of Christ, Light of the world. May Mary Most Holy, the consecrated Woman, help you to live to the full your special vocation and mission in the Church for the world's salvation.

Amen!

Missionary Families Trust in the Firm Rock

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I warmly thank you for your visit, which gives me the opportunity to send a special greeting also to the other members of the Neocatechumenal Way scattered in so many parts of the world. I address my thoughts to each one present, starting with the venerable Cardinals, Bishops and priests. I greet those in charge of the Neocatechumenal Way: Mr Kiko Argüello, whom I thank for his words on your behalf, Ms Carmen Hernández and Fr Mario Pezzi. I greet the seminarians, the young people and especially the families that are preparing to receive a special missionary "mandate" to go to various nations, especially in Latin America.

This is a task that fits into the context of the new evangelization in which the family plays a role more important than ever. You have asked that the Successor of Peter confer this mandate as my venerable Predecessor John Paul II did in the past, on 12 December 1994, because you intend your apostolic action to take place in the heart of the Church, in total harmony with her directives and in communion with the particular Churches in which you are going to work, making the most of the riches of the charisms that the Lord has awakened through the Founders of the Way.

Dear families, the crucifix you will receive will be your inseparable travelling companion while you proclaim with your missionary action that only in Jesus Christ, who died and was raised, is there salvation. You will be his docile and joyful witnesses, walking the highways of every continent in simplicity and poverty, sustained by ceaseless prayer and listening to the Word of God and nourished by participation in the liturgical life of the particular Churches to which you are sent.

The importance in evangelization of the liturgy, and in particular of Holy Mass, has often been stressed by my Predecessors, and your long experience can certainly confirm that the centrality of the mystery of Christ celebrated in the liturgical rites is a privileged and indispensable way to build living and persevering Christian communities.

Precisely to help the Neocatechumenal Way to render even more effective its evangelizing action in communion with all the People of God, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments recently imparted to you in my name certain norms concerning the Eucharistic Celebration, after the trial period that the Servant of God John Paul II conceded. I am sure you will attentively observe these norms that reflect what is provided for in the liturgical books approved by the Church.

By faithfully keeping to every Church directive, you will make your apostolate even more effective, in tune and in full communion with the Pope and the Pastors of every Diocese. And in so doing, the Lord will continue to bless you with abundant pastoral fruits.

In fact, you have been able to do a great deal in these years and numerous vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life have been born in your communities.

Today, however, our attention is addressed particularly to families. More than 200 of them are about to be sent out on mission; these are families who leave without much human support but who are counting first and foremost on the support of divine Providence.

Dear families, you can witness with your history that the Lord does not abandon those who entrust themselves to him. Continue to spread the Gospel of life. Wherever your mission leads you, let yourselves be illumined by the comforting words of Jesus: "Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides", and again, "Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.

Sufficient for a day is its own evil" (Mt 6: 33-34). In a world that seeks human certainties and earthly reassurance, show that Christ is the firm rock on which to construct the building of your own existence and that trust placed in him is never in vain.

May the Holy Family of Nazareth protect you and be your model. I assure you of my prayer for you and for all the members of the Neocatechumenal Way, while I affectionately impart to each one the Apostolic Blessing.

الرئيسية