Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Annual Red Mass for Saint Thomas More Society
Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
October 20, 2008
Dear Sisters, consecrated to Jesus Christ and His Church,
Dear Friends in the Lord,
She was the first person Mother Teresa came upon when she began her now famous ministry among the dying of Calcutta. The old woman, her body seriously diseased, lay by the roadside, hungry and alone. Blessed Teresa recognized that death was only moments away. All she could do was simply hold the frail body in her arms. The old Hindu woman looked up and uttered only two words: "Thank you," she whispered, and then she died.
Recounting this story many years later, Blessed Teresa said that what impressed her the most in that meeting was its similarity with the Mass in which she had just participated that same morning: "Once more, I encountered the mystery of the Eucharist in that woman’s simple words of thanks." And she added that she herself was filled with a tremendous gratitude for meeting Jesus in that woman and for being able to share His love that day.
Mother Teresa’s encounter provides us with a simple insight into that great mystery which is the Holy Eucharist. Each time we gather around the altar, we meet the risen Jesus Christ, but in the body that was broken for us. He is so close to us. His suffering becomes our suffering; His offering becomes our offering; His thanksgiving becomes our thanksgiving; His Resurrection becomes our life.
Jesus Christ’s words of thanks are at the very heart of the Eucharist. It is in this sacrament that the Son recalls the Father’s total and complete love for Him - and it is that love which we, His brothers and sisters, are privileged to share. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta’s loving compassion brought a heartfelt "thank you" to the parched lips of a dying woman. But can you and I ever begin to appreciate the depths of Christ’s own thanksgiving to the Father—the Father who reached out in love and brought His Son through the hideous suffering and death on the cross to the glory of His Resurrection? Can we, who share in that same love, in that same promise of everlasting life, ever adequately give thanks? We simply cannot, unless we join ourselves to Christ in the Eucharist and thank the Father "through Him and with Him and in Him."
The words of today’s Gospel related to us how Jesus found Himself encountering ten persons afflicted with leprosy. Saint Luke is quick to point out that only one of them, a foreigner, desperate as he was for a cure, could see beyond his suffering. He understood this miracle as a sign of even greater things to come, and so he returned to give glory to God and to thank Jesus for this gift.
"I was filled with tremendous gratitude," wrote Blessed Teresa, "for meeting Jesus in that woman and being able to share her love that day." Such an experience of gratitude, of compassion, of solidarity, and of thanksgiving is a gift from our heavenly Father. Such a gift was the experience of the foreigner with leprosy in Saint Luke’s Gospel, who was cured by our Lord. And only those who have been graced with such a gift know that this cured man in the Gospel truly understood and appreciated Jesus’ miracle: even greater things were to come.
Today, we are the foreigner with leprosy face-to-face with Jesus Christ. And today, each one of us knows, as did Blessed Teresa and the dying woman, that to really live we need to love and to be loved; we need to appreciate and to be appreciated; we need the Eucharist; we need Jesus Christ.
Such was the lesson learned by the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia, Saint John Nepomucene Neumann, through whose instrumentality Mother Francis Bachmann founded the Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia 150 years ago. Bishop Neumann’s sole desire was to be a simple religious priest, but, instead, he was given the charge of a diocese which, at that time, encompassed all of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and part of New Jersey. Visiting his flock by horseback, his whole life, despite his many sufferings and infirmities, was lived in thanksgiving to God for all that God had done for him. Through Saint John Neumann’s gentle and humble spirit, and particularly through His devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the Forty Hours’ Devotion was introduced in this country, as was the parochial school system, and this brand new religious congregation, the Franciscan Sisters of Glen Riddle.
Saint John Neumann reflected in all that he said and did his undivided love of the God who gave him life and who shared with him His love. The power that was at work in the life of Philadelphia’s "Little Bishop" was the life of Christ in the Eucharist. Saint John Neumann’s life was a shining example of the words of Saint Paul: "Over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And be thankful." He lived the words of Isaiah: "The favors of the Lord I will recall...because of all he has done for us." And he made his own the words of the Psalm: "Lord, I thank you for your faithfulness and love."
Following the example of Saint John Neumann, Mother Francis Bachmann strove to thank Almighty God by keeping alive the memory of the Lord’s covenant with us. She accomplished this by founding this religious institute as a sharing in the world mission of the Church "to magnify the honor of God, to spread the holiness of Christ, and thereby to glorify His name." Each of you who are spiritual daughters of Mother Francis began your own journey with Christ to Jerusalem at baptism. Your consecration as women religious is a further expression of your baptismal call and commitment. In living out your consecrated life, you follow in the footsteps of your Foundress, witnessing to the life of the chaste, poor, and obedient Christ, in the spirit and tradition of Saint Francis of Assisi.
The love of Christ leads you, through your vow of chastity, to "care for the things of the Lord," and "to have nothing else to do except to follow the will of the Lord and to please Him"[Constitutions, no. 15]. You are called to be "truly poor in spirit, following the example of the Lord, ...[living] in this world as pilgrims and strangers...materially poor, but rich in virtue" [Constitutions, no. 22]. And, through your vow of obedience, you "willingly serve and obey one another with that genuine love which comes from each one’s heart" [Constitutions, no. 25].
I take this opportunity, dear Sisters, on behalf of the clergy, religious, and laity of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, to offer my warm congratulations to you as you celebrate this important anniversary in the life of your religious institute. I also extend my deep gratitude to the more than three hundred and twenty sisters who live in and serve this local Church. You are involved in a variety of apostolates here—in all levels of education, in parish service-related works, in health care and campus ministry, in the administration of your institute and in many volunteer works, performed particularly by the residents of Assisi House, who continue to serve us by their prayers and good works.
Although deeply appreciative of what you do for the People of God, I am also reminded of the words of our Holy Father, who, speaking to other religious, said: "Your greatest contribution is not what you do but who you are and who you have become by the grace of God: women specially consecrated in love to Jesus Christ; women living for Christ and for His Church in ‘the obedience of faith’; women finding in Christ the fullness of a wisdom and justice, a sanctification and redemption to be communicated to a world in need" [Message to the General Chapter of the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus, January 30, 1980].
As you move toward your future as a religious institute, never doubt that you have a vital message to proclaim to a world in need. This message is Jesus Christ. Never wonder whether your life makes a difference in a society often immersed in darkness. Never lose hope in the midst of the many distracting shadows that vie for the attention of those whom you are called to serve. But, as the man cleansed from leprosy, always and in all things give thanks to God in Jesus Christ, so that in your hearts, as in the Heart of Mary, He can daily re-ignite the fire of His love. In this love may you always find the deepest fulfillment of your hearts and the strength to serve and serve and serve until the end. Amen.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Thank you, dear friends, for the faith that inspires your presence here this morning. We know that this feast is a great feast in the history of the Church and it has a tremendous lesson for all of us, as disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today, as always, when we gather for the Eucharist we celebrate the gift of salvation that Jesus gives us by His death on the Cross. By His great act of love Jesus procured for us salvation, eternal life, eternal happiness, eternal joy. Every time we come to Mass we celebrate one or other aspect of this event. Today-the Solemnity of All Saints-we celebrate the goal of our lives, which is to be one day with the saints in heaven. We celebrate this vast multitude of people who have gone before us with the sign of faith, who have lived faithful lives over the centuries and now are gathered in the kingdom of God with our Lord Jesus Christ.
In our first reading from the Book of Revelation, we have an inkling of who these people are. The question was raised to God: Who are these people? And the answer is: the people that surround the throne of God. "These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb."
Dear friends, this tells us a great deal about Christianity in general; it tells us a great deal about God's saints. It tells us that everyone who is in heaven-who is a member of this communion of saints-is there because he or she has had contact with God's mercy, with the Blood of Jesus who has redeemed us. And, therefore, on this feast we honor all these unknown saints of God who, throughout the ages, have been faithful to Christ and now have received their reward. Each one of these saints is worthy of our respect and admiration. But, above all, this feast of All the Saints is a great tribute to Jesus Christ our Savior. Because, in honoring the saints who were saved through His great sacrifice on the Cross, we honor Jesus Christ the Savior of the world. Yes, this great feast is a feast that honors the Blood of Jesus in a very special way. It honors His salvific action, His great act of love when He died for us on the Cross. Through what is perpetuated in the Mass all of these saints are now our intercessors in heaven. This is the beautiful lesson of this great feast on which we recall that this great multitude has been saved by God through the Blood of Jesus Christ.
This multitude is also a great example to all of us, because these saints include people, as the Book of Revelation says, "from every nation, race, people, and tongue." They are the Christians who have gone before us, who have been faithful. They are the young and the old; they are the innocent children; they are the single and the married people; they are the religious; they are the priests. They are the innocent, as well as converted sinners, but all of them have had this great privilege of having contact with the Blood of Jesus Christ, who is their Savior. How beautiful this is, dear friends.
This gives us encouragement. And Saint John, in our second reading, tells us that we are children of God, but, he says, it has not yet appeared what we will be. In other words, we too will be glorified one day with our brothers and sisters in the communion saints. This is our destiny and this is what God's love in Jesus Christ has made possible for us.
And, so, dear friends, we rejoice, we are encouraged and we praise God who has sent us the Savior of the world, His beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. It is He who shed His Blood on the Cross, so that you and I and all of us might join this immense multitude to praise God forever, that we too might praise the precious Blood of Jesus Christ, which is the price of our redemption. Amen.
Dear Bishop Murry, All of us extend a very warm welcome to you and thank you for coming to Philadelphia for this weekend. We especially thank you for your words of inspiration last evening at the Jubilee Reception for the Office for Black Catholics.
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons, men and women Religious,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Praised be Jesus Christ for his Incarnation as man.
Praised be Jesus Christ for His life and ministry.
Praised be Jesus Christ for His Passion, Death and Resurrection.
Praised be Jesus Christ for Sunday, His Day, the Day of Resurrection and new life.
Indeed, we gather on Sunday to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, the source and summit of our lives as Catholics. It is this sacred food and drink that nourishes us as disciples in mission.
As we entered this great basilica this afternoon, we sang, "We are marching to Zion, beautiful Zion, that beautiful City of God!" What a powerful image. We, the Church - bishops, priests, deacons, religious, faithful laity, are indeed marching to Heaven, our true home. Yet, in this pilgrimage, we must always be ready and prepared.
In our Gospel for Mass this Sunday, Jesus speaks again in a parable. He is teaching His disciples about how important it is to be prepared. In the story, five virgins were wise and five were foolish. Five were prepared for the Bridegroom’s arrival, while five were not.
And when did the Bridegroom arrive? When they least expected him.
This story points our attention as followers of Christ, to stand always ready and waiting for Jesus. That’s what it means to be truly wise, to live our lives as Christian people waiting in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
For when our Lord returns, He expects us to be ready. How do we stand ready? How do we stay marching? It is by living our faith. We must do much more than simply talk about Jesus, we must act like Jesus!
We celebrate at this holy Mass twenty-five years of the faithful service of our Archdiocesan Office for Black Catholics. In the name of the Archdiocese, I express my deep gratitude for all that has been done to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ among our African American brothers and sisters, all that has been done to imitate Jesus. I especially am grateful for the dedicated service of the directors of the Office for Black Catholics, who have served our Church so faithfully for the past 25 years.
I am reminded of the beautiful words of our late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, when he hosted a historic meeting with Black Catholics in New Orleans. He said,
"Dear brothers and sisters: your black cultural heritage enriches the Church and makes her witness of universality more complete. In a real way the Church needs you, just as you need the Church, for you are part of the Church and the Church is part of you."
Yes, my brothers and sisters, the Church needs you! We need your gifts of joy and compassion. We need your gifts of vitality and strength. We need your gift of sacred song. We need all your gifts, which find their roots in Mother Africa.
Let us make no mistake, the Church in the African American community of this Archdiocese is alive!
Today, we humbly ask the intercession of Saint Martin de Porres, our patron, to pray for us that we may be ready and prepared to proclaim and live our faith as he did, and one day to join him in the choir of Heaven. Let us continue to march to Zion, that beautiful city of God! Amen.
Bishop DeSimone,
Bishop Thomas,
Father Olson, Director of the Office for Permanent Deacons,
Brother Priests,
Dear Deacons,
Dear Wives,
Dear Families,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Today’s Gospel passage is meant to be a companion piece to the one we heard last week. You may recall last week in the Gospel that the Apostles James and John approached Jesus with a request. Jesus asked them, "What do you want me to do for you?" Interested in their own glory rather than the glory of God, they asked Jesus for positions of honor in His Kingdom. Jesus told them in no uncertain terms that the greatest in the Kingdom of God is the one who is the servant of all.
Today Jesus puts those words into action as He becomes the servant, the deacon, who attends to the needs of a poor blind beggar, Bartimaeus. While the world around Jesus seemed to have much more important things to do than attend to Bartimaeus, Jesus heard him above all the other noises and shouts. Bringing him into the center of the crowd, Jesus asked him the same question he asked James and John, "What do you want me to do for you?"
When Bartimaeus says, "I want to see," Jesus attends to his needs immediately. Bartimaeus was not looking for glory; he only wanted to be healed. As soon as he was healed, his eyes came upon the one who could save him, and Bartimaeus followed Jesus. In this case, the service Jesus gave to Bartimaeus, led Bartimaeus into discipleship.
Image of Jesus Christ the servant of all
We have often heard Jesus referred to as a priest. This is particularly true in the Letter to the Hebrews that was just proclaimed to us. Jesus was indeed, and is, the great High Priest who offered himself as a sacrifice for our salvation. But the Gospel highlights another aspect of Jesus’ ministry and, even if we do not hear this as much, it is every bit as true: Jesus was a deacon. He was a servant. And those who minister today as deacons in our Church serve in His name.
The service of the deacon: the service of the Church sacramentalized
Today, our world is filled with people like Bartimaeus who call out for healing and who are in need. And so many in our world are much too busy and "important" to attend to their needs. The great ones of this age still seek to make their importance felt while those around them are in need. But Jesus is still calling us as a Church to greater service in the world. Jesus’ words in the Scriptures still echo in our ears today: "...whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant."
It is the work of the whole Church to be of service to those in need in our world. Serving is our way of modeling our lives on the life of Jesus. Even though we are all called to service, Jesus calls some of us to a particular level of service through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Deacons are especially charged to be images of Jesus, the servant of all, the one who attends to the weakest and poorest among us. In a very tangible way, a deacon is the sacramental embodiment of the service of the Church. And just as Jesus’ work of healing and service to Bartimaeus led Bartimaeus to following Jesus as a disciple, so the service of deacons leads the Church and the world into greater discipleship and a closer following of Jesus.
Joy and Thanksgiving
Today we gather in this Cathedral Basilica, the mother-church of our Archdiocese, where so many of our deacons were ordained. We gather to celebrate twenty-five years of dedicated service by permanent deacons in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. We rejoice, dear brother deacons, in the fruitfulness of your service throughout the years. We rejoice in praising God’s grace which is the cause of all fruitfulness in the Church.
Today is a wonderful opportunity to express the gratitude of the entire Archdiocese of Philadelphia for your generous response to the call to service. You have dedicated countless hours of service to the sick, elderly, imprisoned and needy among us. You have ministered to engaged couples preparing for marriage, new parents seeking baptism for their children, and families mourning the loss of a loved one. Your have taught in our schools and CCD programs, walked with our catechumens in the RCIA, and helped to deepen the faith of our people through adult education programs. You have proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the pulpit and in the marketplace.
In all this you have fulfilled the command given to you by the Church at your ordination: "Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you now are. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach." This you have done and for this I thank you and rejoice with you!
Diaconate: a sign of renewal in the Church
Permanent deacons are a sign that the Holy Spirit is continuing to work in the Church today. The permanent Diaconate was restored in the Latin Church as a result of the vision of the Second Vatican Council. Pope Paul VI officially restored the role of permanent deacon in 1967, recalling that permanent deacons were an important part of the life of the early Church. The vision of Pope Paul VI and the Fathers of Vatican II is given flesh and form in the men who are gather here today as deacons. There are currently 218 permanent deacons working in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, with 71 men in formation, each responding to the call of the Church for service in the community.
Our entire Church has been renewed as a result of the Second Vatican Council and a great sign of that renewal—that new and vibrant energy in the Church—is seen in our permanent deacons. Yes, the Church is alive and dynamic in Philadelphia. The Holy Spirit is active in our Church, and the permanent deacons are signs of His vivifying and sanctifying action.
Diaconate: a calling to dedicated service
So, what does the service of a deacon look like? Is it just a functional role that shows us as leaders in the service to God’s people at worship? Certainly not! A deacon is a deacon all the time, just as a priest is a priest all the time and a bishop is a bishop all the time. This does not mean that we are fulfilling our ministries twenty-four hours a day, but that we live out the mystery of Christ in everything we do and with every breath we take. This full-time diaconate manifests itself in two areas in particular: when a deacon serves the community, and when a deacon is with his family.
Permanent deacons can minister in society in ways that are not possible or appropriate for other members of the clergy. In the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, ordained deacons are employed in the business world, the service industry, health care, the legal profession, civil service, education, and in so many other fields. While every baptized member of the Church is called to bear witness to Christ in the world, permanent deacons do so in a particular way, by being a sacramental image of Christ the servant of all. Our deacons provide leadership in calling all members of society to serve Christ as they themselves serve the least of His brothers and sisters.
Gratitude to wives and families, and above all to Almighty God
I must recognize the importance of family life in the life of a permanent deacon. Most of our permanent deacons have a double vocation: that of husband and father in the married state of life, and that of a sacramental minister called by the Church to fulfill a special form of service. For all of you married deacons, your first call is answered in your self-giving and loving service to your wife and children. Your family life is so important to all of us that the Church even required the consent of your wife before you were ordained.
Your whole families also share your ministry as deacons. They do this by supporting you in your ministry, sharing their own time with you so that you can minister to others, and sometimes even increasing their own service to the Church by following your lead. I wish specifically and publicly to thank your wives and children for their generous sharing in your ministry, for the sacrifices they have made to allow you to serve the greater community, and for their own dedicated service to the Church. Just as your families are a blessing to you, they are also a blessing to the community of the Church. In recognizing this, I thank them all. Above all, the celebration of this anniversary is a solemn expression of thanksgiving to God for His gift of a restored permanent Diaconate. We bless and praise God, who through His Holy Spirit, has accomplished so much good through the ministry of our deacons. It is He who conforms our deacons to Jesus the Servant. It is He who sustains them in their work and gives them the power to do good.
Special communion with the Bishop and one another
Deacons do not function as isolated individuals in our diocese. Every deacon at the time of his ordination promises respect and obedience to his Bishop and his Bishop’s successors. Just as the first deacons had a special connection to the Apostles by sharing in the Apostles’ ministry of charity to the community, so each deacon today has a special connection to his own Bishop in all the service of charity that he performs. Together with the priests, deacons form with the Bishop a "communion of service," sharing the public sacramental ministry of the Church. Your ministry as deacons extends the work of the Apostles and the whole Church, just as the work of the first deacons did, as we see in the Acts of the Apostles.
Deacons also form together a community of selfless service. It is inspiring how deacons rally around each other in prayer and fraternal support— especially in times of need. When a deacon’s family member is sick, when he is feeling particular stress at work, when he experiences difficulty in his ministry or a flagging spirit, he is supported by the rest of the diaconate community. The diaconate community is truly a prayerful community, praying for the Church and for one another. This is especially true at the time of death, when the community in a particularly moving way prays for their brother as he journeys to the Father.
Service of the deacon at the Altar
As deacons, your service of charity in the Church—which is extremely important—is made complete by your service of the word of God and at the altar. As ministers of the word, you proclaim the Gospel, and by word and deed make known the message of Jesus Christ. Often as deacons you are privileged to preach the homily, sometimes at Mass and also in other settings. You are daily witnesses in prayer to the transforming power of the word of God.
Along with proclaiming the Gospel, deacons are called to serve at the altar of the Sacrifice of Christ, at the side of the priest. It is the deacon who stands like the centurion on Calvary, proclaiming by his presence that this truly is the Son of God.
As Pope John Paul II said in an address to permanent deacons, "...the word of God leads us to the Eucharistic worship of God at the altar; it turn, this worship leads us to a new way of living which expresses itself in acts of charity." This threefold ministry of service—service of the word, at the altar, and of charity—must inspire you to greater sacrificial generosity in the Church. That is why you are here today to renew your commitment, to rejoice, and to rededicate yourselves to the great ministry of the sacramental servanthood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Perhaps, dear friends in Christ, all of us can echo the words of our Blessed Mother Mary today as we consider the blessing of all of our permanent deacons throughout the past twenty-five years when we say with them: "My spirit proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."
May God continue to look with favor on all his servants in the permanent Diaconate as they humbly, resolutely and joyfully fulfill, in the name of Jesus, their ministry of sacramental servanthood! Amen.
“We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.”
Your Eminences Cardinal McCarrick, Cardinal Egan and Cardinal Foley,
Brother Bishops,
My Brother Priests,
Dear Deacons, Religious, Seminarians, Lay Faithful,
Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Back in the fourth century the Bishop of Jerusalem Saint Cyril wrote these words: “The Catholic Church glories in every action of Christ but her greatest glory is the Cross.”
As Catholics, as followers of Jesus Christ, all of us together make up that Church whose greatest glory is the Cross.
Today, September 14th, is a special day in the life of the Church, the day the Church celebrates in a particular way the triumph that was accomplished on the Cross, and who it was that brought about that triumph: the crucified Christ. Today we glorify and exalt the Cross. Our feast itself is called the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
The first reading in our Mass explains how in the Old Testament the people complained against God and against Moses. In punishment the Lord sent serpents among them; many of the people were bitten and died. We see how the people then came to Moses and repented, saying: “We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you. Pray the Lord to take the serpents from us.” The reading tells us that Moses prayed for the people and that the Lord instructed him to make a bronze serpent and mount it on a pole. God then told Moses that those who were bitten would live if they looked upon the serpent. And this is what happened.
In the Gospel Jesus Himself explains how this situation of the Old Testament prefigured His own crucifixion on the Cross. Jesus said: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” It was on the Cross that Jesus triumphed over sin and death and accomplished the redemption of the world, which He brought to conclusion by His Resurrection. This is why we look up to Him on the Cross, why we so often proclaim these words in the Liturgy: “Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life.” This is why we are so grateful for Christ’s loving act of sacrifice offered for us on the Cross. This is why our greatest glory is the Cross. This is why we joyfully celebrate today’s feast, calling it the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
It is also on this feast that I am privileged to celebrate my anniversary as a Bishop, having been ordained to the episcopacy by Pope John Paul II twenty-five years ago today. On that day Pope John Paul II drew my attention to the need for me, as a Bishop, to bear witness to the mystery of the Cross. He said to me: “You are called to serve the mystery of the triumph of the Holy Cross.” And he added: “...you are called to serve and proclaim this inexpressible mystery:...the mystery of salvific love; the mystery of merciful love. ‘God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him’ (Jn 3:17).”
I am deeply grateful, dear friends, for this calling to be a Bishop, a calling that came from our Lord Jesus Christ through the Church and through the Pope, for the service of God’s people. I am so happy that you are here to join in this Mass, which is a sublime act of gratitude to the Most Blessed Trinity.
During these past twenty-five years, at every turn I have been assisted and supported with extraordinary kindness and love in all my five major assignments as a Bishop. After my episcopal ordination I was privileged to serve first as President of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, where young priests from all over the world are trained for service to the Holy See and the universal Church. I recall with deep affection those priests with whom I lived and worked, many of whom are now stationed in the different continents of the world. Just a few days ago, one of them was named the Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq and Jordan.
My second assignment was as Secretary of the Congregation for Bishops, where I was privileged to work personally with so many Bishops of the Church and with the Holy Father himself, Pope John Paul II.
Then, after completing almost thirty years in Rome and three and a half years on the island of Madagascar, in 1994 I was named the Archbishop of St. Louis. What an immense privilege it was to serve for nine and a half years as Pastor of that local Church, with the opportunity to work closely with the priests, deacons, religious and lay faithful entrusted to my pastoral care!
The joy and privilege of serving a local Church, of celebrating the Paschal Mystery of the Lord Jesus in word and sacrament, of sharing intimately the joys and sorrows, the hopes and sufferings and the aspirations of God’s people—all this was given to me again as I was called seven years ago, in 2003, to serve as Archbishop of Philadelphia.
And finally, last year, while remaining the Archbishop of Philadelphia, I was named the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Scranton. There also for a number of months I was privileged, in the name of the Holy Father, to serve the people of God and to be close to them in their journey of discipleship. How edifying for me to be in contact with yet another community of Christ’s faithful striving to live their faith generously and to share it with others.
Here in Philadelphia, as in Scranton, in St. Louis and in Rome, I have never been alone as a Bishop in proclaiming the triumph of the Cross or in bearing the burdens of the Gospel. Like so many Bishops, I have been blessed in experiencing the vitality of the Church and the goodness of all the categories of God’s people. I give thanks for the numerous gifts with which the Holy Spirit has enriched our communities.
I am profoundly grateful to God for my Auxiliary Bishops and my priests, who have been my closest collaborators and partners in the Gospel, both in St. Louis and here in Philadelphia, as well as in Scranton. Within the limitations of the humanity common to us all, the vast majority of priests has shown superb fidelity to Jesus Christ, to the mission of His Church and to the people whom they serve with love, joy, respect and perseverance. We pray that the upright and dedicated lives of our priests will always be an inspiration especially for our seminarians, who are joyfully aspiring to offer their lives to God in the sacred priesthood.
I also acknowledge the splendid contribution of our zealous deacons as they endeavor to assist the priests and aspire only to fulfill the humble ministry of Christ, the Servant of all.
And what can I say at this time to express sufficient gratitude for decades of service on the part of our consecrated women and men religious? So much of the history of the Church has been an expression of their generous labor and love. Their names are written in the book of life.
Bishops, priests, deacons, religious and seminarians pray and serve together with the lay faithful who, by God’s plan, will always make up the very highest percentage of Christ’s disciples. The lay faithful will always be called to contribute the supreme measure of holiness and collaboration in the mission of the Church. We acknowledge just how much the laity “are” the Church in their vocation and condition as married and single persons, as spouses, parents, children, widows and widowers, young and old, all baptized members of the Body of Christ. Today I voice deep gratitude to so many of the laity, a number of whom are present here, who over the years have so generously assisted me as a Bishop of the Church, but, even more, have faithfully and sacrificially contributed to the mission of the Church, especially in the Archdioceses of St. Louis and Philadelphia and in the Diocese of Scranton.
As we gather together at this Eucharistic Sacrifice we see ever more clearly the beauty of the community of the Church that assembles in the name of Jesus Christ. We acknowledge the importance and contribution of every individual, the need for all the many and diverse talents and gifts of God’s people, coming from every race and background—everyone striving amidst human weakness to be faithful as disciples of the Lord.
To understand, however, our full identity as the Church we need to realize that our Archdiocese can only exist if it is in full communion with all the other local Churches throughout the world. On a personal level one of the great blessings I have had as a Bishop is the constant fraternal support and help of my brother Bishops in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, so many of whom are here today. To all of them I express my profound thanks.
Finally, our Catholic identity is marked, and always will be, by the fact that we live in communion of faith and love with the Bishop of Rome, whom we honor and obey as the Successor of Peter and Vicar of Christ for the universal Church. I gratefully acknowledge his spiritual presence with us today and thank him for the beautiful personal letter that he sent to me for this occasion.
And so, dear friends, our hearts return to the Cross of Christ through which we enter into the mystery of salvific love, the mystery of merciful love. We thank our Lord Jesus Christ for having triumphed on this tree of life, with His Virgin Mother Mary standing next to Him and offering Him her loving support. We thank Him for having given her to us as our Mother, as the one who helps us, her children, to understand and live the mystery of the Cross in our own lives. United with her and with all the members of the universal Church, we once again proclaim: “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.” Amen.
Dear brother Priests and Deacons,
Dear Men and Women in Consecrated Life,
Dear Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
A few moments ago, we sang, "Lift the Savior up, He’s worthy." What beautiful and appropriate words to begin our celebration this afternoon. Yes, Jesus is worthy to be praised!
Indeed, at this Holy Mass, we have so many reasons to praise our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. First and foremost, it is Sunday, the Day of the Lord and we gather to listen to God’s Word and receive the Eucharist, which is the Body and Blood of Christ.
We also gather to celebrate the feast of Saint Martin de Porres. For the past 45 years, as a faith community we have gathered to remember his feast day. What a wonderful tradition! This holy man of God is such an inspiration to all of the Church, especially to our African American Catholic community. We are blessed that, in so many of our Churches, his image reminds us that we are all called to be saints, all called to evangelize, all called to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. We remember and honor Saint Martin on this day and ask him to pray for us, for our families, parishes, our neighborhoods, our city and our nation.
As we celebrate, during this year 2007, Philadelphia’s Bicentennial Year as a diocese, we are reminded of the joyous event which took place in this Cathedral at this annual Mass 25 years ago. On that memorable day, His Eminence Cardinal John Krol ordained the first African American Deacons for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Deacon Hopkins, Deacon Nightingale, Deacon Purnell and Deacon Shields, you have taken the words of Jesus to heart, "I have come not to be served, but to serve." You have served faithfully as ministers of the Altar, ministers of the Word and especially as ministers of charity. We thank you for your years of dedicated service and for your prayerful example as you labored worthily among the people of God in our Archdiocese. God is good and we have been and will continue to be blessed by your service as deacons.
Our Gospel from Saint Luke today is the familiar story of the encounter of Jesus and Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was indeed looking for Jesus. Being small in stature, but large in his desire, he climbed a tree along the pathway to get the best possible view of Jesus. Zacchaeus must have heard of Jesus’ miracles, His teachings and the way He changed people’s lives. Not even the large crowd could keep Zacchaeus from seeing Jesus. He was committed and determined to see who Jesus was (Luke 19:2). Yet, it was really Jesus who was looking for him. Is it not the case with God? Long before we find God, God looks for us. God’s love for us is reflected in the words from Book of Wisdom, our first reading today: “You spare all things, because they are yours, O Lord and lover or souls, for your imperishable spirit is in all things!” (Wisdom 11:26).
Out of all the people in the crowd that day, Jesus looks for Zacchaeus and goes to his home. And what happens to Zacchaeus after he encounters Christ? He is changed, he is renewed, and he is sent. Zacchaeus says: “Half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I shall repay it four times over” (Luke 19:7).
It was the grace, mercy and love of Christ that made Zacchaeus a new man. People’s hearts are never changed out of fear, but they are changed out of love, true love.
Is there a lesson in this for us this afternoon? Yes, we too have been called by God to announce to the world through our words and deeds that “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). Whether we are ordained clergy, or lay faithful, man or woman, young or old, God loves us and calls us to a life of service to our brothers and sisters in our families, neighborhoods and communities. Serving others in the name of Jesus is what we learn from the life of Saint Martin de Porres.
On the day of his canonization, in 1962, Blessed John XXIII said: "It is deeply rewarding for those striving for salvation to follow in Christ’s footsteps and to obey God’s commandments. If only everyone could learn this lesson from the example that Martin gave us." The best way to honor Saint Martin de Porres on his feast day is to imitate his life of service to Jesus Christ and to all those whom Jesus loves. Amen.
Dear Friends,
Some years ago Pope John Paul II, who will be beatified next Sunday, on the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the Priesthood wrote a book entitled Gift and Mystery. In this book he explained that it is through the Priesthood that we have the Eucharist. And in the celebration of the Eucharist we have the sacramental re-presentation of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ and its fulfillment in His glorious Resurrection.
Yesterday we celebrated Easter Sunday not only by telling the Easter story but the proclamation of the Word of God actually brought us into contact with the power of Christ’s Resurrection, which is the power of His victory over sin and death. And the proclamation of the Word of God reached its climax as the Priest consecrated the bread and wine in the Sacrifice of the Mass.
In every Mass through the gift and mystery of the Priesthood, the Death of Christ and His Resurrection become a reality for all God’s people. But why is this so important? It is so important because Christ saved us by His Death and Resurrection. The Church proclaims this so beautifully when she says: “Dying you destroyed our death and rising you restored our life.” In God’s plan all of this is linked to the Priesthood, which is truly such a great gift and mystery.
To speak of the Priesthood is to speak of Jesus Christ, our great High Priest. It is He who is present in every Mass. It is by His power that His saving Death and Resurrection are renewed on our altars. But it is also His will to be represented by the Priest, who in his ordination is configured to Christ and receives the power to offer up the Eucharist—but only in Christ’s name.
Hence the Priesthood, from the time of the Apostles at the Last Supper, is both gift and mystery. It is a gift of Christ’s Sacred Heart. It is a mystery of faith, which requires of us acceptance of Jesus Christ and of His freedom to call the men whom He chooses to share His Priesthood and to act in His Name. Those whom He chooses have no motive to boast; rather they receive the grace to fulfill their office faithfully, but this also requires effort, sacrifice and love.
I am grateful to all of you who have come together with me to celebrate my ordination to the Priesthood fifty years ago today. I wish particularly to thank Cardinal Levada who has been a close friend for fifty-seven years since our time together in the seminary and who has come from Rome to join in this celebration of thanksgiving. I also greet Cardinal Foley, another friend of many years, whose presence means so much to me today. My deep gratitude goes likewise to Bishop Stika of Knoxville, for so much support and help, and also to my Auxiliary Bishops and brother Priests whose presence has required so much effort and is so much appreciated. It is an enormous privilege to offer up the Eucharistic sacrifice in thanksgiving, surrounded by lay faithful and religious of the Archdiocese and other devoted friends who mean so much to me and whose prayerful support I so greatly count on. Among those present there is one who was at my ordination fifty years ago in the Cathedral of Los Angeles. I am pleased to welcome my sister, Sister Charlotte Rigali of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet.
For all of us this celebration is directed to thanking God for the gift and mystery of Christ’s Priesthood, even as it is expressed amidst the frailty and limitations of the humanity of our Priests. For me personally it is an opportunity to thank God for all those who helped me reach the Priesthood: my parents, family, friends, devoted Priests and sisters, teachers, seminary professors and fellow students, and so many unknown benefactors, without whose prayers I would never have reached the Priesthood.
Among the memories of this day I recall in prayer Blessed John XXIII, during whose pontificate I was ordained, and Cardinal James Francis McIntyre who was my Archbishop and ordaining Prelate. In addition I remember with profound affection the three Popes whom I subsequently was honored to serve: Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul I and Pope John Paul II. I remember the faithful to whom I was privileged to minister, either as a priest or bishop, in Los Angeles, Rome, St. Louis, Scranton and Philadelphia.
Today’s Eucharistic celebration takes place in close union with our present Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, whom I thank for the blessing that he has just sent me for this occasion and to whom I pledge the full communion of the Church of Philadelphia.
Even as fifty years in the priesthood require on my part deep sentiments of thanksgiving, they also require me to renew in the Church’s words my own daily plea for God’s mercy and forgiveness: “I confess to Almighty God and to you my brother and sisters that I have sinned through my own fault in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do.” It is for this reason that “I ask Blessed Mary ever Virgin all the angels and saints and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.” I ask, morever, the Holy Spirit by His grace to supply for all my deficiencies and to bring to completion whatever good I have been able to accomplish in the past fifty years.
Since there is no way that the Resurrection of the Lord can be adequately celebrated in a single day the Church continues today and throughout this whole week the special celebration of Easter. The message that we proclaim is the beautiful message of Saint Peter: “God raised...Jesus.... Exalted at the right hand of God, he poured forth the promise of the Holy Spirit.” Peter, in turn, as our Gospel attests, had received this message from the women who had met the Risen Lord Jesus on that Easter morning. To all of us personally the living Jesus now repeats: “Do not be afraid.”
In the power of the Risen Jesus, the gift and mystery of the Priesthood continues in the Church, despite human weakness. Through the priest the people of God participate in the Eucharist and hence in the power of the Death and Resurrection of the Lord. Sins are forgiven through the Sacrament of Confession and God’s word continues to bring forth fruits of conversion and holiness of life in the faithful. For the great privilege of sharing for fifty years in this gift and mystery as a Priest, I thank God today in your presence. With Him, I thank Mary, the Mother of Jesus, our great High Priest, for her constant intercession and perpetual help in all the hopes and joys, difficulties and challenges of these years.
Finally as we continue our celebration of Christ’s Resurrection let us all join in the Church’s Easter hymn of praise, proclaiming: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it. Alleluia, alleluia.”
Dear Priests, Deacons, Religious,
Members of the Secretariat for Catholic Education,
Administrators and Faculty,
Representatives of the Connelly Foundation,
Archdiocesan Scholars and Families,
Dear Friends,
What a joy it is for all of us to gather in thanksgiving to God and in recognition of our archdiocesan scholars.
Your accomplishments, dear Scholars, are undoubtedly the result of sacrifice and personal effort. We admire the way in which you have applied yourselves to your studies. I speak for all in the Archdiocese in congratulating you for your achievements.
How fitting that our celebration takes place during the Easter season. On Easter Sunday we celebrated Christ’s Resurrection, his victory over sin and death. During the fifty days of the Easter season, we are immersed in this profound mystery. We celebrate the fact that the gift of eternal life is offered to us by God in Baptism, and how the Eucharist offers a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. This joyful season offers us the hope that where Jesus has gone, we too might follow.
The joy of Christ’s Resurrection is meant to be shared. We are called by God to be witnesses of Jesus, to testify that Jesus is the Way and the Truth and the Life. A witness not only knows what is true, but speaks the truth. A Christian witness is one who knows Christ and wants others to know Him too. This witness, this testimony must come from inner conviction. Inner conviction develops out of intimacy with Christ. Intimacy with Christ is possible only by spending time with him. There can be no effective Christian witness without the inner conviction that is born of a personal relationship with Christ.
For you, our Archdiocesan Scholars, your formation to be witnesses for Christ began at home. Your parents have been influential in your faith formation. Parents are the first educators, who teach primarily by the witness of their Christian lives and by their love for the faith. It is at home that the seeds of a personal relationship with Jesus are planted.
The Catholic schools that you have attended have assisted your parents in forming you to be witnesses. Catholic schools have provided you with an academically rigorous and doctrinally sound program of education and faith formation designed to strengthen your union with Christ and his Church. Catholic schools have collaborated with your parents and guardians in raising and forming you to meet the changing and challenging cultural and moral contexts in which you find yourselves. Catholic schools have provided you with sound Church teaching through a broad-based curriculum, where faith and culture are intertwined in all areas of a school’s life. Your Catholic education, rooted in Jesus Christ and the Gospel message, rich in the cherished traditions and liturgical practices of our faith, ensures that you have the foundation to be witnesses of Christ in the world.
Archdiocesan Scholars, you are and will be witnesses for Jesus. You witness already by applying yourselves to your studies and participating in school activities. In so doing you develop the gifts that you have received from God. You testify to Jesus by your lifestyle. Your moral example and acts of charity enrich the lives of others and offer encouragement, especially to your peers. Your witness is particularly clear by your participation in the sacramental and prayer life of the Church, especially the Eucharist.
We look forward to the future when you will witness to Christ by the energetic leadership you provide for our Church and our nation. Some will do so as lay members of Christ’s faithful people. Others will be called to witness as Priests, as religious Sisters and Brothers.
This past Saturday, in this very Cathedral, three young men were ordained to the priesthood for service in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I am convinced that God is calling some of you to the priesthood and religious life. The Church’s history is filled with numerous examples of priests and religious who were gifted with superior intellects. Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Siena, Augustine of Hippo and Teresa of Avila are just a few who applied their minds to probing and explaining the deepest mysteries of faith and the world. What a privilege for you to place your talents at the service of God in the Church. May you be open and responsive to the invitation to serve God’s people. May your parents be given the grace of generosity and trust in Jesus, that they may help you, their sons an daughters, to accept your vocation in life with wisdom and freedom.
The call to witness will not always be easy. Regardless of your age or vocation in life, discipleship involves challenges. In the Gospel, Jesus warned his disciples that their testimony would result in persecution or even death. Just as Jesus endured the cross because he testified to his Father’s love and forgiveness, so also will we, as disciples, endure crosses as we testify to Jesus’ love and forgiveness. However, disciples of Jesus never face such difficulties alone. Jesus assures us, His disciples, that the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, enables us to bear witness and endure the trials and tribulations that may occur.
There is so much for which to be grateful this evening. I express my deep gratitude, first of all, to the parents who have entrusted the education and formation of their children to our Catholic schools. In so doing, you have given us the privilege of sharing a role in which you have the primary and irreplaceable responsibility.
I am grateful for the Priests, religious Sisters and Brothers, and laity who serve in the educational apostolate and who support this apostolate with such generosity and dedication. We depend upon all of you to set high academic standards and instill a spirit of faith and values rooted in Christ. You give generously of your time, talent and treasure to advance the teaching mission of the Church. You assist parents by providing their children with a solid moral foundation. Our Catholic school teachers understand that their work is not just a career opportunity, it is a vocation, a response to God’s call to teach and evangelize our youth.
I am grateful for the support of the entire Catholic community who by their prayers and financial support enable our schools to accomplish their mission. With this support, many are able to receive a Catholic education who might otherwise be deprived.
Finally, I congratulate our Archdiocesan scholars. The future of the world and the Church belongs to the younger generation. We are proud of you. Christ expects great things from young people. Put your talents at the service of the proclamation of the Good News. Be friends of Jesus and offer witness so that others might get to know Him.
We entrust you, our Archdiocesan scholars, to our Blessed Mother Mary, whom we venerate in a special way during this month of May. Overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, Mary overcame doubts and accepted God’s invitation to be the Mother of his Son, Jesus. The Holy Spirit empowered her to witness to God and endure the trials that came, especially the death of her Son on the cross. Through her maternal intercession, may Mary, the Seat of Wisdom, assist you in recognizing the Truth and witnessing to it in your lives. Amen.
Brother Priests, Deacons, professed Religious,
Administrators and Educators, dear Scholars, Families and Friends,
“Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” These words of Saint Paul convey so clearly why we gather tonight. In this Eucharist we praise and thank God for the divine favors that have been bestowed upon each of us, particularly our honorees. You, dear friends, have cultivated, through personal effort, the intellectual gifts with which God has blessed you. I speak for all in the Archdiocese in offering congratulations.
The foundation and purpose of all education is a search for truth. Saint Augustine maintained that we desire truth more passionately than anything else. Each of us has an innate and irrepressible desire for ultimate and definitive truth.
Today, however, some people suggest that it is wrong to seek ultimate and definitive truth. They argue that such truth does not exist and, if it does, it is beyond reach. In place of truth, an idea is spread which gives value to everything, indiscriminately. According to this view, what is true or false, right or wrong is determined by the individual. There are no absolutes. This relativism leads to intellectual and moral confusion. It results in despair and loss of self respect.
In an address to youth during his recent visit to the United States, Pope Benedict encouraged young people to continue to pursue the truth. He made it clear, though, that truth is not simply a set of rules that impose themselves upon human beings. Truth is not merely a series of hypothetical propositions. Truth is a person, Jesus Himself, the Word made flesh. The search for truth is a discovery of the One who never fails us; the One whom we can always trust. In seeking truth we come to live by faith because the pursuit of truth draws us to the acceptance of Christ.
Truth, ultimate and definitive truth, does exist. It is not remote or impossible to attain. The incarnation of the Word in the womb of Mary reveals this. When God, the infinite and definitive truth, becomes flesh in Jesus, human beings are given access to Truth Himself. We do not despair of the possibility of embracing the truth. We are people of hope, who have been embraced by the truth.
Students in our Catholic schools are fortunate that their quest for truth takes place within a religious atmosphere. Catholic schools are institutions which offer high quality academic instruction and Christian formation. Each day, students are offered a challenging curriculum. They hear and live the Gospel; learn to appreciate the teachings of the Church; acquire a deep understanding, reverence and love for the Liturgy; build community; pray and properly form their consciences; develop virtue and participate in Christian service. By relating academic study to faith, students come to see how Jesus illumines all of life.
The offer of truth that comes in Jesus calls for a response. During this month of May, we venerate our Blessed Mother Mary in a special way. Through the archangel Gabriel, she was invited to be the Mother of the Redeemer. By her faith-filled response, “May it be done to me according to your word,” she conceives the Eternal Word of God. Truth takes flesh within her very being. The special privilege that is hers, as Mother of God, is not something that she keeps to herself. She proceeds in haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Mary experiences an urgency to proclaim, by her words and deeds, the greatness of the Lord.
Saint Paul reminds us that in Christ, we are God’s adopted sons and daughters. Like Mary, we are called to proclaim God’s greatness by word and action. Jesus is the light of the world. He is the light that dispels the darkness of ignorance and evil. Christ’s light beckons us to be guiding stars for others, walking Christ’s way of forgiveness, reconciliation, humility, joy and peace.
The call to communicate Christ to others is a privilege. The Blessed Mother, herself, testifies to the joy that she experiences in proclaiming the greatness of the Lord. Truly, nothing is more beautiful than to know Christ and to make him known to others as the one true Savior. The world needs to encounter Christ, the Incarnate Truth, to believe in Him, and to experience His love.
Dear scholars: your formation to be light for the world began at home. Your parents have been influential in your faith formation. Parents are the first educators. They teach primarily by the witness of their Christian lives and by their love for the faith. It is at home that the seeds of a personal relationship with Jesus are planted. The Catholic schools you attend have collaborated with your parents and guardians in raising and forming you to be the light of Christ for others.
The light of Christ continues to shine through you only if Jesus is within you. Mary was able to offer Jesus to the world because Jesus was first within her. Jesus becomes most present in us through the Eucharist. It is in the Eucharist that Jesus unites us to Himself and transforms us into his very likeness.
Dear young people: you already give praise to God by applying yourselves to studies, participating in school activities, and even more by your moral example and acts of charity. We look forward to the future when you will provide strong leadership for our Church and society. This will happen to the extent that you know and follow Jesus, who is eternal Truth.
Dear Parents: the Church asks you to encourage your children to follow the example of Mary by being open to God’s will. Trust in Jesus, and help your sons and daughters to accept their personal vocation in life with wisdom and freedom. The decision to follow Christ as a priest, religious sister or brother, can be deeply rewarding, as is the vocation of Christian married love.
Tonight we are thankful in many ways. I am particularly grateful to the parents who entrust the education and formation of their children to Catholic schools. I appreciate the support offered by the entire Catholic community. Their prayers and financial support enable Catholic schools to accomplish their mission. All who collaborate in the educational apostolate of the Archdiocese deserve special recognition. You give generously of yourselves to advance the teaching mission of the Church.
Again, I congratulate our honorees. We entrust you, dear young people to the loving intercession of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. May you follow her example by proclaiming the greatness of the Lord and allowing the light of Christ to shine through your lives. Amen.
Dear Friends in Christ,
What a pleasure for me as Archbishop of Philadelphia to be with you today and to welcome all of you who make up this community of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. What a pleasure to celebrate the Eucharist with you and for you. It is a joy to invite all of you to begin a new academic year of grace in the name of Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
I greet with profound affection and respect the faithful and dedicated administration, beginning with the Rector, Monsignor Joseph Prior, together with the faculty and staff, who respond anew this year to the Church’s call to serve generously and selflessly the seminary community of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, offering all their gifts, talents and energies to this great apostolate, this great ecclesial work of helping to prepare young men for the priesthood.
I welcome cordially our new faculty members whom we are so happy to receive and who will in a few moments edify us by their profession of the holy Catholic faith and their oath of loyalty to the Church.
How pleased we are this afternoon to have present representatives of the Board of Trustees, who serve so faithfully and with such dedication the life of our seminary and seminarians. The Archdiocese is deeply grateful for their extraordinary contribution.
During this Eucharist we experience unity with all the Bishops and Ordinaries who have entrusted their young men to Saint Charles Seminary. We also pray for all the Dioceses and Religious Orders represented here today.
The return of our seminarians from last year, together with the arrival of so many new men gives us the occasion to praise God for His “mighty acts” in their lives. The fact, dear seminarians, that you have just come, or that you have come back, shows the action of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit in the Church. Amidst many invitations and enticements in your lives you have felt an attraction to the priesthood of Jesus Christ, which is a pearl of great price, and with generous love you are here to pursue or to continue the discernment of your vocation. The action of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit are clearly at work in your lives. Blessed be God for His mighty works!
The word of God that the Church and the Lord Himself proclaim to us in this votive Mass of the Holy Spirit helps us in our great act of praise and in our understanding in the Church both of discipleship and the priesthood.
Our first reading describes that great day of Pentecost. And what happened on that day? The Apostles of Jesus were together. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit whom Jesus had promised and whom Jesus had sent them from the Father. And in the power of the Holy Spirit they began to speak. About what? About the “mighty acts of God” accomplished in Jesus Christ.
At Pentecost the promise of Jesus was fulfilled. He had promised to send the Holy Spirit from the Father. He had promised that the Holy Spirit would bear testimony to Him and that the Apostles would likewise bear testimony to Him.
Today, dear friends, in the liturgy of the Church, in our gathering, in this sacred place, the fulfillment of the magnificent promise of Jesus is re-enacted. Speaking to our hearts Jesus says: “I will send you the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth. He will testify to me. He will guide you to all truth. He will lead you to me. I am the truth.”
Dear friends, these words speak also about the most important goal for all of you in this Seminary: To get to know Jesus, in the sacraments, the word of God and in prayer; to be formed into Jesus by the Holy Spirit whom Jesus sends you, and in turn to be able to testify to Jesus by your words and your actions.
In all His faithful people, God intends to perform His “mighty acts,” and He asks everyone to bear witness to them. But, in the Church, Jesus chooses certain men to be His priests, by the power of the Holy Spirit to enter into a particular relationship with Him, and to bear special witness to Him by proclaiming sacramentally His Paschal Mystery. The sacramental proclamation of the Paschal Mystery is the Eucharistic celebration, the Mass. The core of your vocation is the Eucharist, just as it is the source and summit of all Christian life. You are here, dear seminarians, to discern and to love the priestly vocation, which is above all to celebrate the Eucharist for the people of God and for the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity.
The action of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit will make this possible for you. And Mary the Mother of Jesus, by her prayers and maternal love for you, will empower you to find peace and joy, generosity and fulfillment in all your seminary days and in your future priestly life and ministry. Amen.
Bishop McFadden,
Dear Priests and Deacons, Religious, Administrators and Educators,
Student Honorees,
Families and Friends,
What a joy it is to gather in thanksgiving to God and in recognition of distinguished scholars from our archdiocesan high schools. Your achievements are, undoubtedly, the result of sacrifice and personal effort. We admire the way in which you have applied yourselves to your studies. I speak for all in the Archdiocese in offering congratulations.
The foundation and purpose of all education is a search for truth. Saint Augustine maintained that we desire truth more passionately than anything else. Each of us has an innate and irrepressible desire for the ultimate and definitive truth. As Christians, we recognize that this truth is a person: Jesus Himself, the Word made flesh. Jesus, then, is the truth for which we all long. In coming to know and love Jesus, we come to know and love the truth.
Students in our Catholic schools are fortunate that their quest for truth takes place within a religious atmosphere. Catholic schools are institutions which offer high quality academic instruction. Even more, they are an effective vehicle of total Christian formation. By offering courses in science, history, mathematics, languages, the arts and so forth, the school nurtures and responds to the student’s intellectual curiosity.
By relating these subjects to salvation, students come to see how Jesus Christ illumines all of life. Catholic education provides an environment where a student can come to know and love Jesus. Daily, students are afforded the opportunity to hear and live the Gospel; to learn and appreciate the teachings of the Church; to acquire a deep understanding, reverence and love for the Liturgy; to build community; to pray and properly form their consciences; to develop virtue and participate in Christian service.
Catholic schools provide students with an academically rigorous education and a doctrinally sound program of faith formation designed to strengthen their union with Christ and his Church. Through a broad-based curriculum, where faith and culture are intertwined, Catholic schools form students to meet the challenging cultural and moral contexts in which young people find themselves. They are provided "an education by virtue of which their whole lives may be inspired by the spirit of Christ" (Gravissimum Educationis, 8).
What the world needs most is God’s love. It needs to encounter Jesus Christ and to believe in Him. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Christ and to make Him known to others as the one true Savior. In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Paul testifies how he bore witness to Jesus. He did so with humility and endured many trials and hardships. However, he never shrank from proclaiming the Gospel of God’s grace. He felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to teach the people. The value that Paul found in life was directly connected with proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Distinguished scholars, your formation to be witnesses for Christ began at home. Your parents have been influential in your faith formation. Parents are the first educators. They teach primarily by the witness of their Christian lives and by their love for the faith. It is at home that the seeds of a personal relationship with Jesus are planted.
The Catholic schools that you have attended have assisted your parents in forming you to be witnesses. Catholic schools have collaborated with your parents and guardians in raising and forming you to proclaim Jesus to others. Your Catholic education, rooted in Jesus Christ, ensures that you have the foundation to be witnesses to Him in the world.
A Christian witness is one who knows and loves Jesus and wants others to know and love Him too. This witness, this testimony must come from inner conviction. Inner conviction develops out of intimacy with Christ. Intimacy with Christ is possible only by spending time with him. There can be no effective Christian witness without a personal relationship with Jesus, especially in the Eucharist. It is in the Eucharist that Jesus unites us to himself. In the Eucharist, the Lord truly becomes food to satisfy pilgrim hearts that hunger and thirst for truth.
Distinguished scholars, you already witness to Jesus by applying yourselves to your studies and participating in school activities. In so doing, you develop the gifts that you have received from God. You proclaim Jesus by your lifestyle. Your moral example and acts of charity enrich the lives of others and offer encouragement, especially to your peers. Your witness is particularly clear by your participation in the Eucharist.
We look forward to the future when you will provide faith-filled leadership for our Church and our nation. Always view others from the perspective of Jesus. Recognize that all men and women are created, just like yourselves, in God’s image and likeness. Do not remain passive in the face of human suffering and inequality. Scholars, place your enormous gifts and talents at the service of life and the promotion of justice, reconciliation and peace. Like Saint Paul, work tirelessly to promote a civilization of love. In so doing, you will be glorifying God.
Some of you will witness to Jesus as lay members of Christ’s faithful people. Others will be called to witness as priests, religious sisters and brothers. This past Saturday, in this very Cathedral, seven young men were ordained to the priesthood for service in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I am convinced that God is calling some of you to the priesthood and religious life. The Church’s history is filled with numerous examples of priests and religious who were gifted with superior intellects. Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Siena, Augustine of Hippo and Teresa of Avila are just a few who applied their minds to probing and explaining the deepest mysteries of faith. What a joy and privilege for you to place your talents at the service of God as a priest, brother or sister! May you be open and responsive to the invitation to serve God’s people.
Parents, encourage your children to be open to doing God’s will. Trust in Jesus, and help your sons and daughters accept their vocation in life with wisdom and freedom. The radical decision to follow Christ as a priest or religious sister or brother can be deeply rewarding. We have a deep conviction that Christ continues to inspire young men and women to give themselves totally to Christ as priests, sisters and brothers.
There is so much for which to be grateful this evening. I express my deep gratitude, first of all, to the parents who have entrusted the education and formation of their children to our Catholic schools. In so doing, you have given us the privilege of sharing a role in which you have the primary and irreplaceable responsibility.
I am grateful for the priests, religious sisters and brothers, and lay faithful who serve in the educational apostolate. We depend upon you to set high academic standards and instill a spirit of faith and values rooted in Christ. You give generously of yourselves to advance the teaching mission of the Church. You assist parents by providing their children with a solid moral foundation. Our Catholic school teachers understand that their work is not just a career opportunity; it is a vocation, a response to God’s call to teach and evangelize our youth.
I am grateful for the support of the entire Catholic community, who by their prayers and financial support enable our schools to accomplish their mission. With this support, many are able to receive a Catholic education who might otherwise be deprived.
Finally, I congratulate our archdiocesan scholars. The future of the world and the Church belongs to the younger generation. We are proud of you. Christ expects great things from young people. Put your talents at the service of the proclamation of the Good News. Be friends of Jesus and give authentic witness to Him so that others might get to know and love Him.
Tonight we entrust you, our archdiocesan scholars, to our Blessed Mother, Mary, whom we honor in a special way during this month of May. Through her maternal intercession, may Mary, the Seat of Wisdom, assist you in putting your gifts and talents at the service of the Kingdom of God. Amen.
Bishop Maginnis,
Bishop Burbidge,
Dear brother Priests and Deacons,
Dear Candidates for Confirmation,
Dear Sponsors,
Dear Families,
Dear Friends in Christ,
Today we have a very special celebration. We have a double celebration because the Church on this seventh Sunday after Easter continues her celebration of the whole Easter Mystery, the Easter event, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Next Sunday, Pentecost Sunday, we will celebrate the first coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles.
In the meantime, today in this Cathedral Basilica, we anticipate that celebration by invoking the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament of Confirmation on all our candidates who are to be confirmed this afternoon. For fifty days the Church is intent on helping us understand just what it means that Jesus rose from the dead. On Ascension Thursday, forty days after Easter, we celebrated the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord into heaven. For forty days after Jesus rose from the dead, He remained with His apostles. He remained with them to continue His instructions, to continue to encourage them, to show them that He was alive, that He had truly risen from the dead, and that they were to be His witnesses throughout the whole world. They were to go to all the corners of the earth and proclaim Jesus Christ risen from the dead. Then on Ascension Thursday, after forty days, Jesus gathered the apostles around Him in a very moving meeting. He spoke to them for the final time He led them near to the town of Bethany, near the Mount of Olives where He had suffered his Agony in the Garden. There Jesus lifted up His arms, He blessed His apostles, and with that He was taken out of their sight. He ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of His Father in glory.
The work of Jesus on earth was completed, but Jesus had promised solemnly that He would not leave His apostles orphans, that He would not abandon His Church. He had promised that on Pentecost the Spirit of God s love would come upon the Apostles, take possession of their hearts, and that the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, would give to the Apostles the strength to do what Jesus had commanded them to do. The Holy Spirit would give them the fortitude and courage to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus and to carry on His mission. That was God s plan so beautifully and profoundly simple, and yet so full of meaning. The work of Jesus Himself was accomplished. Jesus went back to heaven, but the Spirit of God s love, whom He would send into His Church, would be with her forever. That is what has happened, dear friends. The apostles received the gift of the Holy Spirit. And these were the apostles who up to a few weeks before were weak men. We remember what happened the night before Jesus died, how He was arrested, how the apostles were filled with fear. We remember how the apostles fled. Peter, their head, denied Jesus and all the others abandoned Him. These were the apostles who were called to go out into the whole world. On their own there was no way that they would be able to fulfill their mission. That is why Jesus had foreseen and promised the Holy Spirit. On Pentecost that is exactly what happened. At that time the apostles began their preaching throughout the whole world. They spread out. Their head, Peter, went to Rome and there he testified, not only by His life but by his death. They crucified him upside down. Peter became the chief witness of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. During all this time the apostles were communicating the Holy Spirit to others through the Sacrament of Confirmation.
In our first reading today, from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear about the first martyr of the Church, Saint Stephen. We see how Saint Stephen was persecuted this is very often the lot of those who believe in Christ. Christians very often throughout history have had to suffer and many of them have had to die in order to proclaim Jesus Christ. Here in our first reading, we have the first martyr of the Church who gave this wonderful testimony of his belief in Christ. The Acts of the Apostles tell us that Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit. He had received the gift of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation. Throughout the ages there have been millions and millions of followers of Jesus who have received the gift of the Holy Spirit and who have borne witness to Jesus Christ in their lives. Most of the followers of Christ are not called to die for their faith. But everyone is called upon to bear witness in his or her own life in the family, in the workplace, in the activities of every day all of us are called to bear witness to Jesus Christ and to His Gospel. Just as the apostles experienced their own weakness, just as they had to recognize that they were weak and sinful men, so all of us, dear friends, have to recognize our human weaknesses. We have to recognize the fact that there is no way, if left to ourselves, that we can be faithful to our calling faithful to Jesus Christ forever. That is where the great gift of the Holy Spirit comes in.
Today, dear candidates for Confirmation, you have assembled here in order to receive this great gift of the Holy Spirit the same gift that the apostles received on that first Pentecost. Next week, on Pentecost Sunday, everyone in the Church will be celebrating this event. Meanwhile, we are anticipating this event here in this Cathedral. During this Pentecost celebration which we are anticipating today, you will realize that Jesus promise is fulfilled in your regard, just as it was fulfilled for the apostles on that first Pentecost. The Spirit of God s love comes to take possession of your hearts and your lives. This does not mean that from now on there will be no temptations not at all. This does not mean that you can desist in making the effort necessary --- no absolutely not. We are human. We have our human weaknesses and these human weaknesses remain with us forever. But the gift of God s Holy Spirit and the strength that comes from His love are infused into our hearts. This, dear friends, is the wonderful event that you celebrate today. And all of this is because of God s love. It is because as Christ tells us in the Gospel today the Father loves us. The Father loves Jesus and the Father loves us. Because of this love, because we are loved by God, we receive the greatest gift possible. We receive the gift of His love, and that gift is the Third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity. The Spirit of God s love takes possession of our lives.
Dear friends, this is a wonderful moment for all of us to renew our resolution to be faithful to Christ, and to realize that all the weaknesses we are capable of as human beings are still inferior to the strength that is offered us by the the Sacrament of Confirmation. The strength of God s love is something more powerful than our weaknesses. It is something that will accompany us all our lives.
So today, dear friends, at the end of this ceremony as you leave the Church, you will be walking into the future, but not alone. You will have the great gift of God s love and His strength in your hearts. And with this, Christ Himself challenges you to go out into the world and bear witness to Him, to bring His name to other people, to let people see that by your lives you bear witness to Jesus. Jesus has told us: You are my friends if you do what I command you. With the firm resolution to be faithful to the Gospel of Christ, with the firm resolution to be faithful to the commandments of Christ, you begin a new phase in your lives the wonderful phase of Confirmation, with the Spirit of God s holy love in your hearts. Amen.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The Liturgy of the Word for this First Sunday of Advent offers to us images both catastrophic and calming. In the passage from the Gospel according to Saint Luke, Jesus speaks in terrifying terms of the end of the world. Signs will appear in the sky, the nations will be in anguish, the sea will be in upheaval, and people will be frightened. These images hardly seem appropriate for the beginning of the joyful season of Advent. Yet, these words of Jesus are followed by His exhortation: Stand up straight and raise your heads, for your ransom is at hand.
The Church enters into the important season of Advent with two goals. Initially, we prepare our minds and hearts for the celebration of the Birth of Our Savior. Secondly, we prepare our minds and hearts for the day when Our Lord returns as our judge at the end of the world. It is for these reasons that the Church offers to us the images of tribulation, but also calming words which remind us that we who are followers of Christ and His Gospel have nothing to fear. We await His return and we will be prepared.
In this first Advent as your Archbishop, I take this opportunity to assure you that in the midst of the trials and distress which afflict our world and our Church, we have every reason to remain calm with minds and hearts fixed on Christ. Jesus came into the world to reveal the love and mercy of God our Father. Jesus is with us always and He guides us through every difficulty, even when we are least aware of His loving presence. He gives us the courage to stand and keep our heads raised as we give witness to the world that we are Christians and that we live joyfully in the light of Christ.
This season of grace also invites us to reflect on the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary was the first person to experience the nearness of Christ when, in her womb, the Word became Flesh. The example of Mary, as she waited for the birth of her Son, shows us how to experience within us the presence of God, especially in the ordinariness of life. I ask everyone throughout this holy season to look to Mary. She will assist us in recognizing the nearness of Christ and His calming, guiding love.
With these sentiments, I entrust you all to Mary Mother of Jesus the Incarnate Word, Mother of God.
Sincerely in Christ,
Cardinal Justin Rigali
Archbishop of Philadelphia
Dear Priests and Deacons,
Dear Altar Servers,
Dear Parents,
Dear Friends,
Praised be Jesus Christ!
My dear young people, WELCOME! Welcome here to this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. Today, it is a great joy for me to welcome you here, to celebrate this Mass with you and to recognize your service to the Church in your role as altar servers.
You gather here today with people from over 50 parishes in our Archdiocese. You gather here today with fellow altar servers, friends and family. You gather here today with many priests, deacons and religious. And all of us are here today worshipping God together at this Altar. It is indeed good for us to be here!
Every year at this time, we celebrate this special Mass at the Cathedral so that we can all join together in praise of our heavenly Father. At a celebration like this, when we are all gathered together, we can see just how large our Church in Philadelphia is. In fact, our Archdiocese is so large that we need to split into sections those who attend this Mass! We simply cannot fit all the altar servers in Philadelphia into this Cathedral. Today, we welcome here all of you, the servers from the Philadelphia South Vicariate, as well as the Delaware and Chester County Vicariates. Over 800 altars servers are present here!
Friends, we have just listened to God’s holy word proclaimed in the Scriptures. And in today’s readings, we have heard several different stories. Each different but each containing something for us to think about and to ponder.
In the first reading, we heard about a man named Job. Job’s name is spelled, J-O-B, the same way we spell our name for work, the word "job". And if you have ever had a difficult job to do, you can appreciate Job’s entire life. Job was a man who not only had a difficult job, but he had a difficult life. I am sure that some of you even at your young age can relate to this man named Job. I am sure that at times you have experienced hard days at school, hard days at home, or you have had some hard things to do. That is what Job’s life was like. And we hear him today saying, "Life is a drudgery." "I feel like a slave, a hired hand." Job certainly was having difficulties. In many ways, Job’s heart was broken. He was not happy. Perhaps some of you too know what that is like: times when everything seems to be broken, times when you are just not happy.
It was only 6 weeks ago that we celebrated the beautiful feast of Christmas. I am sure all of you here today received some new gifts at Christmas time. I wonder if any of those things you received might be broken today. Or if the batteries have worn out or if the pieces are missing. When that happens, we need to do something to fix it. We have to take it back to the store, get new batteries or get someone to repair it. We have all experienced that. But it is different when it is your heart that is broken, when you are feeling sad. What are we to do then? Who can fix a broken heart? Who can help us when we are sad?
Our responsorial psalm today gives us the answer. "Praise the Lord who heals the brokenhearted!"
And in the Gospel we see that it is our Lord Jesus Christ who is doing just that. Jesus today is healing sick people, people not only with broken bodies but with sad and broken hearts. Isn’t that wonderful! For we see today Jesus doing what no one else can do. Only Jesus can heal the brokenhearted. No one else can fix a broken heart, only Jesus can and we see that He wants to do just that today.
Why does Jesus do this? He does this because He loves his people and He wants everyone to know His love. In His ministry in today’s Gospel, Jesus remains not just in one spot; He moves around and He wants those whom He has healed to tell others about the gift they have received. To share with others, to serve others with the love they have received from Him.
Friends, there are so many altar servers in this Church today. But what does it mean to be an altar server? Part of it means that you help the priest at Mass, that you are responsible and report for your duties on time and are respectfully dressed. For some of you it even means that you need to wake up extra early in the morning to serve early Masses! This is all part of being an alar server.
But being an altar server means something much more than that. It means that you are someone very special. You are a friend of Jesus. It means that you are a special friend of Jesus. It means that He knows who you are, He knows your name and He is happy that you have chosen to serve him at His altar.
Being an altar server also means that you are connected. And today, we see that connection in a powerful way. We see it first in the albs or robes you are wearing. These show that you are a child of God, that you have put on Christ Jesus. And so, through Him and with Him you are all connected, you are all one with each other and with the whole Church.
We see today the connection in the tasks you do as altar servers. Yes, you come from different churches, from different parish communities. But every Mass, no matter where it is celebrated, is the same. And no matter where you are, the task of the altar server is the same: to bring over water and wine, to wash the priest’s hands, to help him at the altar. This is done at every Mass by every altar server in the world! And this shows that you are connected not only in what you wear but in what you do, serving Jesus at Mass, where Jesus heals the world through His Eucharistic love.
Finally, we see the connection in the call that you all share: the call to serve Jesus. Jesus came on earth to bring His healing to the world, a world that was filled with people who had broken hearts.
We hear about that healing in the Gospel today. But we see that healing in the Eucharist. We see His healing presence as Jesus is made present on the altar.
And so, the work of Jesus continues. And here in service to Jesus at the altar, all of you are indeed connected with Him in His wonderful work of healing the world. It is a work that you are privileged to share as you serve Jesus at the altar.
Dear servers, this is the job that we all have. The task all of us have together as Christians is to live our connection with the Lord. We must live the love of Jesus in our lives.
Young people, when you live that connection with Jesus, when you live the love of Jesus by praying, keeping His commandments and serving others, your life becomes different. You are truly blessed. You find peace and happiness and you become a blessing to others. God begins to use you in a powerful way and His love begins to grow in your hearts. It grows not only within you but it reaches out to others.
This is your job as Christians. Not merely to serve Jesus at the altar but to serve Him by living His love. What a wonderful job, what a wonderful privilege it is, to live the love of Jesus!
Dear servers, this is what our world needs today. Jesus needs you. He needs young people committed to living His love and serving him. And He calls you to do that with generous hearts. In fact, I have no doubt at all that Jesus is even calling many of you young men here today in this Church to serve him as His priests, to serve Him in this special way at the altar. Furthermore, I have no doubt at all that Jesus is calling many of you young women to serve Him as religious sisters, to serve and teach the love of God as Mary did. What a beautiful gift to experience God’s call to be His priest or a religious. Do not be afraid to answer that particular call if it is meant for you.
Finally, as we move on now to celebrate this Eucharistic Sacrifice, I want to thank you for taking the time to come here today, on this Super Bowl Sunday. Thank you for being young people in service to Jesus. And may God’s blessing descend upon you and your families today and forever. Amen.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
To my brother priests, consecrated religious, parents, teachers and chaperones and to all of you altar servers, welcome to our Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. How good it is to be with you once again for this Annual Altar Servers Mass! And how splendid the view is from up here! To see so many of you, altar servers gathered together in one place is quite a sight indeed, and it is good to be with you here today at this Holy Mass.
We have just heard, dear friends, a beautiful account from Saint Mark’s Gospel—an account that describes a remarkable scene and a beautiful miracle of grace, a story of forgiveness and service, of healing and love. We heard about a day that the people gathered with Jesus would never forget, a dramatic day on which they witnessed something entirely new, something they had never heard or seen before. Let us try to imagine the scene.
We are told that people had heard Jesus was at home, and so they started coming to see Him. A great crowd of people was gathered, some of the crowd had seen Jesus before and others were hoping to see Him for the first time. Four of the people decided to bring with them a paralyzed man, hoping that Jesus would heal him. It took great effort to bring this paralyzed man to Jesus. First, they had to carry him. Then they had to get him through the thick crowd. In doing that, they realized they could not get close enough to Jesus so they decided to carry this man up to the roof! Imagine the energy and care that that involved! Once on the roof, they had to break the roof open, and finally after much work, they were able to lower the man down to see Jesus. Imagine that scene, quite an event in itself, all in an effort to help this one man to see Jesus!
It is at this point in the Gospel, that we see Jesus work a wonderful miracle and do something that only He can do. First, he forgives the man’s sins. Jesus declares, "Child, your sins are forgiven." Then, He heals him of his handicap. He looks at the man with love and says, "Rise, pick up your mat and go home." The man did just that and we are told that the crowd was astounded, for they had witnessed a miracle, and as Saint Mark tells us, "They glorified God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this’." They had witnessed a miracle of mercy, healing and love.
For some of you, today, you too are witnessing something you have never seen before. This may be, for many of you, your first time in this Cathedral, a crowded Cathedral, filled with people who want to see Jesus. This alone is quite a sight. But there is more. For just as Jesus did on that day in Capernaum, today Jesus desires to do something new for us. And He does! Jesus comes to us today, He speaks His word of mercy and love, and brings us new healing and grace. How good it is to be here with Jesus!
For Altar Servers, it is in a very special way that Jesus is present to you. For it is primarily at the Altar, where you serve, that Jesus comes to you and works His greatest miracle in today’s world. It is at the altar that Jesus meets his people, thousands of people from all over the world, each and every day in the Eucharist. It is there at the altar that Jesus offers Himself, as forgiveness, as healing, as food, empowering us to serve Him with reverence, attention and love. As altar servers, then, you are very much like the four men in this gospel. For like them, you serve others and, in serving, you get to be close to Jesus, you get to bring yourselves and others to Jesus with great attention and love. Such a service is a great gift and a tremendous privilege. For having served at the altar, you too like the four men in the Gospel can go out and tell others the wonderful things that God has done for his people, how He gives Himself to them both in His Word and in the Eucharist. Yes, friends, as we are gathered together here today at Mass, we are very much like the people in the Gospel, for we get to see wonderful things, new things, miracles of grace as we serve Jesus.
In today’s world, it is often difficult to see new things, but even new things quickly grow old. We seem to have so many things, and yet it is easy to grow bored, and tired in life. But young servers, do not be fooled. And do not worry, for Jesus saves us from all that is old, boring and tired. In fact, he offers us a remedy for such things, just as he did for the people in this Gospel. We heard God’s word today, spoken to us also through Isaiah the prophet who told the people who had grown old and bored: "Remember not the things of the past, things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the desert, I make a way." Jesus is that Way! And He is with us today.
In just three short days, from now, dear friends, we will begin something new. We will begin the holy season of Lent. Lent is a time when we remember in a special way Jesus being tempted for forty days in the desert. It is a time when Jesus is making a new way for us. It is a time when many people will make a way for Jesus. In just a few days, many people will come to Jesus and renew their "yes" to Him. They will be marked with Ashes and will enter into a special season of grace, with good intentions, sacrifice and prayer. Altar Servers, what a wonderful opportunity Lent is to grow close to Jesus. To renew your "yes" to Jesus, to serve Him well! We have a wonderful new grace, a new opportunity right before us.
This Lent, as you serve at the altar and you see so many people coming close to Jesus, may I ask of you a very special intention? I ask you to ask the Holy Spirit to help you to be like the men in today’s Gospel. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to know how Jesus wants you to serve Him. You can even ask that question to Jesus directly, just say, "Jesus, how do you want me to serve you today and in the future?" What an important question that is and I am certain that you will hear an answer. For Jesus loves to answer that question! Just try it and find out. Wouldn’t it be great if every altar server here today, indeed all our altar servers throughout our Archdiocese, would ask that question of Jesus and make that his or her prayer for each day of Lent? Let us make it a Lenten resolution. What beautiful graces that prayer will bring to you, as you ask Jesus how He wants you to serve Him. Through that prayer you will find great grace and even discover your particular vocation.
Young people, Jesus has a very special love in His heart for each and every one of you. He loves you and He wants to use you to bring His love to others. On behalf of your pastors and the other priests, I thank you for serving Jesus at the altar as altar servers and for bringing His love to others. I thank your parents and priests for helping you to be faithful to your commitments. As we proceed now to meet Jesus at the Altar, let us give Him thanks, let us praise His glory and like the people in today’s Gospel, let us glorify God who makes all things new. Amen.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
It is a joy for all of us to be together today in this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. We are here for this annual gathering of our altar servers and for this celebration of Sunday Mass. It is good to see so many of our altar servers assembled on this occasion, and it is a blessing to be with you. I thank all of those who have made this gathering possible.
Today, of course, is a very special day of the week. Today is Sunday, the Day of the Lord, the day when all of us Christians throughout the world gather together to give praise and thanks to Almighty God as we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus our Lord and Savior. As Catholics, we mark this day in a very special way, as we celebrate Holy Mass, in which we gather at the Altar to serve Jesus and where, in His great love for us, Jesus in turn, serves us! For it is here at this Mass that Jesus teaches us with His Word. It is here at this Mass that Jesus nourishes us with His Body and Blood, giving us grace, wisdom and strength for the days ahead. The presence of so many of our altar servers is a concrete reminder to all of us of the tremendous service which takes place in this Eucharist as we give to the Lord our love and receive from the Lord His Love. What a beautiful gift! What a wonderful exchange of love transpires here today!
Of course, today, February 14th, is also Valentine’s Day—a day in this country on which we remember in a particular way loved ones and friends. It is common on this day to exchange greetings, flowers and other remembrances to those close to us. Such kind gestures are appropriate, but they do not last, do they? Such expressions of love are only for a day. By the end of the week, the flowers will be wilting and the other remembrances gone. Such signs and symbols of friendship and love are just that, namely signs and symbols; they are not love itself. Love is much deeper. It is not limited to the symbols of this day, but rather is found in persons, in relationships, in human hearts, in the Heart of Jesus.
It is with this in mind, dear friends, that we gather here today with great joy and faith. For we know that it is here at this Eucharist, here at this altar, that we are given not a symbol of God’s love, but the reality of God’s love, Jesus Himself. It is here in this Eucharist that we are given the living heart of God, the real and living presence of Jesus who has promised to give His heart to us, and who shares with us in this Mass His endless Love. We hear of this real and enduring love of God in our readings today which speak to us of the Beatitudes and of two ways of living. There is a way that leads to life and that endures, and there is a way that leads to sadness, a way that leads away from life, that does not endure. Both the prophet Jeremiah and the Psalm which we hear today describe these two ways of life, using a very beautiful image, the image of two trees. One tree is planted by running waters, where it is able to stretch out its roots and drink freely of the water. This tree is well provided for, even during the difficult seasons; this tree remains strong, bearing fruit, and its leaves never fade. The other tree is not near the waters, and as such it has no nourishment and cannot survive. This tree bears no fruit.
Dear friends: God is reminding us today that you and I are like those trees and that Jesus Himself is the living water. Jesus invites us today and every day to be close to Him so that we may drink freely of His love, so that we may have life and bear fruit that endures. This invitation of God to us is the reason we are here today, to receive the living water, the very gift and life of Jesus Himself.
How you may ask do we do this? How can we grow strong in the love and strength of God? We do so by remaining close to Jesus Himself. By following His commandments, by walking in His ways and by being faithful to the sacraments, especially Sunday Mass. For, it is in the Mass that we meet the Lord and have life; without Mass, we miss this meeting and remain deprived of life.
Dear young people: It is in reflecting on God’s Word that you realize how blessed you are to be servers of our Lord at Mass. You realize how blessed you are to be near Jesus, to receive Jesus and to grow in His grace. You are like those trees that are planted near the running waters and endure. You are meant to be witnesses for others of God’s love and power.
The world today needs witnesses of God’s love and power, and you, dear young people, can be tremendous witnesses of God in this world. Through your faithful service, through your joy and zeal, through your enthusiasm and reverence, you bring hope to the world. When others see you at Mass, when others see you serve, when others see your reverence, attention and love, they begin to realize the presence of Jesus. Your service then becomes a witness for all to see.
This week, the Church throughout the world will enter the holy season of Lent. We begin Lent on Ash Wednesday and receive ashes on our foreheads that many people will see. This mark is a sign. But, like the hearts on Valentine’s day, the ashes will quickly disappear. They last only for a short time. You and I, then, are called to something greater; we are called to live forever, to be living witnesses of God’s unchanging love.
Dear Servers: It is through your service to the Lord at the Altar, that you will grow in the gift of God’s love. Countless Saints served the Lord in this way. Many priests and religious brothers and sisters did the same when they were younger. And now is your time to do the same. Pray to the Lord each day, give Him thanks for His countless blessings and ask Him to help you to be His living witnesses in the world, witnesses of His enduring love.
And remember that Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our Blessed Mother too, will always help you to perform well your important service in the Church. Amen.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Now and forever!
Dear brother Priests and Deacons,
Dear Seminarians from Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary,
Dear members of the Serra Club,
Most especially, dear altar servers from the parishes of
Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia North Vicariates,
Dear Friends in our Lord, Jesus Christ,
Welcome! Welcome to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, the Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where we gather, in the name of Jesus, to give thanks and praise to Almighty God for his countless blessings. Yes, we gather, in the name of Jesus Christ, to celebrate the gift of our holy Catholic faith, and, in a special way, to express appreciation to the altar servers, who have gathered in this magnificent basilica, for this special time of grace and blessing. As Archbishop, it gives me great joy, to gather with you, dear young people, but more importantly that we gather in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today, is an opportunity for me to reflect, with you, on the vital role you partake in as an altar server in your parish. You have chosen to offer your service, in a way like no other, for you have chosen to assist the priest as he offers up the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the greatest prayer of all. You, through your willingness to serve at holy Mass, help lead your fellow parishioners in giving praise to God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You see, your role of serving is of great importance and can never be taken lightly or for granted. For when you serve at Mass, you are in such close proximity to the central mystery of our holy Catholic faith. Namely, that the ordinary bread and wine offered, do in fact, become the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. What a great privilege you have been given and I remind you that serving at Holy Mass, is something that will always require your total attention and careful preparation so that fitting praise and worship is given to our Father in Heaven.
Dear altar servers, along with the priests of your parish, I offer deep gratitude for the dedication you offer to serve at Sunday and daily Mass at your parish. Personally, I am grateful, that as I have the blessing to visit your parishes for the Sacrament of Confirmation and other special liturgies, I witness how well you serve. I know that this requires great preparation and time for special practices.
Today, in thanking you for your commitment, I wish also to offer you encouragement to stay always close to Jesus Christ, for I realize we live in challenging times, where there are temptations, distractions, noises and distortions that could harm us. I realize this is especially true for you, dear young people. Placed before you, each day, is the opportunity to increase in holiness, growing closer to Jesus. Sadly, there are temptations placed before you that could jeopardize your relationship with Him. And so, I exhort you to be diligent regarding what your Baptism, and for some of you, your Confirmation, requires of you. Namely, to follow the Law of the Lord, to know and be faithful to his commandments and to rejoice in the blessings promised to those who are faithful.
Our First Reading, from the Old Testament Book of Sirach, speaks of the promise that such diligence will bring: “If you choose, you can keep the commandments, they will save you...” Yes, if “you choose”, dear young people, choosing the way of Jesus will give you freedom, peace and most of all the promise of his presence with you always.
Our Psalm reminds us, so beautifully, “Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!” There is great blessing in knowing, following and living the law of the Lord. But this will be a challenge! It will be difficult, because there are many distractions, peer pressure and strange voices that will tempt you not to listen and live the Lord’s commandment of love. Therefore, remain focused on what Jesus wants of you! In difficult times, choose Jesus, choose his way, choose to follow him and you will be called blessed.
In our Second Reading, Saint Paul gives us further encouragement when he writes to the people living in Corinth, he says: “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him.” This is the promise and assurance that we are given, if we choose to follow the way of the Lord, to follow Jesus and to love and serve him. To love Jesus means to follow his commandments, the greatest of which is love. Again, imagine the great promise that Saint Paul utters, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and it has not even dawned on the imagination of man, the splendid reward God has prepared for you if you choose to live and follow his commandment of love.
It is not easy always to follow Jesus. At times, His commandment of love requires great effort or great restraint on your part. However, when you follow his commandments, you are assured of his presence and blessings always. Your lives are filled with choices, and you are being challenged today, by Jesus, to choose love. Remember the promise in the prayer, at the beginning of this holy Mass, make it your own each day, as you face the challenge of choosing between what is good and evil: “God our Father, you have promised to remain forever with those who do what is just and right.”
Just a short time ago, in a school not far from where we are this afternoon there was a young boy named Cory—about your age. Cory was verbally bullied and brutally beaten by a group of his peers because they felt he was inferior in size. The news of these criminal acts was reported in news stations and papers throughout the country. There was outrage that such a brutal attack could take place among people so young, but what was more alarming was there were some young people who chose to stand by and do nothing to help Cory in his time of need . It could be said, that the neglect to stand up for someone in need of help, someone powerless, is the far greater offense.
Jesus’ commandment of love calls you to live lives that witness to and speak the truth! Therefore, to speak for, defend and love everyone. Because of Jesus’ commandments we can never stand by and watch as someone is taken advantage of or bullied. Dear young people, I know you want to make a difference, I know you want to show the world that Jesus loves you and that you love Jesus. Hence, you must make it a daily habit to live God’s commandments faithfully and never just stand by and watch!
When you serve at Mass, you are showing others that you want to follow the Lord, and by your example, you are helping others to follow the Lord. In the sanctuary serving, in the classroom studying, on the court or field be consistent in your commitment to Jesus Christ. Never be one person for Christ and another person just to fit in because of peer pressure! Listen to Jesus, what He says in the Gospel today. “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No’.” In other words, be sincere and faithful to the law of the Lord.
Dear young people, thank you for your service, thank you for coming here today. May you be renewed in the love of Jesus Christ, renewed in following the commandments of the Lord so that you will always know his presence and blessing in your life.
Finally, dear young people, always stay close to Jesus’ Mother, Mary. For she will intercede for you and help you to choose to live in Christ, to act uprightly and follow His commandments. She will give you the courage to combat evil and temptation, to stand for the rights of others who have no voice. Pray to her daily and ask her to help you to make good decisions and to live her Son’s commandment of love now and always. Amen.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Greetings and a heartfelt welcome to all of you gathered here for this special Mass in which we recognize and honor the Altar Servers of our Archdiocese. Boys and girls, young men and women, how good it is to be here with you! Here, in this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, we gather with altar servers from 63 parishes of the Montgomery, Bucks and Philadelphia North Vicariates. Here, on this Sunday, we gather with so many of our priests, deacons, religious sisters, seminarians, parents, family members and friends. Here, today, we gather to celebrate and to participate in this Eucharist with our Lord Jesus Christ. It is indeed good to be here today!
In the course of any day, wherever we may be, people ask us questions. In school, teachers ask us questions. For it is through questions that they find out what we have learned and how well we have studied our lessons. At home, our parents ask us questions. They love us, care about us and they want to know what’s going on in our lives. At Confirmation, the Bishop who comes to our parish church will at times ask questions. For he wants to show the congregation that we are properly prepared to receive the Sacrament. Even our best of friends, in the course of every day events, will ask us questions. While this is common in our relationships with one another, it is interesting to note that even God—He who knows everything about us—will at times ask us questions!
In fact, in the very opening scene of the Bible, we find God asking Adam and Eve some questions. You might remember the scene. It was right after Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the forbidden tree, after they sinned. God asks them "Where are you?" Here we have an interesting scene. For we see here that God, who sees and knows everything, is looking for Adam and Eve! It seems rather comical. And while God knows where they are, His question reveals to them His love, His great concern and His fatherly care. It is clear that Adam and Eve are important to God. God loves them, and where they are matters to God. He cares for them very much and desires them to be with Him.
Dear Friends: what is true for Adam and Eve, is true for you and me as well. God cares for us. We, too, are important to God and where we are matters to God for He loves us so very much. Today, as we gather at this Eucharist, we are reminded of this truth. We are reminded of who we are. We are God’s children, we are His people, members of His family, members of Christ’s Body, the Church. As such, where we are is important to God; it is important for us as well.
Today, as we gather here in God’s house, to celebrate and share at His altar, we are invited to consider carefully our place in God’s Plan—where we are in our lives, in our relationship to God, in our relationship with one another and in relationship to God’s Plan for our salvation. Certainly, God knows where we are. But we ourselves need to know where we are, and where he is calling us to be in His plan for our salvation.
In the first reading today from the Prophet Jeremiah, we see two very different places where human beings may find themselves. Two places where you and I might be. The first is a dry and barren place, a wilderness, an uninhabited land. Not a very nice place, not a good place to be. It is here that we find a man who trusts not in God but in himself. Such a man can be found in this rough and dangerous place. But then we hear of another place, a beautiful place where we find a man who trusts in the Lord. Unlike the first scene, which is dry and barren, here we find a running stream. The man found here who trusts in the Lord is well provided for. In fact, we are told that he is like a tree that grows strong, stretching its roots into the stream. And no matter what the weather may be, no matter what season it is, this man is safe. He is provided for, he has everything he needs. This is the place of the man who trusts in the Lord. He is found in this good and healthy and safe place. And this, dear Friends, is obviously the place where we ourselves would like to be, where God desires us to be, and where we will be if we trust in Him.
In the Gospel today we see where Jesus is. He has just come down from the mountain. He has just selected his Twelve Apostles and called them by name. And now, we find Jesus standing before a large crowd of people. Saint Luke tells us that Jesus is on a plain, a flat and level stretch of ground. The crowd has gathered around Him and Jesus, looking toward His disciples, begins to teach. He teaches the people how to be good. He teaches them how they can be blessed; how, if they trust in Him, they can arrive in that good and safe place. Furthermore, as a good teacher He also warns them of dangers, how they need to avoid trusting in themselves or in worldly riches. He teaches them how they can avoid that dry and barren place.
In this Gospel scene Jesus teaches the crowds the Beatitudes. And it is here in this teaching that Jesus shows the people how to be with Him, how to be like Him, indeed how to represent Him in the midst of this world. Dear Friends, these teachings of Jesus are very important for us. They serve as a roadmap, guiding us and showing us where we are in our lives and how we can move closer and closer to Jesus.
As Altar Servers, you have a very important role to play in the Church; you are indeed very close to Jesus. In fact, when you serve at the altar, next to the priest, you are the closest to Jesus. For unlike the other people in the Church who are in the pews, you as an altar server are right there, next to the priest, very close to the altar. As altar servers, then, you find yourself in a privileged and holy place: very often kneeling right there at the side of the altar or in front of the altar during the Eucharistic Prayer. You are close to Jesus. In the crowd of many people, you have a front row place! You are in a good and holy place!
Now from the sanctuary, dear young people, Jesus invites you to act like Him, to be like Him. He invites you to trust Him, like the man in the first reading, so that you may come to that blessed place where all is well. Jesus invites you to trust in him, to be loving and kind toward others so that you can be close to Jesus always, and serve Jesus not only at the altar but everywhere else as well. You are called to be His presence in the midst of this world, like Mother Teresa, like Pope John Paul II, like all the Saints whom we know so well. This is God’s Will for you. This is the place where God wants you to be: to be always with Jesus, to be like Jesus, to represent Jesus and to be Jesus in this world.
Right now, for most of you, your place in the world is with your families and at your schools. This is where God wants you to be. Someday, however, that will change. You will grow older. You will graduate from your schools and God will be there leading you to a new place. Young people: it is important for you to know where that place is. It is important for you consider carefully, to discern where Jesus is leading you.
For many of you it will eventually be the vocation of Christian married love, the Sacrament of Marriage. This vocation is very important for the Church and the world. It is so much a part of God’s plan. Your parents will tell you that it involves sacrifice and requires a great deal of self-giving, a great deal of love.
Others of you Jesus will lead to serve Him one day as a religious brother or sister. To be set aside and consecrated to Jesus in religious life is another form of love, a wonderful form of special service in the Church and in the world.
Some of you young men may be called by God to be priests, to share the ministry of Jesus the Good Shepherd. You know that it is through the priest that all of God’s people are able to have the Eucharist, which is the Body and Blood of Jesus. Without the priest, there is no Eucharist. Without the Eucharist there is no Church! If God is calling you young men to this vocation, He will give you the grace to be generous and say yes.
Jesus will call still others here to different forms of service. But no matter where Jesus is calling you, it is your duty and privilege as His friends to listen to His voice and to live according to His way of life. Each and every one of you has the calling to be with Jesus, to be like Him, and to live according to His way of life, according to His commandments, His Beatitudes.
Today, dear Friends, as we gather close to Jesus at this Eucharist and join with Him here at this high altar, let us respond to Jesus who is asking us that important question, "Where are you?" Let us answer like Mary and like all the Saints of God. Let us say with joyful and excited hearts: "Here I am Lord! Where you are, Lord, is where I want to be! Keep me Lord Jesus ever close to you, today and forever." Amen.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, mighty God!
With great joy I have accepted the invitation of the Pastor of this local Church of Altoona-Johnstown, my dear friend Bishop Joseph Adamec, to be the principal celebrant and homilist on this special occasion: the 75th anniversary of the dedication of this Altoona Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.
It is an honor for me as Archbishop of Philadelphia to be spiritually united with all of you today, as was my predecessor Cardinal Dennis Dougherty three-quarters of a century ago when he dedicated this great Cathedral church.
In the peace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ I greet you all: Bishop Adamec, priests, deacons, religious and lay faithful of the Diocese, civic dignitaries and guests. In particular, I cordially acknowledge the presence of Bishop Viliam Judak of Nitra in Slovakia and Archabbot Douglas Nowicki of Saint Vincent Archabbey, as well as Metropolitan Nicholas of the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese.
The history of this Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and of this Diocese is linked to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in different ways. Bishop John McCort, your second Bishop who came to you from Philadelphia, was the first person to envision this majestic structure. Bishop Carroll McCormick, once Auxiliary of Philadelphia, was privileged to see the completed Cathedral opened for public worship in 1960. Twenty-five years ago, in 1981, my predecessor Cardinal John Krol presided at the solemn consecration of this sacred edifice. And just last year, as Metropolitan Archbishop of Philadelphia I was honored to preside at the funeral liturgy of Bishop James J. Hogan.
What unites us so deeply, however, dear friends, is the mystery—the divine reality—of the Church of Jesus Christ. We belong to one Church; we are members of the one Body of Christ. The Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown is linked with the Metropolitan See of Philadelphia, but all of us are linked in organic unity with the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church spread throughout the world under the spiritual leadership of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, but above all under the Supreme and Eternal Shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ.
In preparation for this day, your own Bishop Adamec has rightly spoken about the celebration of the Cathedral as "the celebration of the life of the Diocese and its unity as a Church."
The word of God that we proclaim today helps us to understand what the Cathedral and the Diocese are all about.
In the Gospel we see how Jesus loved the Temple in Jerusalem, and how He referred to it as "my Father’s house." Everything about it was sacred. Jesus did not tolerate the profanation of the temple area. He forcefully drove out those who sold oxen, sheep and doves, as well as the money changers. "Take these out of here," He said, "and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace." Jesus was consumed with zeal for His Father’s house.
Every church, but the Cathedral in particular, is God’s house. It is the Church’s place of prayer and worship. It is God’s dwelling-place. It is where the supreme treasure of the Church—the Blessed Sacrament—is honored and adored. Jesus Christ, the second person of the Most Blessed Trinity, the Son of the living God, the Son of Mary, is enthroned in the tabernacle of each Church. What importance, what dignity, what a sacred place!
But every church, and in particular the Cathedral church in this Diocese and in every diocese throughout the world, is an image and a sign of another structure that is even more magnificent, a structure that is made of living stones. Hence this Cathedral is a sign of the living Church of Jesus Christ, to which we are all privileged to belong as baptized Christians. In our second reading this afternoon, Saint Paul tells us that we are "members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred to the Lord; in him you are being built together into a dwelling-place of God in the Spirit."
And so, dear friends, we can see that the greatest dignity of the Cathedral is to be a symbol of the Diocese itself, which in turn is a privileged part of the Church of the living God, which Jesus purchased by the shedding of His precious Blood.
This sacred edifice, this magnificent Cathedral is an image, in its own structure, of another structure, a living structure, the one Body of Christ, in which we are all destined to find life and salvation and unity in Jesus Christ.
And just as the Cathedral is God’s house available for everyone, so too the Church is meant to unite us all in Christ. The Church herself is a community of faith, a community of prayer and worship, a community of love for God that becomes also a community of service to one another.
This is why the Church condemns all unjust discrimination and why the well-being of the poor and the needy are such priorities in our Christian communities. In the apostolic tradition of the Church our love for God becomes our challenge to assist others, as Saint Paul says: "Bear one another’s burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal 6:2).
Here then in this Cathedral we find the fullness of the mystery of Christ in the Sacraments that are given us, in the word of God that is proclaimed to us, and in the unity of the Church that challenges us to accept Jesus in all of our brothers and sisters. Here too in this dwelling-place of God, in this house of worship and adoration we find consolation, strength and courage for our journey to our homeland, just as the people of Israel did when the Lord addressed them in the words which we find in our first reading: "Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God...he comes to save you."
Because the Cathedral is the sign and image of Christ’s Church it is also the sign of the salvation and eternal life that we receive in the Church.
Dear brothers and sisters: in the name of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father and Son of Mary, we give thanks to God for the great gift of this Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, which for seventy-five years has immersed the community of this local Church into the saving and life-giving mystery of God’s love. Amen.
Bishop Adamec,
Brother Priests and Deacons;
Dear Religious, Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
I greet you warmly in the name of Jesus Christ on the occasion of this joyous anniversary. I express my gratitude to Bishop Adamec for inviting me to celebrate this liturgy with you, and to give thanks to almighty God for His blessings to the entire Church in the Metropolitan Province of Philadelphia. Today we thank God in particular for the vibrant and faithful witness of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. Your fidelity through the years—up to our own day—has made the Face of Jesus shine forth in the beautiful Allegheny area.
It is especially important to mark this celebration in this beautiful and historic Cathedral Church of Saint John Gualbert. This soaring edifice is both a tribute to the character of the Catholic people of this diocese, as well as a means of raising our eyes, our hearts and our minds to God, our merciful Father. In the words of Psalm 95, "Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing psalms to him" (Ps 95: 2). Here, in the presence of your Bishop, with so many priests, and such a great number of the faithful, the Church is truly present. As the Metropolitan Archbishop of this Province, I rejoice in the unity which we enjoy as members of the Church, the Body of Christ, in communion with our Holy Father. I also bring you the prayerful regards of the Church in Philadelphia. As we, too, mark a milestone anniversary—our Bicentennial—together, we give thanks to God for calling us to be His witnesses and collaborators in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.
The Liturgy of the Word speaks well to our celebration. While the prophecy of Habakkuk strikes us as somewhat unsettling with its reference to violence, misery, destruction, strife and clamorous discord, the emphasis is on hope: "For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint" (Hb 2:3). In the midst of trial and hardship, the prophecy of Habakkuk offers security, stability, strength and joy to the person who remains righteous. Like the people of Judah so long ago, God calls us, in times of joy and in times of trial, to remain loyal, faithful and to place all of our hope in Him.
Saint Paul, in his Second Letter to Timothy, charges not only his young disciple, but all of us: "Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God" (2 Tim 1: 8). This anniversary provides an opportunity to look upon the past and note well the beginnings of the growth of the Church across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. What was certainly a daunting task for the early missionaries, such as the Jesuits, the Franciscans and the Benedictines, has borne much fruit. History provides us with outstanding, yet humble, heroes who are enduring models of evangelization. We acknowledge with deep gratitude that we are beneficiaries and heirs of those who responded to the call to embrace and proclaim the Gospel, particularly the tireless shepherd, Saint John Neumann, and the zealous apostle of the Alleghenies, Prince Demetrius Gallitzin. Never shrinking from the task, they bore their share of the burden of the Gospel that many, especially Catholic immigrants, would receive spiritual and pastoral care. While we honor them for their missionary work, undoubtedly they would respond humbly, but emphatically, "we have done what we were obliged to do" (Lk 17: 10).
Vatican II, in Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, makes clear that all of us are obliged to bring Jesus to the world: "Incorporated into the Church by Baptism, the faithful are appointed by their baptismal character to Christian religious worship; reborn as children of God, they must profess before men the faith they have received from God through the Church. By the sacrament of Confirmation they are more perfectly bound to the Church and are endowed with the special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread the faith by word and deed. Taking part in the eucharistic sacrifice, the source and summit of the Christian life, they offer the divine victim to God and themselves along with it" (no. 11). Lumen Gentium, acknowledging the trials and hardships of the modern world, emphasized that "by the power of the risen Lord [the Church] is given strength to overcome, in patience and love, her sorrows and her difficulties, both those that are from within and those that are from without, so that she may reveal in the world, faithfully, however darkly, the mystery of her Lord until, in the consummation, it shall be manifested in full light" (no. 8).
Our celebration today marks a certain triumph, the triumph of the Gospel in this beautiful area of our Commonwealth. You know the hardships and tragedies which have been overcome and you rejoice in the gift of perseverance. Within the Church, however, triumph and celebration can only spur us on to further action. We must never rest while there are people who do not know Jesus or who are indifferent to Him. We can never be inactive as long as there is violence, hatred, abuse and poverty. We must never allow our young people to become absorbed in a culture of self-destruction. This Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown has an important mission to fulfill: Continue to make known the Face of Jesus! Let His voice be heard! Let His love be felt by all whom you encounter, especially the young, the despondent, the poor and the suffering. May the Name of Jesus be proclaimed anew to a world rent and sundered by violence, selfishness and sin!
In his Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVI reminds us of the source of love within the Church: "Faith, which sees the love of God revealed in the pierced heart of Jesus on the Cross, gives rise to love. Love is the light—and in the end, the only light—that can always illuminate a world grown dim and give us the courage needed to keep living and working" (no. 39). Urged on by the love of Christ, the Church will never weaken in the task of spreading the Gospel.
Through the Holy Eucharist, we share deeply in the mystery of the Heart of Jesus. Both at Mass and through Eucharistic Adoration, we are drawn into the depths of the love of God, a love which is all-consuming and self-sacrificing. In Holy Communion, we are united to Jesus and to one another. In Eucharistic Adoration, our nearness to Jesus makes us long for Him that much more. This longing also enables us to seek His presence in those who are in need and to fulfil our obligations to make known the love of Jesus.
Always, we entrust our efforts to the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this day, October 7, and in this month dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, we have renewed recourse through that devotion which, as expressed by the Servant of God Pope John Paul II, enables us with Mary to contemplate the Face of Jesus. Our late beloved Holy Father wrote: "The Rosary is also a prayer for peace because of the fruits of charity which it produces. When prayed well in a truly meditative way, the Rosary leads to an encounter with Christ in his mysteries and so cannot fail to draw our attention to the face of Christ in others.... [H]ow could one possibly gaze upon the glory of the risen Christ or of Mary Queen of Heaven, without yearning to make this world more beautiful, more just, more closely conformed to God’s plan" (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 40)?
Fervently, I entrust you, dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, to the intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary, who always grants victory to those who have recourse to her. Together with your zealous shepherd, Bishop Adamec, and with you and your clergy bear the burden of the Gospel with renewed zeal and vibrancy. May the Love of Jesus fill your hearts, the Name of Jesus be ever on your lips, and the Face of Jesus shine upon you always! Amen.
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Religious, Seminarians, Families and in particular you
our young people gathered here this evening: Praised be Jesus Christ!
How good it is to be gathered with you this evening, here on the grounds of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, here in this 200th year, this Bicentennial year of our diocese, here with one another, gathered together in the name of Jesus at this Eucharistic celebration. It is indeed good to be here!
Today, a number of you have participated in what has been called "The Amazing Race for Grace." What an amazing day it has been! From our opening ceremony early this afternoon at the Cathedral, to the Quests held in various historic churches and sites within our city, to the Festival of Praise held here on the seminary grounds. Today has indeed been an amazing day of grace in which we have celebrated the gift of our holy Catholic Faith. And now, dear friends, we come to this moment—this moment of God’s special grace as we celebrate this holy Mass, which is the gift and mystery of God’s love for us. It is here that we hear God’s word proclaimed to us, and it is here that we enter into contact with Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word of God made flesh for our salvation. This Mass is the center, the source and summit of our Catholic life because it is the greatest expression of God’s love for us. This love of God is a love that is real and personal. It is revealed in Jesus Christ. This evening, how privileged we are in this Eucharistic Sacrifice to profess His name, to glorify His name and to bear witness to His name. This, dear friends, is the very reason for our existence: to profess, to glorify and to bear witness to the name of Jesus.
We have just heard proclaimed a parable of our Lord Jesus Christ. Two men are referred to: one is called the "rich man," while the other is called "Lazarus," a name which means "God is my help." As we can see, Lazarus needs a lot of help. Lazarus is the poor man, a man who has a sad and unfortunate life. He is a beggar and we are told that he used to lie at the door of the rich man, longing to eat even the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. He was covered with sores and no doubt was a pitiable sight—a sight which the rich man, although close by, failed to notice in his life time. It is only at the end, when both men die that the rich man sees. What is it he sees? He sees Lazarus, the poor beggar, now rich in the glory of God, resting with Abraham in heaven in the company of the angels. And we see the rich man, whose fate is worse than that of Lazarus. And so the irony of the parable is revealed: the rich man is now poor and the poor man is rich. It is for this reason that this parable can be called "the parable of the great reversal." We see that reversal in the end. But in its reference to the rich man, this parable can also be called "the parable of the man who never noticed." And it is this title which can lead us to discover the real hero of the parable, namely, the Man who did notice Lazarus, the Man who had mercy on him, the Man who welcomed him into His Kingdom. We speak of course, of Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
At this time, dear friends, and throughout this Bicentennial year, we as Catholic Christians in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, united together, rejoice. We rejoice and celebrate the fact that Christ has noticed us. He has noticed you, He has noticed me. And in His great love and mercy for us, He has called us and given us a name. He has anointed us by the power of His Holy Spirit. He feeds us with His Body and Blood. And He commissions us to exercise a most sacred task: to profess, to glorify and to bear witness to His holy name in our lives. This is our vocation. It is both our sacred duty and our greatest joy. It is because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has noticed. Jesus Christ has not passed us by, but He has noticed you and me. And now is time for us to notice Him: to profess, to glorify and to bear witness to His holy name in our lives.
In celebrating and living this Catholic faith of ours, we have great need to remember who we are. This evening we hear Saint Paul reminding his friend Timothy of that very fact. He calls Timothy, "man of God". As members of the Church, we are the same; we are children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. We are not simply a band of common believers, we are more. We are not a club, an organization or just a gathering of like-minded people, we are more. As members of the Church, we are also members of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we bear His name, we have life in Him and apart from Him we have no life at all.
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us, we are members of God’s family—a family that was formed and has taken shape throughout history, in keeping with the Father’s plan. As members of God’s family then, we not only bear the name of His Son, but have certain traits or marks as well. We are the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. We share a communion of faith, of sacraments, charisms and love. We are then never alone, never unloved, never unnoticed. The faith we profess is the same faith professed by the Apostles—the faith for which the martyrs died, and men and women of every generation spent their lives in heroic love. In the history of our own Church of Philadelphia, we have two outstanding heroes who have been raised up for our inspiration and whose lives and intercession it is good to recall: Saint Katharine Drexel and Saint John Neumann.
Katharine was born here in our very city, when our diocese was just fifty years old. She was the daughter of a wealthy banker and, although she was rich, Katharine noticed the beggars at her door. When Katharine was 27 years old, she inherited her father’s wealth. She took her share and left home to take notice of those whom few people noticed, namely the Native Americans and the African Americans of our country. Katharine Drexel, a daughter of Philadelphia, professed Jesus; she bore witness to His name and glorified Him in the Holy Eucharist. Her life and love made a difference—a difference that we too try to make as brothers and sisters with Katharine in the one Church, the Body of Christ.
Our other great local hero is Saint John Neumann, the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia. Bishop Neumann was the Bishop of Philadelphia when Katharine was born. Because of his height, he was known as "the short bishop". But John Neuman stood tall in great love. John Neumann, like Katharine, professed Jesus; he bore witness to the name of Jesus and glorified Him in the Holy Eucharist. He was a man who took great notice of others, establishing schools, parishes and Eucharistic devotion throughout our city. His life made a difference, which we as members of the Church in Philadelphia are privileged to share.
Dear friends: these are but two of countless holy people who have graced the Church in our Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Interestingly enough, their lives crossed each other not only in time but also in space. Our lives are meant to do the same. You and I together must fulfill our call to holiness. And now is our time. We must profess, glorify and bear witness to Jesus Christ in every aspect of our lives.
Six years ago, as the Servant of God Pope John Paul the Great was closing the Jubilee Year 2000, he said the that a "new stage of the Church’s journey was about to begin." He suggested that we begin the New Millennium by heeding the words of Jesus: "Put out into the deep." Peter and his companions trusted those words of Christ and cast their nets. And "when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish" (Luke 5:6). Tonight, these words ring out for us and they encourage us to put out into the deep. As we continue this celebration of our Bicentennial year, let us praise the Son of God who has noticed us. Let us proudly, without fear and with great generosity, profess, glorify and bear witness to the holy name of Jesus. Amen.
Your Eminence,
My brother Bishops,
Dear brother Priests, especially our honored Jubilarians,
Dear Deacons, Faculty, Seminarians, Lay faithful,
Friends in Jesus Christ,
How deeply grateful the Church of Philadelphia is for your presence today in this sacred place! She thanks all of you for the effort you have made to come here; she rejoices in your fidelity to Saint Charles Seminary.
1. Love: The Root of both One’s Vocational Call
and One’s Faithful Response
Our Gospel passage according to Saint John recounts the beautiful exchange between Jesus and Peter. In this encounter, Peter confesses his love for the Lord, saying: "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." We recall that during the unfolding of our Lord’s Passion, Peter denied Him three times. Peter’s denial arose from human weakness. Yet, Peter’s weakness and notorious lapse of love would not have the last word. Subsequently, Peter’s personal encounter with the Risen Lord would empower him to believe, to hope in Christ and to love Him. And Peter’s love for the Lord would become service to others after Jesus said to him: "Feed my lambs.... Tend my sheep." Thus, pastoral love, rooted in a loving encounter with the Risen Christ, is fundamentally directed, through the loving gift of self, to Christ’s flock, the Church.
Pope Benedict XVI in his encyclical Deus Caritas Est wrote: "I wish in my first Encyclical to speak of the love which God lavishes upon us and which we in turn must share with others" (no.1). God’s abundant love for us is revealed above all in the gift of His only Son Jesus Christ, who came "not to be served but to serve" (Matthew 20:28). The Christ who redeemed us through His Passion, Death and Resurrection, now invites us to be His friends. Yet this new authentic friendship—to which we are called—finds its source and depth in sacrificial and self-giving love. The redemption won for us in the self-giving of Christ Jesus is made available to us pre-eminently through the saving sacramental economy instituted by Christ Himself in the Holy Eucharist.
2. The Love of the Priest is Sacrificial, Perpetual, and Apostolic
On the night before He died, the Lord Jesus instituted the great sacrament of His Body and Blood. On the same occasion, the Lord Jesus also instituted the great sacrament of Holy Orders. From its very foundation, the ministerial priesthood has been inextricably linked with the Holy Eucharist. In a real sense the hierarchical priesthood is ordered to the Body of Christ, both His Eucharistic Body and His Mystical Body. Just as the bridegroom willingly lays down His life to protect of the body of His bride, so too the priest, in imitation of the Divine Bridegroom, is called to lay down his life for the Body of Christ—the Eucharist and the Church. The love of the priest, as one "wedded" to the Body of Christ, must indeed be sacrificial.
We gather this afternoon in this sacred liturgy to celebrate the glorious mystery of the Priesthood of Jesus Christ and our wondrous participation in it. On this special occasion, we call to mind the indispensable and irreplaceable role which the sacred priesthood fulfills in the divinely instituted economy of salvation. We likewise reflect on the role which Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary has played in service to the ministerial priesthood and to God’s people. Today we joyfully and gratefully recall the remarkable service offered by all who have collaborated over the last 175 years in the mission of Saint Charles Seminary. Through Jesus Christ we offer deep praise to God for the fruitfulness of this institution and its contribution to priestly ministry. With immense gratitude we honor all our priests who faithfully and lovingly have served and are serving God’s holy people, especially our Jubilarians gathered here this afternoon. As we bless God and give Him thanks for His goodness, we ask His special blessings on all our priest alumni and on all the dioceses who entrust their seminarians to Saint Charles Seminary.
The fundamental work of a Catholic seminary is to conform the human mind, although limited and fallible, and the human heart, although subject to weakness and sin, to the wisdom and love of God: specifically, to configure the seminarian to the person of Jesus Christ the great High Priest. Just as an encounter with the Risen Lord transformed Peter, so too does our encounter with the Risen Lord—now present in God’s Word and in the Eucharist—allow us daily to be converted evermore to Christ. This personal encounter with the Lord Jesus forms a bond which deepens over time in our continuing conversion and sanctification. With God’s grace, Peter was able to give an irrevocable "yes," and to witness courageously, zealously, and faithfully to the holy Gospel. In a similar way, God’s grace illumines the minds and strengthens the hearts of those who are disposed to answer the call of God that empowers them freely and faithfully to say "yes" to Christ.
In this very chapel, Pope John Paul II, in 1979, reiterated the importance of fidelity. The Holy Father stated: "Human dignity requires that you [priests and future priests] maintain this commitment, that you keep your promises to Christ no matter what difficulties you may encounter, and no matter what temptations you may be exposed to." This irrevocable act of priestly self-giving is echoed in today’s Responsorial Psalm: "You are a priest forever." The love of the priest, as one configured to Christ, is perpetual.
In order to give himself irrevocably and totally to Christ, the seminarian must undergo a period of preparation in which he is led to a deeper understanding and a more abiding love of Christ and His Church. Does not Saint Paul gives us formational advice in today’s reading from his Letter to the Ephesians when he writes: "I…urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience"? It is precisely in our encounter with Christ, principally in the Sacraments and pre-eminently in the Holy Eucharist, in the Liturgy of the Hours, in private prayer and meditation, in study and cultural pursuits, in apostolic and pastoral work, and in community living that we come to know better not only God, but also other people and ourselves. The Second Vatican Council stated: "The whole training of the students [in seminaries] should have as its object to make them true shepherds of souls after the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, teacher, priest and shepherd" (Optatam Totius, 4). The good shepherd is the one who by his spiritual, intellectual, apostolic and human formation is able to teach, sanctify, and lead his people. The love of the priest, which is the fruit of continual rejuvenating prayer and ongoing multi-faceted formation, is ordered towards apostolic service.
It is particularly fitting that we celebrate the 175th anniversary of the founding of Saint Charles Seminary and its service to the Holy Priesthood in the broader context of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Philadelphia. Just as the sacred Priesthood is ordered to the service of the ecclesial Body of Christ, so too is the Seminary instituted and ordered to the service of the Diocese.
3. Jubilee Anamnesis:
A Time for Recalling God’s Providential Care
An essential component of the sacred liturgy is the anamnesis or recalling of God’s many wonderful gifts to us. So, it is particularly fitting, as we celebrate 175 years of service to the Church on the part of this blest institution, that we recall some graced moments in its illustrious history—a history marked by God’s providential care, a history that challenges us today to recommit ourselves and to keep up the traditions of Saint Charles Seminary.
This Seminary began in the heart of a faithful and hope-filled Bishop. Within one week of his Episcopal Ordination, Bishop Francis Patrick Kenrick wrote to the Apostolic See of his desire to erect a seminary in the Diocese of Philadelphia. Thus, on June 26, 1832, Bishop Kenrick opened his Episcopal Residence (on South Fifth Street) to accept the first seminarian. Within its first decade, while located in three different locations, the Seminary grew from the heart of the Bishop into a magnificent reality, a legal entity, and an expanding institution.
In 1838, the Seminary moved to a newly furnished building near the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. By 1871, the Seminary needed to expand again and was located at its fifth and final home at Overbrook. Here Archbishop Wood welcomed 128 seminarians. He noted that the gleaming Seminary was "an enduring witness of the generous zeal of the clergy and people of the diocese of Philadelphia" (Letter on Seminary Collection, 1871). Archbishop Prendergast continued the rich tradition of the Seminary’s growth and expansion with the construction of the Ryan Memorial Library in 1911, Saint Edmond’s Dormitory Hall in 1913, and the Convent and Services Building in 1917. Yet, the greatest of all expansions of the campus was undertaken by Cardinal Dougherty when he opened the "Prep Side" in 1928. After the Second Vatican Council, Cardinal Krol founded the School for Religious Studies in 1969 to assist in the updating of religious and laity.
Each period of the Seminary’s history has been marked by successes, challenges and setbacks. The Seminary has survived continual overcrowding and the outbreak of infectious diseases, financial burdens and minor fires, anti-Catholic riots and vocational shortages. Our purpose today is to praise God, to bless His providence and humbly but confidently to invoke His help upon the mission of Saint Charles Seminary.
4. Priestly Vocations: First Stirrings of Priestly Love
Our own time presents us with real concerns and challenges. Our first concern is to promote priestly vocations. The Second Vatican Council stated: "The duty of fostering vocations falls on the whole Christian community and they should discharge it principally by living full Christian lives" (Optatam Totius, 2). Trusting in God’s plan, we must perseveringly "ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest" (Matthew 9:38).
On this Jubilee Day, I wish to greet in a special way our seminarians of Saint Charles and thank them for their openness to the voice of God and for their courage in respondeing generously. You, dear seminarians, are a precious treasure of the Church. You are a great hope for the Church. When Cardinal Ratzinger, our present Holy Father, visited the Seminary in 1990, he spoke to the seminarians, saying: "Let yourselves be built into a spiritual home" (cf. 1 Peter 2:5). This Petrine directive enjoins an openness and receptivity to the work of the Divine Builder. You are His stones, with which He continues to build His Church. The Cardinal insisted that the seminarians should have a "passion for truth." He asserted: "One who loves wants to learn" (Keynote Address, January 17, 1990, no. 14).
5. Thanksgiving to God for the Seminary and its Benefactors
I also take this opportunity to express deep gratitude to the lay faithful gathered here who in many and various ways have been generous collaborators and untiring benefactors of our Seminary. No accounting of the successes of the Seminary would be complete without the recognition of the abiding and extraordinary generosity of the faithful of the Archdiocese who have consistently and faithfully supported their Seminary. One of the many means of support has been the Annual Seminary Appeal, which dates back to 1835, and continues to be an essential aspect of the Seminary’s sustenance.
Saint Charles has trained thousands of men for priestly service and scores of them have served the Church as Bishops, Successors of the Apostles. The long list of men who were well formed at Saint Charles Seminary and who have served, near and far, as holy priests over the past 175 years is fittingly a source of pride for all of us.
It is an unenviable task to do justice to the remarkable accomplishments and service of so many who have been associated with Saint Charles Seminary: brilliant and dedicated professors; prayerful and generous spiritual directors and confessors; inspiring pastoral supervisors and deans; capable administrators; workers in the fields, offices and kitchens; distinguished counselors and board members; and self-effacing rectors. May the Lord Jesus, who alone can properly reward them, bless them abundantly for their many sacrifices and their important service!
The Seminary has been enriched not only by her generous priest alumni who have gone forth to serve, but also by prominent ecclesiastics and distinguished guests speakers. We recall with gratitude to God some notable Seminary visitors: Saint John Neumann, who was very solicitous for the needs of the Seminary; Saint Katharine Drexel, who, along with her family, was a great benefactor of the Seminary; Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, who delivered a inspiring talk here in 1979; Cardinal Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII, who visited the Seminary in 1936; Cardinal Montini, the future Pope Paul VI, who visited the Seminary in 1960; Cardinal Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, who visited the Seminary twice as Cardinal, in 1969 and in 1976. He returned a third time as Pope in 1979.
On this joyful occasion, as we commemorate the 175th anniversary of the founding of Saint Charles Seminary, with renewed devotion we invoke the continuing protection of our Blessed Mother Mary, asking her to guide with motherly care her dear sons who are now training for priestly life and ministry. We beseech her to protect and strengthen, and fill with joy, all the alumni who have been called and ordained to proclaim the Word and serve at the altar of the Lord.
And finally, dear friends, as we recall the awesome reality of an unbroken tradition of 175 years of priestly formation, we renew our prayer of praise and thanksgiving through Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, and in His Eucharistic Sacrifice. And with Peter we say to Jesus: "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Amen.
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
I am delighted to be here with so many of the faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. In this, the Bicentennial Year of the establishment of Philadelphia as a Diocese by Pope Pius VII, it is most fitting that we come on this pilgrimage to this magnificent basilica dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. The Blessed Virgin Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception, is the Principal Patroness of our Archdiocese, as she is of our Nation. Here in her shrine, I humbly entrust our jubilee celebrations, endeavors and hopes to her Immaculate Heart.
I express my gratitude to Cardinal Bevilacqua for his presence here today. I thank as well my brother Bishops, priests, deacons, religious sisters and brothers, our seminarians, and all who have made this journey today. We remember as well and are in solidarity with those who are unable to be with us today, especially the aged, infirm and homebound whose prayers help to sustain the Church in Philadelphia in her mission of evangelization and sanctification. In a particular way, I thank you for your prayers and support for me in my ministry as your shepherd.
Throughout this Easter season, we have listened to accounts of the Risen Jesus revealing Himself to His Apostles. Today, we listened to the account given by Saint Matthew as Jesus reveals Himself again, just before His Ascension into heaven. Saint Matthew tells us: "When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted" (Mt 28: 17). Even after all that they had seen and heard, even after touching the glorified body of Jesus, they doubted. Nonetheless, Jesus gave them an enormous commission: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt 28:19-20a).
With all of their hesitations, questions, weaknesses and doubts, Jesus entrusted to the Apostles His mission, the proclamation of the Gospel and the transformation of the world. He gave them as well the assurance of His Presence: "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Mt 28:20b).
Saint Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians, provides some insight into the climate and culture in which the Apostles were sent to preach: "For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles" (1 Cor 1:22-23). Sent out into the world, the Apostles proclaimed forcibly and lived convincingly the power of the Cross and the love of Jesus Crucified. To many parts of the ancient world, the Apostles traveled and, wherever they went, they taught and lived the love of Jesus. They went to the great and the lowly, to scholars and sinners, to the afflicted and the poor, to the skeptical and to the dissolute. To all they proclaimed Jesus and thus they began to transform the world, the work in which the Church remains ever engaged as she faces challenges both old and new.
Still early in the Third Millennium of Christianity, the Church continues to meet and address the issues, hopes, hardships and even tragedies which affect the world. We rejoice in the recent Supreme Court decision to uphold the ban on the horrific procedure known as partial birth abortion. At the same time, we deplore the wanton violence which plagues our day: the murderous rampage at Virginia Tech; the continued loss of life in the Middle East, especially in Iraq; and the escalating murder rate in the City of Philadelphia. In spite of all this darkness and tragedy, the Church continues to proclaim Christ Crucified and Risen from the dead, and, as long as we proclaim the Gospel, there remains hope for the transformation of our society, of our culture, and of our world.
It is fortunate, therefore, that we gather today, on the Memorial of Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, a French priest whose missionary endeavors among his own people led to a spiritual renewal and revitalization in the late seventeenth century and early eighteenth century France. Faced with the many challenges of his own day, Saint Louis de Montfort desired to inspire men and women to rekindle within themselves holiness of life and zeal for the word of God, and the desire to correct the errors and sins of the time. For these endeavors, Saint Louis de Montfort pointed to the person of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the model of discipleship and the Chosen Vessel through which the Incarnate Word of God entered the world.
In his masterpiece of Catholic spiritual literature, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, Saint Louis de Montfort wrote: "In Mary and through Mary, God the Holy Spirit wills to form His elect ... When Mary has implanted her roots in a soul, she produces these wonders of grace which she alone can produce, because she alone is the fruitful Virgin who never has had, nor ever shall have, her equal in purity and in fecundity. By the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit , Mary has produced the greatest event which ever was or ever shall be: the birth of the God-Man. Consequently, it is she who will produce the great events which will mark the ending of time; for to her is reserved the formation and education of the great Saints who will then walk the world’s ways. Only this excellent and miraculous Virgin can produce, in union with the Holy Spirit, such mighty and extraordinary events" (Chapter 1, Article 2).
At the core of the teaching of Saint Louis de Montfort is the understanding that devotion to Mary will make the soul more and more like Mary. When a soul reflects the Virgin, the Holy Spirit is always attracted to that soul, communicates with that soul, and fills it with His Presence. Thus, Jesus is formed in the soul of the one who is truly devoted to Mary.
The Servant of God Pope John Paul II, as a young man, studied and lived the True Devotion. Of this work, he wrote: "There I found the answers to my questions. Yes, Mary does bring us closer to Christ.... The author was an outstanding theologian. His Mariological thought is rooted in the mystery of the Trinity and in the truth of the Incarnation of the Word of God" (Gift and Mystery, Chapter III). The profound impact which the True Devotion had on Pope John Paul II is reflected in his motto, Totus Tuus, "All Yours," an abbreviation of a form of entrustment to the Mother of God composed by Saint Louis Marie de Montfort.
At the beginning of our Bicentennial Jubilee, here in this sacred place and on the memorial of a great missionary, we are called to renew within our Archdiocese and within ourselves Christ’s mission mandate: "Make disciples of all nations." We begin with ourselves, praying for the grace of daily conversation and, in a special way, a more complete dedication to Mary. I invite everyone to join me in entrusting our call to continuing renewal to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, Queen of Apostles and Help of Christians. I especially ask everyone to pray the Rosary, that marvelous devotion through which, with Mary, we contemplate the face of Jesus.
I ask your assistance in inviting to the Church your family members and neighbors who are seeking Jesus, but, perhaps, have never been invited to come and learn about our Catholic Faith. I ask also that you invite back to the Church, to Mass and to the Sacraments, those who perhaps have become neglectful of or indifferent to the practice of the Faith. Invite them to encounter again the mercy of God in the Sacrament of Penance that they may lovingly and worthily receive Jesus in Holy Communion.
I ask everyone here to draw closer to Jesus through Eucharistic Adoration. I renew my request that pastors do everything possible to make available increasing opportunities for this Adoration. I ask the faithful to come and experience the unique nearness of Jesus who dwells in the monstrance and in the Tabernacle. Time spent in adoration of Christ present in the Eucharist increases our longing to participate in the Mass and Holy Communion, just as each Holy Communion increases our desire to remain close to Jesus through Eucharistic Adoration. The more lovingly we celebrate the Sacred Mysteries and the more closely we draw to the Eucharistic Presence, the more deeply we will love Jesus and the more readily we will respond to His call to work together to spread His Kingdom. Philadelphia’s two beloved Saints, John Nepomucene Neumann and Katharine Drexel, both give vibrant testimony to the transforming power of the Eucharist in our lives, as well as the sustenance it provides for our mission to evangelize.
Furthermore, I ask that, through Eucharistic Adoration and devotion to the Rosary, you will join with me in praying for our young people. Within the hearts of our youth there is a longing for adventure, a desire to embark on exciting journeys, a craving to accomplish great things. Pray that our youth will find the fulfillment of all their desires in intimate friendship with Jesus, and pray that many will respond wholeheartedly to commit themselves to the service of Jesus through the Priesthood for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and in the Consecrated Life.
The most evident fruit of deeper devotion to our Eucharistic Lord and to the Blessed Virgin Mary is love, genuine Christ-like charity. It is in His great love for us that Jesus redeemed the world. Love was likewise the motivating factor in the lives and example of the saints. It is love, therefore, which will, at the beginning of our Jubilee Year, draw many to God.
Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI in his first Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, reminds us: "The entire activity of the Church is an expression of love that seeks the integral good of man: it seeks his evangelization through Word and sacrament, an undertaking that is often heroic in the way it is acted out in history; and it seeks to promote man in the various arenas of life and human activity. Love is therefore the service that the Church carries out in order to attend constantly to man’s sufferings and his needs" (no 19).
As we begin our Jubilee observance, I wish to recall the words with which I began my episcopal ministry on October 7, 2003 in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul:
"In this new moment in the life of this Archdiocese of Philadelphia, we set our hope on the living God (cf. Tm 4:10), on His Son Jesus Christ and on the power of the Holy Spirit. We humbly pray: ‘Jesus, we trust in you!’ And we confidently invoke Mary, His Mother and ours, under her title of the Immaculate Conception.
"Finally, permit me, as your...Archbishop, to entrust you all to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in the pastoral act which I ask you to ratify personally in consecrating [once again] your own lives to her and, through her, to her beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."
Keeping Children Safe
Cardinal Justin Rigali
As the Archbishop of almost 1.5 million Catholics in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, I know that the issue of clergy sexual abuse has caused pain and confusion for some people and anger for others. I understand these feelings and am sorry that the actions of a very small minority of priests have caused hurt and mistrust. Once again, I offer my deep apologies to those who have suffered sexual abuse by a priest or employee of the church.
Our experience in the last several years has taught us a great deal about this issue of critical importance to society. Any incident of sexual abuse of a minor can cause serious mental and emotional harm to a victim. Understanding this, the Archdiocese has for many years provided for psychological counseling and related treatment for victims of this sexual misconduct.
When the grand jury began its work almost three and a half years ago, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was already moving forward, taking steps to protect young people. Much of what we have done was recommended by our own blue ribbon panel, chaired by Ms. Helen Alvare, a respected attorney. The Alvare Commission worked for ten months during 2002 to evaluate Archdiocesan policies and procedures related to clerical misconduct. In all of our efforts, the safety of children and help for victims are paramount.
• All priests and deacons, as well as parish staff, teachers and volunteers who have regular contact with children must attend Safe Environment training. This provides a greater understanding of adults’ role as protectors of children, models of appropriate behavior and advocates for those who are most vulnerable. To date, 40,000 individuals have participated in Safe Environment training. In addition, almost 110,000 young people have received grade-appropriate lessons concerning personal boundaries and healthy relationships.
• The Archdiocese established a Victims Assistance Coordinators Program. Our coordinators are licensed professionals who respond with appropriate care to those victimized by sexual abuse.
• I have offered to meet with any victims, just as my predecessor, Cardinal Bevilacqua did.
The Archdiocese has learned from the victims. We heard their stories and recognized that we cannot be the only investigators in cases of clergy sexual abuse. That is why, since 2002, the Archdiocese has reported every allegation of sexual abuse of a minor to law enforcement authorities.
Even before the Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People was adopted in 2002, the Archdiocese immediately suspended the ministry of a priest credibly accused of sexual misconduct with a minor. After sending an accused priest to a facility specializing in such cases, the Archdiocese received a psychological evaluation of the priest and in those cases followed the facility’s recommendation either to bar the priest permanently from ministry or return him to ministry. Today the medical community better understands abusive behaviors. The Archdiocese now holds to zero tolerance: no priest who has sexually abused a minor will serve in any ministry in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
When the Philadelphia district attorney announced in 2002 an investigation, which was to include “other religious orders, organizations and denominations,” the Archdiocese cooperated fully, producing in excess of 45,000 documents and supplementing these 30 times with additional material. Representatives of the Archdiocese testified on numerous occasions.
It is my sincere hope that what we have done will benefit the entire community in helping to understand and root out the terrible reality of sexual abuse of children and young people and that other groups and institutions will take some of the same precautionary steps that the Archdiocese is using.
Though this moment in the life of the Church and in our society is cause for sadness, I firmly believe it will be transformed by the power of God into a time of heightened awareness and a renewed commitment to keep all children as safe as is humanly possible.
Dear Friends in Christ,
For a few moments we would like to reflect on the event of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ into heaven and on its meaning.
But before that I would like to express my admiration, my gratitude to all you for the faith that inspires you, for the holy Catholic faith that is so much a part of your lives, that is an incentive to you to make a very special effort to be here in the Cathedral this morning on this Feast of the Ascension. Not everyone can make it to Mass, but you know that the effort that you expend is certainly a wonderful expression of your faith.
The fact itself, the fact of the Ascension, is very simple. It took place forty days after Jesus rose from the dead. Forty days after he had completed His work. Jesus left the apostles and went back to heaven. This is the fact of the Ascension.
It is beautifully described two times this morning in the word of God: first of all in the Acts of the Apostles and then in the Gospel itself. The Gospel is particularly moving. Jesus is speaking to His disciples, recounting the major events of His life the major events of God s plan. And Jesus says to his disciples: Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and now the suffering is complete that the Christ should suffer and rise from the dead. In other words Jesus is recounting His suffering, His passion, His death. He goes on to recount that on the third day He would rise again. Then Jesus brings in another element. He talks about how, in the plan of God, the preaching of this Paschal Mystery, the preaching of these events would go on forever, that these events would be preached to all the nations. And He says to the apostles: You are witnesses. And then Jesus tells them that they are to stay in the city of Jerusalem and await the promise. He says: And behold I am sending the promise of my Father, the Holy Spirit. And then: You will be clothed with power from on high. With that Jesus completes His instructions.
The apostles know that it is time for Jesus to go back to heaven. But He will not leave them. He had promised: I will not leave you orphans. That is how the promise of the Holy Spirit comes into the picture. Ten days later the promise will be fulfilled. The apostles will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. They will go out in the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim Jesus Christ to the whole world. Eventually the Gospel will come to Philadelphia and to every other place, and eventually we will embrace the Gospel under the power of the Holy Spirit. In God s plan it is the Holy Spirit who will complete the entire mission of Jesus. Today on the Feast of the Ascension, the hour has come for Jesus to be glorified. The hour has come for Jesus to return to His heavenly Father, and from heaven He will direct His Church forever through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The final scene is so moving. Saint Luke tells us that Jesus led the apostles as far as the little village of Bethany, near the Mount of Olives. It was in this vicinity that Jesus suffered immensely the night before He died. Jesus chooses this place to be seen no longer in His passion but in His glory. Then we read these moving words: Jesus raised his hands, He blessed the apostles and as He blessed them, He parted from them and was taken up to heaven. The Acts of the Apostles continues the description, saying that a cloud took Him out of their sight. The apostles returned to Jerusalem with great joy and they praised God in the Temple.
You know, dear friends, the Church lives in the power of this blessing the blessing that Jesus gave to His apostles on that first Ascension when He declared that His work on earth was over. It was then up to the apostles, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to continue His great work. At the Ascension Jesus leaves us. He goes back to heaven, He blesses His Church. But even as He goes back to heaven, something extraordinary takes place. We remember when Jesus came down from heaven when the Word of God, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, who is God s own Son, took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary at the moment of the Annunciation. It was then that Mary received the message that she was to become the Mother of God. And at that moment God s Son took flesh in her womb. But that flesh never left Him. Jesus remained both God and man. And in His flesh Jesus went back to heaven. He did not have it when He came, but He went back to heaven with the flesh that He received in the womb of the Virgin Mary.
The great Pope Leo the Great, in the fifth century, tells us the whole meaning of this. Jesus, our head, has gone back to heaven with His flesh and has taken His place with God. He has also given us the right to take our place eventually in heaven. Even as we honor Christ leaving this world with His flesh, blessing His Church, going back to heaven, taking His place at the right hand of His Father, we see the full meaning of this event. Jesus takes us with Him! We are part of His flesh and He prepares a place for us. It is as He said on another occasion: When I shall have gone and prepared a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself so that where I am you also may be.
This is the final chapter in the whole story of Christianity: to be with Christ. Today on the Feast of the Ascension, Jesus Christ Himself is at the right hand of the Father. He intercedes for us. He blesses us. He gives us strength. He gives us joy in our lives that we may be able to be his faithful disciples and that we may be able one day to take our place our rightful place, the place that He gives us with Him in the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity. Amen.
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Today, Ash Wednesday, we begin an important journey. It is a journey that we make together with Jesus, and the journey takes Jesus and us all the way to Calvary. Our Lenten season will culminate in the Death of Jesus on Good Friday and then, finally, with His glorious Resurrection.
We know—as we ask ourselves the purpose of this journey on the part of Jesus all the way to Calvary, all the way to the shedding of His blood on the Cross—that this journey was made out of love for us. It was a journey by which Christ would gain His goal, and His goal through his death on Calvary was to take away the sins of the world, to take away our sins. Jesus knew that we needed redemption and His love for us prompted Him to make this journey to Jerusalem, to Calvary. For us, too, dear friends, our Lenten celebration is a journey of love in which we endeavor to return God’s love. In a very special way, we do this by a concerted effort to renounce sin.
We are called upon, in our first reading today, to turn to God. Lent is a wonderful opportunity in our life. God is calling us. And just as Jesus laid down His life out of love for us, so now He asks us out of love for Him and His Father in heaven to make the effort to turn to Him and to renounce sin, in order to live for God.
Did you notice in our second reading from Saint Paul the extraordinary expression that the Apostle used? Saint Paul said, as he was describing the fact that Jesus took upon Himself all the sins of the world on Calvary—and he uses a dramatic expression!—Christ became sin. It is this expression that helps us to understand just how much the sins of the world weighed upon Christ. So much so that Saint Paul says He became sin—He who was the Son of God, He who was absolutely sinless Himself. In taking upon Himself the sins of the world, our sins, He became sin. But Saint Paul goes on to explain that Christ became sin, with all this weight, precisely so that we might become the righteousness, the holiness of God, that we might become worthy of our vocation as children of God.
Today, dear Friends, during this special period of grace in the life of the Church and in our own lives, Jesus Himself speaks to us in the Gospel and He gives us an indication of how we might respond to His call, how we might turn to God during Lent. Jesus Himself suggests three things. One of them is prayer. Through prayer we have a wonderful opportunity to connect with God. And then Jesus also points out to us the possibility of fasting. Although the fasting of the Church is very mitigated, today is one of the days in which we are asked—just today and Good Friday—to make an effort to fast a bit. And the third thing that Jesus Himself speaks to us about is almsgiving. We who have received so much from God, we who have been pardoned our sins, we who have been redeemed are now asked to go out of ourselves, to turn to our neighbor, to turn to those in need, to turn in mercy and almsgiving to help relieve the tremendous needs of the world.
Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has just encouraged us, since we are loved by God so much, to be mindful of all the needs of our brothers and sisters throughout the world, to be mindful of suffering, to be mindful of poverty. And so we have the possibility, which is a great thing in the tradition of the Church, to be generous, to give of ourselves, to give back to God a part of what He has given to us.
Dear friends, with determination, with great gratitude to God, with joy in our hearts we begin our journey to Jerusalem, we begin our journey to Calvary together with Jesus Christ. And just as His journey was motivated completely by love for us so our journey is motivated by an attempt to return the love with which we have been loved by God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Queridos amigos en Cristo:
En la vida de la Iglesia, la cuaresma es acerca de enfrentar la realidad del pecado a la luz de la victoria de la Muerte y Resurrección de Cristo.
Hoy, Miércoles de Ceniza, el comienzo de la cuaresma, nos reunimos en la comunidad de la Iglesia, en el nombre de Jesús. Inclinamos nuestras cabezas en espíritu de arrepentimiento y humildemente recibimos las cenizas bendecidas.
Cada uno de nosotros sabe que estamos llamados a reconocer el pecado en nuestras vidas. En cada misa se admite esta realidad. En el Confiteor, decimos claramente: «Yo confieso ante Dios todopoderoso y ante vosotros, hermanos y hermanas, que he pecado mucho de pensamiento, palabra, obra y omisión...»
A lo largo de los siglos del cristianismo, la cuaresma ha sido siempre un tiempo especial para reconocer el pecado, para pedir perdón a Dios, y para resolver ─con su ayuda─ no volver a pecar. En la cuaresma expresamos profundo pesar por haber ofendido a Dios y a nuestro prójimo al esforzarnos para aceptar la invitación del Evangelio de Jesús a la oración, el ayuno y la limosna.
La Iglesia nos ofrece hoy en día en nuestro salmo responsorial las palabras inspiradas del rey David que nos ayudan a formular en nuestros corazones sentimientos de tristeza personal por todos nuestros pecados
Señor, apiádate de mí, por tu misericordia inmensa,
y por tu compasión sin límites olvida mis ofensas;
l ávame más y más de mis delitos
y borra de mi culpa toda huella.Pues mi maldad conozco,
cargo siempre mi culpa en la conciencia.
A ti Señor, a ti fue al que ofendí,
al cometer el mal que tú detestas.Dame, Señor, un corazón sincero
y un espíritu firme.
No me arrojes, Señor, lejos de ti
ni tu santo espíritu me retires.
Estamos todos invitados a participar en la petición de la Iglesia: «Misericordia, Señor, hemos pecado».
Con arrepentimiento por nuestros pecados nosotros con humildad y con confianza pedimos el perdón de Dios, el cual viene a nosotros a través de Cristo. También pedimos humildemente el perdón de todos aquellos a quienes hemos ofendido de alguna manera. De la misma manera nosotros rogamos a Dios que traiga reconciliación y sanación a nuestra comunidad.
Durante esta cuaresma nosotros estamos especialmente conscientes de los pecados graves de los abusos sexuales cometidos contra menores, en particular por miembros del clero. Experimentamos la necesidad de pedir el perdón de Dios repetidamente en nuestra liturgia y de ofrecer oraciones de reparación por estos pecados y por todos los pecados del mundo.
Una vez más, renovamos nuestro compromiso de hacer todos los esfuerzos posibles para impedir estos actos malvados y para proteger a los niños de daños.
En este espíritu, como anuncié ayer, la Arquidiócesis está volviendo a examinar los casos de interés para el Gran Jurado acerca de las denuncias de abuso de menores o problemas de límites de algunos sacerdotes. De la misma manera vamos a volver a evaluar la manera en que manejamos las denuncias. La protección de los niños es de suma importancia.
Quienquiera que dañe a un niño debe recordar las palabras de Jesús: «Al que haga caer a uno de estos pequeños que creen en mí, mejor le sería que le amarraran una gran piedra de moler y que lo hundieran en lo más profundo del mar» (Mt 18:6).
En este Miércoles de Ceniza, cuando recibimos las cenizas benditas como el signo de nuestro arrepentimiento por el pecado y nuestra resolución para caminar en una vida nueva cristiana, expresamos de nuevo nuestro pesar a Dios por nuestros pecados y los pecados de otros. Yo personalmente renuevo mi profundo pesar a las víctimas del abuso sexual en la comunidad de la Iglesia y a todos los otros, incluyendo a los muchos sacerdotes fieles que sufren a consecuencia de este gran mal y crimen. Como sacerdotes y fieles ahora comenzamos juntos unidos en Cristo nuestra jornada cuaresmal. Esta jornada cuaresmal nos conduce a la Cruz de Cristo y luego a la victoria de su Resurrección.
Estamos llamados a mantener los ojos fijos en Jesús mientras reconocemos su triunfo sobre el pecado y la muerte. Proclamamos que es sólo Jesús, el Cordero de Dios, que quita los pecados del mundo. Es él, Jesús, el Señor crucificado y resucitado, el único que puede vencer todo mal y nos lleve al regocijo de la vida eterna. Amén.
Dear Friends in Christ,
In the life of the Church, Lent is all about facing the reality of sin in the light of the victory of Christ’s Death and Resurrection.
Today, Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, we gather together in the community of the Church, in the name of Jesus. We bow our heads in the spirit of repentance and humbly receive blessed ashes.
Each one of us knows that we are called to acknowledge sin in our lives. At every Mass we admit this reality. In the confiteor we say clearly: “I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do....”
Throughout the centuries of Christianity, Lent has always been a special time to acknowledge sin, to ask God’s pardon, and to resolve—with His help—not to sin again. In Lent we express deep sorrow for having offended God and our neighbor as we strive to accept the Gospel invitation of Jesus to prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
The Church offers us today in our responsorial psalm the inspired words of King David that help us to formulate in our own hearts sentiments of personal sorrow for all our sins:
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
In the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
‘Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.’A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
We are all invited to join in the Church’s plea: “Be merciful, Lord, for we have sinned.”
With repentance for our sins we humbly and confidently ask the forgiveness of God, which comes to us through Christ. We also humbly ask the forgiveness of all those whom we have offended in any way. We likewise beg God to bring about reconciliation and healing in our community.
During this Lent we are especially conscious of the grave sins of sexual abuse committed against minors, in particular by members of the clergy. We experience the need to ask God’s forgiveness repeatedly in our liturgy and to offer prayers of reparation for these sins and for all the sins of the world.
Once again, we renew our commitment to make every possible effort to prevent these evil acts and to protect children from harm.
In this spirit, as I announced yesterday, the Archdiocese is having re-examined, cases of concern to the Grand Jury about allegations of abuse of minors or boundary issues of some priests. We are likewise re-evaluating the way we handle allegations. The protection of children is paramount.
Whoever harms a child must remember the words of Jesus: “...it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Mt 18:6).
On this Ash Wednesday, as we receive blessed ashes as the sign of our repentance for sin and our resolution to walk in the newness of Christian life, we express once again our sorrow to God for our sins and the sins of others. I personally renew my deep sorrow to the victims of sexual abuse in the community of the Church and to all others, including so many faithful priests, who suffer as a result of this great evil and crime. As priests and people we now begin together - united in Christ - our Lenten journey. This Lenten journey leads us to the Cross of Christ and then on to the victory of His Resurrection.
We are called to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus as we acknowledge His triumph over sin and death. We proclaim that it is only Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. It is He, Jesus, the crucified and risen Lord, who alone can conquer all evil and lead us to the joy of eternal life. Amen.
Praised be Jesus Christ...now and forever!
Brother Priests; Administration, Faculty & Staff of Archbishop Wood High School; Graduates and your Families; Friends in Christ,
Congratulations to the graduates of the Class of 2010 of Archbishop Wood High School! I commend you for your hard work and sacrifice. May the education and formation you received at Archbishop Wood, encourage you to open your hearts in loving service of our Church and nation.
I also congratulate the parents of our graduates. You are the primary educators in the faith. Through the many sacrifices you have made to provide a Catholic education, you have nurtured the lives entrusted to you by God.
Graduates, your high school years have been marked by numerous achievements. We acknowledge those among you who have been awarded academic honors or have even been granted scholarships to college.
We recognized those who have competed in athletics. Special mention is made of the girls’ soccer, cheerleading, volleyball, swimming, and basketball teams as well as the boys’ football and soccer teams who were crowned champions.
Your interests reached beyond the classroom or field of sports. Through “Athletes Helping Athletes” you reached out to the elderly in Luther Park Retirement home and assisted mentally challenged youth. You enjoyed your own senior prom but also hosted a real senior prom for the elderly in this area. You supported our combat troops by donating money to the “Wounded Warriors Association.” You provided calling cards that enable soldiers to contact loved ones back at home. You helped fight cancer through your “Beads of Courage” program, and the money raised by raffles and the sale of daffodils. Many of you provided tutoring services after school. Your “Community Service Corps” provided many services including “Charity Wednesday,” “Aid for Friends,” and “Operation Santa Claus.” These are just some of the many ways you put your faith into practice. Dear young people, your concern for others is admirable.
In the Gospel, Jesus refers to Himself as the vine and we are the branches. Jesus draws from an image that was part of the religious heritage of the Jewish nation. Vines were and still are abundant in Israel. The vine had actually become the symbol of the nation of Israel. Throughout the Old Testament, Israel is pictured as the vine or the vineyard of God. Israel is the vine that God brought out of Egypt and planted.
It is curious that in the Old Testament, the symbol of the vine is always used in connection with Israel’s disobedience. Old Testament prophets expressed unhappiness that Israel had become a wild and degenerate vine. Though Israel was God’s vine, it refused to listen to Him and live as He requested. As a result so many became withered and useless branches.
In contrast, Jesus identifies himself as the “true” vine. Unlike a wild and disobedient vine, Jesus is the faithful and obedient vine that is planted by God to give life to the world. Since He is the true vine, the only way that our lives can bear fruit is for us to have intimate and loving fellowship with Him. He is the vine of God and we must be branches joined to Him. Faith in Jesus and friendship with Him is the only means to happiness and salvation. Apart from Him we can accomplish nothing.
Graduates, Jesus is the vine and you are the branches. You will remain connected to the vine by making deliberate choices to be with him. Pray each day, even if only for a few moments. Jesus wants converse with you about all of your concerns. The Sacred Heart of Jesus overflows with love for you. Jesus manifested that love through His death on the Cross. He continues to offer His love to you each day as much as He did on Calvary. Jesus says: “Ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.” If you are leaving home after graduation, take a bible and rosary with you. Read the scriptures, especially the gospels. Pray the rosary and meditate on the life of Christ. Most of all, remain close to Jesus in the Eucharist. Attend Mass regularly. The Bread of Life is the most powerful means of being joined to Jesus. Arrange your life, arrange your prayer, arrange your silence in such a way that there is never a day when you give yourself a chance to forget Jesus.
Apart from Christ, you will wither, but if you remain in Christ, you will bear much fruit. God is glorified, when you bear much fruit and show yourself to be a disciple of Jesus. The greatest glory of the Christian life is that by our life and conduct we can bring glory to God. In his letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul writes of the privilege of preaching Jesus Christ to the world. God had revealed to Paul the mystery of Jesus Christ and Paul was intent on sharing that good news with others. You too are invited by Jesus to be His disciples. Speak with boldness and confidence about Jesus, and the good things he has done for you. Better yet, glorify God by the way you live. Inspire others to a deeper love of Jesus by the example of your life. Follow the motto of Archbishop James Frederick Wood for whom this school is named. “Be faithful unto death.”
I am sure that during your years at Archbishop Wood you have cheered your school with the chant of “Go Vikings!” As you know, the Vikings, were explorers. So I say to you this evening, “Go Vikings!” Go forth and explore the world that God has created. Search for truth. Since God is truth, a real search for truth will always lead to God. Discover the mystery of Jesus in yourself and others. Be humble in your successes and hopeful in your struggles. Most of all remain one with Jesus, as branches on the vine.
Tonight, we are thankful in many ways. I am particularly grateful to parents who entrust the education and formation of their children to Catholic schools. Graduates, know that your parents are proud of you and your achievements. Be grateful to them for the many sacrifices they have made.
I appreciate the support offered by the entire Catholic community. Their prayers and financial support enable Catholic schools to accomplish their mission. The administration, faculty and staff who collaborate at Archbishop Wood High School deserve special recognition. You, dear friends, give generously of yourselves to advance the teaching mission of the Church. This is a great contribution to building up the Kingdom of God.
Again, dear graduates, I congratulate you, and I entrust you to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. May the love of Jesus dwell always in your hearts.
Endnotes
1. John 15:5.
2. Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 2:21; Psalm 80:8.
3. John 15:1.
4. John 15:5.
5. John 15:8.
6. Ephesians 3:12.
7. “Esto Fidelis Usque Ad Mortem.” Episcopal motto of James Frederick Wood, 5th Bishop of Philadelphia (1860-1883).
Jesus Christ, you were crucified for us,
but now you are risen from the dead, alleluia!
Jesus Christ, you are alive in the community of your Church, alleluia!
Jesus Christ, you are forever the Good Shepherd,
who never abandons us your flock, alleluia!
On the occasion of the two hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Philadelphia, we gather together with sentiments of praise and thanksgiving, lifting our minds and hearts to God our merciful Father, through His Son, Jesus Christ our Redeemer, and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life. We come with our different gifts and in our different roles of service in the Church. The presence of so many people gathered here today—people of ethnic backgrounds from the ends of the earth—is a tribute to the spread of the Gospel throughout the world, and, in particular, throughout our own Archdiocese.
On behalf of our local Church, I warmly greet His Eminence Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles, a close friend since seminary days; His Eminence Cardinal Adam Maida, Archbishop of Detroit; His Eminence, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington; and our native son, His Eminence Cardinal John Foley, Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
We are honored, too, by the presence of several Archbishops. I welcome especially Archbishop Stefan Soroka, Archbishop of Philadelphia of the Ukrainians. I also offer a warm welcome to two other native sons, Archbishop Edward Adams, Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, who has traveled from Manila to be with us for this celebration, and Archbishop Francis Schulte, Archbishop Emeritus of New Orleans. The presence of Archbishop Joseph Kurtz shows our communion with the Church of Louisville, which is also celebrating its Bicentennial as a Diocese.
I greet the many Bishops who have come for this Liturgy. I am grateful for the presence of my own Auxiliary Bishops: Bishop Robert Maginnis, Bishop Joseph Cistone, Bishop Joseph McFadden and Bishop Daniel Thomas, as well as our Retired Auxiliary Bishops, Bishop Martin Lohmuller and Bishop Louis DeSimone. I extend a special greeting to the Bishops of the Province of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I welcome “home” all those Bishops who also are native sons of Philadelphia: Bishop Thomas Welsh, Bishop Edward Hughes, Bishop Francis DiLorenzo, Bishop Joseph Galante, Bishop Edward Cullen, Bishop Joseph Pepe, Bishop Joseph Martino, Bishop Michael Burbidge and Bishop Michael Bransfield. I am also grateful for the presence of Abbot Ronald Rossi of Daylesford Abbey.
I greet also my brother priests. Your fidelity to your vocation, your compassionate service, and your devotion to the proclamation of the Gospel and the ministry of the sacraments are at the daily service of almost 1,500,000 Catholics. Great are the multitudes of those who, through your ministry, have been washed in the saving waters of Baptism! Through you, Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament is present to His People to feed and strengthen them. Through your ministry in the Sacrament of Penance, sins are forgiven. With your assistance and blessing, men and women are united in holy matrimony. Through your hands, Jesus brings healing to the sick and comfort to the dying. For all that you have done and continue to do, the Church gives praise and thanks to God.
I thank also the deacons for their service in the Church. Ministers of Word and Sacrament, and also Ministers of Charity, your collaboration is of great assistance to me and to your pastors.
I welcome all the religious sisters and brothers present, and I extend deep appreciation for the constant contributions which your Religious Institutes have made to this Archdiocese. Almost every parish and institution has been influenced by you who faithfully live the consecrated life in imitation of the chaste, poor and obedient Christ. The history of this local Church at every moment of its history speaks of your lasting contribution. In your fidelity and service, you still show the loving face of Jesus.
I greet our seminarians and thank you for your youthful and generous witness. The Church looks to you with joy as you show great hope for the future. By your example, may many more young men embrace the vocation to the sacred Priesthood.
To all of the lay faithful—married, widowed, and single, parents, children, family members, young and old—beloved friends in Jesus Christ, I welcome you and thank you. Every church, school and institution in this Archdiocese is a tribute to your generous love for the Church. I give thanks to God for the joy, the vibrancy, and the devotion with which you respond to what the Second Vatican Council acknowledged as the “universal call to holiness.” Formed by Baptism as the Pilgrim People of God, strengthened by the Gift of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation, and nourished by Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, you bring the love of God to every place and every situation. By your fidelity to your Christian vocation, you confirm what was taught by Saint John Chrysostom many centuries ago: If you are a Christian, it is impossible not to influence others (Liturgy of the Hours, Common of Holy Men).
With special affection I greet the sick and suffering of every category of Christian life who are spiritually present with us today. The full salvific value of your suffering is known only to God. Your contribution to the Gospel is immense!
This Fourth Sunday of Easter keeps before us the joyful and moving message of Jesus Christ Crucified and Risen from the dead. The first proclamation of Peter—“God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified”—stirred the hearts of multitudes of men, women and children as they listened attentively to it on the first Pentecost. We are told in the Acts of the Apostles that three thousand persons were added to the Church on that very day. The powerful proclamation of the Gospel by Peter and Paul, and the preaching of Jesus Himself, were an invitation to repentance, to conversion and to belief. This belief in Jesus leads to Baptism, the first sacrament of the Church, the sacrament through which sin is forgiven and through which we have access to the other sacraments. Baptism, which immerses us in the mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, also immerses us in the mission of the Church. By virtue of our Baptism, we all are called to the task of evangelization: to bear joyful witness—by our words and actions—to the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Our Bicentennial is essentially a celebration of how effectively God’s word has taken root in the lives of our faithful people during the last two hundred years. The missionary endeavors of the early Jesuit priests from Maryland addressed the needs of an ever-growing Catholic population in Pennsylvania. As more Catholics arrived, so did more priests. Through the efforts of these dedicated priests, as well as through the example of the fervent lay faithful, more people embraced the Catholic faith and chapels and churches began to appear. In spite of a strong—and often fierce—anti-Catholic sentiment, the Catholic faith flourished in this area. The vibrancy of this local Church was recognized and Philadelphia was made a diocese on April 8, 1808 by His Holiness Pope Pius VII.
The work of evangelization was further carried out by courageous Bishops and zealous priests, both religious and diocesan. The devoted clergy ministered not only to the faithful who resided in the city, but many traveled extensively over a vast territory to bring the Gospel and the sacraments to Catholics who settled in rural and even mountainous areas.
We need only consider the example of our beloved fourth Bishop, Saint John Neumann. Though reluctant to accept the office of Bishop, he never shrank from his episcopal duties. His pastoral zeal, accentuated by his Redemptorist spirit, stirred him to see the many challenges and opportunities for evangelization, especially among the ever-increasing immigrant population. In his eight years as Bishop of Philadelphia, this humble man of small stature left a legacy of monumental accomplishments. Among these are Catholic schools, for which Philadelphia is well-known, and the annual Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotion, which remains a highlight in the Eucharistic piety of the parishes in our Archdiocese. Every aspect of his life was directed toward the spread of the Gospel, the salvation of souls and the service of his people. Saint John Neumann fervently prayed: “O my Jesus, though I am poor in so many ways ... I have been chosen as a shepherd of Thy sheep. Give me an ever increasing love for those souls redeemed by Thy precious Blood, that I may labor at their salvation in wisdom, patience and holiness.... Lord, teach me how to live and, if need be, to die, that all may be saved, that all may love and praise Thee throughout all eternity” (Saint John Neumann, C.Ss.R., His Favorite Prayers).
The Church of Philadelphia, since its earliest days, has been blessed with the presence of many women and men religious who have borne witness to Jesus by professing and living the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience. Faithful to the charism of their various founders and foundresses, our consecrated religious contributed in inestimable ways to the mission of evangelization. In the establishment of elementary and secondary schools, as well as colleges and universities, the apostolate of Catholic education has formed countless children and young men and women in their knowledge of Jesus Christ and of our holy Catholic faith. In their concern for the poor and the sick, consecrated religious established numerous institutions to care for children in need, for the homeless, for women and families in difficulty, as well as hospitals and nursing homes to provide compassionate and Christ-like care for the sick and the dying. Through their fidelity to Jesus Christ and His Church, their bold vision, and their heroic dedication, consecrated religious have accomplished great things for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, the dignity of the human person.
The example of Philadelphia’s own Saint Katharine Drexel illustrates the vision of so many consecrated religious. Although a child of wealth and privilege, Saint Katharine was taught by her devout family to be intently focused on Christ’s love for the poor. Katharine’s observation of those oppressed by poverty and prejudice moved her to action. She knew that only in Christ could people truly be free. Saint Katharine used her enormously charitable heart and her considerable resources to bring Jesus to as many people as possible. Her own love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament made her aware of what needed to be accomplished. Saint Katharine wrote: “He came to save all. I want to enter into and be permeated with Jesus’ desire to save all - all the world throughout the centuries” (Reflections on Life in the Vine found in the Writings of Mother M. Katharine Drexel).
Special gratitude also must be offered for the contribution—past and present —of contemplative religious, who though separated from the world, always have a prayerful gaze fixed on the needs of the Church and the world. Because of their steadfast devotion and contemplation of the Face of Jesus, our cloistered religious prayerfully support and sustain the activity of the Bishops, priests, deacons, religious and all the faithful who engage in the work of evangelization.
As we reflect on the wonders which God has worked throughout the history of our Archdiocese, we are filled with a profound gratitude for all of these blessings. Every parish, school, and institution within our Archdiocese is a vibrant reminder of how, from generation to generation, the gift of faith has been preserved, handed on and cherished. Great sacrifices, generous collaboration, unfailing hope, and, above all, genuine love, have brought the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to this moment, this hour of grace, this portal to a new era in our history in which, together, we can continue, with God’s help, to accomplish great things.
On this Fourth Sunday of Easter, we stand in the radiance of the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd, who “calls his own by name and leads them out” (Jn 10: 3). Through Baptism, each one here has been called by name by Jesus to bear His light and His love into the world. Each one of us, called by Jesus, is sent into the world—into the human family—to invite others to meet Jesus in His Church. Each one of us is called by Jesus to uphold and proclaim courageously the dignity and sanctity of human life from the first moment of conception to natural death. Each one of us is called by Jesus to preserve and protect the sanctity of marriage—that inviolable union between a man and a woman—established by God as a sign of His covenant of love and for the propagation of the human family. Each of us is called by Jesus to promote peace on earth: peace in our hearts and in our homes, peace in our neighborhoods and in our land, a true and lasting peace between nations.
In a couple of days, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, with whom we are closely united on this special occasion in faith and love, will arrive in the United States on his first apostolic journey to our nation. The theme of this visit is Christ Our Hope, a theme derived from his own Encyclical, Spe Salvi. In his encyclical, our Holy Father tells us: “Our hope is always essentially also hope for others.... As Christians we should never limit ourselves to asking: how can I save myself? We should ask: what can I do in order that others may be saved and that for them too the star of hope may rise?” (no. 48).
This celebration of our Bicentennial invites us all—clergy, religious and laity —to recommit ourselves to the mission of evangelization, to sharing the word of God and to bringing to others the hope, mercy and salvation that we find in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Our 200-year history testifies to what can be accomplished when we trust in Jesus Christ and place ourselves at His service. In our own day, we must work together, gently inviting people to undergo conversion of heart, to experience the joy of life in Christ, and to rediscover the beauty and transforming power of the Sacraments. All of us must bear witness to our need for God, and to what it means to keep holy the Lord’s Day through participation at Sunday Mass, through deeds of charity, and through much-needed rest. The love of Christ demands that as individuals and families we do all that we can to bring others to conversion of heart, to lead others to “Christ Jesus, our hope” (1 Tim 1:1).
On this solemn occasion, the two hundredth anniversary of our local Church, as Archbishop of Philadelphia I extend a heartfelt invitation to all our Catholic people who, for one reason or another are separated from the life of the Church and are no longer active members of our community of worship and service. For so many of you, dear friends, a profound reconciliation with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and with the community of the Church is so readily available in the Sacrament of Confession. There you have immediate access to Christ’s mercy, His forgiveness and His love. And with this reconciliation comes deep peace and the joy of new life in Christ. And if there is some situation in your life that first needs to be addressed, you can be assured that our priests will do everything possible to assist you. No matter what your spiritual condition is, your prayerful presence at Sunday Mass means so much to Christ, to yourselves and your families, and to all of us.
At this moment, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is fitting that we turn our thoughts to Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, who is likewise, under her title of the Immaculate Conception, the patroness of our local Church. By her prayers and maternal love Mary helps us meet the challenges of our Bicentennial. She helps us to be faithful to God’s commandments, to be authentic in our Christian lives, and to be generous in fulfilling the many services that our holy Catholic faith invites us to offer to others in the name of Jesus.
Finally, I would like to recall to you, dear friends, words I spoke when I became your Archbishop in 2003. At that time I said: “In this new moment in the life of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, we set our hope on the living God (cf. 1 Tim 4:10), on His Son Jesus Christ and on the power of the Holy Spirit. We humbly pray: Jesus, we trust in you!” I then went on to say what I repeat today: “...permit me...to entrust you all to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in a pastoral act which I ask you to ratify personally in consecrating your own lives to her, and through her...to her beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”
Your Eminences,
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons, Religious, Seminarians,
Dear Faithful Laity of this Archdiocese of Philadelphia,
Dear Family Members and Friends of Bishop-elect Thomas,
Dear Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Guests,
And especially you, Dan, our dear brother called to the Episcopacy,
Our late beloved Holy Father Pope John Paul II repeatedly proclaimed the ideal and challenges of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. He spoke to every category of Christian people about their particular vocation. In a very beautiful way he frequently spelled out what it means to be a Bishop of the Church of God, to share in the Episcopacy of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today the Church of Philadelphia and many others gather with us to reflect on the pastoral office of the Bishop as we celebrate in word and sacrament the episcopal ordination of Monsignor Daniel Thomas.
The sacred Ordination rite that we perform is done in communion with our Holy Father and by his authority and mandate. We are here because of the choice made by the Church, acting in the Holy Spirit and through the selection of Pope Benedict XVI, of Monsignor Thomas for the office of Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia.
Monsignor Thomas is a son of the Church of Philadelphia, a member of our presbyterate, and until recently the zealous pastor, since his return to the Archdiocese, of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Strafford. Prior to this he served the universal Church in Rome, in the Congregation for Bishops.
Over the years Monsignor Thomas has shared his faith and friendship with his brother priests. He has come from their ranks and is known and loved by them. Our gathering today is witness to the great esteem in which he is held. But his priestly ministry also reflects the dedication, generosity and integrity of so many Philadelphia priests who, like him, make every effort to live faithfully their vocation of priestly holiness and service, and to whom the community renders deep honor and respect.
Today’s feast is that of Saints Joachim and Ann, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through them Mary was prepared for her exalted mission as Mother of Jesus, Mother of God. This ordination ceremony, Dan, bids us remember the important role of all Christian parents, including your own, in helping their children to reach their vocation. We recall your mother, Anna, on this her feast day, and give thanks for the presence of your father among us. As a Bishop of the Church you are called to proclaim the holy Catholic faith which you first learned from them and to which they bore witness in the family to you and your brother. I am sure that you first learned also from your parents the deep meaning and consequences of those words of Saint Paul that we have just heard proclaimed in our second reading: " We preach not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus."
Proclaiming Jesus Christ will be at the core of your episcopal ministry. And the sacramental proclamation of His Death and Resurrection in the Eucharist will be the source and summit of all your episcopal activity as it has been of all your priestly life and ministry. From the Eucharist you will draw both the strength to fulfill your role and the clear understanding that this strength is not your own. Saint Paul reminds us that "we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us."
How then do we describe this episcopal ministry that you are about to receive? What do we say about the identity of the Bishop?
The Second Vatican Council and the whole tradition of the Church have spoken at length about the ministry of the Bishop. In an address to the Bishops of the United States (September 5, 1983), our late Holy Father Pope John Paul II explained so much of the Bishop’s identity by stating that the Bishop is "a living sign of Jesus Christ," one who in and through his own humanity communicates Jesus Christ and makes Him visible to the People of God. The words of Pope John Paul II help us to understand how all-embracing is the ministry of the Bishop as a living sign of Jesus Christ. The Holy Father underlined various dimensions of the Bishop as a sign. This is how he put it:
- The Bishop is "the sign of the love of Jesus Christ" as he offers understanding and consolation to those in need, in trouble and in pain. In a special way, the Bishop is "the sign of Christ’s love for his priests." Dan, I know that you will eagerly try to be this sign and to help me, together with Bishop Maginnis, Bishop Cistone and Bishop McFadden, to fulfill ever more effectively this service to our priests in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
- The Bishop is also called to be "a sign of Christ’s compassion." The Holy Father further explained this, saying: "The consciousness on the part of the Bishop of personal sin, coupled with repentance and with the forgiveness received from the Lord, makes his human expression of compassion ever more authentic and credible. But the compassion that he signifies and lives in the name of Jesus can never be a pretext for him to equate God’s merciful understanding of sin and love for sinners with a denial of the full liberating truth that Jesus proclaimed. Hence there can be no dichotomy between the Bishop as a sign of Christ’s compassion and as a sign of Christ’s truth."
- The Bishop is truly then "a sign of fidelity to the doctrine of the Church." He is never reticent to proclaim the teaching of the Church, which he embraces with all his heart, together with his brother Bishops and in communion with the Roman Pontiff, in virtue of a charism sustained by the Spirit of Truth.
- Another role assigned to the Bishop is to be "a teacher of prayer," and as such he is meant to be "a living sign of the praying Christ." Like Christ, the Bishop is called to submit all his pastoral initiatives and decisions to the Father. Jesus did nothing without praying.
- The Bishop is called moreover to be "a sign of the unity of the universal Church." For this, Dan, you have a special sensitivity, because of your long priestly service to the Holy See. We are never more ourselves—the Church of Philadelphia—than when we embrace the Church’s universal faith and discipline, and are open in charity to the needs of the universal Church, which by her nature is missionary. Sometimes we are asked why we give to the Church’s missions, why we help those far away, why we offer support to the Pope when there are so many needs at home. The universal Church and our belonging to her prevent us from ever becoming a sect turned in on ourselves and oblivious to the needs of others throughout the world. Yes, the Bishop is indeed called to be "a sign of Catholic solidarity."
- As a living sign of Jesus Christ, the Bishop cannot renounce the preaching of the Cross. Like Jesus, he must accept criticism and acknowledge failure in not always being able to obtain a consensus of doctrine acceptable to everyone. Because he is "a sign of fidelity" he must therefore also be "a sign of contradiction." Jesus was a sign of contradiction. He could preach nothing other than what His Father communicated to Him. He said: "... I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me" (Jn 8:28). Despite great openness and gentle dialogue, you too, Dan, must be the same sign of contradiction in the world. "The Bishop," Pope John Paul II tells us, "will proclaim without fear or ambiguity the many controverted truths of our age. He will proclaim them with pastoral love, in terms that will never unnecessarily offend or alienate his hearers, but he will proclaim them clearly, because he knows the liberating quality of truth."
- Finally, in the words of Pope John Paul II, the Bishop is meant to be "a sign of hope for the People of God, as strong and unbreakable as the sign of the Cross, becoming a living sign of the Risen Christ." From Christ’s Cross and Resurrection he draws all the strength necessary "to live by faith in the Son of God" (Gal 2:21).
Up until now, dear brother Daniel, you have striven to be a living sign of Jesus Christ in the faithful fulfillment of your priesthood. From now on you are meant to bear even greater witness as a Bishop. Everything you do in your episcopal ministry, beginning with the proclamation of the word of God that culminates in its Eucharistic celebration, you must strive to do with contagious joy.
Among the many tasks that will be yours as an Auxiliary Bishop and a Vicar General I am asking you to give very special attention to the service of our brother priests and seminarians, and to coordinating all the efforts of our local Church in promoting vocations to the priesthood. In God’s wonderful plan every vocation in the community of the Church needs the Eucharist and, therefore, the priesthood. You yourself will always exist to serve the Eucharist, the priesthood and the community.
In this work and in everything else you do as a living sign of Jesus Christ, you will be supported by the people of God, who look to you for encouragement and pastoral love. Remember that so many of our faithful people are making heroic efforts to be faithful to Jesus Christ and His Church. They want you to walk with them, leading them in prayer, and proclaiming to them God’s holy word as it is understood and interpreted by the Church. At the same time they want to see Jesus in you, because they know intuitively that the Bishop is meant to be "a living sign of Jesus Christ."
You will also be supported by your brother priests, your brother Bishops in the Archdiocese and in the Episcopal Conference. You will continue to be confirmed in your faith by the Successor of Peter and sustained by God’s grace through the intercession of our Blessed Mother, who in her glorious Assumption is herself "a sure sign of hope" for us all.
At the very center of your existence is the person whom, as a Bishop, you must trust completely and constantly endeavor to represent as "a living sign." And it is He, Jesus Christ, whom you confess today and always, with the Apostle Thomas and with the whole Church as "my Lord and my God." Amen.
I have two announcements this morning that bring honor and pride to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has appointed Reverend Monsignor Daniel E. Thomas as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese. I am grateful to the Holy Father for this appointment and his recognition of the pastoral and spiritual needs of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and our almost 1.5 million Catholics.
Bishop-elect Thomas is a native of the Manayunk section of Philadelphia. He attended Roman Catholic High School and Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary and was ordained in 1985. During his twenty-one years as a priest he has served the Church faithfully as a Parochial Vicar, administrator and Pastor. He is currently Pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Strafford, Chester County, but has recently returned from Rome where he served the Holy See in the Congregation for Bishops. I had the pleasure of having Bishop-elect Thomas working with me for the years that I was Secretary of the Congregation. He is an exemplary priest with a great love for the Church.
Bishop-elect Thomas demonstrates a pastoral care for the faithful which I know will only grow as he assists me in ministering to the entire Archdiocese of Philadelphia. His experience in Rome and in the Archdiocese will be of great benefit to him as he begins his episcopal ministry. I express my gratitude to him for his generous response as we begin our new collaboration, together with the other Auxiliary Bishops, in serving Gods people. It will be my honor to ordain Bishop-elect Thomas on July 26, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. I ask the clergy, religious and laity to join me in rendering praise and thanks to the Lord Jesus, who continually blesses the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
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The Archdiocese has traditionally served the universal Church by providing dedicated priests as Bishops to lead some other Dioceses throughout the country. Now the tradition continues. It gives me great pleasure to announce that Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop Michael F. Burbidge as the fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Raleigh. Bishop Burbidge is actually in North Carolina this morning, holding his first news conference at his Chancery.
I have expressed to Bishop Burbidge my warm congratulations and best wishes on his appointment. I have also thanked him for his tireless and selfless service as a priest and as an Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia. I will greatly miss his invaluable assistance to me and his contribution to this local Church, especially his particular concern for his brother priests and all Gods people. It seems that his episcopal ministry has been all too brief here in Philadelphia but the Holy Father has called Bishop Burbidge to serve the larger Church.
This appointment demonstrates the Holy Father's confidence in Bishop Burbidge. Bishop Burbidge is a skillful leader who will shepherd the people of Raleigh with great care and concern for their spiritual well-being. They will come to know Bishop Burbidge as we do; as a compassionate, wise and faith-filled priest and Bishop. He exhibits deep joy in carrying out his priestly duties and serving in Jesus' name; it is a gift to witness his zeal for his ministry.
As Bishop Burbidge begins this new ministry, I offer him my fraternal support and assurance of my prayers. May the Lord bless him and the people of Raleigh.
The date of these announcements, June 8, has special significance. It was on this date two years ago that our Holy Father appointed Bishop Joseph Cistone and Bishop Joseph McFadden as Auxiliary Bishops of Philadelphia. I am so grateful for their assistance and that of Auxiliary Bishop Robert Maginnis. They help me each day with the pastoral and administrative care of the Archdiocese.
This is a joyful time and I ask the Lord to continue to bless and protect the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and all the people of our community.
The Church in Philadelphia is deeply pleased by the presence today of Cardinal Bevilacqua, Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore, and all the Bishops who join with Archbishop Green in this Eucharistic celebration. We are particularly gratified by the representation of the Ukrainian Catholic Church and acknowledge the presence of Archbishop Soroka, Archeparch of Philadelphia and his predecessor Archbishop Sulyk, together with Bishop Paska and Bishop Bura. We are also pleased to have so many priests and so many seminarians at this Mass.
Today the whole Archdiocese of Philadelphia celebrates with great joy. James Patrick Green returns to the Church of his Baptism, his First Communion, his Confirmation and his Ordination to the Priesthood. He comes home as an Archbishop of the Church. He does this just weeks after his Episcopal Ordination in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
After having served as a priest in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and after graduate studies in Rome, Father Green in 1985 generously answered the call of the Holy See to serve in a special ministry to the universal Church.
This priestly ministry took him to various parts of the world, involving him in activities that reflected the pastoral care and concern of the Holy Father for different nations. In Papua New Guinea, Korea, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, Sweden and Taiwan, Monsignor Green was part of the life of the Church and a witness and servant of the inculturation of the Gospel in numerous communities. In these last three years he has served Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI in the Secretariat of State of the Vatican.
Now after an extended period of generous and dedicated collaboration in the work of the Holy See, he has been chosen to represent directly and personally Pope Benedict XVI as the Holy Father assists local Churches and serves various peoples throughout the world.
Archbishop Green’s mission will now take him to South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana to bear witness to the Gospel and to make present everywhere throughout this immense region the pastoral solicitude of the Holy Father, who is the visible principle of unity for the entire Church.
We gather at this time to express solidarity with him in his new ministry. This work will be an expression of the evangelizing, missionary and pastoral service not only of the Holy See, but also of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which rejoices in his appointment and spiritually supports him.
Archbishop Green goes forth as both the Representative of the Holy Father and as a gift of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to the universal Church.
His specific ministry is to make the Successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome and Vicar of Christ present in the jurisdictions that he will serve. A special work of the Holy See is to promote peace among the nations, on the pillars of justice and love, freedom and truth.
Hence, Archbishop Green, as the Holy Father’s Representative, will be a herald of international peace, a promoter of global justice and charity, and a strenuous defender of the cause of human life. From now on he will be ever more engaged in the international effort of the Holy See to foster freedom and proclaim the truth of the inviolability of human dignity.
All of this, however, he will do as a Bishop of the Church of God, supporting his brother Bishops in five nations in Southern Africa. Here he will serve not a single diocese but many local Churches, bringing in his person the support of the Holy Father to the evangelizing, missionary and pastoral mission of an extensive area of the Church.
The focus of all his activities will be to promote the building up of God’s kingdom through the power of the Gospel and the Sacraments of the Church. The very center of his ministry will be, as in the case of every priest and Bishop, the Holy Eucharist. Like every priest and Bishop, he is called to pray for Christ’s flock, to share their joys and their hopes and sufferings, and to personify constantly the loving mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In a particular way he is called to extend encouragement, assistance and fraternal support to the local Bishops as they exercise their pastoral role and sustain and guide the People of God.
Today Archbishop Green comes home to Philadelphia, en route to his new mission. He embraces anew his mother, his sisters, all his family, friends and brother priests. He renews his communion with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia that formed him in Christian living and prepared him well for his priestly mission.
He finds new strength in the support of classmates and friends, whose presence recalls to him the mystery of God’s providence in his life, as well as the origins of his priestly journey. He remembers all the graces of his vocation, the people whom he served, the experiences of his ministry, including his special service as Secretary to the late Cardinal John Joseph Krol. He gives thanks for all those who did so much for him and who contributed to his formation by their help, their generosity, their friendship and their prayers.
Reflecting on all of this, Archbishop Green is given the opportunity today by the Church to renew all the dedication of his priesthood and to commit himself vigorously as a Bishop to the mission that lies ahead of him.
This whole worshiping community is assembled here in this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul to support Archbishop Green in prayer. As his family and friends, and as members of the Church of Philadelphia and beyond, we are able to offer him the great support of this Mass, the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which is offered to give him grace and strength.
Since we know that his new mission will require special support for him, we also invoke on his behalf the intercession of the Archangels whose feast we celebrate today. We invoke Saint Michael to defend him, Saint Gabriel to counsel him and Saint Raphael to accompany him on his mission from beginning to end.
As we gather in the presence of the Angels during this Eucharistic Supper of the Lamb of God, we renew our trust in the power of the Blood of the Lamb that today is offered to the Father for the work and new episcopal ministry of our brother James.
We are also grateful to God for this opportunity to join a new Bishop of the Church as he professes his holy Catholic faith. Archbishop Green, as a successor of the Apostles, joins the Apostle Nathaniel, whom we encounter today in our Gospel, to lead us in a great act of faith. Together with Nathaniel, together with Archbishop Green, together with the Apostle Peter and Peter’s successor, Benedict XVI, Bishop of Rome, we all proclaim Jesus Christ, confessing: "You are the Son of God." "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
In the name then of the Lord Jesus, may you go forth, Jim, on your mission to serve worthily as a Representative of our Holy Father, trusting in the power of the Paschal Mystery and relying on the intercession of Mary, the Queen of Angels.
The Church of Philadelphia, of which you have been so much a part and which has been so much a part of you, is proud of the working of God’s grace in your life. With great confidence the Archdiocese supports you, prays for you, and trusts that you will be faithful to the end. Amen.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Thank you for coming to this Mass for the Second Sunday of Advent and our annual Bless the Baby Jesus celebration. It is such a joy to see all of you here —especially the children—with your images of the Baby Jesus that I will bless at the end of Mass today. I am hoping that you will take your blest images of the Baby Jesus back to your homes and place them among the figures in a Nativity scene. The tradition of the Christmas Nativity scene began with St. Francis of Assisi in 1223. Francis realized how the Incarnation of Jesus revealed God’s love for us in a very special way. To make that love more visible to the people of his time, Francis created a manger scene in the town of Greccio, in Italy, using live people and animals. The local people were so moved by this depiction that it quickly became an annual tradition. Soon, this beautiful practice became popular in other nations around the world. Today, the Nativity scene has a prominent place in so many Christian homes. Placing your Baby Jesus figure in a nativity crèche in your home can help the whole family reflect, throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons, on Christ’s wonderful birth in Bethlehem.
In today’s Liturgy, the first reading from the prophet Baruch offers us a foreshadowing of the joy that Jesus brings in His incarnation, in His coming to us at Christmas. The prophet exclaims, “Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever” (Bar 5:1). He adds, “God is leading Israel in joy by the light of his glory, with his mercy and justice for company” (Bar 5:9). Jesus comes during a silent night; but, truly, His coming is filled with glory, joy, mercy, and justice, prefiguring His public ministry as well as the ministry of the Church. This reading is meant to be a joyful reminder and an invitation to us to cast off any sin in our lives, to live by the light of Jesus’ glory.
Our Psalm response echoes this joyful reminder: “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy” (Ps 126:3). The account by the psalmist is ecstatic: “When the Lord brought back the captives of Zion, we were like men dreaming. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing” (Ps 126: 1-2). Advent is meant to be a time of joy, of longing to see the Lord. The word Advent indicates a “coming.” At this time of the year, we remember that God came to us as a newborn babe and comes to us today in the Eucharist. What better way to prepare for God’s coming than to partake with others in the Eucharist at Mass? The Psalm today also says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing” (Ps 126:5). Those who weep and bear heavy crosses in this life will be comforted. Jesus will comfort us and help us carry our burdens in this life, and will bring us to a place of joy and rest in the next life. This is our Christian hope. This is a great reason for our hope and joy at Christmas.
The second reading today is also related to Christian joy. Saint Paul’s letter to the Christians at Philippi is a beautiful expression of the love and affection he felt towards his brothers and sisters in Christ there. As in the other readings today, Paul reminds us of the values inherent in the Christian life and the continual looking forward to Jesus’ coming. He says, “This is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ” (Phil 1: 9-11). Our task is to allow ourselves to be filled with the love and truth of Christ, showing this love to others so that it spreads like a flame throughout the earth. In this way, we prepare ourselves and the world for Christ’s coming: at Christmas and right now, in the Eucharist of this Mass.
Today’s Gospel reading from Saint Mark offers us a strong and straightforward challenge to “prepare the way of the Lord, [and] make straight his paths” (Lk 3:4). John the Baptist tells us that “Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (Lk 3:5-6). In the ancient world, the roads were often treacherous and in need of repair. Often when there was a battle, one group would destroy bridges or set up obstacles to stop the advance of the enemy. Any time a traveling dignitary was coming through, workers would either have to fix the roads or build new ones so that the visitor with his caravan could make it through safely. The repair of these roads required much manual work, making rough ways smooth, crooked paths straight, even filling in valleys or flattening hills in the road’s path.
In order to prepare for Christ’s coming, we too are to make smooth the crooked paths - not of our roads, but rather, of our hearts. We are to trace a new path not in the desert or wilderness, but in our lives. Doing this requires a true conversion of heart. For us Christians, to prepare a way for the Lord means to examine our lives, to see if the paths we are walking are crooked or straight. We are called to make low the mountains of our pride and our selfishness and to fill in the valleys that come from a superficial prayer life and a shallow way of living our faith. We are challenged to straighten out any crooked paths on which we may have been walking - that is, the paths of sin present in our lives.
Especially during Advent, we are urged to repent and turn to the Lord. If we have avoided reconciliation with God or with other people, now is the time to make straight these paths. If God has not been at the center of our lives and families, now is the time to reform our ways. Advent itself is a gift to us, a time to start anew and look forward to Jesus’ coming.
Such conversion is a choice—to turn away from sin and embrace the Lord. In today’s Gospel, we see the contrast between those who chose well and those who chose poorly. Seven religious and political figures are named in the reading: Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Philip, Lysanius, Annas, and Caiaphas. All of them were still living when Jesus was crucified, and some of them were directly involved in the trial that resulted in His death. In contrast, there is John the Baptist, who chose Christ. He chose the Lord, and preached repentance and humility not only with his words but with his very life. He was the “voice of one crying out in the desert,” to “prepare the way of the Lord” (Lk 3:4). Note that he did not say, “I am one crying out in the desert,” but instead said, “I am the VOICE of one crying out in the desert” (Lk 3:4). John is the voice, the spokesman. The one crying out to us is the Lord, the Word; it is Christ himself. Through John, He says, “the rough ways [shall be] made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” This is the gift that Christ brings to us this Christmas: His saving presence in the world. He comes to us to be our Savior.
Dear friends: each day presents to us as Christians a call to conversion—a call to choose Christ and to acknowledge God as the source and giver of all of our blessings. Realizing this truth helps us to share with others what we ourselves have been given by God. I know that a number of you who have brought items for needy children have heeded the call to share generously with our brothers and sisters, and I thank you for this and for all your good works of charity.
May the Holy Family bless all of you during these days of Advent and bring you close to Jesus. And may Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of our Savior, be a model of humility and grace for us all. Amen.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Mary, Treasured by Christ, A Gift to the Church
"Behold, your Mother." These beautiful words, which were recorded by Saint John the Evangelist, were uttered from the lips of our suffering Lord as He hung dying on the cross. In the final moments of His Passion, Our Lord turned His mind and heart to His Mother. She had been a great treasure to Him throughout His life, and now at His moment of suffering, she was there attending to Him, present in His final agony. The abiding and loving presence of Mary in the life of Jesus was certainly one of the constant joys in His life and ministry.
Our Lord’s love for us was so abundant that in the midst of excruciating physical pain and great mental anguish, Jesus gave to us, through His beloved disciple John, the one who was a great consolation to Him in this world: His own Mother. What a refuge and help we have in Mary! Pope Benedict XVI has re-affirmed Mary’s motherhood. He writes, "[Our Lord] made her [Mary] our Mother when he said to the disciple and to all of us: ‘Behold, your Mother!’ We have a Mother in Heaven" (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily on the Solemnity of the Assumption, 2005). Mary, who was chosen from among all women to be a chief cooperator with God and Mother of Jesus, can now rightly be called: Our Blessed Mother.
Our Blessed Mother accompanies and sustains us in all the moments of our life, especially those times made particularly difficult by sickness, suffering, and set-backs. What a treasure she was to Her Son in His life! What a treasure she is to us in our life! Today, we celebrate Mary’s unfailing motherly care for us, which Christ so earnestly desires for us.
It is a particular joy to be here at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Shrine, widely known as the Blue Army Shrine, which is dedicated to promoting devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. It is a personal privilege to be here during this jubilee year in which we commemorate the 90th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady to three shepherd children in Fatima. I am especially pleased to be with you, the dedicated members of The World Apostolate of Fatima/The Blue Army, as you mark its sixtieth anniversary.
Today our hearts are filled with joy as we recall the miraculous events which occurred in 1917 in a quiet place called the Cova da Iria in the small town of Fatima. May 13th of that year marked the first of what was to be a series of six apparitions of Our Lady to a ten-year-old girl named Lucia and her two younger cousins: Jacinto, age 8, and Francisco, age 7. The beautiful Lady identified herself to the children as "Our Lady of the Rosary." During the apparitions, Our Lady, showing her motherly and solicitous care for all God’s children, invited the children to pray for sinners and for themselves. She encouraged them to undertake penances in reparation for offenses against God’s majesty and to pray the rosary in order to overcome the ultimate consequence of evil: punishment in the fires of hell and a life separated from God.
During the second apparition, which occurred on this day 90 years ago, Our Lady instructed the children to pray the Fatima prayer, which for many has become a part of their private recitation of the rosary: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, help especially those in most need of Thy mercy." This beautiful prayer is simply a petition for Divine Mercy. It is an appeal to the One—born of the Virgin—who came that He might save all.
Mary: The Fulfillment of a Promise and our Model in Faith
Mary’s role and importance in the Church and in our life is underscored when we realize that she had been willed by God from the beginning. Shortly after the fall, our parents Adam and Eve were the recipients of a promise of victory over sin and death. Mary is prophesied in this promise (cf. Gen 3:15; Lumen Gentium, 55). Just as the first woman, Eve, had a role in the bringing about our mortality through sin, so too it was fitting that Mary, the new Eve, the woman "full of grace," should have a role in man’s redemption and new life won through obedience. Therefore, Saint Irenaeus can write, "The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience: what Eve bound through disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith" (Saint Irenaeus, Adv. Haer, II, 22, 4: PG 7, 959A). Mary is rightly celebrated as our model of perfect obedience in faith. Mary’s response to the angel is none other than total faithful commitment to God: "Be it done unto me according to thy word" (Lk 1: 38).
Mary: Prefigured in the Old Testament and our Model in Charity
The gift that Mary was to be to Our Lord, to the Church, and to us personally and individually was an integral part of God’s wise and loving plan of salvation. Mary was prefigured in the Old Testament in the Meeting Tent, the Ark of the Covenant, and the Temple. When the Ark of the Covenant or the Meeting Tent was overshadowed by the Spirit of God, God’s glory was made manifest to His people. In the new dispensation, Mary is now the new Meeting Tent, the new Ark of the Covenant, and the new Tabernacle of the Lord. Recall the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God" (Lk 1: 35). Mary lovingly accepted Jesus into her womb and her heart, thereby becoming the first tabernacle of Jesus in this world. Likewise, the beautiful Temple, which was the dwelling place of God on earth, points to Mary, the definitive Temple of the Holy Spirit.
All these salvific and sacred persons, events, and things of the Old Covenant find their deeper and fuller meaning in New Covenant established by Christ Jesus. Mary, promised and prefigured in the Old Testament, becomes for us a model of charity in her life which is witnessed by the Gospels. Let us look at three of many moments in Mary’s life which illustrate her life of charity. First, Scripture records that after learning of her elderly cousin Elizabeth’s condition, Mary set out in haste to the hill country to assist Elizabeth, who was with child (cf. Lk 1:39). Mary’s charitable response was service-oriented as recounted in the story of her Visitation. She set out to help another in need. Second, and later in time, at the Wedding Feast at Cana, Mary brings the needs of the young married couple to the Lord. She becomes, in a sense, the catalyst for Our Lord’s first public miracle: the miracle of turning the water in the jars into wine. The last words which Sacred Scriptures records of Mary’s are set at this Feast: "Do whatever He tells you" (Jn 2:5). Mary’s charity is ordered to doing the will of God. Third, in today’s Gospel, we witness Mary’s loving presence at the side of Our Lord during His Passion and Crucifixion. In these three moments—at the Visitation, at the Wedding Feast of Cana, and at the Cross—Mary is our model of Christian charity. Mary is chronicled in Scripture as the woman who attends to the needs of others.
Mary: A Woman of the New Order and our Model in Hope
In our first reading today, which is taken from the Book of Revelation, we read about a new heaven and new earth (cf. Rev. 21:1). The old is passing away. We also read about a new city—a new and holy Jerusalem. This city will be like a bride adorned for her bridegroom. The author of Revelation states that the One on the throne will say, "Behold I make all things new" (cf. Rev. 21:5). Indeed, the Lord is the One who makes all things new. The first recipient of God’s newness is Mary. Mary is now our new Eve; she is the new Meeting Tent; she is the new Ark of the Covenant; she is the new Temple. Mary, who follows Christ closely, is the first in the new order. In this new order, Mary can rightly be called both Virgin and Mother.
God’s grace has elevated Mary to a privileged place in salvation history. In the new order, Mary can be called the Immaculate Conception. As Pope Pius IX wrote: "The Most holy Virgin Mary was, in the first moment of her conception, by a unique gift of grace and privilege of Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of mankind, preserved free from all stain of original sin" (Ineffabilis Deus [1854]). She is of the new order of men and woman who have been set free from sin by Christ’s redemption. As a consequence of her freedom from sin, Mary has been privileged to be assumed, body and soul, into heaven. As Pope Pius XII wrote: "Mary, the immaculate perpetually Virgin Mother of God, after the completion of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into the glory of heaven" (Munificentissimus Deus [1950]). She is our heavenly Mother who is preparing a place for her children in heaven. Thus, Mary is our guide in Christian hope.
Mary: Our Intercessor, Teacher and Mother
The Second Vatican Council taught: "The faithful must in the first place reverence the memory ‘of the glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ’" (LG 52). As the Mother of God, Mary transcends in dignity all created persons, both angels and men. The Council Fathers continue: "She is endowed with the high office and dignity of the Mother of the Son of God, and therefore she is also the beloved daughter of the Father and the temple of the Holy Spirit" (LG 53). Mary holds a pre-eminent role and profound importance in the life of Our Lord, in the life of the Church, and in our lives. Mary as our heavenly Mother is our powerful intercessor. Mary is also our sure moral guide. She is the one, who is "full of grace," and who through the exercise of the virtues of faith, hope and charity, teaches us the way to the Father through the Son and in the Holy Spirit. We can invoke and imitate her as Our Blessed Mother.
On this special jubilee day, as we recall with great joy the Marian apparitions at Fatima, we lift up our minds and hearts to our Lord Jesus Christ in heartfelt thanksgiving for the gift of our heavenly and Blessed Mother. Let us pray to Mary to assist us and to guide us daily in the way of prayer and penance, in the way of faith, hope and charity. And as an act of praise for God’s eternal plan to send us His Son conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, I invite you on this day, dear friends, to renew in faith and love your own personal consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Mother of His Church. Amen.
ABlessed are those who have not seen and have believed.@
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Our Lord Jesus Christ,
We are gathered together on this feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, on the occasion of this meeting of Couples for ChristCFoundation for Family and Life. I am grateful to have this time to be with you in support of your ecclesial mission and to reaffirm the significance of your witness to marriage and family life.
Today I hope to offer a few reflections on our Gospel reading, which describes the doubt of Thomas before he encounters the risen Lord:
Upon hearing the news of the risen Christ, Thomas reacts by saying, AUnless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.@ He expresses a natural human perspective, which demands physical evidence and proof . So often we are limited to only this viewpoint, afraid of daring to go higher.
But faith offers a supernatural perspective, transcending earthly realities in a way that surpasses our understanding. Indeed, faith is extraordinary. Faith gives us the supernatural outlook that enables us to view all people, situations, and circumstances with God=s eyes, rather than our limited human perspective.
Faith goes beyond our naturally limited notions. When God achieves a great work, He can do it through the most unexpected channels. There are many examples of this in the Bible. In the Old Testament, for example, Abraham and Sarah have a son, Isaac, despite their old age. There is also the story of King David. As a young boy, he defeated the giant soldier, Goliath. And, when it was time to select a new king for the people of Israel, it was not a man of high stature whom he chose to be king; it was the lowly shepherd boy, David.
At the Annunciation, we see a beautiful and simple expression of faith when the Virgin Mary is informed by an angel that she is to be the mother of God. Here, we have a case of an unmarried adolescent, with wisdom and grace beyond her years, who responds to God with a resounding Ayes@ to the aweBinspiring mission ahead of her. She could not have anticipated the future Asword that would pierce her heart,@ yet her Ayes@ was total, free, and unconditional. It was a great act of faith.
But faith is something extraordinary and not always easy to embrace. Thomas reacts, not with faith, but with natural, human expectations. How does Christ respond?
Christ gives a peaceful greeting and allows Thomas to touch him: APut your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.@
Christ has infinite patience with us. When we have doubts and fears, He never stops reaching out to us with his love. He wants us to love Him back, he wants us to trust him completely. We sometimes lack faith because the realities of the world press in on us: a financial situation, a job situation, a difficulty in the family, and other factors. When these concerns cloud our hearts, we begin to lose the clear vision of faith that frees us.
Trust Christ! Have faith! Do not be afraid to trust Christ completely, offering Him your worries and fears, your joys and hopes. Jesus, I trust in you! This is the great exclamation of the Church. It is only through trust that you will begin to experience the depths of Christ=s love for you. And when you begin to experience this love, deeply and profoundly in your lives, you cannot help but see the world around you differently.
This is the experience of Thomas when Christ shows him His wounds and allows Thomas to touch him. Thomas responds with the words, AMy Lord and my God!@Ca profound expression of wonder and awe, and ultimately, of faith. This is the moment of transformation for Thomas.
Christ says, ABlessed are those who have not seen and have believed.@ Thomas and the other disciples had the privilege of living with Christ in their midst everyday. What a gift it must have been to live side by side with Christ and see him in the fullness of his humanity! What a privilege, to be able to converse with him, to share meals with him, to observe and learn from his example when he dealt with the different personalities and characters from all walks of life! What must it have been like to see his joy at the wedding at Cana, his tears at the tomb of Lazarus, his diligence and humility in his carpenter=s work, and his leadership and authority with the crowds?
We do not have that privilege as the disciples did, but Christ does speak to us now these special words: ABlessed are those who have not seen and have believed.@ We cannot see Christ as the disciples did, but He is no less present to us now in the world. He remains with us in the Eucharist. I encourage you, especially as married couples and as families, to develop a strong Eucharistic life where you can draw close to Christ to find the strength to deal with the many challenges you face in your daily lives.
And so I say once again: trust Jesus Christ! He waits for you in the many lonely tabernacles of the world. He waits for your love, and it is through you that He wishes to make known His presence in the world. As the first apostles were messengers of Christ, so too do you bear witness to His love through your lives!
In a special way, dear married couples, you are called to radiate this love through your spousal fidelity as a sign of Christ=s fidelity to his bride, the Church. In a world in a culture where lifelong commitment is increasingly scoffed at, where virtue is mocked more often than rewarded; how greatly your joyful, firm and faithful witness is needed. You are to be beacons of light in the world.
Equally important, dear married couples, is your great gift and responsibility as parents. The family is the first school of the faith. The family is the source of the child=s development as a person in all dimensions: the intellect, the heart, the will, and the soul. Dedicate yourselves to forming your children with a deep awareness of Christ=s love; and, as husband and wife, model this love through your respect and affection for each other.
In a society where family life is suffering severe setbacks, broken marriages, the attacks of the media and other social influencesCall these threaten to destroy the very foundation upon which society is built. Draw close to Christ in the sacraments to maintain always your perspective of faith. Continue to build up your marriage and family life through your mutual support and encouragement with others who share the same values. You already are united by a common ideal through your involvement in Couples for Christ. Such is an example of the gift of movements in the Church that provide a support for those in the married and lay state.
Remember these words of our Lord Jesus Christ: ABlessed are those who have not seen and have believed.@ If you have faith, you will see the world differently, not from a human perspective, but with a supernatural view. This vision of faith will bring to your ordinary everyday activities a fresh divine perspective. If you see the world differently, with the eyes of Christ, you will be able to radiate His love to all you meet. You are a light in this world, because you reflect the light that is Christ. In your marriage and family life, you are to be a witness, a reflection, a mirror of that Love which is so powerful yet gentle, sacrificial yet victorious, so instant yet eternal.
May God give you grace and strength, dear friends, in the days to comeCgrace and strength to fulfill your role, to be partners in the Church with the Lord Jesus Himself in building up His Kingdom in your families, in your parishes, and in the worldCa Kingdom of holiness and truth, a Kingdom of peace, a Kingdom of life and love. Amen.
Good morning. As Archbishop of Philadelphia, I extend a warm welcome to all of you gathered here today, and ask God’s blessings upon you and your families, as well as your important work in the field of addictions treatment and ministry. It brings me great joy to host this inaugural conference on the need to integrate the sacred and therapeutic dimensions of effectively caring for those battling addictions and for their families.
In communion with my brother bishops around the country, I wish to express our profound gratitude for the dedication and compassion of so many dedicated members of the helping professions who are addressing this issue on a daily basis. I deeply appreciate the presence of so many of you here today as an expression of your genuine and heartfelt concern for those who struggle with addictions, and for their families and faith communities. In your treatment centers, practices, parishes, schools, and homes, you are on the front lines of a battle for the health and well-being, indeed the very survival, of countless men, women and children who have been ensnared in the trap of substance abuse and a host of other compulsive diseases. As you tend to their wounds and accompany them on their journey back to health and wholeness, you are a tangible expression of the love that emanates from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, where the brokenness of humanity encounters the transforming mercy and power of God.
Substance abuse and addictive disorders have reached epidemic proportions in our society, with an ever-widening range of compulsive behaviors on the rise among ever younger age groups. Such trends have made compassionate care for those affected by these diseases an urgent pastoral concern for the Church and her ministers, and for that reason I chose to write on this topic as part of the Shepherd’s Voice Series published by our friends at Basilica Press. As I stressed in my book, the Church has and must continue to speak out on the issue of addiction, in fidelity to her mission to preach the Good News of the love of God the Father through the forgiveness of sins and the healing of those who are afflicted.
If leprosy was the most destructive and contagious diseases of Jesus’ time, it might well be said that addiction is the scourge of our time, given the insidious nature in which it spreads and the terrible damage it causes in the lives of those addicted and their families. Unfortunately it is all too common in our society to see persons with addictions as “weak” or “unwilling to change” and even to blame them for succumbing to something that we have since come to realize is in fact a destructive disease. The addict’s need for clinical intervention and treatment often goes ignored, and when combined with the lingering social stigma attached to addictive behaviors, often causes these suffering individuals in their pain to seek out ways to cope that only do further harm to their human dignity and that of others. The self-defeating, shaming and blaming patterns become a vicious cycle that virtually chains addicts in destructive downward spirals.
While the addict’s need to take personal responsibility for his or her choices is always present, it must be acknowledged that the addictive process over time greatly impedes and wounds personal freedom, and as such the addict is not simply an actor but also a victim of a disease that affects his or her ability to “get well” without help. The pastoral activity of the Church directed toward those battling addictions should therefore be understood within the framework of continuing the ministry of Jesus, who reached out mercifully to touch the suffering and sick, bringing them healing, comfort and renewed strength. Jesus proclaimed in word and deed that He is the Divine Physician who heals those who are afflicted, and the Good Shepherd who seeks out and saves those who are lost.
We cannot ignore the Gospel imperative to imitate Christ in our readiness to enter into the messiness of the lives of our brothers and sisters who have become entangled with addictions, whether to alcohol or drugs, sexual aberrations and pornography, gambling, shopping, or a whole host of other compulsive traps. The Church calls us to recognize the inviolable dignity of every human person, and in face of those who would shun and marginalize the addict, we must resoundingly affirm his or her God-given right to a dignified life characterized by freedom from obstacles that destroy their authentic human good.
The Catholic Church has addressed the need to provide help and support for those struggling with addiction and compulsive behaviors in a variety of ways. These include ongoing advocacy for comprehensive care to be provided for those who are addicted, by offering continued spiritual guidance for those in recovery, and by issuing a call for strategies aimed at the prevention of addiction. Historically, the Church in the United States has been actively engaged in addressing the problem of addiction and its underlying spiritual nature and causes. Catholic clergy and religious were intimately involved from the outset with the development and growth of the recovery movement, and many were essential contributors to the early foundations of Alcoholics Anonymous and The Twelve Steps. The U.S Catholic Bishops worked diligently to bring the issue of addiction to national consciousness in the 1980s and 1990s, combining theological and pastoral reflection with contemporary clinical research on addictions to issue a strong and compelling pastoral diagnosis and related recommendations.
Those prior efforts have resulted today in a myriad of Church-sponsored organizations, specialized treatment programs, support groups, and affiliated institutions that are all focused on providing comprehensive and effective care for those adversely impacted by addictions. Today more than ever the Church recognizes the importance of creative and dynamic partnerships with those engaged in the helping and healing professions of therapeutic treatment and counseling, with the goal of cooperatively supporting effective long-term recovery for as many people as possible. I am pleased to acknowledge the contributions made in this regard by our co-sponsors – Catholic Health Care Services, St. John Vianney Center, and Guest House Institute – and am grateful for their combined efforts in making this conference day possible. I also acknowledge with great esteem the excellent work of partner organizations represented by our invited speakers today – The National Association for Children of Alcoholics, Fr. Martin’s Ashley, The International Coalition of Addictions Studies Educators, and The National Catholic Council on Alcoholism and Related Drug Dependencies. Our purpose today is to highlight the many good things being done by these groups and others to integrate the sacred and clinical dimensions of effective addictions treatment and ministry.
I would like to conclude by emphasizing a point that I stressed in the second part of my book, on the importance of a robust Christian anthropology as a basis for an adequate Catholic response to the problem of addiction. Addiction is a human issue that touches the person on many levels, including significantly the spiritual dimension of our personhood. God has created the human person as a union of body and soul, and as such each of us has a divine origin and destiny. This Christian understanding of human nature means that all of our desires and hungers are for what we perceive as good, and are ultimately grounded in our desire for God, who is our true and ultimate Good. As Saint Augustine so aptly put it, “You have made us for yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” Yet, our desires can at times become distorted and cause us to perceive things as apparent goods which are in the end not good for us. Addictions are an example of the adverse results that occur when our perceptions of what is good for us go astray, and we choose to continue to pursue those false and illusory goods. For that reason, any effort to deal effectively with addictions must take due account of the need for spiritual conversion and renewal. The Catholic insight has always been that grace builds upon nature, and therefore all good human efforts necessarily find their completion in God’s guidance and assistance.
It is with this in mind that we have come together today, to explore together how best to facilitate recovery from addiction within the context of conversion of heart and transformation of life. Catholic teaching on the necessity of grace and virtue reminds us of the importance of the sacraments and prayer in the overall process leading to genuine healing, recovery and renewal for those who suffer the pain of addiction. Today we will explore in our various presentations and workshops some of the most important themes regarding this critical interface between the sacred and the therapeutic dimensions of clinical and pastoral care in addictions ministry. Let us go forward with the deep conviction that with God all things are possible, and that no one is beyond the reach of God’s infinite power and mercy. We are a people of hope, and today we proclaim the word of hope from our Savior, Christ Jesus, to all who are burdened and heavy laden with the weight of addiction: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened…and you will find rest for yourselves” (Mt 11:28-29). Again, welcome, and may God bless you.
Dear Friends,
It is an honor to welcome you this afternoon to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. I deeply appreciate the splendid opportunity presented to us today. I welcome in a particular way the psychologists, social workers, licensed professional counselors, physicians, nurses, addiction counselors, marriage and family therapists, teachers and school administrators who have taken part in the conference today. I am especially grateful for the participation and presence of those in recovery, and family members affected by addiction. I extend also a warm welcome to all members of the Christian faith, to our Jewish brothers and sisters, to members of the Islamic faith, and all people of faith and good will. I am happy to express my deep gratitude for the collaboration of Guest House Institute, Saint John Vianney Center and the Catholic Health Care Service of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in sponsorship of the conference proceedings today.
The struggle with addiction crosses every sector of society. No segment of the population is immune: Rich or poor, men or women, youth or elderly, blue collar or white collar, devout or secular. Regardless of educational experience or professional expertise, whether we live in the city or suburbs, from the board room to the waiting room, the pain of addiction confronts all of us.
Addiction can take many forms: alcohol addiction, dependency on illegal substances and even on prescription medications, gambling, tobacco, food, video games, spending, shopping and sexualizing. In particular, we are aware of the considerable extent to which Internet pornography has devastated married couples, young people and society at large.
Addiction is so often a response to the deep and long echo of pain. Our pain comes from our wounds. Our wounds are many: wounds of rejection, loss, traumatic conflict, family division, unemployment, heart-breaking transitions, chronic worries, disappointing regrets, repeated attempts to control the ongoing demands and difficulties of life. We may choose to neglect our wounds, but their pain remains, and can influence us to attach ourselves to substances and activities that falsely promise to make the pain go away. Addiction does not bring what it promises. It purports to fix or to numb, but, in fact, it only worsens the pain and deepens the wound. As addiction takes further hold on our life, we simply go through the motions, and sooner or later enter a tragic downward spiral. Addiction captures us in a slavery that engulfs us, our friends, neighbors and colleagues in a puzzling labyrinth of chaos that seemingly has no end.
God is familiar with every pain and hardship we can encounter. He called His people, Israel, out of slavery in Egypt (cf. Ex 3:7-8). He rescued them from exile (cf. Is 52:1-6). In the fullness of time (cf. Gal 4:4), the Son of God intervened in human history. He assumed our human nature. Jesus understands our wounds even when we do not. In the Gospel of Saint Matthew, as we heard proclaimed only a few moments ago, Jesus says to us: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves” (Mt 11:28-29). Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh (cf. Jn 1:14), accepted the Cross to free us from sin and death and to reveal the Father’s love for us. The humble Sacred Heart of Jesus offers to heal our own wounded hearts.
The human heart is like a seed. The seed is very vulnerable. It can be scarred and bruised. Before it can ever bear fruit, the seed falls to the ground. It falls into a dark place where rocks and other obstacles weigh upon it. Recovery is the new search for our heart, for the seed of life. The seed goes through much – it descends into the darkness, it may seem lost or abandoned, but its life persists in its long journey. As the Lord proclaimed through Isaiah the prophet in the first reading: “I will never forget you” (Is 49:15). How true this is for those in recovery! Somewhere in the darkness, against all hope, the seed stirs and breaks open. It begins to grow. Even from the darkness, the seed reaches forth to the light it cannot yet find. The seed grows in strength, stretches forth its roots, breaks through, grows beyond the surface and becomes a tree. It bears fruit and feeds the world. It is on the tree of the Cross that the saving action of Jesus redeems the world. In His saving act, Jesus takes up and transforms even our wounds into sources of new life.
The light that guides the seed is like the light of faith. We are often tempted to compartmentalize faith, to make it fit into our preconceived notions. Faith is not a merely external, superficial overlay or a decorative, ceremonial circumstance. It is never arbitrary or simply private. We can never reduce faith in Jesus Christ to a mere means to an end. The human person is a profound irreducible mystery. We have a depth in our heart that can only be reached by faith in Christ. This faith does not bring automatic results. It brings much more because it is a divine gift. As faith unfolds we act in a new way, from a new depth of trust. From this trust, faith is understood, in the words of the Venerable Servant of God Pope John Paul II, as “a decision involving one’s whole existence” (Veritatis Splendor, 88). In the school of faith, we learn that painful past secrets are healed one day at a time, one hour at a time. The Sacraments, especially the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, provide us with the strength for this journey. In the Eucharist we receive Christ Himself, and share in His grace-filled, sacrificial act of love on the Cross.
Nourished by the Eucharist, and with the support of Twelve Step spirituality, faith reminds us that there is a momentum that is deeper than the pain. As professionals, your calling is to reflect the radiance of Christ, the light of Jesus, into the labyrinth of confusion and hurt. Your good work assists our brothers and sisters in recovery in the search for life: meeting after meeting, appointment after appointment, group session after group session, even in the midst of relapses. No darkness can smother the seed that reaches out for air and light. The Church greatly values and deeply appreciates your heroic work in specialized service to those who seek recovery. Your many sacrifices, including years of study, training and practice, long hours of research and appointments, demonstrate the dedication, expertise and qualification that is so important in this crucial work. In so many instances your work hinges on showing people the indispensible role of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the breakthrough by which recovery becomes the road to holiness.
Three and a half years ago, Pope Benedict XVI made a visit to Brazil. During the visit, the Holy Father met with a community named Nossa Senhora da Glória, which is also known as Fazenda da Esperança, or, the Farm of Hope. The Fazenda da Esperança is a center in service to those who suffer from drug addiction and chemical dependency. At that time, the Pope expressed, in his own words, his appreciation of “those many other institutions throughout the world which work to rebuild and renew the lives of these brothers and sisters of ours present in our midst, whom God loves with a preferential love. I am thinking of groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous as well as the sobriety associations working generously in many communities so as to build up the lives of others” (Meeting with the Community at the Fazenda da Esperança, Guarantinguetá, May 12, 2007).
Today, we entrust the professional efforts of caregivers and the personal courage of our brothers and sisters in recovery to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Hope. May she who knew the heart of the Savior so well lead us to this same inexhaustible source of grace and strength. Then, our work, our journey and our sacrifices will be joined to those of Jesus, and serve as the light that transforms the dark labyrinth of pain into the radiant path to holiness on which the oppressed are set free.
Amen.
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
It is a joy to be with you this morning in the celebration of the Eucharist. I extend a warm welcome as you gather in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for the 2011 convention of the Calix Society on the theme: Let the Oppressed Go Free: Breaking the Bonds of Addiction.
The central action in the midst of the Gospel passage which the Church gives us for this Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time is the moment when Jesus stretches out His hand to save St. Peter. The Gospel tells us that the disciples had gotten into a boat to precede Jesus to the other shore. In the midst of the night, the boat became engulfed with waves. Notice that Jesus is on the mountain in prayer with the Father, and at the same time the disciples are in confusion and bewilderment. So often we are tempted to see reality from only one perspective, that of the world. We are tempted to judge our condition by the world alone. But no matter how badly the world may buffet us, it is Jesus the Lord who is our Center. He is the One who prays on our behalf to the Father in the Holy Spirit, and nothing disturbs His prayer. In fact, the prayer of Jesus is the center of the world.
The Gospel tells us that Jesus, from His prayer with the Father, comes to his disciples. Jesus approaches and invites St. Peter to come to him across the water. Recall that water in Sacred Scripture sometimes represents chaos and disorder. Jesus walks upon, transcends the chaos and disorder of the world and of sin. When Peter accepts the invitation of Jesus, and starts to walk toward the Lord on the water, He becomes frightened. He begins to sink, and cries out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!” The Gospel tells us, “Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter” (Mt 14:31). Notice the close connection between the plea of Peter for salvation and the response of Jesus in stretching out His sacred hand. Notice as well, Peter does not cry out, “Lord, fix me!” Rather, he cries out, “Lord, save me!” And, as soon as that plea, “save,” reaches the ears of Jesus, the Son of God, the Word made flesh (Jn 1:14), He responds immediately.
Peter was an experienced fisherman. He was an expert at seamanship. Yet his boat was being battered by the winds and tossed about by the waves. Nothing he had experienced prepared him for this bitter moment. This is true for all of us, and in a particular way for those who experience addiction. We are often like ships on a stormy sea, tossed about in directions we had never dreamed of. The conflicts and hardships of life, as well as our wounds and weaknesses, often propel us into confusing and unpredictable situations. In such painful moments, so many are tempted to seek refuge in coping mechanisms such as the misuse and abuse of alcohol. Alcohol can seem like a way out, but, in fact, it only draws us deeper into danger. Even when Jesus approaches the boat, the disciples do not recognize Him. In fact, they begin to think their dire situation is worsening: they think He is a ghost (Mt 14:26). We too, at times, can so focus on ourselves, that even the intervention that is aimed at saving us appears threatening. But as with Peter, Jesus is present in the midst of the storm. When we call, He stretches forth His hand into the very center of our distress to rescue us, to save us.
The action of Jesus that forms the center of the Gospel reading just proclaimed a moment ago―that stretching forth of His hand to save Peter―is not the last time Jesus stretched forth His hand. He will do so again on Calvary, this time to save not only Peter, but to offer His salvation to the world. The Church longs to provide spiritual assistance and pastoral resources to our brothers and sisters who suffer from alcoholism. All of our efforts begin with the outstretched hand of Jesus. When we face the old temptations of the false self, when we encounter the deception of sin, the illusions of the world, discouragement with the journey and frustration at our past, present or future, it is then that we must cling above all to Jesus in and through His Church. In simple living faith, we must, again and again, firmly entrust our entire soul to the Lord. He alone is the One who opens new dimensions in our life. He draws us into the inner meaning of every hour, every moment. In the first reading, the Book of Kings describes the encounter of Elijah with the presence of God. God was not in the heavy wind, the earthquake or the fire. He was in the tiny whispering sound. God hides inexhaustible riches and inner treasures deep in the ordinary moments of life, and even more deeply in the painful places of life.
We often make the same mistake that Peter made. In the midst of great difficulties and the pains of life he relied on his own strength. Peter had yet to learn the lesson of powerlessness, that when we are weak, it is then that we are strong. Jesus continually invites Peter to allow the Holy Spirit to enter his life and become the source of his strength. Jesus invites us to this strength of the Spirit as well. The Lord offers us His strength through the life of grace which we find in the Sacraments, especially in the Sacrament of Penance and in participation in the Most Holy Eucharist. In our worthy reception of the Eucharist and in time of sacred adoration before our Lord, it is then that He reaches out His hand just as surely as He did to St. Peter, just as surely as He did upon the Cross for our salvation. We encounter Jesus in our personal prayer, in spiritual reading, in meditation on the lives of the Saints, in friendship, and preeminently in entrusting ourselves to our Blessed Mother Mary through her holy Rosary. The Lord also gives us natural means of healing. When we take advantage of prudent counseling, of the wisdom of time-tested Twelve Step groups and of the support of a seasoned sponsor, the Lord stretches forth His hand to us. He gives us His own strength.
The Church greatly appreciates your efforts, your efforts to stretch out your hand, after the example of Jesus, to others through caring outreach and the spirituality of the Twelve Steps. Your compassion, patience and time all reflect the love of Jesus for those who suffer from addiction, for their families and friends. For Catholics who are in the Twelve Steps, we depend on God who saves us, and who at the same time sends us, to plunge back into the darkness as servants of the hand of Jesus Christ. Do not forget that as God sends us to others, they also minister to us. The grace of sobriety, as you share it, you continue to receive it.
The central action of Jesus in today’s Gospel is the stretching out of His hand to those in need, in distress. We come together today to allow Jesus to stretch His hand out to us, to further free us from those things that hold us bound, so that, unencumbered, we may go forth and discover those who long to be within reach of His saving hand. May our participation in this Eucharist free our hearts more deeply and strengthen us more surely that we might turn to one another, even in the midst of our own needs, and strengthen one another on our journey to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear Friends in Christ,
I am delighted to be with you to celebrate this Mass and to have the opportunity to express personally my gratitude to you for your involvement in Campus Ministry. Your dedication to this ministry demonstrates that you have a real understanding that a crucial aspect of higher education for young men and women is their spiritual formation and participation in the sacramental life of the Church. Through your efforts, many young men and women grow in their appreciation of how special they are in the Church, and what contributions they can make to further the mission of the Church. By your availability to them, so many young people are aided in their relationship with God, who invites them to grow in holiness as they grow in wisdom, knowledge and maturity.
The Servant of God Pope John Paul II, in Pastores Gregis, the 2003 Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Bishop, Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the Hope of the World, emphasized the solicitude which the Bishop must have for young people. "The Bishop, as pastor and father of the Christian community, will be particularly concerned for the evangelization and spiritual accompaniment of young people. A minister of hope can hardly fail to build the future together with those to whom the future is entrusted.... [Y]oung people are ready to commit themselves in the Church and in the world, if only they are offered real responsibility and an integral Christian formation" (53). Campus Ministry, then, is a great collaboration with the ministry of the Bishop who keeps ever close to his heart the young men and women who are the future of society, the future of the Church.
Within universities and colleges, young people, often away from home, find themselves in an often-overwhelming new world. As you know so well, they are immersed in an intense schedule of academics in unfamiliar surroundings. They find themselves removed from any parental supervision and exposed to various influences, some of which are not always positive. Through you, brother priests, religious sisters and brothers, and lay leaders, our young people find a safe refuge in Campus Ministry Centers, a renewed connection with the Church, and a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. Please know that you are a valuable resource to the Bishop in his solicitude for these young people, and on behalf of the many Bishops with whom you work throughout the country, I offer heartfelt thanks.
You know well that the Bishops—and all ministers and teachers of the Church —are entrusted not only with safeguarding the truths of our holy Catholic faith, but also with proclaiming to all people the good news of Jesus Christ. Through the ministry of the Word and in the administration of the Sacraments, the Church offers to all people an encounter with the living Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life (Jn 14: 6). In the gospel passage just proclaimed, Jesus declares the necessity of listening to His words and putting into action the message which is entrusted to those who believe in Him: "Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rains fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock" (Mt 7: 24-25).
The truths of Jesus, transmitted through the teaching of the Church, are enduring and provide the firm foundation of which Our Lord speaks. It is our mutual task—our very mission—to nurture all people, but especially our youth, with the truth and to sustain them through the sacramental and liturgical ministry of the Church. Thus they are able to survive temptation, stress, hardship and loss, the storms and squalls of everyday life. Fidelity to Sacred Scripture and to Sacred Tradition provides security, stability, and even serenity in times such as our own, which are turbulent, yet remarkably full of hope.
Jesuit Father Manuel Ruiz Jurado, commenting on the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, explains the mission of Jesus transmitted to the apostles, and to the entire Church. "Christ’s apostles do not draw out morality and dogma from their own ideas, nor do they compromise them through discussion or haggling. They are servants, not the Master. They have received a ‘deposit of faith’ which must be conserved and transmitted intact (1 Tim 6:20; 2 Tim 1:14). This is their glory" (For the Greater Glory of God: A Spiritual Retreat with St. Ignatius, 179).
Frequently, as they mature and develop intellectually, young people question or seek to understand more fully the teachings of the Church. In some instances, however, in some institutions of higher learning, students are encouraged to challenge or dismiss Church teachings, or are offered personal opinion in place of authentic teaching. This causes confusion in the minds of young people, and, even worse, may lead them away from the Church. Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, in his April 17, 2008 address to Catholic educators at the Catholic University of America, addressed this very issue with a stirring reminder: "These harmful developments point to the particular urgency of what we might call ‘intellectual charity’. This aspect of charity calls educators to recognize that the profound responsibility to lead the young to the truth is nothing less than an act of love."
Where sometimes the academic sphere falls short, you, dear friends who are engaged in the work of Campus Ministry, act in charity to offer the truth, to guide young people through their sincere searching and questioning to understand the truths of our faith. Although yours is not the academic setting, in various programs which you sponsor, guest lectures which you organize, or faith-formation opportunities which you provide, and retreat experiences which you direct, young men and women advance in their knowledge of the Catholic Faith. Furthermore, you help them to live the faith in the celebration of the Sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of Penance. Young people also appreciate opportunities to experience anew or reacquaint themselves with devotions which have deep meaning in the life of the Church. The Rosary, the Lenten practice of the Stations of the Cross, and, most especially, Eucharistic Adoration, foster within young people a more intense friendship with the Lord Jesus and a deeper understanding of the role of Mary in the whole plan of the Incarnation.
"Young people," wrote Pope John Paul II, "through personal relationships with their pastors and teachers, must be encouraged to grow in charity and be trained for a life of generosity and availability for the service of others, especially the needy and infirm. In this way it will be easier to speak with them about the other Christian virtues, especially chastity. By taking this path they will come to know that life is ‘something beautiful’ when it is given to others, following the example of Jesus. Thus, they will be able to make responsible and binding decisions, whether about marriage, the sacred ministry or the consecrated life" (Pastores Gregis, 53).
These sentiments of Pope John Paul II can also be applied to those engaged in Campus Ministry. Your joyful witness, steadfast living of what has been entrusted to you, and the love with which you welcome young people through Campus Ministry will continue to have a positive and life-giving influence on them. Do not underestimate the importance of your work, of the daily routine of your ministry, of offering that firm foundation. As companions of the young, you have a lasting impact on the future, for to lead young people to Jesus Christ is to assure them a future full of hope. Your partnership in this great work is a blessing for all.
Your Eminence, Cardinal Foley,
It is a joy for me as Archbishop of Philadelphia to welcome you today on your first visit home since those recent eventful days in Rome, when His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI created you a Cardinal of the Church.
You have come back to the city of your birth, to the Archdiocese of your Baptism and introduction into the faith. You have returned to the place where your beloved parents first taught you to love God and your neighbor. You have returned to the place that evokes your call to the sacred Priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the local Church which holds all the memories of your youth and your seminary training.
At this moment you have returned to the very Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul where you were ordained a priest, where you were ordained a Bishop and entered effectively into the College of Bishops as a Successor of the Apostles—here in this sacred church.
It was from this local Church of Philadelphia, which had nourished you in grace and challenged you to holiness of life, that you were sent to Rome to heed the call of Pope John Paul II to collaborate with him in the Roman Curia, and specifically in his mission of communicating the good news of salvation to the whole world. And so for those many years in Rome, and in those other places where your work directed you, you sought to collaborate faithfully with the Holy Father in his evangelizing mission. All of this brought you into contact with the world, and the world into contact with you. But what really mattered during all those twenty-three years is that through your ministry as priest and Bishop in a close partnership with Christ’s Vicar on earth—first John Paul II and more recently Benedict XVI— the world came into contact with Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ was manifested ever more to His people through the faithful communication of the word of God.
During those years, as Providence would have it, you were uniquely positioned to be of great assistance to so many of the faithful of Philadelphia, many of them being your brother priests. You assisted them to profit from their visit to Rome "to see Peter," and to use the occasion to ponder God’s word as He communicated His Son to them ever more through your person, your ministry, your kindness.
And in the fullness of time, as it related to your life, our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI chose you to be a Cardinal of the Church, a member of the presbyterate of Rome, assigning you to a new ministry but one that is always at the service of God’s word and, in particular, His Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. Your new assignment and challenge is to be the worthy Grand Prior of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. As such your ministry and solicitude are oriented to the Church in the Holy Land, with its sacred shrines and institutions and, above all, the immense needs of the Christian people of these places.
From now on your ministry, your very person is meant to be synonymous with the great pastoral solicitude of the Church for Jerusalem and all that is known as the Holy Land. And through you the exquisite sensitivity of the Chief Shepherd of the Church for the peace of Jerusalem will constantly be revealed.
It is obvious that just as until now, as a faithful disciple, you have borne your share of hardship for the Church, so in the future you will be called upon to bear an even greater share of burden in Christ’s saving work.
The context in which we express to you our solidarity and support in your new activities is, of course, the celebration of the Eucharist. How fortunate for you to be surrounded here this evening by so many of your brother Bishops and priests, so many of your faithful friends, who have made such a great effort to be with you. We extend a particular welcome to Cardinal Bevilacqua, Cardinal Keeler and Cardinal McCarrick. Their presence is indicative of your warm acceptance into the College of Cardinals. But all of us are gratified to be close to you in the greatest act of our holy Catholic faith—so meaningful for all God’s people—our greatest form of celebration: the Mass.
Some years ago—you may well recall the incident—Pope John Paul II was asked by a journalist what the greatest joy is in the life of the Pope. He unhesitatingly replied: to enjoy the same privilege shared by every Catholic priest in the world—the privilege of being able to celebrate Mass every day. After many years of service as a priest and Bishop, and now as a Cardinal, your greatest privilege and joy remains to offer up the Eucharist, for the living and the dead. And this evening so many people join you joyfully in this Eucharistic celebration, which, as Vatican II explained so well, is the source and summit of the Christian life of all of us.
Back on November 24th when the Holy Father made you a Cardinal, he reminded you that the honor you were receiving was all about the glory of God and the service of the Apostolic See. He mentioned explicitly before all the people present that the red biretta was meant to be a sign that you and your brother Cardinals would be ready to conduct yourselves with courage, even to the shedding of blood, for the increase of the Christian faith, for the peace and tranquility of the People of God, and for the freedom and progress of the holy Church of Rome. How beautiful a coincidence that our Eucharistic celebration today, on the feast of Saint Lucy, recalls the memory of one of the Church’s faithful witnesses of the third century—a virgin martyr who testified by her life to her faith and love for our Lord Jesus Christ!
After more than seventeen centuries, the Church still speaks about Saint Lucy, with honor and admiration. While none of us can aspire to such a destiny—to be remembered after so many centuries—still we know that God has given us a special role to play, a special service to fulfill in the unity of the Church and for the benefit of all our brothers and sisters. Your role and service, dear Cardinal Foley, is more than ever before one of great importance for the glory of God and the well-being of His Church. In the weeks and months and years to come may Mary, the Mother of the Incarnate Word, sustain you in fidelity and joy as you consume yourself for the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
It is a joy for me to welcome those from outside the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and to welcome all of you to this church dedicated to a great missionary, Saint Patrick, as we assemble for worship on this feast of another great missionary, Saint Peter Claver.
I am pleased that all of you who come together today do so in the name of Jesus, and that you aspire to exercise a gift that comes through the Church from God’s Holy Spirit. This gift is the gift of Catholic leadership in its various forms.
It is a credit to your Catholic faith and zeal that on this first day of deliberations and exchange the celebration of the Eucharist is central for you. It is important for you as members of God’s people to gather at the altar of Christ’s sacrifice, to invoke wisdom and strength, to proclaim your oneness in and with the Church, and to rededicate yourselves in Catholic unity to a mission which belongs to Jesus and which, through the Church, He shares lovingly with you.
How great is the human person! How great is man, creature and child of God, whom He made male and female and constituted as a brother or sister of Christ! And how great is the gift of knowing God, who is revealed in Jesus Christ, and in sharing the mission of communicating Him to others.
This parish church dedicated to its great patron, Saint Patrick, inspires all of us to strive in humble collaboration to promote the mission of the Church: to communicate Jesus to the world. I remember from years ago a remarkable reference made by the Venerable Servant of God Pope John Paul II about Saint Patrick. He mentioned what a tremendous effect the fidelity of one man has had on the Church for centuries. Saint Patrick has become the patron of Ireland and, through the Irish, the patron of Nigeria. His influence extends throughout time and space. Because of his fidelity, the fidelity of one man, our Lord Jesus Christ is still being powerfully communicated in so many parts of the world.
The second missionary that we revere today is Saint Peter Claver. How he understood human dignity as the greatness of God’s creation! How he understood and participated in the Church’s mission of communicating the uplifting Gospel of love and life to African slaves, becoming in his own expression “the slave of the slaves forever”!
Today, dear friends, in our first reading there emerges a clear expression of the beauty of human dignity and we also see the importance of the mission that God permits us to share in as members of His Church.
God explained to the prophet Jeremiah that He knew him even before he was formed in the womb. God said: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” How worthy then of respect is every human person who, like Jeremiah, is known and loved by God even before conception! And how awesome that every human person, like Jeremiah, has been assigned a mission before his or her birth, as God said: “Before you were born I dedicated you”!
And how lofty the mission of leadership assigned by God to each of us in His Church, in the measure that He wills! Like the mission of Jeremiah our mission is a sharing in God’s work. It is God who, through His Church, is uplifting the world communicating a knowledge of His Son and appealing for a response of obedience and love. We are instruments, chosen and privileged, but the message and the conditions for its effective communication belong to God and are guarded by the Church. God says: “To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak.” He goes on to encourage us and assure us: “Have no fear...because I am with you to deliver you.” How magnificently, dear friends, these words of God thunder down the centuries, challenging the Church, but reassuring her and comforting her: “I am with you .... See, I place my words in your mouth!”
These words of God provoke in us a response of trust and peace: “Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.... To do your will, O my God, is my delight.”
In our efforts to build up God’s Kingdom, efforts which must always include the mission of Jesus “to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to captives” we are so blessed in the Church to have such great examples of missionary saints. How relevant for our mission today is Saint Peter Claver, who continues to teach us how evangelization in the Church must always include, together with a clear proclamation of God’s revealed truths, an earnest promotion of human dignity. As he baptized over three hundred thousand people, Saint Peter Claver gave his life, endeavoring to lift so many brothers and sisters out of the squalor of slavery.
Dear friends: Is not this “Catholic Leadership Conference” a splendid opportunity for all of you, in the measure given you by Christ, to rededicate yourselves to collaboration, by prayer and action, in and with the Church, in the great mandate that the Lord Jesus left with His disciples? Certainly the whole Church is called to contribute in different ways to this plan so clearly presented by Jesus to the disciples: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
As we endeavor to support and promote all that Jesus has commanded, we also must commit ourselves to promote it in the way that is characteristic of Him, who says to us: “I am meek and humble of heart.” Leadership must indeed be clear, strong and dynamic. But it must also be invested with the gentle action of the Spirit, who is known by the fruits that He stirs up in the hearts of those who invoke Him in prayer. These fruits have been so masterfully described by Saint Paul and summarized by the Church as: “charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity” (cf. Gal 5:22-23; CCC, 1832). Surely these fruits of the Holy Spirit embody so much of what constitutes the Catholic leadership of your daily lives and the splendid contribution that you are able to make in building up the kingdom of God.
And finally, dear friends, as you strive, guided by your holy Catholic faith, to lead others in the way of salvation, you must listen anew to Jesus, who in the power of His Spirit, continues to say to you: “Behold I am with you, always, until the end of the age.” Amen.
The Eucharist: One Body, One Mission
The word of God speaks to us in the circumstances of our life. Today we gather as the Church, the Church of Philadelphia, the Catholic Church, in our own specific vocations. We gather as a Eucharistic people, therefore as one: with each other, with all our brothers and sisters in this local Church and in our universal Church. We gather to celebrate our mission—which is very important. And we gather to celebrate the power to fulfill this mission, in other words, our Eucharistic power. What we ask for today is to understand our mission and to re-commit ourselves to it. What is this mission? To communicate Christ by word and by example. It is an arduous mission, and we need strength which we get from the Eucharist. We need the unity which we get from the Eucharist.
The word of God today tells us that, in God’s plan, the one Bread that we receive has the power to make us one. There are conditions, however, for us to be able to draw strength from the Eucharist. We must participate in the Eucharist internally and externally.
The disciples on the road to Emmaus asked the Lord to remain with them. Jesus also invites us to remain with Him. We must accept His invitation. We must live according to Christ’s law. We have experienced in the Church of Philadelphia a scandal that weakens the community. We are deeply sorry for the sins that caused this scandal. What we must also accept is the fact that every serious sin of ours, whether it comes to light or not, affects the Body of Christ. It saps the inner energy of the community of the Church and makes her mission more difficult to achieve. Every mortal sin works seriously against the unity of the Church and her effectiveness in the world. On the contrary, every prayer, every act of charity, every sacrifice or suffering patiently endured, every Eucharistic celebration worthily performed increases the effectiveness of the Church, because it increases her holiness. What we hope for in the Church is a new wave of holiness of life: composed of generosity and integrity of life.
In the Gospel, the first disciples experienced more than joy when they were with Jesus. They experienced the fire of zeal. Together in unity and striving for holiness in our personal lives we can draw great strength from Jesus and His Eucharist. This is the only way we can go forward in fulfilling our mission—communicating Christ in our families, our parishes, our communities. To communicate Christ is to communicate His identity, His word, His promises, His challenges and His commandment to love one another. Finally, we are called to communicate the Christ whom we ourselves have encountered, whom we have recognized in the breaking of the bread. Amen.
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
It gives me great pleasure to be present with you at this annual gathering of healthcare professionals, you men and women who labor so faithfully in service to the frailest, sickest, and neediest in our midst. I appreciate very much the desire of the Philadelphia chapter of the Catholic Medical Association to have me celebrate this Mass with and for you.
Before turning to the Scriptures to uncover what the word of God is speaking to us this morning, I wish to express my gratitude for your generous service to the cause of human life and human dignity. I wish to acknowledge the great efforts that you make on behalf of your patients, particularly those efforts made without the knowledge of anyone except yourselves and God. Your sacred activity of healing and comfort is so desperately needed today and the Church wants you to know how highly she values the contribution that you make for the well-being of God’s people here in Philadelphia. Healthcare—particularly Catholic healthcare—is a powerful witness of Jesus’ continuing mission in our day, demonstrating God’s goodness and healing power. In your daily encounters with the sick people you serve, God’s healing presence is made manifest and felt.
The readings in today’s Mass speak to us about the manner in which Jesus’ disciples are to pray, with humility and perseverance. The Gospel parable reminds us that when we come to God in prayer, we are to come with humble and open hearts. To come otherwise is to come in haughtiness and pride—attitudes which the Lord makes clear are not a part of Christian discipleship. No matter how numerous our accomplishments are, self-sufficiency is not acceptable in God’s Kingdom. Rather, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (also called the publican) warns against self-promotion as a substitute for humble prayer. An awareness of one’s place before God is absolutely essential if our relationship with Him is to be authentic.
While the theme of the parable is prayer and one’s attitude in regard to God, there is another reflection that merits our particular attention in the context of this gathering. For a long time Catholic healthcare operated in a manner that was relatively low-key and generated relatively little attention. It operated so often in obscurity, without trumping its achievements, not seeking any limelight, simply offering healing and dignity to the persons being helped. Over the years many Catholic-sponsored healthcare operations grew into tremendously large operations, treating thousands of persons annually without regard to religious background. Care for the indigent was a part of the reason for the existence of so many clinics and hospitals. As we all know, the industry changed significantly beginning in the last decades of the 20th century, resulting in a very difficult and competitive environment. Now Catholic healthcare is struggling for survival against obstacles which assail it from every side. These obstacles cannot be allowed to weaken its corporate witness and its need to be genuinely Catholic: Catholic in its motivation, Catholic in its self-understanding, and Catholic in its identity.
The current climate in the social arena calls all Catholic healthcare professionals to acknowledge rigorously their identity. An effort in our nation to attack the conscience rights of the religious providers of healthcare seems to be gaining in momentum. Institutions and professional staff are being saddled with obligations to furnish particular services which are incompatible with Catholic values. Third parties cannot be allowed to discriminate against us because we choose to protect our Catholic identity in terms of the services we provide. Catholic healthcare institutions and Catholic medical professionals have a right not to be involved in procedures which violate the principles of their institutions and their personal consciences. Their expression of integrity cannot be construed as an imposition of one’s morality. It is rather fidelity to the healing ministry of Jesus Himself as normative.
Knowing oneself and one’s place before God, I submit, entails faithfulness in two areas: faithfulness as a baptized Christian and as a professional healthcare provider. By virtue of our baptism we have all been called to share in the life and work of Jesus Christ. We have been conformed to Christ and empowered to do His work. The recognition of individual dignity demands deep respect for others. To be able to see the presence of God in our brothers and sisters in need makes the call to serve them not only a duty to fulfill, but a privilege to enjoy.
Catholic healthcare is a service to persons in need, not a commodity geared to provide returns to investors. You have all responded to a vocation to be healers, continuing the work of the Lord in this time and place. Your professional and personal gifts have been generously shared with others and contribute to a healing ministry that is part of the mission of the Catholic Church. You are the living instruments of God’s presence, and effective signs of God’s care to those whom you assist.
It is my hope for you as Catholics engaged in healthcare services that you will always view your work as the expression of a vocation to which the Lord has called you. A person’s identity calls him or her to live in a particular way. All of us are meant to bear witness and to live as Jesus did, by communicating God’s goodness to others. We are God’s humble instruments called to serve in wonder, in humility and with perseverance.
Humility before God and a healthy recognition of one’s limitations are qualities which Jesus praises in this morning’s Gospel. As Catholic physicians and nurses, as people serving in many facets of healthcare, you are challenged to persevere with hope and confidence. In witnessing to the value of human life, as is seen daily in Catholic healthcare services, your work and the manner in which it is performed are tremendous signs. They signify the inherent dignity of individuals regardless of their abilities; they signify the healing love of the Lord manifest in your care for the sick; and they signify the continuity of Jesus’ ministry of healing in our day. The challenges to Catholic healthcare cannot deter you from engaging in your work of healing as Jesus did. The constant assaults on human life must not weaken your hope or diminish your conviction that life will be victorious!>
In these difficult times it is even more important than ever to work collaboratively, to avoid competition among Catholic providers, and to welcome opportunities to gather together. For the good of the mission of the Church at the service of all humanity, you must continue to treat people according to ethical guidelines of the Church as taught by the Bishops in union with the Pope, and in a manner that is unashamedly and non-apologetically Catholic. Knowing yourselves and your place before God gives you every reason to rejoice in the gift to the Church that is Catholic healthcare, serving, defending and loving human life.
At this Mass may you appreciate ever more the dignity of your calling. And may you unite your work, your prayers and all your strivings with the great Eucharistic Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is His great act of love and praise of His Father. And may the Lord Jesus Himself give you deep fulfillment, satisfaction and joy as you commit yourselves anew to Catholic healthcare offered in His name. Amen.
On this Great Feast of the Martyrdom of Andrew, the first called, with great joy and sublime satisfaction, we affirm and enthusiastically echo the fraternal bond forged by the successors of the Holy Brothers, Peter and Andrew of Bethsaida, in their common declaration. We await in solidarity with our Holy Fathers for the gift of the Holy Spirit that “will help us prepare the great day of the reestablishment of full unity, whenever and however God wills it.” We stand in awe and with admiration recognizing the courage and fortitude of these two spiritual and intellectual leaders of the world in building bridges and forging peace among all the peoples of the world.
As chief pastors and Prelates of our respective local flocks, we pledge to follow the great challenge laid down in the common declaration that as “pastors, we first of all reflect on the mission to proclaim the Gospel in today’s world and make disciples of all nations.” Here in Philadelphia, we your bishops, exhort the local Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic faithful “to take an active part in this process (of unity) through prayer and through significant gestures.” Locally let us respond in a tangible way to the call in the common declaration continuing to reach out in Christian love and fraternal affection as we draw closer to one another in mutual understanding.
| His Eminence Cardinal Justin Rigali Archdiocese of Philadelphia |
His Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey |
The jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey extends to the greater Philadelphia area, which includes the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
It is certainly timely that we are praying for China today, as so many thousands of Chinese are suffering the loss of loved ones because of the devastating earthquake. Our hearts are saddened as we daily see pictures of people digging out of rubble and waiting for food and medicine. In his letter on China, Pope Benedict XVI emphasized the desire of the Catholic Church to be of service to the people of China. At a time like this we Catholics must do what we can to assist the people of China. Our prayers are with those suffering in China today.
In our Gospel today we hear how Mary stood at the foot of the cross while her Son died. The story tugs at our hearts as we contemplate a Mother helplessly watching her Son die in violent agony. One of the titles by which we honor Mary is Mother of Sorrows. As we have watched television coverage of the earthquake in China, we see many "mothers of sorrow" in grief over lost loved ones. Mary is in solidarity with all people who suffer, for she herself knows what it is to love a child and suffer on that child’s account.
Apart from the earthquake, the story of the Catholic Church in China throughout the years is one of great glory and also great sorrow. Surely Mary is in solidarity with all suffering Chinese Catholics. As she watched her Son’s broken body on the cross, Jesus named her the Mother of His beloved disciple and the Mother of the Church. The Church is the Body of Christ and Mary is the Mother of Christ. Chinese Catholics knew in the midst of their deepest sufferings that their heavenly mother was with them, as she had been with Jesus in his darkest moments. Just as Mary stood by the suffering body of Jesus on the cross, she always stands by His Body, the Church, suffering from persecution.
The roots of Christianity in China are quite ancient. However, it was in the later years of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century that Christianity really began to spread throughout China and to flourish. For about a century the mission to China excited thousands of missionaries who went to establish the Church and to serve the people of China. Millions of Chinese embraced the faith and the future looked bright.
China suffered a great deal during the Second World War and its aftermath. One of the consequences of that time of mayhem was the success of the Communist Maoist Revolution which had become firmly entrenched in China by the time Mao declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949. Those were dark days throughout the world as people feared the spread of Communism and the loss of freedom. When China became a Communist state many people throughout the world saw it as an ominous sign. The Communists were determined to create an all powerful, all controlling government and the Catholic Church was seen as an enemy of that mad vision of the ideal society.
Immediately Chinese Catholics were in danger. Over the next three decades Chinese Catholics by the hundreds and thousands were sent to labor camps and were tortured, beaten and killed. All contact with the universal Church was cut off. The most diabolical scheme of the Communist government was the creation of a parallel Catholic church to try to lure Chinese Catholics away from membership in a universal Church in exchange for some limited freedom to practice some elements of the Catholic faith. I know that some of you, members of Holy Redeemer Church, suffered under these persecutions in China.
At the time of the 1949 declaration by Chairman Mao of the establishment of the Communist regime in China, there were more than 3 million Catholics in China. Stories of the sufferings of faithful Catholics seeped out of China and were greatly inspiring to the Catholics around the world. Since the earliest days of the Church, Catholics have always venerated our martyrs, and even as we were in distress over the sufferings of our Catholic brothers and sisters in China, we were also proud of their bravery and fidelity.
The situation in China worsened with the cultural revolution in the mid-1960s. By the late 1960s many Catholic analysts from around the world were of the opinion that the Church in China had been destroyed and that there was nothing left from which to build. The predominant judgment was that a new missionary effort would have to start from scratch one day, when the Communist regime was no longer in power.
However, the story of Chinese Catholicism is truly miraculous! When limited contact between China and the outside world was re-established, we discovered that the Catholic Church in China was not destroyed during four decades of persecution. In fact, to the amazement of all, the Catholic Church in China had not diminished but had grown. When the revolution was established in 1949 there were 3 million Catholics; when contact was re-established there were between 12 and 20 million Catholics and the Church was growing in numbers and in faith every year.
The great Father of the Church, Tertullian, is quoted as saying, "The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians". The 20th-century story of the Catholic Church in China is the proof of this ancient saying. The more the Communists were determined to kill the Church by outright persecution and by fostering internal conflict, the more the Church grew.
Chinese Catholics are a great inspiration to the worldwide Catholic Church. We greatly esteem the way they held on to faith despite some of the fiercest persecution in modern times. When I hear stories of the amazing faith of our Chinese Catholic brothers and sisters, it makes me proud to be a Catholic, proud to hold the same faith which Chinese Catholics have suffered to protect.
Although there are signs of progress in China, we must not be fooled into believing that all is well. Chinese Catholics are still not given full religious freedom. Bishops and ordinary lay people are still imprisoned and harassed. Perhaps the saddest legacy of the Communist interference in the Church is that still the Chinese Catholics themselves sometimes are divided into two camps. All Chinese Catholics wanted to be in union with the universal Church and the Holy Father. However, Catholics made different decisions about how to relate to the government. Some hid in underground churches and others registered with the government. The Catholics did not create this division; the government did, but the Catholics are left with the difficult responsibility to reconcile with one another.
We gather today to pray for China. As I said a few moments ago, many of you suffered in China to preserve the faith that you now embrace freely here in the United States. I ask you to be faithful practicing Catholics here in the United States. It would be a shame if you were able to remain steadfast in your Catholic faith through years of persecution, only to find that your faith weakened in our secular and commercial America. I beg you not to be so attracted to material success that you now grow lukewarm in faith.
Communism is an utterly materialistic philosophy of life. For a Marxist there is no God, no eternal life, no spirit. Many Chinese are now hungry for God. They want to talk about life after death and the meaning of life. In China, there is great interest in religion. As China opens to outside ideas and as the government becomes more open to religious liberty, there is a remarkable opportunity for evangelization. China is the evangelization opportunity of this millennium.
Almost one in five human beings is Chinese. Yet Christianity is still a minority faith there. I believe that the Chinese who now live all over the world will have a role to play in the evangelization of China. At least, the Chinese Catholics from around the world should have a heart for China and for the spread of the Gospel there.
I also must pay tribute to the amazing achievement that Holy Redeemer is. Holy Redeemer was built by Monsignor William Kavanagh when there was only one Chinese Catholic family in Philadelphia. Since then Holy Redeemer has been a whirlwind of service and evangelization in the Chinese community. Holy Redeemer School is an excellent school, a tremendous resource for the Chinese community. Holy Redeemer Church manages to include all segments of the Chinese community and in this regard it is unique. Chinese from the mainland, from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Chinese living in the United States for generations all come together to share this Church. You have worked hard to create a remarkable Chinese ministry. I urge you to work together to continue this outstanding legacy.
In our second reading we find Mary present at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples. Mary was present when her Son died, but she was also present when the Holy Spirit came and the command of Jesus that the gospel be proclaimed to the ends of the earth began to be fulfilled. Immediately there was an outburst of evangelical activity and the Church was fortified and quickly began to grow. We pray for a new Pentecost in China and we ask Mary, the Mother of Jesus, to pray that our Catholic faith will flourish in China and among the Chinese all over the world. Amen.
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
It is certainly timely that we are praying for China today, as so many thousands of Chinese are suffering the loss of loved ones because of the devastating earthquake. Our hearts are saddened as we daily see pictures of people digging out of rubble and waiting for food and medicine. In his letter on China, Pope Benedict XVI emphasized the desire of the Catholic Church to be of service to the people of China. At a time like this we Catholics must do what we can to assist the people of China. Our prayers are with those suffering in China today.
In our Gospel today we hear how Mary stood at the foot of the cross while her Son died. The story tugs at our hearts as we contemplate a Mother helplessly watching her Son die in violent agony. One of the titles by which we honor Mary is Mother of Sorrows. As we have watched television coverage of the earthquake in China, we see many "mothers of sorrow" in grief over lost loved ones. Mary is in solidarity with all people who suffer, for she herself knows what it is to love a child and suffer on that child’s account.
Apart from the earthquake, the story of the Catholic Church in China throughout the years is one of great glory and also great sorrow. Surely Mary is in solidarity with all suffering Chinese Catholics. As she watched her Son’s broken body on the cross, Jesus named her the Mother of His beloved disciple and the Mother of the Church. The Church is the Body of Christ and Mary is the Mother of Christ. Chinese Catholics knew in the midst of their deepest sufferings that their heavenly mother was with them, as she had been with Jesus in his darkest moments. Just as Mary stood by the suffering body of Jesus on the cross, she always stands by His Body, the Church, suffering from persecution.
The roots of Christianity in China are quite ancient. However, it was in the later years of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century that Christianity really began to spread throughout China and to flourish. For about a century the mission to China excited thousands of missionaries who went to establish the Church and to serve the people of China. Millions of Chinese embraced the faith and the future looked bright.
China suffered a great deal during the Second World War and its aftermath. One of the consequences of that time of mayhem was the success of the Communist Maoist Revolution which had become firmly entrenched in China by the time Mao declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949. Those were dark days throughout the world as people feared the spread of Communism and the loss of freedom. When China became a Communist state many people throughout the world saw it as an ominous sign. The Communists were determined to create an all powerful, all controlling government and the Catholic Church was seen as an enemy of that mad vision of the ideal society.
Immediately Chinese Catholics were in danger. Over the next three decades Chinese Catholics by the hundreds and thousands were sent to labor camps and were tortured, beaten and killed. All contact with the universal Church was cut off. The most diabolical scheme of the Communist government was the creation of a parallel Catholic church to try to lure Chinese Catholics away from membership in a universal Church in exchange for some limited freedom to practice some elements of the Catholic faith. I know that some of you, members of Holy Redeemer Church, suffered under these persecutions in China.
At the time of the 1949 declaration by Chairman Mao of the establishment of the Communist regime in China, there were more than 3 million Catholics in China. Stories of the sufferings of faithful Catholics seeped out of China and were greatly inspiring to the Catholics around the world. Since the earliest days of the Church, Catholics have always venerated our martyrs, and even as we were in distress over the sufferings of our Catholic brothers and sisters in China, we were also proud of their bravery and fidelity.
The situation in China worsened with the cultural revolution in the mid-1960s. By the late 1960s many Catholic analysts from around the world were of the opinion that the Church in China had been destroyed and that there was nothing left from which to build. The predominant judgment was that a new missionary effort would have to start from scratch one day, when the Communist regime was no longer in power.
However, the story of Chinese Catholicism is truly miraculous! When limited contact between China and the outside world was re-established, we discovered that the Catholic Church in China was not destroyed during four decades of persecution. In fact, to the amazement of all, the Catholic Church in China had not diminished but had grown. When the revolution was established in 1949 there were 3 million Catholics; when contact was re-established there were between 12 and 20 million Catholics and the Church was growing in numbers and in faith every year.
The great Father of the Church, Tertullian, is quoted as saying, "The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians". The 20th-century story of the Catholic Church in China is the proof of this ancient saying. The more the Communists were determined to kill the Church by outright persecution and by fostering internal conflict, the more the Church grew.
Chinese Catholics are a great inspiration to the worldwide Catholic Church. We greatly esteem the way they held on to faith despite some of the fiercest persecution in modern times. When I hear stories of the amazing faith of our Chinese Catholic brothers and sisters, it makes me proud to be a Catholic, proud to hold the same faith which Chinese Catholics have suffered to protect.
Although there are signs of progress in China, we must not be fooled into believing that all is well. Chinese Catholics are still not given full religious freedom. Bishops and ordinary lay people are still imprisoned and harassed. Perhaps the saddest legacy of the Communist interference in the Church is that still the Chinese Catholics themselves sometimes are divided into two camps. All Chinese Catholics wanted to be in union with the universal Church and the Holy Father. However, Catholics made different decisions about how to relate to the government. Some hid in underground churches and others registered with the government. The Catholics did not create this division; the government did, but the Catholics are left with the difficult responsibility to reconcile with one another.
We gather today to pray for China. As I said a few moments ago, many of you suffered in China to preserve the faith that you now embrace freely here in the United States. I ask you to be faithful practicing Catholics here in the United States. It would be a shame if you were able to remain steadfast in your Catholic faith through years of persecution, only to find that your faith weakened in our secular and commercial America. I beg you not to be so attracted to material success that you now grow lukewarm in faith.
Communism is an utterly materialistic philosophy of life. For a Marxist there is no God, no eternal life, no spirit. Many Chinese are now hungry for God. They want to talk about life after death and the meaning of life. In China, there is great interest in religion. As China opens to outside ideas and as the government becomes more open to religious liberty, there is a remarkable opportunity for evangelization. China is the evangelization opportunity of this millennium.
Almost one in five human beings is Chinese. Yet Christianity is still a minority faith there. I believe that the Chinese who now live all over the world will have a role to play in the evangelization of China. At least, the Chinese Catholics from around the world should have a heart for China and for the spread of the Gospel there.
I also must pay tribute to the amazing achievement that Holy Redeemer is. Holy Redeemer was built by Monsignor William Kavanagh when there was only one Chinese Catholic family in Philadelphia. Since then Holy Redeemer has been a whirlwind of service and evangelization in the Chinese community. Holy Redeemer School is an excellent school, a tremendous resource for the Chinese community. Holy Redeemer Church manages to include all segments of the Chinese community and in this regard it is unique. Chinese from the mainland, from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Chinese living in the United States for generations all come together to share this Church. You have worked hard to create a remarkable Chinese ministry. I urge you to work together to continue this outstanding legacy.
In our second reading we find Mary present at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples. Mary was present when her Son died, but she was also present when the Holy Spirit came and the command of Jesus that the gospel be proclaimed to the ends of the earth began to be fulfilled. Immediately there was an outburst of evangelical activity and the Church was fortified and quickly began to grow. We pray for a new Pentecost in China and we ask Mary, the Mother of Jesus, to pray that our Catholic faith will flourish in China and among the Chinese all over the world. Amen.
Your Eminence,
Dear brother Bishops,
My brother Priests,
Dear Deacons, Religious, Seminarians,
Parents of our Priests, Representatives of our Parishes,
Students from our schools, Members of Serra International,
Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
At this Chrism Mass the readings from Holy Scripture speak to us about the work of the Holy Spirit and about anointing. We have come together in order to bless and consecrate oils with which the people of God will be anointed through the power of the Holy Spirit.
In the first reading Isaiah prophesies concerning the Messiah, saying: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me." In the responsorial psalm we hear that David, God’s servant, is anointed with holy oil. And then in the Gospel, Jesus speaks about Himself being anointed by the Holy Spirit for a mission. Jesus applies to Himself the words that were spoken through the prophet Isaiah. But we too, as followers of Jesus, can see that this text applies likewise to us, since all of us have received a special anointing with holy oil.
Actually, there are three holy oils that are being blessed or consecrated this morning: the Oil of the Catechumens, the Oil of the Sick and, above all, Holy Chrism. Holy Chrism is the special combination that is made from olive oil and perfume, to indicate the refreshing action of the Holy Spirit. Truly, each one of us can say with Jesus: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly." All of us have been anointed in Baptism and so many of us anointed in Confirmation. And every time that someone is anointed in the Church it is by the action of the Holy Spirit. Every time there is an anointing, a mission is given to the person anointed.
I am so pleased that some of our students can be here with their priests and Bishop to take part in the ceremony of the blessing and consecration of the oils. I hope that all of you, dear young people, will associate this day with your own Confirmation. For today we gather together to invoke the Holy Spirit, asking Him to sanctify the oils with which you are anointed and sent out into the world to share in Christ’s mission of spreading His Gospel of justice, peace and love.
In the words of our second reading, words from the Book of Revelation, Saint John says: "Grace to you and peace from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his Blood…to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen." This is indeed a moment of grace and peace for everyone in this Cathedral Basilica, everyone who makes up the great assembly of those loved by God and anointed by the Holy Spirit.
But it is especially a moment of grace and peace for you, my brothers in the Priesthood. On this Holy Thursday we experience deeply the presence in our midst of Jesus Christ our great High Priest. We are also very conscious of being united with our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI and all our brothers and sisters throughout the world who celebrate the gift of the Priesthood that Christ has given to His Church. This is the day in which we humbly praise the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives and ministry. It was in the power of the Holy Spirit that Christ called us to a special anointing and gave us a specific mission to proclaim God’s love and mercy. Everyday we are called to fulfill this mission in a sacramental way, especially through the Eucharist.
Today, the institution of the Eucharist is foremost in our minds and hearts, as is the institution of the Priesthood and, this morning in particular, the wonderful anointing that expressed our conformity to Christ the Priest as sacramental ministers of His Gospel of love, ministers of His pardon, His compassion, His forgiveness—in other words, ministers of His mercy. This sacred anointing was individual and personal for each one of us—just as was the call of Jesus Christ to each one of us, just as was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our ordination day. But the exercise of this ministry of ours is coordinated in the community of the Church. We exercise our priestly ministry within the presbyterate of this local Church—you and I together. It is the only way it works: you and I together, priests and Bishop proclaiming one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
You and I share a deep fraternal unity that is so much more than just a grouping of many different individuals. Our unity expresses Christ’s plan for us, Christ’s plan for His Church. This fraternal unity—this presbyterate—upholds us and sustains us. In remaining faithful to it, we are sanctified and are able to be instruments of sanctification for our people. How we have been called by Christ, anointed individually by the Holy Spirit and introduced by Him into the presbyterate is all a gift and mystery. We are an important part of the mystery of Christ’s Church. We have been highly gifted in being called to minister in the person of Christ. Not by any merit of our own, but through the outpouring of the Spirit of Love, our lives are a gift to the Church—to our people.
So today is truly the day to celebrate the Priesthood; it is the day of our renewed commitment to Christ the High Priest. Today the Church wants you, dear brother Priests, to realize just how important you are in God’s plan of salvation. Today Christ Himself thanks you for sharing with Him, faithfully and perseveringly, the burdens of His Gospel. Today Christ tells you again how much He loves you, how much your ministry means to Him and to His Church. It is the day when He invites you to ever deeper friendship with Himself, when He asks you to open your heart ever wider so that He can infuse into it more love and more joy, so that His joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. Today is a day for renewed trust in the Lord Jesus who has entrusted us with His own Body and Blood and with the sacred service of His people. It is a day to offer thanks and praise for the graces imparted through our Priesthood, and for the mercy and forgiveness we have personally received. Today, also, we remember those brothers of ours who share deeply the heavy weight of pain, suffering and affliction. We are spiritually close, in prayer and with fraternal affection, to all who bear the Cross of Christ and share its weight.
The same Holy Spirit who anointed Jesus and anointed us gives us grace and strength this morning to renew our promise of celibacy. Celibacy is the gift of ourselves whereby we freely choose once again to belong fully to God and, in Him, fully to our people. This is the day for us once again to tell the world that we love Christ, and it is the day when Christ wants the world to know that He loves His priests.
Our people likewise are here today to listen to us solemnly repeat our promise of fidelity, to support us by their prayers, and by their love and esteem of the Catholic Priesthood to challenge us to live in constant authenticity and ever greater generosity.
Today we celebrate moreover our vocation to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ and the solemn expression of our commitment, with the help of God and the help of all our people, to promote vocations to the Priesthood and to invite young men repeatedly to consider the possibility of their being called by God to this vocation. The whole Church and every member of the Church needs the Eucharist and therefore the Priesthood. This is God’s plan. And so I appeal to those young men who hear Christ’s call to open their hearts in generosity and trust, the way Mary did when she was called to be the Mother of Christ.
Dear brother Priests: not only are our people here today to spur us on, but Christ Jesus Himself is in our midst. It is He who accepts the renewal of the gift of ourselves and reiterates His love for each of us. And so confidently we lift up our hearts, saying: "To him who has loved us and has freed us from our sins by his Blood, who has made us into a Kingdom, priests for his God and Father – to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen."
Praised be Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, the Faithful Witness,
the Firstborn of the dead and Ruler of the Kings of the earth!
Your Eminence,
Dear brother Bishops and Priests in the presbyterate of Philadelphia,
Dear Deacons, Religious and Seminarians,
Dear Students and Young Men exploring a vocation to the sacred priesthood,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
We are closely united today in this Sacrifice of the Mass with our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, chief representative of our great High Priest, Jesus Christ. We ask God to give him special grace and strength on this Holy Thursday. Together with him and all the priests of the world we give thanks to God for gathering us together to proclaim Jesus Christ as the great High Priest anointed by the Holy Spirit.
At this Mass we celebrate the gift and mystery of the priesthood. We celebrate Jesus Christ as He Himself is anointed Priest of the New Covenant and as He shares the priesthood with those whom He has personally chosen. This is the day on which the faith of the Church shows the relationship of the priesthood to the Eucharist and the Eucharist to the priesthood. This is the day on which we express support and love for all the priests who carry forward their daily dedicated pastoral care of God’s people.
I would like to extend a greeting especially to you young people who have come here from so many parishes to be with your Bishop and your priests on this Holy Thursday: the day when Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist and the priesthood—the day when He gave priests the power to offer up the Eucharistic Sacrifice, to celebrate Mass.
Throughout the whole world this is the day when the Bishop comes together with his priests, as a united presbyterate, to celebrate the Eucharist. Today the Bishop also blesses the oils that benefit all the People of God and are used in administering four of the sacraments of the Church: Baptism, Confirmation, the Anointing of the Sick and Holy Orders. Your presence here this morning, dear young people, is very important.
In the life of the Church there are different moments when we emphasize different vocations and different aspects of God’s plan for His Church. For example, on the feast of the Holy Family, the Church proclaims the special importance of the family, the vocation of husbands and wives, mothers and fathers of families—and also the role of children and their importance. On the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, the Church emphasizes the great value of religious consecration in the midst of the People of God. At that time she also underlines the deep meaning of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience as they are lived in joy by men and women religious throughout the world. On Deacon Day we celebrate the providential role of the diaconate in the Church and give thanks for the service that our deacons render.
Today, Holy Thursday, the Church concentrates on the Eucharist and Christ’s gift of the priesthood, which benefit all people—young and old, married and single, clergy and religious. She emphasizes the importance of the vocation to the priesthood. The Church needs the priesthood. The People of God need the priesthood. Jesus Himself needs the priesthood to fulfill His plan of salvation. Today at this Mass I ask those young men who may experience a vocation to the priesthood to open their hearts to the call of our Lord and not to be afraid to say yes.
All of you, dear People of God, by your participation at this Mass show your faith in the Church, in the priesthood and in the Eucharist. You are all very much aware that despite the weaknesses and sins of individuals, the Church, which is the Body of Christ, is strong in faith and love. Our hope is in the living God. We believe in the power of the Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive sins, to renew hearts and to bring us all to ever deeper conversion in our lives.
On this Holy Thursday I would like to speak especially to my priests. These times continue to be challenging for all of us and for the People of God. We pray in a special way for all our brother priests, including those who for various reasons need God’s special grace and strength in a particular way. We remember those in pain, sickness and suffering. We know that Jesus our High Priest takes on the sins of all of us and offers all of us forgiveness and mercy. As ministers of reconciliation we know how much the world and ourselves constantly need repentance, pardon, penance and new life.
As a community we renew today our commitment to holiness of life, to sacred celibacy and to faithful service. It is my conviction, dear brother Priests, that you are already deeply involved in this search for holiness and in this reawakening of the ideals of total self-giving to Christ. And what strength and joy you find in this!
Dear brother priests: this is the day for all of us to re-live the joy of our ordination. This is the day for the Church to pray earnestly for vocations to the priesthood. These vocations are deeply rooted in the enduring power of Christ to attract young men to a life of generosity and sacrifice in the priesthood. In God’s providence priestly vocations are also fostered by the witness of your own priestly fidelity and joy. This is the day for all priests to experience and bear witness, through the Holy Spirit, to a special relationship with Christ and therefore with the Father. We are called to experience the joy of paternity in the Church; to express gratitude for the sentiments of our people, for the love they have for priests. It is the moment to realize the esteem of the faithful for the celibacy that we have promised and that we freely, and with determination, renew today. It is the occasion to express fraternity among ourselves in the presbyterate.
It is because of the priesthood that the Church possesses the Mass, Holy Communion, Viaticum, reservation of the Blessed Sacrament, Eucharistic Adoration and all the Sacraments. Through the priesthood every vocation is sustained in the Church. Christian marriage and the Christian family are a special part of the daily pastoral care that priests give to the faithful. In God’s plan the priesthood exists to support all God’s people.
And how grateful we are to the People of God here and in our parishes, and throughout the entire Archdiocese of Philadelphia, for their trust and love and support. We renew our commitment to them because we renew our commitment to Jesus Christ and to the mission of His Church. We experience confidence not because we have no weaknesses or sins, but because Jesus Christ died for us and in the Eucharist His Body and Blood are offered up to the Father “so that sins may be forgiven.”
Dear brother priests: the People of God count on your love, your pastoral service, and your fidelity to the end. Jesus Himself has chosen you to serve the rest. You have been anointed like Jesus, to be able to proclaim the Gospel to the poor and to the whole world. Brother priests: never forget how important you are in God’s plan of salvation! Rejoice! Be strong, be faithful! You are not alone! Mary, the Mother of Jesus is with you at all times. The prayer of Christ’s Church supports you. And Jesus Himself calls you to support, by your love, one another and all your brothers and sisters in the Church.
Finally, all praise and thanksgiving to you, Lord Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, for the gifts of the priesthood and the Eucharist—to you who have loved us and freed us from our sins by your Blood, who have made us into a Kingdom, priests for your God and Father, to you be glory and power forever and ever (cf. Rev 1:5-6). Amen.
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons, Seminarians and Religious,
Dear Young People from our schools,
Dear Young Men exploring a vocation to the priesthood,
Dear Stewards of Saint John Neumann,
Dear Parents of Priests,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Once again this beautiful feast of Holy Thursday brings all of us together as the People of God, as disciples of Jesus to proclaim His love and to fulfill our Christian vocation. Above all, we gather to celebrate the great gifts of the Eucharist and the Priesthood, instituted by Jesus on the first Holy Thursday. Through these gifts all the faithful are sustained in their Christian lives, even in the midst of the anxieties and uncertainties of today’s world.
Our vocation to follow Jesus began at our Baptism, when we were anointed with Chrism and baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. At our Confirmation we were once again anointed with Chrism and sealed with the Holy Spirit. And this morning an important part of our ceremony is the consecration of this holy Chrism, together with the blessing of the Oil of the Sick and the Oil of Catechumens.
All of us who have been baptized and confirmed are challenged on this day to renew the consecration of our Baptism and Confirmation. We have been anointed with Chrism to show that we all share—every man, woman and child in the Church—in Christ’s dignity as King and Priest and Prophet. In the Old Testament Kings and Priests and Prophets were anointed with oil. Jesus is our King and Priest and Prophet, and He was anointed directly with the Holy Spirit. When we Christians are anointed with Chrism, we receive the same Holy Spirit whom Christ possessed in fullness.
In the life of the Church there are different moments when we emphasize different vocations and different aspects of God’s wonderful plan for His Church. Today, Holy Thursday, the Church concentrates on the institution of the Eucharist and Christ’s gift of the priesthood. She emphasizes the importance of the vocation to the priesthood. The Church needs the priesthood. The People of God need the priesthood. Jesus Himself needs the priesthood to fulfill His plan of salvation. Without the priesthood there is no Eucharist. Without the Eucharist there is no Church. Today at this Mass I ask those young men who may experience a vocation to the priesthood to open their hearts to the call of our Lord and not to be afraid to say yes.
Holy Thursday is a day of solemn thanksgiving for the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood, His Paschal Meal and His sacrificial Supper, which we will emphasize even more later on this evening at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Today is also the time when we praise the Lord for the Eucharistic vocation of our priests.
On this special day I would like to address a particular message of solidarity, support and deep fraternal love to the many priests gathered here this morning—the priests of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, priests of religious congregations, and extern priests serving in the Archdiocese. A particular greeting goes to the priests who are sick, suffering or in special need.
Our lives as priests are so closely linked through the Eucharist to Christ’s work of salvation. We are so much a part of God’s plan; we are so much a part of our people’s lives; we are so much a part of Christ’s love. The laity and Religious present here in this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul and all the people of our parishes need our Eucharistic service and deserve our priestly fidelity.
In this context, my dear brother priests, let us ask ourselves this morning what Jesus means for us and what we mean for Jesus.
What does Jesus mean for us? In the word of God, in the Book of Revelation, we heard Him called: "the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead," and the one who "loves us and has freed us from our sins by his own blood."
Jesus is indeed faithful to His Father and to the mission that His Father gives Him. And in that fidelity He brings glad tidings to the lowly, glad tidings to the poor. Jesus is then the faithful witness who challenges us to proclaim in fidelity and joy His saving Gospel. What does Jesus mean for us? He means fidelity. Our fidelity to the priesthood and to the Church is possible because of His fidelity. Our fidelity is absolutely required because of His fidelity.
Jesus is our great High Priest, the friend who personally called us to share in His priesthood, and the one who has loved us, and whom we have endeavored to love and follow from our youth. What does Jesus mean for us? He is our Shepherd, the type and model of all our pastoral ministry. At the same time He is the example for our generosity, the inspiration for our joy, the strength for our Priesthood and for the sacrificial offering of our lives.
But what do we mean to Jesus? As His brother priests we are important to Him. We are important to His plan of salvation, important for His Church. Let us accept once again those words of the Book of Revelation as having special meaning for ourselves in the midst of God’s people. We heard proclaimed that Jesus "loves us and has freed us from our sins by his own blood," that He has made us "a royal nation of priests in the service of his God and Father."
My brother priests, we have been loved and redeemed by Christ and entrusted with the Eucharist and, therefore, with the mystery of redemption for our brothers and sisters. What love! What trust! What confidence Christ places in us! Christ shares with us the mission given to Him by His Father. His trust in us is at the center of all collaborative ministry. Christ needs us. He needs our hearts, our hands, our minds—our love. Christ needs our renewed and absolute fidelity.
And all this implies that Christ needs our perseverance amidst the joys and sorrows, the anxieties and trials, the hopes and disappointments of our daily lives as priests serving God’s people. Jesus, the faithful witness, insists on our personal fidelity. He calls us in spite of our imperfections, in spite of the limitations of our humanity, in spite of our weaknesses and in spite of our sins. He is always ready—in His love—to forgive us, to encourage and challenge us. On our part this requires a great response of love, with earnest effort and deep repentance for our sins.
In the Eucharistic celebration itself we humbly acknowledge our sins, saying: "I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do." In addition we ask for the prayers of our Blessed Mother and all the angels and saints, and we confidently invoke God’s mercy and forgiveness. In the Sacrament of Penance, like all our fellow Catholics, we personally confess our sins and express a firm purpose of amendment. We strive moreover to make atonement to God for all our sins and the sins of the whole world. As ministers of reconciliation we know how much the world—ourselves included—needs the repentance, pardon, penance and new life that only God’s grace can bring about. As a presbyterate we renew our commitment to sacred celibacy, faithful service and holiness of life.
Are we, then, important for Jesus and His Church? Most assuredly! And is our effort valuable? And is our continued conversion necessary? And is our renewed fidelity to Christ a priority in our priestly lives and in our service to our people? We know that the answer is yes. And this Holy Thursday is the day for us to proclaim this clearly: to tell the world that we love Christ and His priesthood and we intend to live our vocation faithfully until death. It is also the day when Christ wants the world to know that He loves you His priests, that He stands by you and supports you, and, yes, asks from you a great deal of renewed dedication and generosity.
In dealing with the mystery of the Church, the Second Vatican Council says that the Bishop, by reason of his office, is the Vicar of Christ for his people, just as the Pope is the Vicar of Christ for the universal Church. But the Bishop cannot be separated from his priests. In the Bishop, joined with his priests, Vatican II tells us, our Lord Jesus Christ is present in the midst of those who believe (cf. Lumen Gentium, 21). This is not because we are worthy, but because Christ has willed it so.
This is of course a formidable responsibility for all of us, one that unites Bishop and priests in ever greater unity. It also gives the Bishop a particular responsibility constantly to proclaim Christ’s love—love for His people and love for you His priests.
And today, my brother priests, my final desire is to do just that—to proclaim Christ’s love for you—and in the name of Jesus, who as Son of Mary is our brother and High Priest, to entrust you to her, our Blessed Mother, and to thank you for what you are and for everything you do to serve the world with integrity, generosity and joy. Amen.
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons, Religious, Seminarians,
Parents of our Priests, Representatives of our Parishes,
Students from our schools, Members of Serra International,
Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
For all of us it is deeply meaningful to gather at this Chrism Mass in this Year of the Priest! Our readings from the Sacred Scriptures speak to us about the work of the Holy Spirit and about anointing. We have come together in order to bless and consecrate oils with which the people of God will be anointed through the power of the Holy Spirit by priests and bishops.
In our first reading we hear the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the Messiah, saying: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me." In the responsorial psalm we hear that David, God’s servant, is anointed with holy oil. And then in the Gospel, Jesus speaks about Himself being anointed by the Holy Spirit for a mission. Jesus applies to Himself the words that were spoken through the prophet Isaiah. But we too, as followers of Jesus, can see that this text applies likewise to us, since all of us have received a special anointing with holy oil.
At this time three holy oils are being blessed or consecrated: the Oil of the Catechumens, the Oil of the Sick and, above all, Holy Chrism. Holy Chrism is the special combination that is made from olive oil and perfume, to indicate the refreshing action of the Holy Spirit. Truly, each one of us can say with Jesus: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly." All of us have been anointed in Baptism and so many of us anointed in Confirmation. And every time that someone is anointed in the Church it is by the action of the Holy Spirit. Every time there is an anointing, a mission is given to the person anointed.
It is a joy to have a number of our students here this morning with their priests to take part in the ceremony of the blessing and consecration of the oils. I hope that all of you, dear young people, will associate this day with your own Confirmation. For today we gather together to invoke the Holy Spirit, asking Him to sanctify the oils with which you are anointed and sent out into the world to share in Christ’s mission of spreading His Gospel of justice, peace and love.
In our second reading from the Book of Revelation, Saint John says: "Grace to you and peace from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his Blood…to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen." This is indeed a moment of grace and peace for everyone in this Cathedral Basilica, everyone who makes up the great assembly of those loved by God and anointed by the Holy Spirit.
It is a moment of grace and peace especially for you, my brothers in the Priesthood. On this Holy Thursday we experience deeply the presence in our midst of Jesus Christ our great High Priest. We are also very conscious of being united with our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, who has done so much to lead the whole Church in purification, renewal and reform, and to whom we express our total prayerful support. We are also spiritually united with all our brothers and sisters throughout the world who celebrate the gift of the Priesthood that Christ has given to His Church. This is the day on which we humbly praise the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives and ministry. It was in the power of the Holy Spirit that Christ called us to a special anointing and gave us a specific mission to proclaim God’s love and mercy. Everyday we are called to fulfill this mission in a sacramental way, especially through the Eucharist.
On this day, the institution of the Eucharist is foremost in our minds and hearts, as is the institution of the Priesthood and, this morning in particular, the wonderful anointing that expressed our conformity to Christ the Priest as sacramental ministers of His Gospel of love, ministers of His pardon, His compassion, His forgiveness—in other words, ministers of His mercy. This sacred anointing was individual and personal for each one of us—just as was the call of Jesus Christ to each one of us, just as was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our ordination day. But the exercise of this ministry of ours is coordinated in the community of the Church. We exercise our priestly ministry within the presbyterate of this local Church—you and I together. It is the only way it works: you and I together, priests and Bishop proclaiming one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
You and I, dear brother Priests, share a deep fraternal unity that is so much more than just a grouping of many different individuals. Our unity expresses Christ’s plan for us, Christ’s plan for His Church. This fraternal unity—this presbyterate—upholds us and sustains us. In remaining faithful to it, we are sanctified and are able to be instruments of sanctification for our people. How we have been called by Christ, anointed individually by the Holy Spirit and introduced by Him into the presbyterate is all a gift and mystery. We are an important part of the mystery of Christ’s Church. We have been highly gifted in being called to minister in the person of Christ. Not by any merit of our own, but through the outpouring of the Spirit of Love, our lives are a gift to the Church—to our people. And what a great responsibility this is for all of us!
This is truly the day to celebrate the Priesthood; it is the day of our renewed commitment to Christ the High Priest. Today the Church wants you, dear brother Priests, to realize just how important you are in God’s plan of salvation. Today Christ Himself thanks you for sharing with Him, faithfully and perseveringly, the burdens of His Gospel. Today Christ tells you again how much He loves you, how much your ministry means to Him and to His Church, and how much He counts on your fidelity. It is the day when He invites you to ever deeper friendship with Himself, when He asks you to open your heart ever wider so that He can infuse into it more love and more joy, so that His joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. Today is a day for renewed trust in the Lord Jesus who has entrusted us with His own Body and Blood and with the sacred service of His people. It is a day to offer thanks and praise for the graces imparted through our Priesthood, and for the mercy and forgiveness we have personally received.
Today, also, we remember all those who share deeply the heavy weight of pain, suffering and affliction. We are spiritually close, in prayer and with fraternal affection, to all who bear the Cross of Christ and share its weight. Recent reports in Europe of sexual abuse by clergy have reminded all of us of those terrible sins that have caused such immense suffering in victims and have contributed to the Passion of Christ. We recall how Saint Paul reminds us that if one part of Christ’s Body, the Church, suffers, all of us suffer (cf. 1 Cor 12:26). Together then in the presbyterate as bishops and priests, we recommit ourselves to the Bishops’ Charter in diligence and vigilance, so as to ensure the future protection of young people everywhere.
The same Holy Spirit who anointed Jesus and anointed us gives us grace and strength this morning to renew our personal promise of celibacy. Celibacy is the gift of ourselves whereby we freely choose once again to belong fully to God and, in Him, fully to our people. This is the day for us once again to tell the world that we love Jesus Christ, and intend to remain faithful forever to His word. It is the day when Jesus Christ wants the world to know that He loves His priests and strengthens them with His grace.
Our people likewise are here today to listen to us solemnly repeat our promise of fidelity, to support us by their prayers, and by their love and esteem of the Catholic Priesthood to challenge us to live in constant authenticity, in ever greater generosity and holiness of life.
Today we celebrate moreover our vocation to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ and the solemn expression of our commitment, with the help of God and the help of all our people, to promote vocations to the Priesthood and to invite young men repeatedly to consider the possibility of their being called by God to this vocation. The whole Church and every member of the Church needs the Eucharist and therefore the Priesthood. This is God’s plan. And so I appeal to those young men who hear Christ’s call to open their hearts in generosity and trust, the way Mary did when she was called to be the Mother of Christ.
Dear brother Priests: not only are our people here today to spur us on, but Christ Jesus Himself is in our midst. It is He who accepts the renewal of the gift of ourselves and reiterates His love for each of us. And so confidently we lift up our hearts, saying: "To him who has loved us and has freed us from our sins by his Blood, who has made us into a Kingdom, priests for his God and Father – to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen."
Praised be Jesus Christ our great High Priest,
“the faithful witness...who loves us
and has freed us from our sins by his Blood....”
My first greeting is to you, dear brother Priests, as we are gathered in the presence of God’s faithful people to celebrate once again as a presbyterate the Chrism Mass of Holy Thursday.
I want immediately to welcome Cardinal John Foley, who comes back to us after his many years in Rome. During that time he was never a stranger to the presbyterate of Philadelphia, as his constant attention and service to his brother priests so clearly testify. John, we are so pleased to have you in our midst again.
For all of us this Chrism Mass is all about Jesus Christ, our great High Priest and about our sharing in His sacred priesthood—in joy, in suffering, and always in hope.
This year our celebration takes place under difficult circumstances. With reference to the sexual abuse of minors we are all experiencing pain for victims of such abuse, as well as for those brother priests who are so deeply affected by the situation. In the midst of this, all of us are challenged as we remember the words of Jesus who says to us so clearly: “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world” (Jn 16:33). We are called to this courage, this confidence, not because we ourselves have no weaknesses or sins, but because Jesus Christ died for us and, in the Eucharist, His Body and Blood are offered up to the Father “so that sins may be forgiven.”
The word of God in our second reading proclaims to us Jesus Christ as “the faithful witness...who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his Blood.” In acknowledging Jesus as the faithful witness we likewise acknowledge that, as His priests, we too have been called to this same role in sacrifice and suffering. Like Him we have been consecrated by the Holy Spirit to bring glad tidings to the lowly and to heal the brokenhearted. Realizing the difficulties of this moment, we see just how much Jesus needs us for His work, how much the Church counts on us to fulfill our ministry, in perseverance and in holiness of life.
This is the day, dear brothers, on which, in unity with our Holy Father and with one another in the presbyterate of Philadelphia, we are called to consecrate ourselves anew to our Eucharistic mission and ecclesial identity. Everyone knows that without the priesthood there is no Eucharist, and without the Eucharist there is no Church. This is the day for us to tell the Lord Jesus that we love Him and the great mission that He has entrusted to us, even when we must live it in sacrifice and pain. This is also the day when Jesus Christ wants the world to know that He loves His priests and strengthens them with His grace.
And because Jesus invites us to ever greater friendship with Himself, the Church leads us today in the renewal of our sacred commitment to celibacy, which is the expression of our priestly love. What is particularly significant in this regard is that we renew our pledge in the solemn presence of our people, whose relationship we cherish and for whose spiritual benefit we have freely laid down our lives.
We are so deeply grateful to the People of God for the high standards that they require of us, for the level of generosity that they seek from us, for the confidence that they want always to place in us, and for the love that they so constantly lavish on us and that so beautifully exists in each parish family.
To you, dear People of God, I express profound thanks for the way you live your holy Catholic faith, recognizing in your priests and in their humanity God’s plan for His Church. It is through the priest that our Lord Jesus Christ gives us the Eucharist, which builds and sustains the Church, and offers us mercy and the forgiveness of sins in the Sacrament of Confession.
In the great tradition of the Church, you have always honored your priests, encouraged and challenged them, and gratefully received their sacramental ministry, which derives its meaning and power from Christ Himself. Today your priests, in the unity of the presbyterate, commit themselves anew, in fidelity and love, to their sacred mission at your service—at the service of our families, of our young people, our sick and suffering, our poor, our immigrants, our elderly, our dying, all those in need of Christ and His mercy. All the while, your priests count on the power of your prayers and the gift of your love. We all remember those challenging words of Saint Paul: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2).
Today the Church asks all of you, dear friends, to pray for vocations to the priesthood, that many young men may generously accept the call of Christ to serve God’s people as ministers of His mercy and love. And you are asked to pray that our priests will always, even in times of difficulty, give a witness of contagious joy in the fulfillment of the priesthood, which has so accurately been described as the love of the heart of Jesus. And may those young men called by God to the priesthood open wide their hearts in generosity and love.
Since the priesthood is a treasure that belongs to the entire community, and without the priesthood there is no Eucharist and no Church, it is so important that the whole Church assume the responsibility of prayer for vocations. I remind all our suffering brothers and sisters, all the sick and infirm of our Archdiocese what a tremendous power of intercession they can exercise for obtaining needed vocations. I ask our contemplative Religious once again to renew their special commitment to this sacred cause.
Every time the Church celebrates the Sacrifice of the Mass, the priest prays these words: “Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety....” Today, with deep earnestness and support, we offer up this prayer for all our priests, as we entrust them to Mary the Mother of Jesus, and as they themselves look back to their ordination day and recall the power of the Holy Spirit, with which they were invested at that time, and which will never abandon them.
Dear brother priests: On this day that is so important for the Church, for our people and for ourselves, let us remember the exhortation of Paul to Timothy. He says: “For this reason I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God .... For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord .... He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus .... On this account I am suffering these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know him in whom I have believed and am confident that he is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that day” (1 Tim 1:6,7,9,12). Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass on Christmas Day
At the Parish of Saint Rose of Lima, Philadelphia
Christmas 2005
Dear Monsignor Pashley,
Dear Parishioners of Saint Rose of Lima Parish,
It was just a week ago that some of us were together in the Cathedral Basilica for the "Bless the Baby Jesus" prayer service. I am very happy to be with you again now on Christmas Day as we reflect on God’s word and participate together in Christ’s Eucharistic Sacrifice.
In the midst of all the sufferings of the world, all the difficulties of the Church, and all of our own problems and those of our families, the word of God in our Christmas liturgy gives us a wonderful invitation. The invitation comes from Psalm 98 and is this: "Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wondrous deeds." The Psalm then goes on to tell us what a wondrous deed we are celebrating today: "The Lord has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God."
All of us are invited to sing and to praise God: "Sing joyfully to the Lord all you lands; break into song; sing praise." Yes, dear friends, we are celebrating Christmas Day. This means that we are celebrating our salvation, because we are celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
At the Midnight Mass last night the Church proclaimed the wonderful event of Jesus’ birth. The angel told the shepherds in Bethlehem: "Do not be afraid; for behold I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you who is Christ and Lord." Then the angel went on to tell the shepherds: "And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."
This morning in this Parish of Saint Rose of Lima and in every church throughout the world we find this Child, lying in a manger, surrounded by the love of His Mother, Mary, and His foster father, Joseph.
Our hearts are filled with praise because in Christ Jesus, this little Child, God has indeed made His salvation known.
But who is this Child, who is this infant Jesus?
He is the one sent by God to bring salvation to the world. This is the reason He was born, the reason He is called Jesus because Jesus means "Savior." He has come to be our Savior—your Savior and mine, the Savior of the whole world.
He is the Son of the Virgin Mary. His foster or legal father is Joseph, who was a carpenter, but also a man who belonged to the royal line of King David. It is Joseph who ensures that the Child will be recognized legally as belonging to the family of David. Even though Joseph is only the foster father of Jesus, he is the husband of Mary and the head of the Holy Family. Joseph is the Guardian of his foster son, Jesus, who is the Savior, the Redeemer of the world, the light who has come into the world.
Who then is this Child? Who is His Father? This morning the Church answers this question clearly. The letter to the Hebrews tells us that God in past times spoke to the world through His prophets, but now He speaks to us through His Son. And the Letter to the Hebrews goes on to say that the Son is the reflection of the Father’s glory, the very imprint of the Father’s being. As the Son of the eternal Father, Jesus Christ, the Child born in Bethlehem, is true God. He is the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity. He has an eternal relationship to His Father. He is His Son, the one whom Saint John will speak of as both "Son" and "Word."
The Gospel of Saint John tells us clearly that "the Word was God." And then comes that wonderful revelation, that wonderful proclamation: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth."
Once again, who is this Child? He is the Son of God, the Word made flesh. He is true God! At the same time He is the Son of the Virgin Mary. He is true man! He is one of us. He shares our humanity, our human condition, our human weaknesses, all of them—except sin.
This is why the Church prays: Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man! And one of the great Fathers of the Church, Pope Saint Leo the Great, will explain that Jesus is consubstantial with His Father, and consubstantial with His Mother. In other words, Jesus is of the same substance, the same nature as His Father. He is divine. He is God. He is of the same substance, the same nature as His Mother. He is human. He is man.
Who is this Child? The one who, sharing divinity and humanity, links us to God. The one who is our Mediator. He is the one who takes on our humanity and gives us His divinity. The one who teaches us to be fully human and shows us how to live our human life. He is the one who lays down His human life to save us.
Who is this Child? He is our Savior. He is the one who challenges us to live according to His law, His beatitudes—in a word, His way of life.
Who is this Child? He is the one who reveals to us the love of God His Father. He is the one who in the tenderness of Bethlehem reveals to us the loving kindness and mercy of the God we cannot see.
Who is this Child? He is the God of love, the one who invites us to return His love. He is the one who commands us to love one another as He has loved us.
He is the one who in His weak humanity becomes for us the way to heaven. He is, in His own words: "the Way, the Truth and the Life." He is the Light of the world!
He is the one who calls us and invites us and commands us to love our brothers and sisters as much as He does, the one who took on our humanity as His own and the one who tells us to love and serve all those who share humanity with Him.
Jesus Christ is the Head of redeemed humanity. He is the one who has brought us God’s salvation.
Dear friends: All the ends of the earth have seen in Jesus Christ—the newborn Savior, the Child of Bethlehem, the Infant lying in a manger—the saving power of God.
And as Jesus saves us from our sins, He asks us to respond to His love, to observe His commandments, to follow His way of life, and to open our hearts in love and service to one another.
All this is part of our Christmas hymn of praise as we say: "Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man. Blessed be the Son of the eternal Father. Blessed be the Word made flesh. Blessed be the Son of the Virgin Mary. Blessed be our newborn Savior lying in a manger. Blessed be Jesus Christ forever!" Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Christmas Day Mass
Visitation BVM Parish, Trooper
December 25, 2006
Dear Monsignor Thomas Murray,
It is a great joy for me to be here on this Christmas day in Visitation B.V.M. Parish. I greet you, Father Patrick McManus, and your brother, Monsignor Ignatius Murray, together with all the people of God who make up this vibrant parish family. How pleased I am to celebrate with you the Birth of Jesus. On this day, dear Friends, the Church proclaims: "A holy day has dawned upon us. Come, you nations, and adore the Lord. Today a great light has come upon the earth."
The great light that has come upon the earth is Jesus Christ Himself. He comes to dispel the darkness of our world.
The holy day that has dawned upon us is the day of His birth, the birth of Jesus, the birth of the Savior. This holy day is today. It is our Christmas day 2006.
It is the day on which the Church proclaims the birth of God’s own Son, the Son of the Eternal Father, the Eternal Word of God, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, who has become the Son of Mary.
It is the day on which the Church invites us to find the little Child—our God—in the Crib of Bethlehem, in the arms of His Virgin Mother Mary, in the presence of her husband Joseph, the Child’s foster-father, and surrounded by the shepherds who came to see the newborn Child.
This holy day is the day on which the Church does more than just invite us to find the Child in the arms of His Mother. The Church invites us also to adore the Child clothed in the humanity that His Mother gives Him. For this reason we repeat: "Come you nations, and adore the Lord." Come, brothers and sisters, and adore the Lord! Come, parishioners of Visitation Parish. Come, all you faithful members of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Come, America, and adore the Lord! In Him you will find new hope and joy.
But in order to adore the Lord, the newborn Child of Bethlehem, with all the power of our being, we must penetrate ever more the mystery of the Child, the reality of His humanity and His divinity, the meaning of His Birth, and its many consequences.
Today let us look at the Child, and with Mary and Joseph try to understand Him.
Last night at midnight we read the beautiful Gospel of Saint Luke. The time for Mary to give birth arrived while she was at Bethlehem. She gave birth to a Son. We heard the wonderful announcement of the Angel to the shepherds: "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. This day in the city of David there is born to you a Savior who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign to you: you will find an Infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."
Today in our Christmas liturgy we find this Infant. We find Him in the beauty and the limitations of His humanity. We find Him as a baby, the Son of Mary. We know that Joseph is His foster-father, His legal guardian. Through Joseph, Jesus is recognized to be of the royal lineage of King David.
In His birth Jesus shares our humanity. And with this humanity, He loves us in a thoroughly human way.
Through this humanity, which he received from Mary His Mother, Jesus will suffer and die for our redemption. Through His humanity He will become our Savior. The very name Jesus means Savior.
This morning in the Christmas liturgy that we are now celebrating, the Church proclaims to us that the Son of Mary, the foster child of Joseph, is indeed the Son of God. God is His Father by an eternal relationship. Jesus is God’s eternal Word. He is the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity.
In His one person Jesus is true God and true man. He is divine like His Father. But He is human like His Mother and like us.
And here we have the grandeur of the mystery of Christmas. Here we have the explanation of the Baby born in Bethlehem. Here we see the full identity of Jesus Christ—the one who will live and die as one of us, the one who, because He is God, will save us from our sins and from death, and lead us to eternal life. He is the Son of God but He is also the Son of Mary. He is born to die, so that we may live and share in His divinity.
Years after His birth, we will find the same person, the same Jesus on Calvary, hanging on a Cross out of love for us. And among His last words one of them will be addressed to His Father and another one to His Mother. In this way Jesus will once more confirm His identity as Son of the Eternal Father and Son of the Virgin Mary.
The final secret of the birth of Jesus is found in the words of the Gospel this morning: "To those who accepted Him, He gave the power to become children of God."
To accept Jesus is to acknowledge and to share His relationship with His Father and with His Mother Mary.
But to accept Jesus also means to accept all those who share humanity with Him.
To accept Jesus is to accept His Church and all His brothers and sisters: to accept them in their needs—to accept to love one another, to serve one another in the name of Jesus, who took on our flesh at Bethlehem. The Birth of Jesus becomes for all of us then a global call to solidarity with our brothers and sisters, with those who suffer, with those who mourn, with those in pain.
At Bethlehem, as a great light, Jesus shows us how to live a truly human life, how to share what we have with others—in order to share in the eternal life of God.
In the fifth century, Pope Saint Leo the Great summarized so much of the meaning of Christmas in these words: "Dearly beloved, today our Savior is born; let us rejoice. Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life. The fear of death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness." Pope Saint Leo goes on to say: "No one is shut out from this joy; all share the same reason for rejoicing.... Let the saint rejoice as he sees the palm of victory at hand. Let the sinner be glad as he receives the offer of forgiveness...." He then concludes, saying: "Christian, be mindful of your dignity."
Today, dear Friends, the Church exhorts us to be mindful of the dignity that is ours, the dignity that we share with Christ and with one another. Why? Because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is born of the Virgin Mary. He has taken on our humanity and has lifted up all of us to God. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Christmas Vigil Mass - 7:30 pm
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Christmas 2010
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
As Archbishop of Philadelphia I extend a warm welcome to all of you as we begin together our Christmas celebration 2010. It is a special joy for me to announce to you once again the Christmas message of God’s love. In our celebration this evening, we bend our knee in adoration before the Child in the crib of Bethlehem. It is so important for us to understand the identity of this Child and to accept the message that His Birth reveals to the world.
Once again we gather to listen to the angel’s proclamation to the shepherds in Bethlehem when Jesus Christ was born: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a Savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.... You will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
It is uplifting and encouraging for us to hear these words at a time when our world lives with anxiety, consternation and great uncertainity! But the angel says: “Do not be afraid.... a Savior has been born to you who is Christ and Lord.”
After centuries of waiting and preparation on the part of the Chosen People, God sent the Savior into the world to bring us peace, to take away our sins and to teach us how to live.
But who is this Savior, this Christ and Lord, this Jesus born as a little child in Bethlehem?
He is the Son of the Virgin Mary. She it is who conceived the Child in her womb, gave Him birth and nourished Him at her breasts. We see her represented in the crib scene. The Child is her Son.
The Child is also the foster Son of Joseph the carpenter, the husband of Mary. It is Joseph who will protect the Child and help bring Him up, since the Child had no human father. Jesus was conceived in an extraordinary way by the power of the Holy Spirit. God is His Father and He is the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity. Before His birth He already existed as the eternal Word of God, the eternal Son of the eternal Father.
These then are the two most important truths about Christ’s person, the two identifying characteristics of the Child: He is true God, because He is the Son of God. He is true Man, because He is the Son of Mary.
But the Child is one Person. He is a Divine Person and His name is Jesus, which means Savior. He has, however, two natures: the nature of God—a divine nature; and the nature of man—a human nature.
In every way He is like His Father. We call Him Splendor of the Father. But He is also like us in every way, except sin.
Who then is the Child of Bethlehem? He is the Son of God and He is the Son of the Virgin Mary. He is, therefore, the One who links divinity with humanity. He is the Mediator between God and man. Because He is God, He has the power to save us from our sins. Because He is human like us, He has a human body, a human soul and a human heart with which to love us and to die for us, in order to save us from our sins and to bring us peace.
How beautiful are the words of the prophet Isaiah: “A child is born to us; a son is given to us; upon his shoulders dominion rests.” Among His titles is “Prince of Peace.” Isaiah also tells us that the Child who is born as Savior is the Light of the World. Let us listen to Isaiah: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.” How wonderful is this light today in our world that has so much darkness!
In answer to our question: Who is this Child? this Christ? this Jesus born in Bethlehem? the Church repeats: He is the Son of God. He is the Son of Mary. He is the Light of the World. But He is even more: This Child who is born to us, this Son who is given to us is the great defender of humanity.
Jesus Christ, who is God and man and who was born in Bethlehem, is the One who reveals to us the dignity of every person who shares humanity with Him and in Him is destined to share eternal life.
Jesus Christ is the One who tells us that the humanity which He has assumed, which he has embraced in the womb of the Virgin Mary, is a humanity worthy of honor, respect and love.
And everyone who possesses that humanity possesses dignity, regardless of race or ethnic background, regardless of sex, religion, culture or degree of education. The importance of a human being depends much more on what he or she is than on what he or she has or does. What is so supremely important is the fact that every man, woman and child shares humanity with the Son of Mary, with the Son of God.
Here we find the impact of Christmas on the world. Christmas means that every human life is sacred, because God has embraced human life, Christ has assumed it. Whatever wounds, weakens or destroys human life, and therefore vilifies human dignity, challenges the primacy of God, a God who “was born of the Virgin Mary and became man.” As we recite the Creed at this Mass, the Church invites us to genuflect when we say those words, in order to show that we accept the great reality of the Incarnation of the Son of God, with all its consequences.
There is no way that we can truly love and honor the humanity of Jesus Christ the Savior and at the same time reject the humanity of those whom He has loved and saved.
Dearly beloved: this holy night of Christmas challenges us to renew our faith in the Child of Bethlehem, Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Son of Mary, the Light of the World and the defender of human dignity. We are called to adore Him. But this holy night of Christmas also challenges us to follow His teaching to love and serve one another, to honor the dignity of every man, woman and child who shares humanity with the Son of God.
In this Christmas Eucharist we receive the strength and grace to honor the Child, and with Him, all those whom He loves, all those who share humanity with Him, and in Him are destined for eternal life.
Dear Friends: the angel’s message is for all of us and for the whole world: “Do not be afraid; for behold I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For today...a Savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”
Truly we find Him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in the manger. Above all, we find Him hidden in the Eucharist and there we must adore Him. But we also find Him in every human person that mirrors His glory, and there too we must love Him.
All of this; dear Friends, is the good news of Christmas—the tidings of great joy to be shared by all the people, to be shared by all of us. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Midnight Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Christmas 2007
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
On this holy Christmas night we bend our knee in adoration before the Child in the crib of Bethlehem. As we do so, we proclaim: Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man! It is so important for us to understand the identity of this Child and to accept the message that His Birth brings to the world.
Tonight we gather to listen once again to the angel’s proclamation to the shepherds in Bethlehem when Jesus Christ was born: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.… You will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
How uplifting and encouraging it is for us to hear these words at a time when our world lives with anxiety and consternation!
After centuries of waiting and preparation on the part of the Chosen People, God sent the Savior into the world to bring us peace, to take away our sins, to teach us how to live in justice, harmony and love: in our families, in our neighborhoods, in our parishes, in our whole society.
But who is this Savior, this Christ and Lord? Who is this Jesus born as a little child in Bethlehem?
He is true God and true man. He is first of all the Son of the eternal Father, divine like His Father in heaven. But He is also the Son of the Virgin Mary, human like His Mother and like us. Mary is the one who conceived the Child by the power of the Holy Spirit and carried Him in her womb. She gave Him birth and nourished Him at her breasts. We see her represented in the crib scene, with the Infant Jesus.
The Child is also the foster Son of Joseph the carpenter, the husband of Mary. It is Joseph who will protect the Child and help bring Him up, since this Child Jesus had no human father.
According to God’s plan, Jesus was conceived in an extraordinary way by the power of the Holy Spirit. God is His Father. We call Him the Splendor of the Father for He is the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity. Before His birth He already existed as the eternal Word of God, the eternal Son of God.
These then are the two most important truths about the person of Jesus Christ. These are the two identifying characteristics of the Child: He is true God, because He is the Son of God. He is true Man, because He is the Son of Mary.
But the Child is one Person, and His name is Jesus, which means Savior. He has, however, two natures: the nature of God — a divine nature; and the nature of man — a human nature.
In every way He is like His Father, and in every way He is like His Mother. And in every way He is like us, except sin.
Who then is the Child of Bethlehem? He is the Son of God and He is the Son of the Virgin Mary. He is, therefore, the One who links divinity with humanity. He is the Mediator between God and man. Because He is God, He has the power to save us from our sins. Because He is human like us, He has a human body, a human soul and a human heart with which to love us and to die for us, in order to save us from our sins and to bring us peace.
How beautiful are the words of the prophet Isaiah: “A child is born to us; a son is given to us; upon his shoulders dominion rests.” Among His titles is “Prince of Peace.” Isaiah also tells us that the Child who is born as Savior is the Light of the World. Let us listen to Isaiah: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.” How wonderful is this light today in our world that has so much darkness!
In answer to our question: Who is this Child? this Christ? this Jesus born in Bethlehem? the Church repeats: He is the Son of God. He is the Son of Mary. He is the Light of the World. But He is even more: this Child who is born to us, this Son who is given to us is the great defender of humanity.
Jesus Christ, who is God and man and who was born in Bethlehem, is the One who reveals to us the dignity of every person who shares humanity with Him and with Him is destined to share eternal life.
Jesus Christ is the One who tells us that the humanity which He has assumed, which he has embraced in the womb of the Virgin Mary, is a humanity worthy of honor, respect and love.
And everyone who possesses that humanity possesses dignity, regardless of race or ethnic background, regardless of sex, religion, culture or degree of education. A human being is important not because of what he or she has or does, but because of what he or she is. What is so important is the fact that every man, woman and child shares humanity with the Son of Mary, who is the Son of God.
Here we find the impact of Christmas on the world. Christmas means that every human life is sacred, because God has embraced human life, Christ has assumed it. Whatever wounds, weakens or destroys human life, and therefore vilifies human dignity, challenges the primacy of God, a God who “was born of the Virgin Mary and became man.” Tonight as we recite the Creed of our Mass, the Church invites us to genuflect when we say those words, in order to show that we accept the great reality of the Incarnation of the Son of God, with all its consequences.
There is no way that we can accept to love and honor the humanity of Jesus Christ the Savior and at the same time reject the humanity of those whom He has loved and saved. We cannot love Jesus Christ and refuse to love our fellow human beings, whom He loves.
Dearly beloved: this holy night of Christmas challenges us to renew our faith in the Child of Bethlehem, Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Son of Mary, the Light of the World and the defender of human dignity. We are called to adore Him. But this holy night of Christmas also challenges us to follow His teaching to love and serve one another, to honor the dignity of every man, woman and child who shares humanity with the Son of God.
In this Christmas Eucharist we receive the strength and grace to honor the Child and, with Him, all those whom He loves, all those who share humanity with Him, and with Him are destined for eternal life.
Dear friends: the angel’s message is for all of us and for the whole world: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today… a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”
Truly you will find Him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in the manger. Above all, you will find Him hidden in the Eucharist and there you must adore Him. But you will also find Him in every human person that mirrors His glory, and there too you must love Him.
All of this, dear friends, is the message of Christmas. It is a message of hope—the good news of great joy to be shared by all the people. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Midnight Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Christmas 2009
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
During this past year all of us have experienced joys but also unsettling and difficult situations. We long for world peace and are preoccupied for the economy and for many other issues, such as genuine health-care reform. Some of us have difficulties in our families or in our work. Health and well-being have been a concern for many of us and our loved ones. All of us have had personal challenges. Precisely then at this moment, in this Christmas Mass, the Church repeats to us those inspiring words which we have just heard proclaimed in the Gospel—words that the angel spoke to the shepherds of Bethlehem: “Do not be afraid; for behold I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
Once again I am privileged as your Archbishop to celebrate with you in this Cathedral Basilica the feast of Christmas and to proclaim to you the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This wonderful proclamation of His birth dominates our celebration at this Christmas Midnight Mass. The Church invites us to join in and to praise God for this marvelous event that touches the lives of all of us, takes away our fear, and gives us joy and hope and strength for Christian living.
This birth of Jesus Christ, which we see depicted in the manger, is described by the Church as a wonderful exchange. This birth is indeed a wonderful exchange between God and man.
It is through the Virgin Mary, the woman of all salvation history, that God takes on our humanity and gives us a share in His divinity.
Not only is this exchange wonderful, but everything about it is wonderful. The exchange is wonderful in the Child. Who is this Child? Who is this Child born in Bethlehem on Christmas night? This Child, whose name is Jesus, is both the Son of God and the Son of the Virgin Mary. This Child shares divinity with His Father. He is God like His Father. This Child shares humanity with His Mother and with all of us. This Child is true God and true Man.
Why is this exchange is so wonderful? It is because, in Jesus, God takes on our humanity and gives us a share in His divinity, His own divine life. In accepting Jesus, we become children of God, sharing in His divine nature as brothers and sisters of His Son, Jesus.
This exchange is also wonderful in the love that is at its origin. The reason why the Child came into the world, the reason why Jesus was born in Bethlehem is that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son to be our Savior. Love is at the source of the Father’s plan to send His Son into the world, so that His Son could assume our flesh, sanctify our humanity and then give us a share in His divine life.
But there is more! This exchange between God and man is also wonderful in what it brings to Christ. What it gives to the Son of God is wonderful. God, from all eternity, is the God of love. But at Bethlehem God begins to love in human flesh. And it is something new and wonderful for God to share our human flesh and, with our emotions and with our heart of flesh, to be able to love us with His eternal love. Yes, this exchange between God and man is indeed wonderful in the humanity that it gives to Jesus Christ.
And then, too, this exchange is wonderful in the consequences that it has for us. In Christ, in Jesus Christ, in the Child at Bethlehem, God’s solidarity with us, God’s solidarity with all humanity is complete and His love is total.
But, also, in the mystery of Christ’s birth, total also is the solidarity that Christ requires of all His brothers and sisters with the rest of humanity. Christ requires that He be loved in every human being by every other human being, because humanity is now united to God. Humanity is now united to Christ, and Christ will never allow Himself to be separated from those who share humanity with Him.
And this, dear Friends, is where our Christmas message leads us: to the consequences of this wonderful exchange. Our Christmas message leads us to humanity in need: to every brother and sister in need of Jesus Christ and His love, His pardon, His healing, His compassion, His Gospel of eternal life.
Our Christmas message leads us to every human being suffering from hunger and disease; suffering in body, mind and soul; suffering from war and hatred; suffering from natural causes and disasters, and those suffering from their own sins and the sins of others.
The Word, the Word of God became flesh and dwelt amongst us. He dwelt amongst us in Jesus Christ. And to all those who accept Him, He gives the power to become the children of God.
In our second reading Saint Paul alludes to all these consequences, saying that the grace of God that has appeared—this wonderful mystery of God’s humanity—trains us and challenges us, to live temperately and justly and devoutly, and to be eager to do what is right, what is right toward our God, what is right toward our brothers and sisters.
This, dear Friends, is our Christmas message. It expresses the faith of a Church that loves and cares for all human beings, because in Jesus Christ she adores an incarnate God who is the Word made Flesh and in whose humanity every human being is sacred, from the moment of conception to natural death, and every human right is inviolable.
This Christmas message—rooted in adoration of the newborn Savior, in adoration of the Child at Bethlehem—expresses a new commandment and a new commitment for us to defend, in His Name, the dignity of human life from whatever wounds or weakens, dishonors or destroys it. A new challenge emerges for us to work to uplift the human condition of all those who share humanity in common with the Son of God and who, in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, are destined for eternal life.
How important it is, dear Friends, for each one of us all during the coming year to be a part of the living, praying, worshiping, and serving Church of Jesus Christ. This is indeed a challenge for all of us—the challenge that comes to us at the birth of Jesus—the challenge of the wonderful exchange between God and man, between God and all of us.
Therefore, each of us must realize that everyone is welcome in the Catholic community. Everyone is welcome to come home to stay in the Church of God. Everyone is needed. Everyone is needed throughout the year, and everyone is called by God to participate in the life and prayer and good works of the Church. Everyone is invited by this great love story of God our Father to be part—to be an active part—of this wonderful exchange between the Son of God and His Church. Christ came to be close to all of us. He came to bring us into His Church, in which we are truly a living, praying, worshiping and serving people. Christ came at Bethlehem to call us to accept Him freely, and, in accepting Him, to accept His Church.
There is a place of honor for all of you, dear Friends, in the community of Christ’s Church, and Jesus needs you. He needs you here week after week to pray with Him, to serve with Him, to love others in His Name. A tremendous challenge! Yes, this wonderful exchange of divinity and humanity remains a challenge for us tonight and throughout the year. It is a challenge to all of us who have the immense privilege of being brothers and sisters of that Child in Bethlehem; that Child who is our Savior, our God; that Child who is the Son of the Eternal Father; that Child who is the Son of the Virgin Mary; that Child who is the Savior of the world.
The angel was right, dear Friends. The message is meant for all of us. Let us listen to it once again: “Do not be afraid; for behold I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in th city of David a Savior has been born to you who is Christ and Lord.” Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Christmas Day Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
December 25, 2010
“Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice....”
“Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.”
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Today we rejoice indeed as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem.
The Church welcomes each and every one of you to this celebration in this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. We gather as a community to acknowledge the coming of the Savior into the world and to welcome Him into our hearts and into our homes.
Our celebration begins before the Crib where we see a representation of the wonderful event that took place two thousand years ago in Bethlehem, when the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus in the midst of the poverty and simplicity of a stable, because there was no room in the inn.
In our Crib we see the different figures and recall the circumstances of Jesus’ birth. We see the animals that are silent witnesses of an event which they could not grasp, but at which their presence would be noted for all time to come.
We see the representation of an angel and of shepherds, and recall how the angel at Bethlehem spoke to the shepherds, saying: “Do not be afraid; for behold I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”
We remember how the shepherds left their fields and went in haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the manger. Speaking of the shepherds, the Gospel tells us that “When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.” Then the Gospel speaks also about passers-by, saying: “All who heard it were amazed at what had been told them by the shepherds.”
Obviously the passers-by understood very little about the identity of the Child. The shepherds knew more, and yet their knowledge too was extremely limited.
Another figure in our Christmas Crib is Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary and the one who was the foster-father of Jesus. Saint Joseph knew much more. He was the silent witness to the real identity of the Child, knowing that he was not the father. He had been informed personally by an angel that the Child had been conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, without a human father. Joseph’s role is key for us to understand that the Child is indeed God’s Son, the eternal Word of God, the eternal Son of the eternal Father.
Besides the angel and the shepherds, besides the silent witness of the animals at the crib, besides the faith-filled role of Joseph, the husband of Mary and the foster-father of Jesus, we find Mary, His Mother. As we see Mary kneeling in adoration before her Child, who is also her God, the Church invites us to reflect on the sentiments of her heart. For nine months, after the announcement of the angel Gabriel to her that she was to be the Mother of God, she carried the Baby in her womb. She was in constant communion with the Child. Even though His development in the womb was like that of any other child, He was God’s Son, who existed from all eternity, before taking flesh in Mary’s womb.
No one—neither the shepherds, nor the angel, nor Joseph—could fathom the identity of the Child the way Mary His Mother could. She lived those nine months of pregnancy in a communion of love and prayer with Jesus. And when the time came, she brought Him forth with immense joy. Informed by the angel, she had some inkling of his mission, but her knowledge was still incomplete before the mystery of God who became man in her womb. Nine months before the birth, she had expressed her consent to the angel. She would do anything necessary to fulfill worthily her role as Mother of God, and later on as spiritual Mother of the Church.
And so we see that various witnesses gazed upon the newborn Savior, with differing degrees of understanding of His identity. The role of Mary, the Virgin Mother of the Child, exceeds all other witnesses in understanding, in joy and in love.
Even though the Crib cannot depict Him, there was one more person who gazed upon the Child with love beyond all words. It was His Father in heaven: the One to whom Jesus Christ was eternally related as Son, in the communion of the Most Blessed Trinity. It was God the Father who had sent His Son into the world, so that the Son could take on our human nature, and by His life, death and resurrection save us from our sins.
Rightly do we reflect on the immense love and satisfaction of the Father as He gazes from heaven on His beloved Son whom He has now allowed to become the Son of the Virgin Mary. Saint John tells us that it was because God so loved the world that He sent His Son into the world, so that whoever believes in Him may not die but may have eternal life. And Saint John adds: “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”
And so when the Father contemplates His Son lying in a manger, clothed in our human flesh, He is immensely pleased because He knows that His plan is being fulfilled and that our salvation is under way.
The other individuals missing from the Crib are ourselves. But now we have arrived. We are here to contemplate and to adore the Son of God made Man. We have come here in order to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. In his Gospel, Saint John tells us that those who accept Jesus Christ are empowered to become children of God.
Today, dear friends, dear people of God, our role is to accept Jesus Christ our Savior. To accept Jesus Christ is to accept His full identity, to acknowledge Him as true God—the Son of God; to acknowledge Him as true Man – the Son of Mary.
To accept Jesus Christ is to accept His Gospel, His commandments, His way of doing things. It means to accept His Church, the way He founded it, the way He wills it to be. To accept Jesus Christ means to accept His teaching, not because we agree with it or judge it to be acceptable, but because it is His teaching and He is our God.
Finally, dear friends: to accept Jesus Christ in the fullness of His identity as God and Man, as divine and human, is to accept Jesus Christ in others, in all those who share humanity with Him.
By becoming man and taking on our human nature, Jesus has sanctified all humanity and proclaimed for all ages the human dignity of every man, woman and child. Yes, to accept Jesus Christ our Savior and our God is to accept one another in love, in solidarity, in mutual service.
How can we do all this? Jesus Christ who comes to us in the Eucharist is our strength. Adoring and receiving Him personally we are strengthened to reach out and embrace all those who share humanity with Him. This reaching out to others requires generosity, it requires effort, it requires love. But it is an important dimension of our Christmas celebration. This is where the Crib directs us. This is what Mary and Joseph and the Child Jesus want us to do. This is part of the angel’s message: “I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Christmas Vigil Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Christmas 2007
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
For two thousand years the meaning of our Christmas celebration has been spelled out for us so clearly in the words of the Gospel that we have just heard. The angel announces to all of us: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”
This is indeed the Christmas proclamation of the Church. God has come to save us in the person of His own Son Jesus Christ. The Son of God appears among us as a newborn child. We have heard the words of the prophet Isaiah: “A child is born to us, a son is given us.” Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem.
But this birth of Jesus Christ, which we see depicted in the manger, is not only the birth of the Savior. It is also a wonderful exchange. This birth represents a wonderful exchange between God and man. Through the Virgin Mary, God takes on our humanity and God gives us a share in His divinity.
Not only is this exchange wonderful, but everything about it is wonderful. The exchange is wonderful in the Child. Who is this Child? Who is this Child born in Bethlehem on Christmas night? This Child, whose name is Jesus, is both the Son of God and the Son of the Virgin Mary. This Child shares divinity with His Father. He is God like His Father. This Child shares humanity with His Mother and with all of us. And this is why the exchange is so wonderful, because, in Jesus, God takes on our humanity and gives us a share in His own divine life. In accepting Jesus, we become children of God, His brothers and sisters.
This exchange is also wonderful in the love that explains it. The reason why the Child came into the world, the reason why Jesus is born at Bethlehem is that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son to be our Savior. And so, this exchange is indeed wonderful in the love that is at the source of this plan of God to send His Son into the world, so that He could take our flesh, sanctify our humanity and then give us a share in His divine life.
But there is more! This exchange between God and man is also wonderful in what it brings to Christ. What it gives to the Son of God is wonderful. God, from all eternity, is the God of love. But at Bethlehem God begins to love in human flesh. And that is something new and wonderful: for God to share our human flesh and, with our emotions and with our heart of flesh, to be able to love us with His eternal love. O yes! This exchange between God and man is indeed wonderful in the humanity that it gives to Jesus Christ.
And then, too, this exchange is wonderful in the consequences that it has for us. In Jesus Christ, the Child at Bethlehem, God’s solidarity with us, God’s solidarity with all humanity, is complete and His love is total.
But in the mystery of Christ’s birth, total also is the solidarity that Christ requires of all His brothers and sisters with the rest of humanity. Christ requires that He be loved in every human being by every other human being, because humanity now belongs to God. Humanity now belongs to Christ, and Christ will never allow Himself to be separated from those who share humanity with Him.
And this, dear friends, is where our Christmas message takes us: to the consequences of this wonderful exchange. Our Christmas message takes us to humanity in need: to every brother and sister in need of Jesus Christ and His love, His pardon, His healing, His compassion, His Gospel of eternal life.
Our Christmas message takes us to every human being suffering from hunger and disease; suffering in body, mind and soul; suffering from war and hatred; suffering from natural causes and disasters, and those suffering from their own sins and the sins of others.
The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us! The Word of God dwelt amongst us in Jesus Christ. And to all those who accept Him, He gives the power to become the children of God.
In our second reading Saint Paul alludes to all these consequences, proclaiming the grace of God that has appeared in Jesus Christ. Through His humanity Jesus Christ trains us and challenges us to live temperately and justly and devoutly, and to be eager to do what is right, what is right toward our God, what is right toward our brothers and sisters.
This, dear friends, is indeed our Christmas message. It expresses the faith of a Church that loves and cares for all human beings, because in Jesus Christ she adores an incarnate God who is the Word made Flesh and in whose humanity all human life is sacred, and every human right is inviolable.
This Christmas message—rooted in adoration of the newborn Savior, in adoration of the Child at Bethlehem—becomes a new commitment and an invitation to us to uphold and defend, in His Name, the dignity of human life from whatever wounds or weakens, dishonors or destroys it. For us, Christmas becomes a new commitment and an invitation for us to work to uplift the human condition of all those who share humanity in common with the Son of God and who, in the Son of God, in Jesus Christ, are destined for eternal life.
How important it is, dear friends, for each one of us—during the whole year—to be a part of the living, praying, worshiping, and serving Church of Jesus Christ. This is a challenge for all of us—the challenge that comes to us at the birth of Jesus—the challenge of the wonderful exchange between God and man, between God and all of us.
Therefore, each of us must realize that everyone is welcome, in our community and in our Church. Everyone is welcome to come home to stay in the Church of God. Everyone is needed. Everyone is needed throughout the year, and everyone is called by God. Everyone is invited by this great love story of God our Father to be part—to be an active part—of this wonderful exchange between the Son of God and His Church. Christ came to be close to all of us. He came to bring us into His Church, in which we are truly a living, praying, worshiping, and serving people. Christ came at Bethlehem to call us to accept Him freely, and, in accepting Him, to accept His Church, to accept one another.
There is a place of honor for all of you, dear friends, in the community of Christ’s Church, and Jesus needs you. He needs you here week after week to pray with Him, to serve with Him, to love others in His Name. A tremendous challenge! Yes, this wonderful exchange of divinity and humanity remains a challenge for us tonight and throughout the year. It is a challenge to all of us who have the immense privilege of being brothers and sisters of that Child in Bethlehem; that Child who is our Savior, our God; that Child who is the Son of the Eternal Father; that Child who is the Son of the Virgin Mary; that Child who is the Savior of the world.
The angel was right, dear friends. The message is meant for all of us. Let us listen once again: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.” Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Christmas Vigil Mass at 5:00 p.m.
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Christmas 2010
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
The meaning of Christmas is spelled out for us so clearly in the words of the Gospel that we have just heard. The angel announces to the shepherds and to all of us: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”
The Christmas proclamation of the Church is precisely this: God has come to save us in the person of His own Son Jesus Christ. The Son of God appears among us as a newborn child. We have heard the words of the prophet Isaiah: “A child is born to us, a son is given us.” Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem.
This birth, however, of Jesus Christ, which we see depicted in the manger, is not only the birth of the Savior. It is also a wonderful exchange. This birth represents a wonderful exchange between God and man. Through the Virgin Mary, God takes on our humanity and God gives us a share in His divinity.
Not only is this exchange wonderful, but everything about it is wonderful. The exchange is wonderful in the Child. Who is this Child? Who is this Child born in Bethlehem on Christmas night? This Child, whose name is Jesus, is both the Son of God and the Son of the Virgin Mary. This Child shares divinity with His Father. He is God like His Father. But this Child shares humanity with His Mother and with all of us. And this is why the exchange is so wonderful, because, in Jesus, God takes on our humanity and gives us a share in His own divine life. In accepting Jesus, we become children of God, His brothers and sisters.
This exchange is also wonderful in the love that explains it. The reason why the Child came into the world, the reason why Jesus is born at Bethlehem is that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son to be our Savior. And so, this exchange is indeed wonderful in the love that is at the source of this plan of God to send His Son into the world, so that He could take our flesh, sanctify our humanity and then give us a share in His divine life.
But there is more! This exchange between God and man is also wonderful in what it brings to Christ. What it gives to the Son of God is wonderful. God, from all eternity, is the God of love. But at Bethlehem God begins to love in human flesh. And that is something new and wonderful: for God to share our human flesh and, with our emotions and with our heart of flesh, to be able to love us with His eternal love. O yes! This exchange between God and man is indeed wonderful in the humanity that it gives to Jesus Christ.
And then, too, this exchange is wonderful in the consequences that it has for us. In Jesus Christ, the Child at Bethlehem, God’s solidarity with us, God’s solidarity with all humanity, is complete and His love is total.
But in the mystery of Christ’s birth, total also is the solidarity that Christ requires of all His brothers and sisters with the rest of humanity. Christ requires that He be loved in every human being by every other human being, because humanity now belongs to God. Humanity now belongs to Christ, and Christ will never allow Himself to be separated from those who share humanity with Him.
And this, dear friends, is where our Christmas message takes us: to the consequences of this wonderful exchange. Our Christmas message takes us to humanity in need: to every brother and sister in need of Jesus Christ and His love, His pardon, His healing, His compassion, His Gospel of eternal life.
Our Christmas message takes us to every human being suffering from hunger and disease; suffering in body, mind and soul; suffering from war and hatred; suffering from natural causes and disasters, and those suffering from their own sins and the sins of others.
The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us! The Word of God dwelt amongst us in Jesus Christ. And to all those who accept Him, He gives the power to become the children of God.
In our second reading Saint Paul alludes to all these consequences, proclaiming the grace of God that has appeared in Jesus Christ. Through His humanity Jesus Christ trains us and challenges us to live temperately and justly and devoutly, and to be eager to do what is right, what is right toward our God, what is right toward our brothers and sisters.
This, dear friends, is indeed our Christmas message. It expresses the faith of a Church that loves and cares for all human beings, because in Jesus Christ she adores an incarnate God who is the Word made Flesh and in whose humanity all human life is sacred, and every human right is inviolable.
This Christmas message—rooted in adoration of the newborn Savior, in adoration of the Child at Bethlehem—becomes a new commitment and an invitation to us to uphold and defend, in His Name, the dignity of human life from whatever wounds or weakens, dishonors or destroys it. For us, Christmas becomes a new commitment and an invitation for us to work to uplift the human condition of all those who share humanity in common with the Son of God and who, in the Son of God, in Jesus Christ, are destined for eternal life.
How important it is, dear friends, for each one of us—during the whole year—to be a part of the living, praying, worshiping, and serving Church of Jesus Christ. This is a challenge for all of us—the challenge that comes to us at the birth of Jesus—the challenge of the wonderful exchange between God and man, between God and all of us.
Therefore, each of us must realize that everyone is welcome, in our community and in our Church. Everyone is welcome to come home to stay in the Church of God. Everyone is needed. Everyone is needed throughout the year, and everyone is called by God. Everyone is invited by this great love story of God our Father to be part—to be an active part—of this wonderful exchange between the Son of God and His Church. Christ came to be close to all of us. He came to bring us into His Church, in which we are truly a living, praying, worshiping, and serving people. Christ came at Bethlehem to call us to accept Him freely, and, in accepting Him, to accept His Church, to accept one another.
There is a place of honor for all of you, dear friends, in the community of Christ’s Church, and Jesus needs you. He needs you here week after week to pray with Him, to serve with Him, to love others in His Name. A tremendous challenge! Yes, this wonderful exchange of divinity and humanity remains a challenge for us tonight and throughout the year. It is a challenge to all of us who have the immense privilege of being brothers and sisters of that Child in Bethlehem; that Child who is our Savior, our God; that Child who is the Son of the Eternal Father; that Child who is the Son of the Virgin Mary; that Child who is the Savior of the world.
The angel was right, dear friends. The message is meant for all of us. Let us listen once again: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.” Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Church Ministry Institute Graduation Mass
Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul
May 22, 2004
Dear Graduates of the Church Ministry Institute,
Dear Friends in Christ,
It is my joy to celebrate with you during this Easter Season, two days after the feast of the Lord s Ascension into Heaven and one week from the marvelous day of Pentecost when Jesus sent His Spirit upon the Apostles.
I welcome you, the Graduates of the Church Ministry Institute, 59 lay men and women who come from 39 parishes representing the 6 vicariates. I welcome your Vicars, your pastors, your teachers, mentors, family and friends. Today we celebrate your completion of three years of formation in theological studies, spiritual development and pastoral skills. Your graduation from the Church Ministry Institute marks an important milestone in your faith journey, and we are proud of you!
How appropriate are the Scriptures of the Easter Season on this special occasion of your commencement! These past weeks we have reflected on stories from the Acts of the Apostles describing the fabric and growth of the newly formed Church. In today s reading we listen to the story of Apollos who with ardent spirit spoke and taught about Jesus, Priscilla and Aquila who explained to him the way of the Lord , and the brothers and sisters in community who welcomed and encouraged Apollos.
We are inspired by Apollos spiritual fervor and his boldness in witnessing to the saving mission of Jesus Christ in the public setting; yet, how open he was to being further formed in faith by Priscilla and Aquila. We are edified by Priscilla and Aquila who took Apollos aside and deepened his understanding of the Christian message by steadfastly explaining the way of God. We are encouraged by the brothers and sisters who befriended Apollos and supported him so he could give assistance to those who had come to believe through grace. How enthusiastically the early followers shared the good news of Jesus!
Like Apollos, Priscilla and Aquila, and the early Christians, we are called to witness to the saving mission of Jesus Christ. The ministry of salvation that Jesus began will only be fully accomplished if we are willing to continue to be His disciples today. Vatican II reminds us that each layperson must stand before the world as a witness to the resurrection and life of the Lord Jesus and a sign that God lives (Lumen Gentium, 38).
Like Apollos, we must boldly witness to Christ in our daily lives. Laity have a special role to play in evangelizing our society in the areas of culture, politics, economics, science, art, and the media. Also, in your professional work, you can be mindful of the words of St. Francis of Assisi to his followers, Preach with your lives, use words if you have to .
Like Priscilla and Aquila, who were a married couple and extraordinary missionaries, you proclaim Christ in the domestic church. The family is the place where the Gospel message is shared with your children, and radiates to others by the witness of unity and love fostered in a deeply committed Christian family.
Like the early Christians, we, too, are called to share the good news with our brothers and sisters. You do this in your parish communities. Through Baptism you are called to contribute your gifts and talents, and to take an active and responsible role in the mission of the Church. You do this when you serve your parishes as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, lectors, cantors, ushers, catechists and teachers; in assisting the sick and grieving; as members of welcoming committees, pastoral councils, finance committees, outreach committees, and social justice committees. You reach out to the poor in your parishes and neighborhoods to perform the spiritual and corporal works of mercy and give much needed relief to the suffering of our world.
As Jesus so compassionately reminds us in Matthew s Gospel, Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me ( Mt 25: 40). This Gospel mandate is reiterated in the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (no. 43), when it states, Since they have an active role to play in the whole life of the Church, lay people are not only bound to penetrate the world with a
Christian spirit, they are also called to be witnesses to Christ in all things in the midst of human society. Your main activity, your main apostolate is to live your Christian vocation and bear witness to the Gospel in your families, in the ordinary circumstances of your work, and in your various communities. Your efforts, your labors and your prayers - especially your participation in the Eucharist - help consecrate the world to God.
In today s Gospel from John, we listen to Jesus instruct His disciples, and His words penetrate our hearts. For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me. The Easter Season is one long celebration of God s goodness and love. In the readings of the Easter Vigil, we are reminded of God s great love for us already set in motion at the beginning of the world, fulfilled through the Incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus, reaching culmination at His Second Coming. For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him ...might have eternal life ( John 3:16 ).
We also hear in the today s Scripture, Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. To pray in Jesus name does not mean to invoke a magic formula. Rather, to pray in the name of Jesus implies a communion of persons, a harmony of will with God. We pray in union with Jesus so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. The glory that the Father receives through the works of the Son continues in the works of the Son s followers.
Today, the Church reaffirms for us two important themes from Vatican II, which are the universal call to holiness and the universal call to mission . Throughout your time in the Church Ministry Institute, you have strengthened your personal relationship with Jesus Christ and entered more deeply into the mission of His Church. I encourage you, as you conclude your studies, to establish the important balance between your daily prayer and your daily tasks. Be confident that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus ( Phil 1:6 ). Know that it is God Himself who works in and through you to bring about the fruits of your labor.
Finally, you are commended for your work and effort in developing your God-given gifts. You have deepened your knowledge and appreciation of the Catholic Church, grown in your relationship with the Lord, and prepared for continued generous service in the Church. Society needs your goodness, talents and faithfulness so that through you it may receive the saving message of Christ. Your graduation from the Church Ministry Institute is a cause for rejoicing in the Church in Philadelphia.
Today is also an important day for your parish and family for they have encouraged and supported you through these three years. I thank them for their support.
Finally, may I make special note of the work of your administrators, teachers, and mentors who have prepared you to take your place in the Church and make a difference in the world. I am grateful to them for their work with you.
May today truly be a commencement for you, a moving forward in wisdom and grace. May Mary, our Mother, guide you in the years ahead to follow the ways of her Son and may our Lord Jesus Christ bless you and your families with lasting joy.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Church Ministry Institute Graduation
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 10, 2008
Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and Forever!
I welcome you, the graduates of the Church Ministry Institute: sixty-five lay men and women who come from forty-six parishes representing the six vicariates of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I welcome your pastors, teachers, mentors, families and friends. Today we celebrate your completion of three years of formation in theological studies, spiritual development and pastoral skills. Your graduation from the Church Ministry Institute marks an important milestone in your faith journey, and we are very proud of you.
In his recent visit to Washington, D.C., our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, offered these words to Catholic Educators: “All the Church’s activities stem from her awareness that she is the bearer of a message which has its origin in God himself: in his goodness and wisdom, God chose to reveal himself and to make known the hidden purpose of his will (cf. Eph 1:9; Dei Verbum, 2). God’s desire to make himself known, and the innate desire of all human beings to know the truth, provides the context for human inquiry into the meaning of life. This unique encounter is sustained within our Christian community: the one who seeks the truth becomes the one who lives by faith (cf. Fides et Ratio, 31). It can be described as a move from “I” to “we”, leading the individual to be numbered among God’s people.”
It is by these words that your vital role within the Church should be defined. All of you have spent three years working to gain a greater knowledge of the truth, a truth proclaimed in Sacred Scripture, the tradition of the Church and in Church teaching—a truth that guides us to know, love and serve our God without reservation. Through this knowledge, we become aware that we the baptized are numbered among God’s people and are called to proclaim the Good News by our words and deeds.
We hear today in the first reading how, despite his imprisonment, Saint Paul received all who came to him and “proclaimed the Kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 28:31). Paul was so convinced that Jesus is our hope and our salvation that not even imprisonment and chains could impede his proclamation of the Good News. It is with the conviction of Saint Paul that you, the new graduates of the Church Ministry Institute, are being sent forth to engage in the work of evangelization, an evangelization that offers encouragement and support to those who have never heard the Good News of Jesus, as well as to those who have already accepted it, have been baptized and are endeavoring to conform their lives to it.
As you go forth today to take up your various roles in your parishes, you may encounter various obstacles that often seem difficult to overcome. Perhaps you will encounter apathy, you may feel inadequate, or you may struggle with balancing your time between family, work and parish commitments. These difficulties can provide both a challenge and an opportunity to turn to God in prayer for guidance on how best to proceed. Take comfort, dear friends, as did Saint Paul, in knowing that everything is possible with the love and support of Jesus, the Jesus who accompanies us every moment of our lives.
In our Gospel reading today, from the end of Saint John’s Gospel, we see how Saint Peter is invited by Jesus to follow Him. Jesus sends Peter forth to shepherd the community of believers. It is so important to understand that this role of Peter’s is one built upon love and willingness to give one’s life in witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ. As you go forth to work within your parishes, you must remain open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and work with selfless love. You may be asked to carry out simple ordinary tasks or to serve your parish in a role of leadership, but know that God is with you in whatever work you are assigned. Always remember that the Lord Jesus has a plan for each of you as you work in partnership with Him and His Church. Working together for the common good, we must proclaim God’s unconditional love made manifest in the living Jesus Christ.
As graduates of the Church Ministry Institute, you have spent three years of your life walking a very special journey of enlightenment. I commend you for your hard work and effort in developing your knowledge and understanding of our Catholic faith. I trust that this experience has helped you to grow in your relationship with the Lord Jesus and, therefore, has prepared you for continued service in the Church. Our faith community and, indeed society as a whole, need your goodness, your talents and your faithfulness to the truth so that the message of God’s love may enter the world more fully. Your graduation from the Church Ministry Institute is cause for rejoicing in the Church of Philadelphia.
Today is also an important day for your parishes and your families, for they have encouraged and supported you through these last three years. I extend my heartfelt thanks to them for their support, as well as to the Institute’s administrators, teachers and mentors who have helped prepare you to take your place in the Church and to make a difference in the world. I am grateful to them for their service to you and to the faithful of the Archdiocese.
Remember that you have been called by the Lord to come to know Him more fully. You are also being called to use what you have learned to assist others in coming to know and love Jesus more deeply. Dear friends: keep this calling present in every aspect of your daily life. Keep it alive through your daily prayer, especially when participating in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Whether you assist in the parish setting, with RCIA, as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion or at your job: be one who seeks the truth, lives by faith and proclaims a message of hope and charity in all that you do and say. May Mary, the Mother of the Incarnate Word, obtain for you from her Son, grace, peace and joy. Amen.
HOMILY OF CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI
CHRISM MASS
CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL
MARCH 24, 2005
Praised be Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, the Faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead and Ruler of the Kings of the earth!
Your Eminence, Cardinal Bevilacqua: Everyone is so pleased today to have you in our midst. We honor you as our former shepherd and greet you with deep affection in the Lord.
Dear brother Bishops,
Dear brother Priests in the presbyterate of Philadelphia,
Dear Deacons,
Dear Religious,
Dear Seminarians,
Dear Students,
Dear Young People preparing for Confirmation,
Dear Young Men exploring a vocation to the sacred priesthood,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Today we are united with our Holy Father Pope John Paul II, asking God to give him special grace and strength at this difficult moment in his life. We ask God to sustain him in his extraordinary witness of generosity and love. Together with all the priests of the world we give thanks to God for gathering us together on this Holy Thursday, when the Church proclaims Jesus Christ as the great High Priest anointed by the Holy Spirit.
At this Mass we celebrate the gift and mystery of the priesthood. We celebrate Jesus Christ as He Himself is anointed Priest of the New Covenant and as He shares the priesthood with those whom He has personally chosen. This is the day on which the faith of the Church shows the relationship of the priesthood to the Eucharist and the Eucharist to the priesthood. This is the day on which we express support and love for all the priests who carry forward their daily dedicated pastoral care of God's people.
This morning I would like to extend a greeting especially to all you young people who have come here from so many parishes to be with your Bishop and your priests on this Holy Thursday: the day when Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist and the priesthood; the day when He gave priests the power to offer up the Eucharistic Sacrifice, to celebrate Mass.
This wonderful feast is the day when the Bishop comes together with his priests, as a united presbyterate, to celebrate the Eucharist. Today the Bishop also blesses the oils that benefit all the People of God and are used in administering four of the sacraments of the Church: Baptism, Confirmation, the Anointing of the Sick and Holy Orders. Your presence here this morning, dear young people, is very important.
In the life of the Church there are different moments when we emphasize different vocations and different aspects of God's plan for His Church. For example, on the feast of the Holy Family, the Church proclaims the special importance of the family, the vocation of husbands and wives, mothers and fathers of families - and also the role of children and their importance. On the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, the Church emphasizes the great value of religious consecration in the midst of the People of God. At that time she also underlines the deep meaning of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience as they are lived in joy by men and women religious throughout the world. On Deacon Day we celebrate the providential role of the diaconate in the Church and give thanks for the service that our deacons render.
Today, Holy Thursday, the Church concentrates on the Eucharist and Christ's gift of the priesthood, which benefit all people - young and old, married and single, clergy and religious. She emphasizes the importance of the vocation to the priesthood. The Church needs the priesthood. The People of God need the priesthood. Jesus Himself needs the priesthood to fulfill His plan of salvation. Today at this Mass I ask those young men who may experience a vocation to the priesthood to open their hearts to the call of our Lord and not to be afraid to say yes.
All of you, dear People of God, by your participation at this Mass show your faith in the Church, in the priesthood and in the Eucharist. You are all very much aware that despite the weaknesses and sins of individuals, the Church, which is the Body of Christ, is strong in faith and love. Our hope is in the living God. We believe in the power of the Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive sins, to renew hearts and to bring us all to ever deeper conversion in our lives.
On this Holy Thursday I would like to speak especially to my priests. These times are challenging for all of us and for the People of God. We pray in a special way for all our brother priests, including those who for various reasons need God's special grace and strength in a particular way. We remember those in pain, sickness and suffering. We know that Jesus our High Priest takes on the sins of all of us and offers all of us forgiveness and mercy. As ministers of reconciliation we know how much the world and ourselves constantly need repentance, pardon, penance and new life.
As a community we renew today our commitment to holiness of life, to sacred celibacy and to faithful service. It is my conviction, dear brother Priests, that you are already deeply involved in this search for holiness and in this reawakening of the ideals of total self-giving to Christ. And what strength and joy you find in this!
Dear brother priests: this is the day for all of us to re-live the joy of our ordination. This is the day for the Church to pray earnestly for vocations to the priesthood. These vocations are deeply rooted in the enduring power of Christ to attract young men to a life of generosity and sacrifice in the priesthood. In God's providence priestly vocations are also fostered by the witness of your own priestly fidelity and joy. This is the day for all priests to experience and bear witness, through the Holy Spirit, to a special relationship with Christ and therefore with the Father. We are called to experience the joy of paternity in the Church; to express gratitude for the sentiments of our people, for the love they have for priests. It is the moment to realize the esteem of the faithful for the celibacy that we have promised and that we freely, and with determination, renew today. It is the occasion to express fraternity among ourselves in the presbyterate.
It is because of the priesthood that the Church possesses the Mass, Holy Communion, Viaticum, reservation of the Blessed Sacrament, Eucharistic Adoration and all the Sacraments. Through the priesthood every vocation is sustained in the Church. Christian marriage and the Christian family are a special part of the daily pastoral care that priests give to the faithful. In God's plan the priesthood exists to support all God's people. And how grateful we are to the People of God here and in our parishes, and throughout the entire Archdiocese of Philadelphia, for their trust and love and support. We renew our commitment to them because we renew our commitment to Jesus Christ and to the mission of His Church. We experience confidence not because we have no weaknesses or sins, but because Jesus Christ died for us and in the Eucharist His Body and Blood are offered up to the Father "so that sins may be forgiven."
Dear brother priests: the People of God count on your love, your pastoral service, and your fidelity to the end. Jesus Himself has chosen you to serve the rest. You have been anointed like Jesus, to be able to proclaim the Gospel to the poor and to the whole world. Brother priests: never forget how important you are in God's plan of salvation! Rejoice! Be strong, be faithful! You are not alone! Mary, the Mother of Jesus is with you at all times. The prayer of Christ's Church supports you. And Jesus Himself calls you to support, by your love, one another and all your brothers and sisters in the Church.
Finally, all praise and thanksgiving to you, Lord Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, for the gifts of the priesthood and the Eucharist - to you who have loved us and freed us from our sins by your Blood, who have made us into a Kingdom, priests for your God and Father, to you be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. (Cf. Rev 1:5-6).
HOMILY OF CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI
EASTER SUNDAY MASS
CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL
MARCH 27, 2005
Dear Friends in the Risen Christ,
During the whole period of Lent, and especially during Holy Week, the Church has followed Jesus through all His suffering. We have reflected on His Passion and His Death. We have stood with Mary His Mother at the foot of the Cross. And we were with Jesus when He died. We accompanied Him to His burial place and then we withdrew waiting for something more.
This morning, Easter Sunday, we return to the tomb. Here we join Mary of Magdala and the other women of the Gospel. We come with Peter and John and, like them, we find the tomb empty. We see "the burial cloths there and the cloth that had covered his head not with the burial cloths, but rolled up in a separate place." We see and we believe.
And then we hear those words that the angel spoke to the women - words that come thundering down the ages: "I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.' Behold, I have told you."
Like the women and the Apostles, we too believe. And Jesus speaks to us as He spoke then, saying: "Do not be afraid." In the midst of the problems and challenges of the world and of our own Archdiocese of Philadelphia, despite our weaknesses and sins, Jesus says to us: "Do not be afraid." And we begin to understand that Jesus is alive and that the destiny of the world is in His hands. We listen also to Saint Peter speaking to the Christians of his day saying: "You know what has happened.. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised up on the third day.. To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name."
Dear friends: this is what the Resurrection brings to you and me, to all of us: the forgiveness of our sins. Christ's Resurrection is a victory over sin and death, but it is a victory, a triumph that Jesus shares with us. Jesus takes away our sins. His victory, though, is also a challenge for us. Jesus beckons us to turn to Him, to make the effort necessary to embrace His forgiveness and to live in newness of life.
Saint Paul summarizes this for us when he states, as we heard proclaimed this morning: "If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above." In our personal lives, in our dealings with one another, in the family, in the community, in society, we are challenged to put into practice the meaning of our Baptism: to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Last night, at the Easter Vigil, I spoke about the need for the power of Christ's Resurrection to touch the hearts of all. There is no other power that can change people's hearts and bring peace to the world.
Today, at this Easter Mass, I wish to emphasize how each one of us must turn to the Risen Christ, to the One who lives, the One who has conquered death, the One who is merciful and wishes to forgive our sins. You and I must personally accept the pardon won for us by Christ, through His Death on the Cross.
Today, Easter Sunday, God the Father, by raising Christ from the dead, ratifies the value of Christ's redeeming death and confirms before all the world His plan of mercy for humanity.
Dear friends, Christ's love for us and the Father's mercy require a response of love and action on our part. This is the hour for us to turn to God, to open our hearts to Him and to be made new by the power of Christ's Resurrection.
Six years ago Pope John Paul II came to the United States and pronounced some very special words, words that in one way or another apply to each one of us. He said: "In the name of Jesus, the Good Shepherd I wish to make an appeal - an appeal to Catholics throughout the United States and wherever my voice or words may reach - especially to those who for one reason or another are separated from the practice of their faith....Christ is seeking you out and inviting you back to the community of faith. Is this not the moment for you to experience the joy of returning to the Father's house?"
The return to the Father's house challenges us at various levels and in different degrees. Christ wishes all of us to be fully His, to share abundantly His risen life through the sacraments, through prayer, by good works, by an authentic Christian life of service to one another. Christ wants His mercy to envelop us and His Easter joy to fill our hearts today and throughout our lives. The Holy Father concluded his appeal invoking Mary the Mother of Mercy, the Mother of Jesus. This was his final prayer: "Mary, Mother of Mercy, teach the people of ... the United States to say yes to your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ!"
Is this not the meaning of our Easter celebration: to say yes to Jesus in newness of life, to let the power of His Resurrection challenge us to live always according to His Gospel?
Dear friends: "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad."
For Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Alleluia!
HOMILY OF CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI
THE CELEBRATION OF THE LORD'S PASSION
CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL
MARCH 25, 2005
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you
have redeemed the world.
Dear People of God,
Back in the fourth century the great Doctor of the Church Saint Cyril of Jerusalem stated that the Church is proud of all the actions of Jesus, but that her greatest boast is the Cross. Today, Good Friday, we celebrate the Cross and above all the One who hangs on the Cross.
In the Old Testament, at Passover, the Jewish people sacrificed a lamb - called the paschal lamb. On Good Friday we look to the Cross; we look to the Cross to see the One who has become the Lamb of God. At Communion time we receive this Lamb of God and before doing so we proclaim: "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." Today all our attention is concentrated on Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who is immolated on the Cross and becomes our sacrifice. The victim on Calvary takes away our sins and the sins of the whole world.
In our First Reading, the Prophet Isaiah tells us: ".he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed." And then Isaiah explicitly compares Him to the paschal lamb saying: ".the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all.. like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth."
In his prophecy, Isaiah attests to the redemption that is accomplished by Christ, the Lamb of God: ".he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses."
All this, dear friends, takes place on the Cross. Today we look to the Cross to find salvation and to profess our faith in the power of Christ's Sacrifice. By His death on the Cross, Jesus destroys death. He conquers the cause of death, which is sin. The humiliation of His death on the Cross is transformed into triumph and victory, as Saint Paul tells us: "Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a Cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him.."
For all the Church, the death that Christ dies becomes the cause of life and immortality. How beautiful is the ancient chant of Good Friday that the Church sings today! At the moment that Christ dies, the Church attests that death has no power over Him: at that moment He is proclaimed as holy, strong and immortal! By dying He overcomes death. He can die no more and those associated with His Death are immune from death and will share His Resurrection.
Today, as we see Jesus the Paschal Lamb die upon the Cross, we proclaim His triumph and victory. And just as He, with absolute freedom, entrusted His life to His Father, we entrust ourselves freely to Him and to His mercy. In the words of today's Psalm we pray: ".my trust is in you, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God. In your hands is my destiny; rescue me..'"
All of this means that God's mercy is available to each of us. Today is the day that mercy becomes real. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews exhorts us: ".let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help."
Friends in Christ: our greatest boast is the Cross! The Cross is the throne of grace; it is the source of mercy. The One who hangs on the Cross is our Redeemer and our King. He helps us to overcome sin in our lives and to live for God in holiness of life.
As He bends down to lift us up, let us reach out to Him and say: Jesus I trust in you! Amen.
HOMILY OF CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI
OPENING MASS
NCEA CONVENTION
TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2005
"I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified....Then go quickly and tell
his disciples,
'He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you...'" (Mt 28:6-7).
Dear brother Bishops,
Dear Priests, dear Deacons, dear Religious,
Dear Seminarians, dear Students,
Dear Catholic Educators,
Dear Friends in the Risen Christ,
All during these fifty days after the great feast of the Resurrection, the Church
is faithful to her Easter proclamation and to her Easter challenge. Jesus
Christ is alive. Jesus Christ goes before us to lead the way, to invite
us to ever greater conversion and holiness of life.
It is a great joy to welcome all of you to this National Catholic Educational Association Convention in Philadelphia and to be able to celebrate the Eucharist with you today, this Tuesday of Easter week. I am pleased that you have come here to our local Church of Philadelphia in order to encounter the Risen Lord and to renew to Him your commitment. United with Peter and the other Apostles, as Catholic educators you have such a privileged and important part in the massive witness that the Church bears to Jesus Christ risen from the dead. You live and work to enrich the lives of your students with the fullness of the Gospel of life, to invite them boldly to accept Jesus Christ and His Church, and to help them deepen their faith and understanding of the Paschal Mystery.
Today in this Easter season how uplifting it is to realize that the Risen Lord Jesus shares his teaching ministry with you. When the Holy Father visited with teachers and catechists of the United States in New Orleans in 1987, he said: "Yours is a great gift to the Church, a great gift to your nation" (September 12, 1987). How providential that you now gather in Philadelphia. Here, in this City, our nation was born and was immediately nurtured on those truths and ideals which we as Americans value and cherish: those God-given gifts of life, liberty and the authentic pursuit of happiness. How greatly you, as Catholic educators, enrich this noble cause by communicating to your students the Gospel of the Risen One, who is the source of life, liberty and true happiness.
In the setting of today's Gospel Saint John tells us that Mary Magdalen came to the tomb when it was still dark. As we listen to that Gospel, we realize that darkness described not only the time of the day. Mary, like other friends and followers of Jesus, came to the tomb devastated. She and all of the disciples thought they had lost the person whom they had trusted more than anyone else. They loved Him more than family and all they possessed. He had been with them for three years; they called Him Master, Lord and Teacher. He had told them they were no longer slaves but friends. Now it seemed that He was gone. There was darkness in their lives.
We need to ponder carefully what we heard in Saint John's Gospel this morning. Jesus asks Mary, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" In her darkened state of spirit and soul Mary did not recognize Him. She thought He was the gardener. Had she given up? Did fear, or the uncertainty about the future, or her lack of understanding of the Paschal Mystery blind her to the presence of Christ in her life? But once Jesus calls her by name, once she hears His voice, once she sees Him, once she recognizes Him, once she knows that Jesus is alive, she is ecstatic and everything in her life changes. We can only imagine how quickly she ran back to the disciples with the message, "I have seen the Lord." She then reported what He had told her.
Dear friends: your mission in our Catholic schools and parish religious education programs is like that of Mary Magdalen. With much urgency you are to bring the message of the Risen Jesus to the children and youth whom you teach. It is important, as you fulfill your mission in Catholic education, that your students know that you too acknowledge Him as risen from the dead; that you have recognized Jesus' voice calling you by name; that you have seen the Lord with eyes of faith; that you believe that Jesus is present in your lives; and that you believe in the power of His Paschal Mystery. It is so important that you yourselves acknowledge that He goes before you and that He is never far from you.
In the world in which we live it is easy for young people to be overwhelmed with fear, with uncertainties about the future. It is useful to recall once again that six years ago, during his pastoral visit to St. Louis, Pope John Paul II stated: "Sometimes the world itself seems filled with darkness. The darkness of children who go hungry and even die. The darkness of homeless people who lack work and proper medical care. The darkness of violence against the unborn child, violence in families, the violence of gangs, the violence of sexual abuse, the violence of drugs that destroy the body, mind and heart. There is something terribly wrong when so many young people are overcome by hopelessness to the point of taking their own lives. And already in parts of this nation, laws have been passed which allow doctors to end the lives of the very people they are sworn to help. God's gift of life is being rejected. Death is chosen over life, and this brings with it the darkness of despair" (January 26, 1999).
There is, however, something that counters all this darkness. Our young people in particular need to believe in the power of Christ's Death and Resurrection. They too need to believe in the victory which is Christ's. As in the case of Mary Magdalen and the early disciples, everything will change for them once they know that Jesus is alive and present in their lives. You, dear friends, are signs of hope to the young people of our Church, to the extent that you embrace and share the Light that is the Risen Christ, who goes before you.
We know that there are times when teachers, catechists, principals, administrators, directors of religious education, superintendents, vicars and members of the clergy can become excessively anxious. We can become like Mary Magdalen approaching the Lord in darkness. We can think of times when teaching might have seemed so much easier, with fewer obstacles and lesser challenges. But we never lose hope because Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! He is alive and in our midst, working through the power of His Spirit. He goes before us!
In the draft of the National Directory for Catechesis there is a thought-provoking and beautiful paragraph which reminds all of us that we are not alone in this work of Catholic education. This paragraph summarizes quite well what we will all celebrate on the fiftieth and last day of the Easter season, on the feast of Pentecost. Here are those words:
"[The Holy Spirit] gives the catechist faith in which to form disciples. He is, therefore, the principal catechist ... inspiring all catechetical work and all who do this work. He is the Advocate whom the Father will send in Christ's name - who will teach the disciples everything and remind them of all that Christ told them. He is the Spirit of truth who will guide you to all truth. The Holy Spirit is thus promised to the Church and to each Christian as a Teacher within, who, in the secret of the conscience and the heart, makes one understand what one has heard but was not capable of grasping. He transforms believers into disciples, and disciples into witnesses to Christ in the world" (no. 73).
In our Catholic schools and parish religious education programs we constantly need bold witnesses. Not just silent witnesses but educators who have encountered the Risen Christ and are willing to work in the community of His Church, with the Holy Spirit and under His guidance, for the transformation of the individual and the world - educators who expect not only intellectual changes but spiritual changes as well, teachers and catechists who will invite young people to follow Jesus Christ and to be active members of His Church.
On this occasion you have come together with thousands of your fellow Catholic educators to stand in solidarity with the Risen Christ and with one another, committed to your profession of Catholic education, which belongs to the vital mission of the Church. Your commitment is both professional and personal. It requires the gift of your entire self. Like Jesus, your entire life teaches, not just by what you say but also by who you are and what you do, and how much you give of yourselves.
While you are here in Philadelphia, you may have the opportunity to visit the Shrines of Saint John Neumann and Saint Katharine Drexel, two great saints who valued and in so many ways dedicated themselves to what you have dedicated yourselves to: the Catholic formation and education of youth. Certainly these two saints are smiling on the efforts of this Convention, and on all those who accept and live the special vocation of an educator in the Catholic Faith.
You may also be in a position to visit another place that is special to all Americans. It is Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed. There, too, our Founding Fathers forged the Constitution, with its challenge to protect freedom and all human rights. There you may see the chair in which George Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention. On the back of the chair is a carving of the sun. It is said that during the Convention, one of the delegates, noticing that carving, leaned over to Dr. Benjamin Franklin and said, "I wonder if it is a rising or a setting sun." The aged Benjamin Franklin quite optimistically responded: "It is a rising sun!"
With optimism far greater than that of Dr. Franklin, the Church knows the meaning of the rising sun. For two thousand years, since Mary Magdalen came to the tomb while it was still dark, the Church has basked in the radiance of that Easter morning. That radiance is none other than the Sun of Justice, the Risen Christ, whose light shines on the Church and on all those committed to the mission of the Church. Today the Risen Christ challenges you to be, with Him, the light of the world! As educators, you observe the tender light of faith which dawns and grows ever brighter in the eyes, the minds, the hearts and the souls of our children. So much of the reception of that light depends on you, for you are bearers of the light of Jesus. Remember always: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (Jn 1:5). Jesus who has conquered sin and death reminds us: "I am with you always" (Mt 28:20). He says: "Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!" (Mk 6:50). I am confident that, with the help of Mary the Mother of Jesus, who stood at the foot of the Cross and who waited in hope for the Resurrection of her Son, you will bear the light of Jesus magnificently in all that you do for the Church.
Dear friends: what a great ecclesial mission you have! By the Church you are sent out in the power of your Baptism, and given the strength of the confirming Holy Spirit to sustain you. And the Risen Lord Jesus goes before you in this Easter season and always, as He draws all people to Himself, for the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity. Amen.
HOMILY OF CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI
MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER
CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL
MARCH 24, 2005
Dear Friends,
This evening we gather in this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul for the second Mass of Holy Thursday. It is called the Mass of the Lord's Supper.
This morning we celebrated the Chrism Mass. It was a magnificent assembly of priests and people, including a large number of young people. During the Mass, I blessed the holy oils for the catechumens and the sick, and I consecrated the sacred Chrism, which is used in anointing those who are baptized, confirmed and ordained to the priesthood.
At that time I spoke about the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ, its relation to the Eucharist, and how important it is in the Church. I expressed our gratitude and support for the lives and ministry of our priests. All of our priests, in the presence of God's people, renewed their commitment to sacred celibacy and faithful service.
This evening the texts of Sacred Scripture immerse us in the mystery of the Eucharist. To understand the liturgy that we are celebrating we must speak about the Eucharist itself, about the priesthood, without which the Eucharist cannot exist, and about Christ's commandment of love and service. Jesus says: "I give you a new commandment. Love one another as I have loved you."
Today is the anniversary of the institution of the Eucharist. It is also the anniversary of the institution of the priesthood. The two sacraments go together. There can be no Eucharist without the priesthood. The priesthood exists to make the Eucharist possible.
The Gospel of Saint John that we proclaimed this evening takes us to the Last Supper. Actually Saint John does not speak about the Eucharist. The other three evangelists - Matthew, Mark and Luke - describe its institution. Saint Paul does so also. Saint John, on the other hand, presumes it and goes on to speak about Christ's attitude of love and service, which was the reason Christ instituted the Eucharist and the priesthood.
These then are the three elements that make up our Holy Thursday reflection 1) the gift of the Eucharist, 2) the gift of the priesthood and 3) Christ's love for us manifested in washing the feet of his apostles in humble service.
The institution of the Eucharist is beautifully described for us by Saint Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians. This Letter was written only about twenty years after the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. This is the first account of what took place at the Last Supper. It precedes the accounts written by Matthew, Mark and Luke.
The words that Saint Paul records are the basic formula that we hear pronounced in every Eucharist: "This is my body which will be given up for you." "This is the cup of my blood.. It will be shed for you.." And finally: "Do this in memory of me."
Christ's command - "Do this in memory of me" - links the Eucharist and the priesthood. The Church teaches that the Apostles whom Jesus had chosen to celebrate the Eucharist passed on this power to their successors in the priesthood. And so tonight the command of Christ is once more fulfilled: "Do this in memory of me."
But what is it that we are doing in memory of Christ?
The Church evokes the memory of Christ's Last Supper, but she does this in a sacramental way. She makes this Supper sacramentally present for us.
We know also that this Last Supper was the proclamation - as Saint Paul says - of the Death of the Lord. The Last Supper was also the anticipation of the Sacrifice that Christ would consummate on Good Friday by His Death on the Cross, and that the Father would ratify by raising Him from the dead.
And so the Church teaches that each Eucharistic celebration, each Mass, is the sacramental re-enactment of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Our Eucharist tonight brings us into contact with the Redemption that Jesus accomplished by His Paschal Mystery.
The Eucharist re-presents sacramentally the Last Supper. It re-presents the Sacrifice of Calvary. It makes actual in our lives the whole liberating action that Jesus accomplished by his Death and Resurrection.
Holy Thursday for us, then, means the Mass and the priest who celebrates every Mass: our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Holy Thursday also means the love that motivated Jesus to gather His Apostles together at the Last Supper and to die for them, and for all of us, on Good Friday.
Finally Holy Thursday means for us the challenge to follow Jesus in the loving service that He performs for His apostles by washing their feet. Jesus was willing to serve others generously. He was willing to give His life in sacrifice for the redemption of the world.
Tonight Jesus gives us the privilege of joining in the celebration of His Eucharist, which is both Sacrifice and Supper. But He also challenges us to embrace His sentiments, to take on His attitude, to love one another as He has loved us, to be willing to surrender ourselves in service to one another.
"Do you realize what I have done for you?" - Jesus says to us. "You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am."
Tonight His final words to us are these: "I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."
Dear friends: this too is Holy Thursday: a new way of loving, giving and serving; a new way to be a family, to be a community, to be the Church; a new way to be a spouse, a parent, a son or daughter, a priest, deacon, religious or seminarian, a dedicated single person; a new way to live the life of Jesus and to follow Him to His Death and Resurrection. Amen.
HOMILY OF CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI
EASTER VIGIL
CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL
MARCH 26, 2005
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ risen from the dead,
In his Letter to the Romans Saint Paul poses an important question: "Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?"
What Paul is saying is that there is an intimate connection between our Baptism and what took place at Christ's Death and Resurrection. We know that by His Death and Resurrection Jesus Christ destroyed our death and restored us to life. He made it possible for us, in the expression of Saint Paul, to live in newness of life.
This is what Easter is all about: newness of life. For those being baptized and confirmed on this night there is indeed newness of life. A wonderful future opens up before them as they seek constantly to pass from sin to life in Christ Jesus. What is it to be a member of the Church? It means to die to sin, to live for God in Christ Jesus. In other words: to live in newness of life.
But where does the power come from to be able to live in newness of life? How is it possible to live in newness of life? The power comes from the Death of Jesus - a death that He endured out of love for us, a death that, in the Resurrection, is now ratified and accepted as a sacrifice by the Father, who raises Jesus to life.
All of us tonight - priests, deacons and religious and lay faithful - are called to newness of life. How good God is to give us a fresh opportunity to live in newness of life! Tonight we rejoice with our newly baptized and committed Catholics. We express solidarity with them. But we are also publicly challenged to renew the promises of our own Baptism: to get on with our Christian lives in newness of life. We remember our own Confirmation, the gift of the Holy Spirit that we have received in order to be strengthened in Christian living. The new way of life that opens up before us means the rejection of sin, the rejection of Satan and all his works and all his empty promises.
All of this is possible because Jesus died for us and rose from the dead. In His sacred humanity he was raised up by His Father. The power of Christ's Death and Resurrection is what makes newness of life possible for our catechumens and candidates, for all of us, and for all the members of the Church. By His Resurrection Jesus has definitively conquered sin and death and has made newness of life possible. By this power we are able to set aside in our lives whatever is opposed to the commandments of God and to the Gospel of Christ.
As individuals, as families, as a parish, as a community, as the Church of Philadelphia - all of us need the Resurrection of Jesus. The world needs the Resurrection at this moment of continuing armed conflict, of raging violence, and of widespread suffering of innocent people.
What is needed - and what is possible - is newness of life. It can come only from the power of Christ's victory over sin and death. Only the Risen Christ has the power to bring about peace, because only the Risen Christ can change hearts. Without a change of heart there is no peace, no newness of life. Human effort is not enough. Human justice is insufficient. Human force can backfire. But God's mercy is unleashed by the prayer of His people. And God's strength is available through the power of Christ's Resurrection, which becomes our power during this Easter celebration of the Eucharist. Newness of life is possible only because Christ is risen from the dead.
We heard those wonderful words tonight in the Gospel. At the empty tomb the angel spoke to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary saying: "Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay."
And as the women went away quickly from the tomb, they ran to find the disciples of Jesus to share with them the Good News of the Resurrection. Meanwhile, as the Gospel says: Jesus Himself "met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid .'."
On this Easter night, Jesus speaks to each of us, to the Church of Philadelphia and to the whole world these same words: "Do not be afraid!" Strengthened by the power of Christ's Resurrection we have nothing to fear. Jesus has died to redeem us from our sins and to make it possible for us to reject all sin in our lives. In His mercy, He will forgive us if we turn to Him with contrition and a firm purpose of amendment. We need not be afraid of death, because, by dying, He has destroyed our death and, by rising, has restored us to life. He has truly made it possible for us all to live in newness of life.
This, dear friends, is what we mean by a blessed Easter: to live with Christ - the Risen Christ - in newness of life! Amen. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Saint Peter Claver Center for Evangelization, Tenth Anniversary
September 9, 2005
Bishop Maginnis, Bishop McFadden,
Dear brother Priests, dear Deacons,
Dear Religious women and men,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
We gather this evening to celebrate the Holy Eucharist. We gather this evening in this holy place, the ‘Mother Church’ for Black Catholics in this Archdiocese on the feast of Saint Peter Claver to offer profound praise and worship to Almighty God. We gather this evening to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Saint Peter Claver Center for Evangelization and thank God for many blessings.
We also gather fully aware of the tremendous suffering and pain of so many people in the Gulf Coast of our country who have lost life and property in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. We commend the souls of those who have died to Almighty God and ask Him to grant them eternal rest and peace. In addition to prayers, we also pledge our financial support this evening, because we are all one in the family of God.
In the Office of Readings for the feast of Saint Peter Claver, there is a letter written by the Saint that offers an account of his ministry to the African people who were brought from their homes through the evil of slavery. Saint Peter Claver describes how he ministered to the physical needs of the people who were broken, beaten and half-dead from their journey to a foreign land. He writes, "This is how we spoke to them, not with words but with our hands and our actions." He further notes that after feeding and clothing the people, he offered them the Catholic Faith, thus instructing them in the sacraments and prayers of the Church, before baptizing them in the Name of the Holy Trinity.
For Saint Peter Claver, love was an action word. He understood so well the words spoken by Saint Paul that we heard this evening, "The love of Christ impels us!" (2 Cor. 5, 14). Our Lord Jesus Christ is the sign of God the Father’s intense, unconditional love for the world. It is this love that impels us as well to put our faith into action.
For ten years the Saint Peter Claver Center has served as a home for our African American brothers and sisters to know and love the Catholic Faith. Through the efforts of Mrs. Carolyn Jenkins, the staff and so many catechists, the True Faith has been strengthened and shared. Thousands of people have come to this Center and benefitted from the catechesis and instruction received here. But this knowledge must always be used to serve others, to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to others, especially those most in need.
The Gospel we heard this evening is the Great Commissioning. Jesus commissions or sends His disciples into the whole world to preach His Good News. Our Lord also reminds them and, indeed reminds us, in the very last words of the Gospel of Matthew, "I am with you always until the end of the age" (Mt 28:20).
Because Jesus is with us we must never be afraid to evangelize. We must never be ashamed of our Catholic Faith. And you, my brothers and sisters must always be proud to be Black and Catholic!
In one of the African-American spirituals, we hear:
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus, you may have all this world,
Just give me Jesus!
May we be inspired this evening as we receive Jesus—Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist—to evangelize and bring Him to others! Saint Peter Claver, pray for us!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Archdiocesan Catholic Life Congress, 2007
Archbishop Carroll High School
November 3, 2007
Dear Friends in Christ,
I welcome you to this Catholic Life Congress, and I applaud you for your desire to deepen your faith and pastoral skills in order to serve more effectively the people of God. It is a noble work to commit yourself to bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others through your life and your apostolates. This great occasion brings us together to celebrate that commitment and the opportunity to grow together in God’s wisdom and grace. The theme of this Congress reminds us that we are One People, united in One Lord and sharing One Faith. It is a unity that surpasses all earthly differences. Our loving God gently weaves together the threads of our differences into a beautiful tapestry of oneness called the Church.
The late Pope John Paul II said that "the prime value which must be ever more widely inculcated is that of solidarity." The Holy Father believed that "A society depends on the basic relations that people cultivate with one another in ever widening circles (Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace, January 1, 2001, no. 17). And, so, we gather here today, casting aside any differences of age or race, language or culture. United by our common fellowship of faith, we celebrate our oneness, our solidarity, in the Lord.
It is providential that today is the feast of Saint Martin de Porres. Born into poverty in Peru during the sixteenth century, Saint Martin was of mixed race and experienced firsthand the cruel realities of discrimination and injustice. Yet, with great piety and an openness to the Spirit, Saint Martin used these obstacles as a pathway to a life of holiness and service to God’s poor and marginalized. Through him, God touched the orphan, the sick and the outcast, working miracles and healing souls as well as bodies. With great humility Martin went about his daily tasks, assured that all work, no matter how great or small, is sacred. Truly, we have that same assurance. In whatever venue we minister, whatever service we are able to render in God’s name is blessed. Often, we do not know the far-reaching effects of our efforts. Yet, just as Saint Martin de Porres did, we respond in faith to the call of today’s Gospel to "love your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind and to love your neighbor as yourself" (Mt 22:37).
Our lives and our work are not without great challenge in today’s world. Daily, we are faced with concerns and fears and perhaps even with opposition to the Gospel message we try to share. Yet, through grace, we are able to remain strong and faithful to our call. Our Scripture readings today are especially fitting for this gathering and they bolster our resolve. In the first reading, Saint Paul reminds us that "The Lord is near" and that we are to "have no anxiety" (Phil 4:6 ). The message is clear to all those who toil in the vineyard of the Lord as we do: "Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me" (Phil 4:9). In other words, keep teaching and proclaiming the Gospel; continue ministering to the poor and homeless and those challenged by disabilities; keep binding up the wounds of the ill, the forgotten, the elderly; keep advocating for the unborn. In these and so many other ways, we become the hands and feet and voice of Christ. The words of Saint Teresa of Avila remind us that "Ours are the eyes through which [Christ’s] compassion must look out on the world." It is this compassion, this kindness, which Saint Paul tells us today "should be known to all" (Phil 4:5). It is with the eyes of Christ that we look upon our brothers and sisters of all cultures and socio-economic strata, of every state and condition of life. It is with the hands of Christ that we serve those in need. It is with the compassion of Christ that we are able to pour ourselves out as an offering for many. But in order to bring Christ, we must first know Him and be one with Him. Hence, we come to the Eucharistic banquet to be fed and nourished and strengthened for the journey. We find in the Eucharistic mystery the courage and energy to follow Christ and to serve Him in others. Indeed, it is the Eucharist that enables us to see Christ in the face of another human being and to transform the obstacles that life sends our way into the stones which pave our way to eternal life. It is the Eucharist which opens our minds and hearts to the will of God and allows us to make choices that align us more closely with all that is holy.
In a homily this past spring, Pope Benedict XVI observed that "In truth, life is always a choice: between faithfulness and unfaithfulness, between selfishness and altruism, between good and evil... no servant can serve two masters. A fundamental decision is necessary then....If loving Christ and our fellow man is not considered as a superficial accessory but rather as the real and ultimate aim of our entire life, we must know how to make fundamental decisions, to be ready to make radical sacrifices. Today, as yesterday, the life of Catholics calls for the courage to swim against the tide, to love like Jesus, who went so far as to sacrifice Himself upon the Cross."
Your choice to be here today, to serve and assist others in faith is, in itself, proof of your fundamental choice, of your decision to choose Christ rather than the world, to focus, as Saint Paul tells us, on "what is true... honorable... just... pure... lovely... gracious [and] worthy of praise" (Phil 4:8). For two hundred years, clergy, Religious and laity of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia have made this same choice. They have come to the altar of God to receive Jesus Christ and to bring that same Christ to a hungry world. You are part of that proud history—you are part of that strong heritage. On your shoulders, future generations of faithful Catholics will stand and will continue the work of Christ just as you now do. As you follow the example of those who have gone before us , others will follow in your footsteps. We are links in a chain that spans centuries. We do what God asks of us so that others, too, may do the same. Take courage, then. Be of strong heart in the service of God. "Have no anxiety at all" (Phil 4:6). Cast all of your cares upon the Lord; and He will sustain you in your life, in your work, and in your choices.
Then, you will be able to rejoice with the Psalmist and say, "In you, Lord, I have found my peace" (Ps 131: 2), and your peace and joy will be complete. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass during Catholic Life Congress
Archbishop Carroll High School, Radnor, PA
November 13, 2010
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Bishop McIntyre,
Brother Priests,
Dear Deacons and Religious,
All of you who collaborate in the Church’s mission
of Evangelization and Catechesis,
Dear Friends in Christ,
Thank you for taking the time to gather here today. I am grateful for the many ways you contribute to the building up of the Kingdom of God within the Archdiocese. Your sacrifices of time, talent and treasure are essential means by which the Word of God takes root and flourishes in the hearts of many. I hope your participation in this day fosters your own growth in faith so that you will be even more effective witnesses of Jesus Christ.
The theme of this day is “Sacred Mysteries, ever ancient—ever new.” In common usage, the term mystery is applied in many ways. Many people enjoy reading mystery novels. Law enforcement officials address mysterious crimes. Scientists probe the mysteries of the universe. Even sports fans discuss the mystery of why the Phillies failed to win another world series.
When the term mystery is applied to elements of faith or religion, it has a far more profound meaning. Sacred mysteries, including the most fundamental mysteries of the Most Blessed Trinity and the Incarnation, are all rooted in the fact that God Himself dwells in inaccessible light. His life cannot be fully grasped by human beings. God is He whom no one has seen, and whose free action toward humanity is a mystery. The mystery of the infinite God reaching out to finite human beings culminates in the person of Jesus. In the mystery of the Incarnation, God is not merely present “to” the world, He is present “in” the world. Hence, mystery is an essential aspect of reality. Jesus is at the center of the mystery of God’s eternal plan for the salvation of the human race. That mystery continues to be manifest through the Holy Spirit and culminates in the beatific vision.
The term mystery is generally applied to situations in which there is no immediate answer. In these cases a mystery is something that seeks a solution. The searcher or researcher keeps probing with anticipation that an answer will be found and the mystery solved. Sacred mystery, or the mystery of God, is different. It is not a problem for which we find an answer. Sacred mystery draws us to desire to know God. In the process, we are drawn further into mystery. We are invited to a deeper relationship with a loving God whom we cannot fully grasp.
Rather than attempting to solve the mystery of God, we are invited to exercise our freedom in loving God and in accepting the future as God’s future. Saint Paul suggests that we are called to live with mystery willingly, obediently and trustingly. In his letter to the Romans, Saint Paul writes, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How...unsearchable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord...? ...To him be glory forever.” Sacred Mystery, calls us to rise above ourselves, in loving adoration of God.
The liturgical life of the Church celebrates the sacred mysteries of our faith. The sacraments, mysteries themselves, are gifts from God to the Church. Through the celebration of the sacraments, the divine mystery is made present and effective in the world. In Baptism we celebrate God’s liberation of humanity from the bonds of original sin. Confirmation celebrates the mystery of the Holy Spirit active in our lives and the Church. The mystery God’s abundant mercy is celebrated in the sacrament of Penance. Marriage celebrates the mystery of man and woman becoming one and providing a living example of the love that God has for the Church. In the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, the Church celebrates the mystery of God’s healing and purifying power in those who are ill and suffering. The sacrament of Holy Orders celebrates the mystery through which men, though unworthy, are given a share in the one priesthood of Jesus Christ. In the Eucharist we celebrate the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection as the means of the salvation of the world.
In and through the celebration of the sacraments, the mystery of the eternal God is made ever new in the life of the Church. Through our celebration of the sacraments, the mystery of divine life is kept alive in each one of us.
Today we remember Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini. She is an example of what happens when we allow the mystery of God’s life to transform us. As a young girl she was inspired by the stories of missionaries that her father would read to the children gathered around the table. She imagined sailing off to India or China. At eighteen, she desired to become a nun, but poor health prevented her from being admitted. After spending several years as a teacher, her Bishop requested her to found the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart to care for poor children. Then at the urging of Pope Leo XIII she came to the United States with six religious Sisters in 1889 to work among the Italian immigrants.
Filled with a deep trust in God and endowed with a wonderful administrative ability, this remarkable Sister was responsible for the establishment of nearly seventy orphanages, schools and hospitals. Described in the words of Saint Paul, she was “holy and beloved,” filled with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” She did everything in the name of Jesus. At the time of her death in 1917, her community had established houses in the United States, Europe, South and Central America. Known more affectionately as “Mother Cabrini,” she became the first American citizen to be canonized a saint.
Her life, like that of so many saints is a mystery, every ancient and new. She was a seemingly very ordinary child that God called to extraordinary heights. She opened herself to God and permitted God to enter into the innermost reality of her existence. She did not shy away from mystery. She celebrated it through her participation in the sacramental and liturgical life of the Church. As a result, the word of Christ dwelt in her richly, and she bore fruit that still remains.
Thank you again, dear friends, for your presence today and for your collaboration in the spreading of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is He, Jesus Christ, who calls each of us to be His friends. In the Gospel passage that we have just heard proclaimed, Jesus offers us an extraordinary gift. He offers us His love, but He explains that it is the love that He has received from His Father. He says so simply, so beautifully, so powerfully: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.” With these words Jesus introduces us deeply into the mystery of God’s life, the mystery of Trinitarian love, ever ancient, ever new. And then Jesus charges us saying: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” We are invited to bear fruit by laying down our lives in loving service of others. May our words and deeds always be done in the name of the Lord Jesus. And may we experience with Mary the Mother of Jesus, who is the Son of the living God, the joy of making the ever-ancient mystery of God’s love ever-new and present in the world. Amen.
Colloquium on Blessed Columba Marmion
Presentation by Cardinal Justin Rigali
"Blessed Columba Marmion: Doctor of Divine Adoption"
Conception Seminary College, Conception, Missouri
September 14, 2005
Dear Friends,
I believe that any reflection on Abbot Marmion will eventually lead us to a reflection on Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. For this reason, permit me to begin by greeting you with the first words of this Letter: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
It is a joy to be here. It is a joy to participate in this colloquium honoring Blessed Columba Marmion. It is a joy to reflect that now for over five years he has been honored by the Church with the title Blessed. For myself personally, it has been an outstanding grace in my life to have become acquainted years ago with Dom Columba Marmion. His writings have truly influenced my way of thinking. I am deeply grateful for this great grace and I am grateful to the person who first introduced me to the works of Abbot Marmion. I cannot pinpoint the exact year, but I know that it was at the beginning of my studies in the minor seminary. It is now more than fifty-five years that I have been reading Abbot Marmion.
I had always hoped to be able to assist at his Beatification. Five years ago, on September 3rd in the Jubilee Year 2000, I had that great opportunity when he was beatified by Pope John Paul II, together with Pope Pius IX, Pope John XXIII, Archbishop Tommaso Reggio of Genoa and Father William Joseph Chaminade.
It is a privilege now to speak of Blessed Columba Marmion: Doctor of Divine Adoption. I am convinced that he merits the title which, as a matter of fact, has been used for a number of years. I know it was used as early as 1946 by Dom Thibaut, Monk of Maredsous, in his splendid work, L'Idée Maîtresse de la Doctrine de Dom Marmion. In that work reference is made to Dom Van Houtryve and to a work of his, L'esprit de Dom Marmion. I am very grateful to Father Mark Tierney, O.S.B., Vice-Postulator for the Cause of the Canonization of Dom Columba Marmion, for having recently given me a copy of this splendid work, which has helped me in the preparation of this presentation today.
In the Foreword to his great work, Christ the Life of the Soul, Abbot Marmion writes the following words: "My object in these, as in all my other instructions, is to fix the eyes and the hearts of my readers on Jesus Christ and on His word. He is the Alpha and Omega of all sanctity and His word is the divine seed, from which all sanctity springs. In the first ages of the Church these two divine principles, untrammelled in their action, produced wonders of sanctity, but, little by little, men, not content with the simplicity of the divine message, mingled their own conceptions with those of God.
"I felt convinced that if I could deliver God’s message in His own words, according to the divine simplicity of His plan, these same effects would follow, and I must say that my hopes have not been disappointed" (p. 13).
Abbot Marmion speaks of the simplicity of God’s message. He identifies this divine simplicity to a great extent with the gift of divine adoption and this gift of divine adoption becomes, for him, the summary of divine revelation.
Let us return to the first chapter of Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved" (Eph 1:3-6).
It is the opinion of Dom Thibaut that the entire doctrine of Dom Marmion is indeed summarized in this text: God has predestined us: there is a divine decree; to become his adopted children: and this is the object as far as we are concerned of this predestination; through Jesus Christ: this is the way that was chosen by God to realize his plan (cf. L'Idée Maîtresse, p. 20). In the thought of Dom Marmion, and this is indicated by Dom Thibaut, there exists an eternal decree which controls and regulates God’s entire work of salvation and holiness, a decree which at the same time affects us and which, if we accept it, elevates us to a participation in divinity. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have predestined us to participate in their divine life, to enter into their communion. And this takes place through the grace of adoption, which makes us God’s children and the heirs of His glory. This eternal predestination is realized, in time, through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. Jesus Christ assumes personally through the Incarnation a human nature which belongs to Him alone. Through this humanity, the Son of God communicates to those who accept Him, a participation in His divine filiation. It is indeed to establish the Kingdom of the children of God, in which He will be the elder brother, that the Son has come among us, and that He has effected our redemption. The work of salvation and sanctification continue in the Church throughout all ages under the action of the Holy Spirit. This is the thought of Dom Marmion—his "idée maîtresse." This is the summary of the divine plan. All of God’s actions in the world are related to this plan. For this reason, Dom Marmion makes divine adoption in Christ Jesus the center of his teaching. Everything he says leads us to this central idea, leads us to the fact that God destined us for adoption to Himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of His will, for the praise of the glory of His grace that He granted us in His beloved Son.
In this teaching on divine filiation, adoptive filiation, we find the substance of revelation. Here we find the fundamental dogma of the divine paternity of God and of our adoption in His Son Jesus Christ. We find the Three Persons of the Most Blessed Trinity: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We find the elevation of man at his creation to a supernatural state as a child of God. We see the influence of original sin and the marvelous restoration of the divine plan through the Incarnation, which makes Christ our elder brother and, through the redemption, which, in restoring our eternal heritage, establishes Christ as Head of the Mystical Body, the Church, and as the universal dispenser of all grace—a divine work that is prolonged throughout the centuries by the Church and which the life-giving Spirit incessantly renders fruitful by his action (cf. L'Idée Maîtresse, pp. 21, 53).
Columba Marmion emphasized the eternal decree of adoption in Christ Jesus whereby, according to the Letter to the Ephesians, we become one in the Son of God, in Jesus Christ. But Dom Marmion was also intent on emphasizing another aspect of the divine plan whereby the only begotten Son of God becomes the Firstborn among many brothers and sisters. He is very fond of Saint Paul’s reference in the Letter to the Romans where it is stated: "For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified" (Rm 8:29-30). In Christ the Life of the Soul, Abbot Marmion emphasizes the eternal act of God’s predestination whereby we are led to participate in the divine sonship of Jesus. The realization of this divine plan is entrusted to Jesus Christ Himself and is accomplished through His sacred humanity. Blessed Columba Marmion says: "The Divine Sonship which is in Christ by nature, and makes Him God’s own and only Son...is to be extended to us by grace, so that in the thought of God, Christ is the First-born of many brethren, who are by grace what He is by nature, sons of God....
"We are here at the central point of the Divine Plan: it is from Jesus Christ, it is through Jesus Christ that we receive the Divine adoption. ‘God sent His Son’, said Saint Paul, ‘that we might receive the adoption of sons’" ( p. 35).
In even greater detail, Abbot Marmion summarizes this divine plan of our adoption. He says: "God is a Father. Eternally, long before the created light rose upon the world, God begets a Son to Whom He communicates His Nature, His perfections, His beatitude, His life, for to beget is to communicate being and life.... In God then is life, life communicated by the Father and received by the Son. This Son, like in all things to the Father, is the only Son of God.... He is so because he has, with the Father, one same and indivisible Divine Nature, and both, although distinct from one another (on account of their personal properties "of being Father" and "of being Son"), are united in a powerful, substantial embrace of love, whence proceeds that Third Person, Whom Revelation calls by a mysterious name: the Holy Ghost.
"Such is, as far as faith can know it, the secret of the inmost life of God; the fulness and the fruitfulness of this life are the source of the incommensurable bliss that the ineffable society of the three Divine Persons possesses.
"And now God–not in order to add to His plentitude, but by it to enrich other beings–extends, as it were, His Paternity. God decrees to call creatures to share this Divine life, so transcendent that God alone has the right to live it, this eternal life communicated by the Father to the Only Son, and by them to the Holy Spirit. In a transport of love which has its source in the fulness of Being and Good that God is, this life overflows from the bosom of the Divinity to reach and beatify beings drawn out of nothingness, by lifting them above their nature. To these mere creatures God will give the condition and sweet name of children. By nature God has only one Son; by love, He wills to have an innumerable multitude: that is the grace of supernatural adoption" (ibid., pp. 23-24).
And this is what Blessed Columba Marmion taught, this was l'idée maîtresse of his teaching, beautifully and consistently presented throughout all his works, and this is why he is respectfully presented to the determining judgment of the Church as the Doctor of Divine Adoption.
It should be noted that the life that is received by the Son, by the eternal Word, and that is shared with humanity when the Unigenitus Dei Filius, the only begotten Son of God, becomes the Primogenitus in multis fratribus, the firstborn of many brothers and sisters, leads to glory. The Second Vatican Council will arrange its teaching on the Church in such a way that the next to last chapter of Lumen Gentium will draw attention to the eschatological dimension of the Church in which all the children of God share eternal life with Christ in the communion of the Blessed Trinity.
The teaching on divine adoption, for Blessed Columba Marmion, summarizes the Church’s teaching on the Most Blessed Trinity. It takes into account the action of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is, by its nature, profoundly Trinitarian. But it is likewise profoundly Christological, because every human being who is configured to Christ, every human being who is granted the privilege of entering into the sonship of Jesus, is radically related to Him.
Blessed Columba Marmion explains in great detail how Christ is the life of the soul, how Christ is the model of all Christian living, the model of the human activity and virtues of all those who are destined to be His brothers and sisters through divine adoption. Jesus Christ is also the meritorious cause of salvation. By His Death on the Cross, Jesus Christ has merited the great gift of reestablishing humanity in the relationship of divine filiation with the Son. And Jesus Christ is the one, in the thought of Columba Marmion, who is indeed the efficient cause, the one who personally brings it about, that the individual human being is configured to Christ and receives a participation in His divine filiation. This filiation is brought about by Jesus Christ who is the exemplary cause, the meritorious cause and the efficient cause of all holiness. Through His sacraments, Jesus Christ works to bring about in each human being what He has initially brought about for all humanity through His Death on the Cross.
The Second Vatican Council has insisted that God’s plan of salvation and sanctification does not involve us as disconnected individuals, but that we are all destined to be incorporated into the Church, which is the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ. And it is in this Mystical Body of Christ that the whole divine plan is realized: God’s plan of incorporating us into Christ, God’s plan of making us His children and having us share with one another the dignity of the children of God.
In presenting the divine plan of our adoption in Christ, Blessed Columba Marmion, in accord with the most sacred tradition of the Church, outlines the work of the Holy Spirit. This is in keeping with the teaching of the Church, both in the East and the West. Blessed Columba beautifully explains the role of the Holy Spirit in the Most Blessed Trinity. He explains the operations of the Holy Spirit in Christ. He explains the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church and the action of the Holy Spirit in souls. It is impossible to understand how the gift of divine adoption is effected by the Father, apart from Christ and apart from the action of the Holy Spirit.
When we speak about the great love of God that has made it possible for us to be His children, we must, of necessity, speak about the role of the Holy Spirit. And Abbot Marmion does this very effectively. He explains that the Holy Trinity acts in the world as one and the same cause. And, yet, he shows how the Church attributes to one or other of the Divine Persons certain actions which are produced in the world and, although common to the Three Persons, have a special relation or an intimate affinity with the place which this Person occupies in the Blessed Trinity, and with the attributes which are particularly and exclusively His own. And, so, Abbot Marmion explains that the Holy Spirit is the ultimate term of the divine operations of the life of God in Himself. The Holy Spirit closes, so to speak, the cycle of the intimate divine life: it is His personal property to proceed from both the Father and the Son by way of love. This is why all that is a work of achievement, of perfection, all that is a work of love, of union, and, consequently, of holiness—for our holiness is measured by our degree of union with God—is attributed to the Holy Spirit (cf. Christ the Life of the Soul, pp. 108-109).
In this way, the Church can attribute divine adoption to the action of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the substantial love of the Father and the Son. The love of the Father and the Son causes us to become children of God. And Saint Paul says that this love is poured out by the Holy Spirit. Holiness is the complete expression of our divine adoption and the Holy Spirit perfects in us the interior transformation to the image of Christ, the Son of God. To the Holy Spirit, then, is attributed every work of sanctification, of completion, of achievement. The sublime end to which all the operations of the Holy Spirit in the soul tend is to perfect the interior transformation to the image of Christ, the Son of God. In presenting to us the teaching on divine filiation, divine adoption, Columba Marmion leads us into the mystery and action of the Holy Spirit and thereby into a deeper understanding of the whole mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity.
In Part II of Christ the Life of the Soul, Abbot Marmion presents the foundation and double aspect of the Christian life. And he presents these as the response of Christians to the grace of divine adoption. For Abbot Marmion, the response to the divine plan is Christian living and this Christian living involves both death to sin and life to God. The two fundamental aspects of Christian living are faith and Baptism. Blessed Columba Marmion reminds us that faith is the foundation of all Christian life. He reminds us of Saint Paul’s words: "For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:26). He reminds us that faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and that it "embraces, as its primordial object, the Divinity of Jesus sent by the Eternal Father to work out our salvation. From this principal object, faith radiates on everything referring to Christ: the Sacraments, the Church, individual souls, the whole of revelation and, when it culminates in love and adoration yielding all our being to the full accomplishment to the will of Jesus and His Father, faith reaches its perfection" (Christ the Life of the Soul, p. 151). For Abbot Marmion, Christianity is nothing more than the acceptance in all its consequences, both doctrinal and practical, of the divinity of Christ in the Incarnation.
Faith is the free and firm acceptance of God’s revealed truth by the human intellect, under the impulse of the will, and aided by grace. And the truth of God that we must accept by faith can be summarized in this way: Jesus Christ is His only Son sent for our salvation and given for our sanctification. Hence, faith is what the eternal Father Himself demands of us when He presents Jesus to us saying: "This is my beloved Son; listen to him."
Abbot Marmion recommends to those who want to live the fullness of Christian life to join in the confession of faith that is made by Peter to Jesus: "You are the Christ the Son of the living God." This confession of faith, for Abbot Marmion, is meant to be an act that engages our entire being and all our existence. At this point, I would like to share with you a personal experience of mine last April. It was in the Sistine Chapel, just moments after Pope Benedict XVI had been elected Pope. The conclave came to an end officially when the new Pope accepted his election at the hands of the College of Cardinals. As soon as he said yes, the confidentiality of the conclave was lifted. And right after that, after he had explained the reasons for the name that he had chosen, namely, Benedict—and one of them was the fact that Saint Benedict had told his disciples to prefer nothing to the love of Christ—then Pope Benedict XVI went to the sacristy to change his cassock. He returned in the papal white cassock and took his place before the backdrop of The Last Supper in the Sistine Chapel. It was at this moment that one of the first significant acts in the new pontificate was performed by the senior Cardinal Deacon. It was he, Cardinal Medina, who was charged to approach the new Pope and to proclaim to him the sixteenth chapter of the Gospel of Saint Matthew. At the very beginning of his pontificate, Benedict XVI was reminded, through the proclamation of God’s revealed word, that his predecessor Peter had confessed and proclaimed Jesus as the Son of the living God, and that Jesus Himself had proclaimed Peter to be the foundation rock of His Church. The faith of Peter is something that his successor must consistently proclaim and, in proclaiming it, he shares with all of us the opportunity to engage in this act of faith, to repeat this assent to Jesus Christ, which is at the foundation of all Christian life.
According to Christ’s will, however, the Christian life rests not only on the profession of faith, but on the sacrament of faith, which is Baptism. According to the will of Christ, Baptism is the efficacious sign of our divine adoption. It is through Baptism that we truly become children of God and are incorporated into Christ Jesus. Baptism is, therefore, the sacrament of divine adoption. It is the sacrament of Christian initiation. It is the sacrament that incorporates us into the death and life of Christ.
In Christ the Life of the Soul, Abbot Marmion places in perspective everything else that relates to the great gift of divine filiation, the great gift of divine adoption. Abbot Marmion reminds us that all our holiness is summarized in participating by grace in the divine filiation of Christ Jesus and in being, by supernatural adoption, what Christ is by nature.
For Abbot Marmion, to receive Christ in the Eucharist, to participate in the Eucharistic action is indeed to make the most elevated act of faith and to participate in the greatest measure possible in the divine filiation of Jesus. This constant doctrine of Blessed Columba Marmion, so intimately placed within the structure of divine adoption, is totally consonant with the teaching of the Second Vatican Council that the Eucharist is "the source and summit of our Christian life." Our Baptism is fully actuated in our Eucharistic participation.
And while the Eucharist is indeed the most sublime form of prayer, Blessed Columba Marmion explains to us the full role of prayer as it relates to the life of one who has been given divine adoption. Prayer, in general, therefore, becomes the expression of our intimate life as children of God. It is the fruit of our divine filiation in Christ. How aptly Jesus taught His Apostles, when they asked Him to teach them to pray, that they should say: "Our Father who art in Heaven."
For Blessed Columba Marmion, the Christ to whom we are united by divine filiation is both the Son of the living God and the Son of Mary. For this reason, Blessed Columba tells us: "To separate Christ from His Mother in our piety, is to divide Christ; it is to lose sight of the essential mission of His Sacred Humanity in the distribution of Divine grace" (Christ the Life of the Soul, p. 340). He reminds us that "if Jesus Christ is our Savior, our Mediator, our Elder Brother, because He has taken upon Himself our human nature, how can we love Him truly, how can we resemble Him perfectly, without having a special devotion to her from whom He took His human nature?" (ibid.).
Citing Blessed Pius IX, Blessed Columba tells us that the eternal Father, in His divine thoughts, does not separate Mary from Christ. He comprehends, in the same act of love, the Virgin who is to be the Mother of Christ and the humanity of His Son in whom He is well pleased (cf. Ineffabilis Deus).
According to the divine plan, life is only given to mankind through Christ, the man God. But Christ is given to the world only through Mary: Et incarnatus est ex Maria Virgine.
The final chapter of Christ the Life of the Soul, like the next to final chapter of the Church’s Constitution on the Church, brings us to eternal life. Abbot Marmion concludes his great work, Christ the Life of the Soul, saying: "Let no pain, no suffering cast you down.... Let no temptation hold you back, for if you are found faithful in the hour of trial, the hour will come when you will receive the crown which will be given to you on entering into the true life ‘which God hath promised to them that love Him’" (ibid., p. 367).
His other works are likewise faithful to the development of his great theme. Christ in His Mysteries takes up again the theme of divine adoption and shows how essential it is for the Christian to imitate Christ and to be, by grace, what Jesus is by nature.
Christ The Ideal of the Monk, insists upon the importance of divine filiation. It shows the monastic life as a special development of the life of Baptism. In this work, Abbot Marmion shows also that the invitation to share, through divine adoption the Sonship of Christ Jesus, is the source of all divine mercy.
In his work Union With God, which is a collection of his letters, Abbot Marmion develops at great length his understanding of divine mercy. It is very interesting to recall that the first chapter of Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, which speaks about divine adoption, speaks immediately afterwards about "redemption by his blood and the forgiveness of transgression" (Eph 1:7).
Abbot Marmion expresses great confidence in the mercy of the heavenly Father. Confidence in the Father’s mercy is an essential aspect of the filial spirit that is proper to divine adoption. For Dom Marmion, human misery is a title to receive the mercy of God. In Christ the Life of the Soul, Dom Columba had already given an extraordinary definition of mercy, saying: "Now God is goodness itself and infinite love. Deus caritas est; and in the presence of misery His goodness and love become mercy" (Christ the Life of the Soul, p. 182). I believe that this definition of mercy is one that will hold up in the entire theology of mercy that is so beautifully being developed in this our age.
Abbot Marmion loves to extol "the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation." And he shows that the special glory which God wants from us, by reason of our eternal adoptive predestination, is the glorification of His merciful love (cf. L'Idée Maîtresse, p. 160). Blessed Columba Marmion gives us, finally, a magnificent personal testimony, in regard to God’s mercy. He says: "For some time past God has been making me see in a magnificent light that His Majesty’s whole plan, His whole ‘economy’ towards us is an economy of mercy. It is our miseries which, united to Christ’s sufferings and infirmities, draw down all the graces He gives us.
"God has been giving me for some time past," he says again, "a strong light, and this light is shed over my whole life. When God looks upon this poor world, upon this multitude of the miserable, incredulous and sinful, what does He feel? Misereor super turbam, ‘I have compassion on the multitude.’ Our miseries excite His mercy. Not only that, but as we, through our baptism, are members of Christ, our miseries are His. He has taken them all upon Him. He has assumed them and rendered them divine, and the Father, in looking upon our miseries and weaknesses, sees those of His Son which cry out to him for mercy" (Union with God, pp. 126-127).
And finally, in January 1923, just fifteen days before his death, Blessed Columba Marmion, expressed a magnificent testimony of confidence in the face of divine mercy, saying: "For me, at this moment, all my spiritual life is to stretch out my misery before him" (L'Idée Maîtresse, p. 165).
* * *
To complete our vision of this Doctor of Divine Adoption, it is necessary to go back for a moment once again to Christ the Life of the Soul, to show that the divine fatherhood of God is, for Columba Marmion, the source and motive of human solidarity. This is a very important point, in presenting the full measure of his spirituality. In his chapter, "Love One Another," Blessed Columba says that "the commandment of the love of our brethren is the supreme wish of Christ: it is so much His desire that He makes of it, not a counsel, but a commandment, His commandment, and He makes a fulfilment of it the infallible sign by which His disciples shall be recognized" (pp. 324-325). He adds, "There are souls that seek God in Jesus Christ and accept the humanity of Christ, but stop there. That is not sufficient: we must accept the Incarnation with all the consequences that it involves: we must not let the gift of ourselves stop at Christ’s own humanity, but extend it to His Mystical Body. That is why—never forget this, for it is one of the most important points of the supernatural life—to abandon the least of our brethren is to abandon Christ Himself."
The final and supreme criterion for fraternal love that is presented by Blessed Columba Marmion is taken from Jesus’ words in the 17th chapter of Saint John. Jesus says: "I pray for them...for the ones you have given me, because they are yours" (Jn 17:9). This phrase—"because they are yours"—brings us back to our theme of divine adoption. Humanity has been assumed by Christ and, through His own sacred humanity, he has uplifted His brothers and sisters. The gift of divine adoption that we have received compels us to love one another, and this love is the final measure in which we respond to the gift of our own divine adoption in Christ Jesus.
I believe that this message is consonant with the words spoken by Pope John Paul II on September 3, 2000. At the Beatification of Blessed Columba Marmion, he said: "Dom Marmion left us an authentic treasure of spiritual teaching for the Church of our time. In his writings, he teaches a simple yet demanding way of holiness for all the faithful, whom God has destined in love to be his adopted children through Christ Jesus (cf. Ep 1:5)." And then he expresses the wish which is certainly our own today: "May a widespread rediscovery of the spiritual writings of Blessed Columba Marmion help priests, religious and laity to grow in union with Christ and bear faithful witness to him through ardent love of God and generous service of their brothers and sisters."
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for Catechists of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
January 25, 2009
Dear Friends,
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Brother Bishops,
Regional Vicars, Priests, Deacons and Religious,
Award Recipients, esteemed Catechists and your families,
Lay faithful,
Dear Friends in Jesus Christ,
It is a joy and, indeed, a privilege to join with you in giving thanks to God for all that He accomplishes in and through the catechetical ministry of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Catechists are esteemed and loved by the Church. By teaching the faith, you proclaim the word of God and share in an essential ministry of the Church. The National Directory for Catechesis points out that "The single most critical factor in a parish catechetical program is the catechetical leader" (54-B-5). You are vital to parish life and ministry. A vibrant parish depends on the generous and caring people who are part of parish religious education programs. Without you a very important part of the parish’s ministry would be missing.
The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul commemorates an event on the road to Damascus. Saul, after falling to the ground in astonishment, encountered the risen Savior. He then arose as Paul, to become the Apostle to the Gentiles. He who formerly blasphemed, persecuted and insulted Christ would become one of Christ’s most zealous disciples.
The conversion of Saul was a pivotal event for the early Church. So much of the story of the early Church can be traced to the intimacy with Jesus that was ignited in the heart of Saint Paul. His conversion gave him insight into the workings of sin, but even more into God’s power to transform completely the human being.
At the heart of Paul’s conversion was a surrender to the love of the risen Lord. The experience of being loved by Jesus was the motivating force behind his missionary activity. To the Galatians he wrote, "I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). It was the awareness that Christ died out of love for him that overwhelmed him to his depths and totally transformed him. He came to see God, other people and even himself in a new way, with the eyes of Christ. He was emboldened to reach out to others and communicate to them, the love he had experienced and the truth that he had come to know. He became a teacher of faith to the gentiles and a herald of Jesus Christ to the world. He defended and offered Christ to anyone who would listen.
Two thousand years ago Paul was a vessel, chosen to share with others, the treasure that God had given him. His goal was: "to know Christ and the power of his resurrection" (Philippians 3:10). Today, you too are vessels God has chosen to bring the knowledge and truth of Christ to others so that they might come to accept salvation in Him.
Your role as catechists is a response to the words that Jesus speaks in today’s Gospel. "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). Christ’s command has resounded through the ages, calling men and women of every race and nation, in every time and place to join Him in announcing the coming of God’s Kingdom. Christ taught individuals, small groups, and great crowds. He taught from hillsides and boats, in towns and synagogues, on mountains and seashores, on Sabbaths and feasts, early in the morning and in the dark of night.
You too, in a variety of settings, are called to communicate Christ to others. By familiarizing them with the Scriptures, teaching the truths of faith and preparing them to receive sacraments, you bring them into a deeper relationship with Jesus and His Church. Their growth in the knowledge of the Catholic faith brings them greater awareness of God’s infinite love for them. Their experience of this love transforms them, much as Paul was transformed through his encounter with the risen Christ.
Jesus Christ is the heart of catechesis. When you offer authentic instruction about Jesus, you convey Truth itself. He is "the way and the truth and the life" (John 14:6). By sharing the Catholic faith with others, you keep the person and message of Jesus alive. You help people live according to the teachings of Christ so that they might be made new in Him.
As you know, the ministry of catechesis is not always easy. It often entails proclaiming the person and message of Jesus to a culture that is not always prepared to hear and accept the message. We are reminded of Saul’s own companions. They did not understand the voice that spoke to Saul. There are many reasons that hinder a deeper and richer encounter with Christ, his Gospel and his Church. Powerful and attractive messages contradict the Gospel. Secularism, moral relativism, distorted notions of freedom, materialism and individualism are just some of the obstacles that you encounter.
However, Jesus’ death on the Cross and the struggles that Saint Paul faced are reminders that teaching the faith has always encountered opposition. This should not diminish our enthusiasm for bringing Christ to others. Today’s challenges are also enormous opportunities. Tradition, Scripture and Church teaching are all gifts of God. They must be presented clearly and reasonably and in an attractive manner. It is necessary for you to demonstrate that a commitment to faith does not diminish freedom and happiness but offers the fullness of life, including eternal life. You are called to explore the new possibilities offered by new technologies. The Gospel message has to penetrate the culture, make sense to a new generation and bring about a response of faith.
More persuasive than words are our actions. In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus directs Paul to be "his witness before all" (Acts 22:15). The most effective catechesis is a life that is lived in conformity with faith. Through your witness, others see that your life has meaning, joy and fulfillment. They are drawn to want to share the Catholic faith and become followers of Jesus on the "Way" to eternal life.
During his visit to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI described America as a "land of great faith and remarkable religious fervor" (Homily to Bishops, April 16, 2008). Much stronger than the apparent religious indifference is a yearning in the human heart for God. Many do not contest what the Church teaches, they simply do not know it or think that it is something other than it is. Their search for meaning in life is an occasion for us to teach Jesus and the fullness of life that He brings.
The success of the Church’s catechetical mission does not depend merely on human effort. Were that the case, there would be cause for concern. Christ’s presence in the Church is the guarantee of success. Recall that as Saul lay on the ground at the moment of his conversion, Jesus did not ask, "Why do you persecute my followers, my Church?" He asked, "Why do you persecute me?" Jesus identifies Himself with His Church. He is one with His Church. As a consequence, the victory that Jesus had over sin and death He shares with us, His body, His Church.
All those who aspire to present Jesus and His teachings to others must themselves enter into an interior encounter with Christ. Saint Paul persevered as a witness for Christ through his union with him. He writes, "For to me life is Christ.... I long to... be with Christ" (Philippians 1:21,23).
Your personal relationship with Jesus, dear friends, energizes your service and provides continuing motivation, vitality and force in all your catechetical activity.
The foundation of your role as catechists must be a life that is nourished by the sacraments. This enables you to be God’s instruments in communicating Christ. Catechists water the seeds of faith, but God gives the growth. When you are sustained by prayer and by the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist, your ministry is vital and effective. The success of your mission depends on your close union with Jesus Christ.
We are part of an exhilarating time in the life of the Church. The renewed emphasis on catechesis encourages each of us to introduce others to Christ. The task that God gave Paul was far beyond his own ability; yet he fulfilled his mission with the help of God’s grace. Dear catechists: the Church depends on you in the essential task of handing on the treasure of our holy Catholic faith. What a magnificent mission you have! What an incredible dignity is yours! God will accomplish great things through you, if you allow his grace to act in you.
Today we offer thanks to God for so many blessings. On my part I express profound gratitude to all of you who participate in the catechetical ministry of the Archdiocese. You offer time and talent to share the faith that you have received and cherish.
In addition, I am thankful to the parents who attend to the religious education of their children at home and encourage their children to participate in religious education programs. I deeply appreciate the effort of pastors and other priests to ensure that the catechetical needs and goals of the parish are met.
I am grateful to Directors and Coordinators of Religious Education and to all catechists for the assistance that they provide to their pastors. Know that I support you all in this great ecclesial ministry.
In particular, I congratulate our award recipients. Know that the Archdiocese treasures the many years of faith-filled service that you have provided. May you be specially blessed. And may the Blessed Mother Mary be always your life, your sweetness and your hope!
Finally, together we thank the Lord for having chosen Paul and for making him the apostle to the nations and the teacher of us all. Through the prayers of Saint Paul, the witness of our lives and the grace of the Holy Spirit, may the Gospel of God take ever deeper root in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Solemnity of Corpus Christi
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Dear Boys and Girls—all of you who have made your First Holy communion this year,
Dear Parents and Families,
Dear Catholic People, assembled with our Bishops, Priests, Deacons and Religious,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
This is a wonderful day—a wonderful feast day: the feast of Corpus Christi; the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is a day of very special blessing for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. All our children who have made their First Holy Communion this year have been invited to celebrate together in our Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. Our children are wearing their First communion outfits and they are prepared to walk in procession at the end of Mass in order to show publicly that they believe in Jesus present in the Holy Eucharist and that they want to live in His love.
And all of us, dear friends, who are gathered here in the Cathedral, in the Chapel and also outside are making a solemn profession of our holy Catholic faith in the Eucharist. And what is it exactly that we believe?
We believe what Jesus told us: that He promised to give us His Body and Blood as our food and drink. And we believe that Jesus actually fulfilled that promise at the Last Supper when He instituted the Holy Eucharist and gave His Apostles and their successors the power to say Mass and, in His name, to change bread and wine into His Body and Blood.
Our Gospel today tells us how Jesus prepared His Apostles to accept His teaching—which was something new and hard to grasp. In the sixth chapter of Saint John’s gospel, we see first how Jesus, after He had multiplied five loaves and two fish, fed a large crowd of thousands of people. After Jesus did this, He explained that He would give them still another type of food: His own Body and Blood. These are Jesus’ words proclaimed in the Gospel today: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
For some people these clear words of Jesus were difficult to accept. Some people objected, saying: "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus wanted to explain so as to help the people accept His words and to accept His person. He could have said: "No, you misunderstood me. I didn’t mean what I said; I was only speaking figuratively; what I really meant was that the bread I will give is a little symbol of my body." But, no, Jesus then repeated his original teaching in different ways. How many times? Once? Twice? No. Actually, Jesus repeated His very important statement seven times.
As the Son of God, He could not leave people in doubt about the meaning of His words on such an important subject. And so He began to repeat seven more times:
(1) "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you."
(2) "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day."
(3) "For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink."
(4) "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him."
(5) "...the one who feeds on me will have life because of me."
(6) "This is the bread that came down from heaven."
(7) "Whoever eats this bread will live forever."
Dear friends: we see that Jesus meant what He said. And this is why we are here today, because we believe the words of Jesus. We know that, as the Son of God, He has the power to do what, humanly speaking, is impossible. We accept the words of Jesus because we accept Jesus Himself as true God and true Man. What He tells us is true, because He cannot deceive nor be deceived. We know, moreover, that Jesus loves us, that He died for us on the Cross, and that He gives us His Body and Blood precisely so that we can live with Him forever in the glory of heaven, in the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity.
Dear boys and girls, dear friends: This is the wonderful message that the Church proclaims today: that Jesus is truly with us in the Holy Eucharist. He gives us His Body and Blood as an expression of His love. And by our presence today and by our prayers we acknowledge His love and show Him our love in return.
And finally, dear parents: what a magnificent role you exercise in handing on to your children our holy Catholic faith, our belief in the true presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament! In your marriage you have experienced God’s love through one another; you have communicated love and transmitted life to your children and you continue to strive by your own faith and example to introduce your children to the fullness of God’s love that is found in the Holy Eucharist.
The feast of Corpus Christi, this feast of the Body and Blood of Christ is precious for the entire community of the Church, but how personally and profoundly meaningful it is for all our families—parents and children, especially our First Communicants—for whom it is such an outpouring of the love of Jesus Christ, who once again repeats to all of us today: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; ... and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Solemnity of Corpus Christi
Enthronement of the Image of Our Mother of Perpetual Help
Blessing of New Shrines
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
On this solemn feast, we celebrate the inestimable gift of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Eucharist is both the Sacrament of Thanksgiving and the Sacrament of Unity. This evening, here in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, here in the mother Church of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, we demonstrate and celebrate with gratitude the unity we share within the Sacrifice of the Mass. We demonstrate our unity also in the blessing of four new shrines in honor of Our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Joseph, Saint John Neumann and Saint Katharine Drexel.
The shrine to our Blessed Mother first of all offers for veneration the statue of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, as she appeared in 1830 in Paris to Saint Catherine Labouré―a devotion long fostered among the faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia by the Vincentian Fathers, represented here this evening by the Provincial, Father Michael Carroll. This devotion is actually a devotion that honors the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
In addition, this evening we have the solemn Enthronement of the sacred image of Our Mother of Perpetual Help―another devotion so dear to the piety of people throughout the world―a devotion that honors the Motherhood of Mary in relationship to Jesus and to all of us. On this happy occasion we demonstrate our unity, coming together from different parishes in our Archdiocese, together with our priests and deacons, together with our consecrated Religious, to proclaim our gratitude for the gift of the Eucharist and for the abundant blessings which flow from that Most Blessed Sacrament.
With gratitude, I acknowledge the presence of Bishop DeSimone, Bishop Cistone and Bishop McFadden, as well as the presence of my brother priests who are with us this evening. I express special gratitude to the Redemptorists who are present, including Father Patrick Woods, the Provincial, and Father Alfred Bradley, the Assistant to the Provincial. For almost two centuries, the Redemptorists have been great collaborators with the Bishops and Archbishops of Philadelphia in the pastoral care of souls. Typified in the ministry of our fourth Bishop, the Redemptorist Saint John Neumann, the Redemptorist priests and brothers have given faithful witness to the Passion and Cross of Jesus, and have proclaimed to the poor the love and mercy of God. Since 1865, the Redemptorists at the Church of Saint Alphonsus, in Rome, have been entrusted with the care and veneration of the precious icon and have fostered devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. On behalf of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Peter and Paul and the entire Archdiocese, I am grateful to the Redemptorists for donating a venerable image of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, which is to be enthroned at this liturgy. Furthermore, I thank the Redemptorists and the faithful of the former Saint Boniface Parish, for donating the altars in honor of Our Lady and Saint Joseph. They replace the original side altars. These magnificent gifts are an expression of the unity which all parishes and all the faithful enjoy in relationship to the Cathedral Church of the Archdiocese.
I extend a warm welcome to Monsignor John Savinski and parishioners of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Morton for their demonstration of solidarity as we enthrone the sacred image which has such great meaning for the life of their parish.
My gratitude goes likewise to Monsignor Michael McCulken, Rector of the Cathedral, and to all of the parishioners of the Cathedral Parish. I thank you for your support of these projects and for the enthusiasm with which you awaited these renovations. Not only do these shrines enhance the beauty of our Cathedral, but they will also inspire for many years to come all who come here to pray in the presence of our Eucharistic Lord and to seek the intercession of Our Lady and the Saints. It is then with great joy that we dedicate the new shrines in honor of Our Lady and the Saints.
All of this has been made possible by the extraordinary generosity of a faithful member of the Archdiocese, Mr. Peter Carlino, who, in memory of the piety of his beloved wife Betty, has supported the entire project of the shrines that we inaugurate today, and to whom we express deep appreciation and esteem. How fitting that this event takes place on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi! Mary, whom the Servant of God Pope John Paul II referred to as “the Woman of the Eucharist,” helps us to grow in our love for Christ, whom she conceived in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit. Pope John Paul II reminded us that “Mary can guide us toward this most holy sacrament, because she has a profound relationship with it” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 53).
In dedicating the shrine in honor of Saint Joseph, we honor the chaste Spouse of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Foster Father of the Son of God, Patron Saint of Workers and Protector of the Universal Church. Saint Joseph, by his example, constantly draws us to love ever more deeply Jesus and Mary. In every aspect of his life, Saint Joseph invites us to pray fervently, to work diligently, to trust unwaveringly in divine providence, and to live faithfully that, like him, we may die in the embrace of Jesus and Mary.
It is most appropriate, too, that it is on this great feast of Corpus Christi that the new shrines in honor of Philadelphia’s beloved Saints, John Nepomucene Neumann and Katharine Drexel are dedicated. In his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist, Sacramentum Caritatis, Pope Benedict XVI stated: “The first and fundamental mission that we receive from the sacred mysteries we celebrate is that of bearing witness by our lives. The wonder we experience at the gift God has made to us in Christ,” continued the Holy Father, “gives new impulse to our lives and commits us to becoming witnesses of his love” (no. 85). How vividly this sentiment is reflected in the lives and witness of Saints John Neumann and Katharine Drexel. Motivated by their loving encounter with Christ in the Eucharist, these saints sought to bring that love to all. Saint John Neumann established within our Archdiocese the annual Forty Hours Devotion, a time of renewal through Eucharistic Adoration for each parish. This devotion remains a steadfast sign of the love which the faithful of our Archdiocese have for our Eucharistic Lord. Saint Katharine Drexel, Foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, was transformed by the Eucharist and sought to bring to our nation’s most oppressed people the love and hope which flow from the Eucharist. We are pleased that some of the Sisters are present with us this evening, including their President, Sister Patricia Suchalski. Mother Katharine’s beautiful sentiment to the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament continues to inspire us today: “Ours is the spirit of the Eucharist, the total gift of self.”
The Liturgy of the Word for this celebration of Corpus Christi places in perspective this spirit of the Eucharist as we look at the Sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus gave Himself completely for us on the Cross and He gives Himself completely to us in the Eucharist. This Sacrifice is prefigured in the sacrifices of old and in the sprinkling of the blood of slaughtered animals upon the people. God sealed His covenant with His People in blood. On the night before His death, Jesus, at the Passover meal, gave new meaning to the ancient rites so sacred to the memory of Israel. Jesus Himself is the Paschal Lamb. Jesus Himself is the Bread of Life. It is the Blood of Christ Himself which seals God’s new and everlasting Covenant with His People. The Letter to the Hebrews explains the meaning and emphasizes the power of the sacrificial and precious Blood shed by our Savior on the Cross: “…how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God” (Heb 9:14).
This evening, as we give thanks for the gift of the Eucharist, we necessarily contemplate the Passion of Christ, for in the Eucharist we recall and enter into the mystery of the death of Jesus. At the heart of our dedication ceremony is today’s Enthronement of the Image of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, which draws our attention to the Passion of Christ. In this revered icon, we behold the tender strength of the Mother of God as she draws her Divine Child into her embrace. The Archangels Michael and Gabriel are depicted bearing the instruments of the Passion: the Cross, the nails, the lance, and the reed with the gall-soaked sponge. As the Christ Child beholds the instruments which will be used in his painful Passion and Death, he is filled with anguish. With haste, the Christ Child throws Himself into the arms of His Mother, running so quickly that the sandal is loosened and dangles from his foot.
Dear friends: as Our Mother embraces and comforts her own Christ Child, so she gazes upon the human race to bring all of us constant help and loving solace. She offers us her Divine Son, Jesus Christ, to be our hope. As we enthrone the Image of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in our Cathedral, let us enthrone this image and all that it represents in our hearts. In the midst of our pains and trials, in the face of our anxieties and fears, Mary is with us to comfort us and to offer us the gift of her Son, especially in the Holy Eucharist. He who endured the pain of the Cross will give us grace to endure whatever crosses God may place upon our shoulders. Remember also that, while enduring the agony of the Cross, Jesus gave us His Mother to be our Mother. The stirring words of Jesus, “Behold, your Mother!” (Jn 19:27), remind us of the loving and merciful woman who always intercedes for us, her children, before the throne of God, and who is indeed Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Mary, who stood beside the Cross of Christ, stands by us always and directs us to Jesus. Mary beckons us to trust in Jesus, and she instructs us to love Him who gives Himself completely to us in the Most Holy Eucharist. It is this Holy Eucharist, the true Body of Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, that we honor and adore in a special way today on this vigil Solemnity of Corpus Christi. Amen.
Address of Cardinal Justin Rigali
To the Partcipants in the Couples for Christ Conference
Baltimore Washington Marriott
Baltimore, Maryland
July 3, 2009
The Challenge of Building a Culture of Life
Dear Friends,
I am grateful for this opportunity to be with you during this meeting of Couples for ChristCFoundation for Family and Life. Your celebration of marriage and family life is so needed in our world today, and even in our Church. We live in challenging times when marriage and family life are under attack by many forces. And so we must not only celebrate marriage and family life, but we are also called to heroically defend marriage and family life.
As you know, I chair the Committee on Pro-Life Activities for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. And so I have the unique perspective of witnessing not only new threats to family life, but also new threats to human life at its most vulnerable stages.
The effort to restore legal protection for unborn children faces new challenges, as we deal with a new Administration and Congress that support "abortion rights." Many are asking: Where do we go from here? We first need to recall why we are here and why we Catholics became involved in these tough battles. We begin with the dignity of each human person.
From the neighbor next door to the unknown person living thousands of miles away, each and every one of us has intrinsic and immeasurable worth. That is because God created each of us in his image by the outpouring of his infinite and unconditional love. In return he asks only that we share that love with others, beginning with the family, and embracing especially those most in needCthe poor, the vulnerable, and the despised of this world.
This intrinsic God-given human dignity is the basis for all inalienable human rightsCbeginning with the most basic right, the right to life. It is most basic because it is the condition for all other rights. First we must live, then we can talk about living well. If a government acknowledges a right, such as that of free speech, but can kill you if you say something it dislikes, you don't in effect have any real right to free speech.
The right to life is not more important or higher than all other rights. In a sense the highest or supreme right is freedom of religion, because that is the right to do what God created us for, loving and serving Him by loving and serving others. But the right to life is the core element of other rights. All other earthly rights involve something more than life itself B but without life, they are illusory.
That "something more" is vitally important. The defense of life reaches its fullness when it expands to defend the entire range of human well-being. This is all one vision, and ultimately one issueCthe dignity of the human person. In the words of St. Irenaeus, Gloria Dei vivens homoCthe glory of God is man fully alive.
To keep that vision constantly before our eyes, to remember why we are here and to gain the strength to move forward, we need to begin all our efforts with prayer. Our efforts must be centered on God and His infinite love for usCfor the born and the unborn, for those who oppose us as well as those who agree with us. Only in this way can we maintain our perspective in a world of political pressures and partisan loyalties.
In defending the right to life, our first duty is to oppose the direct taking of innocent human lifeCany human life, at any stage. As Pope John Paul II confirmed in his encyclical The Gospel of Life: "...the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral" (no. 57). Abortion and euthanasia are preeminent concerns of the Church for reasons that are intrinsic to these issues, as well as reasons that are situational.
Intrinsically, abortion and euthanasia always constitute the direct taking of a human life that is innocent and defenseless. And they are willed and carried out by those most called to defend human lifeCmembers of the healing professions, and of one's own family. To undermine these two havens of life is to make a culture of life impossible.
Situationally, abortion and euthanasia are the areas where those committed to a conditional and selective vision of human rights have planted their flag in our time. They want to draw lines between so-called "important" and "unimportant" members of society, between "persons" and "non-persons." In a different time or place the forcing issue might be slavery, racism or anti-SemitismCtoday abortion and related issues force us to decide whether we mean what we say in speaking of inalienable human rights, linked simply to being human.
In particular, the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision has made abortion the battleground over our tradition of inherent human rights, and has polarized our society as nothing else has. Later efforts to use law as a weapon against other innocent human livesCagainst newborn children with disabilities, for example, or against the sick and elderly through a "right" to assisted suicideChave cited Roe as their inspiration and precedent.
Thus in promoting a culture of life, we must give priority to defending innocent unborn boys and girls from direct attack. We must also make it clear how this effort stands for the dignity and well-being of everyone, before and after birth.
Opportunities are available to do exactly this through our advocacy in Washington, D.C. to defend the unborn, and to show how this effort upholds all who are vulnerable.
In defending conscience rights in health care, for example, we stand with the unborn child, and also with the women and men of our healing professions whose freedom of conscience is at risk, and with women who will lose access to basic life-affirming health care if those who truly care about them and their children are forced out of medicine.
In sending tens of millions of postcards to Congress against the radical "Freedom of Choice Act," we have helped stop extreme legislation that would treat ready access to abortion as the ultimate public goalCa goal overriding respect for unborn children or for the well-being of pregnant women. I thank each of you who participated in that massive postcard campaign earlier this year.
By insisting that the federal government promote only morally sound stem cell research, we defend the life of embryonic children and also the health of patients endangered by the many risks of attempted embryonic stem cell treatments, and the health of women, whom some want to exploit as "egg factories" for attempts at cloning human embryos for stem cells.
Our positive efforts to extend life-giving help to those most in need include support for the "Unborn Child Rule" in the State Children's Health Insurance Program, allowing states to provide prenatal care for unborn children and their mothers regardless of the woman's immigrant status. More broadly, the "Pregnant Women Support Act" will provide a wide range of assistance so women can bring their children to live birth and receive a helping hand as they parent the child or make an adoption plan.
Of course, helping those in need is not only the task of government. The dedicated efforts of Catholics at pro-life pregnancy centers, maternity homes, hospitals, retirement homes, and parish-based support networks for pregnant women and children, as well as prayer and assistance efforts outside of abortion facilities, are needed now more than ever. These important efforts will help change the culture, one person at a time.
Our task is to help change hearts and minds, including our own. Nothing brings about this conversion more effectively than prayer and sacrifice. All our good works in the areas of public policy, education and pastoral care must be undergirded by prayers and sacrifices offered up to the Lord of Life. By His saving power, and through the prayerful intercession of our Blessed Mother, we can indeed build a lasting culture of life.
The defense of human life at its most vulnerable stages is an essential duty of those inspired by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our prayers and efforts in this cause should open us up to defending the rights and meeting the needs of human beings all along life's spectrum. Having said "no" to attacks on innocent human life, we need to affirm a great "yes" to the full range of human living and well-being.
Dear friends: the work of changing hearts and minds begins within the sanctuary of the family. We can change the culture if our families are loving environments where human life is loved, cherished and protected, and where openness to children is celebrated. From generous families open to life we learn the transforming power of sacrifice for the good of another. We learn the importance of setting aside our own desires for the benefit of the community around us.
This generosity and self-sacrifice, dear couples, is also central to the mission of Couples for Christ and all those associated in your apostolate. Thus you share in this unique calling to build a culture of life that reflects a true civilization of love. I encourage you to live that calling dramatically, prophetically and prayerfully. Thank you for your witness to the sacredness of all human life, as well as to the immense dignity of the family that reflects the communion of the Most Blessed Trinity in life and love.
May our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you, dear friends, in your great mission and fill you with His joy and peace. And may our Blessed Mother Mary, the Mother of Life, sustain you by her love.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass during Couples for Christ Conference
Baltimore Washington Marriott
Baltimore, Maryland
July 3, 2009
"Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Our Lord Jesus Christ,
We are gathered together on this feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, on the occasion of this meeting of Couples for ChristCFoundation for Family and Life. I am grateful to have this time to be with you in support of your ecclesial mission and to reaffirm the significance of your witness to marriage and family life.
Today I hope to offer a few reflections on our Gospel reading, which describes the doubt of Thomas before he encounters the risen Lord:
Upon hearing the news of the risen Christ, Thomas reacts by saying, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." He expresses a natural human perspective, which demands physical evidence and proof . So often we are limited to only this viewpoint, afraid of daring to go higher.
But faith offers a supernatural perspective, transcending earthly realities in a way that surpasses our understanding. Indeed, faith is extraordinary. Faith gives us the supernatural outlook that enables us to view all people, situations, and circumstances with God's eyes, rather than our limited human perspective.
Faith goes beyond our naturally limited notions. When God achieves a great work, He can do it through the most unexpected channels. There are many examples of this in the Bible. In the Old Testament, for example, Abraham and Sarah have a son, Isaac, despite their old age. There is also the story of King David. As a young boy, he defeated the giant soldier, Goliath. And, when it was time to select a new king for the people of Israel, it was not a man of high stature whom he chose to be king; it was the lowly shepherd boy, David.
At the Annunciation, we see a beautiful and simple expression of faith when the Virgin Mary is informed by an angel that she is to be the mother of God. Here, we have a case of an unmarried adolescent, with wisdom and grace beyond her years, who responds to God with a resounding "yes" to the awe-inspiring mission ahead of her. She could not have anticipated the future "sword that would pierce her heart," yet her "yes" was total, free, and unconditional. It was a great act of faith.
But faith is something extraordinary and not always easy to embrace. Thomas reacts, not with faith, but with natural, human expectations. How does Christ respond?
Christ gives a peaceful greeting and allows Thomas to touch him: "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe."
Christ has infinite patience with us. When we have doubts and fears, He never stops reaching out to us with his love. He wants us to love Him back, he wants us to trust him completely. We sometimes lack faith because the realities of the world press in on us: a financial situation, a job situation, a difficulty in the family, and other factors. When these concerns cloud our hearts, we begin to lose the clear vision of faith that frees us.
Trust Christ! Have faith! Do not be afraid to trust Christ completely, offering Him your worries and fears, your joys and hopes. Jesus, I trust in you! This is the great exclamation of the Church. It is only through trust that you will begin to experience the depths of Christ's love for you. And when you begin to experience this love, deeply and profoundly in your lives, you cannot help but see the world around you differently.
This is the experience of Thomas when Christ shows him His wounds and allows Thomas to touch him. Thomas responds with the words, "My Lord and my God!"-a profound expression of wonder and awe, and ultimately, of faith. This is the moment of transformation for Thomas.
Christ says, "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." Thomas and the other disciples had the privilege of living with Christ in their midst everyday. What a gift it must have been to live side by side with Christ and see him in the fullness of his humanity! What a privilege, to be able to converse with him, to share meals with him, to observe and learn from his example when he dealt with the different personalities and characters from all walks of life! What must it have been like to see his joy at the wedding at Cana, his tears at the tomb of Lazarus, his diligence and humility in his carpenter=s work, and his leadership and authority with the crowds?
We do not have that privilege as the disciples did, but Christ does speak to us now these special words: "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." We cannot see Christ as the disciples did, but He is no less present to us now in the world. He remains with us in the Eucharist. I encourage you, especially as married couples and as families, to develop a strong Eucharistic life where you can draw close to Christ to find the strength to deal with the many challenges you face in your daily lives.
And so I say once again: trust Jesus Christ! He waits for you in the many lonely tabernacles of the world. He waits for your love, and it is through you that He wishes to make known His presence in the world. As the first apostles were messengers of Christ, so too do you bear witness to His love through your lives!
In a special way, dear married couples, you are called to radiate this love through your spousal fidelity as a sign of Christ's fidelity to his bride, the Church. In a world in a culture where lifelong commitment is increasingly scoffed at, where virtue is mocked more often than rewarded; how greatly your joyful, firm and faithful witness is needed. You are to be beacons of light in the world.
Equally important, dear married couples, is your great gift and responsibility as parents. The family is the first school of the faith. The family is the source of the child=s development as a person in all dimensions: the intellect, the heart, the will, and the soul. Dedicate yourselves to forming your children with a deep awareness of Christ's love; and, as husband and wife, model this love through your respect and affection for each other.
In a society where family life is suffering severe setbacks, broken marriages, the attacks of the media and other social influencesCall these threaten to destroy the very foundation upon which society is built. Draw close to Christ in the sacraments to maintain always your perspective of faith. Continue to build up your marriage and family life through your mutual support and encouragement with others who share the same values. You already are united by a common ideal through your involvement in Couples for Christ. Such is an example of the gift of movements in the Church that provide a support for those in the married and lay state.
Remember these words of our Lord Jesus Christ: "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." If you have faith, you will see the world differently, not from a human perspective, but with a supernatural view. This vision of faith will bring to your ordinary everyday activities a fresh divine perspective. If you see the world differently, with the eyes of Christ, you will be able to radiate His love to all you meet. You are a light in this world, because you reflect the light that is Christ. In your marriage and family life, you are to be a witness, a reflection, a mirror of that Love which is so powerful yet gentle, sacrificial yet victorious, so instant yet eternal.
May God give you grace and strength, dear friends, in the days to come-grace and strength to fulfill your role, to be partners in the Church with the Lord Jesus Himself in building up His Kingdom in your families, in your parishes, and in the world-a Kingdom of holiness and truth, a Kingdom of peace, a Kingdom of life and love. Amen.
Address of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Daylesford Abbey, Paoli, Pennsylvania
November 12, 2005
The Eucharist: Mystery of Trinitarian Love
“I love the Father” — “The Father loves me”
Father Abbot,
Dear Brothers,
Friends in Christ Jesus,
On this Founders’ Day we render honor to the Rule of Saint Augustine and to the great Eucharistic apostle Saint Norbert, who embraced Saint Augustine’s formula for consecrated life in the Church. Today we joyfully celebrate this anniversary of Daylesford Abbey that takes us back to 1963, to the days of Vatican II, and we commemorate all the saints whom God has raised up over the centuries and sanctified as canons regular.
We are all deeply convinced that to speak about the Eucharist is to speak about what the Second Vatican Council calls “the source and summit of the whole Christian life” (LumenGentium, 10). It is to speak about the center of our faith and about the love of God which has made the Eucharist possible. I would like to begin by turning our thoughts to words of Jesus in the fourteenth chapter of Saint John’s Gospel. Jesus says: “If you truly loved me you would rejoice to have me go to the Father …the world must know that I love the Father and do what the Father has commanded me. Come, then! Let us be on our way” (Jn 14: 28, 31).
These words express the great revelation that Jesus loves His Father. And in another place Jesus will tell us clearly that the Father loves the Son, the Father loves Him. But these words also tell us that Jesus wants the world to know that He fulfills the Father’s will. And because He fulfills the Father’s will, He tells His Apostles: “Come, then! Let us be on our way.” Tonight we hope to enter more deeply into the mystery of the Eucharist, which is the Mystery of Trinitarian Love.
Already in our evening prayer, with Saint Paul we have extolled the mystery of Christ’s emptying Himself and sharing in on our humanity which becomes the matter of His Sacrifice, and, with His divinity, the content of His Eucharistic gift.
There are many profound reasons why Jesus died. There are many profound reasons why He offered up the Eucharist as a memorial of His death on Calvary. Jesus died for His Church. In a special way Jesus died for His Mother in order to merit her redemption and her special privileges. But above all, Jesus died because He loved His Father. He died to fulfill the will of His Father. In other words: “…the world must know that I love the Father and do as the Father has commanded me. Come, then! Let us be on our way.”
I am suggesting that the key to understanding the Eucharist in its most profound dimension is to understand that Jesus went to His death motivated by a great love for His Father. The Eucharist is indeed the mystery of Christ’s love and above all it is the mystery of Christ’s love for His Father.
Some years ago a book came out entitled, Gift and Mystery. It was the short autobiography of Pope John Paul II that he presented to the world on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. And in that book he recounts what he had previously said on the occasion of an interview with one of the journalists who accompanied him on one of his pastoral visits around the world. The interview went something like this.
“Holy Father, as Pope you must have many problems, but also as Pope there must be many joys in your life. Tell us what your greatest joy is.” And the Pope answered that the greatest joy that he has as Pope is to be able, like every Catholic priest, to celebrate the Eucharist every day.
These words show the depth of his faith in the Eucharistic mystery; they show the depth of his love for the Sacrifice of the Mass. Over many years he meditated on the Eucharist. At this point I would suggest: “Let us be on our way” with Jesus, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and the whole Church—on our way to enter the great mystery of God’s love.
The origin of the Eucharist is the Last Supper and the Sacrifice of Calvary—both of which are commemorated and re-enacted in the Eucharist, both of which are different moments in the one salvific reality of Christ’s Paschal Mystery. But if we are to understand this life-giving event proclaimed at the Last Supper and enacted in immolation on Calvary, we must go back to what we have been speaking about: to the relation of Jesus with His Father — in other words to the Most Blessed Trinity.
Here we find the deepest explanation of the Most Blessed Sacrament—the deepest explanation of the Mass. The Council of Trent, over four hundred years ago, defined the Mass as a true sacrifice which recalls and renews Christ’s immolation on Calvary. But why did Christ give Himself over to death on Calvary? Why does He give Himself in the Eucharist? Here of course we must speak of sin and redemption, of Christ’s desire to save the world from sin and to communicate His life to humanity. Here we must speak of God’s love for humanity, just as Saint John does: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (Jn 3: 16-17).
This is a stupendous revelation that explains the Eucharist—the love of God for us, the love of the Father in sending His Son to redeem the world. But there are two other aspects of God’s love that are even more stupendous and basic, without which we will not understand the Eucharist and all the suffering that Christ endured on Calvary.
The Eucharist flows directly from the love of the Son of God for His Father, in response to the eternal love by which He is loved by the Father in the Holy Spirit.
The Second Vatican Council tells us that the Eucharist contains all the riches of the Church (cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis, 5), and that it is the source and summit of all Christian life. Why? Because the Eucharist is the expression of the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus took great pleasure in proclaiming to the world—it was His greatest proclamation—the love that the Father has for Him and the love that He has for the Father. These, I would dare say, are the most sublime words of divine revelation:
“The Father loves the Son” (Jn 3:35; 5:20).
“The Father loves me” (Jn 10:17).
“I love the Father” (Jn 14: 31).
Jesus’ Sacrifice and the Father’s Acceptance
Regarding this last revelation — “I love the Father” — what is the context? We have already seen it at the beginning of this talk. Jesus is ready to go to His hour. The prince of this world is at hand. He has no hold on Jesus. The world must know that Jesus loves the Father. And therefore He says: “Come, then! Let us be on our way.”
And so Jesus goes forth to Calvary, to death and immolation. There is an explicit connection between Calvary and Christ’s loving His Father. In other words, Calvary is motivated by His love for the Father and His obedience to the Father. Calvary—with Jesus hanging on the Cross—is the divine plan of the Father for the redemption of the world. Calvary, and therefore the Eucharist, is the Trinitarian response to sin. But it remains the exchange of love between the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit.
This exchange of love is so great, the Son’s acceptance of death is so full of love, that the Father wants the world to know of His acceptance. The Father’s response of love is the Resurrection of His Son. This is the meaning of Easter. The Father raises the sacred humanity of Jesus to life in order to confirm the redemption of the world and to proclaim His eternal love for His Son, His acceptance of the obedience of the Son, His acceptance of the Sacrifice.
Saint Paul tells us in his Letter to the Philippians, in speaking of Christ, that “he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father” (Phil 2: 8-11). All of this shows us how profound the mystery of redemption; how great Christ’s love for His Father; how fruitful Christ’s obedience; how glorious the Father’s acceptance of the Sacrifice, His ratification of Christ’s death by raising Him to life! With Saint Paul, we exclaim: “How deep are the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God!” (Rom 11:33).
The Sacrifice and Worship of the Community
In the exchange of love between Jesus and His Father we see explained the great mystery of the Sacrifice of Calvary, even as it is anticipated at the Last Supper. We also note that the Sacrifice of the infinite divine love of Christ becomes, in the Eucharist, by God’s loving design the Sacrifice of the Church, our Sacrifice.
As the Sacrifice of Christ and His Church, the Eucharist is our worship and we are privileged to partake in the Eucharistic Sacrifice every day of our lives. We are privileged to be able to do this as a community, to offer God praise as foreshadowed in the Old Testament, in the great assembly.
Let us never forget that the offering of the Church’s Sacrifice is a great hymn of adoration, thanksgiving, reparation and supplication on the part of the entire assembly. We are in this together.
Sent Forth To Adore and To Serve
At the end of Mass we are sent forth in order to serve in the name of Jesus. We are sent out from the Eucharist in order that, by the power of the Eucharist, we may contribute to the building up of the Body of Christ.
As soon as we go out, our thought is to come back; to come back to the Eucharist at the time appointed by Christ. In the meantime we profess the Eucharistic faith of the Church as expressed throughout the centuries. The liturgy which we have celebrated as an act of adoration—as the Second Vatican Council calls it: “the worship of the divine majesty” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 33)—is prolonged in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the Real Presence of Christ in our midst.
We believe and we proclaim the faith of the Church that, after the celebration of the Eucharist, Jesus Himself remains in the Blessed Sacrament in His glorified flesh, in His glorified humanity, in His divinity, to be adored and loved and to be a permanent source of union and life for His Church. And to the Blessed Sacrament present on the altar, or in the tabernacle, the Catholic Church attributes latria, which is the adoration that is owing only to the living God. And this Eucharist, which contains all the treasures of the Church and is “the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 14), is at one and the same time a sacrifice, a banquet and the sacred presence of the Lord Jesus. And the sacred Eucharistic presence of the Lord, whom we adore, constantly directs our hearts back to the celebration in the assembly, when once again we will all be together in order to renew the Eucharistic celebration and to be sent out once again on our mission to the world.
This mission to the world takes its origin from the Eucharist and receives its dynamism from the Eucharist to embrace charity and service in the Church.
We have seen in the history of the Church not only people like Pope John Paul II with an immense love of the Eucharist, but we have also seen the martyrs, the imprisoned confessors, the holy priests, virgins and Religious who have understood the Eucharist and have been willing to give everything in order to participate in the celebration and in order to possess the sacramental presence of Christ. The saints and heroes of our Church have given us an example of the effort that we must expend in order to participate in the Eucharist, in order to adore Christ’s presence in the Blessed Sacrament. Millions of holy priests, lay people and Religious in the Church, over the centuries, have made supreme efforts to demonstrate their faith in the Eucharist and to avail themselves, amidst difficulties and tribulations, of the Eucharistic celebration and of Eucharistic adoration.
How inspiring to think of all the Saints formed in the tradition and Rule of Saint Augustine, which is perpetuated in the Norbertines. Today we recall centuries of adoration, centuries of “worship of the divine majesty,” centuries of the imitation of Christ’s kenosis in the Incarnation and the Eucharist perpetuated in a religious order that exists in the independent status of an abbey within our local Church. Today we think of and reconfirm the Eucharistic challenge of total commitment in integrity of life, fidelity, and “the service of love.”
The Eucharist is undoubtedly the center of our life, because Jesus is the center of our life, just as He is the object of the Father’s eternal complacency—the Father’s eternal love.
In our prayer let us not forget the importance of spending time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Let us realize how important it is for us to keep Jesus company. The saints understood and accepted this challenge. Certainly the Order of Premontré glories in this legacy.
In 1997, in the Synod of Bishops for America, it was my privilege to be a participant and my privilege to speak. The topic of my intervention was prayer. I mentioned at the time that it is my conviction and the conviction of other bishops throughout the world that there is a new emerging sign of the times and it is Eucharistic adoration. In the most recent Synod of Bishops a whole new impetus emerged in promoting Eucharistic adoration as it flows from the Eucharistic action and leads back to it.
Powerful Incentive and Challenge to Service
There are many indications in the world that God wishes to draw further attention to His beloved Son present in the Eucharist. There are many indications that Eucharistic adoration is a form of prayer particularly adapted to this present moment. It is a particular form of manifesting faith in the total mystery of the Eucharist, which is sacrifice and banquet, sacred presence and viaticum. Eucharistic adoration is a powerful incentive and challenge to ever more generous service to those in need. Many of our young people are able to grasp this.
The Second Vatican Council has been an enormous grace in the life of the Church, particularly in emphasizing over and over again the role of the Christian people as a Eucharistic people. There have been some aberrations of interpretation of the Second Vatican Council. There have been some exaggerations and misinterpretations of the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist. Many of these difficulties have now passed. It is time to get on in the life of the Church with traditional Eucharistic piety as enriched and explained and exalted by the Second Vatican Council and the post-conciliar implementation of the Popes.
I cannot over-emphasize the importance of every community in the Church having full, conscious and active participation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice! I cannot over-emphasize the importance of the graces that are received for the living and the dead by this internal and external participation of all the members of the Church in the Eucharistic assembly, especially on Sunday. I cannot over-emphasize the importance of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, of Eucharistic adoration, Eucharistic exposition, the Eucharistic holy hour for reparation and renewal, visits to the Blessed Sacrament and the recommitment of ourselves in faith, day in and day out, to the words of Jesus who says: “For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me” (Jn 6: 55-57).
There is much more that we could say about participation in the Eucharist, about external reverence, about the internal dispositions that we bring to the Eucharist, about our community singing and about the dignity of every form of Eucharistic participation and ministry. We have just completed the Year of the Eucharist. This emphasis in the life of the Church urges us to be faithful, to grow in the love of the Eucharist so as to be an ever more fervent Eucharistic community committed to the service of the world.
I am happy to have this occasion to thank the Norbertine Community past and present for their fidelity to the charisms of Saint Augustine and Saint Norbert. I am grateful for the spirit of unity and pastoral solidarity that they have manifested with our local Church. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia renews its deep appreciation for the valued contribution of their service but most of all for their ecclesial identity according to the mind of Christ and His Church. Here in this local Church, dear friends, under the powerful action of the Holy Spirit, the charism of Saint Augustine and Saint Norbert interact in you with the charisms of Saint John Neumann and Saint Katharine Drexel, serving and benefiting the people of God.
An important goal still lies before us, and it is the glory of the Father. Our Eucharistic journey beckons us on. Jesus is with us to lead us. He says to us: “Come, then! Let us be on our way.” And our common response to him is: Jesus, I trust in you!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Memorial Mass for Deacon Adam S. Crowe
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
February 6, 2009
Your Eminence, Cardinal Bevilacqua,
Your Eminence, Cardinal Foley,
Bishop DeSimone,
Bishop Cistone
Bishop McFadden
Bishop Thomas,
Monsignor Prior, Rector and Father of this Family of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary,
Dear Priest Alumni,
Dear Faculty, Administration and Seminarians,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
We are gathered here this afternoon in a close Eucharistic union with the Church in Ogdensburg, with its shepherd, Bishop Robert Cunningham; with Mrs. Crowe, Adam’s mother; with his twin sister, Erin; his brother Darin, and the priests from the Diocese of Ogdensburg. We are close in prayer also to Adam’s father and to his brother Kevin.
As we recall the years of his presence among us at Saint Charles Seminary, we are supremely conscious of our union now with Adam himself in the Communion of Saints. It was here that he was sent by his Bishop to complete his discernment and to prepare for the sacred priesthood in the service of the Diocese of Ogdensburg. It was here that he was known, among other things, for his quiet gentleness, his compassion, his sense of humor, his love for the liturgy and his involvement in the Seminary. Here his brother seminarians admired him for his perseverance in following God’s call and for his fidelity to Jesus Christ.
At the end of five years and five months God personally intervened and called Adam to Himself. Those years in Saint Charles Seminary were just enough time for Adam to fulfill his mission and to fulfill it well. A period had been given to him with a divine time-limit.
Dear Adam, realizing how close you are to all of us in the love of Christ and in the Communion of His Saints, we know that we can always address you personally. Although you had already received the Sacrament of Holy Orders as an ordained deacon, all of us would have hoped that it be God’s will to permit you to be ordained a priest so as to offer up the Eucharistic Sacrifice for the living and the dead. And yet, in God’s mysterious plan, you were called to leave your beloved parents, your sister, your brothers, your seminary family, your home parish and your local Church to belong forever to Jesus Christ.
God took you to Himself as one of His chosen deacons. This was His inscrutable plan. For all eternity you will be counted with the original seven deacons of the apostolic Church—with Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicholas of Antioch—and with all the others, like Saint Lawrence, Saint Vincent of Saragossa, Saint Ephrem of Syria and Saint Francis of Assisi.
We who are left behind realize that your death, Adam, is, like your life, a gift to us. On the occasion of your going home to God, we are called to open our hearts to the holy word of Scripture in order to reflect on the mystery of Christian death. With all the conviction of our being we proclaim today with the Book of Wisdom: "The souls of the just are in the hand of God.... God tried them and found them worthy of himself." Our sacred text tells us, moreover: "Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love." Now that God has taken you, Adam, to Himself, He gives you the capacity to grasp His eternal truth and to abide with Him in the love of the Most Blessed Trinity.
In the word of God that we celebrate today there is still more that deserves our attention and calls for our response of faith and love. Saint Paul tells us: "If we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him." We are convinced that having died with Christ in Baptism, Adam is called to live with Him in glory. Adam’s death reminds us of our own mission and destiny: to die and live with Christ forever.
The word of God in our sacred Liturgy offers us yet another beautiful opportunity to see how meaningful for us is the death of Jesus. We just heard these words in the Gospel: "It was about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.... Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit’; and when he had said this he breathed his last."
Because of the unbreakable bond between Baptism and the Death of Jesus, our heavenly Father—the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ—looks upon the death of each of us as a sharing in the death of Jesus. With love the Father accepts our death, freely offered to Him, and He responds, as He did to Jesus, by calling us to resurrection and eternal life.
Our Gospel ends this afternoon describing the culmination of Christ’s suffering and death. We read: "At daybreak on the first day of the week the women...went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb;...two men in dazzling garments appeared to them." And then the women heard the words: "Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised."
Dear Adam, the resurrection that awaited Jesus is your lot and ours. At this Memorial Mass for you, we proclaim again our holy Catholic faith in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and in His promise to all of us of eternal life.
In this promise we find strength and consolation. This is the hope that we offer in love to your mother and father, to your sister and brothers, and to all who mourn you in the pain of separation. This is the faith that you preached and lived, and in which you died in Christ.
We are sure that our Blessed Mother, the Mother of Jesus, crucified and risen from the dead, will lovingly watch over your dear family, your home parish of Saint Raphael, your brother seminarians at Saint Charles and the local Church of Ogdensburg with all its faithful people, whom you are now called to serve as a deacon in the solemn Liturgy of heaven. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass during Deacon Day Celebration
25th Anniversary of the Establishment of the
Permanent Diaconate in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Saint Joseph Church, Aston
April 8, 2006
Dear Deacons and Wives,
Once again I have the joy of gathering with you on this annual Deacon Day. Each year it is important for me as your bishop, to be with you who are joined so closely in my episcopal ministry through sacred ordination. It is an opportunity to renew my appreciation to you for your collaboration in the work of serving the Lord and His people in our local Church. It is also an opportunity to express my deep thanks to your wives, whose support of your ministry is so important, and who themselves contribute so much to the life of the Church. While this is indeed a joyful occasion each year, Deacon Day this year takes on special significance, as it is occurring during the twenty-fifth anniversary celebration of the establishment of the permanent diaconate within the Archdiocese. A jubilee year is a special moment of grace, and our jubilee year prayer addresses this petition to God: "...lead us to rejoice in your providential grace, to be renewed in Christian charity, and to rededicate ourselves to a greater service of your Holy Church." It is my fervent prayer that this special year will not simply come and go, but rather that each deacon will embrace more fully and more deeply his call to serve in the name of Jesus, thus advancing in the way of holiness, and of that service to which the diaconal ministry is dedicated.
We are poised at the beginning of Holy Week. We see our Lord Jesus Christ in His journey, and we want to accompany Him. Yet there can be no illusions concerning where this following of our Lord will lead us. The Gospel today from Saint John clearly demonstrates that ominous clouds are beginning to surround Jesus. The words of Caiaphas are chilling: "It is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish." Yet Caiaphas did not understand that the "whole nation" was already perishing because of sin, and that it would only be through the offering of the life of the Son of God that the "whole nation" would be saved. Rightly did Ezekiel prophesy when he said: "I will deliver them from all their sins of apostasy, and cleanse them so that they may be my people and I may be their God." Here we catch a glimpse into the mind and heart of God, and His desire toward us, His people. We see what drives divine love: God wants to dwell with us, "to make a covenant" with us, to do for us what only He can do—take our divided hearts and make them one again with Him. Here we listen to Ezekiel prophesying and revealing God’s desire: "I will make with them a covenant of peace; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them.... My dwelling shall be with them...." How much it would cost the Son of God to fulfill this prophecy! No matter how many Lents and Holy Weeks we may celebrate, we will never be able to comprehend fully the height and breadth and depth of God’s love. But we do know what we should be striving to attain as we seek to imitate Christ in His sacrificial love.
During this jubilee observance, as you are reflecting on the gift and call of the diaconate, perhaps those words of God spoken through Ezekiel—"My dwelling shall be with them"—can be words to motivate and sustain your special service in the Church. You know that, as deacons, you are especially dedicated to the works of mercy, to practical charity. Motivated by the love of God, a deacon personally serves the sick, the suffering, the forgotten, the poor, the dying, and thus becomes God’s presence for them, representing Christ’s love and that of His Church. In Our Holy Father Pope Benedict’s first Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est—God is Love , he speaks specifically about deacons and about this charity which you are called to extend in a special way. Here are his words: "Saint Luke provides a kind of definition of the Church, whose constitutive elements include fidelity to the ‘teaching of the Apostles,’ ‘communion’ (koinonia), ‘the breaking of the bread’ and ‘prayer’ (cf. Acts 2:42). The element of ‘communion’ (koinonia) is not initially defined, but appears concretely in the verses quoted above: it consists in the fact that believers hold all things in common and that among them, there is no longer any distinction between rich and poor (cf. also Acts 4:32-37). As the Church grew, this radical form of material communion could not in fact be preserved. But its essential core remained: within the community of believers there can never be room for a poverty that denies anyone what is needed for a dignified life.
"A decisive step in the difficult search for ways of putting this fundamental ecclesial principle into practice is illustrated in the choice of the seven, which marked the origin of the diaconal office (cf. Acts 6:5-6). In the early Church, in fact, with regard to the daily distribution to widows, a disparity had arisen between Hebrew speakers and Greek speakers. The Apostles, who had been entrusted primarily with ‘prayer’ (the Eucharist and the liturgy) and the ‘ministry of the word’, felt over-burdened by ‘serving tables,’ so they decided to reserve to themselves the principal duty and to designate for the other task, also necessary in the Church, a group of seven persons. Nor was this group to carry out a purely mechanical work of distribution: they were to be men ‘full of the Spirit and of wisdom’ (cf. Acts 6:1-6). In other words, the social service which they were meant to provide was absolutely concrete, yet at the same time it was also a spiritual service; theirs was a truly spiritual office which carried out an essential responsibility of the Church, namely a well-ordered love of neighbour. With the formation of this group of seven, ‘diaconia’—the ministry of charity exercised in a communitarian, orderly way—became part of the fundamental structure of the Church."
You must note that, at one and the same time, your service must be absolutely concrete and yet a truly spiritual service. As deacons you are not ordained social workers; you are ministers of Jesus Christ and of Christian charity, offering what Pope Benedict calls "a well ordered love of neighbor." This is what sets you apart, what must distinguish you as deacons—that you are "full of the Spirit and of wisdom."
It was exactly one year ago today when our Holy Father Pope Benedict, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, presided over the funeral of Pope John Paul II. From his rich and profound homily for that Mass, I lift out two parts for your consideration. The first are the words of Christ which the then-Cardinal Ratzinger repeated throughout his homily: "Follow me." He reflected on the stages of Pope John Paul II’s life, and how each stage was a deeper response to this call of the Lord to come and follow Him. Christ has issued a call to you, dear Deacons, as well. During this jubilee year you must reflect on how you have responded thus far, so that, in the words of Christ which Pope John Paul highlighted for us, you may "put out into the deep," rededicate yourselves and follow the Lord more closely. Secondly, the then-Cardinal Ratzinger pinpointed for us the secret of Pope John Paul’s tireless ministry: " Thanks to his being profoundly rooted in Christ, he was able to bear a burden which transcends merely human abilities: that of being the shepherd of Christ’s flock, the universal Church." It is this rootedness in Christ which I exhort each of you deacons to ponder, so that you may bear that share of the burden of the Gospel which Christ has placed on your shoulders. It is out of this profound and close union with Christ that you go forth as deacons, to roll up the sleeves of your dalmatic and humbly but joyfully serve God’s people. This is costly: most worthwhile things are! But there is nothing more worthwhile than loving and serving the Lord. So resolve to carry Christ’s Cross wherever it takes you, knowing that His grace is all sufficient.
Dear Friends: in a moment we shall turn to the altar, at which the Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the "whole nation" is saved will once again be offered to the Father in the Holy Spirit. Rejoice that you have been redeemed by that Sacrifice; be renewed by the graces it affords; and rededicate yourselves to your ministry as deacons. If you continue to do your part in the work of Jesus Christ and His Church, you and those to whom you minister will truly be His people, and He will be your God and the sacramental servanthood of the Lord will be exalted and glorified for the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Deacon Day
March 31, 2007
Dear Deacons and Wives,
Once again I have the joy of gathering with you on this annual Deacon Day. I am so pleased to be with you all here at St. William’s. Each year this is an important celebration and an opportunity for me as your bishop to proclaim the importance of the Permanent Diaconate. It is a celebration of our unity and shared ministry in the name of Jesus and for the good of His Church. But this is also an opportunity for me to express my gratitude to you for the service you give to the Church and to the People of God. The Permanent Diaconate brings great blessings to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia through the service you undertake in so many ways. As teachers and catechists, ministers in parishes, hospitals, nursing homes and prisons, ministering to children, engaged couples, new parents, the aged and the bereaved, you serve the Body of Christ as you yourselves embody Christ the servant of all. For all of this, I thank you!
This is also an opportunity to renew my particular gratitude to you wives, whose support is so important to the deacons’ ministry, and who yourselves contribute a great deal to the life of the Church. Your presence today bears testimony to the support you give to your husbands and their ministry as deacons.
A Journey with Jesus the Deacon in Holy Week
As we gather here today on the day before Passion Sunday, we prepare ourselves to celebrate the essential mysteries of our faith this coming week. Priests often meditate on how Jesus acted as Priest and Lamb of Sacrifice during Holy Week to gain a greater sense of their priesthood. So how might a deacon celebrate Holy Week?
When I was last with you, it was October and we were celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Permanent Diaconate in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. At that time I mentioned in the homily that Jesus Himself was a deacon who came to serve rather than to be served. By meditating on Jesus the Deacon throughout Holy Week, you can come to a greater appreciation of your own ministry as His deacons.
Passion Sunday
Tomorrow, on Passion Sunday, we recall that Jesus entered Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week. Jesus knew that He must come into Jerusalem even at great personal sacrifice. In a wild scene with the crowds shouting "Hosanna," it might have been seen as a moment of glory to those watching from the outside. But to Jesus it was simply a prelude to His week of service and suffering. It was the beginning of a week during which He emptied Himself, "taking on the form of a servant" as Saint Paul says in his letter to the Philippians.
Each of the four evangelists has his own perspective on Jesus’ Passion. Mark stresses the isolation of Christ crucified. He is abandoned by His disciples, tortured and taunted by those around Him, and, finally, dies on the Cross in agony.
Matthew emphasizes the royal dignity of Christ in fulfillment of all the promises of the Old Testament. Matthew tells us that if we know our Scriptures, we will see through the seemingly powerless crucified Jesus and recognize the Messiah in His glory. John also shows us a royal Christ on the Cross, but John’s vision of Jesus is of Christ the King completely in control of His "hour of glory" on the Cross.
This year we will read Luke’s version of the Passion which has particular significance for deacons. Luke shows Jesus as a compassionate servant even as He is giving up His own life. While it appears elsewhere in the other Gospels, in Luke’s Gospel Jesus tells His Apostles at the Last Supper that the greatest among them is the servant of all the others. The rest of Luke’s Passion narrative describes how Jesus became this Servant.
Just as Stephen the deacon is seen as the first martyr in Luke’s companion book, the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus’ Death on the Cross is presented as the final act of His diaconal service. Luke’s parallels between the Death of Jesus and the death of Stephen were intentional—showing the connection between Jesus and the Church modeled by Stephen. Jesus, as He is described by Luke, is one who heals the severed ear of the High Priest’s servant, who ministers in sympathy to the daughters of Jerusalem and the criminal who hung on the cross next to Him. Jesus performed diaconal service until His last breath.
Holy Thursday
Later this week we will again meet Jesus the Deacon. On Holy Thursday, we will read from Saint John’s version of the Last Supper. John is unique in his description of the Last Supper because he does not include the words of consecration or the breaking of the bread. Instead, he presents Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. No Gospel passage is more diaconal than the washing of the feet. Jesus’ admonition, "...as I have done for you, you should also do," echoes in the ears of every deacon everyday. May you always be deeply conscious that, while you are serving the people of God, you are not just ordained social workers. Rather you are Christ washing the feet of His disciples. Your service is more than just useful, it is holy.
Good Friday
On Good Friday we will continue our encounter with Jesus the Deacon in the first reading from Isaiah. Again as a suffering servant, Jesus bears our afflictions and our infirmities. As deacons, you too are asked to bear the afflictions and burdens of those you are called to serve.
This is not an abstraction! Compassionate suffering is part of the life of every Christian, but especially part of the life of a deacon. Part of my wanting to be here with you today is to acknowledge the good work you do and the suffering that it sometimes entails. But also as we gather here together in unity, we can remind ourselves that our suffering is not pain and sacrifice for the sake of pain and sacrifice. No, it is suffering united to the suffering of Christ the Suffering Servant, who leads us to salvation. On Good Friday Jesus the Deacon gives meaning to all Christian suffering. And deacons today, in their service in the name of Jesus and His Church, help make visible the redemptive work of Jesus on the Cross.
Easter
At the Easter Vigil we will hear Saint Paul tell the Romans that anyone who dies with Christ will rise with Him in the Resurrection. The life of every Christian, and certainly every deacon, is marked by a steady dying to sin and selfishness so as to take on the life offered by Jesus.
In a particular way deacons offer their lives in service, and in so doing can experience dying to themselves. Service certainly comes at a price for every deacon, and his family too. But you gladly pay that price because of the life you and your families receive in Christ.
When Jesus rose from the dead, He rose as Priest, Prophet and King. He rose as Savior and Messiah. He rose as the New Adam, the New Moses, and the New David. He rose as the Son of God and the Son of Man. He also rose as the Deacon of the new and eternal covenant!
The Easter season brings a steady unfolding of the mystery of the Resurrection. As we contemplate Jesus raised from the dead by His heavenly Father, who thus shows His loving acceptance of Jesus’ Sacrifice, I pray that you will rejoice in knowing that your ministry as deacons not only extends the service of Jesus the Deacon but also gives testimony to our faith: Jesus is alive! He lives for His Father; He lives for His Church! In this way your ministry of service becomes also a ministry of hope in the Church.
Gratitude and Hope
Dear friends: our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI mentioned deacons in his recent Post- Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, under the heading "Gratitude and Hope." I join him in giving thanks once again for the service that deacons give to the Church, and I pray that all of you may be renewed at Easter in your life and ministry, as Saint Peter says, through "a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3). Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Deacon Day Mass
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
October 3, 2010
"Lord, Increase our faith!"
Bishop Thomas,
Brother Priests,
Dear Deacons, dear Wives,
Dear Fellow-Servants of the Lord,
It is in the spirit of joy that we lift up our hearts to the Lord God who has blessed us with faith in His Son Jesus Christ. It is with hope that we confidently expect faith's increase, and it is in love that we respond to the wondrous calling we have received?me as your Bishop, our dedicated priests, you as the faithful deacons serving this Archdiocese, your spouses and families living the life of grace with you, and supporting you in the call to serve the wider Christian community in charity.
The Apostle, in his Second Letter to Timothy exhorts the young Bishop in these words: "Beloved, be reminded to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands." It is an exhortation to Timothy and to each of us that we have a responsibility to be solicitous of the gift freely bestowed upon us. Any hint of carelessness, indifference or neglect of the ministry which is entrusted to us must be vigorously resisted. St. Paul alludes to the reality that by our diligence in sincere worship and prayer, by our personal effort and care to cultivate the rich gifts we have, these gifts grow even more abundant through divine grace. We are thus renewed in strength and zeal for the demands of the ministry which are indeed ceaseless, wide-ranging, at times sublime, and at other times very ordinary. So we beseech the Lord, saying: "Lord, Increase our faith!"
St. Paul offers to Timothy a tender, sympathetic, and solemn appeal, bringing all that there is in his own character, age, and strong relationship, to bear on Timothy, in order to encourage him to be faithful to his charge. It is with a like heart that, as your bishop, I enjoin you deacons to be thankful for, and faithful to your charge. My heart is enlivened at the knowledge that so many wonderful works of charity and of service are being carried out by you, my dear brothers in the vineyard of our Savior.
You and I know that in receiving this call you have made your share of sacrifices for love of Christ's Church. This has stretched from the time of your initial formation with your wives by your side, to the present moment where we pause to consider how the Lord has graced and sustained you in your journey.
You have enjoyed successes and achievements of which you may rightly be proud, but even more so, grateful. At times you have also been humbled by apparent failures, personal shortcomings and yet unrealized hopes. The latter is no reason for discouragement but is indeed part of every person's challenging journey of faith. Take courage, then, in St. Paul's exhortation: "Do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord.but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God."
The Apostles, humbled at their own limitations, had the great sense to turn away from an over-reliance on their own resources and to trust more completely in the Lord as they begged of Jesus in Luke's Gospel account: "Lord, Increase our faith." It is only Jesus who has the power to increase the faith of His people. All strength comes from Jesus, especially strength to accept the Gospel and to be faithful to its just demands. Hence, Jesus is called in the twelfth chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews the "Author and Finisher" of our faith.
So we are in this world, embracing the good in it, reaching out to promote and protect life in it, all the while recognizing that we are not of this world but pilgrims in it. This supernatural knowledge that faith gives us is dismissed outright by some whose voices are loud and constant. Nonetheless we hear the inspired words of Habakkuk, so important that Paul quotes them in no less than three of his letters: "The rash one has no integrity; but the just one, because of his faith, shall live." With this exhortation we continue to pray: "Lord, Increase our faith!"
Indeed we live now with the God of life, and we shall live with Him in eternity. This is what animates our apostolate and allows us to bear fruit and to be constant "doers of the word." Yet we credit none of this to ourselves as the Lord Himself instructs: "When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'"
In essence, the Lord Jesus, our Savior, is saying to us: be humble, and know who you are before your God. The Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas, held that after faith, hope and love?humility is the most important of virtues, and that humility prepares the soul for the greatest outpouring of gifts. Humility is central to Christian existence. It is central to the ministry of every deacon, priest and bishop. Our Seminary Patron, St. Charles Borromeo, reminds us of this each time we look at his crest, across which is emblazoned the word "humility," Humilitas. When we know who we are in the sight of the Lord, and confess it in our heart and on our lips, He will increase our faith.
When we have done all we have been commanded, should we dare make a claim on the Lord? A sound theology reveals to us that God cannot be enriched by our service, and therefore cannot be made a debtor by it. He has no essential need of us, nor can our service make any addition to His perfections. And yet He is willing to use our service and through it build up His Church and lead His people to eternal life. Still it is most fitting for us to recognize that we are unprofitable servants, and to cry out to Him, saying: "Lord, Increase our faith!"
God's love is so great, His mercy so abundant! May it continue to enliven your hearts and the hearts of your spouses and children, and all those you love. May your charity overflow in the service you give at the altar and pulpit, in the community, the nursing home, the funeral parlor and all those places where you endeavor to minister with self-effacing and persevering love.
Dear Deacons: may the Lord Jesus constantly increase your faith, so that you may realize and fulfill ever more the challenging demands of your sacramental ministry?a ministry which is to bear witness to and to share in His sacred servanthood. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Permanent Diaconate Ordination
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 31, 2008
Dear brother Bishops, Priests and Deacons,
Dear Candidates for the Diaconate,
Dear Wives and Children of these chosen men,
Dear Friends in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Servant of Humanity,
Yesterday the Church celebrated the love of God as it passes through the humanity of Jesus and is manifested in His Sacred Heart. Today, the feast of the Visitation we celebrate the same reality of God’s love as it passes through the humanity of Mary and is manifested by her loving service to Elizabeth. But we also celebrate the love of God as it passes through the generous service of those to be ordained Deacons this morning.
In our first reading we recalled the words God spoke to Jeremiah: "To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear…because I am with you…says the Lord."
Today these words are addressed to our deacons about to be ordained, whose names are important to the Church. They are: Joseph, Mark, Dennis, Gary, James, Edward, Mark and William.
These men take their place today among the successors of the first deacons, in a close and sacramental partnership with the priests of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, indeed with the priests of the world. This partnership is a partnership in the Gospel of Christ. It is a vocation of special service to the people of God, special service closely associated with that of the priests.
The service we are speaking about for our Deacons is above all a service of charity; it is an outreach in the name of Jesus Christ and the Church. The service of the diaconate is a dynamic part of the spiritual structure of the Church, as willed by God.
The service of each deacon is more than a personal contribution of an individual. It is part of the life of the Church and the mystery of Christ. But in each individual, this service begins at the altar, with the power that comes forth from the Eucharistic Sacrifice; it is consolidated and intensified in personal prayer; it presupposes the witness of an upright life.
This service strives to respond to so many needs—to needs wherever they are found among God’s people. As a special sacramental service, the diaconate further extends and fulfills the service that Baptism requires of all.
My dear brothers: your training has helped you to understand the challenge you now embrace as part of the Church’s life. Your wives and children are here to pledge collaboration and support, and we are so happy for this.
Your call to service is sacramentally inspired and sustained, and it clearly challenges you to be like Christ, who says to each one of you: "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you."
Jesus further explains the type of love that He is talking about, saying: "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."
You are being asked to lay down your life in service. Never before have you aspired to the greatness that you now take on. Jesus says: "...whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant" (Matthew 20:26).
In practice, your service will require zeal and the ingenuity to discover the needs of God’s people and to help fulfill them: the needs of the poor, the sick and suffering, the homeless, those uninstructed in the faith, those in need of love, those languishing in despair, all those in need of Christ.
And so you fulfill a basic role in communicating Christ by word and example. Your word must be inspired by God’s word as proclaimed, interpreted and lived by the Church. Your example must be deeply rooted in prayer and charity. It must express a life of justice, honesty and truth. You will always be expected to speak and act in communion with Benedict our Pope and with his successors, with the presbyterate of Philadelphia and in the communion of faith of the universal Church.
In giving you a sacramental configuration to Christ, the Servant of humanity, the Church is asking a great deal of you. She is counting on your perseverance and on the authenticity of your lives. To accomplish this you will absolutely need the energy and strength that flow from the Death and Resurrection of the Lord, which are renewed in the Eucharistic Sacrifice; and so often you will have the opportunity to share in this Sacrifice at the side of the priest.
The Church , moreover, needs your efforts to model the relationships required of Christian families in charity, prayer and openness to the needs of others.
In all your life and ministry, what is needed is a team mentality of collaboration, and the team is the Church of Jesus Christ. And "the rules of the game" are the Gospel of Christ as proclaimed and interpreted and lived by the Church.
Every individual gift of yours is needed and esteemed, but all of them must be coordinated by the action of the Holy Spirit in the communion of the Church. In the years to come, your words of faith must flow forth from a heart steeped in prayer. Everything that you teach and communicate will be in union with the teaching of the Church—which is one, holy, Catholic and apostolic.
Now, more than ever before, the Church needs your holiness and zeal. And this means that you personally need the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Penance, prayer, meditation on the word of God, an intimate relationship with Christ and a loving trust in His Mother Mary. An intimate relationship with Christ requires an openness to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, who can never contradict the guidance He offers us through the Church.
Through your selfless giving and through your holiness of life, Christ’s own ministry of service in the world will be perpetuated. His servant Church will be more effective, more authentic, more compassionate, more loving.
Yes, dear brothers, the love of God passes through your ministry of service as deacons in the Church, just as it passes through the humanity of Christ and His Mother Mary, and finds expression in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
From now on, as deacons, you too will be special signs of God’s love in the Church, because you will be dedicated to a service that can only be motivated and sustained by God’s love.
Dear brothers, deacons to be, and dear friends in Christ all: there is a special reason for the Church today to proclaim God’s love to be revealed in the humble and self-effacing service of His new deacons. Amen.
Address of Cardinal Justin Rigali
"His name is Jesus Christ!"
Defending the Faith Conference
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Steubenville, Ohio
July 30, 2010
Dear Friends,
I am very pleased to participate with you in the 2010 Defending the Faith Conference sponsored by Franciscan University of Steubenville. Together, we mark the 35th anniversary of Steubenville Conferences and their contribution to the mission of evangelization. I express deep gratitude to Father Terence Henry, TOR, the President of Franciscan University, for his invitation, and I congratulate him and the whole Franciscan University community on this great milestone.
I wish likewise to express my greetings to the co-hosts of this Conference, Professor Scott Hahn and Professor Alan Schreck. I appreciate the presence of the priests, religious, seminarians, married couples and single persons. I thank all of you for your clear support for the mission of the Church.
Conversation often begins ordinarily enough. We may be at the supermarket, in the car pool on the way to work, on the sidewalk in our neighborhood, in the airport waiting for a flight, at the ball field watching a son or daughter, niece or nephew’s game or practice, or, perhaps we are in the office or in the lunch room at work. In common conversation, colleagues or friends ask us about what we may be reading lately, or perhaps they ask where our children go to school or about our own background, schooling or education.
We see the topic emerging as we respond: “I’ve been reading about the theology of the body.” “I’ve been reading Pope Benedict’s book on Jesus of Nazareth.” “My children attend Immaculate Heart of Mary School.” “My son graduated from Holy Savior School.” “I am on my way to a parish council meeting tonight.” “We’ll be late for the gathering because we are attending the 12:30 Mass.”
Then comes the puzzled look. The prudent and polite pause. The lull in the conversation. And many of us could fill in the words for what comes next.
In their response to us, the next sentence perhaps begins: “Well do you really …? Well …how can you …? Do you really … believe all that?!” By now, those who are standing around turn to listen more closely. They weren’t eavesdropping. They were just listening! And now they are really listening! What is our response?
The topic of faith and religion emerges. We may be asked what we believe about God, about the moral teaching of the Church or even about the reasons behind our faith practice.
When they ask us if we “really believe all that,” and we respond, “Yes, I do,” a new moment and an original moment is born. Our “yes” might not convince our friends, neighbors or family members of all the truths of faith, at first. It might not move them to change their opinions, ideas or positions. But our “yes” accomplishes something in the heart of those who hear us. They can no longer remain where they were prior to our conversation. Their heart has been touched. It has been moved simply by their experience of our response. They no longer have the option or the luxury of remaining where they were a moment before. They have been moved. They may, of course, write us off for a time. They may dismiss us, avoid us, think us naïve and remain at a distance, unconvinced. But they are moved.
Our “yes” inherits all of the grace of every “yes” uttered throughout salvation history. Our “yes” is not unconnected with every prior “yes,” because it exists always and permanently as a witness to the truth. Our “yes” unites with the “yes” of Abraham. Our “yes” unites with the “yes” of the Patriarchs and Prophets. Our “yes” unites with the most perfect “yes” of our Blessed Mother Mary, her fiat. Our “yes” unites with the “yes” of the apostles and martyrs. Our “yes” is an echo of the fidelity of the faithful men and women of every time and place. In our “yes” we are never alone. Our “yes” is part of a larger chorus, a witness that points to Besus Christ, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, the Son of the Eternal Father, the Son of the Virgin Mary, the Redeemer of the world, the great lover and defender of humanity. Our listeners hear the Word of truth reflected in our voice, and as the author of the Letter to Hebrews tells us, "… the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart" (Heb 4:12). Our listeners cannot remain where they were prior to our response.
I would like to offer for reflection today three core principles that must form our response, our defense of the faith in the twenty-first century. First, underneath all of the surface opinions and perhaps even protestations to the contrary, people are hungry for faith. Second, their hunger is of such considerable proportions that our presentation of the faith, the evangelization and the catechesis of the Church, must address both the heart and the head together. Third, and most importantly, Jesus Christ alone fully satisfies the human heart.
I. People are hungry for faith
First, the people we meet are truly hungry for faith. At times, our friends, neighbors, and sometimes our own family express confusion, questions, or even dismay and bewilderment at our faith and practice. Sometimes, there is even disagreement and distance.
The people who question us about our faith, and even those who may disagree with us, sometimes perhaps vehemently, are not for that reason less worthy of our attention, interest and respect. So often they have disengaged from the practice of their faith due to overwhelming pressure to conform to a worldly mindset. Some have been battered by an unrelenting de-formation that conditions them to disregard and dismiss their own deep yearning for God. Some are registered in their parish, participate as best they can, but they have grown cold due to the numbing gale-force insistence of the world. How easy it is to be overpowered by the world with all of its labels and prejudices, and simply to give in, to give up. Those who are pressured and cast about by the world have a special friend in our Blessed Mother. The Blessed Virgin Mary is always eager to guide those who wander, so that their hearts may be transformed from places of worry and pressure into hearts that treasure the things of God.
The skepticism we face today differs from that of yesterday. The skepticism of the previous generation arose as the residue of a pragmatic atheism in the academy. It rarely trickled down to the person on the street. The skepticism of today is different. It arises out of a lost sense of meaning. Our friends, neighbors and family are told repeatedly that the undeniable religious yearning we all feel in the depths of our heart is only a superficial, sentimental affect, an individualist search for an emotional high, the quest for inner serenity and harmony so that they can feel calm in the midst of a busy world filled with demanding activities and hectic schedules. Over time, unaddressed, this skepticism erodes the foundations of faith and metastasizes into an understated yet practical atheism. We find that sometimes our friends, co-workers, family, fellow students, and even our fellow parishioners, may look on us as out of step with the times and on a different wave-length. And, of course, we are and pray to remain there.
The subtle atheism of today seeks not so much to deny the existence of God as to inhibit, prevent, redirect and, if necessary, refuse the acknowledgement and exercise of the deep hunger for God that slumbers in every heart. The atheism of today does not arise from the academy alone. It arises within the practical and daily attempts, even within proposed civil legislation and judicial activism, of the denial of religious liberty and freedom of conscience that our culture and society have from the very beginning acknowledged as the bedrock of the common good and the rights of the human person. Pope Benedict XVI, in his most recent Encyclical Letter, Caritas in Veritate, emphasizes: “When the State promotes, teaches, or actually imposes forms of practical atheism, it deprives its citizens of the moral and spiritual strength that is indispensable for attaining integral human development and it impedes them from moving forward with renewed dynamism as they strive to offer a more generous human response to divine love” (no. 29). The Holy Father concluded, “A humanism which excludes God is an inhuman humanism” (no. 78).
The exercise of religion is more and more being treated as an exclusively private attitude that ought not to extend beyond the property-line of the Church. We simply cannot confine ourselves to a strategy of neutrality in the face of the recent erosion of religious freedom. The skepticism we face does not simply disagree with Christians; it is hostile to Christians and resentful of the Good News of Jesus Christ. It seeks to relegate Christians to the sidelines of society. Pope Benedict XVI, in his Encyclical Letter Spe Salvi, called attention to this troubling phenomenon: “… ‘redemption’ … is no longer expected from faith, but from the newly discovered link between science and praxis. It is not that faith is simply denied; rather it is displaced onto another level—that of purely private and other-worldly affairs—and at the same time it becomes somehow irrelevant for the world. This programmatic vision has determined the trajectory of modern times and it also shapes the present-day crisis of faith ... " (no. 17).
The theme of this year’s Conference, “Be Transformed by the Renewal of Your Mind,” is an urgent call to faithful citizens and all people of good will to embrace the persistent and fundamental calling of the human person to respond to a deep yearning for God, especially through religious freedom and the free exercise of religion. The atheism of today infects not only the head, but the heart. This leads us to our second principle: The remedy we offer must speak not to the head alone, but to the heart and the head together. The words of St. Paul call us to a new commitment: "Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect" (Rom 12:2).
II. We must address both the head and the heart
To address both the head and the heart, we step forward with courage. Courage, after all, is the path to nobility. As we step forward, at first, we may fall into the trap of trying to construct the silver bullet, that all-embracing phrase or line of argumentation that effectively refutes every argument and convinces the skeptic to believe the truth of faith. Certainly, we need the familiarity and well-tuned expression that arises from immersing ourselves in research on the truths of faith. We benefit greatly from honing the technical skills of informed study and debate. These skills help us to express reasonable, logical, linear reasoning of faith through affable, yet vigorous, discussion. This point-for-point dialogue is invigorating and crucial to our witness.
Divine Revelation does not contradict right reason. Rather, Divine Revelation illumines human reason and invites it to new heights. The light of Divine Revelation, expressed in Sacred Scripture and the living apostolic Tradition of the Church and authentically interpreted in the Church’s living Magisterium, is a gift to man, to lead him to penetrate the mystery of human existence.
This generation must be well prepared to demonstrate in common and accessible language that the prevalent body-soul dualism which informs so much of secular thinking and education is woefully inadequate and destructive of the common good. We must be prepared to demonstrate that proportionalism is an unacceptable moral methodology. This August marks seventeen years since the Venerable Servant of God Pope John Paul II published Veritatis Splendor, his Encyclical Letter on certain fundamental questions of the Church’s moral teaching. Yet so many of us still very much need to receive fully this crucial teaching as the center of gravity in our moral analysis and everyday experience.
The critical examination and reasoning so crucial to apologetics is not meant, in its first instance, to show that we are correct, but to show that we love one another. Our reasoning ought never to sink to intense polemics. We must never turn to cynicism or contempt in our effort to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we discover ourselves becoming frequently frustrated in our efforts to defend the faith, this may be a sign that we need to calibrate our approach to include greater emphasis on the beauty and invitation of faith. The reasoning we propose in witness to our faith is not meant to end all arguments, but to begin a new search in the lives of those with whom we speak. Our reasoning is not meant to be the last word, but the first word, the invitation, the doorway to a quest, a journey into the truths of faith, into the life of God. We do not simply refute arguments, we invite people. The keynote of apologetics in every age of the Church is the way we live our lives. The world must see the honesty in our eyes long before it hears the conviction in our voice. And science is always on our side: The modern ultra sound picture of the child in the womb proves the old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. There are two central threads of the Culture of Life. The first is to protect the inviolable dignity of all human life from the moment of conception to natural death, especially of those most in danger, namely, the child in the womb and persons who are approaching the end of life. And the other central thread of the Culture of Life is the protection and promotion of marriage as the permanent, faithful, fruitful bond of one man and one woman.
So many of the people we meet are wounded, even though they appear healthy and successful by worldly standards. The voice deep in their heart, which cries out for meaning, has been marginalized and exiled. They have been hurt by so many others who say one thing and do another. They have been scarred by attempts to maximize control, by constant image-driven preoccupation with status, by the narrow understanding of life which the world never ceases to impose. They may often feel as if they are simply going through the motions. They seek escape from the tensions and are burdened by resistance and reluctance to reach out to the God who is calling them. Too many of our friends, our colleagues, our brothers and sisters are experiencing a secret despair in life which they have kept hidden for far too long.
God sends us to those who are suffering to announce again that only Jesus Christ can totally satisfy the deepest hunger of the human heart. This is our third and final principle.
III. Jesus Christ alone uncovers the meaning of human existence and fully; satisfies the hunger of the human heart.
Human existence has meaning, and it is not found in money, fashion or pleasure. The flavor of these passing pursuits always runs out. These do not move the depths of our being, and they never explain the meaning of our existence. They never even scrape the surface of our deep and abiding hunger for God. We must build on this yearning and rediscover beauty, surrender to beauty, and awaken again to the meaning of human existence. The loss of meaning can only be fully restored by the experience of beauty. And nothing is more beautiful than the countenance of God the Father shining on the face of Jesus Christ. As Pope John Paul II said in Veritatis Splendor: “The light of God's face shines in all its beauty on the countenance of Jesus Christ” (no. 2).
One of the great tasks, if not the principal task, of evangelization and catechesis in this moment is their mobilization on the local level. The central work within the New Evangelization is the formation and expression of a robust Christian anthropology. The renewal of anthropology was the landmark and hallmark of the teaching of Pope John Paul II. As Pope John Paul II reminded us so often, and the teaching of the Second Vatican Council made clear: "The truth is that only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light ... Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear" (Gaudium et Spes, 22). And the Word made Flesh, Jesus Christ, revealed to us the ultimate meaning of human existence in His Passion, Death and glorious Resurrection. Once again, in the words of Vatican II: “… man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself" (Gaudium et Spes, 24). The sincere gift of self is not only good advice, a good idea or simply polite manners, it is the path of human existence. The total gift of self in love is not activism, but the action at the heart of all that we do. It is the heart of the meaning of human identity. If we are not making a gift of ourselves, then we will not be able to find ourselves. We learn to make the gift of self not on the basis of our own efforts or good intentions. The gift of self in love is the centerpiece of Christian anthropology that provides the basis by which we can form complete responses to the stormy questions of the day. The Cross of Jesus Christ alone gives us courage to offer ourselves as a gift even in the face of confrontation and contradiction.
The task of the Christian in the twenty-first century is, simply stated, to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit seeks to awaken the people around us to a beauty in Christ and therefore to a meaning in their own existence that they never suspected to find. We encounter His beauty in and through the Church. In the Church we sense an immediacy of beauty that arouses and shapes the persistent hunger of the human heart. In the Church, as we partake of the Sacraments, our life is transformed by the superabundant grace of Jesus Christ.
There is no room in the New Evangelization for empty words. Every time we utter “yes,” the missionary summons of our “yes” becomes a spark that can enkindle and ignite a hardened heart. The only way to move a generation is to ignite hearts. As Pope Benedict explained in Spe Salvi: “… the holy power of [Christ’s] love sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally ourselves and thus totally of God” (no. 47). This holy fire alone is the catalyst by which the words of St. Paul are fulfilled: "Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect" (Rom 12:2). Only hearts on fire have the power and courage to dismantle the ideologies of the Culture of Death and embrace the Culture of Life and the call to holiness.
People today need Christians to coax them back from the edge, to remind them how much the world matters to God. We fulfill this role not by diluting the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but by living it to the full and sharing it with others. People are indeed hungry for faith in Jesus Christ.
The next time you are at the supermarket, on a soccer field or sidewalk, or in a gathering and someone asks you: “Do you really believe all that?” you can respond: “Yes, I do!” But perhaps somewhere in your conversation and your personal exchange you can also use the Word that denotes the Person who unites us all and with whom we are united through faith, the Word that fills hearts and minds, the only Word that fully satisfies the hunger of the human heart, the Word uttered by the Father before all ages, the Word who became incarnate and was born of the Virgin Mary. His name is Jesus Christ! He is the Savior of the world and the greatest treasure of all humanity. He is the one whose Gospel we want to share with all our fellow human beings because for all of us He is the way, the truth and the life. Dear friends: Jesus Christ, whom we know through faith is the greatest gift we can offer to all who willingly accept to know Him and His message of eternal life. Hence, let us say, for all to hear: “Blessed be the name of Jesus!”
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Defending the Faith Conference
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Steubenville, Ohio
July 31, 2010
Today I come, speaking to all of you―especially you young people―as friends: friends in our Lord Jesus Christ, friends of our Lord Jesus Christ and what I say is this: “Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name” (Ps 34:4). These words of the psalmist, proclaimed only moments ago in the responsorial psalm, capture and express the spirit of these past thirty-five years of Conferences here at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. “Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name.”
There is a palpable eagerness in the words of the psalmist. That same eagerness is present here, today, on the campus of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. I can hear it in your voices, see it in your faces and sense it in your presence.
“Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name.” These words of the psalmist are remarkably similar to those of Saint Paul from the first reading: “…whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31).
And the theme mounts: The words “For the Greater Glory of God” (Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam) are so characteristic of the Christian mission that they form the motto of the Society of Jesus, the religious community founded by the Saint whose memorial we celebrate today, Saint Ignatius of Loyola. From his place in the Liturgy of heaven at the Supper of the Lamb, united with our Blessed Mother and all the Angels and Saints, Saint Ignatius continues to call out to us, saying: “Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name.”
The eminent Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar gave considerable and extensive consideration in his theological work to the glory of God as the beauty of Divine Revelation. The splendor of God’s holiness shines forth as the light of his glory which the living God longs to communicate to man through faith. The memorial we celebrate today, along with the words of the first reading and responsorial psalm, invite us to glorify God.
“Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name.” Our contemporary society, formed from the post-modern era, has a different idea about glory. The world of today seeks to sway, pressure, manipulate and persuade our families and friends to buy into the glory of self. And the world is feverishly targeting this generation.
This generation moves quickly. It is not waiting. It experiences the lure of the spotlight, the enticement of pleasure and power, the fast pace of the corporate ladder, the race to get the next promotion, the bigger bonus and the higher status. The world repeatedly tells us that glory is found only in being powerful, in what we own, in how much money we have, how much power we achieve and how popular we are.
“Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name.” In the post-modern lifestyle, glory to anyone but the individual self is judged to be a myth. The world tells this generation that the life of faith is outdated, and the difference between right and wrong is hollow and empty. When the Church speaks of avoiding sin and embracing the life of grace, the common reaction of society is to label and attack us. So often today to be a Christian is to be labeled, if not targeted, as “old-fashioned,” “backward,” “reactionary,” “to be against everything.” Yet, a question lingers: If the contemporary society is so convinced of its own way, why is it so eager and determined to oppose the effort to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ?
Saint Paul provides a position for us to take: "Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect" (Rom 12:2). His words are so appropriate as the theme of this 2010 Defending the Faith Conference.
Transformation does not come from our reputation or from what we own. It does not arise from our status, getting our own way or having everything we want. Self-worth does not come from net-worth. Jesus tells us plainly the origin of transformation. At first, His words from the Gospel of Saint Luke seem to sound a somber note: “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Lk 14:25 ). The words of Jesus at first sound upsetting to us. The maxim of Jesus seems to run counter to the fourth commandment of the Decalogue: “Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you” (Ex 20:12; cf. Deut 5:16).
How different these words of Jesus seem from the words with which we began: “Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name.” How can He who taught us to love our enemies now teach us to hate our families? In fact He does not. Transformation in the Lord may seem on the surface like such a reversal, a contradiction. The great Franciscan Doctor of the Church, Saint Bonaventure, leads us through this apparent contradiction. He teaches that the hatred spoken of in the Gospel does not arise from cruelty, but from love. Commenting on this Gospel passage, Saint Bonaventure tells us that we are commanded to hate our “father, mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even our own life” as far as sin goes. We are to hate any attachment to sin in our relationship to our family and even in regard to our own life. Saint Bonaventure recalled the words of Saint Augustine: “If you have loved badly, then you have hated. If you have hated well, then you have loved.” Obviously Jesus is telling us, yes, to love our father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, but to love God and His law above everyone else in our lives.
To buy into the world’s definition of glory means to love badly. We, however, are called to love well. There is only one way to love well. That is to accept the invitation of Jesus: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Lk 14: 26). The Cross of the Redeemer is the key which opens the meaning of all of history. Our own cross to which Jesus invites us is never far away: It is in the suffering we share as our spouse, parents, siblings, children or other relatives go through a crisis; it is in the distress we may face as we struggle to love our brothers and sisters from one day to the next; it is in the waiting and discernment to which we dedicate ourselves as we listen while God teaches us the deeper purpose of His will; it is in the pain we feel in our body as our physical health wanes.
Each of these moments is a new opportunity to make a gift of self in love and so join ourselves to the saving action of Jesus. This is what Christianity is all about: making a gift of self in love. In the Eucharist we find the nourishment to accept the invitation of Jesus. In the Eucharist we fulfill the summons of the psalmist: “Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name.”
The world, despite all claims to the contrary, is always mystified by the Cross of Jesus. On the Cross, the Son of God reveals his glory as He makes the gift of Himself in the supreme act of love for His Father and for His Church. His obedient and sacrificial outpouring of love is the saving action that reveals the radiant inner depths of His glory. The Cross of our Redeemer Jesus Christ is the great anchor of love that moors all of history.
There is a special person who has stood close to that Cross, and she longs to guide us so that we, like her, may imitate Her Son. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the one who has humbly discerned “the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” Through this Conference, through the preparation, hard work and determination of the presenters, participants, administrators and staff, she has reached out her hands to inspire us, motivate us and teach us to cling to her Son, Jesus, to hold fast to His Cross. The Cross of Jesus is the leverage by which the Holy Spirit transforms our life.
Today, as we mark this 35th year of Conferences at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, we reach again for the Cross. With strength that comes from Jesus Christ we lift the Cross high so that this generation may see its radiance and be transformed by its power. And let us all, in the Communion of the Saints, call out saying: “Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name.” Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Permanent Diaconate Ordination
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
June 2, 2007
Praised be Jesus Christ,
Dear brother Priests,
Dear Deacons and those to be ordained this morning,
Dear Wives and Families of these chosen men,
Dear Candidates still preparing for the Diaconate,
Dear Friends in Jesus Christ,
This morning the Acts of the Apostles present to us the names, individually recorded, of the first deacons of the Church. They are listed one by one: Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicholas of Antioch. There were seven of them—chosen for the office of assisting the Apostles in a role of special sacramental service in the early ecclesial community.
Today the Church has selected another group of men called by God to this same work. This time there are fourteen of them. Their names are equally important to God and to His Church: Thomas Concitis, Adolfo Crespo, James DiFerdinand, Frederick Druding, Joao Ferreira, Thomas Fitzpatrick, Stephen Guckin, Felipe Hernandez, Homer Panganiban, Ralph Shirley, Patrick Stokely, Jorge Vera, Raymond Wellbank, Stanley Zaleski.
Their identity as deacons is linked to the Church’s role of service, which, in turn, is linked to the servanthood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world.
This ordination today takes place, therefore, under the sign of service. It is service that we are celebrating: the special service characteristic of the diaconate.
There are deacons in the Church only because Jesus Christ came to serve and because service is Christ’s legacy to His Church. In the words of the Servant of God Pope John Paul II: "The service of the deacon is the Church’s service sacramentalized." "By your ordination," he went on to tell the permanent deacons of the United States, "you are configured to Christ in his servant role. You are … living signs of the servanthood of the Church."
What a magnificent Gospel we have this morning! Jesus speaks those words which are at the origin of all service in the Church: "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you." And then He shows to what point they are applicable: "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." On this your ordination day, dear brothers to be ordained, you must not miss the meaning of Christ’s challenge. You are called to lay down your lives in a special form of service. The service that you are called to render as deacons of the Church is a sacramental service. It is a ministry of the word, a ministry at the altar, a ministry of charity.
In regard to your witness to God’s word, Saint Paul tells us clearly this morning. "...we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus."
Your ministry places you at the altar, close to the Bishop and his priests in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. It is from the altar that you will derive strength and power to go out and bear witness not only to the truth but also to the charity of Christ. For every Christian there is a close link between worship and service. For you this link is a seal of your identity as a sacramental minister of the Church.
Your ministry of charity will require zeal and the ingenuity to discover the needs of God’s people and to help fulfill them: the needs of the poor, the sick and suffering, the homeless, those uninstructed in the faith, those in need of love, those languishing in despair, all those in need of Christ.
Pope John Paul II put it this way: "… it is a source of satisfaction to learn that so many permanent deacons in the United States are involved in direct service to the needy: to the ill, the abused and battered, the young and old, the dying and bereaved, the deaf, blind and disabled, those who have known suffering in their marriages, the homeless, victims of substance abuse, prisoners, refugees, street people, the rural poor, the victims of racial and ethnic discrimination and many others."
Dear brothers to be ordained deacons: these are your people; these are your friends. So many of your brother deacons have preceded you in seeking out those in need. With the power of Christ’s charity they have knocked on doors, broken down barriers of long-standing aversion, penetrated closed spaces and entered into the lives of many brothers and sisters, bringing with them Christ Himself and His sanctifying and uplifting Gospel of justice and peace, of truth and life.
For the effectiveness of your ministry we know that there is, however, a necessary condition. The humble Christ wants His minister of service to be endowed with holiness of life. That is why the Church prays for you today in these words, at the moment when she invests you with the dignity and sacramental character of the diaconate: "May there abound in them every Gospel virtue: unfeigned love...the purity of innocence, and the observance of spiritual discipline."
It becomes crystal clear in the context of the ordination liturgy that your lives of service require union with God. For this reason your success requires prayer: the prayer of praise, adoration and intercession. Your fidelity to the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist will fortify you to persevere in generous service and to live your sacred commitment joyfully to the end.
You present yourselves for ordination today accompanied by your wives. Your service as deacons will be integrated with your vocation to Christian married love. At every turn you will be challenged to contribute to the transformation of family life according to the Gospel. This will be a special part of your service to the Church.
In speaking of the married deacon, Pope John Paul II stated: "He and his wife, having entered into a communion of life, are called to help and serve each other.… [T]he nurturing and deepening of mutual sacrificial love between husband and wife constitute perhaps the most significant involvement of a deacon’s wife in her husband’s public ministry in the Church. Today especially this is no small service. In particular, the deacon and his wife must be a living example of fidelity and indissolubility in Christian marriage before a world in dire need of such signs."
Dear brothers to be ordained: every dimension of your lives is a challenge to be faithful, a challenge to serve. Jesus Himself has left you the example of how to serve faithfully. In receiving the gift of ordination to the diaconate, you are confirmed as living signs of the servanthood of Christ’s Church, living signs of the Christ who serves.
Your vocation will involve team work. The team is the Church. Your co-workers are all the faithful, your fellow parishioners, all your brothers and sisters in the community. In a special way you are linked with the priests in their ministry and with your Bishop. No act of service in the parish is beneath your dignity. No need in the Church is outside the sphere of your sacramental service. Christ wills to continue His role of servanthood in you.
To preserve the spirit of your ordination, you must always remember today’s Gospel. You must remember Christ’s words: "No one has greater love than this to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."
Dear brothers: Mary the Mother of Jesus, herself the Servant of the Lord, will help you to serve faithfully in the name of her Son. She will teach you how to lay down your life with Jesus. On this your ordination day, I invite you to consecrate yourselves to Mary, and entrust to her your families and all those whom you will be honored to serve in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Permanent Diaconate Ordination
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 30, 2009
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Bishop Thomas,
Dear brother Priests,
Dear Deacons and those to be ordained this morning,
Dear Wives and Families of these chosen men,
Dear Candidates still preparing for the Diaconate,
Dear Friends in Jesus Christ,
The Acts of the Apostles present to us this morning the names of the first deacons of the Church. They are individually recorded and listed one by one: Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicholas of Antioch. There were seven of them—chosen for the office of assisting the Apostles in a role of special sacramental service in the early ecclesial community.
Today the Church has selected another group of men called by God to this same work. This time there are eight of them. Their names are equally important to God and to His Church: Ernest W. Angiolillo, Patrick J. Diamond, William W. Evans, Michael J. Kolakowski, Francis C. Lally, Charles G. Lewis, John J. Pileggi, Huan C. Tran.
Their identity as deacons is linked to the Church’s role of service, which, in turn, is linked to the servanthood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world.
This ordination today takes place, therefore, under the sign of service. It is service that we are celebrating: the special service characteristic of the diaconate.
There are deacons in the Church only because Jesus Christ came to serve and because service is Christ’s legacy to His Church. In the words of the Servant of God Pope John Paul II: "The service of the deacon is the Church’s service sacramentalized." "By your ordination," he went on to tell the permanent deacons of the United States, "you are configured to Christ in his servant role. You are … living signs of the servanthood of the Church."
What a magnificent Gospel we have this morning! Jesus speaks those words which are at the origin of all service in the Church: "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you." And then He shows to what point they are applicable: "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." On this your ordination day, dear brothers, you must not miss the meaning of Christ’s challenge. You are called to lay down your lives in a special form of service. The service that you are called to render as deacons of the Church is a sacramental service. It is a ministry of the word, a ministry at the altar, a ministry of charity.
In regard to your witness to God’s word, Saint Paul tells us clearly this morning. "...we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus."
Your ministry places you at the altar, close to the Bishop and his priests in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. It is from the altar that you will derive strength and power to go out and bear witness not only to the truth but also to the charity of Christ. For every Christian there is a close link between worship and service. For you this link is a seal of your identity as a sacramental minister of the Church.
Your ministry of charity will require zeal and the ingenuity to discover the needs of God’s people and to help fulfill them: the needs of the poor, the sick and suffering, the homeless, those uninstructed in the faith, those in need of love, those languishing in despair, all those in need of Christ.
Pope John Paul II put it this way: "… it is a source of satisfaction to learn that so many permanent deacons in the United States are involved in direct service to the needy: to the ill, the abused and battered, the young and old, the dying and bereaved, the deaf, blind and disabled, those who have known suffering in their marriages, the homeless, victims of substance abuse, prisoners, refugees, street people, the rural poor, the victims of racial and ethnic discrimination and many others."
Dear brothers to be ordained deacons: these are your people; these are your friends. So many of your brother deacons have preceded you in seeking out those in need. With the power of Christ’s charity they have knocked on doors, broken down barriers of long-standing aversion, penetrated closed spaces and entered into the lives of many brothers and sisters, bringing with them Christ Himself and His sanctifying and uplifting Gospel of justice and peace, of truth and life.
For the effectiveness of your ministry we know that there is, however, a necessary condition. The humble Christ wants His minister of service to be endowed with holiness of life. That is why the Church prays for you today in these words, at the moment when she invests you with the dignity and sacramental character of the diaconate: "May there abound in them every Gospel virtue: unfeigned love...the purity of innocence, and the observance of spiritual discipline."
It becomes crystal clear in the context of the ordination liturgy that your lives of service require union with God. For this reason your success requires prayer: the prayer of praise, adoration, reparation and intercession. Your fidelity to the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist will fortify you to persevere in generous service and to live your sacred commitment joyfully to the end.
You present yourselves for ordination today accompanied by your wives. Your sacramental service as deacons will be integrated with your vocation to a state of life which is that of Christian married love. At every turn you will be challenged to contribute to the transformation of family life according to the Gospel. This will be a special part of your service to the Church.
In speaking of the married deacon, Pope John Paul II stated: "He and his wife, having entered into a communion of life, are called to help and serve each other.… [T]he nurturing and deepening of mutual sacrificial love between husband and wife constitute perhaps the most significant involvement of a deacon’s wife in her husband’s public ministry in the Church. Today especially this is no small service. In particular, the deacon and his wife must be a living example of fidelity and indissolubility in Christian marriage before a world in dire need of such signs."
Dear brothers to be ordained: every dimension of your lives is a challenge to be faithful, a challenge to serve. Jesus Himself has left you the example of how to serve faithfully. In receiving the gift of ordination to the diaconate, you are confirmed as living signs of the servanthood of Christ’s Church, living signs of the Christ who serves.
Your vocation will involve team work. The team is the Church. Your co-workers are all the faithful, your fellow parishioners, all your brothers and sisters in the community. In a special way you are linked with the priests in their ministry and with your Bishop. No act of service in the parish or the Archdiocese is beneath your dignity. No need in the Church is outside the sphere of your sacramental service. Christ wills to continue His role of servanthood in you.
To preserve the spirit of your ordination, you must always remember today’s Gospel. You must remember Christ’s words: "No one has greater love than this to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."
Dear brothers: Mary the Mother of Jesus, herself the Servant of the Lord, will help you to serve faithfully in the name of her Son. She will teach you how to lay down your life with Jesus. On this your ordination day, I invite you to consecrate yourselves to Mary, and entrust to her your families and all those whom you will be honored to serve in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin
Rigali
Mass for Persons with Disabilities
Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul
Sunday, May 16, 2004
My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It is good for us to gather together in prayer to praise our God who sent His Son, so that the whole world may know your will; so that all nations may know your salvation (Psalm 67:2). We, the baptized, infused with the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, rejoice that Jesus gave His life so that our sins might be forgiven and so that we might live forever with the Father. God is our Father who loves each of us without reservation and unconditionally. Dear brothers and sisters with disabilities, your families and friends are profound witnesses to this reality. I welcome and extend my greetings to you. Today our Sacred Scripture re-enforces the need to celebrate our unity as members of the one Body of Christ, all invited to live out our baptismal call.
Our coming together today, in many ways, models the gathered community of the early Church, a community made up of many individuals. They were Jews and Gentiles, free and enslaved, all desirous of learning more about Jesus and His message. They wanted to know this Jesus who promised, that the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you (John 14: 26). Not unlike the early Church, we, too, are a Church blessed with many individuals possessing different gifts and talents to be shared for the good of the community and for ourselves. My dear brothers and sisters, we must take the faith and knowledge we have in Jesus, and, guided by the Holy Spirit, share this life-giving message with all whom we encounter. We are all called to be residents of the New Jerusalem, in a close relationship with our loving God. That closeness bids each one of us to carry out the work Jesus began. The work of salvation is built upon love, compassion, forgiveness and caring for one another.
Saint Paul was instrumental in the early Church laboring for a common bond between Jew and Gentile as Jesus opened the doors to all people. This bond was forged together by a shared faith, common needs and desire to live as Jesus taught. As faith-filled members of the Body of Christ, we all are charged to carry on St. Paul s efforts toward unity. Today I ask for your help as members of our faith community to assist me in this work. I reiterate the words of our Holy Father spoken on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Disabled in December 2000, when he said, In Christ s name, the Church is committed to making herself more and more a welcoming home for you. We know that the disabled person - a unique and unrepeatable person in his/or her equal and inviolable dignity - needs not only care, but first of all love, which becomes recognition, respect and integration: from birth to adolescence, [and] to adulthood . . . (Homily December 3, 2000 ). In our common humanity and in our differences we can find the strength needed to build bridges which carry us all to a common understanding of a Church open and welcoming to all, one without walls of segregation and prejudice. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is that bridge which will brings us all together. Today, I say to you, my brothers and sisters, that you have the duty, like all the baptized to do the Lord s work in the world being mindful of your God-given talents and gifts. It is the desire of the Church that you be fully integrated into the community, welcomed into the apostolate of the Church and active witnesses to the compassion and love of Jesus Christ.
Our brothers and sisters in the early Church experienced a difference of opinion regarding who was to be welcomed into the community. Guided by the Holy Spirit the community and its leaders struggled with the issue and found their way to a common good inclusive of all who desired to follow Jesus. Remember, dear friends, we are a universal Church, made up of many parts all important to each other as we journey together in this life to salvation.
I know that the journey can be challenging especially when circumstances limit or restrict one s full participation within society. But we must take heart that, like the early Church, we, too, will overcome certain limits with the aid of the Holy Spirit and move to even greater openness and inclusion. The perfect model of openness is found in the words and actions of Jesus who stopped, noticed and called the person forward as he did the two men born blind in Jericho (Mt: 20: 32-33): What do you want me to do for you? We know that Jesus showed compassion and touched them. Through his healing power, he reminds us that people with disabilities possess the sacred and inalienable rights that belong to every creature.... (Pope John Paul II to the International Symposium on the Dignity and Rights of the Mentally Disabled Person, January 5, 2004). So, too, recall Jesus compassion for the deaf man in the Gospels of Saint Mark and Saint John, when He shows deep regard for persons with disabilities. Jesus tells His disciples: neither he nor his parents sinned. He was born blind so that the works of God might be made visible through him.
Our Sacred Scriptures today continue to lead us into a deeper and more profound understanding of the magnificent love God has for all of us a love that is manifested in each one of us through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who guided the members of the early Church continues to guide us today. May the peace of Jesus Christ bring you the well-being of daily life in harmony with your neighbor, yourself and God, now and forever. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass with Persons with Disabilities
the Deaf Community, their Family, Friends and Caregivers
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 29, 2007
Praise to you, our Risen Lord and eternal Shepherd...now and forever!
Dear Friends,
On this Fourth Sunday of Easter in the Bicentennial Jubilee Year of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, I welcome all of you to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. How fitting it is on this Good Shepherd Sunday that we welcome and celebrate together with our brothers and sisters with disabilities, the deaf community, their families, friends and care providers. Our celebration today is a beautiful manifestation of the Church. I welcome you in the name of Christ Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and proclaim with the Church’s love the words of Psalm 100: "Know that the Lord is God, he made us, his we are; his people, the flock he tends." As we celebrate together the mystery of Christ’s Death and Resurrection through word and sacrament, Jesus our Risen Lord and Shepherd is here with us.
Your presence here and your faithful response to the call of the Good Shepherd gave me great joy as I prayed the opening prayer in today’s liturgy: "Though your people walk in the valley of darkness, no evil should they fear; for they follow in faith the call of the shepherd whom you have sent for their hope and strength. Attune our minds to the sound of his voice, lead our steps in the path he has shown, that we may know the strength of his outstretched arm and enjoy the light of your presence for ever." You who are unable to see yet envision God’s bountiful love; you who may not hear but heed God’s call to love and service, to you who may not walk but follow the path of the Good Shepherd—you are truly God’s faith-filled disciples. God is offering you His outstretched arm as He longs for you to enjoy the light and joy of His bountiful love. May our gathering together today help to reaffirm that we are God’s people, the flock He tends with love. May we with open and generous hearts commit ourselves to following the Good Shepherd always.
Often the Church and her people are described as a sheepfold with Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Sometimes this image can lose its deep and powerful meaning. Today’s readings bring to light the image Jesus often used to describe himself. It is an image that can only be fully understood when we envision Jesus on the Cross, a Shepherd who willingly laid down His life for His sheep, who died for His flock, and, now risen, offers us eternal life.
In our first reading today, we see Paul and Barnabas continuing to proclaim God’s word with hope and joy even in the midst of persecution. Paul, rebuffed by his own people, does not lose heart and the accounts in the Acts of the Apostles continually remind us that good often flows from misfortune. Paul’s missionary efforts are beset with rejection and countless difficulties and yet God crowned Paul’s efforts with success and the Church spread by leaps and bounds. In the Acts of the Apostles we read: "...the following Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord" (Acts 13:44).
Our lives too are often beset with difficulties and hardships day after day. For us also, the struggles in life can become moments of grace. This is not always easy for us to see at the time of trial. It takes the perseverance that is God’s great gift. Keeping faith alive in the midst of hardship and struggle is the real sermon that you are able to preach in life. Our Lord Jesus Christ exemplified this most eloquently in His Death on the Cross. Although He was wounded, unable to move and seemingly helpless, His great act of love won for us our salvation.
In our second reading from the Book of Revelation we see painted before our eyes the magnificent vision of those who have attained salvation: "a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count from every nation, race, people and tongue" (Rev 7:9). We are told that these are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; their robes are washed in the blood of the lamb. We wish to be among them, for the Lamb, Christ Jesus, " who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Rev 7:17).
Today’s Gospel, dear friends, gives us the words of Jesus, so powerful in this Liturgy, which remind us that He is truly the Good Shepherd, and that we who follow Him belong to Him and to no other. Jesus promises us eternal life and that we shall never perish. Jesus promises that no one can take us from His hands. What words of encouragement we hear proclaimed today! Words of encouragement that can keep us going in times of struggle and frustration! We are Christ’s and Christ is God’s! With the help of Jesus and His Blessed Mother Mary, no path is too steep, no burden too heavy to bear. We are in God’s hands and no one can snatch us away.
Praised be Jesus Christ! Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for Persons with Disabilities
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ...now and forever!
"The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy."
On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, I welcome you to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. Today, more than midway through our Lenten journey, we encounter God’s mercy in splendid ways that give us hope. As I welcome and celebrate together with you, our brothers and sisters with disabilities, your families, friends and care providers, I acclaim with the psalmist, "The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy" (Ps 126:3). Today, we gather to celebrate the treasured expression of God’s vision that lives and breathes in people with disabilities. We celebrate the gifts, the culture and even the crosses carried so magnificently in your lives. How you enrich the Church with your lives, with your talents, with your witness, your courage and your love! Today we praise God for the wholeness and redemption that He brings to us just as we are, just as He has created us. We praise God for the dignity and profound equality as children of God that we enjoy in His love. In speaking to people with disabilities, our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI spoke these words: “Dear brothers and sisters, the Church needs your contribution, to answer fully and faithfully to the Lord’s will…. Humanity needs your gifts, which are prophecies of the Kingdom of God” (March 19, 2007).
The readings today offer us a wonderful vision of hope. The First Reading from Isaiah recounts God’s mighty actions in restoring Israel as a nation after years of captivity in Babylon. The people of Israel missed their land and longed to be home as God’s family. Isaiah reminds us that we should remember not the events of the past but, instead, behold the beautiful image of God doing something entirely new. Something new is soon to take place. The people of Israel, and you and I, are invited to look ahead to where the desert will bloom, rivers will flow and there will be new life for the people God has chosen. Their new creation will be the new memory-point of their identity. All this, God is doing for a people whom He formed for Himself that they might announce His praise. We are engrafted on to that people. Our baptism into Christ forms us into a people with an identity that makes us a new creation. As we claim this dignity, we too are called to announce God’s praise. We each do this in different ways. While we may not be able to see, we can still share the vision of God’s merciful love; while we may not be able to hear, we can still heed God’s call to service and discipleship; and while we may not be able to walk, we can still follow the path that leads to an encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the Second Reading, Saint Paul, in his Letter to the Philippians, reminds us to “forget what lies behind” and to look toward a future full of hope. This letter reveals to us Saint Paul’s efforts to strain forward as an athlete strives to win the prize. We can hear in Saint Paul’s words that this is no easy pursuit; it involves effort, suffering and possibly the loss of everything. Yet, what he attains is the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus, his Lord. Saint Paul realizes that relying on himself alone would be sheer hopelessness. May we, like Saint Paul, rely on faith and the power of Christ’s resurrection. Thus, with the words of Saint Paul echoing in our ears and keeping in our mind’s eye the profound example of our blessed Mother Mary, who experienced the agony of watching Jesus’ passion and death, we too experience suffering and dying to ourselves daily in many ways.
Dear brothers and sisters with disabilities, you know first hand the physical, emotional and mental suffering of life. All of us, at one time or another, witness the vulnerability and diminishment of those whom we love. This is a unique way in which we are conformed to the suffering and death of Jesus. However, as Saint Paul reminds us, Christ Jesus has taken possession of us and we are able to hold on to the supreme good of sharing in the glory of His resurrection.
Today’s gospel is a story very familiar to us. We can envision the accusing crowd trying to trap Jesus, the misery of the adulterous woman and Jesus bending down as He writes on the ground with His finger. Jesus does something new. He shames the honored members of the community and honors the shamed. This story that begins with deathly accusations ends with divine mercy. Whereas the community’s condemnation would have led the adulterous woman to death, Jesus’ mercy offers her new life. A story that begins with human beings testing the divine, ends with a divine invitation to repentance and new life. After the crowd went away one by one, Scripture tells us that Jesus “was left alone with the woman before him” (John 8:9). Can we imagine that being alone, face to face with Jesus. Saint Augustine uses these words to describe this encounter: “Only two were left, misery and mercy.” What an amazing encounter of grace and divine mercy! Jesus does not condemn the woman. He does however condemn her act. He says to her “sin no more,” then he calls her to repent and choose a new way of living. Imagine her life after this encounter. No longer is she a woman of misery but a woman whose life is opened up to hope. Lent calls us to the same kind of encounter with Jesus so that we may come face to face with the truth of our personal situation and our need for divine mercy. Central to this Gospel event and central to our Lenten journey is our encounter with Jesus. This divine encounter is directed to repentance, to God’s mercy and to the promise of new and abundant life.
As we gather here today at the Sacred Liturgy of the Eucharist, we intimately encounter Christ. We come before Him present in the proclamation of the Divine Word and in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Jesus is here with us in Word and Sacrament and in the Mystical Body of His Church of which each of us is an honored member. Jesus is with us every day of our lives, always offering us the magnificent gift of His presence and love. May we open our hearts to the loving mercy of God, always offered and revealed by Christ in words and actions. May we be bearers of that mercy to each other so that our lives will give praise to our God. "The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy." And may we always realize that God intends to complete in us and through us in the world His plan of loving mercy. As we continue to journey with Jesus this Lent, may we embrace His suffering in order to celebrate with Him the glory of His Easter Resurrection. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for Persons with Disabilities
Second Sunday of Lent
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, March 20, 2011
"Lord, it is good that we are here."
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. Now and forever!
Dear Friends in Christ,
On this Second Sunday of Lent, I welcome you to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. As I celebrate together with you our brothers and sisters with disabilities, your families, friends and care providers I proclaim the words spoken by Peter on the mountaintop with Jesus, Lord, it is good that we are here@ (Mt 17:4). It is good for us to be here because we gather to celebrate the cherished expression of God=s vision that is present here in you, our brothers and sisters with disabilities. We honor the gifts and the crosses carried so lovingly in your lives. How you enrich our Church with your lives, with your faith, with your witness, your courage and your love! Today we praise and thank God for bringing us together around the altar of the Sacrament of Christ=s love, the Eucharist. We praise God for the dignity and profound equality which we enjoy in God=s love as we contemplate the gospel story of Jesus= Transfiguration.
In today=s gospel, Jesus took Peter, James and John and led them up a high mountain to be alone with Him. These three disciples of Jesus were given a special and unique invitation into a profoundly intimate encounter with the Lord, Jesus. In an instance, Peter, James and John saw Jesus transfigured before them, resplendent with divine light, His garments shining like the sun this same Jesus with whom only a few moments before, they were climbing the slope together; this same Jesus who, soon afterward, will resume in their eyes his usual appearance; this same Jesus whom, later on, they will see disfigured by human outrages beyond their imaginings and hanging on the cross.
In the Transfiguration, Peter, James and John saw that there was more to Jesus than what they could see, hear and touch. They were given a glimpse of the future glory of Jesus= resurrection. It was an extraordinary privilege. Our celebration of Jesus= Transfiguration today, during this season of Lent, reminds us of the glory of the risen Jesus after His death on the cross. It reminds us that the penance of Lent will give way to the joy of Easter, just as it reminds us that the suffering of this life will give way to the joy of eternal life. In his Second Letter to the Corinthians St. Paul wrote these words which we sang in our entrance hymn: AWe walk by faith, not by sight@ (2 Cor 5:7), meaning that, even though we do not see God, nevertheless we believe. Truly all of us here walk by the light of faith not by sight. Yet, there are times when God does send us clear glimpses of His presence in our lives and his wondrous love for us. We get glimpses of God in the love we receive from other people; when badly needed help suddenly comes to us from out of nowhere; when we look back over our lives and what we couldn=t understand in the past seems to make sense and gives us renewed hope. We see glimpses of God when we see parents and caregivers caring lovingly for another without counting the costs. We see glimpses of God when a passage from the Bible or a homily strikes a cord in our hearts. We are given a glimpse of God when we spend time in prayer and contemplate the loving presence of God in our lives. We get more than just a glimpse of God when we receive the Body of Jesus in Holy Communion. These are the little transfigurations that keep us going when times are tough.
When Jesus and the disciples came down the mountain Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone about His Transfiguration until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. Of course they did not know what He meant. Unknown to them, the glory of Jesus= Transfiguration was preparing them to accept the scandal of the cross. They would understand this only afterwards when looking back. The good times take us through the bad times. So when our cross is heavy or when we are tempted to despair about the meaning of life, let us look beyond the pain of the present moment and remember those times when we are given glimpses of God, those times when God invites each of us to experience deeply his intimate presence in our lives. Let us look beyond the pain of life and see the presence of God in our world, and the offer of abundant life that God wants to make to each of us. Let us look beyond the illusion of happiness that this life offers to the real happiness that God offers us. Let us look beyond this world to eternal life with God.
The second reading today gives us an insight into what God has destined for us, AHe saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now made manifest@ (2 Tim 1:9). God=s grace has been granted to us before the beginning of time. Imagine, since the beginning of time God had you in his plan and had his grace planned for you. Since the beginning of time God planned to transform you through his Son, Jesus.
In our first reading we heard Abram being called by God to leave his home and go to a new country (cf. Gen 12:1-4). He was seventy-five when called to leave his own country but he had to wait another twenty-five years for the promised son, Isaac to be born, so that the promise of future descendants could be fulfilled. That was a long wait. All of us here know the patience needed to wait. Abraham is a wonderful example of enduring faith as he waits patiently looking courageously beyond the present, beyond what he can see with his eyes to the promise of God known only by faith. Just as AAll communities of the earth shall find blessing@ (Gen. 12:4) in Abraham=s faith, our communities find blessing through our ardent faith, enduring hope and vibrant love.
On the mountain Peter, James and John looked beyond the appearance of Jesus and saw his future glory. Let us look beyond, and see that God is really with us. God has not left us on our own, God is with us. Just as Jesus revealed to Peter, James and John the eternal now of His own glory on the mountaintop, here within this Cathedral Basilica, within the sacred Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist God=s presence is with us. Jesus was doing so much more than simply encouraging Peter, James and John. Jesus was showing them who He was, and who they would become in Him. He was revealing to them what had already begun, giving them a vision that would forever change the way they viewed themselves, their daily lives and their mission. Just as Jesus said to the three disciples, He says to us: ARise and do not be afraid@ (Mt 17:8). Let each of us take heart, and with a glimpse of the glory that is to come let us choose Jesus in our daily lives. When we do this, we allow Him to transfigure us and lead us through the difficulties of our present life to be with Him in His eternal glory. Amen.
HOMILY OF CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI
SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER OR DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY
CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL
APRIL 15, 2006
Dear Friends in Christ,
Today we celebrate the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, and the Church is still filled with the joy of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. But there is a very special aspect to our celebration today which is revealed in the Resurrection of Christ: it is the great mercy of God. Our texts in the Mass today speak about God’s love—about His mercy. The Psalm tells us: "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever."
In our First Reading today from the Acts of the Apostles we see how, in the community of the early Church, mercy was exercised by the members of the community through their loving solicitude for one another: "There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need." We see that mercy toward others is something that the Church herself has always exercised in so many ways. Today we have a beautiful example in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
But, above all, in the Gospel today we have the full story of God’s mercy. This Gospel takes us back to the first Easter Sunday. Saint John uses the phrase: "On the evening of the first day of the week…." And then Saint John recounts for us what happened. The disciples were gathered in the Upper Room—the disciples who had undergone a tremendous trauma. Jesus their Lord and Master had been crucified on Good Friday. The disciples had acted in a very cowardly way. All of them, except John, had abandoned Jesus, and their leader, Peter, had denied Him.
We must keep in mind, as we reflect on this Gospel, which takes us back to Easter evening, that this is the first time that the group of the Apostles, after the events of Holy Week, are face to face with Jesus, the Risen Lord. It is their first meeting as the apostolic college with Jesus, who comes into their midst. The doors are locked because the disciples are full of fear—they are fearful for the future—and Jesus stands in their midst and He has that beautiful message for them. He says: "Peace be with you." And then He says it again: "Peace be with you."
We must remember that those words of greeting are something very special. After Jesus was born, the very first message of the angel to the shepherds was peace—glory to God in the highest and peace to His people on earth. And now, Jesus repeats that message of peace, and He extends peace to His Apostles, these men who are filled with fear, these men who are conscious of their sin. They are conscious of the fact that they had abandoned Jesus and had denied him; now they are filled with shame and guilt at this their first encounter with Jesus after His Resurrection from the dead. They were slow, as Jesus Himself says in another part of the Gospels, to believe that He was going to conquer death and sin by rising from the dead. But now He is present with them. He could have chosen this moment to blame them, to reproach them, to point out how their relationship with Him had completely broken down, but Jesus says only: "Peace be with you." And, in this Mass, we will say: "Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you."
This Gospel is spectacular as it goes on to tell us what Jesus does then at this moment of supreme shame and supreme guilt for His Apostles. What does He do? He breathes on them and says: "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." This is the moment when Jesus chooses these weak and sinful men, who are conscious of their misery, their weakness and their sins, and gives them the power to forgive sins in His name. This is the moment when He gives them the power to act in His person. And this power Christ intends to transmit to the Church as the great gift of His mercy. His mercy is simply His love in the face of our sins, in the face of our needs, in the face of our weaknesses. And Jesus chooses this moment as being the most appropriate moment psychologically to reveal mercy to the world. He does it through men who have sinned, who are conscious of great sin, and who, now repentant, are called upon to accept forgiveness and pardon and extend it to others.
What a magnificent message this is to the whole Church and what a magnificent gift this is—the Sacrament of Penance, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Sacrament of Confession, the Sacrament of Mercy. This is Christ’s Easter gift! It is the gift that Jesus gives us on Easter day. Why? Because His Resurrection is the seal of the Father’s love and acceptance of His Death on Calvary, and it is through His Death and Resurrection that all the sins of the world are taken away. And so today, on this Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, the Church speaks about the forgiveness of sins as the manifestation of God’s mercy, the manifestation of His power, and the victory of His Resurrection.
It is very interesting that all during Easter week the Church has spoken so often, about sin, in order to magnify the mercy of God. Today, as we continue to celebrate Easter, the Church continues to speak about sin, because she wants to speak about the forgiveness of sins through divine mercy.
Six years ago on this day in Rome, on the steps of Saint Peter’s Basilica before thousands and thousands of people assembled, Pope John Paul II canonized as a saint Blessed Faustina Kowalska. She was a Polish nun who came from Krakow and her mission in life was to propagate devotion to the mercy of Jesus and His Father. And the picture that we see here in the Sanctuary of our Cathedral Basilica is the picture of Divine Mercy which portrays Jesus with the rays of light that come from His heart to signify His merciful love. This is the image of Jesus as He appeared to Saint Faustina Kowalska. Her mission in life was to emphasize God’s mercy for His people. But it is not on the basis of a private revelation that we honor God’s mercy today. Rather, a private revelation, strengthened by the canonization of the Church, confirms the message of the Sacred Scriptures. It is because of God’s public revelation that we believe in His great mercy and pardon. For each one of us, this means that forgiveness is always possible. Today, according to the devotion of the Church, we celebrate this great act of God’s mercy whereby He is always willing and ready to forgive us.
We extol the mercy of God and turn to Him and ask for mercy. And the beautiful prayer that Saint Faustina prayed was a prayer that, according to her diary, Jesus Himself had taught her to say: "Jesus, I trust in you!"
This devotion corresponds to the most authentic revelation of the Scriptures. As Christian people we trust in Jesus because we are convinced that He is our Savior. We are convinced that the mercy of His Father passes through His Sacred Heart and reaches each one of us.
Today, then, in union with the whole Church, we celebrate the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday. We celebrate and magnify the mercy of God our Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Just as the Psalm says: "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever."
And if, therefore, we are ourselves candidates for mercy, if we are recipients of God’s merciful love, then we know what this demands of us: that we in turn show pardon and exercise mercy. The fact that we have been forgiven and that forgiveness is always available to us through God’s mercy is an unrelenting challenge for us to understand others, to forgive them, to help them, and to exercise mercy ourselves.
Today we open our hearts to receive divine mercy in all its power, but we also commit ourselves, in the community of the Church, to deeds of mercy.
"Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever."
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
March 30, 2008
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
How joyful it is for us to be gathered in this Cathedral Basilica, like the Apostles in the Upper Room, to experience and to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the outpouring of the mercy of God. With exultation, we say with Saint Peter: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pt 1:3). On this Second Sunday of Easter, we particularly rejoice in the gift of Divine Mercy, the Mercy which is revealed in the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Today, it is appropriate to recall that the Servant of God Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical Dives in Misericordia, described mercy as God’s greatest attribute. In the encyclical, Pope John Paul II reminds us of the grandeur of the mystery of the invisible God, who “dwells in unapproachable light” (no. 2). While He makes Himself known in the splendor and beauty of creation, God is only fully revealed in Jesus Christ. “In Christ and through Christ, God also becomes visible in His mercy.... Not only does he speak of it and explain it by the use of comparisons and parables, but above all he himself makes it incarnate and personifies it. He himself, in a certain sense, is mercy” (no. 2). In Christ, we see then how close God is to the human family, “especially when man is suffering, when he is under threat at the very heart of his existence and dignity” (no. 2).
Throughout the sacred season of Lent, during Holy Week, in the Easter Triduum, and in celebrating the Octave of Easter, the Church contemplates the nearness of Jesus to the human family. We reflect on all that Jesus endured for us—the depths of His love for us as revealed in His sorrowful Passion and Death—and in the hope bestowed upon us in the triumph of the Resurrection. All of this was endured by the Sinless One so that we who are sinners might know the boundless love of God and the lengths to which God will go to reveal to us His mercy and to draw us to Himself.
Saint John the Evangelist describes for us in beautiful detail the events of Easter Sunday evening when, in the Upper Room crowded with the disciples in the midst of their heartache and confusion, Jesus appeared. Grief-stricken by the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus, ashamed at their abandonment of Jesus in his hour of need, the Apostles rightly might have expected from Jesus a severe reprimand. Instead, Jesus greeted them with a message of “Peace,” revealed the wounds in his hands, feet and side, breathed upon them the gift of the Holy Spirit, and bestowed upon His Church the Easter gift of the Sacrament of Penance, the sacrament through which the mercy of God is bestowed upon us sinners. At that moment, Jesus proclaimed that, just as He had redeemed all people, acting through his sacred humanity which was handed over to death for the redemption of the world, so He would continue to bestow His Easter gift of pardon and peace, through the humanity of His Apostles, as well as their successors, the Bishops, and the priests who collaborate in the ministry of Bishops, through the Sacrament of Penance. Thus, the great mercy of God continues to be available through the ministry of the Church. For that reason, I thank my brother priests present today, and those in all of the parishes of the Archdiocese, who so faithfully minister to God’s people in the Sacrament of Penance.
It is fitting that this Octave Day of Easter emphasizes the gift of Divine Mercy, the mercy entrusted by Jesus to His Church. Our presence here today also is a testimony to the efforts of the messenger of Divine Mercy, Saint Faustina Kowalska, a young nun, who in early twentieth-century Poland, experienced a revelation of Divine Mercy and was given the task to promote this devotion. Saint Faustina was called by God to announce to our modern world that the love of Christ is a forgiving love, a merciful love. This message is consistent with revelation. God chose Saint Faustina as an instrument to remind our modern world of what the Church has proclaimed for 2,000 years. We consider prayerfully this message in our recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, a powerful petition to our Heavenly Father to pour out abundantly that mercy which Jesus won for us by His Passion.
Furthermore, Saint Faustina related the desire of Jesus that we place our trust in Him. The image of Divine Mercy is signed with the words, Jesus, I trust in you! The Diary of Saint Faustina offers details of a very moving dialogue between Jesus and Saint Faustina. Jesus acknowledges that Faustina has given so much to Him: her life, her love, her good works and her efforts to be holy. However, Jesus indicates to Faustina that there is something which she has not yet given to Him. When Faustina questions what this is, Jesus responds in effect: “You have not given me what is so peculiarly and specifically your own. You must entrust your weakness and sinfulness to my mercy.” Jesus does not ask for our sins; He asks for us to entrust our lives as they are to His great mercy. He desires that we renounce sin, but also to be convinced that His mercy has the power to obliterate all our sins, that His Blood is able to wash away all our sins. Jesus truly wants us to trust in Him!
In today’s Gospel passage, Saint John the Evangelist admits us to the Upper Room on the eighth day after that first Easter. We recall that, on Easter Sunday, Thomas the Apostle was not present. We are told that Thomas refused to believe that Jesus rose from the dead until he could see for himself and touch the wounds in the risen body of Christ. When Jesus appears to Thomas, the moment is sublime. He invites Thomas to touch His wounds: “Do not be unbelieving, but believe” (Jn 20:27). Thomas then makes an act of faith which is at the very core of the Easter mystery as he declares Jesus “my Lord and my God” (Jn 20:28).
“By means of touch and the sharing of a meal,” states the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “the risen Jesus establishes direct contact with his disciples. He invites them in this way to recognize that he is not a ghost and above all to verify that the risen body in which he appears to them is the same body that had been tortured and crucified, for it still bears the traces of his passion” (CCC, 645).
At this Mass, we encounter the same Risen Jesus, wounded for our sins yet victorious over sin and death. He comes to us in the Holy Eucharist, and in our “Amen” we declare with Saint Thomas that Jesus in the Eucharist is “my Lord and my God.” As we kneel in adoration before our Eucharistic Lord, we contemplate those glorious wounds which forever are trophies of the victory of Divine Mercy. In our prayerful recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, we implore the grace to be truly grateful for the gift of mercy; we beg the grace of a genuine trust in the mercy of God, and we intercede that the entire world, one soul at a time, may be transformed by the mercy of God. As we are told in the Acts of the Apostles: “And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved” (Acts 2: 47).
Like Saint Faustina, we live in a world troubled by darkness, violence and sin. Jesus invites each of us, by means of His sacraments and by devotion to His mercy, to draw others to trust in Him. The task seems enormous and we seem so insignificant. Yet, the power we possess is from Jesus Himself and it is the ability to intercede for the world. Pray for the conversion of sinners! Pray for peace in the world! Pray for that abiding trust which enables us to place at the pierced feet of Jesus all of our weakness and sinfulness. Confident in His mercy, we can tell everyone about the transforming gift of Divine Mercy.
Jesus, I trust in you! Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday
April 11, 2010
Dear Friends in the Risen Christ,
Ten years ago on this Second Sunday of Easter our Holy Father Pope John Paul II canonized in Saint Peter’s Square a Polish nun who was born in 1905 and who lived a short life. Her great mission in life was to draw attention to the fact that Jesus is merciful, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He is the God of mercy.
At the canonization of Blessed Faustina Kowalska the Holy Father also changed the name of this Sunday from the Second Sunday of Easter to its new title which is the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday. Actually, quite independently of Saint Faustina Kowalska, the liturgy of the Church itself speaks to us today in a wonderful way about God’s mercy, about Divine Mercy, and this shows us that the message that this great Saint—Saint Faustina—proclaimed is a message that is rooted in the Sacred Scriptures. It is a message that is part of the very deposit of our faith. And, so, the role of Saint Faustina was simply to draw attention, in a very spectacular way, to something that God Himself has revealed in His holy word: that He is the God of mercy, that Jesus Christ is our merciful Savior.
We want to take a few moments this afternoon to consider the Gospel reading that we have heard, to reflect on this stupendous message that is presented to us by Saint John. Today this Gospel takes us back, first of all, to Easter Sunday itself. This is where the Gospel opens up. Saint John says: “On the evening of that first day of the week”—the first Easter Sunday—“when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’”
We have to realize that the encounter of the Apostles with the Risen Lord is the first time for the group of them to meet Jesus after His Death and Resurrection. We have to keep in mind that only a couple of days have passed since the events in the Garden of Olives, in the house of the high priest and in the praetorium. Only a few days have passed since the Apostles abandoned Christ; only a few days have passed since Peter denied Him. And now Jesus is victorious, Jesus is alive. He has been raised from the dead by His Father as a sign of the Father’s total acceptance of His Sacrifice. And yet the Apostles, on this Easter Sunday afternoon, are still filled with fear. Then Jesus appears to them. He comes into the room, with the doors locked. The Risen Lord comes into their midst. Not only are they filled with fear, but in meeting Jesus for the first time after their very poor record, they are also filled with shame and guilt. Being in the presence of Jesus Christ, the Risen One, the Apostles are truly weighed down by their sins.
Jesus takes this opportunity not to scold them, not to say: Here I am. You abandoned me. You did not trust me. Jesus takes this opportunity to give them His first message after His Resurrection from the dead. And that first message is: “Peace be with you.” In His Risen body He brings them peace, not a scolding, not a condemnation—only peace. And then He shows them His hands and His side and once again He repeats the words: “Peace be with you.” This is the mercy of the Risen Jesus. Something else very important follows and it is this. This is the moment—Easter Sunday—that Jesus chooses, when the Apostles are supremely conscious of their sins, when they are supremely conscious of their weakness, when they are filled with fear and shame and guilt—this is the moment that Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord, the Son of God chooses in order to communicate to these weak men the great power of forgiving sins. He does this not because they are any better than their brothers and sisters, but simply because it is His will to give to His Church a great treasure and that treasure is the forgiveness of sins. It is the great gift of God’s mercy in all its concentration. And, so, Jesus says to the Apostles—in this particular moment, in this particular psychological condition in which they find themselves—“Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
In the Sacrament of Penance we see the supreme manifestation of God’s mercy. And the Sacrament of Penance, the Sacrament of the forgiveness of sins, the Sacrament of Confession, the Sacrament of Reconciliation becomes the Easter gift of Jesus Christ to His Church. Jesus knows that throughout the ages you and I will need His mercy and His forgiveness and His pardon. That is why He invests His Apostles with this power, not because of them, but because He is merciful and powerful. This is the reason today that, in the liturgy of the Church, we read this beautiful Gospel, we proclaim this beautiful Gospel of mercy, and this is why the Church now explicitly says that the Second Sunday of Easter, when this Gospel is proclaimed, is to be called henceforth the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday.
What is this Divine Mercy? Divine Mercy, dear friends—and we know it really by our intuition, but let us spell it out—is simply God’s love for us in the face of our weaknesses, God’s love in the face of our sins, God’s love as it reaches down and touches our needs. That is what mercy is. Love on God’s part, plus need or weakness or sinfulness on our part, equals Divine Mercy. Today we pause and celebrate this Divine Mercy.
As the people of God, however, there are two responses that we must give to Jesus. We cannot listen to this Gospel, to this great proclamation of God’s mercy without a response on our part. The response is a response of gratitude, of deep thankfulness to God that He reaches out and in His loving kindness gives us the forgiveness of our sins in the Sacrament of Penance.
Our gratitude cannot stop there. Our gratitude has to express itself in trust. And, so, our response to all of this, when we see the great Easter gift of Jesus Christ to His Church, is: Jesus, I trust in you! Jesus, we trust in you! If Jesus has done all this, if He has died on the Cross to forgive our sins, if he has established this great gift of His mercy within the Church, in the Sacrament of Penance, then, yes, we must trust. We must trust that this mercy is for us and for all our brothers and sisters. That was the great prayer of Saint Faustina. Actually, in her diary, she speaks of her visions with Christ Himself, and He constantly encouraged her to say this prayer: “Jesus, I trust in you!” See how all this is based on God’s revelation. It is based on God’s word. It is because God is merciful, because Jesus Christ the Risen Lord gives His Easter gift—the forgiveness of sins—to the Church for all ages that we trust.
Gratitude, trust and still one more response is necessary on our part. And it is this. If we have received mercy, then we must show mercy. If we have been forgiven, we must forgive. If we have been shown compassion, we must show compassion. There is no doubt about it. The Gospel parables go on to explain to us that, yes, anyone who is forgiven must forgive. Dear friends: this too is our response on this beautiful Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, when we proclaim the mercy of God, especially as it is revealed in the great Easter gift of the Risen Lord, the Sacrament of Penance, the Sacrament of God’s mercy.
Once again, the opportunity for Confession presented itself earlier today. Sometimes we do not think of the Sacrament of Penance as being appropriate to Easter, but today in the Gospel we see that the Sacrament of Penance is Christ’s Easter gift to His Church. For this reason, on this Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, the Church generously made Confessions available here earlier in this Cathedral Basilica. All this is within the context of our celebration today—the celebration of God’s mercy.
In the Mass booklet today we see the image of Jesus as He appeared to Saint Faustina, as He presented Himself as the merciful Savior. From His Sacred Heart there radiate rays of light—the red rays and the white rays—representing the blood and the water that flowed out of His Sacred Heart when His side was pierced on Calvary. This image is just one more assurance of what is already proclaimed in the word of God. It is only one more confirmation that what we have proclaimed today is the truth of God: Jesus Christ is the merciful Savior of the world. This means that you and I, dear friends, must trust in His mercy. We must bear witness to others of the forgiveness and pardon that we have received, of the compassion that we have experienced. Jesus Christ has been merciful to us and we are called to show mercy in His name. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Dedication of the Dome of the Redemption
National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Washington, DC
November 16, 2006
The hour has come, after great expectation and preparation, for us to dedicate the new Dome in this National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception—the Dome of the Redemption. It is a magnificent achievement made possible by the grace of God and the zeal and generosity of so many people, many present here, and others who have gone before us to take their place in the liturgy of heaven.
As God’s people we gather in the name of the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and we gather to proclaim His name and the power of His Blood. For this we are convoked by God’s grace. From our place beneath this Dome we hear the words of a great hymn from the Church’s midmorning prayer: "From all that dwell below the skies, let the Creator’s praise arise: let the Redeemer’s name be sung...." Hence, we sing the Redeemer’s name beneath the Dome dedicated to His saving work. And we proclaim His love in the Church.
The Gospel this afternoon introduces us to this love, as we hear Jesus Himself tell us that He came down from heaven in order to be lifted up on a Cross so as to redeem us and draw us to Himself. In this context we hear Jesus Himself explain to us the meaning of Redemption: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him."
In our second reading Saint Paul tells us that, in order to accomplish this redemption, the Son of God emptied Himself, embraced our humanity, became obedient unto death, and triumphed on the Cross.
And because so much is in a name, God the Father bestowed on Jesus the name that is above every name—a name whose very meaning identifies Him as Savior and Redeemer of the world. And at the name of Jesus every knee must bend and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
As we proclaim the name of the Redeemer, we see portrayed above us in the new Dome four great scenes that find their unity in testifying to the work of our Redeemer. The scene of the Temptation of Jesus witnesses to the humanity through which Jesus saved us, in which He endured our human condition and encouraged us by His own fidelity to the Father. What is so exhilarating is that the one who was tempted like us is able to show us mercy.
The second scene, that of the Crucifixion, represents the greatest act of love in the history of the world. For this reason the Church addresses Jesus in those sacred words of the Book of Revelation that surround the Dome: "...for you were slain and with your blood you purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation." This explains why in the Litany of the Most Precious Blood we invoke the Blood of Christ as "the price of our redemption," "our only claim to pardon," and "the torrent" of divine mercy.
Our third scene, the Descent of Jesus to the realm of the dead who were awaiting His coming, represents the early redemptive fruits of His saving Death, by which He liberated the souls of the just who longed for His presence. From that day of His descent among the dead till the end of time, the Church proclaims: "Let the Redeemer’s name be sung, through every land, by every tongue."
The fourth great image in the Dome’s mosaic depicts the triumph of Christ’s Resurrection. The profound meaning of the Resurrection is found in the completion of Christ’s redemptive work and in the Father’s total loving acceptance of the offering of His Son. As Jesus the Redeemer rises from the dead, the Father proclaims anew, in the communion of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus is His beloved Son, in whom He is well pleased. This great act of the Father’s love for the Risen Jesus evokes in our hearts and minds those words with which Jesus tells us: "This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life..." (Jn 10:17). At the moment of His Resurrection, which is the culmination and consummation of all the redemptive work of Jesus, the Father and the Son embrace eternally in the communion of the Holy Spirit, and every tongue confesses to the glory of God the Father that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Today as God’s grace and the zealous work of so many people enable us to bring to completion a project first envisioned by the original Iconography Committee during the years 1954-1958, the continuity of praise for the Redeemer goes on in the Church in the United States and finds eloquent expression in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Today as we praise the Redeemer and invoke an outpouring of the fruits of His Redemption on the people of our land and throughout the world, we also proclaim the full identity of this Redeemer as we pray: "Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man." Jesus, our Redeemer, is true God because He is divine like His Father in heaven. He is true man because He is human like His Mother and like us. This entire Shrine speaks to us of Mary and of her role as Mother of God, communicating humanity to the Word of God. And through this humanity Jesus redeems the world and faithfully fulfills the Father’s loving plan. Through this humanity received from Mary all mankind enters into redemptive solidarity with the Word made flesh.
Lazarus, Joseph of Arimathea, Mary Magdalene and Simon of Cyrene—all pictured in the Dome of the Redemption—are there because the humanity of Jesus links them to Himself and placed them among the early recipients of His Redemption.
Dear Friends: this is an hour of thanksgiving for the great gift of Christ’s Redemption and for its exquisite representation in our new mosaic Dome. But this is also an hour for faith—an hour for us to renew our holy Catholic faith in Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world.
In His name—in the name of Jesus Christ—and through His Eucharistic Sacrifice which we now offer in this Shrine, we confidently approach the throne of grace, proclaiming: "Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Amen."
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Memorial Mass for Dr. Ann Amore
Rosemont College
Saturday, February 4, 2006
It was less than two months ago, December 12 last, that we heard the announcement of Dr. Amore’s health difficulties. At that time she wrote: "Dear Friends, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence from Rosemont.... It has truly been a joy and privilege to serve as Rosemont’s President since 2001. I have always been and will continue to be, proud to be a member of the Rosemont College community."
The College graciously responded through the Chair of the Board of Trustees, saying: "All our prayers and good wishes are with President Amore. President Amore’s leadership, her commitment to Rosemont, and her boundless energy have enabled Rosemont to clearly define itself according to its mission...."
Just six days later, God, in His wisdom and goodness, took Ann to Himself definitively.
After the Mass celebrated yesterday for students and parents, we gather today as friends, members of the College and alumni to pray for Ann, to remember her and her family—her father and brothers—and to keep alive the legacy of her commitment as a Christian woman and educator, a disciple of Jesus Christ and a member of His Church. In our prayer we entrust her soul to God, who is merciful and gracious and abounding in kindness. In her own goodness, kindness and graciousness, Ann endeavored to imitate the Lord to whom we now commend her.
The death of every Christian, like his or her life, is related to the life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ that give special meaning to all human life, and special power to us to live life worthily.
In this Memorial Mass we evoke then and commemorate and re-enact in the Eucharist the Death and Resurrection of Jesus as the source and summit of Dr. Amore’s life of loving service to so many people that benefitted from her generosity and dedication. We also proclaim in the Gospel Saint Luke’s account of how the Death and Resurrection of Jesus took place. These events, which we call the Paschal Mystery, are so important for us because they give us all the right to eternal life. Today we extol the gift that God gives to Ann, the gift whereby she shares fully in God’s loving plan by entering into His eternal life.
For our reflection and thanksgiving the Gospel recounts how Jesus redeemed the world, how He redeemed Ann, and you and me and all of us. "It was about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon....Then...Jesus cried out in a loud voice: ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit’; and when he had said this he breathed his last." And then, the Gospel tells us, how Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus down from the Cross and laid Him in a new tomb.
What follows in the Gospel is so important: "At daybreak on the first day of the week the women...went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; but when they entered they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus." Rather they heard the angels announce to them: "Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised."
In our second reading today Saint Paul explains to us the full meaning of this Death and Resurrection of Jesus. He says: "Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.... For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then...those who belong to Christ....The last enemy to be destroyed is death."
As we keep alive Ann’s memory, we likewise renew our holy Catholic faith in the power of Christ’s Death and Resurrection. And this faith in Christ’s victory over death leads us to hope and to joy and to the renewed commitment of our lives in Christian charity and service.
In the tradition of the Church, we continue to pray for Ann, as we entrust her to God’s goodness, reiterating in the words of the Psalm that the Lord is indeed merciful and gracious and abounding in kindness.
These qualities of God which assure us of the gift of eternal life are also the qualities that He invites us to imitate and to show to others. We believe that Ann was faithful to this mission through her goodness, her graciousness, her kindness.
We are deeply grateful to Ann for her contribution not only to Rosemont College and, before that, for so long to Saint Francis College, but also for her service to our entire community, to all those who benefitted from her faith and love. And finally we praise God for His having given her the grace and strength and perseverance to labor generously and well.
Our final act of farewell is a renewal of our faith in eternal life, obtained and offered and imparted by Jesus Christ, of whom we boast as being the first-born of the dead.
Dear Ann, we will always honor your sacred memory, guard the deposit of your Christian faith and praise God for your gift of self to the many whom you loved and served so well. Amen.
Homily for the Feast of Saint Katharine Drexel
March 3, 2004
Cardinal Justin Rigali
Dear Friends in Christ,
The holy season of Lent is an invitation from God, a call into the desert of our minds and hearts, to examine our lives as Christians. During this sacred time, we are lured by a loving God, who calls us to be renewed by engaging in three Gospel-inspired activities: fasting, works of mercy and prayer. In the midst of busy lives maintained at a hectic pace, these three hallmarks of Lent remind us, as Jesus reminded Martha, "There is need of only one thing." For us, that one thing is union with Christ.
How fortunate we are in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to be celebrating today the feast of a local saint whose life demonstrates what it means to be united to Christ. Saint Katharine Drexel inspires us in so many ways to perseverance in sacrifice, diligence in works of mercy and constancy in prayer. Saint Katharine Drexel is a stellar model of what it means to embrace the Gospel call to holiness and service, both of which led her to sacrifice much and to love profoundly.
As a very young woman, Katharine Drexel, inherited twenty million dollars, which, in the 19th Century, was similar to having 200 million dollars in our own day. Such a fortune assured Katharine of a very comfortable and enviable life of privilege and prestige. Even more than the family wealth, Saint Katharine was fortunate to grow up in a loving home. Although her mother died while Katharine and her sister were quite young, they were blessed with a caring father and a loving, nurturing stepmother.
While raised in happy and prosperous surroundings, Katharine was not isolated from the realities of her day. As a young girl, she witnessed the genuine charity of her stepmother, who regularly opened her door to the poor and needy. The example of her stepmother, who with compassion and tenderness brought hope and relief to those in need, helped to form Katharine into a woman of active charity. Further, this charity was the fruit of an authentic family piety. Devotion and family prayer were significant in the Catholic atmosphere of the Drexel household.
Certainly, the example of Christian charity, as practiced by her family, was recalled by this impressionable young woman while on a tour of the American West. Observing with horror the destitution of the Native American peoples, Katharine knew that something needed to be done to bring relief and hope to those suffering such dire want. Soon enough, during a Papal audience, at the prophetic urging of Pope Leo XIII, Katharine would realize that she herself was called by God to bring the hope and mercy of Christ to the oppressed. To that end, Katharine Drexel would sacrifice her entire fortune. Her prompt detachment from worldly wealth show us that, truly, Saint Katharine Drexel is a model of perseverance in sacrifice.
Saint Katharine's relief of the poor was not to be done by mere contribution of wealth. Katharine offered her entire being, all that she had and all that she was, to bring mercy and hope to the most oppressed. Her founding of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament embodied Saint Katharine's vision to bring to both Native American and African American peoples the gift of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Further, against seemingly insurmountable odds, Saint Katharine sought to build up a society where all people were recognized as being equal in human dignity and able to live in harmony and peace. Saint Katharine established missions and schools which, she hoped, would accomplish her vision. Her active pursuit of this vision of a world of justice and peace demonstrate that, truly, Saint Katharine Drexel is a model of diligence in works of mercy.
The source of Katharine's strength was her prayer life centered on Jesus Christ whom Saint Katharine loved with her entire being. The self-giving Christ, truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament, was also the model on whom Saint Katharine's Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament would base their life and work. Saint Katharine's profound words indicate her Eucharistic spirituality and apostolic inspiration: "Ours is the spirit of the Eucharist - the total gift of self." The work on which Saint Katharine and her Sisters embarked could never have been accomplished unless it was anchored in prayer, the expression of our desire to be united with Christ, who deeply desires to be united with us. Even when poor health and advanced years prohibited Saint Katharine from engaging in missionary activity, her prayer united her with the Sisters and sustained them in their mission to those in need. Lovingly placing herself always at the feet of our Eucharistic Lord, Saint Katharine Drexel is a model of constancy in prayer.
As we enter more deeply into the season of Lent, may our lenten practices of sacrifice, works of mercy and prayer become more than means of self-discipline and mortification. Rather, may these always be the hallmarks of what it means for us to be Christians. Saint Katharine Drexel stands before us today and joyfully inspires us all to give totally of ourselves that Christ may be known and loved. Saint Katharine reminds us to recognize the significance of the family in forming young people with a Christian vision who will be fine-tuned to the call of God to service in the Church. Saint Katharine also gently invites us, in the busyness and haste of everyday life, to sit at the feet of Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament. It is there that Jesus will lure us away from the distractions of the world and speak to our hearts. It is there, at his feet, that we will learn that there is need of only one thing: to be united with Christ, our hope, our strength and our love.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Feast of Saint Katharine Drexel and
Tenth Anniversary of the Death of Cardinal Krol
March 3, 2006
Dear brother Bishops,
Dear Priests and Deacons,
Dear Sisters, in particular Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament,
Dear Children from our Catholic Schools,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Ten years ago today, shortly after midnight, Cardinal John Joseph Krol died. He was the tenth Bishop and sixth Archbishop of Philadelphia. At this holy Mass we remember all the good things he did for our local Church and, in particular, how he worked to promote the canonization of Mother Katharine Drexel. In God’s providence he lived to see her beatified and died on her feastday. On this anniversary of his death and hers, we once again commend his soul to the mercy of our loving Father through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Fifty-one years ago today, at 9:05 in the morning, Mother Mary Katharine Drexel, former socialite turned foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People, died in the ninety-seventh year of her life, and the sixty-fifth year of her vowed covenant with the Lord. Days later, an overflow crowd assembled at this Cathedral for her Solemn Requiem Mass, only to be surpassed by the thousands upon thousands of faithful who lined the funeral procession all the way from Philadelphia to her Bensalem motherhouse, where she remains entombed today.
As one young father was overheard remarking prophetically to his little son, "Remember this day, because you are a witness to the burial of a saint." Local and national newspapers carried stories about "these sad days...when many a tear has been shed in remote Indian reservations of the Southwest, and in schools and institutions for the colored both in great cities and in the rural lands of the south." In the words of the late Bishop Joseph McShea, who preached her funeral sermon, "Generations of colored and Indian people have lost a loving mother who so affectionately and effectively had opened her hand to the needy, and stretched out her hand to the poor. In her patient search for the Will of God in her life, Mother Katharine had chosen the difficult field to till."
The story of the life of Saint Katharine Drexel is legendary, from her birth into one of the wealthiest families in the United States in the nineteenth century, to her forsaking of that wealth to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the most neglected in our society; from her encounter with the Klansmen who threatened to burn down her school in Lafayette, Louisiana, and to kill her, her sisters, and the orphans—only to witness a few days later the Klan’s headquarters struck by lightning and burned to the ground—to her visit from the President of the Republic of Haiti, who came to Bensalem personally to thank her for her work among his people, the poorest in the Western Hemisphere.
But, probably her most famous and life-changing moment was her audience with Pope Leo XIII, whom she asked to send missionaries to the United States to care for the Black American and Native-American peoples, to which His Holiness responded: "Why not, my child, become a missionary yourself?" Leo’s words echoed the words of Jesus to the Twelve in today’s Gospel: "Give them some food yourselves."
Obediently and humbly following the Pope’s advice, Mother Katharine’s daunting life’s-work became possible only through her reliance on the presence of the Holy Spirit as her true Counselor. In fact, one of the early missionaries to the Native Americans, who was supported by Mother Katharine’s generosity, witnessed firsthand her prayerful reliance on God the Holy Spirit. During visits to his mission, he noticed that when she went to chapel, Mother Katharine would forget everything else around her, sometimes having to be reminded that it was time for a meal. Often she was found in chapel till late at night, trying to solve all the problems of her missions with God’s gracious assistance. She truly recognized the power of the Holy Spirit transforming the earth, as she witnessed even those with the most stubborn of hearts back down in the presence of divine action bringing about justice and peace.
Saint Katharine Drexel could rightfully be called a woman of faith. Through her Eucharist-centered life, she became like Wisdom as described in the Book of Proverbs, saying to the poorest of the poor: "Let whoever is simple turn in here." And Saint Katharine Drexel could rightfully be called a woman of love. It was her total love of Christ which led her to open her hands to feed the poor and answer all their needs.
But, the one virtue that was most evident throughout her life, and which best describes her, was that she was a woman of hope. In the initial stage of her canonization process, many witnesses came forth to testify to Mother Katharine’s heroicity in the practice of Christian virtues. One witness stated, "Mother Katharine manifested hope in every hour of trouble that she went through, and those were many. She manifested hope particularly in the growth and spread of her community, because it is almost inconceivable to realize that one lone woman could have faced all the opposition she faced in her desire to spread the faith. Unless she had a tremendous amount of hope in the power of God to sustain her and to carry her works to completion, I do not think she could have gone on."
Mother Katharine’s entire life was dedicated to teaching the Gospel of Christ to the poorest of the poor, and to the most neglected among them. At the same time, she instilled in the Black and Native American peoples the desire to go and to do the same: to help others learn of the Good News of Jesus Christ and to be so moved as to teach this Good News to others. Hers was a life totally devoted to evangelization: she appreciated how the Holy Spirit helps to continue Christ’s work in our day; she experienced a new hope; and, she desired to deepen this hope in herself and to share it with others.
Saint Katharine Drexel recognized in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the "total gift of self," the sacrament of hope for a broken world. She knew that, despite the many achievements of humanity in the first half of the twentieth century, the world was still, for so many people, a desert of despair instead of an oasis of hope. But, Mother Katharine learned, and taught, that it is our Christian calling to live in this desert, facing despair but not consenting to it; to demolish despair through the hope that the Eucharist brings, which is hope in the Cross and Resurrection of Christ. Saint Katharine leads us in waging war unceasingly against despair. She clearly showed us, if we wage this war courageously, Christ will be always at our side.
It is the Eucharist, then, which is our only hope. This Blessed Sacrament is our hope because it is the fulfillment of God’s saving mercy, His justice, and His love. The Eucharist is our hope as the great visible sign of God’s faithfulness and love for all people. The Eucharist is our hope, for it makes us one with Christ, who is victorious over all evil, anxiety, sin, and even death itself. The Eucharist, as the Sacrament of Hope, was the focus of the life of the saintly woman of our local Church whose memory we celebrate today.
Let us, dear Friends, look at the Eucharist we celebrate, and see, as Saint Katharine Drexel saw, the suffering and risen Christ. Let us listen to Christ’s call in the Eucharist and hear, as Saint Katharine Drexel heard, Christ’s divine promise of hope. Then, as we receive the Eucharist, let us recognize, as Saint Katharine Drexel recognized in her life, that hope has indeed been realized and that the Lord Jesus is here among us! With Saint Paul, Mother Katharine identified Christ Jesus as our Hope (cf. 1 Tim 1:1).
In a letter which Saint Katharine wrote to her sisters on Christmas Day eighty-eight years ago, she shared with them her vision of how we can change the face of the earth by following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. "Reflect on the infant Jesus," she wrote; "how tiny were His feet. We do not have to do anything too great in our lives; just follow in those tiny footsteps. Then, let God do the rest and He will transform those tiny footsteps of ours into giant strides which will help us to carry the Peace, the Hope, the Love, and the Joy which is Jesus Christ to all whom we meet."
What a magnificent mission, dear Friends, for Saint Katharine Drexel and for all of us: "to carry Jesus Christ to all whom we meet." Amen.
HOMILY OF CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI
MASS ON EASTER SUNDAY MORNING
CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL
APRIL 16, 2006
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
Dear Friends, fellow-disciples of the Risen Christ,
On this special day which the Lord has made, the Church proclaims a message of great joy. She repeats the announcement of the angel to the women who came to the tomb of Jesus: “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’”
The Jesus who suffered, died and was buried is now alive. He is our triumphant Lord, our victorious Christ, our leader, the one who goes before us to show us the way to live.
During Lent we reflected on the Passion and Death of Jesus. We followed Him in His journey to the Cross. And when we ask ourselves if there is a single expression that summarizes all the events of Christ’s sufferings, we say yes. That expression is: “Jesus humbled Himself unto death—death on the Cross.” And because of this humility of Jesus, God the Father raised Him up to life on Easter Sunday.
And when we ask ourselves if there is another word that summarizes the great event of the Resurrection, we say yes. It is the word life. In the Resurrection, God the Father accepts the sacrifice of Jesus. He sets His final seal of approval on His Son’s work and raises Him to life.
This word life tells the wonderful story of Easter. It is the meaning of the Resurrection. Jesus Christ is alive! The same Christ who humbled Himself by freely accepting to suffer and die on the Cross now lives the fullness of human life. Death can no longer have any power over Him. He has triumphed over death and has conquered the cause of death, which is sin.
In the words of Saint Paul: Jesus lives for God! His human nature is radiant with life. But Saint Paul tells us that there is an intimate connection between Christ’s life and ours. We are called to participate in Christ’s victory over sin and death. We are called to be alive like Christ, and like Him to live the fullness of life. And so Saint Paul will say to us: “...think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus” (Rom 6:11).
Our Easter reflection on the Risen Christ, the living Christ, leads us to understand the great value of Christ’s human life—the human life that Christ received from His Mother Mary, the human life that He offered to His Father on the Cross, the human life that His Father gave back to Him on Easter Sunday.
But our Easter reflection also draws our attention to the value of all human life—our own and that of all those who like us share humanity with Jesus, the Son of God. The Resurrection of Jesus is the exaltation of all human life. It confirms our human vocation to live in peace with all people, and with all people, to respect, protect, love and serve life! It makes us truly understand the need to reject whatever wounds, weakens or destroys human life.
God Himself on this Easter day, in restoring life to Jesus, shows us the incomparable value of all human life. Through our human life we are able to share in the very life of God and we are able to do this for all eternity. We remember those beautiful words that Pope John Paul II spoke to the American people some years ago: “When God gives life”—he said—it is forever!”
And so our challenge today on this Easter Sunday is to be alive in Christ, and to use our human life to serve life in all our brothers and sisters.
In our first reading today from the Acts of the apostles, we saw how Jesus “went about doing good” in the service of life. And this is what the Risen Christ, the living Christ, asks of us today. We must indeed live the way Christ taught us, according to His word, His commandments, His way of life. We must live in charity and justice, in peace, in purity and truth, in prayer, in the worship of God, in service to others.
This is the challenge of life that is held out to us by our Risen Christ, our living Lord. We are a people of life, striving to understand everything that God is asking of us in the protection, defense and service of every life, including that of the unborn, and in helping our brothers and sisters to reach eternal life in heaven.
Yes, this too is part of our message of life: everlasting life with God, with one another, with all angels and saints, with Mary the Mother of the Risen Christ.
As the Christian people celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus we share the sentiments that Mary experienced on the first Easter Sunday after having shared with Him the suffering of His Passion. In recalling Mary, the Church invokes God in these words: “You gave Mary strength at the foot of the cross and filled her with joy at the resurrection of your Son.” Then the Church prays: “lighten the hardships of those who are burdened and deepen their sense of hope.”
What we ask of God in prayer is also a pressing challenge to us as the Christian people, a people of life, a people of hope. Ours is the role of working with God and one another to lighten the hardships of life of those who are burdened and to deepen their hope.
Dear friends in Christ: our role is important, our challenge is great. Jesus Christ the Risen One is in our midst. He calls us to be faithful as a community of worship, a community of service, a people of Easter joy.
Jesus repeats today in our hearts: Peace be with you! Do not be afraid!
This is why our Easter is the day the Lord has made, and why we rejoice and are glad. Amen.
Easter 2004
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised (Luke 24:5-6). The message of the angels to the holy women at the tomb that first Easter morning resounds through the ages as an invitation to a new vision and proclamation of hope: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. He has conquered death and he calls us to share in his glory.
On Good Friday, the entire Church observed with deep emotion the sorrowful passion, death and burial of our Savior. In his death, Jesus shows the immeasurable mercy of God, whose love cleanses us of sin and eases the burdens of everyday life. Now, this Easter day invites us to stand before the empty tomb, to bury there our troubles, anxieties, fears and doubts, as we hasten to embrace a new life in the Risen Lord. Christ s Easter greeting, Peace be with you (John 20:19), is a gentle call to empty our minds and hearts of the tensions which weigh us down and to experience the serenity which he offers us. Hope in the resurrection enables us to live tranquilly in this world with our minds and hearts ever fixed on the new life which Jesus offers us in heaven.
To the newly baptized, I extend special greetings. The Church rejoices that now, through the saving waters of baptism, the gift of the Spirit and the Holy Eucharist, you are one with us at the Table of the Lord. I express my heartfelt joy that you have embraced the Catholic faith and now I urge you to share that faith with others. May your new life and new vision in Christ bring hope and peace to others who are burdened by the cares of this world.
With Mary, Mother of God, the holy women and the apostles, let us pray that we will experience the Easter hope proclaimed throughout the ages. On this glorious day, may the Risen Christ bestow his Easter gift of peace on all people.
Sincerely in Christ,
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Easter Sunday Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
March 23, 2008
“This is the day the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad.” Alleluia!
Dear Friends in the Risen Christ,
During the whole period of Lent, and especially during Holy Week, the Church has followed Jesus through all His suffering. We have reflected on His Passion and His Death. We have stood with Mary His Mother at the foot of the Cross. And we were with Jesus when He died. We accompanied Him to His burial place and then we withdrew waiting for something more.
This morning, Easter Sunday, we return to the tomb. Here we join Mary of Magdala and the other women of the Gospel. We come with Peter and John and, like them, we find the tomb empty. We see “the burial cloths there and the cloth that had covered his head not with the burial cloths, but rolled up in a separate place.” We see and we believe.
And then we hear those words that the angel spoke to the women—words that come thundering down the ages: “I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.”
Like the women and the Apostles, we too believe. And Jesus speaks to us as He spoke then, saying: “Do not be afraid.” In the midst of the problems and challenges of the world and of our own Archdiocese of Philadelphia, despite our weaknesses and sins, Jesus says to us: “Do not be afraid.” And we begin to understand that Jesus is alive and that the destiny of the world is in His hands. We listen also to Saint Peter speaking to the Christians of his day saying: “You know what has happened…. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised up on the third day…. To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Dear friends: this is what the Resurrection brings to you and me, to all of us: the forgiveness of our sins. Christ’s Resurrection is a victory over sin and death, but it is a victory, a triumph that Jesus shares with us. Jesus takes away our sins. His victory, though, is also a challenge for us. Jesus beckons us to turn to Him, to make the effort necessary to embrace His forgiveness and to live in newness of life.
Saint Paul summarizes this for us when he states, as we heard proclaimed this morning: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above.” In our personal lives, in our dealings with one another, in the family, in the community, in society, we are challenged to put into practice the meaning of our Baptism: to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Last night, at the Easter Vigil, I spoke about the need for the power of Christ’s Resurrection to touch the hearts of all. There is no other power that can change people’s hearts and bring peace to the world.
Today, at this Easter Mass, I wish to emphasize how each one of us must turn to the Risen Christ, to the One who lives, the One who has conquered death, the One who is merciful and wishes to forgive our sins. You and I must personally accept the pardon won for us by Christ, through His Death on the Cross.
Today, Easter Sunday, God the Father, by raising Christ from the dead, ratifies the value of Christ's redeeming death and confirms before all the world His plan of mercy for humanity.
Dear friends, Christ’s love for us and the Father’s mercy require a response of love and action on our part. This is the hour for us to turn to God, to open our hearts to Him and to be made new by the power of Christ’s Resurrection.
Nine years ago Pope John Paul II came to the United States and pronounced some very special words, words that in one way or another apply to each one of us. He said: “In the name of Jesus, the Good Shepherd I wish to make an appeal—an appeal to Catholics throughout the United States and wherever my voice or words may reach—especially to those who for one reason or another are separated from the practice of their faith.... Christ is seeking you out and inviting you back to the community of faith. Is this not the moment for you to experience the joy of returning to the Father’s house?”
The return to the Father’s house challenges us at various levels and in different degrees. Christ wishes all of us to be fully His, to share abundantly His risen life through the sacraments, through prayer, by good works, by an authentic Christian life of service to one another. Christ wants His mercy to envelop us and His Easter joy to fill our hearts today and throughout our lives. The Holy Father concluded his appeal invoking Mary the Mother of Mercy, the Mother of Jesus. This was his final prayer: “Mary, Mother of Mercy, teach the people of ... the United States to say yes to your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ!”
Is this not the meaning of our Easter celebration: to say yes to Jesus in newness of life, to let the power of His Resurrection challenge us to live always according to His Gospel?
Dear friends: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.”
For Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Alleluia!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass on Easter Sunday Morning
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 12, 2009
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
Dear Friends, fellow-disciples of the Risen Christ,
On this special day which the Lord has made, the Church proclaims a message of great joy. She repeats the announcement of the angel to the women who came to the tomb of Jesus: "Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’"
The Jesus who suffered, died and was buried is now alive. He is our triumphant Lord, our victorious Christ, our leader, the one who goes before us to show us the way to live.
During Lent we reflected on the Passion and Death of Jesus. We followed Him in His journey to the Cross. And when we ask ourselves if there is a single expression that summarizes all the events of Christ’s sufferings, we say yes. That expression is: "Jesus humbled Himself unto death—death on the Cross." And because of this humility of Jesus, God the Father raised Him up to life on Easter Sunday.
And when we ask ourselves if there is another word that summarizes the great event of the Resurrection, we say yes. It is the word life. In the Resurrection, God the Father accepts the sacrifice of Jesus. He sets His final seal of approval on His Son’s work and raises Him to life.
This word life tells the wonderful story of Easter. It is the meaning of the Resurrection. Jesus Christ is alive! The same Christ who humbled Himself by freely accepting to suffer and die on the Cross now lives the fullness of human life. Death can no longer have any power over Him. He has triumphed over death and has conquered the cause of death, which is sin.
In the words of Saint Paul: Jesus lives for God! His human nature is radiant with life. But Saint Paul tells us that there is an intimate connection between Christ’s life and ours. We are called to participate in Christ’s victory over sin and death. We are called to be alive like Christ, and like Him to live the fullness of life. And so Saint Paul will say to us: "...think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus" (Rom 6:11).
Our Easter reflection on the Risen Christ, the living Christ, leads us to understand the great value of Christ’s human life—the human life that Christ received from His Mother Mary, the human life that He offered to His Father on the Cross, the human life that His Father gave back to Him on Easter Sunday.
But our Easter reflection also draws our attention to the value of all human life—our own and that of all those who like us share humanity with Jesus, the Son of God. The Resurrection of Jesus is the exaltation of all human life. It confirms our human vocation to live in peace with all people, and with all people, to respect, protect, love and serve life! It makes us truly understand the need to reject whatever wounds, weakens or destroys human life.
God Himself on this Easter day, in restoring life to Jesus, shows us the incomparable value of all human life. Through our human life we are able to share in the very life of God and we are able to do this for all eternity. We remember those beautiful words that Pope John Paul II spoke to the American people some years ago: "When God gives life"—he said—it is forever!"
And so our challenge today on this Easter Sunday is to be alive in Christ, and to use our human life to serve life in all our brothers and sisters.
In our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles, we saw how Jesus "went about doing good" in the service of life. And this is what the Risen Christ, the living Christ, asks of us today. We must indeed live as Christ taught us to do, according to His word, His commandments, His way of life. We must live in charity and justice, in peace, in purity and truth, in prayer, in the worship of God, in service to others.
This is the challenge of life that is held out to us by our Risen Christ, our living Lord. We are a people of life, striving to understand everything that God is asking of us in the protection, defense and service of every life, including that of the unborn from the first moment of conception, and in helping our brothers and sisters to reach eternal life in heaven.
Yes, this too is part of our message of life: everlasting life with God, with one another, with all the angels and saints, with Mary the Mother of the Risen Christ.
As Christian people celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we share the sentiments that Mary experienced on the first Easter Sunday after having shared with Him the suffering of His Passion. In recalling Mary, the Church invokes God in these words: "You gave Mary strength at the foot of the cross and filled her with joy at the resurrection of your Son." Then the Church prays: "lighten the hardships of those who are burdened and deepen their sense of hope."
What we ask of God in prayer is also a pressing challenge to us as Christian people, a people of life, a people of hope. Ours is the role of working with God and one another to lighten the hardships of life for those who are burdened and to deepen their hope.
Dear friends in Christ: our role is important, our challenge is great. Jesus Christ the Risen One is in our midst. He calls us to be faithful as a community of worship, a community of service, a people of Easter joy.
Jesus repeats today in our hearts: Peace be with you! Do not be afraid!
This is why our Easter is the day the Lord has made, and why we rejoice and are glad. Amen. Alleluia!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Easter Sunday Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 4, 2010
Dear Friends in the Risen Christ,
"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever."
These words of Psalm 118 challenge us to joy and thanksgiving. Joy and thanksgiving are particularly appropriate today on Easter Sunday as we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. With the entire Church we proclaim that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of the Virgin Mary, one who shares humanity with us, has risen from the dead.
Last night at the Vigil Mass the Church recalled the great Easter proclamation as recorded in the Gospel of Saint Luke, the words of the angels to the women who came to the tomb on that first Easter Sunday morning: "Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day."
On this Easter morning the Church presents the testimony of two more heralds of the Resurrection, two outstanding witnesses to the greatest event in human history: Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
Saint Peter’s words proclaimed in our First Reading this morning touch us all: "You know...how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power.... They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day.... To him all the prophets bear witness, saying that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name." These words of Saint Peter help us to understand that the Death and Resurrection of Jesus are all about the forgiveness of sins. Christ died to save us from our sins. He rose to restore us to divine life. In His Death and Resurrection, Jesus is our merciful Savior. Our psalm reminds us of this: "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever."
In our Second Reading Saint Paul spells out for us the challenges that we find in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because God is good and merciful and takes away our sins we are called to respond to His love. And so Saint Paul says: "...seek what is above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too shall appear with him in glory."
Last night, dear friends, the Church concentrated her attention on Baptism, and Saint Paul explained to us how, by Baptism, we are immersed into the Death of Christ and rise with Him to new life.
The radical challenge inherent in the Easter Gospel, the radical challenge of our Baptism is all about new life. We are called to walk in newness of life and to set our hearts on God, with love for one another.
The love that inspired Jesus to lay down His life for us and to forgive us our sins, the love of the Father for Jesus, the love that inspired the Father to raise Jesus from the dead on Easter Sunday— this is the love that must inspire us to forgive one another and to serve one another.
But forgiveness and service require strength. And where does this strength come from? From the power of Christ’s Resurrection. From the One who says to us: "Once I was dead but now I live." The Risen Christ, the living Christ, is the source of our strength, the reason for our hope, the reason for the hope of the world.
In our own City of Philadelphia and throughout the world we face innumerable problems and difficulties. And yet we are confident, for we are an Easter people and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is our hope.
We will continue to hope and work and pray for the resolution of violence in our neighborhoods, for peace in our families and on our streets, for harmony in all the strife-torn spots throughout the world. And we will strive in our hearts and consciences to be faithful to what we know is God’s holy will for us. We will remember how important it is to be part of the worshiping community of the Church on every Sunday, when we are called to celebrate together the Death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
Where do we expect to get this strength? Is there any basis for our hope? Yes, dear friends: in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are an Easter people and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is our strength.
Do you remember how years ago in the former Soviet Union there was an explosion in the nuclear plant in Chernobyl? Ever since, there have been negative effects in the region and the impact of that explosion remains to this day.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ produced an explosion—an explosion more powerful and lasting than any nuclear explosion in the history of the world—not with negative effects, but unleashing forever in the world the power of Christ’s Resurrection, which is the power of God’s love and mercy.
Today we celebrate the immense power that derives from Christ’s Resurrection and has entered the world and taken possession of our hearts and minds and consciences. This power is the power to respond to God’s love, to show mercy and forgiveness to others, and to serve one another. All of this is what, through the power of Christ’s Resurrection, we are called to do with renewed fervor and commitment on this Easter Day.
The psalm, dear friends, is right: "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever."
Yes, Jesus Christ is truly risen from the dead! Jesus Christ is our hope, our strength, our joy on this Easter Day and always! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Easter Sunday Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 24, 2011
“This is the day the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad.” Alleluia!
Dear Friends in the Risen Christ,
During the whole period of Lent, and especially during Holy Week, the Church has followed Jesus through all His suffering. We have reflected on His Passion and His Death. We have stood with Mary His Mother at the foot of the Cross. And we were with Jesus when He died. We accompanied Him to His burial place and then we withdrew waiting for something more.
This morning, Easter Sunday, we return to the tomb. Here we join Mary of Magdala and the other women of the Gospel. We come with Peter and John and, like them, we find the tomb empty. We see “the burial cloths there and the cloth that had covered his head not with the burial cloths, but rolled up in a separate place.” We see and we believe.
And then we hear those words that the angel spoke to the women—words that come thundering down the ages: “I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.”
Like the women and the Apostles, we too believe. And Jesus speaks to us as He spoke then, saying: “Do not be afraid.” In the midst of the problems and challenges of the world and of our own Archdiocese of Philadelphia, despite our weaknesses and sins, Jesus says to us: “Do not be afraid.” And we begin to understand that Jesus is alive and that the destiny of the world is in His hands. We listen also to Saint Peter speaking to the Christians of his day saying: “You know what has happened…. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised up on the third day…. To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Dear friends: this is what the Resurrection brings to you and me, to all of us: the forgiveness of our sins. Christ’s Resurrection is a victory over sin and death, but it is a victory, a triumph that Jesus shares with us. Jesus takes away our sins. His victory, though, is also a challenge for us. Jesus beckons us to turn to Him, to make the effort necessary to embrace His forgiveness and to live in newness of life.
Saint Paul summarizes this for us when he states, as we heard proclaimed this morning: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above.” In our personal lives, in our dealings with one another, in the family, in the community, in society, we are challenged to put into practice the meaning of our Baptism: to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Last night, at the Easter Vigil, I spoke about the need for the power of Christ’s Resurrection to touch the hearts of all. There is no other power that can change people’s hearts and bring peace to the world.
Today, at this Easter Mass, I wish to emphasize how each one of us must turn to the Risen Christ, to the One who lives, the One who has conquered death, the One who is merciful and wishes to forgive our sins. You and I must personally accept the pardon won for us by Christ, through His Death on the Cross. And we do this, dear friends, when we go to Confession and receive the wonderful Sacrament of Christ’s mercy, His pardon, His forgiveness.
Today, Easter Sunday, God the Father, by raising Christ from the dead, ratifies the value of Christ's redeeming death and confirms before all the world His plan of mercy for humanity.
Dear friends, Christ’s love for us and the Father’s mercy require a response of love and action on our part. This is the hour for us to turn to God, to open our hearts to Him and to be made new by the power of Christ’s Resurrection.
During one of his visits to the United States, Pope John Paul II, who will be beatified next Sunday in Rome, spoke some very special words, words that in one way or another apply to each one of us. He said: “In the name of Jesus, the Good Shepherd I wish to make an appeal—an appeal to Catholics throughout the United States and wherever my voice or words may reach—especially to those who for one reason or another are separated from the practice of their faith.... Christ is seeking you out and inviting you back to the community of faith. Is this not the moment for you to experience the joy of returning to the Father’s house?”
The return to the Father’s house challenges us at various levels and in different degrees. Christ wishes all of us to be fully His, to share abundantly His risen life through the sacraments, through prayer, by good works, by an authentic Christian life of service to one another. Christ wants His mercy to envelop us and His Easter joy to fill our hearts today and throughout our lives. The Holy Father concluded his appeal invoking Mary the Mother of Mercy, the Mother of Jesus. This was his final prayer: “Mary, Mother of Mercy, teach the people of ... the United States to say yes to your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ!”
Is this not the meaning of our Easter celebration: to say yes to Jesus in newness of life, to let the power of His Resurrection challenge us to live always according to His Gospel?
Dear friends: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.”
For Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Alleluia!
Homily of Cardinal
Justin Rigali
Easter Sunday
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 11, 2004
Dear Friends in the Risen Christ,
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.
In these words Psalm 118 challenges us to joy and thanksgiving because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of the Virgin Mary, one who shares humanity with us, has risen from the dead.
Already last night the Church recalled the great Easter proclamation as recorded in the Gospel of Saint Luke, the words of the angels to the women who came to the tomb on Easter Sunday morning: Why do you search for the living one among the dead? He is not here; he has been raised up. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee there the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.
This morning the Church presents the testimony of two more heralds of the Resurrection, two outstanding witnesses to the greatest event in human history. Saint Peter s words touch us all this morning as he says: I take it you know ... about Jesus of Nazareth.... They killed him finally, hanging him on a tree, only to have God raise him up on the third day.... To him all the prophets testify, saying that everyone who believes in him has forgiveness of sins through his name.
These words of Saint Peter help us to understand that the death and Resurrection of Jesus are all about the forgiveness of sins. Christ died to save us from our sins. He rose to restore us to divine life. In His death and Resurrection, Jesus is our merciful Savior. Our psalm reminds us of this: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.
This morning Saint Paul spells out for us the challenges that we find in the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because God is good and merciful and takes away our sins we are called to respond to His love. And so Saint Paul says: &set your heart on what pertains to higher realms where Christ is seated at God s right hand. Be intent on things above.... After all, you have died! Your life is hidden now with Christ in God. When Christ our life appears, then you shall appear with him in glory.
Last night, dear friends, the Church concentrated her attention on Baptism, and Saint Paul explained to us how, by Baptism, we are immersed into the death of Christ and rise with Him to new life.
The radical challenge inherent in the Easter Gospel, the radical challenge of our Baptism is all about new life. We are called to walk in newness of life and to set our hearts on God, with love for one another.
The love that inspired Jesus to lay down His life for us and to forgive us our sins, the love of the Father for Jesus, the love that inspired Him to raise Jesus up from the dead on Easter Sunday this is the love that must inspire us to forgive one another and to serve one another.
But forgiveness and service require strength. And where does this strength come from? From the power of Christ s Resurrection. From the One who says to us: Once I was dead but now I live. The Risen Christ, the living Christ, is the source of our strength, the reason for our hope, the reason for the hope of the world.
In our own City of Philadelphia and throughout the world there are innumerable problems and difficulties. And yet we are confident, for we are an Easter people and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is our hope.
We will continue to hope and work and pray for the resolution of violence in our neighborhoods, for peace in our families and on our streets, for harmony in all the strife-torn spots throughout the world. And we shall strive in our hearts and consciences to be faithful to what we know is God s holy will for us: we shall remember how important it is to be part of the worshiping community of the Church on Sunday, when we renew together the death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
Where do we expect to get this strength? Is there any basis to our hope? Yes, in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are an Easter people and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is our strength.
Do you remember years ago, how in the former Soviet Union there was an explosion in the nuclear plant in Chernobyl? Ever since, there have been negative effects and the impact of that explosion remains to this day.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ was more powerful and lasting that any nuclear explosion in the history of the world not for negative effects, but to unleash forever in the world the power of Christ s Resurrection, which is the power of God s love and mercy.
Today we celebrate the immense power that derives from Christ s Resurrection and has entered the world and taken possession of our hearts and minds and consciences. This power is the power to respond to God s love, to show mercy and forgiveness to others, and to serve one another.
The psalm, dear friends, is right: This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.
Yes, Jesus Christ is truly risen from the dead. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Easter Sunday Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 8, 2007
Dear Friends in the Risen Christ,
"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever."
In these words Psalm 118 challenges us to joy and thanksgiving. Joy and thanksgiving are particularly appropriate today on Easter Sunday as we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. With the entire Church we proclaim that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of the Virgin Mary, one who shares humanity with us, has risen from the dead. Today our Easter joy and thanksgiving become even more intense as we begin our Bicentennial Year, celebrating the Two-hundredth Anniversary of our local Church as the Diocese of Philadelphia. During all these years the people of God have witnessed to the Lord alive in our midst.
Last night at the Vigil Mass the Church recalled the great Easter proclamation as recorded in the Gospel of Saint Luke, the words of the angels to the women who came to the tomb on that first Easter Sunday morning: "Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day."
This morning the Church presents the testimony of two more heralds of the Resurrection, two outstanding witnesses to the greatest event in human history: Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
Saint Peter’s words proclaimed in our First Reading this morning touch us all: "You know...how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power.... They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day.... To him all the prophets bear witness, saying that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name." These words of Saint Peter help us to understand that the Death and Resurrection of Jesus are all about the forgiveness of sins. Christ died to save us from our sins. He rose to restore us to divine life. In His Death and Resurrection, Jesus is our merciful Savior. Our psalm reminds us of this: "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever."
In our Second Reading Saint Paul spells out for us the challenges that we find in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because God is good and merciful and takes away our sins we are called to respond to His love. And so Saint Paul says: "...seek what is above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too shall appear with him in glory."
Last night, dear friends, the Church concentrated her attention on Baptism, and Saint Paul explained to us how, by Baptism, we are immersed into the Death of Christ and rise with Him to new life.
The radical challenge inherent in the Easter Gospel, the radical challenge of our Baptism is all about new life. We are called to walk in newness of life and to set our hearts on God, with love for one another.
The love that inspired Jesus to lay down His life for us and to forgive us our sins, the love of the Father for Jesus, the love that inspired Him to raise Jesus from the dead on Easter Sunday— this is the love that must inspire us to forgive one another and to serve one another.
But forgiveness and service require strength. And where does this strength come from? From the power of Christ’s Resurrection. From the One who says to us: "Once I was dead but now I live." The Risen Christ, the living Christ, is the source of our strength, the reason for our hope, the reason for the hope of the world.
In our own City of Philadelphia and throughout the world we face innumerable problems and difficulties. And yet we are confident, for we are an Easter people and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is our hope.
We will continue to hope and work and pray for the resolution of violence in our neighborhoods, for peace in our families and on our streets, for harmony in all the strife-torn spots throughout the world. And we will strive in our hearts and consciences to be faithful to what we know is God’s holy will for us. We will remember how important it is to be part of the worshiping community of the Church on every Sunday, when we are called to celebrate together the Death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
Where do we expect to get this strength? Is there any basis for our hope? Yes, dear friends, in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are an Easter people and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is our strength.
Do you remember years ago, how in the former Soviet Union there was an explosion in the nuclear plant in Chernobyl? Ever since, there have been negative effects in the region and the impact of that explosion remains to this day.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ produced an explosion—an explosion more powerful and lasting than any nuclear explosion in the history of the world—not with negative effects, but unleashing forever in the world the power of Christ’s Resurrection, which is the power of God’s love and mercy.
Today we celebrate the immense power that derives from Christ’s Resurrection and has entered the world and taken possession of our hearts and minds and consciences. This power is the power to respond to God’s love, to show mercy and forgiveness to others, and to serve one another. All of this is what, through the power of Christ’s Resurrection, we propose to do with renewed fervor and commitment in our Bicentennial Year that opens today.
The psalm, dear friends, is right: "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever."
Yes, Jesus Christ is truly risen from the dead! Jesus Christ is our hope, our strength, our joy on this Easter Day, throughout our Bicentennial Celebration and always! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Homily
of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Easter Vigil Holy Saturday Night
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and PAUL
April 10, 2004
Dear Friends,
Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Alleluia! Alleluia!
This is the good news of great joy that the Church proclaims on this holy night. This is the Easter proclamation of the Church. This is the Easter Gospel. This is the joy of being a Christian. This is the hope of humanity.
A little while ago some of us gathered in the Vestibule of the Cathedral Basilica for the liturgy of light, to proclaim that the Risen Christ is the light of the world. We then followed in procession after the Easter Candle, which represents Christ our light. By His Resurrection, Jesus dispelled the darkness of the world and became our leader, leading us in His light, along the path of life, to eternal life.
Christ has shown His power over sin and death. He has overcome death. Indeed, by dying He has destroyed our death and by rising He has restored our life. We remember that Jesus told us: I am the way, and the truth, and life and again I am the light of the world.
This evening after our liturgy of light we have had the liturgy of the word. We have heard about the wonders that God did for His people in the Old Testament. We proclaimed God s love in creation and in how He delivered His people from Egypt, enabling them to pass through the Red Sea. This was the first Passover.
Through the prophet Isaiah we heard about God s intention to offer pardon to His people and establish with them a new covenant. And through the prophet Ezekiel we heard that God would sprinkle His people with clean water and give them a new spirit.
And tonight in the third part of our liturgy, the liturgy of Baptism, we see the complete fulfillment of God s promise. While all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus are conscious of the great privilege of our own Baptism, we welcome into the Church those who are being baptized and confirmed and those who are being received into the full communion of the Catholic Church.
Here we pause to reflect on the meaning of Baptism. Saint Paul explains it all to us. He tells us that Baptism associates us with the death and Resurrection of Christ. Indeed through Baptism we die with Christ and are buried with him. And then come those wonderful words of the Apostle Paul: If we have died with Christ, we believe we are also to live with him. We know that Christ, once raised from the dead will never die again. St. Paul then explains the impact of Baptism on us and on our conduct. You he says must consider yourself dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.
This tells it all: dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus. This is why our brothers and sisters have presented themselves for Baptism this night; this is why all of us have been baptized: to die to sin, to be alive for God in Christ Jesus.
And with our Baptism and Confirmation we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Christ and His Father give us the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that we may live and walk in newness of life.
The fourth part of our celebration is the liturgy of the Eucharist itself, in which Jesus our Lord renews the Sacrifice of His death on Calvary and its glorious culmination in the Resurrection. Through His banquet he shares with us His body and blood as the pledge of life, eternal life the same life that He received from His Father in His Resurrection. He makes it possible for us to live eternally in the communion of the Most Blessed Trinity.
And so, dear friends, the Church continues to proclaim the Easter message the message the women heard from the angels when they went to look for Jesus in the tomb: Why do you search for the living One among the dead? He is not here: he has been raised up.
And because Jesus has been raised up in victory over death and sin, we too are called to walk in newness of life. The Risen Lord is our Light. He teaches us how to live, how to love, how to serve one another. Through the power of His death and Resurrection, He infuses into us the strength to be faithful in the community of the Church to His way of life our holy Catholic faith.
At Easter, God s grace calls back to the community many people, who in the past, for one reason or another, have been separated from the practice of their faith and therefore from the joy of celebrating Christ s Resurrection. Today the Church reaches out in particular to those brothers and sisters, to welcome them and to share with them the joy of Christ s Resurrection.
Dear friends: to all of you I proclaim good news of great joy: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Easter Vigil - Holy Saturday Night
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 7, 2007
Dear Friends,
Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Alleluia! Alleluia!
This is the good news of great joy that the Church proclaims on this holy night. This is the Easter proclamation of the Church. This is the Easter Gospel. This is the joy of being a Christian. This is the hope of humanity.
A little while ago some of us gathered in front of the Cathedral Basilica for the liturgy of light, to proclaim that the Risen Christ is the light of the world. We then followed in procession after the Easter Candle, which represents Christ our light. By His Resurrection, Jesus dispelled the darkness of the world and became our leader, leading us in His light, along the path of life, to eternal life.
Christ has shown His power over sin and death. He has overcome death. Indeed, by dying He has destroyed our death and by rising He has restored our life. We remember that Jesus told us: "I am the way, and the truth, and life" and again "I am the light of the world."
This evening after our liturgy of light we have had the liturgy of the word. We have heard about the wonders that God did for His people in the Old Testament. We proclaimed God’s love in creation and in how He delivered His people from Egypt, enabling them to pass through the Red Sea. This was the first Passover.
Through the prophet Isaiah we heard about God’s intention to offer pardon to His people and establish with them an everlasting covenant, through which they would have life.
And tonight in the third part of our liturgy, the liturgy of Baptism, we see the complete fulfillment of God’s promise. While all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus are conscious of the great privilege of our own Baptism, we welcome into the Church our catechumen and those who are being received into the full communion of the Catholic Church. What a joy for us all to welcome these new members to the household of the faith! We thank all those who have helped them to arrive at this sacred night.
Here we pause to reflect on the meaning of Baptism. Saint Paul explains it all to us. He tells us that Baptism associates us with the Death and Resurrection of Christ. Indeed through Baptism we die with Christ and are buried with him. And then come those wonderful words of the Apostle Paul: "If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more." St. Paul then explains the impact of Baptism on us and on our conduct. "You"—he says—"must think of yourselves as being dead to sin but living for God in Christ Jesus."
This tells it all: "dead to sin but living for God in Christ Jesus." This is why we administer Baptism this night; this is why all of us have been baptized: to die to sin, to live for God in Christ Jesus.
And with our Baptism and Confirmation we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Christ and His Father give us the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that we may live and walk in newness of life.
The fourth part of our celebration is the liturgy of the Eucharist itself, in which Jesus our Lord renews the Sacrifice of His Death on Calvary and its glorious culmination in the Resurrection. Through His banquet he shares with us His Body and Blood as the pledge of life, eternal life—the same life that He received from His Father in His Resurrection. He makes it possible for us to live eternally in the communion of the Most Blessed Trinity.
And so, dear friends, the Church continues to proclaim the Easter message—the message the women heard from the angels when they went to look for Jesus in the tomb: "Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but has been raised."
And because Jesus has been raised up in victory over death and sin, we too are called to walk in newness of life. The Risen Lord is our Light. He teaches us how to live, how to love, how to serve one another. Through the power of His Death and Resurrection, He infuses into us the strength to be faithful in the community of the Church to His way of life — our holy Catholic faith.
At Easter, God’s grace calls back to the community many people, who in the past, for one reason or another, have been separated from the practice of their faith and therefore from the joy of celebrating Christ’s Resurrection. Today the Church reaches out in particular to those brothers and sisters, to welcome them and to share with them the joy of Christ’s Resurrection.
Dear friends: to all of you I proclaim good news of great joy: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Easter Vigil
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
March 22, 2008
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ risen from the dead,
In his Letter to the Romans Saint Paul poses an important question: “Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”
What Paul is saying is that there is an intimate connection between our Baptism and what took place at Christ’s Death and Resurrection. We know that by His Death and Resurrection Jesus Christ destroyed our death and restored us to life. He made it possible for us, in the expression of Saint Paul, to live in newness of life.
This is what Easter is all about: newness of life. For those being baptized and confirmed on this night there is indeed newness of life. A wonderful future opens up before them as they seek constantly to pass from sin to life in Christ Jesus. What is it to be a member of the Church? It means to die to sin, to live for God in Christ Jesus. In other words: to live in newness of life.
But where does the power come from to be able to live in newness of life? How is it possible to live in newness of life? The power comes from the Death of Jesus—a death that He endured out of love for us, a death that, in the Resurrection, is now ratified and accepted as a sacrifice by the Father, who raises Jesus to life.
All of us tonight—priests, deacons and religious and lay faithful—are called to newness of life. How good God is to give us a fresh opportunity to live in newness of life! Tonight we rejoice with our newly baptized and committed Catholics. We express solidarity with them. But we are also publicly challenged to renew the promises of our own Baptism: to get on with our Christian lives in newness of life. We remember our own Confirmation, the gift of the Holy Spirit that we have received in order to be strengthened in Christian living. The new way of life that opens up before us means the rejection of sin, the rejection of Satan and all his works and all his empty promises.
All of this is possible because Jesus died for us and rose from the dead. In His sacred humanity he was raised up by His Father. The power of Christ’s Death and Resurrection is what makes newness of life possible for our catechumens and candidates, for all of us, and for all the members of the Church. By His Resurrection Jesus has definitively conquered sin and death and has made newness of life possible. By this power we are able to set aside in our lives whatever is opposed to the commandments of God and to the Gospel of Christ.
As individuals, as families, as a parish, as a community, as the Church of Philadelphia—all of us need the Resurrection of Jesus. The world needs the Resurrection at this moment of continuing armed conflict, of raging violence, and of widespread suffering of innocent people.
What is needed—and what is possible—is newness of life. It can come only from the power of Christ’s victory over sin and death. Only the Risen Christ has the power to bring about peace, because only the Risen Christ can change hearts. Without a change of heart there is no peace, no newness of life. Human effort is not enough. Human justice is insufficient. Human force can backfire. But God’s mercy is unleashed by the prayer of His people. And God’s strength is available through the power of Christ’s Resurrection, which becomes our power during this Easter celebration of the Eucharist. Newness of life is possible only because Christ is risen from the dead.
We heard those wonderful words tonight in the Gospel. At the empty tomb the angel spoke to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary saying: “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”
And as the women went away quickly from the tomb, they ran to find the disciples of Jesus to share with them the Good News of the Resurrection. Meanwhile, as the Gospel says: Jesus Himself “met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid …’.”
On this Easter night, Jesus speaks to each of us, to the Church of Philadelphia and to the whole world these same words: “Do not be afraid!” Strengthened by the power of Christ’s Resurrection we have nothing to fear. Jesus has died to redeem us from our sins and to make it possible for us to reject all sin in our lives. In His mercy, He will forgive us if we turn to Him with contrition and a firm purpose of amendment. We need not be afraid of death, because, by dying, He has destroyed our death and, by rising, has restored us to life. He has truly made it possible for us all to live in newness of life.
This, dear friends, is what we mean by a blessed Easter: to live with Christ—the Risen Christ—in newness of life! Amen. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Easter Vigil Easter Vigil - Holy Saturday Night
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 3, 2010
Dear Friends,
Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Alleluia! Alleluia!
On this holy night the Church proclaims this good news of great joy. This is the Easter proclamation of the Church. This is the Easter Gospel. This is the joy of being a Christian. This is the hope of humanity.
Just a little while ago a number of us gathered in front of the Cathedral Basilica for the liturgy of light, to proclaim that the Risen Christ is the light of the world. We then followed in procession after the Easter Candle, which represents Christ our light. By His Resurrection, Jesus dispelled the darkness of the world and became our leader, leading us in His light, along the path of life, to eternal life.
Jesus Christ has shown His power over sin and death. He has overcome death. Indeed, by dying He has destroyed our death and by rising He has restored our life. We remember that Jesus told us: "I am the way, and the truth, and life" and again "I am the light of the world."
Tonight after our liturgy of light we have had the liturgy of the word. We have heard about the wonders that God did for His people in the Old Testament. We proclaimed God’s love in creation and in how He delivered His people from Egypt, enabling them to pass through the Red Sea. This was the first Passover.
Through the prophet Isaiah we heard about God’s intention to offer pardon to His people and establish with them an everlasting covenant, through which they would have life.
In the third part of our liturgy, the liturgy of Baptism, we see the complete fulfillment of God’s promise. While all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus are conscious of the great privilege of our own Baptism, we cordially welcome our catechumen and the person being received into the full communion of the Catholic Church. What a joy for us all to welcome these new members to the household of the faith! We thank all those who have helped them to arrive at this sacred night.
Here we pause to reflect on the meaning of Baptism. Saint Paul explains it all to us. He tells us that Baptism associates us with the Death and Resurrection of Christ. Indeed through Baptism we die with Christ and are buried with him. And then come those wonderful words of the Apostle Paul: "If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more." St. Paul then explains the impact of Baptism on us and on our conduct. "You"—he says—"must think of yourselves as being dead to sin but living for God in Christ Jesus."
This tells it all: "dead to sin but living for God in Christ Jesus." This is why we administer Baptism this night; this is why all of us have been baptized: to die to sin, to live for God in Christ Jesus.
At both our Baptism and Confirmation we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Christ and His Father give us the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that we may live and walk in newness of life.
The fourth part of our celebration is the liturgy of the Eucharist itself, in which Jesus our Lord renews the Sacrifice of His Death on Calvary and its glorious culmination in the Resurrection. Through His banquet he shares with us His Body and Blood as the pledge of life, eternal life—the same life that He received abundantly from His Father at His Resurrection. He makes it possible for us to live eternally in the communion of the Most Blessed Trinity.
And so, dear friends, the Church continues to proclaim the Easter message—the message the women heard from the angels when they went to look for Jesus in the tomb: "Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised."
Because Jesus has been raised up in victory over death and sin, we too are called to walk in newness of life. The Risen Lord is our Light. He teaches us how to live, how to love, how to serve one another. Through the power of His Death and Resurrection, He infuses into us the strength to be faithful in the community of the Church to His way of life — our holy Catholic faith.
At Easter, God’s grace calls back to the community many people, who in the past, for one reason or another, have been separated from the practice of their faith and therefore from the joy of celebrating Christ’s Resurrection. Today the Church reaches out in particular to those brothers and sisters, to welcome them and to share with them the joy of Christ’s Resurrection.
Dear friends: to all of you I proclaim good news of great joy: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Ecumenical Prayer Service for the Victims of Katrina
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
September 15, 2005
Dear Friends,
As our program indicates, we are gathered together in sorrow and in hope. We are glad to be in solidarity with so many people throughout our land of different backgrounds and religions, and especially with our suffering brothers and sisters.
We are honored to have various interreligious and ecumenical dignitaries present here today and participating in our service.
Our hope is to give a united witness of religion and humanity.
Coming together as religious people we proclaim that the primacy of God in this world necessitates solidarity with all in need.
The importance of humanity under God and the need for outreach, help, understanding, compassion and mercy are our message.
We hope to help bear one another’s burdens and thus fulfill the law of God.
And so we were together. And in our togetherness we pray and worship God according to our hearts.
We ask God’s help and once again we solicit aid for the victims. And as we bear together the sorrow of our brothers and sisters, we also proclaim hope for their future.
In God we trust—the God who is our help in ages past and our hope for years to come.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Jubilee Mass for Catholic Educators
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
April 2, 2006
Dear Friends and Collaborators in the teaching mission of our Lord Jesus Christ,
On this joyous occasion I congratulate each of you who celebrates a Jubilee as an educator in our Catholic schools. I speak for all in the Archdiocese in expressing gratitude for your part in providing Catholic education to another generation.
The custom of celebrating jubilees can be traced to the Old Testament. A jubilee was a joyful event, an occasion to honor God by freeing slaves and canceling debts. The tradition continued in the New Testament. The Gospel of Luke recounts an episode when Jesus returned to the synagogue of His home town. The Gospel describes how He stood up and read from the book of the Prophet Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor" Then Jesus added, "Today, this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing" (Lk 4:18-19, 21). He indicated that the day of salvation had come.
During your years in education, you have encountered the gifted and talented. You have also come upon the afflicted and brokenhearted. You have met those who seek freedom from ignorance, poverty or oppression. As disciples of Jesus, you have continued His work. Another’s success or sorrow became an opportunity for you to act in the name of Christ. By your words and deeds you have brought glad tidings and liberty. You have been instruments of God’s favor.
This jubilee celebration is enhanced by the commemoration of another significant event. Today marks the first anniversary of the death of our beloved Pope John Paul II. With the Spirit of the Lord upon him, he was an extraordinary instrument of God’s favor for the world. His popularity and impact transcended race, nationality, age, gender, religious affiliation or economic status. He had a special concern for the poor and needy, and a unique relationship with young people. We remember him fondly and thank God for the gift of such a loving person, such a loving father and shepherd of the Church.
In our Gospel today we find the request made by some Greeks to the apostle Philip: "We would like to see Jesus.". Moved by great curiosity they wanted to know who Jesus really was. Pope John Paul II, in his last World Youth Day message in 2004, invited young people to imitate those Greeks. He indicated that the search for Jesus is motivated by intellectual curiosity, but above all by an inner urging to find the answer to the question about the meaning of life. He reminded them that Christianity is not simply a doctrine. It is an encounter with God made present in history through the incarnation of the Word of God, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pope John Paul II spoke of the value of seeking God with the eyes of the flesh through the events of life and in the faces of others. Even more, the Pope advised young people to seek God with the eyes of the soul through prayer and meditation on the word of God. The Pope assured the young people that, if they allowed this desire to emerge, they would have the wonderful experience of encountering the living Jesus.
The Greeks, in search of truth, in their desire to see Jesus, were aided by the apostles. You, our jubilarians, together with our Catholic Schools, continue to serve a similar role in the lives of students. Young people seek the truth. Teaching science, history, mathematics and so forth, nurtures and responds to their intellectual curiosity. By relating these subjects to salvation, you show how Jesus illumines all of life. In so doing, you respond to the deepest longing of young people "to see Jesus."
Students in our Catholic schools are fortunate that their quest for truth takes place within a religious atmosphere. The National Directory for Catechesis teaches that "The Catholic school...is not simply an institution which offers an academic instruction of high quality, but even more important is an effective vehicle of total Christian formation" (no. 230). Catholic schools provide a favorable setting where, daily, young people are afforded the opportunity to hear and live the Gospel, to learn and appreciate the teachings of the Church, to acquire a deep understanding, reverence and love for the Liturgy, to build community, to pray and properly form their consciences, to develop virtue and participate in Christian service. According to Vatican, students are provided "an education by virtue of which their whole lives may be inspired by the spirit of Christ" (Gravissunum Educationis, 8).
The desire to see Jesus is not reserved to the young. It is the longing of all humanity. We discover Jesus in the faces of our brothers and sisters, in the poor, and especially in its Eucharistic presence of the Lord.. We discover Jesus when we give of ourselves in self-sacrificing love. During this Lenten season, we should not be surprised to meet Jesus on the Cross and in the crosses of life. Remember, though, that after the Cross, comes the Resurrection. Death does not have the last word, for love is stronger than death. Jesus accepted death on the Cross, thus making it the source of life and the sign of love. He did so to gain our salvation and to allow us henceforth to take part in his divine life.
A jubilee is a time of joy. Your jubilee, dear Friends, is an occasion of special grace, a day blessed by the Lord. It is an opportunity to reflect on the past, to offer praise and thanksgiving for all that God has done and accomplished in and through you. It is a day to recommit yourselves, as teachers and administrators, to your mission, which is that of Christ and His Church. What a lofty dignity is yours!
There is so much for which to be thankful. Today I express deep gratitude to the parents who have entrusted the education and formation of their children to our Catholic schools. In so doing, they have given us the privilege of sharing a role in which they have the primary and irreplaceable responsibility.
I am grateful for the priests, religious Sisters and Brothers, and laity who serve in the educational apostolate. Our schools provide a context in which young people discern God’s call and develop skills that are associated with the fulfillment of that call. Among the many career and vocational opportunities, we pray that those whom God is calling to the priesthood and religious life will respond generously.
I am grateful for the support of the entire Catholic community who by their prayers and financial support enable our schools to accomplish their purpose. With this support, many are able to receive a Catholic education who otherwise might be deprived of it.
In particular, I express gratitude to you our jubilarians for your many years of service to this Archdiocese and to our Catholic schools. We depend upon you to set high academic standards and instill a spirit of faith and values rooted in Christ. You have given generously of your time, talent and treasure to advance the teaching mission of Christ and His Church. You assist parents by providing their children with a solid moral foundation. All who teach in our schools understand that their work is not just a career opportunity; it is a vocation, a response to God’s call to teach and evangelize our youth.
A jubilee is also an opportunity to look forward to a future that offers new possibilities. The future of the world and the Church belongs to the younger generation. We are proud of our students. They are young men and women who contribute to our country, our community, our Church. Christ expects great things from young people, so did Pope John Paul II. He challenged them to put their talents at the service of the proclamation of the Good News. He encouraged them to be friends of Jesus and offer witness so that others might come to see Jesus.
In a short time, Christianity will celebrate the great Feast of Easter. "Go and teach all nations," was the great directive that Jesus gave His apostles after His Resurrection. It is also His last command recorded in Saint Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 28:19-20). I congratulate and thank our jubilarians for their fidelity to the Lord’s command. We entrust them, the students they teach and our Catholic schools to the patronage of Mary, the Seat of Wisdom. Through her maternal intercession, may she aid all who seek "to see Jesus." Amen.
Statement of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Archbishop of Philadelphia
The Gravest of All Issues
Catholic participation in the political process
No one observing our nation’s electoral process over the past several months could fail to notice the role of religion in politics. Some have sought to deny this role, citing a strict “separation of Church and State.”
This phrase itself is a misinterpretation of the Constitution, which actually allows for free exercise of religion and prohibits establishment of a state religion. It does not preclude religious involvement in the civic arena. The issue nonetheless leads us to examine whether religious faith should play a role in the political process and to what extent the faith of citizens should bear upon their nation’s public policy.
There is a necessary and integral relationship between beliefs and actions. Catholics believe we are all created by God in His likeness, that our sinful nature is redeemed by Christ and that, because we are oriented toward justice and peace as sons and daughters of God, we are led by the Holy Spirit to live these values.
If we believe these truths about ourselves then we are compelled to believe them of others. We have life, and because we revere our own life we want life to be lived in fullness by all. We wish to be free and gain respect for our rights as persons. We wish to be healthy and secure in our basic needs, and indeed, prosper.
As we seek these goods for ourselves we are compelled to seek them for others whom we also recognize as created, redeemed and sanctified persons. We do this by contributing to public policy, codified in the civil law of our society, that values all persons as we value ourselves. This is the Golden Rule: Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Catholics seek the common good
The Catholic Church is a community of believers who are also citizens of the United States of America. Catholics seek, as do many others, the common good based on our view of the person. The leaders of our community, the bishops, serve as teachers for the faithful. When a bishop speaks to the faithful it is to remind them of the truths of our faith as expressed in Sacred Scripture, in the tradition of the Christian faithful and in the official teachings in our 2,000-year history. We look to Jesus Christ and present his constant truths to the living Church, living in the ever-changing circumstances of the contemporary world.
The role of Catholics in politics, then, is to have a voice on policies that reflect the truths of the natural law. Being informed by our own faith perspective, we seek to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ as we seek in truth the common good for all citizens of our land.
We acknowledge threats and even attacks against the human person in a variety of ways which we are compelled to address. We seek an end to deadly attacks against the most defenseless, including children in the womb, and aged or infirm individuals. We seek security at home and peace abroad, mindful of the horrible consequences of violence and war. We endeavor to serve the needs of poor families and search for ways to ease their burden of poverty. We work to establish justice in a society free from the discrimination and vice that deaden the human spirit.
The role of one’s conscience
In order to remedy these situations, the Church proclaims that Catholics have not only a right to vote but a duty to participate in the election process. The Church expends enormous effort to teach moral norms for the good of society. It also goes to great lengths to avoid endorsing specific candidates for public office or political parties, thus showing respect for the conscience of individual voters.
It is this conscience which, if it is well formed with the help of Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium, will help build a culture that serves the common good. Persons with a well-formed Christian conscience will want to work for a just society not only on election day but in the many circumstances of everyday life.
Since voting is the fundamental means of participation in the political process, Catholics are obliged to bring their conscience to bear on issues that affect society.
The Church encourages Catholics to learn its teachings on morality and the place of morality in society. These teachings will be helpful in evaluating the position on public policy that is taken by candidates for political office. Thus education in Church teachings and in candidates’ public positions is a means by which Catholic citizens may best decide for whom they will vote.
On the issues
The Church identifies moral principles about which Catholics should be informed when exercising their right to vote. As Catholics, we hold in highest priority the right to life and our duty to defend innocent human life. This principle applies directly to the protection of unborn children as well as to the Church ’s opposition to embryonic stem cell research, cloning, assisted suicide and euthanasia
On a different level, we also vigorously oppose the death penalty. Although it does not involve the taking of innocent human life, we consider it cruel and unnecessary for the defense of society, an affront to human dignity.
We oppose so-called "same-sex marriage" as we consistently uphold marriage as defined between a man and woman and as we promote family life as the stabilizing factor in society. We acknowledge the need to serve the poor and vulnerable, as we also work to promote the dignity of workers and the protection and well-being of children.
As Catholics, we also seek the way of peace by practicing global solidarity. Further, we acknowledge the importance of proper stewardship over creation by appropriate care for the environment.
All these issues should be considered by voters as they form their conscience. Since one votes not only for people but also for issues, one must consider the candidates’ stands on these issues. Citizens of faith should learn about the candidates’ specific proposals and, if possible, their past positions on all these matters. Catholic voters should note well when candidates assume positions in support or opposition to an issue with a moral component for which the Church has and must continue to take a stand.
Not all these issues are of equal gravity. Prudent judgments made by thoughtful Catholics can lead to different legitimate approaches to solving the problems of poverty, immigration, healthcare and acceptable military force. Some issues, however, because they lie at the foundation of society and address fundamental aspects of what it means to be human, must be considered first and foremost.
As Catholics we revere life and find the destruction of innocent human life abhorrent. Abortion is an act evil in itself because a fetus in the womb is a complete human being in the process of development. The person is innocent and defenseless from attack. Since abortion destroys this life, it is intrinsically evil. In a similar way embryonic stem cell research by its nature destroys a fertilized egg – an embryo – that would otherwise mature until birth. Regardless of putative benefits to medical science, the cost is the destruction of innocent human life.
Assisted suicide and euthanasia, also known as "mercy killing," violate the gift of life by destroying it instead of permitting it to pass through its natural course. Cloning also violates the natural order by attempting to create life by scientific means divorced from the natural process of generation: the conjugal union of two persons married for life.
The family itself, as the font from which all human life springs and which nurtures it to maturity, is also under direct attack with attempts to redefine marriage to include "same-sex marriage." Legal protections and provisions for homosexual persons may be reflected in civil law, but society cannot change the definition of marriage that is revealed in natural law and confirmed by human history. The Church consistently proclaims that marriage exists only between one man and one woman.
Catholic citizens must directly oppose the promotion of laws that sanction these threats to the very foundation of society. With his or her vote, each Catholic chooses whether or not to contribute to the common good by safeguarding the innocent and most vulnerable. All actions that enable direct attacks upon innocent human life and the family deserve absolute rejection.
Questions to consider
As we prepare to exercise on November 2 our right to vote according to our properly formed conscience we should keep in mind a number of questions which the candidates for whom we vote are called to address in the coming months and years:
* Above all, must we not reject the taking of innocent human life?
* Must we not work to overcome all threats to life in our midst?
* Must we not remedy the civil laws that permit, if not encourage, these evils to continue?
* How can we more effectively build a more just, more secure, more peaceful world, thoroughly respectful of human life and dignity?
* How will we overcome poverty, maintain healthcare, apply justice, heal injustice, care for creation?
* How can society defend traditional marriage and better support families to raise children with respect for life, sound moral values and personal responsibility?
In these and other questions, with God’s help and the guidance of the Church, as Catholics we are committed to moral solutions. This is the work of faithful citizenship.
In our earthly pilgrimage of which political activity is a part, we have food and strength for the journey. The Eucharist sustains and fortifies us. Through it Christ becomes present to us in the Sacrifice of the Mass. He is the source and summit of our life, and He calls us to go forth into the world sanctified by His presence in the Eucharist.
Local polling stations for voting are open on November 2 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. I earnestly encourage all Catholics to try to begin their day on Tuesday, November 2 by participating at Mass which is celebrated at various times in the parishes of the Archdiocese.
The Eucharistic table is a fitting place to begin the journey of casting our votes. This privilege, for which so many of our forebears sacrificed, can lead to a more just society and a more just world, a world ultimately transformed by the power of Christ.
Cardinal Justin Rigali
October 28, 2004
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass during the Archdiocesan Encuentro
for Hispanic Youth and Young Adults
Saint William Church
February 11, 2006
Mis queridos amigos en Cristo,
Estoy muy contento de tener esta oportunidad de reunirme con ustedes y celebrar esta liturgia la cual cierra el Encuentro Diocesano de Jóvenes Hispanos.
En las últimas semanas ustedes han trabajado bastante asistiendo a talleres enfocados en el proceso del Encuentro: conversión, comunión, solidaridad y misión; su participación ha sido muy valiosa, y yo les doy las gracias por trabajar en este proceso tan importante. Han trabajado juntos para identificar modelos de ministerio que respondan a las necesidades de los jóvenes y jóvenes adultos en nuestra arquidiócesis de Filadelfia.
Es importante también reflexionar no sólo en las necesidades, sino además en las aspiraciones y contribuciones que nuestros jóvenes traen a la Iglesia y a la sociedad; son muchos los retos que enfrentan ustedes hoy día en este mundo tan complejo. Por eso este proceso del Encuentro invita a todos los jóvenes hispanos a una experiencia evangelizadora, a un encuentro con Jesucristo vivo. Y es el mismo Jesús que les pide remar mar adentro y echar las redes (Duc in altum), « ...los discípulos habiéndolo hecho, recogieron una cantidad enorme de peces»(Lc 5:6).
Durante estas últimas semanas ustedes han sido invitados a pasar un tiempo de reflexión y unión con el Maestro Jesús. Ustedes han conversado y orado junto al Señor, han tenido ‘experiencia’ de Jesús vivo. A su vez han tenido la oportunidad no sólo de tener experiencia de Jesús, sino también de compartir esa experiencia juntos como comunidad de fe. Esa experiencia de Jesús vivo que ustedes han tenido y tienen cada día, no es algo que todos los jóvenes hispanos han tenido. Por eso es necesario que, al igual que los discípulos, vayan y se lo comuniquen a los demás. Hay muchos jóvenes hispanos que necesitan recibir el mensaje de Jesús a través de ustedes. Hay muchos jóvenes que no participan activamente de las actividades de la Iglesia y necesitan ser invitados nuevamente al encuentro con Jesús. Ese es uno de los objetivos de este Encuentro, el que ustedes habiendo experimentado al Señor salgan a comunicarlo, que vayan invitando a los demás jóvenes de su edad a que ‘vengan y vean’. Ustedes son los mensajeros de lo que han aprendido, ustedes son la voz de Jesús entre las personas que los rodean; comuniquen lo que han aprendido a los demás. ¡Comuniquen a Jesús!
Ustedes han tenido una experiencia de Jesús, y ésta es el inicio de la vida cristiana. Han sido llamados al camino de conversión. La vida cristiana es un camino de fe, de aprendizaje, de constante conversión en un plano personal, buscando conocer a Jesús de modo más cercano y profundo. El camino de fe no es solo la experiencia primera, sino una continua comunicación con Jesús y sobre todo el vivir en continuo testimonio frente a la comunidad cristiana, testimonio de nuestra experiencia con el Señor. Ustedes están llamados a ser discípulos. Ser discípulo se traduce en ser ‘testigo’ de que Jesús vive frente a la comunidad a la que pertenecemos. Ser testigos de la resurrección en el mundo moderno es llevar el mensaje cristiano a cada rincón del mundo y hacer que la verdad del Evangelio ilumine todos los aspectos de la cultura moderna. Esto se conoce como evangelización de la cultura. Cada cultura, con su riqueza y diversidad, puede ser iluminada con la verdad del mensaje cristiano.
Uno de los objetivos del Encuentro es ‘fortalecer una visión de Iglesia como una comunidad de comunidades, donde la diversidad es vista como un don de Dios y donde se promueve su unidad como un solo cuerpo de Cristo’(Manual del Encuentro). La Iglesia, lugar de encuentro con Jesucristo vivo, no es simplemente una estructura. En su ser más profundo ella «constituye un sacramento de comunión y de participación». La Iglesia es comunidad de acogida, que acompaña en el camino de seguimiento a Jesús y en el camino de servicio al mundo. A imitación del Buen Pastor, la Iglesia sale al encuentro de las personas y acoge a todos con misericordia. Por eso la Iglesia local debe ser el espacio donde cada uno de ustedes, jóvenes hispanos, pueda nutrir su fe, encontrar amigos y descubrir el sentido de su vida. Busquen y edifiquen en sus parroquias un ambiente necesario para crecer y vivir el desafío de ser seguidores de Jesús y vivir la espiritualidad de la comunión.
Ustedes han reflexionado en estos talleres sobre la solidaridad; pienso que la solidaridad nos urge hoy más que nunca con una exigencia especial. En muchos sectores de nuestra sociedad hay exactamente lo contrario a lo que debe ser la solidaridad humana: el no sentir como propio los problemas y carencias de una gran mayoría empobrecida de nuestros hermanos y la falta de interés, de los unos por los otros, llegando hasta situaciones alarmantes de exclusión. La enseñanza de San Juan es verdaderamente profunda: «Quien no ama a su hermano que ve no puede amar a Dios a quien no ve». Si decimos amar a Dios, es necesario que tengamos y crezcamos en nuestro espíritu solidario especialmente con aquellos que más lo necesitan. Los necesitados del mundo moderno no son sólo los que padecen hambre o sufren pobreza, sino también aquellos que se sienten solos, abandonados; aquellos que sufren injusticias de cualquier tipo, que son sacudidos por leyes injustas o sufren discriminación, o no se les respetan sus derechos básicos como personas. Sobe todo, los mas necesitados del mundo son los que no conocen a Dios, los que no experimentan la verdad liberadora de Cristo, y los que no conocen su amor. La solidaridad es entonces una urgencia en el mensaje cristiano. Si verdaderamente amamos a Dios, eso nos tiene que mover a trabajar por la promoción de la justicia y la paz en el mundo—la justicia y la paz de Cristo.
Mis queridos amigos, al final de este proceso Jesús envía a cada uno de ustedes a esta misión. «Naveguen mar adentro —dice Jesús a sus discípulos— echen sus redes». La Iglesia ve en este mandato de Jesús un llamado a la misión. Les dice Jesús a cada uno de ustedes, ‘... echen sus redes’. Cada uno de ustedes se ha convertido en un misionero, en un discípulo de Jesús, porque ha recibido un bien que no debe retener en la intimidad. Lo que han visto y oído reclama que lo transmitan a quienes quieran escuchar. Ustedes se han convertido en Iglesia de Jesús y la Iglesia existe para evangelizar; tiene como centro de su misión convocar a todos los hombres al encuentro con Jesucristo.
El mandato misionero de Jesús: «Naveguen mar adentro... echen las redes», los introduce en el mundo moderno invitándolos a tener el mismo entusiasmo que los cristianos de los primero siglos. Para ello cuentan con la fuerza del Espíritu, que fue enviado en Pentecostés y que hoy los impulsa a partir animados por la esperanza.
Este Encuentro, como toda experiencia de gracia, ha cumplido la función de dar nuevas fuerzas para recorrer el camino que les espera. Convertirse, es también renunciar a cierta comodidad. Hay un nuevo camino que emprender, colmados de una esperanza que no defrauda; no vale la pena demorar la partida. ¡Vayan, naveguen mar adentro y echen las redes! El Evangelio de Jesús ofrece el mensaje que se necesita escuchar para alcanzar una vida mejor. «Naveguen mar adentro» nutridos por la Palabra de Dios, perdonados en el sacramento de la Confesión, y reconfortados en el banquete de la Eucaristía.
Queridos hermanos y hermanas, que Jesús resucitado, el cual nos acompaña en nuestro camino, los encuentre vigilantes y preparados para descubrirlo y correr hacia nuestros hermanos llevándoles el gran anuncio: ¡Hemos visto al Señor! (Jn 20:25).
A ustedes, que han acompañado a estos jóvenes y jóvenes adultos durante este proceso de Encuentro, les doy muchísimas gracias por su apoyo y les pido que continúen caminando con ellos. Los jóvenes son una parte muy importante de la mística que ha de impulsar la acción evangelizadora de la Iglesia. ¡Vamos a ayudarles a conservar el fervor espiritual que han recibido durante estas últimas semanas, para que ellos no pierdan nunca su entusíasmo de comunicar a Cristo a los demás.
¡Dios les bendiga a todos!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass during the Archdiocesan Encuentro
for Hispanic Youth and Young Adults
Saint William Church
February 11, 2006
Dear Friends in Christ,
I am very happy to have this opportunity to gather with you today and celebrate this liturgy closing the Archdiocesan Encuentro for Hispanic Youth and Young Adults.
During these last few weeks, you have worked hard attending workshops that focused on the Encuentro process: conversion, communion, solidarity and mission. Your participation is very valuable and I thank you for taking time to work on this important process. You have worked together to identify models of ministry that respond to the needs of youth and young adults in our Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
It is also important to reflect not only on the needs, but also, on the aspirations and contributions that our young people bring to the Church and society. You face many challenges today in this complex world we live in. For this reason this Encuentro process invites all Hispanic young people to have an evangelizing experience, an encounter with the living Jesus Christ. It is this same Jesus that asks you to "put out into the deep" for a catch (Duc in altum). After the disciples obeyed, "they caught a great number of fish"(Lk 5:6).
During these past weeks, you were invited to spend some time with the Lord Jesus in reflection. You have conversed and prayed with the Lord, you have "experienced" the living Jesus. You have also had the opportunity to share this experience of Jesus together as a community of faith. The "experience" of the living Jesus that each of you has had is not something that many of our young adults have had. It is necessary that, just like the disciples, you also go and communicate your experience to others. There are many young Hispanics that need to receive the message of Jesus through you. There are many Hispanic young adults that do not participate actively in the Church; they need to be invited; they need to encounter Jesus. This is one of the objectives of this Encuentro process that you who have "experienced" the Lord now must go out and communicate Him to others. You must invite other young adults of your age to "come and see". You are the messengers of what you have learned, you are the voice of Jesus among those with whom you come into contact. Communicate to others what you have learned. Communicate Jesus to others! In this way you will really contribute to the lives of other youth and young adults.
You have had an experience of Jesus and this is the beginning of Christian life. You have been called to a path of conversion. Christian life is a journey of faith, of learning, of constant personal conversion, seeking to know Jesus in a more personal and profound way. The faith journey is not only a faith experience, but a continuous communication with Jesus; above all you must give constant testimony, in the community where you live, of your experience with the Lord. You have been called to be disciples. To be a disciple is to be a "witness" that Jesus lives in the community that you belong to. To be a "witness" of the resurrection in the modern world is to spread the Christian message, to make the message of the Gospel shine on every aspect of modern culture. This is known as "the evangelization of culture." Each culture with its richness and diversity can be illuminated with the truth of Christ’s message.
One of the objectives of the Encuentro is "to foster a vision of Church as a family of families where diversity is seen as a gift from God and where the unity in this diversity is promoted as the one body of Christ"(Encuentro Manual). The Church, a place where we encounter the living Jesus Christ, is not simply a structure; in the most profound sense she is "a sacrament of communion and of participation." The Church is a welcoming community that accompanies us in our walk with Jesus and in our service to others. Imitating the Good Shepherd, the Church goes out to meet those dispersed and mercifully gathers them to her. For this reason your parish should be the place where each one of you, Hispanic young adults, can nourish your faith, find friends and discover in which direction your life is headed. Search and build in your parish the atmosphere needed for you and others to grow and to live the challenge of being followers of Jesus, for living the spirituality of communion.
During these workshops you have also reflected on solidarity. I believe that the need for solidarity is more urgent today than ever before. In many sectors of our society, there is the exact opposite of solidarity, which is a great insensitivity to others: not to feel as our own the problems and needs of our brothers and sisters, and a lack of interest in one another to an alarming point of exclusion. The teaching of Saint John is very profound: "Whoever does not love his brother whom he sees, cannot love God whom he does not see." If we say that we love God, it is necessary to have a spirit of solidarity with all those in need. The needy of the modern world are not only those that are hungry or suffer poverty, but also those that are lonely and abandoned; those that suffer any type of injustice, that are betrayed by unjust laws, or those that suffer discrimination, or whose basic human rights are not respected. Above all the neediest of this world are those who do not know God, those who do not experience the liberating truth of Christ, those who know nothing of His love. Solidarity with others is then an urgent dimension of our Christian message. If we truly love God, we must work to promote peace and justice in the world—the peace and justice of Christ.
My dear friends, at the end of the Encuentro Jesus sends each one of you out on a mission. "Put out into deep water" —Jesus commanded His disciples— "and lower your nets for a catch." The Church sees this mandate of Jesus as a call to a mission. Jesus is saying to each one of you: "...lower your nets for a catch." Each one of you is a missionary, a disciple of Jesus, because you have received a gift that you cannot keep to yourself. What you have seen and heard begs to be transmitted to all that will listen. You have been converted in the Church, and the Church exists to evangelize; at the center of her mission she convokes all people to have an encounter with Christ.
The missionary mandate of Jesus: "Put out into deep water and lower your nets" introduces you to the modern world, inviting you to have the same enthusiasm as the first Christians had in the early centuries. For this you can count on the power of the Holy Spirit who was sent at Pentecost, and who today sends you forth, animated with hope.
This Encuentro, like all experiences of grace, has accomplished its function, giving you new strength to follow the road that lies ahead of you. Conversion means turning to Christ, accepting His way of life. There is a new road to follow, and you must not delay your departure! Put out into the deep and cast your nets! The Gospel of Jesus offers this message that we need to hear in order to live life fully in Christ. In doing this we are nurtured by the word of God, forgiven in the Sacrament of Confession and strengthened in the banquet of the Eucharist!
Dear brothers and sisters: may the Risen Jesus, who accompanies you and walks with you, find you vigilant and ready to discover Him, so that you may run to your brothers and sisters with the great news: "We have seen the Lord!" (Jn 20:25).
To you who have accompanied these youth and young adults during this Encuentro process, I express my deep gratitude for the support that you have given them. I urge you to continue to walk with them. The young adults are a very important part of the mística that will impart momentum to the evangelizing action of the Church. Let us help them to maintain the spiritual fervor that they have received during these last few weeks, so that they never lose their enthusiasm for communicating Christ to others.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Episcopalian Cathedral
November 5, 2005
Bishop Bennison,
Dear Friends,
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Bishop Bennison has informed me that, from what anyone can tell, this is the first time in 222 years that the Archbishop of Philadelphia has addressed a convention of the Episcopal diocese!
It is a joy for me to be with you, and I thank Bishop Bennison and all of you for the warm welcome that you afford me today. Through you I would like to extend respectful and fraternal greetings to all the congregations and individual members of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. In the words of Saint Peter, permit me to say: "Peace to all of you that are in Christ" (1 Pt 5:14).
Despite our ecclesial differences, God’s providence has brought us together, in Christ, in so many ways. How close physically are this Cathedral and Saint Agatha and Saint James Church. But how many other issues of our Christian faith—substantive issues—unite us! How blessed that we share one Baptism in the name of the Most Blessed Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—that we share the divinely revealed word of God in the Sacred Scriptures, and that we share faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Mary.
In this regard may I share with you a personal experience that I had many years ago in Rome. It took place at a gathering honoring the work of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The work of Mother Teresa among the poor in India and throughout the world has become legendary. In the Catholic Church she is now known as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. Although she has been deceased for several years now, her Sisters still go out to the streets and gutters of Calcutta to bring to their home those who have been abandoned and are near death.
It is a remarkable work that can only be explained and sustained by a great measure of Christian love—love for Christ and for the poor whom He loves. The gathering in Rome to which I have alluded was on the occasion of Mother Teresa’s receiving an international recognition for her contribution toward world peace. The audience was made up of many distinguished people. Before the ceremony began, I spoke to Mother Teresa and asked her what she was going to talk about. I was eager to know, since I was going to be her translator from English into Italian. Her response to my question was remarkable. I will never forget it! She simply said: Oh! I don’t know. All I know is that I will be speaking about Jesus! And so she did! For Mother Teresa speaking about Jesus meant, yes, speaking about His identity as the Son of the living God, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, and the Son of Mary. But it also meant speaking about His commandment to love one another and to serve Him in His needy brothers and sisters. We remember the words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel according to Saint Matthew: "...for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me" (Mt 25:35-36).
Dear friends, in this short meeting with you today, I really just wanted to speak to you about Jesus—about His identity, His primacy in our lives and in the world, about what He has done for us: how He is our Savior, our one Mediator, our Reconciler and the Head of His Body, the Church.
For this reason I am so pleased that together we can hear proclaimed this beautiful reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. What a beautiful act of faith it is for us to repeat: "God has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Col 1:13-14). And again, Saint Paul says: "For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" (Col 1:19).
Our greatest common treasure, dear friends, is the person of Jesus Christ, who means everything for all of us. May we all submit ourselves to His dominion, share with others the forgiveness that He has so lavishly bestowed upon us, and strive to fulfill His commandment of love.
And finally may we all have a new appreciation of the great prayer that Jesus prayed to His Father for all of us His followers: "that they may be one, even as we are one" (Jn 17:11). May we walk together in mutual respect and love the remaining journey to full Christian unity, realizing that this goal is beyond all our human efforts (which we must still intensify) and that it is a gift of God’s Holy Spirit, given us by Jesus, the Lord.
Thank you, Bishop Bennison and dear friends, for the opportunity to speak to you about Jesus.
The Eucharist in North America
Remarks of Cardinal Justin Rigali
International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec
June 16, 2008
The Sunday Celebration
Although my topic is the Eucharist in North America, my pastoral experience is limited to the United States and particularly to the two Archdioceses that I have served: Philadelphia and, prior to this, St. Louis. I am convinced, however, that for so many parishes in North America the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist is the essential experience of the faith and the source of our people’s identity as the Church. It is the central act of parish life in which the faithful offer adoration and thanksgiving to God for their salvation in Christ and seek the grace of the Holy Spirit to grow as faithful disciples.
According to a survey conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate Georgetown University, 2007, feeling the presence of God as well as prayer and reflection are important aspects of Mass for people in the United States. These aspects are in fact realized in the Sunday celebration.
In the sacred Liturgy, the proclamation of the Word immediately begins to draw the faithful into an encounter with Christ through which the Father’s will for daily life is revealed. After our people participate in the Eucharistic action, their reception of the Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion strengthens their unity—begun at Baptism—with the Most Blessed Trinity and with one another. At this point, the People of God are then sent forth as witnesses of justice, truth and charity in their communities.
With different degrees of realization, the faithful of our dioceses perceive this mysterious plan of God and this is a great blessing for the Church. So many of our parishes have begun to appreciate the centrality of the Eucharist and become vital families of faith. The teaching of Vatican II expressed in the Liturgical Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium has borne fruit in our parishes: "The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; it is also the font from which all her power flows" (no. 10).
Despite this central focus on the Eucharist in parochial life, studies report that less than fifty percent of our people regularly attend Sunday Mass with any regularity. For many people the feasts of Christmas and Easter, together with the occasional family baptism, marriage or funeral, are the only encounters with the great mysteries of their faith and the community that celebrates them. The lives of these people reflect an indifference to God that permeates the culture. This situation certainly calls for increased efforts at catechesis to invite a return to the Eucharist of those who do not fully participate in it, and to help strengthen the fidelity of practicing Catholics.
Scripture and the Mass
The celebration of the Liturgy of the Word within the Mass has in fact transformed the lives of many of the people in our parishes. This weekly encounter with Christ through the proclamation of the Word and the homily has provided a school of spiritual formation and a source of teaching the faith of the Church. The people have been guided by zealous priests and deacons through this experience in the application of the faith to their daily lives. In this way they have more deeply experienced the community of the Church.
The Liturgy of the Word has also become the means of catechesis for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, the preparation of children for the sacraments of Penance, Holy Communion and Confirmation. Those participating in Scripture study groups, lectio divina and many lay ecclesial movements are being assisted to reach a deeper relationship with Christ when they come to the Liturgy.
Frequent Holy Communion
Every Sunday many of the faithful regularly receive the Body and Blood of Christ and are drawn into an intimate union with Christ. This Sunday Communion is the primary source of their spiritual nourishment on the path to holiness and of their empowerment to live out faithfully the commandments in a culture that is so often opposed to the Gospel.
At the same time, there is a great need to reemphasize what is required for the proper reception of Holy Communion so that the Blessed Sacrament is duly appreciated and reverently received. This would include occasions such as Christmas, Easter, Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals where inactive Catholics or members of other Christian denominations are present. So many Mass booklets used in the United States print the norms of the Bishops for the reception of Holy Communion, indicating the need to both be Catholic and spiritually prepared. A very succinct statement of Pope John Paul II is very relevant to emphasize in today’s situation: "If a Christian’s conscience is burdened by serious sin, then the path of penance through the sacrament of Reconciliation becomes necessary for full participation in the Eucharistic sacrifice" (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 37).
Eucharistic Adoration
Through the Rite of Eucharistic Exposition, the adoration of Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament is growing throughout the United States. Parishes are re-establishing the custom of the Forty Hours Devotion, erecting chapels of perpetual adoration and scheduling Holy Hours with extended exposition. This intimate union with the Eucharistic Lord in continuous prayer is a sign of increased reverence and devotion as well as a source of many graces and blessings, not least of which is the discernment of priestly and religious vocations by many of our young people.
At the same time, there is the need to safeguard and teach the proper relationship between the celebration of the Mass and Eucharistic Exposition. This must be done through appropriate catechesis that enables the faithful to understand that exposition is a continuation of the supreme adoration begun in the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice and a deepening of our union with God and one another. Pope Benedict XVI summarized this aspect in Sacramentum Caritatis: "The act of adoration outside Mass prolongs and intensifies all that takes place during the celebration itself" (no. 66).
Full, Conscious, Active Participation
One of the goals of Vatican II was the call to full, conscious and active participation in the Liturgy so that the faithful may grow in holiness and apostolic works. Our people are actively engaged so often when they gather for the celebration of the Eucharist. Through programs of catechesis dedicated to formation and instruction, many have come to understand the mysteries they celebrate, uniting themselves through the action of the rite with our Lord Jesus Christ, and recognizing the consequences for their daily lives of what they celebrate. At the same time, responding to their baptismal graces, our people have assumed many of the liturgical ministries envisioned by the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.
Liturgical Music
The liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council have highlighted the integral role of music within the celebration of the liturgy, especially the Mass. Music has successfully engaged the faithful in the action of the rite, leading to adoration, praise and thanksgiving. As such, it has had a formative role within the celebration of the Mass. For so many parishes, music is normative at the Sunday Mass. In addition to the retention by some communities of traditional Gregorian chant, many forms of contemporary music are effectively used. Yet there is a need to re-examine the forms of music that are used and the lyrics that are sung. Since music is at the service of the Liturgy, it is important that the lyrics authentically express the truth contained in the texts of the rites and that the forms of music are respectful of the sacred mysteries celebrated. Work must continue in this important field.
Inculturation
Within the North American continent a variety of ethnic communities, both native to this land and those who have immigrated, reside and celebrate the Catholic faith. The diversity is great and a manifestation of the universality of God’s kingdom. On any given Sunday, Mass is celebrated in a great variety of languages as the Church strives to meet the needs of the people. In addition to language, cultural aspects, as permitted and approved by Church law, have been included in the liturgy. Much more needs to be accomplished in this area, under the guidance of the Church, to engage the different communities and their cultures in the faith. In this process, the proper balance between the unity of the faith and cultural diversity needs to be constantly maintained.
Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of the Priest
In certain areas of the continent due to the shortage in the number of priests, parishes do not have regular access to the Sunday Mass. Instead, a Sunday Liturgy of the Word with or without the Distribution of Holy Communion is celebrated, or one of the hours of the Liturgy of the Hours. Doctrinal questions concerning the true meaning of the Eucharist and the nature of the ordained ministry can arise when these interim rites are celebrated frequently. These celebrations call for an increase in prayer for vocations to the priesthood, as well as a proper catechesis on the meaning of the Eucharist as sacrifice, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the nature of the ordained priesthood and its essential role in the Church.
The Eucharist as Source of Justice and Charity
Many parishes who devoutly and faithfully celebrate the Eucharist and deeply reflect on the mystery they have experienced, are undergoing a profound moral transformation that empowers them as witnesses of justice and charity. Communion with God is leading so many communities to communion with others; as a result the face of God is more often recognized in others and the bonds of mutual love in Christ are strengthened. As a result parishes commit themselves to the practice of the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy in service to the community. This is an exhilarating effect of Eucharistic piety.
The celebration of the Eucharist in North America continues to be filled with many challenges. At the same time it bears splendid witness to the mighty works that God is accomplishing in and for His people. In a world that God is always drawing closer to Himself through the Blood of the Lamb, the celebration of the Eucharist in the midst of the Church is the great sign of her vitality and the assurance of her share in Christ’s victory.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
International Eucharistic Congress
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
June 19, 2008
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
"I love the Father"—"The Father loves me"
In the Eucharist, which is indeed "God’s gift for the life of the world," we "worship the Father in spirit and truth." This beautiful expression of Jesus, which we find in today’s Gospel, challenges us to try to understand more fully the relationship of God the Father to the Sacrifice on Calvary of His Son, Jesus Christ. Our holy Catholic faith proclaims that this Sacrifice, which is our worship, is renewed in every Eucharist. To speak about the Eucharist is then to speak also about the Father.
In Saint John’s Gospel Jesus says: "If you truly loved me you would rejoice to have me go to the Father…The world must know that I love the Father and do what the Father has commanded me. Come, then! Let us be on our way" (Jn 14: 28, 31).
These words express the great revelation that Jesus loves His Father. And in another place Jesus will tell us clearly that the Father loves the Son, that the Father loves Him. But these words also tell us that Jesus wants the world to know that He fulfills the Father’s will. And because He fulfills the Father’s will, He accepts to go to His death on the Cross, saying to His Apostles: "Come, then! Let us be on our way."
The Eucharist: Mystery of Trinitarian Love
There are many profound reasons why Jesus died and why He instituted the Eucharist as a memorial of His death on Calvary. Jesus died for His Church. In a special way Jesus died for His Mother, to win for her the graces that would be granted her by anticipation at the time of her Immaculate Conception. But above all, Jesus died because He loved His Father. He died to fulfill the will of His Father. In other words: "…the world must know that I love the Father and do as the Father has commanded me. Come, then! Let us be on our way."
The key to understanding the Eucharist, "God’s gift for the life of the world" in its most profound dimension is to understand that Jesus went to His death motivated by a great love for His Father. The Eucharist is indeed the mystery of Christ’s love and above all it is the mystery of Christ’s love for His Father.
Some years ago a book came out entitled, Gift and Mystery. It was the short autobiography of Pope John Paul II that he presented to the world on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. And in that book he recounts what he had previously said on the occasion of an interview with a journalist who accompanied him on one of his pastoral visits around the world. The interview went something like this: "Holy Father, as Pope you must have many problems, but also as Pope there must be many joys in your life. Tell us what your greatest joy is." And the Pope answered that his greatest joy as Pope was to be able, like every Catholic priest, to celebrate the Eucharist every day. These words showed the depth of his faith in the Eucharistic mystery; they showed the depth of his love for the Sacrifice of the Mass as the great mystery of God’s love.
The origin of the Eucharist is the Last Supper and the Sacrifice of Calvary—both of which are commemorated and re-enacted in the Eucharist, both of which are different moments in the one salvific reality of Christ’s Paschal Mystery. But if we are to understand this life-giving event proclaimed at the Last Supper and enacted in immolation on Calvary, we must go back to the relationship of Jesus with His Father—in other words to the Most Blessed Trinity.
Here we find the deepest explanation of the Most Blessed Sacrament—the deepest explanation of the Mass. The Council of Trent, well over four hundred years ago, defined the Mass as a true sacrifice that recalls and renews Christ’s immolation on Calvary. But why did Christ give Himself over to death on Calvary? Why does He give Himself in the Eucharist? The answer involves God’s love for humanity, just as Saint John relates: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him" (Jn 3: 16-17).
This is a stupendous revelation that explains so much about the Eucharist—the love of God for us, the love of the Father in sending His Son to redeem the world. But there are two other aspects of God’s love that are even more basic, without which we will not understand the Eucharist and all the suffering that Christ endured on Calvary. The Eucharist flows directly from the love of the Son of God for His Father, in response to the eternal love by which He is loved by the Father in the Holy Spirit.
Jesus took great pleasure in proclaiming to the world—it was His greatest proclamation—the love that the Father has for Him and the love that He has for the Father. These, I would dare say, are the most sublime words of divine revelation:
"The Father loves the Son" (Jn 3:35; 5:20).
"The Father loves me" (Jn 10:17).
"I love the Father" (Jn 14: 31).
Jesus’ Sacrifice and the Father’s Acceptance
Regarding this last revelation—"I love the Father"—what is the context? It has already been mentioned: Jesus is ready to go to His hour—the hour of His death. The prince of this world is at hand but he has no hold on Jesus. The world must know that Jesus loves the Father. And therefore Jesus says: "Come, then! Let us be on our way."
And so Jesus goes forth to Calvary, to death and immolation. There is an explicit connection between Calvary and Christ’s love for His Father. In other words, Calvary is motivated by His love for the Father and His obedience to the Father. Calvary—with Jesus hanging on the Cross—is the divine plan of the Father for the redemption of the world. Calvary, and therefore the Eucharist, is the Trinitarian response to sin. It is the exchange of love between the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit.
This exchange of love is so great, the Son’s acceptance of death is so full of love, that the Father wants the world to know of His acceptance. The Father’s response of love is the Resurrection of His Son. This is the meaning of Easter. The Father raises the sacred humanity of Jesus to life in order to confirm the redemption of the world and to proclaim His eternal love for His Son and His acceptance of the obedience of the Son—His acceptance of the Sacrifice.
Saint Paul tells us in his Letter to the Philippians, in speaking of Christ, that "he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father" (Phil 2: 8-11). All of this shows us how profound the mystery of redemption; how great Christ’s love for His Father; how fruitful Christ’s obedience; how glorious the Father’s acceptance of the Sacrifice. The Father ratifies the Sacrifice of Christ’s death by raising Him to life! With Saint Paul, we exclaim: "How deep are the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God!" (Rom 11:33).
The Sacrifice and Worship of the Community
In the exchange of love between Jesus and His Father we see explained the great mystery of the Sacrifice of Calvary, even as it is anticipated at the Last Supper. We also note that the Sacrifice of the infinite divine love of Christ becomes, by God’s loving design in the Eucharist, the Sacrifice of the Church, our Sacrifice. As the Sacrifice of Christ and His Church, the Eucharist is our worship in spirit and truth, and we are privileged to partake in the Eucharistic Sacrifice as frequently as we can, even every day of our lives. We are privileged to be able to do this as a community, to offer God praise, as foreshadowed in the Old Testament, in the great assembly.
Let us never forget that the offering of the Church’s Sacrifice is a great hymn of adoration, praise, thanksgiving, reparation and supplication on the part of the entire assembly. We worship together: with one another and with Christ our Head—in spirit and truth.
Sent Forth To Adore and To Serve
At the end of Mass we are sent forth in order to serve in the name of Jesus. We are sent out from the Eucharist in order that, by the power of the Eucharist, we may contribute to the building up of the Body of Christ.
As soon as we go out, we must be ready to come back. In the meantime we profess the Eucharistic faith of the Church as expressed throughout the centuries. The liturgy which we celebrate as an act of adoration—as the Second Vatican Council calls it: "the worship of divine majesty"(Sacrosanctum Concilium, 33)—is prolonged in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the Real Presence of Christ in our midst.
We believe and we proclaim the faith of the Church that, after the celebration of the Eucharist, Jesus Himself remains in the Blessed Sacrament in His glorified humanity, to be adored and loved and to be for us a permanent source of union and life. To the Blessed Sacrament present on the altar, or in the tabernacle, the Catholic Church attributes latria, which is the adoration that is owing only to the living God. And the Eucharist, which contains all the treasures of the Church and is "the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit" (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 14), is at one and the same time a sacrifice, a banquet and the sacred presence of the Lord Jesus. And the sacred Eucharistic presence of the Lord, whom we continue to worship in spirit and truth, constantly directs our hearts back to the Eucharistic action, after which we will be sent out once again on our mission to the world. To accomplish this mission to the world we are empowered by the Eucharist to live charity and embrace service.
We have seen in the history of the Church not only people like Pope John Paul II with an immense love of the Eucharist, but also the martyrs, confessors, priests, deacons, holy virgins, Religious, lay faithful, mothers and fathers of families, young people and children who have understood the Eucharist and have been willing to sacrifice in order to participate in the Eucharistic celebration and to guard the sacramental presence of Christ. The saints and heroes of our Church have given us an example of the effort that we must expend in order to participate in the Mass and to adore Christ’s Eucharistic presence. Millions of holy people in the Church have made supreme efforts over the centuries to live their faith in the Eucharist and to avail themselves, amidst difficulties and tribulations, of the Eucharistic celebration and of Eucharistic adoration. The Eucharist is undoubtedly the center of our life, because Jesus is the center of our life, just as He is the subject of the Father’s eternal love. Truly the Eucharist is the life of Christ in our life.
Powerful Incentive and Challenge to Service
There are many indications in the world—like this International Eucharistic Congress—that God wishes to draw further attention to His beloved Son present in the Eucharist. There are many indications that Eucharistic adoration is a form of prayer particularly adapted to our present age. It is a particular form of manifesting faith in the total mystery of the Eucharist, which is sacrifice and banquet, sacred presence and viaticum. Eucharistic adoration is a powerful incentive and challenge to ever more generous service to those in need.
The Second Vatican Council has been an enormous grace in the life of the Church, particularly in emphasizing over and over again the role of the Christian people as a Eucharistic people. The importance of the community’s full, conscious and active participation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice cannot be over-emphasized! The importance of the graces that are received for the living and the dead by the internal and external participation of all the members of the Church in the Eucharistic assembly cannot be over-emphasized. Nor can the importance of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, of Eucharistic adoration, Eucharistic exposition, the Eucharistic holy hour, visits to the Blessed Sacrament and the renewal of our own faith, day in and day out, in the words of Jesus who says: "For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me" (Jn 6: 55-57).
Dear friends: in the Eucharist we live Christ’s life and we fulfill His words "to worship the Father in spirit and truth." Jesus Himself leads us on this Eucharistic journey to the Father as He says to us: "Come, then! Let us be on our way." And the response of each of us to Him is: Jesus, I trust in you! Amen.
Talk of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Old York Road Temple - Beth Am
Erev Shabbat (Eve of Shabbat) Service
October 28, 2005
Senior Rabbi Robert S. Leib,
Rabbi Andrew Sklarz
Rabbi Emeritus Harold B. Waintrup
Dear Friends,
What a joy it is to gather with you this evening in this holy place, and together raise our hearts to the Lord, using the holy words of the Psalm: "Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who stand in the house of the Lord through the long hours of night. Lift up your hands toward the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. May the Lord who made heaven and earth bless you from Zion" (Ps 134).
It is indeed a pleasure to be with you this evening during your Shabbat Service and to be able to draw attention to an important anniversary for both of our faith traditions: the promulgation of the Declaration Nostra Aetate of the Second Vatican Council.
Forty years ago today Pope Paul VI promulgated this Vatican II "Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions." As is the custom with official documents of the Church, the document is identified by its opening words in Latin, Nostra Aetate ("In our time"). While Nostra Aetate originated as a statement on Judaism, it came to include the treatment of the Catholic Church’s relations with all Non-Christian religions. Within this wider context, Catholic-Jewish relations formed a principal part of this Declaration.
Much has changed in the world during the past forty years. Vatican II had a vibrant enthusiasm that recognized much promise in the modern world. Pope John XXIII, who was elected to the papacy forty-seven years ago today, and who was affectionately known to the Italians as "Il Papa buono," "the good Pope," had a spirit of deep optimism that permeated the Council. Pope John knew that in the modern world we must learn about each other, and learn from each other. The world was getting smaller. One thing that was apparent was how little Catholics and Jews really knew each other. Yes, Jews and Catholics lived side by side for centuries; but they did not truly know each other. Reflection upon this deep reality led them to the development of a document addressing not only Judaism, but also other world religions.
After the passage of four decades, it is clear that the Declaration Nostra Aetate has ushered in a new age in Catholic-Jewish relations. The work begun in Nostra Aetate was enthusiastically continued by Pope John Paul II in both statements and actions. Pope John Paul’s pontificate is remembered for his groundbreaking outreach to the Jewish people that found much of its inspiration in Nostra Aetate.
• He was the first Pope to visit the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.
• He was the first pope to visit the Jewish synagogue in Rome.
• He established formal diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the State of Israel.
• He visited Yad Vashem.
• He prayed at the Western Wall. After praying for a time, he placed within the wall a written prayer expressing deep sadness for all the wrongs done to Jews by Christians. That prayer ended, "Asking your forgiveness, we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant."
• Under Pope John Paul II, the Holy See published guidelines on how Catholics should teach and preach about Jews and Judaism.
• In the year 2000 the Pope presided at a liturgy of repentance for the wrongs of Catholics toward Jews.
In a 1987 meeting with Jewish leaders in Miami, Pope John Paul II emphasized what Catholics and Jews hold in common: Our belief in the one true God who made an everlasting covenant of love with His people. As Pope John Paul II said, "The Jewish people, the Church, and all believers in the merciful God - who is invoked in the Jewish prayers as 'Av Ha-Rahhamim' – can find in this fundamental covenant with the patriarchs a very substantial starting point for our dialogue and our common witness in the world" (Address to Jewish Leaders in Miami, September 11, 1987).
Noting the success of the American experiment in religious freedom, with contributions by both Catholics and Jews, Pope John Paul II called the American example of interreligious dialogue a model for the entire world. Many immigrants came to America to flee religious persecution. Together, we have learned to put into practice the prescriptions found in Leviticus: "You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; have the same love for him as for yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt. I, the LORD, am your God" (Lv 19:34).
What has been the result of all this? A survey of the forty years since Nostra Aetate shows the deepening relationship between Catholics and Jews. It is not sufficient to have a relationship of mutual tolerance; we are called to a relationship of mutual fraternal love. During these years the dialogue has progressed and the topics discussed have become deeper, considering more and more aspects of the complex relationship between Jews and Catholics. This joint work, inspired by Nostra Aetate, has involved interfaith dialogue, collaborative educational ventures, and joint theological and historical research by Catholics and Jews. This joint work continues Nostra Aetate "in our time."
Following in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI has also firmly committed himself to continued support of closer Catholic-Jewish relations. Since his election on April 19th of this year, Pope Benedict has made ecumenical and interreligious activity a very important dimension of his pontificate. During his visit to Cologne, Germany this summer, he met with 500 Jewish leaders in the historic Roonstrasse Synagogue, which had been destroyed in 1938 during the Nazi Kristallnacht. In September, Pope Benedict XVI met with the chief rabbis of Israel at Castel Gandolfo and welcomed their invitation to visit Jerusalem.
We are celebrating the anniversary of Nostra Aetate not just for what it did, but for its continuing call toward the future. It is a call for sustained understanding and for the deepening of exchange and collaboration at many levels. Catholics must understand Jews; Jews must understand Catholics. This anniversary is a call for the continued and definitive condemnation of anti-Semitism. At the same time, we cannot forget that the world also contains followers of other religious traditions. Together, we must strive to further the principles of Nostra Aetate with our Muslim neighbors, as well as with the faithful of other major world religions. The Declaration Nostra Aetate is a call for the end of all religious prejudice. The message of Nostra Aetate, above all, continues to be a call "in our time," for our time to proclaim together the primacy of God in our lives, in our communities and in our world.
Just two days ago, in the context of the 40th anniversary of this Declaration, Pope Benedict XVI wrote: "As we look to the future, I express my hope that both in theological dialogue and in everyday contacts and collaboration, Christians and Jews will offer an ever more compelling shared witness to the One God and his commandments, the sanctity of life, the promotion of human dignity, the rights of the family and the need to build a world of justice, reconciliation and peace for future generations."
Dear friends: with gratitude for your gracious welcome, to all of you I say: Peace! Shalom!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
25th Anniversary of EWTN-the Eternal Word Television Network
Liacouris Center
June 25, 2006
Dear Friends,
We gather here in Philadelphia this morning in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in union with our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI and all the Bishops of the Church.
We gather here to listen to God’s holy word, to accept it into our hearts, and to participate in the Church’s celebration of the Eucharist, which is the holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
As we assemble here today, we are immediately challenged by our responsorial psalm: "Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting." We are immediately conscious of our great Eucharistic task: to give thanks to God the Father through and with and in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, His Eternal Word. We are immediately conscious of our need to proclaim God’s everlasting love that originates in the Most Blessed Trinity and is manifested to all of us in Jesus Christ and in His Church.
The context in which this Eucharistic gathering takes place is the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Eternal Word Television Network. This event is itself a manifestation of the outpouring of God’s love for His people. It is likewise a summons for us and for all those who have benefitted from EWTN to give thanks to the Lord for what He has achieved through this network. To Him belong all glory and praise in the communion of the Most Blessed Trinity: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
The objective of EWTN, its only boast, its sole reason for existence is to draw people to a knowledge and love of Jesus Christ the Eternal Word as He is found in His one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church. This great task, this challenging enterprise is possible only by God’s grace and mercy. It is therefore, above all, God’s grace and mercy that we lovingly extol in prayer on this important anniversary.
As we thank the Lord for all those who have been His instruments and collaborators in organizing and sustaining this great project, EWTN, we also express gratitude for the faith and labors of Mother Angelica, her Sisters, the Friars, and all those who have shared the vision of this work and borne its burdens; for all those who have offered their work as a service to Christ’s Church and its Bishops; for all those who in the silence of prayer and pain have offered their lives that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified everywhere (cf. 2 Thes 3:1); for all those who have given generously of themselves and their possessions to bring about the triumph of God’s Kingdom.
Dear friends: the liturgy of this Sunday in Ordinary Time immerses us deeply into the mystery of God and into the mystery of Jesus Christ the Eternal Word. We speak of "Ordinary Time" because we have just finished celebrating a great cycle of special events in the history of salvation. Our liturgical year has led us, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, to celebrate the expectation of Christ’s coming into the world, His birth in Bethlehem, His life in Nazareth. We have prepared for and celebrated His Paschal Mystery in its double aspect of death and resurrection. We have watched as Jesus ascended into heaven and we have been encouraged by His promise to be with us until the end of time. At Pentecost we opened our hearts to receive the Holy Spirit of God’s love as we await the return of the Lord Jesus in glory. And finally, last Sunday, we celebrated the feast of Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, that Eucharistic gift which renews the Sacrifice of Calvary and is therefore the source and summit of all Christian life.
At this point the Church asks herself if there can possibly be anything else to celebrate in the history of salvation, anything else to emphasize and draw attention to in the mystery of Christ. And she answers, yes. After having celebrated so many events of salvation, so many facets of redemption, the Church decides to celebrate the love itself that is at the origin of all her feasts.
It was just last Friday, two days ago, that the Church did just that. She celebrated the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In so doing she celebrated the divine and human love of Jesus Christ who shows us His human heart as a sign and symbol of His love.
With the celebration of this great Feast of the Sacred Heart, the cycle of extraordinary commemorations yields to Ordinary Time, which delves into the details of Christ’s mysteries and the depth of His words as they are systematically presented in the liturgy of the Church.
Today our reflection turns to the Gospel of Saint Mark. Jesus is with His disciples in a boat, just as He is with us today in another boat—the barque of Peter. A violent storm comes up and waves are breaking over the boat, just as has happened so often in the history of the Church. And Jesus is asleep, just as He so often seems to be when we call out to Him in our needs. But then Jesus awakes. He rebukes the wind and says to the sea: "Quiet! Be still!" Then it happened: "The wind ceased and there was great calm." Then Jesus asked the apostles as He so often asks us: "Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?" Today Jesus renews the question to us: Why are you afraid? Do you not yet believe in me? Do you not yet accept me for who I am? To accept Jesus for who He is is to accept Him in the fullness of His identity, the fullness of His being.
The Gospel goes on to tell us that the apostles were filled with great awe and that they posed a question to one another: "Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?"
Dear friends: this question is for us, and our answer to it plunges us into the mystery of Christ: "Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?"
In our first reading from the Book of Job, we see that it is the Lord who commands the seas; it is He who fastened the bar of its doors; it is He who sets limits to the waves. Only He.
And in our responsorial psalm we see how it is the Lord who controls the sea. The Psalm says: "His command raised up a storm wind which tossed its waves on high." And then He "hushed the storm to a gentle breeze and the billows of the sea were stilled."
The liturgy of the Church and the fullness of our holy Catholic faith lead us now to respond to the question of the apostles: "Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?"
In faith we respond: He is the Lord. He is Jesus Christ, the Lord God. He is Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word, the Incarnate Word. He is Jesus Christ, true God and true man. He is Jesus Christ, Son of the Eternal Father, Son of the living God, Splendor of the Father, Brightness of Eternal Light, King of Glory, Sun of Justice, Son of the Virgin Mary. He is Jesus Christ, divine like His Father, human like His Mother and like us. He is Jesus Christ, God of Peace, Author of Life, Model of all Virtues. He is Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, the true Light, Eternal Wisdom. He is Jesus Christ, our Way and our Life, Delight of Angels, King of Patriarchs. He is Jesus Christ, Master of Apostles, Teacher of Evangelists, Strength of Martyrs. He is Jesus Christ, Light of Confessors, Purity of Virgins, Joy of Families, Crown of all the Saints.
Who then is this? He is Jesus Christ the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He is Jesus Christ, who as Saint Paul reminds us in our second reading "died for all so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."
Who then is this Jesus of the Gospel? He is the Eternal Word, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity. And it is the Father who reveals Him and commands us to listen to Him.
Dear friends: as we give thanks to God for this television network that bears the name of the Eternal Word, and for all the good it has accomplished in these past twenty-five years, we pray that it may faithfully fulfill its mission for years to come: that it may, closely united with our Holy Father and all the Bishops in communion with him, proclaim ever more effectively Jesus Christ the Eternal Word, and lead people to discover Him in His Church. Through the prayers of Mary, Mother of the Eternal Word, may this Network constantly rise to the challenge before it of proclaiming the truth in love, for the good of God’s people and for the glory of His Name.
And may all of us in our own lives rise to the challenge of accepting and communicating the Eternal Word, and give thanks always to the Lord, for His love is everlasting. Amen.
"An Exalted Mission: a Unique and Irreplaceable Role"
Keynote Address for
"A Living Presence:
Extending and Transforming
the Tradition of Catholic Sacred Architecture"
The Catholic University of America
Cardinal Justin Rigali
April 30, 2010
I am very grateful for the opportunity to participate in the 2010 symposium, "A Living Presence: Extending and Transforming the Tradition of Catholic Sacred Architecture," sponsored by the Partnership for Catholic Sacred Architecture, which is an impressive collaborative effort between the Schools of Architecture of the Catholic University of America and the University of Notre Dame. I deeply appreciate the gracious invitation to explore with you the esteemed heritage and promising direction of Sacred Architecture.
How fitting that as we do so we gather here, at the distinguished School of Architecture and Planning on the campus of The Catholic University of America. I wish to thank the Very Reverend David O'Connell, C.M., President of The Catholic University of America, and Dean Randall Ott, the Dean of the School of Architecture, for their support and encouragement of these proceedings.
Introduction
The mystery which we gather to reflect upon today is at once timely and timeless. Timely, because as Aimé-Georges Martimort has noted, "In our day the faithful have greater difficulty in achieving prayerful recollection and a sense of God's presence." At the roots of this difficulty is a crisis, a contemporary crisis that surrounds the sacred.
Our topic is also timeless, because God never ceases to call man to Himself. As God intervenes in human history, He both conceals and reveals Himself. He veils and unveils the signs of his presence, that we might respond and offer pure worship to his greater glory.
In the revelation of the divine economy of salvation, God never neglects time and space. As the eternal, invisible and infinite God, whose dwelling place is in Heaven, reveals Himself, He allows and encourages mortal, visible and finite human beings to call upon His name. As He makes known the hidden purpose of His will , He summons us to a sacred space in an acceptable time.
There are three practical and grounded guiding principles I would like to reflect upon concerning the vocation and mission of the architect and artist in the life of the Church.
First, from the very beginning, Sacred Scripture testifies that architecture and art are linked to the very nature of the plan of God. We can therefore never reduce the service of architects and artists to a mere function. Their important work is not simply an added enhancement to our relationship with God, but it actually serves to express our response to God. From the opening pages of Sacred Scripture, the gift and skill of the architect and artist occupy a recurrent and climactic place in the plan of God.
Second, we are reminded by the Second Vatican Council and the teaching of Pope Benedict XVI that the work of architecture and art takes place in and through dialogue with the Church.
Third, the mission of the architect and artist, which is based in Sacred Scripture, and conducted in dialogue with the Church, authentically develops only along the path of true beauty.
First Principle: Sacred Scripture testifies that the role and mission of architects and artists arise from the very nature of the plan of God.
Let us consider the first principle before us: Sacred Scripture testifies that the role and mission of architects and artists arise from the very nature of the plan of God. From the very beginning, the talents of artists and architects have been formed, and we could even say forged, by a unique relation to the plan of God.
As we know from Sacred Scripture, God is the divine Architect. God's first act after creating man was to establish a suitable place for man to dwell. The Book of Genesis tells us: "Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed." God creates the sacred place where the inner state of man, his original innocence, is signified by his external surroundings, the Garden of Eden. St. Thomas Aquinas explains that the east is the right hand of heaven.
When man disobeyed and sinned against God, man lost Original Innocence and was driven from this beautiful place, this sacred location. God banishes man from the Garden, and settles him in a different place "east of the garden of Eden." God places man in a penitential space outside of the garden.
The call of God always reflects his loving design. Under the effects of sin, in the penitential place outside of paradise, the impulse for shelter arises from the human being's basic instinctive need for safety and refuge from the elements. More wonderfully still, however, the human person moves beyond the mere impulse of instinct to the light of intuition. And here we detect the tremendous value of the work of the artists and architects for the Church: Artists and architects open themselves to the light of sacred intuition, and they direct its beam upward to construct and refine the instincts of man so as to prepare a dwelling place that may become a fitting sanctuary.
Classical theology has always emphasized that reason makes the continuous and ongoing effort to grasp what is held by faith so that we might be led to intellectual admiration of the mystery of God and thus be more prepared to offer adoration to God. The light of faith inspires the intuition of affection for a sacred place. Thus, while the work of architects and artists is both a science and an art, it is first and foremost an exalted mission. In the mystery of God's presence, man's intuition is always to claim a sacred space, a sanctuary from which he worships God for the glory which God has revealed.
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, "Sacred art is true and beautiful when its form corresponds to its particular vocation: evoking and glorifying, in faith and adoration, the transcendent mystery of God?the surpassing invisible beauty of truth and love visible in Christ, who 'reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature,' in whom 'the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.'" The learning, dedication, skill and work of the architect and the artist serve to direct us deeper still to the One in whom we find shelter, the One who is our refuge and who sanctifies us: the living and eternal God.
Throughout the Old Testament, God makes use of natural locations and events to signify His presence: God appears on the mountain top, in the cloud, and in the storm. He also sanctifies those places made by human hands, the hands of architects: the tent, the Ark of the Covenant, the tabernacle, the Temple, and the Holy of Holies. At these sacred locations, on the occasion of specific feasts, time and place enter a holy alliance to dispose the people of God to offer fitting worship and sacrifice.
Noah plans and constructs the ark in faithful obedience to the design and measure given by God Himself. Immediately on stepping forth from the ark, Noah sets forth on another building project: He constructs an altar. In fact, throughout salvation history, the people of God mark the central places of their relationship with God by the building of an altar.
Abraham builds an altar at Shechem and there he calls "the Lord by name." After crossing the ford of the Jabbock, and remaining there alone, Jacob wrestles with a messenger of the Lord until daybreak. Having persevered in the struggle, Jacob purchases the ground and establishes a memorial stone on the sight. At Bethel, Jacob dreams of a stairway which reaches from earth to heaven, and encounters God who promises to give him the land on which he sleeps. Jacob awakens and exclaims, "Truly the Lord is in this spot although I did not know it!" In solemn wonder he cries out: 'How awesome is this shrine! This is nothing else but an abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven!" Jacob then consecrates the stone he was lying on as a memorial stone and he makes a vow of faithfulness to God.
All that is foretold and foreshadowed in the Old Covenant is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, whose first dwelling among us was the womb of the Virgin Mary. He who has no place to lay His head purified the Temple, declared that He would rebuild the Temple, and suffered, died and rose again for our salvation.
The Acts of the Apostles says of the early Christians in Jerusalem: "Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes." The early Christians gathered frequently in house-churches to break bread, receive instruction and offer prayers. When St. Peter was in prison, "many people gathered in prayer" at the "house of Mary, the mother of John who is called Mark." Upon their release from prison, we are told that St. Paul and Silas go to the house of Lydia to "encourage the brothers." In Troas, St. Paul gathers in an "upstairs room" with the brethren "on the first day of the week . to break bread." Again, we hear in the First Letter to the Corinthians that St. Paul writes of the Church that is in the house of Priscilla and Aquila.
When God created man he placed him in a sacred location. When God saves man, He again places man in a sacred location and provides the design by which salvation is accomplished and celebrated.
As we consider this first principle, we come upon a clear truth: The people whom God called, the patriarchs and prophets, the apostles and disciples, were also architects and artists. Not in addition to their call, but on account of their call. They established the places and built the early altars from which God received worship.
Second Principle: The Second Vatican Council and the teaching of Pope Benedict XVI affirm that the work of architecture and art takes place in and through dialogue with the Church
This leads us to the second principle before us: The Second Vatican Council and the teaching of Pope Benedict XVI affirm that the work of architecture and art takes place in and through dialogue with the Church. As the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum, teaches, "[A]fter speaking in many and varied ways through the prophets, 'now at last in these days God has spoken to us in His Son' (Heb. 1:1-2)." And His Son speaks to us through His Church. The Church has long engaged in dialogue and sought specialized and strategic collaboration with artists and architects.
As the Second Vatican Council emphasized, "Very rightly the fine arts are considered to rank among the noblest activities of man's genius, and this applies especially to religious art and to its highest achievement, which is sacred art." The Council Fathers continue, "[The]Church has therefore always been the friend of the fine arts and has ever sought their noble help, with the special aim that all things set apart for use in divine worship should be truly worthy, becoming, and beautiful, signs and symbols of the supernatural world, and for this purpose she has trained artists."
The Holy Father points out that this dialogue has taken place throughout the ages, and is found in the luminous beauty of the great works of art. He emphasizes that the Christian faith gave a beginning to masterpieces of theological literature, thought and faith, but also to inspired artistic creations, the most elevated of a whole civilization: the cathedrals which were a renewal, a rebirth of religious architecture, an upward surge and an invitation to prayer. In Pope Benedict XVI's words, the Christian faith "inspired one of the loftiest expressions of universal civilization: the cathedral, the true glory of the Christian Middle Ages." The Holy Father explains that, "All the great works of art, cathedrals - the Gothic cathedrals and the splendid Baroque churches - they are all a luminous sign of God and therefore truly a manifestation, an epiphany of God." The Venerable Servant of God Pope John Paul II also spoke of this when he said, "The cathedrals, the humble country churches, the religious music, architecture, sculpture and painting all radiate the mystery of the verum Corpus, natum de Maria Virgine, towards which everything converges in a moment of wonder."
The architect develops, coordinates and contours the natural elements of the visible physical world so that man may be directed to a fundamental awareness of the grace-filled action of God. The ultimate meaning and purpose of sacred architecture is to convey an experience of the mystery of grace and salvation in Jesus Christ.
The revelation of God's mysterious and awe-inspiring presence always evokes a response from man. This response takes place in and through the Church. The Second Vatican Council teaches that "the sacred liturgy is above all things the worship of the divine Majesty." The Council makes clear that in considering anything to do with the sacred liturgy, we must always return to this foundation: that within the sacred liturgy we offer worship to the divine Majesty. This is both the premise and the objective of the rich dialogue which continues to take place between the Church and artists.
Pope Benedict XVI emphasizes the two central characteristics of the Gothic architecture of the 12th and 13th centuries: "a soaring upward movement and luminosity." He refers to this as "a synthesis of faith and art harmoniously expressed in the fascinating universal language of beauty which still elicits wonder today." He continues, "By the introduction of vaults with pointed arches supported by robust pillars, it was possible to increase their height considerably. The upward thrust was intended as an invitation to prayer and at the same time was itself a prayer. Thus the Gothic cathedral intended to express in its architectural lines the soul's longing for God." The Holy Father is equally attentive to the furnishings of the sanctuary: "Certainly an important element of sacred art is church architecture, which should highlight the unity of the furnishings of the sanctuary, such as the altar, the crucifix, the tabernacle, the ambo and the celebrant's chair. Here it is important to remember that the purpose of sacred architecture is to offer the Church a fitting space for the celebration of the mysteries of faith, especially the Eucharist."
The teaching of the Holy Father leads us to understand that the mission of the architect and the vocation of the artist bear a direct relationship to authentic liturgical theology founded upon the classical Trinitarian, Christological, Pneumatological, Ecclesial and Sacramental themes. Formation, education and study for service in the architectural or artistic disciplines arise from and coalesce around a robust encounter with the authentic teaching of the Church. The Council highlighted the important role of bishops in the dialogue with artists and architects: "Bishops should have a special concern for artists, so as to imbue them with the spirit of sacred art and of the sacred liturgy." The Second Vatican Council called for every diocese, as far as possible, to have a commission for sacred art, and to have dialogue and appeal to others who share this expertise. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reiterates, "For this reason bishops, personally or through delegates, should see to the promotion of sacred art, old and new, in all its forms and, with the same religious care, remove from the liturgy and from places of worship everything which is not in conformity with the truth of faith and the authentic beauty of sacred art." Priests, as principal collaborators with the bishop, likewise have a special responsibility to have a vibrant awareness of the gifts which artists and architects bring to the Church. Pope Benedict XVI affirms that "it is essential that the education of seminarians and priests include the study of art history, with special reference to sacred buildings and the corresponding liturgical norms."
Beauty, in its inextricable connection to the true and the good, is the center of gravity of all the liturgical sciences. And this is because the liturgy is foremost the work of the Most Holy Trinity, in which we participate. Beauty changes us. It disposes us to the transforming action of God and thus is one of the principal protagonists of advancing the universal call to holiness. Fascination with the sacred frees us from fixation on the secular. Expressions founded upon purely secularist influence do not refresh us. They exhaust us and fragment our perception. The static and abstract expression of merely functional facades simply does not capture or articulate the brilliant and resplendent mystery of God. Architectural form is never incidental or expendable. Utilitarian styles fail to inspire and so often leave a space barren and bland. We simply cannot tolerate indifference to the healthy traditions. The separation of artists and architects from dialogue with the Church leads to a fragmentation and subsequent breakdown of authentic liturgical renewal. Our starting point in advancing the liturgical renewal is always dialogue, not polemics.
All effective dialogue in the Church continues in the spirit of what Pope Benedict referred to in his Christmas Address to the Roman Curia in 2005 as, "the 'hermeneutic of reform', of renewal in the continuity of the one subject-Church which the Lord has given to us." The Holy Father continues, "[The Church] is a subject which increases in time and develops, yet always remaining the same, the one subject of the journeying People of God."
Two architectural experts recently gave an example of fruitful and effective dialogue with the Church. The Italian architect Paolo Portoghesi, in an article which appeared in L'Osservatore Romano, emphasized that "legitimate progress" must always flow from and not be indifferent to the "sound tradition" of the Church. Professor Portoghesi maintains correctly that we must assess the design and model of Church buildings so as to preserve and restore architecture which is based on the authentic tradition of the Church so that the sacred liturgy is celebrated in a fitting manner. The authentic tradition is our guide when we are faced with diverse interpretations of legitimate progress associated with liturgical renewal.
Professor Portoghesi emphasizes, "In recent years the fashion of so-called minimalism has revived a kind of iconoclasm, to exclude the cross and sacred images and to strip the image, outside of any residual analogy with the traditional churches." A style that lacks consistency with the central mysteries of the faith necessarily puzzles us and drains us of our expectancy.
Maria Antonietta Crippa, Professor of History of Architecture at the Politecnico of Milan, has noted that, because of the significant cultural changes in the years since the Second Vatican Council, society "has seen fluctuations between outcomes of radical secularism and the recovery of lively religious sense."
Authentic dialogue is guided by reflection on the third and final principle before us today: The mission of the architect and artist, which is based in Sacred Scripture and conducted in dialogue with the Church, authentically develops only along the path of true beauty.
Third Principle: The mission of the architect and artist which is based in Sacred Scripture, and conducted in dialogue with the Church authentically develops only along the path of true beauty.
Beauty is not simply one path among others. Pope Benedict XVI teaches, "Everything related to the Eucharist should be marked by beauty."
The Holy Father spoke of a "via pulchritudinis, a path of beauty which is at the same time an artistic and aesthetic journey, a journey of faith, of theological enquiry." During the celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Vatican Museums, Pope Benedict pointed out that the artistic treasures of the Church "stand as a perennial witness to the Church's unchanging faith in the triune God who, in the memorable phrase of St. Augustine, is himself 'Beauty ever ancient, ever new.'"
In his Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, Pope Benedict XVI emphasized that, "The profound connection between beauty and the liturgy should make us attentive to every work of art placed at the service of the celebration."
Those whose senses are trained for the via pulchritudinis can discern a stirring within the continuous sacred stream of history, an unceasing movement of sublime splendor arising from ancient foundations and inherited in the detail of noble themes down through the ages.
In his Address to Artists last fall, the Holy Father stated, "Indeed, an essential function of genuine beauty, as emphasized by Plato, is that it gives man a healthy 'shock', it draws him out of himself, wrenches him away from resignation and from being content with the humdrum - it even makes him suffer, piercing him like a dart, but in so doing it 'reawakens' him, opening afresh the eyes of his heart and mind, giving him wings, carrying him aloft."
The Holy Father continued, "Authentic beauty . unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond. If we acknowledge that beauty touches us intimately, that it wounds us, that it opens our eyes, then we rediscover the joy of seeing, of being able to grasp the profound meaning of our existence, the Mystery of which we are part; from this Mystery we can draw fullness, happiness, the passion to engage with it every day."
Contemporary society believes at times that beauty can come from a product one buys in a store, or can be won in a contest. Authentic beauty is immune to age, it is always young, and it can never be contained by a mere title. Beauty attracts us as it charismatically aligns itself in symmetry and proportion, congruent with its primary characteristics of authentic truth and goodness. The durability and permanence of the structures which mark our solemn celebrations draw the eye to hope and lead the heart to reflection. In 2004, then-Monsignor Bruno Forte, Professor of Systematic Theology at the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Naples, Italy, and consultant to the Pontifical Council for Culture was called upon by Pope John Paul II to offer the annual retreat and spiritual exercises to him and members of the Curia. In the midst of his reflections, Monsignor Forte noted, "The God of Jesus Christ . is anything but a God of total and tactless manifestation." In his most recent published work, now-Archbishop Bruno Forte notes, "[T]hrough beauty's brightness . the splendor of the Whole bursts forth in the fragment, and lays hold of the believer." As great depictions express the mysteries of the faith, they inspire and sustain devotion within the depths of our hearts. In such a setting, the believer is led to gather impressions through a unity of perception and to grasp more fully an experience of the totality of the divine mysteries. As Pope Benedict noted less than one year ago in his homily for the Reopening of the Pauline Chapel, "The paintings and decorations adorning this chapel, particularly the two large frescoes [which depict the conversion of St. Paul and the crucifixion of St. Peter] by Michelanglo Buonarotti, which were the last works of his long life, are especially effective in encouraging meditation and prayer."
The revelation of the splendor of God is never ambiguous. It changes hearts and renews lives. The many styles and forms from specific periods and regions are all part of the rich heritage of sacred art and architecture. As Duncan Stroik has noted, "Art from the past is a window onto the faith and practice of a specific time, but it can also speak to all ages. To reject periods, other than our favorites, as either primitive or decadent is to miss out on the rich tapestry of art and architecture that the Church has fostered." Beauty has an immediate and direct relation to culture. As the Council explained, "The Church has not adopted any particular style of art as her very own; she has admitted styles from every period according to the natural talents and circumstances of peoples, and the needs of the various rites. Thus, in the course of the centuries, she has brought into being a treasury of art which must be very carefully preserved."
The creative intelligence of artists continually seeks to draw forth vibrant forms from the material structures which surround us. Prayerful reflection, study of classical motifs, knowledge of the various schools of design, meditative architectural planning, extensive and specific development of a systematic understanding of the importance and role of architecture nourishes faith. The thoughtful design and strategic placement of sculpture, painting, decoration along structural elements of the body of the interior façade and exterior face are meant to evoke prayerfulness, foster meditation and aid reflection. The use of natural light, historic styles and noble design are meant to point us deeper into the mystery of Jesus so that we contemplate the words of St. John with renewed awareness: "And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."
Conclusion
In preparation for the Great Jubilee Year 2000, Pope John Paul II wrote a Letter to Artists. Ten years later, Pope Benedict XVI met with artists in the solemn setting of the Sistine Chapel on November 21, 2009. The Holy Father took that opportunity "to express and renew the Church's friendship with the world of art," noting that "Christianity from its earliest days has recognized the value of the arts and has made wise use of their varied language to express her unvarying message of salvation." Today we fulfill in some measure the Holy Father's invitation to "friendship, dialogue and cooperation" between the Church and artists. Our conversation today serves, in the words of Pope Paul VI, to render "accessible and comprehensible to the minds and hearts of our people the things of the spirit, the invisible, the ineffable, the things of God himself. And in this activity, you are masters. It is your task, your mission; and your art consists in grasping treasures from the heavenly realm of the spirit and clothing them in words, colors, forms - making them accessible." Together we seek to cultivate a sense of wonder and anticipation and to pursue a strategy of recovery and renewal.
Artists and architects are composers who play a unique and irreplaceable role as the narrative of salvation history unfolds. Their talents usher the senses into an experience of the mystery of God. Through maximizing extraordinary gifts of their God-given genius, artists and architects are called to construct and restore an avenue into the luminous depth of God's revelation and convey the continuing presence of the sacred in buildings meant for worship. The Church values deeply your specialized education gained from the periods of apprenticeship and the long years of professional service in the expertise of your various disciplines.
We come together today from our various vocations and specialties of skill for fruitful and effective dialogue: architects, theologians, faculty of the various schools, artists, liturgical consultants, engineers, students?clergy, religious and laity. As we gather to consider the role and mission of those who serve the formation of sacred architecture, we ask the same question that St. Peter and St. John asked the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of St. Luke, "Where do you want us to make the preparations?" And we gather to listen to the answer of Jesus: "When you go into the city, a man will meet you carrying a jar of water. Follow him into the house that he enters and say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' He will show you a large upper room that is furnished. Make the preparations there."
Jesus sends us in the same life-giving direction, to the place that is furnished by the Holy Spirit and prepared by the Church to receive the Word made flesh who dwells among us. Not only do the beautiful creations of artists and architects lead us to contemplate the mysteries of the faith, but the very manner in which these men and women pursue their most practical and sublime science of architecture and art casts a more distinctive radiance on our path?the path of the Church, and leads us to the One who has emptied himself for our salvation and has gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us. St. Paul tells us in the First Letter to the Corinthians, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy." St. Paul also tells us, "So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."
As we await and prepare for that eternal moment in which the divine Architect will invite us to meet Him, may we, in the words of St. Peter, become "like living stones.[and] be built into a spiritual house to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." Thank you.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass during Fan the Flame Youth Gathering
Archbishop Carroll High School, Radnor
November 11, 2006
In our first reading we heard these words of the Prophet Elijah:
"Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink....
Please bring along a bit of bread."
Pope John Paul II had a great love for young people and a great confidence in them. During the twenty-six and a half years that he was Pope, he went all over the world, inviting everybody to listen to the needs of the poor and to the cry for help from millions of fellow human beings. But in a special way he appealed to young people like yourselves, because he loved the young people of the world. He believed that your energy was God-given and that you had the power—living and working with Jesus—to change the world and transform it into God’s Kingdom. He knew that, if you were going to succeed, you would have to work with Christ. And so Pope John Paul II went all over the world appealing to young people to discover Christ, to work with Christ, and to love and serve Christ in others.
One time when he was leaving the United States, he asked the young people to remember that the reason he had come to America was, as he said, to call you to Christ and invite you to pray. Tonight, dear young people, I come her with that same intention: to call you to Christ and to invite you to pray. It is in prayer that you fan the flame of God’s love, find contact with Christ, and experience the urgency of fulfilling His commandments and of loving Him in others.
Pope John Paul II wanted you to understand that there are so many people that need you, who are crying out: "Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink.... Please bring along a bit of bread." So many people, with so many needs of so many different kinds, are waiting for you. Many of them are waiting to be helped, to be loved—even to be born.
Jesus is telling you over and over again that to be his authentic follower, you must love and serve your neighbor. But where do you get the power? From Christ, who works in your hearts through His Holy Spirit given to you in Baptism and in a special way at Confirmation. But to exercise this power of love and not to grow weak you need constant contact with Christ in prayer. And in prayer Jesus leads you to the Eucharist, to His Body and Blood, the Bread of Life.
Dear young people: Let me give you an example. Let me share with you an experience that I had personally when I was working and traveling with Pope John Paul II. I was honored to travel with him to India, all throughout India and to Calcutta. There he visited Mother Teresa’s home. Actually it was the home of the dying. Every morning Mother Teresa and her Sisters would hear the cry of the dying and abandoned. They would go out to the streets and gutters of Calcutta to bring the dying into their homes. So many of these people had lived their whole lives without the recognition of their human dignity. But at least the day they died, there was someone there to hold their hand, to moisten their lips with water, to show them that they were important enough to be loved. The Sisters, by their love, showed the even greater love of God for these dying and abandoned people.
But where did the Sisters get the power to do this, day after day, year after year? From Christ and the power of His Spirit working in them, through prayer, through contact with Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.
Dear young people: remember the words of John Paul II: I call you to Christ, I invite you to pray. The world is waiting to know Jesus. And Jesus is asking you to be His partners, and with Him to build the Kingdom of God in this world.
Remember Jesus is counting on you and asking you to hear the words of the Prophet Elijah on the lips of so many of your brothers and sisters: "Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink.... Please bring along a bit of bread." Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple
Twelfth World Day for Consecrated Life
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Dear Consecrated Sisters and Brothers,
Today the last of the feasts celebrating the infancy of Jesus is presented to us by the Church so that we may reflect on it and share in the power of its mystery. We have already celebrated the birth of Jesus. His circumcision and naming on the eighth day, the visit of the Magi from the East, and now His presentation in the Temple.
It is often in the simple moments of life that we are able to learn the most, and this Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple offers Scriptural passages which can teach us so much about Jesus, about His Mother and His foster Father, and about the consecrated life, which we celebrate today on this Twelfth World Day for Consecrated Life, in union with the Church throughout the world and with our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.
Today, Jesus is presented to us as the one who fulfills all the prophecies of the Old Testament, particularly Malachi’s message that "suddenly there will come to the Temple the Lord whom you seek," and that He will be the "messenger of the covenant," teaching us that our covenant with God is based on an all-consuming love. The Psalmist speaks of the Lord as the "Lord of Hosts and King of Glory," who nevertheless is gentle and caring for His flock.
The Letter to the Hebrews portrays Jesus as being able to feel what we feel. It shows that He was tested through His suffering and therefore is able to help those who are tempted as well. And in the Gospel, two wise and holy elderly faithful people hail Him as a revealing light to the nations, the glory of His own people, the rise and downfall of many, and as a sign that will be opposed.
Jesus’ parents are also presented to us in these readings. They are portrayed as one with the poor, for they, too, knew the pain of poverty. When they came to the Temple to offer their thanks to God for Mary’s newborn Son, they could not even afford the prescribed sacrifice of a lamb, but instead offered two tiny pigeons, the gift of those who had nothing of this world’s goods. And they are portrayed as "law-abiding" by their fulfillment of two prescriptions of the Law of Moses: Mary’s purification after childbirth and the presentation of her firstborn Son, both of which were to take place forty days after the child’s birth.
Now, what does this Feast and what do these readings teach us regarding the consecrated life. From Malachi we learn that Jesus is like the refiner’s fire, that He is daily refining us and purifying us if we allow ourselves to be perfected by Him and to be enveloped by His love. All of you who are consecrated by the Church through your profession of the evangelical counsels are called to a life which is truly the "perfection of charity," and which our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, described as originating from "a response without reservation to the initiative of God’s Love" (11th World Day for Consecrated life, February 2, 2007).
The Letter to the Hebrews teaches us that Jesus knows what it is like to be tempted, that He knows what it is like to suffer and that He can help us in times of temptation and suffering if we are open to His help. By choosing to live in chastity, poverty and obedience, despite the temptations of our society and culture, you demonstrate that every attachment to the things of this world is incapable of satisfying the deepest longings of the human heart.
And the Gospel makes it clear to us that, just as the elderly Simeon and Anna waited for the "consolation of Israel" and the "redemption of Jerusalem,"all the people of our time, the old and the young, yearn to satisfy their need to meet God and to find the fulfillment of love in the Kingdom of God. This yearning is the very embodiment of the consecrated life. As the Servant of God Pope John Paul II wrote in his Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata: "The experience of this gracious love of God is so deep and so powerful that the person called senses the need to respond by unconditionally dedicating his or her life to God, consecrating to him all things present and future, and placing them in his hands" (no. 17).
The Rite of the Blessing of Candles at the beginning of today’s liturgy reminds us that Jesus is the "light of revelation to all nations." But it also calls to mind Jesus’ challenge to us in the Sermon on the Mount, that we too are meant to be the light of the world. All of us can be a light to others only if we are faithful to God’s covenant, to His Law, which is love. If we strive toward this daily faithfulness to all that is loving, people will recognize the light of Christ shining in us.
Dear consecrated members of the Church: your twofold role of being light in the Lord and of communicating this light is a beautiful expression of your consecration and your mission. The Church, who consecrates you and sends you forth as special witnesses of a loving and praying Christ, loves you deeply, counts on your fidelity and wants you to know how much you are part of her life and her mission. And the Christ who called you personally to intimate friendship with Himself reassures you once again that He is today, and always will be, your deepest fulfillment, satisfaction and joy. And His Virgin Mother Mary and Saint Joseph will help lead you ever deeper into the mystery of God’s Son. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Funeral of Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Strange
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
August 18, 2011
Dear Family of Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Strange,
Distinguished Authorities of our Community,
Esteemed Men and Women in Uniform,
Dear Friends,
In the context of hope in God, we gather this afternoon, here in this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, to mourn the death of Petty officer 1st Class Michael Strange.
At this time we express our solidarity, our compassion, our closeness to his parents, his fiancée, his siblings, his family members and so many friends and colleagues. The dark shadow of tragedy extends indeed over our whole community and affects us all personally.
Michael Strange was very much a part of our community. He was a 2004-graduate of North Catholic High School, imbued with a desire to be of service to his country and its citizens. In exercising his service he fulfilled the important role of cryptologist technician assigned to a Navy SEAL team. And it was as such that, together with so many of his colleagues, he was shot down on August 6th in the deadliest single loss of U.S. forces in the decade-long war in Afghanistan.
The circumstances of his death reveal again how the young, the innocent, the peace-loving of this generation are so deeply affected by the violent conflicts of the world that find their origin in the reality of evil, in the mystery of iniquity.
Today we come together, in a spirit of prayer, to commend his soul to the loving mercy of Almighty God and to invoke upon Michael eternal peace and joy in God's kingdom of love and light. We cannot un-do the tragedy that has struck this young man, overwhelmed his family and loved ones, and caused great consternation throughout the length and breadth of the United States of America. But we can take refuge in the goodness of God, reflect on God's promises and find solace in His holy word. In brief, we are called to confront the mystery of iniquity and the power of death with the even greater power of God's love that overcomes death and guarantees eternal life.
In our quest for consolation and truly meaningful support, we turn to God's word, which triumphs over evil and subjects to itself even death. We rejoice in God's promise revealed through the prophet Isaiah, who tells us that God "will destroy death forever." He assures us: "The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces.... On that day it will be said: 'Behold our God to whom we looked to save us!'"
This great assurance of the prophet Isaiah is further amplified in our second reading by Saint Paul, who proclaims: "We know that if our earthly dwelling...should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven."
And finally, the Lord Jesus Himself, speaking to us in the Gospel, tells us: "Do not let your hearts be troubled.... In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be."
Every reflection of ours, dear friends, on the mystery of death, necessarily leads us to a reflection on the purpose and meaning of life. The reading from Saint Paul which I cited points out to us that we must aspire in life to please God. This means that we are called to live according to God's commandments, according to the plan He has set up for us to follow. And Saint Paul reminds us that we must all eventually appear before the judgment seat of Christ, as he says, "so that each may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether evil or good."
Today we give thanks to God for all the good that inspired Michael Strange, for all the service that he rendered to his fellow men and women, for all the goodness that he shared with others as an upright citizen and a professed Catholic, for all the love in his heart.
As we invoke—in the long tradition of the Church—God's mercy on Michael's soul, we ask the Lord to give peace to our world, to save our young people from the scourges of violence and war, and to bring about a civilization of justice and love. We pray that our generous peace-keepers at the service of international order, and all our men and women in uniform, whom we acknowledge and so deeply thank today, will not be subjected in the future to those perils in this generation that brought about the death of Michael and of so many other upright public servants.
Let us then, dear friends, in our loss and sorrow, confidently turn our minds and hearts to the One who directs our lives and assists us in all our needs. As the beautiful Psalm 23 assures us: "The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want." And again: "Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me." And finally, in these words, the Psalm gives us the reason for our confidence, the motive for our hope: "I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come."
For those of us who remain, it is so important that we re-enforce our unity and mutual support in fraternal love and understanding, amidst the joys and sorrows, the hopes, anxieties and burdens of life. Today, as citizens of a great land and as children of God, we are called to renew our commitment to live as one nation "under God, with liberty and justice for all." In doing so we acknowledge the primacy of God in our society and in our own lives and humbly turn toward Him. For our beloved brother Michael we ask that he be granted eternal peace with God, and for ourselves that we may be faithful to the end. Amen.
Words of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Funeral of Officer Gary Skerski
Saint Adalbert Parish, Philadelphia
May 12, 2006
With love and support, all of us turn to the beloved family of Officer Gary Skerski—especially to Ann his wife, to Robert and Nicole his children, to Chester and Mary, his parents, to Jacqueline his sister, to Robert his brother.
In prayer, in reverence and in silence we stand by them and with them as they bear the burden of immense suffering. This suffering is now shared and borne by us all, but in special measure by all the members of the Philadelphia Police Department and all the Police who so faithfully and nobly express solidarity with one of their own—their brother Gary.
The whole civic community experiences the dreadful pain that afflicts his family, his comrades and his friends. This whole community has been struck by the act of violence that took Gary’s life, but now this same community unites in prayer to God and in outgoing love for his family and all those left behind.
At this sacred moment there is renewed in our midst the determination of so many people of good will that violence will not have the last word, but that the love of God and neighbor expressed in generous service—as found in Gary’s life—will be recognized as the basis of our society and the pattern of our lives.
Since, in God’s plan there is no way that evil can definitively prevail, we lift our hearts today in hope, in loving support for the family and in resolute determination to build within our community a society of non-violence, peace and love.
Officer Skerski’s family belongs to this Parish, this worshiping community of Saint Adalbert. It is a faith community that, amidst the trials and tribulations and anguish of human existence, place their hope in the living God. In this context of the Christian faith the final word of consolation is the proclamation that Jesus Christ the Son of God is risen from the dead and is our pledge of eternal life.
Meanwhile, the goodness of our God passes through the love and support which—all of us from different backgrounds and faiths—renew together to the beloved family of Officer Skerski, whom we commend to the infinite love of God our Father. Amen.
Presentation by Cardinal Justin Rigali
“Gaudium et Spes and its Relevance to Catholic Higher Education”
Villanova University
September 26, 2005
I am very grateful to Dr. Bernard J. Prusak, Chair of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies here at Villanova University, for the invitation to be part of the Commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of Gaudium et Spes. This Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, promulgated on December 7, 1965, the last day of the Second Vatican Council was indeed a great gift of the Council to the Church and to the world. And tonight I would add: it was a special gift to Catholic higher education. This is so, I believe, because so much of the content of Gaudium et Spes is linked to the aims of Catholic higher education and to what Catholic Universities are meant to be about. Tonight, therefore, I would like to present Gaudium et Spes in its relevance to Catholic higher education.
So much of the flavor of this document is already present in the first sentence which reads: “The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, are also the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.”
This is a very lofty vision which, while expressing the outreach of the Church to the world, also can suggest the power of Catholic higher education to have a bearing on whatever intimately affects humanity. It shows to what degree the Council envisioned solidarity with all people. In this document the Church was proposing to speak to the world and to all humanity. She was proposing to tell the world how she conceives her own presence and activity in the midst of the world. At the same time the Church spelled out so much of what Catholic higher education can so appropriately reflect upon, aspire to and help bring about.
What is immediately apparent in the document is the continuity of its teaching. Much of its social content echoes the teaching of Leo XIII, Pius XI, Pius XII and John XXIII, especially the latter’s famous encyclicals Mater et Magistra and Pacem In Terris. It is worth noting that the teaching of Gaudium et Spes was so vigorously proclaimed and applied by Pope John Paul II during all the years of his pontificate. The document proposed to speak to all people in order to shed light on what it called the mystery of man. It was all about the human person, the individual, the community, the entire human family. It was concerned in cooperating to find true and just responses to the enormous challenges of our time, to the outstanding needs of our brothers and sisters. Is not Catholic higher education and all university life deeply involved in this?
It is useful to recall the document’s two main divisions. Part I: The Church and Man’s Calling. Part II: Some More Urgent Questions.
A general glance at the outline confirms an affinity with themes of Catholic higher education. The four chapters of Part I show this: 1) the dignity of the human person 2) the community of mankind 3) human activity throughout the world and 4) the mission of the Church in the modern world.
The same can be said of the five urgent questions treated in Part II: 1) the dignity of marriage and the family 2) the proper development of culture 3) socio-economic life 4) the life of the political community and 5) the promotion of peace and the community of peoples.
The first important question treated in the document is the dignity of the human person. This is basic to everything else in the document, everything else in the Church and in university life. This is presumed in everything that follows. Vatican II sees this dignity of the human person as being linked to the fact that the human person is created by God, redeemed by Christ and called to communion with God for all eternity. This was one of the favorite themes of John Paul II for the twenty-six and a half years of his pontificate. He was constantly inspired by this conciliar vision. In season and out of season, he proclaimed the dignity of the human person.
Linked to the dignity of the human person, however, are the ever relevant questions of conscience and human freedom. Gaudium et Spes describes conscience, saying: “In the depths of his conscience, man detects a law which he does not impose upon himself, but which he is bound to obey. Always summoning him to love good and avoid evil, the voice of conscience can when necessary speak to his heart more specifically: Do this. Shun that. For man has in his heart a law written by God. To obey it is the very dignity of man. According to it he will be judged” (no. 16). If obedience to conscience is part of human dignity, then reflecting on it must touch the realm of Catholic universities.
Intimately linked to the theme of conscience is that of freedom. The Council insists that the dignity of the human being demands that he or she act according to a knowing and free choice, which excludes “new forms of social and psychological slavery” (no. 4). In effect, God wanted the human being to be able to say no precisely so that his or her yes would be authentic and meritorious. The dignity of the human person demands that he act according to a knowing and free choice. Gaudium et Spes recognizes authentic freedom as “an exceptional sign of the divine image within man” (no. 80).
Two other themes that vex the human spirit are likewise considered in this first chapter that concentrates on the human person: the question of death with its perennial mystery and the issue of atheism. The Council asserts that atheism must be counted among the more serious problems of this age and is deserving of closer examination. A key statement is found in no. 22 as Gaudium et Spes relates its Christology to the human being with this bold assertion: “The truth is that only in the mystery of the Incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on life.” It gives a reason for this statement, adding: “By his Incarnation the Son of God has united himself in some fashion with every human being”
The vision of human dignity presented in chapter one is enlarged in chapter two to take into account the community of mankind, which is the family of God. Here the Council’s insights are deep and ever relevant. It says: “One of the salient features of the modern world is the growing interdependence of people on each other, a development very largely promoted by modern technological advancements” (no. 23). It goes on to explain, however, that authentic dialogue among people does not reach its perfection on the level of technical progress but on the deeper level of interpersonal relationships. Here the Council is emphasizing the communitarian nature of the vocation of human beings as one family. It is speaking of the interdependence of individuals and society, with the goal of all social institutions remaining the human person. Human interdependence grows more tightly and the notion of the common good takes on an increasingly universal complexion involving rights and duties with respect to the whole human race. This interdependence and common good speak to us of the whole notion of universal solidarity.
Later on in Gaudium et Spes we will find a remarkable text about the truth of our identity as human beings. It states: “We are witnesses of the birth of a new humanism, one in which man is defined first of all by his responsibility to his brothers and sisters and toward history” (no.55). I submit that the birth of a new humanism is very much connected, whenever it occurs, with the activities of Catholic universities, and that the “new humanism” of Vatican II—the humanism of solidarity, indeed of being defined in relationship to others, must be an evangelical guiding light for the orientation of all Catholic higher education. What great dignity, what great responsibility, what a great mission is entrusted to the human person! And what service the university can fulfill in being a herald of this “new humanism”!
In 1987, in continuity with Gaudium et Spes, Pope John Paul II amply developed the theme of solidarity and the act proper to it, which is collaboration, in his encyclical letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis. Included in Gaudium et Spes there had also been a splendid treatment of reverence for the human person. This emphasis by Vatican II was subsequently developed magnificently by John Paul II in his encyclical the Gospel of Life and in many other documents. Meanwhile, Gaudium et Spes had given us a summary of what is opposed to this human dignity. It says: “Whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia or willful self destruction; whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions where people are treated as mere tools for profit rather than as free and responsible persons; all of this and the like are infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonor to the Creator” (no. 27).
It was also to be expected that in speaking about human dignity and the essential equality of people the Council would reject “every type of discrimination, whether social or cultural, whether based on sex, race, color, social condition, language, or religion” (no. 29). Certainly every Catholic university must in every way possible bear evangelical witness to this essential equality.
The Council complained that fundamental personal rights are not yet universally honored as in “the case of a woman who is denied the right and freedom to choose a husband, to embrace a state of life or to acquire an education or cultural benefits equal to those recognized for men” (ibid.).
Vatican II spoke intriguingly (cf. Part I, chapter 3) about the Church’s religious and moral principles that derive from the heritage of God’s word, but which do not always have at hand the solution to particular problems. Gaudium et Spes admits clearly that it does not offer ready-made solutions to the many problems of the world, but rather sees the Gospel as the guide and source of principles that will respond to the issues of the modern world (cf. no. 33). In this way the Church scrutinizes the signs of the times, interpreting them in the light of the Gospel (cf. no. 4). Surely Catholic universities are called to do the same, striving to respond to perennial questions, without at the same time having simplistic solutions to every problem. Gospel principles in the life of the Church are crystal clear, but their application involves prayer and openness to the Spirit of Truth.
In treating the mission of the Church in the modern world (cf. Part I, chapter 4), Gaudium et Spes expresses the conviction that the Church believes that she can contribute greatly toward making the human family and its history more human. The Church holds in high esteem and values the contribution of other Christian churches and ecclesial communities and of all human society. A special part of the Church’s mission is to proclaim all human rights. The forces of all people of good will are needed in this vital cause. Certainly the leadership role of Catholic higher education must not fail. There is still so much to be done throughout the world.
In the aftermath of Vatican II, Pope Paul VI and John Paul II led the world in the implementation of human rights. In 1967, just shortly after the close of the Council, Paul VI would issue his great encyclical “The Development of Peoples.” Two years later, in Africa, and on many other occasions, he would vigorously supplement this by his personal teaching.
John Paul II would fall heir both to the Ecumenical Council and to Paul VI. The incarnational spirituality of Gaudium et Spes was evident as it proclaimed that the split between the faith that many people profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among “the more serious errors of our age” (no. 43). It further stated that there can be no false opposition between professional and social activities on the one hand and religious living on the other. In perfect harmony with the Gospel it further went on to assert: “The Christian who neglects his temporal duties neglects his duties toward his neighbor and even God, and jeopardizes his eternal salvation…. In the exercise of all their earthly activities, Christians can thereby gather their humane, domestic, professional, social and technical enterprises into one vital synthesis with religious values, under the supreme direction of which all things are harmonized for God’s glory” (no. 43). How fittingly Catholic higher education can contribute to this synthesis where the Lord is considered “the goal of human history, the focal point of the longings of history and of civilization, the center of the human race, the joy of every heart and the answer to all its yearnings” (no. 45).
Five crucial issues of special urgency and particular relevance are presented to the world’s consideration in Part II of Gaudium et Spes: the dignity of marriage and the family, the proper development of culture, socio-economic life, the life of the political community and fostering peace and the international community. It seems to me that all five issues require special reflection, study and promotion as matters supremely relevant to Catholic higher education.
The Council’s treatment of marriage and the family (Part II, chapter 1) begins out with a recognition of the great challenges that face the family today. In this context the Council proclaims the sanctity of marriage and the family and the entire Catholic doctrine of Christian married love and Christian married life. Certainly Catholic universities, inspired by divine revelation as interpreted by the magisterium of the Church, have many authentic reflections to share on these divine mysteries.
The Council zeros in on the centrality of conjugal love and the concept of a covenant relationship between two people in which marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordained toward the begetting and the educating of children. The Council asserts that the intimate partnership of married life and love has been established by the Creator and made subject to His laws. It is rooted in the conjugal covenant of irrevocable personal consent. Gaudium et Spes speaks of children as the supreme gift of marriage. Anticipating the encyclical Humanae Vitae, the Council asserts that “when there is a question of harmonizing conjugal love, the responsible transmission of life, the moral aspect of any procedure does not depend solely on sincere intentions or an evaluation of motives” (no. 51). This aim of the Council to inculcate the dignity of marriage and the family is certainly today a tremendous support for married couples as they endeavor to fulfill their great mission of human and Christian love in the Church and in the world. I submit that Catholic higher education should not be absent from offering its support to this cause.
Another issue to which Vatican II devoted particular attention is culture (Part II, chapter 2). The Council stated that human beings can only come to an authentic and full expression of their humanity through culture. The Council attempted to give an adequate description of culture, saying that it indicates all those aspects by which a human being refines and unfolds his or her manifold spiritual and bodily qualities. It is a feature of culture that throughout history man expresses, communicates and preserves in his works great spiritual experiences and desires (cf. no. 53). In this sense we can speak so fittingly of Catholic culture. People are conscious, the Council says, that they themselves can be the artisans and authors of the culture of their community. This presumes a sense of responsibility and solidarity. This is the context in which the Council says that we are witnesses of the birth of a new humanism, one in which the human being is defined especially by his or her responsibility toward his or her brothers and sisters and toward history. In the humanization of the world, how important it is that each person realize his or her responsibility to others. Is not a Catholic university a powerful forum for this solidarity to be realized and this humanization to take place?
The Council speaks also about socio-economic life (cf. Part II, chapter 3), placing all economic development at the service of man, the human being, the human person. Two years after Vatican II, in his encyclical “On the Development of Peoples,” already mentioned, Pope Paul VI powerfully developed this theme.
In this context Gaudium et Spes then speaks about human labor—how it is superior to all the other elements of economic life, and how the human person is a partner in the work of bringing God’s creation to perfection. In 1981 John Paul II developed in his encyclical Laboren Exercens the whole theology of work. In this encyclical Pope John Paul II presented human work as a key to the whole social question of our day. While seeing private ownership and property as an expression of human freedom, the Council also speaks of the profound plan of God in which there is a common destination for created things and in which all human beings are called to recognize interdependence and exercise solidarity. In this chapter three the Council has initiated us into a great reflection on solidarity and globalization. These themes are important for the humanization of the world. Surely they cannot be alien to the scope of Catholic higher education.
Gaudium et Spes makes it clear that the political community exists for the common good (cf. Part II, chapter 4). This political community and public authority are based on human nature and belong to an order of things divinely foreordained. For this reason those who serve in politics contribute greatly to the building up of society. The political community and the Church are mutually independent and self-governing but they both serve the personal and social vocation of the same human beings in accordance with the truth of humanity. Catholic politicians are expected to bring to their service of the community those principles based on the natural law, inscribed in the human heart and subsequently also proclaimed by the Church.
In recent times the need for political participation of Catholics in public life according to their own upright consciences has been amply reinforced and clarified by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It is an area that requires consistency, wisdom, serenity of judgment and courage.
Gaudium et Spes concludes by turning the attention of the world to the subject of peace: the fostering of peace and the promotion of a community of nations (Part II, chapter 5). It makes clear that it is speaking about a peace that is based on justice and love. It makes clear that by peace it does not mean only the absence of war, but rather the work of justice.
The Council draws greatly in this regard on the encyclical of Pope John XXIII Pacem in Terris. Even as the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council were preparing to issue an appeal for peace, Pope Paul VI was visiting the United Nations on October 4, 1965, pleading for the avoidance of war and at the same time expressing hope that nations would come together in a spirit of harmony to understand the basic need for peace in the world.
In regard to the United Nations, the position of the Holy See has constantly been that, notwithstanding its weaknesses and limitations, it is a structure that the world cannot prescind from and that must be utilized to fulfill a peace-making role for all humanity.
The principles found in the last chapter of Gaudium et Spes, on fostering peace and promoting a community of nations, should prove extremely useful in all serious reflections about the effective and just response to world tensions. In particular, in regard to the total avoidance of war—and we remember Pope Paul VI’s appeal made at the United Nations in New York two months before the promulgation of Gaudium et Spes: “jamais plus la guerre”—Vatican II calls for “an evaluation of war with an entirely new attitude” (no. 80). This attitude cannot be simplistic, but it must be new. Just before making this most important appeal, Gaudium et Spes had stated: “The horror and perversity of war are immensely magnified by the multiplication of scientific weapons” (no. 80). And it added: “The arms race is an utterly treacherous trap for humanity” (no. 81).
As recently as four days ago, September 22, 2005, the Holy See made an appeal before the United Nations, urging the universal ratification of the Conference on Facilitating the Entry-into-Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Two other considerations are proposed by Vatican II in this complicated matter: 1) “Government authorities and others who share public responsibility have the duty to protect the welfare of the people entrusted to their care and to conduct such grave matters soberly.” 2) “Those who are pledged to the service of their country as members of its armed forces should regard themselves as agents of security and freedom on behalf of their people” (no. 79). We can never forget, however, the statement of Pope John Paul II that all war is “a defeat for humanity.”
Gaudium et Spes also expressed its conviction that there should be an agency of the universal Church set up for the worldwide promotion of justice and for charity for the poor. After the Ecumenical Council, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the Pontifical Council Cor Unum were both established to serve the needs recognized by Vatican II. It is inconceivable that these themes of justice, peace and solidarity in Christian love be absent from the dynamic reflections of Catholic higher education.
* * *
As mentioned, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World came to life on the very last day of the Council. The document was a beautiful sign of Christian hope for the world. Are Catholic universities not conceived as being signs of hope for humanity in need of light and goodness and truth? Gaudium et Spes was a clear indication of the Church’s willingness for dialogue within the Church, with those not in full communion with her, with those who believe in God and with those also who do not as yet acknowledge God, and even with those who oppress the Church. It was likewise a great sign of the Church’s desire to serve, and in this it represented the highest ideal of the Church that imitates Christ, who says: “I have come not to be served, but to serve.”
Catholic higher education that reflects on Christ’s servanthood in our midst is invited to offer all its energies to consolidate that new humanism in which the human being is indeed defined first of all by responsibility to his or her brothers and sisters and to history. Gaudium et Spes offered to the modern world the challenges inherent in embracing solidarity and globalization. Forty years later, this challenge presents itself anew with special relevance to the world of Catholic higher education and particularly to this and every Catholic university conscious of its calling and its purpose. Thank you.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Good Friday Passion Liturgy
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 13, 2004
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
In this Good Friday Passion Liturgy our reading from the prophet Isaiah speaks of Jesus in these words: Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who would have thought any more of his destiny?
As we celebrate the Passion that led up to the death of Jesus, we are so fortunate because we already know His destiny. It has been revealed to us. It has been proclaimed to us. We celebrate the Passion and death of Jesus from the vantage point of knowing that His destiny isresurrection and life. And, so, every detail of the Passion and death of Jesus is part of His victory, part of His triumph over sin and death.
Above all, the Cross that we venerate today is the great sign of victory, the great sign of the power of Jesus who, through the wood of the Cross, defeated Satan and was glorified by His heavenly Father with new life in His Resurrection.
With the prophet Isaiah, we remember so many details of the Passion. So many of the details were foreseen: &it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured &. he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins. Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all.
In the fourth century, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem stated that the Church is proud of all Christ s actions, but her greatest boast is the Cross.
Today, as Christian people, we boast of the Crossand, above all, of the love that inspired the Crossand motivated Jesus to ascend the Cross and to die on the Cross. And, as we look to Jesus hanging on the Cross, we remember why He was doing it: out of love for His Father and out of love for His Church.
In particular, His death meant redemption for His Mother Mary and for all of us. The death of Jesus took away the sins of the world and, in the case of Mary, it preserved her from all sin from the moment of her Immaculate Conception. His death was a death of expiation,just as Isaiah had foretold: Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear&. And he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.
We remember how Jesus spoke seven times before He died. We call those His sevent words. Two of these words are exceptionally moving for us. Hanging on the Cross, Jesus spoke to His Mother and His Father. To His Mother, He reiterated His love, entrusting His apostle John to her and entrusting her to John. In effect, He entrusted the whole Church, each one of us, to Mary. And He entrusted Mary to all of us as our Mother. To His Father, at the moment of His death, He said: Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. All of this took place during the last moments of His life. And then Jesus died!
To repeat the words of Isaiah: &who would have thought any more of his destiny? But His destinywas in the hands of His Father; His destiny was resurrectionand the fullness of life.Today the Cross remains the sign of triumph. It is the prelude of Christ s glorious Resurrection. The Cross is the sign of life for Him and for us!
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Good Friday Passion Liturgy
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 6, 2007
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you
because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Today, in this Good Friday Passion Liturgy our reading from the prophet Isaiah speaks of Jesus in these words: "Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who would have thought any more of his destiny?"
As we celebrate the Passion that led up to the Death of Jesus, we are so fortunate because we already know His destiny. It has been revealed to us. It has been proclaimed to us. We celebrate the Passion and Death of Jesus from the vantage point of knowing that His destiny is resurrection and life. And, so, every detail of the Passion and Death of Jesus is part of His victory, part of His triumph over sin and death.
Above all, the Cross that we venerate today is the great sign of victory, the great sign of the power of Jesus who, through the wood of the Cross, defeated Satan and was glorified by His heavenly Father with new life in His Resurrection.
There is another aspect to the Passion and Death of Jesus. It is the fact that His destiny is ours. His triumph is ours. His life is ours. In this spirit, and with this knowledge, we make our prayer today: "We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world."
With the prophet Isaiah, we remember so many details of the Passion. So many of the details were foreseen: "…it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured …. he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins. Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all."
In the fourth century, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem stated that the Church is proud of all Christ’s actions, but her greatest boast is the Cross.
Today, as Christian people, we boast of the Cross and, above all, of the love that inspired the Cross and motivated Jesus to ascend the Cross and to die on the Cross. And, as we look to Jesus hanging on the Cross, we remember why He was doing it: out of love for His Father and out of love for His Church.
In particular, His Death meant redemption for His Mother Mary and for all of us. The Death of Jesus took away the sins of the world and, in the case of Mary, it preserved her from all sin from the moment of her Immaculate Conception. His Death was a death of expiation, just as Isaiah had foretold: "...through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear…. and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses."
We remember how Jesus spoke seven times before He died. We call those His "seven last words." Two of these words are exceptionally moving for us. Hanging on the Cross, Jesus spoke to His Mother and His Father. To His Mother, He reiterated His love, entrusting His apostle John to her and entrusting her to John. In effect, He entrusted the whole Church, each one of us, to Mary. And He entrusted Mary to all of us as our Mother. To His Father, at the moment of His Death, He said: "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." All of this took place during the last moments of His life. And then Jesus died!
To repeat the words of Isaiah: "…who would have thought any more of his destiny?" But His destiny was in the hands of His Father; His destiny was resurrection and the fullness of life. Today the Cross remains the sign of triumph. It is the prelude of Christ’s glorious Resurrection. The Cross is the sign of life for Him and for us!
"We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world!"
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
The Celebration of the Lord's Passion
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
March 21, 2008
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.
Dear People of God,
Back in the fourth century the great Doctor of the Church Saint Cyril of Jerusalem stated that the Church is proud of all the actions of Jesus, but that her greatest boast is the Cross. Today, Good Friday, we celebrate the Cross and above all the One who hangs on the Cross.
In the Old Testament, at Passover, the Jewish people sacrificed a lamb—called the paschal lamb. On Good Friday we look to the Cross; we look to the Cross to see the One who has become the Lamb of God. At Communion time we receive this Lamb of God and before doing so we proclaim: “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Today all our attention is concentrated on Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who is immolated on the Cross and becomes our sacrifice. The victim on Calvary takes away our sins and the sins of the whole world.
In our First Reading, the Prophet Isaiah tells us: “…he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.” And then Isaiah explicitly compares Him to the paschal lamb saying: “…the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all…. like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth.”
In his prophecy, Isaiah attests to the redemption that is accomplished by Christ, the Lamb of God: “…he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.”
All this, dear friends, takes place on the Cross. Today we look to the Cross to find salvation and to profess our faith in the power of Christ’s Sacrifice. By His death on the Cross, Jesus destroys death. He conquers the cause of death, which is sin. The humiliation of His death on the Cross is transformed into triumph and victory, as Saint Paul tells us: “Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a Cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him….”
For all the Church, the death that Christ dies becomes the cause of life and immortality. How beautiful is the ancient chant of Good Friday that the Church sings today! At the moment that Christ dies, the Church attests that death has no power over Him: at that moment He is proclaimed as holy, strong and immortal! By dying He overcomes death. He can die no more and those associated with His Death are immune from death and will share His Resurrection.
Today, as we see Jesus the Paschal Lamb die upon the Cross, we proclaim His triumph and victory. And just as He, with absolute freedom, entrusted His life to His Father, we entrust ourselves freely to Him and to His mercy. In the words of today’s Psalm we pray: “…my trust is in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God. In your hands is my destiny; rescue me….’”
All of this means that God’s mercy is available to each of us. Today is the day that mercy becomes real. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews exhorts us: “…let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.”
Friends in Christ: our greatest boast is the Cross! The Cross is the throne of grace; it is the source of mercy. The One who hangs on the Cross is our Redeemer and our King. He helps us to overcome sin in our lives and to live for God in holiness of life.
As Jesus bends down to lift us up, let us reach out to Him and say: Jesus I trust in you! Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Good Friday Passion Liturgy
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 10, 2009
Dear People of God,
We celebrated yesterday the Institution of the Holy Eucharist and the Priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We saw how, at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, Jesus established the Paschal Meal of the new and eternal covenant—a meal that would prefigure, and later on, re-enact or re-present His Sacrifice on Calvary. We saw how He gave us His flesh to eat and His blood to drink. We saw how He left to His Church the great gift of His real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament.
Today, Good Friday, is the day when we see our High Priest in the greatest act of His life, which is His Death, freely offered to His Father out of love. We see Him, like a lamb being led to slaughter, and this is why we call Him the Lamb of God.
Today we are companions of Mary at the foot of the Cross, and there we begin to understand just how much Jesus our High Priest understands us. We heard the reading from the Prophet Isaiah, which told us that "he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins" and that "by his stripes we were healed." The Lord indeed laid upon Jesus "the guilt of us all." Bearing our infirmities, being oppressed and condemned, He died for us on the Cross. He died to bring peace to the world, and as St. John says: "to gather into one the dispersed children of God" (Jn 11:52).
All this makes us aware, as the Letter to the Hebrews tells us that "we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness." And because of this we know that we can "confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and favor and to find help in time of need."
Today, on Good Friday, just as on Palm Sunday, the Church proclaims to us the Gospel of the Passion of Christ and leads us up to the great moment of Jesus’ Death, when He offers Himself up in sacrifice for the salvation of the world.
At this point the Church pauses. She pauses to reflect and to get hold of herself at the Death of Christ. She remembers how, for 2000 years, she has celebrated:
- This death itself,
- And the One who died.
The Church remembers those words of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, who back in the fourth century said that the Church is proud of all Christ’s actions, but her greatest boast is the Cross.
The Church recalls how we caused this death of Jesus by our sins, and she remembers also those words of Saint Augustine who explains that, in the plan of God, there is—what he calls—a wonderful exchange between God and man, between divinity and humanity.
Saint Augustine goes on to tell us that according to this plan we actually gave God the power to do something that He could not do: in giving Him through Mary our humanity, we gave Him the power to die—to die so He could save us. And on Calvary He gave us in exchange the power to live. And so the Church, addressing our Lord Jesus Christ, will forever proclaim "by dying you destroyed our death, by rising you restored our life."
Thus the Cross is for us the great sign of victory, the sign of Christ’s triumph over death, and the sign of life for us.
Today we remember the Cross and what happened on the Cross.
We remember how Jesus carried it willingly and fell beneath its weight, and how, finally, He hung on the Cross for three hours, suffering freely, out of love.
We remember how from the Cross He spoke words of pardon and merciful love.
We remember how He spoke to His Father, but also how He spoke to His Mother, whom He considered the type and representative and Mother of His Church.
We remember that He was dying because of the Father’s plan of salvation for all humanity, but that He was also dying to redeem His Mother and all those who with her would constitute His Church.
We remember how, after giving us His Mother and after commending His life to His Father, Jesus bowed His head and died.
In that Death on the Cross we received the power to live forever. And so on this Good Friday we boast about the Cross and venerate it. We praise the Father for His plan to give us life through the death of Jesus on the Cross. We praise Jesus, His Son, because Jesus fulfilled this plan in the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is why today we formulate our prayer in these words: "We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world!" Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Good Friday Passion Liturgy
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 2, 2010
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you
because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
In this Good Friday Passion Liturgy our reading from the prophet Isaiah speaks of Jesus in these words: "Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who would have thought any more of his destiny?"
As we celebrate the Passion that led up to the Death of Jesus, we are so fortunate because we already know His destiny. It has been revealed to us. It has been proclaimed to us. We celebrate the Passion and Death of Jesus from the vantage point of knowing that His destiny is resurrection and life. And, so, every detail of the Passion and Death of Jesus is part of His victory, part of His triumph over sin and death.
In the Cross that we venerate today we recognize the great sign of victory, the great sign of the power of Jesus who, through the wood of the Cross, defeated Satan and was glorified by His heavenly Father with new life in His Resurrection.
Another aspect to the Passion and Death of Jesus is the fact that His destiny is ours. His triumph is ours. His life is ours. In this spirit, and with this knowledge, we make our prayer today: "We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world."
As we listen to the prophet Isaiah, we reflect on so many details of the Passion. So many of the details were foreseen: "…it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured …. he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins. Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all."
In the fourth century, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem stated that the Church is proud of all Christ’s actions, but her greatest boast is the Cross.
Today, as Christian people, we boast of the Cross and, above all, of the love that inspired the Cross and motivated Jesus to ascend the Cross and to die on the Cross. And, as we look to Jesus hanging on the Cross, we remember why He was doing it: out of love for His Father and out of love for His Church.
In particular, His Death meant redemption for His Mother Mary and for all of us. The Death of Jesus took away the sins of the world and, in the case of Mary, it preserved her from all sin from the moment of her Immaculate Conception. His Death was a death of expiation, just as Isaiah had foretold: "...through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear…. and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses."
We remember how Jesus spoke seven times before He died. We call those His "seven last words." Two of these words are exceptionally moving for us. Hanging on the Cross, Jesus spoke to His Mother and His Father. To His Mother, He reiterated His love, entrusting His apostle John to her and entrusting her to John. In effect, He entrusted the whole Church, each one of us, to Mary. And He entrusted Mary to all of us as our Mother. To His Father, at the moment of His Death, He said: "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." All of this took place during the last moments of His life. And then Jesus died!
To repeat the words of Isaiah: "…who would have thought any more of his destiny?" But His destiny was in the hands of His Father; His destiny was resurrection and the fullness of life. Today the Cross remains the sign of triumph. It is the prelude of Christ’s glorious Resurrection. The Cross is the sign of life for Him and for us!
"We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world!"
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
The Celebration of the Lord's Passion
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 22, 2011
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.
Dear People of God,
Back in the fourth century the great Doctor of the Church Saint Cyril of Jerusalem stated that the Church is proud of all the actions of Jesus, but that her greatest boast is the Cross. Today, Good Friday, we celebrate the Cross and above all the One who hangs on the Cross.
In the Old Testament, at Passover, the Jewish people sacrificed a lamb—called the paschal lamb. On Good Friday we look to the Cross; we look to the Cross to see the One who has become the Lamb of God. At Communion time we receive this Lamb of God and before doing so we proclaim: “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Today all our attention is concentrated on Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who is immolated on the Cross and becomes our sacrifice. The victim on Calvary takes away our sins and the sins of the whole world.
In our First Reading, the Prophet Isaiah tells us: “…he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.” And then Isaiah explicitly compares Him to the paschal lamb saying: “…the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all…. like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth.”
In his prophecy, Isaiah attests to the redemption that is accomplished by Christ, the Lamb of God: “…he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.”
All this, dear friends, takes place on the Cross. Today we look to the Cross to find salvation and to profess our faith in the power of Christ’s Sacrifice. By His death on the Cross, Jesus destroys death. He conquers the cause of death, which is sin. The humiliation of His death on the Cross is transformed into triumph and victory, as Saint Paul tells us: “Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a Cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him….”
For all the Church, the death that Christ dies becomes the cause of life and immortality. How beautiful is the ancient chant of Good Friday that the Church sings today! At the moment that Christ dies, the Church attests that death has no power over Him: at that moment He is proclaimed as holy, strong and immortal! By dying He overcomes death. He can die no more and those associated with His Death are immune from death and will share His Resurrection.
Today, as we see Jesus the Paschal Lamb die upon the Cross, we proclaim His triumph and victory. And just as He, with absolute freedom, entrusted His life to His Father, we entrust ourselves freely to Him and to His mercy. In the words of today’s Psalm we pray: “…my trust is in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God. In your hands is my destiny; rescue me….’”
All of this means that God’s mercy is available to each of us. Today is the day that mercy becomes real. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews exhorts us: “…let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.”
Friends in Christ: our greatest boast is the Cross! The Cross is the throne of grace; it is the source of mercy. The One who hangs on the Cross is our Redeemer and our King. He helps us to overcome sin in our lives and to live for God in holiness of life.
As Jesus bends down to lift us up, let us reach out to Him and say: Jesus I trust in you! Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for Participants in Gregorian Colloquium
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
The Gospel of Saint Matthew presents to us today Jesus in his role as Teacher. Large crowds gather around Him, hungry to hear words that will bring truth and meaning to their lives. We see that Our Lord readily accepts this role as Teacher, getting into a boat to provide more room on the shoreline for the growing crowd which has assembled to listen to Him. In this section of Saint Matthew’s Gospel the Divine Teacher begins to instruct the crowds, using parables to explain the Kingdom of Heaven and God’s eternal plan of salvation for all who hear and accept his life-giving words. Indeed, at the end of our Gospel passage today, Jesus encourages his listeners to be attentive to his teaching, to be good students, by urging them : “Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
You gather today as teachers and as students, participants in the Gregorian Colloquium, to listen to, and learn from the Holy Spirit and from one another, as you pursue a deeper understanding of God’s life-giving law, particularly as it is reflected in the life, law and canonical tradition of the Church. As you do so you are conscious that in a certain sense you are all teachers, but at the same time learners, seekers of truth and knowledge like the crowds in the Gospel. Like them you come to hear Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, present in Word and Sacrament in this Eucharist which we all celebrate together.
As you reflect on the law of the Church you are reminded by Saint Paul, whose life and writings we commemorate in a particular way during this Pauline year: “For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified” (Rom 10:4).
Also, in its treatment of the role of law and grace in the life of the Christian the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us:
“The moral law finds its fullness and its unity in Christ. Jesus Christ is in person the way of perfection. He is the end of the law, for only he teaches and bestows the justice of God (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1953).
In our first scriptural reading of today’s Mass we heard the words of the book of the Prophet Jeremiah reminding us of the prophetic task of all teachers to teach and proclaim God’s perennial truth to those who hunger for truth and meaning in their lives. This is never an easy task, nor one without its unique challenges and sacrifices, but it is one that is a special gift and vocation from the Lord Himself. Does not God Himself remind the wavering Jeremiah that it is He who appointed the prophet to carry out his mission of teaching and speaking the truth in God’s name. Significantly, He also reminds Jeremiah that he is not alone in his teaching and prophetic mission. Despite Jeremiah’s doubts and fears concerning his human inadequacy for the prophetic task, the Lord assures him: “Have no fear...because I am with you.”
In a particular way Jesus assures us today that He is with us in the Church, especially in the Eucharist—His living, and life-giving, presence among us as we carry out our individual vocation and mission in His name and through the Church.
The task of teaching and studying the law is a special vocation within the ecclesial community and contributes in a unique way to the life and mission of the Church herself. Centuries ago Tertullian, the early Christian apologist, spoke of the role of the law in the divine plan, writing: “Alone among all animate beings, man can boast of having been worthy to receive a law from God: ... endowed with reason, capable of understanding and discernment, he is to govern his conduct by using his freedom and reason, in obedience to the One who has entrusted everything to him” (Tertullian, ADV. Marcion, 2, 4:PL 2, 288-289).
The great task of the canonists of the Church at the beginning of this third millennium of Christianity is to continue to integrate the teachings and the pastoral insights of the Second Vatican Council into the jurisprudence and pastoral practice of the Church. Was this not the hope and intention of Pope John Paul II, expressed in the Apostolic Constitution Sacrae Disciplinae Leges, when he promulgated the Latin Code on January 25, 1983? It is helpful to recall his words as we seek guideposts for our ongoing study and development of the law of the Church. The Holy Father wrote then: “The instrument which the Code is fully corresponds to the nature of the Church, especially as it is proposed by the teaching of the Second Vatican Council in general and in a particular way by its ecclesiological teaching. Indeed, in a certain sense this new Code could be understood as a great effort to translate this same conciliar doctrine and ecclesiology into canonical language. If, however, it is impossible to translate perfectly into canonical language the conciliar image of the Church, nevertheless the Code must always be referred to this image as the primary pattern whose outline the Code ought to express insofar as it can by its very nature” (John Paul II, Sacrae Disciplinae Leges, January 25, 1983).
Perhaps the Code of Canon Law itself expresses this in an even more succinct and yet profound manner, in its final canon by stating: “... the salvation of souls, which must always be the supreme law in the Church, is to be kept before one’s eyes” (CIC 1983, can. 1752).
Dear canonists, dear friends in Christ Jesus: In her inspired response this morning to the revelation transmitted through the prophet Jeremiah, the Church proclaims a justice that is identified with salvation: “My mouth,” the Psalmist asserts, “shall declare your justice, day by day your salvation.” What is so exhilarating in our ministry is that the proclamation of justice is truly all about salvation; indeed, it is all about Jesus Christ who for all of us has become our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification and our redemption (cf. 1 Cor. 1:30). May your deliberations in the Holy Spirit, your study, your discussions help lead God’s people to Jesus Christ and to salvation in His name. May Mary, Seat of Wisdom and Mother of Incarnate wisdom, sustain you in generosity and zeal. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass During Gregorian Colloquium
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
July 15, 2010
It is a joy to greet all of you, members of the faculty and participants of the Gregorian Colloquium, and particularly to celebrate with you this Liturgy, in which we are all enriched by the Word of God and nourished by the Eucharist, the source and summit of the life of the Church. In a very real way we are accepting Jesus’ invitation in today’s Gospel of Matthew when He says: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves” (Mt 11:28-30).
We gather today as teachers and students, participants in the Gregorian Colloquium, to listen to, and learn from one another, as we pursue a deeper understanding of God’s life-giving law, particularly as it is reflected in the life, law and canonical tradition of the Church. As we do so we are conscious that in a certain sense we are all teachers, but at the same time all learners, seekers of truth and knowledge who come to listen to Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, present to us in Word and Sacrament in this Eucharistic Liturgy.
As we reflect on the law of the Church we are reminded by Saint Paul in his Letter to the Romans: “For Christ is the end of the law, for the justification of everyone who has faith” (Rom 10:4).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church also reminds us: “The moral law finds its fullness and its unity in Christ. Jesus Christ is in person the way of perfection. He is the end of the law, for only he teaches and bestows the justice of God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1953).
The prophet Isaiah in the first reading of today’s Mass also speaks of the virtue of justice which has its source in God and is the foundation of the law. He says: “For your way and your judgments, O Lord, we look to you; your name and your title are the desire of our souls….When your judgment dawns upon the earth, the world’s inhabitants learn justice.”
In a particular way it is the mission of canonists to reflect upon and apply the virtue of justice to the concrete circumstances and challenges of life and culture in the Church today. To do this well requires learning, prudence and faith coupled with a love for the Church and her teaching and a profound openness to the Holy Spirit. To teach, interpret and apply the law in a compassionate and pastoral manner requires a wisdom that can be imparted only by the Spirit of the Lord. This wisdom is made accessible to us in prayer and study. A sign of this wisdom is to know that our talents are given by God to be shared with others for the good of the ecclesial community, to build up the Church. Isaiah indeed reminds us in our first reading: “O Lord, you mete out peace to us, for it is you who have accomplished all we have done.”
Within the Church, the work and generous contributions of canonists are indeed a special and necessary vocation that contributes in a unique way to the life and mission of the Church herself. The life of the saint whose feast we celebrate today also provides insight and inspiration for those called to serve the Church in our day by generously placing their gifts and talents at the disposal of the Church.
Saint Bonaventure lived and worked in the 13th century. He joined the Franciscan Order which sent him to Paris to study. His scholastic ability led to his appointment as the master of the Franciscan school at the University of Paris. In 1257 he was elected minister general of the Franciscan Order, only thirty years after the death of Saint Francis of Assisi. At this time the Order was facing a crisis. Different factions claimed to be the true interpreters of the founder’s vision and there was disagreement in particular about Saint Francis’ strict attitude to poverty and the presence of friars in universities. The administrative structure of the Order was failing to cope with the huge increase in numbers, and critics pointed to a falling off in apostolic zeal. Bonaventure adopted a balanced approach in dealing with these issues. His goal was to keep as far as possible to the original spirit of Saint Francis, but he rejected what he viewed as the extremism of the “Spirituals,” who argued that poverty was the single most important feature of the Order and that corporate ownership of either buildings or books should not be permitted. He supported attendance at the universities because he believed study and learning were key elements in the apostolate of the friars, to preach and give spiritual direction to the people. He was largely successful in re-invigorating the Franciscan Order and in confirming its new orientation because he evidenced in his own life how the simplicity, frugal poverty, and personal imitation of Christ preached by Saint Francis could be combined with intellectual eminence, great learning, and the holding of high office. His work earned him the title of the “second founder of the Franciscans.” Later in his life, Pope Gregory X appointed Bonaventure the cardinal-bishop of Albano and he played a prominent part in the Council of Lyons which attempted to bring about reunion between East and West, as well as a general moral reform in the Church. He is also recognized as a Doctor of the Church for his spiritual and theological writings.
Clearly this saint is an outstanding example for all of us called to serve the Church of our time with its varied issues and challenges by generously placing our gifts and talents at the disposal of the Church as we collaborate in her mission of salvation. The revised Code of Canon Law itself, in its final canon, remind all canonists of their participation in this essential mission of the Church when it states: “... the salvation of souls, which must always be the supreme law in the Church, is to be kept before one’s eyes” (CIC 1983, can. 1752).
Dear canonists, I wish you well in your discussions and study of the law of the Church during your time together. May your deliberations be fruitful and redound to the good of the Church. May the Holy Spirit enlighten you and Saint Bonaventure inspire you in your service to the Church. And may the Lord bless each of us as we prepare to embrace Him in this holy Mass as He says to us: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves” (Mt 11:28-30).
Finally, dear friends, it is this meek and humble Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, the Son of the Virgin Mary, the One who is true God and true Man, divine like His Father and human like His Mother and like us, whom we must continue, by our words and in our actions, to proclaim with Saint Paul as the wisdom of God, as righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Amen.
Remarks of Cardinal Justin Rigali
to the Haitian Community
Mass for the Victims of the Earthquake in Haiti
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
January 15, 2010
Je voudrais d’abord saluer avec beaucoup d’affection fraternelle tous les membres de notre communauté haïtienne ici dans l’Archidiocèse de Philadelphia. Je désire vous exprimer la solidarité de toute l'Eglise dans ces moments d'angoisse et de suprême souffrance. En même temps je vous assure, chers frères et soeurs, de notre communion dans la prière, dans l'espérance et dans la confiance totale en Dieu misericordieux. Ensemble nous invoquons la paix eternelle sur tous les défuncts, parmi lesquels, l'Archevêque de Port-au-Prince, Monseigneur Joseph Serge Miot, en priant Dieu de venir en aide à tous ceux qui souffrent dans le corps, le coeur et l'âme. L'Eglise les confie tous à l'intercession maternelle de la Vierge Marie.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for the Victims of the Earthquake in Haiti
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
January 15, 2010
Beloved members of the Haitian community in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia,
Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,
We come here this evening in grief and anguish, in deep solidarity with the suffering people of Haiti and with unbreakable hope in our loving and merciful God.
Our desire is to be spiritually close to all those in pain and desperation, to support them by our prayers and to ask God to grant eternal life in heaven to all those who have perished. At the same time we gather together in a great commitment to join the universal effort to assist all the needy who cry out from the depths of their pain for help and understanding, for the assistance needed to survive and be restored to human dignity.
Since that devastating earthquake last Tuesday, January 12th, which ravaged Port au Prince and brought death to so many thousands of people, including Archbishop Joseph Miot, the chief shepherd of the Archdiocese, we hear the voices of the suffering survivors cry out to us in the desperation expressed centuries ago in the Book of Lamentations: “My soul is deprived of peace, I have forgotten what happiness is; I tell myself my future is lost, all that I hoped for from the Lord. The thought of my homeless poverty...leaves my soul downcast within me.”
Our Responsorial Psalm this evening continues to express well the anguished confidence of our brothers and sisters in pain: “O shepherd of Israel, hearken.... Rouse your power.... Let us see your face, Lord and we shall be saved.”
We know, dear friends, that even as our brothers and sisters in Haiti plead with God to rouse His power to help them and to let them see His face, they are counting also on the help of our prayers and our urgent assistance. It is part of God’s loving plan for human solidarity to reveal His face through ours and to exercise His power through our generosity and collaboration.
With these sentiments and in this spirit of showing forth God’s own face of mercy through our prayers and deeds, we are able to respond to their plea with further words from the Book of Lamentations, saying: “The favors of the Lord are not exhausted, his mercies are not spent; They are renewed each morning, so great is his faithfulness.... It is good to hope...for the saving help of the Lord.”
For our suffering brothers and sisters in Haiti the present moment is all about the need for mercy and love and salvation. These their sentiments are clearly expressed also in Psalm 23: “Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy” (cf. v. 2).
Dear friends: the only human power that can match and far surpass the devastating force of the natural disaster that has struck the beloved Haitian people is the power we have both to pray and to show compassionate solidarity with the afflicted. These two activities we embrace together this evening as we remind one another of the strengthening words of Saint Paul that were proclaimed just before our Gospel: “Blessed be the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction.”
In our prayer we are united with our Haitian brothers and sisters, sharing their hope and trust in God’s mercy and love. And it is in this prayer of the Mass which we offer now that we renew our strong commitment to do everything possible to reflect the compassionate face of the Lord in their regard.
This coming weekend (January 16-17) the annual collection is being taken up throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to assist the work of Catholic Relief Services. This emergency agency of the Bishops, ever vigilant for the urgent needs of people throughout the world, is hard at work in Haiti now, and it will continue its dedicated work there uninterruptedly. So many of its general resources are being used to help our Haitian brothers and sisters. But in addition, a special collection totally given for those suffering from the earthquake in Haiti and for the rebuilding of their lives, their homes and institutions will be taken up the following weekend (January 23-24). I appeal to all the people of the Archdiocese to show the maximum measure of generosity in contributing to this cause of Haitian relief and assistance.
As we share our charitable contributions for preserving and uplifting the lives of our Haitian brothers and sisters, we also share with them and with one another our trust in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. We recall once again the event recounted in this evening’s Gospel. As a result of a violent storm at sea, the Apostles were in peril of losing their lives. They reminded Jesus, who had been asleep in the boat, that they were perishing. In response to their prayer, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea: “Quiet. Be still!” But even in those circumstances He required the Apostles to make an act of faith and trust, even as He intervened to save them.
Dear friends: Today as we pray and renew our commitment to generous solidarity, we also proclaim our trust in a loving and merciful God, who watches over His people, even in the greatest of afflictions, and who, through us, is always prepared to reveal His face of mercy and compassion. And to see this face of God in us is the desire of our Haitian brothers and sisters, who continue to cry out: “Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.” Amen.
Mis queridos amigos in Cristo Jesús,
Con mucha alegría me uno a ustedes para esta celebración anual de la Misa de la Herencia Hispana. Hoy, además de la importancia de esta celebración, compartimos la alegría de darle la bienvenida a esta Catedral Basílica a nuestra madre María, bajo el titulo de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Emperatriz de las Américas.
Este año pasado, yo encargué que se construyera un mosaico de la imagen de Guadalupe que hoy ha sido consagrado en esta catedral, la iglesia madre de los católicos en nuestra arquidiócesis. Oficialmente, no se había bendecido el mosaico de la Virgen hasta hoy. Yo quiero decirles que ustedes siempre son bienvenidos aquí para venerarla y pedirle que interceda por ustedes ante su Hijo y nuestro hermano Jesús. Aquí les espera María, La Morenita como muchos le llaman con cariño. Ella les espera para que le cuenten sus penas y alegrías, sus triunfos y sufrimientos o simplemente hacerle una oración y encender una vela. En esta ocasión tan especial y llenos de alegría, simplemente le decimos, gracias por venir a nosotros, Virgencita de Guadalupe, quédate aquí y danos siempre tu protección de madre.
Las lecturas de hoy y el evangelio, nos hablan de la gratitud, y de la ingratitud. La primera lectura del libro de los Reyes, nos habla de un hombre de Siria llamado Naamán, un extranjero a quien Dios curó de la lepra. El fue sanado en las aguas del Jordan por la palabra del profeta Eliseo. Naamán, descubre en su curación la acción bienhechora de Dios. Él descubre la acción interna de la gracia que lo llama y se convierte de todo corazón. Lleno de gratitud, él confiesa que el Dios de Israel es el único Dios verdadero y en reconocimiento de esto, Naamán jura que jamás ofrecerá holocaustos ni sacrificios de comunión a otro dios que no sea el Señor. Pero más importante que todo, es la actitud de gratitud por todo lo que recibió de Dios.
El evangelio de hoy nos relata la historia de diez leprosos que tienen un encuentro con Jesús quien iba de camino a Jerusalén y pasaba por Samaria. Los leprosos le gritaban a Jesús, «Jesús, maestro, ten compasión de nosotros». Jesús, signo de salvación ofrecida a todos los hombres sin distinción ninguna, se compadece de los diez y los manda a que se presenten ante el sacerdote, pero antes de haberlos curado para probar su fe. Sabemos que la curación tuvo lugar mientras se dirigían al sacerdote. Pero, irónicamente, el único que regresa a darle las gracias y glorificarlo es el samaritano, un extranjero.
Estas dos historias son historias de gratitud. Naamán y el samaritano son un gran modelo de la vida cristiana. En Jesucristo, Dios se ha revelado a sí mismo desde una profundidad y nivel de intimidad desconocido fuera de esta fe. Por tanto, los cristianos tenemos mayor razón y responsabilidad de ser más agradecidos que otras personas. Seguramente, el Señor se preguntó por qué este samaritano, considerado enemigo de los judíos, fue el único en regresar y dar gracias y alabanza a Dios. ¿Qué pasó con los demás? ¿Por qué no le dieron gracias a Dios?
Nosotros los cristianos hemos recibido el regalo más grande que Dios posiblemente pudiera dar: su propio Hijo, Jesús. ¿Qué mejor regalo que éste? Para el cristiano, una motivación básica para amar a Dios y servir al prójimo es la gratitud. Estamos llamados a ofrecer gracias y alabanzas a Dios. Nuestra liturgia eucarística nos llama repetidas veces a que demos gracias y alabanza a Dios: «En verdad es justo y necesario, es nuestro deber y salvación darte gracias, Padre Santo siempre y en todo lugar»(Plegaria Eucarística II); «En verdad es justo darte gracias, y deber nuestro glorificarte, Padre Santo» (Plegaria Eucarística IV; «Te damosgracias, Dios nuestro y Padre todopoderoso por medio de Jesucristo, nuestro Señor, y te alabamos por la obra admirable de la redención»(Plegaria Eucarística-Reconciliación II). Estas plegarias eucarísticas son palabras de gratitud, de dar gracias a nuestro Padre celestial por todo lo que él hace por nosotros sus hijos. Las sagradas escrituras nos exigen que demos gracias a Dios en todas las circunstancias, hasta en las más difíciles y desalentadoras. Es necesario recordar que es Dios quien está en control de nuestras vidas, no somos nosotros, y por tanto tenemos que dejar que él entre en nosotros porque es él quien trabaja en nosotros, dándonos su gracia y tratando de que nuestra voluntad se una a la de él para así poder llevar a cabo el plan que él tiene para cada uno de nosotros.
Hermanos, es nuestra fe en Dios que nos permite decirle en esos momentos difíciles, «Señor, yo no te veo, se me hace difícil creer que estás aquí presente conmigo, pero aunque mis ojos no te vean te siente mi fe y sé que tú estás aquí, que tu Santo Espíritu me acompaña y me protege, no estoy solo».
Nuestra fe nos pide una confianza enorme sin ningún temor o angustia; ella nos exige que dejemos a Dios ser. En nuestras lecturas vemos que el agradecimiento abre la puerta a la gracia. El corazón agradecido se abre fácilmente a la salvación como le pasó al leproso de la primera lectura, Naamán. Sin embargo, los otros nueve leprosos siguieron con su ceguera por no reconocer la salvación que Dios les ofrecía. Solamente a uno de los diez leprosos Jesús le dijo: Tu fe te ha salvado. Este hombre sólo quería dar gracias a Dios desde lo más profundo de su corazón allí mismo donde recibió la salvación.
Dios nos ofrece también esa salvación que nos llega a través de nuestra fe. La fe que nos ayuda a reconocer a Dios en nuestras dificultades, en nuestras angustias; en el sufrimiento de la injusticia que vemos día a día, en la injusticia de ser juzgados como malhechores, sin valor o dignidad ninguna; de ver el sufrimiento de los hijos separados de sus padres y de no poder llegar a obtener una carrera digna y justa. Sus sufrimientos no son en vano, puesto que nuestro Padre Bueno los recoge y los convierte en oración y gracia.
Hermanos, recordemos que no caminamos solos, Jesús camina con nosotros a cada momento y en todas las circunstancias de nuestras vidas. Casi podemos oír cuando nos dice: «Mírame, escúchame, permíteme ayudarte». Los evangelistas Mateo y Lucas nos recuerdan las palabras de Jesús cuando con cariño nos repite hoy lo que les dijo a sus seguidores más de dos mil años atrás: «...no temas mi pequeño rebaño, yo estaré contigo hasta el fin de los tiempos». ¡Que así sea!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Hispanic Heritage Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
October 28, 2007
Queridos amigos: ¡Alabado sea Jesucristo!
Hoy celebramos con gran alegría y orgullo la herencia hispana y católica. Yo quiero felicitar a todos ustedes, que año tras año vienen a esta catedral basílica para celebrar este gran día, dándole gracias a Dios en el nombre de Jesús, por todo lo que él hace por toda la comunidad.
El pueblo hispano es un pueblo de fe y de mucha esperanza; aun cuando las cosas no andan bien, este pueblo cree y espera siempre en la misericordia de Dios. Es ése el mismo Dios que nos dice: «Yo estaré con ustedes hasta el fin de los tiempos», y también nos dice:«No temas mi pequeño rebaño». Ésta es la promesa de Dios para todos nosotros, palabras que nos dan esperanza. Sabemos que Dios es un padre rico en misericordia y conoce muy bien lo que hay en el corazón de cada uno de nosotros. Él escucha y reconoce siempre el llanto y sufrimiento de su pueblo.
Por eso las lecturas de hoy son mensajes muy apropiados de nuestro amado Salvador para su pueblo. Sus palabras inspiradoras nos hablan hoy y nos recuerdan a la comunidad israelita que andaba desorientada buscando la tierra prometida; continuamente desarraigada y condenada al destierro. Todo esto por su fe, lengua y costumbres. Pero ella encuentra consuelo y se reconforta con las palabras del libro de Eclesiástico que nos dice: «El Señor es un juez que no toma en cuenta la condición de las personas. Él no considera a las personas para perjudicar al pobre; él escucha la oración del oprimido. No cesa hasta que el Altísimo lo haya mirado, haya hecho justicia a los buenos y restablecido el derecho».
¿Cuantas personas reunidas aquí hoy en esta catedral basílica, en esta santa misa, entienden muy bien los pensamientos y sentimientos de los israelitas? Muchos de ustedes han experimentado lo mismo al salir de su tierra querida, dejando a su familia, su cultura y su país, buscando una tierra prometida en los Estados Unidos. ¡Que desafío en sentirse menos que los demás,... no siendo menos! –pero sentirse menos (al menos inicialmente) por falta de conocer el idioma, por no entender las costumbres, por las burlas cuando su práctica de la fe católica no es respaldada por la sociedad. La inseguridad, la duda, los desafíos —cuando la persona está tratando de seguir al Señor—no están limitados a los primeros israelitas que intentaron escuchar y responder a su Dios. Los sufrimientos de los que quieren practicar los valores, las enseñanzas, los mandamientos y bienaventuranzas de nuestra fe, no cesan. Ellos siguen hasta hoy día.
¡Son las palabras de Pablo a Timoteo que llegan a nuestros oídos—y a nuestros corazones! «El Señor en cambio, estuvo a mi lado llenándome de fuerza, para que la predicación del mensaje fuera llevada a cabo por mí, llegando a los oídos de todas las naciones... El Señor me librará de todo mal». Pablo le está diciendo a Timoteo, y nos dice también a nosotros, que—no importan las dificultades, no importan las heridas y no importan los malos entendimientos—el Señor está con nosotros aunque otros nos abandonen; el Señor nunca nos va a abandonar. Él conoce nuestras dificultades, nuestro llanto y sufrimiento. Es el mismo Jesús que nos dice; «Yo estaré con ustedes hasta el fin de los tiempos». Estas palabras nos llenan de esperanza. Sabemos que el ser humano juzga de acuerdo a los juicios humanos y a las aparencias. El pobre y marginado no siempre tiene voz, o tal vez no queremos escucharlo o nos hacemos los sordos. Sin embargo, Dios escucha la plegaria del pobre, del marginado o de los que sufren injusticias. Sus clamores no caen en oídos sordos; Dios les presta mucha atención, porque escucha con amor.
Mis amigos, el Señor quiere que nosotros, sus hijos, llevemos esta «predicación del mensaje a todas las naciones». ¡Nuestra fe no puede ser un secreto! Porque somos personas bautizadas tenemos la responsabilidad de proclamar nuestra fe llevando la Buena Nueva a todos los confines del mundo. Es urgente que prediquemos esta fe en oración, en acción y aun cuando nos sentimos muy cómodos o incómodos.
La población hispana crece cada día más y más. El Instituto Fe y Vida ha publicado estadísticas de un estudio hecho en el 2005, y dice así:
• ¡La mitad de todos los católicos en los Estados Unidos, de menos de 10 años son hispanos!
• ¡El 48% de los católicos en los Estados Unidos, entre las edades de 20 - 29 años, son hispanos!
• ¡El 44% de los católicos en los Estados Unidos, entre las edades de 10 - 19 años, son hispanos!
Este estudio además cita el porcentaje de sacerdotes que sirven a nuestras comunidades hispanas, en los Estados Unidos, y ellos hacen un llamado especial al papel de «la familia en la predicación del Mensaje». Como padres de familia, ustedes que están criando a sus hijos en esta cultura, tienen una tremenda responsabilidad de compartir el mensaje de nuestra fe, la que adquirimos a los pies de nuestros padres y abuelitos. Así también ustedes tienen que continuar esa rica tradición de transmitir esa fe a sus hijos. ¡Qué sean ellos capaces de defender su fe y su cultura que es parte de quiénes son como personas! ¡Qué nadie jamás los pueda separar del amor de Jesús!
También yo les pido que les hablen a sus hijos del sacerdocio y de la vida religiosa. Estoy seguro que el Señor, mirando como su rebaño está creciendo grandemente, nos está llamando de este mismo rebaño, sus propias familias –jóvenes para servir como sacerdotes y religiosas. Tenemos que rezar por las vocaciones, como familia. Sabemos que la oración es muy importante, pero además de esto, tenemos que fomentar estas vocaciones dentro de nuestras familias. Es necesario que los jóvenes escuchen la llamada de Dios y que respondan a ella. Si esta Iglesia católica va a ser nuestro hogar, aquí en los Estados Unidos, tenemos que tener sacerdotes y hermanas religiosas de nuestras propias familias. Vamos a rezar y a trabajar para realizar la voluntad de Dios acerca de las vocaciones de nuestras familias hispanas.
Finalmente, quiero dejarlos con estas palabras para que contemplen y vivan esa fe tan grande que el Señor les ha dado. Ustedes son muy queridos por Dios; yo sé que muchos están pasando por momentos tristes y difíciles y es en esos momentos que Dios nos recuerda cuanto él nos quiere. ¡Él nos dice que, en los momentos más difíciles, él está a nuestro lado, caminando con nosotros.
Él nos recuerda en el Evangelio de hoy que el error del fariseo es el de ser «... un justo que no es bueno con los demás...», mientras que Dios acoge graciosamente incluso al pecador. Esta parábola proclama, por tanto, la misericordia como valor fundamental del reino de Dios. Con su comportamiento el recaudador rompe todas las expectativas y esquemas, desafía la pretensión del fariseo y reclama ser oído por Dios.
Dios está con los que la sociedad ha dejado fuera; como estuvo con Pablo de Tarso, como se lee en la segunda lectura, que a pesar de no haber tenido quién lo defendiera, sentía que el Señor estaba a su lado dándole fuerzas.
Mis deseos para ustedes son que el Señor Jesús los bendiga siempre, y que su Madre, la Virgen María, bajo sus muchos títulos los proteja a ustedes y a sus familias.
Amén.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Hispanic Heritage Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
October 12, 2007
Queridos amigos en Cristo:
Una vez más nos reunimos en esta catedral basílica en nuestra arquidiócesis de Filadelfia, para celebrar con gran júbilo la herencia hispana. Hoy, día 12 de octubre, en muchos países latinoamericanos se celebra el día de la Raza por ser el día que el explorador, Cristóbal Colón llegó al Nuevo Mundo, y el primer encuentro entre los dos mundos. Una parte muy importante de esta herencia es la fe católica que ustedes han recibido y heredado de sus antepasados y que fue introducida al Nuevo Mundo por estos mismos exploradores. El pueblo hispano es un pueblo de gran fe, aún en momentos muy difíciles. Pero es precisamente en esos momentos en que se sienten agobiados, que el Señor les ofrece su esperanza y su justicia. Esa fe, que ustedes tienen y mantienen viva, es a la vez un regalo de Dios cuando envió a su Hijo para redimir a su pueblo, librándolo de sus sufrimientos. Esa es la misericordia de Dios que siempre cumple sus promesas.
Hoy hemos escuchado en la primera lectura que el banquete es un signo de esperanza, de la restauración de Dios, en un momento de angustia para el pueblo perseguido de Israel; esta lectura nos habla de un banquete, una celebración, algo que está siempre muy cerca del corazón hispano, la fiesta, que los reúne a todos para compartir. Pero la lectura se refiere a la celebración celestial donde todos, como hermanos, nos reuniremos finalmente para compartir; allí no habrá distinción de razas ni divisiones.
El papa Juan Pablo II en su carta apostólica Novo Millennio Ineunte habla de la espiritualidad de la comunión y nos dice que la vida cristiana es o debe ser, un reflejo y una preparación para el banquete final del cielo. También nos recuerda las palabras de Jesús: «Como yo los he amado, así quiero que se amen también ustedes los unos a los otros»(Jn 13, 34-35).
El Papa nos habla de esta espiritualidad de la comunión como lo que nos impulsa al cultivo de relaciones humanas enriquecidas por la gracia de Dios, o sea, vividas por Dios y en Dios, que se convierten en la clave de un cristianismo verdadero y es el modo de vivir en autentica comunión con nuestros hermanos.
San Mateo nos habla también, en el Evangelio, de la parábola de los invitados a la boda. Él compara la invitación a una llamada de Dios. Dios nos invita con autoridad, él nos mira y nos llama, es él quien tiene la iniciativa. Pero como podemos ver, no todas las llamadas son respondidas. Seguir al Señor es entrar en la vida de su pueblo para construir con su ayuda y nuestro esfuerzo el reino de Dios en este mundo; un reino de paz y de justicia.
Queridos hermanos, el Señor Jesús nos llama a ser un testimonio para el mundo, haciendo el bien y practicando la justicia que viene de él; estamos llamados a ser sal y luz y hacer presente en el mundo al Dios del reino, y al reino de Dios. Somos sal y luz cuando practicamos la justicia y hacemos el bien; cuando defendemos la vida del niño por nacer y de los vulnerables; cuando defendemos la dignidad de los pobres, del inmigrante aunque indocumentado y de todos aquellos que son marginados por la sociedad. Jesús nos manda, él más nos exige, que nos amemos los unos a los otros, que seamos verdaderamente hermanos y hermanas, preocupándonos y velando por el bienestar de los unos por los otros.
Hoy día muchos de nuestros hermanos están pasando por momentos muy difíciles, y es precisamente en estos momentos que el Señor nos pide que nos unamos en solidaridad con aquellos que están sufriendo. El papa Juan Pablo nos repite en su carta apostólica Novo Millennio Ineunte, y nos dice que él piensa que el valor de la solidaridad nos urge a todos hoy más que nunca con una exigencia especial, porque percibimos en muchos sectores de nuestra sociedad exactamente lo contrario a lo que debe ser la solidaridad: el no sentir como propios los problemas y carencias de una gran mayoría empobrecida de nuestros hermanos y la falta por tanto de interés de los unos por los otros, llegando hasta situaciones alarmantes de exclusión. Con frecuencia vemos y palpamos en nuestras mismas comunidades el sufrimiento y las necesidades de nuestros hermanos que son separados de sus familias, quedando abandonadas familias enteras sin poder sostenerse y atemorizadas.
La enseñanza del apóstol san Juan, es verdaderamente profunda: «Quien no ama a su hermano que ve, no puede amar a Dios a quien no ve». Si decimos amar a Dios es necesario que tengamos y crezcamos en nuestro espíritu solidario, especialmente con aquellos que más lo necesitan. Los necesitados del mundo moderno no son sólo los que padecen hambre o sufren la pobreza, sino también todos aquellos que se sienten solos, abandonados; los que sufren injusticias de cualquier tipo; que son sacudidos por leyes injustas; que sufren discriminación, que no se le respetan sus derechos básicos como personas. El papa Juan Pablo II nos dice: «La solidaridad es una urgencia en el mensaje cristiano. Si verdaderamente amamos a Dios eso nos tiene que mover a trabajar por la promoción de la justicia y la paz entre los hombres».
Estas palabras del papa Juan Pablo, son las mismas de Jesús cuando nos llama a crear un mundo más justo y pacífico que honra y aboga por la dignidad de cada persona. Ésta es la llamada que el Señor nos hace. Él nos invita a caminar y apoyar a nuestros hermanos, a los perseguidos, a los que piden justicia para sus familias. El documento de la Conferencia Católica de los Estados Unidos, Muchos rostros en la casa de Dios, nos recuerda que «el incremento de la diversidad cultural, étnica, y lingüística está cambiando no sólo la faz de nuestros barrios, sino también la de nuestras iglesias. Esta diversidad enriquece nuestras comunidades y nuestra Iglesia». Además nos dice que:
La fiesta de Pentecostés ofrece una visión redentora de la diversidad humana. Es una visión de unidad entre todos los pueblos que va más alla de sus diferencias y en la cual todos comparten la misma dignidad. El Espíritu Santo capacitó a los apóstoles para predicar a personas de muchas naciones y con diferentes idiomas, creando entre ellos una comunidad nueva, unida por un mismo Espíritu. La fuerza del Espíritu Santo y la íntima conexión de los miembros de la comunidad de fe da unidad al cuerpo y, de esta forma, estimula y produce el amor entre todos los creyentes.
Queridos amigos, todos nosotros somos llamados a formar una sola Iglesia, nutrida por el mismo Espíritu. Al honrar y celebrar nuestras diferencias culturales y étnicas, nos damos cuenta que la unidad católica es un don del Espíritu Santo. Nuestra Iglesia ha tenido siempre una larga tradición en la promoción de la justicia y en la defensa de los más pobres y necesitados; la enseñanza social de la Iglesia se basa en los valores del Evangelio. Todos los principios de esta enseñanza nos hablan de la santidad de la vida humana y la dignidad de cada persona. La Iglesia también nos llama a fomentar vocaciones religiosas dentro de nuestras familias. La Iglesia necesita sacerdotes y religiosas para servir a este pueblo en crecimiento. Le pido a cada familia que rece por estas vocaciones y que traten de ofrecerles a sus hijos un ambiente donde ellos puedan escuchar si Dios los está llamando.
Es nuestra creencia y nuestra fe, lo que nos impulsa a continuar esta peregrinación aquí en la tierra, porque estamos convencidos de que es nuestro regreso a la Casa del Padre. Estamos seguros que Jesús camina a nuestro lado y nos dice «Yo estoy con ustedes todos los días hasta el fin de la historia» (Mt.28:20), y el Salmo 23 nos asegura que: «El Señor es mi Pastor, nada me falta... aunque camine por cañadas oscuras, nada temo, porque tú vas conmigo...»; nuestra fuerza viene de esas palabras consoladoras. La carta pastoral Conforta a mi pueblo, dice las siguientes palabras, las cuales son muy apropiadas para nosotros en estos tiempos: «El camino de la paz no es fácil, tampoco es libre de dolor, pero aunque no es fácil, por él tenemos que caminar».
Por último, cada uno de ustedes es una bendición para nuestra Iglesia, conserven siempre esa fe viva y su herencia cultural como una antorcha que ilumine y celebre siempre lo que son, un pueblo hispano de fe, rico en su diversidad, siempre fíel a nuestro Señor Jesucristo, a su Iglesia y a su Madre, la santísima Virgin María. Amén.
HOMILY OF CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI
HOLY SATURDAY EASTER VIGIL
CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL
APRIL 15, 2006
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
The Church has been waiting all during Lent for this Easter celebration. She has followed Jesus, especially in the last three days, through all the events of His passion, death and burial. And now the moment has come to proclaim: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! Alleluia! Alleluia!
This is the holy night of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the greatest proclamation of all time is that He who died on Calvary is now alive. The tomb is empty. There are witnesses to testify.
This is the proclamation that the three women—Mary Magdalen, Mary the Mother of James, and Salome—heard when they went to the tomb. The angel greeted them with these words: “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him.”
Yes, Jesus Christ is truly risen. He is alive. After the events of Easter, He showed Himself to His disciples and to many other witnesses, who testified to the truth of the Resurrection. Throughout the ages the Church has repeatedly announced this testimony: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! Alleluia! alleluia!
This Easter proclamation is made throughout the whole world. It is the good news that dominates the earth, bringing joy and hope. It is a message of victory and peace.
Indeed, the Church proclaims the Resurrection, but she does more than that. She enables us to share in the Resurrection.
And how does this come about? It is through the sacrament of Baptism. Saint Paul explains to us tonight that by Baptism we are immersed into Christ’s death, so as to share in His Resurrection. “We were indeed buried with him”—he says—“through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.”
The Resurrection of Jesus and His new life after death are not merely worthy of our admiration. They are the basis for our life as baptized Christians. Christ is alive and calls us to model our life on His new human life of holiness and service. Saint Paul says to us: “You must think of yourselves as being dead to sin but living for God in Christ Jesus.”
This is the great challenge of Baptism: to live for God in Christ Jesus; to be alive through faith, hope and charity, to serve one another in the faith of the Risen Christ.
Tonight the joy of the Church is great throughout the world. In every corner of the earth Jesus is welcoming new members of His body, the Church. In our own Archdiocese numerous people are being baptized and confirmed, including our catechumen here in the Cathedral. We cordially welcome Tracey Ann Thomas and thank all those who have so generously and zealously assisted her and those coming into full communion with the Catholic Church, as well as the others receiving Confirmation.
From Baptism, which means being united with the Risen Christ, comes the call to live and to worship in a way worthy of Christian dignity. This call is ratified in Confirmation, with its own outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
On Easter the Church solemnly celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus; but for over 2000 years, on every single Sunday, the community of the Church gathers to praise and thank God the Father for raising Christ from the dead and for giving to all of us the privilege of sharing in His Resurrection.
Dear friends in Christ: Easter is so much a part of the meaning of our lives, and the Easter celebration, not only today but every Sunday, is so important for us as Christians. From the Eucharist that we celebrate on Easter and every Sunday—which makes present sacramentally both the Death and Resurrection of Jesus—we receive the strength and power to live and die as worthy members of the living Christ.
What a privilege it is for us to be called by the Risen Christ to worship and serve in His name. What a privilege it is to be baptized into the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, and to be part of the community of the Church that proclaims throughout all ages that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and victoriously lives in the midst of His people. What a privilege it is to be part of the Easter celebration every Sunday in the Cathedral or in our parish.
The Gospel of the Resurrection ends when the angel says to the women: “He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.”
Today the Risen Jesus is going before us, calling us, leading us, challenging us to live and worship in a way that manifests our belief that He is truly risen and forever alive.
Saint Augustine tries to summarize the great beauty of our feast by telling us: “We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song!” All of this is so because Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! Amen.
HOMILY OF CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI
HOLY THURSDAY, CHRISM MASS
CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL
APRIL 13, 2006
Your Eminence,
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons,
Dear Seminarians,
Dear Young People from our schools,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Today on this beautiful feast of Holy Thursday, all of us have come together as the People of God, as disciples of Jesus, to proclaim His love for us and to fulfill our Christian vocation. Above all, we gather to celebrate the great gifts of the Eucharist and the Priesthood, instituted by Jesus on the first Holy Thursday. Through these gifts all the faithful are sustained in their Christian lives.
Our vocation to follow Jesus began at our Baptism, when we were anointed with Chrism and baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. At our Confirmation we were once again anointed with Chrism and sealed with the Holy Spirit. And this morning an important part of our ceremony is the consecration of this holy Chrism, together with the blessing of the Oil of the Sick and the Oil of Catechumens.
All of us who have been baptized and confirmed are challenged on this day to renew the consecration of our Baptism and Confirmation. We have been anointed with Chrism to show that we all share—every man, woman and child in the Church—in Christ’s dignity as King and Priest and Prophet. In the Old Testament Kings and Priests and Prophets were anointed with oil. Jesus is our King and Priest and Prophet, and He was anointed directly with the Holy Spirit. When we Christians are anointed with Chrism, we receive the same Holy Spirit whom Christ possessed in fullness.
In the life of the Church there are different moments when we emphasize different vocations and different aspects of God’s wonderful plan for His Church. Today, Holy Thursday, the Church concentrates on the institution of the Eucharist and Christ’s gift of the priesthood. She emphasizes the importance of the vocation to the priesthood. The Church needs the priesthood. The People of God need the priesthood. Jesus Himself needs the priesthood to fulfill His plan of salvation. Without the priesthood there is no Eucharist. Without the Eucharist there is no Church. Today at this Mass I ask those young men who may experience a vocation to the priesthood to open their hearts to the call of our Lord and not to be afraid to say yes.
Holy Thursday is a day of solemn thanksgiving for the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood, His Paschal Meal and His sacrificial Supper, which we will emphasize even more later on this evening at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Today is also the time when we praise the Lord for our own Eucharistic vocation as priests.
On this special day I would like to address a particular message of solidarity, support and deep fraternal love to the many priests gathered here this morning—the priests of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, priests of religious congregations, and extern priests serving in the Archdiocese. A particular greeting goes to the priests who are sick, suffering or in special need.
Our lives as priests are so closely linked through the Eucharist to Christ’s work of salvation. We are so much a part of God’s plan; we are so much a part of our people’s lives; we are so much a part of Christ’s love. The laity and Religious present here in this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul and all the people of our parishes need our Eucharistic service and deserve our priestly fidelity.
In this context, my dear brother priests, let us ask ourselves this morning what Jesus means for us and what we mean for Jesus.
What does Jesus mean for us? In the word of God, in the Book of Revelation, we heard Him called: “the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead,” and the one who “loves us and freed us from our sins by his own blood.”
Jesus is indeed faithful to His Father and to the mission that His Father gives Him. And in that fidelity He brings glad tidings to the lowly, glad tidings to the poor. Jesus is then the faithful witness who challenges us to proclaim in fidelity and joy His saving Gospel. What does Jesus mean for us? He means fidelity. Our fidelity to the priesthood and to the Church is possible because of His fidelity. Our fidelity is absolutely required because of His fidelity.
Jesus is our great High Priest, the friend who personally called us to share in His priesthood, and the one who has loved us, and whom we have endeavored to love and follow from our youth. What does Jesus mean for us? He is our Shepherd, the type and model of all our pastoral ministry. At the same time He is the example for our generosity, the inspiration for our joy, the strength for our Priesthood and for the sacrificial offering of our lives.
But what do we mean to Jesus? As His brother priests we are important to Him. We are important to His plan of salvation, important for His Church. Let us accept once again those words of the Book of Revelation as having special meaning for ourselves in the midst of God’s people. We heard proclaimed that Jesus “loves us and freed us from our sins by his own blood,” that He has made us “a royal nation of priests in the service of his God and Father.”
My brother priests, we have been loved and redeemed by Christ and entrusted with the Eucharist and, therefore, with the mystery of redemption for our brothers and sisters. What love! What trust! What confidence Christ places in us! Christ shares with us the mission given to Him by His Father. His trust in us is at the center of all collaborative ministry. Christ needs us. He needs our hearts, our hands, our minds—our love. Christ needs our renewed and absolute fidelity.
And all this implies that Christ needs our perseverance amidst the joys and sorrows, the anxieties and trials, the hopes and disappointments of our daily lives as priests serving God’s people. Jesus, the faithful witness, insists on our personal fidelity. He calls us in spite of our imperfections, in spite of the limitations of our humanity, in spite of our weaknesses and in spite of our sins. He is always ready—in His love—to forgive us, to encourage and challenge us. On our part this requires a great response of love, with earnest effort and deep repentance for our sins.
In the Eucharistic celebration itself we humbly acknowledge our sins, saying: “I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do.” In addition we ask for the prayers of our Blessed Mother and all the angels and saints, and we confidently invoke God’s mercy and forgiveness. In the Sacrament of Penance, like all our fellow Catholics, we personally confess our sins and express a firm purpose of amendment. We strive moreover to make atonement to God for all our sins and the sins of the whole world. With deep fraternal grief we pray for our brother priests who in the past have seriously compromised the priesthood and also for those who have been falsely accused. We share the immense pain and affliction of those who have suffered through the sins of priests and Bishops. As ministers of reconciliation we know how much the world—ourselves included—needs the repentance, pardon, penance and new life that only God’s grace can bring about. As a presbyterate we renew our commitment to sacred celibacy, faithful service and holiness of life.
Are we, then, important for Jesus and His Church? Most assuredly! And is our effort valuable? And is our continued conversion necessary? And is our renewed fidelity to Christ a priority in our priestly lives and in our service to our people? We know that the answer is yes. And this Holy Thursday is the day for us to proclaim this clearly: to tell the world that we love Christ and His priesthood and we intend to live our vocation faithfully until death. It is also the day when Christ wants the world to know that He loves you His priests, that He stands by you and supports you, and, yes, asks from you a great deal of renewed dedication and generosity.
In dealing with the mystery of the Church, the Second Vatican Council says that the Bishop, by reason of his office, is the Vicar of Christ for his people, just as the Pope is the Vicar of Christ for the universal Church. But the Bishop cannot be separated from his priests. In the Bishop, joined with his priests, Vatican II tells us, our Lord Jesus Christ is present in the midst of those who believe (cf. Lumen Gentium, 21). This is not because we are worthy, but because Christ has willed it so.
This is of course a formidable responsibility for all of us, one that unites Bishop and priests in ever greater unity. It also gives the Bishop a particular responsibility constantly to proclaim Christ’s love—love for His people and love for you His priests.
And today, my brother priests, my final desire is to do just that—to proclaim Christ’s love for you—and in the name of Jesus, who as Son of Mary is our brother and High Priest, to thank you for what you are and for everything you do to serve the world with integrity, generosity and joy. Amen.
HOMILY OF CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI
MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER—HOLY THURSDAY
CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL
APRIL 13, 2006
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
This morning at our Chrism Mass so many people of the Archdiocese assembled here in the Cathedral Basilica with hundreds of our priests. It was truly a wonderful manifestation of faith in the Eucharist and in the priesthood. This evening you have gathered here with faith and love to honor the great mystery of the Eucharist and to honor Christ’s plan of the priesthood. I am deeply grateful to you for the faith that has brought you here, for the faith that you express through your participation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice.
This evening the Church suggests explicitly that the priest speak about three topics or three different aspects of the Feast of Holy Thursday, namely:
- The Eucharist itself, which is both
a Sacrifice and the Real Presence of Christ;
- The priesthood of Christ; - Loving service in the Church after the example of Christ.
Today is, in effect, the anniversary of the institution of the Eucharistic Sacrifice and Meal. It is also the anniversary of the priesthood: the day Jesus gave this great gift to His Church. But neither the Eucharist nor the priesthood are understood without understanding the love that was in the heart of Jesus and showed itself in loving service to His disciples.
I.
Our reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians speaks to us about the Last Supper. It describes what Jesus did at the Last Supper, how He took bread and wine and changed them into His body and blood, thereby establishing forever a sacramental memorial of Himself and of His death.
Saint Paul has those spectacular words: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes!” For two thousand years the Church teaches us that what Jesus did at the Last Supper was to give us a true sacrifice and a permanent sacrament of His real presence. The sacrifice of Calvary was sacramentally anticipated on Holy Thursday, just as it is now sacramentally re-presented at every Mass. As we celebrate the memorial of the Last Supper we truly proclaim the Death of Jesus. And the Death of Jesus is the great sacrifice of Himself that culminates in the Resurrection and brings life to the world.
The Lord’s intention at the Last Supper requires us to celebrate it until He comes again in glory. Jesus said explicitly (and we must never forget it): “Do this in memory of me.”
These words of Saint Paul were written some twenty years or so after Jesus died. This is the first written record of how Jesus celebrated the Eucharist. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke will later record the same event. And for all the intervening centuries the Church has offered up the Eucharist in memory of Christ and in memory of the love that inspired Him to give His life in sacrifice. The Eucharist remains forever the sacramental memorial of the Lord’s Supper and His paschal Sacrifice.
II.
The second theme that we celebrate today is the priesthood of Jesus—that great gift which He left to His Church. It is through the priesthood that the Eucharist is perpetuated. It is through the priesthood that all of us share in the Eucharist.
This evening, at our Mass I would ask you in your Christian lives always to have a great esteem for this gift of Christ’s priesthood and a great support and affirmation for the priests who share in the priesthood of Jesus, beginning with the priests in your parish. They all need your prayers so that they will be faithful to their priestly vocation until death.
At the same time I would ask all of you to communicate through your lives this esteem to our young people that they may understand Christ’s plan for His Church. I would ask you to pray that young men will be attracted to this gift of Christ, to this special form of service in the Church, so that Christ’s plan may go forward and the Death of Christ be renewed in the Eucharist until He comes in glory!
III.
The third theme that the Church suggests for our consideration this evening is the theme of loving service. In the Gospel we read those words about Jesus that “He loved his own in the world and he would show his love for them to the end.”
It was in the context of this love that, at the Last Supper, Jesus took off His cloak, knelt down, and washed the feet of His disciples. The Church continues this ritual in our Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper, but the Church is very eager for us to understand the deepest meaning of this gesture.
This gesture of loving service to His disciples was an expression of Christ’s love for them. He found a gesture that would express that love in an act of service, and at the same time would challenge all generations of Christians to find every act of service possible to express their love, the love that they had learned from Him, their love for one another.
At the core of our celebration tonight is the love of Jesus: the love that inspired Him to give us the Eucharist, the love that urged Jesus to give us the gift of the priesthood, the love of Jesus that wanted to express itself in the humble service of kneeling before His disciples in order to teach them by His example how they were to act.
Christ has left this gesture also as an incentive to the creativity of the Church so that throughout the centuries the Church will find every means possible to convey the love that Christ had in His heart for His people. The Church will always remember that Jesus said: “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Tonight our whole celebration comes together. It comes together in the challenge that we receive from Jesus Christ: the challenge to celebrate the Eucharist worthily. And from the Eucharist we receive the strength and the power to go out and to show its meaning in the service that we pledge to one another.
This is the final challenge of Holy Thursday: the love of Christ that urges us on, first to recognize His love, to proclaim His gift of the Eucharist and the priesthood, and then to find every creative means possible to serve one another in the love that comes from His heart. This, dear Friends, is the deepest meaning of our Holy Thursday celebration: to imitate Jesus, who said: “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for the Mid-Atlantic Celebration
of the 125th Anniversary of the Presence of
the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth in the United States
Saint Katherine of Siena Church, Philadelphia
Fourth Sunday of Lent
April 3, 2011
Dear Friends in Christ, especially you, Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth,
On this Laetare Sunday, the Church invites us to rejoice as we hasten through the rigors of Lent to the glory of Easter. This is a day most suitable to celebrate this milestone anniversary of a hundred and twenty-five years with the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth in the United States. We do so with deep thanksgiving and love. As I greet all of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth those present and those united with us in prayer my thoughts go especially to the Sisters who reside at Mount Nazareth. I also greet all of you, dear people of God, who have been and continue to be enriched by the faithful witness and dedicated service of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, especially in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I greet my brother priests, especially Father Paul Kennedy, Pastor and Regional Vicar, and all the priests present here today. I offer gratitude for the gracious hospitality of Saint Katherine of Siena Parish for this celebration.
Today, the Liturgy of the Word presents to us the dramatic account of the healing of the man born blind. When first they encounter the man born blind, the disciples of our Lord immediately assume that this blindness was the result of sin either the sin of the man himself or of his parents. Jesus quickly dismissed this prejudice, so prevalent at that time, and stated: ANeither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him@ (Jn 9: 3). As Jesus declared that He had come to do the works of the One who sent Him, He quickly took action. Using His saliva, Jesus made clay and smeared it upon the eyes of the man with the instructions: AGo and wash in the pool of Siloam.@ When the blind man did this, he was healed.
With great detail, Saint John the Evangelist describes the results and attitudes surrounding this miracle: the anger of the religious leaders, the apprehension of the man=s parents who feared the officials, and the evolving faith of the man born blind. Without seeing the face of Jesus, the man healed of blindness proclaimed that Jesus was a prophet. Once he saw the face of Jesus, the man professed his belief in Jesus as the Son of Man. His belief is then expressed in an act of worship.
The evolvement of faith from darkness to light, from ignorance to worship is a common experience of believers, albeit in various stages and expressions. Throughout the history of the Church, the transforming encounter with Christ has taken place thanks to the efforts of those who have borne witness to knowledge of and love for our Lord Jesus Christ. Our celebration today acknowledges the loving work of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, who for 125 years have facilitated for countless people in the United States a definitive and life-giving meeting with Jesus. The dedication of the Sisters has been conducted in the classroom, in the parish setting, in health care and in geriatric care, and, in each circumstance, through the loving witness of the Sisters, children, adults, families, the infirm, the aged all have come to experience the Light and Truth of Jesus Christ.
Today, we give thanks to God for raising up his beloved daughter, Frances Siedliska, known now as Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd, who was inspired by our Lord=s hidden life in Nazareth. In founding the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, Blessed Mary sought to influence individuals and families by spreading the kingdom of God=s love. According to a biographer, Blessed Mary, Asaw this Kingdom in the Holy Family and was convinced that the sisters had the obligation to initiate and spread this Kingdom among themselves, in every soul, in every family, and over the whole world. That was the source of her zealous spirit of evangelization and her ardent desire to gain souls for God@ (Sr. M. Inez Strzalkowska, CSFN, Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd, p. 47).
What is the attraction of Nazareth? In answer, the Church offers these treasured words spoken by Pope Paul VI when he visited Nazareth in 1964. ANazareth is a kind of school where we may begin to discover what Christ=s life was like and even to understand his Gospel. Here we can observe and ponder the simple appeal of the way God=s Son came to be known, profound yet full of hidden meaning. And gradually we may even learn to imitate him@ (Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings, Feast of the Holy Family). A century before Pope Paul VI uttered those words, Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd understood the appeal of Nazareth, and, to this day, her spiritual daughters live and witness to the legacy of Nazareth: the need for silence through prayer, the influence of stable family life, and the dignity of human work.
The Venerable John Paul II also spoke of the atmosphere of Nazareth, of the privileges granted to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. He said: AJesus was the center of their great love from the beginning, a love full of concern and affection. He was their great vocation. He was their inspiration. He was the great mystery of their lives@ (Pope John Paul II, Prayers and Devotions). Like Mary and Joseph, the Sisters gaze upon the face of Jesus Christ, who is the Light of the World, the Light which dispels all darkness. Dear Sisters: by centering your lives on Jesus in the Holy Eucharist the same Jesus whom Blessed Mary observed dwells in the Tabernacle as He dwelt in Nazareth you have the tremendous ability to bear love. Through the apostolate of Catholic education, in the many aspects of health care, and in various services within the Church, you, dear Sisters, communicate to a world often shrouded in darkness and coldness the Light of Christ and the warmth of His love. Gazing upon the face of Christ, and reclining near His Eucharistic Presence strengthen those committed to the mission and sustain those in even the most perilous of circumstances. One need only look to the example of Blessed Stella and her ten companions, the Blessed Martyrs of Nowogrodek, who were executed by the Gestapo on August 1, 1943. In this ultimate sacrifice, these Sisters demonstrated that they belonged wholly to Jesus. Their witness spurs on all those who embrace the vocation and mission of Nazareth to bring to the world the love of God!
Dears Sisters and all associated with the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, in these often daunting times, continue to do your good work. Continue to spread the Kingdom of Love! Families need you to guide them to Nazareth to learn serenity and stability. The infirm and the aged need you to carry them to Nazareth to know that they are ever under the watchful care of the Holy Family. Children and youth need you to show them the face of Jesus of Nazareth, that they may learn the Truth and grow in wisdom and grace. In every circumstance, wherever you are called to serve, yours is the special task to proclaim with Saint Paul: AYou were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord@ (Eph 5:8-10).
Dear Sisters, dear friends, direct everyone you meet to Nazareth. As Pope Benedict XVI, reminds us: ANazareth has a permanent message for the Church.@ Our Holy Father observes that AThe new covenant did not begin in the Temple, nor on the Holy Mount, but in the Virgin=s humble dwelling, in a worker=s home, in an out-of-the-way place in >Galilee of the Gentiles= from which no one expected any good to come. The Church has always to start again from here@ (Journey to Easter, p. 86). Yes, the Church always has to start again from Nazareth. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Holy Hour for Vocations
SSaint Barnabas Church
March 27, 2006
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
I thank you for joining Bishop Cistone, Father Babowitch, all our priests, deacons, seminarians and myself this evening for this Vicariate Holy Hour for Priestly Vocations. What a great gift it is to be gathered here with you—here before Jesus truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. It is a further gift to have here the monstrance blessed by our late Holy Father Pope John Paul II. This traveling monstrance unites us not only with our brothers and sisters throughout the world but also with our Holy Father whose first anniversary of death we will remember next Sunday.
All of us have just listened to Saint Luke’s account of the call of Peter the fisherman. Certainly, this passage of Scripture is an important one in the life of Peter, but it is also important for the Church at large, for you and for me. For here we find the beginning of Peter’s response to the Lord, his initial decision to leave all things behind to follow Christ and to take his first step in becoming a "fisher of men."
This scripture passage tells us much about Peter, but it also reveals to us much about Jesus Himself. For we see in this passage not only the call and mission of Peter to become a fisher of men, but also the call and mission of Christ who is the great Fisher of Men. He is the One who comes into this world to draw mankind to Himself, so that mankind can be saved. It is here in this passage that we see the great Fisher of Men, Jesus our Lord, at work.
From the first sentence of the Gospel account, we see that Jesus had already attracted to Himself a large group of people. We are told that a crowd was pressing in on Jesus, to hear His word, to be taught by him. Clearly, this crowd of people had been "caught" in the net of Jesus’ Love; their hearts were "hooked" on His word. So great is the crowd that Jesus puts Himself in a boat, from which he can teach them. And we find Jesus not only teaching the crowd, but also letting them benefit, through Peter, from His own mission of being the fisher of men.
We see this in the call of Peter. For in calling Peter and the other Apostles, Jesus is sharing with them the work His Father had given Him to do. The great Fisher of Men is calling others to act in His place. And we see that in sharing in the work of Christ, in being attentive to His word, in being obedient and docile, Peter and the other Apostles find fruitfulness and great fulfillment. Peter and his fellow Apostles share in the work of Jesus Christ.
Dear Friends: as we look at Christ’s Church today, we find a Church in great need. There is a great need for God’s work to be done. There is a great need for all of Christ’s followers to realize the mission entrusted to them. Like the apostle Peter, after a long night of fishing and catching nothing, there are many in the Church today whose spirits are downcast. We find so many people searching, looking for meaning in life. Sadly, many come up short, with empty or torn nets.
In the light of such a situation, our Gospel account teaches us a great truth. Namely, it is not merely working hard that produces results for and in the Church; it is working in and with Christ. As Christians we are invited to make the work of Christ our own. We do this first of all by prayer. In prayer all of us accept Christ’s call and participate in His mission.
It is in this context that we see the particular and unique work of the Catholic priest. For the work of the priest is the work of Christ, our head. It is an important work, a necessary work, a work that Christ wills to be done in and through the Church today. A work of offering sacrifice to the Father, making intercession for God’s people and making one’s own life a gift for others so that all may be one in Christ. Everyone in the Church needs the Eucharist, but the Eucharist is given only through the priest. This is why everyone needs the priest and why everyone must pray and work for vocations to the priesthood.
Friends: surely there is no lack on Christ’s part of calling men to be priests. Jesus is calling many to be His fishers of men. There is however a shortage of men who are listening to the call and accepting it. There is a shortage of parents welcoming that call for their sons. There is a shortage of understanding the call of Christ. In the Gospels, Jesus told us to do one thing in order to have more workers in the vineyard. He told us to pray. So that is what we are here tonight to do. But prayer is not merely asking Jesus for something. Prayer is encountering Jesus, and being changed by him. This is what happened to Peter on the boat. This is what happens to us in this church, as we pray to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. This is what needs to happen to us each and every day.
And so in praying for vocations, we must first take time to acknowledge Jesus and to approach Him, as the crowd in the Gospel did. We must pray for the desire to be "caught" by Jesus. Then, we can hear His word—a word which reminds us of the mission which He shares with us, His mission of love. Then, from that encounter, we find our way, our place, in Him. We discover who He wants us to be. We find fruitfulness, happiness and peace. Such gifts do not come to us automatically, but only when we discover Christ. We discover that the call of Christ is a call to each of us to share His mission in our own way, but also to promote His priesthood for the good of everyone in the Church.
Parents: do not be afraid of God’s call for your children. For God’s call is an awesome call. Young people: do not be afraid of God’s call to you. Do not be afraid to discover His claim on your life, or His plan for your future.
In a few short weeks we will celebrate once again the depth of Christ’s love in the mysteries of Holy Week. At that time we shall encounter the Jesus who laid down His life for His friends. You and I are His friends. Let us recommit ourselves to that gift of His friendship. Let us not be afraid to be a friend of Christ, to be caught in the net of His love and to make His love present in this world. For it is only in this way, that the work of Christ can continue in and through us.
Tonight, as we acknowledge Jesus present in the Eucharist, let us reclaim our friendship with Him. Let us pray that young people throughout the Church may experience this friendship in every vocation, in every state in life: in Christian married love, in the consecrated life, in the single dedicated life. In particular tonight we pray that from this friendship with Jesus more workers will come forth, ready to leave everything else behind, and like Peter to follow Jesus as His priests, as generous and dedicated fishers of men. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Holy Hour for Vocations
Saint Joseph Church, Aston
January 15, 2008
Praised be Jesus Christ! It is good to be here this evening; here in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, here with each one of you as together we come to be with the Lord and to pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood. I thank Fr. Vogan, the priests and people of the parish here for hosting this evening of prayer which is so very important for us as members of the Church.
This week, throughout the United States, the Church in America is celebrating Vocation Awareness Week. A week set aside for us as members of the Church to be especially aware of our call to be disciples—followers—of Jesus Christ. Here in the Archdiocese, we are celebrating this week with a particular awareness of our heightened need for more priests so that the saving work of Jesus may continue as He desires. Throughout this day, Churches throughout the Archdiocese have been open for adoration and now in this very hour, we are here tonight united with priests and faithful throughout the Archdiocese in celebrating this Holy Hour, asking Jesus to send us more priests, to bless the Church in Philadelphia in this Bicentennial Year. It is indeed, then, good to be here.
This evening, we have just heard proclaimed for us the Gospel of "The Rich Young Man." In this Gospel, we are presented with an encounter with the living Jesus. We meet a disciple of Jesus and from his encounter with Jesus we can learn some important truths regarding our own relationship with our Lord and His call in our lives.
From the start of the Gospel, it is clear that this man is rich indeed. Rich not only in possessions but in reverence, faithfulness and zeal. We are told that just as Jesus was setting out on a journey, this man RAN up and KNELT down before Jesus. Two verbs that reveal great love a great desire for the Lord. Then we learn he had a question for Jesus. "Good Teacher," he asks, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" A very good question indeed, from which this man’s goodness is further revealed. This man desires life, he is seeking eternal life. We see that Jesus then takes him on a review of the commandments. And with sincerity in his heart, the man replies, "Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth." Wow! A faithful disciple indeed! With that, we then get to the heart of the Gospel encounter and are told that Jesus "looks at the young man and loves him." Then with profound esteem, Jesus INVITES him with the following words, "You are lacking one thing, go sell what you have, give to the poor and then come, follow me."
Dear friends, we see here in this encounter both the call and the crux of all discipleship. We see here what Jesus truly desires from us and His gentle approach with each one of us. Quite simply, Jesus desires our all, He desires us. The rich young man had given much to God, years of faithfulness and love. But then, after all of this, there was one thing missing, the gift of himself. That was the invitation which Jesus proposed to the young man in saying, "Go sell what you have and come, follow me." And this was the only way for the young man to know the fullness of life.
How is it that one can give to Jesus his or her very self? How is it that this exchange happens? Through love! To know the love of Christ Jesus and to allow ourselves to be loved by Him! This, dear friends, is the meaning of the call of Jesus, "Come, Follow Me." The meaning of Christian discipleship is to love and to be loved by Jesus. In knowing His love, we can be faithful to His call, to follow Him wherever He goes.
We find this in the lives of all the saints: Saint Joseph, Saint John Vianney, Saint Charles Borromeo, our own patron saints. And this is what is required in our lives as well. We, like the rich young man, have need to encounter Jesus, to be faithful to his commandments, to give him our questions, and most of all to be loved by Him so as to heed his call in our lives. We are told that upon hearing Jesus’ desire, the young man’s face fell and he went away sad for he had many possessions. He was faced with a decision, to follow or not to follow Jesus’ Call. In all honesty, we do not know what the outcome was for this rich young man. Perhaps, he did follow Jesus. Certainly, He had need of Jesus’ Love. And so too do we. Love in our families, Love in our homes, Love in the Church, Love in our hearts. Dear friends, that is what we are doing here tonight, seeking the love of Jesus. And tonight’s Gospel challenges us to renew our own commitment to follow Jesus, who has first loved us. Tonight, let us pray, that we may once again accept his invitation: to love and to be loved by the God who calls each of us by name. Let us follow Jesus.
If we ask Jesus, He will tell us exactly how we are to follow Him: into marriage, into the consecrated life, into a single life of dedicated service, or into the priesthood. Tonight we pray in particular for those whom He is calling to serve the whole Church through priestly ministry. We pray that all those invited will say yes to Jesus, and to the prayers of His Mother Mary, to receive grace and strength. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Holy Hour for Vocations to the Diocesan Priesthood
Mary, Mother of the Redeemer Church, North Wales
January 11, 2010
Praised be Jesus Christ! What a great joy for me to be here with you this evening, here at Mary, Mother of the Redeemer Parish, here with our Eucharistic Lord Jesus Christ, gathered together in His name to pray especially for an increase in vocations to the Diocesan Priesthood! I thank your pastor, Monsignor Ricci, for hosting this Holy Hour. I am grateful for the presence of my brother priests, deacons, Matthew Brody, our seminarian from this parish, and all of you.
Yesterday, the Church celebrated with great joy the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. It was there on the banks of the Jordan river that a beautiful revelation of God took place. It was there that we heard for the first time the Father’s voice from heaven, declaring Jesus to be His Beloved Son, in whom He is well pleased. The heavens were opened, on that day, and the Holy Spirit was made visible in the form of a dove. By these signs it was made clear to everyone that Jesus was more than an ordinary human being. He is indeed the Christ, the Son of God the Father. He is true God and true man! So great was this revelation of the Father that day at the river Jordan that we still marvel at what took place there! And yet, just as great, for you and me tonight, is the continuing mystery of the Baptism we share in Jesus.
Dear friends: it is the gift of our Baptism that launches us deeply into the mystery of God’s call, the mystery of our vocation, indeed the mystery of our Christian lives. Through our Baptism we share in a divine calling to be children of God, sons and daughters of the Father, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. This is our call in life. It is our fundamental vocation, our identity in Christ.
It is in the context of Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan that the Church in the United States celebrates this week, Vocation Awareness Week. It is a week in which we are called to be aware of the Father’s Voice, of His call in our lives, a week in which we are invited to hear not only the Father’s word spoken to Jesus, but Jesus’ word spoken to us. Jesus’ word provides direction, guidance and formation to those who have lost their way, and to all who are constantly seeking the way of the Lord.
Dear friends: Jesus is inviting all of us here tonight to trust in His mercy and love, to trust in God’s love for us, to trust that God has a plan for us, and that this plan will bring us great joy and fulfillment and deep personal satisfaction.
Saying “yes” to the invitation of Jesus is our Christian vocation, which begins at Baptism. In Baptism, we say “yes” to God. In Baptism, we made a decision to renounce sin and to accept Jesus Christ as Lord. And in accepting Jesus Christ, we receive from Him our particular and individual vocation in this life: perhaps the vocation to Christian married love, to the priesthood, to the consecrated religious life, or to the single life of dedicated service.
Tonight in our Archdiocese, there are courageous young men who are discovering their personal calling by Christ to be His priests. How fortunate you are here, to have one such man, from your parish who has experienced Christ’s call and who has shown the courage and humility to trust Him fully. Certainly, Jesus is calling more young men to be His priests: to be happy, joyful, obedient and trusting priests in His Church. Jesus invites all of us to pause and listen as He says to us in the Gospel: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” This involves families, taking every opportunity available to hear God’s word in prayer and in family life. This involves parishes, becoming true “schools of prayer” where Jesus’ voice is heard and followed with confidence. This involves all of us coming together to be with Christ Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration and to speak with Him about the need of His Church for more priests. Everyone needs the priest: the laity, the religious, the married, the single, parents and children, the young and the old. Without the priest there is no ocean of mercy, which is the Sacrament of Confession; without the priest there is no Eucharist, and without the Eucharist there is no Church.
As we continue in this New Year which has just begun, let us praise God for the gift of our Baptism. And let us pray and give God freedom to complete the good work that he has begun in each of us. Let us, with open hearts and minds, listen carefully to His call. Let us ask our Lord Jesus Christ to draw many more young men to the friendship of His Sacred Heart and lead them to the priesthood in the service of His people. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Holy Hour for Vocations
St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, Warrington
March 26, 2007
Praised be Jesus Christ!
I welcome all of you here this evening to Saint Robert Bellarmine Parish and take this opportunity to thank Monsignor Beisel for hosting this Holy Hour for Vocations.
Tonight, we gather here with priests, future priests, families and friends to do precisely what Jesus told us to do. Namely, to pray. To pray to the Master of the harvest and to ask Him to send more laborers into His harvest. This is our prayer this evening and we make it with great faith and confident trust in God’s Word.
What a beautiful evening it is to be here in the presence of our Eucharistic Lord. And how fitting it is to be gathered together on this most holy and solemn day when the Church throughout the world celebrates the Annunciation of the Lord. Today, we recall that great event which forever changed the world. We listen to that wondrous text of Saint Luke’s Gospel proclaimed as tonight’s Gospel and we marvel at that beautiful mystery which continues to this day in you and in me. Namely, the mystery of the incarnation of Jesus, the Word made flesh.
Tonight, dear friends, we are invited, in the Eucharistic presence of Jesus, to consider this profound mystery, to contemplate its implication and to accept with generous hearts the invitation which this solemnity sets before us.
First, let us consider the mystery. At the heart of the Annunciation, we find God’s abundant mercy and the invitation His mercy extends to you and to me. We recall the condition, the state of the human race. Having been made in God’s image and likeness, Adam and Eve had fallen from grace. They believed the lie of the serpent, the fallen angel, and in accepting his word, they turned from God’s Word and forsook the life of God. But immediately, God made a promise. He promised that there would be a woman who would be free from sin, free for God. In that early chapter of the human race, God promised Mary. And tonight we find her. We find her in this most important moment of her life, accepting God’s Word.
At the Annunciation, we find Mary, the New Eve, the perfect woman, face to face not with a fallen angel but rather face to face with the Archangel Gabriel and the Good News he proclaimed. Unlike Eve who was presented with a temptation, we see that Mary is presented with an invitation. She is presented with God’s plan of salvation; she is presented with Jesus. And then, she is asked a question: Mary, will you let God’s Will be done? Will you give God a human nature? Will you let the Son of God take on flesh in your womb?
The angel and indeed the whole universe awaited Mary’s reply. And as we know, Mary said "yes", "Let it be done unto me according to your word." And in that moment, God became man. Remaining divine, the Son of God assumed a human nature, and the world was forever changed.
Friends, this mystery of the Annunciation and the Incarnation lies at the heart of Christianity. For as Christians, we believe that God is not only with us but He is one of us. He has taken on our flesh, and through that flesh in His perfect obedience to the Father Jesus restores us to life. We celebrate this life each day in the Eucharist—as we remember the merciful and saving Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Blessed Lord.
In celebrating this mystery, however, we do not merely remember Jesus. Rather, we ourselves, are invited to participate in and to engage the very mystery of God. We see this in the Eucharist. For on the last night of His life, Jesus did not merely give us His flesh. He gave us a command. He said to His Apostles and their successors: "Do this in memory of me." Jesus did not merely announce to us His way, Jesus invited us to walk His Way with Him. He invites us to love, to do as He has done. Thus, dear friends, in Jesus we have a great vocation. And in Jesus we find our vocation, our purpose, our mission in life.
At the heart of our Christian life we will discover our vocation. For we, like Mary and every follower of Christ, are presented with a special invitation. God asks each and everyone of us, as He asked Mary, "Will you give me a human nature?" "Will you let the Father’s plan be done in your life? Will you give me your flesh, today?" For each one of us here, the Annunciation is an ongoing event. God stands at the door, announcing Good News. He stands knocking, inviting and waiting for our reply.
And now at this time in history, it is our turn to provide an answer. As He turned to Mary on that particular day, the Father turns to us and invites us to accept His plan for the salvation of the world. The Father stands in need of our "yes". He needs our hands, our eyes, and our voice to make His Son known in today’s world. He needs our hearts to love Jesus, our minds to know Jesus and our strength to serve Jesus today. But the Father will not force this upon us. Rather as he did with Mary, He will simply invite and then await our reply.
How blessed we are, dear friends, to reply to the Father’s call. How blessed we are to have the model and help of Mary in making that reply. For we find in Mary deep hope and trust. We find in her the courage, humility and faith to respond generously to God’s call. For some this generosity will mean allowing your son or daughter to consider the priesthood or religious life. For others, this generosity will mean saying "yes" to such a wonderful call in your own life. For God is certainly calling some of his young people here to be His priests and religious. But for all of us, our appropriate response to God’s call will demand a loving awareness of His grace, a desire to hear His voice, to believe His word, and to be generous in saying "yes" to His call.
On this day, when we celebrate Mary’s beautiful and perfect "yes" to the Lord, let us with great faith voice our "yes" as well. Let us give Jesus our hearts, consider His call, and plead for His grace. And with Mary let us say to the Father: "Let it be done to me according to your word." We have nothing to lose, so much to gain, and tonight the Father, along with many others, awaits our answer. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Holy Saturday Easter Vigil
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 11, 2009
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
The Church has been waiting all during Lent for this Easter celebration. She has followed Jesus, especially in the last three days, through all the events of His passion, death and burial. And now the moment has come to proclaim: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! Alleluia! Alleluia!
This is the holy night of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the greatest proclamation of all time is that He who died on Calvary is now alive. The tomb is empty. There are witnesses to testify.
This is the proclamation that the three women—Mary Magdalen, Mary the Mother of James, and Salome—heard when they went to the tomb. The angel greeted them with these words: "Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him."
Yes, Jesus Christ is truly risen! He is alive! After the events of Easter, He showed Himself to His disciples and to many other witnesses, who testified to the truth of the Resurrection. Throughout the ages the Church has repeatedly announced this testimony: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! Alleluia! alleluia!
This Easter proclamation is made throughout the whole world. It is the good news that dominates the earth, bringing joy and hope. It is a message of victory and peace for all times, but especially amidst the uncertainties and upheavals of our world today.
Indeed, the Church proclaims the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, but she does more than that. She enables us to share in His Resurrection.
And how does this come about? It is through the sacrament of Baptism. Saint Paul explains to us tonight that by Baptism we are immersed into Christ’s Death, so as to share in His Resurrection. "We were indeed buried with him"—he says—"through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life."
The Resurrection of Jesus and His new life after death are not merely worthy of our admiration. They are the basis for our life as baptized Christians. Christ is alive and calls us to model our life on His new human life of holiness and service. Saint Paul says to us: "You must think of yourselves as being dead to sin but living for God in Christ Jesus."
This is the great challenge of Baptism: to live for God in Christ Jesus; to be alive through faith, hope and charity, to serve one another in the faith of the Risen Christ.
Tonight the joy of the Church is great throughout the world. In every corner of the earth Jesus is welcoming new members of His body, the Church. In our own Archdiocese numerous people are being baptized and confirmed, including our catechumens here in the Cathedral. We cordially welcome Philip and Danielle. We thank all those who have so generously and zealously assisted them and the others coming into full communion with the Catholic Church—Andrew, Nicholas, Wesley and Lindsay—as well as those receiving Confirmation, Violetta and Giovanna.
From Baptism, which means being united with the Risen Christ, comes the call to live and to worship in a way worthy of Christian dignity. This call is ratified in Confirmation, with its own outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
On Easter the Church solemnly celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus; but for 2000 years, on every single Sunday, the community of the Church gathers to praise and thank God the Father for raising Christ from the dead and for giving to all of us the privilege of sharing in His Resurrection.
Dear friends in Christ: Easter is so much a part of the meaning of our lives, and the Easter celebration, not only today but every Sunday, is so important for us as Christians. From the Eucharist that we celebrate on Easter and every Sunday—which makes present sacramentally both the Death and Resurrection of Jesus—we receive the strength and power to live and die as worthy members of the living Christ.
What a privilege it is for us to be called by the Risen Christ to worship and serve in His name. What a privilege it is to be baptized into the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, and to be part of the community of the Church that proclaims throughout all ages that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and victoriously lives in the midst of His people. What a privilege it is to be part of the Easter celebration every Sunday in this Cathedral or in our parish church.
The Gospel of the Resurrection ends when the angel says to the women: "He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you."
Today the Risen Jesus is going before us, calling us, leading us, challenging us to live and worship in a way that manifests our belief that He is truly risen and forever alive.
Saint Augustine tries to summarize the great beauty of our feast by telling us: "We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song!" All of this is so, dear friends, because Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for Home Schooling Families
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
September 29, 2005
Dear Students, dear Boys and Girls,
Dear Parents,
What a wonderful opportunity this is to come together on this very beautiful feast day of the Holy Archangels and to be able to celebrate Mass here in the mother church of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I know that you come from different parishes. I know that you come from different regions of our Archdiocese. And I am very happy to see you here. I am very happy to be with you and to lead you in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass this morning.
Today being the feast of the Holy Archangels, I would like to reflect with you for a few moments on what this means to all of us—what it means when we pray: “In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.” But, before we do that, I would like to take a couple of moments to say a word about Catholic education.
You know that the Second Vatican Council, dear parents, spoke a great deal about Catholic education. The Second Vatican Council wrote a whole document called Gravissimum Educationis, about the education of young people in Christ. And it is very important.
The Second Vatican Council emphasized the very nature of Catholic education. It emphasized the importance of Catholic education. It emphasized the content of Catholic education. It emphasized also the very important role of Catholic schools. And, above all, it emphasized the role of Catholic parents. The Second Vatican Council mentioned what a lofty role it is to teach young people, to help them in growing up and maturing in Christ. But the Second Vatican Council also pointed out that all the teachers that teach in Catholic schools, or elsewhere, have as their principal role is to assist parents. You, dear friends, have chosen to exercise personally the role of educating your children through home schooling, and you have made great sacrifices in order to do this. The Church understands this choice that you have made and is close to you and blesses you in all your efforts.
You know the Second Vatican Council also told us a great deal about what parents and teachers in Catholic schools must regard as the aim of Catholic education. It mentioned that Catholic education aims not only at fostering maturity in the human person, but it aims above all at ensuring that the baptized, as they are gradually introduced into the mystery of salvation, may grow ever more conscious of the gift of faith which they have received. That is the first thing— that the children, the young people, may grow ever more conscious of the gift of faith. And then, number two, that they may learn to adore God the Father, in spirit and in truth. Adoring God! The Second Vatican Council sees the adoration of God as a very important aim of Catholic education: to lead young people to reach this stage of being able to adore God . And then it adds, especially through liturgical worship. In other words, above all in the Mass, to bring young people, to bring children to participate in the sacraments, to bring them to participate in the prayer of the Church. And then the Second Vatican Council adds also: that the young people may be prepared to lead their personal lives according to a new nature—the gift of Baptism—in other words, in justice and holiness of truth, so that they will reach perfect maturity—perfect maturity, not just mental, intellectual and physical maturity, but that perfect maturity which is the measure of the fullness of Christ. And also it adds that they may make their contribution to the increase of the Mystical Body.
You see, dear parents, what a beautiful balance there is in the Second Vatican Council that speaks about each individual, each person arriving at maturity in Christ. At the same time this maturity in Christ involves a participation in the Body of Christ, an openness to others and all of this is what you, dear friends, are trying to do and expending great effort and great love. And so the Church encourages you to continue to do this. Even as you personally supervise the education of your children, you draw their attention to the fact that they have to take their place in the Mystical Body of Christ—that they are part of the community.
Another text in Vatican II tells us that the human being is actually defined according to his or her responsibilities to others, to his or her brothers and sisters and to history. And, so, it is indeed an important task that you have and the Church wishes you to know that she encourages you in all the effort that you make to bring the children personally through all the different facets of Catholic education, to help lead them to this full maturity in Christ, to this adoration of God, to this participation in the Eucharist, and, finally, so that they might fulfill their roles—not as isolated individuals—with their brothers and sisters in the Church. And so this is very important and you certainly have the blessing of the Church and the gratitude of the Church: the gratitude for the solicitude with which you wish to communicate to your children the fullness of faith, as the Second Vatican says. Gratitude, also, to all of you, dear parents, for the love that you show to the children that God has given you, and for the fact that you have given to your children, when it was possible, one of the greatest gifts you could give, a brother or a sister. All of this shows your love. And, so, for all of this the Church blesses you today and encourages you to be strong.
I wish to express appreciation for the efforts you make for yourselves and your children to take an active part in your parishes and to participate in the life of the parish family. This is an important dimension of belonging to the Mystical Body of Christ.
And what is so beautiful about our feast day today is that, in all the endeavors of our Christian lives and in our very participation in the Eucharist, we always have the assistance of the angels.
Today we gather in order to celebrate the three great archangels that we know of through the Scriptures: Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, Saint Raphael. And each one of those archangels is revealed to us in Scripture as having a special role. We are most familiar with Saint Gabriel, because he announced to Mary the great mystery of the Incarnation. We are familiar with Michael, the Archangel who protects the Church in a special way from the devil, and Saint Raphael who had the role of guiding Tobiah in the Old Testament. In all of this, not only do we honor these three archangels for their specific roles, but we praise and honor God for His great and beautiful plan to create the angels and to give them to us in the Church in order to help us in coming closer to God.
And so today we pray in a very beautiful way in the words of the psalm: “In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.” To sing the praises of the Lord in the sight of the angels is also to give thanks to God, to give adoration to God, who is so great in Himself and so powerful and so loving that He has created not only man, not only us human beings, but also another order of spiritual beings, the angels. They are part of His plan. They assist all of us come together in order to worship and adore God for all eternity.
Dear friends, the angels are our friends, the angels are with us and in the sight of the angels we sing praise to the Lord. Amen.
Homily of Archbishop Justin Rigali
Mass of Installation
as Archbishop of Philadelphia
Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul
October 7, 2003
Your Eminence Cardinal Bevilacqua, my beloved predecessor in this historic See of Philadelphia,
Dear Members of the College of Cardinals:
From Rome: Cardinal Schotte, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops,
From the United States: Cardinal Law, Cardinal Mahony, Cardinal Keeler, Cardinal McCarrick,
Your Excellency Archbishop Montalvo, Apostolic Nuncio, representing our Holy Father Pope John Paul II,
Bishop Gregory, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,
Dear Auxiliary Bishops and Retired Bishops of Philadelphia: Bishop Maginnis, Bishop Burbidge, Bishop Lohmuller, Bishop
DeSimone, Archbishop Soroka, Archbishop of the Ukrainian Archeparchy of
Philadelphia, Archbishop Foley and Archbishop Adams: Sons of Philadelphia in the service of the Apostolic See,
Brother Bishops of the Province of Philadelphia and from throughout the United States and beyond,
Dear brother Priests of the presbyterate of Philadelphia, of Religious Congregations and those who have accompanied me from St. Louis,
Dear Permanent Deacons, Seminarians and Religious,
Dear Faithful of the Laity, Brothers and Sisters of the Ecumenical and Interfaith Community, Civic Officials, Members of my family,
Dear Friends,
On this feast of the Holy Rosary the Church of Philadelphia, like the Church of Jerusalem, portrayed in the Acts
of the Apostles which we have just heard proclaimed, gathers in prayer with the Apostles and with the Mother of
Jesus. We experience the loving care of Mary, whom we acknowledge as the Mother of Jesus--the Incarnate
Word--and therefore the Mother of God. We also experience communion with the Successor of Peter and with
all those throughout the world in communion with him, since it is he, Pope John Paul II, who sends me to serve
this local Church as Archbishop. To him goes the expression of our prayerful support and fidelity.
The spiritual presence of all God's Angels and Saints, especially of Saint Joseph and Saints Peter and Paul, supports us as we gather as a community of prayer and worship, a community of faith and love committed to the service of each other and to our brothers and sisters far beyond our boundaries.
I acknowledge with gratitude the ecumenical presence of our brothers and sisters who assemble with us in proclaiming and honoring Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world. With the Catholic Church everywhere, the Church of Philadelphia renews its commitment to work and pray perseveringly for the fulfillment of Christ's prayer for the perfect unity of all His followers.
We are grateful to our brothers and sisters of different faiths for the solidarity of their presence today and for their commitment here in Philadelphia to work together to promote God's glory, especially by furthering His plan for human dignity. I renew my warm and respectful greetings to our Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu brothers and sisters and to all of the interfaith community. May your presence here today be long acknowledged as a splendid witness in our society to the primacy of God.
The presence of civic officials is most appreciated, for both civic and religious authorities are at the service of our people. It is my hope that in mutual respect, esteem and collaboration we may serve the cause of the human person, which is the work of God.
Permit me to reflect for a few moments on the meaning of our gathering and the reality of this local Church of Philadelphia, which is so much a part of the history of this region and of the United States. Our gathering today is understood only in the context of historical continuity and ecclesial unity. I come to this important Archdiocese of Philadelphia from another beloved and historic local Church, the Archdiocese of St. Louis, which has been my home and the place of my pastoral labors for over nine and a half years. Church of St. Louis: I greet you once again with immense affection and the deepest gratitude and love. The same Pope John Paul II who sent me to St. Louis now sends me in the name of Jesus Christ to the Church of Philadelphia. The reason I come is the same: as a Bishop of the Catholic Church I come to proclaim Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of the world. I come to proclaim His liberating and uplifting Gospel of merciful love, and to serve in His name. And it is to you, dear brothers and sisters of this Archdiocese, that I now commit my life and pastoral service.
The reality of our being a local Church with vibrant parishes is a sublime truth. All of us are indeed called to
be--in the context of the Catholic Church--one body, one spirit in Christ. Today in God's providence we celebrate
a new chapter in the story of God's love for His people in the Delaware Valley. We are called to make a new
commitment to Jesus Christ, and with the help of Mary, His Mother and ours, to be more faithful to Him than
we have ever been before. This is the hour for us to renew our thanksgiving for the gift of our Baptism
and Confirmation, for the gift of our individual vocation and for all our other gifts, and to accept with new
urgency the responsibility of our mission as disciples of Jesus Christ. This means that we must turn constantly
to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to the teachings of the Church that proclaim and apply this Gospel, especially
the Second Vatican Council and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We are called to be worthy members
of Christ's Body, the Church, and to live in the realization of what it truly means to be one body, one spirit
in Christ. How challenging this is, but how comforting and reassuring to know that whatever joys and sorrows, whatever
problems and hopes we will face in the future, we are resolved to do so in the loving unity and mutual support
of our archdiocesan family.
In less than two weeks, Philadelphia will celebrate with the whole Church an event that can have a great impact on the way we understand ourselves and our mission. I am referring to the Beatification of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. In this regard, permit me to share with you a cherished personal experience. Some years ago Mother Teresa received an award of international recognition. On that occasion there was a ceremony in the Vatican. The Holy Father wished to draw attention, in the presence of a group of distinguished diplomats, to the dedicated work of Mother Teresa. Before the ceremony I had the occasion to talk with Mother Teresa and I asked her what she would be speaking about. She smiled and responded, "Oh, I don't know," she said. And then she added, "All I know is that I will be speaking about Jesus." And she did just that.
But who is the Jesus whom Mother Teresa spoke about, the Jesus whom she knew and loved and served so well?
To answer this, may I share with you a second personal experience that took place some years ago in India, in the
City of Calcutta. I was privileged to accompany Pope John Paul II on the pastoral visit that took him not only
to Calcutta but into the very home of Mother Teresa. It was a very special place because it was a home for
the dying. From this place Mother Teresa and her Sisters went out everyday to the streets of Calcutta to bring
in the dying--people who had lived so much of their lives without the recognition of their human dignity. At least
the day they died they powerfully experienced the acknowledgment of this human dignity. And through Mother Teresa
and her Sisters they came to know a human love that had its origin in Jesus.
In the chapel Mother Teresa and the Holy Father knelt together before the Blessed Sacrament, acknowledging the
true sacramental presence of Jesus: His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity under the form of bread. But then
they moved among the dying and acknowledged once again a different but real presence of Jesus. As they bent over
or knelt before each dying person they acclaimed the mysterious presence of the same Jesus who had once and for
all assured us that whatever we did to the least of His brothers or sisters we did to Him. This spirituality of
Mother Teresa--which is also that of Pope John Paul II--is being held up before the world. It is also a cherished
part of what the Church in Philadelphia holds and stands for.
This Church of Philadelphia is a community of faith and worship of Jesus Christ, with a magnificent Eucharistic
tradition, including the Forty Hours Devotion, so providentially promoted by our own Saint John Neumann. At the
same time it is a community of love and service that expresses itself in outreach, so beautifully exemplified by
our own Saint Katharine Drexel, to all those whom Jesus refers to as "me." The Church of Philadelphia
is a Church, which glories in diversity and in unity of faith. It has welcomed and continues to welcome immigrants.
It serves Jesus Christ in the poor, the sick, the homeless and the needy. We are deeply grateful for the
outstanding tradition in this Archdiocese of diverse charitable activities and of Catholic health
care. In this vast outreach of collaboration and service Jesus Himself is proclaimed and His Gospel lived.
On this joyful occasion there emerges once again the deep commitment of the Church of Philadelphia. It is a commitment expressed in the journey to holiness and archdiocesan renewal, long since begun. It is a commitment, as the recent Tenth Synod shows, how the will to work together to evangelize, to bear witness to Jesus--to be a more efficient Church, but also a holier Church--is part of the reality of our local Church.
In union with the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church throughout the world, under the pastoral care of Pope John Paul II and especially of our chief Pastor, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Church of Philadelphia is a community rich in the history of our nation, a community deeply indebted to all its past Bishops, and most recently to Cardinal Bevilacqua for his generous pastoral service over the past fifteen years. Cardinal Bevilacqua: all of us thank you again for your tireless work and splendid witness to Jesus Christ.
I wish also to acknowledge the outstanding tradition of the dedicated priests of Philadelphia. The Church is extremely proud of all the faithful and generous priests who have served this community for years. Dear brother priests, permit me to repeat to you what I told the priests of St. Louis: "Be assured of my fraternal love and esteem and my desire to be close to you in the joys and difficulties, the hopes and challenges of your pastoral ministry and of your personal response to the love of God that has been poured out into your hearts. You mean everything to me. Without you my ministry cannot exist because Jesus has willed it so."
The Church of Philadelphia is likewise proud of the dedicated permanent deacons who in their ministry
express the sacramental servanthood of the Church.
The history of this Archdiocese from its first days is also intimately linked with the generosity of religious Congregations. There is no way that their contribution can be forgotten. Their work of faith and labor of love has contributed immensely to make the Church of Philadelphia what it is today. An essential part of this contribution has been the intercessory prayer of the contemplatives.
Our seminarians, called by Christ to a life of joyful service and sacrifice, are absolutely essential for the future of our presbyterate, but their present witness to the power of the Paschal Mystery is already a great gift to the Archdiocese. Dear seminarians: you are called upon to testify to the world by the holiness and integrity of your lives that Jesus Christ is powerful enough to sustain you in fidelity to authentic celibate love. Your presence in the local Church reminds our people of the urgent need and archdiocesan priority to work and pray for vocations to the sacred priesthood.
This is a Church proud of its communion with the See of Peter, with the Bishop of Rome, and with the universal Church throughout the world. This is a Church that will always, in fidelity to the Second Vatican Council, look to the Eucharist as the source and summit of Christian life. The Church of Philadelphia is conscious and will always be conscious that evangelization, in the words of Pope Paul VI, constitutes its deepest identity. This is likewise a day of renewed commitment to our outstanding tradition of Catholic education.
How grateful we are to all the educators that commit themselves to the mission of the Church with great love, effort and sacrifice. How fortunate is this local Church to have Catholic education--generously sustained by the people of God at all levels of primary, secondary and university education--offer great hope for the Church and society of tomorrow. The extraordinary resources of many Catholic universities with their institutional commitment to the word of God as proclaimed by the Catholic Church are able to exert an enormous influence towards the creation of true culture where life is protected, promoted, served and loved, and where respect for human dignity sustains and empowers the collaboration of all people of good will. In proclaiming human dignity, the Church of Philadelphia renews its commitment to defend human life against whatever wounds weakens or destroys it at any stage. It also renews its resolve and its efforts for the protection of children against whatever would harm them, abuse them or violate their sacred dignity.
How fortunate we are to have such large numbers of youth and young adults in this Archdiocese, with all their generosity and dynamism, ready to be called again to live and promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Dear young people, with John Paul II I call you to the highest ideals of life in Christ!
A great challenge for all of us, dear friends, is the challenge of integrity of life in fidelity to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a challenge to holiness and to generous and humble service in which God's mercy is our constant inspiration. As weak human beings we are aware of the importance of the words of the Apostle John: "If we say, 'We are without sin,' we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.... If we say, 'We have not sinned,' we make him a liar and his word is not in us" (1 Jn 1:8,10). Especially because we are conscious of our own limitations, our weaknesses and our sins, we take seriously Saint Paul's exhortation: "Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal 6:2).
Dear friends, our Church started with the Incarnation as described in the Gospel today. The Word of God took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and He who was the Son of the Eternal Father became the Son of Mary. And at that moment He took on a relationship with all those who in the course of history would share humanity with Him. Our spirituality is then the spirituality of the Incarnation since "the Word became flesh." It is the spirituality of Saint John Neumann and Saint Katharine Drexel. It is a spirituality that acknowledges that human suffering has salvific value because Jesus suffered. This spirituality in our lives involves the journey to holiness, to which we recommit ourselves today. It is a journey in which all of us--husbands and wives, parents, families, children, the widowed, single people, clergy and religious--commit ourselves to walk together. How grateful we are to the elderly for the dignity and devotion with which, like Pope John Paul II, they prayerfully bear the burdens of age and thus contribute greatly to the mission of the Church.
In this new moment in the life of this Archdiocese of Philadelphia, we set our hope on the living God (cf.Tm 4:10), on His Son Jesus Christ and on the power of the Holy Spirit. We humbly pray: "Jesus, we trust in you!" And we confidently invoke Mary, His Mother and ours, under her title of the Immaculate Conception.
Finally, permit me, as your new Archbishop, to entrust you all to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in a pastoral act which I ask you to ratify personally in consecrating your own lives to her and, through her, to her beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Opening Remarks and Prayer of Cardinal Justin Rigali
USCCB Conference on Human Trafficking
Wyndham Plaza Hotel, Philadelphia
May 19, 2004
Dear Friends,
It is inspiring to see so many people gathered here today to help combat the terrible tragedy of human trafficking, which is nothing other than modern-day slavery. I am grateful to the Migration and Refugee Services of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and to the Catholic Coalition for Justice and Peace: Religious of the Philadelphia area.
It is a grave sin against human dignity to deceive and enslave those who wish to emigrate in search of a better life. Yet, so many people across our nation are subjected to horrible living conditions in which no one would seek to live. Often these people are even forced into work which is in itself immoral, just for the sake of survival.
These conditions would, for many people, seem to be a problem of centuries past or only of third-world nations. It is difficult to accept that these situations still exist in the United States of the 21st century. And yet, exist they do. To confront them we must increase our own awareness of these tragedies while working to remedy them. It is a sign of the times that today there is a great sensitivity to this issue involving human dignity. Finally, there is a greater recognition of this evil of human trafficking and the need to extirpate it. And yet our society is ambivalent on the question of human dignity, and inconsistent in applying its principles. The cause of human life and human dignity is not yet secure in the United States of America.
I am, however, very gratified to learn of the many efforts on the part of the United States Departments of Justice and of Health and Human Services to serve the victims of human trafficking.
I am also gratified to hear of the involvement of so many organizations, locally and nationally, in working to combat human trafficking through many approaches: raising awareness of the issue among the general populace; identifying and serving victims; and preventing the continued exploitation of others. All this is a work worthy of human solidarity.
I am glad to be able to say that Catholic Human Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is diligently cooperating with various other local organizations in this important endeavor.
The work of the Catholic Coalition for Peace and Justice has been essential in making this day possible. The consecrated religious of this coalition are an example to all of us of how to show concern for the neediest in our society.
I assure all of you of my prayers during this conference. I pray for all who are victimized by human trafficking and for the families they have left behind in their native lands. As this day begins, please silently join me in prayer:
Lord God,
You have made all humanity in your image, and have given us a share of your likeness. Help us to recognize that image and likeness in all people. Make us aware especially of those who find themselves subjected to inhuman conditions and unable to live in freedom.
May we always remind the world, through our words and especially through our actions, of the dignity you have given us and of our responsibility to safeguard that dignity on behalf of all.
Guide us to protect the rights of all who have been victimized. May they and their families be protected from harm, may they be granted freedom from their oppressors, and may they be granted a full recognition of the dignity which is theirs. Guide our nation, our state, our city, and all people and organizations, to work for an end to human trafficking and to all types of injustice as we seek to live as your children and as brothers and sisters to one another.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI
ARCHBISHOP OF PHILADELPHIA
August 30, 2005
Statement Regarding Hurricane Katrina
At this time of great destruction in the Southeastern United States,
I urge all the faithful of the Archdiocese to pray for those
who have suffered and died as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
I extend my prayers and condolences to the residents who
have been affected by this natural disaster.
Many challenges will face these people in the days ahead.
Through prayerful solidarity we support our brothers and sisters
who are facing devastation in their homes and towns.
NOTE: Cardinal Rigali has asked all parishes to arrange
a special collection for recovery and rebuilding efforts as soon as possible.
All funds received from parishes or individuals will be forwarded
by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to Catholic Charities USA.
In view of the prediction that more hurricanes may arise in the next several weeks,
this collection will support a fund for the relief of victims of the hurricanes throughout this season.
To contribute to the relief effort, contact Catholic Charities USA online
or at 1-800-919-9338.
For those applying for a matching gift from your employer: Please make sure to list
"Catholic Charities USA" on your matching gift form or online application. Send your check and matching gift form (or a copy of the online confirmation of the match) to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, 222 N. 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, Attn: Hurricane Relief.
HOMILY OF CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI
MASS ON THE DAY OF PRAYER FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM
CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL
May 01, 2006
Dear Friends in Christ,
In union with the whole Church, together with our brothers and sisters in all different countries, we celebrate today the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. As we do this we reflect on the great dignity of Saint Joseph as a worker, a just man, an honest laborer. At the same time we realize what a great gift work is in itself. All people throughout the world are called to the dignity of work. This is true in our Archdiocese, in our country and everywhere.
We know that the Church established this feast of Saint Joseph the Worker precisely to set up a model of honest, patient, and humble work. At the same time, she wanted to praise the contribution made by the workers of the world. It is through work that all of us fulfill God's will and contribute to His plan.
We know that in so many places on earth people have great difficulty in finding work. They have difficulty in finding working conditions that are in accord with their human dignity. Millions of people crave to find the conditions that will enable them to sustain and support their families in decency and honor and in frugality of life. Millions of people from their poverty dream about the possibility of finding a new life in the United States of America.
Some of the people who were successful in their longing were our parents, our grandparents or our great-grandparents. For generations the United States has welcomed immigrants from poverty, persecution and many other difficult situations. It has offered them relief and opportunity, freedom and justice. Above all it has recognized and sustained their human dignity and given them the opportunity to enjoy the blessings of God, to provide for their family, and to transmit these blessings to us who are all, except for native American Indians, either immigrants or descendants of immigrants. This land of the United States, this nation made all of this possible for immigrant people, and in turn immigrant people built up the United States of America. Without them there would not exist this one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.
Today on this feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, who labored diligently to provide for his wife, our Blessed Mother, and for her Son, Jesus, on this feast of Saint Joseph, who for a time had to emigrate to Egypt to protect his family from the threats of King Herod, we think of the needs of so many brothers and sisters in different countries of the world. We know that their life is difficult, that poverty often suffocates them , and that they long for the opportunities given to our ancestors and now to us. Many of them crave justice and religious freedom. All of them are seeking the realization of their human dignity.
This feast of Saint Joseph the Worker calls us to reflect on the national vocation of our own country as a receptive land, the blessings of which are still to be shared with others.
In the question of immigration there are many issues involved, many problems to be solved with justice, equity and fraternal love.
We know that our nation needs immigration reform, but immigration reform that is comprehensive and that gives us an immigration policy that is just, humane and compassionate. This week, in the Catholic Standard & Times, I will devote my column to the topic "Welcoming the Stranger, Welcoming Christ," and I will reflect further on what this means for us.
Today, during this Eucharist that brings us together in the love of Christ, we are asked to be mindful as a nation of our challenge to generosity. Because of the many blessings we have received we are called to accept the appeal for mercy from those in need.
Motivated by true charity, we can together create an immigration system that reflects our national values and our Christian convictions, promotes our national security and is worthy of our great nation. As a nation enriched by an immigrant culture, the United States must always defend the dignity of every human being in our land. Today, as the United States Senate continues to discuss reforms in our broken immigration system we must recognize especially the dignity of all those who labor and contribute to the fabric of our country.
Through the intercession of Saint Joseph we pray that our legislators will enact laws that protect the rights of both immigrants and American-born workers. We hope that our nation will remain a welcoming place for all those in need, a place where, through honest work, all people will be able to live in peace and share the good things of God's generous creation. And we pray that the inscription on the Statue of Liberty, that "mighty woman with a torch," whose name is "Mother of Exiles" will always be able to say: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...."
Dear Friends: The vocation of the United States of America to welcome other needy people has not come to an abrupt end. For us Catholics it is forever linked to our response to the words of Jesus: "For I was...a stranger and you welcomed me" (Mt 25:35). May Saint Joseph the Worker help us accept generously the challenges of a real comprehensive immigration reform that will benefit our citizens and our future citizens for years to come. And all this for the glory of God. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Holy Hour for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
June 25, 2006
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We gather here today before our Lord Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist to pray for our great country. We stand at a critical juncture in our history as our legislators seek to reform the broken immigration system of our land. As Christians we are called to work to ensure that this reform reflects the moral standards which our faith demands of us.
The first reading this afternoon speaks to us about the Passover, which was a prelude to the Eucharist. This event, so much a part of our salvation history, was directly linked to the great migration of the Exodus, when God’s Chosen People left Egypt to seek the Promised Land. Their’s was a journey of hope.
The Jewish people were neither the first nor the last to undertake such a journey. Throughout history, and in every corner of the world, there have been peoples who have suffered at the hands of nature, or worse, at the hands of other human beings. Natural disasters, systemic corruption, poverty and persecution have uprooted so many people from their homes and forced them to seek a new home, a place of safety, security and promise.
This is the reality that has created our nation. Our own roots here began hundreds of years ago, or maybe only last week. People have come by land, air and sea. Many, like the Israelites, passed through a great desert. Some came because there was no way to survive at home; others were brought here forcibly. All have faced challenges. It was not an easy choice to come, and often it has not been easy for people to adjust to life here. Sadly, all too often we have failed to be the welcoming land we claim to be. So often newcomers to this land have faced discrimination in addition to the challenges of adjusting to a new way of life.
Our faith also began with the story of a journey, the story of a great migration. Is it not our moral duty to create a nation that is more open and respectful of other cultures, ethnic groups and, above all, of every human person?
We gather here this afternoon not for a rally, not for a protest, not for more information on the immigration debate. Instead, we come here to pray. We pray in praise to God who humbled himself by becoming man, sharing our life and even our death. We praise our Lord Jesus Christ who commanded us to love one another as He has loved us. Here on this altar we see His Body given up for us, for the sake of our eternal salvation. Here we see Him who called us to give ourselves in service to one another.
We pray here in thanksgiving, recognizing all the gifts God has given us: gifts of life and freedom, gifts of faith and hope. We have been blessed by God in so many ways. In return we bless the Lord for His mercy toward us and we recognize that we must share those blessings.
We pray also in reparation for all the sinfulness that has plagued this country throughout its history. Unjust and immoral discrimination has touched every generation of immigrants—Irish and Italian, Chinese and other Asian, Mexican and all Hispanics, and, above all, our African-American brothers and sisters. We ask God’s pardon for these sins.
Finally we pray in supplication. Our nation is at a crossroads. For over two hundred years, we have tried to fulfill our national vocation to be welcoming. At times we have done well, but at others times, we have failed. We ask God now to give us the strength to fulfill our vocation. We ask Him to guide our legislators to enact laws that make sense, laws that are guided by respect for the dignity of every human person.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Holy Hour for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
June 25, 2006
En el evangelio de San Juan, él nos cuenta como Jesús, durante la última cena, se levantó de la mesa y se puso a lavar los pies de los discípulos, como un símbolo de la profundidad de su infinito amor y del vínculo entre la Eucaristía y el servicio a nuestros hermanos. En la Eucaristía el Señor nos da su cuerpo y sangre, su alma y divinidad.
La Eucaristía es el don de la vida eterna, pero al mismo tiempo es una obligación para nosotros de vivir como Jesús. Él se humilló para lavar los pies de los Doce, y nos manda a hacer lo mismo. Como cristianos, no podemos vivir para nosotros mismos; estamos llamados a servir a nuestro prójimo como nos manda Jesús.
En el debate sobre la inmigración nuestra fe nos enseña que un país soberano tiene el derecho a controlar sus fronteras, pero no es un derecho sin límites. No puede ejercer control solamente para enriquecerse, y el control debe ser practicado con misericordia y justicia.
El sistema de inmigración de los Estados Unidos está roto. No sirve ni a aquellos que quieren venir al país como inmigrantes, ni a los que ya viven acá. Como cristianos, como católicos, como gente de fe, tenemos la obligación de pedir de nuestro gobierno que mejore las leyes de inmigración para servir bien las realidades del mundo de hoy día.
¡En este debate, tenemos tantas oportunidades de servir a nuestros hermanos como Jesús nos manda! Por la oración y acción para una reforma comprensiva, por el respeto para las culturas del ser humano, y por tantas maneras de ayudar a las personas en necesidad, imitamos y obedecemos el mandato y el ejemplo del Señor Jesucristo.
¿Intentamos hacer lo que hizo Jesús? ¿Estamos listos a levantarnos de la mesa y a servir a los demás?
La Iglesia nos llama a un respeto mutuo entre la cultura del país y las de los inmigrantes.
La historia de los Estados Unidos es una historia de inmigración. Cada grupo de inmigrantes llega con su propia cultura y contribuye a la cultura de este país. Al aprender de las varias culturas del mundo presentes en nuestro país, podemos entender mejor la belleza de la creación de Dios.
Hoy día no sabemos qué pasará con la legislación para la reforma migratoria. Ya sabíamos que no sería fácil, y al parecer, el Congreso no va a llegar a ningún compromiso este año. Pero es esencial que sigamos en nuestros esfuerzos para una reforma comprensiva y justa. Aunque es duro y a veces estamos tentados a perder la esperanza, sigamos pidiendo de Dios que Él nos guíe e ilumine a los que no entienden la importancia de esta reforma.
Hoy no es un día de acción ni de manifestación, es un día de oración. Oremos para que nuestro país siga como un país que da la bienvenida a los inmigrantes; oremos para que nosotros tengamos la fe de continuar en nuestros esfuerzos para lograr el respeto a la dignidad humana; oremos por los que sufren en este país y en todo el mundo debido a la pobreza, los desastres naturales, las guerras y las enfermedades; oremos para que los gobiernos de cada país trabajen para mejorar sus condiciones, para que sus habitantes no tengan que huir de sus hogares. Más que todo, oremos para que continuemos en este debate en paz y sin abandonar las obligaciones de nuestra fe. ¡Señor Jesús, escúchanos!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Interfaith Prayer Service for Peace and Healing in our Community
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
June 2, 2008
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. It is a pleasure to welcome everyone this morning for this Interfaith Prayer Service for Peace and Healing in our Community. On behalf of the other members of the Religious Leaders Council of Greater Philadelphia, and in particular with my fellow co-conveners, Bishop Claire Schenot Burkat, Rabbi David Straus and Imam Anwar Muhaimin, we welcome all of our guests this morning. We are grateful for the Mayor’s Office of Faith Based Initiatives for their co-sponsorship of this prayer service. In particular we welcome the family of Sergeant Stephen Liczbinski, whose period of mourning after his slaying we conclude today.
Of course there is no real end to the period of mourning for Sergeant Liczbinski’s family, nor is there for any victim of violence. We remember not only Sergeant Liczbinski, but also Officer Gary Skerski, and Captain Charles "Chuck" Cassidy, police officers who have recently given their lives in service to the people of Philadelphia. Their passionate commitment to do what is right comes as no surprise when we look at their lives: They were men of strength, men of love. They loved their neighbors by trying to protect them. They loved this City of Brotherly Love by making the ultimate sacrifice, themselves victims of the criminal acts they worked so hard to prevent. They lived the motto of the Philadelphia Police Department: "Honor, Integrity, Service." Their example forces all of us to look at ourselves and ask how we can be more vigilant in preventing crime, more active in volunteering to build up our communities, more committed to prayer to Almighty God, and more respectful and loving of our fellow residents.
A month ago, the funeral liturgy of Sergeant Liczbinski was celebrated in this sacred space. It is entirely appropriate that we gather here this morning in this house of God to pray for peace and healing. We come together as people of faith to pray for peace. We gather together respectful of what divides us, and celebrating what unites us, joined in our love of God and neighbor. We, as leaders of distinct faith communities, offer prayers of peace for our city and region. Only by changing hearts can we live together in true peace. Peace is not just the absence of war of the absence of violence, but true peace is achieved by changing the hearts of men and women by turning to the source of true peace—Almighty God.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass of Christian Burial for Officer Isabel Nazario
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
September 12, 2008
Once again the tragedy of violence, pain and separation has struck our community, our city, our Commonwealth. Isabel Nazario, beloved mother, loving daughter, dear sister, fiancée, friend, member of the Philadelphia Police Department, Strike Force South C Squad Officer has been taken from our midst.
Once again the solidarity of our people has been mobilized to embrace and envelop with affection all those loved ones who experience so deeply the pain of violent separation. The reaction of every sector of our civic and religious communities is a credit to our people. The participation of our civic dignitaries, the extraordinary presence of so many fellow police officers, the families of other fallen officers as well as the solidarity of the members of Officer Nazario’s own religious Catholic community is both a blessing and a witness of how much she was respected and loved. For all of this we are deeply grateful.
At the same time the Church endeavors in this Mass of burial to offer to her beloved family and friends the consolation of the Christian faith, which holds out an unbreakable hope in the face of what would otherwise be the victory of death over life.
In our first reading this afternoon from the Book of the great Prophet Isaiah, we are comforted by God’s loving promise: "The Lord of hosts will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces.... On that day it will be said: ‘Behold our God to whom we looked to save us.’"
God’s promise to His people of immortality ensures definitive victory over death and evil and the final reward for goodness in the life of Officer Nazario and all of us.
In the twenty-third psalm which we have proclaimed we express our trust in the Lord God, whom we address in tender words: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake." And the psalmist goes on with confidence to exclaim: "Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side...."
Dear friends: God is not mocked. Evil and violence do not have the last word, but yield before the luminous promise of God, in which we find victory and life beyond death, life without end.
For this reason, as we heard in our second reading, the great Apostle Saint Paul was able to encourage the early Christians in the face of death, saying: "We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep....Thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, console one another with these words."
The final message of consolation which the word of God presents to us today comes from the Gospel according to Matthew. The words that Jesus Christ Himself speaks describe the important scene of the final judgment of humanity by a good and just and merciful God. Let us listen again to these words: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him.... Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you? And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’"
These blessed words of Jesus Christ lead us back to see the great value of generous and dedicated service in the life of Officer Nazario. Her daily contribution to her loved ones and to the whole community, the service performed—like that of all faithful police officers—involving risk and so much personal effort, and numerous acts of kindness in favor of the neighbor designate Office Nazario as a recipient of God’s loving mercy in the Kingdom of heaven.
We who remain in order to complete our own call to dedicated service, pause now in admiration and thanksgiving. We ask God, our loving Father, to receive into His eternal embrace our sister Isabel. We pray that her legacy of service and Christian love will remain for years to come a treasure for her beloved family, for her partner in the Police Department who escaped death, and for this whole community which she served even with the sacrifice of her life.
May you rest, Isabel, in the love and peace of God, in the beloved land of Puerto Rico, as you await the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Annual Religious Jubilarian Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Dear Religious Jubilarians,
What a joy it is to celebrate the Eucharist with you, your family and community members and friends, on this Sunday morning as you and other Religious throughout the Archdiocese recall significant anniversaries of your religious consecration in the Church: 25, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75 and 80 years! Blessed be God!
The community of the Church is with you in solidarity and communion. It is represented by Bishop Maginnis, Bishop Cistone, and a number of your Superiors General, Provincial Superiors and Delegates, together with Monsignor Palmieri, Vicar for Consecrated Life, other Vicars, and other priests, Religious and lay faithful—all of whom join willingly in joyful celebration for the years you have lived in faithful consecration to Jesus Christ, serving the mission of His Church.
Indeed, on this occasion I wish to thank you in the name of Jesus and His Church for the gift of your consecrated lives and for your partnership in the Gospel.
This day is above all a day of solemn thanksgiving to God for the gift of consecrated life in His Church and for having given you a share in it for many years.
This is also the occasion for the Church herself, whom you love, to encourage you and to challenge you to ever greater heights of consecrated love and spiritual service. Spiritually present with us are all those Religious who are not able to be here physically, including the contemplative Religious, to all of whom we send our affectionate greeting in Christ Jesus.
In the providence of God this is also the opportunity for the Church to proclaim once again with all the Popes and with Vatican II the great value of consecrated life. We must never forget that Vatican II tells us that religious consecration "belongs inseparably to the life and holiness of the Church" (Lumen Gentium, 44).
Consecrated life in the Church is a wonderful gift of God, but—like all expressions of Christian life—it is lived by fragile human beings who has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and sanctified by the Spirit of God. And so, dear Religious, the Church gathers also to pray for you—that you may be faithful to the end.
In the Gospel this morning Jesus speaks clearly, telling us that discipleship has a great cost. It involves renunciation, the Cross, and giving precedence and priority to the love of Jesus over all other loves. If this is true for all Christians, how greatly then does this principle apply to consecrated life. For many years you have made great efforts to live faithfully this invitation of the Lord Jesus, and, for this reason, the Church today exults in joy.
For the benefit of us all, let us call to mind the meaning of the consecrated life that we are celebrating.
The call of Jesus to His first Apostles was something unique in the life of the Church. And yet there are two elements in this call that are supremely important for all consecrated life and mission. We must emphasize these two elements repeatedly. Jesus called the Apostles to be with Him and then to be sent forth (cf. Mark 3:14). Intimacy with Christ is essential to consecration. It must precede and accompany all evangelizing activity and human services.
Not only did Jesus call His Apostles, but He prayed to His Father to consecrate them in the truth (cf. John 17:17). After telling us this in the Gospel of Saint John, Jesus also tells us that He consecrates Himself for His Apostles so that they may be consecrated in truth. Here we see that Jesus is the supreme Consecrated One, the supreme Missionary of the Father for the sake of the kingdom of God.
An attraction to consecrated life in the Church is indeed an attraction to the supreme Consecrated One and to His way of life—to the way Christ lives in the communion of His Father and the Holy Spirit, in the way that the Apostles were companions of Jesus.
Like the Apostles, dear consecrated Jubilarians, your call has been to be with Jesus and to share His mission, which He has entrusted in its entirety to the Church.
Your fidelity to His grace, your prayer, your love, your union with God in Jesus—this has been the secret of your success and of the fruitfulness of all your work. This is why Pope John Paul II could speak so beautifully about the contribution of Religious to the Church in the United States. These are his words: "The religious life in the United States has indeed been a great gift of God to the Church and to your country. From the early colonial days, by the grace of God, the evangelizing zeal of outstanding men and women religious, encouraged and sustained by the persevering efforts of the Bishops, have helped the Church to bring the fruits of the Redemption to your land. Religious were among your pioneers. They blazed a trail in Catholic education at all levels, helping to create a magnificent educational system from elementary school to university. They brought into being health care facilities remarkable both for their numbers and quality. They made a valuable contribution to the provision of social services. Working towards the establishment of justice, love and peace, they helped to build a social order rooted in the Gospel, striving to bring generation after generation to the maturity of Christ. Their witness to the primacy of Christ’s love has been expressed through lives of prayer and dedicated service to others. Contemplative religious have contributed immensely to the vitality of the ecclesial community. At every stage in its growth, the Church in your nation, marked by a conspicuous fidelity to the See of Peter, has been deeply indebted to its religious: priests, sisters, brothers. The religious of America have also been a gift to the universal Church, for they have given generously to the Church in other countries; they have helped throughout the world to evangelize the poor and to spread Christ’s Gospel of peace" (Letter to the Bishops of the United States, April 3, 1983).
The story of Philadelphia is no exception. The Church in our Archdiocese owes so much to Religious—to all the men and women who from the beginning have worked so hard to build God’s kingdom here in the Delaware Valley.
In summarizing the dignity of Religious, Pope John Paul II stated: "that Religious are persons individually called by God and consecrated by God through the mediation of his Church. The value of their activity is great, but the value of who they are is greater still" (Ad Limina Address of September 19, 1983).
Hence, dear Jubilarians, you have been called to serve in a particular way the holiness of God’s people. You are called like Mary to be a sign of the holiness of Christ’s Church. Today, once again, you are challenged to be worthy of the consecration that Christ and His Church offer to you, the privilege of belonging entirely to God.
We all see, then, why this day is so special for our Jubilarians. It is a day of thanksgiving and joy, a day of faith, and, above all, a day of renewed love for Jesus Christ and His Church. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Annual Religious Jubilarian Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Dear Jubilarians,
Welcome to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. Your relatives and friends and the faithful of the Church of Philadelphia are all observing your important anniversaries of consecrated life and service: 25, 50, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80 years. Blessed be God! How beautiful to think of all those years you have spent in a particular vocation of prayer, union with God and service to His people! What a gift you have received from God! What a gift you have shared with the Church of God!
But why have you come here today? Our responsorial psalm tells you why, for you are responding to its invitation. You are here, as the psalm puts it, to sing joyfully to the Lord for so many years of consecrated love. You have come to acclaim the rock of your salvation. God has been your salvation and has made you the instrument of salvation for so many others. But the God of your salvation has become your Brother and your Friend in Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord. And Mary, the Mother of Jesus, has been for you—during all these years—your life, your sweetness and your hope.
Why then have you come? You have come into God’s presence with thanksgiving, joyfully singing psalms to Him. In particular you have come in order to accept the challenge of the psalm to bow down in worship. Your life is one of adoration, in union with Jesus, the Church’s great High Priest. Hence you have come here to kneel before the Lord who made us, who is our God and loves us as the people He shepherds, the flock He guides, His holy Church.
Dear Religious—Sisters, Brothers, Priests—you have come here to rededicate yourselves to Jesus Christ with the fervor of your youth and with the generosity that you have lived with joy for many years. You have come here in order to consecrate yourselves anew, and to be consecrated anew by the Church, to the great Gospel commandments of love—love for God and love for neighbor. And in this consecration to God’s love you find the fulfillment of the law and the culmination of your vocation.
The greatest dimension, however, of this celebration, dear friends, is that the promise of Jesus is realized in this event in which we all share. Jesus speaks to us today in the Gospel saying: "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Here and now this solemn promise of Jesus is reality, for in the power of the Holy Spirit He fulfills His word.
We are all then together with Jesus, and His presence gives immense meaning and power to our gathering today. Not only are we gathered as brothers and sisters in faith with the charisms of many congregations and our God-given diversity, but we are also united in the Communion of the Saints.
Here also we find union with those who have gone before us in faith: our beloved parents, all those who encouraged our vocation, those outstanding religious—forever alive in our memory — who formed us, accompanied us, urged us on to perseverance and never to lose hope, and who supported us with love and prayer. Their presence with us in the Communion of Saints today, together with our Blessed Mother Mary and all the Saints, the patrons and patronesses of our lives, means so much to us.
All this happens today as we sing joyfully to the Lord, as we acclaim the rock of our salvation, as we come into His presence with thanksgiving, as we bow down in worship, as we kneel before the Lord who made us and shepherds us because He loves us.
As you, dear Religious, bless the Lord in joy and thanksgiving, you realize how the Church and so many of her faithful people are indebted to you for the gift of your consecrated love. But you also know that the full measure of your reward can only be found in the gift that Jesus Christ makes to you of Himself.
To Him, to Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, the Word made flesh, the Son of the Virgin Mary, the center of your life, the origin of your vocation and your everlasting hope, be glory and honor with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Annual Religious Jubilarian Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Dear Jubilarians,
Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
I welcome you today as we gather in this Sacred Liturgy and I offer my warm congratulations to you and your families and friends as you celebrate 25, 50, 60 or even more years of fidelity in the consecrated life. Your lives, your service and your dedication have touched countless souls and have brought them the uplifting grace of Jesus Christ. According to His own divine plan, the Lord uses us as poor instruments in His loving hands to accomplish the marvels of His saving power. I also congratulate the nuns in our cloistered communities who by their prayers and lives of selfless and quiet dedication assist in spreading God’s kingdom. We likewise remember our Jubilarians in retirement communities who cannot be physically present today. Our congratulations and prayerful best wishes go out to them.
For consecrated persons, for diocesan priests, as well as for married couples, jubilee days and anniversaries are occasions of twofold significance. They are times of thanksgiving for the gift of many years and manifold graces. Likewise, these events provide an opportunity to rededicate ourselves, to be renewed in following that inspiration, that first calling which led us to where we find ourselves today. So, the Church’s greeting to you today expresses congratulations, satisfaction for generous service and blessings for the future!
My dear brothers and sisters, our gathering of course takes place around the Lord’s altar where we hear His word, receive His Body and Blood, and are filled with those gifts He ardently wants to share with us. The Church’s liturgy this Sunday unfolds a treasure indeed. It speaks to us so clearly of God’s tender love and mercy—love and mercy that have touched our lives in our respective callings, and love and mercy that constitute our evangelical mission to all of God’s people. Our late beloved Pope John Paul II reminds us clearly that “the sense of mission is at the very heart of consecrated life”(Vita Consecrata, 25) and that “...the Church must consider it one of her principal duties at every stage of history and especially in our own modern age—to proclaim and introduce into life the mystery of mercy, supremely revealed in Jesus Christ” (Dives in Misericordia, 14).
In our first reading from Exodus, we encounter Moses pleading with God for mercy for His unfaithful children. Out of love God had chosen the people of Israel, but they spurned His love and followed their own senseless path. For their infidelity they rightly deserved God’s wrath and punishment. Yet, Moses acts as mediator petitioning God’s indulgence and forgiveness. As we witness this scene, can we not leap ahead to Calvary and to Jesus’ words, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do”? The dying Jesus, this new Moses, lifted high upon the cross is the perfect mediator, the true bearer of God’s forgiving and tender compassion. It is Christ’s mission of forgiveness that all Christians are called to share with God’s people. Simply put, we are called to be living signs of God’s care and mercy as we strive to fulfill our own vocation in life.
In the second reading, Saint Paul writes to Timothy. Reflecting upon what he states, we are struck by how relevant his thoughts become for all called to service in God’s Church. Paul declares: “I am grateful to him who has strengthened me.” Thousands of times in our prayers Paul’s words express a sentiment deep in our souls, the experience of gratitude for the Lord’s strength that comes to us in our weakness. Paul goes on to say: “...he considered me trustworthy in appointing me to the ministry.” Can we not understand that, by calling us to serve His people in religious commitment, God trusts us in a special way? And yet, must we not admit that we have, at times, wavered in fidelity to that trust? Still, Saint Paul reassures us stating, “I have been mercifully treated.” We also have been mercifully treated, and so like Moses and Paul, we find ourselves fortified by God’s grace to pass that mercy on to others. Such is our calling and the understanding of why the Gospel message is truly “Good News.” Paul’s advice to Timothy penetrates even deeper: “Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” The English translation of the Scripture limps here; the original text speaks of God’s grace, not just as abundant, but as super-abundant. Dear Jubilarians, we rejoice today in this super-abundant grace of the Lord Jesus.
God’s word reaches a crescendo in the Gospel parables of Luke. The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to go in search of the one sheep who has strayed. We have to ask if this is typical behavior. Why risk losing any of the others just to go after this one? What is the reason; what is the key to this way of acting? It is that this one sheep is precious, very precious. Notice the shepherd’s reaction when he finds the stray sheep. He sets it on his shoulders with great happiness and he calls together the others to rejoice with him. Rejoicing fills the day.
As an example for ourselves, we may transpose this parable in speaking of Saint Paul himself. Paul was once that stray sheep. Overwhelmed by God’s grace, Paul was found and carried upon the shoulders of the Lord. Paul, the persecutor, becomes a precious instrument for accomplishing God’s plan. He is entrusted with the commission to share what the Lord has done for him with others in his Gospel ministry. The notion of something precious carries over into Luke’s second parable, the description of the lost coin.
From the stray sheep and lost coin, we turn our attention to the depiction of the Prodigal Son. It has been observed that this narrative could be called the parable of the Merciful Father. In dramatic and visible fashion, this poignant tale sums up the themes of all the Scripture passages of today. Saint Luke’s picturesque portrayal of this family situation provides an insight into our own frail position.
The two sons manifest opposite polarities of our fallen nature. In one of them we discern the desire for the fulfillment of life, the drive to enjoy all that we can capture without restraint and on our own terms. Nevertheless, the desired fulfillment does not occur; it is elusive. In the other one, we recognize doing what has to be done, but yet without a sense of care and compassion for others. We see a lack of the human sentiment without which God’s gift of life becomes cold and sterile.
As Saint Luke depicts these two sons, we see the younger son undergoing a painful journey of self-realization. Having partaken of manifold worldly pleasures, he experiences the emptiness of his existence and accepts his personal loss of dignity. With no sensible alternative to choose, he decides to return home, and resigned to his fate, to confess his unworthiness before his father. Beyond all expectation, what awaits him is a shower of compassion and merciful acceptance. A similar personal awakening has not yet touched the soul of his older brother, and, until it does, the hardness of his feelings will continue as an obstacle to his inner peace.
Central to the Gospel’s narrative, there emerges the figure of the merciful father who puts up with his sons when they are delinquent and foolish or seemingly faithful but obstinate. Filled with fatherly affection, he welcomes the returning prodigal son and unconditionally forgives him, tenderly embracing and kissing him. His compassion extends also to the brother with whom he pleads to soften the hardness of his heart. Jesus’ telling of this parable allows us to see God’s loving embrace as the merciful, forgiving father, and like the shepherd, one who joyfully carries the stray sheep on his shoulders. Rejoicing marks the day as the Father says: “But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again, he was lost and he is found.”
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, on this Jubilee day with the lessons of the Scriptures before us, we humbly invoke the intercession of Mary our Mother, Mother of Mercy, and our own special patrons, Saint John Neumann and Saint Katharine Drexel, authentic examples of compassion and mercy. Likewise, in our moments of prayer and reflection, as we contemplate the super-abundant love of God generously poured forth upon each of us, we can rejoice in knowing that we are indeed precious in His sight.
As the Lord has privileged us to serve His people for the many years that have marked our lives, let our hearts overflow with sentiments of joy and gratitude. From the depths of our souls may we continue to love, nurture and serve God’s people. As the Lord has carried us, so must we continue to carry one another with great rejoicing. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for Religious Jubilarians
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Dear Jubiliarians and all of you dear people of God,
What a wonderful celebration this is! What a wonderful opportunity this is, to be able to express to our consecrated Religious—to our Sisters, our Priests, our Brothers—the great love of the Church, as they observe this very special anniversary in their own lives! We are very happy to have present this morning several of the Superiors General of the different Religious Congregations. And we are also very happy to have the Provincial Superiors and the Delegates here at this Mass.
I mentioned already at the beginning, that we have two hundred and fifty Religious in this Archdiocese celebrating major anniversaries and how impressive that is, to think in terms of 13,405 years that these women and men have given in consecrated living as a prolongation of the very special charism of their Baptism in Christ and in His Church. We are deeply grateful, and this celebration of ours is one of deep thanksgiving and an expression of immense admiration and pride for all those who have been faithful to Jesus for this long period of time.
This past year, my schedule has demanded of me a great deal of travel. Such travel required waiting at times in airports. And, while waiting can be frustrating, it can also provide an opportunity to observe the complexities of human nature. I am always intrigued by watching the different people at the airport and the diverse emotions which they display. One can sense the anticipation of a reunion with a loved one, as well as the joy which is expressed so clearly on the faces of those family members or close friends who are finally reunited after a long absence. Although today, communications are faster and better than ever thought of through the Internet, the fax machines, cellular telephones, nothing can replace the actual presence of one whom we love.
This type of longing is easily understood by those who have consecrated their lives to God in a special way in the Church. All those who dedicate their lives to the service of Christ and the Church have a common desire: a longing to see God, to have the consolation of seeing Jesus Christ face-to-face. Your vocation and mine are based on the abiding hope that fidelity to our call, and all that is entailed with our "yes" to our vocation, will grant us the blessed reward of beholding the face of God.
Yet there is another important aspect of the vocation of the religious: to make present the face of God for other people. Since the very beginnings of the consecrated life within the Church, the religious has rightly been viewed as a unique and joyful representative of God. The religious was considered a person called to a special degree of union with God. The religious lived and accomplished the works of the Father. Indeed, people continue to experience, through the various charisms carried out day after day by members of the respective institutes and societies, the many blessings which God lavishes upon His people: healing, wisdom, charity, compassion, and mercy. The prayers, words, and works of the religious make God truly present to His people.
The Scriptural passages proclaimed in this liturgy offer yet another insight into the vocation of the religious as well as the priest. The wise words of the Book of Sirach and of the 103rd Psalm remind us of our primary role of service in the Church: to serve God and our neighbor by showing mercy and forgiveness, just as the Lord is kind and merciful to us. Today, more than ever before, all those who exercise a role of service in the Church must be vigilant in living lives which reflect the Gospel values, values which invite others to turn away from the world and to turn toward Christ. The joyful witness of a life full of mercy and compassion and forgiveness is a powerful weapon in combating the seductive influence of sin, materialism, and cynicism which are so glamorized by our contemporary culture.
The excerpt from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew speaks of correction, reconciliation, and forgiveness. These, too, are significant aspects in the lives of consecrated persons. People in the world must constantly be reminded of their need to turn to God in a spirit of repentance and hope. People should see the life of the religious as an offering to God, a fragrant and beautiful offering of humanity to God, and, as a special gift from God, an embodiment of His limitless love and mercy toward His children.
Similarly, the communal life of the religious, while not always perfect, demonstrates the joy of persons who live united and guided by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At the same time, Saint Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, reminds us of the importance of community living and mutual prayerful support, when he writes: "None of us lives for himself or herself, and no one dies for himself or for herself." The prayer of the Church, shared in common by those who live in harmony and peace, is efficacious and will demonstrate the loving presence of Christ Himself.
Today, there is present in the hearts of many, especially our youth, a longing to see the face of God, to know what Christ is like. In recent years, circumstances resulting from the sins of relatively few have seemingly marred that Holy Face of Christ. The pain experienced by us all is a catalyst for us to hear anew the Lord’s invitation to unite in prayer in order to make the face of Christ present even more clearly, ever more visibly. As we look to the future, we advance in a new zeal and a holy joy which will draw others—especially our young people—to seek what we have sought and to find what we have found, that Christ can and will be re-presented in the lives of His consecrated witnesses years to come.
My beloved Jubilarians, may your consecrated lives continue to give witness to the joy which comes from following more closely in the footsteps of the chaste, poor, and obedient Christ. For your many years of dedicated service to the Church, I thank you. For the continued support of your prayers and works on behalf of all in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, I thank you. For all that you will do in the days and the years ahead to continue to renew and refresh the Church and your particular mission in the Church, I thank you, in the name of the Archdiocese, and, even more, in the name of Jesus.
I entrust you today and every day of your lives to the protection of Mary, Queen of Virgins and Mother of the Church. May her love for you strengthen you in your consecrated lives and continue to encourage you toward your eternal reward. And, as you yourselves long to see the face of Christ, so may you continue to desire deeply to show the face of Christ to others, especially to the young. To show the face of Christ as a face of compassion and understanding, of love and mercy and forgiveness.
This, dear Jubiliarians, is my prayer and wish for all of you today. And for the people of God I ask that they continue to appreciate in a deep way this vocation. It is the vocation of those called to a particular mission, just as marriage is a particular vocation. But it is very important that all the people of God have this love and esteem, and, as a matter of fact they do, because you, dear Religious, have experienced this in all the years of your consecrated life—the support and the love of the people of God. And so it is meant to be and so it must be. And yet there remains always the challenge to your own lives to give the people of God this extraordinary witness. The extraordinary witness of your lives is summarized in a very special word and that is "joy." Because only joy, profound, deep joy that is nourished by an experience of Jesus Christ, only this joy can attract to religious life.
Dear friends, people of God, next Sunday we hope that as Priests and Deacons, as Religious, as Laity in the Church, married and single, young and old, we will gather together—and I appeal in a very special way to the Religious today to do everything possible to ensure their presence as we make a common act of profound faith in the Blessed Sacrament—to renew our Archdiocese in Eucharistic devotion as we render homage to Jesus Himself by our Prayer on the Parkway. And, in doing this, we will remember that the Second Vatican Council tells us that the Eucharist is "the source and summit of all Christian life." And dear Religious—dear Religious Priests who are celebrating your anniversaries, dear Sisters, dear Brothers—it is the Eucharist that has brought you to this day and it is the Eucharist that brings all of us, through the problems and challenges of life, to our final reward in Christ Jesus.
And so today, precisely because it is the Eucharist that explains us to ourselves, we gather to celebrate this Mass as a very special act of thanksgiving for our sisters and brothers who have so generously, so faithfully, so lovingly, so joyfully borne witness to Jesus Christ and His Church. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for Catholic Educator Jubilarians
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
February 24, 2008
Brother Priests,
Dear Religious and Lay Faithful,
Members of the Secretariat for Catholic Education,
Honored Jubilarians, Families and Friends,
It is a joy, and indeed a privilege, to join with you in celebrating your jubilee in Catholic education. Your jubilee is a special occasion in its own right. It acquires added significance since it occurs during our Bicentennial Year. During this period we observe the founding, two hundred years ago, of our Diocese of Philadelphia. We commemorate countless people, including Saints John Neumann and Katharine Drexel, who have ministered to thousands of students in Catholic schools. At this time the Church gratefully acknowledges your place in the long history of Catholic education. As collaborators in the Church’s mission, you have greatly contributed to perpetuate a rich legacy of faith.
The custom of celebrating jubilees can be traced to the Old Testament. A jubilee was a joyful event, an occasion to honor God, to offer Him praise and thanks. On behalf of all in the Archdiocese, I congratulate you for the vital role you have in providing Catholic education across generations. Our celebration of the Eucharist is the supreme expression of gratitude for the many contributions and sacrifices you have made to advance Catholic education. Together in Jesus Christ, we give praise and honor to God the Father for having sustained you in your noble calling for these many years.
Today’s Gospel recounts an encounter that Jesus had with a Samaritan woman. Tired from His journey, He meets her at a well and asks for a drink of water. When the woman hesitates, Jesus takes the opportunity to offer her living water and insists that whoever drinks this living water will never thirst again. Though she considers Him to be a prophet, she is not yet aware of who Jesus is and what He is offering. Jesus is Himself the living water. To drink the living water that He offers is to enter into a relationship with Him. The water He gives is a spring of water that wells up to eternal life.
The students you teach are thirsting. So much of what our culture offers them fails to satisfy their thirst for truth and lasting happiness. Young people in search of truth turn to you. Your teaching science, history, mathematics, the arts and other subjects nurtures and responds to their intellectual curiosity. In all this you hold them to the highest standards of academic excellence.
However, you do more than that. As teachers in a Catholic school you relate all subjects to Jesus Christ. He is truly the living water for whom the students thirst. You are God’s instruments, offering them this living water. In so doing, you respond to their deepest longing. In different ways you show how Jesus illumines all of life, as you teach values for this life and for eternal life.
Students in our Catholic schools are fortunate that their quest for truth takes place within a religious atmosphere. Catholic schools are not merely institutions which offer an academic instruction of high quality. They are an effective vehicle of total Christian formation. As teachers in Catholic schools, you help provide a favorable setting where, daily, students are afforded the opportunity to hear and live the Gospel; to learn and appreciate the teachings of the Church; to acquire a deep understanding, reverence and love for the Liturgy; to build community; to pray and properly form their consciences; to develop virtue and participate in Christian service. They are provided "an education by virtue of which their whole lives may be inspired by the spirit of Christ" (Gravissimum Educationis, 8).
Teaching at any level is not easy. Today’s readings remind us that fidelity to God’s call involves sacrifice. In our first reading, the Book of Exodus reveals that the people grumbled against Moses, the very individual who led them forth from slavery. Fearing for his life, Moses cried out to God, "What shall I do with these people?" In his letter to the Romans, Paul testifies to the challenge associated with discipleship. He writes of the experience of being helpless and the difficulty involved in sacrificing for another.
As teachers, you have made many sacrifices. Your work is time-consuming and demanding. It is easy to become discouraged when students seem indifferent to the subject matter and when the fruits of your labor are not immediately visible. The sacrifices you make for your students provide inspiration for them. They need witnesses who have given totally of themselves to show them the way. By your teaching and sacrifice, you demonstrate your hope for them and, in so doing, you give them hope for themselves and their future.
To persevere as a witness for Christ in the face of so many challenges requires faith. It was his faith that sustained Saint Paul. In the Letter to the Romans, he boasts of a hope that is rooted in faith. He writes of the peace that flows from being justified by faith. He encourages us to face life with confidence. "Hope," he says, "will not disappoint because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit."
Faith is strengthened in a close personal relationship with Jesus, and this relationship is only possible through prayer and the sacraments. There is no more effective prayer than the Eucharist. It is the most powerful means for achieving union with Jesus. The Eucharist must be at the heart of who we are as teachers. It is the source from which the teaching ministry draws its life. It is the goal of all Catholic education.
The weeks of Lent are an especially grace-filled time. They are an opportunity for us to draw closer to the Cross of Christ. We are reminded by Saint Paul "that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." In so doing, "God proves his love for us." The Eucharist empowers us to a love of others and commits us to bear witness to God’s love through our words and actions. The Eucharist transforms us. We become what we have received, Christ Himself. Through the Eucharist, you become then, dear friends, the means by which God’s love and compassion reach students. This should indeed give you a great sense of fulfillment.
A jubilee is a time of joy. Your jubilee is an occasion of special grace, a day blessed by the Lord. It is an opportunity to reflect on the past, to offer praise and thanksgiving. We are grateful for so much today. I express thanks, first of all, to the parents who have entrusted the education and formation of their children to our Catholic schools. I am grateful for the support of the entire Catholic community who by their prayers and financial support help our schools to accomplish their mission. In particular, I congratulate you, the Religious Sisters and Lay faithful who celebrate your jubilee together this afternoon. I express deep appreciation for your many years of faith-filled service to this Archdiocese and to our Catholic schools. You have given generously of yourselves to advance the teaching mission of Jesus Christ and His Church. Much has been accomplished by God working in and through you. We all thank God for you.
A jubilee is also a blessed opportunity to look forward to the future. Young people of the third millennium must furnish energy and leadership in our Church and our society. We depend upon you to set high academic standards for them and to instill in them a spirit of faith and Christian values. By equipping our young people with an education rooted in the person of Jesus Christ, you are helping them to live moral and upright Christian lives in our complex modern world.
Today’s Gospel reveals that as a result of her encounter with Jesus, the Samaritan woman told others about Him and led them to Him. By your sacrifices and your love, you help your students to encounter Jesus. Through you, they experience His love for them. In turn they learn to love the Lord and to lead others to encounter Jesus in His Church. What a great role you fulfill as you encourage young people to be witnesses for Christ!
In affirming you today in the joy of your jubilee, I thank you all for your long and tested commitment to Catholic education and for the many sacrifices you make on behalf of the children whom God places before you. Your dedicated work is a mighty contribution to the cause of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the building up of His Church in faith and love.
And so, dear friends, as you recommit yourselves to your work of faith and labor of love, may Mary, the Mother of Jesus, be for all of you, today and always, the Cause of your Joy. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Annual Religious Jubilarian Liturgy
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Dear Jubilarians,
I offer my warm congratulations to you, your families and friends as you celebrate 25, 50, 60 and more years in fidelity to our Lord Jesus Christ in the consecrated life. You have labored selflessly toward the building of God’s kingdom, serving the community of the Church, and working for the salvation of many people. I also congratulate the nuns in our cloistered monasteries, as well as the men and women religious in our retirement communities who are Jubilarians but who cannot be with us today for this liturgy. We remember them, as well, for their vital mission of continuous prayer for us all.
Whenever we meet someone for the first time, it is only natural—only human —to form an immediate picture of that person. We call this "our first impression," and often we discover that our "first" impression is not always an accurate one. The disciples of our Lord found themselves in a similar situation: they all had first impressions of Jesus which resulted in their leaving everything to follow Him. They then had a few years’ experience in living and ministering with Him and it was the little things of shared daily life that gave them a clue as to Jesus’ identity. So when He asked "Who do people say that I am?" the disciples answered on the basis of what they had seen and heard. But it was the next question, "Who do you say that I am?" that charged the moment with significance. This was an invitation for them to take a stand. The question was direct and personal.
We know that Peter was able to make a profound declaration of faith in Jesus as the Messiah, but we also know that he could not yet fully grasp what He was saying. Peter tried to rebuke Jesus’ explanation of what it meant to be "the Christ" —to suffer, to die and to rise again—and Jesus in return rebuked Peter! Jesus did so because the surprising focus of His identity was to be the cross!
The cross is, after all, the surprise ending to a story that was filled with surprises. Among the surprises was the incident when the tax collector Matthew came on the scene. Here was the perfect chance for Jesus to straighten out this man, to call him to task for the sins of his life. But, surprise! Jesus invites himself to dinner at Matthew’s house—absolutely unheard of! Or the time the woman bolted from the crowd that was trying to stone her because of her adultery. Surprise!: Jesus says: "Let whoever among you is without sin cast the first stone at her." Then there was the time the disciples wanted Jesus to enter Jerusalem, overthrow the Romans by force and establish his own Kingdom. Yet another surprise: Jesus was going to Jerusalem to die!
We now know what the disciples in today’s Gospel story also eventually came to know: that the cross and resurrection event is not the final surprise. God raised Jesus from the dead and in so doing teaches us that Jesus will continue to surprise us with his grace.
For us, Jesus must be either dead or alive. And, since we believe with our whole being that He is alive, one of the marks of His relationship with us will be the possibility of surprise: our faith, our personal confession, together with the whole Church, that Jesus is the Son of God continues to challenge us each day.
One of the greatest, personal surprises that you, my brother and sister Jubilarians, have witnessed firsthand is the humbling surprise of your call to follow Jesus more closely in the consecrated life. Years ago, our Lord called you to walk in His footsteps—in a special way, to follow Him who is the chaste, poor, and obedient Christ. And for these many years, you have faithfully answered His call through the living out of these evangelical counsels in your vocation according to the special charism of your particular institute or society.
The works you have accomplished as consecrated religious are truly staggering. You have served the youth, the poor, the sick and destitute, those whom society often shuns. And you have done so in schools and in homes, in hospitals and in nursing centers, in parishes, and always in humble daily service. The Church truly appreciates you for who you are and for what you do, for what you speak and for what you give, for your prayer, your sacrifice, and the very gift of yourself. This is the meaning of your consecrated life: complete dedication to Jesus Christ, as you strive to know Him ever more deeply both in prayer and in action. And complete dedication to Jesus Christ also means complete dedication to His Church—the community with which He identifies Himself.
To be a true follower of Christ is to continue to be prepared to receive His surprising word of hope, particularly as He gives it in the Holy Eucharist, to which you are especially bound. When Jesus gives us His Body and Blood—when we share Eucharist—the surprises will come! When we look for Jesus’ presence in the least of our brothers and sisters, the surprises will come. In your religious houses, in the parishes and neighborhoods of our Archdiocese, the school, the office, the hospital where you labor: you will be startled by His unexpected presence. And the final surprise for each of us will be Jesus asking us: "Who do you say that I am?" Our response is that of Peter and the whole Church: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And once again we shall acknowledge that this Jesus alone has the words of everlasting life. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Jubilee Mass for Catholic Educators
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
March 25, 2007
Bishop McFadden, my brother Priests and Deacon, Religious, Lay Faithful,
our dear Jubilarians, your families and friends.
The custom of celebrating jubilees can be traced to the Old Testament. A jubilee was a joyful event, an occasion to honor God, to offer praise and thanks. On this joyous occasion I congratulate you who celebrate a Jubilee as an educator in our Catholic schools. I speak for all in the Archdiocese in expressing deep gratitude for your part in providing Catholic education to another generation. Together with you, I give praise and honor to God for having sustained you in this wonderful vocation.
In the context of our gathering, it is appropriate to have a Gospel text in which Jesus is identified as "Teacher." In fact, Jesus is identified several times in each of the Gospels as teacher. The lessons He taught were many and varied. He taught about justice, love and peace. He taught about faith and hope. He taught about the Kingdom of God. He taught about "life," and even more about "eternal life." He used the occasion of the woman caught in adultery to teach about judging and forgiving, about mercy.
In your years in the education apostolate, you too have been called "Teacher." Young people, in search of truth, turn to you. Teaching science, history, mathematics, the arts and so forth, nurtures and responds to their intellectual curiosity. You hold them to the highest standards of academic excellence.
However, you have done more than that. As a teacher in a "Catholic" school you relate these subjects to Jesus, and show how Jesus illumines all of life. In so doing, you respond to the deepest longing of your students. You have been instrumental in assisting them in, what Saint Paul calls, "the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus the Lord" (Philippians 3:8). You have had the privilege of teaching values for life and eternal life.
Students in our Catholic schools are fortunate that their quest for truth takes place within a religious atmosphere. The National Directory for Catechesis teaches that "The Catholic school...is not simply an institution which offers an academic instruction of high quality, but even more important is an effective vehicle of total Christian formation" (NO. 230). Catholic schools provide a favorable setting where, daily, they are afforded the opportunity to hear and live the Gospel; to learn and appreciate the teachings of the Church; to acquire a deep understanding, reverence and love for the Liturgy; to build community, to pray and properly form their consciences, to develop virtue and participate in Christian service. They are provided "an education by virtue of which their whole lives may be inspired by the spirit of Christ" (Gravissimum Educationis, 8).
It is somewhat ironic, that while Jesus is greeted as teacher, we are informed in today’s Gospel that "He" is the one being tested. The scribes and pharisees ask His opinion of what to do with a woman caught in adultery. They do so, we learn, in an effort "to test" Him so that they might bring a charge against Him.
In reality, it is teachers, far more than students, who are tested. In class, your knowledge of the subject matter is tested. Frequently, your patience is tested. Always and everywhere, your values and convictions are tested. The scriptures reveal that Jesus differed from other teachers because He taught with authority. Listeners to His words heard the conviction of His heart. Even more, they recognized that He lived what He taught. Your most challenging test will be that of witnessing to your Catholic faith. Students hear what you say, but the believe what you do.
Today’s jubilee celebration is evidence of how well you have achieved in the many tests that you have faced. The prophet Isaiah, reflecting upon the great event of the Exodus speaks of how God overcame barriers and transformed deserts. Through your teaching, rivers of knowledge now flow where there might otherwise have been deserts of ignorance. Through your witness to Christ, barriers to love have been overcome. Hearts open to a deeper love of God and a more generous love of neighbor. Through you, God is doing something new in the lives of students. A generation is being formed that they might announce His praise (cf. Isaiah 43:19, 21).
This season of Lent draws us closer to the Cross of Christ. Saint Paul recognized that knowing and following Jesus would involve sacrifice. However, he endured suffering with an abundant hope (cf. Philippians 3:10-11). Providing Catholic education has never been an easy task. There are many challenges in the mission of offering quality Catholic education to our young people. Like Paul, we strain forward with hope to what lies ahead. Remember, after the cross, comes resurrection. Death gives way to life. We pursue the cause of Catholic education with the confident assurance of God’s grace, for nothing is impossible with God.
A jubilee is a time of joy. Your jubilee is an occasion of special grace, a day blessed by the Lord. It is an opportunity to reflect on the past, to offer praise and thanksgiving for all that God has done and accomplished in and through you.
There is so much for which to be grateful today. I express my deep gratitude, first of all, to the parents who have entrusted the education and formation of their children to our Catholic schools. In so doing, they have given us the privilege of sharing a role in which parents have the primary and irreplaceable responsibility.
I am grateful for the Priests, Religious Sisters and Brothers, and Laity who serve in the educational apostolate. Our schools provide a context in which young people discern God’s call and develop skills that are associated with the fulfillment of that call. Among the many career and vocational opportunities, we pray that those whom God is calling to the priesthood and religious life will respond generously.
I am grateful for the support of the entire Catholic community who by their prayers and financial support enable our schools to accomplish their mission. With this support, many are able to receive a Catholic education who might otherwise be deprived.
In a special way, I express my gratitude to you, our jubilarians, for your many years of service to this Archdiocese and to our Catholic schools. We depend upon you to set high academic standards and instill a spirit of faith and values rooted in Christ. You have given generously of your time, talent and treasure to advance the teaching mission of the Church. You assist parents by providing their children with a solid moral foundation. Those who teach in our schools understand that their work is not just a career opportunity, it is a vocation, a response to God’s call to teach and evangelize our youth.
A jubilee is also an opportunity to look forward to a future that offers new possibilities. The future of the world and the Church belongs to the younger generation. We are proud of our students. They are young men and women who contribute to our country, our community, our Church. Christ expects great things from young people, so did Pope John Paul II. He challenged them to put their talents at the service of the proclamation of the Good News. He encouraged them to be friends of Jesus and offer witness so that others might see Him (cf. 2004 World Youth Day Message.)
In a short time, Christianity will celebrate the great Feast of Easter. "Go and teach all nations," was the first directive that Jesus gave His apostles after His resurrection. It is also his last command recorded in Matthew’s Gospel (cf. Matthew 28: 19-20). I congratulate and thank our jubilarians for their fidelity to the Lord’s command. We entrust you, the students you teach and our Catholic schools to the patronage of our Blessed Mother Mary, the Seat of Wisdom. Through her maternal intercession, may she aid all who seek to find Jesus.
News Conference Announcing
the Appointment of Bishop Joseph McFadden as the Tenth Bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg
and the Appointment of Bishop-elect Michael Fitzgerald
June 22, 2010
Good morning. Two weeks ago I shared exciting news for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia regarding the appointment of Monsignor John McIntyre as Auxiliary Bishop. Today, Pope Benedict XVI has announced two additional appointments that bring honor and pride to the Archdiocese.
The Holy Father has named Bishop Joseph McFadden as the Tenth Bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg. Bishop McFadden is in Harrisburg this morning, holding a news conference at his Chancery.
I know that I am joined by my fellow bishops, priests, deacons, men and women religious and all the faithful of the Archdiocese in offering Bishop McFadden warmest congratulations. We join together in offering our prayers that God will watch over and bless him as he leads his new Diocese.
When I congratulated Bishop McFadden I also thanked him for his tireless and selfless service as a priest and as an Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia. I will greatly miss his invaluable assistance to me and his contribution to this local Church, especially his particular concern for Catholic education and his leadership on our important undertaking Heritage of Faith ~ Vision of Hope, the capital campaign designed to meet the extraordinary challenges we face at this time.
This appointment demonstrates that the Holy Father has confidence that Bishop McFadden will be a compassionate and wise shepherd for the people of Harrisburg. He is a skillful leader with vision and a faith-filled priest who serves joyfully in Jesus' name. Devoted to Mary our Mother, Bishop McFadden will lead the people of Harrisburg with great care and concern for their spiritual well-being.
As Bishop McFadden begins this new ministry, I offer him my fraternal support and assurance of my prayers. May the Lord bless him and the people of Harrisburg.
I also wish to thank our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, for another appointment that brings honor to our Archdiocese and will assist us in the pastoral care of the almost 1.5 million Catholics we serve. I am pleased to announce that the Holy Father has appointed Reverend Monsignor Michael Fitzgerald as Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia.
Bishop-elect Fitzgerald is one of nine children born to the late Edwin Michael Fitzgerald and to Dorothy "Dot" Fitzgerald, present here this morning. I welcome Mrs. Fitzgerald, who was the first teacher of the faith to her son, and who is here with us this morning. Bishop-elect Fitzgerald was born in Montclair, New Jersey and was one of nine children. He attended Saint Clement Parish School in Philadelphia, Saint Augustine in Bridgeport and Bishop Kenrick High School in Norristown. He attended Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary and was ordained in 1980. He is both a Canon and Civil lawyer. During his thirty years as a priest he has served the Church faithfully as a Parochial Vicar, Chaplain and administrator. He served as Vice-Rector of St. Charles Seminary. He is currently Judicial Vicar of the Archdiocese, overseeing the Metropolitan Tribunal. He is an exemplary priest with a great love for the Church. I am grateful for his constant efforts to promote vocations to the diocesan priesthood. For fourteen years he has served as Chaplain to the Serra Club of Philadelphia, which promotes priestly vocations.
It will be my honor to ordain Bishop-elect Fitzgerald on the same day I ordain Bishop-elect McIntyre: Friday, August 6th, the Solemnity of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. I express my gratitude to Bishop-elect Fitzgerald for his generous response as we begin our new collaboration, together with the other Auxiliary Bishops, in serving God=s people.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass Commemorating the 150th Anniversary
of the Birth of Saint Katharine Drexel
Solemnity of All Saints
Saint Katharine Drexel Shrine
November 1, 2008
Brother Bishops, Dear Priests and Deacons,
Dear Sisters of Mother Katharine,
Dear Friends in Christ,
I offer a warm welcome to Bishop Murry of Youngstown, Ohio, as well as a special greeting to Sister Patricia Suchalski, President of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, to the Leadership Council and to all the members and associates of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. I congratulate you and I express my delight at being with you for this joyful anticipation of the 150th Birthday of Philadelphia’s beloved Saint Katharine Drexel. How fitting it is that, on this day when we celebrate the victory of all of the Saints, we can add to their chorus the voice, deeds and heroic example of the Foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament!
Our Liturgy of the Word transports us to that blessed vision of heaven where all those who are victorious stand before the throne of God, joyfully crying out the praises of the Most Blessed Trinity. In the words recorded by Saint John, "These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev 7:14). They are the ones described by the Psalmist as those whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean (cf. Ps 24:4). They are those who, full of hope, made themselves pure, as God is pure (cf. 1 John 3:3).
Beautiful, too, is the vision described in the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer, which we shall hear shortly: "Around your throne the saints, our brothers and sisters, sing your praise for ever. Their glory fills us with joy, and their communion with us in your Church gives us inspiration and strength as we hasten on our pilgrimage of faith, eager to meet them" (Preface 71).
This great solemnity, then, not only celebrates all those who have gone before us and now rejoice in the Beatific Vision. This feast also reminds us that we, too, are called to be saints. All that we do in this life must be geared toward the service of God, the spread of the Gospel, the rendering of charity and mercy to our neighbor, the assistance given to all as we—all together—continue eagerly on our journey to heaven. In Lumen Gentium, the Second Vatican Council teaches this clearly: "The holiness of the Church is constantly shown forth in the fruits of grace which the Spirit produces in the faithful and so it must be; it is expressed in many ways by the individuals who, each in his own state of life, tend to the perfection of love, thus sanctifying others; it appears in a certain way of its own in the practice of the counsels which have been usually called ‘evangelical.’ This practice of the counsels prompted by the Holy Spirit, undertaken by many Christians whether privately or in a form or state sanctioned by the Church, gives and should give a striking witness and example of that holiness" (no. 39).
Jesus, in the Gospel passage which was just proclaimed, offered to His disciples a profound teaching, a daily method by which we would be identified with Himself, a recipe for true holiness. "Blessed are the poor in spirit .... Blessed are those who mourn .... Blessed are the meek .... Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness .... Blessed are the merciful.... Blessed are the clean of heart.... Blessed are the peacemakers.... Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness .... Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven" (Mt 5:3-12).
The Beatitudes, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "depict the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his charity. They express the vocation of the faithful associated with the glory of his Passion and Resurrection; they shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian life; they are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulations; they proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ’s disciples; they have begun in the lives of the Virgin Mary and all the saints" (no. 1717).
This great solemnity of All Saints reminds us, therefore, that we have our goal of eternal life in heaven with God. We also have the means - our holy faith and charitable works and steadfast witness to the Death and Resurrection of Jesus - which will lead us to obtain the prize of everlasting life. As this has been realized in so many ways in the multitude of Saints whom the Church celebrates today, so it is reflected for us especially in the life of Saint Katharine Drexel.
There is no need to go into details about the life of this great Saint. As we know, Katharine Drexel was fortunate in so many ways. Her greatest fortune, however, was that faith, hope and charity were instilled within her deeply from her Baptism, and nurtured within a devout family life. The selfless generosity radiated by the Drexel family was the fruit of an intense sacramental and devotional practice within the Drexel household. This prepared Katharine to be completely immersed her vocation to the consecrated life, and to the particularly challenging mission for which God had lovingly chosen and prepared her.
The Servant of God Pope John Paul II remarked on this in his homily during the Canonization of Mother Katharine on October 1, 2000: "From her parents she learned that her family’s possessions were not for them alone but were meant to be shared with the less fortunate. As a young woman, she was deeply distressed by the poverty and hopeless conditions endured by many Native Americans and African-Americans. She began to devote her fortune to missionary and educational work among the poorest members of society. Later, she understood that more was needed. With great courage and confidence in God’s grace, she chose to give not just her fortune but her whole life totally to the Lord. To her religious community, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, she taught a spirituality based on prayerful union with the Eucharistic Lord and zealous service of the poor and the victims of racial discrimination. Her apostolate helped to bring about a growing awareness of the need to combat all forms of racism through education and social services" (no. 4).
How beautifully Saint Katharine Drexel embraced and lived the Beatitudes. Her desire was union with Jesus through the Holy Eucharist. The Holy Eucharist - the Presence and Love of Christ Himself - impelled Mother Katharine to heroic witness, to fervent compassion and charity, to total giving of self in service to God in the poor, the afflicted and the oppressed. When misunderstood, Mother Katharine never wavered from her mission. Even when she could no longer physically go out to the missions, her heart, united with the all-encompassing Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, never left the mission of her community. In her ardent prayer, Saint Katharine remained an active participant in the mission of her community as well as the universal mission of the Church.
How many wonderful things did Mother Katharine obtain by her sufferings as well! These, too, greatly supported the mission of her sisters. In her own words, Mother Katharine made it clear: "Let us often contemplate Jesus our Lord on His last journey. He bids me follow Him. There is no other way to heaven. No one’s face is toward heaven when it is not toward Calvary." She also prayed: "Grant that I may never throw away my cross until my sacrifice, like Yours on Calvary, is consummated by death" (Reflections on Life in the Vine found in the writings of Mother M. Katharine Drexel, p. 7). Whether engaged in her mission, in her prayer, or in her infirmity, like all the saints, Mother Katharine was blessed with the great gift of perseverance.
The Solemnity of All Saints, as well as our celebration of this milestone anniversary of the birth of our beloved Saint Katharine, will serve as a call to all of us, clergy, consecrated religious and lay faithful, to renew within ourselves our desire for heaven. But, if we desire the glory, we must also welcome the tribulations and trials with patience. We must persevere in our mission of making known the face of Jesus. We must persevere in prayer and in service.
Like Saint Katharine Drexel and the multitudes of those who behold the vision of God, we must find our strength in prayer and in the sacraments—especially the Sacrament of Penance, in which we turn away from sin, and the Most Holy Eucharist. In receiving the Eucharist, we are given the nourishment which we need to persevere in our Christian vocation. Through Eucharistic Adoration, we find rest to be renewed for our labors as we abide in the presence of Love Incarnate. If we love Jesus truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, we can accomplish great things for Him as did Mother Katharine. We will be able, first to absorb and then to share, the generous love of Jesus Himself.
Once more, I borrow a sentiment expressed by Pope John Paul II at the Canonization of Saint Katharine Drexel: "May her example help ...people ... to appreciate that no greater treasure can be found in this world than in following Christ with an undivided heart and in using generously the gifts we have received for the service of others and for the building of a more just and fraternal world" (no. 4). This we are called to do humbly, joyfully, faithfully, and in total day-by-day perseverance, in the name of Jesus, in those tasks both great and small which are our lot in life. This is the secret to sanctity embraced by the saints. Saint Katharine herself instructs us: "Out of our common todays and yesterdays we are building for eternity" (Reflections on Life in the Vine, p. 23). Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for the Victims of Hurricane Katrina
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Friday, September 9, 2005
As a community of faith and Christian love, we gather in response to an immense catastrophe that has struck our nation. It is not a theoretical disaster. Hurricane Katrina has touched the lives of thousands upon thousands of our brothers and sisters—some whom we know, most of whom we do not.
Brothers and sisters have been struck by the fury of nature. Many have lost their lives and we pray for their souls, that God will give them eternal salvation. Untold thousands have lost their homes, their possessions, above all, their loved ones. They depend on others. They depend on us for the necessities of life. And we are proud of the new wave of human solidarity that has now washed our entire country. We are deeply grateful for the worldwide response of concern, of charity, of mercy, of personal involvement.
It is in this situation that we listen to God’s word presented to us in Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans: "Love one another with mutual affection... Do not grow slack in zeal... Endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality.... weep with those who weep."
We hear the affliction of our brothers and sisters. We hear their anguish. We hear thousands upon thousands of people expressing the sentiments of the psalm: "I lift up my eyes toward the mountains; whence shall help come to me? My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth."
We know that the Lord will help our brothers and sisters, but we know that His help presumes also our own: our prayers, our generosity, our willingness to bear other people’s burden in solidarity, in charity.
Saint Paul says: "Help bear one another’s burden and thus you will fulfill the law of Christ." How important are the needs of our brothers and sisters—food and drink, housing and healthcare, human sustenance in so many forms. But also the encouragement of human solidarity when profound discouragement sets in.
We do not have the answers to the mystery of human suffering, the mystery of God’s permissive will in allowing human catastrophes. But we offer to our brothers and sisters the fruit of our faith, which is generous love and concern—the type of persevering support that does not wear off in a day, a week, a month. The catastrophe that we have seen becomes a gigantic challenge to our faith and to our way of life.
The Gospel today puts everything into perspective. It gives us the final word to explain why our brothers and sisters are important for us—the final word of Jesus that explains what our true relationship should be with one another.
In the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Jesus speaks to us in the context of the last judgment. What He tells us is of immense importance. It is this: there is a unity, a oneness, between Himself and those who share humanity with Him—those who are His brothers and sisters. What we do for them, we do for Him: "I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.... Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me."
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Knights of Columbus 128th Supreme Convention
Washington, DC
August 4, 2010
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Your Eminences,
Archbishop Wuerl, Pastor of this local Church of Washington,
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Religious, Seminarians and Lay Faithful,
Dear Knights of Columbus and Families,
and especially you, Supreme Knight and Mrs. Anderson,
It is truly an uplifting experience to be together here this morning during this 128th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus, being assembled from so many different places throughout the world. What is so particularly exhilarating is that we are gathered in the name of Jesus and in His love in order to celebrate His Eucharistic Sacrifice.
It is very inspirational to have as the theme of our Convention: “I am my brother’s keeper” —a phrase that expresses so much of the meaning of Christianity, so much of what the Church has learned from Jesus and His teachings.
In this regard, permit me to share with you a personal experience I had some years ago in Rome. It involved Mother Teresa, now Blessed Teresa, of Calcutta. On the occasion of her receiving an international award, Mother Teresa was scheduled to give a talk in the Vatican to a group of diplomats from different countries. She was to speak in English and I had been asked to translate her remarks into Italian. Before the ceremony began, I had the opportunity to be with her personally and to ask her about her talk. When I said to her, “Mother Teresa, what will you be speaking about?” she smiled and replied to me, saying: “Oh, I don’t know.” But then she added quickly: “All I know is that I will be talking about Jesus.”
Mother Teresa kept her promise that day. She spoke about Jesus and His teaching and His love for those in need—all those things that she exemplified in her own holy life, for which the Church has subsequently beatified her.
Those words of Mother Teresa still echo in my memory: “All I know is that I will be talking about Jesus.” This concentration on Jesus and the poor and needy with whom He identifies Himself explains so much about the meaning of the Knights of Columbus, about the value of charity, and about the theme chosen for this Supreme Convention: “I am my brother’s keeper.”
Our holy Catholic faith when put into practice equals the charity of Jesus Christ. It is He who has revealed God’s love and has challenged us to return God’s love by the charity of our lives through an outreach to those in need.
The four great ideals of the Knights of Columbus begin with charity—a charity that members of the Order endeavor to live in unity, fraternity and patriotism after the example of Father Michael J. McGivney, who accomplished so much for the Church.
In 1859 Father McGivney was a young boy in America, not yet seven years of age, when Saint John Vianney, whose feast we celebrate today, died in France after living an extraordinary life of pastoral charity. Saint John Vianney did everything possible to promote both the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. He was an apostle of the confessional and expended himself for the spiritual welfare of his people. He also provided for the material well-being of those in need, especially his orphans.
Although Father McGivney never knew Saint John Vianney, he lived his priesthood in perfect continuity with the same great ideals of pastoral charity.
In addition, by the grace of God, Father McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus, who to this day embrace his great and fundamental ideal of charity. And it is because of this that the theme of our Convention is so meaningful: “I am my brother’s keeper.” From this theme, inspired by the tradition of the Church and by the particular legacy of Father McGivney, there emerges a great challenge for the Knights of Columbus and their families to express solidarity with every brother and sister in society.
It is a question of being faithful to God’s word in the role of discipleship as it is offered this morning in the Gospel. For the Knights of Columbus it is a question of being numbered among the successors of the seventy-two disciples whom Jesus sent out to prepare His coming. And it is a question of being faithful witnesses by word and example to the truth of Christ’s Gospel and His Church. Hence Saint Paul’s words to Timothy are relevant not only for Timothy but for all the Knights of Columbus who form such an important component of the Church’s activity. To all of you the Church repeats these words: “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus...: proclaim the word; be persistent, whether it is convenient or inconvenient.”
Hence in this Eucharistic Sacrifice, the Knights of Columbus are invited once again to mobilize, in the charity and truth of Christ, to support His Church and to be of service to every brother and sister in need.
How impressive that this charge is summarized in the words of our liturgy’s response: “Go out to all the world and tell the Good News” (Mk 16:15). And as you do this, dear friends, in word and action, realize that you are supported by your holy founder, Father McGivney, by Saint John Vianney and all those gathered with our Blessed Mother Mary in the Communion of the Saints. And be assured that the Church needs you, blesses you and urges you onward, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Rachel's Vineyard's International Leadership Training Conference
July 8, 2009
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
I extend a very cordial welcome to all assembled here this morning in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I greet all of you who make up the Rachel’s Vineyard’s Annual International Leadership Training Conference, beginning with Theresa Burke, Founder of the Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries. It is a joy to accept the invitation to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass here at this conference where you are reflecting on the very important work of post-abortion healing.
In today’s readings, God presents a vivid example of the infinite love and mercy He has for each of us. Could there be a more appropriate theme for this gathering! You have dedicated yourselves to the supremely important mission of bringing those wounded by abortion to the healing mercy of God.
When we examine the story of Joseph and his brothers, in light of many recent statements of Pope Benedict – for example, his June 16th Letter proclaiming the Year of the Priest, his homily on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, and his third encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), released just yesterday—we are reminded repeatedly of the central mission of the Church, that is, the salvation of souls. We are reminded, too, that "Apart from the mercy of God there is no other source of hope for mankind"1
Evangelization, education, and pastoral care services all play an important part in bringing people to Christ. But ultimately, salvation is not brought about by our efforts. It is through the initiative of Christ who—through his priests—comes to us in the sacrament of God’s mercy, Confession, and the sacrament of his love, the Eucharist.
Our Holy Father soberly cautioned us in his June 29th homily, that "without the healing of souls, without the healing of mankind from within, there can be no salvation for humanity." How essential then to the mission of his Church are the pastoral and apostolic activities that draw women and men burdened by the sin of abortion closer to God’s merciful heart. It is no exaggeration to say that the Church’s ministry of healing and reconciliation after abortion is at the heart of the Church’s mission at this time in her history.
The bishops of the United States have continued to emphasize the importance of post-abortion healing and reconciliation, especially in the Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities, first released in 1975 and updated numerous times. I quote now from the Pastoral Plan: "For many women and men, grief and anguish follow an abortion experience, which often last for many years…. The Church offers reconciliation as well as spiritual and psychological care for those suffering from abortion's aftermath primarily through diocesan-based programs, most often called Project Rachel. Such programs utilize specially trained priests and professional counselors who provide one-on-one care. Other post-abortion ministries that involve support groups and retreats are also available in many areas. Every church-sponsored program and identifiably Catholic organization and agency should know where to refer those in need of post-abortion healing. Special resources to assist priests in this ministry are available from the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities and from many diocesan pro-life offices."
Dear friends: each of us has a unique role to play in bringing people to reconciliation and healing. And in our Catholic Faith, that means connecting people to priests. Let us now examine what today’s readings are able to reveal to us about post abortion healing and the special role of priests.
The reading from Genesis in its context contains a beautiful lesson on God’s mercy, one that offers fresh insights on post-abortion reconciliation and healing. So let us turn now to the story of Joseph and his family.
In many respects the situation of Joseph parallels that of many unborn children today. Although Joseph was very much "wanted" by his father, the patriarch Jacob, other family members wanted him dead. To nine of his brothers, Joseph’s existence was a problem. He was a nuisance to them, and their solution was to have him killed. They failed to recognize his inherent worth as a human being beloved by our heavenly Father. The bond of blood they shared, the injustice to Joseph, and the sorrow of their father, Jacob, mattered little.
Although Joseph was innocent of wrong-doing, he was made to suffer because of his brothers’ pride, and would have been killed had the brothers not realized that Joseph was worth more to them by being sold into slavery for 20 pieces of silver than by being left for dead in a desert cistern.
The price on Joseph’s head brings to mind the betrayal of another innocent man, for 30 pieces of silver. In his innocence, obedience, love and the rejection by his brethren, Joseph is a precursor of Jesus, the great High Priest. Innocent, misunderstood, betrayed, and later in Egypt wrongfully accused and imprisoned, Joseph suffered greatly. But after years of scorn and suffering, he became the source of salvation for his brothers, the dispenser of human mercy in forgiving them, and the dispenser of life-giving grain to those struck by famine.
Today’s reading begins with the whole world in the grip of famine. Pharaoh directed everyone to go to Joseph, by now Egypt’s governor, and to do "whatever he told them." Later these words will be echoed by Our Blessed Mother during the wedding feast at Cana.
Today, more than a lack of grain, a spiritual famine grips the world. "The human being does not trust God," Pope Benedict has written.2 Many do not trust in God’s immense but tender personal love for them. They think obedience to God restricts their freedom and so they choose to live without restraint, hurting themselves as a consequence of their disobedience.
Pope Benedict counsels us: "If we live in opposition to love and against the truth—in opposition to God—then we destroy one another and destroy the world. Then we do not find life but act in the interests of death."3 Conscience is so darkened that people use, abuse and dispose of each other as objects, rather than recognize others as persons of immeasurable dignity, persons whom God has created and loves as His own unique and irreplaceable children. In opposing love and the truth of the human person, man risks losing eternal life.
Joseph’s half-brothers journey to Egypt to buy grain so that they and their families may live. In doing so, they had to overcome their pride; they had to admit their powerlessness to save themselves, and they had to prostrate themselves before the one who held the key to their survival.
How does Joseph respond? With love. He freely intends to satisfy their need for food, but he also seems to recognize in them an even greater need—for self-knowledge and repentance.
At a given moment Joseph puts his brothers in confinement for three days. When you come to think of it, this time of confinement was very much like a retreat, a time for the brothers to reflect on their sin, their need for forgiveness, and to be moved to repentance. When Joseph—whom they fail to recognize— announces his plan that one brother remain in custody in Egypt while the others take food back home, commanding them to return with Joseph’s beloved brother Benjamin, they come to recognize their sin in having sold Joseph into slavery. They interpret "the governor’s" command as punishment for what they had done.
Reuben cries out: "Alas, we are being punished because of our brother. We saw the anguish of his heart when he pleaded with us, yet we paid no heed; that is why this anguish has now come upon us" (Gn 42:21).
At the time they sold Joseph to passing merchants, Reuben was the voice of conscience: "Did I not tell you," broke in Reuben, "not to do wrong to the boy? But you would not listen! Now comes the reckoning for his blood" (Gn 42:22).
Like so many parents today of aborted children, the brothers stifled the voice of conscience and acted out of selfishness. Often such parents later ascribe whatever evil that befalls them—infertility, miscarriage, divorce and so on—as the just punishment of God. One thing we know: God does not exact petty revenge from sinners. Ours is a God who suffers with us, weeps for us and is always ready to forgive us.
The suffering and guilt of Joseph’s brothers, like the suffering and guilt of parents who have lost a child through abortion, are in reality expressions of divine mercy. They help us remember that we have needs we cannot satisfy on our own, that only a compassionate and merciful God can provide for us. Suffering and guilt are the first signs of mercy because they lead us to Christ who acts "only out of infinite love and unfathomable mercy towards us."4
Joseph has Simeon taken to prison as a surety for his brothers’ return. He sends off the other brothers with grain for their families and the command that they return with Benjamin, to prove their honesty. Perhaps Joseph is concerned that they would betray Benjamin as they betrayed him years earlier.
When the brothers reach Jacob, both Reuben and Judah are willing to offer up their own lives and even their sons’ lives should they fail in rescuing Simeon and returning Benjamin safely home. Although they cannot reverse their betrayal of Joseph, they are willing to make amends for their sin against him. This shows that their repentance is sincere and that they intend to amend their lives.
After being forgiven by God for their part in abortion, some men and women also feel that they have to make amends to God as a way of "making up" for their sin. In particular, they may want to become active in the ministry of post-abortion counseling. Such a desire is laudable but can also include an incomplete understanding of God’s mercy. We cannot undo the effects of an abortion by any amount of good works. The only action great enough to make up for our sins is Jesus’ death on the Cross. In gratitude for His mercy, we should glorify God with our lives, learning to love as He loves, and striving daily to be obedient to His will in all things.
The brothers’ return to Egypt is postponed only because Jacob refuses to let Benjamin go with them. Jacob’s heart is still not at peace. Jacob’s favoritism of Joseph had inflamed the brothers’ jealousy, leading to their betrayal of Joseph, and now the whole family could again face starvation because Jacob favors Benjamin over the imprisoned Simeon. Jacob’s continued attachment to his two sons by Rachel prevents his compliance with the command of Joseph who, in a Christ-like way, wants only to be a source of love and mercy to his family.
It is only when the grain received from Joseph runs out, only when the family faces certain death, that Jacob is able to acknowledge his helplessness—although even then he deflects his own blame onto his sons for allegedly being too honest with Egypt’s governor. At last he allows them to obey Joseph’s command to return with Benjamin.
It is important to note that the return to Egypt does not mean that Jacob’s family understood the nature of God’s love, in the person of Joseph, any more than the Prodigal Son had come to understand the extent of his father’s merciful love as he was heading home. The Prodigal Son returned to his father out of self-interest, so that he would not starve, after recognizing only that his father was a good man who had given better food to his hired hands than the son received as a swineherd. The young man was satisfied only to work as a hired hand and expected no more. His was a paltry estimate of the Father’s love. The father had been on the lookout and ran out to greet him, rejoicing, when he was yet a long way off. The father embraced his wayward son warmly. He threw a party to celebrate his son’s return and giving him a ring and new attire, restored him fully to his rightly place as son.
When Judah and Benjamin set out for Egypt, they hope and expect only that Joseph will grant them more grain and release Simeon to them as promised. Instead, the entire family is reunited and invited to share in Joseph’s great fortune. Father, family, flocks all move to Egypt, with the kind assistance of Pharaoh, and are given choice lands for their flocks and herds. All this expresses the limitless love of God!
When we approach the confessional, the throne of mercy, our hearts may only be seeking relief from the burden of our guilt. We may be motivated only by the fear of hell. But God does not require perfect contrition or a heart over-brimming with love for him. A simple sign that we recognize our need for forgiveness is enough to open the floodgates of His mercy so that, through the ministry of his priests, he can immerse us in his grace.
Jesus gave this message to Saint Faustina: "Write, speak of My mercy. Tell souls where they are to look for solace, that is, in the Tribunal of Mercy [the sacrament of Reconciliation]. There the greatest miracles take place and are incessantly repeated. To avail oneself of this miracle … it suffices to come with faith to the feet of My representative and to reveal to him one’s misery, and the miracle of Divine Mercy will be fully demonstrated. Were a soul like a decaying corpse so that from a human standpoint, there would be no hope of restoration and everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores the soul in full. Oh, how miserable are those who do not take advantage of the miracle of God’s mercy!"5
Let us all join humbly in the plea of the Psalmist: "Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you." That is all that is required to unleash God’s mercy – trust in the Lord.
Again, to Saint Faustina, Jesus said: "I want to pour out my divine life into human souls and to sanctify them, if only they were willing to accept My grace. The greatest sinners would achieve great sanctity, if only they would trust My mercy" (no. 1784). "I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy" (no. 687). "The greater the misery of a soul, the greater the right to My mercy; (urge) all souls to trust in the unfathomable abyss of My mercy, because I want to save them all" (no. 1182).
Many great saints marveled at the mercy of God. The Curé of Ars, Saint John Vianney, the patron of parish priests in whose memory this Year of the Priest is being observed, understood well this great treasure of God. In his Letter proclaiming the Year of the Priest, Pope Benedict writes: "In his time the Curé of Ars was able to transform the hearts and the lives of so many people because he enabled them to experience the Lord’s merciful love. Our own time urgently needs a similar proclamation and witness to the truth of Love: Deus caritas est." Saint John Vianney knew, and Pope Benedict affirms, that "the priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus" and that, "Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord would be of no avail. It is the priest who continues the work of redemption on earth…. What use would be a house filled with gold, were there no one to open its door? The priest holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord; the administrator of his goods …"6
In today’s Gospel, Jesus commissions his twelve Apostles and gives them "authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness" (Mt 10:1). He instructs them to go "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" and to "make this proclamation: The Kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Mt 10:6, 7).
Concerning lost sheep, Pope Benedict once said: "For the Fathers of the Church, the parable of the lost sheep, which the shepherd seeks in the desert, was an image of the mystery of Christ and the Church. The human race—every one of us—is the sheep lost in the desert which no longer knows the way. The Son of God will not let this happen; he cannot abandon humanity in so wretched a condition. He leaps to his feet and abandons the glory of heaven, in order to go in search of the sheep and pursue it, all the way to the Cross."7
Saint John Vianney exclaimed that, in imitation of Christ: "A good shepherd, a pastor after God’s heart, is the greatest treasure which the good Lord can grant to a parish, and one of the most precious gifts of divine mercy."8
Through the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, priests allow the King of heaven to enter our souls and establish a home within us. What greater treasure could we possess on earth?
But you too, dear friends, are all invited to participate intimately and effectively in the Church’s ministry of reconciliation. You are called to be witnesses to forgiveness and heralds of hope. The Church prays for you to be strong in your important mission, faithful forever to the Gospel of life, strong intercessors in the community, invoking divine mercy on those in special need. The words of today’s Psalm express the deepest aspirations of your hearts, as you reach out to a world in need: "Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you."
How exhilarating, dear friends, to be called by the Church to assist our Lord Jesus Christ, the great healer of humanity, as He offers to all unlimited mercy and love. Be grateful, be resolute, be generous, be merciful, always. Amen.
ADDRESS OF CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI
NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
LOUAIZE, LEBANON
JULY 8, 2005
Dear Friends,
As an American Cardinal and as Archbishop of Philadelphia in the United States, it is with deep respect and esteem for Lebanon and with deep support for the Church in Lebanon that I address you this evening. It is both a pleasure and a source of satisfaction for me to be able to return to Lebanon and to be with you on this occasion.
I am grateful to Father Boutros Tarabay, the President of this University of Notre Dame, for the gracious invitation extended to me in the name of all. I am likewise grateful to Chorbishop Faouzi Elia of the Diocese of Our Lady of Lebanon of St. Louis for all his efforts in coordinating my visit and in assisting me in making it possible. Without his help I would not be here.
In solidarity and friendship I greet all of you this evening—members of the faculty and administration, students, and especially you, dear Graduates. It is a joy to speak to you.
In this our encounter, permit me to evoke my relationship with Lebanon, established and maintained through the Lebanese community in the United States. It was in my former role as Archbishop of St. Louis that I was first welcomed into the Lebanese community and greatly honored by the Maronite Church. My contacts were on the level not only of warm personal relations, but on the deeper level of ecclesial communion.
It was in 2001 while I was the Archbishop of St. Louis that I had the extraordinary privilege of welcoming His Beatitude Patriarch Nasrallah P. Sfeir and the Maronite Bishops of Lebanon to my Cathedral for the episcopal ordination of Bishop Robert Shaheen as the Eparch of Our Lady of Lebanon. It was on that historic occasion that the first episcopal ordination of a Maronite Bishop took place outside of Lebanon. It was so significant that the first American-born Maronite Bishop could be ordained in the United States by Patriarch Sfeir himself, in the presence of the Maronite hierarchy and in the beautiful Latin Rite Cathedral of St. Louis, where the faithful of various rites assembled in the unity of the Catholic faith.
My meetings with Patriarch Sfeir have taken place on various occasions: during my visit to Lebanon in 2000; in St. Louis, as mentioned, in 2001; many times in Rome, and recently in Washington, D.C. during the Patriarch’s last important visit. My contacts with him, with so many Lebanese Bishops and with the Lebanese Catholics in the United States have always evoked in me sentiments of profound respect and esteem and a desire to assist and support Lebanon in some small way, so that it may fittingly fulfill its great mission in the world.
I recognize the international component of this university and am sure that all the students from other countries have come here, realizing all that Lebanon has to offer to the Middle East and to the world. Within this context let me share with you my own viewpoint about the importance of Lebanon, its mission, its role and its vocation at the service of humanity. As an outside observer permit me to render homage to the culture and history of Lebanon, to its people and their accomplishments over the centuries and to the outstanding achievements of the Catholic Church in Lebanon.
But may I also share with you the very personal experience that is the inspiration of my fascination with Lebanon. Where is it that I first learned to share the Church’s love for Lebanon? Who was it who taught me that the destiny of Lebanon and its mission were so important, and that the well-being of its people was such an essential part of the Church’s solicitude for justice and peace in the Middle East. I am proud to say that I learned all of this personally years ago from the Bishop of Rome at that time, His Holiness Pope Paul VI.
Let me explain. For the last eight and a half years of his life, from February 1970 until his death in August 1978, I had the honor, as a collaborator in the Secretariat of State, of acting as the English-language interpreter for the Pope. Although he knew English, he generally preferred to speak Italian. I would translate for him in his many private audiences with English-speaking world leaders. Hence I witnessed firsthand his passionate love for Lebanon. I was with him when he spoke of the need to support and help maintain a free, united and sovereign Lebanon. I heard him express his deep conviction that the model of respectful and fraternal coexistence of peoples of different religions and beliefs, as found in Lebanon, must not perish. Paul VI understood and extolled the mission of Lebanon to be and remain and increasingly become a model of human solidarity in the Middle East, where the destinies of peoples are so intimately intertwined and profoundly affect the whole world.
In promoting and defending this respectful and fraternal coexistence in a sovereign, united and stable national union, Pope Paul VI was, throughout the years of his pontificate, a faithful herald of hope for Lebanon, always insisting that peace is possible and that it is the fruit of justice and love. Although peace comes from God as a gift, it is humanly advanced by every fraternal effort at reconciliation made by brothers and sisters who are the sons and daughters of the same great nation and coheirs of centuries of human wisdom. The preservation of this patrimony, in the thought of Pope Paul VI could bring only blessings to all the people of Lebanon, and to the world. The disappearance of this patrimony or the weakening of this model of human solidarity between children of the same Almighty and Merciful God would be—the Pope was convinced—an enormous loss for humanity.
Pope Paul VI understood moreover the great contribution made by the Catholic Church to Lebanese society and the great historic challenge to the Church in Lebanon during the years of his pontificate. For this reason as herald of hope he was also the expression of the conscience of the world and the supreme advocate for fraternal reconciliation. While working faithfully to promote dialogue between the Catholic Church and other religions, and in particular between Catholics and Muslims, the Pope worked and prayed that the teachings of Jesus Christ on fraternal love would encourage Christian living in all Christ’s disciples and promote true reconciliation between them and all their brothers and sisters of other religious beliefs.
In the mid 1970s, in the face of the great catastrophe of civil war in Lebanon, Pope Paul VI never ceased to call all the Lebanese to peaceful reconciliation. He never weakened in being a witness to hope and a convinced advocate of the necessity and immense value of the Lebanese model of living together in justice and peace. At the same time Paul VI proclaimed the efficacy of the teachings of Jesus Christ in bringing about the needed climate for peace in Lebanon and in the whole world.
In October 1978 Pope John Paul II succeeded to the Papacy. In the early part of his pontificate, he spoke of Pope Paul VI as his “spiritual father.” Pope John Paul II inherited the entire legacy of Paul VI, including his love and solicitude for Lebanon. Thus there was an unbroken continuity in the Holy See of supporting the well-being of Lebanon and its role and mission. With deep pastoral solicitude, John Paul II responded to the dramatic situation that existed in Lebanon, when on June 12, 1991, he convoked a Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. He wanted the whole Church to be involved in assisting and supporting Lebanon and the well-being of its people. He invited the Catholics of Lebanon to inaugurate a journey of prayer, penance and conversion of heart in which they would examine themselves before the Lord on their fidelity to the Gospel and on their effective commitment to following Christ. He wanted the Bishops and faithful of Lebanon to discern and make precise those priorities that the situation in the country called for. In this appeal John Paul II was faithful to the Gospel, in which Jesus Christ calls everyone to the challenge of inner conversion and integrity of life.
The Pope also asked other Churches and ecclesial communities to be associated in this effort. He likewise invited the Muslim and Druse communities to participate. Although he was aiming at the renewal of the Catholic Church, the Pope knew that the whole material and spiritual reconstruction of Lebanon was at stake. Hence it was necessary for all to work together.
In 1992 the Pope accepted the suggestion of the Preparatory Committee and approved a theme that spoke of the need for Christ, for renewal by the Holy Spirit, for solidarity, and for witness to love. The Synod convened in Rome in November 1995. Unity in diversity was the characteristic of the Synod and its participants. Catholics of various rites, fellow Christians and members of the Sunni, Shiite and Druse communities were represented. At the end, the Pope was asked to formulate a document that would capture a program for the renewal of hearts, for the renewal of Lebanon. On May 10, 1997 he issued his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, entitled: “A New Hope for Lebanon.”
Dear Friends: I am convinced that this is where you come in, to be heralds of a new hope for Lebanon. This is where your personal contribution is important. This University and the education received here can help you rise to this challenge and thus make a difference for your lives, for Lebanon, for the Middle East and for the world. This challenge is before you. Your acceptance of it has significant consequences. It will influence the way you live, the way you love, the way you serve—your openness to others, your openness to God and to His commandments, your acknowledgment of the primacy of God in your lives and in all of Lebanese society.
At this moment in your lives, you graduates are certainly intent on making a contribution to society, to your own country and to the world. Even those of you who are not Lebanese, but have opted for your education here in Lebanon, understand the need for solidarity with Lebanon in its challenge to live in new hope.
Those of you who are Catholics can readily understand what Saint Paul has indicated and what the Church teaches about “Christ our hope” (1 Tim 1:1). Christ’s message of fraternal love and reconciliation is supremely important, not only for your personal lives but also for the well-being of all Lebanon. You understand that the new hope for Lebanon is intimately related to the way that all Christians accept the teachings of Jesus and are willing to apply them to their own lives. The dignity of each human person, the relationship of all human persons to one another, the need for forgiveness and for mutual respect even in the face of great differences are principles that leap out of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whom as Christians, we profess as “true God and true man”! It is He, Jesus Christ, from whom we learn the value of mercy, compassion, service to those in need, and solidarity with all our brothers and sisters—those who are children of the same loving Father, and whom, as Christians, we acknowledge as sharing humanity with the Son of God.
It is certainly clear that all these values are needed if “a new hope for Lebanon” is to be sustained.
Dear Graduates: I am suggesting that you are indeed in a position to make a great contribution to Lebanon if you embrace these principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In this Catholic University it is evident to all who freely attend it that the person of Jesus Christ is central to all Christianity, as is His teaching. But it is also evident that this teaching involves the need for fraternal love, mutual respect and social justice. And without these, there could not exist a peaceful, united, free, sovereign and independent Lebanon. But with the exercise of fraternal love, mutual respect and social justice, a new hope for Lebanon repeatedly dawns. The determination to live together, side by side, in peace and dialogue helps build and consolidate a truly democratic Lebanon worthy of all the children of God.
By its very composition, Lebanon is able to send a message of fraternity and dialogue throughout the Middle East and the world. Indeed Lebanon itself is meant to be this message. How exhilarating, dear friends, dear Graduates, to be part of this message and to promote this great good by your gifts to one another and by your faith in God.
In how many ways are you able, dear Graduates, to serve the cause of your homeland, offering your talents as Lebanon strives for ever greater political, economic and social stability, preserving always fraternal religious coexistence and promoting upright leadership! Is not all of this a contribution to the peace and freedom to which you and all your fellow citizens aspire?
For Christians the culmination of all wisdom is Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Mary; and His Mother, to whom this University is dedicated, is venerated as the Seat of Wisdom. In the Catholic Church, the chief Pastor of all the faithful is honored with the title Vicar of Christ. The Popes who have held this position in recent years have made so many efforts to be of service to the cause of Lebanon and its true well-being. They have worked and prayed so that Lebanon may fulfill its mission, and so that its people may worship God in tranquility and freedom.
In coming to address you at this University, one of my desires was to bear witness to the constant solicitude of the Holy See and of the Popes themselves for Lebanon. My own experiences of many years in the Vatican have taught me how the Pope and his collaborators strive to serve the world in the name of Jesus Christ and of His Gospel of peace and reconciliation. The Apostolic Nuncio here in Lebanon, Archbishop Luigi Gatti also spent a number of years serving in the Vatican, and during this time he too witnessed the profound love of the Catholic Church and the Holy See for Lebanon. Today as the Representative of Pope Benedict XVI, he is in your midst to serve the well-being of Lebanon in every way possible and to reflect the personal concern and support of the Holy Father for the realization of a new hope for Lebanon.
At this point, dear friends, I would like to return once again to the theme of your contribution to the well-being of this nation. Graduation presupposes an intense period of study and reflection—so many opportunities given to you to equip you for your individual mission. Since much has been given to you, much is expected from you (cf. Lk 12:48). Lebanon is waiting for you to take your responsibility for the betterment of society. This duty is incumbent on all the citizens of this land and yet I hope that, as graduates, you will be particularly challenged.
Permit me, in the words of Pope John Paul II, to summarize the urgent task that awaits you. Although these words were written eight years ago, they are still so relevant to the present situation. Let us listen to the Pope’s reflection:
“It is evident that the Christians of Lebanon, like all their fellow citizens, hope to enjoy the conditions necessary for the development of their person, of their family, in the respect of their cultural and spiritual traditions. In particular they aspire to tranquility, to prosperity, to a real recognition of essential liberties, those which safeguard all human dignity and which permit the practice of the faith; they aspire to a sincere respect of their rights and those of others; and finally to a justice that consecrates the equality of all before the law and that permits each one to assume their part of responsibility in the life of society. They know that such a project is for a good part conditioned by the years passed in war and by the grave situation that prevails in this region of the Middle East. I am conscious of the principal difficulties of the present moment [the Holy Father was writing in 1997]: the menacing of the south of Lebanon, the economic situation of the country, the presence of non-Lebanese armed forces in the territory, the fact that there remain not entirely resolved the problem of the refugees and the danger of extremism and the impression for some of being frustrated in their rights. All this nourishes passions as well as the fear that the values of democracy and of civilization which this country represents can be comprised. And hence the temptation to leave it creeps ever more into the Lebanese, especially the young. In order that a more serene future may be brought about, I know that this involves many sacrifices, a constant personal discipline according to which each one requires from themselves before demanding it from others an active, courageous and persevering participation in the affairs of society; but it is also necessary to count on the grace of the Most High who transforms hearts and wills, and directs them to what is good. The past and present experience which Christ’s faithful have of themselves and of others...is sufficient to convince them of the power of the forces of evil, always active and always capable of darkening minds, of hardening intentions and of constituting a threat for the future.
“But, notwithstanding everything, hope remains alive in them. They have not lost confidence in themselves or an attachment to the country and its democratic tradition. The enjoyment of living which characterizes them, and this fraternal solidarity among all, which is manifested above all in the difficult moments which they must often go through, constantly revive their will to collaborate actively for the building up of their country on the foundation of human values which make up the riches of their national patrimony (“A New Hope for Lebanon,” 17).
Dear Graduates: it is impressive to note that in your midst here in Lebanon there are students at this University from various countries. All of these your fellow students have shown solidarity with Lebanon and have, to some extent, made its cause their own. They know that the future of Lebanon will affect their own future.
Today I conclude recalling the great challenges before this country, but even more, encouraging all of you to realize how much you can accomplish with God’s help. A new hope for Lebanon is a gift of God, but it is also realized through you and requires your commitment, your perseverance. Be generous, be strong in working to consolidate and preserve a free, sovereign, independent, peaceful and united Lebanon!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for the 50th Anniversary of the Legion of Mary
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
September 17, 2005
Dear brother Priests,
Dear Deacons,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Dear Friends of Mary,
It is a great joy to welcome all of you on this very important anniversary—50 years of existence of the Legion of Mary here in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is truly a moment of praise and thanksgiving to God for all that has been accomplished, and also for a rededication, a recommitment to the great ideals of the Legion of Mary, and, therefore, to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Those of you who are involved in the Legion of Mary have made a special effort to follow Jesus. You have made a special effort to hear the charge that Saint Paul gave to Timothy: "I charge you before God... before Jesus Christ...to keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ." And the Legion of Mary, dear friends, gives you this opportunity: truly, first of all, to commit yourselves to Jesus as His followers, which is very basic to all your activities; to keep His commandments; and, mindful of what Saint Paul says to Timothy, to give him honor and glory. "To him be honor and eternal power. Amen."
This collaboration of yours, this dedication in the Legion of Mary, is something that is done with great joy and it is a joy that springs from faith. Everything about the Legion of Mary is meant to be an expression of faith and an incitement to zeal. And, therefore, dear friends, you have accepted your role to collaborate with the Divine Sower of the seed. It is He with whom we are honored and privileged to collaborate—our Lord Jesus Christ, presented to us in the Gospel precisely as the great Sower of the seed who gives eternal life to all those who accept His word. And you, in endeavoring to accept His word, have also endeavored to be His collaborators, because you are convinced of the importance of His mission. Very importantly you have accepted to do this—to fulfill this role, in union with our Blessed Mother, with Mary, under her standard, always in union with her Son. You have accepted, with thanksgiving and praise, God’s plan, which is so highlighted in the Legion of Mary, the fact that, in the fullness of time God sent His Son, born of a Virgin. Thus, our Blessed Mother is so much a part of the very structure of the Legion of Mary.
You have accepted this plan, you have acknowledged it and you have seen how it is irreversible. God’s plan is irreversible and all penetrating in the activity of His Church. God came into the world through Mary, and He continues the work of salvation, always with Mary at His side. And you yourselves have endeavored, with God’s grace and only by His grace, to accept the seed that has been sown in your hearts. You have been examples, by God’s grace, of the seed that fell on rich soil, of those who have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance. This is the great challenge of this moment: to persevere.
I remember many years ago, at the time of the Second Vatican Council, speaking with Bishop Timothy Manning, who later became the Cardinal Archbishop of Los Angeles. Cardinal Manning mentioned that the great emphasis of the Second Vatican Council on the apostolate of the laity was so beautifully anticipated in the impressive activities of Frank Duff. He would hold him up as someone in harmony with the Second Vatican Council, exemplifying the great ideal of the collaboration of the laity in the work of the Church. And we know that there have been other marvelous examples throughout the world. We remember Edel Quinn. We remember our own beloved collaborators here in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the pioneers who worked so hard, and all of you who have, in a spirit of continuity, perpetuated this work of the Legion of Mary..
And so today, dear friends, we gather together in the name of Jesus and in the name of Mary and we know that the Legion of Mary, as it has been founded, as it is accepted by the Church and blessed by her, is very relevant. In particular, it is relevant in the prayer that it requires of its members. It is relevant in the method of working in union with our Blessed Mother. And it is relevant and important in the fact that its members are called to go out and to seek God’s people where they are, and to have contact with them so as to bring them the good news of Jesus Christ. The Legion of Mary is relevant in its method of working closely in the Church, working in collaboration with your priests, working in serving your parishes. All of this is so important and part of the legacy that has been given to you. It is the legacy that you are asked to continue and in which you are asked to collaborate, and it is a formula that has been blessed by the Church. The structure of the Legion of Mary, its major goals and its aims, are all part of this great legacy that we are celebrating today: the 50th anniversary of the Legion of Mary here in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
We hope that this will be a day of joy, dear friends, for all of you—a day of reflection, a day when you will experience, in a very special way, union with our Blessed Mother, her presence, her help, and an added impetus to be faithful to her Son in joy and peace.
Finally, as we listened to the Gospel this morning, we heard about the seed that fell on rich soil—the ones who hear the word of God and embrace it with a generous and good heart. And, dear friends, by God’s grace, you have done this. But the very final sentence of our Gospel is the call to "bear fruit through perseverance." This is the great challenge before you: that God’s work, in Christ, through Mary, go on and on; that it go on always under the guidance of the Church, always with the assistance of the Holy Spirit of God, and that its effectiveness be seen in the fact that you, dear friends, "bear fruit in perseverance."
Saint Paul tells us not to grow tired of doing good. Surely, with our Blessed Mother, surely with her help and sustained by her maternal protection, you have a very wonderful formula to keep alive in the Church. It is the call to work with your pastors and your priests in spreading the word of God with an immense love for Jesus and Mary and for all your brothers and sisters. This love is the font of your zeal as you yourselves endeavor to bear fruit through perseverance. Amen.
Lent 2004
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
The sacred season of Lent begins with a simple yet profound gesture. The imposition of ashes in the form of a cross on the forehead of the faithful is a gesture which reminds us of our mortality. This reminder of our death also motivates us to repentance. From recollection of our individual death, we are invited to new life, turning from sin and embracing the Gospel of Christ.
In so many ways, it appears that the darkness of sin reigns in our world. The seeming prevalence of violence, scandal, selfishness and apathy weighs heavily on humanity. These painful realities are part of what Pope John Paul II has called “a culture of death.” While the season of Lent begins with a significant reminder of death, the entire season of Lent prepares us to enter into new life with Christ. Through prayer, fasting, almsgiving and works of charity, we all confront the worldly culture of death, as well as our own weaknesses, with an attitude that we draw life from Christ, who by His sacrifice has overcome the world and conquered death.
I invite all of the faithful during this wondrous period of discipline, fasting, abstinence and prayer, to seek the face of Christ in His fasting, as well as in His Passion and Death. Through participation in daily Mass, reflection on the Way of the Cross, taking the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Penance, and observing the laws of the Church concerning fasting and abstinence, this Lent will be a fruitful and grace-filled period.
In a particular way, I extend to our catechumens my greetings and support. These days of Lent have great impact on their formation and preparation for baptism. It is the duty of all the faithful to encourage our brothers and sisters preparing for baptism through good example and prayerful support.
As we unite ourselves sacramentally and prayerfully with the Passion and Death of Christ, I pray that we shall enter into a new life with Christ as we awaken to the Light of His Resurrection.
Sincerely in Christ,
Cardinal Justin Rigali
Archbishop of Philadelphia
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Life, Justice & Family Convocation
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Camden, NJ
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Sharing the Treasure of Catholic Social and Moral Teaching
Greetings, dear Friends, in Christ Jesus Our Lord!
I want to thank each of you for your participation in this important gathering. From our expert speakers and panelists to those of you in parish ministry, each of you has brought much to this conversation. I trust you will bring new insights back home with you as you serve the Lord Jesus in your vital ministries – perhaps in new, creative ways not imagined before.
In this convocation, our objectives have been to explore the connections between Respect Life, Social Justice and Family Life ministries; to delve into Catholic moral and social teaching from Vatican II, Deus Caritas Est, and Humanae Vitae, whose 40th anniversary we celebrated this past week; and to embrace with a spirit of generosity and solidarity Catholic teaching and action. We have sought to demonstrate the complementarity of science and faith and to identify avenues of collaboration in our ministries and advocacy. We have begun an ongoing conversation on how diocesan and parish Respect Life, Social Justice and Family Life leaders and the scientific and medical communities can cooperate and contribute to the New Evangelization.
It has been a weekend for uncovering and pondering the great treasure of Catholic teaching. How might we now go out and share that great treasure with others who are so much in need of it?
In today's Gospel parable, a man finds a great treasure buried in a field, sells all he has out of joy, and purchases the field to obtain that same buried treasure. But why did he go, and out of joy sell all he had? Because this was no ordinary transaction. That treasure was abundantly more valuable than everything he sold, and so he could readily, even joyfully, part with everything else to obtain it. Selling “everything he had” did not leave him in deprivation once he took possession of that immeasurably valuable plot of land.
As we promote the dignity of the human person – including the defense of human life, marriage and the family, and social justice -- we too are challenged to invest in the Kingdom of heaven out of joy. This is no ordinary transaction, either! Once we have experienced the abundant and unconditional love of God, which bestows on each person his or her inviolable dignity, all other matters find their proper context. If we have the "understanding heart" for which Solomon prayed, we will readily part with anything that would separate us from God’s plan for our lives. We will joyfully divest ourselves of other attachments to invest in the Kingdom of God.
The net result is not deprivation or indigence but abundance – starting now in this mortal lifetime, and completed in the next. It is that perspective of eternal abundance that makes all the difference in our service to others. It compels us to love and serve our neighbors here and now, advocating on their behalf -- not out of mere duty or an exaggerated sense of responsibility for the world -- but because we ourselves have received a great and undeserved gift, and because there is plenty to share with others. We can serve our neighbors in joy because, through Christ, we hope to be “neighbors” with them for all eternity. This is what the New Evangelization is all about.
Dying to Self: Foolishness to the World
In order to lay hold of the valuable treasure spoken of in the Gospel, one's hands must be open and free. This action requires total self-emptying and radical generosity. It involves dying to ourselves so that we may serve and defend the lives of the weakest and most defenseless. We must die to our own way of doing things and freely choose to obey God’s laws. His commands, reflected in the wise teachings of the Church, are to be loved and embraced with delight as the Psalmist says.
But this is nearly incomprehensible and even offensive to the world. The one who does not recognize the value of the hidden treasure might say of the man who buys the whole field: “What a fool. He is throwing away his whole life. What a waste!”
According to this view, it makes no sense to share our abundance, or to take any joy in sacrifice. Generosity is seen as irrational. Trust in some unseen "providence" is considered rash. An earnest gift of self is looked upon as foolish.
This attitude leads us to watch out for ourselves, to marshal our resources, to avoid the risk of generosity and total commitment to others. But it also introduces division and alienation into our lives.
When we fear the total commitment that real love requires, we reduce sexuality to a form of recreation – and thus succeed in reducing human persons, especially women, to objects of use. We build division into the very heart of marital intimacy by trying to “protect” ourselves from its ability to bring forth new life. We set apart the members of our families who would make the greatest demands on our comfort and security – the unborn, the elderly and infirm, those with serious disabilities – and classify them as those who may be neglected or even destroyed, sometimes in the name of “mercy.” We destroy new human life to harness its power for ourselves, to cure devastating diseases – and create a utilitarian ethic that undermines the human dignity of everyone, including the very patients we wanted to help. Because we fear the stranger and resent the uninvited immigrant, we wall ourselves up so as not to lose what is ours -- and succeed in creating a kind of prison for ourselves. By resorting to violent force we respond to those in other countries who fear and resent.
Eternal Abundance and “the Understanding Heart"
But for those who have known the unconditional love of God – and have gained an understanding heart -- the action of the person who bought the field is anything but foolishness. Indeed, it is the only fitting response to abundance. It is an action that brings not anxiety, but joy, about the future.
It leads not to self-destruction, but to new life. In the words of the Second Vatican Council, we "find" ourselves by making a “sincere gift" of ourselves. The wise person takes these words to heart, loves the decree of the Lord, and allows his or her life to be shaped by them.
The New Evangelization flows naturally from investing our whole selves for eternity’s sake. We have found the great treasure in the field and so can share it with others. We can stand together with courage, serving as models of reconciliation, generosity, and unity for our families and neighbors alike.
The Sign of Fruitful Married Love
As discussed throughout this convocation, conjugal love is not just a private matter. Love like the Blessed Trinity, is creative. It bears “fruit that will remain” -- that is, fruit that lasts eternally.
Parents are the quintessential sign that love is not just a private matter. Sometimes the intimate love between a husband and wife is so real, so potent, so personal that nine months later they have to name a human person! That family is never the same. The children show that love changes the world -- for good.
When parents are open to receiving children as a gift, their generosity can seem foolish from the perspective of burdening the world and creating in it deprivation. Parents are even accused of being selfish since they produce more mouths to feed, causing a supposed imbalance in our ecosystem.
But the reality is that they are participating in God's own act of creation, in His providential abundance. With each child, the world has been blessed with a new person with an eternal destiny. That new son or daughter has a God-given dignity that no one can enhance or diminish. This dignity is based on the fact that the human person is created by God, redeemed by Christ, and destined for eternal life in communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Through healthy families, God is at work building up citizens to renew the face of the earth, and ultimately to be citizens of a new Heaven and a new Earth -- one in which his justice shall always reign, where “there will be no crying, or pain or death anymore.” There is a deep interconnection between the rejection of the Church’s teaching on sexuality and on human life and a lack of solidarity with those unrelated to us. Both are grounded in selfishness or a lack of generosity. Why should we care about those to whom we are not related when there is disharmony - or even alienation - at home? When our own children and sick or elderly relatives are seen as burdens rather than gifts, for example, why would we have compassion for needy strangers? And when movies, advertisements, and downright pornography exploit women as mere objects to be used, how will society come to know the great dignity of the human body and the whole human person?
Countless individuals and whole communities are suffering due to society’s lack of understanding of the human person. It is time to share the treasure we have found and give witness to the hope it brings.
Building Unity to Serve the New Evangelization
We have entered into a year dedicated to Saint Paul and his mission to the gentiles. Today, the world is still urgently in need of God’s love, hope, peace and joy. The New Evangelization, as Pope John Paul II called it, has taken root and is now starting to “flower” in a “new springtime” for the Church. As we look ahead, how can we share with the world the great treasure we have found?
The New Evangelization will require all the faithful to work in harmony with each other. It will require the challenging work of reconciliation – as well as prayer and effort to build unity among ourselves. How can we share with others what we ourselves do not possess?
Our Lord Jesus Christ gave us many diverse gifts in order to empower us to accomplish the Father’s will in the world. He gave us different interests and opportunities to serve the many complementary tasks involved in renewing the culture. When we are all working from the same fundamental principles, we all benefit. Our efforts on behalf of marriage, the family and human life – and our service to those oppressed by poverty, homelessness, war and exploitation -- are not in competition with each other. No one person, group, or movement in the Church can bring about on their own a new civilization of love, justice and life. Our efforts are strengthened when we work and pray together and support each other in a generous spirit.
Pope Benedict XVI addressed the crucial need for unity at World Youth Day in Sydney just last week. He said:
“Unity is of the essence of the Church; (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 813); it is a gift we must recognize and cherish. …[L]et us pray for the resolve to nurture unity: contribute to it! resist any temptation to walk away! For it is precisely the comprehensiveness, the vast vision, of our faith – solid yet open, consistent yet dynamic, true yet constantly growing in insight – that we can offer our world” (Address at the World Youth Day Vigil).
Humanae Vitae: A Renewed Invitation to Understand the Fullness of Love,
Life and Human Dignity
The unity the Pope calls us to is not a flat, two-dimensional uniformity. Far from it! It is precisely because of our rich diversity that unity is both a gift and a challenge. Now is the time to invest in that gift. We must prayerfully move forward in the conviction that God will bless our growing openness toward collaboration with each other.
Today, dear friends, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, the Lord of life, the Defender of humanity, let us rededicate ourselves to that treasure hidden in the field which we have reflected on during these past days. Let us continue praying, as Solomon did, for an "understanding heart” so that, in turn, we may be effective instruments in helping others embrace the perennial teaching of the Church on love and life and human dignity. At this juncture in the history of humanity, forty years after the encyclical Humane Vitae of Pope Paul VI, let us boldly reaffirm the Church’s resilient yes to the nature of married love, which expresses the total and complete gift of self between a man and a woman who accept the permanent, faithful and fruitful bond of marriage, which itself is the great path to holiness for the vast majority of God’s people. On this important anniversary let us all, in the unity of the Church, affirm anew that the conjugal act is all about the gift of self, made in love and open to life. As the meeting point of love and life this act is indeed holy, and the two aspects of love and life cannot be deliberately separated without harming the total gift of self, upon which marriage is built.
In all our reflections on God’s plan for Christian married love and for human life and dignity, we respond with God’s inspired word contained in our Responsorial Psalm: “Wonderful are your decrees; therefore I observe them. The revelation of your words sheds light, giving understanding to the simple. Lord, I love your commands.” Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Holy Thursday - Mass of the Lord's Supper
Cathedral Basilica of Saints. Peter and Paul
April 8, 2004
Dear Friends,
Our Lord Jesus Christ gathers us together on this Holy Thursday evening to celebrate His Supper the Last Supper, the Eucharist.
Christ wants us to enter into His sentiments, to understand His thoughts and His intentions as He gave us the great gift of His Body and Blood.
Our readings this evening emphasize three important aspects of Holy Thursday. This is the day on which Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist, the day when He instituted the Priesthood, the day when He taught us by example the full meaning of humble service.
In our second reading, Saint Paul explains to us how the institution of the Eucharist took place. When Jesus and his apostles were at supper together, Jesus took bread, gave thanks to His Father, broke the bread and said: This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after the supper, He took the cup, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me. And Saint Paul adds: Every time, then, you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes!
For two thousand years the Church has taught that Christ truly changed the substance of bread and wine into the substance of His own Body and Blood. This change is called Transubstantiation. The appearance of bread and wine remains; the substance is changed. There is a new reality. And for two thousand years the Church has taught that every time the Eucharist is celebrated the Sacrifice of Christ s death is renewed. The Church likewise teaches that, by sharing in the Body and Blood of Christ, we become one body in Christ. We are formed into the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church.
The second aspect of the Last Supper that the Church emphasizes today on Holy Thursday is the fact that Christ instituted the Priesthood in order to perpetuate the Eucharist. Jesus said: Do this in remembrance of me. It was not enough for Jesus to offer up the Eucharist. It was His will that, through the Priesthood, the Eucharist would be available to all His people throughout the ages. He would continue to give His Body and Blood as food to all generations of Christians. Through the Eucharist, which only the Priest can make present in the world, Jesus continues to renew the Last Supper, which was the sacramental anticipation of His Sacrifice on the Cross.
This evening, Holy Thursday night, we think of how the plan of Christ has been put into practice during all these centuries. We think of the many priests who have served God s people, who have been able to unite the people of God around an altar in order to celebrate together the death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. We think also of everything else that has been accomplished through the other sacramental acts of the priest. We think of the forgiveness of sins. We think of how the pardon and compassion and mercy of God have been kept alive through the Catholic priesthood. For all of this, we give thanks to God today. And as we give thanks to God for the priesthood, we pray that He will raise up many young and generous priests to carry on Christ s priestly work. We accept seriously and with commitment our task to pray and work for vocations to the priesthood.
The third aspect of Holy Thursday is the aspect of loving service. We see Jesus, in the Gospel, exercising his servanthood. We see Jesus kneeling before His apostles. Jesus washes their feet and tells them: What I just did was to give you an example: as I have done, so you must do.
Jesus is talking about much more that the washing of the feet, although the Church does repeat this humble gesture every year on Holy Thursday. What Jesus is talking about is a way of life a life of service. The Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharist is our food and our strength, but the Eucharist is also our challenge. We are challenged to use the strength and power of the Body and Blood of Christ in order to imitate His servanthood and serve one another.
We must remember that the Last Supper was indeed the anticipation of the Sacrifice that Jesus offered the next day on Good Friday. On Good Friday, He gave His life for the salvation of the world. He offered Himself completely to His Father and His Sacrifice was accepted. The night before Jesus died, He made it possible for His Church to renew the Sacrifice of His death in the form of a meal under the signs of bread and wine, a meal that would also recall the great Passover meal of the Old Testament that brought God s people into freedom.
The Mass always remains the Lord s Supper. But it is also the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which re-presents and renews the Sacrifice of the Cross. The Sacrifice of the Cross is the supreme act of Christ s giving, the supreme act of His generosity, the supreme act of His service. At the same time, it is for us the supreme challenge to service. There is no doubt about it: Jesus intends that those for whom He laid down His life would in turn lay down their lives for others.
Dear brothers and sisters: The Church proclaims that the Body and Blood of the living Jesus Christ exist under the signs of bread and wine. Our holy Catholic faith also assures us that, after the celebration of Mass, the living Jesus Christ remains present in the Eucharist and that the Eucharist is to be adored. Finally, all of us who are one body in Christ and one body with one another are invited to lay down our lives in humble service.
Let us remember what Jesus told us: What I just did was to give you an example: as I have done, so you must do. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Holy Thursday, Mass of the Lord's Supper
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 5, 2007
Dear Friends,
On this Holy Thursday evening our Lord Jesus Christ gathers us together to celebrate His Supper—the Last Supper, the Eucharist. He greatly desires us to enter into His sentiments, to understand His thoughts and His intentions as He gave us the great gift of His Body and Blood.
Our readings this evening emphasize three important aspects of Holy Thursday. This is the day on which Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist, the day when He instituted the Priesthood, the day when He taught us—by example—the full meaning of humble service.
Saint Paul explains to us the first aspect of our celebration: how the institution of the Eucharist took place. When Jesus and his apostles were at supper together, Jesus took bread, gave thanks to His Father, broke the bread and said: "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper, He took the cup, saying: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." Then Saint Paul adds: "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes!"
For two thousand years the Church has taught that Christ truly changed the substance of bread and wine into the substance of His own Body and Blood. This change is called Transubstantiation. The appearance of bread and wine remains; the substance is changed. There is a new reality. And for two thousand years the Church has taught that every time the Eucharist is celebrated the Sacrifice of Christ’s Death is renewed. The Church likewise teaches that, by sharing in the Body and Blood of Christ, we become one body in Christ. We are formed into the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church.
The second aspect of the Last Supper that the Church emphasizes today on Holy Thursday is the fact that Christ instituted the Priesthood in order to perpetuate the Eucharist. Jesus said: "Do this in remembrance of me." It was not enough for Jesus to offer up the Eucharist. It was His will that, through the Priesthood, the Eucharist would be available to all His people throughout the ages. He would continue to give His Body and Blood as food to all generations of Christians. Through the Eucharist, which only the Priest can make present in the world, Jesus continues to renew the Last Supper, which itself was the sacramental anticipation of His Sacrifice on the Cross.
During this Holy Thursday celebration we think of how the plan of Christ has been put into practice during all these centuries. We think of the many priests who have served God’s people, who have been able to unite the people of God around an altar in order to celebrate together the Death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. We think also of everything else that has been accomplished through the other sacramental acts of Christ’s priests. We think of the forgiveness of sins. We think of how the pardon and compassion and mercy of God have been kept alive through the Catholic priesthood. For all of this, we give thanks to God today. And as we give thanks to God for the priesthood, we pray that He will raise up many young and generous priests to carry on the priestly work of His beloved Son, our great High Priest Jesus Christ. We accept seriously and with commitment our task to pray and work for vocations to the Priesthood.
The third aspect of Holy Thursday is the aspect of loving service. In the Gospel we see Jesus exercising his servanthood. We see Jesus kneeling before His apostles. Jesus washes their feet and tells them: "I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."
Jesus is talking about much more that the washing of the feet, although the Church does repeat this humble gesture every year on Holy Thursday. What Jesus is talking about is a way of life—a life of service. The Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharist is our food and our strength, but the Eucharist is also our challenge. We are challenged to use the strength and power of the Body and Blood of Christ in order to imitate His servanthood and serve one another.
We must remember that the Last Supper was indeed the anticipation of the Sacrifice that Jesus offered the next day on Good Friday. On Good Friday, Jesus gave His life for the salvation of the world. He offered Himself completely to His Father and His Father lovingly accepted His Sacrifice. The night before Jesus died, He made it possible for His Church to renew the Sacrifice of His death in the form of a meal under the signs of bread and wine, a meal that would recall the great Passover meal of the Old Testament that brought God’s people into freedom.
The Mass always remains the Lord’s Supper. But it is also the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which re-presents and renews the Sacrifice of the Cross. The Sacrifice of the Cross is the supreme act of Christ’s giving, the supreme act of His generosity, the supreme act of His service. At the same time, it is for us the supreme challenge to service. There is no doubt about it: Jesus intends that those for whom He laid down His life would in turn lay down their lives for others.
Dear brothers and sisters: the Church proclaims that the Body and Blood of the living Jesus Christ are present under the signs of bread and wine. Our holy Catholic faith also assures us that, after the celebration of Mass, the living Jesus Christ remains present in the Eucharist and that the Eucharist is to be adored. Finally, all of us who are one body in Christ and one body with one another are invited to lay down our lives in humble service.
Let us remember tonight and always the final challenge of Holy Thursday—those words of Jesus: "I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
March 20, 2008
Dear Friends,
Here in this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul we are celebrating the second Mass of Holy Thursday. It is called the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.
Earlier this morning we celebrated the Chrism Mass. It was a magnificent assembly of priests and people, including a number of young people. During the Mass, I blessed the holy oils for the catechumens and the sick, and I consecrated the sacred Chrism, which is used in anointing those who are baptized, confirmed and ordained to the priesthood.
In the homily at that Mass I spoke about the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ, its relation to the Eucharist, and how important it is in the Church. I expressed our gratitude and support for the lives and ministry of our priests. All of our priests, in the presence of God’s people, renewed their commitment to sacred celibacy and faithful service.
This evening the texts of Sacred Scripture immerse us in the mystery of the Eucharist. To understand the liturgy that we are celebrating we must speak about the Eucharist itself, about the priesthood, without which the Eucharist cannot exist, and about Christ’s commandment of love and service. Jesus says: “I give you a new commandment. Love one another as I have loved you.”
Today is the anniversary of the institution of the Eucharist. It is also the anniversary of the institution of the priesthood. The two sacraments go together. There can be no Eucharist without the priesthood. The priesthood exists to make the Eucharist possible.
The Gospel of Saint John that we proclaimed this evening takes us to the Last Supper. Actually Saint John does not speak about the Eucharist. The other three evangelists—Matthew, Mark and Luke—describe its institution. Saint Paul does so also. Saint John, on the other hand, presumes it and goes on to speak about Christ’s attitude of love and service, which was the reason Christ instituted the Eucharist and the priesthood.
These then are the three elements that make up our Holy Thursday reflection: 1) the gift of the Eucharist, 2) the gift of the priesthood and 3) Christ’s love for us manifested in washing the feet of His apostles in humble service.
The institution of the Eucharist is beautifully described for us by Saint Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians. This Letter was written only about twenty years after the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. This is the first account of what took place at the Last Supper. It precedes the other accounts written by Matthew, Mark and Luke.
The words that Saint Paul records are the basic formula that we hear pronounced in every Eucharist: “This is my body which will be given up for you.” “This is the cup of my blood…. It will be shed for you….” And finally: “Do this in memory of me.”
Christ’s command—“Do this in memory of me”—links the Eucharist and the priesthood. The Church teaches that the Apostles whom Jesus had chosen to celebrate the Eucharist passed on this power to their successors in the priesthood. And so tonight the command of Christ is once more fulfilled: “Do this in memory of me.”
But what is it that we are doing in memory of Christ?
The Church evokes the memory of Christ’s Last Supper, but she does this in a sacramental way. She makes this Supper sacramentally present for us.
We know also that this Last Supper was the proclamation—as Saint Paul says—of the Death of the Lord. The Last Supper was also the anticipation of the Sacrifice that Christ would consummate on Good Friday by His Death on the Cross, and that the Father would ratify by raising Him from the dead.
And so the Church teaches that each Eucharistic celebration, each Mass, is the sacramental re-enactment of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Our Eucharist tonight brings us into contact with the Redemption that Jesus accomplished by His Paschal Mystery.
The Eucharist re-presents sacramentally the Last Supper. It re-presents the Sacrifice of Calvary. It makes actual in our lives the whole liberating action that Jesus accomplished by his Death and Resurrection.
Holy Thursday for us, then, means the Mass and the priest who celebrates every Mass: our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Holy Thursday also means the love that motivated Jesus to gather His Apostles together at the Last Supper and to die for them, and for all of us, on Good Friday.
Finally Holy Thursday means for us the challenge to follow Jesus in the loving service that He performs for His apostles by washing their feet. Jesus was willing to serve others generously. He was willing to give His life in sacrifice for the redemption of the world.
Tonight Jesus gives us the privilege of joining in the celebration of His Eucharist, which is both Sacrifice and Supper. But He also challenges us to embrace His sentiments, to take on His attitude, to love one another as He has loved us, to be willing to surrender ourselves in service to one another.
“Do you realize what I have done for you?”—Jesus says to us. “You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.”
Tonight His final words to us are these: “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”
Dear friends: this too is Holy Thursday: a new way of loving, giving and serving; a new way to be a family, to be a community, to be the Church; a new way to be a spouse, a parent, a son or daughter, a priest, deacon, religious or seminarian, a dedicated single person; a new way to live the life of Jesus and to follow Him to His Death and Resurrection. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass of the Lord's Supper- Holy Thursday
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 9, 2009
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
This morning at our Chrism Mass so many people of the Archdiocese assembled here in the Cathedral Basilica with hundreds of our priests. It was truly a wonderful manifestation of faith in the Eucharist and in the priesthood. This evening you have gathered here with faith and love to honor the great mystery of the Eucharist and to honor Christ’s plan of the priesthood. I am deeply grateful for the gift of your faith that has brought you here, for the faith that you express through your participation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice.
This evening the Church suggests explicitly that the priest speak about three topics or three different aspects of the Feast of Holy Thursday, namely:
- The Eucharist itself, which is both
a Sacrifice and the Real Presence of Christ;
- The priesthood of Christ;
- Loving service in the Church after the example of Christ.
Today is, in effect, the anniversary of the institution of the Eucharistic Sacrifice and Meal. It is also the anniversary of the priesthood: the day Jesus gave this great gift to His Church. But neither the Eucharist nor the priesthood are understood without understanding the love that was in the heart of Jesus and showed itself in loving service to His disciples.
I.
Our reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians speaks to us about the Last Supper. It describes what Jesus did at the Last Supper, how He took bread and wine and changed them into His body and blood, thereby establishing forever a sacramental memorial of Himself and of His death.
Saint Paul has those spectacular words: "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes!" For two thousand years the Church teaches us that what Jesus did at the Last Supper was to give us a true sacrifice and a permanent sacrament of His real presence. The sacrifice of Calvary was sacramentally anticipated on Holy Thursday, just as it is now sacramentally re-presented at every Mass. As we celebrate the memorial of the Last Supper we truly proclaim the Death of Jesus. And the Death of Jesus is the great sacrifice of Himself that culminates in the Resurrection and brings life to the world.
The Lord’s intention at the Last Supper requires us to celebrate it until He comes again in glory. Jesus said explicitly (and we must never forget it): "Do this in memory of me."
These words of Saint Paul were written some twenty years or so after Jesus died. This is the first written record of how Jesus celebrated the Eucharist. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke will later record the same event. And for all the intervening centuries the Church has offered up the Eucharist in memory of Christ and in memory of the love that inspired Him to give His life in sacrifice. The Eucharist remains forever the sacramental memorial of the Lord’s Supper and His Paschal Sacrifice.
II.
The second theme that we celebrate today is the priesthood of Jesus—that great gift which He left to His Church. It is through the priesthood that the Eucharist is perpetuated. It is through the priesthood that all of us share in the Eucharist.
This evening, at our Mass I would ask you in your Christian lives always to have a great esteem for this gift of Christ’s priesthood and a great support and affirmation for the priests who share in the priesthood of Jesus, beginning with the priests in your parish. They all need your prayers so that they will be faithful to their priestly vocation until death.
At the same time I would ask all of you to communicate through your lives this esteem to your children and to all of our young people that they may understand Christ’s plan for His Church. I would ask you to pray that young men will be attracted to this gift of Christ, to this special form of service in the Church, so that Christ’s plan may go forward and the Death of Christ be renewed in the Eucharist until He comes in glory!
III.
The third theme that the Church suggests for our consideration this evening is the theme of loving service. In the Gospel we read those words about Jesus that "He loved his own in the world and he would show his love for them to the end."
It was in the context of this love that, at the Last Supper, Jesus took off His cloak, knelt down, and washed the feet of His disciples. The Church continues this ritual in our Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper, but the Church is very eager for us to understand the deepest meaning of this gesture.
This gesture of loving service to His disciples was an expression of Christ’s love for them. He found a gesture that would express that love in an act of service, and at the same time would challenge all generations of Christians to find every act of service possible to express their love, the love that they had learned from Him, their love for one another.
At the core of our celebration tonight is the love of Jesus: the love that inspired Him to give us the Eucharist, the love that urged Jesus to give us the gift of the priesthood, the love of Jesus that wanted to express itself in the humble service of kneeling before His disciples in order to teach them by His example how they were to act.
Christ has left this gesture also as an incentive to the creativity of the Church so that throughout the centuries the Church will find every means possible to convey the love that Christ had in His heart for His people. The Church will always remember that Jesus said: "Love one another as I have loved you."
Tonight our whole celebration comes together. It comes together in the challenge that we receive from Jesus Christ: the challenge to celebrate the Eucharist worthily. And from the Eucharist we receive the strength and the power to go out and to show its meaning in the service that we pledge to one another.
This is the final challenge of Holy Thursday: the love of Christ that urges us on, first to recognize His love, to proclaim His gift of the Eucharist and the priesthood, and then to find every creative means possible to serve one another in the love that comes from His heart. This, dear friends, is the deepest meaning of our Holy Thursday celebration: to imitate Jesus, who said: "I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do." Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Holy Thursday, Mass of the Lord's Supper
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 1, 2009
Dear Friends,
On this Holy Thursday evening our Lord Jesus Christ gathers us together to celebrate His Supper—the Last Supper, the Eucharist. He greatly desires us to enter into His sentiments, to understand His thoughts and His intentions as He gave us the great gift of His Body and Blood.
Our readings this evening emphasize three important aspects of Holy Thursday. This is the day on which Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist, the day when He instituted the Priesthood, the day when He taught us—by example—the full meaning of humble service.
Saint Paul explains to us the first aspect of our celebration: how the institution of the Eucharist took place. When Jesus and his apostles were at supper together, Jesus took bread, gave thanks to His Father, broke the bread and said: "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper, He took the cup, saying: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." Then Saint Paul adds: "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes!"
For two thousand years the Church has taught that Christ truly changed the substance of bread and wine into the substance of His own Body and Blood. This change is called Transubstantiation. The appearance of bread and wine remains; the substance is changed. There is a new reality. And for two thousand years the Church has taught that every time the Eucharist is celebrated the Sacrifice of Christ’s Death is renewed. The Church likewise teaches that, by sharing in the Body and Blood of Christ, we become one body in Christ. We are formed into the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church.
The second aspect of the Last Supper that the Church emphasizes today on Holy Thursday is the fact that Christ instituted the Priesthood in order to perpetuate the Eucharist. Jesus said: "Do this in remembrance of me." It was not enough for Jesus to offer up the Eucharist. It was His will that, through the Priesthood, the Eucharist would be available to all His people throughout the ages. He would continue to give His Body and Blood as food to all generations of Christians. Through the Eucharist, which only the Priest can make present in the world, Jesus continues to renew the Last Supper, which itself was the sacramental anticipation of His Sacrifice on the Cross.
During this Holy Thursday celebration we think of how the plan of Christ has been put into practice during all these centuries. We think of the many priests who have served God’s people, who have been able to unite the people of God around an altar in order to celebrate together the Death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. We think also of everything else that has been accomplished through the other sacramental acts of Christ’s priests. We think of the forgiveness of sins. We think of how the pardon and compassion and mercy of God have been kept alive through the Catholic priesthood. For all of this, we give thanks to God today. And as we give thanks to God for the priesthood, we pray that He will raise up many young and generous priests to carry on the priestly work of His beloved Son, our great High Priest Jesus Christ. We accept seriously and with commitment our task to pray and work for vocations to the Priesthood.
The third aspect of Holy Thursday is the aspect of loving service. In the Gospel we see Jesus exercising his servanthood. We see Jesus kneeling before His apostles. Jesus washes their feet and tells them: "I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."
Jesus is talking about much more that the washing of the feet, although the Church does repeat this humble gesture every year on Holy Thursday. What Jesus is talking about is a way of life—a life of service. The Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharist is our food and our strength, but the Eucharist is also our challenge. We are challenged to use the strength and power of the Body and Blood of Christ in order to imitate His servanthood and serve one another.
We must remember that the Last Supper was indeed the anticipation of the Sacrifice that Jesus offered the next day on Good Friday. On Good Friday, Jesus gave His life for the salvation of the world. He offered Himself completely to His Father and His Father lovingly accepted His Sacrifice. The night before Jesus died, He made it possible for His Church to renew the Sacrifice of His death in the form of a meal under the signs of bread and wine, a meal that would recall the great Passover meal of the Old Testament that brought God’s people into freedom.
The Mass always remains the Lord’s Supper. But it is also the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which re-presents and renews the Sacrifice of the Cross. The Sacrifice of the Cross is the supreme act of Christ’s giving, the supreme act of His generosity, the supreme act of His service. At the same time, it is for us the supreme challenge to service. There is no doubt about it: Jesus intends that those for whom He laid down His life would in turn lay down their lives for others.
Dear brothers and sisters: the Church proclaims that the Body and Blood of the living Jesus Christ are present under the signs of bread and wine. Our holy Catholic faith also assures us that, after the celebration of Mass, the living Jesus Christ remains present in the Eucharist and that the Eucharist is to be adored. Finally, all of us who are one body in Christ and one body with one another are invited to lay down our lives in humble service.
Let us remember tonight and always the final challenge of Holy Thursday—those words of Jesus: "I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do." Amen .
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass of the Lord's Supper
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 21, 2011
Dear Friends,
This evening we are celebrating the second Mass of Holy Thursday. It is called the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.
Earlier this morning we celebrated the Chrism Mass. It was a magnificent assembly of priests and people, including a number of young people. During the Mass, I blessed the holy oils for the catechumens and the sick, and I consecrated the sacred Chrism, which is used in anointing those who are baptized, confirmed and ordained to the priesthood.
In the homily at that Mass I spoke about the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ, its relation to the Eucharist, and how important it is in the Church. I expressed our gratitude and support for the lives and ministry of our priests. All of our priests, in the presence of God’s people, renewed their commitment to sacred celibacy and faithful service.
At this Mass the texts of Sacred Scripture immerse us in the mystery of the Eucharist. To understand the liturgy that we are celebrating we must speak about the Eucharist itself, about the priesthood, without which the Eucharist cannot exist, and about Christ’s commandment of love and service. Jesus says: “I give you a new commandment. Love one another as I have loved you.”
Today is the anniversary of the institution of the Eucharist. It is also the anniversary of the institution of the priesthood. The two sacraments go together. There can be no Eucharist without the priesthood. The priesthood exists to make the Eucharist possible.
The Gospel of Saint John that we proclaimed this evening takes us to the Last Supper. Actually Saint John does not speak about the Eucharist. The other three evangelists—Matthew, Mark and Luke—describe its institution. Saint Paul does so also. Saint John, on the other hand, presumes it and goes on to speak about Christ’s attitude of love and service, which was the reason Christ instituted the Eucharist and the priesthood.
These then are the three elements that make up our Holy Thursday reflection: 1) the gift of the Eucharist, 2) the gift of the priesthood and 3) Christ’s love for us manifested in washing the feet of His apostles in humble service.
The institution of the Eucharist is beautifully described for us by Saint Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians. This Letter was written only about twenty years after the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. This is the first account of what took place at the Last Supper. It precedes the other accounts written by Matthew, Mark and Luke.
The words that Saint Paul records are the basic formula that we hear pronounced in every Eucharist: “This is my body which will be given up for you.” “This is the cup of my blood…. It will be shed for you….” And finally: “Do this in memory of me.”
Christ’s command—“Do this in memory of me”—links the Eucharist and the priesthood. The Church teaches that the Apostles whom Jesus had chosen to celebrate the Eucharist passed on this power to their successors in the priesthood. And so tonight the command of Christ is once more fulfilled: “Do this in memory of me.”
But what is it that we are doing in memory of Christ?
The Church evokes the memory of Christ’s Last Supper, but she does this in a sacramental way. She makes this Supper sacramentally present for us.
We know also that this Last Supper was the proclamation—as Saint Paul says—of the Death of the Lord. The Last Supper was also the anticipation of the Sacrifice that Christ would consummate on Good Friday by His Death on the Cross, and that the Father would ratify by raising Him from the dead.
And so the Church teaches that each Eucharistic celebration, each Mass, is the sacramental re-enactment of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Our Eucharist tonight brings us into contact with the Redemption that Jesus accomplished by His Paschal Mystery.
The Eucharist re-presents sacramentally the Last Supper. It re-presents the Sacrifice of Calvary. It makes actual in our lives the whole liberating action that Jesus accomplished by his Death and Resurrection.
Holy Thursday for us, then, means the Mass and the priest who celebrates every Mass: our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Holy Thursday also means the love that motivated Jesus to gather His Apostles together at the Last Supper and to die for them, and for all of us, on Good Friday.
Finally Holy Thursday means for us the challenge to follow Jesus in the loving service that He performs for His apostles by washing their feet. Jesus was willing to serve others generously. He was willing to give His life in sacrifice for the redemption of the world.
Tonight Jesus gives us the privilege of joining in the celebration of His Eucharist, which is both Sacrifice and Supper. But He also challenges us to embrace His sentiments, to take on His attitude, to love one another as He has loved us, to be willing to surrender ourselves in service to one another.
“Do you realize what I have done for you?”—Jesus says to us. “You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.”
Tonight His final words to us are these: “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”
Dear friends: this too is Holy Thursday: a new way of loving, giving and serving; a new way to be a family, to be a community, to be the Church; a new way to be a spouse, a parent, a son or daughter, a priest, deacon, religious or seminarian, a dedicated single person; a new way to live the life of Jesus and to follow Him to His Death and Resurrection. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for Archdiocese of Philadelphia Participants in the March for Life
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Washington, DC
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Praised be Jesus Christ!
I warmly greet all of you, brother Bishops, dear priests, deacons, religious sisters and brothers, seminarians, so many of the lay faithful, and, in a special way, the many young people who have traveled from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to participate in the Annual March for Life. Your presence is an eloquent witness to your commitment to protect the God-given right to life, from the moment of conception to natural death. I thank you for your efforts and I express as well my deep gratitude to all in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia who, although unable to make this journey to Washington, are united with us in prayer and fasting. Together, we raise to heaven our urgent appeal for all whose lives are threatened by abortion and other assaults against the dignity and sanctity of human life.
In the name of all who are gathered here for this Mass, I express heartfelt gratitude to the Rector and Staff of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for their cordial welcome and wonderful accommodation. Each time we come to this magnificent shrine, we are made to feel at home. We look forward to our return to the shrine for our Philadelphia Pilgrimage in May.
Today, before we peacefully and prayerfully march for the cause of life, we turn for strength to Jesus through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Formed by the word of God and nourished by the Body of Christ, we are indeed fortified for the task at hand: to give bold witness to the Gospel of Life in the daunting face of the culture of death. We know that no matter how relentless the assaults on the dignity of life seem, the strength which comes from God is far stronger and offers immense hope.
The Church today celebrates the memorial of a third-century martyr, Saint Vincent of Saragossa. As a deacon, he was a minister of the Word and of the Precious Blood, and an administrator of charity. The tradition of the Church relates to us the ferocious tortures which were inflicted upon this young man for his refusal to deny Christ. His courage and resistance served to infuriate the Roman governor. However, the steadfast faith, serenity and joy with which he accepted and embraced his suffering deeply moved his tormentors. According to tradition, they converted to faith in Christ.
Saint Augustine, who is the greatest source of information about the martyrdom of Saint Vincent, speaks to us in the Liturgy of the Hours on this day, saying: "There is no need to wonder … that Vincent conquered in him who conquered the world. Christ said: In this world you will suffer persecution, but in such wise that the persecution will not overwhelm, and the attack will not overcome you. Against Christ’s army the world arrays a twofold battle line. It offers temptation to lead us astray; it strikes terror into us to break our spirit. Hence if our personal pleasures do not hold us captive, and if we are not frightened by brutality, then the world is overcome. At both of these approaches Christ rushes to our aid, and the Christian is not conquered. If you were to consider in Vincent’s martyrdom only human endurance, then his act is unbelievable from the outset. But first recognize the power to be from God, and he ceases to be a source of wonder" (Office of Readings, January 22).
The Liturgy of the Word on this memorial instructs us in the words of Saint Paul: "We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in our body the dying of Jesus" (2 Cor 4: 8-10). Affliction and perplexity certainly arise as we ponder how in our world the gift of life, the beautiful gift of a child, could be viewed as a burden - or even as an aggressor. In the face of the many new and frightening challenges to life, especially the proposed "Freedom of Choice Act," many could fall into a sense of defeat and despair. However, our strength is in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Saint Paul emphasizes that the "one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus" (2 Cor 4:14). God’s plan is for victory and, in the strength which comes from God, ultimately we will be victorious in Christ.
The words of the Gospel, too, serve to allay our fears. Jesus commands us: "...do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you" (Mt 10:19-20). The eloquence of the presence of so many hundreds of thousands united in the cause of life demonstrates that, with power from above, we will walk in virtue, and the cause of truth—which is the cause of life itself—will be exalted.
For this effort, we need the great gift of perseverance. In spite of the misunderstandings of many, the onslaught of efforts from those opposed to the gift of life, and the setbacks that may be on the horizon, we will not surrender. We will continue to ask God for the great gift of perseverance in our own lives, in our every effort in defense of the beautiful gift of life—all human life.
Today, as we unite ourselves with people of many faiths to give common witness to the cause of life, with the Psalmist we pray: "Let us together extol his name. I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears" (Ps 34:4-5). We are calling upon the Lord for what is taking place today. At the same time, we must realize that what is taking place today is in response to prayer. Truly, God is stirring more and more hearts to reject the culture of death and to embrace the Gospel of Life. The multitudes we will walk with today are only a small representation of the millions who are united with us in prayer, in hope, in perseverance for the cause of life.
Once again, we derive inspiration from the example of Saint Vincent of Saragossa. As Saint Vincent did not waver in his witness to the truth, so we remain unwavering in our commitment to the truth that all life is sacred, all life has value, all life must be protected. We are engaged in a battle against a false mind set that "choice" and "freedom" mean that people need not accept responsibility for their actions and that anything—or anyone—that is an inconvenience can be disregarded and discarded. Ours is the task to inform, to enlighten and to encourage people of good will that genuine freedom involves a selfless mind set and a true reliance on God.
Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed these words to us last April during the Mass at Yankee Stadium in New York: "Real freedom, then, is God’s gracious gift, the fruit of conversion to his truth which makes us free (cf. John 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" (Homily, April 20, 2008).
Dear friends: the urgency of our mission has led us to our Nation’s Capital. In our minds and in our hearts are all the unborn children, all of the infirm and the suffering. In each human person for whom we march today we recognize and honor the presence of Jesus, the Word made flesh, the Son of God made man. For Jesus and his truth we march today. With Jesus in our hearts, we show our nation that life is a gift, and no child—no person—can be identified as a burden. We entrust humbly and lovingly all of our efforts to the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the New Eve and the Mother of Life. By her prayers, may Jesus be formed in us all and may we, like Mary, always bear the love and the presence of Jesus in all that we do and to everyone whom we meet. By the grace and mercy of God and through our efforts may the Gospel of Life be proclaimed throughout our land. Amen!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
48th Annual Maronite Convention
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
July 10, 2011
Dear Bishop Mansour, Bishop Shaheen, Bishop Doueihi,
Dear Brother Priests and Deacons,
Dear Religious and Lay Faithful of the Maronite Church,
It is a great joy for me to welcome all of you to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul here in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Your presence is a great blessing for our local Church. We assure you of our prayers for the success of your annual convention and for the realization of your theme this year, which is Identity and Evangelization in the Spirit of Saint Maron.
This is indeed a very important moment for the Maronite Church. You are gathered together to reaffirm your holy Catholic faith and all the sacred values of your Maronite Church. Through the assistance of Tele Lumière you do so before so many brothers and sisters in the Arab world and beyond.
As we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on this Sunday as we always do, at the same time you are blessed to have a commemoration on this day of the Three Massabki Brothers, Martyrs at Damascus. The commemoration of these Martyrs is a great remembrance of the tremendous sacrifice that is part of the legacy of the Maronite Church. These brothers, Francis, Abdul Mohti and Raphael shed their blood in fidelity to Jesus Christ our Lord. They will remain forever luminous witnesses of the Maronite Church, holy martyrs who will remind future generations forever of the fidelity of the Maronite Church.
The power of Christ's Resurrection is seen in the power of these martyrs to offer up their life in sacrifice. The treasure of their martyrdom remains part of what you, dear friends, as Maronite Catholics transmit from generation to generation as a special gem of your Church.
The world changes rapidly, customs change rapidly but the power of God's word endures forever and the message of your holy martyrs is something that is forever relevant. How moving are the words of the Letter to the Hebrews which we proclaim today. In the context of the assembly of the Maronite Church at this time, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us: "We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith." How accurately, dear friends, these words express the context of our Christian life. We are running the race that lies before us and we must indeed keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, just as the great witnesses of the Church have done in every generation and just as the Massabki Brothers so eloquently testify today. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us also that Jesus "endured the Cross, despising its shame and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God". And then the sacred author tells us to reflect in order not to grow weary and lose heart. I am thinking of your ancestors. I am thinking of the great tradition of loyalty and love that has come out of the Maronite Church. I am thinking about all the suffering that has been endured by faithful Maronites throughout the centuries, continuing up to our own age, in our own day. It is this great treasure of fidelity that you must reflect on during this convention.
And as you do this, as you recall all the trials inherent in your Catholic history, at the same time you remember the consoling words of Jesus that are repeated in the Gospel today: "Do not be afraid." Jesus also assures us of the importance of each one of us. He says: "You are worth more than many sparrows." Yes, dear friends, do not be afraid. The Spirit of God is with you. The Lord Jesus remains in your midst. Despite all the challenges and difficulties for our young people, despite all the sufferings that have been endured and that will always have to be endured in Christianity, the Lord is with you. And in your unity among yourselves, in the holy Maronite Catholic Church, you find strength.
Today we express our unity with Pope Benedict XVI. We are united with him in the communion of the universal Church, just as we are united with the Maronite martyrs at Damascus and just as we are united with all the Saints of God.
We are happy to recall all those whom God has chosen as your leaders. We express our communion in faith and love with Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, your new Patriarch who follows the tradition of your Church and assumes the name of Peter to express his union with our Holy Father. I remember my own encounters with the new Patriarch during my time in Lebanon. I remember his hospitality. And I remember also the visit of the Lebanese Bishops to the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis when Bishop Shaheen was consecrated a Bishop ten years ago, in 2001. I have been privileged to be close to the Maronite Church on so many occasions, including the enthronement of Bishop Mansour. And I shall always remember with deep affection and profound admiration Patriarch Nasrallah Pierre Cardinal Sfeir, together with the beloved pioneer Shepherd of the Maronite Church in the United States, Archbishop Francis Zayek, whose memory we all hold in reverence and benediction.
As we reflect on the great Catholic unity that we experience today, we also renew our intention and our solemn commitment to be faithful to Jesus Christ, to His holy Catholic Church, to His Gospel, to His way of life and to His Blessed Mother, Mary, who is Our Lady of Lebanon and the Mother of His Church.
We know that our Blessed Mother is with us in all the challenges and in all the joys and sorrows, all the hopes and difficulties of our earthly pilgrimage. With her help, therefore, beloved friends, we will keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith, and we will run the race in the unity of faith, knowing that we are loved by God, sustained by His grace and supported by His promise of unfailing help. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Interfaith Prayer Service
on the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Saint Raymond of Peñafort Church, Philadelphia
January 15, 2006
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I greet you with great joy this afternoon as we gather in prayer to God, recalling the memory of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Today is the actual date of his birthday. We join all our fellow Americans in thanking God for this man of peace.
I greet with esteem and respect the leaders and members of various Religious Traditions that are here today. Our gathering is a powerful witness to the fact that we are all children of one God, one heavenly Father.
I am grateful to the Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and the Office for Black Catholics for coordinating this effort. I also would like to thank Monsignor John O’Brien and the parishioners of Saint Raymond Church for hosting us this afternoon.
This past year, our nation mourned the loss of Rosa Parks. Mrs. Parks was known as the "mother of the Civil Rights movement." In 1999 I had the honor of presenting her to Pope John Paul II during his visit to St. Louis. As we know, her story was a simple one. She stood up for what is right by sitting down. She was the woman who refused to give up her seat to a white man in the front of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Mrs. Parks was quoted as saying, "I was not just physically tired that day from work, I was tired of the segregation and injustice, so I refused to get up." This act of quiet defiance energized a boycott of the bus system that lasted for over a year and led to the end of that form of segregation. This boycott was led by a young Baptist minister from Atlanta, Martin Luther King, Jr.
What was so significant about this act of civil disobedience was that it was non- violent. In fact, the principle of non-violence marked all the efforts of Dr. King to challenge our nation to live out its conviction that indeed "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Yet, this notion of non-violence was not an original idea of Dr. King. He learned it well from Jesus Christ, who so often speaks of forgiveness, mercy and love.
In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus says: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?" (Matthew 5:43-46).
Jesus also says: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" (Matthew 5:8).
This principle of justice achieved by non-violent means is meant to characterize all religions in the tradition of Abraham. As Christians, Jews and Muslims, we all strive towards the goal of true justice being achieved through peaceful means. In this way we also honor Dr. King on his birthday and perpetuate his great legacy. Today we are called to recommit ourselves to being true peacemakers and finding non-violent ways to solve our challenges and conflicts. This is an important message to be communicated especially by parents and the teachers of our children. Our homes must be the first and best schools of non-violence, mercy and love.
We are all witnesses to how our community cries out for peace and the cessation of so many murders and other violent acts that militate against the very foundation of our society. How grateful we all are to religious leaders and to all our fellow citizens who work so hard to promote harmony and peace in our neighborhoods and help our young people to realize the need for love and service of others!
In a few moments, we will sing, "We shall overcome, we shall overcome some day." This was the anthem for Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement and this is still our goal and prayer. With God’s grace and our hard work, we shall overcome! Yes, we shall overcome prejudice and racism. We shall overcome hatred and anger, with their violence and killings. We shall overcome and live as brothers and sisters of one Heavenly Father. Amen.
Reflection of Cardinal Justin Rigali
25th Archdiocesan Interfaith Service in Remembrance of
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Saint Katharine Drexel Catholic Church, Chester, PA
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Dear Friends,
Today we gather in the City of Chester to pray and to remember the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I am happy to be here in this place of worship which honors a woman of Philadelphia, Saint Katharine Drexel, who dedicated her life to serving the needs of the least among us. I joyfully greet all of you in a spirit of oneness and peace. I especially acknowledge the leaders of various religious communities who join me in this Prayer Service.
The Year 2008 is a special year for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as we celebrate our Bicentennial. In fact, April 8, 1808 is the actual date that the Diocese of Philadelphia was founded. Since last Easter, many events have helped us to give thanks and praise to God for the past 200 years. We also have been living out our theme, which is “Serving the People of God—In the Beginning, Now and Always.”
Today, my brothers and sisters, in this year of grace we also celebrate the Silver Jubilee of this interfaith Prayer Service. For the past 25 years, as a community of faith, we have gathered as Christians, Jews and Muslims, to remember the life and work of Dr. King and to pray together for equality and peace in our communities and in our world.
In selecting this site to gather today, especially on this anniversary, we return to Chester, the city, which had such an impact upon the life and ministry of Dr. King as a preacher of God’s Word. He lived in Chester, he also studied here and preached here. Dr. King was a Christian and this City helped form him into the man of God that he was.
We have heard today various selections from sacred texts and they invite each or us to embrace peace in our heart and actions. I would like to focus on the Words of Jesus we heard in the Gospel of Matthew. We heard these words, which are worthy to repeat—“The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).
I believe that Dr. King heard those words many times and preached on them as well. But more importantly, he lived those words. His life was one marked by service to God and to his neighbor. He committed his life and indeed gave his life for all people of this nation at a time when we needed to be reminded of the words of our Constitution, “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal.”
It is not enough just to gather to reflect upon the life work of Dr. King, to sing and to pray; we must do more to honor the memory of Dr. King. I invite you to commit to action through community service. You might consider mentoring our youth or shopping for our elder members. Maybe you can assist with keeping our streets clean, or volunteering at recreation centers. Simply saying hello to a stranger can be so very welcomed by someone alone and lonely. These simple acts of service, acts of kindness can make our world a better place.
One of Dr. King’s favorite songs was, “If I Can Help Somebody.” The words of this famous song in the African American tradition are so beautiful, let me share a verse with you today: “If I can help somebody as I pass along, if I can cheer somebody with a word or a song, if I can show somebody that they’re traveling wrong, then my living shall not be in vain.”
May these words ring true as we strive to serve the people of God now and always. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Annual Archdiocesan Prayer Service
remembering the life of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Saint Patrick Catholic Church, Norristown
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Dear Friends,
I joyfully greet you in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is He who gathers us this afternoon, on this Sunday, His day, to offer praise and thanksgiving to His Almighty Father. Jesus is the Word made Flesh and the Splendor of the Father, who unites us as one Body.
In a particular way, we gather to remember the life of Martin Luther King, a Christian and a Minister of the Word. Indeed, it was the Word of God and Dr. King’s deep convictions that led him to challenge our nation to live out its creed that all men are created equal. This annual prayer service, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is important and offers an opportunity for us to join fellow Christians, and all people of good will, to remember that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. We dare not call Him “Father,” if we do not look upon one another as brothers and sisters.
I am grateful to all of you who have come to this historic and beautiful Church dedicated to Saint Patrick for this Prayer Service. How appropriate for us to be here during this year when Saint Patrick Parish celebrates its 175th anniversary as the mother Church of Norristown and strives to be a place of welcome and hospitality to all.
Even though we may be from various races and cultures and may speak different languages, we are all bound together in Jesus Christ. That bond of unity was the foundation of the beautiful words that Saint Paul wrote from his prison cell to the Church at Ephesus, which we heard proclaimed today and are worthy to repeat:
“I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:1-6).
Dr. King heard those words and proclaimed those words; but, more importantly, Martin Luther King endeavored to live those words. It was that message of gentleness, unity and peace that took him from the pulpit of his Baptist Church to the mountaintop to fight for civil rights. Yet, his fight was always non-violent, using the power of love. Yes, love is stronger than hate; and that is why Dr. King would often say, “When bad people tear down, good people must build up.”
Yet, we must not simply recall or quote the words of Dr. King. We are challenged to live the message that he lived and for which he ultimately gave his life. In a world that often is scarred by anger and anxiety, hatred and hostility, it is our duty as followers of Jesus Christ to work for justice, unity and peace.
Perhaps, the best way to remember Dr. King is for each of us to remind ourselves that we all share the same human dignity. All of us, “black men and white men, Jew and Gentile, Protestant and Catholic” indeed—born and unborn—are children of one God. Hence, there can be no place for racism, bigotry or prejudice in our words and actions.
As we began our Prayer this afternoon, we sang—“In Christ there is no east or west, in Him no south or north, but one great family bound by love throughout the whole wide earth.” May those words ring true, and may the prayer of Jesus to His Heavenly Father become a reality—“may they be one as we are one”. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Delivered by Bishop Timothy Senior
Archdiocesan Prayer Service
in Remembrance of the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King
Saint Malachy Catholic Church
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Dear Friends,
We gather this afternoon in this beautiful Church of Saint Malachy to remember the life of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I thank all of you for being here and I offer special greetings to the Religious Leaders, who join us. I also thank Monsignor Kevin Lawrence, the Pastor of this Church and the good people of Saint Malachy for their hospitality, as they serve as our host today.
This Prayer Service, sponsored by our Archdiocese since 1983, gives us an opportunity to gather as people from different races, cultures and Faith Traditions to pray. This Church, like any House of Worship is fundamentally a place for prayer. What is prayer but simply, “the elevation of the mind and heart to God in praise of His glory” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2559).
Dr. King was a Christian and a man of prayer. He was schooled in prayer as a son of a Baptist Minister. He heard the Scared Scriptures and the teachings of Jesus at home and in church. But Dr. King also knew that prayer must always lead to action. Indeed, prayer leads us “to go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” That is precisely why Dr. King went from the pulpit of his Baptist Church in Atlanta to the mountain top of our nation to challenge us to live what we profess.
In our very City of Philadelphia, these words written: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men and created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with some unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Yet, words must lead to action.
In the Gospel proclaimed today, we heard Jesus say: “‘For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say: ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me’” (Matthew 25: 31ff).
Our Lord vests Himself in the poor, the broken, the vulnerable and that is precisely where we are called to seek and serve Him. Whether they are sick and elderly, or the unborn child or the person in prison, all have human dignity and deserve our service and love.
Dr. King once said: “Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.”
This Prayer Service is a wonderful opportunity to come together. It must however lead us and inspire us to be better people, kinder people, most compassionate and more committed to building a “Beloved Community.” We don’t need more words, we need more witness! Yes, we can say that racism and bigotry are wrong, but we must act with justice and fairness to all people. For we dare not call God our Father, if we do not act like brothers and sisters.
I am so grateful that our Archdiocese will sponsor a Day of Community Service tomorrow on the National Holiday for Dr. King. For we know that his holiday is not a day off, but a “day on”. A day to put our words into action. Our young people and many adult volunteers will gather tomorrow at Saint Peter Claver Center for Evangelization. After prayer, they will then go forth to offer themselves in service to the needy. Young and old, black and white, male and female, all working together to serve others. Isn’t that what Dr. King wanted? More importantly, is that not the message of Jesus?
As we pray this afternoon, as we “lift every voice and sing”, may our words draw us closer to each other and to God who loves us all. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for Catholic Elementary Educators
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
January 31, 2008
Brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons, Religious,
Administrators and Teachers in our Elementary Schools,
Members of the Secretariat of Catholic Education,
My dear Collaborators and Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
During this Catholic Schools Week, our thoughts go to our students and to all those who from the beginning of our Catholic schools have done so much in the cause of Catholic education at all levels. We think of our pioneers, the men and women of vision and generosity, who have given of themselves to that the youth of each generation may receive the legacy of faith through Catholic education. We think of all our parishes, priests and parishioners, parents and educators—past and present—who through love and sacrifice have promoted, supported and sustained Catholic schools, helping thousands upon thousands of children and young people come to a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ and live upright Christian lives.
It is a joy and privilege therefore to be at this Mass with all of you who gather especially from the Bucks County and Philadelphia North and South Vicariates. Our celebration of the Eucharist is the supreme expression of gratitude to God for the many contributions and sacrifices you make to advance Catholic education. Catholic schools light the way and you light our Catholic schools.
It is particularly appropriate that we gather on this feast of Saint John Bosco. Don Bosco, as he was called, had a great love for children. He felt drawn to minister to the unfortunate boys who roamed the streets. He opened a boarding school and provided vocational training. In a short time he was working with over 500 boys enabling them to develop skills as carpenters, bookbinders, tailors and printers.
Don Bosco’s love for children was a reflection of that deep love Jesus has for children. Today’s Gospel is one of a number of biblical accounts in which Jesus expresses how special children are. In a response to a question about who is great in the Kingdom of God, Jesus holds up a child as an example for His disciples. Greatness in the Kingdom of God is measured by willingness to become like an innocent child. Failure to do so is a barrier for entry into the Kingdom of God.
The Gospel makes clear that encounters with children are special moments. They are unique opportunities for an encounter with Christ himself. Jesus reveals that "Whoever receives one child in my name receives me." When we receive a child, we receive Jesus into our lives. As teachers in Catholic schools you have the privilege of working constantly with children. By receiving them you receive Jesus.
As teachers, elementary school educators, you manifest Christ’s concern for young people and collaborate with the Church in seeking their well-being. By your sacrifice and love, you enable them to experience Christ’s love. "Young people," Pope Benedict XVI has said, "must feel loved by the Church. In this way, they will experience, in the Church, Christ’s love for them. In turn they will learn to love the Lord and to trust in his Body, which is the Church" (Address of Pope Benedict XVI to the Italian Bishops, May 30, 2005).
You, dear friends, must be witnesses of Christ to your students. This morning, in his Letter to the Philippians, Saint Paul tells us: "Your kindness should be known to all." You are the image of God and through your work and example you manifest the presence of God to students who often have difficulty finding him. You make God visible and offer students access to him.
Catholic schools provide young people with a broad-based curriculum that is academically rigorous. We can accept nothing less. However, Catholic schools are not simply institutions which offer high quality academic instruction. They are effective vehicles of total Christian formation and form part of the saving mission of the Church. The dimension of faith, our holy Catholic faith, is the most distinguishing characteristic of the education we provide. It is the primary reason that parents send their children to Catholic schools. A strong Catholic identity must exist, and not only in religion class. A Catholic culture must permeate the entire curriculum, the building, and most of all the people in the school. What is so exhilarating for you to realize is that the Catholic identity of your school begins with you and your personal witness of faith.
In his most recent encyclical "On Christian Hope," Pope Benedict suggests that life is like a voyage on the sea of history. On that voyage we watch for the stars that indicate the route. The true stars of our lives are the people who have lived good lives. They are lights of hope. Jesus Christ is the true light, but to reach him we also need lights close by, people who shine with His light and so guide us along our way.
You are lights, dear educators, for your students. Through your teaching, students learn a variety of subjects. Even more, they come to know God. By your words, and especially your actions, you guide them to a deeper relationship with Jesus. Your life, your example of living faith, is your most effective contribution as a teacher. Students hear what you say, they believe what you do.
We all know that the teaching vocation is not easy. It is time-consuming and, at times, exhausting. Since it entails many sacrifices, it is easy for one to become discouraged when students seem indifferent to the subject matter and when the fruits of one’s labor are not immediately visible. A number of the students you teach, and their families, profess no religion or belong to other religious traditions. Some are baptized Catholics for whom the spark of faith has grown dim and who are living on the margins of the Church. What an important role you play in their lives!
Saint Paul offers encouragement. In his Letter to the Philippians he writes, "Keep on doing what you have learned and received." It is important that you persevere. Your model is Christ Himself, who suffered for us and with us. It is through union with Jesus that sacrifice becomes meaningful and faith matures. The saints were able to undertake great sacrifice because of what Christ had done before them. Saint John Bosco is just one example. He worked with marginal students who often disappointed him, refused to cooperate and even stole from him. He persevered because he united himself with Christ in the midst of his trials. Rooted in God’s love, he found strength not merely to endure, but to succeed.
The true measure of humanity is essentially determined by the capacity to sacrifice for a greater good. Love always requires painful renunciation of ourselves for others. You show how much the students matter to you by your willingness to sacrifice out of love for them. You give the gift of yourself so that they might become the people that God truly wants them to be.
The sacrifices you offer for your students provide an inspiration for them. They need witnesses who have given totally of themselves to show them the way. By preferring goodness to comfort in the choices you make each day, you show them how to live life to the full. You give them courage to place themselves on the side of good even in difficult situations. By your teaching and sacrifice, you demonstrate your hope for them, and in so doing, you give them hope for themselves and their future.
To persevere as a witness for Christ in the face of so many challenges requires a close personal relationship with Jesus. In order for us to bring Jesus to others, Jesus must first be at the core of our own lives. This is possible only through prayer and the sacraments. These are the foundation for perseverance in any Christian vocation. Saint Paul encourages the Philippians to devote themselves to prayer. He writes, "By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.
There is no more effective prayer than the Eucharist. It is the most powerful means for achieving union with Jesus. The Eucharist is at the heart of who we are as teachers. It is the font from which the teaching ministry draws its life. It is the purpose for which all Catholic education exists.
In the Eucharist, Jesus does not give us a thing, but Himself. In the Eucharist He is near to us and we experience what Saint Paul refers to as "the peace of God which surpasses all understanding." United with Christ, we should have no anxiety. His love alone enables us to persevere day by day. His love guarantees our hope for the future. You, dear friends, face the challenges related to the Church’s teaching mission with the assurance that Jesus accompanies you on the journey. You have the joy of knowing that you are not alone in this wonderful vocation, this important mission.
The Eucharist transforms us. We become what we have received, Christ Himself. The Eucharist empowers us to a love of others and commits us to bear witness to God’s love through our words and actions. Your vocation as teachers, as educators is so vital. Through the Eucharist, you become the means by which God’s love and compassion reach students. This is what offers you a great sense of fulfillment.
There is so much to be grateful for today. In the name of the Archdiocese, I express my deep thanks, first of all, to the parents who have entrusted the education and formation of their children to our Catholic schools. I am grateful for the support of the entire Catholic community who by their prayers and financial generosity enable our schools to accomplish their mission. Today, I express particular appreciation to all who teach and serve in the elementary schools of this Archdiocese. You have given generously of yourselves to advance the teaching mission of Christ’s Church.
Catholic schools light the way because of people like you. You communicate so much more than know-how. You help form human beings who know and love God and seek the well-being of others. Young people of the third millennium must be a source of energy and leadership in our Church and our nation. Hence, we depend upon you to set high academic standards and instill a spirit of faith and values rooted in Christ. By equipping our young people with an education, rooted in the person of Jesus Christ, you ensure that they have the foundation to live moral and upright lives in our complex modern world.
The future of the world and the Church belongs to the younger generation. We are proud of our students. The tendency to do good is very strong in young people. So many of them, however, look to you for encouragement. Our families and the whole Archdiocese of Philadelphia need you and your commitment.
At this time I wish to affirm you and your commitment to Catholic education. I thank you for the many sacrifices you make on behalf of the children that God places before you. Dear educators: we entrust you, the students whom you teach and all our Catholic schools to the patronage of Mary, Seat of Wisdom. Through her maternal intercession, may our Lord Jesus Christ confirm you all in strength and joy as you generously serve the children whom He loves so much. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for Catholic Elementary Educators
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
February 1, 2008
Brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons, Religious,
Administrators and Teachers in our Elementary Schools,
Members of the Secretariat of Catholic Education,
My dear Collaborators and Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons, Religious,
Administrators and Teachers in our Elementary Schools,
Members of the Secretariat of Catholic Education,
My dear Collaborators and Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
During this Catholic Schools Week, our thoughts go to our students and to all those who from the beginning of our Catholic schools have done so much in the cause of Catholic education at all levels. We think of our pioneers, the men and women of vision and generosity who have given of themselves so that the youth of each generation may receive the legacy of faith through Catholic education. We think of all our parishes, priests and parishioners, parents and educators—past and present—who through love and sacrifice have promoted, supported and sustained Catholic schools, helping thousands upon thousands of children and young people come to a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ and live upright Christian lives.
It is a joy and privilege therefore to be at Mass with all of you who gather especially from the Chester County, Delaware County and Montgomery County Vicariates. Our celebration of the Eucharist is the supreme expression of gratitude to God for the many contributions and sacrifices you make to advance Catholic education. Catholic schools light the way and you light our Catholic schools.
I am so pleased that we are together on this first Friday of February. The practice of attending Mass and receiving Holy Communion on the first Friday of each month traces its roots to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. During a series of revelations, she was instructed by the Lord Jesus Himself to encourage the frequent reception of the Eucharist, particularly on the first Friday of each month.
Saint Margaret Mary was also directed to promote devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She grew up in France at a time when God was portrayed as a stern judge. This distorted image was far removed from the loving and merciful Jesus who is revealed in the Sacred Scriptures. As a result, believers felt distant from God. They were fearful and hesitant to draw near. Devotion to the Sacred Heart was intended to restore the figure of Christ. Rather than a God who delights in punishment, ours is a God who delights in salvation. Rather than a God to be feared, ours is a God to be sought after. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a heart that overflows with love particularly for the poor and lowly.
The Church, founded on the Blood of Christ, is called to bear witness to the love that flows forth from the Heart of Christ. As elementary educators, you manifest Christ’s concern for young people and collaborate with the Church in seeking their well-being. By your sacrifice and love, you enable them to experience Christ’s love. "Young people," Pope Benedict has stated "must feel loved by the Church. In this way, they will experience, in the Church, Christ’s love for them. In turn they will learn to love the Lord and to trust in his Body, which is the Church" (Address of Pope Benedict XVI to the Italian Bishops, May 30, 2005).
You, dear friends, must be witnesses of Christ to your students. You are the image of God and through your work and example you manifest the presence of God to students who often have difficulty finding him. You make God visible and offer students access to him.
Catholic schools provide young people with a broad-based curriculum that is academically rigorous. We can accept nothing less. However, Catholic schools are not simply institutions which offer high quality academic instruction. They are effective vehicles of total Christian formation and form part of the saving mission of the Church. The dimension of faith, our holy Catholic faith, is the most distinguishing characteristic of the education we provide. It is the primary reason that parents send their children to Catholic schools. A strong Catholic identity must exist, and not only in religion class. A Catholic culture must permeate the entire curriculum, the building, and most of all the people in the school. What is so exhilarating for you to realize is that the Catholic identity of your school begins with you and your personal witness of faith.
In his most recent encyclical "On Christian Hope," Pope Benedict suggests that life is like a voyage on the sea of history. On that voyage we watch for the stars that indicate the route. The true stars of our lives are the people who have lived good lives. They are lights of hope. Jesus Christ is the true light, but to reach him we also need lights close by, people who shine with His light and so guide us along our way.
You are lights, dear educators, for your students. Through your teaching, students learn a variety of subjects. Even more, they come to know God. By your words, and especially your actions, you guide them to a deeper relationship with Jesus. Your life, your example of living faith, is your most effective contribution as a teacher. Students hear what you say, they believe what you do.
We all know that the teaching vocation is not easy. The Letter to the Hebrews, which we have just heard proclaimed, reminds us that discipleship often entails many sacrifices. We read of those who "endured a great contest of suffering," who were "exposed to abuse and affliction." We read further of some who actively embraced hardship out of love for Christ. They willingly associated with those who were mistreated and joined in their sufferings.
As teachers, you have made many sacrifices. Your work is time consuming and, at times, exhausting. It is easy to become discouraged when students seem indifferent to the subject matter and when the fruits of your labor are not immediately visible. A number of the students you teach, and their families, profess no religion or belong to other religious traditions. Some are baptized Catholics, for whom the spark of faith has grown dim and who are living on the margins of the Church. What an important role you play in their lives!
The Letter to the Hebrews offers encouragement. Here we read, "Do not throw away your confidence. You need endurance to do the will of God." It is important for you to persevere. Your model is Christ Himself, who suffered for us and with us. It is through union with Jesus that sacrifice becomes meaningful and faith matures. The saints were able to undertake great sacrifice because of what Christ had done before them. Saint Margaret Mary is just one example. She was humiliated and encountered great hostility from those who questioned the authenticity of her mystical revelations. She persevered because she united herself with Christ in the midst of her trials. Filled with the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, she found strength not merely to endure, but to succeed.
The true measure of humanity is essentially determined by the capacity to sacrifice for a greater good. Love always requires painful renunciation of ourselves for others. You show how much the students matter to you by your willingness to sacrifice out of love for them. You give the gift of yourself so that they might become the people that God truly wants them to be.
The sacrifices you offer for your students provide an inspiration for them. They need witnesses who have given totally of themselves to show them the way. By preferring goodness to comfort in the choices you make each day, you show them how to live life to the full. You give them courage to place themselves on the side of good even in difficult situations. By your teaching and sacrifice, you demonstrate your hope for them, and in so doing, you give them hope for themselves and their future.
To persevere as a witness for Christ in the face of so many challenges requires faith. The Letter to the Hebrews teaches, "My just one shall live by faith." It is faith that permits us to anticipate success, not because of our own efforts, but because of what God is able to accomplish through us. In Saint Mark’s Gospel, the Kingdom of God is likened to a seed that is planted by a farmer. However, it sprouts and grows even as the farmer sleeps. The fruit it yields is beyond the scope of the farmer. In the same way, you are instrumental in sowing seeds of faith and knowledge in the children you teach. This faith and knowledge will sprout and grow beyond any human effort and will yield abundant fruit through God’s grace.
A faith that enables us to trust that our efforts will be successful is the fruit of a close personal relationship with Jesus. This is possible only through prayer and the sacraments. There is no more effective prayer than the Eucharist. It is the most powerful means for achieving union with Jesus. The Eucharist is at the heart of who we are as teachers. It is the font from which the teaching ministry draws its life. It is the purpose for which all Catholic education exists.
In the Eucharist, Jesus does not give us a thing, but Himself. His love, the love of the Sacred Heart, enables us to persevere day by day. His love guarantees our hope for the future. You, dear friends, face the challenges related to the Church’s teaching mission with the assurance that Jesus accompanies you on the journey. You have the joy of knowing that you are not alone in this wonderful vocation, this important mission.
The Eucharist transforms us. We become what we have received, Christ Himself. The Eucharist empowers us to a love of others and commits us to bear witness to God’s love through our words and actions. Your vocation as teachers, as educators is so vital. Through the Eucharist, you become the means by which God’s love and compassion reach students. This is what offers you a great sense of fulfillment.
There is so much to be grateful for today. In the name of the Archdiocese I express my deep thanks, first of all, to the parents who have entrusted the education and formation of their children to our Catholic schools. I am grateful for the support of the entire Catholic community who by their prayers and financial generosity enable our schools to accomplish their mission. Today, I express particular appreciation to all who teach and serve in the elementary schools of this Archdiocese. You have given generously of yourselves to advance the teaching mission of Christ’s Church.
Catholic schools light the way because of people like you. You communicate so much more than know-how. You help form human beings who know and love God and seek the well-being of others. Young people of the third millennium must be a source of energy and leadership in our Church and our nation. Hence, we depend upon you to set high academic standards and instill a spirit of faith and values rooted in Christ. By equipping our young people with an education, rooted in the person of Jesus Christ, you ensure that they have the foundation to live moral and upright lives in our complex modern world.
The future of the world and the Church belongs to the younger generation. We are proud of our students. The tendency to do good is very strong in young people. So many of them, however, look to you for encouragement. Our families and the whole Archdiocese of Philadelphia need you and your commitment.
At this time I wish to affirm you and your commitment to Catholic education. I thank you for the many sacrifices you make on behalf of the children that God places before you. Dear educators: we entrust you, the students whom you teach and all our Catholic schools to the patronage of Mary, Seat of Wisdom. Through her maternal intercession, may our Lord Jesus Christ confirm you all in strength and joy as you generously serve the children whom He loves so much. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Vigil Mass for Life
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Your Eminences,
Archbishop Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States,
Archbishop Wuerl, Pastor of this Church of Washington,
Dear brother Bishops,
Dear Priests, Deacons, Consecrated Religious, Seminarians, Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Supporters and Defenders of human life, especially you, dear Young People of the Church,
We are privileged this evening, dear Friends, to assemble for the Eucharistic Sacrifice here in this great National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God. We gather in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the World, and we do this in order to affirm the primacy of God, the importance of His commandments, and the supreme value of every human life.
In our efforts to support the cause of human life, we immediately experience a great solidarity, a profound communion with millions of our brothers and sisters throughout this land—people of different faiths and of every ethnic background. We are grateful to the Eternal Word Television Network that places us in contact with millions of our fellow citizens, while it transmits our liturgy and shares our message far beyond the borders of our nation.
The occasion of our yearly coming together in humble prayer and serene and peaceful witness to the value of every human life is linked to an extremely sad moment in the history of the United States: that fateful decision Roe v. Wade rendered on January 22, 1973. Now, thirty-four years later we bow our heads in shame as we admit that over forty-seven million human lives have been snuffed out as a result of that misguided use of judicial power exercised in the name of the authority resting in the people of the United States of America.
Each passing year confirms us in the pain of recognizing the violence inflicted upon millions and millions of unborn children and even partially born children in our land. It is important that this truth be acknowledged, that repentance be sincere, and that effective means be taken to stop this grotesque tragedy, while preventing it from being repeated in the future.
At the same time each passing year confirms us in new hope for the future. As people of prayer, we are moved by the words of Saint Paul, who says: "...we have set our hope on the living God" (1 Tim 4:10). The word of God and His commandments encourage us in our efforts, and they certainly inspire the rising generation to form new attitudes and assume a fresh commitment to the cause of life.
Tonight, our first reading from Sacred Scripture leads us to experience solidarity with the chosen people of Israel who assembled at the time of the Restoration of Jerusalem in the fifth century B.C. They came together with the priest Ezra, to listen to God’s word, to be challenged by His commandments and to find strength in His presence. We hear how the people of Israel, after enduring, in hope, both suffering and captivity, offered praise to God. As they listened attentively to His holy word they were moved to tears by the challenge that God’s law presented to them. At this point the prophet Nehemiah intervened, telling the people not to be overwhelmed, not to be sad. He proclaimed: "...today is holy to our Lord.... Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength."
What the prophet Nehemiah told the people of Israel applies to us, dear Friends, now. Today is holy and our celebration of life is holy to the Lord. Our attitude in the wake of the immense national tragedy of abortion is our sober rejoicing in hope. Indeed, "We have set our hope on the living God."
What then are our reasons for rejoicing?
In the conflict that exists between life and death, between the culture of life and the culture of death we see that something very encouraging is also taking place in our society.
The rate and number of abortions in the United States continue to decline, most notably among teens. Many teenagers are wisely choosing to abstain from sexual activity—motivated both by religious and moral values, and the desire to protect themselves from the epidemic of sexually-transmitted diseases that today afflict some sixty million Americans. To be free of disease, to be free of the fear of an ill-timed pregnancy, to be free of a broken heart—this is the freedom that we want for our young people, and we rejoice that it is unfolding.
Another reason to rejoice is that the American people are becoming more pro-life. According to a very significant poll last year, general support for Roe v. Wade fell under fifty percent for the first time since 1973. Most Americans do not support Roe v. Wade, and are against allowing most of the abortions the Court has made legal.
We can, moreover, take heart in knowing that spiritual, educational and legislative efforts are making a big difference in the hearts and minds of so many people of good will. More and more citizens are coming to question abortion and to recognize—as a starting point for deeper conversion—that there is something radically wrong with abortion and the support given it by our laws. There is a growing realization that human life and human dignity cannot be suppressed without immense damage to the entire fabric of our nation and numerous consequences. In the midst of the enormous challenge posed by threats to life, there are new reasons to hope that the truth of God’s law will prevail as a great light in our nation as our people move increasingly toward valuing human life from its earliest and most vulnerable stages onward. This is indeed cause for rejoicing in the Lord!
As we all move forward in hope as citizens confronted with the national disaster resulting from Roe v. Wade, we recall once more the crucial importance of humble and persevering prayer. We also realize how important it is to contribute to the exchange taking place among people of good will. Our position is one of profound concern for the unborn and deep compassion for all those affected by abortion. With utmost respect we express in the public debate our strong conviction that something terribly wrong has weakened our nation—something that flagrantly violates human rights and human dignity, in addition to the law of God. It is necessary for all of us to speak with lucidity in bearing witness to the truth that has such vast consequences.
A great example of this lucidity is found in the way in which Pope John Paul II spoke to Americans just eight years ago this month in the city of St. Louis. Permit me to offer you his own words:
"There are times of trial, tests of national character, in the history of every country. America has not been immune to them. One such time of trial is closely connected with St. Louis. Here, the famous Dred Scott case was heard. And in that case the Supreme Court of the United States subsequently declared an entire class of human beings—people of African descent—outside the boundaries of the national community and the Constitution’s protection.
"After untold suffering and with enormous effort, that situation has, at least in part, been reversed.
"America faces a similar time of trial today. Today, the conflict is between a culture that affirms, cherishes, and celebrates the gift of life, and a culture that seeks to declare entire groups of human beings—the unborn, the terminally ill, the handicapped, and others considered ‘unuseful’—to be outside the boundaries of legal protection. Because of the seriousness of the issues involved, and because of America’s great impact on the world as a whole, the resolution of this new time of testing will have profound consequences.... My fervent prayer is that through the grace of God at work in the lives of Americans of every race, ethnic group, economic condition and creed, America will resist the culture of death and choose to stand steadfastly on the side of life. To choose life...involves rejecting every form of violence: the violence of poverty and hunger, which oppresses so many human beings; the violence of armed conflict, which does not resolve but only increases divisions and tensions; the violence of particularly abhorrent weapons...; the violence of drug trafficking; the violence of racism; and the violence of mindless damage to the natural environment.
"Only a higher moral vision can motivate the choice for life. And the values underlying that vision will greatly depend on whether the nation continues to honor and revere the family as the basic unit of society: the family—teacher of love, service, understanding and forgiveness; the family—open and generous to the needs of others; the family—the great wellspring of human happiness."
For all of us, dear Friends, "the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," which we so earnestly desire, can be safeguarded and guaranteed only by prayer and constant vigilance.
The so-called freedom of choice, imposed on our country in 1973 by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade, mocks our freedom. Today Americans are not free to halt the destruction of unborn children. Our legislators are not free to enact laws defending unborn life, laws that reflect the values and will of a majority of Americans.
In many states parents are not free to intervene in the abortion decision to protect their daughter from a decision that has lasting, even eternal, consequences. Roe v. Wade denies fathers the freedom to save the life of their unborn child if the child’s mother chooses abortion. Siblings, grandparents—all are powerless, without freedom, to protect and nurture a vulnerable member of their family, because the Supreme Court said so.
Abortion is anything but a free choice for many young women. Many have described their panicked reaction to their pregnancy, the lack of support or even threatened abandonment by the child’s father, the pressures from family, counselors or peers. Many young women feel they are expected to abort an unplanned child when contraception fails.
After the abortion, they discover that their choice did not free them to live their dreams. Instead, their choice haunts them day and night. They feel isolated in their pain and loss. Their freedom of choice has left them trapped in a cycle of sadness and guilt. Freedom comes only when they are able to turn to God in their sadness and brokenness and accept His forgiveness, His mercy and His healing grace. They become truly free when they are able to acknowledge the truth of the wrong that they committed, and the greater truth that there are no limits to God’s loving mercy or to His desire for our salvation. Jesus Himself tells us: "...you will know the truth and the truth will set you free" (Jn 8:32).
How commendable the work of Project Rachel and of all those who have been, for thousands of women and men, compassionate intermediaries of God’s healing in helping them to attain freedom from the sin of abortion! How magnificent the gift of Christ to His Church: the reconciling ministry of the priest in the Sacrament of Confession!
In this present moment of our history, in this time of trial, in this current test of our national character in regard to the sacredness of human life, another immense challenge faces us and calls for our immediate response.
Today a number of scientists and lawmakers want us to see the vulnerable human embryo, as research material—as a source of stem cells—not as a fellow human being needing protection and respect.
Even more alarming, we hear it said that voting to destroy human embryos for medical research is the true "pro-life" position—because this research may someday help the lives of others.
Providentially nature itself has made a contribution to this debate, by showing us that the by-products of live birth—umbilical cord blood, placenta, even the fluid that surrounds the unborn child in the womb—may contain very versatile stem cells with the advantages of stem cells from embryos, with none of the practical or moral disadvantages. At the same time we know that the cures that have already taken place through therapy made possible by stem cell research have been obtained through adult stem cell research. In this way, and not through the destruction of human embryos, great compassion has truly been shown to those in need.
Dear Friends, like the faithful Israelites of old, we too have been able to listen to God’s law. It is so clearly articulated on Mount Sinai and in our hearts: "Thou shalt not kill." Tonight, we renew our commitment to life because we renew our commitment to the law of God, which we praise in the words of our responsorial psalm: "The law of the Lord is perfect...the decree of the Lord is trustworthy.... The precepts of the Lord are right...the command of the Lord is clear.... The ordinances of the Lord are true."
God’s word lasts forever: "Thou shalt not kill."
Tonight, in the Gospel our thoughts turn to our Lord Jesus Christ and to the mission which belongs to Him and which He shares with those incorporated into His Body, the Church. In all of this, dear young people, you are called to fulfill a special role: to bring all your energy to promote the cause of life. The Lord is calling you and confirming you in strength. The Church and the nation are asking you to rise up to this challenge.
For all of us Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word of God is the supreme Messenger of Hope. He is the supreme Liberator of those in the captivity of violence, sin and death. As He brings glad tidings to humanity, proclaims liberty to captives, and frees the oppressed, He invites us all to renewed prayer and commitment in the cause of respecting, protecting, loving and serving every human life. Tonight, through His Spirit dwelling in our hearts and working through our efforts, He Himself reassures us that life will be victorious! Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Philadelphia
Mass of Thanksgiving
for the Permanent Placement of a Statue of Saint Raphaela Mary,
Foundress of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
at Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome
May 8, 2010
My brother Priests,
Dear Friends, especially you, dear Sisters,
Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
Spiritual Daughters of Saint Raphaela Mary Porras,
I am delighted to be with you in this Easter season as we offer praise to the Risen Lord Jesus Christ! The light of His glory shines upon the entire world and penetrates the very depths of our hearts. In a particular way, that light radiates from the saints, whose personal encounter with Jesus transformed them and made them instruments to make known God’s way upon the earth and His salvation among all the nations (cf. Ps 67).
Today, we gather in thanksgiving for the life and witness of such a saint, Raphaela Mary Porras, Foundress of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Saint Raphaela Mary’s vocation, which is centered on love for the Heart of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, led her from the region of Córdoba to Madrid and to Rome. Through the apostolic work of her spiritual daughters, her influence spread throughout Europe, South America and North America. With affection and gratitude, I greet the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, especially Sister Dorothy Beck, Provincial Superior, as well as the friends, students and benefactors of the Handmaids. I take this opportunity to express the appreciation of the entire Archdiocese of Philadelphia for your service in education, spiritual formation and compassionate outreach, which are your deeply-rooted legacy to all whose lives you have touched in this local Church, particularly through Saint Raphaela Center and Ancillae Assumpta Academy.
The entire Church is now more than ever conscious of the heroic witness of Saint Raphaela Mary since, in the outdoor alcoves of Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, her image has been placed among statues of other prominent Founders and Foundresses of Religious congregations. This honor is not only a recognition of the life and vocation of Saint Raphaela Mary, but also a tribute to the enduring mission of the Handmaids to bear witness to the “Love of Christ in the Eucharist and the concern of His Heart for the salvation of all” (ACJ Mission Statement). What a great contribution to the Church is their offering and prayer of reparation and their passion for reconciliation.
In the Liturgy of the Word, Saint John the Evangelist records for us the words of Jesus on the night before His Passion and Death: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid” (Jn 14:27). Peace is the gift of Our Lord to His disciples before His death. Peace is the message of Our Lord to His disciples on the evening of His Resurrection. The peace of Christ is always with the Church, guiding us, preserving us and uniting us. History, beginning with the Acts of the Apostles, relates countless episodes when events and circumstances seemed to threaten the peace of the Church. However, the Church, always guided by the Holy Spirit, bound in unity by the love of Christ, preserves that gift of peace by her constant trust in Jesus, who instructs us: “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.”
The history of the Church provides numerous examples of how, as a result of trial, hardship and loss, great saints have been produced. Raphaela Mary Porras is such a saint. Even though her family life in 19th-century Spain was somewhat prosperous and unquestionably devout, the young woman knew the grief and pain of the early death of her father, the Mayor of Pedro Abad, who died as a result of caring for the sick. Her mother, too, died suddenly four years later. Although the heart of Raphaela Mary was broken with sorrow, she increased her devotion, her trust and confidence in God and decided to embrace the consecrated life. Even her search for the right Religious Community would be a time of testing until, finally, she founded the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, especially dedicated to the education and service of the poor.
The life of Saint Raphaela Mary indicates that she spent many hours in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. She lived in profound communion with Christ, entering into His plan of universal reconciliation. The world became a great Temple where she worshiped the Lord in spirit and truth. She sought always to live the Gospel and to teach and share the good news with the poor.
The second reading, from the Book of Revelation, provides a brief but beautiful glimpse of heaven, the “New Jerusalem.” The descriptions speak of the radiance of the holy city, like that of a precious stone. Furthermore, as Saint John describes, “The city has no need for sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb” (Rev 21:23). Similarly, for Saint Raphaela Mary, at every moment, in trial and loss, the Lamb of God truly present in the Blessed Sacrament was her life, her strength, her joy, her peace. Nurtured by the Eucharist and empowered by her many hours spent in Eucharistic Adoration, Saint Raphaela Mary bore that same light to all whom she met, whom she served, whom she fervently loved with the love of the Heart of Jesus.
You Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus are called to continue this mission of service embraced and lived by your holy Foundress. The world needs to encounter the love of the Heart of Jesus. In a message given in 2001, Pope John Paul II declared: “Contemporary men and women need more than ever to draw from the springs of the Sacred Heart of Christ. Only in his Heart can they find peace in moments of anguish, which today’s secular culture makes less and less bearable. Spiritual poverty is very widespread today, even at times becoming misery.” Our late beloved Holy Father urged the need for prayer and for the witness of consecrated Religious as he continued: “What better witness can this trusting abandonment find than that of a life wholly consecrated to the service of God, known and loved in the Heart of his Son Jesus Christ…” (To the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Dying, 14th General Chapter, January 5, 2001).
Pope Benedict XVI has also expressed the importance of religious consecration, saying: “The very fact of being consecrated makes the consecrated person, as it were, a ‘bridge’ to God…a reminder, a reference point. And this is all by virtue of the mediation of Jesus Christ, the Consecrated One of the Father. He is the foundation! He who shared our weaknesses so that we might participate in his divine nature” (Homily for World Day for Consecrated Life, February 2, 2010).
Saint Raphaela Mary, warmed and inspired by the great light coming forth from the Heart of Jesus, was a bridge, connecting the poor, the distressed and the troubled with the healing love of God. As we celebrate Saint Raphaela Mary’s legacy, and the honor attributed by the Church to her statue enshrined at Saint Peter’s Basilica, we willingly participate in her important mission. All of us, united in the Eucharist, must bring to contemporary men and women, so troubled in our fragile time, the message of hope, the light of the truth of the Gospel, and the enduring gift of peace. Jesus repeats to us: “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” Confident that Jesus is with us, we go forward, as Pope Benedict XVI reminded us, to “be the first friend of the poor, the homeless, the stranger, the sick and all who suffer. [May we] act as beacons of hope, casting the light of Christ upon the world” (Homily, Saint Patrick‘s Cathedral, New York, April 19, 2008). Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Opening Mass of the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the
Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction
Omaha, Nebraska
September 3, 2010
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Archbishop Lucas, Archbishop of Omaha,
Archbishop Zimowski, President of the Pontifical Council for Health Care
Workers,
Dear brother Priests,
Dear Friends and all associated with the Pope Paul VI Institute, especially you,
Dr. and Mrs. Hilgers,
I am grateful for the invitation to celebrate, here in the Archdiocese of Omaha, this opening Mass of the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction. I greet you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and express my good wishes to every member of the Institute community, and, in a particular way, to the founder and director of the Institute, Dr. Thomas W. Hilgers.
Saint Gregory the Great, whose memorial we celebrate today, was renowned for his expertise in pastoral care. Already in the sixth century, he taught that married couples are to rejoice as they live their day-to-day lives, because they communicate, in the midst of daily realities, the everlasting goodness of the things of God (Pastoral Care, III. XXVII). Saint Gregory the Great understood that married couples, according to their state in life, help fulfill those words of Saint Paul, proclaimed only a few moments ago: “To bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 4:6).
These words also express the purpose and mission of the Pope Paul VI Institute. Today, the Church responds with deep gratitude for the perseverance in a solemn commitment and a noble work of all those responsible for the Institute and its splendid mission. You carry out your role with generous readiness, resolute determination and enthusiastic fidelity. Your hard work draws its purpose from the respect owing to the gift and the treasure of the child from the first moment of conception―a respect which finds its center of gravity in the recognition of the fundamental and essential right to life of the child in the womb. You remind society of the gift inscribed in the very nature of husband and wife. Your vocation is to foster the gift; you yourselves are stewards of the gift. Your work is centered on the full and complete meaning of human life, on the sanctity of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and of the vocation to fatherhood and motherhood. This is the manner in which the Institute has, for twenty-five years, collaborated “to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Jesus Christ.”
We not only celebrate twenty-five years of pastoral service and support; we also honor twenty-five years of prophetic witness. Your efforts stand in stark contrast to some of the negative signs of the times. Modern society so often fails to grasp the meaning of the human person, the meaning of marriage, the meaning of fatherhood and motherhood and of the child. The fast-track lifestyle of consumerism, of pleasure-seeking and of “using the other”―all this chases after the myth of immediate satisfaction. Many people of good will follow the trends and attitudes of society without a second look. Modern man has been enticed to chase after every kind of pleasure, pursue the latest fashions, own the shiniest and fastest car and amass the highest profit margin, as if the one with the most expensive lifestyle somehow wins in the end.
And modern man seeks to do all of this in the midst of having a family and children. In that scenario, the pressure mounts so high, so quickly, that something has to give. Painfully, it is often marriage and the family that are forced to bear the wounds of modern man’s seemingly insatiable search for more and more profit and pleasure. The contraceptive mentality, in vitro fertilization, surrogacy and artificial insemination all fail to account for the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of human sexuality. These interventions and attitudes particularly disregard the mystery of womanhood. The fast pace of society blurs the importance of God’s promise. Society finds itself in a deep malaise, and instead of abandoning the frivolous search for more and more things, it abandons instead the commitment to marriage and the family. This is a primary symptom of our deep cultural crisis. Our time is characterized by a standoff between superficial individualism and the profound community of life and love: marriage and the family.
Unfortunately, good people so often buy into a way of life that is not only painful and confusing, but also harmful and destructive to them and their deepest fulfillment. The prevalent contemporary attitude wields considerable influence. The one thing it cannot do is heal the very pain it so often inflicts. Numerous people emerge from the ways of the world wounded and in distress. They feel adrift, as if their life has little meaning. There is only one way to be disentangled from the troubling array of errors and painful distortions. The world chases things. But we seek to follow Christ.
The Pope Paul VI Institute follows Christ and leads to Christ so many of those who suffer at the hands of the world. As Christians, we seek the light of Christ and we seek “to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Jesus Christ.” He alone is the starting point and goal of our every action. These other words of Saint Paul also take on particular meaning for this celebration: “Since we have this ministry through the mercy shown us, we are not discouraged” (2 Cor 4:1). The feverish pursuit of secularism is incapable of finding the one thing that truly fulfills the human person: the gift of self in love modeled on the Cross of Jesus. Jesus is the only One who truly knows us and will completely understand us. Marriage and family are the school of the sacrificial gift of self. A breakdown in marriage and the family leads to a fissure that extends to every aspect of society and eventually splits apart the common good. As Pope Benedict XVI has pointed out:“The good that the Church and society as a whole expect from marriage and from the family founded upon marriage is so great as to call for full pastoral commitment to this particular area. Marriage and the family are institutions that must be promoted and defended from every possible misrepresentation of their true nature, since whatever is injurious to them is injurious to society itself” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 29).
And, in the midst of all of this, the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction opens a new path. The Institute is a beacon of hope for married couples who experience difficulty conceiving a child, who know the pain of miscarriage or the pain of infertility, who, in the midst of concerns, worries and frustrations, seek to live out the teaching of the Church on the responsible transmission of human life, who want to learn to live true Natural Family Planning not just as a method, but as a lifestyle, who, through the joy of their marriage, desire “to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Jesus Christ.”
For twenty-five years the Institute has integrated ethical science, compassionate outreach, loving pastoral care, with an authentic theological anthropology faithful to the teaching of the Church. And all of this is presented in a practical, accessible way that furthers the Culture of Life and advances the Civilization of Love, step by step, day by day. Your work, dear friends, spells out the authentic grammar of love. This is the precious contribution of the Pope Paul VI Institute. The distinguished achievements of the Institute, centered on natural fertility regulation and reproductive medicine, constitute a solid advance in women’s health care. We celebrate twenty-five years of expert research, student training and international education programs, especially the benefits of the NaProTechnology and the Creighton Model Fertility Care System. Behind each of these programs are persons: patients, married couples, families, caregivers, consultants, providers and supporters, along with clergy and religious.
The Conference to take place during these days, co-sponsored by the Creighton University School of Medicine, begins so fittingly with the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. This moves us to grasp an abiding lesson that the Institute has sought to foster these twenty-five years. Are we not invited to see in the important work of the Institute the fruitfulness of the Eucharist? Pope Benedict XVI has beautifully pointed out that “The Eucharist, as the sacrament of charity, has a particular relationship with the love of man and woman united in marriage.” And he adds: “A deeper understanding of this relationship is needed at the present time” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 27). Husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, so often have to stand beneath the Cross. What is so edifying is that the community of the Pope Paul VI Institute stands there also, with them, as does the whole Church, as we seek together “to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Jesus Christ,” and as we pray that the truth of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, may be communicated through all of us. Amen.
Words of Cardinal Justin Rigali
The Religious Leaders Council of Greater Philadelphia
Interfaith Inaugural Service for Mayor-elect Michael Nutter
January 3, 2008
Welcome and Opening prayer
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. It is a pleasure for me to welcome everyone this morning for this Interfaith Inaugural Service. On behalf of the other members of the Religious Leaders Council of Greater Philadelphia, and in particular with my fellow co-conveners, Rabbi David Straus and Imam Anwar Muhaimin, we very cordially welcome Mayor–Elect Michael Nutter as we come together this morning to pray.
It is entirely appropriate that we gather here this morning in this house of God to pray for a new city administration. What better way is there to begin new endeavors than asking for God’s assistance, guidance and support? Many would look at the gathering here today and see the distinctions between our religious beliefs and practices. While we have important distinctions that separate us, we have much in common. We come together as people of faith to pray for our new mayor, our city and region. We gather together respectful of what divides us, and celebrating what unites us in our love of God and neighbor.
A great woman of our times, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1979. During her acceptance speech in Oslo she remarked to her listeners: "I want you to find the poor here, right in your own home first. And begin love there. Be that good news to your own people. And find out about your next-door-neighbor--do you know who they are?" I refer to this quote from a person universally acknowledged as a woman of prayer and sanctity because her insights are as real for us today here in Philadelphia as they were in Oslo. In our city of neighborhoods we do not always know our neighbors. Love begins at home and can only happen with God. God, who is Love, is the source of peace. Only when we call out to God, only when we come together in love, can we achieve true peace. In this time and in this place, we call upon God to lead us in the ways of love and peace.
At another occasion Mother Teresa said: "Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin." In this spirit we begin this morning to pray for our new mayor, our city and region, and all those who are in need this day. The opening prayer I will now offer is adapted from the prayer that the first American Catholic Bishop – Archbishop John Carroll - composed for the inauguration of George Washington in 1789 as our nation’s first president:
Let us Pray:
Almighty and eternal God,
You have revealed your glory to all nations.
God of power and might, wisdom and justice,
through you authority is rightly administered,
laws are enacted, and judgment is decreed.
We pray for Michael Nutter, the new mayor of this city,
for the members of city council,
for judges, elected civic officials and all others
who are entrusted to guard our political welfare.
may they be enabled by your powerful protection
to discharge their duties with honesty and ability.
We likewise commend to your unbounded mercy
all citizens of this city,
that we may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified
in the observance of your holy law.
May we be preserved in union and that peace which the world cannot give;
and, after enjoying the blessings of this life,
be admitted to those which are eternal.
We pray to you, who are Lord and God,
for ever and ever.
Amen (Book of Blessings, p. 831).
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Funeral of Highway Patrol Officer Patrick McDonald
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
September 30, 2008
Today we assemble in this sacred place, the Cathedral Basilica of Philadelphia, in the presence of Almighty God, the Father of love and the God of all consolation.
We gather together to pray, asking the Lord God to envelop in His eternal love the soul of Highway Patrol Officer Patrick McDonald. His obituary succinctly identifies him for the world: “Tragically fallen in the line of duty on September 23, 2008 at the age of 30. Beloved son of Lawrence and Patricia McDonald. Loving brother of Megan McDonald and the late Michael McDonald. Grandson of the late James and Ann McDonald, and the late George and Merion Gillin. Boyfriend of Joanne Heary.”
But Officer McDonald belonged also to all of us. He was a part of our community, a public servant of our city, a friend of our people. He was likewise a member of our Catholic Church. For all these reasons, with respect and love we evoke his memory here this afternoon, expressing to his parents, his sister and all his loved ones our prayerful solidarity in their great loss and in their enduring pain of separation.
We sorrowfully acknowledge that his passing from our midst was caused by the evil of a great crime, the magnitude of which is so difficult for the human mind to fathom fully. And yet we know that sin and evil can never have the last word and that they cannot obliterate the hope of eternal life that is forever linked to our deepest convictions.
The religious faith of Officer McDonald truly holds out in the midst of darkness a hope that cannot be extinguished. “For this,” Saint Paul says, “we toil and struggle, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the savior of all... (1 Timothy 4:10).
We turn to the Sacred Scriptures to find consolation and the assurance of final victory over death and its causes which are sin and evil. We are uplifted by words from the Book of Wisdom that tell us: “The just man, though he die early, shall be at rest.... Having become perfect in a short while, he reached the fullness of a long career; for his soul was pleasing to the Lord, therefore he sped him out of the midst of wickedness” (Wisdom 4:14).
Equally consoling for all of us are those beautiful and enduring words of Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake.”
Summarizing the whole Christian view of death, Saint Paul writes: “We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).
These words offer deep consolation and hope, even more when combined with the very words of Jesus just proclaimed in the Gospel: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26).
Even as we offer to the parents and loved ones of Officer McDonald God’s word of solace and reassurance, we wish to add our own expression of sympathy and condolence. We cannot compensate for so great a loss but we can share generously with them all the affection of our heart.
And for all of us who remain and who have been so deeply affected by another tragic act of violence, we know that we must continue to face evil and the power of evil wherever it surfaces. Denunciation and lamentation are not enough to free us from the evil of violence and the repeated violations of human dignity. Saint Paul’s injunction is so very relevant to our society: “Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good” (Romans 12:21).
And if, as a community, we are to be faithful to the memory of Officer McDonald, and truly grateful for his sacrifice for the well-being of us all, we must recommit ourselves to the elimination of the causes of such senseless violence.
Together we must stand on the side of human life and human dignity, teaching and inculcating by word and example the inherent value of every human being fashioned in the image and likeness of God Himself. By respecting and constantly insisting on respect for the inviolability of every human person in whom is reflected the dignity of God the Creator, we will build together, here in our beloved city and community, a civilization of justice, peace and love. All of us must contribute in our own way to protect and defend the community from all that wounds, weakens or destroys human life and dignity.
Our own efforts, however, in this regard are insufficient in themselves. We need God’s help to succeed. We must invoke this help. In God we trust! He is our strength.
Even as we gather around the sacred body of our fallen Officer and posthumously express our gratitude and admiration for his contribution to our society, we express support and solidarity for all our officers and public servants who strive to foster our common good in a new civilization of non-violence and peace, which is one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.
We commend you, Patrick, to the mercy of Almighty God and ask Him to sustain your parents and all your loved ones in His embrace of love until we meet again. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Men's Spirituality Conference
Cardinal O'Hara High School
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Dear Men, dear Brothers in Christ,
I am delighted to be with you for this Eucharistic celebration, which concludes the Men’s Spirituality Conference. I am moved to echo the words of Saint Peter spoken in the gospel passage just proclaimed: "It is good that we are here!" (Mk 9:5). I am greatly edified that so many of you men heeded the invitation to step away from the busyness of life—or, possibly, even to sacrifice a rare day of leisure—in order to deepen your relationship with God and with the Church. I am grateful to our honored presenters, to those who coordinated this conference, to my brother priests for their assistance throughout the day, and to the Administration and staff of Cardinal O’Hara High School for hosting this event. I extend a special word of thanks to Bishop Maginnis for his leadership and zeal in promoting this conference.
Each year, on the Second Sunday of Lent, the Liturgy of the Word transports us to Mount Tabor where Jesus was transfigured before His Apostles Peter, James and John. The Synoptic Gospels testify that Jesus became radiant and his clothes became dazzling white. Moses and Elijah appeared and conversed with Jesus. In the midst of all of this, the voice of the Father is heard: "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him" (Mk 9:7). Peter, in awe of the spectacle, declared: It is good for us to be here!
The gospel narrative explains that, shortly before the Transfiguration occurred, Jesus foretold His impending Passion, Death and Resurrection. The shock and revulsion to this news weighed heavily upon Our Lord’s Apostles. Peter even tried to rebuke Jesus for speaking in this manner. They could not comprehend that Jesus, whom they loved so much and in whom they placed all of their hopes, would die such a violent death. Soon, after this interchange, Jesus ascends the mountain to pray, taking Peter, James and John along with Him. It is then that the Transfiguration takes place.
Pope Saint Leo the Great outlines several reasons for the Transfiguration. The great reason, according to Saint Leo, "was to remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of his disciples, and to prevent the humiliation of his voluntary suffering from disturbing the faith of those who had witnessed the surpassing glory that lay concealed" (Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings, Second Sunday of Lent).
Throughout this sacred season of Lent, the shadow of the Cross touches everything we do. In our Lenten practices and devotions, particularly the Stations of the Cross and the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, we unite ourselves to Jesus in His Passion and Death. The value of our acts of penance and self-denial, our sacrifices and works of charity are all derived from the tremendous sacrifice of Christ Himself upon the Cross. Through our acts of mortification, we demonstrate our sorrow for the part which we and our sins have played in the Death of Jesus. Nevertheless, our remorse and our contrition lead us to the gladness of Easter and the glory of the Resurrection. As we contemplate the splendor of the Risen Christ, we come to recognize the glory for which we long and hope. Saint Leo reminds us that Jesus, in his Transfiguration, "was also providing a firm foundation for the hope of holy Church….The members of that body were to look forward to a share in that glory which first blazed out in Christ their head" (ibid.).
Saint Leo also says: "The marvel of the Transfiguration contains another lesson for the apostles, to strengthen them and lead them into the fullness of knowledge" (ibid.). We must marvel at the love and mercy of Jesus, who, before His Passion, could think only of enlightening and strengthening His Apostles and, by extension, all of us who would become His disciples as well. Jesus invites us, He enlightens us and He strengthens us to be His witnesses.
The example of Abraham is presented to us this afternoon as well. God revealed Himself to Abraham and made the solemn promise that Abraham would be the father of countless descendants. Abraham placed all of his trust in God, even when tested by God. The account of the sacrifice of Isaac shows to what lengths Abraham would go to obey the will of God. For his tremendous act of faith and obedience, Abraham is praised as "our father in faith." This account also reminds us that God is with us to sustain us, to strengthen and to bless us, especially when the situations in life seem most difficult and demanding.
Perhaps, at this moment, there are some who are experiencing hardship at work, possibly even the loss of employment. Perhaps some have trials within the family. Some may be caring for a spouse, child or parent who is seriously ill. There may be some here who personally are faced with illness. Initially, we may question why such burdens and anxieties are placed upon us. Yet, the faith which strengthens us responds: "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not give us everything else along with him" (Rom 8: 31-32). Abraham, in his readiness to sacrifice his son Isaac, is an image of God our Father, who sacrificed His only Son, Jesus, for the redemption of the world. We can never fathom the depths of the love and mercy of God! Nor should we ever underestimate His nearness to us, His compassion and concern for us, in the midst of our daily struggles.
During this conference, dear men, you have reflected on the transforming power of faith. In sharing your faith with each other, you have grown closer to Our Lord. Truly, it is good to be here, to be strengthened by God and, yes, to strengthen one another! However, the lessons which we learn today urge us to go and meet our responsibilities, and to do so empowered by the love of God. If we continue to read chapter 9 of the Gospel according to Saint Mark, we will see that as soon as Jesus, Peter, James and John came down from the mountain, they immediately encountered a frantic scene in which the other disciples attempted to exorcise a boy possessed by a demon. The fleeting vision of the glory of Christ, the tranquility of the Transfiguration experience, had to be tucked away in memory as the needs of a burdened individual require attention. The suffering of the present moment must be met; however, the majestic glory of Christ always will sustain—especially in moments of turbulence and turmoil— those who have seen and heard it.
Like the Apostles on the holy mountain, today, at this conference and in this Liturgy, you are given a glimpse of the glorious face of Jesus and you have heard the Good News of the love of God. You desire to remain secure, enjoying what you have seen and heard. But, an anxious world awaits you. The needs of family, neighbors, friends, co-workers, fellow parishioners do not go away. They require your attention, they need your witness. Strengthened by the vision of our glorious Savior, you go forth to lead others to the knowledge of God. You go forth to strengthen one another.
In this month of March, it is important also to remember the example of that man who stands out in his love for Jesus. Of course, I speak of Saint Joseph, whose feast is March 19. In these days, when family life is under attack, when virtue is ignored and chastity is mocked, Saint Joseph stands as a tower of strength for those who invoke him. Every man here will find in Saint Joseph a role model, an intercessor, a patron and a friend. In his devotion to Jesus and Mary, Saint Joseph endured much, sacrificed much and suffered much, in order to protect and to provide for them.
Saint Joseph understood the glory which was concealed in the face of the Christ Child. He was ever mindful of his mission as the Guardian of his foster Son Jesus, who is also the Son of the Eternal Father, born of the Virgin Mary. In every joy and in every sorrow, Saint Joseph knew that God had chosen him, that God was with him, and that God would strengthen him to be faithful and steadfast as the chaste Spouse of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and as the foster father and guardian of the Redeemer. Saint Joseph reminds all of us that we are chosen by God to grow in our love for Christ and His Church. Saint Joseph reminds us to be steadfast in our personal vocation—especially, you, dear brothers, who are called to be husbands and fathers—and to seek always the Will of God in the daily tasks, joys, struggles and anxieties of our lives.
Dear men, dear brothers in Christ and in His Church: the Lord Jesus needs you, with your generous hearts and determined spirit, to accomplish His work in the world. Through you He leads the world to His Father. Through you He leads your families in the way of holiness and salvation. Through you He builds up His kingdom of justice, peace and love. Through you He reaches out in service to those in need and shows Himself kind and merciful to all. You are, dear men, important members of Christ’s team, which is the Church here and now in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Finally, I entrust you all, dear friends, to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and to Saint Joseph, her husband, the foster father of her Son and the Protector of the universal Church, in which you find the grace and power to be faithful to your own vocation and to strengthen one another. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass and Veneration of Relics of the Mexican Martyrs
Saint Thomas Aquinas Church, Philadelphia
June 3, 2006
Dear Friends in Christ,
Today is the Feast day of St Charles Lwanga and his companions. They are martyrs from Uganda in East Africa, martyred just more than a hundred years ago. Their crime was wanting to remain Christians.
Today, we are also here to honor and remember six Mexican priests that were martyred by their government during the persecution of the Church in Mexico in the 1920s and 1930s. They are among many other priests, bishops, religious and lay persons that, like their predecessors in Africa, were martyred for defending their Catholic faith in Mexico.
Our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, when outlining his apostolic letter Tertio Millennio Ineunte, wrote that: "The Church of the new millennium was born of the blood of martyrs: ‘the blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christians.’ " It has been said that the twentieth century is known as the century that has given the Church more martyrs than any other time in the Church’s entire history.
Martyrs are persons just like you and me that come from all walks of life, from different social classes, ethnic groups and different cultures. They are persons that have paid the ultimate price with their own blood in defense of their faith. Many endured years in prison, tortures and horrible deaths, all for the love of Christ and His Church.
For this reason the Church canonizes these holy men and women and calls them "martyrs." These are the saints that intercede for us; these are the saints that continue to stimulate us in our daily Christian lives as we continue our pilgrimage toward the heavenly Jerusalem!
These holy people lived normal lives and experienced the same joys and sorrows that we all do. They shared the same human failings and struggles that we all do, but their love of God and their faith was what fed their souls and helped them to continue along the journey, despite the difficulties they encountered. These were Eucharistic people who were fed and nourished at the table of the Lord and through that Eucharist they were prepared for what lay ahead. Their strength and courage came from the Lord himself as he empowered them for their heroic act; their faith never wavered.
Perhaps you may never be called to such heroic acts, but you are called to live exemplary lives as good husbands and wives, good parents, good sons and daughters, good neighbors. We are all called to be Christ to others, to love one another, to be Christlike even when it is difficult and never to give up. Everything that we do, we must do it well; we should not let our burdens overpower us. With God’s grace we must lift ourselves up and others with us.
This is where you will find the love and the uplifting power of God, walking with you and carrying you lovingly in His arms when everything seems hopeless. He will give you the strength that He gave to all these heroic persons whom the Church calls "martyrs."
We are all called to be saints. We are reminded in the Vatican Council Document on the Church, Lumen Gentium, about the universal call to holiness for all the faithful:
"Thus it is evident to everyone that all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity. By this holiness a more human way of life is promoted even in this earthly society. In order that the faithful may reach this perfection, they must use their strength according as they have received it, as a gift from Christ. In this way they can follow in His footsteps and mold themselves in His image, seeking the will of the Father in all things, devoting themselves with all their being to the glory of God and the service of their neighbor. In this way too, the holiness of the People of God will grow into an abundant harvest of good, as is brilliantly proved by the lives of so many saints in Church history" (no. 40).
These six holy men whose relics we venerate today are among the 25 Mexican Martyrs canonized by the late Pope John Paul II on May 24, 2000. They were all members of the Knights of Columbus, to whom they render immense honor, as they do also to the universal Church.
The government that was in power during the 1920s and 1930s was anti-Catholic and began a reign of terror as early as 1910. An anti-Catholic constitution was written and Mexico became a secular state.
Many bishops, priests, religious and lay persons were persecuted because they refused to stop practicing their faith. During this period of time approximately 40,000 Catholics were martyred or killed, 90 priests and more than 70 members of the Knights of Columbus. What an incentive to fidelity for the Knights of Columbus and for all Catholics!
The six courageous Knights of Columbus Priest Martyrs of Mexico—Father Luis Batiz Sainz, Father José María Robles Hurtado, Father Mateo Correa Magallanes, Father Miguel de la Mora, Father Rodrigo Aguilar Alemán, Father Pedro de Jesús Maldonado Lucero—died violent deaths while denouncing the anti-Catholic government. During the funeral processions for the priests, thousands of Catholics followed the funeral procession through the streets praying the rosary and shouting: «¡Qué viva Cristo Rey!» (Long Live Christ the King!).
The silver reliquary containing the relics of these martyrs and a painting of these six priests have been traveling on a pilgrimage since September 2005, up to the present time throughout Mexico and various dioceses in the United States, mainly in the Southwest. They will continue their pilgrimage through various states until August 2006, when it will end in Orlando, Florida.
Our Church has been blessed by the testimony of faith, love and fidelity that these people have left for us. Their example enriches the Church, and their blood spilled in defense of the faith was not a sacrifice in vain. The martyrs are a very important part of our Church and for that reason she elevates them to honor of the altars, calling them "Martyr witnesses of the Faith."
Today our local Church has been blessed with the visit of the reliquary containing the relics of these martyrs; may they continue to intercede for us.
We thank the Knights of Columbus for this honor. We also wish to express appreciation to Father Arthur Taraborelli, Pastor of Saint Thomas Aquinas and his parish for hosting this event. We are very grateful to the Hispanic Evangelization Team, to the Office for Hispanic Catholics and to all of you for your presence. May the Martyrs’ prayers obtain for us grace and strength in following faithfully our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Midnight Mass
At the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Christmas 2005
"Do not be afraid;
for behold I proclaim to you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David
a Savior has been born to you who is Christ and Lord.
And this will be a sign for you:
you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger."
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
In this year 2005 all of us have experienced many difficult situations.
As a nation we have been deeply affected by the results of war and violence in Iraq.
Our fellow citizens have suffered enormously through catastrophic hurricanes and been tried to the core of their being, even being tempted to lose hope. Our brothers and sisters in Pakistan have suffered even more through earthquakes, leaving tens of thousands dead and two to three million people homeless.
The extended criminality of our city has been a plague to our honor, as has been the terrible sexual abuse suffered by minors in different sectors of our Church.
The reports of the use of torture in our country’s defense unsettles us and challenges our national sense of justice and integrity. The overall increase of violence throughout the world, including human trafficking and violence to the defenseless unborn and elderly, is revolting to all of us.
In these and so many other tragic situations, we begin to understand how much we need a Savior and how kind and merciful God is to send us His Son, His Eternal Word born of the Virgin Mary, to save us from our sins and to help us to cope with and overcome evil.
In this context we repeat again the beautiful words of our Gospel this evening: "Do not be afraid; for behold I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."
This wonderful proclamation of the birth of Jesus Christ dominates our celebration at this Midnight Mass. The Church invites us to join in and to praise God for this marvelous event that touches the lives of all of us, takes away our fear, and gives us joy, hope and strength.
The Church characterizes this birth of our newborn Savior Jesus Christ, which we see depicted in our Christmas manger, as a wonderful exchange. This birth represents indeed a wonderful exchange between God and man.
It is through the Virgin Mary, the woman of all salvation history, that God takes on our humanity and God gives us a share in His divinity.
Not only is this exchange wonderful, but everything about it is wonderful. The exchange is wonderful in the Child. Who is this Child? Who is this Child born in Bethlehem on Christmas night? This Child, whose name is Jesus, is both the Son of God and the Son of the Virgin Mary. This Child shares divinity with His Father in heaven. He is God like His Father. This Child shares humanity with His Mother. He is human like His Mother and like all of us. In this exchange God takes on our humanity and gives us a share in His own divine life. And when we accept Jesus into our lives through faith and Baptism, we become children of God, His brothers and sisters.
This exchange is also wonderful in the love that is at its origin. The reason why the Child came into the world, the reason why Jesus is born at Bethlehem is that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son to be our Savior. This exchange is indeed wonderful in the love that motivates God’s plan. Out of love God sent His Son into the world, so that He could take our flesh, sanctify our humanity and then give us a share in His divine life.
But there is more! This exchange between God and man is also wonderful in what it means to Christ. What it gives to the Son of God is wonderful. God, from all eternity, is the God of love. But at Bethlehem God begins to love in human flesh. And this is something new and wonderful: for God to share our human flesh and, with our emotions and with our heart of flesh, to be able to love us with His eternal love. Yes, this exchange between God and man is indeed wonderful in the humanity that it gives to Jesus Christ.
And then, too, this exchange is wonderful in the consequences that it has for us. In Christ, in Jesus Christ, in the Baby at Bethlehem, God’s solidarity with us, God’s solidarity with all humanity is complete and His love is total.
But, yes, in the mystery of Christ’s birth, total also is the solidarity that Christ requires of all His brothers and sisters with the rest of humanity. Christ requires that He be loved in every human being by every other human being, because humanity now belongs to God. Humanity now belongs to Christ, and Christ will never allow Himself to be separated from those who share humanity with Him.
And this, dear friends, is where our Christmas message takes us: to the consequences of this wonderful exchange. Our Christmas message takes us to humanity in need: to every brother and sister in need of Jesus Christ and His love, His pardon, His mercy, His healing, His compassion, His Gospel of eternal life.
Our Christmas message makes us reach out to every human being suffering from hunger and disease; suffering in body, mind and soul; suffering from war and hatred; suffering from natural causes and disasters, and those suffering from their own sins and the sins of others.
The Word—the Word of God—became flesh and dwelt amongst us. He dwelt amongst us in Jesus Christ. And to all those who accept Him, He gives the power to become the children of God.
In our second reading Saint Paul alludes to all these consequences, saying that the grace of God that has appeared—this wonderful mystery of God’s humanity—trains us and challenges us, to live temperately and justly and devoutly, and to be eager to do what is right, what is right toward our God, what is right toward our brothers and sisters.
This, dear friends, is indeed our Christmas message. It expresses the faith of a Church that is irrevocably committed to love and care for all human beings, because in Jesus Christ she adores an incarnate God who is the Word made Flesh. In His humanity all human life is sacred, and every human right is inviolable.
This Christmas message—rooted in adoration of the newborn Savior, in adoration of the Child at Bethlehem—requires a new commitment from us to uphold and defend, in His Name, the dignity of human life from whatever wounds or weakens, dishonors or destroys it. It brings with it an invitation for us to work to uplift the human condition of all those who share humanity in common with the Son of God and who are destined for eternal life with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In particular it demands from all of us a new commitment to protect all children, in whom the innocence and love of the Christ Child are reflected.
How important it is, dear friends, for each one of us all during the year to be a part of the living, praying, worshiping community—the servant Church of Jesus Christ. This is a challenge that comes to us at the birth of Jesus—the challenge resulting from the wonderful exchange between God and man, between God and all of us.
Therefore, each of us must realize that everyone is welcome in the community of the Church. Everyone is welcome to come home to stay in the Church of God. Everyone is needed. Everyone is needed throughout the year, and everyone is called by God. Everyone is invited by this great love story of God our Father to be part—to be an active part—of this wonderful exchange between the Son of God and humanity. Christ came to be close to all of us. He came to bring us into His Church, in which we are truly a living, praying, worshiping and serving people. Christ came at Bethlehem to call us to accept Him freely, and, in accepting Him, to accept His Church.
There is a place of honor for all of you, dear friends, in the community of Christ’s Church, and Jesus needs you. He needs you here week after week to pray with Him, to serve with Him, to love others in His Name. A tremendous challenge! Yes, this wonderful exchange of divinity and humanity remains a challenge for us tonight and throughout the year. It is a challenge to all of us who have the immense privilege of being brothers and sisters of that Child in Bethlehem; that Child who is our Savior, our God; that Child who is the Son of the Eternal Father; that Child who is the Son of the Virgin Mary; that Child who is the Savior of the world.
The angel was right, dear friends. The message is meant for all of us. Let us listen once again: "Do not be afraid; for behold I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a Savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord." Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Midnight Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Christmas 2010
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
On this holy Christmas night we bend our knee in adoration before the Child in the crib of Bethlehem. As we do so, we proclaim: Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man! It is so important for us to understand the identity of this Child and to accept the message that His Birth brings to the world.
Tonight we gather to listen once again to the angel’s proclamation to the shepherds in Bethlehem when Jesus Christ was born: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.… You will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
How uplifting and encouraging it is for us to hear these words at a time when our world lives with anxiety and consternation!
After centuries of waiting and preparation on the part of the Chosen People, God sent the Savior into the world to bring us peace, to take away our sins, to teach us how to live in justice, harmony and love: in our families, in our neighborhoods, in our parishes, in our whole society.
But who is this Savior, this Christ and Lord? Who is this Jesus born as a little child in Bethlehem?
He is true God and true man. He is first of all the Son of the eternal Father, divine like His Father in heaven. But He is also the Son of the Virgin Mary, human like His Mother and like us. Mary is the one who conceived the Child by the power of the Holy Spirit and carried Him in her womb. She gave Him birth and nourished Him at her breasts. We see her represented in the crib scene, with the Infant Jesus.
The Child is also the foster Son of Joseph the carpenter, the husband of Mary. It is Joseph who will protect the Child and help bring Him up, since this Child Jesus had no human father.
According to God’s plan, Jesus was conceived in an extraordinary way by the power of the Holy Spirit. God is His Father. We call Him the Splendor of the Father for He is the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity. Before His birth He already existed as the eternal Word of God, the eternal Son of God.
These then are the two most important truths about the person of Jesus Christ. These are the two identifying characteristics of the Child: He is true God, because He is the Son of God. He is true Man, because He is the Son of Mary.
But the Child is one Person, and His name is Jesus, which means Savior. He has, however, two natures: the nature of God — a divine nature; and the nature of man—a human nature.
In every way He is like His Father, and in every way He is like His Mother. And in every way He is like us, except sin.
Who then is the Child of Bethlehem? He is the Son of God and He is the Son of the Virgin Mary. He is, therefore, the One who links divinity with humanity. He is the Mediator between God and man. Because He is God, He has the power to save us from our sins. Because He is human like us, He has a human body, a human soul and a human heart with which to love us and to die for us, in order to save us from our sins and to bring us peace.
How beautiful are the words of the prophet Isaiah: “A child is born to us; a son is given to us; upon his shoulders dominion rests.” Among His titles is “Prince of Peace.” Isaiah also tells us that the Child who is born as Savior is the Light of the World. Let us listen to Isaiah: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.” How wonderful is this light today in our world that has so much darkness!
In answer to our question: Who is this Child? this Christ? this Jesus born in Bethlehem? the Church repeats: He is the Son of God. He is the Son of Mary. He is the Light of the World. But He is even more: this Child who is born to us, this Son who is given to us is the great defender of humanity.
Jesus Christ, who is God and man and who was born in Bethlehem, is the One who reveals to us the dignity of every person who shares humanity with Him and with Him is destined to share eternal life.
Jesus Christ is the One who tells us that the humanity which He has assumed, which he has embraced in the womb of the Virgin Mary, is a humanity worthy of honor, respect and love.
And everyone who possesses that humanity possesses dignity, regardless of race or ethnic background, regardless of sex, religion, culture or degree of education. A human being is important not because of what he or she has or does, but because of what he or she is. What is so important is the fact that every man, woman and child shares humanity with the Son of Mary, who is the Son of God.
Here we find the impact of Christmas on the world. Christmas means that every human life is sacred, because God has embraced human life, Christ has assumed it. Whatever wounds, weakens or destroys human life, and therefore vilifies human dignity, challenges the primacy of God, a God who “was born of the Virgin Mary and became man.” Tonight as we recite the Creed of our Mass, the Church invites us to genuflect when we say those words, in order to show that we accept the great reality of the Incarnation of the Son of God, with all its consequences.
There is no way that we can accept to love and honor the humanity of Jesus Christ the Savior and at the same time reject the humanity of those whom He has loved and saved. We cannot love Jesus Christ and refuse to love our fellow human beings, whom He loves.
Dearly beloved: this holy night of Christmas challenges us to renew our faith in the Child of Bethlehem, Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Son of Mary, the Light of the World and the defender of human dignity. We are called to adore Him. But this holy night of Christmas also challenges us to follow His teaching to love and serve one another, to honor the dignity of every man, woman and child who shares humanity with the Son of God.
In this Christmas Eucharist we receive the strength and grace to honor the Child and, with Him, all those whom He loves, all those who share humanity with Him, and with Him are destined for eternal life.
Dear friends: the angel’s message is for all of us and for the whole world: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today… a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”
Truly you will find Him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in the manger. Above all, you will find Him hidden in the Eucharist and there you must adore Him. But you will also find Him in every human person that mirrors His glory, and there too you must love Him.
All of this, dear friends, is the message of Christmas. It is a message of hope—the good news of great joy to be shared by all the people, to be shared by all of us. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Migration Mass
Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter & Paul
March 21, 2004
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Church,
In this beautiful parable of the Prodigal Son, Our Lord tells us that the younger son "went off to a distant country." What thought-providing words to hear as we gather to celebrate this Mass where we come together from many different countries to this distant land! We have come here from so many places, and for so many reasons. Some have come as part of their job or to study; many more have come fleeing poverty or terrible violence, including religious persecution, which has torn apart so much of our world.
In the first reading of our Liturgy today, the Israelites celebrated the Passover just at the moment that they came into their new home. They were finally at the end of the long and difficult journey after the Lord freed them from slavery in Egypt. In the Passover meal they celebrated this liberation and recognized the love the Lord had shown them. Although they had traveled for many years, and for an even longer time had been away from a land they could truly call their home, they recognized in that meal that the Lord was still present. No matter where they went, the Lord would be there to guide them and keep them safe.
Today, we come to this church to share in the new Passover, the supper of the Lord. Like the Israelites, we celebrate this meal in a foreign land that has become our home. It is the meal that recalls our liberation from sin, and brings us into communion with God and with each other - and with all the saints, and all those who share this Eucharist throughout the world, including members of our families and our friends in our native lands. It is here, at this altar, that we are at home, no matter where we are, because this is our Father's table. This is the feast to which the Father welcomed his son, and to which he welcomes us. It is here that we come - many races, languages and nations - to share in our heavenly inheritance. It is here that we find our true citizenship.
In the Gospel reading, the prodigal son decided to leave his family home. He was first able to live well off the inheritance he demanded early from his father. But he also felt the pain of being far from home. He had expected a life without difficulties, but quickly was brought back to a realization of having to face harsh struggles. The Gospel tells us that he even squandered his possessions and lived in dissipation. Like the prodigal son, we too can experience both the good and the bad in our new home.
As newer immigrants, you find yourselves confronted with both of these realities. You experience the benefits of coming to this country, the most prosperous in the world. You have many blessings of material comforts and security which may not have been available in your homelands. It can, at times, seem to be just what you were looking for.
But as newer immigrants, you also experience difficulty and pain. It is not easy to be far from familiar lands; far less is it easy to be far from family and friends. You come to a place of an unfamiliar culture and language. Some of you have learned English as a fourth or even a fifth language! So much is new and unfamiliar - foods, customs, clothing, expectations. At times, when discouragement comes, it may seem that it was not worth it.
Most difficult of all, you come to a new country where your experience of the Church is different. The churches look different; the music is not familiar; the language does not touch your hearts. Important celebrations or devotions in your homelands may not be the same as those celebrated in your new country. It is also difficult for the Church in your new country to know how best to serve you. At times, there may be a lack of awareness of the special needs and even the depth of differences between cultures. Even when great efforts are made to welcome newcomers, however, it is still challenging to create a true sense of being at home and comfortable. Sometimes this creates frustration, both on the part of newcomers and on the hosts. But this meeting of cultures can also be a great opportunity for the promotion of peace and reconciliation.
Pope John Paul II recently wrote for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees: "When 'diversities' converge and are integrated they start a' friendly coexistence of differences'. Values are rediscovered that are common to every culture, which unite rather than divide and have put down roots in the same human soil. This encourages the development of a fruitful dialogue in order to prepare a path to reciprocal acceptance, realistic and respectful of the particularities of each one." Even in the midst of the challenges we all face to be welcomed and to be welcoming, we must always seek to have hearts more open and understanding, and to work together on the road to our heavenly home.
The younger son in the Gospel reading today, who had gone to a far-off land, realized in the end that his father's love had never ceased. As he returned home, his father was already there to embrace him. He did not need to seek out his father; instead, it was his father who was already on the road, looking for his son, showing that his love did not cease even while his son was gone.
We must remember that we are guaranteed the love of our heavenly Father no matter where we are. You may have come to a distant land, but you can never be distant from God's love. He is still with you, guiding and protecting you, even in the midst of many difficulties.
Today, we come together in gratitude to celebrate who we are - to celebrate our cultures and our heritages, but above all to celebrate that we are children of our heavenly Father. That is our true heritage, the source of our joy. Together, in many languages and in many traditions, we praise the one God whose love never ceases, no matter where we are. Here, in our Father's house, we are welcomed as His sons and daughters, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ and of one another. No matter where we come from, we are truly at home when we come together as the Church. God, our Father, greets us with outstretched arms, always eager to welcome us, always offering us his loving mercy. Amen.
Comments of Cardinal Justin Rigali
during the National Migration Week Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
March 4, 2007
Dear Friends,
It is a great joy to be able to celebrate Mass with you today. In just a few short weeks, on Easter Sunday, our Archdiocese will begin a year-long celebration of the 200th anniversary of our creation as a diocese. Our history as the Catholic Church of Philadelphia is so intertwined with the story of immigration to our country. It has been a beautiful history, full of joys, but also not without its share of sorrows. In fact, one of the parishes of which Father Ayres is now administrator, Saint Michael’s, was one of the churches burned down in anti-immigrant riots in our city in 1844. Yet we have, throughout these 200 years, continuously been blessed by new waves of immigrants from throughout the world. It is most appropriate, therefore, that one of the final celebrations of our anniversary will be next year’s Migration Mass.
I am most grateful to Bishop Maginnis for his presence today and for his assistance to me in working with the Office for Pastoral Care for Migrants and Refugees so that I can fulfill my duty to provide ministry to the diverse peoples of the Archdiocese. I also thank my brother priests who have joined together today for this celebration, especially Father Ayres and all those who directly serve the immigrant communities of the Archdiocese. In particular, I thank those priests who have come from other countries in order to serve the immigrants of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and I ask you to express my thanks to your bishops and religious superiors.
Dear brothers and sisters: it is important that we continue to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life! We must pray that more young people will respond to God’s call to serve Him in these special ways. We must also personally encourage our families and our communities to be generous in supporting these vocations. Last year I was blessed to ordain Father Ik-joon Choi, the first Korean priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. There are still many cultures represented here today who are waiting for their ‘first’ priest to be ordained for the Archdiocese. But there is a need for us all to increase our prayer and work for promoting vocations.
We must also continue our work to promote a fair and comprehensive immigration reform in our country, one that offers earned legalization for those currently here illegally, eliminates backlogs in the family immigration systems, and creates a sufficient number of guest-worker visas to meet the economic demands of the United States. I commend the work of Catholic Social Services particularly in working to serve the victims of human trafficking, which is nothing other than modern-day slavery. We must continue to let our elected officials know that our highly defective immigration system must be repaired now, and in a way which reflects true compassionate love.
As we leave here today, may we always remember that although we come from so many places, although we praise God in so many languages, we are all members of the same family of God and we all enjoy the citizenship of His kingdom.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
National Migration Week Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It is a great joy to welcome so many of you, our immigrant and Native American brothers and sisters, to our Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, especially during this year in which we celebrate and honor Saint Paul. As a missionary, Saint Paul traveled to many lands and peoples that were not familiar to him. He knew what it meant to be a stranger in a strange land and yet he did not let the fear of the unknown stop him from following his call to bring the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ to all people.
In our first reading this afternoon we hear the familiar story of Abraham, our Father in Faith, being asked to sacrifice his son Isaac. We know that God stopped him from harming Isaac and promised him that his descendants would be as countless as the stars of the sky and “in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.”
We gather today at this Liturgy celebrating the fact that we come from many nations on different continents of the earth and we are truly blessed. We are from the many countries of Europe, Asia and Oceania, North and South America and the nations of Africa. Our languages and cultures differ greatly and yet we all share one thing in common, our belief in Jesus Christ. We are diverse in culture but united in the one Faith.
Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, during his Apostolic Visit to the United States last April recognized this unique situation and said in his homily: “The Church in America can rightfully praise the accomplishment of past generations in bringing together widely differing immigrant groups within the unity of the Catholic faith and in a common commitment to the spread of the Gospel. At the same time, conscious of its rich diversity, the Catholic community in this country has come to appreciate ever more fully the importance of each individual and group offering its own particular gifts to the whole. The Church in the United States is now called to look to the future, firmly grounded in the faith passed on by previous generations, and ready to meet new challenges--challenges no less demanding than those faced by your forebears--with the hope born of God’s love, poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (cf. Rom 5:5).
We are now experiencing some of the challenges that our Holy Father referred to in his homily. So many of you came to this country to seek a better life for yourselves and your families. Because, however, of the economic crisis faced not only here in the United States but in your countries of origin, many people are becoming fearful and worried.
Our Gospel account of the Transfiguration of Jesus shows us a glimpse of the future glory we can anticipate as people of faith. Our faith gives us the hope that we can overcome our fears and worries. So often in Scripture Jesus tells us not to be afraid. Saint Paul says in our second reading from the Letter to the Romans, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
My brothers and sisters, we must always remember that our God is for us. We need to turn to our faith in Jesus Christ and trust that our God will see us through the difficult days ahead and lead us to the glory of the Resurrection shown to us in the Transfiguration. Just as the previous generations have handed the faith onto us, it is important for us to hand on, not only our cultural traditions and customs, but our faith traditions as well. Another great challenge of our time for the immigrant community is that many of our young people become “Americanized”so quickly and lose some of their cultural heritage. We cannot let that happen with their faith as well.
So many of you have come here in your traditional dress. We are singing hymns in your native languages, and our intercessions are reflective of the many nations present today. In so many ways, your faith is being expressed as you lived it in your home country. This is a beautiful gift to be shared with our young people. Let them know the rich cultural tradition of our faith. But more important, by your living out your faith in your home you help them to know Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, the Son of the Virgin Mary and the Savior of the world.
Finally, we ask the intercession of our Blessed Mother under the many and various titles that are hers. May she pray to her Son Jesus that all God=s faithful children will continue to grow as numerous as the stars of the sky, as promised to Abraham. And may all the nations of the earth be blessed because we believe in the promise of future glory given to us in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and shown to us in the Transfiguration.
My Brothers and Sisters, let us heed the words of Saint Paul and always trust that our God is for us. May God continue to bless you on your continuing journey of faith. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
National Migration Week Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
What a joy it is for us to gather here today with so many people of different lands, cultures and languages, all praying to our God with ONE voice. Today we acknowledge and celebrate the great diversity that we find in our Archdiocese and at the same time we realize that we are all members of ONE universal Catholic Church. Among us are native peoples who inhabited and lived on this land for many centuries. We are descendants of many generations of immigrants who came to call this land home. We are newcomers to this "land of the free" seeking the promise freedom brings. We are ONE in our belief in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, the Son of the Virgin Mary.
Today we give thanks to Almighty God for the gifts that our native and immigrant communities share with our local Church in Philadelphia. Gifts of spirituality, music, art, popular religious customs, and family traditions add so much to the setting for this Eucharistic celebration. These same gifts enrich and enliven our multicultural sensitivity. Today, as in the past, the United States of America embraces so many peoples. We come from a community of nations and live in unity under one flag.
Our readings from Sacred Scripture today speak of a journey, a journey out of darkness into wonderful light. Many gathered here in this Cathedral Basilica have also made a difficult journey from the darkness of religious persecution, political oppression and abject poverty to the promise of light and hope in America. Many of you came to this country to seek the light of freedom that was denied you in the past.
In many ways, the story of the man born blind is our story. We are all on a similar journey, a journey of faith. And that common journey leads us to the Light, the Light that is Jesus Christ. The man in Saint John’s Gospel experienced the darkness that comes from not knowing Jesus. However, once he comes to know Jesus, his blindness is taken away and the Light becomes his guide. Where there is no faith in Jesus there is only darkness, but where faith in Jesus abounds, so too does the light.
Saint Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, implores us to live as children of the light. He tells us: "You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord." Now that so many of you have come to this land of freedom and established a new life for yourselves and your families, a new darkness threatens to overshadow you. Some of you might have a fear of being sent home because of our nation’s immigration laws. This can be a very real and justified fear that projects a shadow on your lives. In these and other circumstances we still need to live a life of faith and Christian love, working hard at remaining in the Light that is Jesus Christ.
Our responsorial psalm reminds us that Jesus is our Shepherd leading us out of the darkness of fear. Even in this new homeland there are many trials and challenges. Many gathered in this church today struggle to work and support a family. You live good moral lives and add to our common good by being productive members of the community, and yet the issues of prejudice and discrimination still affect so many of our ethnic communities.
In the reading from the first book of Samuel we see the call of David. David was chosen by God from all his brothers to be the leader of God’s chosen people. God calls each of us to some form of service to His people. Many of us will do that service through the simple and ordinary actions of our daily lives. However, there are those whom God calls to extraordinary service to the Church and to all His people.
In this Bicentennial year of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia we call to mind two such individuals: Saint John Neumann, an immigrant to this country, called to serve the newcomers of this nation. He was called to shepherd the people of this Archdiocese until God called him to his heavenly home.
Secondly, we remember Saint Katharine Drexel whose feast we celebrate tomorrow. Saint Katharine was born here in Philadelphia. She dedicated her life to serving the needs of the Native American community as well as the African American descendants of immigrant African slaves. Like David, these two humble people affected the lives of so many because they did not let any obstacles stop them from following Jesus the Good Shepherd.
My Brothers and Sisters: let us heed the call of Saint Paul and always live as children of the Light, the Light that is Jesus Christ. And may Mary, the Mother of Jesus guide and protect you all on your journey of faith. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
National Migration Week Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
It is with great joy that I welcome you to our beautiful Cathedral for this annual Liturgy during which we recognize and honor you, our immigrant and Native American brothers and sisters in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Each year we gather around the Eucharistic table and celebrate our unique cultural traditions and, at the same time, our unity in that we are all one in Jesus Christ. It is our common belief in Jesus and the truly universal nature of the Catholic Church that allows us to gather at this Mass to celebrate the Eucharist in different languages but with one voice.
We gather today on the third Sunday in the season of Lent. It is at this special time of the liturgical year that we focus on the journey of Christ to the Cross. So many of you in this Cathedral have also made difficult journeys to find a better life than the one left behind in your native land. You are familiar with the Way of the Cross because you have traveled it yourselves.
Our readings from Sacred Scripture today provide us with the powerful image of people thirsting. We see in our first reading from the Book of Exodus that the Israelites are experiencing thirst in the desert. As a result of this thirst they are growing angry at Moses and are questioning why they ever left Egypt. In Egypt they were slaves but at least they had food to eat and water to drink. It can become easy for us to lose sight of the greater goal when the journey becomes difficult and even painful.
The thirst described in the reading from the Book of Exodus depicts a physical thirst. We all have had some experience of being thirsty so we can relate with what the people in the desert were feeling. Sadly, in the past weeks we have witnessed this same kind of physical thirst in the people of Haiti. The news reports have shown us people who have lost the bare essentials of life including food and water due to the devastating earthquake. It has been difficult to watch and the scenes there leave us with a sense of helplessness. So, to our brothers and sisters from Haiti, we continue to stand with you in prayer, supporting you during this most difficult time.
Aside from physical thirst there are other kinds of thirst that we experience as well. For example, many of you in this Cathedral this afternoon had a thirst for a better life and so, like the Israelites, you journeyed through the desert to get to the United Sates of America. You had a thirst to be free from political oppression. You had a thirst to be free from religious persecution. You had a thirst to be free from economic hardship. You had a thirst for a better life for yourselves and your families. And so you ventured into the desert of the unknown to come to a land that promises you a better life.
Many of you have come to this country and have found success and prosperity. Some of you are here and are struggling to survive. Now, some of your old thirsts have been replaced by new ones. For example, now you thirst for jobs with fair pay. You thirst to live without fear of deportation and separation from your family. These are all very real concerns.
Finally, in our Gospel passage from Saint John we see the familiar story of the Samaritan woman at the well. This is another story of thirst but it is not the thirst of the woman that we focus on. It is here that we see Jesus is asking for a drink. He is not asking for a drink simply because he is physically thirsty but He is thirsting for the Samaritan woman’s faith. He thirsts for our faith as well and He wants us to thirst for Him. Jesus told the woman at the well her sins and awakened in her a deep faith. She then shared that faith with others and led them to Jesus. During this forty-day journey through the season of Lent may our faith be awakened and deepened as we walk the way of the Cross with Jesus.
We ask the intercession of our Blessed Mother under the many and various titles through which she has revealed herself. As she stood at the foot of the Cross of Jesus her Son, she heard Him say: “I thirst.” May we satisfy that thirst of Jesus with a strong and lasting faith and with generous love for all our brothers and sisters in need.
And may you all be filled with the grace and strength, and joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for National Migration Week
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Dear Friends,
Jesus is the voice of life. Sunday after Sunday, as we listen to the Gospels, we hear the voice of Jesus: He summons us to repentance. He heals the sick. He calls the Apostles. He teaches through parables. He proclaims the Kingdom of God. Yet, today, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, as we make final preparation to celebrate the mysteries of Our Lord’s suffering, death and Resurrection in Holy Week and the Easter Triduum, we hear the voice of Jesus in a unique way, in a distinctive key. The voice of Jesus calls His friend Lazarus to come forth from death. The voice of Jesus reaches beyond the pain and suffering of death. His voice reaches across the terrible border of death and summons Lazarus to life. This is why St. Athanasius tells us that Jesus is the voice of life.
How fitting that today, the day when the voice of Jesus changes death to life and sorrow to joy, we celebrate National Migration Week. The Church’s teaching on justice for immigrants does not begin with political positions or partisan discussion. Our teaching on justice for immigrants begins with the voice of God and is thoroughly biblical. The Church has honored the dignity of immigrants since the day God first summoned Abraham, and said to him, "Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” (Gn 12:1-2). In today’s Gospel, we learn in a vivid manner that Jesus, in every instance, honors this promise. Jesus, the voice of life, approaches the tomb of His friend and orders that the stone be removed. Every day, forced migrants and refugees, asylees, immigrants and victims of human trafficking meet the cold and seemingly immovable stone of violence and death. They meet the hard and coarse stone of fences and detention centers, of misperception and prejudice, of traffickers and harsh oppressors, of violence and injustice, of harsh treatment and suspicion, of exploitation and exile. The voice of the Church, like the voice of her Lord, proclaims that the stone must be taken away.
St. Maximus the Confessor emphasizes that, in the gospel passage we just heard proclaimed, Jesus calls Lazarus by name: “Lazarus, come out” (Jn 11:43). St. Maximus tells us that the voice of Jesus, the Son of God, is so powerful that if Jesus had not called Lazarus by name, the great power of Jesus would have summoned all of those in their graves to rise. Notice also that the Gospel of St. John tells us that Jesus cried out “in a loud voice” (Jn 11:43). Jesus cries out in a loud voice because His words must cross over into the world of the dead. His voice also penetrates the chasm of sin. Jesus, the voice of life, calls us today. We hear the loud voice of Jesus, not simply its echo, but His voice, the voice of life. He summons us forth from our own complacency. The voice of Jesus is not a whisper; it is loud and full of confidence. Jesus calls us to welcome the stranger (cf. Mt 24:35), and as such, we must provide adequate medical care, nutrition, education and resettlement to refugees and those in flight. The Church must protect vulnerable men, women and children from the horrors of human trafficking. We will not rest until the terrible affront to human dignity that is human trafficking is eliminated from every corner of the globe. The voice of Jesus insists on it.
As Jesus does not abandon Lazarus, so too the Church does not abandon her own sons and daughters who seek freedom from oppression and persecution. Jesus does not abandon those whom He loves. The Church cannot either. Pope Benedict XVI, in his message earlier this year for the 97th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, reminded us that the international community has “precise commitments” to those who flee from violence and persecution. The voice of Jesus tells us that human dignity is inviolable, and that we must offer haven and protection, safe passage, respect and opportunities to those seeking asylum. When we welcome our brothers and sisters, we welcome Jesus.
Jesus Himself was a stranger in a foreign land. He came from heaven to save us. As an infant he fled into Egypt in the arms of the Blessed Mother, under the guidance of St. Joseph, so as to escape the brutality of Herod (Mt 2:14). Jesus proclaimed during His public ministry that He had no place to lay his head (cf. Mt 8:20). And soon we will experience again the ultimate victory of love: The Lord Jesus suffered, died and was buried. Soon we will celebrate the fact that He has not simply called out to the dead. He went down among the dead to seek out the lost, and he rose again victorious in His glorious resurrection. This is the good news that we preach. This is the core of the Church’s commitment to evangelization.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini on the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church, emphasizes the intimate connection between the Word of God and migration. The Holy Father says, “Large numbers of people who know nothing of Christ, or who have an inadequate understanding of him, are settling in countries of Christian tradition. At the same time, persons from nations deeply marked by Christian faith are emigrating to countries where Christ needs to be proclaimed and a new evangelization is demanded. These situations offer new possibilities for the spread of God’s word” (Verbum Domini, 105). Today, in the words of our Holy Father, the voice of the Church, the voice of Christ summons us anew.
The voice of Jesus is the voice of life. He gives us Our Lady of Guadalupe as the patroness of the Americas so that under the protection of her mantle her sons and daughters may flee oppression and seek new life. On the basis of our common bond of faith in Jesus Christ we welcome and stand in solidarity with the migrants and refugees in our parishes and communities. The Church is deeply grateful for the contribution of the faithful from so many diverse communities of ethnic origin. The Church is honored to serve these our brothers and sisters who approach us for spiritual consolation and pastoral care. I am grateful for the good work of the Archdiocesan Office for Pastoral Care for Migrants and Refugees. Together, we listen to the voice of Jesus, the voice of life, the voice that crosses into even the most hardened heart and summons us anew to reach out with love to our brothers and sisters May we listen attentively to this voice so that together we may be faithful to the life of charity and so be ready to celebrate again the victorious triumph of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
National Migration Week Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
March 4, 2007
My brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Today we gather here to praise and thank God, as we do in every Mass, for the great blessings He has poured out upon us, especially the gift of His Son who gives us His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. In this Mass, we remember particularly the gift of the diverse cultures of the world, cultures which we are blessed to have as part of our Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
We do not, and should not, forget our native lands and the lands of our heritage, even as we become one people in the United States and make our home here. This country has been formed and shaped by all the peoples of the world who have come here and made their home here – from the American Indians who have inhabited these lands for millennia to the most recent immigrant arriving by land, sea or air.
Today we remind ourselves of the words of Saint Paul to the Philippians, so suitable for our celebration: "Our citizenship is in heaven." These simple words remind us, that no matter who we are or where we were born, our true final home is not here on earth but in God’s eternal kingdom. Our life here is a pilgrimage, a journey, which we pray will end in the joy of the eternal feast of heaven.
The diversity of gifts given to us through our countries of origin, our different languages, music and visual arts, our customs and traditions, all aid us in this great and often difficult journey. It is within our own culture with all its richness – and even with its weaknesses – that we come to know God and to experience the depth of His love for us.
The challenges for immigrants are many, as you well know. Among them is the encounter with cultures which are different from our own. The way of life which we have always thought normative is suddenly thrown into contrast with other cultures. It is surely disorienting and often frustrating to be confronted suddenly with these differences and to make adjustments, holding on to the good in one’s own culture while also adapting to new ones.
This was also the experience of the Israelites in the Exodus. First forced to go to Egypt because of famine, they later found themselves oppressed and enslaved. Through Moses God called them to leave the land of their misery and come to the Promised Land. We know well how they spent forty years wandering in the desert. Those years were an opportunity for them to deepen their faith and love of God. As the Lord led them through the Red Sea and cast down their enemies behind them, Moses and the Israelites burst into song: "I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea." It was in the desert where the Chosen People spent time alone with the God who had called them and revealed to them His love. It was a time for them to receive so many blessings—the manna and quail, water flowing from the rock, and above all the presence of God Himself in the Meeting Tent.
The desert was also for the Chosen People a place of many failures. When they grew impatient waiting for Moses to come down from Mount Sinai, they fell into idolatry, worshiping the golden calf. They did not trust that the Lord would provide them with water from the rock or with manna each dawn. They suffered from the deadly bite of the seraph serpents. As they encountered new peoples, they embraced the worship of their false gods and other unworthy practices.
Yet God continuously called them back to Himself, no matter how many times they took their eyes off their ultimate goal and forgot the Promised Land which lay before them. Even when they complained to Moses, thinking it would be better to return to Egypt, God did not abandon them but called them over and over again to renew their faith in Him and to look forward to the homeland He had prepared for them.
During this Lenten season, we remind ourselves also of those forty years the Israelites spent in the desert, years full of pain and struggle, but also years of profound encounter with God. Our forty days of prayer, fasting and almsgiving help us to focus on the Promised Land that lies in store for us, if we remain faithful to God’s covenant with us. "Our citizenship is in heaven," and our pilgrimage through this life must always be lived with our eyes set on Jesus and on the world to come.
The journeys we take in this life—in particular the journey of immigration—reflect the realities of our Christian life. We encounter many blessings—the richness of God’s many gifts, our own cultures interacting with other cultures, new ways of living and of facing challenges, new opportunities of worshiping and serving God. We also face at times the burdens of isolation from family and friends, difficulties in understanding and in being understood, lack of jobs and sometimes needed job skills, as well as discrimination related to our country of origin, the color of our skin, our language, our accent, or our religion, which is our relationship with God. In addition to all of this we find so many people filled with God’s goodness, who open their hearts to us in kindness and love as they offer us assistance and new friendships. We are proud that so many of these people belong to the household of the faith.
In the good and bad experiences that are ours, we are to remember what Saint Paul has told us. Our citizenship is not here, it is in heaven. We are to make use of this world’s blessings, giving praise to God for them. And we are to reject those evils in life which distract us from the one true good, God Himself.
With all its challenges, the encounter of cultures allows us to see both those things that are good and those in need of purification in other cultures as well as in our own. None of our cultures is perfect; each contains many beautiful elements, reflections of God’s goodness to us. Yet each also contains the effects of our human weakness and sinfulness. While coming into contact with a new culture can sometime tempt us to adopt the negative parts, it can also be a moment to help us recognize the strengths and positive elements of each.
As our Lenten journey continues, may we put aside whatever keeps us from encountering Christ, as we look forward to our Promised Land. We thank God that in this country, we have the freedom to worship Him in accordance with our conscience. But we remain mindful always of where our true home is – not the earthly home we have left behind, nor the place we call home now, but the house of the Lord Himself.
Dear Friends: in the beautiful Gospel proclaimed today on this feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, we have seen how the Apostles Peter, John and James went with Jesus to a mountain to pray. It was on this occasion that Jesus was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and His garments became dazzling white. And them the Apostles heart the voice of the Eternal Father saying: "This is my beloved Son; listen to him." Today, my brothers and sisters, God the Father speaks to us, saying the same thing: Jesus is His chosen, beloved Son and we must listen to Him. It is Jesus who is the Way and the Truth and the Life. It is Jesus who guides us during all our journeyings. It is Jesus who leads us to the Promised Land of eternal life.
Today we are called to renew our commitment to Jesus and to our holy Catholic faith. Only He can teach us how to live and how to love and how to serve one another so as to be happy with Him in heaven, forever.
May Mary, the Mother of Jesus bring us close to Him and keep us faithful to Him all the days of our life. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Pastoral Visit to the Cathedral Parish
The Chapel of La Milagrosa
March 4, 2007
Muy Queridos Hermanos y Hermanas en Cristo,
Hace nueve años en mil novecientos noventa y ocho, en la ciudad de Roma, el muy amado Papa Juan Pablo Segundo comenzó su homilía diciendo lo siguiente: "En este segundo domingo de Cuaresma la liturgia nos invita a meditar en la sugestiva narración de la Transfiguración de Jesús. En la soledad del monte Tabor, presentes Pedro, Santiago y Juan, únicos testigos privilegiados de ese importante acontecimiento, Jesús es revestido, también exteriormente, de la gloria de Hijo de Dios, que le pertenece. Su rostro se vuelve luminoso; sus vestidos, brillantes. Aparecen Moisés y Elías, que conversan con él sobre el cumplimiento de su misión terrena, destinada a concluirse en Jerusalén con su muerte en la cruz y con su resurrección.
"En la Transfiguración se hace visible por un momento la luz divina que se revelará plenamente en el misterio pascual. El evangelista san Lucas subraya que ese hecho extraordinario tiene lugar precisamente en un marco de oración: ‘Y, mientras oraba,’ [dice la Sagrada Escritura], ‘el rostro de Jesús cambió de aspecto (cf. Lc 9, 29).’ A ejemplo de Cristo, toda la comunidad cristiana está invitada a vivir con espíritu de oración y penitencia el itinerario cuaresmal, a fin de prepararse ya desde ahora para acoger la luz divina que resplandecerá en Pascua."
Para nosotros, fieles cristianos del siglo veintiún aquí en la ciudad de Filadelfia, y sobre todo, para nosotros creyentes hoy día en esta capilla de la Señora de la Medalla Milagrosa, tenemos la oportunidad aceptar la misma invitación que el Papa Juan Pablo Segundo ofreció hace nueve años. Estamos invitados de transfigurar nuestras vidas en esta santa estación de cuaresma. En el Misterio de la Transfiguración realizado en Jesús, vemos la glorificación de la naturaleza humana, elevada por Dios a la intimidad más profunda, en la caridad sin límites, con la naturaleza divina misma. Jesús queda totalmente transfigurado: la gloria de la divinidad se refleja, resplandeciente, en su rostro y en todo su ser. No obstante, se trata aquí de una señal, a los hombres y mujeres llamados a Dios para compartir con El su bondad sin fin. Y compartimos cada vez que imitamos a Jesús y nos ponemos a orar.
En la liturgia de hoy, la Iglesia nos muestra que Dios quiere la salvación de todo hombre y mujer que El creó en el Amor. Esto es cierto y así lo será hasta el fin del mundo. Pero, ¿quién quiere seguir al Señor hasta el oprobio de la Cruz del Calvario, para recibir en tal modo la gloria de la Resurrección en el Espíritu Santo? ¿Qué hombre, qué mujer, habla con Jesús en la Santa Comunión, pidiéndole en el silencio de su corazón que se le concedan las gracias necesarias para llevar su cruz todos los días?
La Santa Eucaristía nos presenta la oportunidad de una Transfiguración diaria: ¡la Comunión del Cuerpo y la Sangre de Cristo! Mediante ella, nosotros somos ya glorificados y transfigurados con Cristo, caminando paso a paso en el camino, a veces dulce, otras veces espantoso, de nuestra vida en la tierra. Mediante el misterio de la Transfiguración, en la presencia de Moisés y Elías, Jesús quería mostrarles a los apóstoles por adelantado lo que sería la gloria de su Resurrección. De ese modo, ellos serían capaces de soportar mejor la prueba de la Cruz y la Pasión de su Maestro. Del mismo modo nosotros podemos recibir en la Santa Eucaristía a Jesús resucitado para llevar mejor nuestra cruz de cada día.
La Santísima Virgen María ha vivido este Misterio de la Transfiguración de una manera muy particular: durante nueve meses ella llevó a Jesús dentro de sí y disfrutó de una intimidad única con su Hijo Divino. Pidámosle a Jesús de hacernos partícipes de aquella felicidad cada vez que comulguemos con Él en la Eucaristía, ¡que venga a nosotros para transfigurarnos en Él!
Recordemos también hoy la importancia de la devoción a la Señora de la Medalla Milagrosa en cuya capilla celebramos esta Santa Misa hoy. Recordemos que El veintisiete de noviembre de mil ochocientos treinta, a las cinco y media de la tarde, estando en oración en la capilla del convento, Santa Catalina Labouré ve en el sitio donde estaba actualmente la Virgen del globo, a la Virgen María totalmente resplandeciente, derramando de sus manos rayos hermosos de luz hacia la tierra. Ella le encomendó a Santa Catalina que hiciera una imagen de Nuestra Señora así como se le había aparecido y que mandara hacer una medalla que tuviera por un lado la inicial de la Virgen M, y una cruz, con esta frase "Oh María, sin pecado concebida, ruega por nosotros que recurrimos a Ti". Y le prometió ayudas muy especiales para quienes lleven esta medalla y recen esa oración. La identidad de María se nos revela aquí explícitamente: la Virgen María es inmaculada desde su concepción. De este privilegio que ya le viene de los méritos de la Pasión de su Hijo Jesucristo, emana su inmenso poder de intercesión que ejerce para quienes le dirigen sus plegarias. Por eso la Virgen María invita a todas las personas a acudir a ella en cualquier problema.
Quisiera terminar mi mensaje de hoy parafraseando las últimas palabras de la homilía de Papa Juan Pablo Segundo a la cual hice referencia al comenzar mi homilía hoy: Pidámosle a María, Virgen de la Medalla Milagrosa, que como Abraham creyó contra toda esperanza, nos ayude a reconocer en Jesús al Hijo de Dios y al Señor de nuestra vida. A ella le encomendamos la Cuaresma, para que sea llena de momentos privilegiados de gracia y que de abundantes frutos, no sólo para la comunidad cristiana sino también para todos los habitantes de nuestra ciudad, nuestro país, nuestra arquidiócesis, nuestro mundo y especialmente para nuestra santa Madre Iglesia.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Funeral Mass for Delaware River Port Authority Corporal Christopher Milito
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Dear Friends,
This morning we gather together in reverence and in prayer for Delaware River Port Authority Corporal Christopher Milito who was killed in the line of duty early last Saturday morning. For him the line of duty meant serving generously those who needed his help. Before that early morning accident on the Walt Whitman Bridge he was endeavoring to help a fellow officer. It was a kind Christian gesture on his part.
As we humbly ask God to take Corporal Milito into His eternal Kingdom of joy and peace, we also remember all his friends and loved ones, especially his brother and sisters and fellow officers who feel so deeply the pain of tragedy and separation. Our heart goes out to all who knew and loved him as we invoke upon them the consolation of Christian hope.
Our gathering at this funeral Mass gives us the opportunity to remember the goodness and uprightness of our brother Christopher. We express all our esteem and admiration for the many acts of service that made up his way of life and that characterize so many officers, those many men and women called in different ways to public service. Although cut short by a seemingly untimely death, the life of Corporal Milito offers us a revered legacy of goodness in our community. In this context we recall those words of the Book of Wisdom proclaimed just a few moments ago: “The just man, though he die early, will be at rest.”
Our sacred gathering in this Cathedral Basilica, which is the House of God and the House of God’s people, the House of His family, also furnishes us the occasion to reflect on the meaning and purpose of life and the mystery of death.
In his Second Letter to the Corinthians Saint Paul so effectively draws our attention to the transition between our earthly life and our eternal life when he says: “Brothers and sisters: We know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.” And then he adds: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.”
Here we have a whole wonderful perspective of earthly life, which is indeed a preparation for the life that never ends, where suffering and pain and evil will be swallowed up in true peace and joy and everlasting happiness with God and with our loved ones. The message of life’s purpose is summed up so well in the little Catechism that asks the simple question: “Why did God make me?” And the simple answer is so profound and readily understood by our experience: “God made me to know him and love him and serve him in this world and to be happy with him forever in heaven.”
From the perspective of the Christian faith, we learn so much from the words of Jesus to His disciples, which we have just heard in the Gospel: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.”
These words show that life is meant to last—forever! When God gives life it is indeed forever! Death is meant to be only the gateway to eternal life.
And so, even amid the pain and separation of this moment, we raise our hearts to God in hope. The words of His divine Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, constitute for us a promise and a solemn guarantee that the end is not the grave or lasting separation, but the joy of reunion in the loving presence of God our Father—forever.
It is this hope, dear friends, that spurs us on to trust in God, to live according to His laws written in our hearts, and to return God’s love for us by our love and service of our fellow human beings. Jesus Christ teaches: “Love one another as I have loved you.” The bottom line of Christianity is a love that manifests itself in generous and dedicated service. Sometimes it means trying to help a friend in need on a bridge, or helping victims of catastrophe in Haiti or even those in trouble across the street. What we must realize is that a legacy of service is linked to the power of love, and this power of love comes to us from God and, when exercised faithfully, leads us to eternal life.
And so today is a new day of unbreakable hope, as we look forward to a reunion that will last forever in God’s kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace.
This hope, dear friends, leads us to trust God’s word and to walk faithfully in the way of His commandments. And so we exclaim in the beautiful words of Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose.... Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.... Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.” Amen.
HOMILÍA de Cardenal Justin Rigali
Misa Puertorriqueña
Catedral de los Santos Pedro y Pablo
22 de septiembre del 2005
Queridos hermanos y hermanas en Cristo,
Felicidades y bienvenidos a esta gran celebración eucarística en ocasión del Festival Puertorriqueño celebrado esta semana en la ciudad de Filadelfia. Es para mí una alegría el poder estar presente con ustedes para dar testimonio de la fe católica que forma parte esencial de la espiritualidad de la gran mayoría de los puertorriqueños, aquí en nuestra Arquidiócesis y en su bella isla de Puerto Rico. Su presencia aquí esta noche no es solo una expresión de la unidad del pueblo de Puerto Rico, sino también es un signo maravilloso de la unidad de todos aquí presentes con la familia arquidiocesana, con la Iglesia universal, en unión con nuestro Santo Padre, el papa Benedicto décimosexto, y especialmente con el Pastor eterno, nuestro Señor Jesucristo.
Deseo reconocer la presencia de los sacerdotes, diáconos y religiosas que caminan cada día con ustedes en el ministerio pastoral de la Iglesia y trabajan generosamente poniéndose a su disposición con profundo amor. En particular, quiero destacar la presencia del monseñor Joseph Shields, a quien he nombrado el primer vicario para los hispanos católicos y quien será mi representante para todos los hispanos de nuestra Arquidiócesis. Felicito el trabajo desarrollado por los líderes comunitarios puertorriqueños que han organizado esta celebración. Su deseo de mantener viva esta tradición de la Misa Puertorriqueña y su disposición de tomar responsabilidad de ella es testimonio de su amor por su fe católica y de la importancia de la Iglesia en sus vidas. Sepan que las necesidades humanas y espirituales de todos los hispanos de nuestra Arquidiócesis son para mi una gran prioridad.
La Iglesia se siente orgullosa de lo que Cristo ha hecho por el pueblo puertorriqueño en Puerto Rico y aquí en nuestro país. Desde el nacimiento de la bella cultura puertorriqueña, la fe católica, su amor por la Madre de Dios, la Virgen María, bajo el título de Nuestra Señora de la Divina Providencia, y su devoción a la presencia de Cristo en la Eucaristía , han sido parte esencial de la vida del pueblo de Puerto Rico. La presencia de ustedes esta noche es también fruto de la obra tan importante que sus padres, abuelos, sacerdotes, religiosas y catequistas desarrollaron al compartir el don de la fe con ustedes. El pueblo puertorriqueño en este país y en particular, en nuestra Arquidiócesis, ha colaborado en la misión de la Iglesia; ha contribuido generosamente en la obra de Dios con sus muchos dones y a la vez ha recibido muchas bendiciones en este gran labor. Aquí, en esta Iglesia local, ustedes han construido sus vidas con entusiasmo, energía y éxito. Esto es causa de alegría y de un espíritu de profundo agradecimiento a Cristo, Nuestro Señor, quien se encuentra en el centro de nuestra vida como Iglesia, y como pueblo.
Ahora Dios, en este momento en su historia como pueblo de Puerto Rico, juntos a sus comunidades parroquiales y en unión con toda la Iglesia arquidiocesana, los llama a una gran misión, la misión de servir a tantos nuevos inmigrantes hispanos y de otras nacionalidades que han vendido a esta tierra en busca de una vida mejor. Este es verdaderamente el momento de emprender esta nueva misión de ayudar a tantas personas de nuestras comunidades que sufren grandes necesidades, con un espíritu de solidaridad, de compasión y comprensión, con un corazón misericordioso y dispuesto a perdonar. Ustedes, como inmigrantes, han experimentado muchos desafíos y han sido exitosos al confrontarlos en el nombre de Jesÿs. Muchos ahora necesitan de ustedes, de su experiencia y sabiduría, de su amor cristiano.
Para llevar acabo esta misión necesitamos estar espiritualmente llenos de vida, y enraizados en la paz de Cristo. La Palabra de Dios, en la Carta de san Pablo a los Colosenses, nos exhorta esta noche: «Pónganse, pues, el vestido que conviene a los elegidos de Dios . . . revístanse de sentimientos de tierna compasión, de bondad, de humildad, de mansedumbre, de paciencia.. Y todo lo que puedan decir o hacer, háganlo en el Nombre de Señor Jesús, dando gracias a Dios Padre por medio de él».
En este momento en la historia del pueblo puertorriqueño en la Arquidiócesis de Filadelfia, Dios los llama a recordar el pasado con un corazón lleno de gratitud y a la vez los llama a profundizar su compromiso con la misión de Cristo, pidiendo a Dios Padre su ayuda y confiando en su Divina Providencia. La realidad es que, sí, existen problemas a resolver, desafíos a superar, y cargas que llevar. Pero Cristo Jesús, quien se encuentra en el centro de la vida de los puertorriqueños en la Isla y aquí, camina fielmente con cada uno de ustedes. En las palabras del Evangelio de san Mateo, que han escuchado, Jesús nos dice claramente: «Vengan a mí los que se sienten cargados y agobiados, porque yo los aliviaré». Jesús nos pide que abramos nuestros corazones al consuelo que Dios nos ofrece cada día y al mismo tiempo nos desafía a que renovemos nuestro compromiso de ayudar a los demás a llevar sus cargas. Así nos dice san Pablo en su Carta a los Gálatas: «Ayúdense mutuamente a llevar sus cargas y así cumplirán la ley de Cristo» (Gálatas 6: 2).
Mis queridos hermanos y hermanas, la celebración de la Eucaristía es siempre una celebración de acción de gracia: agradeciendo a Dios su amor por nosotros, manifestado en forma perfecta en el sacrificio de Cristo Jesús en la cruz. Este Cristo se hace presente esta noche en el pan y el vino consagrados para ser nuestro alimento, nuestra fortaleza y nuestra vida. Esta presencia de Jesús en la Eucaristía también nos une, formando en nosotros un solo cuerpo y un solo espíritu. Vivamos pues intensamente unidos a Cristo y a nuestros hermanos. Y como nos dijo san Pablo en su Carta a los Colosenses: «Por encima de todo, tengan el amor, que es el vínculo perfecto. Que la paz de Cristo reine en sus corazones; ustedes fueron llamados a encontrarla, unidos en un mismo cuerpo. Finalmente, sean agradecidos » (Colosenses 3: 14-15).
Que Dios Padre, los bendiga a ustedes por su colaboración y contribución en la obra de su Reino y que cada día puedan ustedes reconocer y agradecer las muchas bendiciones que han recibido al darse tan generosamente a esta obra de Dios. Que la Virgen María, Madre de la Divina Providencia los acompañe y los proteja al continuar la misión que su Hijo les ha encomendado. Sepan que yo ruego a Dios constantemente por ustedes y por todos los fieles de nuestra gran Arquidiócesis, y les pido que rueguen ustedes a Dios por mí. Amen.
21st Annual Archdiocesan Interfaith Prayer Service
Commemorating Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Thursday, January 15, 2004 - 7:30 PM
Saint Philomena Church
Cardinal Justin Rigali
Dear Friends:
It is an honor for me to celebrate this special occasion with members of the interfaith community. I wish
to thank Father George Clements for his inspiring remarks today on the occasion of our remembrance of the Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
On January 20, 1986, America inaugurated its newest holiday honoring the life and legacy of Dr. King. Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream of a nation and a world united as one human family regardless of race, color,
nationality, ethnic culture or faith. Dr. King was a minister of peace and hope. He believed that all of God's
people could live together in a spirit of respect and trust. His life and legacy are a powerful lesson for those
of us who at times lose hope and become discouraged in this life.
To quote Martin Luther King: "The only way to change humanity is to first change ourselves. We must
be
diligent to keep compassion, sensitivity and love at the center of our lives." (1)
And again: "Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain
of hate." (2)
Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of our modern heroes. He could have settled into a comfortable life as a
family man and a Baptist preacher; instead, he put his convictions into action. Through his campaign of non-violent
direct action, he changed society by raising awareness of the honor and dignity which are due all persons simply
because they are human beings - - the handiwork of a loving Creator. In this he was influenced and inspired by
the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Each year it becomes more evident that Dr. King was a prophetic, and that his words have stood the test
of time, as all great words must. He was willing to give his life for what he believed. Indeed, he knew that any
day his life could be forfeited because of the principles he espoused. He was human and he had human fear for his
life, but he did not falter, he did not turn back. He led a committed life.
Martin Luther King celebrations multiply each year as good people from every corner of society come together
to remind each other that there are so many good and wonderful men and women among every race and creed, and that
there is so much hope for the future of the world - a world of true justice, peace and love.
Whether we are Latino, Asian or Caucasian, African American or Native American, we are part of the great
dream that Martin Luther King, Jr. had for America. This is not a black holiday; it is a people's holiday. And
it is the young people of all races and religions who hold the key to the fulfillment of his dream.
The celebration of this day to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. presents to all of us the opportunity to renew
our commitments, to raise our consciousness about the gospel value of non-violence, justice and human solidarity,
and to have another chance to REALIZE THE DREAM.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for the Opening of the Academic Year
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
August 30, 2010
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful,
and kindle in them the fire of your love!
Dear Father Rector and brother Priests,
Dear Faculty,
Dear Seminarians,
This is a wonderful moment in the history and life of the Church in Philadelphia and in all the other Dioceses and religious congregations represented here today at Saint Charles Seminary. Our seminarians have come here in order to enter into a deeper phase of love and union with Jesus Christ, who is undoubtedly speaking to their hearts and who seems to be calling them to His sacred priesthood.
In order for our seminarians, indeed for all of us, to enter into deeper love and union with Jesus Christ, it is necessary to accept and embrace the promised Holy Spirit of the Father. Jesus Himself told the Apostles: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you." In God's great plan of salvation, Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit, who in turn by His power leads us to Jesus and configures us to Him.
And because the Seminary is all about Jesus Christ, His priesthood and His mission, we begin this new academic year of grace and peace by invoking the Holy Spirit in this votive Mass that we are celebrating this afternoon. Jesus is indeed asking these young men to enter more deeply into the love of His Sacred Heart and to be witnesses, in a very special way, of this love. And in order that they may be able to do this, Jesus is offering them, in abundant measure, His Holy Spirit.
Jesus also desires to reveal through the Holy Spirit the fullness of Trinitarian love. For this reason, He told the Apostles: ".it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth."
Hence, to know Jesus and His truth, we turn to the Holy Spirit and, even as we endeavor to understand more fully the role He plays in the Most Blessed Trinity, we invoke Him, praying: "Come, Holy Spirit!"
From all eternity we know that God lives in the communion of Three Divine Persons: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. We know that the Holy Spirit, as the Love of the Father and the Son, brings to completion the cycle of the divine life. Hence, whatever is a work of completion and perfection, a work of holiness and love, like seminary formation, is "attributed" to the Holy Spirit. In this way the Church expresses her faith, proclaiming the life of the Most Blessed Trinity and the place that the Third Person, the Holy Spirit, holds in the communion of God's intimate life.
Not only does the Church use this form of "attributing" an external work of God to one Person in the Most Blessed Trinity, but this form is also found in the Scriptures. It is likewise used by Jesus Himself.
The Holy Spirit then in the Church, as the Love of the Father and the Son-Love that is identical with Life in the Trinity-is called the Giver of Life. The Holy Spirit is also looked upon as the supreme source of unity in the Church-unity which is a gift of perfection in the community of Christ's disciples. The Holy Spirit is also called by Jesus the Counselor of the Apostles, the Advocate. It is He who guarantees that the teaching of Jesus will be understood. It is He who actually bears witness to Jesus in the world. From the entire life of the Church we know that the reason Jesus sent the Holy Spirit is so that the Holy Spirit may form Jesus in us. The role of the Holy Spirit in the Church is to enable us to participate in the filial relationship of Jesus to the Father.
In the Gospel of Saint John we read that the Father gives the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 14:16). And we read again that the Father sends the Holy Spirit in the name of the Son (cf. Jn 4:26), and that the Spirit bears witness to the Son (cf. Jn 15:26). We likewise read that the Son asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit, and, as we have seen, Jesus speaks of Himself sending the Holy Spirit: "If I go, I will send him to you" (Jn 16:7).
Jesus made a point of telling the Apostles that it was advantageous for them that He should go away, in other words that He should return to the Father. His departure was the condition for the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Church at Pentecost (cf. Jn 16:7).
Jesus offers the Holy Spirit to the Church to dwell in the Church and to confirm the Church in her identification with Jesus. And so the gift that Jesus sends, together with His Father, remains in the Church for all generations to direct the activity of the Church, including seminary formation, and to help the Church fulfill her mission of sanctification in the world. The proclamation of the Gospel-the whole work of evangelization, according to the words of Jesus: "You will be my witnesses to all the world"-throughout the centuries will be directed, by the Holy Spirit described as "the finger of God's right hand".
Our mission today of evangelization, our activities of catechetics are all under the sovereign direction of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the principal evangelizer. Jesus acting in the power of the Holy Spirit evangelizes, catechizes and teaches through us; everything that is done in the name of Jesus is done through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Letter to the Hebrews will say that Jesus "through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God" (Heb 11:15) in sacrifice on the Cross.
It is very important to insist on the role of the Holy Spirit in evangelization in all its spheres, especially that of catechetics. Pope Paul VI spoke at length about the action of the Holy Spirit. He stated: "It must be said that the Holy Spirit is the principal agent in evangelization: it is he who impels each individual to proclaim the Gospel, and it is he who in the depths of consciences causes the word of salvation to be accepted and understood." Pope Paul VI went on: "The Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church. It is he who explains to the faithful the deep meaning of the teaching of Jesus and of his mystery. It is the Holy Spirit who, today just as at the beginning of the Church, acts in every evangelizer who allows himself to be possessed and led by him. The Holy Spirit places on his lips the words which he could not find by himself, and at the same time the Holy Spirit predisposes the soul of the hearer to be open and receptive to the good news and to the kingdom being proclaimed." Pope Paul VI then introduced a level of sobering realism and demanding humility by adding: "Techniques of evangelization are good but even the most advanced ones could not replace the gentle action of the Spirit. The most perfect preparation of the evangelizer has no effect without the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit the most convincing dialectic has no power over the heart of man. Without him the most highly developed schemes resting on a sociological or psychological basis are quickly seen to be quite valueless." He then concluded, saying: "It is not by chance that the great inauguration of evangelization took place on the morning of Pentecost under the inspiration of the Spirit" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 75).
As we look to the Holy Spirit, we must prayerfully reflect on His role in the Most Blessed Trinity, on the impact that the Holy Spirit had on Christ, on His activity in the Church and in our own souls here and now.
The Holy Spirit has different titles, some from Sacred Scripture, some from the piety of the Church. One of the titles by which the Church refers to Him is "the forgiveness of sins" (Ipse est remissio peccatorum).
What a special joy it is to proclaim that the forgiveness of sins is attributed to the Holy Spirit in the Church. Indeed, this act of God's mercy is identified with His Love and therefore with the Holy Spirit Himself. For this reason the Church can with complete accuracy call the Holy Spirit "the forgiveness of sins."
We are called frequently to meditate on sin, but we do this only in order to proclaim God's mercy and forgiveness. In honoring the Holy Spirit we proclaim that He is indeed the forgiveness of sins. The divine action of pardon or forgiveness is identified with His nature and attributed to His Person. Through the action of the Holy Sprit, we are able to proclaim that "where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more" (Rom 5: 20). When Jesus gave the Apostles the power to forgive sins, He first communicated to them the Holy Spirit, saying: "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained" (John 20:22-23). What great confidence Jesus deserves for giving us the Holy Spirit to keep alive forgiveness in the Church and in our own lives! He deserves our response: Jesus, I trust in you! Jesus, we trust in you!
We also proclaim the power of the Holy Spirit to form Jesus ever more in each and every one of us, and then to sustain us in Christian living and in all the ideals of Christian discipleship proper to our own vocation.
In the Gospel we find a young man challenged by Jesus with a radical invitation. It is this: "Go, sell.give.come back and follow me" (Mt 19:21). The Gospel said that the young man was not up to the invitation: "He went away sad." You, dear seminarians, have accepted the invitation joyfully and are running the course. Perseverance is a great gift of the Holy Spirit. Today we proclaim His power to sustain you to the end!
In speaking about the Holy Spirit, I frequently evoke the memory of Pope Leo XIII. In the year 1897 Pope Leo wrote an encyclical on the Holy Spirit, called Divinum Illud. He was eighty-seven at the time and perceived that he was approaching death. Actually, he lived for another six years and died in 1903 at the age of ninety-three. But what was so important for Pope Leo was his action to consecrate to the Holy Spirit all the work of his long pontificate. In consecrating his service as Pope to the Holy Spirit, he prayed that the Holy Spirit would bring His work to fruitfulness and completion.
His was an act of piety toward the Holy Spirit, but also an act of faith in the doctrine of the Most Blessed Trinity. By "attributing" to the Holy Spirit whatever is a work of loving completion, we do not exclude the action of the Father and the Son. By no means. But we do recognize, by what the Church calls "attribution", the role that is peculiarly personal to the Holy Spirit. We proclaim the faith of the Church which teaches that in the Most Blessed Trinity the Holy Spirit is indeed the term of the divine operations. The Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father, and the Holy Spirit is the expression of their love. In His Person the Holy Spirit brings to completion and perfection the cycle of the divine life. In her prayer the Church professes this mystery of God's Trinitarian life and "attributes" to the Holy Spirit those works which, while common to the Holy Trinity, express a relationship to the role which belongs exclusively to the Holy Spirit within the communion of the Most Blessed Trinity.
As Pope Leo XIII did, as the Church does, so we too today invoke the Holy Spirit and proclaim His role in the communion of the Three Divine Persons. In order to show this faith we consecrate to Him our activities and our life so that He will bring them to the perfection of Love and form Jesus in us!
We ask the Holy Spirit then to consummate us in His love. He is the Spirit of holiness who engenders holiness in us because He forms Jesus in us. As the Spirit of Jesus, He is the one that inculcates trust in us, the one who enables us to pronounce the holy name of Jesus, the one who enables us to proclaim our trust in Jesus, the one who makes it possible for us to say: "Jesus is Lord!" and Jesus, I trust in you! Jesus, we trust in you!
In acknowledging that the Holy Spirit can do all this, we invoke Him once again with our pentecostal prayer: Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love! Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass celebrating the Canonization of
Mother Marie Eugénie Milleret of Jesus
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
October 27, 2007
On June 3, 2007, Blessed Marie Eugénie of Jesus, Foundress of the Religious of the Assumption, was solemnly canonized in Saint Peter’s Square in Rome, together with three other Blesseds, by our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI.
This act was directed to the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It was also directed to the edification and encouragement of all the People of God throughout the Church, and in particular the Religious of the Assumption stationed in 34 countries: 8 in Europe, 5 in Asia, 10 in America and 11 in Africa—about 1,200 Religious gathered in 170 communities.
Today the joy of this great day is spread to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as we gather in this Cathedral Basilica to praise God for raising up in His Church Saint Marie Eugénie of Jesus. Ours is a great act of thanksgiving for what God accomplished in our new Saint and for the triumph of the Blood of Jesus in her holy life.
We fully recognize that all her achievements are works of God’s grace, intended to further His Kingdom in the world and to give the Church a community of Religious who inherit and transmit the charisms of Saint Marie Eugénie of Jesus. Like the great women doctors of the Church, Saint Teresa from Avila and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, Saint Marie Eugénie bore the name of Jesus as part of her own. She lived and worked and died for Jesus and for His Church.
She was one of the lowly followers of the Lord recognized in our first reading today, which tells us: "The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest until it reaches its goals, nor will it withdraw until the Most High responds...and the Lord will not delay." In the words of our psalm our new Saint tells us today: "I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth. Let my soul glory in the Lord; the lowly will hear me and be glad."
Today as we celebrate locally her canonization, we listen carefully and deeply to Saint Marie Eugénie of Jesus. She has so much to tell us when we enter into dialogue with her, as the Church did on the day she was raised to the altars. Today we also hear her speak to us in the words of Saint Paul from our second reading: "But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed...."
By her holy life she contributed so much to the life of the Church in her native 19th-century France and far beyond. God raised her up and sustained her in difficult circumstances. She belonged to a non-believing family; her father suffered reverses; her mother died; but the Lord Jesus revealed Himself to her and put all her gifts at the service of His Church.
Today she speaks to us again about her three great inspirational loves: her love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, her love for Mary His Mother, her love for the Church. From these loves she derived enormous strength and contributed to God’s people a service of immense love. Her charisms partake in the stability of God’s revelation and are an ongoing gift to His Church.
Her zeal as a young woman was evident and God used it to embellish His Church with the Religious of the Assumption. No amount of activity could have supplied for her holiness of life and her fidelity to the Gospel. How beautiful her words: "I was truly converted and I was seized by a longing to devote all my strength or rather all my weakness to the Church which, from that moment, I saw as alone holding the key to knowledge and achievement of all that is good." She envisaged Christ as the universal Liberator and His kingdom on earth as a peaceful and just society. Saint Marie Eugénie could say with the author of the Book of Sirach: "The Lord is a God of justice.... he hears the cry of the oppressed."
Even today our Saint is still willing to respond to our questions. And so we ask her: For you, Saint Marie Eugénie of Jesus, Christian education is the key to the transformation of society, and so what is its principal aim? Saint Marie Eugénie responds simply: "To make known Jesus Christ, Liberator and King of the world; to teach that everything belongs to Him, who, present in our souls by the life of grace, wishes to work in each one of us to accomplish the great work of the Kingdom of God, to announce that He works in our heart so that the Kingdom of God may come, and so that each of us may enter into His plan through prayer or suffering or work." And she concludes: "Here for me are the beginning and the end of Christian teaching."
Is this, dear friends, relevant today? Relevant for Religious, for priests, for the laity, for the associates, for all the people of God? By all means. Saint Marie Eugénie of Jesus remains forever relevant in the life of the Church. We cherish her teachings, we extol her holiness, we count on her prayers. And, yes, we shall try to be faithful to her many challenges.
In conclusion let us return to our Saint. She says: "The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ. We must bring to the Church the love we bear to our Lord. He has put a perfect unity between Himself and the Church." Then finally: "You will first of all find our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and that should be our first devotion. Then you will find him in the Church and you must have an ardent love for her that you will bring to prayer and to your apostolic life. If one opened the heart of a Religious of the Assumption what should one find? These three loves—Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and the Church." Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass celebrating the Canonization of
Mother Marie Eugénie Milleret of Jesus
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
October 27, 2007
On June 3, 2007, Blessed Marie Eugénie of Jesus, Foundress of the Religious of the Assumption, was solemnly canonized in Saint Peter’s Square in Rome, together with three other Blesseds, by our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI.
This act was directed to the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It was also directed to the edification and encouragement of all the People of God throughout the Church, and in particular the Religious of the Assumption stationed in 34 countries: 8 in Europe, 5 in Asia, 10 in America and 11 in Africa—about 1,200 Religious gathered in 170 communities.
Today the joy of this great day is spread to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as we gather in this Cathedral Basilica to praise God for raising up in His Church Saint Marie Eugénie of Jesus. Ours is a great act of thanksgiving for what God accomplished in our new Saint and for the triumph of the Blood of Jesus in her holy life.
We fully recognize that all her achievements are works of God’s grace, intended to further His Kingdom in the world and to give the Church a community of Religious who inherit and transmit the charisms of Saint Marie Eugénie of Jesus. Like the great women doctors of the Church, Saint Teresa from Avila and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, Saint Marie Eugénie bore the name of Jesus as part of her own. She lived and worked and died for Jesus and for His Church.
She was one of the lowly followers of the Lord recognized in our first reading today, which tells us: "The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest until it reaches its goals, nor will it withdraw until the Most High responds...and the Lord will not delay." In the words of our psalm our new Saint tells us today: "I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth. Let my soul glory in the Lord; the lowly will hear me and be glad."
Today as we celebrate locally her canonization, we listen carefully and deeply to Saint Marie Eugénie of Jesus. She has so much to tell us when we enter into dialogue with her, as the Church did on the day she was raised to the altars. Today we also hear her speak to us in the words of Saint Paul from our second reading: "But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed...."
By her holy life she contributed so much to the life of the Church in her native 19th-century France and far beyond. God raised her up and sustained her in difficult circumstances. She belonged to a non-believing family; her father suffered reverses; her mother died; but the Lord Jesus revealed Himself to her and put all her gifts at the service of His Church.
Today she speaks to us again about her three great inspirational loves: her love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, her love for Mary His Mother, her love for the Church. From these loves she derived enormous strength and contributed to God’s people a service of immense love. Her charisms partake in the stability of God’s revelation and are an ongoing gift to His Church.
Her zeal as a young woman was evident and God used it to embellish His Church with the Religious of the Assumption. No amount of activity could have supplied for her holiness of life and her fidelity to the Gospel. How beautiful her words: "I was truly converted and I was seized by a longing to devote all my strength or rather all my weakness to the Church which, from that moment, I saw as alone holding the key to knowledge and achievement of all that is good." She envisaged Christ as the universal Liberator and His kingdom on earth as a peaceful and just society. Saint Marie Eugénie could say with the author of the Book of Sirach: "The Lord is a God of justice.... he hears the cry of the oppressed."
Even today our Saint is still willing to respond to our questions. And so we ask her: For you, Saint Marie Eugénie of Jesus, Christian education is the key to the transformation of society, and so what is its principal aim? Saint Marie Eugénie responds simply: "To make known Jesus Christ, Liberator and King of the world; to teach that everything belongs to Him, who, present in our souls by the life of grace, wishes to work in each one of us to accomplish the great work of the Kingdom of God, to announce that He works in our heart so that the Kingdom of God may come, and so that each of us may enter into His plan through prayer or suffering or work." And she concludes: "Here for me are the beginning and the end of Christian teaching."
Is this, dear friends, relevant today? Relevant for Religious, for priests, for the laity, for the associates, for all the people of God? By all means. Saint Marie Eugénie of Jesus remains forever relevant in the life of the Church. We cherish her teachings, we extol her holiness, we count on her prayers. And, yes, we shall try to be faithful to her many challenges.
In conclusion let us return to our Saint. She says: "The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ. We must bring to the Church the love we bear to our Lord. He has put a perfect unity between Himself and the Church." Then finally: "You will first of all find our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and that should be our first devotion. Then you will find him in the Church and you must have an ardent love for her that you will bring to prayer and to your apostolic life. If one opened the heart of a Religious of the Assumption what should one find? These three loves—Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and the Church." Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
National Vigil for Life Opening Mass
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Monday, January 21, 2008 ~ 7:00 pm
Your Eminences,
Archbishop Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States,
Archbishop Wuerl, Pastor of the Church of Washington,
Brother Bishops,
Dear Priests, Deacons, Consecrated Religious, Seminarians,
Supporters and Defenders of human life,
especially you, dear Young People of the Church,
Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,
“Giving Visibility” to the Dignity of Life
We rejoice in this beautiful “house of the Lord,” the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. It is good for us to be here, gathered with Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother.
With its many Masses, holy hours, Confessions and special occasions like this all-night National Prayer Vigil for Life, this National Shrine is a place of year-round worship, pilgrimage, evangelization and reconciliation. This monumental church gives visibility to our Catholic faith and heritage.
You have come to our nation's capital to “give visibility” to your faith, your heritage, and your commitment to life from conception to natural death. Tomorrow you will peacefully protest the injustice of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the 1973 Supreme Court cases that legalized abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. Tomorrow you will march in solidarity with unborn children, as well as their mothers and fathers and siblings. Tomorrow you will approach your elected officials, calling on them to protect those most at risk, the voiceless and most defenseless members of our human family.
But first, tonight! We have set this time aside to pray for an end to abortion, and to receive strength from the Lord. Millions of others are with us in spirit, watching this Mass both in the United States and abroad through the Eternal Word Television Network. Our hearts are especially with those who are homebound or serving in the military. Many others will give visible witness in their own communities at prayer vigils and walks across the country.
On behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, I express admiration to all of you for the many sacrifices you have made to defend, protect and cherish God’s precious gift of life.
The New Incarnation Dome
Those of you who were here last year will recall the scaffolding erected in the back. The pews had to be removed and individual chairs set in their place. This year you are able to see the fruit of that work, which is the Knights of Columbus Incarnation Dome.
This Incarnation Dome is made up of 2.4 million pieces of colored glass cut and assembled in Italian workshops, shipped over the Atlantic in 346 boxes, and painstakingly installed over the course of five months by master mosaic artists. The whole project was a great undertaking that would not have been possible without the generosity of the Knights of Columbus and many others, and without the skills of the artists, craftsmen and scaffolding workers. It took time to craft this massive undertaking that will inspire generations of pilgrims yet unborn.
We too, dear friends, are called to a massive undertaking, to raise up, through God’s grace, what Pope John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae called “a great campaign in support of life.” Our task is to build a culture of life in which every person is treated with the respect due to his or her human dignity, regardless of age, physical or mental ability, or stage of development.
This urgent project is well under way. But we know it is far from complete. We are reminded daily of the many direct threats to life through abortion, human embryo experimentation, and the false mercy of assisted suicide and euthanasia. Violence against the innocent unborn also spills over into disregard for other neighbors, so often erupting in violence in our homes through domestic violence and child abuse.
Our “great campaign in support of life” requires all the resources God has given us. It will take time. It will take generosity. It will take patience and sustained collaboration among so many groups. It presupposes unity in the Body of Christ and demands prayer, penance and sacrifice.
But what else can this Dome teach us about building a culture of life? The Incarnation Dome depicts four scenes from Scripture that focus on the Son of God who takes on human flesh: the Annunciation, the Birth of Jesus, His miracle at the Wedding Feast of Cana, and his Transfiguration. Each has a lesson for us tonight.
First, the Annunciation. Mary was troubled by the angel coming to her. She was confused and concerned by Gabriel's message about her conceiving the Christ Child. "How can this be?" she asked, just as you might ask when God calls you to do something you feel incapable of, something overwhelming. But the angel's words to her echo to us today: "Do not be afraid…nothing will be impossible for God."
Certainly mothers who have just learned they are pregnant can feel both excitement and anxiety: the joy of conception, even in the midst of concerns about the future. When Mary said yes to the angel, she said yes to life, and indeed to the Source of life Himself. We are called to be like Mary, saying yes to life in various ways.
Another young woman, Saint Agnes, who lived seventeen hundred years ago and whose feast we celebrate today, also said yes to God. Agnes was beautiful and many men would have waited to marry her. But as a young Christian, she had already come to know someone who gave her everything she wanted and needed. As today's psalm says: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want … my cup overflows." He was the one who would never use or exploit her, but loved her completely, totally, unconditionally—the way she deserved to be loved. In return, Agnes was so grateful for all He had done for her that she chose to belong to Christ and Christ alone. She chose to remain a virgin and God gave her that kind of singular, exclusive love for Him that those called to celibacy are given as a special gift. She had found that pearl of great price and was willing to "sell" everything she had to keep it. She was willing to live and even die for Him at the hands of those men who wanted to use her. She was abused, tortured and martyred because of her love for God.
Dear young people, like the young Saint Agnes, you have received the gift of faith. You have been offered the Kingdom of heaven, the pearl of great price, the treasure worth many sacrifices. How is He calling you to thank, love and serve Him? Tonight in prayer, you must ask Him to make His will known to you, and to give you the courage to follow it once His voice is clear to you. He will surely give you all the grace you need.
Every year, after the feast of the Annunciation on March 25th, exactly 9 months later, December 25th, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus. This event, the Christmas story, depicted in the next scene of the Incarnation Dome, also shapes us deeply in the way we “give visibility” to the dignity of life.
When the Son of God took on our human flesh, He gave us the full example of compassion and humility. Even though as God He was all-powerful and all-knowing, He let Himself become powerless and completely dependent on others. From the beginning of His life to the end, He knew what it was like to grow and learn, to know joy and sorrow, and all the limitations of our human condition. Nothing in the human experience was foreign to Him, except sin. With perfect compassion, as Emmanuel, God-with-us, He suffered with us.
When we are strong and able-bodied, feeling in complete control, do we value and protect those who are weak, as Scripture calls them: the “lowly and despised of the world who count for nothing,” or do they make us feel uncomfortable, uneasy? And when we become weak, will we allow others to care for us in sickness or old age? When frustrated or embarrassed by our incapacity, the helpless Christ Child helps us resist the temptation to despair. Our value does not come from being so-called “productive” members of society, but from Emmanuel, God always with us. As the psalm, so beautifully assures us, “even though I walk through the valley of darkness, I fear no evil for you are at my side.”
The remaining two scenes of the Incarnation Dome—namely, the Wedding Feast of Cana and the Transfiguration—now attract more attention because John Paul II introduced the luminous mysteries of the Rosary. These mysteries do not involve the conception or birth of children. What do they have to do then with defending life?
At the Wedding Feast of Cana, Mary plays an active role in her Son’s ministry to the world. As a woman, she is deeply attuned to the needs of others, in this case, the bridal party and their guests. In His love for her, Jesus honors her request that He “do something” about the wine that has run out. In her faith in Him, Mary trusted that He would provide, while not knowing exactly how.
At times it may seem as if our “wine” is also running out, that we just do not have what we need to continue in this struggle, or that our efforts are not making much of a difference. Like Mary, we must learn to trust that God will provide abundantly, in His way, in His time. We possess, or will be given, enough time and resources to build a culture of life together. Our role is to have expectant faith and to follow the counsel of Mary, who said: “Do whatever he tells you.”
In the Transfiguration, God the Father gives the three closest disciples of Jesus a glimpse of Jesus’ full glory, His divinity. His clothes "shone as the sun," and the mosaic depicts them in brilliant white on a bright yellow background. Besides manifesting momentarily His full identity, Jesus also revealed to Peter, James and John that our humanity is meant for glory, destined for heaven. He gave them a glimpse of life beyond the grave. As we say in the Nicene Creed: "I believe in the resurrection of the body."
But if our imperfect bodies will someday be glorified, then no one can be defined by his or her current level of physical or mental ability. Each human person is lovable and destined for eternal glory. We must defend the lives of persons with disabilities, as well as those who are mentally ill, addicted, sick or in particular need of our care.
Yes, dear friends, this Dome indeed “makes visible” a great deal about the culture of life.
A Vibrant Mosaic
In a mosaic, some pieces are shiny, some matte. Some are brightly colored, others plain. But each piece plays its role, contributing to the overarching grandeur of the final work. Whether young or not-so-young, single, married or widowed, living in consecrated life or Holy Orders, you are all part of God’s great mosaic, making His love visible in your families, parishes, schools, communities, work places and neighborhoods. You are the painstaking work of His hands—planned from the beginning of time and loved into existence by the Eternal Master Craftsman.
He now sends you out, thousands upon thousands strong, to do your part in forming a vibrant mosaic on behalf of life. You must be the “rich color” He created you to be. You must play your role in His overarching design, and be patient with others as they seek to do the same.
Tomorrow as you march, you will be surrounded by many courageous witnesses to the dignity of life. All the marchers are different from one another, and yet unified in one common goal: bringing an end to abortion and all attacks on life, and building a culture that always welcomes life!
Then there may be some who will taunt you from the sidelines in angry, accusatory ways. Try not to judge them or to define them by their anger and bitterness. They are fellow human beings in need of reconciliation and healing. They too are invited to a change of heart and to join in the “great campaign” for life. Many like them have already bent before the gentle power of God’s grace.
The Incarnation Dome is not made of huge, impressive pieces of glass. Its beauty and impact lie in the intricate interplay of so many tiny pieces. God is good at using many humble "pieces," as we heard in our reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. Instead of choosing "great" or impressive people in the eyes of the world, God uses the humble, the foolish, the weak and “those who count for nothing” to accomplish His purposes.
It is when we least expect it that the tiniest among us can humble the powerful. One day not long ago, a very influential stem cell researcher, Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, was humbled when he was looking through a microscope at a human embryo in a fertility clinic. As the New York Times reports:
“The glimpse changed his scientific career. 'When I saw the embryo, I suddenly realized there was such a small difference between it and my daughters,' said Dr. Yamanaka, 45, a father of two. 'I thought, we can't keep destroying embryos for our research. There must be another way’."
As they say, the rest is history. Dr. Yamanaka used his scientific knowledge to discover a new approach to stem cell research that many of his colleagues say will make embryonic stem cells obsolete.
If God can use a helpless embryo to change a human heart, He can certainly use us with all our limitations and weaknesses. Dear friends: by seeking holiness and using the gifts God has given you to accomplish His will in your life, you are contributing mightily to that Kingdom we all long for, where there will be no more crying or pain or death. Certainly no abortion. No euthanasia. No assisted suicide. No deep-freezing of embryos as though they were merchandise. And no destruction of human life in the name of science.
We are all called to make use of the graces we receive here tonight, to change the world tomorrow, and each day after returning home. We are invited to pray for the protection of human life and to ask others to do so. We are challenged to care for those around us who are in need physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually, especially those who would consider participating in an abortion. And finally we need to allow others to care for us when we can no longer care for ourselves.
All of us have an important place in conversations about the value of human life, and all of us can make a significant contribution in the political process. It is your right and duty as citizens, whether or not you are old enough to vote, to help shape society by offering to everyone the profound convictions of your faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord of life. In His name you are also called to pray for an end to abortion in the United States and throughout the world. Roe v. Wade is incompatible with human dignity. It must not stand. It cannot stand. It will not stand.
Over and above all the compelling reasons that nature gives us to respect, protect, love and serve life—every human life—the mighty Dome of the Incarnation that we look up to tonight in this Basilica confirms us in an even deeper certitude. The eternal Son of God who took flesh from the Virgin Mary, was born and lived and died for our salvation has uplifted all humanity to a further dignity and destiny: to share in His divine life forever—in the communion of the Most Blessed Trinity. For this reason we know that life indeed will be victorious. And so, with Saint Paul, we say: “For this we toil and struggle, because we have set our hope on the living God….” (1 Timothy 4:10), who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and who is blessed forever. Amen.
Address of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Natural Family Planning Conference
Marriage: A Decision to Love
Philadelphia Guild of the Catholic Medical Association
St. Mary Medical Center
Archdiocese of Philadelphia Family Life Office
Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Southampton
Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary
March 19, 2011
Dear Friends,
Thank you for the gracious invitation to join with you this afternoon as you conclude this day dedicated to the study of natural family planning under the theme, Marriage: A Decision to Love. I am grateful for the collaboration of the Philadelphia Natural Family Planning Network, the Philadelphia Catholic Medical Association, St. Mary Medical Center and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Family Life Office in this important effort. How fitting that this day takes place on March 19, the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
This afternoon, in Southampton, the Culture of Life meets the Civilization of Love. The two meet, as they always do, first in husband and wife in marriage. On the day of their marriage, when a baptized man and a baptized woman come together and freely express consent in their marriage vows, something utterly new comes into existence. Something that did not exist prior to their vows now comes to be. This reality did not exist during the readings of the wedding Mass, it did not exist at the rehearsal, it did not exist throughout their engagement, or the time when they were dating. When a man and a woman utter their consent in marriage, something completely and entirely new comes into existence: an indissoluble sacred bond. When they exchange consent an unbreakable sacred bond arises between them―the bond of marriage. And in the bond of marriage life and love meet.
This sacred bond is not the sum of their life history. It is not the sum of their communication skills, their ability to resolve conflict or agree on every issue. This sacred bond plunges much deeper and is firmly fixed in one overwhelming reality. Their bond of marriage is fixed deep in the love that Jesus Christ has for His Church. Every Christian marriage participates directly in the absolute, unending love that Jesus Christ has for His Bride, the Church. This is why the bond of marriage is unbreakable, because Jesus Christ never stops loving His Church. Husband and wife in marriage are a window that allows everyone to see not simply their own efforts at love but, above all else, the love that Jesus has for the Church. This is why Christian matrimony is a Sacrament: Marriage is a cause and sign of grace so that husband and wife are strengthened to live their supernatural mission.
At the heart of this supernatural mission is the openness of husband and wife to new life. The indissoluble bond that arises with their consent is consummated in and through the two-in-one-flesh union, the conjugal sexual act in marriage. The vows of marriage―“I take you to be mine, I promise to be true to you, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, I will love you and honor you all the days of my life”―these vows express a total gift of self. In the conjugal act these vows are reiterated in the language of the body. The husband takes everything he is and makes a gift of self to his wife. The wife takes everything she is and makes a gift of self to her husband. The conjugal act is the culmination of the daily and ordinary love that husband and wife express every day. In the daily moments of life the spouses are to be a gift of self. In so many different ways they show forth the love of Christ for the Church. These include when they negotiate their financial budget, how to pay the rent, how they socialize, or how they will cooperate on issues in which they often disagree.
As the Servant of God Pope John Paul II said: “God’s plan for marriage and the family touches men and women in the concreteness of their daily existence…” (Familiaris Consortio, 4). As they share the household duties, coordinate work schedules, spend time together, discuss the education of their children, deal with hardship and tragedy, pray and worship together, consider questions of health and transitions in life; their first and last words must always be the vows on which their marriage is founded: “I take you to be mine, I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.” These words must continue every day of their life. These words are their center of gravity. These words are not confined to the wedding video or the marriage album. They must animate their every act. In particular, these words animate the conjugal act, the marital act which culminates the expression of their love.
As Pope Pius XI taught in 1930, one of the purposes of marriage is the “mutual inward molding of husband and wife” (Casti Connubii, 24). Natural Family Planning, lived in truth and authenticity, is the genuine lifestyle that expresses the vows of marriage in a most clear manner. The moment of their love in the conjugal act is also the moment of life. When husband and wife make a complete and total gift of self in the conjugal act, that moment of love is the moment of life. It is then that God has designed and natural reason discerns that a human life can come into being. The nature of love is life, and the nature of life is love. Natural Family Planning as a lifestyle, not simply as a method, fully actualizes and protects the moment of love as the moment of life. In fact, it is more than a lifestyle, it is a spirituality of marriage. Natural Family Planning―again, lived as an authentic way of life―illuminates marriage as a total gift of self in love, in particular as a sacrificial gift of love. Every act of husband and wife is a gift to each other, a gift to their children and a gift to society. This is the beauty of sacrifice. Pope Benedict XVI, in his most recent encyclical letter, Caritas in Veritate, points out that the married couple is located at “the foundation of society” as they mutually accept one another in openness to life (Caritas in Veritate, 15).
The promise of the marriage vows, and the expression of that full and complete promise every day, and in particular, in the conjugal act, is the manner in which husband and wife show forth to the world the love of Jesus Christ for His Church. Marriage is a sacred institution, a vocation to holiness, with its own proper apostolic work in the midst of the world. The sacred bond between husband and wife illumines the whole behavior of the married couple. It gives them a moral power that shows forth heroism in day-to-day life. In this, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, they transform one another, their children, and the world. They transform each moment to be a moment for Christ and His Church.
The secular culture with its emphasis on relativism attempts to deconstruct the meaning of marriage. The popular culture reduces the meaning of marriage such that marriage is about the individual rather than about husband and wife. Through the ideologies and false theories of consumerism, materialism, and pleasure seeking, marriage is reduced to being simply a means to highlight one’s own individuality. Painfully, these ideologies lead to acceptance of promiscuity, adultery, contraception, sterilization, and divorce. These symptoms of the culture of death reject the sacred bond, fidelity to the total gift of self, and the crowing good of the child in marriage.
Pope Paul VI predicted in Humanae Vitae that, if the birth control pill and the contraceptive mentality entered society, various things would happen: there would be a general lowering of morality accompanied by a rise in marital infidelity; there would be a lowering of respect for women; and governments would begin to impose contraception on their people. He predicted these things in 1968. Unfortunately, the birth control pill was accepted, and all these effects have come to pass.
Especially troubling today is the contemporary claim that persons of the same sex can legally “marry.” Marriage, life-giving love, finds an essential coordinate in the sexual difference of man to woman and woman to man; only from their difference does an authentic union arise. Right reason tells us that sexual difference inscribed in the nature of man and woman is essential to the institution of marriage. Divine Revelation confirms the witness of reason. It is not in any way discrimination to stand up for marriage as the union of one man and one woman. In fact, it is a bold witness to true freedom.
The contemporary culture wants to silence the authentic language of the body. It wants to drown out and reduce the meaning of the body simply to pleasure. As Pope John Paul II proclaimed so clearly, the contraceptive mentality “contradicts the full truth of the sexual act as the expression of conjugal love.” (Evangelium Vitae, 13). Pope Benedict XVI likewise proclaims, “Openness to life is at the center of all true development” (Caritas in Veritate, 28). The deliberate separation of life and love is the tragic mistake at the center of the culture of death. Only the intersection of the Culture of Life with the Civilization of Love, the intersection spread out before us in Southampton this afternoon, can show the world the true path of beauty, the beauty of marriage between one man and one woman, the beauty of Christ’s love for His Church. Among the great legacy of Pope John Paul II is his extensive teaching on the human person and marriage. His five years of teaching on the theology of the body, his Apostolic Exhortation On the Family, his Letter to Families, and his Apostolic Letter On the Dignity and Vocation of Women form the nucleus of his extensive outreach to married couples and the family.
The sacramental ministry of the Church, especially the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Penance, are the basis of the Church’s pastoral outreach to married couples. The pastoral outreach of the Church continues. Through the daily ministry of priests and deacons, through the work and staff of the family life office, marriage preparation teams, doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, parish leaders, married persons, engaged couples and Respect Life teams, we are summoned to a cultural imperative―to reclaim marriage as a total gift of self whose crowning gift is found in the child. Married couples who experience the pain of infertility can and do still reach this crowning gift because they possess, even in their times of suffering, a deep spiritual fruitfulness by which they fully actualize the gift of self. They also do this in and through adoption of a child and the generous gift they give to society and the Church. Natural Family Planning is the lens which permits us to see how the total gift of self in marriage is renewed and reclaimed.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his Post-Synodal Exhortation on the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church, Verbum Domini, emphasizes that “it must never be forgotten that the word of God is at the very origin of marriage (cf. Gn 2:24) and that Jesus Himself made marriage one of the institutions of His Kingdom (cf. Mt 19:4-8), elevating to a sacrament what was inscribed in human nature from the beginning” (Verbum Domini, 85). Among the preeminent tasks of the New Evangelization is the renewal of marriage in the life and ministry of the Church and in society as a whole. This afternoon, in Southampton, at the parish of Our Lady of Good Counsel, as the Culture of Life meets the Civilization of Love, we have taken a great stride forward in the New Evangelization, as we proclaim the beauty of married love and the inviolable dignity of human life. Thank you for your personal witness, for the many sacrifices you make and for the opportunity to be with you this afternoon. May God richly bless you and your families as we travel together the path to holiness. Thank you.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass with Members of the Neocatechumenal Communities
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
November 7, 2009
Dear Brother Priests and all of you, dear Brothers and Sisters
of the Neocatechumenal Communities,
Let me express my joy at being with you this evening in our Cathedral Basilica. We gather in the name of Jesus to proclaim and be challenged by the Word of God, to celebrate the Eucharist as we commemorate the Death and Resurrection of the Lord in the community of the Church. The Author of the Letter to the Hebrews introduces us to Eucharistic theology: Jesus Christ takes away sins by His Sacrifice. He offered Himself only once to take away sins. But He will appear a second time, not to take away sins, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.
So much of your mission, dear members of the Neocatechumenal Way is contained herein—a way of life lived in eagerly awaiting Jesus, who brings us to salvation. You have so much to contribute. Like the woman—the poor widow in the Gospel—you are called to contribute your whole livelihood. You bring to your mission all you are, all you have. You are engaged in the work of conversion and evangelization with your families—in the fullness of your identity.
We give thanks to God for the definitive approval of your Statutes—a gift of the Church, a gift of Pope Benedict XVI, but long since prepared for by Pope John Paul II. We give thanks to God for the priests who assist you to live the triple catechetical synthesis: the Word of God, the Liturgy, the Community.
We give praise to God for all the blessings of your lives and activities, and your sustained efforts. How worthy of praise: to have as the goal of your Neocatechumenal Way to lead the faithful gradually to intimacy with Jesus Christ; to be active subjects of the Church; to be credible witnesses of the Gospel; to promote the mission “ad gentes” of the Church within the confines of the secular city as well as in the outreaches of the Church’s expansion.
We praise God for the fruits of grace produced and yet to come—an evangelical radicalism that proclaims Jesus Christ as all: the Way, the Truth and the Life. We praise God for the efforts of life-giving communion with the Church in her archdiocesan reality here in Philadelphia.
We offer back to the Holy Spirit, from whom it came, this “itinerary of Catholic formation,” this “way after Baptism.” We thank and praise the Blessed Trinity for the copious fruits of personal conversion and fruitful missionary impulse, for the gift of your being a sign of the missionary Church and a hope of being evangelizers even for those who had almost abandoned the Christian life.
We praise God for the love of the local Church and for the spirit of service to the local Ordinary, in communion with him and in the context of the unity of the universal Church, shown by so many members of the Neocatechumenal Way. We acknowledge the Neocatechumenal Way as one of the valid instruments envisioned by the spirit of Vatican II to form living cells of the Church for living the faith radically.
Finally for the luminous sign of the beauty of Christ and His Church offered by the Neocatechumenal Way we praise God through Jesus Christ, invoking Mary the Mother of God.
Yes, we acknowledge in the Neocatechumenal Way a gift of the Lord as we appreciate your missionary enthusiasm, dear friends, your witness of faithfulness and obedience to the Church and a special sensitivity to the needs of the poor. We remember the advice received by Saint Paul and recorded in his Letter to the Galatians: Be mindful of the poor.
And so, dear friends, in the unity of the Church, you are striving to give all you have, as the widow of Zarephath and the widow in the Gospel.
Yes, your goal is indeed to contribute everything for the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity, as Jesus the Lord of life sustains you by the power of His Resurrection and by His sacred Body and Blood, enabling you to collaborate with Him in His Church to build His kingdom.
In so doing you will always be mindful of the priorities of His Church, which include prayer, and today, special prayer for good healthcare legislation for America. Your help is greatly needed.
And finally, dear friends, may you always be conscious of being valued associates of our Lord Jesus Christ in the application of His work of salvation. Amen.
Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord
January 4, 2004
Shrine of Saint John Neumann
Dear Friends in Our Lord Jesus Christ,
The planet Mars is very much in the news these days. During the summer months, it aligned closely to Earth and was clearly visible to the naked eye. Many people were drawn to view the night sky. So many were in awe of the beauty of creation. There is truly something magnificent about the planets and the stars, which ornament the night sky. They remind us of the One who brought order out of chaos and who illumines our world with true light.
Perhaps you were among those who took the opportunity to view Mars during the summer and autumn nights. If so, you may have a greater appreciation of what the Magi experienced when they viewed a “Star rising in the East.” The Magi were astrologers who looked to the stars to provide a foreshadowing of things to come. However, the Star which they observed held the greatest significance ever. Recognizing that this Star heralded the birth of a Great King, the Magi journeyed from their homelands to seek this wondrous Child.
Saint Matthew’s account of the Magi and the offering of their precious gifts to the Christ Child fills our imaginations. We easily can envision this sacred moment since this event has been captured in song, in numerous artistic renderings, in novels and in films. What Christmas Nativity scene would be complete without the statues of the Wise Men bearing their treasures?
While all of these images, stories, paintings and films stir our appreciation of Our Lord’s Epiphany - which means “manifestation”- to the Magi, the most poignant reminder of the Epiphany is all of us gathered here today. The Epiphany solemnly celebrates the revelation of Jesus to the people of every nation. Jesus Himself is the Star whose light guides us to recognize Him as Our Lord and Savior. He is the Light which illumines the pathways of our minds and hearts and guides us in the ways of righteousness and truth. Represented by the Wise Men of Old, we, whose ancestry can be traced to every corner of the world, have been given the gift of faith in Jesus Christ and, even more importantly, we have embraced that gift.
Like the Wise Men of Old, we are transformed by this gift of Faith. While we do not bear gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh - those gifts which acknowledged the Messianic role of Jesus as King, Priest and Sacrificial Victim - we do bear the gift of Christ Himself, whose peace reigns in our hearts. While the Magi were called to seek the Christ, we are called to show the radiant face of Christ to a world so often in darkness.
This is the New Evangelization initiated by our Holy Father Pope John Paul II. The New Evangelization provides us with an exciting opportunity to re-insert the Gospel message into an indifferent world; to re-introduce the Person of Christ into a society desensitized to the dignity of the human person; to re-present the Presence of the all-powerful, merciful and loving God to a
culture that prefers power, violence and selfishness. The New Evangelization prods us in a way that recalls the old adage, “See the Christian, see Christ.”
Today, we are gathered in this sacred shrine to celebrate God’s manifestation of Christ to people of every nation. It is no coincidence that we celebrate this solemn feast of the Epiphany in the shrine of a saint who embodied fully the work of Evangelization. Saint John Nepomucene Neumann was in many ways a man ahead of his time. As a priest, missionary, religious and bishop, every aspect of his life and ministry focused on bringing Christ to others, that is, the work of Evangelization. He courageously left his homeland of Bohemia and traveled, guided by the light of faith, to the New World, a land of promise, opportunity and vast missionary needs.
Nineteenth-century America, at the time when John Neumann arrived, extended open arms to people from the Old World, offering them new beginnings and promise of prosperity. Many left their homes in search of fortune. Instead, many found hard labor, poverty and spiritual neglect. John Neumann inserted himself with missionary fervor into the lives of these people so that they would know that the Catholic Church would not neglect them. To accomplish this, he learned eight languages in order to communicate in the native tongue of those for whom he cared. Yet, his most recognizable language was the compassion of Christ which John Neumann vividly demonstrated in all of his pastoral actions.
When he felt the exhaustion of his extensive ministry, John Neumann knew that he needed the several support of brother priests. As a result, he joined the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, the Redemptorists, founded by Saint Alphonsus Liguori. This congregation was dedicated to preaching, especially to the poor, a charism which John Neumann valued deeply.
His zeal, gentleness, organizational skills, and pastoral charity were contributing factors in his selection, at the recommendation of Archbishop Francis Patrick Kenrick of Baltimore, as Fourth Bishop Philadelphia. John Neumann, in his humility, resisted the appointment feeling “unworthy” of the “cultured world of Philadelphia.” In his obedience, however, John Neumann accepted the appointment as a cross which God had given to him. Philadelphia, because of the presence of this saintly “Little Bishop,” would never be the same.
Bishop Neumann reached out to immigrants of all nationalities so that they would not wander from the Church. He established Catholic schools for the Catholic education and faith formation of children. He invited to the diocese many teaching religious to staff the new schools. He founded a religious community which would be dedicated to teaching and to care for the sick. He instituted in the United States the Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotion, a treasured practice in the Church. He continued gradually the construction of our cathedral, which was initiated by Bishop Kenrick, and strengthened the diocesan seminary. All of this, Bishop Neumann accomplished within a tenure which lasted a mere eight years. On January 5, 1860, while carrying out an errand of charity, Bishop Neumann collapsed and died. Everything he did, Bishop Neumann did for the love of Jesus and, in all things, Bishop Neumann was guided by the light of faith.
Of Saint John Neumann, Pope John Paul II stated: “His message and example of holiness must continually be transmitted to every new generation. And, if we listen carefully today, we can hear Saint John Neumann speaking to all of us in the words of the Letter to the Hebrews: ‘Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you; consider how their lives ended, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever’ (Heb 13:8). . . I am reminded of the one thing which motivated Saint John Neumann throughout his life: his love for Christ. . . What really matters in life is that we are loved by Christ and that we love Him in return. In comparison with the love of Jesus, everything else is secondary. And without the love of Jesus, everything else is useless.”
On this day of Epiphany, let us seek, not in the heavens but in our hearts, the splendor of the Light of Christ. Guided by the radiance of Jesus, let us bring His message of love and mercy to a world in need. Like the Magi of Old, let us bring to Christ the gift of our hearts, more precious to Him than any treasures. Like Saint John Neumann, let us participate zealously in the call to Evangelization, and, at every moment and every opportunity, let us share the love of Christ, let us live the truth of Christ, and let us show the face of Christ to everyone we meet.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass on Christmas Day
At the Parish of Saint Rose of Lima, Philadelphia
Christmas 2005
Dear Monsignor Pashley,
Dear Parishioners of Saint Rose of Lima Parish,
It was just a week ago that some of us were together in the Cathedral Basilica for the "Bless the Baby Jesus" prayer service. I am very happy to be with you again now on Christmas Day as we reflect on God’s word and participate together in Christ’s Eucharistic Sacrifice.
In the midst of all the sufferings of the world, all the difficulties of the Church, and all of our own problems and those of our families, the word of God in our Christmas liturgy gives us a wonderful invitation. The invitation comes from Psalm 98 and is this: "Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wondrous deeds." The Psalm then goes on to tell us what a wondrous deed we are celebrating today: "The Lord has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God."
All of us are invited to sing and to praise God: "Sing joyfully to the Lord all you lands; break into song; sing praise." Yes, dear friends, we are celebrating Christmas Day. This means that we are celebrating our salvation, because we are celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
At the Midnight Mass last night the Church proclaimed the wonderful event of Jesus’ birth. The angel told the shepherds in Bethlehem: "Do not be afraid; for behold I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you who is Christ and Lord." Then the angel went on to tell the shepherds: "And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."
This morning in this Parish of Saint Rose of Lima and in every church throughout the world we find this Child, lying in a manger, surrounded by the love of His Mother, Mary, and His foster father, Joseph.
Our hearts are filled with praise because in Christ Jesus, this little Child, God has indeed made His salvation known.
But who is this Child, who is this infant Jesus?
He is the one sent by God to bring salvation to the world. This is the reason He was born, the reason He is called Jesus because Jesus means "Savior." He has come to be our Savior—your Savior and mine, the Savior of the whole world.
He is the Son of the Virgin Mary. His foster or legal father is Joseph, who was a carpenter, but also a man who belonged to the royal line of King David. It is Joseph who ensures that the Child will be recognized legally as belonging to the family of David. Even though Joseph is only the foster father of Jesus, he is the husband of Mary and the head of the Holy Family. Joseph is the Guardian of his foster son, Jesus, who is the Savior, the Redeemer of the world, the light who has come into the world.
Who then is this Child? Who is His Father? This morning the Church answers this question clearly. The letter to the Hebrews tells us that God in past times spoke to the world through His prophets, but now He speaks to us through His Son. And the Letter to the Hebrews goes on to say that the Son is the reflection of the Father’s glory, the very imprint of the Father’s being. As the Son of the eternal Father, Jesus Christ, the Child born in Bethlehem, is true God. He is the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity. He has an eternal relationship to His Father. He is His Son, the one whom Saint John will speak of as both "Son" and "Word."
The Gospel of Saint John tells us clearly that "the Word was God." And then comes that wonderful revelation, that wonderful proclamation: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth."
Once again, who is this Child? He is the Son of God, the Word made flesh. He is true God! At the same time He is the Son of the Virgin Mary. He is true man! He is one of us. He shares our humanity, our human condition, our human weaknesses, all of them—except sin.
This is why the Church prays: Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man! And one of the great Fathers of the Church, Pope Saint Leo the Great, will explain that Jesus is consubstantial with His Father, and consubstantial with His Mother. In other words, Jesus is of the same substance, the same nature as His Father. He is divine. He is God. He is of the same substance, the same nature as His Mother. He is human. He is man.
Who is this Child? The one who, sharing divinity and humanity, links us to God. The one who is our Mediator. He is the one who takes on our humanity and gives us His divinity. The one who teaches us to be fully human and shows us how to live our human life. He is the one who lays down His human life to save us.
Who is this Child? He is our Savior. He is the one who challenges us to live according to His law, His beatitudes—in a word, His way of life.
Who is this Child? He is the one who reveals to us the love of God His Father. He is the one who in the tenderness of Bethlehem reveals to us the loving kindness and mercy of the God we cannot see.
Who is this Child? He is the God of love, the one who invites us to return His love. He is the one who commands us to love one another as He has loved us.
He is the one who in His weak humanity becomes for us the way to heaven. He is, in His own words: "the Way, the Truth and the Life." He is the Light of the world!
He is the one who calls us and invites us and commands us to love our brothers and sisters as much as He does, the one who took on our humanity as His own and the one who tells us to love and serve all those who share humanity with Him.
Jesus Christ is the Head of redeemed humanity. He is the one who has brought us God’s salvation.
Dear friends: All the ends of the earth have seen in Jesus Christ—the newborn Savior, the Child of Bethlehem, the Infant lying in a manger—the saving power of God.
And as Jesus saves us from our sins, He asks us to respond to His love, to observe His commandments, to follow His way of life, and to open our hearts in love and service to one another.
All this is part of our Christmas hymn of praise as we say: "Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man. Blessed be the Son of the eternal Father. Blessed be the Word made flesh. Blessed be the Son of the Virgin Mary. Blessed be our newborn Savior lying in a manger. Blessed be Jesus Christ forever!" Amen.
Cardinal Rigali Remarks
News Conference Announcing
the Acceptance of the Resignation of Bishop Robert P. Maginnis and the Appointment of Bishop-elect John J. McIntyre
June 8, 2010
Good morning. Earlier today our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, made two important announcements that impact our Archdiocese. First, the Holy Father announced that he has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert Maginnis, one of our Auxiliary Bishops in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Bishop Maginnis was ordained a priest in 1961 and a bishop in 1996. He has served in numerous capacities in the Archdiocese, including as Director of CYO for twenty-one years, and since 2004 he has overseen the Secretariat for Evangelization as well as other offices.
Bishop Maginnis is a faith-filled and tireless servant who demonstrates his devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through selfless service to the faithful of the Archdiocese. I am so grateful to Bishop Maginnis for his constant assistance in the pastoral and administrative care of the Archdiocese. Those who know him well are touched day in and day out by his serenity, his wisdom and the dedicated priestly example he sets. His ministry has been a grace for the Archdiocese and I am confident that in retirement Bishop Maginnis will continue to be an instrument of grace to all who benefit from his pastoral care. Bishop Maginnis.
Our Holy Father has made another announcement this morning that brings honor and pride to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It gives me great pleasure to announce that our Holy Father has appointed Monsignor John McIntyre as an Auxiliary Bishop for Philadelphia.
I welcome Monsignor McIntyre's parents, Tom and Blanche, who are here with us today and who provided for Monsignor the foundation of his faith. Monsignor McIntyre was born in Germantown in St. Michael of the Saints Parish. His family moved to Resurrection of Our Lord Parish in Rhawnhurst and after attending Father Judge High School for three years, he decided to study for the Redemptorists and attended Saint Mary's High School Seminary located within the Diocese of Erie. He then attended Saint Alphonsus Seminary in Connecticut and, having decided to study for the diocesan priesthood, attended our own Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. He was ordained a priest in 1992.
Monsignor McIntyre served as parochial vicar at Saint Dominic Parish in Philadelphia and Saint Mark Parish in Bristol. Since 1999 he has been Secretary to the Cardinal Archbishop.
Monsignor McIntyre - now Bishop-elect McIntyre - is a priest of great compassion and kindness, humility and tranquility. He is self-effacing and always puts the Lord's work first, never his own needs. He lives out his priestly ministry with quiet joy each day and I know he will bring the same zeal to his episcopal ministry. Bishop-elect McIntyre will be Ordained a bishop on Friday, August 6th at 2:00 p.m. the Solemnity of the Transfiguration of Our Lord at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.
I ask God's blessing upon his new ministry and our continued collaboration together with the other Auxiliary Bishops. It is planned that Bishop-elect McIntyre will assume the responsibilities of Bishop Maginnis who has graciously offered to continue in his current position until August 6. I am grateful to our Holy Father for graciously recognizing the pastoral needs of the almost 1.5 million people in the Archdiocese. I thank our new bishop for his willingness to serve the faithful. Bishop-elect McIntyre.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Night Prayer during Evening for Vocations to the Diocesan Priesthood
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
January 15, 2010
Praised be Jesus Christ!
It is a joy for me to be here tonight with you, my brother priests, seminarians and young men—with you and with our Eucharistic Lord, Jesus Christ. I express my deep thanks to the priests, teachers, youth ministers and chaperones who have accompanied our young men this evening, for this opportunity to spend some time here at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. It is good to pray with you and for you.
We gather tonight, dear friends, in the presence of our Lord, to do what He both told us and taught us how to do, that is to pray. And what a gift, what an honor it is to gather here, in the presence of our living God, as beloved sons of the Father, brothers and friends of Jesus Christ.
We are praying tonight a most sacred prayer, Night Prayer of the Catholic Church. This prayer, in which we make intercession to God for the entire world, is part of the Breviary or Liturgy of the Hours that is prayed by each priest every day. It is part of the sacred duty of every Catholic Priest. At his ordination, the priest makes a solemn promise to be faithful to praying the Breviary, and upon it his day, indeed his entire life, is ordered.
Like the Sacrifice of the Mass, of which it is a prolongation, the Liturgy of the Hours, a part of which we pray tonight, demonstrates the vocation, the role and the very meaning of the Catholic Priesthood. Some people wonder, “What does it mean to be a priest? Why would someone choose to be a priest?” Well, we see in this prayer an answer to those questions and an important aspect of the priesthood. Priests are men who respond to God’s call and who offer themselves, in prayer, in service, and in love for others. And this is at the very heart of the priesthood, namely the offering of oneself for others in response to God’s call, just as Jesus did in His sacrifice on the Cross.
Dear young men, how much the world today needs the priesthood! How much the Father needs priests to be like Jesus His Son in His special role of offering intercession for the people! And because the Father needs priests, He calls them through His Son Jesus Christ. And there is no doubt that He is calling young men today, young men like yourselves, to intercede for His people as priests, to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to forgive sins in Confession, to proclaim the Gospel in word and sacrament.
In discerning such a call to the priesthood and in order to live the priesthood faithfully, all of us need the Light of Christ, the light spoken of in the reading tonight. Without this light, we remain in darkness, but with this light, we have a tremendous gift, for the Light of Christ has great power, the power to conquer all darkness. And, dear friends, we need the Light of Christ for ourselves at this time.
We need to beg the Light of Christ to enlighten our minds, to know Jesus and His Will. We need to beg the Light of Christ to enkindle our hearts to love Him more and more.
This great light is reflected in the Church and in the heroic saints who have gone before us, Heroic priests like Maximillian Kolbe, Padre Pio and Pope John Paul II. Dear friends, the Lord has a tremendous desire to share this same light with us, that we may be what our world needs: Holy Priests for a Holy People.
Tonight, as we continue our prayer and kneel before Our Lord, let us bask in the Light of Christ and ask His light to fill us. Let us ask His light to transform us, let us ask His light to shine so brightly in us that we may grow to be the men he is calling us to be, that we may have the courage to say “yes” and to heed His call in whatever He asks us to do. In one sense or another Jesus is saying to each of you right now: “Come, follow me!” Ask Him earnestly if He means in the priesthood! And if He does, His light and His strength will never abandon you! Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Funeral of Officer Christopher C. Jones
of the Middletown Township Police Department
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
February 5, 2009
Dear Family of Officer Christopher C. Jones: Suzanne, Christopher, Julianne, Brendan,
Dear Parents: William and Dorothea,
Dear Brothers and Step-brothers, nephews and nieces,
Distinguished Authorities,
Colleagues in the Police Department,
Friends and Supporters of a faithful public servant,
In the hours immediately after the death of Police Officer Christopher C. Jones, among the first reactions to his tragic demise was a statement of his own Pastor, which included these simple but deeply meaningful words: "He was a very, very good man."
We are grateful to Father William B. Dooner of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Penndel for this recognition of the splendid legacy of Officer Jones as an upright Christian, a member of the Catholic Church, a devoted husband, a loving father, a dedicated servant of the community as an officer of the Middletown Township Police Department. The fulfillment of Christopher Jones’ many-faceted role is indeed summarized as the goodness of "a very, very good man"—the goodness that Officer Jones received as a blessing from God and developed and nurtured throughout his life.
Today we assemble to recognize God’s generous gift of goodness to Officer Jones, as well as his own cultivation of this goodness in the upright life he lived and in the dedicated service that he offered to the community.
We thank God for the many blessings that He bestowed upon Christopher in this life and for the love that Christopher received from his parents and in his home, and then channeled to his own family: to Suzanne and the children. We are grateful that this love touched so many people.
In our thanksgiving to God, as we recall the many gifts given to Christopher, we share with his family and loved ones the great pain caused by his sudden death. There is nothing that can totally take away the deep hurt of human separation but we express our solidarity and love. As believers we also express our faith in eternal life, and share once again with one another the comforting words of Sacred Scripture that we have just heard proclaimed: "The souls of the just are in the hand of God and no torment shall touch them.... They are in peace."
Even in the midst of suffering we affirm God’s holy word and repeat: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake." And again we proclaim: "Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil; for you are at my side.... I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come."
Our greatest comfort comes to us from our Christian faith. It is the consolation of knowing that even in pain and death we are linked to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and to His definitive victory over death, which is the victory of life, the victory of Christ’s Resurrection.
In his Letter to the Romans, Saint Paul holds out to all of us immense hope. It is the hope of Christianity, which is stronger than all the power of death. He says to us: "Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead... we too might live in newness of life. If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him."
The holy Gospel today records an enormously important conversation between Jesus and Martha. The conversation took place after the death of Martha’s brother, Lazarus. Speaking to Martha, Jesus said: "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." And then came Jesus’ question: "Do you believe this?" And Martha answered: "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God...."
Dear friends: this is the response of the Christian faith before the mystery of death and the anguish that it causes in human hearts. But the response of Jesus Christ is clear: "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live...." We can ask no more than this. We can aspire to no greater destiny, claim no greater promise than the right to eternal life with Christ in God and with one another in the communion of all the saints.
Our friend Christopher embraced Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior. He accepted Baptism into the Death and Resurrection of Christ. He believed in Christ’s word and endeavored to live according to that word in the hope of everlasting life, whose pledge he received in the Holy Eucharist.
Today the Church of God proclaims once again the hope of resurrection and responds trustingly to the words Jesus spoke to Martha when He said: "Do you believe this?" And with one voice, despite tears of sorrow and human loss, each of us replies: "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God...."
In the days and weeks and months ahead, the parish community of Our Lady of Grace in Penndel, so many other friends, colleagues and grateful citizens will, I am sure, help keep alive the holy memory of Officer Christopher C. Jones and show loving attention to his family as they profess their faith and trust in a loving God and mourn in Christian hope. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Opening Mass for Academic Year
Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
Monday, August 25, 2008
Greetings, dear Friends, in Christ Jesus Our Lord!
Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,
I am delighted to be with you at the inauguration of a new academic year, and, in particular, to join with you in invoking the Holy Spirit and entrusting to Him all of our endeavors in the realm of academic, pastoral, human and spiritual formation. With renewed sentiments of gratitude, I greet the Rector, Faculty and Staff of the Seminary. I especially extend a cordial welcome to our newly appointed Faculty members who will make the Profession of Faith and the Oath of Fidelity during this Eucharistic Liturgy. To you, esteemed Faculty, can be applied the words of Saint Joseph Calasanz, who is commemorated today: “All who undertake to teach must be endowed with deep love, the greatest patience, and, most of all, profound humility. They must perform their work with earnest zeal” (Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings). For your commitment, zeal and devotion to the work of priestly formation, I thank you all.
With great joy, I greet all of you, dear deacons and seminarians, as you return for another year of formation, and, God willing, another year closer to the Priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ. With special warmth, I greet our new seminarians, those of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as well as those from other dioceses and religious communities. Welcome to Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. How pleased we are to have you here! How pleased that your Bishops and Religious Superiors have chosen to send you here!
Please allow me to relate again the words of Pope Benedict XVI, which he spoke to me when I greeted him after his election. The Holy Father stated clearly: “You have a good seminary in Philadelphia!” Since 1832, our seminary has formed priests for this local Church, as well as for a number of other dioceses and religious communities. I am pleased that so many Bishops and Religious Superiors continue to recognize the effective work of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in the formation of priests. Furthermore, the presence of these dioceses and communities, represented by you seminarians, greatly enhances and enriches our seminary, and the friendships which you forge with one another will be supportive, life-giving and lasting as you progress together toward the sacred priesthood.
It is the ancient tradition of the Church to begin a new year of academic pursuits by invoking the Holy Spirit. The Third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity imparts abundantly His gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. These gifts, bestowed through the Sacrament of Confirmation, are critical in the life of every Christian. How much more are these gifts needed by those who present themselves for the sacred ministry of the Church.
Aptly, the Scripture readings for this Mass speak to you, young men, as you listen to the voice of God. He has called you from the world so that you might have a new vision of the world. As proclaimed by the Prophet Isaiah, God grasped you by the hand; formed you and set you to be, like Christ, as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness (cf. Is 42: 6-7). It is the hope of all who seek to serve the Lord to see a renewal - a renewal of hearts and minds, a renewal of attitudes, a drawing away from the imprisonment of sin, despair and hopelessness, a transformation - through the Holy Spirit - of the face of the earth.
Such was the desire of Saint Paul the Apostle. Converted by his encounter with the Risen Christ, Saint Paul used every gift, every charism which he possessed to proclaim the mercy of God revealed in Christ Crucified. Under the weight of hardships and burdens, in moments of severe trial and tribulation, in the face of persecution and death, Saint Paul never lost that gift of God which we call hope. As he wrote in the Letter to the Romans, “hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom 5:5). In the power of the Holy Spirit, Saint Paul labored to bring hope to a world so much in need, in order to renew all people for Jesus.
How wonderful it is to know that in our own day, in our own troubled age, in a world fractured by violence, chilled by selfish pursuits, and darkened by sin, you, dear young men, are called by God to be signs of hope. Like the Prophet Isaiah, the Apostle Paul, and Jesus Himself, you are signs of the bright future which God unfolds for His Church. You willingly present yourselves with the desire to be disciples of Jesus, who invites you to deny yourself, take up the cross, and follow Him (cf. Mt 16:24). When you offer yourselves to Jesus, He will give you the grace to bear the Cross, to use the Cross to till the soil in the hearts of people, and to plant deeply within their hearts the seed of God’s word, which will grow and flourish a hundredfold.
Your own discernment may be like that of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. In discerning his vocation, Saint Ignatius reflected on all that Jesus endured in his poverty, in his labor, in his rejection and in his sufferings. As Saint Ignatius pondered and marveled at this, he prayed: “I can hardly bear the thought of it all. But it seems a toweringly wonderful thing that you might call me to follow you and stand with you. I will labor to bring God’s reign if you will give me the gift to do it” (Prayer from his Spiritual Exercises).
Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you begin another year—a new year—of study, pastoral experience, human formation programs and spiritual development. These are the tools which will help you mature intellectually, pastorally, physically and emotionally—all in the light of your growth in love for God—so that you will be equipped to labor for the Kingdom of God. In every aspect of your formation, recognize the guiding power of the Holy Spirit. Remember, as the Servant of God Pope John Paul II explained in Pastores Dabo Vobis: “And so the future priest ... must grow in his awareness that the agent par excellence of his formation is the Holy Spirit, who by the gift of a new heart configures and conforms him to Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd.... But to welcome this action implies also, on the part of the candidate, a welcome for the human ‘mediating’ forces which the Spirit employs. As a result, the actions of the different teachers become truly and fully effective only if the future priest offers his own convinced and heartfelt cooperation to this work of formation” (no. 69).
As we inaugurate this new Academic Year, daily pray to the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to increase within you His gifts so that you will grow in wisdom, maturity, faith and holiness. In this Year of Saint Paul, I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the life and letters of this great Apostle. Through his example and in his teaching, you will learn much about the sacred ministry to which you are called. Furthermore, immerse yourselves more deeply in conversation with Jesus - in the Scriptures and in the Mass, in Holy Communion and through Eucharistic Adoration. Throughout each day, entrust yourselves to the protection and intercession of Mary, the Mother of God, especially through the Rosary. Through devotion to Mary, you will be more conformed to Jesus, whose face Mary always makes known.
In conclusion I wish to share with you the sentiments expressed by our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI at Saint Joseph Seminary, Dunwoody, during his April visit to the United States: “The people of God look to you to be holy priests, on a daily journey of conversion, inspiring in others the desire to enter more deeply into the ecclesial life of believers. I urge you to deepen your friendship with Jesus the Good Shepherd. Talk heart to heart with Him.... Strive for a pattern of life truly marked by charity, chastity and humility, in imitation of Christ, the Eternal High Priest, of whom you are to become living icons.” Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Episcopal Ordination of Bishop-elect John O. Barres
Allentown, Pennsylvania
July 30, 2009
Your Eminences: Cardinal Keeler and Cardinal Egan,
Your Excellency, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States
and Personal Representative of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI,
Bishop Edward P. Cullen, until now, faithful and esteemed shepherd
of this Diocese of Allentown,
Brother Bishops,
Bishop-elect John O. Barres, chosen for succession to the See of Allentown,
Dear Priests, Deacons, Religious, Seminarians and Lay Faithful of Allentown,
Beloved family of Bishop-elect Barres,
Representatives of the Diocese of Wilmington,
Esteemed Civic Officials and Ecumenical and Interreligious Guests,
Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
This is a day of thanksgiving and joy for the Diocese of Allentown and for the whole Church. Blessed be God!
We give deep thanks today to God our Father, who through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit, has provided for this local Church, since its beginning in 1961, through the dedicated care of zealous and faithful Bishops, pastors of the flock, who have proclaimed God’s word and have each exercised the role of “appointed preacher and Apostle and teacher.”
In a special way we give thanks this afternoon for the generous and dedicated ministry of Bishop Cullen, who has shepherded this Diocese in Catholic unity for the last eleven and a half years in the name of the one Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Bishop Cullen, the People of God—priests, deacons, consecrated women and men, and laity—are all grateful for your service in the Gospel and for your pastoral love. We express to you once again deep appreciation.
The thanksgiving of this Diocese expresses itself now in deep joy. His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has named a new Pastor for Allentown, whom the ecclesial community embraces with respect and love.
Bishop-elect Barres, you assume your role by apostolic mandate and present yourself in Catholic continuity with those who have labored before you in the Gospel, up until this very moment. With the intuition of their faith, all the members of the Church know why you have come. They are waiting for your shepherd’s love and care, and they welcome you! They know that you will accompany and lead them in their pilgrimage of faith.
At this time it is appropriate to reflect briefly on the meaning of your new office. What is your role to be now as a Bishop of the Church of God? Certainly the inspired word of God proclaimed this afternoon in the Sacred Scriptures will give us all deep insights in understanding why you have been sent and what it is that you come to do here in the Diocese of Allentown.
In our first reading the Prophet Isaiah speaks words that are verified fully only in the person of Jesus Christ, who can say: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted ....”
At the same time we know that the Lord Jesus chose His apostles and their successors to assist Him in carrying on the work for which He came into the world: “to bring glad tidings to the lowly and to heal the brokenhearted.” This then is to be an important part of your ministry.
The Second Vatican Council has a very beautiful and incisive passage that shows the link that exists between Christ and His Bishops. It says simply but clearly: “In the Bishops, whom the priests assist, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Supreme High Priest, is present in the midst of those who believe” (Lumen Gentium, 21).
In other words, dear John, you are being ordained to make present in this local Church the Lord Jesus Himself. You are to do this through the holy word of God and through the Sacraments of the Church, and also through the love and kindness that will emanate from your sacred person, now to be sacramentally transformed to the highest level of the priesthood of Jesus Christ. On his part Pope John Paul II called every Bishop to strive to be “a living sign of Jesus Christ,” manifesting to everyone the love, mercy and compassion of the Savior. To be equipped to do this you will need the Spirit of the Lord God, whom you are about to receive. And the good news that you will proclaim as a Bishop to the lowly—to all those willing to embrace it—is the saving power of Christ’s Death and Resurrection, that ocean of mercy that is able to wash away the sins of the world. With Saint Paul you will constantly proclaim “Christ Jesus our hope” (1 Tim 1:1).
This will be the substance of your shepherding: making present in this local Church the Supreme High Priest, Jesus Christ. But, dear John, in this sacred task, you will always need to be assisted by your priests as your first collaborators. They must mean everything to you, for without them your ministry cannot be fulfilled, and without you their call to holiness and mission is incomplete. This close collaboration in faith and love will render effective that further partnership in the Gospel with your deacons and all the people of God, religious and lay. The Bishop is then at the service of the holiness and mission of all the members of the entire local Church as father, brother and friend, beginning with his priests.
This is indeed a demanding task, but precisely for this reason we listen carefully to the words of the Apostle Paul, who in our second reading proclaims: “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.” Truly the Spirit of the Lord God whom you receive today will be with you always.
Bishop-elect John: The People of God are here to celebrate in thanksgiving and in joy. But also, in expectation. By your sacred anointing today as a Bishop you are receiving a special power: to make present, with your priests, Jesus Christ in the midst of the faithful. How demanding how fulfilling, how exhilarating a mission! But it can only be fully accomplished in holiness of life. As you know, holiness and mission go together. And so the people of God are asking you to continue to pursue holiness of life in order to be a living sign of Jesus Christ.
As my final word to you today, I draw your attention to that phrase in the Gospel that you chose for this ordination ceremony—those words that Jesus spoke to His Father about His disciples and about those who through His disciples would come to believe in Him. He said: “I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.” Just as Christ and His Church consecrate you, John, for a great mission demanding the total giving of yourself for the People of God, I know that you ratify this consecration of yourself, repeating Jesus’ words to His Father: “I consecrate myself for them.” In this way your mission will indeed be fulfilled in holiness of life, and you will be empowered, with your priests, to make Jesus Christ present in all who believe. Then together with the entire flock you will offer Jesus Christ to the world, bringing glad tidings to the lowly and healing to all the brokenhearted.
And in the days and months and years ahead, may you experience always the closeness of our Blessed Mother, Mary most holy, Queen of Apostles. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Episcopal Ordination of Bishop-elect Timothy C. Senior
Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
July 31, 2009
Your Eminences: Cardinal Bevilacqua, Cardinal Keeler, Cardinal Foley,
Archbishop Soroka, Archeparch of Philadelphia of the Ukrainians,
Archbishop Sulyk, Archeparch Emeritus of Philadelphia of the Ukrainians,
My brother Archbishops and Bishops,
especially you the Co-Consecrators, Bishop Thomas and Bishop Bransfield,
Bishop-elect Senior,
Dear Priests, Deacons, Religious, Seminarians and Laity,
Dear Family of Bishop-elect Senior,
Esteemed Ecumenical and Interreligious Guests,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Some years ago, Pope John Paul II wrote a book called Gift and Mystery. It was a beautiful account of the fifty years of his life and ministry in the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ, to which he had been called, including its highest sacramental level, which is the Episcopacy.
This afternoon we assemble in this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, the Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, to celebrate the calling of our brother Monsignor Timothy C. Senior, to the life and ministry of a Bishop. In this celebration we reflect on the great gift of the Episcopacy to be bestowed on Monsignor Senior and the great mystery in which he will now be involved.
The “gift” to be given to Monsignor Senior is then the priesthood of Jesus Christ, to be exercised at its highest sacramental level. The “mystery” is simply the divine reality of this gift with all its consequences for Monsignor Senior and for the Church. It is another way of speaking about God’s plan of love for His Church.
The word of God today helps us to delve into the mystery of both the priesthood and the episcopacy. The word of God lets us know so much about the mission that Monsignor Senior will receive today in his ordination as a Bishop.
Both the Responsorial Psalm and the Gospel highlight the role of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Shepherd of His Church. The Bishop-elect through his ordination will take on a deeper personal relationship with Christ. He will be more intimately conformed to Jesus Christ as High Priest and share more deeply in His role as Good Shepherd.
In the mystery of God’s plan for providing for His people, Monsignor Senior will be a special instrument of Christ. He is being called to share Christ’s own shepherd’s care for the Church. The Psalm says so beautifully: “The Lord is my shepherd; ... in verdant pastures he gives me repose; besides restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.” The Bishop never substitutes for Christ. Rather he is called, through his ministry, to make present in the community, Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd of the Church.
In the Gospel today Jesus so beautifully explains that He is the Good Shepherd of His Church. He explains further what this involves for Him. It means that He lays down His life for the flock. He gives Himself completely for His people. The challenge of the Bishop, and for all priests, is to share the role of Jesus and to imitate His generosity and sacrificial love. This is what Bishop-elect Senior is being called to do in a particular way today, in imitation of Jesus.
At this point in the Gospel the words of Jesus become so very explicit in describing what His generosity and sacrificial love involve. Jesus summarizes His own attitude by saying: “A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” But Jesus insists on this word “to lay down” his life. He uses it not once or twice but five times in this short Gospel passage. He wants the Apostles to begin to grasp what being a shepherd is all about, for Him and for them. He wants them to enter into the mystery of His love, the mystery of redemption, the mystery of mercy.
And so Jesus begins to repeat what He has already clearly stated. A second time He says: “I am the good shepherd...and I will lay down my life for the sheep.” And then a third time Jesus uses the same verb, saying: “This is why the Father loves me because I lay down my life ....” The fourth time Jesus emphasizes the freedom with which He controls His life, stating: “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.” Finally, a fifth time Jesus ratifies everything He has said about His life, asserting: “I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.”
This laying down own’s life with Christ, dear friends, is the great ideal of God’s plan for the ministry of the Bishop, in which, in a few moments, Monsignor Senior will be initiated. And the purpose of this laying down of one’s life is to be identified with Jesus Christ, precisely in order to give the Church of God a shepherd’s care. The episcopacy—the office of Bishop—is indeed then, at one and the same time, a divine gift to Monsignor Senior and to the Church herself. But it is also, in the words of Pope John Paul II, that mystery—that design of God’s plan—by which God shepherds His people and leads them to eternal life.
There are so many aspects of this gift and mystery—this divine reality—which deserve our reflection. The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah which we have heard proclaimed in our first reading shows how when God calls someone to a special mission this divine call is totally gratuitous . In the case of Jeremiah, God asserts that the call pre-dates the Prophet’s birth. God says: “...before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.” It is the same for Monsignor Senior. For him also, like the Old Testament Prophet, the same conditions are associated with his vocation. He is to go to whomever God sends him and to speak whatever God commands him. In other words, the People of God look to him to proclaim not his own message but the message that God has entrusted to His Church. The Lord said to Jeremiah: “See, I place my words in your mouth.”
At the same time, as God spoke to Jeremiah, He speaks today to Bishop-elect Senior, saying: “Have no fear...because I am with you.”
Dear Timothy, as you present yourself for the laying on of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, the word of God offers you deep confidence. God is with you as you receive the great gift of the Episcopacy and enter into this great mystery. There is no reason to fear. Your important task from now on shall be to exercise a special role in shepherding God’s people, together with your brother Auxiliary Bishops and myself. This task requires you to maintain a special intimacy with the Lord Jesus, a close union with our Holy Father and all the Bishops of the Church, and a deep involvement with our brother priests and all the religious and laity as you minister the sacraments and proclaim the word of God. You will be constantly challenged to lay down your life for the flock. In recompense, what joy it will be for you to repeat those words of Jesus: “This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life ....” And what profound fulfillment in love will be yours as you help shepherd God’s people to salvation and eternal life!
On this occasion of your Ordination Day, the People of God rejoice with you and are close to you. The whole Archdiocese of Philadelphia is invited to recommit itself to Jesus Christ. So many of the faithful will indeed look to you as a Bishop in order to know Jesus better and, in His name, to serve humanity more faithfully.
And Mary, our Blessed Mother and the Mother of Jesus Christ our great High Priest, will certainly sustain you in her love and support you by her prayers as you lay down your life in order to help shepherd the Church of her beloved Son. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Episcopal Ordination of
Bishop Joseph R. Cistone and Bishop Joseph P. McFadden
Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
July 28, 2004
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons, Religious, Seminarians,
Dear Faithful People of this Archdiocese of Philadelphia,
Dear Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Guests,
Dear Family Members of Bishop-Elect Cistone and Bishop-Elect McFadden,
And especially you, dear Brothers to be raised to the Episcopacy
Today is a day of great joy because the Church in Philadelphia is ready to receive her two new Auxiliary Bishops: Joseph Robert Cistone and Joseph Patrick McFadden.
Both of these men have grown up in this local Church of Philadelphia. Both have served in the parishes of this Archdiocese. Both have been close to our people; they are known and loved by our people because they have joyfully and generously served as their priests. Both of them have been blessed by having loving parents, and both have come from families of faith. Consequently, they feel very much at home throughout the Archdiocese in any family that welcomes them.
Both are close to their fellow priests, and in so many ways have helped and supported and sustained their brothers both by their friendship and through the special ministries they have exercised over the years. Both have come from the fabric of this presbyterate and can thoroughly identify with the hopes and aspirations and challenges of the priesthood as it is lived in the situation of Philadelphia priests.
Both of these men know and love and have many links with the consecrated religious of this local Church.
Both of them have assisted my predecessors in a spirit of intelligent and selfless collaboration, always faithful to the mission of the Church, always ready to support the Ordinary in his own many responsibilities.
And now both have been chosen by our Holy Father, the Successor of Peter, for the pastoral office of Auxiliary Bishop, sharing in the Episcopate of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Guided by the teaching of the Church, we know that the call of Pope John Paul II expresses and externalizes in the Church a deeper divine call that comes from God Himself.
In our sacred liturgy today, we reflect on the word of God that presents the vocation of the prophet Jeremiah. We see various elements in the prophet s vocation that apply to every ecclesial vocation and, therefore, to the vocation of Bishop Cistone and Bishop McFadden. God s words to Jeremiah fill them and us with confidence and trust: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I appointed you. And again God says: To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them, because I am with you ....
But what is this office of Bishop, this ministry of the Episcopacy which these two brothers of ours are about to receive?
It is the Priesthood of Jesus Christ exercised at its highest level. It means being a successor of the apostles, a member of the College of Bishops, sharing with the Successor of Peter, and under him, responsibility for the whole Church. It involves the pastoral mission to teach, to sanctify and to govern the Church. It is a special sharing in the role of Jesus Christ Himself, who in the power of the Holy Spirit proclaims the Gospel to His people. The Episcopacy fulfills the role of making Jesus Christ present in the Church. Vatican II explains this beautifully, never separating the Bishop and the priests, when it says: In the Bishops, whom the priests assist, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Supreme High Priest, is present in the midst of those who believe (Lumen Gentium, 21).
The Bishop is likewise the guardian and servant of the greatest treasures and values of the Church s life. He is the chief celebrant of the Eucharistic sacrifice in which the Gospel reaches its supreme and sacramental proclamation. In exercising his role in the Eucharist and in transmitting the power to celebrate the Eucharist in the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the Bishop safeguards the purpose of the Eucharist, which is to renew the death and resurrection of the Lord so that sins may be forgiven.
In our second reading, Saint Paul tells us that all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, ... entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors of Christ, as if God were appealing through us.
With Saint Paul, the Bishop has a special responsibility constantly to work for the unity of the Church, calling for reconciliation the reconciliation of individuals with God through the Sacrament of Penance, the reconciliation of families and all those who in one way or another are alienated from each other or from Christ and His Church.
After your ordination, dear Brothers, you will exercise a ministry of evangelization through teaching and through sanctifying, and this ministry will be completely directed to communicating Jesus Christ to others. In doing so, your constant efforts will be to promote the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist.
As Auxiliary Bishops, your ministry will also be one of intimate partnership with me, with Bishop Maginnis and Bishop Burbidge in the overall pastoral governance of the Archdiocese, in continuity with the many faithful Auxiliary Bishops who have preceded you, in particular, Bishop Lohmuller and Bishop DeSimone. You will be ministering throughout the entire territory of the Archdiocese. In addition, you will be associated in service to various clusters of our parishes, striving with the Regional Vicars to be close to the priests and people of God in the many challenges that they face in our parishes.
Your episcopal ministry will also see you closely involved in different areas of archdiocesan organizations and activities, all of which serve the Church' s mission and touch people' s lives. The multiple services that the Archdiocese strives to offer in the name of Jesus to children, families, the young and the old, the disabled, those in need will all be part of the pastoral care that, as Bishops, you will give to God s people.
As you know there are many important works of the Archdiocese underway. There are special challenges present in maintaining and reinforcing the Church s services in many areas of evangelization. As Auxiliary Bishops you will intimately share in all of this, as in all other aspects of the Church s life.
This coming October, in response to the call of Pope John Paul II to the whole Church, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will inaugurate the Year of the Eucharist. This will be a pastoral endeavor of supreme importance directed to renewing our local Church in Eucharistic faith and in holiness of life. Dear brother Bishops, your participation in this and in other pastoral endeavors will be key.
Through your Episcopal Ordination, the Church introduces you to a new level of communion and collaboration with the laity and with your brother priests, the deacons and all those in consecrated life. At a new level, while remaining their brothers in Baptism and the priesthood, you are for all the faithful ambassadors of Christ as God appeals and works through you and your sacramental ministry of the Episcopacy.
This brings us, dear brothers, to the very core of your identity as Bishops. You have been chosen by God to exercise in the Church the pastoral role of Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd. Vatican II, as we have seen, says that assisted by the priests, Bishops make him present in the midst of those who believe. You do this through a sacramental gift and through the configuration of your own lives to that of Jesus. The Gospel today gives us enormous insights into how Jesus personally exercises his role as Good Shepherd. This is all summarized in Jesus words: A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ... I am the good shepherd ... and I will lay down my life for the sheep.... This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life .... No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down ....
Dear brothers, Joseph Cistone and Joseph McFadden, today the Church gives you this power and asks you to exercise it generously, faithfully, joyfully until the end. In doing this, you will give the greatest gift possible to your family, your loved ones and to all the people of God, for you will each be, in the expression of Pope John Paul II, a living sign of Jesus Christ , who expresses to all the love of the Good Shepherd. Remember always what Jesus says: A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. And remember too, as you strive to live this high ideal, that Mary the Mother of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is close to you with her love and prayers. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Ordination to the Priesthood
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 15, 2004
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons and Religious,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ and especially you, Steve, Mark, Larry and Joe, as you await the laying on of hands and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Holy Orders,
You are gathered here, dear Ordinands, in the presence of family, friends, your brother seminarians, your brother priests, so many different representatives of the people of God. We are all assembled with you in thanksgiving to God for having sustained you throughout the years of your seminary preparation and for having brought you to this hour.
This is truly an hour of joy, when the words of Jesus are fulfilled in your regard: As the Father has sent me, so I send you.
This is a time of encouragement for your brother priests: to welcome you to the priesthood, to have your collaboration in their ministry and in the fraternity of the presbyterate.
This is a time of recommitment for all of us to the ideals of the priesthood and to the standards of the Gospel as we confess that all effective priestly ministry demands total fidelity to celibacy, justice and pastoral charity.
This is an hour of hope for the Church. Your brother deacons at Saint Charles Seminary are eager to follow you next year at this time, and we are confident that the Christ who called you will continue to call still other generous young men to His priesthood. We believe in the power of intercessory prayer. We believe in the power of Christ' s Paschal Mystery to draw young men to His priesthood in every age, even in the midst of turbulence and lingering scandals.
You are here this morning to receive your mission from our Lord Jesus Christthe One who has risen from the dead, the One who has triumphed over sin. In our midst, it is He the Risen Christ who in and through the Church and in the power of the Holy Spirit, calls you to the ministry of the Priesthood, repeating: As the Father has sent me so I send you.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is sending you out today on a mission that belongs to Him. It is the mission of redemption redemption from sin, and consequently from death.
You are being called above all to become a minister of the Eucharist. The teaching of the Second Vatican Council is very important. It says: Priests fulfill their chief duty in the mystery of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In it the work of our redemption continues to be carried out (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 13). The work of the redemption is carried out because in the Eucharist, the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ are renewed for His people. You will belong to a priesthood that exists so that, in union with Christ and in the Holy Spirit, the people of God can adore the Father in spirit and in truth.
You exist to proclaim conversion and to be examples of holiness of life. You exist, as does your priestly mission, so that God s people may live in holiness and walk in newness of life. You can be sure that Christ s grace will always sustain you in the struggle against sin and in the quest for holiness.
In the very moment of the Consecration, when the blood of the new and everlasting covenant is offered to the Father, the Church proclaims that this blood will be shed so that sins may be forgiven. In the very act of the Eucharist, you will be a minister of forgiveness, as you offer up the Sacrifice of the Lamb, who takes away the sins of the world.
This ministry of forgiveness will be applied to individual hearts by the Sacrament of Confession, which is the Sacrament of Penance, the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
This ministry of mercy was extremely important to the Risen Christ on that first Easter, when He said: Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you forgive, are forgiven them; whose sins you retain are retained.
And so, both in the Eucharist and in Confession, your ministry expresses the victory of Jesus over sin, the victory whereby He purifies His people and frees them from the power of evil.
You yourselves will need the Sacrament of Penance, and it will be up to you to make it readily available to the people and to give them the example of your own lives of ongoing conversion. The humble recognition of your own weaknesses and sins must never be an excuse for ceasing to strive for holiness through a life of prayer and discipline.
You are convinced, in the words of the Letter to the Hebrews, that Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. And you are further convinced that every priest is able to deal patiently with erring sinners, for he himself is beset by weakness and so must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people.
Your priestly ministry requires both an understanding of human weakness and a resolute determination, with God s help, to live a transparent life of holiness according to the Gospel. Your faithful observance of celibacy in all its aspects is absolutely imperative for your integrity of life, for the effectiveness of your ministry and for the honor of Christ s Church.
In the Eucharist you will find the source of all your pastoral charity and the source of the joy that will be indispensable to your perseverance in the priesthood until death. Remember that the words of the Father spoken to Jesus will now apply to you: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Your life as a priest must be consistent; and everything you do must be related to the Eucharist that you celebrate:
-- over and over again you will proclaim the Gospel, but your
proclamation of the Gospel will reach its culmination in the Eucharistic Sacrifice;
-- you will give yourself to teaching the faith, but those you teach will most effectively recognize and encounter Christ in the breaking of the bread;
-- you will devote yourself to the building of community, but every community is united and fully one only when it shares the Eucharist;
-- your pastoral love must always be with the poor, the sick, with
sinners, with those in need of love and hope and consolation, but the strength of this pastoral love will come from your Eucharistic contact with the Risen Lord.
Remember how Jesus called His apostles Saint Mark tells usfirst to be with Him, to experience His friendship, to know His love, to reflect on His teachings, and then to be sent out to proclaim the Gospel.
Dear brothers Steve, Mark, Larry and Joe: this is your lot in life, your vocation: to be with Jesus and to be sent out to proclaim His Gospel. Alive in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church has many things to ask of you:
-- she asks fidelity in your personal life, fidelity to prayer,
to the Liturgy of the Hourswhich is part of the praise and worship of the Church;
-- she asks fidelity to the teachings of the apostles as transmitted and interpreted by the living magisterium under the action of the Holy Spirit;
-- she asks for you to love and serve in the name of Christ: to love all the people whom you are called to minister to in the name of Jesus, to love especially your brother priests, to stay close to them, to support them and be supported by them.
-- the Church asks you to be just and courageous, merciful and chaste, and by your own life to proclaim these virtues to others.
-- the Church asks you to love Mary the Mother of Jesus and to learn constantly from her the mystery of her Son and the mystery of His Church.
And finally the Church asks you to trustto trust in Jesus, to trust in the power of His Paschal Mystery, to trust in His strength. To trust that He who has begun a good work in you will bring it to fulfillment. To trust that all the weaknesses and sins of the world are not equal to the power of the living Christ, who says to you today: Peace be with you.... As the Father has sent me, so I send you.... Receive the Holy Spirit.
Dear brothers: the people of God need you to exemplify and to proclaim total trust in the Christ who sends you, the Christ who loves you, the Christ who will be with you till the end. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin RigaliI
Ordination to the Priesthood
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 21, 2005
Your Eminence, Cardinal Bevilacqua,
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Brothers about to be ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ:
Armand, Richard, Augustus, Bernard, Robert,
Dear Deacons and Religious,
Dear Parents, Family Members, Friends of the Ordinands,
Dear Lay Faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia,
We gather in the name of Jesus Christ and in the unity of His Church to celebrate the Ordination to the Priesthood of five of our brothers. The presence of all of you is so important in showing the relationship of the priesthood to the entire community of God’s people. The presence of our priests is particularly important in showing the unity of the presbyterate in this Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Our candidates for the priesthood understand that they are not alone. They exult today in the solidarity of the entire Archdiocese—those present and those who are with us in spirit and in prayer, including many contemplative religious who are interceding for our deacons even as this ceremony takes place.
Dear Ordinands: the joy that you bring to your families today is a sign of the joy that your ministry is meant to bring to the entire people of God.
But what is this ministry? What is this priesthood? In what does it consist? Let us reflect briefly on this holy subject.
In just a few moments, after the laying on of hands, you will all hear the prayer of the Church with which the handing on of the priesthood will be accomplished. In those decisive words the Church prays: “Grant, we pray, Almighty Father, to these your servants the dignity of the priesthood; renew deep within them the Spirit of holiness....”
It is very impressive that, at the very moment when the Church transmits the power of the priesthood, she asks the Father to send forth upon the Ordinands the Holy Spirit. And the Church identifies this Spirit as the Spirit of holiness—the Spirit who alone can make these men holy and enable them, by the example of their manner of life, to instill right conduct in others. In the very act of transmitting priestly power, the Church speaks about the holiness that comes from the Spirit of God, the holiness that is so necessary if the priest is to fulfill his priestly ministry.
But, once again, what is this priestly ministry? The word of God this morning gives us so many insights into why our priests exist—who they are and what they are to do.
In our reading from the Prophet Jeremiah, as we recall God’s word to him, we also see that it is verified today in our new priests to be. We believe that God chooses. We believe that the prophecy spoken to Jeremiah applies to these men today: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you.” And, reflecting further on the words of the Prophet, we hear God continue to speak: “To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them.... See, I place my words in your mouth!”
The proclamation of the word of God, dear Ordinands, will always be the eminent priority in your priesthood. You will speak the word of God in season and out of season, when convenient and inconvenient, when acceptable or not acceptable. It will never, however, be your personal message. It will always be, as God says, “whatever I command you, you shall speak.” It is the work of a lifetime to proclaim joyfully, faithfully, energetically the word of God that has been revealed and committed to His Church and that is to be guarded and taught by her.
Even as you proclaim the word of God, day in and day out, you will return to reflect on the holy Gospel according to Saint Luke which has been proclaimed on this your ordination day. You will remember that the proclamation of the word of God reaches its climax in the sacramental proclamation of the Eucharist. Saint Luke describes for us the scene of the Last Supper. Jesus “took the bread, said the blessing, broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my Body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my Blood, which will be shed for you.’” The words “Do this in memory of me” are central to your existence as priests and to your ministry as heralds of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the sacramental proclamation of the Mass, you will renew the death and resurrection of the Lord and you will faithfully fulfill His command “Do this in memory of me.” The Eucharistic celebration will always take place through the power of the Holy Spirit. And, in order to be suitable ministers of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, you will need the Holy Spirit—“the Spirit of holiness”—which the Church invokes on you today and communicates to you sacramentally.
The Second Vatican Council, dear brother priests to be, which you have studied and love and which you must always support and follow, puts it this way: “Priests fulfill their chief duty in the mystery of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In it the work of our redemption continues to be carried out. For this reason, priests are strongly urged to celebrate Mass every day, for even if the faithful are unable to be present, it is an act of Christ and the Church” (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 13).
Your life, dear brothers, is the Eucharist and your Eucharistic ministry is what the Second Vatican Council calls “an act of Christ and the Church.” All the activities of your life will require an immense amount of pastoral love—the pastoral love that you already show by being willing to lay down your life for the people of God, the type of pastoral love that is needed for celibacy to be authentic and joyful, the pastoral love that Jesus wants you to give to all His people.
But Vatican II still has a word of deep insight for you. It tells you solemnly that your pastoral love flows mainly from the Eucharistic Sacrifice and that this Eucharistic Sacrifice is therefore the center and root of your whole priestly life (cf. ibid., 14). Never forget this truth, dear brothers, and do not neglect to put it into practice. The Spirit of holiness is given to you in ordination, but, forever after, this holiness must be exercised and kept alive through the Eucharist.
As priests you will serve the people of God in so many relevant ways, but after the Eucharist there is nothing more important than the ministry of reconciliation as exercised in the Sacrament of Penance. There is no greater human fulfillment than to touch human hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of the merciful and compassionate Redeemer. God has willed to keep alive in the Church the great gift of His mercy through the Sacrament of Confession, and only the priest can serve the People of God as the minister of forgiveness and pardon.
In speaking to the Bishops of the United States, Pope John Paul II encouraged them to promote the Sacrament of Penance and he charged them to encourage their priests to do the same. I am relaying this charge to you today. But the Holy Father also encouraged the Bishops themselves to utilize the Sacrament of Penance as penitents. The same is true for you, dear brothers.
Our human weakness will always be with us and we will always need God’s forgiveness. God has not chosen you to be priests because you are perfect or sinless. He has chosen you to be priests, so that, conscious of your own human weakness, and renouncing sin, you can bring, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, forgiveness to others. This forgiveness was won for all of us by Jesus when He shed His Blood in sacrifice “so that sins may be forgiven.”
And so you see, dear brother priests and all of you dear people of God, how profound is the reflection of the author of the Letter to the Hebrews which we have heard proclaimed: “Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.” The author of the Letter to the Hebrews goes on to spell out God’s plan, saying that every high priest “is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people.” This is no excuse for sinning or for remaining in sin, but the priest’s weakness and humanity are part of God’s plan to reveal His mercy in the Church and in the world.
Weakness and sin call for repentance, for a purpose of amendment and a strong resolution to integrity of life. But realizing his own humanity and weakness, the priest, as God’s word testifies, “is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and the erring.” For all those redeemed by Christ, repentance and ongoing conversion of heart are absolutely necessary. But the acknowledgment of weakness and sin brings about two things in our lives: (1) humility, which makes us praise God’s mercy and forgiveness, and (2) compassion in reaching out to others who are in need of encouragement, forgiveness, and mercy.
The forgiveness of sins that was brought about by the Blood of Jesus, poured out in sacrifice and offered in the Eucharist, is applied to individual hearts in the Sacrament of Penance. You must, dear brothers, profit from this Sacrament, use it humbly and offer it generously to the people of God.
There are numerous other aspects to your priestly life. You are called by the Church to praise God through the Liturgy of the Hours, through different forms of prayer, through the reading of the word of God and through the oblation of your will made in union with that of Christ. Remember that you are called to be witnesses of Divine Mercy–the love of the Father that passes through the Heart of Jesus and comes into contact with human weakness. And so your special love must always be with the poor and needy, with the sick and dying, with those in pain and sorrow and with those in sin.
Dear Ordinands, as you open your hearts to “the Spirit of holiness”—God’s Holy Spirit—to receive ordination to the priesthood, realize that you will never be alone. The entire Church is with you and the entire Church will remain with you in the years to come to support you, to encourage you and to be supported and served by you.
At this moment the Church asks of you fidelity—fidelity in your personal commitment to Jesus Christ, to His Gospel and to His Church. She asks for your fidelity to prayer. She asks you to love Jesus Christ, His Church and His Mother Mary. As the Mother of priests she will be with you always in your efforts to lead lives of integrity—to be truthful, just, courageous, merciful and chaste.
This is truly the hour for you to trust in the power of the Paschal Mystery, to trust that all the weaknesses and sins of the world are not equal to the power of the living Jesus Christ, the one who invites you to a life of holiness and who says to you today “Do this in memory of me.” Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Ordination to the Priesthood
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 20, 2006
Your Eminence,
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons, Religious and Seminarians,
Dear Parents, Family Members, Friends of the Ordinands,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, and especially you, Marc, Ik
and Christopher as you await the laying on of hands and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Holy Orders,
All of us in the Church of Philadelphia rejoice today with great joy as we celebrate the ordination of three new priests.
As the Church transmits to these men the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, she proclaims God’s plan for the salvation of the world. The Church needs the priesthood in order to exist, since without the priesthood there is no Eucharist and without the Eucharist there is no Church.
We gather here as disciples of Jesus Christ—some of us as family members of those to be ordained, some of us as brother priests, all of us with our differing vocations in life and our differing roles in the family of the Church.
All of us gather with our need for the Eucharist, our need to be fed with the Body and Blood of Christ, our need for the forgiveness of our sins, our need to experience the merciful love of Jesus Christ in those whom He Himself chooses as His priests to shepherd us in His name and by His power. The priesthood is indeed the expression of Christ’s love and pastoral care for His people.
This morning in the proclamation of the word of God we reflect on what the priesthood means for the whole community of the Church and for each of its members. We realize that the priesthood is above all the gift of God’s love that passes through the heart of Jesus Christ.
In our reading from the Letter to the Hebrews we hear that the gift of the priesthood is given not to those who choose it but to those to whom God chooses to entrust it. Hence we ponder the words: "No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God."
But what is involved in this priestly office? The same Letter to the Hebrews states that "Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins." In the priesthood of Jesus Christ, the "gifts and sacrifices for sins" are the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ. To offer this Eucharistic Sacrifice is the most important role of the Catholic priest. Because the priest is a man, human like all his brothers and sisters, "He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring for he himself is beset by weakness and so for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people."
For our brothers being ordained this morning to the sacred Priesthood of Jesus Christ, and for all priests in the Church, those words of Saint Paul which we have heard proclaimed are so challenging: "We do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus." As His representative, the priest stands in the midst of the community proclaiming Jesus Christ by word and example. The summit of his preaching is, however, the sacramental proclamation of Christ’s Death and Resurrection, which takes place in the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Could any human being be worthy of this honor? No. But Christ is able, by His strength, to call those whom He chooses, to exercise a power beyond human limits. But why does Christ permit human beings to exercise such an exalted role? Saint Paul reveals the deep plan of God when he says: "We hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us." The humanity of the priest draws attention indeed to the need for God’s surpassing power. It is God’s eternal plan to reveal that the action of the priest is effective only to the extent that the priest acts in the person of Jesus Christ, the one High Priest and Eternal Shepherd of the Church.
Today dear Friends, in the Gospel of Saint John, which we have heard proclaimed, Jesus reveals to us so much of the meaning of the priesthood. For Jesus, to be a priest is to be the Shepherd of His people—the Good Shepherd of the Church.
All those who share in the priesthood of Jesus Christ share in His role of Shepherd. All the pastoral activity of a priest is a participation in that of Jesus. Jesus shares His ministry with His priests, not withstanding their human limitations and weaknesses. Everything that is accomplished in their ministry comes from Him. And so the people of God can always say: "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. He guides me in right paths for His name’s sake."
But what is it that Jesus tells us about Himself as the Shepherd of His people? He says: "I am the good shepherd." But what are the characteristics of the Good Shepherd? What makes Him the Good Shepherd? What is the pattern found in Jesus that must be imitated by every priest who shares the role of Jesus and wishes to be authentic in his own ministry? Jesus explains it very simply, very concisely, very powerfully. He says: "A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." As we hear these words we immediately remember Calvary and the Sacrifice that Jesus offered on Calvary as He gave His life for the salvation of the world.
In the Gospel Jesus goes on to explain and emphasize His words. He says again: " I am the good shepherd...and I will lay down my life for the sheep." Jesus takes the occasion to reveal to us even more deeply the mystery of God’s love. He adds: "This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life ...." But Jesus has still not finished His revelation. He goes on to say: "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own." And finally Jesus cries out: "I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again."
Five times Jesus explains what it means for Him to be the Good Shepherd. And five times, dear Ordinands, Jesus explains what it will mean for each of you to be a good shepherd for His people.
Jesus is proud of the power given to Him by His Father to lay down His life. He insists: "I have power to lay it down." Today Jesus gives you this power in a special degree through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Through the exercise of this power you will unite yourselves more intimately with Jesus, High Priest and Victim, as you sacramentally renew in the Sacrifice of the Mass the offering of His life to the Father.
At the same time, like Jesus and with Jesus, each of you is called to be Priest and Victim. The integrity of your priestly ministry will depend on the exercise of the power that Jesus received from His Father and that He shares with you—the power to lay down your life for Christ’s sheep.
As you endeavor, dear Brothers, to be faithful in charity and celibacy, in zeal and sacrifice, to your pastoral role, remember those very moving words of Jesus: "This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life ...." What was true for Jesus is also true for you. The Father loves you because, with Jesus, you are willing to lay down your life for the flock. And Jesus will help you to understand that there is nothing greater or more exhilarating than to be loved by His Father in the communion of the Holy Spirit.
Dear brothers Marc, Ik and Christopher: in the presence of your families and before the witness of God’s people, you solemnly promise anew fidelity to Jesus Christ and to His Church. You accept freely the role of laying down your life for the Church, in imitation of Jesus the Good Shepherd.
Remember always that in your priestly life and ministry you are supported by the love and prayers of Mary the Mother of Jesus and Mother of His Church. As she was close to Jesus she will be close to you in all the joys and hopes, in all the sorrows, temptations and challenges of your life. And remember that as you endeavor, with fidelity and integrity, to be the Eucharistic servants of God’s people they too will support you with their prayers and love. This is the great tradition of the Catholic faithful.
Dear brother Priests present here this morning: may this day be for all of us a day of renewal and recommitment to our sacramental calling to share Christ’s role to be the Good Shepherd of God’s people. May we have new insights today into the dignity of our calling, and new strength to fulfill it in fidelity and joy.
Dear family and friends of our Ordinands, dear people of God, may this day of grace and hope bring you all deep fulfillment in your holy Catholic faith and in your love for the Priesthood and the Eucharist—those great gifts that come to us from the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Ordination to the Priesthood
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 19, 2007
Your Eminence,
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons,
Dear Seminary Faculty, Religious, Seminarians,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ and especially you, Ronald, Keith, John, Jaehwa, Michael, William and Stephen as you await the laying on of hands and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Holy Orders,
On this sacred occasion you are gathered here, dear Ordinands, in the presence of family, friends, your brother seminarians, your brother priests, so many different representatives of the People of God. We are all assembled with you in thanksgiving to God for having sustained you throughout the years of your seminary preparation and for having brought you to this hour.
This is truly an hour of joy, when the words of Jesus are fulfilled in your regard: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
This is a time of encouragement for your brother priests: to welcome you to the priesthood, to have your collaboration in their ministry and in the fraternity of the presbyterate.
This is a time of recommitment for all of us to the ideals of the priesthood and to the standards of the Gospel as we confess that all effective priestly ministry demands total fidelity to celibacy, justice and pastoral charity.
This is an hour of hope for the Church. Your brother deacons at Saint Charles Seminary are eager to follow you next year at this time, and we are confident that the Christ who called you will continue to call still other generous young men to His priesthood. We believe in the power of intercessory prayer. We believe in the power of Christ’s Paschal Mystery to draw young men to His priesthood in every age.
You are here this morning to receive your mission from our Lord Jesus Christ—the One who has risen from the dead, the One who has triumphed over sin. In our midst, it is He—the Risen Christ—who in and through the Church and in the power of the Holy Spirit, calls you to the ministry of the Priesthood, repeating: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
Our Lord Jesus Christ is sending you out today on a mission that belongs to Him. It is the mission of redemption—redemption from sin, and consequently from death.
You are being called above all to become a minister of the Eucharist. The teaching of the Second Vatican Council is very important. It says: "Priests fulfill their chief duty in the mystery of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In it the work of our redemption continues to be carried out" (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 13). The work of the redemption is carried out because in the Eucharist, the Death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ are renewed for His people. You will belong to a priesthood that exists so that, in union with Christ and in the Holy Spirit, the People of God can adore the Father in spirit and in truth.
You exist to proclaim conversion and to be examples of holiness of life. You exist, as does your priestly mission, so that God’s people may live in holiness and walk in newness of life. You can be sure that Christ’s grace will always sustain you in the struggle against sin and in the quest for holiness.
In the very moment of the Consecration, when the blood of the new and everlasting covenant is offered to the Father, the Church proclaims that this blood will be shed "so that sins may be forgiven." In the very act of the Eucharist, you will be a minister of forgiveness, as you offer up the Sacrifice of the Lamb, who takes away the sins of the world.
This ministry of forgiveness will be applied to individual hearts by the Sacrament of Confession, which is the Sacrament of Penance, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Sacrament of Mercy.
This ministry of mercy was extremely important to the Risen Christ on that first Easter, when He said: "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you forgive, are forgiven them; whose sins you retain are retained."
And so, both in the Eucharist and in Confession, your ministry expresses the victory of Jesus over sin, the victory whereby He purifies His people and frees them from the power of evil.
You yourselves will need the Sacrament of Penance, and it will be up to you to make it readily available to the people and to give them the example of your own lives of ongoing conversion. The humble recognition of your own weaknesses and sins must never be an excuse for ceasing to strive for holiness through a life of prayer and discipline.
You are convinced, in the words of the Letter to the Hebrews, that "Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins." And you are further convinced that every priest "is able to deal patiently with erring sinners, for he himself is beset by weakness and so must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people."
Your priestly ministry requires both an understanding of human weakness and a resolute determination, with God’s help, to live a transparent life of holiness according to the Gospel. Your faithful observance of celibacy in all its aspects is absolutely imperative for your integrity of life, for the effectiveness of your ministry and for the honor of Christ’s Church.
In the Eucharist you will find the source of all your pastoral charity and the source of the joy that will be indispensable to your perseverance in the priesthood until death. Remember that the words of the Father spoken to Jesus will now apply to you: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."
Your life as a priest must be consistent; and everything you do must be related to the Eucharist that you celebrate:
-- over and over again you will proclaim the Gospel, but your proclamation of the Gospel will reach its culmination in the Eucharistic Sacrifice;
-- you will give yourself to teaching the faith, but those you teach will most effectively recognize and encounter Christ in the breaking of the bread;
-- you will devote yourself to the building of community, but every community is united and fully one only when it shares the Eucharist;
-- your pastoral love must always be with the poor, the sick, with sinners, with those in need of love and hope and consolation, but the strength of this pastoral love will come from your Eucharistic contact with the Risen Lord.
Remember how Jesus called His Apostles—Saint Mark tells us—first to be with Him, to experience His friendship, to know His love, to reflect on His teachings, and then to be sent out to proclaim the Gospel.
Dear brothers Ronald, Keith, John, Jaehwa, Michael, William and Stephen: This is your lot in life, your vocation: to be with Jesus and to be sent out to proclaim His Gospel. Alive in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church has many things to ask of you:
-- she asks fidelity in your personal life, fidelity to prayer, to the Liturgy of the Hours—which is part of the praise and worship of the Church;
-- she asks fidelity to the teachings of the Apostles as transmitted and interpreted by the living magisterium under the action of the Holy Spirit;
-- she asks for you to love and serve in the name of Christ: to love all the people whom you are called to minister to in the name of Jesus, to love especially your brother priests, to stay close to them, to support them and be supported by them.
-- the Church asks you to be just and courageous, merciful and chaste, and by your own life to proclaim these virtues to others.
-- the Church asks you to love Mary the Mother of Jesus and to learn constantly from her the mystery of her Son and the mystery of His Church.
And finally the Church asks you to trust—to trust in Jesus, to trust in the power of His Paschal Mystery, to trust in His strength. To trust that He who has begun a good work in you will bring it to fulfillment. To trust that all the weaknesses and sins of the world are not equal to the power of the living Christ, who says to you today: "Peace be with you .... As the Father has sent me, so I send you .... Receive the Holy Spirit."
Dear brothers: the People of God need you to exemplify and to proclaim total trust in the Christ who sends you, the Christ who loves you, the Christ whom you represent. And remember always that the Mother of Jesus will protect and sustain you until the end. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Ordination to the Priesthood
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 17, 2008
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Brothers about to be ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ:
Martin, Brian, Daniel
Dear Deacons and Religious,
Dear Parents, Family Members, Friends of the Ordinands,
Dear Lay Faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia,
This morning we gather in the name of Jesus Christ and in the unity of His Church to celebrate the Ordination to the Priesthood of three of our brothers. The presence of all of you is so important in showing the relationship of the priesthood to the entire community of God’s people. The presence of our priests is particularly important in showing the unity of the presbyterate in this Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Our candidates for the priesthood understand that they are not alone. They exult today in the solidarity of the entire Archdiocese—those present and those who are with us in spirit and in prayer, including many contemplative religious who are interceding for our deacons even as this ceremony takes place.
Dear Ordinands: the joy that you bring to your families today is a sign of the joy that your ministry is meant to bring to the entire people of God.
But what is this ministry? What is this priesthood? In what does it consist? Let us reflect briefly on this holy subject.
In just a few moments, after the laying on of hands, you will all hear the prayer of the Church with which the handing on of the priesthood will be accomplished. In those decisive words the Church prays: "Grant, we pray, Almighty Father, to these your servants the dignity of the priesthood; renew deep within them the Spirit of holiness...."
It is very impressive that, at the very moment when the Church transmits the power of the priesthood, she asks the Father to send forth upon the Ordinands the Holy Spirit. And the Church identifies this Spirit as the Spirit of holiness—the Spirit who alone can make these men holy and enable them, by the example of their manner of life, to instill right conduct in others. In the very act of transmitting priestly power, the Church speaks about the holiness that comes from the Spirit of God, the holiness that is so necessary if the priest is to fulfill his priestly ministry.
But, once again, what is this priestly ministry? The word of God this morning gives us so many insights into why our priests exist—who they are and what they are to do.
In our reading from the Prophet Jeremiah, as we recall God’s word to him, we also see that it is verified today in our new priests to be. We believe that God chooses. We believe that the prophecy spoken to Jeremiah applies to these men today: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you." And, reflecting further on the words of the Prophet, we hear God continue to speak: "To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them.... See, I place my words in your mouth!"
The proclamation of the word of God, dear Ordinands, will always be the eminent priority in your priesthood. You will speak the word of God in season and out of season, when convenient and inconvenient, when acceptable or not acceptable. It will never, however, be your personal message. It will always be, as God says, "whatever I command you, you shall speak." It is the work of a lifetime to proclaim joyfully, faithfully, energetically the word of God that has been revealed and committed to His Church and that is to be guarded and taught by her.
Even as you proclaim the word of God, day in and day out, you will return to reflect on the holy Gospel according to Saint Luke which has been proclaimed on this your ordination day. You will remember that the proclamation of the word of God reaches its climax in the sacramental proclamation of the Eucharist. Saint Luke describes for us the scene of the Last Supper. Jesus "took the bread, said the blessing, broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my Body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my Blood, which will be shed for you.’" The words "Do this in memory of me" are central to your existence as priests and to your ministry as heralds of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the sacramental proclamation of the Mass, you will renew the death and resurrection of the Lord and you will faithfully fulfill His command "Do this in memory of me." The Eucharistic celebration will always take place through the power of the Holy Spirit. And, in order to be suitable ministers of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, you will need the Holy Spirit—"the Spirit of holiness"—whom the Church invokes on you today and communicates to you sacramentally.
The Second Vatican Council, dear brother priests to be, which you have studied and love and which you must always support and follow, puts it this way: "Priests fulfill their chief duty in the mystery of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In it the work of our redemption continues to be carried out. For this reason, priests are strongly urged to celebrate Mass every day, for even if the faithful are unable to be present, it is an act of Christ and the Church" (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 13).
Your life, dear brothers, is the Eucharist and your Eucharistic ministry is what the Second Vatican Council calls "an act of Christ and the Church." All the activities of your life will require an immense amount of pastoral love—the pastoral love that you already show by being willing to lay down your life for the people of God, the type of pastoral love that is needed for celibacy to be authentic and joyful, the pastoral love that Jesus wants you to give to all His people.
But Vatican II still has a word of deep insight for you. It tells you solemnly that your pastoral love flows mainly from the Eucharistic Sacrifice and that this Eucharistic Sacrifice is therefore the center and root of your whole priestly life (cf. ibid., 14). Never forget this truth, dear brothers, and do not neglect to put it into practice. The Spirit of holiness is given to you in ordination, but, forever after, this holiness must be exercised and kept alive through the Eucharist.
As priests you will serve the people of God in so many relevant ways, but after the Eucharist there is nothing more important than the ministry of reconciliation as exercised in the Sacrament of Penance. There is no greater human fulfillment than to touch human hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of the merciful and compassionate Redeemer. God has willed to keep alive in the Church the great gift of His mercy through the Sacrament of Confession, and only the priest can serve the People of God as the minister of forgiveness and pardon.
Our human weakness will always be with us and we will always need God’s forgiveness. God has not chosen you to be priests because you are perfect or sinless. He has chosen you to be priests, so that, conscious of your own human weakness, and renouncing sin, you can bring, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, forgiveness to others. This forgiveness was won for all of us by Jesus when He shed His Blood in sacrifice "so that sins may be forgiven."
And so you see, dear brother priests and all of you dear people of God, how profound is the reflection of the author of the Letter to the Hebrews which we have heard proclaimed: "Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins." The author of the Letter to the Hebrews goes on to spell out God’s plan, saying that every high priest "is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people." This is no excuse for sinning or for remaining in sin, but the priest’s weakness and humanity are part of God’s plan to reveal His mercy in the Church and in the world.
Weakness and sin call for repentance, for a purpose of amendment and a strong resolution to integrity of life. But realizing his own humanity and weakness, the priest, as God’s word testifies, "is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and the erring." For all those redeemed by Christ, repentance and ongoing conversion of heart are absolutely necessary. But the acknowledgment of weakness and sin brings about two things in our lives: (1) humility, which makes us praise God’s mercy and forgiveness, and (2) compassion in reaching out to others who are in need of encouragement, forgiveness, and mercy.
The forgiveness of sins that was brought about by the Blood of Jesus, poured out in sacrifice and offered in the Eucharist, is applied to individual hearts in the Sacrament of Penance. You must, dear brothers, profit from this Sacrament, use it humbly and offer it generously to the people of God.
There are numerous other aspects to your priestly life. You are called by the Church to praise God through the Liturgy of the Hours, through different forms of prayer, through the reading of the word of God and through the oblation of your will made in union with that of Christ. Remember that you are called to be witnesses of Divine Mercy–the love of the Father that passes through the Heart of Jesus and comes into contact with human weakness. And so your special love must always be with the poor and needy, with the sick and dying, with those in pain and sorrow and with those in sin.
Dear Ordinands, as you open your hearts to "the Spirit of holiness"—God’s Holy Spirit—to receive ordination to the priesthood, realize that you will never be alone. The entire Church is with you and the entire Church will remain with you in the years to come to support you, to encourage you and to be supported and served by you.
At this moment the Church asks of you fidelity—fidelity in your personal commitment to Jesus Christ, to His Gospel and to His Church. She asks for your fidelity to prayer. She asks you to love Jesus Christ, His Church and His Mother Mary. As the Mother of priests she will be with you always in your efforts to lead lives of integrity—to be truthful, just, courageous, merciful and chaste.
This is truly the hour for you to trust in the power of the Paschal Mystery, to trust that all the weaknesses and sins of the world are not equal to the power of the living Jesus Christ, the one who invites you to a life of holiness and who says to you today "Do this in memory of me." Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Ordination to the Priesthood
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 16, 2009
Your Eminence,
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons, Religious and Seminarians,
Dear Parents, Family Members, Friends of the Ordinands,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, and especially you,
Jonathan, Anthony, Jeffrey, Richard, Michael and John,
as you await the laying on of hands and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
in the Sacrament of Holy Orders,
All of us in the Church of Philadelphia rejoice today with great joy as we celebrate the ordination of six new priests.
As the Church transmits to these men the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, she proclaims God’s plan for the salvation of the world. The Church needs the priesthood in order to exist, since without the priesthood there is no Eucharist and without the Eucharist there is no Church.
We gather here as disciples of Jesus Christ—some of us as family members of those to be ordained, some of us as brother priests, all of us with our differing vocations in life and our differing roles in the family of the Church.
All of us gather with our need for the Eucharist, our need to be fed with the Body and Blood of Christ, our need for the forgiveness of our sins, our need to experience the merciful love of Jesus Christ in those whom He Himself chooses as His priests to shepherd us in His name and by His power. The priesthood is indeed the expression of Christ’s love and pastoral care for His people.
This morning in the proclamation of the word of God we reflect on what the priesthood means for the whole community of the Church and for each of its members. We realize that the priesthood is above all the gift of God’s love that passes through the heart of Jesus Christ.
In our reading from the Letter to the Hebrews we hear that the gift of the priesthood is given not to those who choose it but to those to whom God chooses to entrust it. Hence we ponder the words: "No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God."
But what is involved in this priestly office? The same Letter to the Hebrews states that "Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins." In the priesthood of Jesus Christ, the "gifts and sacrifices for sins" are the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ. To offer this Eucharistic Sacrifice is the most important role of the Catholic priest. Because the priest is a man, human like all his brothers and sisters, "He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring for he himself is beset by weakness and so for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people."
As a representative of Jesus Christ, the priest stands in the midst of the community proclaiming Him by word and example. The summit of his preaching is, however, the sacramental proclamation of Christ’s Death and Resurrection, which takes place in the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Could any human being be worthy of this honor? No. But Christ is able, by His strength, to call those whom He chooses, to exercise a power beyond human merits. But why does Christ permit human beings to exercise such an exalted role? Saint Paul reveals the deep plan of God when he says: "We hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us." The humanity of the priest draws attention indeed to the need for God’s surpassing power. In God’s eternal plan the action of the priest is effective only to the extent that the priest acts in the person of Jesus Christ, the one High Priest and Eternal Shepherd of the Church.
Today dear friends, in the Gospel of Saint John, which we have heard proclaimed, Jesus reveals to us so much of the meaning of the priesthood. For Jesus, to be a priest is to be the Shepherd of His people—the Good Shepherd of the Church.
All those who share in the priesthood of Jesus Christ share in His role of Shepherd. All the pastoral activity of a priest is a participation in that of Jesus. Jesus shares His ministry with His priests, not withstanding their human limitations and weaknesses. Everything that is accomplished in their ministry comes from Him. And so the people of God can always say: "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake."
But what is it that Jesus tells us about Himself as the Shepherd of His people? He says: "I am the good shepherd." But what are the characteristics of the Good Shepherd? What makes Him the Good Shepherd? What is the pattern found in Jesus that must be imitated by every priest who shares the role of Jesus and wishes to be authentic in his own ministry? Jesus explains it very simply, very concisely, very powerfully. He says: "A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." As we hear these words we immediately remember Calvary and the Sacrifice that Jesus offered on Calvary as He gave His life for the salvation of the world.
In the Gospel Jesus goes on to explain and emphasize His words. He says again: " I am the good shepherd...and I will lay down my life for the sheep." Jesus takes the occasion to reveal to us even more deeply the mystery of God’s love. He adds: "This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life ...." But Jesus has still not finished His revelation. He goes on to say: "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own." And finally Jesus cries out: "I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again."
Five times Jesus explains what it means for Him to be the Good Shepherd. And five times, dear Ordinands, Jesus explains what it will mean for each of you to be a good shepherd for His people.
Jesus is proud of the power given to Him by His Father to lay down His life. He insists: "I have power to lay it down." Today Jesus gives you this power in a special degree through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Through the exercise of this power you will unite yourselves more intimately with Jesus, High Priest and Victim, as you sacramentally renew in the Sacrifice of the Mass the offering of His life to the Father.
At the same time, like Jesus and with Jesus, each of you is called to be Priest and Victim. The integrity of your priestly ministry will depend on the exercise of the power that Jesus received from His Father and that He shares with you—the power to lay down your life for Christ’s sheep.
As you endeavor, dear brothers, to be faithful in charity and celibacy, in zeal and sacrifice, to your pastoral role, remember those very moving words of Jesus: "This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life ...." What was true for Jesus is also true for you. The Father loves you because, with Jesus, you are willing to lay down your life for the flock. And Jesus will help you to understand that there is nothing greater or more exhilarating than to be loved by His Father in the communion of the Holy Spirit.
Dear brothers: in the presence of your families and before the witness of God’s people, you solemnly promise anew fidelity to Jesus Christ and to His Church. You accept freely the role of laying down your life for the Church, in imitation of Jesus the Good Shepherd.
Remember always that in your priestly life and ministry you are supported by the love and prayers of Mary the Mother of Jesus and Mother of His Church. As she was close to Jesus she will be close to you in all the joys and hopes, in all the sorrows, temptations and challenges of your life. And remember that as you endeavor, with fidelity and integrity, to be the Eucharistic servants of God’s people they too will support you with their prayers and love. This is the great tradition of the Catholic faithful.
Dear brother Priests present here this morning: may this day be for all of us a day of renewal and recommitment to our sacramental calling to share Christ’s role as the Good Shepherd of God’s people. May we have new insights today into the dignity of our calling, and new strength to fulfill it in fidelity and joy.
Dear family and friends of our Ordinands, dear people of God, may this day of grace and hope bring you all deep fulfillment in your holy Catholic faith and in your love for the Priesthood and the Eucharist—those great gifts that come to us from the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Ordination to the Priesthood
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 15, 2010
Your Eminence,
Brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons,
Dear Seminary Faculty, Religious, Seminarians,
Dear Young Men considering a vocation to the Priesthood,
Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ and especially you,
James, Thomas, Stephen, Harold, Michael and Matthew,
as you await the laying on of hands and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
in the Sacrament of Holy Orders,
You are assembled here, dear Ordinands, in the presence of family, friends, your brother seminarians, your brother priests, and so many different representatives of the People of God. We are all gathered with you in thanksgiving to God for having sustained you throughout the years of your seminary preparation and for having brought you to this hour.
This is truly an hour of joy, when the words of Jesus are fulfilled in your regard: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
This is a time of encouragement for your brother priests: to welcome you to the priesthood, to have your collaboration in their ministry and in the fraternity of the presbyterate.
This is a time of recommitment for all of us to the ideals of the priesthood and to the standards of the Gospel as we confess that all effective priestly ministry demands total fidelity to celibacy, justice and pastoral charity.
This is an hour of hope for the Church. Your brother deacons at Saint Charles Seminary are eager to follow you next year at this time, and we are confident that the Christ who called you will continue to call still other generous young men to His priesthood. We believe in the power of intercessory prayer. We believe in the power of Christ’s Paschal Mystery to draw young men to His priesthood in every age.
You are here this morning to receive your mission from our Lord Jesus Christ—the One who has risen from the dead, the One who has triumphed over sin. In our midst, it is He—the Risen Christ—who in and through the Church and in the power of the Holy Spirit, calls you to the ministry of the Priesthood, repeating: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ is sending you out today on a mission that belongs to Him. It is the mission of redemption—redemption from sin, and consequently from death.
Above all, you are being called to celebrate the Eucharist. The teaching of the Second Vatican Council is very important. It says: “Priests fulfill their chief duty in the mystery of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In it the work of our redemption continues to be carried out” (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 13). The work of the redemption is carried out because in the Eucharist, the Death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ are renewed for His people. You will belong to a priesthood that exists so that, in union with Christ and in the Holy Spirit, the People of God can adore the Father in spirit and in truth. This is accomplished through the Eucharist.
You exist to proclaim conversion and to be examples of holiness of life. You exist, as does your priestly mission, so that God’s people may live in holiness and walk in newness of life. You can be sure that Christ’s grace will always sustain you in the struggle against sin and in the quest for holiness.
In the very moment of the Consecration at Mass, when the blood of the new and everlasting covenant is offered to the Father, the Church proclaims that this blood will be shed “so that sins may be forgiven.” In the very act of the Eucharist, you will be a minister of forgiveness, as you offer up the Sacrifice of the Lamb, who takes away the sins of the world.
Through your ministry, God’s forgiveness will be applied to individual hearts in the Sacrament of Confession, which is the Sacrament of Penance, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Sacrament of Mercy.
This ministry of mercy was extremely important to the Risen Christ on that first Easter, when He said to the Apostles: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you forgive, are forgiven them; whose sins you retain are retained.”
And so, both in the Eucharist and in Confession, your ministry expresses the victory of Jesus over sin, the victory whereby He purifies His people and frees them from the power of evil.
You yourselves will need the Sacrament of Penance, and it will be up to you to make it readily available to the people and to give them the example of your own lives of ongoing conversion. The humble recognition of your own weaknesses and sins must never be an excuse for ceasing to strive for holiness through a life of prayer and discipline.
You are convinced, in the words of the Letter to the Hebrews, that “Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.” And you are further convinced that every priest “is able to deal patiently with erring sinners, for he himself is beset by weakness and so must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people.”
Your priestly ministry requires both an understanding of human weakness and a resolute determination, with God’s help, to live a transparent life of holiness according to the Gospel. Your faithful observance of celibacy in all its aspects is absolutely imperative for your integrity of life, for the effectiveness of your ministry and for the honor of Christ’s Church.
In the Eucharist you will find the source of all your pastoral charity and the source of the joy that will be indispensable to your perseverance in the priesthood until death. Remember that the words of the Father spoken to Jesus will now apply also to you: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Your life as a priest must be consistent; and everything you do must be related to the Eucharist that you celebrate:
-- over and over again you will proclaim the Gospel, but your proclamation of the Gospel will reach its culmination in the Eucharistic Sacrifice;
-- you will give yourself to teaching the faith, but those you teach will most effectively recognize and encounter Christ in the breaking of the bread;
-- you will devote yourself to the building of community, but every community is united and fully one only when it shares the Eucharist;
-- your pastoral love must always be with the poor, the sick, with sinners, with those in need of love and hope and consolation, but the strength of this pastoral love will come from your Eucharistic contact with the Risen Lord.
Remember how Jesus called His Apostles—Saint Mark tells us—first to be with Him, to experience His friendship, to know His love, to reflect on His teachings, and then to be sent out to proclaim the Gospel.
Dear brothers James, Thomas, Stephen, Harold, Michael and Matthew: This is your lot in life, your vocation: to be with Jesus and to be sent out to proclaim His Gospel. Alive in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church has many things to ask of you:
-- she asks fidelity in your personal life, fidelity to prayer, to the Liturgy of the Hours—which is part of the praise and worship of the Church;
-- she asks fidelity to the teachings of the Apostles as transmitted and interpreted by the living magisterium under the action of the Holy Spirit;
-- she asks for you to love and serve in the name of Christ: to love all the people whom you are called to minister to in the name of Jesus, to love especially your brother priests, to stay close to them, to support them and be supported by them.
-- the Church asks you to be just and courageous, merciful and chaste, and by your own life to proclaim these virtues to others.
-- the Church asks you to love Mary the Mother of Jesus and to learn constantly from her the mystery of her Son and the mystery of His Church.
And finally the Church asks you to trust—to trust in Jesus, to trust in the power of His Paschal Mystery, to trust in His strength. To trust that He who has begun a good work in you will bring it to fulfillment. To trust that all the weaknesses and sins of the world are not equal to the power of the living Christ to overcome them. And it is He—the Risen Christ—who says to you today: “Peace be with you .... As the Father has sent me, so I send you .... Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Dear brothers: the People of God need you to exemplify and to proclaim total trust in the Christ who sends you, the Christ who loves you, the Christ whom you represent. And remember always that the Mother of Jesus will protect and sustain you until the end. Amen.
HOMILY OF CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI
PRIESTHOOD ORDINATION OF FATHER BRIAN GAFFNEY, C.O.
THE PHILADELPHIA ORATORY OF SAINT PHILIP NERI
PENTECOST SUNDAY, MAY 15, 2005
Father Thiers, Provost of The Philadelphia Oratory of Saint Philip Neri,
Father Convery, Pastor of this Parish of Saint Francis Xavier,
Dear Oratorians, dear brother Priests, dear Deacons,
Dear Family of Brother Brian Gaffney, to be ordained this morning to the Sacred Priesthood,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
We gather this morning in this beautiful church to adore and praise God on this great Solemnity of Pentecost,
which commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles.
Our hearts are filled with joy as we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit given to the Apostles
and forever present in the Church.
Today our celebration of Pentecost and the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church
and in our lives takes place in a special context, namely, the priestly ordination of Brother Brian Gaffney.
This priestly ordination that we celebrate on Pentecost is indeed linked to the mission of the Holy Spirit
and rooted in the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Let us go back for a moment to the great event of Pentecost, which we heard described in our first reading
from The Acts of the Apostles. The Apostles had been told by Jesus not to leave Jerusalem until
they would receive the Holy Spirit, which he had promised them. And then it happened!
On Pentecost as the Apostles were gathered together, there came a noise like a strong driving wind,
and tongues as of fire came to rest on the Apostles.
And they were filled with the Holy Spirit-the Spirit of God's love.
The coming of the Holy Spirit was the fulfillment of Jesus's promise.
Pentecost was the sign of God's fidelity in Jesus Christ. Jesus and His Father sent the gift of the
Spirit upon those who were invested with the special mission of establishing the Church throughout
the world and of bearing witness to Jesus.
But what was this gift of the Holy Spirit that Jesus had so lovingly promised to His Apostles?
Jesus had spoken frequently about the Holy Spirit and had communicated many things to His Apostles.
At the Last Supper, He had actually deeply revealed the life of God. He had said:
"As the Father loves me, so I also love you."
And He added: "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you" (Jn 15:9,12).
How did Jesus love His disciples? As the Father loves Him. And how does the Father love Him?
In the Holy Spirit. And in the Holy Spirit we are to love one another. And the priesthood is intimately
a part of this mystery of love in the Holy Spirit. And this ordination of Brother Brian requires the outpouring
of God's Spirit of Love.
Jesus spoke so often of His Father. He had told His Apostles that the Father loves Him and that He loves the Father.
"The Father loves me." "I love the Father." And in revealing this He reveals that this love between
Himself and His Father is so real and so personal that it is the Third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity,
who lives in the communion of three Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is loved by the Father in the Holy Spirit. And in the Holy Spirit Jesus loves His Apostles and all of us.
And this is the love that He commands us to share: that Person-Love, who is the Holy Spirit.
Jesus knew, therefore, dear friends, that the Apostles, and all of us, needed the Holy Spirit
to fulfill our mission of loving others as we are loved by Him and as He is loved by His Father, in the Holy Spirit.
Jesus knew this and promised to send the Holy Spirit. Pentecost is indeed the fulfillment of that promise.
And in the fulfillment of that promise, the life of the Church is guaranteed, and her mission of love is made possible.
And so on this great feast of Pentecost not only do we recall and commemorate the Coming of the Holy Spirit,
but we receive Him as the living Guest of our hearts, and accept from Him the power to love that comes from Him,
who is Love Himself-the personal love of the Father and the Son.
And on this great feast of Pentecost we celebrate the special outpouring
of God's love in the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Through the Priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Brian Gaffney is called to a specific role of love and service in the Church-a role that
can be accomplished only in the Holy Spirit. He receives the Holy Spirit in order to love others
as he is loved by Christ and as Christ is loved by the Father-in the Holy Spirit.
His service of love to others is expressed above all in the proclamation of the Word of God,
which reaches its climax in the sacramental proclamation of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is his life,
his service, his specialty. And with his Eucharistic ministry he is called to be the instrument of
God's mercy in the Sacrament of Confession, where God's love encounters human weakness, human need, human sin.
The coming of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles at Pentecost represents the fidelity of Jesus.
Jesus kept His promise. Jesus is the faithful Amen of the Father and of the Father's love.
And Father Brian Gaffney is called to reflect faithfully the fidelity of Jesus forever. Like
Jesus, his answer cannot be yes one moment and no the next. It can never be anything but yes.
Dear Brian, this is your ministry, this is to be your priesthood and it can only be accomplished in the power
of the Holy Spirit of God's Love. Today the Church entrusts you to the Virgin Mother of God, Mother of Jesus,
Daughter of the Father, Spouse and Temple of the Holy Spirit. Through her intercession may you be faithful forever
to your priestly mission of love. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Episcopal Ordination of
Monsignor John McIntyre and Monsignor Michael Fitzgerald
Auxiliary Bishops of Philadelphia
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
August 6, 2010
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Your Eminences: Cardinal Bevilacqua, Cardinal Keeler, Cardinal Foley,
Archbishop Soroka, Archeparch of Philadelphia of the Ukrainians,
Dear brother Archbishops and Bishops,
Dear brother Priests, Deacons, Religious, Seminarians and Laity,
Dear Family members and friends of our Bishops-elect,
Esteemed Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Guests,
Distinguished Civil Authorities,
And especially you, John and Michael, about to be ordained as Bishops,
Today, August 6th, the Church throughout the whole world celebrates a great feast, a great event: the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Gospel which we have just proclaimed describes the event for us in detail.
Back in the fifth century Pope Saint Leo the Great explained beautifully to the Church the context in which the Transfiguration took place.
Jesus was very much aware during His public life that the time of His Passion and Death was rapidly approaching. He knew full well that His Apostles would be severely shocked and scandalized by His suffering and His crucifixion. They would begin to wonder how all the humiliations that Jesus would endure could possibly happen to the Lord, who had claimed to be God and to identify Himself as the Son of the eternal Father.
And so it was that Jesus chose three of His Apostles—Peter, John and James—and led them up a high mountain to witness His glory, even if only in a momentary way, in order to prepare them to withstand the violent impact of His sufferings on their faith.
For a brief time Jesus permitted His Apostles to see His glory. They received a glimpse of what Jesus was like in His divine glory so that they would not lose hope when they would see Him in the weakest hours of His humanity.
What is of supreme importance in the event of the Transfiguration, when Jesus’ face shone like the sun and His garments became dazzling white, was the fact that God the Father proclaimed Jesus His chosen, beloved Son and commanded the Apostles to listen to Him.
Throughout all of the Gospels, the voice of the eternal Father is heard only three times. And this is one of those three times that the Father speaks in order to bear personal witness to His Son, as divine, and to proclaim that He loves Him.
And in this proclamation are those final words of God the Father that thunder down the centuries: “Listen to Him.” Listen to Jesus.
This is the great mandate given to the Apostles and through them to the world.
Today in this Ordination Rite, the mandate of God the Father is solemnly transmitted to two new Auxiliary Bishops and is likewise shared with all of us.
In the divine plan it is Jesus, the beloved Son of the eternal Father, who reveals the meaning of life and who, in His love for us, leads us to eternal life. This is why the Father has told us to listen to Jesus. And Jesus Himself has told us that He is the Good Shepherd who, out of love, lays down His life for His flock.
Today as we celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, with all of its profound meaning, the Church in Philadelphia also rejoices in the ordination of her two new Bishops. We are deeply grateful to our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI for having called Monsignor John McIntyre and Monsignor Michael Fitzgerald to the episcopacy. As priests of this Archdiocese they have generously and zealously collaborated for years with their Archbishop and their brother priests in the presbyterate. With deep pastoral love they have served the people of God through the various specific priestly ministries that were entrusted to them. The Church now entrusts to both of them a new and even deeper participation in the pastoral mission of Jesus Christ the High Priest and Good Shepherd of the Church. The hopes and joys, the concerns and sufferings of the people of God—priests, consecrated religious and lay faithful—which, with deep pastoral sensitivity, they have shared up until now as priests, they will continue to be involved in as Bishops. Morever, they will face the new personal challenge of listening ever more faithfully to Jesus and, with ever greater love, proclaiming Him in word and action.
The close bonds of fraternal priestly solidarity which they have always experienced with their brother priests will be ever more meaningful for them as they intensify their own service to the presbyterate with the same simplicity and dedication they have always shown.
But what then is the Church now asking of these priests as they are about to be ordained Bishops in order to shepherd the people of God in the name of Jesus, the eternal Shepherd?
It is clear from the Gospel that the primary duty for them is to do exactly what the eternal Father has directed: to listen to Jesus, to listen to Him ever more attentively. And it is Jesus who through the Church will spell out all the other expectations for them and their pastoral ministry. As Bishops-elect, John McIntyre and Michael Fitzgerald are being told first of all to love, with the charity of a father and brother, all those whom God designates as their co-workers, beginning with their closest co-workers, the priests and deacons. It is clear that the shepherd’s love required of them involves the laying down of their lives, just the way Jesus as the Good Shepherd laid down His life for His flock.
In just a few moments, our candidates will be solemnly interrogated about their intention and their resolve, namely: to preach the Gospel of Christ with constancy and fidelity; to guard the deposit of faith as handed down by the Apostles; to build up the Body of Christ, the Church, and to remain in union with the order of Bishops under the authority of the Successor of Saint Peter the Apostle; to render obedience faithfully to the Successor of the blessed Apostle Peter; to guide the people of God in the way of salvation; to be welcoming and merciful to the poor, to strangers and to all who are in need; and to seek out the sheep who stray and to gather them into the Lord’s fold. In these and in other ways their role as Bishops is to be, in the expression of the venerable Pope John Paul II, “servants of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the hope of the world.”
But in order to be able to accomplish all of this in the name of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, they are charged to pray without ceasing and to carry out their office without reproach. In other words: they are meant to be, ever more, men of prayer and men of integrity and holiness of life. This is such an important part of their being called to be Bishops.
Dear John and Michael: here today in this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, where you were both ordained to the sacred priesthood, in the presence of the people of God, including your beloved families, brother Bishops, priests and deacons, consecrated religious, seminarians and lay faithful of the Church, you are publicly attesting to your resolve that as Bishops of the Church you will indeed continue to listen to Jesus and to transmit His words, His teaching, His commandments, His promises, His way of life, His love to all those who will freely open up their hearts to you.
To make this possible, the Church today invokes upon you the Holy Spirit, that governing Spirit whom the Father gave to Jesus Christ His Son and whom Jesus Christ bestowed on the Apostles, and whom He bestows on you through the great Sacrament of Holy Orders which you are about to receive in all its fullness. And finally, John and Michael, the Church entrusts you confidently to Mary, the Mother of Jesus and Mother of the Apostles, so that, for years to come, you may rejoice in her protection and find strength in her love. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Permanent Diaconate Ordination
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
June 11, 2006
Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
to God who is, who was, and who is to come.
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons and those now to be ordained,
Dear Wives and Children of those chosen men,
Dear Candidates for the Diaconate,
Dear Friends in Jesus Christ,
Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our responsorial psalm exclaims: "Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own." How blessed indeed are we to be the people of the Lord who has revealed Himself to us as the Triune God of love.
There are many reasons for the existence of the Permanent Diaconate in the Church, but all of them presume the praise of the Most Blessed Trinity. The deacon’s sacred ministry is at the service of God’s revelation of Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The deacon’s work must serve to lead the people to know, love and serve the One and Triune God.
Today, under the sign of the Most Blessed Trinity the Church calls and ordains seven of our brothers to the Order of the Diaconate. These chosen men are: John G. Boyle, Michael G. Conroy, John J. DuBois, Edward F. Hanley, Stephen C. Kazanjian, Joseph W. Lonergan and Robert E. Roselli.
These men take their place today among the successors of the first deacons, in a close and sacramental partnership with the priests of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, indeed with the priests of the world.
This partnership is a partnership in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a vocation of special service to the people of God, special service closely associated with the ministry of priests. The words of Saint Paul, proclaimed in our second reading, can be applied especially to these brothers of ours: "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." In their ordination to the Diaconate, our brothers will indeed receive the Holy Spirit who will enable them to serve for the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity as sons of God and "then heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ."
The service we are speaking about is above all a service of charity; it is an outreach in the name of Jesus Christ and the Church. The service of the diaconate is a dynamic part of the spiritual structure of the Church, as willed by God.
The service of each deacon is more than a personal contribution of an individual. It is part of the life of the Church and the mystery of Christ. But in each individual, this service begins at the altar, with the power that comes forth from the Eucharistic Sacrifice; it is consolidated and intensified in personal prayer; it presupposes the witness of an upright life.
Diaconal service strives to respond to so many needs—to needs wherever they are found among God’s people. As a special sacramental service, the Diaconate further extends and fulfills the service required of all Christians by reason of their Baptism.
My dear brothers: your training has helped you to understand the challenge you now embrace as part of the Church’s life. Your wives and children are here to pledge collaboration and support, and we are so happy for this.
Your call to service is sacramentally inspired and sustained, and it clearly challenges you to be like Christ, who says to each one of you: "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you."
Jesus further explains the type of love that He is talking about, saying: "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." You are being asked to lay down your life in service. Never before have you been so close to the greatness of the Christian servanthood that you are now embracing in a sacramental way. Jesus says: "Anyone who aspires to greatness must serve the rest…."
In practice, your diaconal service will require zeal and the ingenuity to discover the needs of God’s people: the needs of the poor, the sick and suffering, the homeless, those uninstructed in the faith, those in need of love, those languishing in despair, all those in need of Christ. As you discover all these needs in your brothers and sisters, you must assist them to fulfill these needs. In God’s plan you will be assisted and sustained by your wives and families.
In this way you will play a basic role in communicating Christ by word and example. Your word must be inspired by God’s word as proclaimed, interpreted and lived by the Church. Your example must be deeply rooted in prayer and charity. It must express a life of justice, honesty and truth. You will always be expected to speak and act in communion with Benedict our Pope and with his successors, with me and my successors and the presbyterate of Philadelphia, and in the communion of faith of the universal Church.
In giving you a sacramental configuration to Christ, who is the Son of God, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, the Son of Mary and the Servant of humanity, the Church is asking a great deal of you. The Church is counting on your perseverance and on the authenticity of your lives. To accomplish this you will absolutely need the energy and strength that flow from the Death and Resurrection of the Lord, which are renewed in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which you will often have the opportunity to share in at the side of the priest.
The Church needs your efforts to model relationships in Christian families. She needs your charity, your prayer, your patience and joy in hardships and your openness to the needs of others. She needs your fidelity in Christian marriage.
In all of this, what is required for the success of your ministry is a team mentality of collaboration. The team is the Church of Jesus Christ, and "the rules of the game" are the Gospel of Jesus Christ as proclaimed and interpreted and lived by the Church.
Every individual gift of yours is needed and esteemed, but all of them must be coordinated by the action of the Holy Spirit in the communion of the Church.
In the years to come, your words of faith must flow forth from a heart steeped in prayer. Everything that you teach and communicate must be in union with the teaching of the Church—which is one, holy, Catholic and apostolic.
Now, more than ever before, the Church needs your holiness and zeal. And this means that you personally need frequent participation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the Sacrament of Penance, prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, meditation on the word of God, an intimate relationship with Christ and a loving trust in His Mother Mary.
An intimate relationship with Christ requires an openness to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, who can never contradict Himself, never contradict the guidance He offers you through His Church.
Through your selfless giving and through your holiness of life, Christ’s own ministry of service in the world will be perpetuated. His servant Church will be more effective, more authentic, more compassionate, more loving. The Most Blessed Trinity will be evermore known and loved.
Yes, dear brothers, the love of the Father for the Son, and the Son for the Father —and this love is the Holy Spirit Himself—passes through your ministry of service as deacons in the Church, just as it passes through the humanity of Christ and His Mother, and finds expression in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
From now on, as deacons, you too will be special signs of God’s love in the Church, because you will be dedicated to a sacramental servanthood that can only be motivated and sustained by the love of the Most Blessed Trinity.
Yes, dear brothers about to be ordained deacons, and all of you dear friends in Christ, there is a special reason for the Church, in all her love, to exclaim today: "Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; to God who is, who was, and who is to come." Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
African American Permanent Deacons
December 12, 2007
Muy queridos Hermanos y Hermanas en Cristo,
¡Qué gusto tenemos hoy de celebrar otra vez la Misa en la ocasión de la fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe! Es interesante pararnos un momento y considerar lo que este nombre maravilloso "Guadalupe" significa en español: "el cauce del río," "aquello que lleva el agua," o "Río de Luz." Precisamente esta es la vocación de María, es Ella quien porta, quien lleva el Agua viva que es su propio Hijo. Es María quien nos lleva a Jesús, como Ella misma lo dice en el pasaje conocido en el Evangelio de San Juan como las Bodas de Caná: "Hagan todo lo que Él les diga."
Dios en su inefable y entrañable misericordia nos bendijo con la presencia de la Madre del Hijo de Dios; del único y verdadero Dios, por quien tenemos acceso a la vida eterna. María, como portadora de su Hijo y su mensaje, es desde entonces, lo mejor que nos ha sucedido en nuestra historia. María, como obra perfecta de Dios entre todas las criaturas, es obra de la gracia de Dios. Es poesía de Dios. Poesía es creación. Por eso, nuestra Dulce Señora, es poesía; porque es obra divina, es resultado del amor de Dios. Y la poseía se expresa en palabras o en obras de arte, en signos bellos y nobles.
San Lucas nos cuenta en el Evangelio de hoy que el ángel Gabriel, enviado por Dios a una virgen desposada con José, es "llena de gracia" porque ella ha hallado "gracia ante Dios." Estas palabras, mis queridos hermanos y hermanas, son la expresión más clara del camino que el Padre Dios, en un gesto inefable de su amor por nosotros, quiso usar a favor nuestro para hacer que la historia humana fuera el lugar desde el cual se realiza la salvación.
Cuando el ángel anuncia a María que ella iba a dar a luz al Salvador, significa que con la Encarnación, Dios, el eterno, se hizo historia asumiendo todo lo que en ella acontece como lugar, ocasión y causa de salvación. Desde entonces, la historia de la humanidad entera y la de cada uno de nosotros, han quedado vinculadas al plan de Dios trazado desde antiguo para nuestra salvación. Por tanto también desde entonces, Nuestra Señora, y por voluntad divina, la Madre del Dios, por quien se vive, está íntima y misteriosamente unida a la aventura de todo creyente.
Hoy, todos nosotros nos sentimos dichosos, como María, por la fe. Dichosos nosotros porque creemos. No sabemos bien lo que tenemos con la fe, nuestro gran riqueza y gozo, el que desde los primeros siglos de nuestra era ha constituido lo mejor, lo más noble. Es la fe lo que nos identifica en nuestras raíces y ser más propio el gozo que nos alienta, y que hoy, como hijos e hijas fieles de la Virgen María y protegidos por Ella. Y como herederos de tantos santos y mártires, de tantos cristianos sencillos, testigos de Jesucristo, anhelamos compartir con todos en una iglesia más intensamente misionera, llamada a evangelizar de nuevo, a proclamar por todas las partes, la misericordia de Dios, su inmensa grandeza que se muestra en favor nuestro, que exalta a los humildes y sencillos y colma de bienes a los pobres, hambrientos y abatidos. Por eso, la única postura que podemos asumir al recibir al Hijo de Dios en la Sagrada Eucaristía es la misma que San Lucas indica que asumió María al contestar al ángel: "Yo soy la esclava del Señor; cúmplase en mí lo que me has dicho." Nosotros también debemos salir de esta Eucaristía con la misma actitud: somos los esclavos de Dios que puede llevar a cabo su plan para cada uno de nosotros porque "no hay nada imposible para Dios."
¡Ayúdanos Dulce Señora, con tu intercesión de Madre, ante el Padre a que sigamos trabajando por corresponder al don de la fe que nos trajeron los primeros evangelizadores de toda América! ¡Acompáñanos siempre para que esta porción de la Iglesia, fiel a su vocación y misión, dé testimonio del amor y de la verdad ante el mundo! ¡Alienta los esfuerzos que nuestros pastores hacen para que Jesucristo sea verdaderamente Señor de todos los ámbitos de nuestra sociedad! ¡Pide al Señor y Dios nuestro que envíe su Espíritu para que los gobernantes, industriales y los empresarios, cristianos o no, caigan en la cuenta de que sólo en la justicia y en la verdad es posible una paz estable¡ ¡Oh clementísima, Oh piadosa, Oh dulce siempre Virgen, María, nuestra Señora de Guadalupe!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Saint Thomas Aquinas Church, Philadelphia
December 12, 2008
Muy Queridos Hermanos y Hermanas en Cristo,
¡Qué gusto me da hoy estar aquí con ustedes celebrando esta gran fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe! Como ustedes han escuchado en la oración colecta de esta santa Misa, rezamos que “bajo la protección especial de la Siempre Virgen María de Guadalupe,” podamos “profundizar en nuestra fe.” Justamente, como buenos Católicos, podemos profundizar en nuestra fe durante la celebración de la Eucaristía que nos alimenta con la Palabra viva de Dios y con su Cuerpo y su Sangre en la Sagrada Comunión.
En la primera lectura de hoy del Eclesiástico el autor nos habla de la sabiduría divina, especialmente en este capítulo 24 del que se suele tomar la primera lectura de esta fiesta de María de Guadalupe. Esta lectura nos presenta la figura de la sabiduría como “la madre del amor, del conocimiento, y de la santa esperanza,” palabras para describir a Dios pero que se pueden prestar también para describir a la Virgencita de Guadalupe. Siendo María la Madre de Dios, en realidad es la Madre de Sabiduría, algo muy necesaria para que profundicemos en nuestra fe.
Es notable también, que san Pablo en la segunda lectura tomada de su carta a los Gálatas alude a María: “Cuando llegó la plenitud de los tiempos, envió Dios a su Hijo, nacido de una mujer, nacido bajo la ley…”
Estas palabras, mis queridos hermanos y hermanas, son la expresión más clara del camino que el Padre Dios, en un gesto inefable de su amor por nosotros, quiso usar a favor nuestro para hacer que la historia humana fuera el lugar desde el cual se realiza la salvación. Con la Encarnación Dios, el eterno, se hizo historia asumiendo todo lo que en ella acontece como lugar, ocasión y causa de salvación. Desde entonces, la historia de la humanidad entera y la de cada uno de nosotros, han quedado vinculadas al plan de Dios trazado desde antiguo para nuestra salvación. Pero el Hijo de Dios irrumpió en la historia humana por medio de una mujer que, según los evangelios, se llamaba María. Por tanto también desde entonces, Nuestra Señora, y por voluntad divina, la Madre de Dios, por quien se vive, está íntima y misteriosamente unida a la aventura de todo creyente.
Al invocar a santa María de Guadalupe como Madre de América pongamos bajo su protección el destino de este Continente nuevo bastión de la cristiandad, rico por su fecunda historia de fe. Desde este Continente de la esperanza debemos impulsar una nueva evangelización que responda con valentía, vigoroso y permanente empeño a los desafíos del mundo actual.
¡Cristo ha resucitado!, ya quien llora le consuela, a quien está desanimado rellena de aliento, a quien está caído le llama a levantarse, a quien lucha por la paz y la justicia le anima a perseverar hasta que se instaure el reino, a quien desea servir le llama a no tener miedo, a quien está dispuesto a darlo todo por amor al Reino y a los hermanos le ofrece su amistad y cariño.
Cristo ha resucitado y nos envía al mundo a proclamar este alegre mensaje, la muerte no es la última palabra sobre el hombre y la mujer. Para el creyente hay un horizonte que se abre más allá de la muerte hasta la vida eterna.
En una homilía que pronunció el 11 de agosto de este año, nuestro Papa, Benedicto XVI comentó sobre el significado de los primeros versos del Magnificat que hemos escuchado en el Evangelio según san Lucas hoy. Dijo el Papa: “Quisiera destacar sólo dos puntos de este gran canto. Comienza con la palabra Magníficat: mi alma "glorifica" al Señor, es decir, proclama que el Señor es grande. María desea que Dios sea grande en el mundo, que sea grande en su vida, que esté presente en todos nosotros. No tiene miedo de que Dios sea un ‘competidor’ en nuestra vida, de que con su grandeza pueda quitarnos algo de nuestra libertad, de nuestro espacio vital. Ella sabe que, si Dios es grande, también nosotros somos grandes. No oprime nuestra vida, sino que la eleva y la hace grande: precisamente entonces se hace grande con el esplendor de Dios.”
El Papa continúa su reflexión sobre el Magnificat diciendo lo que creo merece la pena repetir hoy: “El hombre es grande, sólo si Dios es grande. Con María debemos comenzar a comprender que es así. No debemos alejarnos de Dios, sino hacer que Dios esté presente, hacer que Dios sea grande en nuestra vida; así también nosotros seremos divinos: tendremos todo el esplendor de la dignidad divina. Apliquemos esto a nuestra vida. Es importante que Dios sea grande entre nosotros, en la vida pública y en la vida privada. En la vida pública, es importante que Dios esté presente, por ejemplo, mediante la cruz en los edificios públicos; que Dios esté presente en nuestra vida común, porque sólo si Dios está presente tenemos una orientación, un camino común; de lo contrario, los contrastes se hacen inconciliables, pues ya no se reconoce la dignidad común. Engrandezcamos a Dios en la vida pública y en la vida privada. Eso significa hacer espacio a Dios cada día en nuestra vida, comenzando desde la mañana con la oración y luego dando tiempo a Dios, dando el domingo a Dios. No perdemos nuestro tiempo libre si se lo ofrecemos a Dios. Si Dios entra en nuestro tiempo, todo el tiempo se hace más grande, más amplio, más rico.”
Muy queridos hermanos y hermanas, María nos pide que amemos a Dios con obras, que recemos el Rosario y que nuestra labor no sea sólo sentimental, cumpliendo lo que ella nos dijo: “hagan lo que él le diga”. Ese es el milagro de Guadalupe, esa es la esencia de lo que fue el inicio de la evangelización en el continente. La Virgen de Guadalupe es la madre del amor hermoso, ella escucha nuestras penas y tribulaciones, y siempre será la Reina de la Paz.
Homilía del cardenal Justin Rigali
Fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
Catedral Basílica de los Santos Pedro y Pablo
12 de diciembre del 2010
Queridos amigos en Cristo:
Estoy encantado de estar con ustedes cuando celebramos la festividad de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. Aclamada como la «Reina de México» y la «Emperatriz de las Américas», Nuestra Señora desea establecer en nuestros corazones el reinado eterno de Cristo, su Hijo. La imagen de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, que ahora adorna nuestra catedral, nos recuerda cómo, en todas partes de las Américas, estamos unidos en la veneración a la Santísima Virgen María y cómo disfrutamos del consuelo de su intercesión y protección.
Hoy, conmemoramos la aparición de la Santísima e Inmaculada Virgen María a san Juan Diego, nativo de México, un hombre humilde y pobre que abrazó la fe católica. Aunque los acontecimientos de la aparición ocurrieron en 1531, ellos siguen infundiendo dentro de nosotros un sentido profundo de la cercanía de la Madre de Dios, que viene a nosotros con luz y paz. La versión de la aparición, atesorada en la historia de las Américas, es la primera piedra sobre la cual la evangelización del Nuevo Mundo fue construida. La historia de la colonización del Nuevo Mundo a veces relata momentos de opresión e injusticia hacia los pueblos nativos. Sin embargo, a pesar de estos momentos oscuros, la luz del Evangelio brilló a través y trajo a los pueblos del Nuevo Mundo la esperanza y la libertad revelada en Cristo Jesús.
Al principio de este período volátil de la colonización, la aparición de la Santísima Virgen a Juan Diego en el monte de Tepeyac atrajo a muchos miles para abrazar la fe católica y reconocer, en nuestra santa fe, el amor misericordioso de Dios, la salvación en Cristo Jesús, y la intercesión compasiva constante de la Santa Madre de Dios. La presencia de María siempre señala a y nos lleva a Jesús.
La Liturgia de la Palabra despierta en nosotros un sentido de este misterio. San Lucas el evangelista, nos provee una privilegiada breve visión de la visita de la Santísima Virgen María a su prima Isabel. Llena de la presencia divina de la Palabra Hecha Carne en su vientre, María se fue con prontitud a la región montañosa de Judá a fin de compartir la Buena Nueva con Isabel y de asistir a Isabel en su propio tiempo del embarazo. La joven Virgen de Nazaret descrita por san Lucas es la misma Virgen que llegó al cerro de Tepeyac. Ella llevó a Juan Diego el mensaje de amor y una misión de urgencia. A Juan Diego, Nuestra Señora le dijo: «Deseo vivamente que se me erija aquí un templo, para en él mostrar y prodigar todo mi amor, compasión, auxilio y defensa a todos los moradores de esta tierra y a los demás amadores míos que me invoquen y en mí confíen» (Liturgia de las Horas, oficio de Lectura, día 12 de diciembre).
Como sabemos, cuando Juan Diego relató la petición al obispo Juan de Zumarraga, el obispo de México, no le creyeron. Debemos estar agradecidos, sin embargo, por aquel momento de duda de parte del obispo, ya que a fin de disipar la duda, Nuestra Señora proporcionó hermosas y abundantes rosas y, sobre la tilma de Juan Diego, ella trazó su imagen hermosa y milagrosa. Durante casi quinientos años, esta imagen ha traído esperanza al oprimido, alegría al afligido, consuelo al preocupado, y fe a millones.
El Libro de Apocalipsis describe la visión de «...la mujer vestida del sol...» así como la enemistad entre la mujer y el dragón―el Satanás que espera destruir a los niños de Dios. Esta enemistad, con sus orígenes en la Caída de nuestros primeros padres descrita en el Libro de Génesis, fue explicada por el venerable Juan Pablo II. Nuestro querido y fallecido Santo Padre escribió: «María, Madre del Verbo Encarnado, está situada en el centro mismo de aquella “enemistad”, de aquella lucha que acompaña la historia de la humanidad en la tierra y la historia misma de la salvación (Redemptoris Mater, 11). Por lo tanto, en la tarea de evangelización, la Virgen Madre de Dios acompaña a la Iglesia en la destrucción del poder de Satán, en desarraigar ídolos, y en establecer firmemente en los corazones de hombres y mujeres la verdad de Jesucristo. En México en los tiempos de Juan Diego, por la proclamación del Evangelio, los misioneros vencieron religiones paganas y prácticas―incluso un culto que exigía sacrificios humanos a un ídolo de serpiente. Cuando la fe católica fue plantada tan recientemente, el milagro en Tepeyac despertó un deseo ardiente de la fe y una devoción afectuosa a la Madre de Dios. La historia nos dice que, en la década después de la aparición, ocho millones de personas nativas fueron bautizados.
La milagrosa imagen en la tilma muestra a la Santísima Virgen con las características y el vestuario de una princesa azteca. Nuestra Señora, adornada con cada virtud y radiante con la luz del cielo, llegó a Juan Diego en un atuendo que él podría reconocer y con rasgos a los que se podría relacionar el humilde hombre. La visión le dio una confianza renovada en la misión que le fue confiada. A pesar de que Juan Diego se consideraba inadecuado para la tarea, nuestra Señora lo tranquilizó y, consolado por su aliento, Juan Diego se apresuró a llevar el mensaje al obispo.
En nuestros propios días, nos enfrentamos a la tarea de la Nueva Evangelización llamada por Juan Pablo II y confirmada por el papa Benedicto XVI. En nuestra cultura, manchada por el pecado, dañada por la violencia en contra de la dignidad de la vida humana y la santidad del matrimonio, corrupta por la pornografía, y devastada por el abuso físico y de substancias, somos enviados a insertar el mensaje del Evangelio, el amor transformador de Jesucristo. La gente de nuestro tiempo busca alivio y escape a través de tantos atractivos falsos. Pero es, sólo en Jesús que encontramos nuestro verdadero refugio, nuestra paz. Como miembros de la Iglesia, nuestra misión es llevar el amor de Jesús y, en esta tarea, contamos con la ayuda constante de la Santísima Virgen.
Hoy amigos, querido, al contemplar la imagen milagrosa de la Virgen de Guadalupe, estampada en la tosca tilma de Juan Diego y grabada profundamente en nuestros corazones, roguemos para ser agentes más activos en la misión de la Iglesia de la Nueva Evangelización. No hay mayor poder en el mundo que el amor de Jesús. No hay fuerza para el mal que pueda superar el Evangelio de Jesús. En 1970 en su mensaje al pueblo de México, el papa Pablo VI recordó a todos nosotros: «Ver en cada persona . . . un hermano o hermana en Cristo -de tal manera que el amor de Dios y el amor al prójimo se constituyen en el mismo amor, vivo y operante, que es lo único que puede redimir las miserias del mundo, renovando en su raíz más profunda, el corazón humano . . . . Y todos ustedes, sientan la obligación de unirse fraternalmente a fin de ayudar a forjar este nuevo mundo a la que aspira la raza humana. Esto es lo que la Virgen de Guadalupe les pide hoy en día, esta fidelidad al Evangelio, de la que supo ser el ejemplo más eminente» (18 de octubre de 1970).
La transformación de los corazones humanos es la misión de la Iglesia. Es el deseo de nuestro Señor que nosotros―cada uno―participe en la tarea de dar testimonio del amor transformador de Cristo viviendo en caridad. El papa Benedicto XVI pone ante nosotros el ejemplo de María, quien «Sabe que contribuye a la salvación del mundo, no con una obra suya, sino sólo poniéndose plenamente a disposición de la iniciativa de Dios» (Deus Caritas Est, 41). Debemos nosotros hacer lo mismo.
Equipados con el amor y la verdad de Jesús, no podemos fracasar en nuestra tarea, sabiendo que, en cada momento, estamos siendo animados por Nuestra señora. Como en el Tepeyac María habló con Juan Diego, así nos exhorta ella: «...que es nada lo que te asusta y aflige. No se turbe tu corazón ni te inquiete cosa alguna. ¿No estoy yo aquí que soy tu madre? ¿No estás bajo mi sombra? ¿No estás por ventura en mi regazo? Tú eres mi embajador muy digno de confianza» (Liturgia de las Horas, oficio de lectura, el 12 de diciembre). Amén.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for the Dedication of the Italian Chapel
in Honor of Our Lady of Pompei
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Washington, D.C.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Dear Friends in Christ:
I am greatly honored to be with you today as we dedicate this beautiful chapel in honor of Our Lady of Pompei. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is in so many ways the story of the love of people of all nations for Mary, the Mother of God. The various chapels within this shrine depict the gentle and radiant presence of Mary in the history of salvation as well as in the history of the Church’s devotion. This newest chapel, a gift from people of Italian heritage, is another important chapter in the legacy of love between Mary and her faithful children. Hopefully, all who visit this Chapel will be stirred to deeper devotion to the Rosary.
The famous Shrine of Our Lady of Pompei, in Italy, built in the latter part of the 19th Century, is the fruit of the work of Blessed Bartolo Longo, who attributed his conversion to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The effort to build that shrine was not easy. Frequently, Bartolo Longo encountered hardship and failure. However, he persevered lovingly in his desire to increase devotion to Mary and to her Rosary through the construction of a shrine at Pompei dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. Similarly, you know the efforts, time and sacrifice which were spent in constructing the beautiful chapel of Our Lady of Pompei here in the National Shrine. It is fitting that this chapel is dedicated in the month of October, the month in which the Church particularly emphasizes devotion to Our Lady through the most holy Rosary.
The Rosary, a prayer rooted deeply in Scripture, invites us to enjoy a privileged contemplative gaze at the early life, public ministry, Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus seen through the loving eyes of Mary. For eight centuries, the Rosary has been a favorite devotion, frequently heralded by the Popes as a weapon against sin and evil. In our present day, so fraught with anxiety, tension and a sense of hopelessness, the Rosary must be a constant companion, a chain which links us directly to the compassionate and Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Wonderfully do the Scripture readings for this Mass provide for us insights into Our Lady of the Rosary! The Prophet Isaiah’s imagery of the bride bedecked with her jewels foreshadows the glorious Virgin, who is adorned in the raiment of her virtue, whose beauty and comeliness draw us to imitate her love for God, her steadfast obedience to the divine will, her immense joy in the Redemption of the human race won by the victory of Christ her Son. Saint Luke the Evangelist offers us a privileged glance at the moment of the Annunciation when the Archangel Gabriel salutes Mary’s singular and highly-favored position. The Virgin, full of grace and wisdom, listens to the words of the Archangel. She ponders, she inquires how the plan of God would be fulfilled, and she humbly disposes herself entirely to the divine will. The Handmaid of the Lord expresses these sentiments in the Magnificat, Mary’s Canticle of praise, as she, in her humility, acknowledges the wondrous and marvelous things which Almighty God has wrought in her and through her.
The second reading, in particular, gives us a special understanding of the Rosary. Taken from the Acts of the Apostles, this reading describes for us the atmosphere of intense prayer as the Apostles, the holy women, the disciples of our Lord were gathered in the Upper Room after the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. Awaiting the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, the Church was at prayer, and Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was there. We can easily imagine Mary not only praying with the disciples, but also instructing them, offering them hope, explaining to them those moments so dear to her memory. In the same way, through the Rosary, Mary is at prayer with us, and we with her, as we learn from her the way of the Gospel.
The Servant of God Pope John Paul II, in his 2002 Apostolic Letter on the Most Holy Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, emphasizes this point: "Mary lived with her eyes fixed on Christ, treasuring every word.... The memories of Jesus, impressed upon her heart, were always with her, leading her to reflect on the various moments of her life at her Son’s side. In a way those memories were to be the ‘rosary’ which she recited uninterruptedly throughout her earthly life. Even now, amid the joyful songs of the heavenly Jerusalem, the reasons for her thanksgiving and praise remain unchanged. They inspire her maternal concern for the pilgrim Church, in which she continues to relate her personal account of the Gospel. Mary constantly sets before the faithful the ‘mysteries’ of her Son, with the desire that the contemplation of those mysteries will release all their saving power. In the recitation of the Rosary, the Christian community enters into contact with the memories and the contemplative gaze of Mary" (no. 11).
In the holy Rosary, we contemplate the joyful mysteries, uniting our minds and hearts with Mary, who "kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart" (Lk 2:19). From His infancy and childhood, we then follow Jesus in His public life as we pray the luminous mysteries—the mysteries of light—introduced by Pope John Paul II. These mysteries allow us to see the face of Christ in His Baptism, as He proclaims the Kingdom, works miracles of compassion, reveals His radiant beauty, and offers Himself entirely in the Eucharist. In the sorrowful mysteries, we walk in the footsteps of Jesus in His bitter Passion. Through the tearful eyes of the anguished Mother, whose heart is pierced with a sword of sorrow, we feel the intensity of the love of Christ who, by His Holy Cross, has redeemed the world. Finally, the glorious mysteries of the Rosary unfurl for us the splendor of the Risen Christ, who, enthroned at the right hand of the Father, draws all people, through the mission of the Church, to set their hearts on the glory of Heaven. There, too, Mary shares body and soul in the victory of her Son. From her place in Heaven, Mary reigns as our Queen, while she, as the Mother of Mercy, bends to tenderly embrace and lovingly lift up her struggling children.
Of the Rosary, our present Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has explained that prayers to Mary with the contemplation of the mysteries of the life of Jesus "touch you in a meditative way, so that the repetition allows the soul to settle into tranquility and, holding fast to the Word, above all to the figure of Mary and to the images of Christ that pass by you, make your soul calm and free and grant it a vision of God" (God and the World, pp. 318-319).
It is this longed-for vision of God which fulfills the desires of the human family. As we pray the Rosary daily, we see the radiant face of Jesus. As we contemplate the mysteries of Jesus, we imitate what we learn from this contemplation. The Rosary is a simple method of meditation. It is a wonderful tool for evangelization. It is a powerful weapon against the evils and anxieties of our troubled times. Let us never hesitate to share with others, to teach others, the wonderful prayer of the Rosary.
Our new Chapel, then, has a special meaning. It is a tribute of gratitude to the Woman who shares intimately in the victory of Christ. It is a beautiful reminder of how close to us Our Blessed Lady is whenever we take the rosary beads into our hands. It is likewise a beautiful reminder of the Italian legacy of centuries of devotion to the Mother of God by so many faithful people, including our own forebears. At the same time it is also a pressing challenge to all of us to be ever more fervent in our devotion to this timeless and powerful prayer. And as we do this our hearts will become, like the Chapel, a shrine in which Our Lady of the Rosary is always honored, and through which she continues to extend her tender mercy to all people.
Our Lady of Rosary, pray for us!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and PAUL
Palm Suday, April 4, 2004
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Today, Palm Sunday, we begin our celebration of Holy Week. Already at the blessing of the palms we have made an effort to enter into the sentiments of Jesus. We have celebrated His initial triumph and now we are called upon to understand His Passion which leads up to victory and definitive triumph in the Resurrection.
The Word of God points out for us this morning the harsh conditions of Christ's victory.
In our first reading from the Prophet Isaiah we see how it was prophesied that Jesus would suffer persecution. He would be beaten, ridiculed and insulted.
Our second reading recalls the profound humility of Jesus, who took on our human condition--He became man--precisely in order to bring about our salvation. He emptied Himself. He humbled Himself and accepted death, death on the cross. And Saint Paul tells us that God the Father accepted this suffering and death and raised up Christ to glory in His Resurrection.
But before we celebrate the victory of Christ's passion and death, the Church wants us to retrace in detail the sufferings of Jesus, to recount all the steps He took--out of love--to redeem us.
And this is what we have done in the Passion of Jesus. We have accompanied Jesus. We have shared His sentiments and His attitudes. We have been challenged by His love.
In the passion narrative:
-- We see Jesus betrayed by Judas, one of His own. We understand His pain and anguish.
-- We heard the account of the Last Supper and saw how Jesus left us the Sacrifice of His body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins.
-- Then we went with Jesus to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, to see how He suffered Agony in the Garden, how He prayed, and how He renewed His resolution to accomplish the Father's will.
Then came the actual embrace by Judas, and Jesus was arrested. But He had time to challenge Judas and to repeat that He was enduring all His suffering with total freedom.
Jesus was led to the High Priest, Caiaphas, where He was asked if He was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. His answer was so clear that the High Priest said that He blasphemed.
Afterwards Jesus was denied by Peter, who began to curse and swear that he did not know Him.
Judas had remorse, but it turned into despair even though Judas was in the very presence of God's mercy.
Jesus was then taken to the Roman Governor, who had Him scourged and handed over to be crucified.
On the cross Jesus gave Himself once more to His Father out of love and endured the last measure of ridicule and suffering.
Finally Jesus died and was proclaimed the Son of God.
He was placed in the tomb to await the day of Easter and the glory of His Resurrection.
Saint Paul tells us the rest. God highly exalted Him and gave Him a name--Jesus: He is the Savior of the World.
This then is the Church's Palm Sunday message for us all: Jesus Christ is Lord!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Palm Sunday Mass
Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul
March 20, 2005
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
On Ash Wednesday, at the beginning of Lent, we resolved to follow Jesus in His journey to the Cross.
It was the last and most important journey of His life, a journey to the place where He would be crucified and die.
Today, Palm Sunday, is a very special moment in this journey because Jesus has reached Jerusalem.
We have had the blessing of the palms, and we have proclaimed the Gospel of the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
It is a triumphant arrival, it is a victorious moment for Jesus. He came to the city in which He was to bring
everything to completion. And so today, for us as Christian people, as followers of Jesus, it is a very important
moment in our lives, because we are with Jesus in Jerusalem. And, during Holy Week, we will follow Him in
all the different moments of His Passion and Death.
Today we have the great blessing of reading the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, which anticipates for us so many
of those moments—from the time that Jesus celebrated the Last Supper, from the moment that He was arrested and
led forth, and finally that moment on Calvary. And we know, as we read all the details that were presented to us,
that once Jesus was arrested in Jerusalem, a profound silence enveloped Him.
Today we follow Jesus in silence and, at the same time, we listen to His words.
Actually, once the arrest took place, He spoke only three times. Jesus spoke before the High Priest
to assert His identity, to make His claim that He was the Son of God, that He was the Son of Man,
that He was the Messiah sent by the Father. And then He spoke before the Roman Governor,
Pontius Pilate, to acknowledge that He was indeed the King of the Jews. And finally, He spoke on Calvary,
where He uttered a number of His inmost thoughts—we call them “the last words”.
There were two of them, in particular, that were so extraordinarily important, because they revealed the identity of Jesus.
As He hung on the Cross, Jesus spoke to His Mother, addressing her as “Woman”,
acknowledging her as the woman of all salvation history. At the same time, He proclaimed her the Mother of His disciple
John and the Mother of His Church. And, after speaking to His Mother, He spoke to His Father.
He spoke to His Father in heaven and acknowledged that He was not only the Son of Mary,
and thus true Man, but He was also the Son of the Eternal Father, and thus true God.
And He said to His Father: “Into your hands, Father, I commend my spirit.”
These words of Jesus are extremely important for us, because they introduce us into the real mystery of the Passion
and Death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Mary. We have to realize, as we prepare
for a week of prayer and reflection in the sacred liturgy, that everything Jesus is doing
in Jerusalem, every detail of His Passion and Death, is motivated by love.
He is dying, because He loves His Father and it was the Father's plan, the Father's plan
for us, that Jesus should offer up His life in sacrifice and so redeem us.
This is the reason Jesus is dying. He is going up to Calvary, motivated by obedience, the love of obedience
for His Father and the Father's plan. He is dying also to redeem His Mother.
Redemption will touch her in a very special way through the anticipated privilege of her Immaculate Conception.
Nevertheless, Mary, like the rest of us, needed redemption because she too, although sinless, was a descendent of Adam.
And Jesus is dying out of love for us, out of love for us His people. He is giving up His life to destroy our death.
And every single act of His Passion and Death is an act of love for His Church. He loved us to the end. -->
During the week ahead of us, we shall continue to follow Jesus in all His activities.
We must arrive at Calvary with Him, and we must remain there. We must share His lot
and we must pray as we see Him hanging in pain but also in freedom. Jesus hangs on the Cross
only because He freely accepted to do so. He will not die until He has once again indicated
His absolute consent to His Father's will.
And that is why, on Good Friday, Saint John will tell us in his Gospel that there is one more detail for Jesus to accomplish before He dies: He must bow His head. And on Calvary, Jesus does bow His head. It is his last symbolic act, indicating that He is performing everything freely and out of love.
And then, when He has bowed His head, He will entrust His spirit to His Father. The act of redemption will be consummated.
But in the mystery of Christ and His Church, we know that there is yet one more aspect that we must concentrate on. Although the Passion and Death of Jesus are totally accomplished on Calvary—and there is nothing lacking—yet Saint Paul will say mysteriously that there is something lacking. He is speaking about what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ in His Body, the Church. And this explains to us the mystery of how Christ, our Head, actually draws us into His redemptive act.
Christ shares with us His Passion and His Death. This explains to us the value of Christian suffering,
the value of what is taking place in so many noble souls in the world, in so many people of this Archdiocese.
We think of how the suffering of Christ continues in the sick and in the person of our Holy Father Pope John Paul II.
For so many years he has proclaimed the value of suffering together with Christ, and now with supreme patience and love
he bears the heavy burdens of physical infirmity. We think of the suffering of Christ that is taking place in the lives
of so many people who suffer for justice, so many people who are suffering because of sin, because of the sins of others,
because of sexual abuse especially by a priest, a spouse, a parent or a friend; or because of unjust accusations,
just as Christ, who was innocent, suffered for the sins of the world. We think of so many Christians who are
persecuted for their faith. We also prayerfully recall once again the suffering of so many innocent victims of the recent tsunami and of other natural catastrophes.
And we realize that, yes, even in our own lives, the hour will come, the time will strike
when God will give us, each one of us, a share in the Passion and Death of His beloved Son.
This is Christian living, and Jesus has gone before us, as our Head, to strengthen us for what lies ahead. Today, Palm Sunday, Jesus enters Jerusalem, ready to face suffering, but a suffering that will end in victory.
And then, next Sunday, on Easter, we shall celebrate
the final chapter of the Paschal Mystery—the culmination of the offering made by Jesus to His Father.
Then the Father will accept the offering, ratify the Sacrifice of Jesus and raise Him to life in the flesh.
This is the great mystery, the great reality of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Resurrection of Christ, like His Passion and Death, is destined to be ours.
And in this final chapter of the Paschal Mystery, we, as God’s people—through the love of Jesus that brought Him
to the Cross and through the love of the Father that accepted the Sacrifice of Jesus and raised Him
from the dead—are brought to eternal life together with Jesus, the Son of God.
This, dear friends, is our journey to Jerusalem and a journey together with Jesus,
together with one another, together with all those who are suffering. It is a journey to Calvary and
then finally to the empty tomb, where we will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is victorious over sin and death. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Palm Sunday
April 9, 2006
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Today we celebrate Palm Sunday. We accompany Jesus as He makes His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, where He will undergo His Passion and His Death—those events whereby He will save us, His people, from our sins.
Another name for our feast today is Passion Sunday, because we proclaim the Gospel of the Passion and recall the fact that Jesus suffered greatly for us. What is so important about this suffering is that Jesus underwent it all with immense love for His Father and for us. Jesus suffered at the hands of sinful people, but He did it with perfect freedom.
He freely accepted to offer His life in sacrifice, in order to fulfill His Father’s plan for the salvation of the world.
Saint Paul tells us this morning that Jesus emptied Himself, taking on our human nature, and that He obediently accepted even death, death on a Cross, in order to destroy death and restore us to everlasting life.
During the days ahead we will celebrate individually the events surrounding the last days of Jesus’ life. On Holy Thursday we will celebrate the gift of the Holy Eucharist and the gift of the priesthood, which Jesus gave us at the Last Supper. On Good Friday we will celebrate the saving death itself of Jesus. On Holy Saturday, in anticipation of Easter Sunday, we will proclaim the victorious outcome of the Passion, which is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
But today, the Church outlines for us in the Gospel so many of the details of the individual events that led up to the death of Christ on the Cross. The Church wants us to realize that every single aspect of the Passion was inspired by Christ’s love for us.
What are these events about which the Gospel speaks?
Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, riding on a donkey. He is triumphantly acclaimed, but just days later the same crowd will clamor for His death.
On Holy Thursday Jesus shares the Last Supper with His disciples and gives them His body to eat and His blood to drink. He establishes the priesthood to perpetuate His Sacrifice.
After the Supper, Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane. Here it is that He suffers His agony, is betrayed by Judas, deserted by the Apostles and then arrested.
After His arrest, Jesus is brought to trial by the Jewish authorities. He is denied by Peter and finally handed over to death by the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate.Jesus is then scourged at the pillar, crowned with thorns, made to carry His cross and finally crucified between two thieves. He died there on Calvary and was buried in a tomb belonging to another person.
Here the Gospel stops, but it will pick up again at this point on Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, in order to speak to us about the glory and triumph of the Risen Christ.
From the moment Jesus was arrested, He observed an impressive silence. He broke this silence only three times: once before the Jewish High Priest when He declared that He was the Messiah, the Son of God; a second time He proclaimed before Pilate that He was a King, and that He had come into the world to bear witness to the truth; a third time He spoke from the cross. And some of those very precious words Jesus addressed to His Father, and some He addressed to His Mother. Like all His words they were words of truth and love.
What message then does this Gospel communicate to us? What impact does this Gospel have on our lives?
Dear friends: this Gospel proclaims to us that the Passion of Jesus Christ, which He endured in Jerusalem, is the expression of God’s love for us. It means that the Son of Mary, who is also the Son of God, has, through His suffering and death, opened up for us eternal life.
And so, dear Friends, we have journeyed in faith with Jesus to Jerusalem. Here in the triumph of His sacred Passion we find the salvation of our souls and the pledge of victory over sin and death. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world! Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass on Palm Sunday
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 1, 2007
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Today, Palm Sunday, which we also call Passion Sunday, we proclaim the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and begin our celebration of Holy Week. Already at the blessing of the palms we have made an effort to enter into the sentiments of Jesus. We have celebrated the initial triumph of His entry into Jerusalem, and now we are called upon to try to understand His Passion, as it leads to His definitive triumph in the Resurrection.
The word of God points out for us this morning the harsh conditions of Christ’s victory.
In our first reading from the Prophet Isaiah we see how it was prophesied that Jesus would suffer persecution. He would be beaten, ridiculed and insulted.
Our second reading recalls the profound humility of Jesus, who took on our human condition—He became man—precisely in order to bring about our salvation. He emptied Himself. He humbled Himself and accepted death, death on the cross. And Saint Paul tells us that God the Father accepted this suffering and death and raised up Christ to glory in His Resurrection.
But before we celebrate the victory of Christ’s Passion and Death, the Church wants us to retrace in detail the sufferings of Jesus, to recount all the steps He took—out of love—to redeem us.
And this is what we have just done in proclaiming the Passion of Jesus. We have accompanied Jesus. We have shared His sentiments and assumed His attitudes. We have been challenged by His love.
In the Passion narrative:
– We heard the account of the Last Supper and saw how Jesus left us the Sacrifice of His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of our sins.
– We saw how Jesus foretold His betrayal by one of His own, and we began to understand Jesus’ pain and anguish.
– We went with Jesus to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, to see how He suffered the Agony in the Garden, how He prayed, and how He renewed His resolution to accomplish the Father’s will.
– Then came the actual embrace by Judas, and Jesus was arrested. But He had time to challenge Judas and to repeat that He was enduring all His suffering with total freedom.
– Jesus was led to the house of the high priest where He was asked if He was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. His answer was so clear that the high priest said that He blasphemed.
– Afterwards Jesus was denied by Peter, who began to curse and swear that he did not know Him.
– Judas had remorse, but it turned into despair even though Judas was in the very presence of God’s mercy.
– Jesus was taken before the Sanhedrin and then to the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate. Pilate sent Him to Herold but Herod sent Him back to Pilate who then had Him scourged and handed over to be crucified.
– On the Cross Jesus gave Himself once more to His Father out of love and endured the last measure of ridicule and suffering.
– Finally Jesus died and was proclaimed the Son of God.
– He was placed in the tomb to await the day of Easter and the glory of His Resurrection.
Saint Paul fills in the rest: God highly exalted Him, having given Him the name Jesus, which means Savior, for He is the Savior of the World.
This then, dear friends, is the Church’s Palm Sunday message for us all: "...that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend...and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Palm Sunday
April 5, 2009
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Today we celebrate Palm Sunday. We accompany Jesus as He makes His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, where He will undergo His Passion and His Death—those events whereby He will save us, His people, from our sins.
Another name for our feast today is Passion Sunday, because we proclaim the Gospel of the Passion and recall the fact that Jesus suffered greatly for us. What is so important about this suffering is that Jesus underwent it all with immense love for His Father and for us. Jesus suffered at the hands of sinful people, but He did it with perfect freedom.
He freely accepted to offer His life in sacrifice, in order to fulfill His Father’s plan for the salvation of the world.
Saint Paul tells us this morning that Jesus emptied Himself, taking on our human nature, and that He obediently accepted even death, death on a Cross, in order to destroy death and restore us to everlasting life.
During the days ahead we will celebrate individually the events surrounding the last days of Jesus’ life. On Holy Thursday we will celebrate the gift of the Holy Eucharist and the gift of the priesthood, which Jesus gave us at the Last Supper. On Good Friday we will celebrate the saving death itself of Jesus. On Holy Saturday, in anticipation of Easter Sunday, we will proclaim the victorious outcome of the Passion, which is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
But today, the Church outlines for us in the Gospel so many of the details of the individual events that led up to the death of Christ on the Cross. The Church wants us to realize that every single aspect of the Passion was inspired by Christ’s love for us.
What are these events about which the Gospel speaks?
· Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, riding on a donkey. He is triumphantly acclaimed, but just days later the same crowd will clamor for His death.
· On Holy Thursday Jesus shares the Last Supper with His disciples and gives them His body to eat and His blood to drink. He establishes the priesthood to perpetuate His Sacrifice.
· After the Supper, Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane. Here it is that He suffers His agony, is betrayed by Judas, deserted by the Apostles and then arrested.
· After His arrest, Jesus is brought to trial by the Jewish authorities. He is denied by Peter and finally handed over to death by the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate.
· Jesus is then scourged at the pillar, crowned with thorns, made to carry His cross and finally crucified between two thieves. He died there on Calvary and the Roman centurion uttered these words: “Truly this man was the Son of God.”
Here the Gospel stops, but it will resume the account on Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, in order to speak to us about the glory and triumph of the Risen Christ.
From the moment Jesus was arrested, He observed an impressive silence. He broke this silence only three times: once before the Jewish High Priest when He declared that He was the Messiah, the Son of God; a second time when He proclaimed before Pilate that He was a King, and that He had come into the world to bear witness to the truth; a third time when He spoke from the Cross. And some of those very precious words Jesus addressed to His Father in heaven and to His Mother at the foot of the Cross. Like all His words they were words of truth and love.
What message then does this Gospel communicate to us? What impact does this Gospel have on our lives?
Dear friends: this Gospel proclaims to us that the Passion of Jesus Christ, which He endured in Jerusalem, is the expression of God’s love for us. It means that the Son of Mary, who is also the Son of God, has, through His suffering and death, opened up for us eternal life.
During Lent, dear friends, we have journeyed in faith with Jesus. Today we have reached Jerusalem, and here in the triumph of His sacred Passion we find the salvation of our souls and the pledge of victory over sin and death.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world! Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass on Palm Sunday
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
March 28, 2010
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Today, Palm Sunday, which we also call Passion Sunday, we proclaim the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and begin our celebration of Holy Week. Already at the blessing of the palms we have made an effort to enter into the sentiments of Jesus. We have celebrated the initial triumph of His entry into Jerusalem, and now we are called upon to try to understand His Passion, as it leads to His definitive triumph in the Resurrection.
The word of God points out for us this morning the harsh conditions of Christ’s victory.
In our first reading from the Prophet Isaiah we see how it was prophesied that Jesus would suffer persecution. He would be beaten, ridiculed and insulted.
Our second reading recalls the profound humility of Jesus, who took on our human condition—He became man—precisely in order to bring about our salvation. He emptied Himself. He humbled Himself and accepted death, death on the cross. And Saint Paul tells us that God the Father accepted this suffering and death and raised up Christ to glory in His Resurrection.
But before we celebrate the victory of Christ’s Passion and Death, the Church wants us to retrace in detail the sufferings of Jesus, to recount all the steps He took—out of love—to redeem us.
And this is what we have just done in proclaiming the Passion of Jesus. We have accompanied Jesus. We have shared His sentiments and assumed His attitudes. We have been challenged by His love.
In the Passion narrative:
– We heard the account of the Last Supper and saw how Jesus left us the Sacrifice of His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of our sins.
– We saw how Jesus foretold His betrayal by one of His own, and we began to understand Jesus’ pain and anguish.
– We went with Jesus to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, to see how He suffered the Agony in the Garden, how He prayed, and how He renewed His resolution to accomplish the Father’s will.
– Then came the actual embrace by Judas, and Jesus was arrested. But He had time to challenge Judas and to repeat that He was enduring all His suffering with total freedom.
– Jesus was led to the house of the high priest where He was asked if He was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. His answer was so clear that the high priest said that He blasphemed.
– Afterwards Jesus was denied by Peter, who began to curse and swear that he did not know Him.
– Judas had remorse, but it turned into despair even though Judas was in the very presence of God’s mercy.
– Jesus was taken before the Sanhedrin and then to the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate. Pilate sent Him to Herold but Herod sent Him back to Pilate who then had Him scourged and handed over to be crucified.
– On the Cross Jesus gave Himself once more to His Father out of love and endured the last measure of ridicule and suffering.
– Finally Jesus died and was proclaimed the Son of God.
– He was placed in the tomb to await the day of Easter and the glory of His Resurrection.
Saint Paul fills in the rest: God highly exalted Him, having given Him the name Jesus, which means Savior, for He is the Savior of the World.
This then, dear friends, is the Church’s Palm Sunday message for us all: “...that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend...and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Solemn Vespers with Conferral of Papal Honors
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Our liturgical ceremony this evening, the solemn celebration of Vespers, takes place in the context of the Year of the Priest and everything that this year means for the entire Church. We remember first of all the beautiful expression of Saint John Vianney that the Priesthood signifies the love of the Heart of Jesus. Indeed it is through the ministry of priests that our Lord Jesus Christ brings His Church into intimate contact with His divine and human love. The word of God and the Sacraments administered by the priest infuse into our hearts the love of Jesus, symbolized and expressed in His Sacred Heart.
Our first sentiment in regard to the priesthood, this wonderful plan of God, is one of praise and thanksgiving for the gift of the Heart of Jesus—the great gift of His priesthood which He shares with those men whom He calls to serve His people in this sacred vocation. This evening we express this sentiment in prayer, proclaiming in our Canticle: “Sing praise to our God, all you his servants.”
At the same time as we praise God for His gift of the priesthood we express our gratitude to all those generous and faithful priests who exercise the priestly ministry day after day, year after year, making present the love of the Heart of Christ in the community of the Church. To all of them we repeat this evening the words of Saint Paul proclaimed to us in our reading: “We are bound to thank God for you always, beloved brothers.” Yes, we are deeply grateful to all our dedicated priests for this selfless service to God’s people in this Archdiocese of Philadelphia. We are also pleased that at this time our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has honored a number of these our brothers, designating them as Monsignors and expressing the gratitude of the universal Church for their partnership in the Gospel. There are indeed many other priests in our Archdiocese who would also be worthy of such an honor and they are all included in our esteem and gratitude.
We know the sentiments of those who have now been honored as Monsignors. These sentiments are expressed in Psalm 115, part of our Evening Prayer: “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory for the sake of your love and truth....”
The greatest glory of the lives of these Monsignors will remain always the sacred priesthood, as proclaimed in Psalm 110: “The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change. You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.”
As I greet this evening all our new Monsignors, I acknowledge the immense amount of priestly and pastoral work they have performed in the years of their priesthood, beginning with Monsignor Daniel Kehoe who has exercised the priestly ministry for over seventy years. I am grateful for the work of our Episcopal Vicars, for the parochial service of our pastors, for the specialized ministry of our Chancellor, the Vice Rector of our Seminary and an Assistant Judicial Vicar. I thank the families and friends who support our priests and the numerous parishioners who, in sharing the joy of this day, express their own deep faith in the Catholic priesthood, which so beautifully signifies the love of the Heart of Jesus.
On this joyful occasion I ask our new Monsignors and all our priests to renew the sacred commitment of their priesthood, a commitment to holiness of life and to the constant service of God’s people, being exercised in close unity with me and my successors, with all our priests, deacons, consecrated religious and lay faithful, and under the governance of our Holy Father and especially our eternal shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ.
This ceremony today gives expression to great priestly love and a deep resolution on the part of our priests, at whatever stage they are in their life, to continue to live and pray and expend themselves for the advancement of the Gospel, the victory of life, the salvation of the world and the outpouring of the love of the Heart of Jesus—and all of this so that God will be praised and glorified in the communion of the Most Blessed Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Dear brother Priests: the People of God love and support you!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for Parish Religious Educators
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
January 9, 2011
Bishop Fitzgerald,
Dear brother Priests and Deacons,
Dear Religious, Award Recipients, Catechists and Families,
Dear Lay Faithful,
I speak for all of the faithful in the Archdiocese in expressing deep appreciation for all that you do in the ministry of catechesis. Today we gather to thank God for all that He accomplishes in and through you. You are vital to parish life and share in an essential work of the Church. By proclaiming Jesus Christ and teaching the Catholic faith, you nurture a new generation of believers. I am indeed grateful for you and for all who collaborate in the catechetical mission of the Church in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Today the Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord. The world into which Jesus was born was fragmented. Conflicting movements, hopes and expectations shaped the religious and political climate. Israel was living once more in the darkness. To the Israelites, God seemed silent. The old lament was heard once more: We no longer have any prophets (cf. 1 Mac 9:27; Zech 13:2).
You can imagine the extraordinary impression that John the Baptist must have made. At last there was a prophet. God’s hand was plainly acting in history again. We read in the Gospel: “People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him” (Mk 1:5).
Jesus wanted to be baptized. John tried to prevent Him. “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Jesus explains to John, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:14-15).
To fulfill all righteousness is to accept God’s will. Through His Baptism, Jesus is expressing an unrestricted “yes” to God’s will. His “yes” also expresses solidarity with those who have incurred guilt but yearn for righteousness. His Baptism is an acceptance of death for the sins of humanity. The voice that calls out “This is my beloved Son” anticipates his resurrection.
For the Christian, being baptized means identification with Jesus. It is dying with Him so that we might rise with Him. Immersion in the waters of Baptism is about liberation from the burden of sin. It is also about a beginning, starting life over anew. It is about rebirth.
Christian life begins the day Jesus is born in us and we are reborn in Him, the day of our Baptism. That day is different from ordinary days and it is a day that makes our ordinary days different. On that day we are immersed in Christ. As a result, Christ lives and acts in and through us. We, in turn, act through Him, with Him and in Him. Our lives become different and better. We find ourselves compelled and empowered to proclaim the glorious works of Him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light (cf. 1 Pt 2:9).
As catechists, your role is similar to that of John. His whole mission was to point others to Jesus, who gives life a whole new meaning. Like John, you prepare a path for Jesus in the lives of those you catechize. In so many ways, your ministry is to help them recognize the dignity that they have as baptized Catholics. Through catechesis, the priestly, prophetic and kingly seeds that are planted in Baptism, are brought to full flower.
In Baptism, the faithful receive a priestly anointing. We know that there is one priest, Jesus Christ. He shares that priesthood in a unique way with those who are ordained. However, in Baptism, all of the faithful are given some share in the priesthood of Jesus. All are called to holiness, to participate in the fullness of the Christian life.
Today we heard Isaiah speak about coastlands that wait for God’s teaching and the need for someone to open the eyes of the blind. So many young people are searching and yearning for God. Dear catechists, God has grasped you by the hand. You help open the eyes of faith in young people when you explore the Scriptures and explain the Church’s teaching. You help young people grow in understanding and living the Paschal Mystery, which is celebrated in the sacraments. As a result, they are able to participate fully and actively in the Church’s liturgy, especially the Eucharist. You acquaint them with the rich and diverse treasury of Catholic prayers, practices and devotions. As a result, you help them to attain the holiness to which they were called at Baptism as members of God’s priestly people.
In Baptism, the faithful also receive a prophetic call. A prophet is a witness. Though some, like John the Baptist, receive a particular call, all of the baptized are called by God to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. Christian witness helps to lead others beyond secular values to something, someone unseen: God Himself. Isaiah reminds us that witnessing is not accomplished by crying out or shouting (cf. Is 42:1-2). Authentic Christian witness is accomplished by deeds more than words. Pope Paul VI referred to this as “wordless witness” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14, 21, 26, 41). The wordless witness that we give stirs up questions in the hearts of others by our manner of life. They begin to ask: “Why do you live this way? What is it that inspires you?” This silent proclamation stirs others to faith.
Young people must be aware that through Baptism they are called to be prophetic. They are to live in a way that stirs up irresistible questions in the hearts of those who see how they live. Through catechesis, you are in a splendid position to promote their moral formation. You provide authentic moral principles and teachings that assist them in developing a prophetic lifestyle—one that bears real witness to Jesus.
Through you, young people understand Jesus’ new commandment of love. You encourage them to study and live in accord with the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and Catholic moral teachings. They come to appreciate the dignity of the human person. Together with the reality of sin they learn the power of God’s mercy and grace. You teach them how to acquire and follow a well-formed conscience. In short, you strengthen the foundation that will enable them to live fully the prophetic call they received in Baptism.
In Baptism, the faithful are anointed with chrism. In ancient times, kings were anointed with chrism at their coronation. How many of our young people would be surprised to learn that they are part of a royal family. The baptized are anointed with chrism and linked to the kingship of Jesus. Thus, every baptized person has a unique dignity that is his or hers by association with Jesus, King of the universe.
While many leaders lord their authority over their subjects, the kingship of Jesus is altogether different. His leadership is that of a servant. Jesus reveals: “...the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve” (Mt 20:28). Jesus is the model for all leaders. Servant leadership entails looking out for the well-being of others. Servant leaders look after the needs of others rather than their own.
We cannot be about merely maintaining the Catholic Church. We must develop a new generation of Catholic leaders, servant leaders. Young people must be encouraged to be faith-filled leaders who offer the world new signs of hope. They must be people of conviction who are certain about the truth and relevance of their beliefs.
Unfortunately, many of our young people are tempted to see religion as a system of doctrines, rules and practices. Religion and the practice of faith are at times considered a burden and an obstacle to fulfillment and happiness. These young people have a limited experience of God and a diminished relationship with Jesus. Many think they have to look elsewhere, outside of the Catholic Church, for fulfillment. They seek solutions in what secular culture or other religious denominations offer.
Young people must come to recognize the truths of faith as something beautiful. After all, the truths of faith point to the one Truth, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Mary, the Savior of the world. I ask you, dear catechists, to help young people come to know “the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that [they] may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:18-19). When young people experience Jesus and are transformed by Him, they become responsible leaders. They actively participate in life at home, in the parish, at school and in the world. Transformed by Jesus Christ, they will proclaim by word and deed the riches and power and glory of God. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they will help to renew the face of the earth. Through your dedicated work, an enthusiastic generation of servant leaders is being formed.
Dear catechists, you are esteemed and loved by the Church. A vibrant parish depends on the generous and caring people who are part of parish religious education programs. Without you a very important part of the parish’s ministry would be diminished. In the words of the National Directory for Catechesis: “The single most critical factor in a parish catechetical program is the catechetical leader” (no. 54-B-5). Thank you, dear friends, for your many sacrifices and the struggles you endure in the name of Jesus. I admire the passion you bring to your ministry and the love you have for those you serve.
May you always draw strength from the Eucharist. After all, communion with Jesus is the goal of all catechesis. God bless all of you and may the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Incarnate Word, help you to share her Son with the world. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Pastoral Visit to Saint Ignatius Parish, Yardley
October 30, 2005
Monsignor Shoemaker,
Father Kennedy,
Monsignor Statkus,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Like Catholics for the last 2000 years, we come together on Sunday, in this church and in every church throughout the world, for a specific purpose.
We come together to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The Resurrection is itself the culmination of His whole Paschal Mystery of death and life. In doing this we celebrate the power of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered His Passion and Death to overcome evil, to forgive our sins and all the sins of the world, and to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.
This power of our Lord Jesus Christ is actuated every time the Sacrifice of the Mass is offered, when the people of God come together to participate in the victory of Jesus over sin and death.
This is particularly important and comforting for us during these days when we are reminded of great sins-the sins of sexual abuse committed by some priests against minors. These are sins that have caused immense harm to children, their families, to our parish communities, to the Church in general. These sins have deeply offended God. Indeed, every sin against our neighbor, and especially against children, is first and foremost an offense against God Himself. We cannot forget these sins. As the Archbishop of Philadelphia I wish to express, once again, my profound sorrow to the victims for the pain they have endured and continue to endure. I also express again deep regret for whatever harm resulted from the handling of these matters in the past by anyone in administration.
At the present time every effort is being made by the Archdiocese to ensure that these abuses will not be repeated, indeed that they be rooted out wherever they are found, first among the clergy, but also in every other place, in our families, our organizations, our community.
Restoring peace of mind and heart can only completely come about through the gift of God Himself. Our Christian faith assures us that our Lord Jesus Christ has the power to make all things new. Through the power of His Paschal Mystery, Jesus Christ , the Crucified and Risen Lord, can, in every situation, reach into the hearts and souls of all of us to comfort us, heal us, forgive us, purify us and strengthen us.
Dear friends, Jesus Christ does this through the power of His Death and the victory of His Resurrection. And this is what we are involved in today. As Catholic people we come together with our weaknesses, our hopes, our anxieties, our joys, in union with our Lord Jesus Christ to renew in the Mass His great Sacrifice on Calvary and the triumph of His Resurrection.
Surely this role of ours as Christians requires of us an ever deeper conversion of heart and purification of our lives. We were all taught in our catechism that the Mass, the Eucharistic Sacrifice is offered for four ends, four intentions: to adore God, to thank Him, to make reparation for sins and to ask Him for what we and all our brothers and sisters throughout the world need for our lives.
As I have mentioned in my recent letter to the Archdiocesan family, the present moment calls us all to purification, reparation and renewal.
Our Sunday Mass, every Sunday Mass, is about reparation, just as it is about adoration, thanksgiving and petition. We are called to make reparation to God for the great sins of sexual abuse of minors by priests, and by anyone else. We are called to make reparation for all our own personal sins-throughout our life-and, in imitation of Christ, for the sins of the whole world. As we make reparation, we implore God's forgiveness for ourselves and for others.
Let us remember that in the Mass at the consecration of the wine into the Blood of Christ, the priest says these words: "This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven." Forgiveness of sins is at the heart of our Lord's Passion and Death, which are renewed in the Eucharist. The forgiveness of sins prolongs the triumph of Christ's Resurrection.
We know, dear friends, and it applies to all of us, that God's forgiveness implies, among other things, true sorrow on our part and a resolution to avoid sin in the future.
Sunday after Sunday, when we hear the word of God we are constantly challenged-each one of us-to turn toward God, to reject sin, and to strive to live according to God's laws, loving one another, and giving good example by our Christian lives.
In the Gospel today, Jesus forcefully challenges the Scribes and the Pharisees of His time. He repudiates the example that they give. They did not practice what they preached. This challenge of Jesus to the scribes and Pharisees is a challenge to me and to you-to all of us as Christian people, as followers of Jesus.
In our second reading, Saint Paul shares with us, giving us an example, of what he was able to accomplish by the grace of God, how he was able to serve his brothers and sisters-those to whom he ministered. He was gentle among the flock, as a nursing mother cares for her children. He shared not only the Gospel of God, but he also gave his very life in service for his brothers and sisters. His record in the New Testament shows just how much he sacrificed in order to serve the Church. His generosity and dedication remained for all of us too a strong incentive for our Christian lives.
One of the great challenges that face this parish family and the whole Archdiocese of Philadelphia is to turn toward our Lord Jesus Christ who died and rose from the dead for all of us. We are challenged to trust in His mercy and His power to make all things new in our lives, in our homes, our families, our parishes and our local Church.
His commandments are demanding, especially when He tells us: "Do unto others, as you would have others do unto you" (Lk 6:31). His call to conversion of life is unremitting, but His mercy and forgiveness are without end.
Dear friends, just last Sunday, the entire Catholic Church completed her celebration of the Year of the Eucharist. But our Eucharistic journey never ends; rather it has been given a new impetus. Celebrating the Eucharist together, we will continue to make reparation for our sins and offer adoration, thanksgiving and petition to God. Celebrating the Eucharist together with the proper dispositions we will realize more and more the necessity to reach out to our brothers and sisters in need, those affected by all the natural catastrophes in our own country as well as, in other countries like the two to three million homeless people of Pakistan. In this context we remember Saint Paul's words: "Bear one another's burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal 6:2). Celebrating the Eucharist together we will realize that we are meant to be "one body, one spirit in Christ."
This coming week we shall see how incredibly important the unity of the whole Church is, as we celebrate the communion of Saints, including all the saints in heaven, on November 1st, and all the souls in Purgatory on November 2nd.
Meanwhile, dear friends, we praise God, who in His great mercy and power, offers all of us forgiveness of our sins, support for our weaknesses and the total conversion of our hearts. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Funeral of Officer John Pawlowski
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
February 20, 2009
Dear Family of fallen Officer John Pawlowski,
especially you, Kim, who lovingly carry your unborn child and John’s,
Distinguished Authorities: religious and civil,
Colleagues and co-workers of the Police Department,
Friends and fellow Parishioners,
Citizens of Philadelphia,
Once again the mystery of iniquity has been revealed in our midst. The power of evil with its terror of violence that has taken the life of Officer John Pawlowski has touched all our lives. Above all, it has sown deep anguish in the hearts of Officer Pawlowski’s family, beginning with his beloved wife Kim. This violence has even invaded the sacred precincts of the womb and affected the life of the unborn innocent child, who is deprived of a father but who will still express forever the legacy of love of both parents.
As the reality of iniquity and human perversion unfolds once again in our community, so also does the reality of human goodness, compassion and love. The great challenge to overcome evil with good is never vanquished. The hope that God places in our hearts can never be extinguished.
Today we gather together to pray. We pray for our dedicated Officer, who was a loving husband, an expectant father, a beloved son and brother, a loyal friend and an upright Christian. We ask God to receive him into His eternal kingdom of justice, peace and love. We pray for his wife, their unborn child and all the family, that they may have strength, and grieve not as those who have no hope. We pray that God’s mercy and compassion will be mirrored in the loving understanding, support and solidarity of so many upright people who understand the deep meaning of Christ’s words to love one’s neighbor as one’s self.
We pray for our city and all its citizens that we may all recognize the primacy of God in our society and the inviolability of all human life, and be recommitted to God’s commandments written in our hearts, especially, "Thou shalt not kill!"
We pray for all innocent victims of violence, whom only a just and merciful God can vindicate. But, we pray also for those unjust perpetrators who have also defiled and violated their own human dignity, and who need conversion and repentance if they are to receive God’s forgiveness and avoid eternal perdition. Only with the conversion of human hearts can our society itself be rescued from the plague of violence. What is not possible, however, for man is indeed possible for God, and so we invoke God to change human hearts, even as we recommit ourselves to the task of inculcating in the young the values of mutual respect and love, and the necessary discipline for society to function properly.
At this time we renew our admiration and gratitude for the Philadelphia Police Department and all their colleagues throughout our Commonwealth, as well as for all public servants who seek to serve and generously protect and defend their fellow citizens, whom they consider beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Today, from the perspective of faith in the living God, we turn to the Sacred Scriptures, knowing that the Lord offers us the consolation of His word. Realizing the enormous anguish in the hearts of Officer Pawlowski’s family and devoted friends we confidently recall the assurance of the prophet Isaiah, who says: "The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces .... Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!"
At the same time in the words of Psalm 25, we continue to cry out: "To you, O Lord, I lift my soul." And we add:
"Remember that your compassion, O Lord,
and your kindness are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O Lord.
"Relieve the troubles of my heart;
and bring me out of my distress.
Put an end to my affliction and my suffering;
and take away all my sins.
"Preserve my life and rescue me;
let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
because I wait for you, O Lord."
The greatest consolation of our faith in God comes from Christ’s promise to us of resurrection and eternal life. Saint Paul encourages us with these words:"Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.... For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ."
Finally, the words of Jesus Himself, the Son of God, have an enormous power to uplift us and to sustain us all in the midst of crushing anguish: "Do not let your hearts be troubled.... And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be..... ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.’"
Dear friends: As a community of compassionate people of good will, we will continue to do our best to offer solidarity to Kim and all of Officer Pawlowski’s family, friends and colleagues. And the loving consolation that exceeds all our power to impart we invoke from God, our tender and merciful Father, who alone can confirm us in a hope more powerful than death and in a love that overcomes evil with good. Amen.
Homilía del cardenal Justin Rigali
Servicio penitencial de oración y Via Crucis
Catedral Basílica de San Pedro y San Pablo
11 de marzo del 2011
Queridos hermanos y hermanas en Cristo:
En la liturgia de la cuaresma la Iglesia ora a Dios con estas palabras:*Padre, este gran tiempo de gracia es tu don a tu familia para renovarnos en el espíritu. Tú nos das fuerza para purificar nuestros corazones, para controlar nuestros deseos, y así servirte en libertad+.
La cuaresma es, en efecto, queridos amigos, un tiempo para reconocer nuestros pecados, un tiempo para el arrepentimiento personal, un tiempo para pedir humildemente el perdón y la misericordia de Dios para nosotros y para todo el mundo.
Recordamos las palabras de la primera carta de san Juan, que acabamos de escuchar proclamadas a nosotros: *Si decimos que no tenemos pecado, nos estamos engañando a nosotros mismos y la verdad no está en nosotros. Pero si confesamos nuestros pecados, él que es fiel y justo, nos perdonará nuestros pecados y nos limpiará de toda maldad. Si dijéramos que no hemos pecado, sería como decir que él miente, y su palabra no estaría en nosotros+. (1 Juan: 8-10).
Al expresar arrepentimiento por todos nuestros pecados y los pecados de otros, recordamos una vez más la grave ofensa a Dios y el gran daño a las víctimas inocentes de la maldad del abuso sexual de menores, especialmente por los miembros del clero. A medida que yo expreso, en nombre de la Arquidiócesis, el renovado pesar por este mal infligido en los niños y los jóvenes, le pido a Dios que perdone a quienes han cometido este pecado. Le pido a Dios que nos apoye en nuestra debilidad humana mientras luchamos con determinación para hacer frente decididamente a este mal. Y pido a Dios que nos haga cada vez más eficaces, tanto en promover la protección de los niños como en abordar las acusaciones de abuso sexual.
Sabemos que la expiación de todos los pecados del mundo se lleva a cabo sólo por Jesús a través de su sufrimiento, muerte y resurrección. Por esta razón, nos juntamos esta tarde en reparación, dolor y esperanza, para acompañar a Jesús en el Via Crucis cuando él cae bajo el peso de todos los pecados. También acompañamos a sus hermanos y hermanas, víctimas del abuso, que como Jesús, cargan el peso de los pecados cometidos contra ellos. Reconocemos que sólo Jesús es el Salvador del mundo que tiene el poder para perdonar, para restaurar y sanar a todos nosotros. Amén.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Penitential Prayer Service and Way of the Cross
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
March 11, 2011
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In the liturgy of Lent the Church prays to God in these words: “Father, this great season of grace is your gift to your family to renew us in spirit. You give us strength to purify our hearts, to control our desires, and so serve you in freedom.”
Lent is indeed, dear friends, a time for us to acknowledge our sins, a time for personal repentance, a time humbly to ask for God’s pardon and mercy for ourselves and for the whole world.
We recall the words of Saint John, which we have just heard proclaimed to us from his First Letter: “If we say, ‘We are without sin,’ we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we acknowledge our sins, [God] is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. If we say, ‘We have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John: 8-10).
And so we listen to the invitation of Jesus to confess our sins humbly in the Sacrament of Confession, which the Church makes available to us also this evening in this Cathedral. Christ assures us that if we imitate the example in this evening’s Gospel of the tax collector who says, “O God be merciful to me a sinner,” we will receive pardon and forgiveness.
In expressing repentance for all our sins and the sins of others, we remember once again the grave offense to God and the great harm to innocent victims of the evil of sexual abuse of minors, especially by members of the clergy. As I express, in the name of the Archdiocese, renewed sorrow for this evil inflicted on children and young people, I ask God to forgive those who have committed this sin. I ask God to sustain us in our human weakness as we struggle with determination to confront this evil definitively. And I ask God to make us ever more effective both in promoting the protection of children and in addressing allegations of sexual abuse.
We know that the expiation of all the sins of the world is accomplished only by Jesus through His suffering, death and resurrection. For this reason, we gather this evening in reparation, sorrow and hope, to accompany Jesus on the way of the Cross as He falls beneath the weight of all sins. We also accompany His brothers and sisters, victims of abuse, who like Jesus, bear the weight of the sins committed against them. We acknowledge that Jesus alone is the Savior of the world who has the power to forgive, to restore and to heal us all. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Pentecost Sunday / Adult Confirmation
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 27, 2007
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Brother Bishops, priests, deacons, religious, catechumens, candidates for Confirmation, sponsors, families and friends,
For fifty days the joy of Easter has surrounded us. The Church’s liturgies, scriptures, prayers and music proclaim over and over again: Christ has risen from the dead! Jesus, the Son of God made man, who was mocked, tortured and killed, is restored to life in all His glory. He has conquered sin and death and won redemption for all. The Paschal Mystery of Christ’s suffering, Death and Resurrection is now complete. We are restored as the children of God and endowed with the hope and promise of eternal life. The mystery of Christ’s rising from the dead moves beyond time and history as it is more than a calendar event or a seasonal reflection. It is at the center of our Christian faith. Centuries ago Saint Augustine declared: "We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song."
Today as we celebrate the great Solemnity of Pentecost during the Bicentennial Jubilee Year of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Church continues her song of Alleluia as the Holy Spirit is revealed to the world. On the day of His Ascension, Jesus assured His Apostles that He would not leave them alone. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ promise is fulfilled as the love of the Most Blessed Trinity is poured into the hearts of the Apostles and upon the universe. The Holy Spirit gathers Jesus’ followers as one into the Body of Christ, the Church, to continue God’s plan for salvation.
In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Luke recounts not only the glorious descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, but also the first manifestation of the Church to the world. Imagine being in Jerusalem on that day! Jews of every nation and language descend upon this Holy City to celebrate the feast of Pentecost, a day of thanksgiving to God for the completion of the harvest. Suddenly, the atmosphere turns from festivity to bewilderment as a strong driving wind is heard and felt. The Apostles are filled with the Holy Spirit as tongues of fire "came to rest upon their heads" (Acts 2:3). With impassioned speech, they witness to the Good News of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection and invite all before them to embrace the Cross of Christ. The assembly is dumfounded as these simple Galileans, with little or no education, preach the message of God’s mighty deeds in many languages so all can understand. The people see firsthand the transformative power of the Holy Spirit as the Apostles become courageous leaders who invite them to a new harvest, a new Pentecost. On this day in Jerusalem, the Church embarks upon a mission, which will continue until Jesus Christ comes again in glory.
In his Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul further unfolds the mystery of the first Pentecost. For Paul, discipleship of Jesus comes from the Holy Spirit, who is the one and only source of faith, good works and service. As Saint Paul writes: "To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit" (1 Corinthians 12:7). This manifestation of the Spirit is linked to the spiritual gifts received at Baptism. Using the metaphor of the human body, Paul describes these gifts as many and varied; yet they are designed to be used for others and for Christ.
Dear Friends, the words of Saint Paul remind us that our lives as baptized Catholics are a constant invitation to profess in our words and deeds that "Jesus is Lord" (1 Corinthians 12:3). Through our Baptism, we are marked for Jesus. We are called to use our God-given gifts and talents to further the Kingdom of God on earth. Each and every day we are challenged to witness to God’s love in a very troubled world. With the Holy Spirit as our Advocate, we are able to rise to this challenge daily by renewing our resolve to turn to God and lead others to Him.
In today’s Gospel, which takes us back to the evening of the Resurrection, Saint John reminds us that prior to the miracle of Pentecost, the Apostles’ faith had been sorely tested. Grief-stricken, frightened and confused after the Death of Jesus, they return to the Upper Room, the place where only nights before Jesus promised them eternal life, giving them His Body and Blood. Here they wait behind locked doors. In the midst of this anxiety, Jesus appears. With His greeting of peace, excitement and rejoicing now fill the room. Christ is truly risen and shows Himself to His closest of friends. It is the Lord, but how different He is! They see His wounds, but he no longer suffers for He has defeated death and now reigns as Lord of heaven and earth. His divinity and glory are furthered revealed as He breathes the Spirit of God upon the Apostles and they are given the power to forgive sins.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the message of this Gospel helps us to understand that, though trials and tribulations befall us, we are not alone in this life! Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, through His Passion, Death and Resurrection, lives on and is with us! God has washed us from sin and the Holy Spirit is with us. We are fed as a holy family at the table of His Word and Eucharist, which give us strength for our journey home.
There are those among us today, who in the footsteps of the Apostles, will receive the Holy Spirit in a new and fuller way through the Sacrament of Confirmation. In just a few moments, our candidates will be sealed with the Holy Spirit, who awakens in them those gifts of wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord which they received at their Baptism. These spiritual gifts will keep them attentive and obedient to God’s will, and help them to bear witness to Jesus Christ in the world.
Dear Candidates for Confirmation, the Church of Philadelphia rejoices as you commit yourselves more deeply as disciples of Jesus Christ. Through the Sacrament of Confirmation, you become a fully initiated member of the Body of Christ, the Church. The Holy Spirit will strengthen you in new ways and comfort you in times of trouble. We, your Church family, pray for your continued spiritual growth and a further deepening of your Catholic faith. Allow the Spirit of Truth to guide your path to heaven, today and all the days of your life.
Dear Friends, Pentecost signals an end to the Easter season. Let us, however, continue to keep the joy of Easter in our hearts. Let us rejoice, knowing that God loves us and His Spirit works within us. Let us make our life a constant alleluia that sings out, Jesus is Lord! Amen. Alleluia.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Permanent Diaconate Ordination
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
June 6, 2004
Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit;
to God who is, who was, and who is to come.
Bishop Burbidge,
Brother priests and deacons,
Dear candidates for the Diaconate,
Dear wives and children of these chosen men,
Dear friends in Jesus Christ,
Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our responsorial psalm exclaims: O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth! How wonderful the name of God, the name of the Most Blessed Trinity, the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
There are many reasons for the existence of the Permanent Diaconate in the Church, but all of them presume the praise of the Most Blessed Trinity. The deacon s sacred ministry is at the service of God s revelation of Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The deacon s work must serve to lead the people to know, love and serve the One and Triune God.
Today, under the sign of the Most Blessed Trinity the Church calls and ordains fifteen of our brothers to the Order of the Diaconate. These chosen men are: Charles R. Amen, Harry D. Antrim, William Timothy Baxter, John M. Betzal, James J. Fowkes, John J. Gallagher, William F. Iacobellis, George W. Kletzel, Francis E. Langsdorf, Charles R. Lindsay, John P. Lozano, James J. Mahoney, Vincent J. Marco, James G. Murphy, and Frederick M. Ryan.
These men take their place today among the successors of the first deacons, in a close and sacramental partnership with the priests of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, indeed with the priests of the world.
This partnership is a partnership in the Gospel of Christ. It is a vocation of special service to the people of God, special service closely associated with the priests.
The words of Saint Paul, proclaimed in our second reading, can be applied especially to these brothers of ours: ... the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. In their ordination to the Diaconate, our brothers will indeed receive the Holy Spirit who will enable them to serve for the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity.
The service we are speaking about is above all a service of charity; it is an outreach in the name of Jesus Christ and the Church. The service of the diaconate is a dynamic part of the spiritual structure of the Church, as willed by God.
The service of each deacon is more than a personal contribution of an individual. It is part of the life of the Church and the mystery of Christ. But in each individual, this service begins at the altar, with the power that comes forth from the Eucharistic sacrifice; it is consolidated and intensified in personal prayer; it presupposes the witness of an upright life.
This service strives to respond to so many needs to needs wherever they are found among God s people. As a special sacramental service, the Diaconate further extends and fulfills the service required by Baptism.
My dear brothers, your training has helped you to understand the challenge you now embrace as part of the Church s life. Your wives and children are here to pledge collaboration and support, and we are so happy for this.
Your call to service is sacramentally inspired and sustained, and it clearly challenges you to be like Christ, who says to each one of you: This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
Jesus further explains the type of love that He is talking about, saying: No one has greater love than this, to lay down one s life for one s friends.
You are being asked to lay down your life in service. Never before have you aspired to the greatness that you now take on. Jesus says: Anyone who aspires to greatness must serve the rest&.
In practice, your service will require zeal and the ingenuity to discover the needs of God s people and to help fulfill them: the needs of the poor, the sick and suffering, the homeless, those uninstructed in the faith, those in need of love, those languishing in despair, all those in need of Christ.
And so you fulfill a basic role in communicating Christ by word and example. Your word must be inspired by God s word as proclaimed, interpreted and lived by the Church. Your example must be deeply rooted in prayer and charity. It must express a life of justice, honesty and truth. You will always be expected to speak and act in communion with John Paul our Pope and with his successors, with the presbyterate of Philadelphia, and in the communion of faith of the universal Church.
In giving you a sacramental configuration to Christ, whom the Church proclaims as the Son of God, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, the Son of Mary and the Servant of humanity, she is asking a great deal of you. The Church is counting on your perseverance and on the authenticity of your lives. To accomplish this you will absolutely need the energy and strength that flow from the death and resurrection of the Lord, which are renewed in the Eucharistic sacrifice, which you will often have the opportunity to share in at the side of the priest.
The Church needs your efforts to model the relationships of Christian families in charity, prayer and openness to the needs of others.
In all of this, what is needed for the success of your ministry is a team mentality of collaboration, and the team is the Church of Jesus Christ. And the rules of the game are the Gospel of Christ as proclaimed and interpreted and lived by the Church.
Every individual gift of yours is needed and esteemed, but all of them must be coordinated by the action of the Holy Spirit in the communion of the Church.
In the years to come, your words of faith must flow forth from a heart steeped in prayer. Everything that you teach and communicate will be in union with the teaching of the Church which is one, holy, Catholic and apostolic.
Now, more than ever before, the Church needs your holiness and zeal. And this means that you personally need the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Penance, prayer, meditation on the word of God, an intimate relationship with Christ and a loving trust in His Mother Mary.
An intimate relationship with Christ requires an openness to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, who can never contradict the guidance He offers us through His Church.
Through your selfless giving and through your holiness of life, Christ s own ministry of service in the world will be perpetuated. His servant Church will be more effective, more authentic, more compassionate, more loving. The Most Blessed Trinity will be evermore known and loved.
Yes, dear brothers, the love of the Father for the Son, and the Son for the Father and this love is the Holy Spirit Himself passes through your ministry of service as deacons in the Church, just as it passes through the humanity of Christ and His Mother, and finds expression in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
From now on, as deacons, you too will be special signs of God s love in the Church, because you will be dedicated to a service that can only be motivated and sustained by the love of the Most Blessed Trinity.
Yes, dear brothers, deacons to be, and all of you, dear friends in Christ, there is a wonderful reason for the Church to exclaim today: Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; to God who is, who was, and who is to come. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Permanent Diaconate Ordination
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
June 5, 2010
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Bishop Thomas,
Dear brother Priests and Deacons,
Dear Ordinands,
Dear Wives and Families of these chosen men,
Dear Candidates still preparing for the Diaconate,
Dear People of God,
This morning the Acts of the Apostles present to us the names, individually recorded, of the first deacons of the Church. They are listed one by one: Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicholas of Antioch. There were seven of them—chosen for the office of assisting the Apostles in a role of special sacramental service in the community of the early Church.
At this time the Church has selected another group of men called by God to this same work. This time there are five of them. Their names are equally important to God and to His Church: Michael Alexander, William Cella, Edward Duess, John Farrell and David Fosbenner.
Their identity as deacons is linked to the Church’s role of service, which, in turn, is linked to the servanthood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world.
Today this ordination takes place under the sign of service. It is service that we are celebrating: the special service characteristic of the diaconate.
There are deacons in the Church only because Jesus Christ came to serve and because service is Christ’s legacy to His Church. In the words of the Venerable Servant of God John Paul II: “The service of the deacon is the Church’s service sacramentalized.” “By your ordination,” he went on to tell the permanent deacons of the United States, “you are configured to Christ in his servant role. You are … living signs of the servanthood of the Church.”
This morning we have a magnificent Gospel! Jesus speaks those words which are at the origin of all service in the Church: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” And then He shows to what point they are applicable: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” On this your ordination day, dear brothers, you must not miss the meaning of Christ’s challenge. You are called to lay down your lives in a special form of service. The service that you are called to render as deacons of the Church is a sacramental service. It is a ministry of the word, a ministry at the altar, a ministry of charity.
In regard to your witness to God’s word, Saint Paul tells us clearly this morning. “...we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus.”
Your ministry places you at the altar, close to the Bishop and his priests in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. It is from the altar that you will derive strength and power to go out and bear witness not only to the truth but also to the charity of Christ. For every Christian there is a close link between worship and service. For you this link is a seal of your identity as a sacramental minister of the Church.
Your ministry of charity will require zeal and the ingenuity to discover the needs of God’s people and to help fulfill them: the needs of the poor, the sick and suffering, the homeless, those uninstructed in the faith, those in need of love, those languishing in despair, all those in need of Christ.
Pope John Paul II put it this way: “… it is a source of satisfaction to learn that so many permanent deacons in the United States are involved in direct service to the needy: to the ill, the abused and battered, the young and old, the dying and bereaved, the deaf, blind and disabled, those who have known suffering in their marriages, the homeless, victims of substance abuse, prisoners, refugees, street people, the rural poor, the victims of racial and ethnic discrimination and many others.”
Dear brothers to be ordained deacons: these are your people; these are your friends. So many of your brother deacons have preceded you in seeking out those in need. With the power of Christ’s charity they have knocked on doors, broken down barriers of long-standing aversion, penetrated closed spaces and entered into the lives of many brothers and sisters, bringing with them Christ Himself and His sanctifying and uplifting Gospel of justice and peace, of truth and life.
For the effectiveness of your ministry we know that there is, however, a necessary condition. The humble Christ wants His minister of service to be endowed with holiness of life. That is why the Church prays for you today in these words, at the moment when she invests you with the dignity and sacramental character of the diaconate: “May there abound in them every Gospel virtue: unfeigned love...the purity of innocence, and the observance of spiritual discipline.”
It becomes crystal clear in the context of the ordination liturgy that your lives of service require union with God. For this reason your success requires prayer: the prayer of praise, adoration and intercession. Your fidelity to the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist will fortify you to persevere in generous service and to live your sacred commitment joyfully to the end.
Four of you present yourselves for ordination today accompanied by your wives. For you, your service as deacons will be integrated with your vocation to Christian married love. You are challenged to contribute to the transformation of family life according to the Gospel. This will always be a special part of your service to the Church. In speaking of the married deacon, Pope John Paul II stated: “He and his wife, having entered into a communion of life, are called to help and serve each other.… [T]he nurturing and deepening of mutual sacrificial love between husband and wife constitute perhaps the most significant involvement of a deacon’s wife in her husband’s public ministry in the Church. Today especially this is no small service. In particular, the deacon and his wife must be a living example of fidelity and indissolubility in Christian marriage before a world in dire need of such signs.”
One of you has embraced celibacy and your important role is to bear witness in fidelity and integrity of life to this special charism in the Church.
Dear brothers to be ordained: every dimension of the life of each of you is a challenge to be faithful, a challenge to serve. Jesus Himself has left you the example of how to serve faithfully. In receiving the gift of ordination to the diaconate, you are confirmed as living signs of the servanthood of Christ’s Church, living signs of the Christ who serves.
Your vocation will involve team work. The team is the Church. Your co-workers are all the faithful, your fellow parishioners, all your brothers and sisters in the community. In a special way you are linked with the priests in their ministry and with your Bishop. No act of service in the parish is beneath your dignity. No need in the Church is outside the sphere of your sacramental service. Christ wills to continue His role of servanthood in you.
To preserve the spirit of your ordination, you must always remember today’s Gospel. You must remember Christ’s words: “No one has greater love than this to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Dear brothers: Mary the Mother of Jesus, herself the Servant of the Lord, will help you to serve faithfully in the name of her Son. She will teach you how to lay down your life with Jesus. On this your ordination day, I invite you to consecrate yourselves to Mary, and entrust to her your families and all those whom you will be honored to serve in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass during Archdiocesan Pilgrimage
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Washington, D.C.
Saturday, November 6, 2004
The Blessed Virgin Mary: Image and Mother of the Church
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
It is a great joy for me to be together with you on this Pilgrimage as we honor the Immaculate Mother of God. It is truly fitting that we come to this magnificent basilica to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Because the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception, it is most appropriate that we, pilgrims from Philadelphia, come together in Mary’s shrine to give thanks to God and to seek Our Lady’s protection and intercession.
On December 8, 1854, Blessed Pius IX, solemnly defined as a dogma the truth that Mary, the Mother of God, was conceived without stain of original sin. During the liturgy, Pope Pius IX proclaimed: “To the glory of the holy and undivided Trinity, to the honor and renown of the Virgin Mother of God, the exaltation of the Catholic faith and the increase of the Christian religion; by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we declare, pronounce and define: the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by the singular grace and privilege of almighty God and in view of the merits of Christ Jesus the Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin, is revealed by God and, therefore, firmly and constantly to be believed by all the faithful” (Ineffabilis Deus).
It is of special interest for us on our pilgrimage from Philadelphia to know that, as Blessed Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, the Fourth Bishop of Philadelphia, Saint John Neumann, held the book from which the Pontiff read the solemn text. (James J. Galvin, C.SS.R., Saint John Neumann, p. 210)
The Immaculate Conception is a stirring mystery which causes us to realize how deeply God loves the human race. The account of the sin of Adam and Eve as related in the Book of Genesis clearly proves that God would not turn away from sinful humanity. While the punishment was justifiable, the remedy of the sin would be far greater than anything that could be imagined. In tenderness, compassion and strength, God promised to make things right. The Creator of Man would become the Son of Man, born of a woman, and He would crush the head of the serpent.
In order to become one of us, God needed a human mother, a woman who would willingly cooperate in the plan of salvation. In His infinite and perfect knowledge and power, God foresaw and fashioned Mary, that one woman who would so uniquely and fully place herself at the service of the divine will. Because this woman had to be a pure and spotless vessel, Almighty God preserved Mary from the stain of original sin from the very first instant of her life. This singular privilege, as Archbishop Fulton Sheen described, “in no way implies that [Mary] needed no redemption. She did! Mary is the first effect of redemption, in the sense that it was applied to her at the moment of her conception and to us in another and diminished fashion only after our birth. She had this privilege, not for her sake, but for His sake” (Fulton J. Sheen, The World’s First Love, p. 15). We also know that, thanks to the redemptive act of Mary’s Son, even we who are conceived and born in original sin come into a world where the power of God’s redeeming love can conquer our sins and all the sins of the world.
Mary is not only preserved from sin, but she is “full of grace.” As the Mother of God and the Queen of Heaven, Mary is exalted above all humanity. Because she is Mother of the Church, her grace-filled and maternal role places Mary in the midst of her children, bearing their burdens, offering them encouragement, and leading them to Jesus. Pope John Paul II, in his 1984 encyclical, Mother of the Redeemer, wrote: “Mary, Mother of the Incarnate Word, is placed at the center of ... that struggle which accompanies the history of humanity on earth and the history of salvation itself. In this central place, she who belongs to the ‘weak and the poor of the Lord’ bears in herself, like no other member of the human race, that ‘glory of grace’ which the Father ‘has bestowed on us in his beloved Son,’ and this grace determines the extraordinary greatness and beauty of her whole being.... In this history Mary remains a sign of sure hope” (no. 11).
For this reason, our liturgy today places us with Mary at the foot of the cross of Jesus. There, we see that Jesus, from the very depths of His bitter suffering for our redemption, gives to the human race still another gift: the gift of His Mother. Those moving words, “Woman, behold your son... Behold your mother,” intimately link Mary to every human being in a maternal relationship which cannot be broken. Mary’s Divine Son was sacrificed to offer to all humanity the freedom of the children of God. Witnessing the Death of Jesus, Mary, whose heart was pierced with a sword of sorrow, is ever mindful of the price that was paid for us to enjoy that great privilege. Mary now dedicates herself wholeheartedly in her role as our Mother to encourage all of her children to recognize the glorious dignity which is theirs through the Paschal Mystery.
In our times—an age which has so much violence, suffering, poverty and pain— we look to Christ Crucified for strength and fortitude. Because our God has suffered for us, He knows the burden of pain, the weight of loneliness. Through His Passion and from His wounded Heart, Jesus offers to the human family consolation and peace in our trials and sufferings. In His glorious Resurrection, Jesus offers to humanity hope and a vision of the new life for which we have been created. Sustained by this vision, we are able to endure our tribulations with serenity and even gratitude.
In this, Mary is our model. She who stood at the foot of the Cross, who wept as she held in her arms her dead Son, waited for Christ’s Resurrection. Mary prays always for her struggling children. She bolsters confidence within their minds and hearts and she guides her children to look to Jesus in both His Death and Resurrection.
In this Year of the Eucharist, that wondrous Sacrament through which we participate in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, we look to Mary whom our Holy Father has called “the Woman of the Eucharist.” In his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, Pope John Paul II writes: “Experiencing the memorial of Christ’s death in the Eucharist also means continually receiving this gift. It means accepting—like John—the one who is given us anew as our Mother. It also means taking on a commitment to be conformed to Christ, putting ourselves at the school of his Mother and allowing her to accompany us. Mary is present, with the Church and as Mother of the Church, at each of our celebrations of the Eucharist. If the Church and the Eucharist are inseparably united, the same ought to be said of Mary and the Eucharist” (no. 57).
Mary, who carried within her immaculate womb the Word Made Flesh, enkindles within us a deep longing for union with Jesus. Mary hastens to aid her children in their prayer, devotion and love. She stands by us in our trials and holds us close to her Immaculate Heart. She beckons us to come to the Altar of her Son where the proof of His love is given in the Eucharist, the Sacrament of His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. If we want greater devotion to our Eucharistic Lord, let us, imitating Jesus, show our love for Mary, His Mother and the Mother of His Church.
We pilgrims from Philadelphia come to Mary’s shrine to give honor to our Blessed Mother and to seek her intercession. With the assurance of trusting children, let us look today and everyday to Mary as our Mother, our guide and our hope. Let us strive to foster devotion to her and let us call upon her daily with hope, confidence and love.
Les us ask Mary to assist our nation, its leaders and all its people, especially those in need and under the burden of sin. Let us ask her to lead the Church in Philadelphia to greater holiness of life. And let us all—freely, joyfully and prayerfully—entrust ourselves to her Immaculate Heart.
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for the Pilgrimage of the Faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Washington, D.C.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and forever!
Dear Friends,
I am happy to greet my brother Bishops, priests and deacons, consecrated religious sisters and brothers, seminarians, and the many faithful of the parishes of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for participating in this wonderful tradition of pilgrimage in honor of the Holy Mother of God. I especially thank the children and teenagers, representatives of our schools, for your presence here today. My greetings extend also to those who are unable to be present with us today - especially the homebound and the infirm - who are united with us in prayer and in loving devotion to Mary. May the graces which flow from Mary’s Immaculate Heart fill us all as she leads us ever closer to her Divine Son.
How opportune it is for us in this Jubilee Year of Saint Paul the Apostle to come together and honor Mary under her title, Queen of Apostles. Throughout this year of grace, as we have celebrated the 2,000th birthday of Saint Paul, so we have had numerous occasions to consider the missions, the letters, the sufferings and the all-consuming zeal of the Apostle to the Gentiles. As we look at the history of the early Church, we know that Saint Paul preached the Gospel in Ephesus and ancient tradition holds that Mary, some time before her death and Assumption, lived with Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist in Ephesus. However, neither Scripture nor Tradition provides us with any evidence that Saint Paul ever met the Mother of Jesus. Yet, Saint Paul was deeply moved by the mystery of the Incarnationÿthe mystery of the Word made fleshÿand of the significant role which Mary played in God’s plan for the Redemption of the world.
The theme for our pilgrimage is taken directly from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman” (Gal 4:4). The moment of the Incarnationÿthat singular moment in all of historyÿwas no accident. All things, all events, all circumstances in salvation history led up to that precise moment, which Paul refers to as “the fullness of time,” and, for that moment to occur, the consent of the humble and immaculate Virgin of Nazareth was indispensable. Paul understood profoundly that God became Man through the cooperation of Mary. Further, Paul understood that this mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption made possible the adoption of all people as the children of God. In the same passage from the Letter to the Galatians, Paul further explains that God sent his Son, “born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. As proof that you are children of God, God sent the spirit of his Son into hearts, crying out: ‘Abba, Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God“ (Gal 4:4-7).
This doctrine of Divine Adoption was at the core of the teachings of the 20th -century Benedictine Abbot, Blessed Columba Marmion. This Blessed of the Church, who may be referred to as the Doctor of Divine Adoption, taught: “If the Eternal Father has decreed that we should be His children, but only so in His Son Jesus …; if He has made us partakers of the heritage of His beatitude only through His Son, - we can realize this divine plan and consequently assure our salvation, only by remaining united to the Word…. We shall understand nothing, I do not say merely of perfection, but even of simple Christianity, if we do not grasp that its most essential basis is constituted by the state of child of God, participation, through sanctifying grace, in the eternal filiation of the Incarnate Word. All the teachings of Christ and of the Apostles are summed up in this truth, all the mysteries of Jesus tend to establish its wonderful reality in our souls (see Christ in His Mysteries, pp. 51-55)” Blessed Marmion added: “The saint who is the highest in heaven is the one who here below was most perfectly a child of God, who made the grace of supernatural adoption in Jesus Christ fructify the most” (ibid., p.55).
Today, as the adopted children of God, we join in prayer to become more and more like Jesus, Our Risen Lord. We pray that we may live more deeply the life of God into which we entered through the sacrament of Baptism. Today, we pray that our life in Christ will bear much fruit that we might have a greater share in the reward of the saints in heaven. These petitions, these hopes and desires for greater holiness, our desire to become more like Jesus, we place before the throne of the Mother of God. We look to her, for through her cooperation in the eternal plan of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, it became possible for us to participate in the mystery of adoption. The “yes” of Mary to the plan of God paved the way for all of us to say “yes” as we open our hearts to conversion, to faith and to participation in the mission of the Church. Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI reminds us: “Direct your gaze to the Virgin Mary and from her ‘yes,’ learn also to pronounce your ‘yes’ to the divine call. The Holy Spirit enters into our lives in the measure in which we open our hearts with our ‘yes’: the fuller the ‘yes,’ the fuller is the gift of his presence” (Meeting with university students of Rome, December 13, 2007).
The Liturgy of the Word for this Mass, in a very particular way, shows us aspects of Mary in fulfilling her “yes” to the plan of God. At the Foot of the Cross, with a heart pierced with tremendous sorrow, Mary unites herself to the sufferings of Jesus as He offers Himself to the Father for the redemption of the world. In that moment of intense pain, Jesus entrusts Mary to the care of the Beloved Disciple: “ ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother’” (Jn 19:26-27). Not merely was Mary entrusted to the care of Saint John, but at that moment Mary was given an honored place as the Mother of all who would be the disciples of Jesus, and in that gesture, Jesus has entrusted all of us to the care and protection of Mary. The Servant of God Pope John Paul II explained: “The words uttered by Jesus from the Cross signify that the motherhood of her who bore Christ finds a ‘new’ continuation in the Church and through the Church, symbolized and represented by John. In this way, she who as the one ‘full of grace’ was brought into the mystery of Christ in order to be his Mother and thus the Holy Mother of God, through the Church remains in that mystery as ‘the woman’ spoken of by the Book of Genesis (3:15) at the beginning and by the Apocalypse (12:1) at the ends of the history of salvation. In accordance with the eternal plan of Providence, Mary’s divine motherhood is to be poured out upon the Church, as indicated by statements of Tradition, according to which Mary’s ‘motherhood’ of the Church is the reflection and extension of her motherhood of the Son of God” (Redemptoris Mater, 24).
Taking to heart her role as Mother of the Church, Mary places herself in the Upper Room, in the midst of the Apostles and disciples of Jesus as they are at prayer awaiting the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. We can easily imagine Mary, seated in the midst of this group, praying with them, offering them encouragement, recounting for them details of the early, hidden life of Jesus. With the loving heart of a mother, Mary delighted to be with the disciples of her Son. Yet, with all the longing which a heart could express, Mary desired to be with Jesus in the glory of heaven. This would not happen until her mission here was accomplished. So, until her death and assumption into heaven, Mary remained the model of discipleship, a source of inspiration for the early Church, and truly fulfilled her role as Mother of the Church and Queen of Apostles. She continues to do so even now. As the preface for this liturgy so beautifully states: “In our day the Blessed Virgin inspires by her example new preachers of the Gospel, cherishes them with a mother’s love, and sustains them by her unceasing prayer, so that they may bring the Good News of Christ the Savior to all the world.”
This Eucharistic celebration in honor of Mary, Queen of Apostles invites us to realize and appreciate deeply that, in Christ, we are the adopted children of God. If we are the children of God, then we are heirs with Christ. It is then our mission to share with the world the Good News of the Redemption, the message of the mercy of God poured forth in the Paschal Mystery. We must realize that, filled with the Holy Spirit, it is our duty to cooperate in the mission of the Church to bring the love of Christ to all people so that all people may be saved. In a special way, we are urged on in our task of evangelization by Mary, Mother of the Church and Queen of Apostles.
From this Pilgrimage we return to our everyday lives with renewed hope and with a driving desire to bear the message of God’s love to others. To our homes and neighborhoods, to our workplaces and our schools, in the marketplace and in our parishes, we return to aid others to recognize the tremendous love of God, who, in Christ, has made us his children. We do so also under the guidance and inspiration of our Blessed Mother.
In his encyclical Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVI exhorts us to remember this: “Mary has truly become the Mother of all believers. Men and women of every time and place have recourse to her motherly kindness and her virginal purity and grace, in all their needs and aspirations, their joys and sorrows, their moments of loneliness and their common endeavors. They constantly experience the gift of her goodness and the unfailing love which she pours out from the depths of her heart…. At the same time, the devotion of the faithful shows an infallible intuition of how such love is possible: it becomes so as a result of the most intimate union with God, through which the soul is totally pervaded by him - a condition which enables those who have drunk from the fountain of God’s love to become in their turn a fountain from which ‘flow rivers of living water’ (Jn 7:38). Mary, Virgin and Mother, shows us what love is and whence it draws its origin and its constantly renewed power. To her we entrust the Church and her mission in the service of love” (no. 42).
Mary, Queen of Apostles, pray for us! Pray for the Church of Philadelphia that we may always be generous, strong and faithful to Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for English-speaking Pilgrims
Eucharistic Congress
Shrine of Saint Anne de Beaupre, Quebec
Friday,June 20, 2008
Dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,
It is with praise and gratitude to Almighty God that we come together to celebrate this Liturgy during the 49th International Eucharistic Congress. This week has been a time of great grace in celebration of our Eucharistic Lord, who gathers His people from the ends of the earth to be nourished by Him, to be united in Him, and to adore Him truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I am greatly honored to be with you, my brother Bishops, priests, deacons, religious sisters and brothers, seminarians, and lay faithful, all fellow pilgrims, to offer this Mass in thanksgiving for the Eucharist, gift of God for the life of the world.
On behalf of all of us gathered here, I extend deep thanks to the Rector and Staff of the Basilica of Saint Anne de Beaupre for their welcome and hospitality. This year, the Shrine celebrates its 350th anniversary. Founded by the Jesuit Fathers, this Shrine is a magnificent tribute to the untiring zeal of the first missionaries in North America, an edifice built as a reminder of the enduring witness of the Catholic Church and of the sacrifice of those who worked to spread our holy Catholic Faith.
This Basilica is dedicated under the patronage of Saint Anne, the Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Grandmother of Jesus, the Word Made Flesh. Before the celebrated image of Saint Anne, we see the many tokens of gratitude for numerous miraculous healings which have been attributed to the intercession of Saint Anne. Certainly Saint Anne enjoys a privileged place in heaven, just as she had a privileged place in salvation history. As the Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Anne, along with her husband, Saint Joachim, were models of piety, devotion and fidelity. Undoubtedly, the young Virgin of Nazareth learned much from her mother and assuredly imitated her in so many ways, especially in how to be a mother. How humbled and overjoyed Saint Anne must have been when she learned that Mary was chosen to be the Mother of the Lord. What tremendous emotions must have moved her gracious and generous heart when she held within her arms her grandson, the Incarnate Son of God.
We unite ourselves now with Saint Anne in appreciation and adoration of the mystery of the Incarnation, the miracle of God become flesh. Born in time, born in a human body of the Immaculate Virgin, the Eternal Son of God delighted to live in a human family—the Holy Family—and to walk and live among the poor and lowly. We also contemplate the Paschal Mystery, the Mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, through which the Redemption of the world was accomplished. In the gift of the Holy Eucharist, we celebrate and adore the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery as Jesus, who died on the cross and rose from the dead, gives us Himself, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. In the Holy Eucharist, Jesus comes to us to nourish and sustain us on our pilgrimage through life. He sanctifies us and He unites us with Himself and with each other in a communion of charity. In this great sacrament, Jesus continues to dwell with love and delight among His people.
The Liturgy of the Word affirms our understanding of the Eucharist as the gift of God for the life of the world. In the story of Elijah, recounted in the First Book of Kings, the Prophet is fleeing the wrath of the wicked Queen Jezebel. Feeling alone, frightened and exhausted, Elijah rested under a tree in the desert and prayed for death. God, however, still had work for Elijah to accomplish and through the ministration of angels, God provided food and drink to sustain the prophet on his journey to Horeb, the Mountain of the Lord. There, God would reveal Himself to Elijah and give him another mission to anoint new kings as well as a prophet to succeed him. This Old Testament account is a foreshadowing of the wondrous food which God in His compassion and mercy would provide for His pilgrim people, the Church, as we journey through the perils of this life in fulfillment of our mission to give witness to Jesus. This wondrous food which strengthens and sustains us is Jesus Himself, who invites us to taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Another view of the compassion of God is detailed for us in the Gospel according to Saint Luke in which the Evangelist relates the miraculous multiplication of loaves and fish. After healing many who were ill, Jesus also wants to feed the multitudes who came to Him. With only five loaves and two fish, Jesus feeds five thousand people. This, too, foreshadows the great miracle which is the Holy Eucharist. In this great sacrament, for two thousand years, Jesus has provided Himself as food for countless multitudes of believers.
Saint Paul, too, in his First Letter to the Corinthians, writes of the true nature of the Eucharist. Through the Eucharist, we participate in—we share in—the Body and Blood of Christ, and we experience the effect of unity, of communion: "we, though many, are one Body, for we all partake of the one loaf" (1 Cor 10: 17). This communion is so evident, with every Mass we celebrate, and, in a special way, is so vividly displayed during this International Eucharistic Congress. This Eucharistic Congress draws us from all over the world in a dramatic and eloquent demonstration of the catholicity—the universality—of the Church. We give a living witness to the power of the Eucharist, the sacrament which unites us from the many nations of the world, in a bond of charity, a communion of love. This is the love of Jesus Himself, which, then, we are called to imitate and to share for the transformation of the world.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, explains: "The union of Christ brought about by the Eucharist also brings a newness to our social relations... Indeed, ‘union with Christ is also union with all those to whom he gives himself. I cannot possess Christ just for myself; I can belong to him only in union with all those who have become, or who will become, his own’"(no. 89). Our communion in Christ sends us forth to live in charity, to be instruments of reconciliation, bearers of mercy, and proclaimers of Gospel values to a troubled world.
Like Elijah in the desert, contemporary humanity is tired and often frightened. Like the multitudes who came to Jesus in the wilderness, modern men and women — both young and old—are hungry and in need of healing. They long to hear the powerful truths proclaimed by Jesus, to witness the wonders which He works, to be healed by His transforming power, and to be nourished by the food which only He can provide. Through the preaching and sacramental ministry of the Church, men and women and children encounter Jesus, receive Jesus, and are sustained by Him in their earthly pilgrimage toward heaven. But, all along the way during their pilgrimage, they must give witness to Jesus. They must live the Gift which they receive. They must share the blessings which have been lavished upon them. Pope Benedict XVI declares: "We become witnesses when, through our actions, words and way of being, Another makes himself present. Witness could be described as the means by which the truth of God’s love comes to men and women in history, inviting them to accept freely this radical newness" (Sacramentum Caritatis, 85). Our participation in the Body and Blood of Christ, then, moves us, impels us to be renewed in Christ and to live in charity with all people.
We stand at a critical moment in history, a time when violence and terror grip a wounded world. If we, from all nations of the world can worship together our Eucharistic Lord, then what a difference we can make when we return to our homes, more deeply in love with the Eucharist and more conscious of the call to charity toward all as brothers and sisters. I implore all of you, especially the lay faithful, to help others appreciate anew the meaning of Sunday as the Lord’s Day, a day of worship, of charity, and of rest. Help others to recognize our great need for the Eucharist as the center of our lives, as the source of all the good that we do, and as the goal to which we direct all of our endeavors. Be sustained by Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament as you receive Him worthily and often. Immerse yourself in the contemplation of the Face of Jesus through Eucharistic Adoration. Be convinced that, through the Eucharist, Jesus calls you to bear His love to the world. In words borrowed from the Servant of God Pope John Paul II: "The Christian who takes part in the Eucharist learns to become a promoter of communion, peace and solidarity in every situation. More than ever, our troubled world, which began the new millennium with the specter of terrorism and the tragedy of war, demands that Christians learn to experience the Eucharist as a great school of peace, forming men and women who, at various levels of responsibility in social, cultural and political life, can become promoters of dialogue and communion" (Mane Nobiscum Domine, 27).
Through the intercession of Saint Anne, and her daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, may we always give witness to the miracle of the Word Made Flesh, and may we bear the love and peace of Jesus Christ to all people. Amen!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
First Anniversary of the Death of Pope John Paul II
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 3, 2006
Dear brother Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
All day yesterday, you may have noticed, on the television, people gathered in Saint Peter’s Square to pray in commemoration of the life and death of Pope John Paul II. It was his first anniversary: one year ago yesterday our Holy Father left us. The same gathering is taking place today–on this Monday. As a matter of fact, at this very moment, Pope Benedict XVI is celebrating Mass in the presence of thousands upon thousands of people in Saint Peter’s Square. And so we are very pleased to join with the universal Church, to join with brothers and sisters throughout the world in giving thanks and praise to God for having raised up Pope John Paul II to be our chief shepherd, the chief shepherd of the Church for over 26 years. We gather, following our Christian tradition, to pray for his soul, although we are convinced that he is already enjoying the fullness of the beatific vision. We also pray for his canonization, that God may see fit to have him glorified before the whole world as a saint of the Church.
Just yesterday, in his remarks Pope Benedict XVI tried to summarize the life of Pope John Paul II. It is a very difficult task, but he chose two words in particular to emphasize. And the two words that seemed to show forth the entire pattern of his life were fidelity and dedication. Pope Benedict XVI was talking about fidelity to God, fidelity to our Lord Jesus Christ, fidelity to the Church. And he was talking about the dedication of Pope John Paul II to his great pastoral mission: the role that had been assigned to him by God’s providence to be the chief shepherd of Christ’s Church.
A year ago, during the funeral in Rome, the Church reflected on the same Gospel that we have just proclaimed today. Jesus, as we have just heard meets with Simon Peter. The meeting is taking place after the Resurrection and Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him. "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" And three times Peter insists that the answer is "yes." But three times Jesus insists that there is a proof of love that Peter must show, if his attestation of love is to be authentic. And so Jesus tells Peter three times: "Feed my lambs." "Feed my sheep." In other words, Jesus says, I am making you the chief pastor of the Church, and in your role, in order to show your love for me, you must take care of my sheep, you must take care of my beloved people. And at the end of this Gospel, Jesus gives his last call to Peter, his last challenge to Peter. It is two words: "Follow me." And that was Peter’s vocation— to follow Jesus to the very end. Pope John Paul II, we know, has exemplified in his fidelity and in his dedication the faithful following of Jesus to the very end. And how fully John Paul II, as our Pope, strove to care for the Church, to proclaim Jesus Christ. He traveled throughout the whole world, on one hundred and four international pastoral visits around the world, in order to show his love and Christ’s love for the people of God, in order to proclaim Jesus Christ, the supreme and eternal shepherd of the Church. And how faithful John Paul II was to the command that Jesus gave to Peter: "Follow me." And John Paul II followed Jesus to the very end. He traveled until he could travel no more. He traveled as long as he had energy. And he walked until he could walk no more. And he spoke until he could speak no more. And finally we have that great image of John Paul II last Easter Sunday. Easter is a sign of triumph, and there John Paul II was on Easter Sunday in the fullness of his weakness and yet in the fullness of his strength. He came to his window when he could no longer travel, no longer walk, no longer talk. All he could do was bless his people and offer himself to God in the final stage of immolation. He offered himself for us, for the Church so that we might be faithful to Christ, so that we might follow Jesus our Shepherd, imitating Pope John Paul II in fidelity to God and in dedication to our mission.
And, so, Pope Benedict used these two words—fidelity and dedication—to summarize it all. And all of this in the life of Pope John Paul II was explained in another word and that word was love. Because Pope John Paul II endeavored to love Christ, he also endeavored to imitate Christ’s love for all of us. And one of the most important teachings of his pontificate was a very special aspect of love and that is mercy. John Paul II was the Pope that spoke to us at length about God’s mercy. And God’s mercy, for Pope John Paul II, was simply God’s love in the face of our needs, in the face of our weaknesses, in the face of our sins. And, for John Paul II, this love was Divine Mercy. It was the love of God in our regard.. And John Paul II asked us, asked the Church, to take on the mercy of God and to live the mercy of God. And this, dear friends, brings us to a very practical conclusion as we honor John Paul II on the first anniversary of his death. As we endeavor once again to embrace his teachings, we endeavor to put into practice in our lives his great teaching on God’s mercy. John Paul II spelled it out to the very end, that if you and I have received mercy then we must give mercy, we must show mercy. If we have had the benefit of God’s love in regard to our weaknesses, in regard to our sins, in regard to our needs, then we cannot remain insensitive to the needs and weaknesses and even the sins of others. In a very practical way in the family, how important this is— the whole virtue of forgiveness—the fact that, as Christian people, we do not keep grudges, we do not nourish hurts. Because we have been forgiven, we have been loved and we are called to love.
And, so, today we are deeply grateful for this assembly. We have come here in order to praise and thank God for this great pastor, to remember him in our prayers, to pray for his canonization and also that we ourselves may embrace his fidelity, his dedication and show this by our love and mercy for one another in the community of the Church. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Commemoration of the Fifth Anniversary of the Death of Pope John Paul II
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
March 29, 2010
Today we are commemorating, in advance, the fifth anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II, which actually occurs this coming Friday—Good Friday.
We gather together to remember in prayer Pope John Paul II and to thank God for the faithful ministry of this holy Pope.
During the twenty-six and a half years of his pontificate, the Pope spoke frequently about the need to proclaim the Gospel especially by example. He spoke frequently about the need for all of us to live in a way that is consistent with what we believe.
Five years after the death of Pope John Paul II, the Church sees ever more clearly how consistent Pope John Paul II was. During all those years he was very close to all the people who suffered. He explained the value of Christian suffering as a sharing in the sufferings of Christ. And we remember, when his turn came, how patiently and how peacefully he embraced the Cross.
His greatest legacy was his love for the Church. With love he embraced his vocation of being shepherd of the whole Church. He loved the people of God and traveled all over the world to proclaim Jesus Christ and to invite people to embrace Him.
Pope John Paul II was humbly conscious of the fact that Jesus Christ is the Shepherd of the Church. He was only His Vicar—the Vicar of Christ for the universal Church. He represented Christ with dignity and love. Especially in his last years, Pope John Paul II shared intensely in the sufferings of Christ, but he did so with joy and with peace.
The Gospel which we proclaim this afternoon was very special for Pope John Paul II. As Successor of the Apostle Peter the great challenge of his life was to accept the invitation that Jesus extended to Simon Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” And when Peter said that he did, Jesus challenged him: “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.”
With these words always in his heart, John Paul II gave his life, expending all his energy to serve the people of God and to communicate to them Jesus and His Gospel of justice, peace, life and love.
Today a great act of thanksgiving arises from the whole Church—and we join in—to praise God for the gift of John Paul II, loving shepherd of the Church, faithful successor of Peter the Apostle and Vicar of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass on the Second Anniversary
of the Death of Pope John Paul II
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 2, 2007
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons, Religious and Lay Faithful,
Today we observe the second anniversary of the death of our late beloved Holy Father, Pope John Paul II.
Two years ago today, Saturday, April 2, 2005, just hours after his death, a large congregation gathered in this Cathedral Basilica for the Mass that I was privileged to offer for the soul of Pope John Paul II. He died Rome time at 9:37 p.m. Just an hour and a half earlier, the holy Sacrifice of the Mass had been offered in his room. It was his last Mass; it was the Mass of the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday.
Already the Church was announcing the great gift of God’s mercy. In her psalm she was singing: "His mercy endures forever." Meanwhile as Pope John Paul II lay dying, the words of the First Letter of Saint Peter were being proclaimed in his presence: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."
Then came another powerful proclamation in that Letter of Saint Peter, so applicable to John Paul II: "Although you have not seen him, you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."
Then came the reading from the holy Gospel according to Saint John. Just as Jesus had spoken to the Apostles on the first Easter evening, now He was speaking personally to John Paul II, saying: "Peace be with you." And then He repeated a second time: "Peace be with you." Shortly thereafter, Jesus led John Paul II into the eternal peace of the Most Blessed Trinity, and the world began to call him John Paul the Great.
Already today he is revered as a "Servant of God" and his cause for canonization moves forward.
Meanwhile we assemble at this Eucharist to remember our beloved John Paul II and to praise and thank God for having raised him up to be the Vicar of Christ for the universal Church. It was God who chose him to represent His Son Jesus, and to lead the Church in the name of Jesus for twenty-six and a half years.
Today on this Monday of Holy Week our thoughts turn to Jesus Christ our great High Priest and the eternal Shepherd and Pontiff of the Church. The Prophet Isaiah speaks to us in prophecy about Jesus and presents to us the Father’s words about His Son: "Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my Spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations.... the coastlands will wait for his teaching."
Once again we see how accurately these words apply to Jesus and to His role as leader of the Church. But today we also see the depth of God’s wisdom and power in raising up John Paul II to participate in the High Priesthood of Jesus, and through Him and with Him and in Him to share His role in bringing forth justice to the nations as the coastlands await His teaching.
In particular, the Church praises God for the teaching of John Paul II and especially for his proclaiming to us so effectively and so insistently the revealed message of God’s mercy. So many times John Paul II showed us the meaning of mercy as God’s love in the face of our needs, our weaknesses, our sins. In his pontificate Divine Mercy was identified as the second name of God’s love (cf. Dives in Misericordia, 7).
John Paul II proclaimed Divine Mercy by his words and deeds. His whole life was this teaching. And today, two years after his death, we offer special praise to the God of mercy who continues to reveal mercy in the life and death of John Paul the Great. Amen.
November 5, 2003
The signing of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act is an historic moment and a victory for women, for unborn children and indeed for all Americans who embrace a culture of life. This ban will protect countless children who might have been killed by this heinous practice, a form of infanticide.
The fact that this ban is necessary to protect the most vulnerable among us from this abhorrent procedure demonstrates the culture of death that has taken root in some segments of our society. The majority of Americans, however, have made it clear that they do not support this extreme practice of partial-birth abortion.
I welcome this new law and am grateful to all of those who have advocated for this ban on partial- birth abortions for nearly a decade. I express my deep gratitude to President Bush, not only for signing this bill, but for advocating its passage by Congress. I also recognize that this ban would not have become reality without the tireless leadership of Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. I ask Catholics and others who value the sacredness of all human life to continue to work on behalf of women and their unborn children and to pray for the day when no abortions take place in this country.
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Donna Farrell
Broadcast and Media Specialist
215-587-3747
December 3, 2003
It is a great joy for me to hear of the papal appointment of Bishop Raymond L. Burke as the ninth bishop and eighth archbishop of St. Louis. The faithful of St. Louis are blessed to be given Bishop Burke as their new Archbishop. Bishop Burke has faithfully served the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin for nine years and has been a true apostle of the Catholic faith and loyal servant of Jesus Christ. I am confident that he will bring that same prayerful dedication and pastoral care to the wonderful people of the Archdiocese of St. Louis who remain close to my heart.
I express my heartfelt joy and deep gratitude to Pope John Paul II for choosing such a devoted pastor. Archbishop-elect Burke's pastoral service in Rome and in La Crosse will greatly benefit the mission of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. I know that he will be welcomed with open arms by the people of St. Louis. As Archbishop-elect Burke prepares to leave his home state, I wish him well in his new service as shepherd of the Catholic faithful of St. Louis.
I greet Archbishop-elect Burke in my own name and that of all the faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and I offer him the assurance of our prayerful support.
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Catherine L. Rossi
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
March 8, 2004
Upon learning of the death of Bishop Nicholas C. Dattilo, the Bishop of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, and Chairman of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, issued the following statement:
"It is with deep sorrow that I learned of the death of Bishop Nicholas Dattilo, Bishop of Harrisburg and President of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference. Bishop Dattilo was a devoted priest, a dedicated Bishop and a zealous servant of the Church. His death is a significant loss to the people of the Diocese of Harrisburg and his presence will be greatly missed.
Bishop Dattilo was a warm and personable Shepherd to the people of the Diocese of Harrisburg for fourteen years. He had a deep love of the Catholic Church and was ever faithful to her teachings.
The clergy, religious and faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia join me in extending to our brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Harrisburg, as well as to the members of Bishop Dattilo's family, our heartfelt sympathy and ardent prayers that he may find everlasting peace with Christ the Savior."
Bishop Nicholas C. Dattilo was a native of New Castle, Pennsylvania and studied at Saint
Vincent Seminary in Latrobe in western Pennsylvania and Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. Bishop Dattilo was ordained in the Pittsburgh diocese in 1958. On November 21, 1989, Pope John Paul II named him the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg.
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Catherine Rossi
Director
215-587-3747
March 23, 2004
My wholehearted congratulations and best wishes to Bishop Joseph Galante on his appointment as the seventh Bishop of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey. I am especially pleased to welcome Bishop Galante who was once a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, back to the Philadelphia area, where he is fondly remembered and will be warmly received.
During late 1980's, early 1990's, I had the opportunity to know Bishop Galante while both of us were serving the Holy Father in Rome. I know he is a dedicated and loyal servant of Jesus Christ and the people of God. I am certain that Bishop Galante will be a compassionate and wise shepherd to the Catholic faithful of Camden.
As Bishop Galante assumes his new position in the Church, my prayers, and , I know, the prayers of the priests, religious and faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are with him.
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Catherine L. Rossi
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
October 14, 2004
I extend my sincere congratulations and best wishes to Reverend Kevin Rhoades on his appointment by Pope John Paul II as the ninth Bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg. With this appointment, the Holy Father has placed confidence in Bishop-elect Rhoades' abilities as a shepherd and leader. I am certain that the faithful of Harrisburg will warmly welcome their new Bishop.
In his role as Rector of Mount Saint Mary's Seminary, Bishop-elect Rhoades clearly demonstrated his concern for future priests and reflected his understanding of the blessings and challenges of priestly life. I am confident that he will be a support to his brother priests in the Diocese of Harrisburg and will work diligently in promoting future vocations. He is a dedicated servant of Jesus Christ and will lead the Diocese of Harrisburg with compassion and strength.
Bishop-elect Rhoades began his priestly studies at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I know that the priests of Philadelphia, as well as the religious and faithful of the Archdiocese, join with me in offering heartfelt congratulations and assurance of prayers to him. May the coming years be a time of grace and blessings to Bishop-elect Rhoades and the Diocese of Harrisburg.
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Donna Farrell
Broadcast and Media Specialist
215-587-3747
November 3, 2004
I express prayerful good wishes for President Bush on his re-election as President of the United States. I express them also for Vice-President Cheney as well as for the families of both the President and Vice-President.
As citizens we may differ in our views but agree that we want what is truly best for each other, for our country and for the world. Therefore, it is my hope that all Americans will come together to support the President as he leads the United States during the next four years.
My brother bishops and I will strive to work with the President as he deals with the difficult issues facing our nation. I commend President Bush for his emphasis on the sacredness of human life demonstrated during his first term and I urge him to continue in his second term to stress the need to protect the most vulnerable among us and all human life.
I ask the President to remain steadfast in the defense of traditional family values and in recognition that marriage exists only between one man and one woman. It is my hope for the future that the government of the United States will protect the unborn, ensure compassion for the poor and needy, seek justice for the oppressed and work unremittingly for world peace.
I express prayerful good wishes also for Senator Kerry, Senator Edwards and their families.
I invite all the people of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to join me in offering prayers to God for the safety and well-being of the United States and all its leaders.
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Donna Farrell
Broadcast and Media Specialist
215-587-3747
November 29, 2004
Below is Cardinal Justin Rigali's Advent Letter to be communicated to the people of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia the weekend of November 27th and 28th. Please feel free to quote from the letter or to print it in its entirety.
Advent 2004
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
At the beginning of the holy season of Advent, I offer my prayers and encouragement to you and your families.
These days of prayerful preparation for the annual celebration of Christ's birth and of hopeful waiting for His return in glory provide us with the opportunity to reflect more profoundly on the gift the Father has so graciously given us in His Son Jesus. The Word became flesh and emptied Himself so that we might experience peace with the Father and each other.
These days take on added significance during this Year of the Eucharist. Our Holy Father Pope John Paul II has set this year aside for the Church to renew her love for and devotion to the Lord Jesus who abides with us in this most blessed of the Sacraments. Through the Eucharist the love of God is made tangible and concrete for each one of us. It is both a constant reminder and source of strength for us as we strive to respond in faith and to reflect the love of God to others.
During these days I ask you to make every effort amidst your many responsibilities to recommit yourself to a more devout celebration of the Eucharist and appreciation for the Lord's abiding presence in the Tabernacle. May the Eucharistic Year inspire you to a greater charity "so that when he comes he may find us watching in prayer, our hearts filled with wonder and praise" [Second Preface of Advent].
Sincerely in Christ,
Cardinal Justin Rigali
Archbishop of Philadelphia
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Marie Kelly
Associate Director
215-587-3747
December 17, 2004
It was with a sense of pride and joy that I learned of the appointment of Reverend Monsignor Michael J. Bransfield, a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia. I offer Bishop-elect Bransfield my wholehearted congratulations and best wishes and fraternal and prayerful support.
The Holy Father has shown confidence in Bishop-elect Bransfield's ability to shepherd the people of this diocese. As Rector of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., Bishop-elect Bransfield has shown that he is a dedicated and loyal servant of Jesus Christ. I am confident he will undertake the spiritual and pastoral care of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston with the same commitment and zeal. The faithful of Wheeling-Charleston are blessed to have him as their Bishop and I am certain that they will extend a warm welcome to their new spiritual leader and assist him in any way possible.
I give thanks to God that the Holy Father has chosen a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for this office. I know that my brother priests of Philadelphia, as well as the religious and faithful, join with me in offering support and prayers for Bishop-elect Bransfield. His appointment brings honor to the Archdiocese and I pray that his time of service in Wheeling-Charleston will bear much fruit in the name of our Lord Jesus and His Church.
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Donna Farrell
Broadcast and Media Specialist
215-587-3747
March 14, 2005
Cardinal Rigali strongly opposes the expected removal of nutrition and hydration from Terri Schindler Schiavo, a severely brain damaged woman in Florida. A native of Bucks County, Ms. Schiavo is a former member of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Southampton, Bucks County, and a 1981 graduate of Archbishop Wood High School, Warminster.
"Americans are watching with concern the plight of Terri Schindler Schiavo in Florida. It is a tragic situation that has grave implications for the future treatment of those who are vulnerable and reliant upon someone else to provide their sustenance and decide the level of medical care they receive. In the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where Terri Schindler was a parishioner and a graduate of one of our high schools, we watch and pray with particular interest in her case. I urge most strongly that those charged with her care provide life-sustaining nutrition and hydration.
Mrs. Schiavo must continue to receive such ordinary treatments to meet her basic needs until the time they become life threatening or harmful. Removing food and hydration now will amount to a very painful death. It also may hasten the day when anyone deemed not living a life of subjective quality � by whose definition? � may suffer the same fate. This evil, if permitted, will end the life of one woman and place all of us in peril.
Terri Schiavo and all those who rely on others for their basic needs remain worthy of care because of their dignity as children of God. In the Gospel of Life (papal encyclical written in 1995), Pope John Paul II wrote, �God alone has the power over life and death. But he only exercises this power in accordance with a plan of wisdom and love. When man usurps this power, being enslaved by a foolish and selfish way of thinking, he inevitably uses it for injustice and death. Thus the life of the person who is weak is put into the hands of the one who is strong; in society the sense of justice is lost...'
The Catholic bishops of Florida have strongly urged that Mrs. Schiavo should receive "all treatments and care that will be of benefit to her." I call on the faithful in the Archdiocese to join with me in prayer for Mrs. Schiavo, for her family and for all those charged with her life. I pray she receives the nourishment, hydration and loving care she needs until the Lord of Life calls her to His eternal home."
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Matt Gambino
Associate Director
215-587-3747
March 31, 2005
Cardinal Rigali offers prayers and condolences to the family of Terri Schindler Schiavo upon her death, following the removal of nutrition and hydration. She was a former member of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Southampton, Bucks County, and a 1981 graduate of Archbishop Wood High School, Warminster.
The death of Terri Schindler Schiavo has inspired the sympathy of millions of Americans. I offer my own condolences to the Schindler and Schiavo families. Although Terri Schiavo's death is an occasion for sadness for her family and loved ones, we are hopeful that she will share in the eternal life won by Jesus Christ through His Resurrection and offered to those who believe in Him.
Her medical condition prior to her death reminded us of the fragile character of life and our responsibility to care for one another in love. This responsibility is especially poignant when loved ones become incapacitated.
All human beings, regardless of their condition, are entitled to receive ordinary medical treatment, including nutrition and hydration, to meet their basic needs until the time that this treatment becomes burdensome, dangerous or disproportionate to the expected outcome.
In the case of Terri Schiavo the termination of nutrition and hydration resulted directly in her death. We can now foresee the day when anyone whose quality of life is contested may suffer the same fate. At the same time we can see ever more clearly, in the words of Pope John Paul II, the need for a great effort "to clarify the substantive moral difference between discontinuing medical procedures that may be burdensome, dangerous or disproportionate to the expected outcome...and taking away the ordinary means of preserving life, such as feeding, hydration and normal medical care."
I urge all people of good will to discuss end-of-life-care issues with family members in a manner that truly acknowledges God's dominion over human life and that deeply respects human life in all its stages, from conception until natural death.
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Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
April 2, 2005
It was with deep sadness that I received the news of Pope John Paul II's passing. It was also with gratitude to God for the gift of the Holy Father. He will surely be remembered as the greatest spiritual leader of our time. His entire life was an example of how to live out our faith, how to give witness to the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Father gave himself completely in service to Jesus and to the universal Church. In his final years, he suffered from many physical ailments but he never allowed those pains and problems to weigh down his spirit; his suffering was his final gift. He was an example to us all of the value of human life at every stage of existence.
As a staunch defender of the most vulnerable, he saw the conflict in America between a culture that celebrates life and a culture that seeks to declare entire groups of human beings, especially the unborn, to be outside the boundaries of legal protection. He appealed for an end to the death penalty, which he called cruel and unnecessary. He called on followers of Christ to be unconditionally pro-life and hoped "America would resist the culture of death and choose to stand steadfastly on the side of life." He said to America: "If you want peace, work for justice. If you want justice, defend life. If you want life, embrace the truth � the truth revealed by God." The Holy Father told us "only a higher moral vision can motivate the choice for life." He said "the values underlying that vision will greatly depend on whether the nation continues to honor and revere the family as the vital foundation of society."
On the day he was elected Pope, I heard him tell the world "the Cardinals have called a new Bishop of Rome... summoned from a faraway country." This Pope may have come from a faraway place, but he grew close to the hearts of millions over the years in every part of the world. He expressed love and gratitude to the priests, deacons, religious, seminarians and laity. With deep affection, he greeted other fellow Christians and members of other religions. He called for a respect for all people, of every race, color and creed. He saw a need to "put an end to every form of racism." The Holy Father's strength of character and purpose gave him the moral authority to lead the world in efforts to find peace. This leadership led to the downfall of communism and a flowering of freedom throughout Europe.
The Pope spoke on the genuine meaning of freedom when he visited Philadelphia in 1979. He also spoke on the dignity of the Priesthood and the need to support and encourage priestly vocations. I accompanied the Holy Father on that trip, the very first time I visited Philadelphia. Among other events, the Pope celebrated Mass for more than one million people on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. What a wonderful welcome he received in this city of Brotherly Love! I also witnessed a never-to-be-forgotten moment in January of 1999 when Pope John Paul II made a Pastoral Visit to Saint Louis, the only such visit to a single diocese in the United States that the Holy Father made during his pontificate. To this day, people in both cities speak of how their own faith was confirmed and strengthened by his inspiring presence.
Pope John Paul II has been called home by God; a good and faithful servant who has earned his eternal reward through a life of love and service to Jesus Christ. May God's people find comfort and inspiration in the witness of the Pope's life and may Jesus bless and watch over his Church on earth as we mourn the loss of our Holy Father.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
January 9, 2006
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill concerning immigration policy. Among its provisions, H.R. 4437 makes all undocumented immigrants criminals; removes due process protection to asylum seekers and refugees, including children; and mandates the detention of families and other vulnerable groups along our border. It also subjects humanitarian workers, including Church workers, to five years in prison simply for providing basic needs assistance, such as food and water, to an undocumented immigrant.
Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, issued this statement on immigration reform legislation currently in Congress.
This week the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, along with the Catholic Church throughout the United States, celebrates "National Migration Week," which recognizes the contributions of immigrants and refugees to the Church and our nation. Here in Philadelphia, newcomers have helped revitalize our city by bringing energy and industry to our city neighborhoods. Nationally, immigrants, refugees, and other new arrivals have, over the past 100 years, infused new ideas, skills and culture into our country, making it the great nation it is today.
Congress, with the support of President Bush, should seek to repair our broken immigration system by enacting comprehensive immigration legislation that reforms all aspects of our nation's immigration system, not simply law enforcement. Such legislation should propose an earned legalization program for the 11 million undocumented persons in the country. Earned legalization is not amnesty because the proposal requires immigrants to work for up to six years before applying for legal permanent residency. The bill should include a temporary worker program, which would provide legal channels for migrant workers to migrate in a safe, legal and orderly manner; and reductions in family visa backlogs, which causes family separation for up to 10 years or more. This approach offers stronger security measures because it provides an incentive for undocumented immigrants and their families to "come out of the shadows" and identify themselves to government authorities.
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Senator Arlen Specter, will consider comprehensive immigration reform early this year. Senator Specter and his colleagues in the Senate have a historic opportunity to adopt an immigration bill that will fix our broken immigration system and prepare our nation for migration realities of the twenty first century.
I urge Senator Specter and the U.S. Senate to reject H.R. 4437 and adopt a more comprehensive and humane approach to immigration reform. I also urge Catholics and others of good will to support this approach.
Our nation stands at a critical juncture in its history. Before venturing down the path of exclusion and intolerance, we must remember that all of us, except for American Indians, are immigrants or descendants of immigrants. Together, we can create an immigration system that reflects our national values, promotes our national security and is worthy of our great nation, a nation of immigrants.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
January 9, 2006
Sister Paul Mercedes Perreca, I.H.M. was a member of the faculty at Saint Martin of Tours Parish Elementary School in Northeast Philadelphia. Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, issued the following statement following the accident on Cottman Avenue.
I was saddened to learn of the passing of Sister Paul Mercedes, I.H.M. I offer my prayers and condolences for her family and the community of St. Martin of Tours Parish and School. She devoted her life to serving the Church and demonstrated care for the young people in our schools. She enriched the lives of many through her dedication to the mission of Catholic education. I also offer my prayers for the driver of the vehicle, which struck her. It is my hope that he or she will come forward and identify himself or herself. This is a difficult time for the members of this community and I pray that they will find comfort in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
February 22, 2006
Pope Benedict XVI announced on February 22 that he will create fifteen new Cardinals in the Catholic Church at a ceremony known as a consistory at the Vatican on March 24, 2006. Two Americans were among those named, including Archbishop William J. Levada, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Boston Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap.
I extend congratulations to all the Cardinals-Designate named by the Holy Father. They will serve the Church as close advisers and collaborators with the Supreme Pontiff in his ministry. I am also grateful to the Holy Father for the invitation to join him in reflection and prayer prior to the consistory and in a Mass the following day.
Archbishop Levada, whom I have known for over fifty years, brings deep theological expertise and pastoral experience to his position at the Vatican congregation. The Catholic faithful in Portland, Oregon, and in San Francisco whom he led as bishop no doubt remember him fondly in their prayers. I am certain the faithful of Boston are also gratified by the designation of Archbishop O'Malley, who is a prayerful model of spirituality for the people of God.
I ask all Catholics to join me in offering prayers of thanksgiving to our Lord Jesus Christ for raising these bishops to roles of greater service to the universal Church. May their ministries continue to give glory to God as they build up His Church.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
February 24, 2006
Lent 2006
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Grace and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ!
The holy season of Lent which we begin this Wednesday with the marking of our foreheads with the penitential sign of ashes draws us more deeply into the mystery of Christ and His Cross. It also allows us to rediscover that His mystery is also the mystery of our lives when they are lived in union with Him through Baptism and the faithful reception of the most Holy Eucharist.
In order to help us realize more fully how the death and resurrection of Christ is the pattern of our lives and in order to help us make reparation for our sins, the Church proposes to us the traditional practices of prayer, almsgiving and fasting. Through these means it is possible for us to advance in love of God and neighbor.
In particular I ask you to give special attention this Lent to almsgiving or charity. Your great generosity has already been manifested in your response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and other recent natural disasters. I ask you to build upon this generosity and in some way to make a sacrifice for the poor. Blessed Columba Marmion wrote about the meeting of the Lord Jesus and His Mother on the way to Calvary, "Her gaze meets His, and the abyss of the sufferings of Jesus calls upon the abyss of His Mother's compassion. What is there that she would not do for Him!" [Christ in His Mysteries, p. 274]. Let us imitate the example of Mary.
I also ask you to make a great effort to renew your devotion to Eucharistic adoration. Within this context I make a special appeal to you to pray for vocations to the Priesthood in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. We are confident that the Lord will hear our prayer and grant us the holy and faithful priests we need in our local church.
Sincerely in Christ,
Cardinal Justin Rigali
Archbishop of Philadelphia
Contact
Meredith V. Wilson
Communications Specialist
215-587-3747
March 7, 2006
Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, issues the following statement concerning the election of Sharon Latchaw Hirsh, Ph.D., as president of Rosemont College by the college's Board of Trustees:
I offer warm congratulations and prayerful support to Dr. Sharon Hirsh on being elected the 13th president of Rosemont College.
As a graduate of Rosemont, Dr. Hirsh understands clearly its Catholic identity and mission. Her long experience as an educator and administrator will be at the service of the whole Rosemont community, whose confidence she has already earned.
Contact
Matthew Gambino
Associate Director
215-587-3747
April 12, 2006
Easter 2006
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Praised be Jesus Christ who is risen from the dead!
At the Easter Vigil the Church exults in the news of Christ's Resurrection and sings, "Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in Glory! The risen Christ shines upon you! Let this place resound with joy, echoing the mighty song of all God's people!" The Church throughout the world rejoices indeed that the victory of Christ over sin and death belongs to each of her members, to all of us who have been baptized in Christ.
The renewal of our baptismal promises at Easter recalls both the gift of our adoption as children of God and our great responsibility to live as Christians. Saint Paul spells out this challenge for us in his Letter to the Romans, saying: "We were indeed baptized with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life (Rom 6:6).
Herein, dear friends, lies so much of the meaning of Easter: to live in newness of life as God's adopted children. In the weeks ahead our participation in the Eucharist will give us strength to live in newness of life, keeping God's commandments and living according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. From Him come joy and peace, which I pray will fill your hearts and homes in this blessed Easter season.
Sincerely in Christ,
Cardinal Justin Rigali
Archbishop of Philadelphia
Contact
Meredith V. Wilson
Communications Specialist
215-587-3747
May 16, 2006
I offer my most sincere congratulations and best wishes to Bishop Donald Wuerl on his appointment as the sixth Archbishop of Washington. Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has shown his confidence in Bishop Wuerl as a prayerful shepherd of the faithful, one who will lead the people of Washington with faith and trust in Jesus. I am certain that his new diocese will welcome him warmly.
I have known Archbishop Wuerl for years. Since becoming Archbishop of Philadelphia, I have come to know him even better as we worked together as fellow Pennsylvania Bishops serving the faithful of the Commonwealth. We also served together in Rome at the Synod of Bishops on The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church in the fall of 2005. Bishop Wuerl has demonstrated his commitment to Jesus and the Church throughout all his years as a priest. He is a thoughtful and intelligent leader who is a skillful communicator using all of the modern tools available to evangelize and deliver the Good News. I am confident that he will bring to the Archdiocese of Washington the same prayerful dedication that he has so ably demonstrated in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
I also offer my best wishes to Cardinal Theodore McCarrick upon the Holy Father's acceptance of his resignation. Cardinal McCarrick has lived the Gospel values and has been a true servant of the Lord. As shepherd of the Archdiocese of Washington, Cardinal McCarrick took a leadership role on issues of importance not just to Catholics but to many Americans. His pastoral care of the Archdiocese has been that of a shepherd truly concerned for the lives of the faithful and he guided the Archdiocese with pastoral love and zeal.
Contact
Donna M. Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
May 17, 2006
"The Da Vinci Code is an exercise in storytelling, an amalgam of myths and conspiracy theories, which falsely represents our Christian history and beliefs. Even the author has identified this as a work of fiction. Unfortunately, many people who have read the book and plan to see the movie believe the falsehoods they propagate. While this is deeply troubling, it is my hope that would-be readers and movie viewers see this as an opportunity to learn the truth about Jesus and the Church He founded.
Sacred Scripture and the Tradition of the Church tell us that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, born as a man to redeem humanity. In contrast to the apparent premise of the novel, the Catholic Church has consistently taught that Jesus was celibate. Jesus' celibate witness points humanity to an understanding of the Kingdom of God, where "they neither marry nor are given in marriage" (cf. Mk12:25). Jesus has wedded Himself not to one person but to the entire Church and through that He gives life to all who are born of water and the Spirit (cf. Jn 3:5).
Because of the extreme amount of publicity the novel has received, we also know that it distorts the heroic figure of Mary Magdalene. In truth, this strong woman was a disciple of Jesus who was transformed by her encounter with the mercy of God revealed through Jesus. The Gospels reveal that Mary Magdalene was the first witness of the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday morning. Because of her fidelity to Jesus and her privilege to be the one to announce to the Apostles that Jesus had risen, the Church holds Mary Magdalene in great esteem.
I encourage everyone who is curious about the stories spun by The Da Vinci Code to attend an educational forum at a parish or school and to visit a web site specifically created to address this novel by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (www.jesusdecoded.com). Our own Archdiocesan newspaper, The Catholic Standard & Times has printed many stories on this subject. Take advantage of the wealth of information available and see how easy it is to find the truth and deepen your faith.
The Catholic Church has faced previous challenges that presented false perspectives of Christianity. Just as in the past, today the Catholic Church is going to great lengths to provide the truth as based upon divine revelation and centuries of biblical scholarship about our Savior, Jesus Christ."
Contact
Donna M. Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
June 5, 2006
I join with President Bush, my brother Bishops and the leaders of other religious faiths in support of the Marriage Protection Amendment which I hope will soon be approved by the United States Senate. The Senate has an opportunity to protect the precious institution of marriage at a time when this very foundation of our society is under attack in courts and state legislatures across our country. It is an opportunity which should not be squandered. If this amendment does not move forward, we may find ourselves in the future with the entire framework of society altered, the well-being of children threatened and people of good will asking, "Why did we do nothing to prevent the erosion of marriage and society?"
Those who would seek to redefine the institution of marriage are asking society to give up something it does not have the right to relinquish. Marriage is given to us by God. It is the sacred union of one man and one woman for the purpose of procreation, part of God's plan for the human race. Marriage, then, is not the construction of any particular religion, nor is it a mere legalism, but was established by the universal law of God within creation: In His image and likeness He created them male and female, and he commanded them to be fruitful and multiple (cf. Genesis 1:26-28). We do not have the authority to change the structure of marriage. That is why unions that are not between one man and one woman cannot possibly receive the approbation of society, law and culture. There is nothing discriminatory about this and in fact, the Church has consistently taught that the dignity and rights of homosexual persons must be respected.
The Catholic Church proclaims that marriage is accorded a place of honor. Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in his Encyclical Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love) described many different kinds of love but said, "Amid this multiplicity of meanings, however, one in particular stands out: love between man and woman, where body and soul are inseparably joined and human beings glimpse an apparently irresistible promise of happiness."
I recognize that amending our Constitution is a serious matter but I also believe that it is critical to take this action at this time because of increasing attacks in our culture and courts on the institution of marriage. I encourage Catholics and others concerned about the fate of society to contact their Senators and voice their concerns about the protection of marriage and the future of society.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
June 8, 2006
Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, announced at a news conference at the Archdiocesan Office Center in Philadelphia this morning that Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Monsignor Daniel E. Thomas as an Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia. The Cardinal also announced that the Holy Father has appointed Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, currently Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, as the fifth Bishop of Raleigh in North Carolina.
Bishop-elect Thomas is a native of the Manayunk section of Philadelphia. He attended Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia and Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood and was ordained in 1985. At age 46, he is the second-youngest Bishop in the United States. Bishop-elect Thomas is currently the Pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Strafford, Chester County, but is recently returned from Rome where he served as an official in the Congregation for Bishops at the Vatican for fifteen years. Cardinal Rigali said, "I had the pleasure of having Bishop-elect Thomas working with me for the years that I was Secretary of the Congregation. He is an exemplary priest with a great love for the Church. Bishop-elect Thomas demonstrates a pastoral care for the faithful which I know will only grow as he assists me in ministering to the entire Archdiocese of Philadelphia."
Cardinal Rigali will ordain Bishop-elect Thomas on July 26, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. At the news conference today, Bishop-elect Thomas told reporters, "I love the Church, I love the priesthood and I love Philadelphia! It will be a singular grace, together with the other auxiliary bishops, to serve my brother priests, the religious and lay faithful here in this Archdiocese which I call home." Bishop-elect Thomas also said, "I accept unreservedly and promise, in communion with the Holy Father and the College of Bishops, to herald, teach and defend the faith of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church."
Daniel E. Thomas was born in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia to Francis P. and the late Anna M. (Weber) Thomas on June 11, 1959. He attended Holy Family Parish Elementary School and is a 1977 graduate of Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia. He graduated from Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania and was ordained in 1985.
He served as Parochial Vicar of Saint Joseph's Parish in Aston beginning in 1985 and then was assigned to Graduate Studies in Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical North American College in Rome in 1987. Father Thomas received the License in Sacred Theology from Pontifical Gregorian University in 1989 and pursued Doctoral Studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1989. He was assigned as an Official of the Congregation for Bishops at the Holy See from 1990 to 2005. He was named a Prelate of Honor with the title Monsignor in 2005 by Pope John Paul II. In 2005, Monsignor Thomas returned to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia assigned as Pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Strafford, Chester County.
In making the announcement of the Holy Father's appointment of Bishop Burbidge as the fifth Bishop of Raleigh, Cardinal Rigali said, "This appointment demonstrates the Holy Father's confidence in Bishop Burbidge. Bishop Burbidge is a skillful leader who will shepherd the people of Raleigh with great care and concern for their spiritual well-being. They will come to know Bishop Burbidge as we do; as a compassionate, wise and faith-filled priest and Bishop. He exhibits deep joy in carrying out his priestly duties and serving in Jesus' name; it is a gift to witness his zeal for his ministry."
At a news conference at his Chancery in Raleigh today, Bishop Burbidge told the media that he was on a family vacation in the Diocese of Raleigh when he learned that Pope John Paul II had appointed him as Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia. Today he expressed his joy in returning to the Diocese as its fifth Bishop. He said, "I conveyed to Pope Benedict in my acceptance letter that I begin this new ministry with total dependence on the Lord's divine assistance and assured him that I will strive daily to be a faithful and dedicated shepherd after the heart of Christ."
Bishop Burbidge also said he will continue to depend upon the prayers and support of all those for whom he has such affection in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as well those in his new Diocesan family.
Bishop Burbidge concluded his press conference in North Carolina by saying, "The last time I was in this Diocese of Raleigh I was on vacation. However, I return now with the mandate to serve and I cannot wait to begin! I entrust my new ministry to Mary our Mother and through her to the Sacred Heart of Her Son Jesus Christ, who is Lord forever!"
Michael F. Burbidge was born in Philadelphia on June 16, 1957to Mr. and Mrs. Francis and Shirley (Lilley) Burbidge, who currently reside in Broomall, Pennsylvania. Father Burbidge graduated from Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary and was ordained in 1984. He served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Bernard Parish in Philadelphia from 1984 to 1986 and taught at Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, Delaware County, from 1986 to 1990. During 1990-91, Father Burbidge served on the faculty of Archbishop Wood High School and became Dean of Students at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in 1991. Father Burbidge served as Administrative Secretary to Cardinal Bevilacqua from 1992 to 1999. In 1998, he was named Honorary Prelate (Monsignor). Monsignor Burbidge was named Rector of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, in 1999. He was ordained a bishop in 2002. He was assigned to the Archdiocesan Office Center to assist the Archbishop with administrative duties and as Regional Bishop to assist the Archbishop with pastoral responsibilities.
Bishop Burbidge also serves as the Chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop' Sapientia Christiana Committee. He was a member of the Committee on Priestly Formation from 2002-2005 and is the Episcopal Moderator of the National Association of the Holy Name Society. He has also been the Chair of the USCCB Conformity Review Team for the Catechism of the Catholic Church since 2005 and is a member of the USCCB Committee on Catechesis.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
July 19, 2006
I offer warm congratulations and prayerful support to Sister Christine McCann, R.S.M., on being elected President of the newly created Mid-Atlantic Region of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.
This is an historic time for the Sisters of Mercy who follow in the path of Mother Catherine McAuley, their foundress, who taught the importance of compassionate service and outreach to the sick, the poor and the uneducated. Dedicated leadership will be an important element of the consolidation into the new community. Sister Christine McCann's experience as Regional President of the Sisters of Mercy in Merion and as Board Chair for Mercy Health System will serve the Sisters of Mercy well as they enter a new chapter in their history of service to those in need.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
July 25, 2006
I am grateful that President Bush has kept his promise to veto the proposed legislation regarding embryonic stem cell research. Destroying human embryos for the unproven promise of saving other human beings from various diseases is the cruelest form of utilitarianism. That philosophy holds that one can utilize a class of human beings-a vulnerable class-to improve the lives of another group. Of course the Church wishes to see cures for diseases and relief from suffering for the ill but not if other persons must suffer the ultimate harm. Citizens of the United States and around the world have continually rejected this idea of sacrificing one person to save another. This legislation also would make United States citizens complicit in federally funding this immoral research by the use of their tax dollars.
The argument that human embryos not used for in-vitro fertilization are ultimately destined for destruction anyway lays a false groundwork. One cannot cause destruction simply because another party may do so eventually.
There are alternatives. Adult stem cells and umbilical cord blood cells (not derived from human embryos) continue to create effective treatment for a large number of diseases. Any action to fund the unethical work of embryonic stem cell research will divert funds from the morally responsible and effective adult stem cell research.
Please join your prayers with mine that our nation will uphold the dignity and worth of every human life, even in the embryonic stage, by continuing to refuse to support this research on innocent human beings.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
August 14, 2006
Recently, there has been extensive media attention regarding an attempted ordination of women, which took place on a river boat outside Pittsburgh on July 31, 2006. Eileen DiFranco, who is known to members of Saint Vincent DePaul Parish in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, participated in the event. Accordingly, the following statement is issued regarding this activity.
Recently, there has been a good deal of publicity about a woman of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Mrs. Eileen DiFranco, participating in a simulated ceremony of ordination to the priesthood on a river boat outside Pittsburgh.
The long-standing and constant teaching of the Church, based on Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, and confirmed in Church law, states that the Church is simply not authorized by Christ to confer Holy Orders upon women, and cannot do so, no matter how ardent a person's desire may be. Therefore, such a simulated ordination of a woman to the priesthood is clearly and simply invalid. I am saddened when anyone publicly jeopardizes his or her relationship with the Church, which Mrs. DiFranco unfortunately has done by her action.
Although I attempted to dissuade Mrs. DiFranco from participating in this invalid ritual, nevertheless she proceeded to do so. Now I am left with no alternative than to report this matter to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, as I am obligated to do. The ultimate goal of any action taken against Mrs. DiFranco is to encourage her repentance and reconciliation with the Church. I shall continue to pray for this intention.
Each and every Catholic man and woman brings different gifts to the Church and exercises them in a variety of roles, according to the state of life to which they have been called by Christ. United in the love of Jesus, we are all at the service of His Body, the Church. In pledging to avoid scandal and discord, we can help to reap a bountiful harvest for our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Contact
Matthew Gambino
Associate Director
215-587-3747
August 24, 2006
Following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision to allow the Plan B pill to be made available without a prescription to women 18 and over, Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, offers the following statement:
I express profound disagreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision to make the "morning-after pill" available as an over-the-counter drug to women 18 and older. If a child has already been conceived this drug alters the woman's uterus, preventing pregnancy from taking its natural course. Consequently, it is an abortifacient which causes the destruction of a human life.
This action will ultimately hurt women who are being falsely led to believe that these pills are solely contraceptive in nature. It has the potential to physically harm women and destroy innocent human life. There is a five times greater risk of life-threatening ectopic pregnancy with the Plan B pill, according to the drug's new packaging insert.
I strongly urge the Food and Drug Administration to reconsider this decision to make easily available a drug, one of whose purposes it is to destroy innocent human life.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
September 5, 2006
I am pleased that the Association of Catholic Teachers has accepted the contract proposal offered by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I know that the negotiating process has been long and difficult and I am appreciative of the efforts of the Archdiocesan negotiating team, led by our Chief Negotiator, Tim Coyne, Esq., and the administration of the Office of Catholic Education. They worked tirelessly for months to achieve an equitable agreement for all parties.
I assure school parents and families that I am mindful of the sacrifices they make to send their children to Catholic school. The Archdiocese continues its efforts to keep tuition affordable for our families; these efforts are an important part of the negotiations with the Association.
As the 2006-2007 school year begins I welcome school administrators, teachers and students back to the classrooms of the Archdiocese. I express in a special way my appreciation for the daily efforts of our teachers. The Archdiocese is blessed to have so many professionals dedicated to providing a quality Catholic education to the young people in our care. I pray that the coming school year will be a productive one as we educate our young people and form them in our Catholic faith.
Contact
Donna M. Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
October 3, 2006
I was distressed and saddened to learn of the shootings at the West Nickel Mines Amish School in Lancaster County. My prayers are with the families whose children died as well as with the students who were injured and traumatized in this senseless tragedy. I pray that God will comfort them all and sustain them in the difficult days ahead. It is my hope that they know their fellow Pennsylvanians join with them in prayerful support.
The entire community is experiencing the shock that comes in the wake of violence toward young people. All human life is a gift and young children are especially precious in the eyes of the Lord. May the Holy Spirit console everyone involved at this time of sadness and pain.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
January 10, 2007
I was saddened to learn of the death of Mr. Lettieri. I know this is a very difficult time for his family and for his co-workers and listeners. Mr. Lettieri contributed to the work of the Church through his radio ministry and worked diligently to spread the Good News through radio evangelization. He and his family made many sacrifices in order to proclaim the Gospel on the air, contributing all they had to create the network. In establishing In His Sign Network, Mr. Lettieri stated that his mission was to "evangelize, educate and build community through radio communications" and he did that faithfully for decades.
I offer my condolences to the family of Mr. Lettieri, in particular his wife Joan, and his children Angela, Mary, Tom, Kevin, Brian and Tim as well as all of his grandchildren. I pray that they may find comfort in our Lord Jesus, the Savior whose birth we so recently celebrated. May Jesus watch over them and inspire others to continue the work of Mr. Lettieri and In His Sign Network.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
April 17, 2007
I was distressed and deeply saddened to learn of the deadly shooting rampage at Virginia Tech University. My prayers are with the families of those who died and with all who were injured and traumatized in this senseless tragedy. I pray that God will grant them comfort and strength in the difficult days ahead. The faithful in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia express their prayerful solidarity.
Violence leaves its wake of death and injury on the entire community. All human life is a gift and young people are especially precious to the Lord. May the Holy Spirit console everyone involved at this time of sadness and pain.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director, Office for Communications
215-587-3747
June 7, 2007
I ask all people of good will to join me in rejecting the divisive and erroneous label that Philadelphia City Council has forced upon the citizens of Philadelphia today. I reject the resolution because so many heroic efforts are made continually to safeguard unborn children from the evil of abortion, to protect vulnerable children and families and to defend all women and men in crisis. In a city where so many people vigorously defend life at every stage, proclaiming Philadelphia "pro-choice" is inconsistent with reality. It unfairly saddles those who support life at all stages with this shameful label.
Philadelphia is experiencing homicide at a record rate; now is not the time to affirm the false choice of procured abortion. Rather, all residents should rally around the common cause of eliminating the hopelessness that generates violence.
Everyone deserves to be born and live in a society that builds conditions conducive to life, not despair and death. The dialogue between individuals and groups working to build a just society is ill-served by City Council's unproductive resolution. I commend those members who opposed this resolution. Council members who voted for it should apologize to the thousands of Philadelphians they have offended today, and turn their energies toward improving the quality of life and the safeguarding of all residents.
Editor's Note: A video version of this statement will be available on the Archdiocesan web site under Catholic News or www.youtube.com Search term "Cardinal Rigali"
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
June 14, 2007
I applaud the members of Philadelphia City Council who worked to rescind last week's troubling resolution. The members who supported today's resolution are to be commended for reflecting carefully upon this issue and showing the courage to revisit it. I appreciate that Council has considered seriously the sensitivities of all Philadelphians and has rightly voted to take these sensitivities into account. It is my hope that this occasion will lead to a more productive dialogue and ultimately to greater reverence for the sanctity of all human life.
Editor's Note: A video version of this statement will be available on the Archdiocesan web site at www.archdiocese-phl.org under Catholic News or on www.youtube.com Search term "Cardinal Rigali"
Contact
Matthew Gambino
Associate Director
215-587-3747
June 27, 2007
It was a great pleasure to learn that our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has named Archbishop John P. Foley as Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Archbishop Foley has served faithfully in Rome for many years as President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. In this role he has worked zealously to communicate globally the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pope Benedict XVI has now entrusted him with another important mission in the Church. He is called to direct and guide the Order of the Holy Sepulchre in its service to the Church of Jerusalem. This involves working for the well-being and stability of the Christian community throughout the Holy Land.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is proud of Archbishop Foley and his dedicated service to the Apostolic See and the universal Church. We assure him of our prayerful support at this time when the Holy Father renews his trust in Archbishop Foley's faithful and effective collaboration.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
July 12, 2007
I offer my sincere congratulations and best wishes to Archbishop Edwin O'Brien on his appointment as the fifteenth Archbishop of Baltimore. Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has shown his confidence in Archbishop O'Brien as a prayerful shepherd of the faithful, one who will lead the people of Baltimore with faith and trust in Jesus. I am certain that the people of the first diocese in America will welcome him warmly.
I also offer my best wishes to Cardinal William Keeler upon the Holy Father's acceptance of his resignation. Cardinal Keeler has lived the Gospel and has been a true servant of the Lord. His pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Baltimore has been marked by his love and concern for the lives of the faithful of the Archdiocese, whom he has guided in the model of the Good Shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
July 18, 2007
It is with pleasure that I offer congratulations and a warm welcome back to Pennsylvania to Most Reverend David A. Zubik on his appointment as the twelfth Bishop of Pittsburgh. Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has demonstrated his confidence that Bishop Zubik will faithfully shepherd the people of Pittsburgh in the coming years.
With this appointment Bishop Zubik returns to his home Diocese and I am sure the people of Pittsburgh will welcome him back with affection and pride. Bishop Zubik has shown himself to be a dedicated and loyal servant of Jesus Christ and the people of God in Green Bay and I am certain that he will be a compassionate and wise shepherd to the Catholic faithful in Pittsburgh.
As Bishop Zubik prepares to assume his new position in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, my prayers and those of the priests, religious and faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are with him.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
November 2, 2007
I was so sorry to learn of the death of Officer Cassidy. I extend my condolences to his family upon the death of their beloved husband, son and father. I join with the entire community in a feeling of closeness to the Cassidy family during this tragedy and offer my sympathy and prayerful solidarity. Praying with the Cassidy family on the day of the shooting it was clear that the support of so many police officers, family, friends and even strangers meant a great deal to them at this time of unimaginable pain.
I wish as well to extend my sympathy to the men and women of the Philadelphia Police Department who are also experiencing deep loss. Every day these officers go to work they put their lives at risk to keep all of us safe. I hope and pray for an end to the senseless violence plaguing the city of Philadelphia. The lack of regard for human life plays out tragically on city streets each day. I urge all people of good will to join me in working for an end to violence.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
December 21, 2007
The presentment against Reverend Charles Newman, a Franciscan Friar, issued on December 20, 2007, is the culmination of two independent investigative processes conducted by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. The investigations began in late 2003 when the Archdiocese suspected that funds were being misappropriated at Archbishop Ryan High School in Northeast Philadelphia. The fraudulent use of funds was a betrayal of trust within the Archbishop Ryan Community; however, the greater tragedy was the sexual abuse of a minor which was discovered by the Archdiocese during the financial audits.
Knowing that child sexual abuse can affect all areas of victims' lives, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia offers to assist victims of sexual abuse by clergy with their present and future needs. The Archdiocese also recognizes that reports like this can cause a reoccurrence of trauma for other victims of sexual assault. If you are the victim of sexual abuse by a cleric, staff or volunteer of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and need assistance, please call the Victim Assistance coordinators at 1-888-800-8780. In light of this situation, we are particularly concerned at this time for our former students from Archbishop Ryan High School and invite them to contact us if they need assistance.
The following information is provided to outline Archdiocesan actions in this case:
- On November 18, 2003, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia received information about possible theft of funds from Archbishop Ryan High School in Northeast Philadelphia. This information identified former President of Archbishop Ryan High School, Father Charles Newman, O.F.M., as one of the alleged perpetrators of the fraud.
- Upon receipt of this information the Archdiocese immediately scheduled an internal audit and notified Archbishop Ryan High School on November 19, 2003, of this decision but did not indicate the reason.
- On November 20, 2003, representatives of the Archdiocese met with Father Charles Newman, O.F.M., and informed him that he was terminated from his position and that he was not to return to the school. Simultaneously, other representatives of the Archdiocese were sent to Archbishop Ryan High School to change the locks on the doors, cabinets and other items containing financial records and documents.
- On November 21, 2003, Archdiocesan representatives returned to Archbishop Ryan High School to remove the name of Father Charles Newman from all bank accounts and to begin a more detailed investigation.
- On November 24, 2003, the Archdiocesan external auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC, were notified of the suspected fraud and asked to perform a forensic audit.
- By early December 2003, PricewaterhouseCoopers had begun a forensic audit, a specialty practice of accounting which addresses fraud or other criminal investigations.
- During this initial phase of the forensic audit, the Archdiocese learned of possible sexual abuse of a minor that was connected to the misappropriation of funds.
- On December 12, 2003, the Archdiocese promptly reported to the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office regarding the suspected fraud and the possible sexual abuse of a minor.
- On April 29, 2004, the Archdiocesan Victim Assistance staff took an in-person report by the victim of the allegation of sexual abuse by Father Newman.
- On May 5, 2004, the Archdiocese once again reported this information to the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.
Father Charles Newman is a member of a Religious Order, not a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He served within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia through an agreement with the Franciscan Friars Assumption BVM Province to staff Archbishop Ryan High School. When an allegation of sexual abuse is received by the Archdiocese against a member of a Religious Order working within the Archdiocese, the allegation is reported to civil authorities as well as to the Provincial of the Order.
If the allegation of abuse involves a member of clergy from a Religious Order, the Archdiocesan Victim Assistance Office will assess the victim's immediate need for assistance and services. If the Religious Order is unable to assist the victim through the crisis situation, an Archdiocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator offers immediate aid and support. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia will facilitate arrangements with the Religious Order for long-term assistance as well.
Based upon a thorough financial review by independent, outside auditors, accounting procedures have been strengthened in all of our twenty high schools. Some of the key changes include establishing an Advisory Board with a Finance Committee at each school, hiring two senior accountants to supervise school personnel, replacing school bookkeepers with accountants and strengthening policies on disbursement of funds. The Archdiocese also entered into an agreement with the Franciscan Friars for the restoration of the funds that were missing from Archbishop Ryan High School as well as the cost of the audit.
For more information on the Victim Assistance Program provided by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and for information on the Bishops Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People please visit www.archphila.org and click on Victim Assistance.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
May 8, 2008
Although I am not able to be present for the funeral of Sergeant Stephen Liczbinski, because I am presently in Rome, I wish to express deep solidarity with his wife and children and with all who mourn him in sadness and in hope.
In the name of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia I assure his beloved family of the prayers of our people. As we invoke God's merciful love on the soul of Sergeant Liczbinski we also pray for the peace and protection of our City. We ask God to deliver us from the scourge of violence and to convert the hearts of all to recognize the immense dignity of every human being and the incomparable value of every human life.
May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant eternal life to Sergeant Liczbinski, grace and strength to his family, and peace to our entire community.
Contact
Meredith Wilson
Communications Specialist
215-587-3747
May 9, 2008
Officer Gary Skerski, May 8, 2006.
Captain Charles "Chuck" Cassidy, Oct. 31, 2007
Sergeant Stephen Liczbinski, May 3, 2008.
All three, loving fathers. All three, devoted husbands. All three, actively involved in their community. All three killed in the line of duty the past two years.
All three were also Catholic - a fact, I believe, that is significant. On this day when we as a city turn to the Funeral Rites of the Catholic Church for comfort, millions throughout our region join in prayers of sympathy and solidarity.
Beginning in childhood, Catholics discover the meaning of sacrifice in the person of Jesus, who gave his life on the cross for all. He taught us that "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends"(John 15:13). In life and in death, our three fallen officers followed the example of Jesus in serving their brothers and sisters.
We honor these three officers who gave their lives for their fellow citizens. Their passionate commitment to do so comes as no surprise when we look at their lives:
They were men of strength, men of love. They loved their neighbors by trying to protect them. They loved this City of Brotherly Love by making the ultimate sacrifice, themselves victims of the criminal acts they worked so hard to prevent.
They lived the motto of the Philadelphia Police Department: "Honor, Integrity, Service."
Their example forces all of us to look at ourselves and ask how we can be more vigilant in preventing crime, more active in volunteering to build up our communities, more committed to prayer to almighty God and more respectful and loving of our fellow residents.
As Archbishop of Philadelphia, how moved I am by the ultimate sacrifice of Officers Liczbinski, Cassidy and Skerski! How proud I am of our Catholic men and women in uniform! Together with you, I am grateful to them and to all who serve us -- no matter their religion - and who daily risk their lives for their brothers and sisters.
Contact
Kevin Mulligan
Associate Director Communications
215-587-3747
July 28, 2008
Cardinal Justin Rigali has received an allegation that Reverend Gerard J. Hoffman sexually abused a minor more than 30 years ago. Cardinal Rigali has relieved Father Hoffman of his assignment pending formal investigation.
This is the first allegation of sexual abuse of a minor that the Archdiocese has received regarding Father Hoffman. Since 2002, he has been assigned as Parochial Vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Doylestown, Bucks County. Father Hoffman is no longer residing at the parish rectory as of a week ago.
An announcement was made this past weekend at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish regarding Father Hoffman. Counselors from the Archdiocese Victim Assistance Office were available after Masses and parishioners were urged to contact the Archdiocese Victims Assistance Coordinators at 1-888-800-8780 or the Network of Victim Assistance of Bucks County if they had concerns or if anyone wished to make a report of the sexual abuse of a minor.
Father Hoffman was ordained in 1973. Since that time he has served in the following parishes/schools prior to his assignment at Our Lady of Mount Carmel: St. Teresa of Avila, Valley Forge; St. Basil the Great, Kimberton; St. Isaac Jogues, Wayne; King of Peace, Philadelphia; St. John the Evangelist, Philadelphia; assistant pastor at Cathedral Basilica SS. Peter and Paul; faculty member at St. Pius X High School, Pottstown; Saint John Neumann High School, Philadelphia; and Roman Catholic High School, Philadelphia.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia recognizes that this public notice may be painful to those who have experienced sexual abuse within the Church. If someone needs assistance please contact the Victim Assistance Office for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia at 1-888-800-8780.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
August 5, 2008
The Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, a religious order, today notified the Archdiocese of Philadelphia of allegations of sexual abuse against Rev. Dennis Killion, O.S.F.S. from the time when he taught at Salesianum School in Delaware approximately twenty years ago. Fr. Killion's planned assignment to Saint Bede the Venerable Parish in Holland, Bucks County in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia had just been announced in the parish this past Sunday. He was scheduled to begin serving and residing at the parish on August 18, 2008.
Upon learning today of the allegations from the Oblates, Cardinal Justin Rigali immediately withdrew his approval for Fr. Killion to serve at Saint Bede the Venerable Parish and anywhere within the Archdiocese. The Oblates this morning also informed the Archdiocese that Fr. Killion has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
Father Killion had previously served in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as Assistant Principal of Archbishop Wood Boys High School in Warminster, Bucks County (1986-1990) and as a faculty member at Father Judge High School in Philadelphia (1991-2006). The Archdiocese has never before received any allegation against Father Killion.
While serving within the Archdiocese, Fr. Killion completed the screening procedures of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, including the appropriate police and child abuse background checks, and received a positive recommendation and clearance from the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia recognizes that this public notice may be painful to those who have been abused. If anyone needs assistance please contact the Victim Assistance Office for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia at 1-888-800-8780.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
February 23, 2009
I am filled with great joy upon learning of Archbishop Timothy Dolan's appointment by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to shepherd the faithful of the Archdiocese of New York. I offer Archbishop Dolan my warm congratulations and prayerful support and I am certain that the Catholic faithful of New York will grow to know him as an exemplary leader who proclaims the Gospel with an evident love of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Church.
During my tenure as Archbishop of St. Louis, I was fortunate to have then-Bishop Dolan as an auxiliary for a short time and to work closely with him on pastoral matters on a daily basis. I know him as a zealous, humble and enthusiastic Bishop, whose devotion to our faith and ability to communicate the Lord's teachings to all will serve him very well in New York. As Archbishop Dolan prepares to assume his new responsibilities in the Archdiocese of New York, my prayers are with him.
I also offer my fraternal best wishes to Cardinal Edward Egan upon the Holy Father=s acceptance of his resignation. Cardinal Egan has endeavored to be a true servant of the Lord. Cardinal Egan's pastoral care of the Archdiocese of New York has been marked by his love and concern for the lives of the faithful of the Archdiocese.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
April 27, 2009
It is most unfortunate that this pseudo-Ordination has occurred within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I am concerned pastorally for the souls of those involved and for the Catholic faithful who may be confused. Those who present themselves for ordination at such an invalid ceremony - as well as those who falsely claim to be ordaining the women -- are, by their actions, automatically excommunicated from the Church. (General Decree regarding the delict of attempted sacred ordination of a woman, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, December 19, 2007)
Such a ceremony is in violation of the constant teaching of the Church, based on Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Both clearly indicate that Jesus called only men to follow Him as Apostles, and the Church has always regarded his choice in this matter as normative for all time. Therefore, she has always followed Jesus' example by choosing only men for the ministry of Holy Orders. This teaching has been confirmed by the supreme authority of the Catholic Church as definitive and irreformable. Consequently, the Church is not authorized by Christ to confer Holy Orders upon women, and cannot do so, no matter how ardent a person's desire may be.
All Catholic men and women bring different yet equally valuable gifts to the Church. The Church is strongest when the gifts given by Christ to all her members are celebrated and respected. Our late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, said, "The presence and the role of women in the life of the Church, although not linked to the ministerial priesthood, remain absolutely necessary and irreplaceable." (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, 1994).
God's gifts, however, are never given to individuals merely for their own fulfillment, but for the unfolding of his plan of salvation in the Church for the benefit of the whole community of the faithful, and no one's true personal dignity in the Church can be fostered in opposition to the will of Christ Himself. Consequently, such a pseudo-ordination ceremony denigrates the truth entrusted to the Church by Christ Himself, and demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of the respect and dignity accorded to women by Christ and His Church.
Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
May 27, 2009
"With great joy I received the news of the appointment by Pope Benedict XVI of Bishop-elect John Barres as the fourth Bishop of Allentown. I warmly welcome Bishop-elect Barres to the Province of Philadelphia, which is composed of the dioceses of the State of Pennsylvania. I am confident that he will be warmly welcomed by the clergy, religious and faithful of the Diocese of Allentown as their new shepherd. I assure him of my fraternal solidarity and prayerful support as he prepares for his Ordination as a Bishop on July 30."
Contact
Kevin Mulligan
Associate Director
215-587-3747
February 12, 2011
Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, released a video message today, Saturday, February 12, 2011 as Catholics across the Archdiocese prepare to attend Mass this weekend following the release of the Grand Jury Report. The Cardinal addresses Catholics as their spiritual leader in this message about suffering and prayer, faith and hope.
The video, in English and Spanish, is available on the Archdiocesan web site at www.archphila.org
or YouTube at http://bit.ly/CardinalSpiritualMessage
Text of the video in English and Spanish is below.
My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I speak to you today as your Archbishop, your shepherd and pastor. My concern is for all of you who belong to Christ and his Church. I speak to you who are active members of the flock of Christ and also to you, who, for one reason or another, find yourselves distanced from the Church.
The release of the Philadelphia Grand Jury Report this past Thursday brings great sadness and distress to every Catholic, to every person. Once again the issue of the sexual abuse of minors is raised, as well as the role of the Church and her leaders in addressing this abuse. As Catholics we are hurt and confused, and perhaps even quite angry and feeling betrayed. We are keenly aware of Saint Paul's words, that if one part of the Body of Christ suffers, all the parts suffer with it (1 Cor 12:26). All of us are afflicted at this moment!
Those suffering the most are victims of sexual abuse. In them, we see Jesus suffering in our midst. Just as Mary, Model of the Church, embraced her crucified Son, so we, as the Church, embrace all victims with our love, compassion and concern. I ask you to join me in praying everyday for victims of sexual abuse, invoking the tender intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church. We pray that they will have real hope in Christ and will truly know they do not stand alone. We stand with them and their families.
Many of you suffer in solidarity with your priests who serve you so faithfully. They themselves are suffering. It is deeply painful that the sinful choices of some of our priests have caused great harm in the Church. What we must remember is that Christ is the true priest and in him the priesthood does not forfeit its integrity. The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus. Let us support our priests with our constant prayers.
Many of you find yourselves wondering how to react in light of the recent Grand Jury Report. This is a moment for renewed faith. We believe in the never failing love that God has for us and in his compassionate mercy. Jesus is the presence of God's love and mercy in this very moment, to each of us and to the whole Church. On the Cross, Jesus continues to reveal this love and mercy, a message proclaimed in the Gospel and celebrated fully in the Holy Eucharist. I encourage you to join me as we turn together to Jesus. He sustains us. He sustains the whole Church. His cross and resurrection conquer all sin and give us faith and hope, which must remain strong in our hearts as we vigorously commit ourselves anew to do everything possible for the protection of all children and for the prevention of any abuse in the future. Let us confidently place our faith and hope again and always in Christ!
Mis hermanos y hermanas en Cristo,
Yo les hablo a ustedes hoy como su Arzobispo y su pastor. Mi preocupaci�n es por todos ustedes que pertenecen a Cristo y su Iglesia. Yo les hablo a ustedes los miembros activos del reba�o de Cristo y tambi�n a ustedes, los que por un motivo u otro, se encuentran distanciados de la Iglesia.
La publicaci�n del Informe del Gran Jurado de Filadelfia este jueves pasado trae gran tristeza y angustia a cada cat�lico, a cada persona. Otra vez el asunto del abuso sexual de menores surge, as� como el papel de la Iglesia y sus l�deres al abordar este abuso. Como cat�licos nosotros estamos heridos y confundidos, y quiz�s hasta completamente airados y sinti�ndonos enga�ados. Somos muy conscientes de las palabras de san Pablo, que si una parte del cuerpo de Cristo sufre, todas las partes sufren con �l (1 Corintio 12:26). �Todos nosotros estamos afligidos en este momento!
Los que m�s sufren son las v�ctimas del abuso sexual. En ellos, vemos a Jes�s sufriendo en medio de nosotros. As� como Mar�a, Modelo de la Iglesia, abraz� a su Hijo crucificado, as� nosotros, como la Iglesia, abrazamos a todas las v�ctimas con nuestro amor, compasi�n y preocupaci�n. Les pido que me acompa�en en oraci�n todos los d�as por las v�ctimas del abuso sexual, invocando la tierna intercesi�n de Mar�a, Madre de la Iglesia. Oremos para que tengan una verdadera esperanza en Cristo y realmente sepan que no est�n solos. Nos unimos a ellos y sus familias.
Muchos de ustedes sufren en solidaridad con los sacerdotes que les sirven con tanta fidelidad. Ellos mismos est�n sufriendo. Es profundamente doloroso que las opciones pecaminosas de algunos de nuestros sacerdotes hayan causado un gran da�o en la Iglesia. Lo que debemos recordar es que Cristo es el verdadero sacerdote y en �l el sacerdocio no pierde su integridad. El sacerdocio es el amor del coraz�n de Jes�s. Apoyemos a nuestros sacerdotes con nuestras constantes oraciones.
Muchos de ustedes se preguntan c�mo reaccionar ante el reciente informe del Gran Jurado. �ste es un momento de fe renovada. Creemos en el amor que nunca falla que Dios tiene por nosotros, y en su compasiva misericordia. Jes�s es la presencia del amor y misericordia de Dios en este mismo momento, para cada uno de nosotros y para toda la Iglesia. En la Cruz, Jes�s contin�a revelando este amor y misericordia, un mensaje proclamado en el Evangelio y celebrado plenamente en la Sagrada Eucarist�a. Los animo a que me acompa�en a dirigirnos juntos a Jes�s. �l nos sostiene. �l sostiene a toda la Iglesia. Su cruz y resurrecci�n vencen todo pecado y nos da la fe y la esperanza, que deben seguir siendo fuertes en nuestros corazones al nosotros en�rgicamente reafirmar nuestro compromiso de hacer todo lo posible para la protecci�n de todos los ni�os y para la prevenci�n de cualquier abuso en el futuro. �Vamos a poner con confianza nuestra fe y esperanza de nuevo y siempre en Jesucristo!
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Contact
Donna Farrell
Director
215-587-3747
May 26, 2011
"I have carefully watched developments in the aftermath of the devastating tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, last Sunday with deep concern. At this time of destruction and loss of life, I urge all of the faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to pray for those who have died as well as those who suffer mental and physical anguish as a result of this tragedy. My sympathy and heartfelt compassion are with the community of Joplin and I pray that God may grant its people courage, wisdom, and fortitude as they seek to emerge and rebuild their lives, homes, and businesses."
Contact
Kenneth A. Gavin
Associate Director of Communications
215-587-3747
May 31, 2011
I have followed the discussion regarding the potential elimination of funding for transit passes for approximately 45,000 Philadelphia school students. It is my hope that this situation is resolved quickly for the good of all young people and families who would be affected. This issue impacts not only public school students but also those in eight Archdiocesan high schools located within the city of Philadelphia.
Eliminating transit passes would place a tremendous financial burden upon families in an already challenging economic climate. This possibility also presents safety concerns as some of our young people would need to walk great distances and to cross heavily traveled roads. I was encouraged to learn this afternoon that a resolution may be at hand. I remain hopeful that those parties involved in negotiations will preserve this important program and urge them to remember the needs of all students and their families.
Contact
Donna M. Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747
July 28, 2011
"It was with great sorrow that I received news of the death of Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. As the personal representative of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States, Archbishop Sambi displayed a true affection for its people as well as a strong sense of just diplomacy honed by many years of valued service in the Vatican's diplomatic corps. He understood the needs of the Catholic Church in our country and worked zealously for the spiritual welfare of its faithful.
Archbishop Sambi's love for his Priesthood, the Church, and the people of God shone brilliantly in his every action. His dedication as well as his warm and pastoral style won him the admiration and respect of all those with whom he came into contact. As a friend, he provided wise counsel and a priestly example that cannot be duplicated; I mourn his passing deeply.
His death is a significant loss for the universal Church and his presence will be missed. Archbishop Sambi has been called home by God; a good and faithful servant who has earned his eternal reward through a life of love and service to Jesus Christ. On behalf of the clergy, religious, and faithful of the Archdiocese I extend my heartfelt sympathy to Archbishop Sambi's family and offer prayers that the Lord will grant him the peace and joy of eternal life in heaven."
Contact
Kenneth A. Gavin
Associate Director of Communications
215-587-3747
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Prayer on the Parkway
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Dear Friends, dear People of God,
Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, our Savior and Redeemer, the one mediator between God and man, has told us that where two or three are gathered in His name, there He is in the midst of them. How blessed we are today, thousands of us gathered in His name—in the holy name of Jesus! As together we renew our faith in Him and in the Holy Eucharist, we experience His presence and His love. And from this presence and this love we receive the strength necessary to live our Christian lives with fidelity and joy. In our Prayer on the Parkway let us reflect for a few moments on God’s holy word.
All four Evangelists provide significant attention to what was one of the most public and widely-witnessed miracles of Jesus during His public ministry: the multiplication of loaves and fish. Moved by compassion for His people in their basic human need for food, Jesus feeds five thousand individuals who had followed Him to a deserted place. In the Gospel according to John, the Evangelist explains that the astonished crowd wanted to make Jesus their King. However, aware of the intention of the crowd, Jesus eluded them.
The Gospel passage just proclaimed relates the exchange between Jesus and the crowd once they find Him the next day in the town of Capernaum. Jesus used the occasion of this miraculous feeding of the vast crowd to offer a new teaching about Himself, about who He truly is, and about the even more wonderful food which He will provide for those who believe in Him.
Engraved deeply in the memory of God’s people was that great act of compassion performed by God in the Old Testament when He gave them manna in the desert. In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses reminded the Israelites how God fed them with this special food in order to show them "that not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord" (Dt 8:3). In the Gospel Jesus now sheds new light on this ancient event. He recognizes the hunger of His people and provides bread for them in their need. Jesus then prepares their minds and hearts for that gift which will fulfill all the signs and symbols of old, a gift which will perpetuate His Paschal Mystery, and the gift is the Holy Eucharist. Jesus declares to the crowds: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world" (Jn 6: 51).
Pope Benedict XVI, in his inaugural homily, referred to the many deserts of our modern world: "There is the desert of poverty, the desert of hunger and thirst, the desert of abandonment, of loneliness, of destroyed love" (April 24, 2005). On another occasion, the Holy Father again evoked the image of the desert, saying: "From a spiritual point of view, the world in which we find ourselves... can appear a desert just as ‘vast and terrible’ (Dt 8:15) as the one we heard about in the Book of Deuteronomy. God came to the aid of the Jewish people in difficulty in this desert with his gift of manna, to make them understand that ‘not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord’(Dt 8:3).
In today’s Gospel, once again Jesus assures us that the bread that He gives us in the Eucharist is His flesh for the life of the world.
Here on the Parkway we are celebrating the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist, where bread and wine are changed into His Body and Blood. Jesus tells us clearly: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him" (Jn 6: 54-56).
In the nearness of our God who comes to us under the appearances of bread and wine to be our food and drink, in the love of our God who delights to remain with us in our tabernacles, we are at once astonished, amazed and grateful. With these sentiments then we strive to open the doorway of our hearts to Christ Himself and to our brothers and sisters. The challenge of the Eucharist is the challenge to take upon ourselves in ever greater measure the burdens of our brothers and sisters and the needs of the world.
In his Encyclical on the Eucharist, Pope John Paul II wrote these words: "Many problems darken the horizon of our time. We need but think of the urgent need to work for peace, to base relationships between peoples on solid premises of justice and solidarity, and to defend human life from conception to its natural end. And what should we say of the thousand inconsistencies of a ‘globalized’ world where the weakest, the most powerless and the poorest appear to have so little hope! It is in this world that Christian hope must shine forth!" (no. 20).
Throughout our society, in our cities and our neighborhoods, there are images in so many sectors of our communities, of violence, bloodshed, greed, addiction, sexual abuse, promiscuity and the callous disregard for human life and dignity at so many levels. Daily we are moved by the graphic images of the sufferings of our fellow human beings afflicted by poverty, oppression, and natural disasters. At this time our thoughts, prayers and support go particularly to our brothers and sisters upon whom Hurricane Katrina unleashed such fury. As members of the Church, as Christians who eat and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist, we cannot be insensitive to the struggles and sufferings of the human family. The Christ who dwells among us, and whom we adore, calls us all to repentance for our sins, to integrity of life and to solidarity with those in need.
What a marvelous manifestation of the Church is present here in this place at this very moment! With Cardinal Bevilacqua, Bishops and priests, deacons, Religious, seminarians, the laity of our Church, young and old, families, parents, children, students, single persons—all united with our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, Pastor of the universal Church, but above all united with Jesus Christ, the eternal Shepherd of the flock, truly present in our midst through the power of His word and, in particular, in the Eucharist. We likewise acknowledge here the spiritual presence of those who unite their sufferings with our prayer. We thank our contemplative nuns for their prayerful support.
Here from Christ’s presence there radiates the power that calls us all to conversion, to greater consistency and to integrity of life. We remember the words of the Apostle John regarding the self-righteous: "If we say, ‘We are without sin; we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.... If we say, ‘We have not sinned,’ we make [God] a liar, and his word is not in us" (1 Jn 1:8, 10). From the personal conversion that the Eucharist makes possible, and with the peace that takes possession of our hearts, we will strive to be peacemakers in our communities, our neighborhoods, our cities, including this great city of Philadelphia. The Eucharist calls us to be apostles of justice and charity, of mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation. It calls us to oppose violence and hatred, and every violation of human life and human dignity.
Dear People of God: as we move toward the conclusion next month of the Year of the Eucharist, we take this opportunity to renew our faith in the person of Jesus Christ. We renew our acceptance of His word—even if it is difficult to understand fully—because it is the word of the Son of God. In particular we accept His teaching when He tells us: "...the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." We heard in the Gospel of Saint John that, as a result of these words "many of his disciples ... no longer walked with him." And yet Jesus did not change his statement, but rather made the acceptance of it a condition for his disciples to remain in His company. He said to the Twelve: "Do you also want to go away." Today, dear friends, our response to Jesus is the response of Peter who says: "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." This acceptance of Jesus and His Eucharistic presence is essential to our holy Catholic faith.
This faith requires an acceptance also of the challenge of the Eucharist, which is to commit ourselves to our brothers and sisters, in their needs, in their problems, in their joys and anxieties. Our acceptance of Jesus in the Eucharist leads us to renew our solidarity with all human beings everywhere: in the devastated regions of our country, in the Middle East, in the Land of Jesus, in Iraq, in the continent of Africa and everywhere else where people suffer in the deserts of poverty, hunger and thirst, abandonment, loneliness and destroyed love. In particular, we renew our solidarity with those who are defenseless and most vulnerable, especially the unborn. This is where the Eucharist leads us: from prayer to action. And so we are resolved to continue both. In our Eucharistic celebrations and our adoration of the Blessed Sacrament we will be empowered for Christian living and for service to all those who share humanity with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and with us His brothers and sisters.
And in this our resolve we continue to pray according to our holy Catholic faith. We pray in union with Mary, the Mother of God, who gave us the eternal Word. With her we say: May the Heart of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and loved, at every moment, in all of the tabernacles of the world, even until the end of time. Amen!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Ordination to the Priesthood
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 21, 2011
Brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons and Religious, Seminary Faculty and Seminarians,
Dear Parents and Family Members,
Dear Young Men considering a vocation to the Priesthood,
Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ, and especially you,
Kenneth, David and Christopher as you are about to be ordained,
Once again in the name of Jesus Christ the Church of Philadelphia gathers in to celebrate an Ordination to the Priesthood. The presence of all of you is so important in showing the relationship of the priesthood to the entire community of God's people. The presence of our priests is particularly important in showing the unity of the presbyterate.
Our candidates for the priesthood understand that they are not alone. They exult today in the solidarity of the entire Archdiocese-those present and those who are with us in spirit and in prayer, including many contemplative religious who are interceding for our deacons even as this ceremony takes place.
Dear Ordinands: the joy that you bring to your families today is a sign of the joy that your ministry is meant to bring to the entire people of God.
But what is this ministry? What is this priesthood? In what does it consist? Let us reflect briefly on this holy subject.
In just a few moments, after the laying on of hands, you will all hear the prayer of the Church with which the handing on of the priesthood will be accomplished. In those decisive words the Church will say: "Grant, we pray, Almighty Father, to these your servants the dignity of the priesthood; renew deep within them the Spirit of holiness...."
It is very impressive that, at the very moment when the Church transmits the power of the priesthood, she asks the Father to send forth upon the Ordinands the Holy Spirit. And the Church identifies the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of holiness-the Spirit who alone can make these men holy and enable them, by the example of their manner of life, to instill right conduct in others. In the very act of transmitting priestly power, the Church speaks about the holiness that comes from the Spirit of God, the holiness that is so necessary if the priest is to fulfill his priestly ministry.
But, once again, what is this priestly ministry? The word of God this morning gives us so many insights into why our priests exist-who they are and what they are to do.
In our reading from the Prophet Jeremiah, as we recall God's word to him, we also see that this same word is verified today in our new priests to be. We believe that God chooses. We believe that the prophecy spoken to Jeremiah applies to these men today: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you." And, reflecting further on our reading, we hear God continue to speak: "To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them.... See, I place my words in your mouth!"
The proclamation of the word of God, dear Ordinands, will always be the eminent priority in your priesthood. You will speak the word of God in season and out of season, when convenient and inconvenient, when acceptable or not acceptable. And you must always do this in integrity and holiness of life.
Even as you proclaim the word of God, day in and day out, you will return to reflect on the holy Gospel according to Saint Luke which has been proclaimed on this your ordination day. You will remember that the proclamation of the word of God reaches its climax in the sacramental proclamation of the Eucharist. Saint Luke describes for us the scene of the Last Supper. Jesus "took the bread, said the blessing, broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my Body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.' And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my Blood, which will be shed for you.'" The words "Do this in memory of me" are central to your existence as priests and to your ministry as heralds of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the sacramental proclamation of the Mass, you will renew the death and resurrection of the Lord and you will faithfully fulfill His command "Do this in memory of me." The Eucharistic celebration will always take place through the power of the Holy Spirit. And, in order to be suitable ministers of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, you will need the Holy Spirit-"the Spirit of holiness"-whom the Church invokes on you today and communicates to you sacramentally.
The Second Vatican Council, dear brother priests to be, which you have studied and love and which you must always support and follow, puts it this way: "Priests fulfill their chief duty in the mystery of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In it the work of our redemption continues to be carried out. For this reason, priests are strongly urged to celebrate Mass every day, for even if the faithful are unable to be present, it is an act of Christ and the Church" (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 13).
Your life, dear brothers, is the Eucharist and your Eucharistic ministry is what the Second Vatican Council calls "an act of Christ and the Church." All the activities of your life will require an immense amount of pastoral love-the pastoral love that you already show by being willing to lay down your life for the people of God, the type of pastoral love that is needed for celibacy to be authentic and joyful, the pastoral love that Jesus wants you to give to all His people.
But Vatican II still has a word of deep insight for you. It tells you solemnly that your pastoral love flows mainly from the Eucharistic Sacrifice and that this Eucharistic Sacrifice is therefore the center and root of your whole priestly life (cf. ibid., 14). Never forget this truth, dear brothers, and do not neglect to put it into practice. The Spirit of holiness is given to you in ordination, but, forever after, this holiness must be exercised and kept alive through the Eucharist.
As priests you will serve the people of God in so many relevant ways, but after the Eucharist there is nothing more important than the ministry of reconciliation as exercised in the Sacrament of Penance. There is no greater human fulfillment than to touch human hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of the merciful and compassionate Redeemer. God has willed to keep alive in the Church the great gift of His mercy through the Sacrament of Confession, and only the priest can serve the People of God as the minister of forgiveness and pardon.
Our human weakness will always be with us and we will always need God's forgiveness. God has not chosen you to be priests because you are perfect or sinless. He has chosen you to be priests, so that, conscious of your own human weakness, and renouncing sin, you can bring, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, forgiveness to the world. This forgiveness was won for all of us by Jesus when He shed His Blood in sacrifice "so that sins may be forgiven."
And so you see, dear brothers and all of you dear people of God, how profound is the reflection of the author of the Letter to the Hebrews which we have heard proclaimed: "Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins." The author of the Letter to the Hebrews goes on to spell out God's plan, saying that every high priest "is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people."
Weakness and sin call for repentance, for a purpose of amendment and a strong resolution to integrity of life. By being conscious of his own humanity and weakness, the priest, as God's word testifies, "is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and the erring." For all those redeemed by Christ, repentance and ongoing conversion of heart are absolutely necessary. But the acknowledgment of weakness and sin brings about two things in our lives: (1) humility, which makes us praise God's mercy and forgiveness, and (2) compassion in reaching out to others who are in need of encouragement, forgiveness, and mercy.
The forgiveness of sins that was brought about by the Blood of Jesus, poured out in sacrifice and offered in the Eucharist, is applied to individual hearts in the Sacrament of Penance. You must, dear brothers, profit from this Sacrament, use it humbly and offer it generously to the people of God.
There are numerous other aspects to your priestly life. You are called by the Church to praise God through the Liturgy of the Hours, through different forms of prayer, through the reading of the word of God and through the oblation of your will made in union with that of Christ. Remember that you are called to be witnesses of Divine Mercy, which is the love of the Father that passes through the Heart of Jesus and comes into contact with human weakness. And so your special love must always be with the poor and needy, with the sick and dying, with those in pain and sorrow and with those in sin.
Dear Ordinands, as you open your hearts to "the Spirit of holiness"-God's Holy Spirit-to receive ordination to the priesthood, realize that you will never be alone. The entire Church is with you and the entire Church will remain with you in the years to come to support you, to encourage you and to be supported and served by you.
At this moment the Church asks of you fidelity-fidelity in your personal commitment to Jesus Christ, to His Gospel and to His Church. She asks for your fidelity to prayer. She asks you to love Jesus Christ, His Church and His Mother Mary. As the Mother of priests, Mary will be with you always in your efforts to lead lives of integrity-to be truthful, just, courageous, merciful and chaste, and never to betray God's people.
This is truly the hour for you to trust in the power of the Paschal Mystery, to trust that all the weaknesses and sins of the world are not equal to the power of the living Jesus Christ, the one who invites you to a life of integrity and Eucharistic holiness and who says to you today "Do this in memory of me." Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for Participants of the Annual Symposium
of the Institute for Priestly Formation
"The Spirituality and Identity of the Diocesan Priest"
Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
March 19, 2011
Dear Friends,
How fitting that the Tenth Annual Symposium on the Spirituality of the Diocesan Priest takes place during these days. I am grateful to Father Richard Gabuzda, Executive Director of the Institute for Priestly Formation, and to Father Shaun Mahoney, Rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, for the sponsorship and support of these proceedings.
The holy season of Lent is little more than a week old and already the Church holds up for us the example of utmost fidelity and inner strength, St. Joseph, on this the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the midst of the sacrifices and austerity of Lent, St. Joseph emerges to remind us of the goal of this season: Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh (cf. Jn 1:14).
To describe St. Joseph, the Servant of God Pope John Paul II called on the words of Pope Leo XIII: St. Joseph is the man “into whose custody God entrusted his most precious treasures” (Redemptoris Custos, 1). The Blessed Mother, in the passage from the Gospel of St. Luke which was just proclaimed, reveals to us one of these treasures. As Our Lady and St. Joseph find Jesus in the temple, Mary says to Jesus, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety” (Lk 2:48). Mary refers to St. Joseph as the father of Jesus. This is a reference to the preeminent role that belongs to St. Joseph as the foster-father of Jesus. With the full knowledge of His filial relationship with His own heavenly Father, Jesus, the Son of God, in the day to day life in the midst of His family, calls St. Joseph “father.” This is the greatest honor that Jesus gives St. Joseph: to call him “father.” Pope John Paul II emphasizes: “St. Joseph was called by God to serve the person and mission of Jesus directly through the exercise of his fatherhood” (Redemptoris Custos, 8). In this role, St. Joseph is the privileged witness, along with Mary, of the mystery “hidden for ages in God” (Eph 3:9). The humble carpenter of Nazareth is the blueprint that God the Father chose to instill in the human nature of Jesus, an image of fatherhood. From this emerges the great dignity of St. Joseph, which inspires our devotion to him as Patron of the Universal Church.
The role of St. Joseph in the life and mission of Jesus is a role in which St. Joseph is the model to the human nature of Jesus of the paternity of His heavenly Father. St. Joseph evokes in Jesus the fullness of love that Jesus has for His heavenly Father. In a sense, St. Joseph represents the eternal Father to Jesus day in and day out. Joseph is present at the birth of the Lord, at the Presentation in the Temple, during the Flight into Egypt, at the finding in the Temple, and in the hidden life of Jesus, in the home and shop of Nazareth where St. Joseph passed on the skills and discipline, the tools and trade of carpentry. And all the while God’s wonderful design unfolded.
God’s wonderful design is His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Through grace, St. Joseph received and internalized every virtue necessary in his mission as the Guardian of the Redeemer. As such, St. Joseph casts light on the virtues necessary in the life of the priest. The life of virtue cannot be simply an occasional reference point for the life and mission of the priest, or for those preparing for the priesthood. The candidate for the priesthood and the priest himself must devote themselves in docility to the internalization of the life of virtue. The priestly virtues prepare the priest for the celebration of the Sacraments, in particular the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. The priestly virtues are the manner in which the priest shows Jesus Christ to the world day in and day out.
Sacred ordination so configures the priest to the person of Jesus that, through union with the bishop, the priest is called to become a total gift of self in love. This is the only way the priest can make sense of his identity and mission: to be a gift of self in love. This gift of self always takes the form of sacrifice, of a self-emptying love that makes known with joy and dedication the love of Jesus Christ. The capacity for self-emptying love comes only from Jesus. Acting in the Holy Spirit, Jesus fills all the formation opportunities of every priest and every candidate for the priesthood with opportunities to grow in the life of virtue. The Holy Spirit is always at work so that every facet of formation, training and the experience of pastoral ministry is a door that leads deeper into the life of priestly virtue.
A pastoral style and ministerial skills are very important, but these must emerge from the priest’s absolute and genuine surrender to Christ. In a very real sense, the priest must, like St. Joseph, renounce all else for Christ. How else will the priest make room for all the treasures of Christ? The priest cannot compartmentalize his life. He cannot hold on to measures of personal achievement, ambition, money, status or control. Minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day, the priest must continually let go of all else so that he can be truly free to reach out to a broken world. Only a simple style of life, such as that of St. Joseph, attracts a wounded world. This is the profound profile of pastoral love, which is exercised in many human limitations and weaknesses but above all in the power of Christ.
Where do the capacity for self-gift, the internalization of virtue, sacrifice and a simple style of life come from? These come only from Trinitarian love, a love that is summed up in the words of Jesus: “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Lk 2:49). These must be the words of every priest. While Joseph welcomed Jesus into his home as his son, Jesus likewise welcomed St. Joseph into the house of His eternal Father. We are called to welcome many to the Father’s house. Our welcome must be accompanied in holiness of life. Holiness is beautiful, and beauty attracts. The personal holiness of the priest depends on his being, like Jesus, in the Father’s house, in the communion of the Most Blessed Trinity. “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” The priest, like St. Joseph, steps into the plan of God and is conducted beyond everything he ever thought or dreamed possible, being led to the house of the Father. God’s design then unfolds in the life of the priest.
Lent is little more than one week old. Perhaps the penances we began with good intentions have now become more difficult or burdensome to us. Today the Church turns us to Her great Patron. And he, Joseph, reaches out to us as he did to the Lord. He embraces us in love and promises to guide us so that Lent becomes not our project but truly an unfolding of the plan of God. May St. Joseph that Just Man, Patron of the Universal Church, who kept watch over the Holy Family of Nazareth, take all priests and seminarians under his special care and protection. May he, with Mary, lead us to Jesus in the Father’s House, where the Holy Spirit forms in each of us the life of grace and virtue. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass during Puerto Rican Week
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Mis queridos hermanos y hermanas en Cristo,
Es para mí una profunda alegría, como Arzobispo de esta bella Arquidiócesis de
Filadelfia, el celebrar, por primera vez, esta Eucaristía en ocasión de la celebración anual
del Festival Puertorriqueño y en particular, la celebración del aniversario de los cincuenta
años de la fundación de la Oficina para Hispanos Católicos. Deseo reconocer la presencia
de mis hermanos sacerdotes, que luchan diariamente para servir a la comunidad hispana a
través de sus parroquias, predicando la Palabra de Dios y haciendo a Cristo presente en la
Eucaristía, así como en los múltiples programas pastorales que ellos establecen para fomentar
la vida de fe y espiritualidad en sus comunidades. Agradezco también la presencia de
nuestros diáconos hispanos, que trabajan tan generosamente en sus comunidades
parroquiales, ayudando a sus sacerdotes y sirviendo a sus necesidades, tanto espirituales
como temporales. El ministerio hispano de nuestra Arquidiócesis es también bendecido por
el trabajo pastoral de religiosas y religiosos, que son para todos nosotros testigos de los
valores evangélicos a través de su entrega al pueblo de Dios y de su apostolado en la Iglesia.
Y doy gracias a Dios por todos ustedes, los fieles católicos de la comunidad hispana
de Filadelfia, que dan testimonio de su gran amor por Cristo y su Iglesia a través de su
presencia aquí en esta catedral, como también por todo lo que hacen en sus comunidades
parroquiales y en sus familias para extender el Reino de Dios. Ustedes son para la Iglesia
de Filadelfia una gran bendición y motivo de profunda esperanza. Sepan todos ustedes que
ocupan un lugar especial en mi corazón y en mis oraciones.
Esta
semana, el pueblo de Puerto Rico se viste de gala al celebrar en Filadelfia, el
Festival Puertorriqueño. Desde los años cincuenta, miles de
puertorriqueños han venido
a esta ciudad a vivir y a contribuir con sus talentos, su trabajo y la belleza
de su cultura, a la vida de nuestra sociedad y de la Iglesia. Su alegría,
su amor por la vida, su cultura y su música nos han enriquecidos a
todos.
En
los últimos años, se han unido a ustedes hispanos muchos de otros
países
latinoamericanos que se encuentran hoy presentes entre nosotros, celebrando
la hispanidad y la fe que los une. Su presencia entre nosotros ha enriquecido
nuestra apreciación de la
cultura hispana, pues ella es bendecida por la diversidad y a la vez, unida a
través de una
lengua común, y más aun, a través de la fe católica
que forma una parte esencial de la vida de la mayoría de los hispanos.
Los obispos de los Estados Unidos en su Carta Pastoral,
«Encuentro y Misión», publicada
hace dos años, nos hablan de la cultura hispana, una
cultura que nació católica: Desde
que los primeros misioneros españoles
trajeron la fe católica
al nuevo continente, muchos de los valores del Evangelio y las tradiciones de
la Iglesia se fueron inculturando en el pueblo nuevo de Amrica
Latina. Estos valores incluyen una profunda fe en Dios, un fuerte sentido de
solidaridad, una auténtica
devoción
mariana, y una rica religiosidad popular. Los hispanos tienen un profundo respeto
por la persona humana y le dan más
valor a las relaciones que a los trabajos o posesiones. Las relaciones personales
son el núcleo
de una espiritualidad de encuentro y
de la necesidad de desarrollar fuertes vínculos
familiares, comunitarios, y parroquiales. Los hispanos entienden que la cultura
es parte integral de la persona humana y, por tanto, ésta
debe ser respetada y honrada.
Uno
de los desafíos actuales de la Iglesia consiste precisamente en preservar
esta
identidad católica de todo latinoamericano, especialmente aquellos que han dejado su tierra
natal y han inmigrado en nuestro país en busca de mejorar las condiciones de vida para ellos
y sus familias.Luchemos todos juntos por solidificar la fe católica en nuestros corazones,
especialmente en los corazones de la juventud, para continuar siendo testigos de Cristo para
el mundo que nos rodea y fomentar en nuestra sociedad los valores humanos y cristianos
que forman parte de la hispanidad. Estos valores son para toda la Iglesia, y en particular en
nuestra Arquidiócesis, causa de mucho orgullo.
Desde el año mil novecientos nueve, la Iglesia en Filadelfia ha servido arduamente
a la comunidad hispana, comenzando con la fundación de la muy querida y venerada capilla
«La Milagrosa». Con el pasar de los años, hemos visto el número de los hispanos crecer en
nuestra Arquidiócesis. Ella, en distintos momentos y en distintas formas, ha respondido a
este crecimiento estableciendo misas en español en sus parroquias, programas de formación,
servicios sociales e investigaciones pastorales, siempre buscando cómo mejor servir a los
hispanos. Hoy celebramos un gran logro en este empeño de la Arquidiócesis de servir a los
hispanos. Hace cincuenta años, en el mil novecientos cincuenta y cuatro, su eminencia el
cardenal John O’Hara, estableció la Oficina para el Apostolado Hispano, hoy conocida como
la Oficina para Hispanos Católicos.
Sacerdotes, religiosas, religiosos, y laicos han servido fielmente en esta oficina a
través de los años, planificando el desarrollo pastoral de la comunidad hispana, formando
líderes para servir al nivel parroquial y continuamente luchando para que el pueblo hispano
tuviera una voz dentro de la Iglesia y la sociedad. Muchos de estos servidores se encuentran
entre nosotros esta noche, y agradecemos profundamente su gran amor por el pueblo hispano
y por todo lo que han hecho y continúan haciendo en beneficio de ustedes. Otros nos han
precedido al encuentro con Dios, como nuestro querido monseñor Tomás Craven, quien
falleció este año. Durante ocho años, el monseñor Craven trabajó sacrificadamente en la
Oficina para el Apostolado Hispano, dando de su tiempo y energía para que el pueblo
hispano pudiera salir hacia delante.
Hoy, la Oficina para Hispanos Católicos bajo la dirección de la señora Anna Vega y
su asistente, la señora Blanca Herrera, continúa esta misión entre los hispanos y ocupa un
papel importantísimo en el continuo desarrollo de la respuesta pastoral al número creciente
de hispanos en la Arquidiócesis. Hoy, los pioneros de la presencia hispana en Filadelfia, la
comunidad puertorriqueña, se empeña en darle la bienvenida a los miles de latinoamericanos
que forman parte de nuestra familia arquidiocesana, construyendo sobre los mucho logros
que forman parte de la historia de los últimos cincuenta años de ministerio hispano. Y la
Iglesia en Filadelfia continúa comprometida a servir a los hispanos, no sólo conociendo el
desafío que esto presenta, sino reconociendo la gran bendición que los hispanos son para toda
la Iglesia.
Mis queridos hermanos y hermanas, hoy los desafíos son muchos y la misión
encomendada a nosotros como Iglesia es grande. El modelo de nuestro ministerio eclesial
ha de ser nuestra Bendita Virgen María, quien frente a su misión, se refugió en su fe en Dios
y en su vida de oración; siempre dispuesta a cumplir la voluntad de Dios, siempre dispuesta
a servir a los demás, y siempre dispuesta a sufrir por una causa mayor. En el Evangelio de
san Lucas, que hemos escuchado esta noche, vemos a la Virgen encaminada hacia la casa de
su prima Isabel a compartir la presencia de Aquél que cargaba en su vientre, Cristo, el
Mesías. Su espíritu, lleno de alabanzas para Dios, confiando en que Aquél, que había hecho
grandes cosas en ella, lo haría también para todo su pueblo. Este ha de ser nuestro espíritu
también: encaminados a visitar a aquellos que viven en torno a nosotros, a compartir la
alegría del Cristo que llevamos en nuestro corazón. Este Cristo que busca lo que está perdido,
este Cristo que busca sanar y consolar al que está sufriendo, este Cristo que busca ser luz
para aquellos que se encuentran en la oscuridad. Nosotros, como Iglesia, somos Su cara, Sus
ojos y Su voz.
¿Y dónde se encuentra la fuente de la gracia y fortaleza para nosotros? En la
Eucaristía, la real presencia de Cristo Jesús entre nosotros. Nuestro Santo Padre Juan Pablo
II, ha establecido el año especial de la Eucaristía, comenzando con el Congreso Eucarístico
Internacional, que se celebrará el próximo mes de octubre en Guadalajara, México, y
concluirá con la próxima Asamblea Ordinaria del Sínodo de los Obispos en el Vaticano en
octubre del dos mil cinco.
Los exhorto a todos a que profundicen en su apreciación y amor por la Eucaristía,
buscando tiempo para orar ante la presencia del Santísimo por las necesidades de la Iglesia,
y en particular por nuestra familia arquidiocesana; les pido encarecidamente que oren a Jesús
Sacramentado por el aumento de vocaciones sacerdotales y religiosas, especialmente entre
la comunidad hispana; y les pido que oren a Jesús en la Eucaristía también por mí. Que Dios
los bendiga a todos, y que Nuestra Virgen María, Madre de la Iglesia, Madre de la Divina
Providencia, los acompañe y los sostenga con su intercesión.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Pro-Life Mass
National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Washington, D.C.
January 23, 2006
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ: all of you present in this National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and all of you united in this Mass through the Eternal Word Television Network, to whom we express deep gratitude,
Today, a day of penance, we gather together in sorrowful remembrance of one of the most tragic events in the history of the United States—the Supreme Court decision of January 22, 1973 legalizing abortion on demand in our country. But we gather together, as people of hope, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. We gather together with deep gratitude to God for the immense energy of so many young people present here this morning who are committed to the renewal of our country—so many young people who have accepted the appeal to respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life!
It is less than a month ago that we knelt before the crib of Bethlehem and proclaimed the mystery of the Incarnate Word. We acknowledged the identity of the Child whom we found in the arms of His Virgin Mother Mary and cared for by His foster father Joseph. We proclaimed this Child true God and true man: divine like His Father in heaven, human like His Mother and like us. The Eternal Word, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity took on human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. While remaining God He became one of us. And in doing so He established a new relationship with every human being, with everyone with whom He now shares humanity, including the unborn. The One we found in the crib is also the One who brings peace to the world. He is called the Prince of Peace. The message at His birth proclaimed by angels was: "Glory to God in the highest and peace to His people on earth." The Child is likewise the One who brings justice to the world. In the words, just proclaimed, of the prophet Isaiah it was said: "Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace forever." And again, "He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save. From fraud and violence he shall redeem them, and precious shall their blood be in his sight."
This same Jesus whom we encountered on Christmas in the crib we encounter today in the great gift of the Eucharist, in the word of God, in one another. Yes, we encounter Jesus, the Son of God, in all those who share humanity with Him.
In the Gospel, Jesus speaks to us important and encouraging words. He says to us: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid." He speaks these words to us as we are gathered in this National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, about to embark once again on our peaceful and respectful march for life.
In the midst of a great crisis in our nation over the taking of human life, and in particular the life of the unborn, we turn to God, to the Lord of Life. We ask Him for help; we ask Him to change the hearts of those who practice, promote and support abortion. We pray that millions of unborn children will be given the opportunity to live, and that the scars of abortion can be removed from the lives of their parents. Are we not convinced in our hearts, dear Friends, that peace in our society, peace of conscience for millions of women and men cannot prevail until justice is done for the unborn, until life is victorious?
In our reading today the Prophet Isaiah prophesies that peace will prevail because "justice will bring about peace; right will produce calm and security." So many times in his long pontificate, Pope John Paul II spoke about these challenges. Seven years ago this month, during his visit to St. Louis, he made this appeal: "America first proclaimed its independence on the basis of self-evident moral truths. America will remain a beacon of freedom for the world as long as it stands by those moral truths which are the very heart of its historical experience. And so, America: If you want peace, work for justice. If you want justice, defend life. If you want life, embrace the truth—the truth revealed by God."
Pope John Paul II went on to state forcefully: "There are times of trial, tests of national character, in the history of every country. America has not been immune to them. One such time of trial is closely connected with St. Louis. Here, the famous Dred Scott case was heard. And in that case the Supreme Court of the United States subsequently declared an entire class of human beings—people of African descent—outside the boundaries of the national community and the Constitution’s protection.
"After untold suffering and with enormous effort, that situation has, at least in part, been reversed.
"America faces a similar time of trial today. Today the conflict is between a culture that affirms, cherishes, and celebrates the gift of life, and a culture that seeks to declare entire groups of human beings—the unborn, the terminally ill, the handicapped, and others considered ‘unuseful’—to be outside the boundaries of legal protection. Because of the seriousness of the issues involved, and because of America’s great impact on the world as a whole, the resolution of this new time of testing will have profound consequences.... My fervent prayer is that through the grace of God at work in the lives of Americans of every race, ethnic group, economic condition and creed, America will resist the culture of death and choose to stand steadfastly on the side of life."
Because we are conscious of this time of trial, of this test of our national character, we have assembled to pray, to reflect on God’s gift of human life, and to invoke His help in the crisis facing our nation and our civilization. And, in this assembly of prayer, we draw grace and strength from the Lord to bear witness to our convictions and to proclaim publicly the sanctity and inviolability of every human life. And so we are prepared to march!
What is at stake then is the truth about human life and human dignity, justice for the unborn, peace for millions of consciences, and liberation from the tyranny of the culture of death.
On January 22, 1973 an attack from within was launched against life in our country—an attack that has proven to have worldwide echoes. On that day a terrifying assault on life in the womb was perpetrated, and the twin towers of life and truth seemed to crumble before our eyes. Their collapse has taken the lives of over forty-five million innocent babies—in this country alone. And the victims of this crime—as always happens in such catastrophic disasters—include also those left behind: countless mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters and grandparents, aunts and uncles and friends. The truth about the beginning of human life seemed to crumble in our midst, as the lives of a whole class of human beings was immediately and lethally imperiled.
On this thirty-third anniversary of the tragic decision of the Supreme Court, we are prepared to join, in just a few hours, thousands upon thousands of our fellow Americans—young and old, men and women from every walk of life, from diverse religious traditions and a variety of ethnic backgrounds—to give a united witness to our passionate desire for public policies that will again protect the most fundamental of all God-given rights—the right to life. Today, with all the Bishops in the United States, we reiterate what has been said for years: "Roe v. Wade cannot stand." It must be reversed.
During these years millions and millions of parents have become so consumed by misguided fears as to believe that their best interests were served in the killing of their own child. Advocates for permissive abortion policies have succeeded in playing upon these fears to pit parents against their own children. We know, however, that the well-being of parents and children are always inevitably and irrevocably linked.
It is not only the deaths of more than forty-five million of our children that we mourn today. We do not just grieve for the loss of all the talents, all the abilities and all the unique gifts these children would have brought to society. We cannot but also wonder about everything that we have lost as a people by the destruction of our children.
Today we also grieve over the scars created in the hearts of parents who, often under duress and in moments of crisis, choose to abort the child whom God had entrusted to their care. The death of a child is always a profound tragedy for a parent, but this tragedy is multiplied when parents are later tormented by the truth that they chose death for their child.
Another aspect of the tragedy is that many in our nation who themselves do not actively support abortion have become comfortable with the fact that abortion is legal. They are able with the assistance of some compliant media to ignore this enormous tragedy that scars the soul of our great nation.
Disrespect for human life continues to spread like a cancer attacking the traditional mores of our country. We are saddened by the increased effort to legalize assisted suicide, and by the concerted effort to foster public acceptance of euthanasia—the intentional killing of the aged, the severely disabled and the terminally ill.
We also find troubling the attitudes resulting from the emergence of "reproductive technologies," namely that children can be manufactured to fulfill perceived needs. We are saddened by the direct killing of human life that is done under the façade of such terms as "pregnancy reduction" and the discarding of the so-called "extra human embryos". The desire of some to clone human life is supremely disconcerting, as are all the efforts to promote embryonic stem-cell research, while neglecting the wonderful opportunities actually opened up through adult stem-cell use.
It is understandable, in view of this array of issues, how some people have lost hope and have been overwhelmed by fear. But in the midst of deep darkness there emerges a point of incandescent light, a beacon of great hope. Our faith in Jesus Christ, the Child of Bethlehem, the great Healer of humanity—indeed the very Son of God—and our hope in His victory over death do not permit us to indulge in discouragement, much less despair. As disciples of the Risen Lord, we look squarely at reality, with all its sinful dimensions, but we are sustained by the sure hope and certain truth that through the power of Christ’s Paschal Mystery life will be victorious.
Dear Friends, though the forces supporting the culture of death may seem so powerful and strong, let us remain undaunted. In our Eucharist, we possess the full power of the Risen Christ who tells us to have confidence because He has overcome the world. In the strength of His Spirit, this Risen Christ, this Lord of Life, sends us forth as witnesses to His Gospel of life, destined to share, in a limited but important way, in the victory of life as it unfolds day after day. This victory of life over death has, however, already been achieved by the Lamb of God, who is the first-born from the dead, the "King of kings, and Lord of lords" (Rev 19:16). He is the Eternal Son of God, the Word of God made flesh, the Child of Bethlehem, the Son of Mary, the person who identifies himself as "the one who lives" (Rev 1:18) and who tells His Church: "There is nothing to fear!" (v. 17).
Brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ: "To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood ...to him be glory and power for ever and ever" (v. 5). Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass during Diocesan Pro-Life Directors Meeting
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Thursday, July 24, 2008
"Serving in Love & Gratitude"
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Dear Collaborators in the exhilarating mission of respecting, protecting, loving
and serving life,
This morning we have much to be grateful for. So we begin our Diocesan Pro-Life Directors’ meeting with a Mass “in Thanksgiving to God.”
In his letter to the Colossians, Saint Paul tells the early Christians to “be thankful.”
“Whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
God has been so faithful to us in the past, is dwelling among us right now, and is already providing for our future, in ways yet unknown to us.
Jesus Christ is the reason we can take what we have been given, and then in turn, freely give it to others – in our work, our families, our parishes, and the broader community. He commands us to love one another as he loved us, and He makes it possible for us to do so. In a special way, He equips us for the obedience of love through the Sacraments.
How has God been faithful in the past?
God loved us from the beginning and chose us to belong to Him. He claimed each of us as his own in Baptism, and so all our labor in the pro-life fields belongs to Him. Each time we bless ourselves from the holy water font, may it be a reminder that our whole person is covered by the saving act of Christ. May all our work be a sign of the One to whom we belong – from everyday tasks to our most high-profile projects.
After Baptism we were sealed with the Holy Spirit in Confirmation. Having received the gifts of the Spirit, we are able go out into the world with boldness, compassion and wisdom. Somewhere along the way, He “chose you and appointed you” to serve in pro-life leadership, sending you in His name “to bear fruit that will remain.” Since then you have relied on the power of your Confirmation, and you must continue to do so each day as you teach, organize, and pray for the protection of all human life.The whole Church is grateful to God for your commitment to the pro-life cause. When each of you came into town for this directors’ meeting, you told us your length of service in pro-life work. It turns out that your tenure adds up to hundreds of work-years in cumulative service. Along the way, you and your families have made many quiet sacrifices of time and resources. For all of this the Church is profoundly grateful.
How is God providing in the present moment?
We are presently gathered in this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, in a year dedicated to the great convert and missionary Saint Paul. If we look at the stained glass windows behind me, on the right we see three scenes depicting Saint Paul’s zeal for God: his conversion on the road to Damascus, his preaching to the Athenians about the “unknown God,” and his death in Rome by beheading.
In many ways, you are called to engage the modern-day “Athenians” – our neighbors who worship a God they do not know. You have chosen to follow a path that is extremely arduous. How does God sustain you along it, day in and day out?
He sustains you first and foremost through grace flowing from the Eucharist which we are now celebrating together. This food is mysterious, active, living. It is the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Communion, the Lord Jesus gives you the daily bread you need to face all the challenges of proclaiming with love the Gospel of Life.
Sometimes the hardest challenges to cope with result from a lack of unity in the Body of Christ, which is the Church. The Eucharist furnishes the strength to bear with one another because He bore with us. We can forgive one another, because we – ourselves undeserving – have been forgiven. We can teach and admonish each other – not in manipulation or pride, or “lording it over others”, but in love – because he has shown us the way of humble leadership.
In His providence that surrounds this moment, God has made it possible for 115 of you to come together this year – a record for this annual meeting! This morning, in the stillness of this sacred space, you prepare yourselves to receive the wisdom and strength offered throughout the entire day. You will hear presentations about Catholic Faithful Citizenship, the moral wrong of destroying human embryos for research, and moral, practical and legal developments affecting vulnerable patients near the end of life. Finally, a panel of three of your peers will address practical challenges in the task of the diocesan pro-life director.
You will also have an opportunity for some recreation this evening and in the coming days. It is important for you to take advantage of that “down time” and let God accomplish his restorative work in you through leisure and fellowship. I pray that this gathering may be a unique opportunity for you to be refreshed in your vital work as you support and encourage each other in the Body of Christ.
Where might we expect to see God’s faithfulness in the future?
Saint Paul says us to “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” Here we look to Mary as our model, for she did this with her whole person. With her famous “yes”, she received the living Word of God and allowed Christ to dwell in her. Our Lady of Guadalupe, visibly pregnant with our Lord, is such a beautiful image – and such a fitting one for all pro-life work.
Dear friends: you are challenged to be like our Lady. As she was open, you too must be open to God at work in your life. Our capacity to serve the Gospel of Life depends on it. As Pope Benedict said in his homily as he celebrated the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception for the first time as Pope: "The closer a person is to God, the closer he or she is to people. We see this in Mary. The fact that Mary is totally with God is the reason why she is so close to human beings."
Unfortunately, we often see the opposite. So many people in our society have turned away from God, rejecting his commandments, thinking this autonomy would bring freedom for themselves and others. But in losing God, they lose sight of the innate dignity of the human person as well.
Just last week at World Youth Day, Pope Benedict XVI put it so clearly to a group of disadvantaged young people in rehabilitation:
“The cult of material possessions, the cult of possessive love and the cult of power often lead people to attempt to ‘play God’: to try to seize total control, with no regard for the wisdom or the commandments that God has made known to us. This is the path that leads towards death. By contrast, worship of the one true God means recognizing in him the source of all goodness, entrusting ourselves to him, opening ourselves to the healing power of his grace and obeying his commandments: that is the way to choose life” (Address to the Rehabilitation Community of the University of Notre Dame in Sydney, Australia).
Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of God and the Mother of the Church, shows us what it means to entrust ourselves to God. She freely submitted herself as a “servant” saying “Let it be done to me according to your word.” Thus she bore Jesus, source of all true freedom. Her “yes” to life helped makes the gift of freedom from sin available to all humanity.
The secular worldview says “no” to being God’s servant, and affirms the self as if to say: “Let it be done according to my word.” But a so-called freedom without God winds up eliminating all other values, including that of life itself. An autonomous freedom is arbitrary. The right to life, which properly belongs to all members of the human family, is too often narrowed to those who “qualify” for personhood, arbitrarily defined. This happened long ago with regard to unborn children. Now we see a further narrowing of the right to life in the efforts made to eliminate the rights of disabled newborn children or those who are in a so-called “persistent vegetative state.”
According to this view, conscience rights for doctors, pharmacists and health care workers no longer universally apply. We must work hard to counter the sophisticated efforts of those who would grant conscience rights only to those who are willing – according to their distorted conscience – to destroy innocent human life, whether in the lab, a freezer storage unit, in utero, or in a hospital bed.
There is always a temptation, even in our pro-life work, to want to do things entirely our own way, without sufficient unity with our fellow servants in the cause of life. While we were not conceived without sin, we are all offered the gift of sacramental reconciliation. Each time we avail ourselves of it, God restores us to a joyful relationship with Himself. If we sin and allow its deadly effects to remain in our lives, we hamper our own ability to serve in love – and obscure the bright witness that God would have us be to others. Purity of spirit – restored and guarded closely – allows us to “get out of God’s way” so he might work powerfully through us in the future: saving lives, changing hearts and minds, and healing those who are broken by the culture of death.
It is important to look forward with enthusiasm and immense hope to the rest of this Pauline Year. God has chosen you to serve as his new missionaries for the Gospel – the Gospel of Life. Much work remains ahead as you promote the Bishops’ Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities in your dioceses. Remember, however, that God has equipped you to bear “fruit that will remain.” What partnerships might emerge through your openness to the Holy Spirit? What new initiatives might you “conceive”? Which projects, now only in embryonic stages, will quicken and start “to show”? What will your long, hard labors give birth to?
We do not yet know what those fruits will look like. We know only that God has always been faithful in the past, that He continues to be with us now, and that He will remain with us if we love one another as He has loved us. And hence, dear friends, in all your efforts and prayerful strivings in the cause of life, you have the exhilarating assurance that whatever you do in word and deed, you do “in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass during Diocesan Pro-Life Directors Meeting
Knickerbocker Hotel, Chicago
August 10, 2009
Dear Friends in Christ, esteemed collaborators in the cause of human life,
Here, once again, we are together for this annual gathering of pro-life directors. I am happy to be with you and to reaffirm your crucial work and patient efforts to build a culture of life, especially in these challenging times. How important it is for us to reflect that all this work and all these efforts are made in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
At this time I would like to draw attention to our readings for the Feast of Saint Lawrence as they highlight a Christian virtue that characterizes your special role as leaders in the pro-life movement. It is the quality of generosity. Today I want to encourage you to continue living this generosity as you dedicate your energy and talents to promoting the dignity of human life. Your work of respecting, protecting, loving and serving life is often misunderstood in today=s culture, yet it is work that is desperately needed. In the words of Pope John Paul II, in The Gospel of Life: AOnly in this direction will you find justice, development, true freedom, peace and happiness!@ (no. 5).
1. Christ=s words in the Gospel emphasize the significance of martyrdom: AWhoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.@ How fitting it is today that we celebrate the feast of Saint Lawrence, a courageous and spirited third century deacon whose final days and martyrdom contain important lessons for us. Pope Saint Sixtus II placed Lawrence in charge of the administration of Church goods and the care of the poor. With the arrest and beheading of Pope Sixtus under the Valerian persecution, Lawrence was ordered to gather together all the riches of the Church and turn them over to the Roman prefect. He asked for three days to comply, during which time he distributed as much of the treasury as he could to the poor. He then went before the prefect, and when ordered to give up the treasures of the Church, he presented the poor, the crippled, the blind and the suffering, explaining that these least ones were the true treasures of the Church. The bold gesture earned him his death.
Certainly Lawrence wanted to keep the wealth of the Church out of the hands of Roman pagans who were intent on destroying Christians and their faith. But he was not simply being crafty in presenting the poor and lame in place of material goods. His was an exemplary catechesis, a witness of profound truth! The poor, the disabled, the outcast truly are the jewels of God=s kingdom. Their lives are of infinite worth and precious to God, and they should be to us as well, because loving and caring for them is our means of loving and serving God. It is through them that our path to holiness passes. Lawrence=s declaration concerning the dignity and worth of each human being should resonate in our hearts and inspire us to follow his bold example.
In his death, Saint Lawrence also exhibited great joy in facing adversity. According to witnesses, he was roasted to death on an iron grill over a slow fire. He is reputed to have joked to his persecutors: ATurn me over. I=m done on this side.@ His unshakeable faith and cheerful embrace of suffering were the cause of many conversions among those who witnessed his martyrdom. We, too, must remember to remain cheerful witnesses to the truth about human life, notwithstanding whatever inconvenience or suffering might be involved.
Martyrdom is the highest example of generosity that we see in Christian life. It is inseparable from an authentic imitation of Christ Himself, in His passion and death on the cross. This is true not only of physical martyrdom, to the point of shedding blood, but also of that Awhite martyrdom@ that likewise brings with it a sharing in Christ=s passion.
This sharing involves that daily, and often hidden, dying to self which requires great grace. Christ presents to us a model of self-denial in His own life during the years of His public ministry, as well as in the events leading up to His death. Recall how Christ experienced misunderstanding, rejection and mockery. The Pharisees and Scribes treated Him with cynicism and disdain. In His own home town, He was not respected and could not perform miracles there because of the lack of faith in His neighbors. And especially painful must have been the betrayal of Judas and the denial of Peter.
Now, if a Christian wishes to live in imitation of Christ, he or she can expect to follow this similar path. In a world where Christian values are so often challenged and repudiated, we encounter increasing hostility in our efforts to uphold and guard these values. This is especially true in your pro-life work, which requires persistence and patience, and involves such strong opposition. The Church thanks each and every one of you for your constant struggle to be faithful, despite so many difficulties.
Daily self-giving and renunciation can only be achieved with a generous heart. There are many ministries within the Church, but few meet with such hostility in the secular world as the pro-life ministry. You deal with sensitive issues which require both a deep sense of compassion and strong conviction. Your work requires you to face constantly a harsh reality that can drain the human spirit: the destruction of innocent human beings and the increasing disregard for weaker and more vulnerable individuals in our society, including the disabled, the elderly, and the sick. And yet, despite these realities, if you are to be successful in your work, and in spreading the message, you must maintain a high level of enthusiasm and Christian hope.
In the first reading, we see the bright and energetic exhortation of Saint Paul to the early Christian community in Corinth. He tells them: AEach must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.@ Daily commitment is difficult. Daily fidelity is under attack in our culture, which subtly promotes the path of least resistance. Virtue is mocked and downplayed. Commitment is avoided or, if taken up, is often abandoned once things become uncomfortable or difficult.
Those of us in the pro-life movement know how the attacks against life have increased rapidly in the past year. There are greater challenges to the effort to restore legal protection for the unborn, as we deal with an Administration and Congress that support so-called abortion Arights.@ It is easy to feel discouraged when we cannot see if our efforts bear fruit. In the face of such overwhelming odds, we ask then: How do we move forward?
3. Yes, we are in a cultural battle and we face much opposition. We may be so absorbed in the rapid deterioration of life values in so much of the media and public policy that we are tempted to lose heart. We fight on with our message, but at times it can appear as an exhausted fight. Much like a soldier, sinking in the mud, losing hope, fighting more, simply to survive rather than to conquer.
Dear friends, now is the time to realize the beauty of your pro-life work and the power inherent in it: to remember the splendor of the truth of your message and the importance of your contribution. A person can be attacked so many times that he can begin to lose his bearings, his determination, that inner spark. In the face of these temptations we repeat with Saint Paul: AFor this we toil and struggle, because we have set our hope on the living God@ (1 Timothy 4:10). And with Saint Paul we say resolutely: ANo, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loves us@ (Romans 8: 37).
The pro-life movement emphasizes and upholds the essential dignity of every human being. We do not only say Ano@ to attacks on innocent human life, but we say Ayes@ in affirming the dignity of each person. The pro-life message is a message that is positive to the core. As pro-life leaders, you are called to model this respect and reverence for life in a special way. This is what you must give to others; this is what you must teach others.
The profound awareness of the sacredness of each human life is what you transmit every day in your various areas of pro-life work. In your civility and conviction, you engage the public square through your decisive legislative efforts. In your compassion and clarity, you educate others about the scientific, legal and moral aspects of different life issues. In your courage and gentleness in pro-life pregnancy centers, maternity homes, hospitals, and retirement homes, you uphold the dignity of each human life. Through prayer and assistance efforts in your parishes and outside of abortion facilities, you witness to God=s power to change hearts and minds. And in your generous outreach to those in need of post-abortion healing, you proclaim God=s mercy.
As leaders in the pro-life movement, you possess B to a high degree B a deep awareness of the dignity of each human being. This a great gift to be cherished, and this is what you must continue to communicate. Never forget the beauty of this ideal, and strive always to transmit it to others in your particular area of activity. This should not merely be your goal; as pro-life leaders, it is also your responsibility.
To keep that vision constantly before our eyes, to remember why we are here and to gain the strength to move forward, we need to maintain our efforts through prayer. Our efforts must be centered on God and His infinite love for us B for the born and the unborn, for those who oppose us as well as those who agree with us. Only in this way can we maintain our perspective in a world of political pressures and partisan loyalties.
And so, dear friends, I encourage you to be faithful in your daily self-renunciation and generosity. Let us not be weary soldiers, looking only for survival. Let us remember that Awe have set our hope on the living God@! We go forward in the name of the Lord Jesus, and life will be victorious!
Although the pro-life movement transcends the boundaries of any faith, we ourselves are committed to the cause in the name of the Creator of all life and in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, who in assuming human nature has added even further dignity to all human life.
During these days of the annual pro-life gathering, I hope you will receive practical helps to equip you further in your work. I hope also that the support you receive from each other will be a great motivation to continue with renewed vigor in your generous and tireless dedication to the pro-life cause. And I hope that you can spend time in prayer, most especially before the Blessed Sacrament.
In conclusion let us entrust to our Blessed Mother, the Mother of life, the great project of building a culture of life. Through her intercession may we be ever more effective in respecting, protecting, loving and serving life - every human life! And may we thus be, in every sphere, heralds of human dignity, promoting Ajustice, development, true freedom, peace and happiness@ for everyone in our society, from conception until natural death. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Pro-Life Mass
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Washington, DC
Friday January 22, 2010
Brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons, Religious and Lay Faithful,
especially you, dear Young People,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
It is a great pleasure to welcome to this Pro-Life celebration all of you on pilgrimage from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I am also very pleased to acknowledge the presence of the delegation from Knoxville, led by Bishop Richard Stika, the delegation from Kansas City-St. Joseph led by Bishop Robert Finn and all the many other groups. It is a great joy for us all to come together to pray in the name of Jesus.
As we march today, our group will include people of all different categories, with numerous high school and elementary school students as well as crowds of university students and members of Newman Centers from so many dioceses of the United States. I am grateful for all the sacrifices of the many who have traveled, often at their own expense, to defend the right to life. As we gather, the great promise of Jesus rings true this morning in this great Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception: “The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will instruct you in everything, and remind you of all that I told you” (Jn 14:26). The Holy Spirit teaches us today that the seeds of the culture of life are all around us.
This wide representation here in the National Shrine represents the growing tide of public understanding of that unchanging truth that the right to life is sacred and inviolable from the first moment of conception to the moment of natural death. We gather in unity and march forward in peaceful witness to reach out to our fellow citizens, to leaders of government, to public servants, to those who may be indifferent, to those who suffer because of abortion, to women who have had an abortion, to men who are in pain because of abortion, and even to those who still think that it is acceptable to kill an unborn child.
On our part we proclaim that the child is a gift and must always be welcomed by love. As we march we take to heart the words of Saint Paul, proclaimed only a few moments ago: “Clothe yourselves with heartfelt mercy, with kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.… Over all these virtues put on love, which binds the rest together and makes them perfect” (Col 3:12,14). If we walk with grace and virtue today, with each stride we will be one step closer to a society which fully respects the right to life of the child in the womb from the first moment of conception.
To preserve the right to life we must dismantle the ideologies of materialism, individualism, consumerism, utilitarianism and hedonism that have grown up around us. To change these ideologies we must offer healing to an entire generation wounded by false promises. These ideologies have given rise to many evils: abortion, human embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, illicit reproductive technologies, partial-birth abortion, physician assisted suicide, the unjust application of the death sentence, the promotion of human cloning, and as Pope Benedict XVI has warned, the prospect of the systematic eugenic programming of births (cf. Caritas in Veritate, 75). All people of good will can know so much through the light of natural human reason about these practices that always and everywhere offend the inestimable dignity of the human person and the common good of society. The gift of faith affirms the witness of reason: that the child is loved by God. The psalmist testified long ago to God’s special affection for the child when he proclaimed: “He shall … save the children of the poor” (Ps 72:4).
In a particular way we continue our urgent prayers for our brothers and sisters in Haiti, and for the children of that nation. As Pope Benedict teaches us: “Openness to life is at the center of true development. When a society moves towards the denial or suppression of life, it ends up no longer finding the necessary motivation and energy to strive for man's true good.… The acceptance of life strengthens moral fiber and makes people capable of mutual help” (ibid., no. 28). On this basis we insist that health care proposals must always respect human life in all of its stages from conception to natural death.
To heal the wounds of our culture we must engage in that new Evangelization which reveals the truth, beauty and goodness of the message of Jesus Christ to this new generation. We must help this new generation understand that the pro-life struggle is not one of faith versus science, but one of ethical science versus unethical science. Today, and every day throughout the year, we seek to persuade consciences and transform hearts through grace and virtue. Each step in our march today is one step closer to a society without abortion and toward a new dawn of the culture of life that welcomes the child as a precious gift from God.
The child is so important in the new Evangelization and such a preeminent sign of hope. Hope is never an inconvenience, mistake, obstacle, problem or accident, but a joy, treasure and integral part of God’s loving design. When we welcome life we welcome hope! We welcome mothers and fathers! We welcome with compassionate understanding all those who have been harmed by abortion! We welcome doctors and nurses, public servants and citizens to turn again with us to the path of life and to welcome the child, to welcome hope.
As we gather in this Shrine we entrust all our efforts to Mary Immaculate so that our witness will be covered by her mantle and thus transformed by the grace of her Son. Before we march today we gather at this altar to worship God and to receive the spiritual and moral nourishment which comes from the Eucharist. As Pope Benedict XVI has said: “Precisely because of the mystery we celebrate [in the Eucharist], we must denounce situations contrary to human dignity, since Christ shed his blood for all, and at the same time affirm the inestimable value of each individual person” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 89).
Today, we join the many thousands who will gather to affirm the inestimable value of all human life. We pray to God―the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit―that the living, prophetic and peaceful witness of each of us will help to open the hearts of many of our brothers and sisters to recognize the right to life of the unborn.
Dear friends, dear young people: your prayers, your commitment to the sacredness of human life and your marching today render honor to the Lord of Life and contribute greatly toward building a culture of life and a civilization of love. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Pro-Life Mass for Philadelphia Pilgrims
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Washington, DC
Monday January 24, 2011
Dear Friends in Christ,
We gather this morning in search of light. We assemble to search for that light of which St. Paul speaks in today’s reading: “to bring to light … the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things …” (Eph 3:9).
The light and the plan of God is Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh (Jn 1:14). Today, around this magnificent Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the light of Christ is gathering. We see it reflected here today in the many priests, deacons, men and women religious and seminarians. We see the light of Jesus Christ reflected in the members of parish-based pro-life organizations, married couples and families, single persons, teachers and catechists. In a particular way we see the light of Jesus reflected in the young people who are here with us: university students, members of Newman Centers, high school students, and elementary school students. And we see the light reflected in the many children who are here today. How resplendent is the radiance of the light of Jesus Christ! In his recent Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, Pope Benedict XVI teaches that “life itself was made visible in Christ” (VD 2).
The brilliance of the light of Christ is reflected in every human life, and in a most magnificent way even from the womb. God testifies, through the prophet Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” (Jer 1:5). The psalmist likewise witnesses this same profound truth: “From my mother’s womb you have been my help” (Ps 71:6). Elsewhere, the psalmist proclaims: “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb … my frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret … ” (Ps 139:13, 15).
Painfully and tragically, the law of the land has failed to recognize, for the past 38 years, the light of that truth that was so convincingly evident to Jeremiah and to the psalmist. We gather today to give personal witness to the light of truth, the light of conscience and the light of faith.
We witness to the light of truth because the objective truth is that no one, anywhere, has any right, let alone a fundamental right, to murder an unborn child. Ever. Under any circumstances. We know from science that the moment of conception is a moment unlike any other. An amazing event takes place at the moment of conception. The union at the moment of conception constitutes an absolutely new and utterly exceptional moment of creation, the moment when a new, unrepeatable and irreplaceable human being comes to exist. This new human being has emerged, a vulnerable and unique self-directing self that never before was. It needs nothing but a safe place―the mother’s womb―to grow and develop. After the moment of conception, this new human life will go through many stages and phases, none of which are as monumental as the one it has just emerged from: the moment of conception, the moment in which it began to exist. The science speaks for itself. The light of reason is clear. Those on both sides of the pro-life battle know that the child in the womb is a human being. The science is in and the word is out. Abortion, partial-birth abortion, illicit reproductive technologies and human embryonic stem cell research are intrinsically evil actions that have nothing to do with the light of right reason. The same truth that witnesses to the inviolable dignity of human life in the womb witnesses to the sanctity of human life throughout the life span, from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. Euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, any unjust application of the death sentence and human cloning have no place in society or culture. The light of reason always defends the right to life. The Second Vatican Council taught that “the procreation and education” of children, is the “crowning glory” of marriage (GS 48). This is clear also from the light of reason. Therefore, with all of our pro-life energies we declare and insist that marriage is and can only be the permanent, faithful and fruitful union of one man and one woman. Contemporary attempts to redefine the legal definition of marriage are gravely injurious.
We gather today to witness to the light of the truth of freedom of conscience and religious liberty. The cornerstone of all our cherished freedoms is the right of every American to form appropriately and to follow freely the dictates of conscience in a way which does not infringe the rights of others. We cannot permit this cornerstone to be dismantled by attempts to force all medical providers to provide and perform abortions regardless of personal objections on the part of the hospital’s doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and administrators. Generations of Americans have recognized freedom of religion as the unifying element in the social fabric of our democracy. It is respect for the religion of another which has always facilitated the demanding process of self-government. We cannot allow the unity built upon religious liberty to be unraveled.
We gather today to testify to the light of faith. This light shows us that all human life is sacred, and that God alone is the Lord of Life. From the Decalogue of the Old Testament (Ex20:13; Deut 5:17), to the Sermon on the Mount in the New Testament (Mt 5:21-22), we learn, in the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, that “human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the first moment of conception” (no.2270). Sacred Scripture and the living Tradition of the Church do not contradict right reason: namely, that a procured abortion is always and everywhere a grave moral evil.
The light of reason, the light of conscience and the light of faith all converge today to illumine the timeless truth of the sanctity of all human life. The light of reason, the light of conscience, and the light of faith guide each step we take today as we march in defense of the right to life. We, as Catholics and as citizens, have a duty to raise our voice peacefully to advance the Culture of Life. As we march, we do so peacefully, with the words of St. Francis de Sales as our guide: “Nothing is so strong as gentleness―nothing so loving and gentle as strength” (as in The Spirit of St. Francis de Sales, IV, 9). When we walk in peace, each step we take is a sacred step, a step closer to a world without abortion. Beginning as we do in this great Basilica, we entrust each step today, and every day of our lives, to our Blessed Mother Mary. May she guide us through the light of reason, the light of conscience and the light of faith, so that we may turn more fully to her Son, to the light eternal, and give living witness to the plan of life, “the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past” (Eph 3: 9), the plan made know by God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Keynote Address of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Diocesan Pro-Life Directors Annual Conference
Crystal City, Virginia
August, 2, 2007
"Defending Life God's Way: Lessons from Mount Sinai "
Dear Friends,
I. Introduction: Scriptural Context from this Week's Readings (Exodus)
Good afternoon. It is good for us to be here, gathered in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in service to His people - the service of life.
I would like to begin by thanking you for your witness this morning on Capitol Hill. Some of you are lobbying veterans, while others stepped into your Senator' s or Representative's office for the first time. All of you showed courage. All of you took the risk to speak truth to power.
The ferial Mass readings this week set our annual diocesan pro-life directors' gathering in a rich context. The Exodus passages speak of Moses, the gift of the law in the Ten Commandments, and the "stiff-necked" people who chose to provide for themselves, instead of relying on God and obeying His word. We started out on Monday with the disobedience of the Israelites and their worship of the golden calf. Today we see the repentant tribes of Israel building the Ark of the Covenant to celebrate and honor God's law over them. The Israelites then start off on their journey - moving forward only on days when the cloud of the Lord's presence lifts, and resting when the cloud settles over the Ark.
In light of these readings, I would like to explore with you the idolatry at the heart of the culture of death - as well as some of the subtle ways the temptation to worship false gods can, if left unchecked, threaten to undermine our noble pro-life efforts. We, like the Israelites, are continually called to the purification of our hearts and to follow the Lord night and day, relying on His word, His daily bread.
II. The idolatrous gospel of the culture of death.
Our pro-life work finds its direct mandate in the fifth commandment given to Moses: Thou shalt not kill. The many direct attacks against innocent human life are well-known to you. They happen at all stages, from the earliest hours of the human embryo's life, through the vulnerable months in the womb, through childhood and adulthood, to the last days of those who are dying.
Rather than offering special care to those who are vulnerable and dependent, many today see the lives of such people as burdensome. In place of the truth about human dignity, many proclaim the idolatrous gospel of total autonomy, sheer utility and false mercy.
Consider the field of biomedical research. Caught up in pride and the pressure to be on the cutting edge of science, many scientists take their direction from an unexamined utilitarian ethic that seeks to maximize the good or happiness for the greatest number of people. In this misguided ethic, the ends are said to justify the means. Its close corollary, the technological imperative, says: "If we can do it, we should ." Any challenge to this imperative is seen as "anti-science" - a step backwards.
Those who have blind faith in embryonic stem cell research and its so-called "biblical power to cure" (as House majority leader, Nancy Pelosi, called it recently) are worshipping a modern-day false idol. They are putting their faith in an exaggerated view of the wonders of science and in their own ingenuity to overcome disease and aging.
It is all strangely reminiscent of the Israelites' worship of the golden calf. When Moses ascended Mount Sinai and remained there for 40 days, the people got tired of waiting for him to return. In their impatience, stubbornness, and disobedience, they created out of their own possessions - their own jewelry and valuables - a god they could control. A god they shaped, rather than one they would be shaped by .
When he first came down from Mount Sinai, Moses saw the idol they had created in his absence. His people, so recently liberated from slavery in Egypt, were now freely submitting themselves to a new, more terrible kind of bondage. In creating the golden calf and bowing down to worship it, the chosen people of Israel inverted the beautiful order that God had set in the beginning and demeaned themselves.
In reading "news" accounts of so-called breakthroughs in embryonic stem cell research, one would think we were on the verge of finding the fabled fountain of youth. Cures are promised for everything from Alzheimer's to cancer and diabetes. Like the Israelites bowing to the golden calf they created, excitement around this potential "healing" has the same idolatrous overtones, based on impatience, stubbornness, and disobedience to God's way.
But this self-asserted strength is illusory. The cause of life cannot be served by destroying life. The ends (no matter how real or truly beneficial) never justify the means. All people of good will are called to resist the technological imperative, and embrace and proclaim instead the inviolable dignity of human life from its earliest stages. Human dignity, not progress at any price, should be the fundamental guiding value in scientific research. When scientists do their job well, they serve humanity and the common good. The Catholic Church supports ethical science. As a recent ad campaign from the Secretariat says: "Let's find cures we can all live with."
Extending this analysis to the culture of "choice" is not difficult. Those who promote abortion as a way to further women's freedom have also exchanged the truth for a lie. Instead of affirming the inviolable dignity of human life, the dignity of women, and respect for the integrity of sexual relations and motherhood, they assert a false notion of freedom made in their own image, a self-made ethic that justifies their own choices.
We can be tempted to despair at times, as disobedience to God's law pervades the culture. Although the abortion rate continues to decline from its high point in the early 1990s, we continue to lose 1.2 million lives to abortion each year in this country alone. Countless women and men involved in one or more past abortions bear the spiritual and emotional wounds of that supposedly liberating "choice."
III. Reasons for Hope
At times we are tempted to be overwhelmed or even to give up. Yet as Christians we have every reason to hope. The risen Christ continues to be at work in - and through - all the baptized members who make up His Mystical Body, the Church. In the midst of many threats to life, something very encouraging is taking place in our society, due, in part, to your leadership and your commitment to the Gospel of Life.
The rate and number of abortions in the United States continue to decline, most notably among teens. Many teenagers are wisely choosing to abstain from sexual activity - motivated both by religious and moral values, and the desire to protect themselves from the epidemic of sexually-transmitted diseases that today afflict some sixty million Americans. To be free of disease, to be free of the fear of an ill-timed pregnancy, to be free of a broken heart - this is the freedom that we want for our young people, and we rejoice that it is unfolding.
Sadly, many Catholic couples today do not yet understand or appreciate this freedom. Therefore the bishops of the United States last November approved the educational document "Married Love and the Gift of Life" prepared by our Committee for Pro-Life Activities, to explain how respect for life should lead us to respect for human sexuality and its openness to new life. For next year we are considering a similar educational resource to explain our teaching on "in vitro" fertilization and other reproductive technologies, which allow new life to be created and treated not as a gift but as an object for exchange and even experimentation.
The American people are also becoming more pro-life. Major polls in 2006 indicated that support for legalized abortion is waning, with support for Roe v. Wade at an all-time low since the mid-1970s. The Harris Interactive poll - which misleadingly asked about Roe v. Wade as if that decision made abortion legal only during the first three months of pregnancy C found that support has dropped below 50% for the first time in three decades. It also showed that 44% of Americans said they would support a law in their own state like South Dakota's, banning all abortions except to save the mother's life. Another survey by The Polling Company, Inc. and WomanTrend found that 54% support limiting legal abortion to the extreme cases of rape, incest, and danger to the life of the mother; and an additional 21% would limit abortion to the first trimester. This is a far cry from the abortion license established by Roe v. Wade , which allows abortion for virtually any reason throughout the nine months of pregnancy. A major 2006 Zogby poll found majority support for abortion regulations such as parental notification laws, with 69% favoring such measures for girls under 17 years old. We will continue to broaden and deepen this trend through our public education efforts, with a strategic focus on those who are either ambivalent about abortion or might be described as "culturally pro-choice."
This April, the Supreme Court upheld a ban on an abortion procedure for the first time in the 34 years since Roe v. Wade . While we have yet to see the full impact of Gonzales v. Carhart on the Court's jurisprudence, this candid majority opinion is a significant step in the right direction - moving away from the infamous "abortion distortion" in Supreme Court jurisprudence, and bringing their interpretation of abortion law more in line with other fields of law. We hope and pray that the newly-upheld federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, and state laws modeled on it, will finally start saving lives, even as the case raises awareness about the barbarism of abortion in general.
Finally, in my own archdiocese, we witnessed a sign of hope this summer - a sign of God at work in the culture. On June 7, by a vote of 9 to 8, the City Council of Philadelphia declared the City of Brotherly Love to be a " pro-choice city. " The pro-life community could have succumbed to discouragement over it. But instead, we protested, calling the pro-choice label "divisive and erroneous," and just one week later, the Council rescinded their resolution by a vote of 13 to 4. The City Council had mistaken evil for good - a modern-day act of idolatry; but, just as the Israelites' revelry was silenced upon Moses' return from Mount Sinai, Planned Parenthood's celebration came to an abrupt end when the voice of truth prevailed.
So we can take heart from the spiritual, educational and legislative efforts that are making a difference in the hearts and minds of many Americans.
IV. The Subtle Temptation to Idolize Our Pro-Life Work
It is easy to see the "vendors of death" as guilty parties who have bought into the false gospel of autonomy wholesale. And yet the temptation of doing things our own way can remain even for those who follow Christ and are deeply committed to the culture of life. How might the temptation to idolatry show up in our own lives? How might it be disguised from our view, and thus from the transforming power of reconciliation?
Today I want to offer a gentle reminder to guard against making an idol of our own pro-life work. Is it part and parcel of sharing the hope of the Gospel with others, or does it sometimes spin off into its own discrete project, separate from our broader call to evangelization? Because the "evil one" wants us to fail, there is a temptation to claim this territory as our own and guard it - not as a gift from God, but as the work of our own hands, the fruit of our own possessions. But if we do so, we risk burning out or even growing bitter in this beautiful task that has been entrusted to us.
God provided for the Israelites' daily needs, giving them manna and quail in the desert where they would otherwise have starved to death. God is still a God of providence, a God of abundance, and will provide the same for us, too, if we allow him to do so. Each day, I encourage you to trust that God will indeed provide the manna for our daily sustenance, the quail we need to do this work. We must rely upon it with childlike trust and resist the temptation to grumble and complain like the Israelites, thinking that we do not have enough God-given resources: time, money, talents, personnel.
While Christians are not defined by idolatrous attachments, we are also not immune to their influence. Hence, we are reminded that the answer to these often-subtle temptations is to cling to the Lord in prayer, receive the sacraments frequently, and seek the strength of Christian fellowship. We are not meant to do this work on our own. We must live every day relying on divine providence, not on our own knowledge or powers, and not in competition with others. Whatever God provides for our use in this work is, somehow, mysteriously sufficient.
This conference hopes to help us move "from strength to strength" (as today's responsorial psalm calls us to do). With its prayer, sacramental sustenance, fellowship, and educational talks, this gathering is different from secular conventions, as good as those may be. Yes, we are situated in the shadow of the Capitol building, the halls of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the White House, but none of these is so powerful as the Holy Eucharist present in the chapel set up for you here in the hotel, the "ark" of the New Covenant. Here, you have a tremendous opportunity to refresh yourselves in our distinctly Christian pro-life mission. I invite you to receive it gratefully as today's manna and quail on your faithful journey, trusting that the Lord will continue to provide all you will need, today and in the future.
V. Acknowledgements and an Invitation
In conclusion, I wish to thank our hosts in the Diocese of Arlington, Bishop Paul Loverde, Sister Clare Hunter and all their committed staff, as well as Archbishop Donald Wuerl and his auxiliary, Bishop Martin Holley from across the Potomac River. I am also grateful to Bishop Holley for serving on the bishops' Committee for Pro-Life Activities.
And I want to thank each of you for your commitment to the pro-life cause. As a group, your tenure adds up to over 1800 work-years in cumulative service. Along the way, you and your families have made many quiet sacrifices of your time and resources. For all of this the Church is profoundly grateful.
I encourage you, dear friends, to spend time before the Blessed Sacrament this weekend, and to pray for those in positions of cultural and political power here in Washington. While they may not be aware of their deepest human longing, they are hungering and thirsting to hear the life-giving words of the Gospel. If even a handful of the most recalcitrant promoters of the culture of death were to repent - and then use their power to proclaim the truth about life - it could have a tremendous impact in defense of life, both domestically and internationally.
Pray, too, for unity among all Christians, especially among those seeking to build the Culture of Life. People will come to know Christ and the hope of salvation if they recognize us by our love for each other. They will dare to embrace the beautiful teachings on life if we make them attractive in our own lives, our families, our parishes and our schools.
This morning on Capitol Hill you "put out into the deep," as Pope John Paul II encouraged us to do at the start of the new millennium. It was an exercise in trust: trust in the Lord's providence and the expectation of an abundant "catch of fish." May you continue to make a difference in countless lives - to the glory of our generous God!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass during Puerto Rican Week
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, September 21, 2006
Muy Queridos hermanos y hermanas:
Me da mucho gusto estar con todos ustedes para esta celebración eucarística durante esta semana portorriqueña . Este 21 de septiembre, primer día del otoño, celebramos la fiesta de un santo muy importante: San Mateo, apóstol y evangelista. Su nombre, "Mateo," significa "regalo" o "don de Dios." El significado de su nombre me recuerda el hecho de que su comunidad de Portorriqueños, los primeros hispanohablantes que poblaron Filadelfia, es un ‘regalo’ tanto para la ciudad como para la Iglesia. Meditemos un poco hoy en la importante vida de este evangelista y veamos como podrán continuar contribuyendo a la vida ecclesial.
Como discípulo y apóstol, Mateo siguió a Jesús, fue testigo de su Resurrección y Ascensión, y recibió el Espíritu Santo junto con María y los otros apóstoles. También, Mateo era un publicano, un recolector de impuestos. No era precisamente querido por sus compatriotas: los publicanos eran despreciados por trabajar juntando dinero para los Romanos, lo que les permitía, guardando algo para ellos, vivir cómodamente.
En los versículos del Evangelio que hemos escuchado hoy, encontramos el momento en que Mateo es llamado por Cristo: "En aquel tiempo, Jesús vio a un hombre llamado Mateo, sentado a su mesa de recaudador de impuestos, y le dijo: ‘Sígueme’. Mateo, dejándolo todo, se levantó y lo siguió."
San Jerónimo dice que la llamada de Jesús a Mateo es una lección para que todos los pecadores del mundo sepan que, sea cual fuere la vida que han llevado hasta el momento, en cualquier día y en cualquier hora pueden dedicarse a servir a Cristo, y Él los acepta con gusto.
Más tarde, Mateo haría para Jesús un banquete en su casa. Esto provocó el escándalo de los fariseos, cuando vieron que Jesús y sus discípulos compartían la mesa con publicanos y pecadores. Los fariseos se escandalizaron horriblemente y llamaron a varios de los apóstoles para protestarles por semejante actuación de su jefe. "Por qué su maestro come con publicanos y pecadores?" Jesús respondió a estas protestas de los fariseos con una noticia que a todos nos debe llenar de alegría: "No son los sanos los que necesitan de médico, sino los enfermos. Vayan y aprendan lo que significa: Yo quiero misericordia y no sacrificios. Yo no he venido a llamar a los justos sino a los pecadores." Probablemente mientras decía estas bellas palabras estaba pensando en varios de nosotros.
Si hay algo que realmente podemos destacar de San Mateo, es su disponibilidad para seguir la llamada de Cristo. Jesús le dice "sígueme" y él, sin dudas ni preguntas, lo hace. Ante esa invitación, tiene dos alternativas: quedarse, seguir con su vida cómoda y sin preocupaciones, pero vacía y sin sentido, o arriesgarse, dejarlo todo, y acompañar a Cristo.
Casi hace un mes, en la Ciudad del Vaticano, el día miércoles, 30 de agosto de 2006, nuestro Santo Padre, Benedicto XVI durante la audiencia general, celebrada en el Aula Pablo VI del Vaticano, meditó sobre la figura del apóstol san Mateo. El Papa dijo lo siguiente:
"El apóstol Mateo, autor del primer Evangelio y uno de los Doce elegidos por Jesús, es conocido como ‘el publicano’ porque era cobrador de los impuestos. La primera reflexión que suscita este hecho es que el Señor acoge en su grupo a aquellos que, según la opinión de entonces, eran considerados como pecadores públicos. Cristo, en cambio, no excluye a ninguno de su amistad. El anuncio de la Buena Nueva consiste precisamente en esto: ofrecer la gracia de Dios al pecador. En la figura de Mateo se hace visible la paradoja de que, el que aparentemente está más lejano de la santidad, puede convertirse en un modelo de acogida de la misericordia de Dios. La respuesta inmediata de Mateo a la llamada de Jesús significaba para él abandonar todo, incluso lo que le suponía una ganancia de dinero seguro, aunque con frecuencia injusto. El Apóstol entendió así que el seguimiento de Jesús es incompatible con una actividad que desagrada a Dios, como es el caso de las riquezas injustas."
Nuestro Santo Padre comentó también sobre esta llamada a Mateo, citando uno de los Padres de la Iglesia:
"En este sentido, san Juan Crisóstomo hace un comentario significativo: observa que sólo en la narración de algunas llamadas se menciona el trabajo que estaban realizando los interesados. Pedro, Andrés, Santiago y Juan son llamados mientras estaban pescando; Mateo mientras recauda impuestos. Se trata de oficios de poca importancia, comenta el Crisóstomo, ‘pues no hay nada que sea más detestable que el recaudador y nada más común que la pesca’. La llamada de Jesús llega, por tanto, también a personas de bajo nivel social, mientras desempeñan su trabajo ordinario."
Quizás no haya en el mundo otro evangelio que haya convertido más pecadores y que haya entusiasmado a más personas por Jesucristo y su doctrina, que el evangelio según San Mateo. No dejemos de leerlo y meditarlo.
¿Qué lección debemos aprender, entonces, de la vida de San Mateo? Muy queridos hermanos y hermanas, nuestra época se caracteriza por ser una en donde se pone al confort y la falta de esfuerzo por encima de todo; la gente habla de la muerte de los ideales. Nosotros, que también hemos sido convocados, nos encontramos frente a la misma decisión que debió tomar Mateo: replegarnos sobre nosotros mismos, o arriesgarse a seguir a Cristo, anunciándolo, sabiendo que el tesoro que hemos recibido es para ser compartido. Nadie puede quedar ajeno a este llamamiento. El saber que Jesús nos ama y nos invita a seguirlo, debe ser para nosotros, como lo fue para Mateo, motivo de alegría y motor para la evangelización en nuestro entorno, a lo largo de nuestra vida. Y la vida y muerte de Mateo, ejemplo e ideal.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Red Mass
Saint Mary Basilica, Phoenix, Arizona
January 25, 2006
Bishop Olmsted,
Members of the Saint Thomas More Society,
Distinguished Judges, Lawyers and other Members of the Legal Community,
Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,
Friends who serve the people and who have come together today to pray,
My deep gratitude to Bishop Olmsted, a friend and colleague of many years, beginning with our service to the Apostolic See in Rome, for the invitation to be with you today. It is indeed a great joy for me to join you in celebrating the tradition of the Red Mass-a tradition that had its origin in thirteenth-century France, in the famed Sainte Chapelle of Paris during the reign of King Saint Louis IX. That same tradition continues today to invoke the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to assist people of the law in their important service to our society.
The Church supports this tradition by her annual invitation and by this convocation this evening. The Church offers encouragement to all of you who prayerfully participate in it. And on this occasion she wishes to express deep gratitude to you for your commitment to the law, conceived as founded on truth and linked to true freedom.
There is a remarkable text in the Second Vatican Council about the truth of our identity as human beings. This text is found in the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. It states boldly that "we are witnesses of the birth of a new humanism, one in which man is defined first of all by his responsibility toward his brothers and sisters and toward history" (Gaudium et Spes, 55). This truth of solidarity-the fact that we have a relationship with one another-is clearly seen in your life and in your important work.
Your many activities presume this solidarity-this basic law of God-and are pregnant with special responsibility for society. This text of Vatican II appears in the theocentric context of an ecumenical council that proclaims the primacy of God, a God who reveals Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with supreme relevance for our lives.
Our liturgy today speaks to us about truth and the very fundamental structure of truth with its many exigencies. We are reminded in our First Reading about the fact that we are God's people, He is our God. Life comes from Him and terminates in Him. He spells out its meaning and its duration. He rewards its efforts.
Because we are His people and He is our God, our essential relationship to one another depends on Him. It cannot be determined by public acceptance or consensus, by utility or by what is opportune. Rather, it is determined by His law, which expresses His truth. Our own identity does not let us, therefore, re-define ourselves or re-invent our relationship to others, whether it be, for example, at the moment of their conception, their consummate defenselessness or their terminal illness. The issue of abortion, partial birth abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide can never be divorced from the principle of human solidarity-rooted in the truth of God, incorporated into our nature and impressed on our hearts just as in the case of the commandment of God: "Thou shalt not kill." There is ample reason, also, to believe that the magnanimity inculcated by the Gospel requires for our times a clear re-examination of the death penalty, concerning not only its "effectiveness" but also whether it can ever truly be considered "necessary."
Just this past Christmas, Pope Benedict XVI stated in his Message to the world that remarkable scientific and technological progress can indeed be turned against the well-being of humanity, with the men and women of our age risking to become the victims of their own intellectual and technical achievements. Is this not verified in the case of embryonic stem-cell research being carried out, while adult stem-cell research and use yield so much hope, without any violation of the dignity of human beings?
What a splendid contribution you so often make, dear Friends, in effectively proclaiming human dignity, human solidarity, the value of human life. Yours is a magnificent service to a society in need-a society that officially professes "liberty and justice for all."
Your task is daunting, but you are people, perhaps not of facile optimism, but of deep hope. And I would say more. You are people of power. Today I would emphasize not only all the power inherent in your respective offices, but also that immense power with which the Spirit of Truth endows you. All the members of the Church are called to share in the power that the Holy Spirit entrusted in a particular way to the Apostles.
God's word proclaimed today at this liturgy is, therefore, extremely meaningful to your lives. Jesus says: "You will receive power." It is power that is linked with a gift-the gift of the Spirit of Truth. This power is not given for domination or manipulation. It is power given to you for the service of truth and freedom. It is power to bear witness to Jesus.
The Spirit of Truth whom we invoke today is the same Spirit promised by Jesus. He is the one who completes the work of Jesus in us and leads us to liberating truth. The message of Jesus that we receive today in the Gospel is strong, forceful and encouraging: "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." The experience of the past century has so effectively confirmed the fact that any system of life, any structure of government not based on truth radically violates freedom, and that real freedom requires society to live according to truth. The Iron Curtain, the Berlin Wall, the sham and travesty of apartheid-these systemic violations of freedom have all dissolved before the shining truth of God's plan that creates the inalienable dignity of the human person and decrees the duty of universal human solidarity.
Yes, what wonderful power you have-the power to possess truth, to live truth, to communicate truth, to serve truth, and, in serving truth, to serve the truth of life! You have the extraordinary power to serve life itself, and to help people live in happiness and in the truth of their lives, which involves their proper relationship to God and their solidarity with others.
How relevant today-in the United States of America as well as in the other countries whose citizens may be present at this Mass-are those words God spoke centuries ago to the people of Israel: "I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. You shall live in the land I gave your fathers; you shall be my people and I shall be your God." The sector of human behavior and human law-now as then-cannot prescind from the truth of the primacy of God.
The truth, moreover, of the right role of government offers deep insight into the just formulation of laws. This is eminently so in regard to laws affecting "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Over a quarter of a century ago, on a visit to the United States, Pope John Paul II, citing an impressive voice in the tradition of this Republic, spoke these words in our nation's capital: "A distinguished American, Thomas Jefferson, once stated: 'The care of human life and happiness and not their destruction is the just and only legitimate object of good government' (March 31, 1809)." These words have proved to be an enduring challenge to America even to this day.
To cite the truth of the primacy of God and the right role of government is also to raise the issue of moral truth in general-truth that exists independently of time-conditioned preferences or cultural options. I share the conviction, dear Friends, that you who are passionate servants of just law are in a position-a powerful position, a spiritually powerful position-to proclaim in word and action that there is indeed moral truth that was such before we came to be, and will still be when our life on earth is over. What is not in accord with this truth is and always will be evil, even if it should be legal. And I submit today that God's holy word confirms this position, or rather that the certitude of this position is derived from God's word: God has willed and in fact proclaimed that we shall be His people and He shall be our God.
Do we not all agree that the role of human law must ensure the dignity of man-every man, woman and child-the protection of the human race and the promotion of those conditions of life that permit human beings to live as such? As human situations change, God's relationship to humanity remains: He is our God and we are His people. As His people we are indeed defined by our responsibility to one another-our responsibility to do what is truly good for one another. And since what is evil remains evil even when declared legal, what responsibility is incumbent on those who make the laws, interpret them and apply them!
Resisting the pressure to make laws conform only to popular demand, and insisting on both the primacy of God's law-written in such great measure in our hearts-and the exigencies of universal human solidarity are great contributions to justice and human freedom. How blessed then, dear Friends, your every effort, through legal expertise, to reinforce the moral conscience of our people by presenting human law as forever subject to God.
I have spoken about power, about spiritual power, linked to the gift of the Spirit of Truth. This power to know and embrace liberating truth is yours, and today we invoke the Holy Spirit of Truth to confirm you in this power. What is ultimately at stake is your providential service to the cause of justice and to the freedom of our land. The challenge is immense but surely there is every reason to be deeply encouraged by the assurance of Christ's words: "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free."
As Pope John Paul II left Washington on his first papal visit to the United States, he spoke these words: "...my final prayer is this: that God will bless America, so that she may increasingly become-and truly be-and long remain-'one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'"
Friends of the law: I am sure that you all share the sentiments of this prayer. I am also sure that you know just how important a role you are meant to play in consolidating God's blessings on America. Yours is a powerful role of service. Yours is a formidable challenge always to proclaim truth and to defend life. In the face of such a task, be strengthened by the promise of the Lord Jesus. Rejoice in the Spirit of Truth, who is poured out in your hearts today. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Red Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
December 3, 2003
Esteemed Judges of the Federal, State and Municipal Courts,
Public Officials, and Legal Educators,
Lawyers practicing in firms and corporate law departments,
Paraprofessional and Support Staffs,
Family members and friends who join with the legal profession here today.
It is a great joy for me to celebrate with you the 52nd annual Red Mass for the bench and bar in our local Church, which is the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Your presence is an honor to this congregation, and I wish to confirm the great esteem in which the Church has always held the various components of your legal profession, which is so committed to the protection and advancement of the fundamental rights that God has made a part of human nature itself. Because these rights come from God, they must be accepted and respected by all.
As we pray this evening for the guidance of the Holy Spirit on your work in this current judicial year, and for His strength that will keep you faithful to your calling, I wish to reflect on how the Lord is asking you, as a skilled and talented part of the universal Church, and of our local church in Philadelphia, to cooperate with the Spirit of God in uplifting humanity to Him and in reinforcing the dignity of every human being.
As the new Archbishop of Philadelphia, I am pleased to have this first opportunity to address you as one of the professional groups that have such an important impact on our Church and our society.
It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that Christ today calls us all to a program of conversion of heart, communion and solidarity. All of this presupposes an encounter with the living Jesus Christ. This is indeed the great strategic vision that Pope John Paul II has offered to everyone in America.
To understand how life-changing an encounter with the living Jesus Christ can be, we might call to mind three moving examples. On the first Easter morning, Mary Magdalen, long a staunch disciple of Jesus, and courageous enough to keep watch at His tomb in the dark, became the first evangelizer, the first one to share the Good News of Christ s resurrection and new life.
Some hours later, two disciples on the road to Emmaus, disheartened and discouraged at the terrible suffering and death of their Master, met Jesus on the road, had supper with Him and heard Him explain the Scriptures to them. At the end of their encounter they recognized Jesus as the risen Lord when He broke bread and gave it to them just as He had done with the Apostles at the last Supper.
And finally Saul, a man totally dedicated to his own conception of God s law, met the Lord on the road to Damascus in an encounter so intense that he was knocked to the ground and blinded. That encounter brought about by the Holy Spirit changed Saul completely, made him an apostle, and gave him strength to withstand rejection and criticism and even to risk and endure prosecution and prison. Today we call him Paul, and recognize him as one of the greatest evangelists of all history.
Where, then today, can you and I encounter Jesus two thousand years after His return to the Father? How is the Holy Spirit whom we evoke this evening leading us to Him?
We find Him in the Scriptures, in the holy Bible, and in prayer.
We find Him in the Liturgy. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, He tells us, there am I in their midst. Jesus is present by His power in all the Sacraments, especially in the Eucharist, where we celebrate His Sacrifice, receive His Body and Blood, and adore Him in the tabernacle.
We find Him, moreover, in all those persons, especially the weak and needy, with whom He identifies Himself in the Gospel. He assures us that whatever we do for the least of His brothers and sisters, we do for Him, and that it will be counted to our credit on the Day of Judgment. In the face of every human being, especially in the face marked by pain and suffering, we can discover the face of Christ. This encounter also is brought about by the Spirit of God, who as Saint Paul tells us in our second reading, has been given to us.
Returning again to Pope John Paul II s message and commission to the Church throughout all America, we see that the life-changing encounter with Christ that we experience through the power of the Holy Spirit can produce a total change of heart in us, a continuing conversion no less radical than the one undergone by Saul on the road to Damascus.
This conversion of heart in its turn leads to a deeper communion with God and with one another in the Church. And the fruit of this communion is solidarity with one another, a solidarity expressed in loving service offered in the name of Jesus.
This evening I wish to propose some ways in which the universal call to conversion, communion and solidarity that is an integral part of our life-changing and continuing encounter with the risen Lord can be answered by the legal profession, of which you here present are such worthy representatives.
The conversion of heart that the Gospel enjoins is a response to God s call to live a life in which our faith is shown in all our works and in which there is no inconsistency between what we believe and how we act.
A first sign of conversion is an awareness of our dependence on God and our need to bring our cares to Him in prayer. How blessed we are in our local Church to have the models of intense and constant prayer that are given to us by contemplative orders of nuns, and by our two saints, my predecessor St. John Neumann, and the model of missionary charity and zeal St. Katharine Drexel.
A great support that enables us to turn continually to the Lord is our reliance on the Sacraments, above of all the Eucharist, and then the Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation. Through the confession and forgiveness of our sins God s mercy transforms our life.
The more we answer God s call to turn to Him through conversion of heart, the more the Holy Spirit, whom we invoke this evening, awakens in us a desire to be in communion with Him and with one another.
True communion, the communion that God offers us in Himself, is a source of peace, strength and joy for us, a peace and strength and joy that we can diffuse to so many others.
Dear friends: In our local community there are so many areas that call for you talents, your skills, and your good will in the service of others, even outside the sphere of your professional activities. I ask you to support and encourage the work of our priests and religious. Priestly ministry and consecrated religious life are indispensable to this local Church and to the universal Church. Vocations to the priesthood and to religious life are necessary for the Church to fulfill her service to the world.
I ask you also to lend your talents for the benefit of your parishes. Parish identification has always been one of the ways in which Philadelphians recognize and relate to one another. Your participation and support help our parishes to continue to be communities of hope where families are supported and strengthened, and individuals find welcome and fellowship in Christian love.
I ask you also to continue to love and attend to your families, amidst the staggering demands which the practice of law places on your time. It is in the family your family and every other family that life is created and nurtured. Through the family the whole of society is kept on its proper course. It is family-by-family that our communities are strengthened or destroyed. And since you are the guardians and clarifiers of societal relationships under the rule of law, you can do no better than ensure that your own families manifest that mutual love and respect that, under God, is the foundation of every just society.
In your right relationship with God, you know you are also called to be faithful to your spouse. In your profession, absence from home is often unavoidable, and temptations are not infrequent. Prayer and grace however will always assist you to value and preserve the treasure of your family life.
Continue to be attentive to the needs of your children. Your own vigilance means so much to the success of their efforts to remain unscathed amidst the pressures of drugs, alcohol and sex, by which they are constantly bombarded.
In your relations with those of other faiths, your love and respect are a great witness to Jesus commandment of love.
Those who do not yet share with us faith in God are also respected persons for whom we pray and with whom we loyally collaborate to build an ever more just and peaceful society.
With regard to other Christian Churches and Ecclesial Communities, we are called by our common Baptism to work toward complete communion. Through prayer together, through sharing the Scriptures and through fruitful Christian service we must continue to hope for the day of full Christian unity.
And in all these areas let us remember to invoke the Spirit of God s love poured out in our hearts: Come Holy Spirit!
The third result of our encounter with Christ, after conversion of heart and communion, is a solidarity that generates action inspired by love. It is in this third result that your participation in the legal profession as Catholic Christians becomes specific and focused.
You have heard many times that you are called to shape the secular world according to God s will by bringing the Gospel to the structures of the world. While respecting the informed freedom of conscience of every participant in public life, you are called to work tirelessly to strengthen that democracy, which guided by the rule of law, has made our country a beacon of freedom and a servant of peace.
I ask you today to recommit yourselves and your professional activities to the principle that there is no real freedom without truth. Real freedom demands an acceptance by society of the fact that there exist fundamental human rights that, because they are part of human nature itself, no human authority can infringe upon, not even by appealing to a majority opinion or a political consensus on the pretext of respect for pluralism and democracy.
As members of the legal profession, it is your specific task to help ensure that legislation, government administration, the judicial process and legal training always respect and reflect this concept of true freedom, which is so consonant with our own human self-understanding and with the common good of society.
In order for you to be truly effective in this task, however, you will need, in addition to all your other expertise, to understand and internalize the social teaching of the Church. It is of immense value and relevance for you.
It is obvious that you are in a position to contribute greatly to the promotion of justice and the protection of peace. As we look at the full range of law-related questions that our community faces today, we see that the ones which directly affect the greatest number of people center on protection of the weak and helpless.
Three areas in particular need your skills and commitment. The first is the culture of death that victimizes the unborn and the elderly, and brutalizes all those whom it touches. The second is the drug trade that targets the flower of our youth and robs from the most marginalized members of society both their often-meager economic resources and their human dignity itself, so often otherwise threatened by poverty or discrimination. The third is the concerted attack, whether direct or indirect, on the family and marriage as the basic institutions of society. Sometimes that attack pretends to be justified in the name of a new and more efficient ordering of society. Whatever the source of those attacks, history teaches us that whenever the family is strong, all of society is strong. Whenever the family has been weakened or destroyed, there follows alienation, chaos, and despair.
Whatever your role in the legal profession may be, I ask you to realize the immense power that is yours, a power of service and solidarity made possible in your lives by the Spirit of God. This power is to be exercised for the good of humanity and in the name of God. And for all of you who are Christians, this power is exercised moreover in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the chief Servant of humanity, who sends into our hearts the Spirit of God s truth. It is this Spirit of truth, God Himself, whom the Church this evening invokes upon you, dear friends, to give you hope and confidence and perseverance in your great task of witnessing effectively to that supreme dignity embodied in every human person, created in God s image and likeness, redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ and destined for eternal life.
Come, Holy Spirit! Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Red Mass
Tuesday, October 5, 2004
Esteemed Judges of the Federal, State and Municipal Courts,
Public Officials, and Legal Educators, Lawyers practicing in firms
and corporate law departments,
Paraprofessional and Support Staffs,
Family members and Friends who join with the legal profession here this evening.
We gather at this annual Red Mass sponsored
by the St. Thomas More Society to seek the special guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit upon yourselves
as individuals, and upon your work on behalf of others in the noble practice of the legal profession. We
make our prayer this evening the refrain from our responsorial psalm of the Mass: Lord, send out your Spirit, and
renew the face of the earth.
Like the prophet Ezekiel in our first Scripture reading,
who prayed to God on behalf of the people of Israel for renewal and strength, let us hear once again the consoling
response of the Lord to those who seek to do His will in sincerity and truth: I will give you a new heart and place
a new Spirit within you....I will put my Spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe
my decrees....You shall be my people, and I will be your God (Ezekiel:36: 26-28).
In
our second reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus too, assures his first Apostles, and through them the Church,
of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit, as He prepares to depart from them and return to His heavenly Father:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1: 8).
Finally,
once again in the Gospel of Saint John, Jesus assures his disciples, past and present, of the
continuing presence and support of the Holy Spirit as they begin their
own mission as His witnesses in the world: When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit
of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify... (John 15: 26-27).
Clearly,
the Holy Spirit is given to the disciples for a mission. St. Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, tells us that this
mission is be to be a witness to Jesus, even to the ends of the earth ; and Jesus in this evening s Gospel passage
from John gives his disciples, as they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the task of testifying on His behalf
in the world.
As
we invoke the Holy Spirit this evening, the Risen Jesus present in our midst as we are gathered in prayer, as well
as through the Scriptures we have heard, and particularly in His Eucharistic Presence exhorts you too to be His
witnesses and to testify on His behalf in the world in which we live and in which you exercise your professional
lives. Truly, this is the mission given to disciples in every age, to be a credible witness to the truth, hope
and redeeming love that Jesus Himself came to bring to all people of every time and place, of every nationality
and culture, even to the ends of the earth.
You,
dear friends, are called to be witnesses to truth in a world often appearing to be marked by moral confusion, indifference
and lack of faith; to be witnesses to hope in a world presently engulfed in fear and spiritual uncertainty; and
to be witnesses to love in a world in desperate need of compassionate love and forgiveness as antidotes to human
selfishness, violence and sin.
Perhaps
as you hear the Lord exhorting you to be His witnesses and to give testimony on His behalf to the world in which
you live, it is natural to ask the question: How am I to do this ?
The
answer to this question is, of course, always tempered by the circumstances in
which we live and by the issues of our time and culture. Like every age, our
present era is not lacking in its issues and its challenges, whether it be the
defense of the right to life of the innocent unborn
child, or the safeguarding of
the right of the elderly and those near the end of their earthly journey
to compassionate palliative care, free from societal pressures to bring human
life to termination through means other than by a natural death. To be a witness
to Jesus in this context is to be faithful, in both what we say and do, to the
core teaching of our faith that all human life is sacred to God, from conception
to natural death.
To
give testimony on behalf of Jesus in our world today means to be a
proponent of the family, founded on the permanent, faithful union of a man and
a woman, as the basic and essential unit of society itself, and as God s intentional and unchanging plan for the
propagation of the human race and the stability of our world.
To
be a witness to Jesus in our time means to bean advocate for the poor
and the marginalized in our society, especially children, the elderly,
the immigrant, the unemployed, the homeless, the sick and the physically and mentally challenged.
Certainly
the challenges are many, but so also are the opportunities, to be authentic witnesses to Jesus to a world in great
need of credible testimony to the truth, hope and compassion of the Risen Lord, acting in and through his faithful
disciples, empowered by the grace of the Holy Spirit. It should come as no surprise that this mission will entail
personal sacrifice, and that it will often meet with the opposition of the world. Did not the Lord Himself predict
this when He told His first disciples: If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you ; and, If the world
hates you, realize that it hated me first . Nevertheless, we are called to be faithful to the task, remembering
the now famous words of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, that the Lord has not asked us to be successful, but to be
faithful.
There
are some in our society today who argue that there is no place in the discussion of public policy for opinions
based upon, and informed by, religiously held convictions and beliefs. . While it is admittedly a somewhat daunting
task to find the proper balance between religion and politics in the discussion of public policy, it would be a
mistake to accept the argument that religiously motivated convictions are a purely private and personal matter
and have no place in the marketplace of ideas, or in the political discussion that shapes the public policy of
our time. In fact, the bishops of the United States argue just the opposite in urging citizens to participate actively
and intelligently in the political process by contributing the best of their ideas which are molded and shaped
by their deeply held religious principles and convictions. Indeed, this is a
necessary and authentic contribution to the democratic processitself,
as well as a responsibility from which no authentic witness can excuse himself or herself. Neither should one fear
or hesitate to speak and act upon one s deeply held religious convictions because they are not always popular or
shared by others. The patron of your professional society, St. Thomas More, is a shining example to us all of an
individual motivated by a personal integrity that was inspired and shaped by deeply held religious and moral convictions.
As we know, Saint Thomas More never hesitated from expressing those convictions, even when they were not welcome,
and even when it became necessary to pay the ultimate price of his life for expressing them. Surely, guided by
the Holy Spirit, he took his Master s request seriously, to be His faithful
witness and to give testimony to Him in the world.
In
a particular way, the Church reminds us today of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council regarding the vocation of the laityin the world: namely,
that the lay vocation is primarily meant to be lived in the family, the workplace and in the business, professional,
and political spheres.
It
is precisely in these spheres of human activity that the Church urges you to participate by contributing the best
of religiously inspired truths, as well as those based on the natural moral law, to the public policy discussions
and debates of our day.
Dear
friends and esteemed collaborators of God in building up a society of justice and freedom, truth and love, may
the Holy Spirit guide and empower you to heed and obey the command of the Risen Lord to be His faithful witness
and to give testimony to Him with integrity and conviction, in all the situations of your lives. Amen
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Red Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
October 17, 2006
Distinguished Judges, Lawyers and other Members of the Legal Community,
Public Officials and Legal Educators,
Members of the Saint Thomas More Society,
Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,
Friends who serve the people and who have come together today to pray,
It is indeed a great joy for me to join you in celebrating the tradition of the Red Mass—a tradition that had its origin in thirteenth-century France, in the famed Sainte Chapelle of Paris during the reign of King Saint Louis IX. At this 55th annual Red Mass the Archdiocese of Philadelphia continues its own long local tradition of sponsoring an annual Mass to invoke God’s blessings upon our Courts and the legal community. We are particularly grateful to the members of the Saint Thomas More Society for supporting and helping to sustain this tradition that continues today to invoke the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to assist people of the law in their important service to our society.
The Church offers encouragement to all of you who prayerfully participate in this Mass. And on this occasion she wishes to express deep gratitude to you for your commitment to the law, conceived as founded on truth and linked to true freedom.
Our liturgy today speaks to us about truth and the very fundamental structure of truth with its many exigencies. We are reminded in our First Reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel about the fact that we are God’s people, He is our God. Life comes from Him and terminates in Him. He spells out its meaning and its duration. He rewards its efforts. In fact, Ezekiel reminds us that in the search for truth and in the effort to embody that truth in the law, the Lord himself is an essential guide and partner when he says: "...it is God who will give you a new heart and who will put his Spirit within you and make you live by his statutes, careful to observe his decrees."
In the responsorial psalm of today’s Mass we implored the Lord to send out His Spirit to renew the face of the earth. Implicit in this prayer is the recognition that it is precisely in our relationship with God that we begin to discover the beauty of the truth —the truth that God is one, that God is love, that He is a God of reason, and that He calls us to use our gifts and talents for His glory and the good of our brothers and sisters without distinction.
Recently, in his now famous address to university professors at the University of Regensburg in Germany (September 12, 2006) on the interaction between faith and reason Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the will to be obedient to the truth as the underlying principle of the modern scientific ethos. For this search for truth to be complete, he noted, human reason, unaided by divine help, is insufficient, in and of itself, to enter into the necessary dialogue between cultures with respect to the great issues of our day. Highlighting this problem he stated:
"In the Western world it is widely held that only positivistic reason and the forms of philosophy based on it are universally valid. Yet the world's profoundly religious cultures see this exclusion of the divine from the universality of reason as an attack on their most profound convictions. A reason which is deaf to the divine and which relegates religion into the realm of subcultures is incapable of entering into the dialogue of cultures.... The West has long been endangered by this aversion to the questions which underlie its rationality, and can only suffer great harm thereby. The courage to engage the whole breadth of reason, and not the denial of its grandeur - this is the program with which a theology grounded in Biblical faith enters into the debates of our time.
In an earlier interview (August 5, 2006) with German journalists the Holy Father also spoke of the intrinsic relationship between ethics and technology in the search for truth, stating:
"Progress becomes true progress only if it serves the human person and if the human person grows: not only in terms of his or her technical power, but also in his or her moral awareness. I believe that the real problem of our historical moment lies in the imbalance between the incredibly fast growth of our technical power and that of our moral capacity, which has not grown in proportion. That is why the formation of the human person is the true recipe, the key to it all, I would say, and that is what the Church proposes."
To cite the truth of the primacy of God and the right role of government is also to raise the issue of moral truth in general—truth that exists independently of time-conditioned preferences or cultural options. I share the conviction, dear Friends, that you who are passionate servants of just law are in a position—a powerful position, a spiritually powerful position—to proclaim in word and action that there is indeed moral truth that was such before we came to be, and will still be when our life on earth is over. What is not in accord with this truth is and always will be evil, even if it should be legal. And I submit today that God’s holy word confirms that this position is derived from God’s word: God has willed and in fact proclaimed that we shall be His people and He shall be our God.
In our second scriptural reading of the Mass today from the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus promises his first disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit who will empower them to be His witnesses even to the ends of the earth. They are to be His witnesses to truth, justice and love in a world that often opposes these values. Jesus says: "You will receive power." It is power that is linked with a gift - the gift of the Spirit of Truth. This power is not given for domination or manipulation. It is power given to you for the service of truth and freedom. It is power to bear witness to Jesus.
It is precisely through this gift of the Holy Spirit that the Lord inspires his disciples in all ages to be courageous witnesses in the world. Was not this the case with Saint Thomas More, a man immersed in the great issues of his day? The patron of your professional society is a shining example to us all of an individual motivated by a personal integrity which was inspired and shaped by deeply held religious and moral convictions. As we know, he never hesitated to express those convictions, even when they were not popular or welcome, and even when it became necessary to pay the ultimate price of his life for expressing them. Surely, guided by the Holy Spirit, he took his Master’s request seriously, to be His faithful witness and to give testimony to Him in the world.
Are we too not called to be credible witnesses of truth, justice and love in our world today as we engage the issues of our own time and culture? In a particular way, the Church reminds us of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council regarding the vocation of the laity in the world. Namely, that the lay vocation is primarily meant to be lived in the family, the workplace, and in the business, professional and political spheres. It is precisely in these spheres of human activity that the Church urges you to participate by contributing the best of her religiously inspired truths to the public policy discussions and debates of our day.
You have heard many times that you are called to shape the secular world according to God’s will by bringing the Gospel to the structures of the world. While respecting the informed freedom of conscience of every participant in public life, you are called to work tirelessly to strengthen that democracy, which guided by the rule of law, has made our country a beacon of freedom and a servant of peace. In his weekly general audience of last Wednesday (October 11, 2006) Pope Benedict spoke of the importance of this necessary dialogue in society in order to arrive at ethically principled solutions for the common good with respect to the cultural questions and issues of our day. He noted the importance of recognizing and contributing the unique heritage we bring as Christians to these cultural debates, in stating:
"In the midst of all the temptations that exist, with all the currents of modern life, we must preserve the identity of our faith. Certainly the path of ... dialogue, which the Second Vatican Council has felicitously undertaken, must surely be pursued with firm constancy. But this path of dialogue, which is so necessary, must not let us forget the duty to meditate anew and to witness always, with the same degree of energy, those guiding principles of our Christian identity that cannot be renounced. On the other hand it is important to realize that this our identity requires strength, clarity and courage before the contraditions of the world in which we live."
I ask you today to recommit yourselves and your professional activities to the principle that there is no real freedom without truth. Real freedom demands an acceptance by society of the fact that there exist fundamental human rights that, because they are part of human nature itself, no human authority can infringe upon, not even by appealing to a majority opinion or a political consensus on the pretext of respect for pluralism and democracy. As Pope John Paul II reminded us all many times, freedom is not the ability to do whatever we want, rather it is the ability to do what we ought to do.
As members of the legal profession, it is your specific task to help ensure that legislation, government administration, the judicial process and legal training always respect and reflect this concept of true freedom, which is so consonant with our human self-understanding and with the common good of society.
In order for you to be truly effective in this task, however, you will need, in addition to all your expertise, to understand and internalize the social teaching of the Church. It is of immense value and relevance to you.
It is obvious that you are in a position to contribute greatly to the promotion of justice and the protection of peace. As we look at the full range of law-related questions that our community faces today, we see the ones which directly affect the greatest number of people center on protection of the weak and helpless.
Among these are the culture of death that victimizes the unborn and the elderly, and brutalizes all whom it touches. There is ample reason, also, to believe that the magnanimity inculcated by the Gospel requires for our times a clear re-examination of the death penalty, concerning not only its "effectiveness" but also whether it can ever truly be considered "necessary." Another area of concern is the drug trade and human trafficking that target the flower of our youth and rob the most marginalized members of society of both their often-meager economic resources and their human dignity itself, so often otherwise threatened by poverty or discrimination. A major area of concern is the concerted attack, whether direct or indirect, on the family and marriage as the basic institutions of society. Sometimes that attack pretends to be justified in the name of a new and more efficient ordering of society. Whatever the source of those attacks, history teaches us that whenever the family is strong, all of society is strong. Whenever the family has been weakened or destroyed, there follows alienation, chaos, and despair.
Consequently, I note with appreciation the clear witness given by the Saint Thomas More Society in its October 5, 2006 press release announcing the society’s support for enshrining in the positive law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania "the understanding that only marriages between one man and one woman shall be valid and recognized marriages in the Commonwealth."
How relevant today—in the United States of America as well as in the other countries whose citizens may be present at this Mass—are those words God spoke centuries ago to the people of Israel: "I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. You shall live in the land I gave your fathers; you shall be my people and I shall be your God." The sector of human behavior and human law—now as then—cannot prescind from the truth of the primacy of God.
The Spirit of Truth whom we invoke today is the same Spirit promised by Jesus. He is the one who completes the work of Jesus in us and leads us to liberating truth. The message of Jesus that we receive today in the Gospel is strong, forceful and encouraging: "...you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free."
Whatever your role in the legal profession may be, I ask you to realize the immense power that is yours, a power of service and solidarity made possible in your lives by the Spirit of God. This power is to be exercised for the good of humanity and in the name of God. And for all you who are Christians, this power is exercised moreover in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the chief Servant of humanity, who sends into our hearts the Spirit of God’s truth. It is this Spirit of Truth, God Himself, whom the Church this evening invokes upon you, dear Friends, to give you hope and confidence and perseverance in your great task of witnessing effectively to that supreme dignity embodied in every human person, created in God’s image and likeness, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and destined for eternal life.
Come, Holy Spirit! Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Annual Red Mass for Saint Thomas More Society
Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
October 20, 2008
Distinguished Judges, Lawyers, other Members of the Legal Community,
Public Officials and Legal Educators,
Members of the Saint Thomas More Society,
Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,
I am very pleased to be with you to celebrate the Annual Red Mass, a centuries-old tradition in which we invoke the Holy Spirit to bless and guide the activity of the entire legal community. It is edifying that so many of you who are immersed in the service of order and justice are seeking the guidance, light and direction of the Holy Spirit. Similarly, it is moving and consoling to know that your civil service is enhanced by the practice of your faith and by your openness to reflecting ever more deeply on the law of God written in the human heart and further revealed by Jesus Christ.
I wish to encourage each of you in the efforts you are making to respect and uphold the primacy of God in our society. We all know how difficult it is, at times, to be true to one=s conscience and totally consistent with our Catholic faith. The community of the Church is close to you, dear friends, in your great challenge to help build a culture of life and a civilization of justice, love and peace.
The celebration of this liturgy with all of you calls to mind the important teaching of the Second Vatican Council in itsDecree on the Apostolate of the Laity. Vatican II observed that, AIn the Church there is a diversity of ministry but unity of mission. To the apostles and their successors Christ has entrusted the office of teaching, sanctifying and governing in his name and by his power. But the laity are made to share in the priestly, prophetic and kingly office of Christ; they have therefore, in the Church and in the world, their own assignment in the mission of the whole People of God. In the concrete, their apostolate is exercisedYwhen they endeavor to have the Gospel spirit permeate and improve the temporal order going about it in a way that bears clear witness to Christ.@ It goes on to say that since the lay state is lived Ain the midst of the world and of secular affairs, lay people are called by God to make of their apostolate, through the vigor of the Christian spirit, a leaven in the world@ (no. 2). Dear friends: each of you is called to embrace that same vigorous Christian spirit! The contribution each of you can make to the world is of enormous importance.
The Liturgy of the Word, taken from the Mass for Pentecost Sunday, offers understanding of the action of the Holy Spirit in the Church and in the world. The Apostles of Jesus were gathered in prayer in the Upper Room in Jerusalem when, in the form of wind and flame, the Holy Spirit came upon them with His manifold gifts. Filled with courage and zeal, Peter and the other Apostles began to bear witness to Jesus Christ with eloquence and passion. They preached the need for repentance, the need for Baptism, the need to be immersed in the mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. We are informed by Saint Luke the Evangelist that three thousand new believers were added to the Church on that day.
Imagine the enormous task that had been entrusted to the Apostles. The Risen Christ had instructed them to Ago and make disciples of all nations@ (Mt 28:19). He also had promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to aid them in their mission: AThe Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name - he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you@ (Jn 14:26). Nonetheless, the Apostles were still human, still hesitant. Initially their hearts had been anxious, their minds confused, their spirits timid. With the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost they embarked upon their mission with urgency and with an intensity.
Through the preaching of the Apostles, and the collaboration of so many faithful men and women, the Church grew both in number and in the esteem of many who observed the Apostles. First in Jerusalem, then Samaria and throughout the Roman Empire, people were moved by the words and wondrous deeds of the Apostles, but, even more so, by the consistent day-to-day witness of devotion, charity and courage demonstrated by those who embraced the faith.
Outstanding in the history of the early Church is Paul of Tarsus, former persecutor of the Church who became a great Apostle. Ardent in his observance of the Law, at first Paul saw in the Christian way a threat to the purity of Judaism. Only when, on the Road to Damascus, he encountered the Risen Jesus was Paul transformed. Christ in His glory identified Himself with His Church: AWhy are you persecuting me?@ Then Paul=s former way of thinking gave way to a new understanding that only in Christ do Awe live and move and have our being@ (Acts 17:28).
In every situation, Saint Paul never missed the opportunity to draw people to know Jesus. Furthermore, he reminded them of how they contribute to the spread of the Gospel. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul emphasized that AThere are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit@ (12:4-7).
For all of you who are engaged in such significant matters in the temporal order this teaching of Saint Paul is crucial. God, who has lavished various gifts upon you, has placed you in the sphere of public service and influence, particularly in the realm of law, justice and administration.
The Bishops of the United States, in their document on Political Responsibility, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, noted in Paragraph 9 that: Athe Church=s obligation to participate in shaping the moral character of society is a requirement of our faith.@ And in Paragraph 10: AWhat faith teaches about the dignity of the human person and about the sacredness of every human life helps us see more clearly the same truths that also come to us through the gift of human reason. At the center of these truths is respect for the dignity of every person. This is the core of Catholic moral and social teaching. Because we are people of both faith and reason, it is appropriate and necessary for us to bring this essential truth about human life and dignity to the public square.
In Paragraph 22, Faithful Citizenship reminds us that in standing up for human life and dignity, we must both oppose evil and do good. AThere are some things we must never do, as individuals or as a society, because they are always incompatible with love of God and neighborY. These are called intrinsically evil actions. They must always be opposed and must never be supported or condoned. A prime example is the intentional taking of innocent human life, as in abortion or euthanasia. In our nation, >abortion and euthanasia have become preeminent threats to human dignity because they directly attack life itself, the most fundamental human good and the condition for all others= (Living the Gospel of Life, no. 5). It is a mistake with grave moral consequences to treat the destruction of innocent human life merely as a matter of individual choice. A legal system that violates the basic right to life on the grounds of choice is fundamentally flawed.@ Friends: you each have a unique and extraordinary opportunity to work with zeal and do your part to help correct and perfect our legal system.
In Paragraph 24, Faithful Citizenship reminds us that we must also do good: AOpposition to intrinsically evil acts that undercut the dignity of the human person should also open our eyes to the good that we must do, that is, to our positive duty to contribute to the common good and act in solidarity with those in needY Both opposing evil and doing good are essential obligations.@
It is particularly important that you who are guided by the light of faith and inspired by the truth make use of your gifts to have a positive influence in a morally declining culture. Just as Christians of old were steadfast and consistent in their proclamation of and witness to the truth, so you, placed by God in the midst of the temporal order, can do so much to improve our society by promoting and protecting the most basic human rightCthe right to life. In so many citiesCespecially our own beloved City of PhiladelphiaCwe witness almost daily the heart-wrenching violence which is the bad fruit of a culture in which the inviolable sanctity of human life is neither valued nor protected. In this situation you are well equipped to be a leaven of life and witnesses to hope.
In this era, when proposed legislation can have a devastating impact upon issues of life and morality, the witness of the Church, and the consistent efforts of the lay faithful to act as a leaven within society, will help to promote a Aculture of life.@ In this regard I cannot emphasize too strongly the important role that all of you, endowed with splendid gifts, can fulfill for the benefit of humanity and the glory of God.
The Holy Spirit continues to inspire new attitudes and new hope in our society. So many of our people, including so many young people, want to restore God to the public sphere and to safeguard His many gifts given to humanity. You, dear friends, are collaborators in the exhilarating mission of defending and promoting human life and human dignity. You are engaged in the transformation of our society as you work to build up a civilization of justice, love and peace. Today, in a special way, we invoke the Holy Spirit upon you and upon the public service that you endeavor to render to our fellow citizens and to all humanity. Therefore, we pray ALord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth!@
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Red Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
October 5, 2009
It is a joy to welcome you this evening for the Annual Red Mass in the Cathedral Basilica of this historic city, Philadelphia, the birthplace of liberty in the United States of America. This great land is a nation of laws and you as the custodians and servants of the law in this city and state enjoy a privileged proximity to the landmarks of liberty.
The source of all law is the wisdom of God. When God decided to create the universe he left nothing to chance. He did not create out of any necessity. God is perfect in Himself and needed nothing else. He chose, out of the depths of His generosity and love, to create the world. When God created the world He established laws. From the beginning, God has used the instrument of the law to make known His wise and loving design. Hence, God works in and through the dedicated service which you render on a daily basis.
The moment God created light He created the laws to which light conforms: the law that light always travels in a straight line, the laws of reflection and refraction, the laws of light energy and the speed of light. These laws are simple, yet deeply mysterious and inviting. Simply hand a young child a flashlight: the child is enthralled by the beam of light and begins unknowingly to investigate laws—the laws of angles, speed, motion and radiance as the light skirts around the room, bounces back off mirrors, illumines dark corners, and reveals what is hidden. The child quickly learns the proper boundaries of light: not to shine the light in people’s eyes! The child has a natural affinity for the first of God’s creations, which is light.
This evening we join in prayer. We come not to study the laws of light, but to reflect on the light of the law. Gathered here this evening we reflect on the blessings brought to the Church and the world by those who have a special relationship with the law. We think of the words of the psalmist: “Lord, how I love your law; it is ever in my mind” (Ps 119:97). The brilliance of the light of the law is reflected throughout this Cathedral Basilica this evening.
When God created the world, in His wisdom He established laws: the laws of gravity, geometry, time, space, matter and motion. We can discern and study the effects of these laws. When man turned from God in disobedience and sinned, God promised to send a Savior, and then He turned again to laws to prepare us to receive His promise. When God chose Israel as His own people He revealed His Law to them.
This Law was embodied in the Ten Commandments, which reflect the natural moral law, and has come to fulfillment in the New Law, the Law of the Gospel, revealed in the Person of Jesus Christ and expressed in particular in the Sermon on the Mount. As Jesus proclaims the New Law in the Sermon on the Mount, we see the Old Law come to fulfillment as foretold by the prophet Ezekiel: “I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts” (Ez 36:26).
When the builders of this cathedral set to work, they turned to the light of laws: the laws of architecture, design, weight, depth, engineering, zoning and codes, standards of safety, specifications of size and location. The effects of these laws likewise serve to give honor to the God who created them. Every day we turn to laws: laws of health, traffic, economics, property, protection, civil procedure, self-defense, contracts, labor, immigration, family, inheritance, and even taxes. As we observe customs or encounter conflict, laws guide us to resolution and, we pray, to peace.
This evening we turn to the light of the law again, in particular with regard to the members of the noble legal profession, members of the judiciary, of the legislature, and those who serve in executive office, and to all of their specialized collaborators across local, state and federal jurisdictions, all so crucial to the functioning of civil society. We pray at this time in a particular way for Catholic servants of the law. Yet, because the law is created by God and serves to unite the whole human race, we pray for and extend a warm greeting to all members of the Christian faith, to our Jewish brothers and sisters, to members of the Islamic faith, and to all people of faith and good will. Together, in the light of the law, we see the classical principles and norms, the ordinances of right reason, which serve to advance justice and therefore the common good. In this we are united: that the virtuous scales of justice must always lift the dignity of the human person and lead us to truth and love. The Servant of God Pope John Paul II said, in an address to his own apostolic tribunal, the Roman Rota: “Justice must be practiced in accordance with right reason…according to truth” (“Splendor of Truth and Justice” January 28, 1994.) Addressing this same body some years earlier, Pope Pius XII said, “Awesome indeed are the dignity and power of the judge, which, whether in deciding controversies or repressing crimes, must rise above all passions and prejudices and reflect the justice of God himself” (“Origin and Nature of Judicial Authority in the Church and the State” October 2, 1945.)
This evening we gather to pray that your daily realities may serve to consecrate you to truth and justice. Not only is the concept of the law very familiar to God, but the very vocabulary you use on a daily basis has a rich history in Sacred Scripture, and can serve as a point of meditation. Words such as “judge,” “legislator,” “witness,” “counselor,” “evidence,” and “truth” are familiar to both the legal profession and to the Christian tradition. For example, much of your work is based on evidence, proof, and persuasive signs. The most wondrous and convincing evidence ever found was located in an empty tomb near Jerusalem. The tomb of Jesus, found empty at Easter dawn, along with the words of the reliable witnesses who saw and were invited to touch the Risen Jesus, are the testimony which grounds all the hope of the entire world: evidence that the ancient foe, death, has been destroyed.
Another word common to both the legal profession and the Christian tradition is “trial.” Your work often involves trials. In the most significant trial ever witnessed, Pontius Pilate cross-examines Jesus and asks Him: “What is truth?” (Jn 18:38). Ironically, Pilate asks the only Person in history who can answer completely the question “What is truth?”—the one who, in His very Person, is the answer. Standing before Pilate, Jesus is revealed as the judge, as Pope Benedict XVI says, “before whom all falsehood melts away.” (Spe Salvi, 47). Notice, in the account from the Gospel of Saint John, after asking the question, “What is truth?” Pilate does not wait to hear the answer of Jesus. Pilate chooses to walk away from Jesus, to walk away from the Truth.
Some people in our society walk away from truth as well. The truth is not always easy. Some people walk away from the truth that every human being has inviolable dignity and must be protected from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. Some turn, instead, to abortion, euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, embryonic stem cell research, and thus turn away from the path of life. Some walk away from the truth that the hungry must be fed; that the laborer has dignity; that the unemployed deserve work; that refugees and immigrants have rights and deserve safe passage and opportunities; that every person deserves adequate and affordable health care and education; that religious freedom must be respected; that the bond of marriage between one man and one woman is utterly unique; that the resources of the world are to be distributed equitably; that the entertainment industry must tune in to high moral standards in programming; that violence and exploitation are affronts to human dignity and that racial prejudice has no place in our society.
You, dear friends, with the many gifts of your profession, are called to extend the light of the law, and to guide society back to its most basic and time-honored truths about the common good, especially the truths about the dignity of human life and the classical understanding of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The common good is the common ground that unites us. This common good and this common ground can never be falsehood. It can only be the truth.
Together we are called to love the truth. We must never walk away from the truth, because the truth alone leads to freedom. The words of the Lord Jesus proclaimed only a few moments ago from the Gospel according to Saint John summon us to the truth, and therefore to freedom: “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Jn 8: 31-32). The light of the law guides us to understand clearly that the truth of the Civilization of Love will only emerge from a Culture of Life.
The word “testimony” so common to the legal profession and juridic structure invites mediation. The greatest testimony the world has ever heard rings true in the words of the disciples: “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” (Lk 24:34). These words are proclaimed after the tremendous suffering of Jesus Christ, in which His Blessed Mother stands by the Cross of Jesus and watches as her Son suffers and dies. The Blessed Virgin Mary testifies to us of the importance of reliance upon God even in the most painful and torturous experiences of life. As Saint Paul the Apostle testifies: “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8).
This proof of God’s love is not an abstract theory or baseless presumption. The Holy Spirit testifies to the victory of the Cross. The New Testament refers to the Holy Spirit as “Counselor” or “Advocate.” These terms, too, are common to the legal profession and remind us of one who helps another. The Holy Spirit assists us with His gifts. Jesus tells us: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept because it neither sees nor knows him” (Jn 14:16-17). Jesus also says: “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name – he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you” (Jn 14:26). The Holy Spirit pours forth His gifts in special measure on you who work to cast the light of the law so that others may clearly discern the path of truth.
Let us turn now to the One who dwells in unapproachable light, to the One who is Light from Light. It is here that we meet the judge of heaven and earth. Jesus in the Eucharist is the One who has stood in our place and accepted the sentence that was meant for us. Here, at this altar, we experience the love of Jesus Christ. Pope Benedict XVI teaches us that the Eucharist “impels us to work courageously within our world to bring that renewal of relationships which has its inexhaustible source in God’s gift” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 91). In the Eucharist, the Lord gives us Himself to strengthen us in our trials, so that we can take the side of the innocent, stand up for the down-trodden, speak for the voiceless, visit those who are imprisoned, counsel justice and serve the common good. In the Gospel passage proclaimed a few moments ago, the Lord Jesus says: “So if the son frees you, then you will truly be free” (Jn 8:36). The Son of God has freed us, and given us Himself in the Eucharist to strengthen us. The Holy Father teaches us that the Eucharist is the “food of truth” which leads us to “the concrete practice of love” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 90, 82). Justice draws its strength from love.
Tonight, as we commemorate and bless your service to justice we also acknowledge your commitment to love. Pope John Paul II, in his second encyclical letter, Dives in Misericordia (Rich in Mercy), stated: “The experience of the past and of our own time demonstrates that justice alone is not enough, that it can even lead to the negation and destruction of itself, if that deeper power, which is love, is not allowed to shape human life in its various dimensions” (Dives in Misericordia, 12). Dear friends: think this evening of how many years of study and scholarly pursuit are represented in this Cathedral. Recall the years of rigorous and diligent preparation. Consider the many long hours spent in the office, board rooms, court rooms, law libraries and travel. Think of the long hours spent away from the family, and the many sacrifices of each one here. You prove, with extraordinary precision, the words of our late Holy Father Pope John Paul II that “justice alone is not enough.” Continue then to allow “that deeper power, which is love … to shape” your life and motivate your service to humanity. And as you do, you will also find the greatest measure of human and Christian fulfillment in your noble work.
Friends and colleagues in the service of humanity: it is a joy to be with you in prayer. May our Lady, under her title “Mother of Good Counsel,” sustain and deepen your commitment to truth, freedom and justice. May the Lord God direct you by the light of His law. May He bless you and your families, this great city of Philadelphia, and the United States of America. Amen.
Bishop Fitzgerald,
Monsignor Rodgers, Rector of this Cathedral Basilica,
Brother Priests and Deacons,
Honorable and Distinguished Guests: Judges, Lawyers and
other Members of the Legal Community,
Public Officials, Servants of the People,
Members of the Saint Thomas More Society,
Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,
With great joy I greet all of you at this celebration of the Annual Red Mass in this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. Your presence here is a splendid testimony to your desire to acknowledge the primacy of God in your important service to humanity, your important service to the law.
The law is the reflection of truth. A reflection proceeds from an original source. The source of law is truth. Truth pulsates outward as if in a wave, and makes itself accessible through law. In this, the law is the radiance of truth, it is a gift of truth. As we gather here tonight in worship of God, I am honored to welcome you as stewards of the gift of truth.
How does one explore the connection between law and truth? One tool is the question. Lawyers ask questions. The question is, in many ways, the lawyer’s best friend. A question is not simply a request for information. It is not simply a survey tool. The question is designed for more. The question is a search. It is a pursuit. It is a hunger for the truth. By means of the question the lawyer seeks to penetrate to the truth.
This is why in the Gospels there are accounts of lawyers searching out Jesus. Jesus is no stranger to the law. One of the first acts of Jesus, already in His infancy, is His faithfulness to the custom of the law when the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, His Mother and foster-father, bring Him to the temple to observe the ritual of the law (Lk 2:27). The Gospels of Saint Matthew and Saint Luke speak of the lawyer who asks Jesus a question about which commandment of the law is the greatest (Mt 22:26; Lk 10:25). Saint Luke tells us that Jesus would sit and discuss with the doctors of the law (Lk 5:17). Jesus announces that “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest part of a letter of the law to become invalid” (Lk 16:17). Jesus emphasizes that the law must be fulfilled (Jn 15:25; Lk 24:44), and He is very interested in how the experts of the law read the law (Lk 10:26). In fact, without a lawyer’s question and persistence, we might not have heard the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37). Remember, it was a lawyer who stood up to pose the question to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” to which Jesus responds with that wonderful parable.
The lawyers who meet Jesus in the Gospels have a unique opportunity. They do not simply ask a question about the truth. They have the blessing to ask THE Truth―Jesus Himself, the Word made flesh (Jn 1:14)―about the law. He is the One who says: “I am the way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6). Truth is not an ideology, but a Person. As Pope Benedict XVI teaches: “ … truth is never something purely abstract” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 29). The law, also, must reach the person. The lawyers whom Jesus meets face decisive moments.
Tonight, we too have a unique opportunity. Tonight, as we meet Jesus, He offers us strength for our decisive moments. We may come with questions. We may come with a question: How do we find the truth? The question is a tool, it is a path. The law must sink its roots deep into authentic truth. Fidelity to truth brings freedom, as Jesus emphasizes in the Gospel that we just heard proclaimed: "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Truth does not become truth by majority rule. Law has the noble responsibility to guard the common good. As such the stewards of the law must remain especially vigilant today when dangerous tendencies of secularism seek to replace sound philosophy with superficial ideology, to replace classical principles with shallow sentiment, and to replace time-honored substantial truth with varying and fluctuating opinion. You, dear friends, are mandated by your vocation, education and training to ask the further question, to unite law and truth, especially in a day and age when so many fill the public square with an artificial recasting of truth. You, like the lawyers in the Gospels, face a decisive moment.
Our natural reason can access the principles and norms that lie at the heart of human existence. Law reflects on the proper character of being and on the deep nature of things. At the heart of all reality we find that the human being possesses the inviolable dignity that calls for respect from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. Our devotion and dedication to the truth of the dignity of the human being must be steadfast and unshakeable. We find, at the heart of reality, the direct relation of the family and marriage as the permanent, faithful, fruitful union of one man and one woman to the common good of society. At the heart of reality we find the light of freedom which drew the pilgrims to this land in pursuit of religious liberty and freedom of conscience. The law, faithful to the truth of the human person, is meant to protect the rights of workers, to safeguard our homeland, to be a means of mercy for the poor, to advance access to education, to maintain decency in technology and the entertainment media, to ensure justice in financial matters, and to regard immigrants and refugees with dignity and respect. Here are decisive moments for us all.
Jesus is in our midst, just as surely as He was in the midst of the lawyers in the Gospel. And He makes a promise in the Gospel we heard proclaimed only a few moments ago. He promises: “If the Son frees you, then you will truly be free” (Jn 8:32). As He fulfilled the custom of the law, so He fills us with the strength to make sound choices and to engage in virtuous action. As specialists and experts, as professors and practitioners, you manifest your loyalty to the common good through your perseverance in years of preparation, long hours of study, determination to be faithful to the standards of the legal profession. The Church greatly esteems the work you carry out in service to the law, to the truth and therefore to humanity, aware of the many sacrifices, personal and professional, that you make to serve the truth.
May the Holy Spirit of God, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Good Counsel, guide you, dear friends, into all truth (Jn 15:26) so that the law you serve may effectively bring justice to all, especially those oppressed and suffering. It is only through the truth that we can find the love that is charity. As Pope Benedict XVI said only a few months ago, in his address to his own apostolic tribunal, the Roman Rota, “I wish to emphasize that both justice and charity postulate love for truth and essentially entail searching for truth. In particular, charity makes the reference to truth even more exacting. To defend the truth, to articulate it with humility and conviction, and to bear witness to it in life are therefore exacting and indispensable forms of charity. Charity, in fact, “rejoices in the truth” (1 Cor 13:6).’” (Address of January 2010). And may all of us, dear friends, as servants of the people, be guided constantly to embrace transforming truth. And may the law, drawing from its original source, which is the love of God, help guide us to the fullness of truth and love. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Red Mass
Cathedral of Saint Peter
Diocese of Scranton
November 6, 2009
Bishop Dougherty,
Monsignor Bambera
Monsignor Bohr,
Brother Priests and Deacons,
Distinguished Judges,
Members of the Lackawanna Bar Association
and the Bar Associations of the other ten Counties of the Diocese of Scranton,
Legal Professionals,
Elected Officials and all who are called to serve the public
and the common good,
Dear Friends in Jesus Christ,
We are assembled here today in a humble plea to God: “Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth” (Psalm 104:30). The Church fervently invokes the Holy Spirit, asking Him to sustain and bless all of you in your dedicated service of the law.
We know that, from the farthest reaches of the solar system to the most intimate inner workings of systems of the human body, laws abound. Whether we gaze through a telescope into the reaches of the heavens, or through a microscope into the tiniest particles of earthly matter, we can discover, observe and measure the reasonable effects of laws. These laws existed long before we had knowledge of them.
The familiar image of Lady Justice, found in the architecture of many courthouses and schools of law, illustrates this point well when we turn to the natural laws of justice. She is depicted with a sword in one hand and scales in the other. She is also blindfolded. She is blindfolded to emphasize that the object of law is not vengeance or fate but truth. Truth in this sense is objective; it does not come from us but to us. We must often persist in discernment to move from what appears to be true, to authentic truth itself. Yet, we will never be able fully to discern the truth until we learn to stand humbly before the truth. Authentic truth is visible only through the lens of humility. Truth sees past partialities and partisanship, measures beyond polls and statistics, and gazes through the lens of right reason to see the original brilliance of the authentic order of justice.
This afternoon we see before us, in this Cathedral, the impressive and inspiring gathering of those who search for the truth through the law. We gather to pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all the members of the legal profession. As we come together in humility before the great gift of the law we pray for and warmly greet all members of the Christian faith, our Jewish brothers and sisters, members of the Islamic faith, and all people of faith and good will who stand committed to the service of the law through the judicial system, the legislative process, and the administration of the law. We are here this afternoon because we love truth. And we search for what we love.
The Servant of God Pope John Paul II, at the beginning of his pontificate, spoke these memorable words to the entire world: “Be not afraid!” Almost twenty-seven years later and only three months before his death, in what was to be his final address to his own apostolic tribunal, the Roman Rota, the Pope repeated in January 2005 the same exhortation, but this time to servants of justice in particular. He said: “The criterion that inspires the deontology of the judge is his love for the truth. First and foremost, therefore, he must be convinced that the truth exists. The truth must therefore be sought with a genuine desire to know it, despite all the inconveniences that may derive from such knowledge. It is necessary to resist the fear of the truth.... The truth, which is Christ himself (cf. Jn 8: 32, 36), sets us free from every form of compromise with interested falsehoods.” Notice that the words of Pope John Paul II at both the beginning and the end of his pontificate were the same: “Be not afraid!… Resist the fear of the truth!” We resist the fear of the truth by approaching the truth with humility.
Every search begins in humility. Long before we learn the lessons of Procedural Law, Trial Law, Common Law, Corporate Law, Civil Law, Business Law, Intellectual Property Law, Criminal Law or Constitutional Law, the first lesson that the law teaches us is that we do not create it; we receive it. The first lesson of the law, therefore, is humility. Humility, at first, might sound like a too modest unassuming attitude. We might misinterpret the word “humility” to refer to naïveté, untried innocence or a vague and hesitant shrinking away. Humility is none of these things. In fact, humility is the opposite of these more timid attitudes. Humility is the persistent strength of time-tested determination. Humility is the basis for the acquisition of all truth.
From the opening pages of Sacred Scripture, God even reveals Himself as the humble judge. We notice that even God engages in what we now refer to as due process. Recall the third chapter of the Book of Genesis and the account of the sin of Adam and Eve. God, all powerful and all knowing, would certainly be justified in calling forth immediate recompense without appeal. God is infinite. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they committed an infinite offense, and by all rights they had set themselves at an infinite distance from God. Only an infinite offering could atone for and satisfy an infinite offense. But God is the humble judge. God does not explode into a rage when Adam and Eve sinned. He does not seek revenge, immediate penalties, or vow to make an example of Adam and Eve, though it would be well within his rights to do so. He knows that the truth of the law is not meant to be a prison, but a pathway. It is not an end in itself, but a means. God is not content to stop at justice. He always continues on to mercy. His justice is sealed in mercy.
Medieval commentators on church law observed that God’s first response to Adam and Eve’s offense is to grant them due process. He questions Adam and Eve. We could even say that He cross-examines them even though he knew full well the guilt of the offenders. In the aftermath of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, of their breaking the law, God is the just Judge who appeals first to a process. He summons the defendants and affords the opportunity for the same to answer the charge. After they break God’s law, Adam and Eve hide. And God searches for them and asks Adam and Eve a series of questions: “Where are you?” "Who told you that you were naked?” “You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!" "Why did you do such a thing?" (cf. Gen 3:9,11,13). Instead of remaining steadfast in humility, Adam and Eve attempted to hide from the truth and escape through the loopholes and unacceptable mitigating factors of blame and excuses.
Many today likewise fear the truth, and hide from it. They hide from the truth that every human being has inviolable dignity and must be protected from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. Some turn instead to abortion, euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, human embryonic stem cell research, and thus turn away from the path of life. Some hide from the truth that the rights of the laborer must be respected; that it is the duty of more prosperous countries to assist those nations whose citizens are vulnerable to famine and disease; that the unemployed deserve gainful employment; that human trafficking is a grave offense; that refugees and immigrants deserve safety, respect, and opportunities; that the poor and the hungry must be offered shelter and fed; that every person deserves adequate and affordable health care; that health care plans must respect human life in all of its stages from conception to natural death; that freedom of conscience and religious liberty must be guaranteed in every corner of the world; that the bond of marriage between one man and one woman is the basis of society; that we are to be responsible stewards of the environment; that domestic violence and racial prejudice have no place in our families and neighborhoods.
We, too, are so often tempted to hide from the truth. But God calls out to us through his Church and through the ordinances of right reason, the law, not to try to escape the truth, but to approach it humbly so that justice might be administered always in service to that redeeming truth.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his most recent Encyclical Letter, Caritas in Veritate, reminds us again that the law is the means by which we search humbly for the truth. The Pope says: “In all cultures there are examples of ethical convergence, some isolated, some interrelated, as an expression of the one human nature, willed by the Creator; the tradition of ethical wisdom knows this as the natural law. This universal moral law provides a sound basis for all cultural, religious and political dialogue, and it ensures that the multi-faceted pluralism of cultural diversity does not detach itself from the common quest for truth, goodness and God” (no. 59).
God longs to guide us in our common quest for truth. God is faithful to Himself. If He had simply dismissed the guilt of Adam and Eve with an arbitrary wave of the hand, God would have declared that love itself is arbitrary and has no relation to truth. God asks Adam and Eve questions not because He is simply seeking to declare them guilty. He does not ask them questions because of any lack of knowledge on His part. He questions them in order to pursue the truth in love, so that they, forgiven of their offense, may love Him again.
Truth, in its deepest splendor, is not meant to condemn, but to heal. God engages Adam and Even in a process which seeks the truth because in His wisdom He knows that the light of truth is always the first remedy in times of darkness. Truth heals. God condemns sin out of his love for man. The same truth that condemns sin begins to heal the sinner. Through His questions, God leads Adam and Eve in the very first examination of conscience. God, by his questions, created a space for justice. God opened the way for the infinite offering of His Son. Only in the light of truth does God then hand down judgment. Justice creates, and God’s justice creates the promise of mercy: He will send His Son for our salvation—an infinite offering to satisfy an infinite offense (cf. Gen 3:15).
As God’s plan of mercy proceeds to culmination through salvation history, we again find the law playing a critical role. In the second chapter of the Gospel according to Saint Luke we learn that the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph obey the decree of the lawgiver, Caesar Augustus: “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child” (Lk 2:1-6). The Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph obey the decree of the census from the civil authority. This civic obedience takes place in the context of their larger obedience to God. To the words of the Archangel Gabriel, that she will conceive and bear the Son of God, Mary responds: “May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). And Joseph faithfully responds when the angel instructs him, saying: “Joseph, Son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins" (Mt 1:20b-21). As the earthly census is carried out by civil mandate, the heavenly courts fill the sky by divine decree as the angels proclaim: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests" (Lk 2:13). In the context of the obedience to God and to the law, the Savior of the human race is born: Jesus Christ. Earth unites with heaven as the Son of God is born.
Jesus is the one who willingly, humbly, stands in the place of Adam, and in our place, too. This is mercy. Mercy takes full account of the transgression and then reaches out in justice to heal the wound. This reaching out must seek to proceed all the way to the heart. Jesus our advocate lodges his plea with the Father from the Cross: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Lk 23:33). To the repentant thief we hear the most merciful sentence ever rendered: “This day you will be with me in paradise” (Lk 23:43). Jesus discloses the justice of God as mercy. The fruit of this mercy is immediate: a Roman centurion was standing nearby. He was simply in the midst of his assigned daily work, as horrific as it was. He had most likely witnessed dozens of crucifixions. He was hardened, not easily moved. Most likely, he had not heard any of the parables of Jesus, had not seen any of the Lord’s miraculous deeds. This centurion, most likely, was not present for the Sermon on the Mount or the great catch of fish. All he has seen is the humble manner of Jesus’ death: the persistent strength that is made perfect in weakness. And this veteran centurion cries out with words the embody humility before the Divine Truth, “Truly, this was the Son of God!” (Mt 27:54, cf. Mk 15:39). The light of God’s truth shines forth even in the darkest moment of human history, and even the most hardened and unsentimental of hearts discovers a new law. This is the Light we trust: Jesus Christ, the Son of God! Humility evangelizes.
This afternoon as we are surrounded by the historic mountains of North Eastern Pennsylvania we are reminded of another mountain: the Mount of the Beatitudes where the Lord revealed to the multitude that the New Law was not to be written on stone tablets, but deep in the heart of every person. As you look at these beautiful mountains of Pennsylvania, may you be reminded of the law that God has written and placed in our hearts: His universal law of truth and love. The Church is most thankful for your devoted service to the common good. This service often comes at deep personal sacrifice: untold hours of travel away from home and family, the many hours of research, case and document preparation, mediation, communication with clients, as well as the difficulties of private practice and the heart-wrenching decisions of those in public service.
May your humility, dear friends, before God’s universal law of truth and love strengthen your commitment, and be your first gift to those whom you so devotedly desire to serve. May Our Lady, under her title of Mother of Good Counsel, sustain and deepen your commitment to truth and love, freedom and justice. And may her Son, Jesus Christ—the one who proclaims: “...you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Jn 8:32)—send forth His Holy Spirit on you and your families, on this city of Scranton, on all the municipalities of North Eastern Pennsylvania, and on the whole United States of America, today and always. Amen.
Reflections of Cardinal Justin Rigali
24th Annual Archdiocesan Interfaith Prayer Service
on the occasion of the Birthday of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Philadelphia
December 25, 2006
Dear Friends,
We gather this afternoon to recall once again the life of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We gather as Jews, Christians and Muslims. We gather as people of various races, cultures and languages. We gather as people of different ages and states of life. But most importantly, we gather as children of the one God who calls us to be people of compassion and peace.
A wise person once said, “to remember is to give life, to forget is to let die.” We indeed remember Dr. King as a man of justice, peace and love. We remember all the good he did, most especially how he taught us to strive for equality in a non-violent way. How much do we need to be reminded today that violence, revenge and war are not the answers to our problems.
In accepting the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1964, Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke these words: I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nation, can be lifted from the dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men. I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture in their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down, men other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive goodwill proclaimed the rule of the land, And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together, and every man shall sit down together, and every man shall sit together under his own vine and fig tree, and none shall be afraid. I still believe that we shall overcome.
That message was a message of hope, and that message came from Dr. King’s deep belief in Jesus Christ. As a Baptist Minister, Martin Luther King, Jr. was convinced that the Eternal Word of God became flesh to give the world hope. Even in the midst of so much violence and hatred that he endured, together with many others who stood with him, Dr. King never gave up. He never stopped loving and forgiving. He never stopped preaching the truth. He never stopped marching for justice. Why? Precisely because Dr. King placed his hope in Jesus Christ.
At our prayer service this afternoon, we have heard sacred readings from different traditions, and we respect those traditions. They all have a common theme of peace and justice. A few moments ago we heard the very beginning of the Gospel according to John, a text so important to Dr. King. Specifically, we heard: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life and this life was the light of the human race.... And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
Dr. King knew that passage well but, most importantly, Dr. King gave witness to that passage. He believed that our Heavenly Father loved the world so much that He gave us His only Son, Jesus Christ, to dwell among us and to give the world hope.
We gather in the first days of this new year. A new year brings joy and great expectations. We pray for a good year and a holy year. We pray especially for an end to all violence and war. We pray for justice and peace to reign. We pray for deeper respect, dialogue and understanding among all people. We pray that all the children of Abraham and all the children of God will live in peace.
How good it is that we can sing and believe “We shall overcome.” Let us honor and remember Dr. King not just in word and song, but with a recommitment to do our part, with God’s help, to bring hope to our world. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Annual Religious Jubilarian Liturgy
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
My sister and brother jubilarians, I offer my sincere congratulations to you, your families and
friends as you celebrate 25, 50, 60 and more years in consecrated life. You have labored selflessly
toward the building of God’s kingdom, helping the Church, and working for the salvation of many,
many people. I also congratulate the nuns in our cloistered monasteries, as well as the men and
women religious in our retirement communities who are Jubilarians but who cannot be with us today
for this liturgy. We remember them, as well, for their vital mission of continuous prayer for us all.
The work you have accomplished in the Lord’s vineyard is truly staggering, bearing the heat
of the day for many hours. You have served the poor, the sick, children, those who are forgotten by
society, in homes and schools, in hospitals and orphanages, in parishes, as teachers and in humble
daily service. The Church loves you for what you are and for what you do, for what you say and for
what you give, for your prayer, for your renunciation, and for the gift of yourself. This is the
meaning of your consecrated life: complete dedication to Christ – Christ at the center of your
thought, Christ lived and witnessed in the world, and Christ seen and served in your brothers and
sisters.
I want to reflect with you this morning on your personal commitment to Christ, when you
first accepted His invitation to follow Him as a consecrated woman or man. If you think about it for
a moment, you know that there is an element of coercion in every person’s life. We do some things,
not so much because we want to, but because we have to. The city, county, state, and federal
governments require us to observe certain laws. We must stop at red traffic lights, respect peoples’
property, and pay our taxes. This makes for the smooth running of society. And so, coercion plays
a vital and necessary role in life.
But coercion has its limits. It can go only so far and no further. There are some things that
you and I do, not because we must do them, but because we choose to do them. No law requires
them of us. We do these things out of love. Saint John of the Cross once said that at the end of our
lives we will not be judged by anyone. The only thing we will be judged by is love. How much love
have we shown in our lives and how many opportunities to show love have passed us by?
It was precisely this point that Jesus had in mind when He spoke the parable we heard in
today’s gospel. It is clear that the rich man did not listen to the voice of God or to the cries of the
poor at his very doorstep. He lived a comfortable life and had respect in the town. He failed to
notice, or even ignored the likes of Lazarus. The one who is favored in the end, of course, is the poor
man who has endured his trials in this life. The God of justice repays him with eternal life. Jesus
tells us that His loving Father is interested in an open heart, in those who listen to his word and act
upon it, in those who love. That means seeing the poor and powerless and caring for them. It means
acting out of love and not out of duty. The Pharisees thought that a certain sort of life would save
them. But Jesus tells them to act out of love, to be open to the needs of others.
As followers of Christ, we are each responsible for our own actions and what we choose to
do has influence on others. Our readings make it clear that the Kingdom is not simply something to
which we look forward. It is something we can help to build here and now by our actions. If we
listen closely to the will of God for us, then we will also be people who are alert to the needs of
others around us.
We will be judged by love. The Pharisees worked for their salvation but had forgotten to
show love. Each of us is given many opportunities to grow into the person we could be. We are
challenged to live out our calling in the midst of a broken world. We can close ourselves off to the
needs of others and work only for our own comfort, or we can open our eyes to the dignity of all
people. You have chosen the better portion.
Truly listening to the gentle voice of God within us means that we become aware of the great
love he has for us. Saint Augustine was once asked “What does love look like?” He replied, “It has
feet to go to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has ears to hear the sighs and
sorrows of others.” We will be judged by love. If we want a place in God’s Kingdom, we must
continue to grow into the loving people we were created to be.
As consecrated women and men, through the years you have been willing to take upon
yourselves those things that no law can require and no person has any right to demand. This is true
of all disciples, but how much more for you who have renounced all things to serve Christ and the
Church as religious sisters, priests, and brothers.
The consecrated life, therefore, begins where the requirements of the law end. That is how
Jesus lived and that is how He taught His disciples to live. In the Sermon on the Mount, He said:
“Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him two miles.” That was the essence
of His message. He always gave more and did more than any law required. That final day when He
picked up the cross and carried it to Calvary was but the climax of how He had lived His entire life.
Poverty, humility and mortification: this is the unwavering course of our Savior’s life. This was His
daily bread: to do the will of God. And this is the course that must be embraced by anyone who
wants to follow Christ faithfully in the consecrated life.
This kind of living demands a profound spiritual life, steadily cultivated in silence, in
prayerful detachment from the world, in meditation, in study, and in community living and
communal prayer. It calls for an effective practice of the Gospel counsels of chastity, poverty, and
obedience. The Second Vatican Council reminded us: “...[T]hese counsels, voluntarily accepted
according to each one’s vocation, contribute greatly to the purification of the heart and to spiritual
liberty. They never cease to stir up the fervor of charity. And, in particular, they are able to bring
the Christian into fuller conformity with the life of virginity and poverty which Christ the Lord chose
for Himself.” (Perfectae Caritatis, 46)
Many people look upon you and wonder why you do what you do. The reasons and motives
for going beyond the law in your commitment to Christ are not so obvious to the world. They come
from deep inside you. No one can hire or compel another person to love. This kind of living is
always voluntary.
I remember a story about a sister who was serving in China during the Japanese invasion of
World War II. She was caught in the war zone and was moved with pity to help the wounded. In
a field hospital, she moved from person to person, gently bathing and dressing their open wounds.
A newspaper reporter watched her for a while and then said, “Sister, I would not do that for a million
dollars.” And she, without even looking up from her work, replied, “Neither would I.” I am
convinced that every one of you Jubilarians would reply in exactly the same way.
Your kind of service cannot be bought or compelled; it can, however, be inspired. There is
no limit to how far a person will go when he or she gives one’s heart completely to something or
someone in whom one truly believes. More than anything or anyone else on earth, Christ has been
the inspiration behind your kind of living.
When you voiced your commitment to Christ so many years ago, you surrendered your life
to Him. And something happened to you. Your life was no longer your own to use in whatever way
you might choose. You were not coerced to do this. You were not paid to do it. But you were
inspired to do it, by Him who has done for us far more than we had any right to ask or expect.
I thank you for your commitment to Christ lived concretely in your various apostolates over
the years. Be assured of my prayers for an ever-deepening love for Him as you continue to labor in
His vineyard. May you persevere in your vocation to serve Him and His Church for the rest of your
lives.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for the Repose of the Souls of our Deceased Priests
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
November 22, 2005
From the days of our youth we have believed in and professed the Communion of Saints. Today it is not only an article of faith that we accept but also a concrete debt of solidarity—priestly solidarity with our brother priests—that we are fulfilling.
Today we express in a very special way the reality of our fraternity in the priesthood. You and I try to do this frequently, in different ways, throughout the year. We try to do this:
• in maintaining long and faithful friendships with fellow priests,
• in keeping up fraternal contacts,
• in offering friendly encouragement and support at any time of the day or night,
• in sharing the joys and sorrows and successes of our brother priests,
• in being kind and understanding, and non-judgmental, even in the case of needed fraternal correction, which Christ enjoins on us,
• in being a witness to God’s enduring mercy and forgiveness, even in the face of a brother’s sin and failure,
Or we try, just simply put, to treat brother priests as we would have them treat us.
Today you and I, dear brother priests, strive to express our priestly fraternity and solidarity at a very profound level of our priesthood. Through the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior and great High Priest, we keep alive the memory of our brothers who have died. We acknowledge their labors in the vineyard of the Lord and their contribution to the building up of the Church in our Archdiocese. Some of us remember their priestly ministry to ourselves and our families: confessors, counselors, supporters, friends. We recognize, as does the Book of Revelation that our brothers now rest from their labors. They are among the dead who died in the Lord and whose works accompany them. And now our priestly fraternity and solidarity have reached the highest degree of communion in God’s kingdom: with our brothers either in Purgatory or in Heaven.
Today, in memory of our brother priests and in the context of this Mass, we are invited by the word of God to spell out some of the deepest truths of our faith. In the Gospel according to Saint Mark we proclaim the Death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. We reflect on His death on Calvary and His rising from the tomb at Easter, and we see these events of His Paschal Mystery not only as His personal victory, but also as the triumph He has shared with us and our deceased brother priests: "Dying, you destroyed our death, and rising, you restored our life."
When we hear the words: "Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last," we think also of how the High Priest’s redeeming love embraced our brother priests, atoned for their sins and gave incomparable efficacy to the death of every priest—ever alter Christus called to follow Jesus and to be conformed to Him in the likeness of His Death and Resurrection.
Today our fellow priests of past generations convoke us here to pray for them and, in doing so, to renew the deepest expression of our faith. They remind us of our vocation to die to sin and to live for God in Christ Jesus: to be worthy of the vocation to which we are called. In the Eucharistic renewal of Christ’s Death and Resurrection, which we offer for them, we ourselves find the strength to live in integrity of life, as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.
We praise God for all our brothers who have already attained eternal life through the mercy of God that was channeled to them through the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In recalling these brothers we renew our profession of faith "in the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting."
In this November celebration we pause to reaffirm our faith also in the exhilarating teaching of the Church on Purgatory. The doctrine of the Communion of Saints leads us into this reflection. We proclaim with all the conviction of our hearts the Church’s teaching on God’s mercy promised us, in every generation. We accept its application in the beautiful doctrine of Purgatory: that even after death in Christ God’s mercy is operative. The saving Blood of Christ can be applied to our souls in a final outburst of God’s mercy, which is the last opportunity for total purification offered by Christ and exercised also through the ministry of His Church.
In the Old Testament there was foreshadowed in the Book of Maccabees the application of atonement made through sacrifice so that the dead might be freed from sin. Today we see the consummation of this stupendous reality. Through prayer and Christ’s Sacrifice, final purification is brought about. God’s mercy triumphs through the ministry of the Church and through the collaboration of God’s people called to the prayer of faith and expiation.
Our brother priests and all the faithful departed ask for our remembrance because we are called to be ministers of mercy.
And in this ministry of mercy, we exercise our greatest act of priestly fraternity and solidarity and reach the culmination of our communion with our beloved brother priests. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass on Respect Life Sunday
October 3, 2004
Cathedral Basilica of SS Peter and Paul
My brothers and sisters, today we gather as a faith community to give praise and thanksgiving to
almighty God for the many blessings He has given to each one of us. Specifically we give thanks for
our life and the life of those we call family and friend. Annually, my brother bishops and I set this
day, Respect Life Sunday as an opportunity to reflect upon the many contemporary life issues that
face our society. Issues that are critical to the defense of the sanctity of life - especially as we face
decisions concerning our national and local civil leadership. As the electorate we must exercise our
duty and responsibility to cast our vote for candidates who hold with our Catholic teaching that
respecting all life from conception to a natural death is inviolable. This is an issues of justice and
promotion of the common good of all mankind. As we celebrate the dignity and respect for all
human life we are reminded that the essence of the Eucharist is the victory of life over death. Our
Eucharistic celebration today gives strength and motivation to our commitment to respect all human
life. My dear people, I implore every one to prayerfully reflect and to reaffirm our commitment to
work tirelessly to build a true culture of life that reverence the sanctity of all life. As someone who
respects all human life we must selflessly give ourselves to this cause with steadfast dedication and
love as modeled for us by Jesus. My friends, I believe before we give witness to the truth about life
we must give witness to our belief in the redemptive power of the Eucharist.
As you know, our Holy Father has called for a Year
of the Eucharist beginning on October 10 goal of the Congress is to help the
faithful to better know, love and serve Jesus Christ in the Eucharistic mystery, the center of our Catholic life. One might say, devotion to the
Eucharist leads one to a devotion to life and a devotion to life leads one to the Eucharist.
As we gather here to celebrate Mass this morning, I am reminded that twenty-five years ago, this weekend, Pope John Paul II visited the United States including Philadelphia. Maybe you remember the Mass celebrated across the street atop the majestic Swan fountain, I was here for that visit. During his visit to our country, our Holy Father stated, "Human life is precious because it is the gift of a God whose love is infinite; and when God gives life, it is forever!" To have respect for life is to be committed to an issue that is bigger than just oneself. Sadly, too many today are merely focused on themselves and their own life and this self preoccupation leads one into a self absorbed world that no longer has room in it for the needs of others. As such respect for human life becomes marginalized, concerns for the self outweigh the needs of others, who often wind up as mere objects used to meet other’s needs. Each October the Catholic Church of the United States celebrates the Creator’s greatest gift - life - and in this coming year we celebrate Jesus’ greatest gift - His gift of self for us.
Many would like to voice their belief that our world, indeed our country is beyond salvation as we travel deeper into, what many call a culture of death. Remember the words of the prophet Habakkuk, in our first reading, who cried out to the Lord, "How long, O Lord? Destruction and violence are before me." Just as the prophet did we too must place our trust in the Lord and have patience that God will work in His own time. This does not mean although, that we remain idle but rather fortified by the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, we must toil as faithful servants of the Lord in presenting our message of sanctity for all human life. It is through frequent reception of Holy Communion and prayer that we will be fortified to enter into the battle of and for life. One needs to only look to Our Holy Father, to see a living example of what it means to be a servant of and for life. His message has been consistent and clear that life must not be devalued, but rather held in reverence and esteem as gift from our loving creator. Our culture has become one in which death - the ending of life - is seen as merciful. Too frequently, a woman may choose to abort her child because she finds herself in overwhelming circumstances resulting in a feeling of no support from the father or from family. I stand here today to say that as a church community we will stand with and help any woman who is pregnant and needs assistance. All abortions on demand must end.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Respect Life Mass
Sunday, October 1, 2006
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
I welcome all of you who have come to celebrate this important commemoration of God’s precious gift of life. We come together today to thank God for His gift of life and to pray for a change of heart of those who do not respect life from its very beginning to its natural end.
Today’s gospel reminds us that, "whoever is not against us is for us," and "whoever gives you a cup of water because you belong to Christ...will surely not lose his reward" (Mark 9:40-41). We belong to Christ, we are Christians because we are the baptized. Just as the Lord bestowed the Spirit on the seventy elders in the Old Testament and they prophesied, as we heard in our first reading today, so we also have received the Holy Spirit at our Baptism. By our baptism we are called to bear prophetic witness to Christ. We are charged to spread the Good News of freedom—the freedom to choose life, to hold each life precious and to protect each life from conception to natural death. We are charged to respect human life in every condition: in that of the healthy, the sick, the whole, the handicapped, the rich and the poor. To the seventy elders in our first reading who complained, God speaking through Moses said: "Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets. Would that the Lord might bestow his Spirit on them all" (Numbers 11:29). Today God speaks to our hearts. Would that all of us who are baptized in Christ would act in His name. Acting in the name of Christ means resisting a culture which promotes unbridled freedom. Each of us is called to embrace wholeheartedly the work of building a culture of life.
At the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI said: "Each one of you is the fruit of a thought of God. Each one of us is loved...." Every human being is indeed created, loved and redeemed by God. Truly, every human being is priceless. This year, the Respect Life Sunday theme "Created, loved, redeemed by God, priceless," plays upon these two cultures, two understandings of human freedom. The one culture promotes purchasing so called priceless moments and pleasures with money, while the other calls us to act in the name of Jesus who paid the price on the cross for our redemption and eternal life. Every human being is priceless and precious to God because he or she has been created by God and redeemed by His Son, Jesus Christ.
In the second reading from James, the evils of our unbridled freedom are made clear and condemned, such as the pursuit of individual gain, often at the expense of those who provided the goods we consume. "Behold the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your field are crying out" (James 5:4). All life—at the beginning, in the middle and at the end—is sacred and all persons must be treated with justice. For as our Holy Father has said, "God does not differentiate between the newly conceived human infant still in his or her mother’s womb and the child or young person, or the adult and the elderly person" (Address to the 12th General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life, February 27, 2006).
Today we gather as a community of faith in this Cathedral Basilica, our mother church, giving special witness to our commitment to respect and protect, to love and serve life at every stage. It is a commitment that distinguishes our way of life in society. As Catholics, we believe that one God exists and we live by one moral code given to us by God. In the Second Vatican Council documents we read that the "supreme rule of life is the Divine Law itself, the eternal, objective and universal law by which God out of his wisdom and love arranges, directs and governs the whole world and the paths of the human community. God has enabled man to share in this divine law..." (Dignitatis Humanae, 3). We know this to be the natural law of God which, as St. Paul tells us, is "written" on the human heart.
Our God has given us the gift of freedom. Not a freedom to choose whatever we wish. Rather it is a freedom to choose to do what is right and just and to avoid that which would in any way inflict harm on others. Respect Life Sunday celebrates this gift of freedom to choose life. Today’s Responsorial Psalm proclaims: "The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart. The decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple, the ordinances of the Lord are true, all of them just" (Ps. 19:10-12).
I offer for your reflection the following observations on the value of life:
There are those who call for a freedom of choice because they say every child must be wanted in order to be worthy of life; and hence so many feel free to abort innocent human life.
There are those who say that the elderly, the suffering and the disabled should have the freedom to choose when they will die; or that others should have the freedom to choose death for them because they themselves no longer have any worth.
There are those who believe we should have the freedom to destroy the human embryo for the possible good of another because those embryos are not wanted and are only surplus.
There are those who claim that there is a justifiable right to take another’s life by violence, terrorism and unnecessary capital punishment.
Another great evil that destroys life is war. Even if it is in self-defense and justifiable, it is always, as Pope John Paul II has said, "a defeat for humanity."
There are those who argue that we should not welcome the stranger, or feed, clothe and house immigrant or migrant workers because of their undocumented status.
There are those who believe that there is a civil right to marriage between persons of the same sex, and not exclusively between a man and a woman as ordained by God.
There are those who claim the freedom of the individual or of a class of people to pursue wealth or material good without respect for the human dignity of the people who may be constrained to work in conditions unworthy of society.
Today, dear friends in Christ, we gather to celebrate the precious gift of life. As we do so, we give thanks to god for all those who work tirelessly to spread the message to respect and protect, to love and serve life in all its stages. May the Lord bless our pro-life activities with good fruit, and bestow his Holy Spirit on all, so that the true notion of freedom will bring about a culture of life and a civilization of justice and love in our time. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Respect Life Sunday
October 5, 2008
Dear Friends,
How good it is for us today, on Respect Life Sunday, to gather here, in the name of Jesus, to celebrate the sanctity of life! And what better context for such a celebration than the Eucharist—the very Bread of Life and source of human strength. From this source, the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ, we receive the complete truth concerning the value of human life. Jesus tells us, "I am the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6).
The same loving God who shares Himself with us in the Eucharist imprints His own image on every living being. Indeed, our late Pope John Paul II reminded us of this in his encyclical The Gospel of Life, when he wrote: "In every child which is born and in every person who lives or dies, we see the image of God’s glory. We celebrate this glory in every human being, a sign of the living God, an icon of Jesus Christ" (no. 84). Truly, the bright-eyed smile of a newborn child and the pain-filled face of someone who is dying equally reflect the sacred dignity of the human person. The homeless, prisoners, the aged, and the disabled all bear the image of Christ suffering and glorified. We need to see that behind each human face there is a unique part of God’s plan of love. It is in this plan of God that all of life finds its sacredness, and in this sacredness that life becomes inviolable from the very moment of conception until natural death.
What we know to be true, however, is not always the practice of the day. Understandably, those who recognize the imprint of God’s image in every human person, regardless of age or circumstance are overwhelmed at times by the suffering, violence and injustice perpetrated on the innocent by the forces of evil. As we see the abortionist, the tyrant and the terrorist, we cry out, pleading for the most vulnerable among us. We feel the same frustration that we hear echoed in the first reading from the Book of the prophet Isaiah where it is written: "What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done?" We likewise weep with the landowner in today’s Gospel over an innocent son lost at the hands of evildoers.
At times, our country seems like the vineyard which has been overgrown with weeds. Where solid human and Christian values once flourished, we now find a devaluation of human life and a lack of respect for the dignity of each person. The easy accessibility of abortion, the lack of concern for the elderly, and the misuse of technology in the name of medical progress seem to be signs of a nation gone astray. God looks to His people to bear good fruit and finds so much contrary to His law.
Saint Matthew’s Gospel today follows through with the analogy of the landowner and the vineyard. Again, the proprietor does all he can to ensure that his vineyard is cared for and the plants are carefully nurtured. Again, he anticipates a rich and abundant harvest; and again, his hopes are dashed—this time by wicked tenants who grossly misuse the trust the landowner had placed in them. Just as the tenants in this Gospel reading, so we too must return to God the good fruits of our labor in this life. We must spend our lives working to build up the Kingdom of God; and we know that vital to that Kingdom is the Gospel of love and the sanctity of all human life.
Today there is an urgency to the need to build a culture of life in our society. So many forces are waging war against it. The dignity of the human person is assailed at every turn by those who would make human life nothing more than the object of their pleasure or choice, to be used in whatever way suits their whim. Never before in our history has the human person been in such jeopardy. Never before have the stakes been so high.
Still, this is no a time for despair. Rather, the final message of today’s Gospel is one of hope—a hope that is linked to the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has conquered sin and death. God does not respond to the wretched tenants the way people expect him to. He is a God of boundless compassion, whose heart overflows with love for His own. We continually have another chance to make things right. There is always room to do more. There is always time to begin again to commit ourselves and our nation to the protection of all human life. Despite difficult times, we must remain people of life—confident that the message of the dignity of life and the call for justice, which we promote and which we struggle so hard to foster in our world, are truly the work of God. Despite all obstacles, our faith generates in us an unswerving hope in the victory of life. Patiently building a culture of life will lead us to the fulfillment of God’s plan for human life and dignity. Though seemingly thwarted, life will be victorious!
The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus’ message and it has been entrusted to us to make incarnate in a world searching for direction and meaning. This is not an easy task where human life is constantly being violated in so many ways. This is especially true where life is weak and vulnerable. Abortion, poverty, disease, and violence constantly threaten human life throughout our land. Scientific research and experimentation manipulate new life in ways previously unheard of. Who will speak for the defenseless among us? Who will carry the message of the sacredness of life? Those who have known and continue to know the loving embrace of God, those who have come into a relationship with Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist, those whose very lives radiate genuine respect for life in all stages and conditions. These are the ones who will dispel darkness and lend their hands to building a new culture of life. Hopefully, we are all counted among their numbers; for, in the words of Saint Teresa of Avila: "Christ has no body now but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ looks out in compassion on the world. Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good…."
On this Respect Life Sunday, let us recommit ourselves to being people of life and for life. In our homes and schools and workplaces, on the playing field and the highway and in the voting booth—in every daily task and interaction with one another let us consistently choose respect for human dignity and human life. Let us recognize the dignity and sacredness of life in others which is inherent in them by virtue of their very creation by God.
Dear friends: God calls us His people to stand up for human dignity and human life in every instance in which they are threatened or imperiled. He calls us to acknowledge and observe—and to help others acknowledge and observe—this holy law written clearly in our hearts. Whatever is contrary to this law of God and nature, even if it is declared "legal," will always be immoral.
Respect Life Sunday draws our special attention to this enormous challenge, for the fulfillment of which God gives us grace and strength. How exhilarating then, dear friends, this our mission of respecting, protecting, loving and serving human life—all human life, God’s precious gift! Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Respect Life Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
October 3, 2010
Bishop McIntyre,
Dear Friends of Life,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
The words we have just heard in our readings are no ordinary words. They are living words. They include the words of the prophet Habakkuk. Let us listen to these words again: "The vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment and will not disappoint" (Hab 2:3).
The words of the prophet are compelling! The voice of the prophet is irresistible!
As we gather here in the Cathedral Basilica today during this Respect Life Month of October we join our voices to that of the prophet and testify to the power of these living words: "The vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment and will not disappoint" (Hab 2:3).
This vision is the vision of life. It is the vision made fully known by Jesus, the Word made flesh (Jn 1:14), who is "the way, the truth and the life" (Jn 14:6).
This vision is the testimony that all human life is a precious gift from God, and that all human life has inviolable dignity from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.
The words of the prophet spread: "The vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment and will not disappoint" (Hab 2:3). Today, there is a nationwide decline in both the number and the rate of abortions. More and more people understand the truth that the child in the womb is a human being. More and more people see the efforts of those in the Church to reach out to women and men, mothers and fathers who have been harmed by abortion. So often, women who have had an abortion and men who have been wounded by abortion keep their pain secret. We plead with them to come to the forgiving embrace of the Church and the compassionate counseling of the Project Rachel ministry and post-abortion healing. As we do so we hear again the prophet's words: "The vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment and will not disappoint" (Hab 2:3).
Today, there is growing nationwide awareness that the child in the womb is a human being. Americans oppose public funding of abortion by very wide margins: one recent poll found that 67% of Americans oppose federal funding of abortion in health care. We, as Catholics, will not be pressured to fund abortion, because "The vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment and will not disappoint" (Hab 2:3).
While the word of life has spread, there are yet many places in our world that choose to remain hardened and refuse to hear the voice of life.
We must build on the growing awareness that the child in the womb is a human being. We insist that human embryonic stem cell research is unjust. We may never exploit and attack the embryonic human being for any reason, even if it could ease our own suffering. We do not attack the next generation to try to heal the pain of this generation. Instead, we find such firm hope in the promises of adult stem cell research.
Human life is threatened today in so many ways. In addition to the "tragic and widespread scourge of abortion" (Caritas in Veritate, 75), we also face proposals and policies in favor of assisted suicide, euthanasia, human cloning, the eugenic programming of births, illicit reproductive technologies, the unjust application of the death sentence, the blight of human trafficking, and even the denial that marriage is, and can only be, the permanent, faithful and fruitful union of one man and one woman. The prevalent secularism moves from being an ideology into being a lifestyle that simply abandons the sense of right and wrong. And in the midst of all of this the Word of Life, the word of Jesus, relentlessly arises through the Church. Pope Benedict XVI, in his most recent encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, proclaimed, "Openness to life is at the center of all true development" (no. 28). We hear in his words, the words of the prophet: "The vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment and will not disappoint" (Hab 2:3).
Thirty-one years ago this very day, the now-Venerable Servant of God Pope John Paul II began his historic visit to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Thirty-one years ago today he stood in the heart of the City of Philadelphia, just a few yards from the steps of this Cathedral Basilica. From the center of Logan Circle he called for "full respect for all the fundamental rights of the human person, whose dignity is the dignity of one created in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gen 1:26)." His words remind us that "The vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment and will not disappoint" (Hab 2:3).
Where does the vision come from? It comes from Jesus, the Word who is Life. When we choose life, we choose Jesus. We must choose life every day. We choose life in our workplace and office, in our schools and shopping centers, in our homes and on the road. In the Gospel proclamation, Jesus teaches us that "faith the size of a mustard seed" can uproot the largest obstacle (cf. Lk 17:6). The secret of the culture of life is the secret of the seed. In his book, Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict XVI writes, "Observed from the outside, the seed is something miniscule. It is easy to overlook. The mustard seed - an image of the Kingdom of God - is the smallest of seeds, yet it bears the whole tree within it. The seed is the presence of what is to come in the future. In the seed, that which is to come is already here in a hidden way. It is the presence of a promise" (p. 190).
The voice of Jesus fills our hearts today as Jesus speaks up for the voiceless. Jesus testifies on behalf of the defenseless. In the midst of pain and hardship, in the midst of the suffering of the Cross, Jesus makes a promise. Jesus takes on the burden of the neglected and the oppressed. This is also the mission and vocation of the Church in her pro-life outreach. When we meet the vapid relativism, hollow fallacies and empty inconsistencies of pro-abortion efforts, our task is not simply to argue for life, but to respond with life, to plant the seeds of truth by announcing: "The vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment and will not disappoint" (Hab 2:3). The seeds of life are all around us: in the dedicated staff and devoted members of diocesan and parish pro-life leadership, in those who stand faithfully and pray in witness to life, in those who arrange for, organize and board buses every January to go on prayerful pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., in those who speak up in defense of life even when it is uncomfortable or inconvenient to do so. In all of these we hear again that "The vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment and will not disappoint" (Hab 2:3).
Dear brothers and sisters: today we gather in prayer so that we may be nourished by the bread of life. Sustained by the Holy Eucharist, "the true bread from heaven [which]. gives life to the world" (Jn 6:32-33), and guided by the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our words will not be ordinary words. Our voice will become irresistible, because we will speak with the power of love, the love of Jesus for humanity. And as we do so, we will take another step, cross another threshold, as we sow the seeds of the Culture of Life and advance the Civilization of Love. And we will do all of this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Respect Life Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
October 4, 2009
Dear Friends in Christ,
It is a joy to gather here today for this sacred Liturgy and to celebrate the sanctity of human life in all of its richness and beauty and diversity. We especially welcome the families who have come and who give special witness to God's desire that husband and wife become one and celebrate the bringing of new life into the world! And we welcome, too, so many of our students and young people who accept the challenge to communicate the message of respect for human life now and in the years to come. In these faces and those of the unborn, the elderly, the disabled, and the poor, we see the glorious image of God reflected. In the words of Pope John Paul II, we celebrate God's glory "in every human being [who is] a sign of the living God and an icon of Jesus Christ" (Evangelium Vitae, no. 84).
Indeed behind each human face, in each person, we recognize a unique gift in which we discover God's plan of love. It is from this supreme source of divine love that we draw our own capacity to love. It is from this source of all love that life finds its sacredness, and in this sacredness life is inviolable from the moment of conception until natural death. "This boundless and almost incomprehensible love of God for the human being reveals the degree to which the human person deserves to be loved in himself [and herself]-independent of any other consideration-intelligence, beauty, health, youth, integrity, and so forth. In short, human life is always a good, for it is a 'manifestation of God in the world, a sign of his presence, a trace of his glory'" (Evangelium Vitae, 34, in Dignitas Personae, 8).
It was out of God's deep love that He spoke, as we heard in today's first reading, saying: "It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him" (Gen 2: 18). And, so, God expressed His plan for man and woman to be partners and co-creators of human life. They draw life from God's love and share that same life and love with their children. Husbands and wives, indeed, have a special call to accept and welcome new life into their families and to create a loving home where children can likewise come to experience God's love. Modern society, however, presents many challenges to this call. The temptations of our culture do not always encourage practices that respect the dignity and sanctity of human life. Together with cohabitation and contraception, abortion has increased enormously. Accepting and welcoming children into the world has become a choice instead of a way of cooperating with God's plan for mankind. Modern science has even given us the ability to manipulate human genes to produce or eliminate desired characteristics. In some states, euthanasia and assisted suicide also threaten God's supreme role as the author of life. We are on the brink of having a society where the value of human life depends on its usefulness and how closely it adheres to certain desirable traits. The late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago reminded us that "When life becomes cheap or easily expendable in one area, eventually nothing is held sacred and all lives are in jeopardy."
Yet, hope is not lost! Thankfully, there are many people like yourselves who understand that the sacredness of human life extends to all-regardless of age or condition of health or economic status. "Through the mystery of the Incarnation, the Son of God confirmed the dignity of the body and soul that constitute the human being" (Dignitas Personae, 7). By virtue of our very creation, then, we share in the plan of God for all human beings to enjoy the right to life from the moment of conception to natural death. This is indeed the natural and inalienable right of every person, and it is also our responsibility to ensure that this gift of life is acknowledged, protected and defended. In its important instruction on Respect for Human Life entitled Donum Vitae, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith unequivocally states that "God alone is the Lord of Life from its beginning to its end. No one can, under any circumstances, claim for himself the right to destroy an innocent human being" (Donum Vitae, 19).
"Human history shows, however, how man has abused and can continue to abuse the power and capabilities that God has entrusted to him, giving rise to various forms of unjust discrimination and oppression of the weakest and most defenseless; the daily attacks on human life; the existence of large regions of poverty where people are dying from hunger and disease.and the many [wars and] conflicts that still divide peoples and cultures. These, sadly, are only some of the most obvious signs of how man can make bad use of his abilities and.[lose] the awareness of his lofty and specific vocation to collaborate in the creative work of God" (Dignitas Personae, 36). We must, then, dear friends, be continuously vigilant to protect the dignity of human life at every turn - in our homes, our schools, our places of work and recreation, and our halls of justice and legislation. Our times call for nothing less than our determined commitment to the "energetic promotion of a new culture of life" (Dignitas personae, 36). In every voice raised in defense of life, "there shines a great 'yes' to the recognition of the dignity and inalienable value of every single and unique human being called into existence" (Dignitas Personae, 37).
In today's Gospel, the disciples were acting in much the same way as many in our society today. They prevented the children from coming close to Jesus to receive his love and attention. They considered the children a bother-an interruption of Jesus' work and teaching. Upon seeing what was happening, Jesus rebuked the disciples, calling the children to himself, embracing them, blessing them and reminding us all that "the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these" (Mark 10:14). In imitation of Jesus, we must be willing to defy the status quo and to speak for the children and all those they represent-the marginalized, the oppressed, the innocent victims, and those who have no voice. Their silenced voices must become our voice, proclaiming louder and louder the need for justice and the recognition of their dignity as human beings-created in the image of God and reflecting ever so brightly God's glory. We cannot wait. In the words of our late Pope John Paul II, "together, may we offer this world of ours new sighs of hope and work to insure that justice and solidarity will increase and that a new culture of human life will be affirmed for the building of an authentic civilization of truth and love" (Evangelium Vitae, 6).
Dear friends: what is so encouraging today is that, even as the threats to human life increase enormously in our society, there are so many people who truly realize the value of human life and dignity. They realize how much they can and must contribute to the cause of life by prayer and by their diligent participation in the political process, speaking out for just laws in every dimension of life. Today on this Respect Life Sunday we remember the call of Pope John Paul II to respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life! Only in this way, he pointed out, will we find justice, development, true freedom, peace and happiness! Let us realize also, dear friends, that in God's plan life is already victorious in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. With our prayers and work this victory will increasingly unfold in our city, our commonwealth and our nation! May Mary, the Mother of Life, assist us in our important challenges. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
"On Responsibility" (Galatians 5: 13-25)
Valley Forge Military Academy & College
Sunday, February, 18, 2007
Man, Image of God, A Marvel in the Eyes of God
In his famous book called Confessions, Saint Augustine states, "Men go forth to marvel at the mountain heights, at huge waves in the sea, at the broad expanse of flowing rivers, at the wide reaches of the ocean, and at the circuit of the stars, but themselves they pass by" (Augustine, Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 8). Certainly the world is a fascinating place to explore and discover. Yet, for Augustine, there is one aspect of creation which captivated his imagination. It was man himself, the human being. Of all the creatures, which reflect traces of God, only man is rightly called the image of God.
In his spiritual and intellectual journey into the human heart, the fifth-century bishop and author of the Confessions, believed that such a journey would lead to certain truths about man and God. Augustine’s passionate search for truth included a realistic look at his past: his successes and failures. In his autobiography, Saint Augustine chronicled his past thoughts, actions and desires with the intention of identifying the moments in his life when he collaborated with God’s grace and the moments in his life when he squandered his talents and time and God’s grace and mercy.
Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, before his election as Pope John Paul II, published (in his book entitled The Acting Person) thoughts similar to those of Saint Augustine. The future pope wrote, "Having conquered so many secrets of nature, the conqueror himself must have his own mysteries ceaselessly unraveled anew" (Wojtyla, Acting Person, 21). Like Augustine, the future pope was fascinated with the profound mystery of man. All human beings, explicitly or implicitly, have to address certain fundamental and personal questions: Who am I? What is man? Where have we come from and where are we going? These and similar questions have the subject of man and his responsibility at the center of their investigation. Augustine and the soon-to-be Pope turned their attention to the human person, who is a fascinatingly complex being, richly endowed by God, entailing physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions. The young Augustine and the young future pope, both writing as bishops, believed that prayerful reflection on the mystery of the human person would be fruitful in coming to understand our place in the world and our sublime destiny and corresponding responsibility.
The Second Vatican Council, a significant religious event in the Catholic Church and in the world, originally convoked by Pope John XXIII for the early 1960s, emphasized the importance of man in God’s creation when it stated: "Believers and unbelievers agree almost unanimously that all things on earth should be ordained to man as to their center and summit" (Gaudium et Spes, 12) It is ultimately in the light of our faith that we are able to understand profoundly the sublime nature of man and his noble vocation.
Our Responsibility to Pursue the Truth
Pre-eminent of all the faculties or abilities of the human person are man’s intellect and his free will. Empowered with both intellect and free will, the human person is called to participate in a personal way in God’s plan of salvation. We are called to be His friends, His collaborators. Our intellect is by nature ordered to know the truth and our will is by nature ordered to love and do the good. The already mentioned Second Vatican Council asserted, "Sacred Scripture teaches that man was created ‘to the image of God’ as able to know and love his creator" (ibid.).
As endowed by our Creator with intelligence, we are responsible for pursuing the truth. When we find the truth, we find God. In this regard, we know the claims of Jesus Christ. Speaking of Himself, Jesus Christ declares: "I am the way, the truth, and the light" (Jn 14:6).
Dear Cadets: I am happy to underscore the importance of the great work you are undertaking as you embrace your studies in the various arts and sciences. I encourage you in your academic endeavors which are all ordered to discovering the truth which God writes in every corner of His creation. All truths are ordered to God who is Truth, and who is our ultimate happiness. The Second Vatican Council put it this way: "The intellectual nature of man finds at last its perfection, as it should, in wisdom, which gently draws the human mind to look for and to love what is true and good" (ibid., 15).
The pursuit of truth, however, is filled with many challenges. Objectively speaking, the sources of our information about God, man, and the world are not of equal importance and value in establishing the truth and its certitude. Pride of place must be given to the word of God, to Sacred Scripture as authentically interpreted.. Sensationalism, blind ideology, prejudice, and anti-religious biases are just some of the many obstacles which prevent people from embracing the truth. The wise person learns to sort the wheat from the chaff. Any lack of enthusiasm for learning can undermine our ability to fulfill our natural vocation to pursue the truth.
Proper Use of Freedom makes Man Virtuous
Both Saint Augustine and future Pope John Paul II, following Saint Paul, marveled at the gift of freedom given to man by God. The Second Vatican Council affirmed that "truly, freedom is an exceptional sign of the image of God in man" (ibid., 17). Saint Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians: "Christ has set us free; so stand firm" (Gal 5: 1). Immediately after the asserting the truth that man is free, we hear the Pauline admonition: "stand firm." Dear Friends: with freedom comes enormous responsibility!
Saint Paul in his great letter to the Galatians contrasts the license, or misuse of freedom by the person who lives by the desires of the flesh, with true liberty, or the proper use of freedom by the person who lives by the Spirit. In his letter to the Galatians, Saint Paul enumerates the many ways in which we can abuse our freedom by various forms of impure and immoral behavior. Yet, Saint Paul offers the many fruits which follow upon our good choices. According to Saint Paul, the fruits of a life in the Spirit include "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control" (Gal 5: 22).
How we use our intellect and freedom will not only shape our own lives but also influence the world. The impact of our personal choices affect so many other people. Our character formation begins with free choice. In a sense, we become what we choose. If we choose to act honestly and courageously, by our own choice we become honest and courageous persons. If, on the other hand, we choose to act dishonestly and cowardly, we make ourselves to be dishonest and cowardly people. All our actions have a twofold effect: on us and on the world.
Elsewhere in his letters, Saint Paul uses the image of an athlete who runs so as to win a race (cf. 1 Cor 9: 24-27). Indeed, Saint Paul speaks about exercising, training and discipline. An athlete who regularly practices a special kind of feat will in time attain a facility or habit allowing him or her to perform the feat with greater skill and ease in the future. In a similar way, when we act rightly on a regular basis, we acquire a habit which enables us to act rightly with greater facility and ease in the future. These good habits which we acquire by repetition are called virtues. Each time we responsibly exercise our freedom for good, we acquire and strengthen our virtues. As virtuous persons, we are empowered to contribute effectively to the building up of a more just and peaceful society. The virtuous man, as a brilliant image of God, is the person able to lead others to the truth and the good.
The safeguarding of our freedoms is one of the fundamental obligations of the government in accordance with the United States Constitution. Indeed, the crafters of our national Constitution enumerated "secure(ing) the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity" as one of the reasons for establishing the national government. Military training academies, such as Valley Forge Military Academy, have taken this responsibility to protect our freedom seriously. In so undertaking this noble task and honorable responsibility, they offer our society a legitimate means of securing certain freedoms.
In addition to potential threats to our peace and security from agents foreign and domestic, the assaults on the dignity of the human person and his or her consequent freedoms can come from many directions: abortion, racism, sexism, poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, drug abuse, alcoholism, euthanasia, to name but a few. Quite simply, these are the too many ways in which the dignity and freedom of man can be undermined or destroyed.
Because of the effects of original sin, which has wounded but not destroyed our great faculties of intellect and will, we stand in need of God’s grace to heal and elevate us. The Second Vatican Council affirms: "Man finds that he is unable of himself to overcome the assaults of evil successfully, so that everyone feels as though bound by chains. But the Lord Himself came to free and strengthen man, renewing him inwardly" (ibid., 13). All the assaults against the dignity and freedom of the human person are rooted in the misuse of freedom and flow from one root: sin. Conquering sin ensures our freedom. Therefore, the greatest threat to our freedom is sin and our attachment or enslavement to sin. By His Cross, Jesus Christ has won for us salvation and has liberated us from sin. We are no longer slaves to sin. Saint John the Evangelist writes, "Where the Spirit of Lord is, there is freedom" (Jn 8:32).
Conclusion
The responsible use of our God-given intellect entails pursuing the truth. By regularly and assiduously studying and by invoking God’s help, we move closer step by step towards the attainment of the truth. Likewise, the responsible use of our God-given freedom entails doing the good. Our success in doing the good requires prayer and the daily discipline necessary for the acquisition of virtues. God never abandons us. Rather, He strengthens us by His grace, especially in our intellect and our will, thus empowering us to "stand firm."
Dear young people: If, with God’s help, you "stand firm" in truth and in your responsibility, you will find deep personal satisfaction, fulfillment and joy, and you will make a remarkable contribution to building up the Kingdom of God in this world. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Rite of Election
First Sunday of Lent
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
February 9-10, 2008
Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and Forever!
Dear brother Priests,
Dear Deacons, Religious, Catechumens, Candidates, Godparents, Sponsors, Family and Friends,
How good it is for us to be here this day. As we continue to celebrate 200 years as a Diocese, I welcome you all to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, the mother Church of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, for the Rite of Election. I especially welcome the catechumens and the candidates for full reception who have been chosen to begin their final preparation for reception of the sacraments of the Catholic Church.
God has written His call deep within your hearts and you have responded "yes" to the marvelous power of God’s love. The seeds of God’s word have taken root in your life as evidenced in your practice of prayer and service, and your desire to learn the teachings of the Catholic Church. Your pastors, catechists, godparents and sponsors have recognized in you a deepening conversion to the person of Jesus Christ and can testify to your readiness and willingness.
In the name of the Church, I will soon accept you as those elected to receive the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil. This Rite, therefore, marks a significant and sacred moment in your journey of faith. Now your faith will sustain you as you continue to walk with Christ as God’s chosen ones.
On this first Sunday of Lent, we begin a journey that leads us to the cross of Calvary and the joy of Easter. Today’s readings reflect on temptation and sin. In the first reading, Adam and Eve fall to the temptation to trust their own knowledge and judgment rather than God’s. In doing so, they set themselves up for a journey that takes them away from the Garden of Paradise and from eternal life with God. In the Gospel, Jesus journeys with the Holy Spirit into the desert, where, in His human nature, He faces the temptation to take physical and spiritual matters into His own hands. Jesus places His trust in God His Father for everything He needs and sends the devil away. Lent invites us to turn away from sin, embrace the Gospel and move closer to God, trusting in His guidance and love.
The story of Adam and Eve in the garden probes the mystery of sin and suffering. In the garden, God the Creator and Protector has planted trees for the first man and woman and established a moral order. He gives them permission to eat the fruit of nearly everything in the garden; only the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is forbidden. God explains that this order exists for Adam and Eve’s well-being, but the serpent convinces the woman to think that God’s order only keeps them from becoming more like God. The woman allows herself to be convinced and eats from the tree of knowledge as does Adam. The result is shame and broken relationships: they hide their nakedness, hide from God, and blame one another. Sin always brings alienation and suffering.
Jesus, on the other hand, resists temptation and trusts in God’s faithfulness and love. The devil tries to persuade Jesus to prove He is the Son of God by using His power to feed Himself and by testing God’s protective love. However, Jesus is secure in His loving relationship with God His Father. Jesus does not have to prove anything; He knows that God’s order, God’s will in His human life, is for His good and the good of all.
Today’s Gospel tells us that even Jesus, who was God from all eternity, when He came to earth, was tempted in His human nature by the devil but maintained His clear focus on fulfilling the work given Him by the Father. Clearly our focus too has to be on God. These stories of temptation remind us that our life is lived in the midst of human weakness, which we too can overcome as Jesus did. The more we trust God’s love and the wisdom of His ways, the more we will be able to overcome the temptation of sin and live in the light of God’s truth.
On this first Sunday of Lent we hear the words of Psalm 51, "A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me." May these words remind you, dear friends, that the Spirit of God is always with you, helping you to chose good and reject evil.
In all that lies ahead, the good experiences and the trials, remember that you are not alone. As one who is baptized, each of you is a member of the Body of Christ, united as one in faith and love, as one given the promise of victory over sin. In the sacramental and prayer life of the Catholic Church you will find the strength and courage needed to profess your faith in Christ, by your words and actions.
My dear catechumens and candidates: as you continue your important journey of faith, we look forward to the day when you will be one with us at the table of the Lord. I assure you of the prayerful support of the Church community as you journey with joy and trust to the Easter Sacraments. Be at peace and continue to hear God’s call as you prepare to enter more deeply into the Paschal Mystery of His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
First Sunday of Lent
Rite of Election
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
February 28 and March 1, 2009
Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and Forever!
Brother Priests, Deacons,
Dear Consecrated Men and Women,
Catechumens, Candidates,
Godparents, Sponsors, Families and Friends,
How good it is for us to be here this day. As we continue to celebrate the Year of Saint Paul with the whole Church, I welcome you to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, the mother Church of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, for the Rite of Election and the Call to Continuing Conversion. I welcome especially the catechumens and candidates who have been recommended to begin their final preparation for reception of the sacraments of Christian initiation. God has implanted His call deep within your heart and you have responded "yes" to the marvelous power of God’s love. The seeds of God’s word have taken root in your lives as evidenced in your practice of prayer and service, and your desire to learn the teachings of the Catholic faith. Your spouses, pastors, catechists, godparents and sponsors have recognized in you a deepening conversion to the message of Jesus Christ and can testify to your readiness for reception of these sacraments. In the name of the Church, the Body of Christ, I will soon elect and call you to receive the sacraments of Christian initiation at the Easter Vigil or during the Easter time. This Rite, therefore, marks a significant and sacred moment in your journey of faith. Now as God’s chosen ones you will be sustained by your faith, and with the support of your local community you will continue to walk with Christ.
On Ash Wednesday, we set out upon a Lenten journey of 40 days, which culminates in the sacred Triduum celebrating the institution of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the Passion, Death, and glorious Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In our first reading, God promises Noah and his family that he would establish a covenant with them, calling them to righteousness and faithfulness. This covenant of God’s own fidelity is signified by the multi-colored rainbow in the sky, which is a reminder that God is always loving, trustworthy, and merciful. In Saint Mark’s Gospel, Jesus is led by the Holy Spirit into the desert, where He is tempted by Satan to take physical and spiritual matters into His own hands. In the desert Jesus places His trust in His Father for all His needs. This desert experience of Jesus reminds us that over the next forty days of Lent, and realistically over our entire lives, we too will encounter both the trials and joys of life. Like Jesus, we must place our trust in the Father’s love and mercy.
Lent invites us to turn away from sin and to be faithful to the Gospel, to deepen our relationship with God and the Church through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. For you catechumens and candidates, it is a time of more intense spiritual preparation, a time of interior reflection intended to purify your hearts and minds, as it is for all Christians.
During the Lenten season you will participate as the Elect in the scrutinies and as Candidates in the penitential rites. These are meant to uncover, then to help heal all that is weak; to bring out, then to help strengthen all that is upright and good. Lent is your time to deepen your resolve, to hold fast to Christ and to carry out your decision and the Church’s challenge to you to love God above all.
I know, dear catechumens, that you are anticipating with great longing that night when you will be freed from the power of sin and baptized into Christ so as to be raised with Him to new life. Through the sacrament of Baptism, you will receive the dignity of adopted children of God, and made a new creation through water and the Holy Spirit. You will be called and will indeed be children of God. Through the sacrament of Confirmation, you and our candidates will be made more completely into the image of the Lord Jesus so that you may bear witness to Him before the entire world. And finally, when you all come to the table of the Eucharist, you will eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man so that you may have eternal life and be united with the Church, the Body of Christ.
Dear candidates, as you continue your journey of faith, we look forward to that day when you will be one with us at the table of the Lord. I assure you of my prayers and those of our faith community as you journey to the Easter Sacraments. Be at peace and continue to hear Christ’s call to daily conversion as you prepare to enter more deeply into His Paschal Mystery and promise to serve God faithfully in the Catholic Church. Remember that throughout all these days you will be accompanied by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the prayers of Mary the Mother of Jesus and those of the whole community of the Church. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Rite of Election
First Sunday of Lent
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
February 20 and 21, 2010
Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever.
Brother Priests and Deacons,
Dear Religious, Catechumens, Candidates, Godparents, Sponsors,
Family and Friends,
How good it is for us to be here this day. I welcome you to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, the mother church of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, for the Rite of Election. I especially welcome the catechumens and the candidates for full reception who have been chosen to begin the final preparations for reception of the sacraments of the Catholic Church. God has written his call deep within your hearts, and you have responded "yes" to the marvelous power of God's love. The seeds of God's word now take root in your life as evidenced in your practice of prayer and service and your desire to learn the teachings of the Catholic faith. Your pastors, catechists, godparents and sponsors have recognized in you a deepening conversion to the person of Jesus Christ and can testify to your readiness. In the name of the Church, I will soon accept you as those elected to receive the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil. This Rite, therefore, marks a significant and sacred moment in your journey of faith. Now, as God's chosen, your faith will sustain you as you continue to walk with Christ.
On this, the first Sunday of Lent, dear catechumens and candidates, we begin a journey that leads us toward the Cross of Calvary and the joy of Easter. In the Gospel today, the Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the desert and there he was tempted. By their very nature, temptations lure us. They present us with something that seems attractive and desirable. The temptations presented to Jesus by the devil involved three perceived goods: seeking easy solutions to human hungers, pursuing "power and glory," and defying death. Every temptation is both a challenge and an opportunity: the challenge to say no to evil and yes to good; the opportunity to make life choices that lead us to a deeper relationship with God. This choice between self-satisfaction and fidelity to God frees us, like Jesus, to be who we are meant to be, persons "led by the Spirit.".
Dear catechumens and candidates, not even the Son of God was exempt from being tested! We can expect no less in our own lives. We must remember that temptation is not an indication of sinfulness; rather, it is an occasion for showing that our lives are turned to God, who loves us as His sons and daughters. As in the case of Jesus, temptations, and our very resistance to them, strengthen us in our choices for goodness and holiness. In making these choices, we are continually choosing who we want to be: those who faithfully serve God by doing good for others. Temptation's lure to self-satisfaction is overcome by an even stronger lure: growth in holiness and transformation into ever more beloved sons and daughters of God.
Lent is a time for all of us to examine our choices. Just as God led Israel to a "land flowing with milk and honey," as we hear in our first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy, so will God lead us to salvation. Saint Paul, in his letter to the Romans, reminds us that "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Temptation is never absent from our lives. Our desert is the demands of everyday living, and our salvation is Jesus Christ. We do not have to go out into a desert to find temptation, but we do need God's presence to resist it. Each day that we take up our cross and lay down our life for the sake of others we are strengthened by grace to resist temptation and come to greater faith. Today's responsorial psalm reminds us that when this happens we need only call "on the name of the Lord," and, with unshakable confidence, know that God will always be present in our time of "trouble."
Dear catechumens and candidates, dear friends, in the Catholic tradition, this season of Lent is a time of prayer, fasting, and charity. It is a time to look deep within and discern the areas where sin still lurks and where there is need for conversion. It is a time of spiritual reflection in preparation for the celebration of the Sacraments.
Godparents, sponsors, catechists and all the faithful, during this season of Lent, I remind you of your responsibility to give good example to these elect and these candidates. Help them learn our Lenten practices; and, along with these, a deeper understanding and experience of the Paschal Mystery.
Dear catechumens and candidates, as you continue your pilgrimage of faith, we look forward to the day when you will be fully one with us. Be assured of the prayerful support of the Church community in your journey to the Easter Sacraments. May the peace of God the Father, Jesus His Son and the Holy Spirit remain with you in these Lenten days of preparation to celebrate, with Easter joy, the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass in Honor of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
Nativity of Our Lord Church, Warminster
April 25, 2007
Dear Friends,
I am greatly honored to be here with you to celebrate this Mass in anticipation of the Feast of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla. United during this Easter season, we rejoice in the Risen Christ who conquered death and has illumined for us the path to holiness, the path to happiness, the path to eternal life.
The image of the bride presented in the Book of Revelation is an image of the Church, made resplendent for Jesus, the Bridegroom. It is Jesus Himself who has made ready His bride and, as Saint John tells us, the fine linen garment worn by the bride represents the righteous deeds of the holy ones. How fittingly this scripture passage is proclaimed for Saint Gianna, whose holy life and righteous deeds have brought us together today. In her vocation as a wife, mother and physician, Saint Gianna embraced the light of the Risen Jesus. This is proven by Gianna’s love for God, her devoted respect for the dignity of marriage and her unflinching regard for the sanctity of human life.
Gianna Beretta was raised in the midst of a loving and devout family, a family who encouraged her love for God and her desire to learn. As a young woman, Gianna loved her faith and lived it vibrantly through her involvement in the Saint Vincent de Paul Society and through the Catholic Action Movement. Gianna seemed to understand profoundly that genuine love for God is reflected most clearly in loving and charitable concern for and service of the poor, the underprivileged and the suffering. Undoubtedly, this charity would guide her in her pursuit of a medical career in which she could serve the needs of many, especially children.
The loving heart of Gianna found a complementary companion in Pietro Molla, a young man of intelligence and strong devotion. Together, they grew in love and, in marriage, they walked together on the path to holiness.
In their married life, Saint Gianna and her husband Pietro lived the sacrament of marriage chastely, faithfully, passionately and selflessly, loving each other in the knowledge that God created them for each other and united them in a sacred bond of love. The love between Gianna and Pietro is reflective of the words of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in his Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est: "It is part of love’s growth toward higher levels and inward purification that it now seeks to become definitive, and it does so in a twofold sense: both in the sense of exclusivity (this particular person alone) and in the sense of being ‘for ever.’ Love embraces the whole of existence in each of its dimensions, including the dimension of time. It could hardly be otherwise, since its promise looks toward its definitive goal: love looks to the eternal" (no. 6). Truly, Gianna and Pietro understood that, as Christian husband and wife, they were helpmates for each other on the path to eternal life.
Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council, declared: "Christian married couples and parents, following their own way, should support one another in grace all through life with faithful love, and should train their children (lovingly received from God) in Christian doctrine and evangelical virtues. Because in this way they present to all an example of unfailing and generous love, they build up the brotherhood of charity, and they stand as witnesses and cooperators of the fruitfulness of mother Church, as a sign of, and a share in that love with which Christ has loved his bride and gave himself for her" (no. 41).
Gianna and Pietro further proclaimed their complete love in their total openness to the gift of life in the births of their four children, especially in the conception and birth of their youngest daughter, at the time when Saint Gianna learned of her life-threatening fibrous tumor. With the courageous and self-sacrificial love of a mother, Gianna offered her own life rather than terminate the precious life of her unborn baby.
The heroic example of Saint Gianna speaks eloquently to every person living in our tumultuous and confused age. As a daughter and sister in a family, she was a model of service and diligence in study. As a young woman, she was gracious, joyful and social, yet thoroughly devout and highly active in the Catholic Faith which she professed so clearly. As a successful doctor, she demonstrated how medical science serves the dignity of human life. As a wife and mother, she made Jesus the heart of the home, the strength of the family, the goal to be achieved. Saint Gianna balanced her busy schedule as a working mother by maintaining an ardent prayer life, especially through daily Mass and Communion and her daily Rosary. She sanctified her everyday life in the knowledge of the presence of God. Saint Gianna tells us: "When one does one’s own duty, one must not be concerned, because God’s help will not be lacking." She also observed: "The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that He, in His goodness, sends us day after day."
We are encouraged by the witness of Saint Gianna, who rallies us today to invite people of our time to embrace anew those institutions, values and virtues which are the foundations of a strong society: marriage and family, the right to life, fidelity, charity and religious practice. The recent pro-life victory in the Supreme Court on maintaining the ban on partial-birth abortion is for us a sign that our efforts for the protection of innocent human life are making progress. We still have a long way to go in convincing our culture to embrace life, but, with hope and trust in God, we will persevere. We will never lose hope. In the victories and setbacks, struggles and triumphs in our efforts, all things are possible when we place our hope and trust in Jesus.
Jesus, in the Gospel passage, praises the Father for revealing His marvels, not to the learned and the clever, but to the childlike. We pray that we will always have a love for God and a trust in Him like those of a child. In that childlike trust, nurtured by prayer and the sacraments - especially the Holy Eucharist - Saint Gianna joyfully gave of herself fully, completely and joyfully. Certainly, she is the last person to have thought that her example and influence would resound around the world. The great challenge for us today is to live our faith like Saint Gianna, seeking to influence those around in ways both subtle and strong. We can do this only by a sustained prayer life, our constant recourse to the Sacrament of Penance, our intense hunger to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, our burning desire to remain close to Jesus through Eucharistic Adoration, and by our daily devotion to Mary, Mother of the Church and Help of Christians, particularly through praying the Rosary.
At her canonization on May 16, 2004, the Servant of God Pope John Paul II stated: "Saint Gianna Beretta Molla was a simple, but more than ever, significant messenger of divine love. In a letter to her future husband a few days before their marriage, she wrote: ‘Love is the most beautiful sentiment the Lord has put into the soul of men and women’.... Following the example of Christ ... this holy mother of a family remained heroically faithful to the commitment she made on the day of her marriage. The extreme sacrifice she sealed with her life testifies that only those who have the courage to give of themselves totally to God and to others are able to fulfill themselves" (no. 7).
Society can be transformed only by those who love, and love truly was the motivation in the life of Saint Gianna. With a joyful smile, she invites us to follow her example, to give ourselves to the total service of the love of Jesus, each one of us in our own vocation. "Love is the light," wrote Pope Benedict XVI in Deus Caritas Est, "-the only light - that can always illuminate a world grown dim and give us the courage needed to keep living and working. Love is possible, and we are able to practice it because we are created in the image of God" (no. 39).
Saint Gianna, pray for us! Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass Celebrating the Feast of Saint John Neumann
Saint Peter the Apostle Church, Philadelphia
January 5, 2008
Dear Friends,
It is always a great pleasure for me to join the Redemptorist Fathers and Brothers, the parishioners of Saint Peter the Apostle Parish, and the many priests, religious and lay faithful who are so devoted to Philadelphia’s beloved fourth Bishop, as we celebrate the Feast Day of Saint John Neumann. For me, personally, it is at once an honor and a humbling experience to be the Successor of a Saint, and I always derive great joy and consolation through his intercession. Moreover, especially in this Bicentennial year of the establishment of Philadelphia as a Diocese, it is most significant that we observe and celebrate the Feast Day of our Saint, who occupies such an important place in our history and in our hearts.
The life, witness and example of Saint John Neumann appeal to people from all walks of life and every corner of the world. Whether as a son and brother in a family, a student, an immigrant, a diocesan priest, a member of the Redemptorists, and the Bishop of a large and growing diocese, Saint John Neumann always sought the will of God, always strove to walk in the light of Christ, and always eagerly desired to draw as many as possible to the embrace of our Heavenly Father.
Small of stature, ordinary in his appearance, gentle in his demeanor, and always conscious of his limitations, John Neumann understood himself to be solely an instrument in the hands of God through whom God would accomplish His holy will. Those who were affected by the faithful ministry of Saint John Neumann then, as well as all of us who continue to be affected by his life and example now, find in him a great inspiration, a model of fidelity and hope.
The history of the Church—indeed all of salvation history—is a moving and beautiful story of how God chooses and uses the humble, the lowly, those considered least likely to impact the world, in order to fulfill His Plans. Our Liturgy of the Word provides us with the example of the Prophet Jeremiah. Chosen by God before he was "formed in the womb," Jeremiah hesitated to accept the lofty vocation of the prophet. "Ah, Lord God!... I know not how to speak; I am too young" (Jer 1: 6). Only when he understood the all-consuming urgency of the call of God did the young Prophet accept his mission. John Neumann, too, was hesitant, but ever obedient. The humble priest accepted the duties and office of Bishop out of obedience, but also in the certain knowledge that God was with him.
God never calls anyone to His service without providing them with every gift needed to accomplish the mission. To Jeremiah, God said: "See, I place my words in your mouth" (Jer 1: 9)! Saint Paul, in his Letter to the Ephesians, explained: "But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ" (Eph 4: 7, 11-12). The Psalmist also understood the nearness of God who accompanies us in moments of darkness, whose rod and staff give us courage (cf. Ps 23:4).
It was with trust and hope that John Neumann could offer himself for the service of the Church. Modeling himself after Jesus, the Good Shepherd, John Neumann was ever prepared to lay down his life for those entrusted to his pastoral care. Among his writings is found a moving prayer for those who were in his charge: "O my Jesus," wrote the humble Bishop, "though I am poor in so many ways and so ignorant, I have been chosen as a shepherd of Thy sheep. Give me an ever increasing love for those souls redeemed by Thy precious Blood, that I may labor at their salvation in wisdom, patience and holiness. Grant that not one of those Thou hast confided to me may be lost through my fault. O my Jesus, help me to sanctify those committed to my care.... Lord, teach me how to live and, if need be, to die, that all may be saved, that all may love and praise Thee throughout all eternity."
In all things, John Neumann was a model of fidelity. As a Priest, as a Missionary, as a Religious, and as a Bishop, he never shrank from his duty as a shepherd of souls, for the source of his strength was the Passion of Christ, as reflected in his episcopal motto: Passio Christi Conforta Me. In the face of every trial and obstacle, John Neumann derived his peace, his strength and his perseverance from union with Jesus Crucified and Risen, present in the Holy Eucharist.
John Neumann also is a model of hope. We can only imagine the range of emotions which filled the mind and the heart of the young Bishop when he arrived in Philadelphia. The sophisticated culture of the prominent and historic city; the vast needs of Catholic immigrants who arrived daily; and the oppressively fierce anti-Catholic sentiment which marred the face of the City of Brotherly Love had to be overwhelming to one who felt unsuited for the duties and dignity of the episcopal office. But, in spite of his inner struggles, he never succumbed to discouragement. Bishop Neumann plowed ahead—founding parishes, building schools, inviting Religious Communities, and fostering Eucharistic devotion. His was a vision of what could be possible when the needs of the day were met with prayer and perseverance, along with faith, hope and charity.
In this milestone moment in the history of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, we face challenges and opportunities, not unlike those met by Saint John Neumann. Daily, we observe the diversity of cultures and all the peoples who arrive within our Archdiocese. We recommit ourselves to the irreplaceable value of Catholic Education, as we seek ways to build up, strengthen and make more available our treasured parochial schools. We are edified by the increased desire of people to participate in Eucharistic Adoration. Many wonderful services are provided daily by the parishes, schools and institutions of our Archdiocese. In all things, the light and love of Jesus radiate through the daily faithful and hope-filled people of our Archdiocese, who, like Saint John Neumann, practice Christian virtue in the ordinary moments of life.
As we reflect on our 200-year history, as we observe the present moment, and as we gaze toward a hope-filled future for our Archdiocese, we can be inspired by the timeless words of Pope Benedict XV, who in 1921 declared: "Perhaps the simplicity of this type of holiness has been exaggerated by those who thought that they could not recognize a heroic degree of virtue in the Servant of God because—in their opinion—the good and holy works performed by Neumann were the good and holy works that every pious religious, every missionary zealous for the salvation of souls, and every good bishop is supposed to do. There is no need to repeat that the most simple of works, if carried out with constant perfection in the midst of inevitable difficulties, can bring every Servant of God to the attainment of a heroic degree of virtue. Rather, precisely in the simplicity of these woks we find a great argument on the basis of which we can say to the faithful of every age: ‘You are all obliged to venerate Venerable Neumann’"(Pope Benedict XV, quoted by Alfred C. Rush, C.SS.R., "The Second Vatican Council, 1962-1965, and Bishop Neumann," in He Spared Himself In Nothing: Essays on the Life and Thought of St. John Nepomucene Neumann, C.SS.R., Joseph F. Chorpenning, O.S.F.S., ed.).
At this historic moment, I pray that we all imitate the example of Saint John Neumann. As we celebrate today and as we lay the groundwork for tomorrow, may we be men and women of fidelity and hope. May we live Christian virtue in our ordinary lives but in extraordinary ways. Let us continue to look to Saint John Neumann for he leads us to our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Feast of Saint Katharine Drexel
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Monday, March 3, 2008
Dear Sisters of Mother Katharine,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
In the person of Saint Katharine Drexel, whose feast we celebrate this day, the Church sets before us the beautiful example of a woman who was truly faithful to God’s word. This consecrated religious constantly strove to achieve the end for which God sent her. Through her long and dedicated life among us, Mother Katharine heeded the bidding of the Wisdom of God that we heard spoken of today in our first reading from The Book of Proverbs. In her own mission she too called "from the heights out over [this very] city: ‘Let whoever is simple turn in here.’"
Our celebration of this feast has an added significance this year for two reasons. First, 2008 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Katharine Drexel. And secondly, this celebration occurs in the midst of the Bicentennial of the Establishment of the Diocese of Philadelphia, where Mother Katharine was born, from which she served, and in which she died. As a canonized saint, her life is offered by the Church as an example to people everywhere of a model of true Christian holiness of life.
As we of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia continue the celebration of our Bicentennial, we could most aptly call Saint Katharine Drexel the patroness of this Jubilee, whose theme is, "Serving the People of God in the Beginning, Now and Always." For, it was in the beginning of this diocese, during its Golden Jubilee Year, that Katharine Drexel was born and, as a child, began to learn firsthand from her father and stepmother the importance of personal prayer and of service to the poor and needy. And now, in this present day, Mother Katharine’s mission to the Native American and Black American peoples continues to thrive in the many foundations throughout the United States and Haiti which were established by her or through her generosity. Finally, Mother Katharine’s devotion to the Holy Eucharist will always edify future generations, where her example will speak clearly to all peoples of the unity we can achieve through Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, what Katharine called "the total gift of self." That message of this Saint from Philadelphia, like the message of Jesus the Bread of Life, is immutable and will always withstand the changes of time.
During this Jubilee Year, we continue, through prayer and good works, to reinvigorate our awareness of the presence and the power of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist, in each one of us as an individual and among all of us as a community. In Saint Luke’s Gospel, Our Lord is approached by his Apostles with the challenge— how to feed so many hungry people who have been following Jesus and listening to His message. And Jesus’ response is simple: "Give them some food yourselves." Look at what Jesus did with the Apostles’ meager offering of five loaves and two fish: "all ate and were satisfied."
Look at what Jesus did with the life of Saint Katharine Drexel: unlike many people who hoard their wealth, Mother Katharine gave her entire vast fortune to spread the Gospel to the poor. Her selfless gift throughout the rest of her life, then, was like that of the poor widow, whose donation of a few small coins to the Temple treasury was praised by Jesus because it represented all that she owned.
Besides teaching the Gospel of Christ to the poorest of the poor, and to the most neglected among them, Mother Katharine instilled in the Native American and African American peoples the desire to go and to do the same: to help others learn the Good News of Jesus Christ and to teach this Good News to others. Hers was a life totally devoted to evangelization: she appreciated how Christ works in our day and in our very midst, and she desired to deepen this appreciation in herself and to share it with others as well.
May the message of Saint Katharine Drexel, who "served the People of God in the beginning and now," continue in the future "always," where it can become stronger and more vibrant as the needs of all peoples change and are multiplied. In the words of the Servant of God, Pope John Paul II, at Mother Katharine’s canonization homily: May the example of Saint Katharine Drexel help us to appreciate that "no greater treasure can be found in this world than in following Christ with an undivided heart and in using generously the gifts we have received for the service of others and for the building of a more just and fraternal world." And may the good things begun by God in Saint Katharine Drexel’s life, continue to influence us now and always. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Saint Patrick's Day Observance Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
March 9, 2008
Dear Friends,
It is always a great pleasure for me to join with the Bishops, priests, deacons and religious, as well as so many of the faithful in this annual celebration to honor Saint Patrick. The great Apostle of Ireland, so courageous, faithful and zealous, continues to inspire us to this very day. In celebrating the memory of Saint Patrick, we also honor Ireland, that beloved land where our holy Catholic faith has flourished and, through her sons and daughters, many throughout the world have come to embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is attested to by the presence of all of you at this Mass, as well as the gathering of the many participants in today’s parade.
While we honor the achievements of Saint Patrick, we find ourselves immersed in the sacred season of Lent. This holy time of prayer, almsgiving and fasting prepares us for the coming celebration of the Easter Triduum, the mystery of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a profound reverence for this mystery that transformed Patrick, strengthened him in his own sufferings, and emboldened him to become one of history’s most famous and beloved missionaries.
This Fifth Sunday of Lent dramatically invites us to witness the power of Jesus as He asks for a profession of faith from the two bereaved sisters, Martha and Mary. These holy women, who deeply loved Jesus, firmly believed that He could heal their sick brother, Lazarus. But, as we heard in details provided by Saint John the Evangelist, Jesus delayed going to Lazarus in order that a far greater and more profound miracle would be worked.
When Jesus comes to Bethany, Martha goes to meet Him. From the depths of a broken heart, Martha makes it clear that she firmly believed that Jesus would have restored Lazarus to health. Now, even in the midst of her grief, she believes that God the Father will grant whatever Jesus asks.
Jesus reveals Himself and His power to Martha, while requesting of her an act of faith: "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies will live, and everyone who lives and believes will never die. Do you believe this?" (Jn 11: 25-26).
Clearly, Martha was a woman of courage, strength and hope, for even as she mourned the death of her brother, she was able to express her understanding of the power of Jesus. But now, when Jesus asks for her faith, Martha declares with boldness and without hesitation in a profession of faith that has resounded in the heart of the Church for 2,000 years: "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world" (Jn 11: 27). In response to the declaration of Martha and the faith of Mary, Jesus restores Lazarus to life. This great public miracle of Jesus—witnessed by many people—is the last miracle which Jesus will perform before His Passion. The raising of Lazarus, then, serves as a foreshadowing of His own Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The raising of Lazarus also inspires in us a consideration of bringing back to life someone who is dead in sin. It is an image of conversion. According to Saint Augustine, the raising of Lazarus represents the Sacrament of Penance. As Lazarus was called forth from the tomb by Jesus, so, in the words of Saint Augustine, "when you confess, you come forth. For what does ‘come forth mean if not emerging from what is hidden, to be made manifest. But for you to confess is God’s doing; he calls you with an urgent voice, by an extraordinary grace. And just as the dead man came out still bound, so you go to confession still guilty. In order that his sins be loosed, the Lord said to his ministers: ‘Unbind him and let him go.’ What you loose on earth will be loosed also in heaven" (St Augustine, In Ioann. Evang., 49, 24, cited in The Navarre Bible: St John, p. 159).
The account of the raising of Lazarus, as well as the commentary offered by Saint Augustine, give us some insight into Saint Patrick and his own conversion, his own restoration to life. Raised in turbulent times in the remnant of Roman-occupied Britain, Patrick was a teenager when he was captured by Irish raiders, kidnapped from his home, and sold into slavery in Ireland. The loneliness, anger and bitterness which filled the heart of young Patrick were dispelled by the presence of God. The more that Patrick was alone in tending the sheep, the more he became aware of the nearness of God. Patrick was consoled by his spiritual awakening. He learned the true meaning of prayer. As Patrick himself wrote: "Then the Lord opened my mind and my senses to the nature of my unbelief so that I may—however late—remember my sins and turn with all my heart to the Lord my God. He...took pity on my youth and ignorance. He watched over me and protected me before I knew Him and before I was wise enough to distinguish good and evil. He strengthened and comforted me as a father consoles a son" (Confession, 2).
After escaping from captivity, Patrick made his way home. After several years, Patrick became conscious, through a vision, that he was to return to Ireland and bring with him the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The man once a slave truly enjoyed freedom—the freedom of the children of God—and in his charity wanted to share that freedom with the Irish people, who were so bound in pagan ways.
The stories of the heroism of Patrick are numerous. With great courage, the zealous Bishop lit the Easter fire when he celebrated on the Hill of Slane the first Easter Vigil in Ireland. The Servant of God Pope John Paul II stated that Patrick "lit, for the first time in Ireland the Paschal fire, so that the light of Christ might shine forth on all of Ireland and unite all its people in the love of the one Jesus Christ" (Address of Pope John Paul II, September 29, 1979 in Drogheda). The light ignited by Saint Patrick so many hundreds of years ago continues to burn in the hearts of all who are the spiritual children of Saint Patrick.
Shortly, we will participate in a joyful parade, a public witness of pride in the Irish heritage. But we must never forget that the true source of that pride is Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, who called Patrick, a slave, to become a missionary. As a zealous Apostle, the Bishop Patrick dedicated every fiber of his being to instilling the truth of Jesus in the hearts of all the Irish people. "Therefore," wrote Saint Patrick, "may God never allow me to lose His people whom He has won at the farthest corners of the earth. I pray that God will grant His humble son perseverance and will allow me to give faithful testimony of Him until the time of my own passing, all for the sake of my God" (Confession, 58).
On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, with Saint Patrick as our model, let us look deep within our souls. Let us listen to the voice of Jesus who calls us to turn away from sin and to live a new life in Him. May we take the opportunity to confess our sins before the celebration of Easter. Like the Easter fire that announced the Light of Jesus to the people of Ireland, may we, with our brothers and sisters in the faith, journey to conversion, to come forth out of the death of sin, and to encounter anew Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the one who came into the world to raise us to new life.
Great Saint Patrick, intercede that we always may be
devoted and loyal, true children of thee! Amen!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for the Commemoration of Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick Parish, Philadelphia
Third Sunday of Lent
March 15, 2009
Dear Friends in Christ,
Each year, I rejoice at the opportunity to be with you as we honor the memory of Saint Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland. I greet Bishop McFadden, the priests and deacons, consecrated religious, and all the faithful gathered here―all you who, by your love for our Catholic faith, demonstrate your profound attachment to Saint Patrick. It is fitting that, before we participate in the Annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, we first participate in the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament from which Saint Patrick derived his zeal and his vigor. This Eucharistic celebration has, then, a deep impact on the day’s festivities. The annual festivities therefore are not only a celebration of Irish culture, but also a celebration of the gift of our holy faith which has so imbued Irish culture. This is the treasured legacy of Saint Patrick.
I extend my gratitude to all who have organized this Liturgy and the Parade. I thank Father Mackle and the parishioners of Saint Patrick Parish for their gracious hospitality. I also thank all who have organized and supported the Annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. This event enhances our cultural diversity and is another tradition of which the City of Brotherly Love is so proud.
On this Third Sunday of Lent, the Liturgy presents to us the gospel passage about Jesus cleansing the Temple. This is a significant moment and Saint John the Evangelist, places this event very early in Our Lord’s Public Ministry. When Jesus and His disciples go up to Jerusalem for the Passover, Jesus is fulfilling the Law of Moses, which dictated that male Israelites had to appear before the Lord (Ex 34:23). In coming to the Temple, Jesus observed with indignation the commerce which was taking place in the Court of the Gentiles. There, animals for sacrifice were being sold. The noise and clamor, the filth and congestion, and―very likely―the cheating which were taking place moved Jesus to anger. He overturned tables of coins, drove away the sheep and cattle, and chased out the merchants. In this action, Jesus showed that he is the Messiah, in Him the prophecies are fulfilled.
When the leaders challenged Jesus, asking for a sign to prove His authority, Jesus responded with statement which would be used against Him at His trial: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn 2:19). While the chief priests and scribes took these words literally as a reference to the Temple built by King Herod the Great, we know that, in this response, Jesus was actually speaking about the “temple of His Body,“ and foretelling His Passion, Death and Resurrection.
When he entered the Temple, Jesus was confronted with the reality of worldliness and indifference to the sacred. He took immediate action to make right, to proclaim the truth, to establish order, to remind others of the presence of God. At the same time, Jesus knew that His words and actions ultimately would lead Him to the Cross.
Today, we recall the memory of Saint Patrick. The Apostle of Ireland had been a carefree and callous youth who, before the age of sixteen, was captured from his home in Roman Britain and sold as a slave in Ireland. Enslaved in a pagan land, young Patrick regretted his former indifference to his Christian faith. In moments of intense sorrow and loneliness, in the depths of his maturing heart, Patrick learned to pray. He found new strength from his faith and knew that he would escape from his captors. After several harrowing years, Patrick escaped and returned home. In time, however, God would show Patrick what he was to do with his life.
In a succession of visions, Patrick became aware that he was to return to the land of his captors and to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Ireland. We marvel at the courage of this man who was ready to risk everything and to sacrifice his freedom to return to the land in which he received such harsh treatment as a slave. We marvel at his enormous charity, for he returned to a people whom he might have despised, in order to bring them to faith in Christ. We marvel at his zeal, for he spent the rest of his life in the service of the Gospel as a Bishop, pouring himself out for the sake of the salvation of the Irish people.
With firm resolve, Patrick returned to Ireland, a land steeped in pagan practices and superstition. Observing the erroneous ways of the people, he determined to spend himself in the cause of their conversion. In his Confession, Saint Patrick declared: “And He inspired me … above many others to be the man … who, with reverence and without complaint, should faithfully serve the race of the Gentiles to whom the love of Christ brought me and left me for the remainder of my life, if I should be so worthy; yes, to serve them humbly and sincerely. Consequently, by the light of our rule of faith in the Holy Trinity, … I must make known the gifts of God and His everlasting solace. Boldly and without fear I must faithfully preach everywhere the name of God, so that even after my own death I might leave a spiritual legacy to my brethren and my children whom I have baptized in the Lord—so many thousands of people” (The Confession of Saint Patrick, 13 -14).
On October 1, 1979, the Servant of God Pope John Paul II addressed seminarians at Saint Patrick Seminary, Maynooth, during his Apostolic Visit to Ireland. Although addressing future priests at that time, the words of our late beloved Holy Father still resonate to all who are the spiritual sons and daughters of Saint Patrick. Pope John Paul II stated: “I wish to recall to you one simple but important lesson taken from the life of Saint Patrick, and it is this: in the history of evangelization, the destiny of an entire people―your people―was radically affected for time and eternity because of the fidelity with which Saint Patrick embraced and proclaimed the Word of God, and by reason of the fidelity with which Saint Patrick pursued his call to the end.” Pope John Paul II added: “What I really want you to realize is this: that God counts on you: that He makes His plans, in a way, depend on your free collaboration, on the oblation of your lives, and on the generosity with which you follow the inspirations of the Holy Spirit in the depths of your hearts.”
With the zeal with which Jesus restored order to the Temple, with the zeal with which Saint Patrick carried the Gospel to the pagan people of ancient Ireland, so you, dear brothers and sisters, are to go forth into the indifferent, clamorous and troubled world of today and to bear with you the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Just as the legacy of Saint Patrick and the missionary spirit of the Irish people have reached the farthest shores of the world, so you are needed for the work of the new evangelization, the mission of reigniting in the hearts of all a renewed desire for Jesus and for the truths which He taught.
The news of recent weeks and months is dominated by an uninterrupted series of discouragement, anxiety, greed and violence. Assaults on the dignity of life in the cause of science and research, heart-rending violence in schools and neighborhoods, the daily worry caused by the fragile economy weigh heavily on the hearts of men and women of good will. In the face of all these problems, in response to the resounding anxieties of our turbulent times, we must reinsert the Good News of Jesus. As Saint Patrick, with the strength of the love of Christ, evangelized the unbelievers of old, so we, urged on by the love of Christ, must influence the culture of today. We all have a share in God’s Plan for the salvation of the world.
Today, the parade in which we participate will be a joyful witness to the legacy of Saint Patrick. That legacy is the strength, power and love of Christ. This legacy of Saint Patrick is not to be celebrated only once each year. Rather, it must be carried daily to our homes and neighborhoods, to our workplaces and our schools, to every place where human hearts need to be touched by the transforming love of Jesus.
Let us never waver or shrink away from the mission to which we are called. Our call is from Jesus and His presence will sustain us. With Saint Patrick, we pray: “Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me … Christ in all who may think of me! Christ in the mouth of all who may speak to me! Christ in the eye, that may look on me! Christ in the ear, that may hear me!” (The Breastplate of Saint Patrick, in The Wisdom of Saint Patrick: Inspirations from the Patron Saint of Ireland, by Greg Tobin). Dear friends: with Christ to pilot us at every moment, let us go forth to bring His uplifting Gospel of life and love to a world in need. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for Academic Scholars of Secondary Schools
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 19, 2009
Bishop McFadden,
Brother Priests,
Deacons,
Professed Religious,
Administrators and Educators,
Distinguished Scholars,
Families and Friends,
In this Eucharist we praise and thank God for the divine favors that have been bestowed upon each of us. I speak for all in the Archdiocese in offering special congratulations to our honorees.
When Pope Benedict established this Year of Saint Paul, he encouraged Christians to consider what it means to be a disciple of Jesus on this 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Saint Paul. Paul is not merely a figure of the past whom we remember with veneration. As an apostle and herald of Jesus Christ, he is also "our" teacher.
Before his conversion, Paul had been an observant Jew. Born in Tarsus, he was well educated and zealous for God. However, his encounter with the Risen Christ on the Road to Damascus marked a decisive moment in his life. He recognized that Christ had made him His own.
In the Letter to the Galatians, Saint Paul opens his heart and reveals the most intimate drive in his life. "I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me" (Gal 2:20). All of Paul’s actions begin from this center. He experienced being loved by Jesus in a very personal way, with a love that overwhelmed him to his depths and transformed him. He was fundamentally changed.
Paul realized that a new approach to life was essential. He came to know a new faith, a new "way," as it was called. Paul no longer lived for himself; he made Christ the center of his life. All that had previously constituted for him a value, paradoxically became a loss. He wrote: "Whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Phil 3:7-8).
Tonight we recognize our student scholars. You have excelled in your study of the arts and sciences, math and languages, social studies and technology. Through hard work and sacrifice, you have cultivated an array of gifts and talents with which God has blessed you. Your achievements are worthy of admiration.
You are fortunate that your education has taken place within a Catholic school. Catholic education offers high quality academic instruction and an opportunity for each generation to unlock the truth about the world in which we live. Further, Catholic schools are places to encounter Jesus Christ, much as Paul did. They are centers of faith, where God’s truth permeates every dimension.
Faith does not diminish the pursuit of truth. It elicits a desire to grow in understanding of the world and the God who created it. God has written in each of our hearts a yearning for fullness and completeness that can only be found in Him. The innate desire of every human being to know truth, and God’s desire to make ultimate truth known, provide the context for human inquiry into the meaning of life. Faith opens minds and hearts to the inexhaustible mystery of God, who is the universal and absolute truth.
Truth is more than knowledge. Truth speaks to the whole person and invites us to respond with our entire being. Only in faith can truth become incarnate and reason become truly human, enabling us to reach out in loving service of others.
The life of Saint Paul teaches us that knowledge alone is insufficient. Though he was quite educated, it was his encounter with Jesus that gave him an entirely new perspective. When Saint Paul allowed Jesus to be the center of his life he was able to see the world, others and even himself in a whole new way. In Jesus, he encountered the power of God and the wisdom of God. He experienced "the weakness of God" as being far superior to human strength and the foolishness of God "as far wiser than human wisdom" (cf. 1 Cor 1:25).
From Paul we learn that what counts is to place Jesus Christ at the center of our lives. When we do so, we are capable of offering witness to all that is beautiful, good and true. In Jesus every value is recovered and purified. We become members of His body, and make a vital contribution to the mission of the Church and the service of society. We become God’s active presence in human affairs and discover the joy of being Christ for others.
In his letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul asks, "Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?" (1 Cor 1:20). It is my hope, and the hope of all who gather here, that you, our academic scholars, will be the true wise ones, the writers and the debaters of this age. The world needs scholars. Even more, the world needs scholars whose lives are rooted in Jesus. You are called to place your enormous gifts and talents at the service of God, to research and develop new technologies that will make the world a better place. In doing so, you will contribute to improving the lives of others and participate in the building up of the Kingdom of God.
Your journey will not always be easy. In a world in which falsehood is powerful, a servant of the truth will encounter opposition. Saint Paul testifies to the challenge associated with discipleship. The world often considers the wisdom of God to be foolish and a stumbling block.
Despite this, Saint Paul encourages you to face the future with confidence. "Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit" (Rom 5:5). Jesus promised the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who abides with you forever. The Spirit that will teach you everything and lead you in the truth. United with Christ by the Holy Spirit, and as members of His body, the Church, you never face the challenges of life alone.
Tonight we have reason to be thankful. Parents, you are the first and primary educators of your children. It is at home that the seeds of a personal relationship with Jesus are sown. I am grateful that you have entrusted the education and formation of your children to Catholic schools. Encourage your children to follow the example of Saint Paul and make Jesus the center of their lives. This past Saturday, in this very Cathedral, six young men were ordained to the priesthood for service in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide your children in responding to whichever vocation God calls them.
I also express appreciation to all who, by prayer and financial support, sustain the mission of Catholic education. Likewise, all who collaborate in the education apostolate of the Archdiocese deserve special recognition. You give generously of yourselves to advance the formation in faith of another generation.
Again, I congratulate our distinguished honorees. Through the prayers and example of Saint Paul, may you be heralds of Jesus Christ to the world. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Scout Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
February 8, 2009
Dear scouts and scouters, family members and friends of Scouting in the Catholic Church,
It is with great joy that I welcome you to our annual celebration for Scout Sunday. We gather as God’s family to be nourished by His Word and Sacrament that we might live in Jesus and be faithful witnesses to His Gospel.
For many people, when they hear the term scouting, they envision boys camping and engaging in a variety of outdoor adventures. Even the boy scout handbook states that "Scouting is three-quarters - outing." For many scouts, maybe you, there is the wish of one day participating in one of National’s High - Adventure Programs at Philmont Scout Ranch, Florida’s Sea Base or one of the Northern Tier Adventure Programs. Yet Scouting in and of itself is a high adventure program taking a young cub or boy scout, a teenage boy or girl venturer down the trail to responsible adulthood by knowing oneself, developing that self physically, mentally and morally; becoming familiar with people of varying backgrounds, getting along with others, helping other people at all times; admiring and taking responsible stewardship for our natural environment while acknowledging and maintaining our relationship with God, the source and destiny of our existence.
Our Holy Father Pope Benedict designated this year—the year of Saint Paul. As we commemorate his birth, we reflect on his life, his conversion to Christ, his subsequent missionary activities, and his preaching and teaching, that like Saint Paul, we might daily be formed in the image of Christ Jesus and be able to say with Saint Paul "yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me."
To live in Jesus and to serve as His ambassador bringing the Good News of God’s saving love to all who would listen was for Paul the height of "High Adventure". His encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus would forever change his life. His commitment was total—he gave all and surrendered all—that all might come to know Christ and be saved.
By our Baptism, Jesus has called each of us to be His chosen instruments, to herald His Name and message throughout our life. In Confirmation, Jesus sealed us with the Holy Spirit to be His true witnesses, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed. Our commitment can be no less than Saint Paul’s. Like Paul, God has chosen us to be part of His "High Adventure".
My brothers and sisters, God has gifted us with a wonderful world and has bestowed upon us countless blessings for which we must be grateful.
In spite of our blessings, our nation and the world community must address many challenges: the instability of the economy, global warming, record unemployment, famine, violence and long-standing and newly risen armed conflicts around the globe.
In addition to these and countless other challenges, we must face the reality of an ever growing wave of anti-God, anti-religion and anti-Christianity movements especially in North America and Western Europe.
In stark contrast to these movements, today’s readings are a proclamation of the healing power of Christ crucified! Job questions "Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery?" Without the healing power of Christ crucified, we must answer YES. But Saint Mark in the Gospel assures us that the healing power of Christ is present even before His Death and Resurrection, as Jesus goes about curing the sick and driving out the many demons. So, we the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, Christ crucified can respond to Job with a confident and bold no way!
Simon and those who were with him pursued Jesus and on finding Him said, "Everyone is looking for you." Unfortunately, not everyone today is looking for Jesus and yet He and He alone is the solution to our challenges. With Jesus, there is the promise of a new dawn and the assurance of a tomorrow filled with hope.
Jesus has chosen you as He did Paul to follow Him and proclaim His Gospel of salvation by what you say and by the way you live and serve others.
Do not be afraid—go forward with Christ, be a part of the greatest High-Adventure!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Scout Recognition Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
January 31, 2010
Dear Scouts and Scouters,
Dear Parents and Families,
All you, dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,
To appreciate and understand fully today’s Gospel selection, we must recall our Gospel reading of last Sunday. Jesus had just returned to Galilee, to His hometown of Nazareth. Going to the synagogue to worship on the sabbath, He was called upon to proclaim the Scriptures. He read from the text of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor . . . .”
When He had completed the reading, He told the congregation: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
This afternoon, the Gospel takes us back to the synagogue in Nazareth. At first, we are told that “all spoke highly of him” but not for long. Jesus finds it necessary to confront the people with their lack of faith; indeed He praises the faith of two non-Israelites, the widow of Zarephath and the Syrian Naaman for their response of trust in God’s words.
Suddenly praise and amazement turn to anger and rejection on the part of the crowd. Who does this Jesus think he is? How dare he challenge us! He was just a hometown boy—nothing special! Then they began to ask: “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”
But Jesus stood His ground. He knew exactly who He was and He was committed to doing the will of His heavenly Father. He came to proclaim the truth. Yes, Jesus could have chosen to be politically correct, say what many wanted to hear —be Mr. popular—but instead Jesus chose what was right rather than what was easy.
Dear young people, as in the case of the youth Jeremiah, God knew us before we were formed in our mother’s womb. Before our birth, He dedicated us. On the day of our baptism, God anointed us with the Chrism of salvation to be His messengers in the world—we can even say: His prophets. Having opened our ears to receive His Word, we must also open our mouths to proclaim our faith in Him, and in this way give praise and glory to God our Father. We must, moreover, live our lives according to our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
In this Year of the Priest, I especially ask you to pray for your priests. While all baptized Christians are called to live and proclaim Christ by the holiness of their lives, this task is entrusted to the ordained priest in a unique way. Without the ministry of the ordained priest, we the People of God, could not be nourished by the real presence of Jesus in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist or receive the Lord’s merciful forgiveness of our sins in the Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation. Don’t forget to express your gratitude to your priests for accepting God’s call to the priesthood and for their fidelity to their vocation. Pray for them often that they may remain steadfast in their commitment to represent Christ, the Head and Shepherd of the Church, by faithfully proclaiming the Gospel and celebrating the Sacraments of our salvation. Jesus, who eternally loves and cares for His Church, never stops calling boys and young men to be His priests. Pray earnestly for an increase in vocations to the priesthood, especially for more priests here in our Archdiocese of Philadelphia. In fact, Jesus may be calling some of you young men to follow Him as His priests. Open your heart to His call. If He should call you to be a priest—respond with a total and generous YES! He wants to hear you say freely: Here I am, Lord. I come to do your will!
This year’s observance of Scout Sunday is very special as we celebrate the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Boy Scout program in our nation as well as the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the plan of cooperation between the Catholic Church in the United States and the Boy Scouts of America. Sensing a need for more spiritual development in the Scouting program, Father James E. Dolan created the Ad Altare Dei program back in 1926. Originally developed for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, it so successfully blended Scouting with religious activities that it quickly became very popular. At the annual Bishops’ Committee meeting in 1939, approval was given to the Ad Altare Dei Award in principle and a subcommittee was appointed to develop a suitable emblem. On December 14, 1939, the Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America approved the wearing of the Ad Altare Dei Emblem on the Scout uniform. The first emblems were presented nationwide in 1941.
This concept of a Religious Emblem program would later lead to the creation of the Pope Pius XII Emblem for explorers in 1960.
Previously, in 1953, the Parvuli Dei Emblem was established for cub scouts, and, with the introduction of the Tiger Cub program in 1982, the National Catholic Committee on Scouting established the Light of Christ Emblem.
The development of the Religious Emblem Program over the years demonstrates the strong bond between the mission of the Church and the core values in the Scouting movement as summarized in the Scout Oath and Law.
As Catholics participating in the scouting venture, your living commitment to Jesus and to His Gospel give even deeper significance to your allegiance to the Scout Oath and Law. Filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, may you remain steadfast in your duty to God and neighbor by keeping yourself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight. Filled with the gifts of faith, hope and love, may you join Saint Paul in a life-long commitment to Jesus and to the determination of Jesus to do the will of His Father in Heaven. No matter what others may choose to do, your choice must always be what is right and true and pleasing to God. And remember always, dear young people, that a life of service exercised in the name of Jesus will always bring you true joy and happiness. Above all, it will bring honor and glory to God: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And may our Blessed Mother Mary be close to you and your families, always. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Scout Recognition Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
January 30, 2011
Praised be Jesus Christ!
What a great joy it is for me to see all of you scouts, scouters, leaders both professional and volunteer, family and friends—brothers and sisters all in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We gather each year to observe the founding of the Boy Scout Movement in America and the commitment of the Church to Scouting and the vital place of Scouting in youth ministry. As your Shepherd, I wish to express my profound gratitude to the men and women who generously give of their time to our youth not only in the programs of scouting but also share their deep love of Jesus and the teaching of our Catholic Faith in word and example, most especially in seeing that our scouts have Mass provided for them at weekend camping trips, participation in Catholic retreats, especially our yearly Archdiocesan Scout Retreat which provides opportunities for the celebration of the Sacrament of Confession, and helping our scouts obtain the various Religious Emblems which I will present later this afternoon.
Dear Parents and Guardians, you are the primary educators of our children in the ways of the faith. I thank you for taking seriously the responsibility you freely assumed at your children’s baptism “of training them in the practice of the faith” and going beyond the basic observances of the faith to this added development in their religious formation through the programs and activities of the Catholic Scouting Ministry. I especially commend your involvement with your children in the Light of Christ and the Parvuli Dei Emblems programs.
My dear young people: cub scouts, boy scouts, explorers and venturers—how precious you are to me, to the Church and indeed how precious you are to our Lord Jesus Christ. I commend your devotion to Jesus, your commitment to our Catholic Faith and your involvement in Catholic Scouting. In regard to you recipients of the Ad Altare Dei and Pope Pius XII Emblems, I pray that you have experienced God’s love in the gift of His Sacraments, most especially in the Most Holy Eucharist. His Holiness Pope Pius XII challenged the Catholic faithful to take action in living their Catholic Faith and in bringing the message of the Gospel to bear on the issues of everyday life, in the home, at work and play, in the world of business and finance and in the halls of government at every level.
The social teaching of the Church has called us to have a special place in our hearts and in our practices for the poor, but we must remember that homelessness, poor health care, illness, hunger, financial poverty—all these of themselves—do not make anyone saintly or blessed. Indeed Jesus Himself tells us “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This is an altogether different kind of poverty—whether you are materially poor or rich. The person who is poor in spirit realizes that he or she is nothing and has nothing without God. With the Lord, we find our true self and possess all; without Him we have nothing and lose even our very self.
St. Paul reminds the Corinthians and us that “God chose the weak of the world” to accomplish His mission in the world. In this sense the weak of this world are those who place their trust principally in God and not in their own talents and abilities. We are called to be part of that remnant the prophet Zephaniah speaks of: “But I will leave a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord...”
Your patch to commemorate this Scout Sunday shows St. Damien of Molokai with the inscription “Giving of Oneself”. Here is a man, a priest who is one of those humble and lowly people—weak in the world’s view but strong in God’s sight. The Scout Oath calls us “to help other people at all times” and the Scout Law calls on every scout to be helpful. To give of oneself centered in God is to give a great gift. Pope John Paul II at Damien’s beatification said “Holiness is not perfection according to human criteria, it is not reserved for a small number of exceptional persons, it is for everyone; it is the Lord who brings us to holiness, when we are willing to collaborate in the salvation of the world for the glory of God, despite our sin and our sometimes rebellious temperament.” So I call on all of you, dear friends, to accept the challenge of Pope John Paul II and to model yourself on St. Damien: “Giving of Oneself”. Indeed, you are challenged to give of yourself totally as he did. To be able to do this you must prepare yourselves for the tasks, be equipped with the necessary skills to be always ready. The motto of the United States Coastguard is “Semper Paratus”—always ready, always prepared to handle any emergency or crisis that may come. So must you!
So that you and indeed all of us may be always ready, always prepared to do the work of the Lord Jesus, I recently sent a pastoral letter entitled Called to Conversion and Holiness. In this letter, I highlight three “super-priorities” to which I ask all of you to give special attention.
1. I call for an ever more worthy and fervent celebration of the Holy Eucharist, especially on Sundays, and I ask for a deepening of our love and devotion for the Most Blessed Sacrament through Eucharistic adoration.
2. I call all of us to be a people open to conversion of heart, particularly through more frequent celebration and use of the Sacrament of Confession.
3. And since the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Confession do not exist without the ministry of the priest, I renew my call to pray for and encourage vocations to the priesthood especially in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. In this way we will be in a position to promote also all the other vocations in the Church: the vocation to marriage, the vocation to the religious consecrated life, and the vocation to the single life of dedicated service.
And so I ask all of you to take to heart this call to conversion and holiness.
My dear young people: You are called to have a deep love and devotion to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, and hence to be faithful to Sunday Mass. Make frequent use of the Sacrament of Confession. Pray for vocations to the priesthood. And boys and young men, I ask you to give serious consideration to whether God is perhaps calling you to be a priest. If He is, don’t’ be afraid; answer yes, generously “Giving of Oneself”, giving of yourself!
God has chosen us, the weak of the world, to be part of a remnant in the world: a people humble and lowly called to proclaim His Gospel of light and love.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Scouts Sunday Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, February 1, 2004
Monsignor Wendrychowicz,
Archdiocesan Scouts Chaplain,
Brother Priests,
Members of the Boy Scouts Leadership Council,
Dear Parents,
Dear Scouts,
Today I wish to welcome all of you to your spiritual home. This Cathedral Church also welcomes you in celebrating the Lord's Supper and His Sacrifice, which is the mystery of His redeeming love. This love sustains us as Christians; it brings us great joy and personal human fulfillment in a world that struggles as it grows in knowing what is good and what is bad, and who we are and where we are going.
This afternoon we have listened in our first two readings to the words of a prophet and an apostle, who have spoken the word uttered by God to His People and is spoken to us today with the same power and grace.
Jeremiah, the great prophet in the first reading encountered opposition to the message given him by God. Sometimes the human heart is afraid to hear these words even today and shuts out those who speak them. This is hard to deal with, and yet over and over again God tells us not to be afraid. "Before I formed you in the womb," God says, "I knew you" (Jer 1:5). And again God says, "....it is I this day who have made you a fortified city, a pillar of iron and a wall of brass" (Jer 1:18). God builds up those who speak for Him. He makes us strong enough to bear pressure from those who are afraid to believe and who reject Him.
Jesus, too, encountered opposition to His words and this made His life difficult, even to death. But Jesus accepted His mission in life and He spoke the truth with compassion and love. A student was once asked why he would not speak about his faith in Jesus. He responded by saying that his friends would laugh at him and he couldn't handle the rejection. He was afraid that his friends would not accept his words or what he felt about Jesus and about doing what is right. How often are we afraid to say or do something good because of what others will say or think? How often are we willing to give up an opportunity to live the life Jesus gave us in Baptism?
The Church knows that all of us try hard to search for a better world and she reminds us that we must do so by searching our hearts as well as our minds. All human beings wrestle with their strengths and their weaknesses. Sometimes we can be very good, but other times we know we can be bad. It is important, however, that we understand that if we are going to win the struggle to be better persons, we need to use all our gifts to become one with Jesus. We should not be afraid of ourselves; for we have in our heart a law written by God. To obey God's law contributes to our dignity.
As Scouts, you have taken steps to organize your lives with honesty, hard work, integrity, and loyalty to God and to country. The Scout Oath will help you set up necessary boundaries to help you forge paths toward developing your character; it will assist you in opening your eyes to a fuller, active life in the Church and as citizens of this great nation. In your work as Scouts you serve men, women and children all over the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, from Riegelsville to Oxford, from Bristol to Pottstown, learning what it means to be a good people, a good Christian, a good Catholic. You sometimes experience, in school or even at home, what it feels like to be a good person, even when your friends don't want to be good. Good people can feel as if they don't belong; as if they don't fit in, or as if they are the ones that are wrong, when all the time they know in their mind and heart that they are right because they are doing what Jesus taught and what Jesus did in His life here on earth.
The twelve points of the Scout Law are guidelines that can lead you toward wise choices. Other people will respect you when your conduct is based on the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes of Jesus. Your family and Religion teachers educate you about God and the ways you can serve Him. You do your duty to God by following those teachings everyday and by respecting every other human being.
We also have before us in the second reading today a blueprint from Saint Paul the Apostle. He tells us what a good Christian does in his life: he learns to be patient and kind; he is not envious of other people's possessions or their personality gifts but is rather thankful for who he is and what he has been given. The Christian is not selfish or self-serving, but always rejoices in the truth because it is in the truth that we always find Jesus. Saint Paul further tells us that a Christian "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things". Why? Because he loves Jesus and finds Jesus in all the difficult circumstances of his life.
And so the Scout helps other people at all times; keeps himself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight. My dear friends, there are many people who need you. Your cheerful smile and helping hand can help ease another's burden. By helping out whenever and wherever possible, you are doing your part to make this world a better place in which to live. As Catholics you join me here in the spiritual home of all Catholics in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to recommit yourselves to your high ideals as Boy Scouts of America. You are called to help one another, with enthusiasm and determination, and to do good for the love of Jesus. At the same time you must dedicate yourselves as citizens to promote the common good and to stand up for the rights of all human persons "to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." And remember always that the right to life belongs to the little child in the womb and to the elderly sick person just as much as it belongs to you and me.
Dear Scouts: keep your hearts and your minds always set on Jesus and His teaching. He will help you master yourselves through His Word and His Sacraments. It will not always be an easy task for you or for anybody else. But it will bring you joy, fulfillment, and true happiness. Try hard to live up to the teaching of Jesus which is given to you through the Church. Live up to the Scout Oath with honesty and integrity. It reflects the values of Christ's Gospel. Measure your achievements against these standards and do not be influenced negatively by peer pressure or by what other people do.
Dear young people, dear Scouts: It is important for you to know that the Church needs you, your country needs you, your family needs you. In God's plan you are important. You can make a big difference in the world if you faithfully follow Jesus - who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life - and if you continue to pray and to accept the challenge of Jesus to love and serve one another in His name. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Scouts Sunday Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
February 3, 2008
Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever!
I mentioned already at the beginning of Mass what a fine view it was from the Archbishop’s chair, but it is an even better view from here in the pulpit! I can see so many of you on this wonderful occasion of Scout Sunday gathered together in the name of Jesus to confirm our young people in their high ideals.
My dear brother Priests—Monsignor Wendrychowicz, Father Rogers, Father McFadden,
Dear Scouts, dear Scouters, dear Leaders who give so much of your time, energy and devotion
for our young people,
Dear Parents, Families and Friends,
It is a great joy to have you here as a part of this celebration. It is pleasing to see so many scouts and scouters, families and friends observing Scout Sunday here in this Cathedral Basilica at Jesus' Eucharistic Sacrifice. This celebration takes on added dimension since we celebrate, here in Philadelphia, our bicentennial as a diocese—the bicentennial of our local Church.
When Bishop Michael Egan arrived in Philadelphia in 1810 to serve as our first bishop—the coming of the Boy Scout movement to America was exactly a hundred years in the future. It was during the episcopate of Archbishop Patrick Ryan that Boy Scouting made its debut in our nation. During the tenure of Cardinal Dennis Dougherty, the first Ad Altare Dei medal was awarded in 1926. In 1934 the Bishops of the United States through the National Catholic Welfare Conference approved a " Plan of Cooperation" with the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America whereby Scouting recognized the Church's interest in the spiritual welfare of Catholic youth, and the Scouting program was recognized as an approved program for youth ministry in the Catholic Church.
I am certain that the scouts and scouters present know the story behind the bringing of the Boy Scout movement from England to the United States, but—for the few who may not—permit me to share with you the abridged version.
It happened many years ago on the foggy streets of London, in England when an American named William D. Boyce lost his way. A boy walked up and asked if he could be of assistance. Mr. Boyce explained where he wished to go. The boy led him to his destination, but when Mr. Boyce offered to give him some money, the boy said: "No, thank you, sir. I am a Scout. I won't take anything for helping."
Scouting came to America because a scout did a Good Turn. And as they say—the rest is history! My brothers and sisters, there is a clear theme running through today's readings and that is the theme of the poor and the needy. "I will leave in your midst a people humble and lowly"—the words from our first reading from the prophet Zephaniah. The Responsorial Psalm repeats: "Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!" And, in our second reading we hear Saint Paul say: "God chose the foolish...the weak...the lowly and despised of the world in order to confound the wise and the strong." "Blessed are the poor in spirit"—this is so much of what the Gospel is about.
The Prophet Zephaniah, the Psalmist and Saint Paul remind us that while we may not be the most wise, or the most wealthy or the most powerful by human standards, we must still be ever ready to help those in need. We are called to help satisfy the hungers of all people and protect and defend the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters. In Scouting terms, it means to be always prepared to do a Good Turn.
At this time, I wish to acknowledge and commend the many and various acts of service that you do, dear young people, individually and corporately in your parishes, schools, neighborhoods and in the community at large. During this bicentennial year, I invite you to a heightened level of volunteer service from this moment, especially to the Feast of St. Katharine Drexel on March 3rd. This period of time has been designated as a very special period of time for service in the whole Archdiocese. And how wonderful it is that the scouts and scouters can make their very important contribution. We must never tire of being attentive to the needs of our brothers and sisters. Once again our hearts and consciences are struck by the words of the Master: "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40).
In the Gospel, Jesus pronounced blessed the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs." Material poverty of itself is no blessing nor does it give the materially poor a free pass to heaven. We are all called to be poor in spirit, that is, to realize that we all are have-nots before God. We all have our needs, our spiritual needs before God our Father. We have no righteousness of our own. In our second reading, Saint Paul points out that Jesus is our wisdom. He is also our righteousness, our redemption, our sanctification. We are totally dependent on Jesus; without Him we can do nothing!
There are many Good Turns, dear friends, but the Best Turn is to lead another person to Jesus, who alone can satisfy the hunger and thirst of the human heart.
The Church is so grateful to the scouting movement, because it is such a fine preparation for our young people. It helps them to be prepared for the great message of Jesus, for His final instructions to us on exactly how to live in so many circumstances. Today we hear Jesus say: "Blessed are the poor in spirit," and "Blessed are the merciful," and "Blessed are the peacemakers." All these instructions of Jesus are very important, teaching us how we are to live. And the whole movement of scouting is a good preparation, with solid ideals, that help prepare our young people to see and accept and further embrace all the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ.
A young scout did a Good Turn seeking no reward, no praise for the good deed he performed. And that's what it means to be a Scout. A disciple of Jesus, young or old, does the Best Turn
seeking no reward, no praise for the good he performs. And that's much of what it means to be a Christian!
All of us today are grateful for our young people. We are grateful that God has given them this opportunity to be filled with these fine principles and to pursue, as Catholics, a greater understanding of the teachings of the Master. They are called to give their very best in every way as scouts and Christians to help others, to uplift people in their needs and to lead so many of their brothers and sisters to our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Savior and the Light of the world. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
2004 Red Mass
Saint Peter's Cathedral
Scranton, PA
May 1, 2004
Bishop Martino, Bishops of this Diocese of Scranton,
Monsignor Quinn, Rector of this Cathedral of Saint Peter
It is a great pleasure to extend, in your presence, a greeting to the members
of the Lackawanna Bar Association, the distinguished judges, lawyers and
legal professionals present at this Mass,
Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Friends who serve the public and have come together to pray,
I am pleased to acknowledge the link that exists between the great Saint Louis IX, King of France, and the tradition of the Red Mass. It was during his reign in the 13th century that the famed Sainte Chapelle in Paris was designated for the celebration of the Red Mass. And the same tradition of the Red Mass continues today, after some 750 years, to invoke the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to assist people of the law in their important service to our society.
The Church encourages this tradition by our Red mass this evening. The Church encourages all of you who participate in it; and on this occasion she wishes to express deep gratitude to you for your commitment to the law, conceived as founded on truth and linked to true freedom.
There is a remarkable text in the Second Vatican Council about the truth of our identity as human beings. This ext is found in the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. It states that “we are witnesses of the birth of a new humanism, one in which man is defined first of all by his responsibility toward his brothers and sisters and toward history” (Gaudium et Spes, 55). This truth of solidarity — the fact that we are related to one another — is seen in a very special way in your life and your important work.
Your many activities presume this solidarity — this basic law of God. You are invested with special responsibility for society. This text of Vatican II appears in the theocentric context of an ecumenical council that proclaims the primacy of God, a God who reveals Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with supreme relevance for our lives. And in the Gospel today the Son of God reveals Himself as the Good Shepherd who cares for us.
Our liturgy today also speaks to us about truth and the very fundamental structure of truth with its many exigencies. We are reminded in our First Reading about the fact that we are God’s people. He is our God. Life comes from Him and terminates in Him. He spells out its meaning, its duration. He rewards its efforts.
Because we are His People and He is our God, our essential relationship to one another depends on Him. It cannot be determined by public appearance or consensus, by utility or by what is opportune. Rather, it is determined by His law, which expresses His truth. Our own identity does not let us, therefore, re-define ourselves or re-invent our relationship to others, whether it be, for example, at the moment of their conception or at the moment of their consummate defenselessness or terminal illness. The issue of abortion, partial-birth abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, can never be divorced from the principle of human solidarity — rooted in the truth of God, incorporated into our nature and impressed on our hearts just as is the commandment of God: “Thou shall not kill.” There is ample reason, also, to believe that the magnanimity inculcated by the Gospel requires for our times a re-examination of the death penalty, concerning not only its “effectiveness” but also whether it can ever truly be considered necessary in a just society that must indeed justly defend its citizens, but must also avoid cruel retaliation and leave vengeance to God.
What splendid contribution you so often make in effectively proclaiming human dignity, human solidarity, the value of human life, and the value of the family, formed on the basis of marriage – the union of a man and a woman. How important it is for you to make your voice heard in society against human cloning and embryonic stem cell research. Yours is a magnificent service to a society in need — a society that officially professes liberty and justice for all.
Your task is daunting, but you are people, perhaps not of facile optimism, but of deep hope. And I would say more. You are people of power. Today I would emphasize not only all the power inherent in your respective offices, but also that immense power with which the Spirit of Truth endows you. All the members of the Church are called to share in the power that the Holy Spirit entrusted in a particular way to the Apostles.
God’s word proclaimed today at this liturgy is, therefore, extremely meaningful to your lives. Jesus says: “You will receive power.” It is power that is linked with a gift — the gift of the Spirit of Truth. This power is not aimed at domination or manipulation. It is power given to you for the service of truth and freedom. It is power to bear witness to Jesus.
The Spirit of Truth whom we invoke today is the same Spirit promised by Jesus. He is the one who completes the work of Jesus in us and leads us to liberating truth. The experience of this past century has so effectively confirmed the fact that any system of life, any structure of government not based on truth radically violates freedom, and that real freedom requires society to live according to truth. The Iron Curtain, the Berlin Wall, the sham and travesty of apartheid — these systemic violations of freedom have all dissolved before the shining truth of God’s plan that creates the inalienable dignity of the human person and decrees the duty of universal human solidarity.
Yes, what wonderful power you have — the power to possess truth, to live truth, to communicate truth, to serve truth, and, in serving truth, to serve the truth of life. You have the extraordinary power to serve life itself, and to help people live in happiness and in the truth of their lives, which involves their proper relationship to God and of solidarity with others.
How relevant today in the United States of America are those words of God spoke centuries ago to the people of Israel: “I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statues, careful to observe my decrees. You shall live in the land I have your fathers; you shall be my people and I shall be your God.” The sector of human behavior and human law — now as then — cannot prescind from the truth of the primacy of God.
The truth, moreover, of the right of government offers deep insight into the just formulation of laws. This is eminently so in regard to laws affecting “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Twenty-five years ago Pope John Paul II stood on the Mall in Washington, DC and, citing an impressive voice in the tradition of this Republic, spoke these words: “A distinguished American, Thomas Jefferson, once stated: ‘The care of human life and happiness and not their destruction is the just and only legitimate object of good government’ (March 31, 1809).” These words have proved to be an enduring challenge to America even to this day.
To cite the truth of the primacy of God and the right role of government is also to raise the issue of moral truth in general — truth that exists independently of time-conditioned preferences or cultural options. I share the conviction, dear friends, that you who are passionate servants of just law are in a position — a powerful position, a spiritually powerful position — to proclaim in word and action that there is indeed moral truth that was such before we came to be, and will still be when our life on earth is over. What is not in accord with this truth is and always will be evil, even if it should be legal. And we see today that God’s holy word confirms this position, or rather that the certitude of this position is derived from God’s word: God has willed and in fact proclaimed that we shall be His people and He shall be our God.
Do we not all agree that the role of human law must ensure the dignity of man — every man, woman and child — the protection of the human race and the promotion of those conditions of life that permit human beings to live as such? As human situations change, God’s relationship to humanity remains: He is our God and we are His people. As His people we are indeed defined by our responsibility to one another — our responsibility to do what is truly good for one another. And since what is evil remains evil even when declared legal, what great responsibility is incumbent on those who make the laws, interpret them and apply them!
Resisting the pressure to make laws conform only to popular demand, and insisting on both the primary of God’s law — written in such great measure in our hearts — and the exigencies of universal human solidarity are a great contribution to justice and human freedom. How blessed then, dear friends, your every effort, through legal expertise to reinforce the moral conscience of our people by presenting human law as forever subject to God.
I have spoken about power, about spiritual power, linked to the gift of the Spirit of Truth. This power to know and embrace liberating truth is yours and today we invoke the Holy Spirit of Truth to confirm you in this power. What is ultimately at stake is your providential service to the cause of justice and to the freedom of our land. The challenge is immense but surely there is every reason to be deeply encouraged by the assurance of Christ’s words: “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”
As Pope John Paul II left Washington in 1979 on his first papal visit to the United States, he spoke these words: “ ... my final prayer is this: that God will bless America, so that she may increasingly become — and truly be — the long remain — ‘one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all’.”
Friends of the law: I am sure that you all share the sentiments of this prayer. I am also sure that you know just how important a role you are meant to play in consolidating God’s blessings on America. Yours is a powerful role of service. Yours is a formidable challenge always to proclaim truth and to defend life. In the face of such a task be strengthened by the promise of the Lord Jesus. Rejoice in the Spirit of Truth, who is poured out in your hearts today. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for Catholic Secondary Educators
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
February 1, 2010
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Bishop McFadden,
Brother Priests and Deacons,
Consecrated Religious,
Administrators and Teachers in our secondary and special education schools,
Members of the Secretariat for Catholic Education,
All who collaborate in the teaching mission of the Church,
Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
It is a joy and privilege to gather with you during Catholic Schools Week. This liturgy is a welcome opportunity to express my esteem for the indispensable role of Catholic schools in the Church and society and the indispensable role you have in Catholic schools. Our celebration of the Eucharist is the supreme expression of gratitude for the many contributions and sacrifices you make to advance Catholic education.
This gathering of Catholic educators is particularly appropriate since we have just commemorated in January the 150th anniversary of the death of Saint John Neumann. John Neumann’s commitment to Catholic education is well known. He was untiring in his efforts to promote Catholic education because he wanted children to have a good formation rooted in the Catholic faith and imbued with religious principles. Through his many sacrifices, John Neumann fostered Catholic schools that continue to make an important contribution to academic, religious and cultural circles.
As you are so well aware, there are many elements that go into offering a quality education. A dedicated faculty, a broad based curriculum that is academically rigorous, an attractive learning environment, creative use of technology, and ample resources are just some. A quality Catholic education is distinguished by its most important element: an acknowledgment of the primacy of God revealed in Jesus Christ and proclaimed by His Church.
Every educational institution finds meaning and is measured by its accountability to the pursuit of truth. It is the pursuit of truth that gives rise to education. In today’s Gospel, Jesus identifies the source of all truth. Praying to his Father, Jesus says, "Your word is truth" (John 17: 17). God’s word is truth. If education involves the search for truth, then God and His word must be alive and present in the school.
When God and God’s word are divorced from education, progress toward truth is thwarted. A lack of openness to the transcendent and the repression of religion hinder the journey toward truth. If education is built only on fashionable arguments and secularistic viewpoints that have little reference to genuine truth, it is detached from its life-giving roots. Students will increasingly struggle to recognize what is true, noble and good. By incorporating faith into education, and upholding spiritual and religious values, Catholic schools deeply enrich students and facilitate their quest for truth.
This means that our Catholic faith must permeate the curriculum and activities in our schools. It must be manifested in liturgy, prayer and acts of charity. It must form the foundation of the lives of faculty and administrators. If the goal of education is the discovery of truth and God’s word is truth, then God must be the foundation and guide of all who teach in Catholic schools.
In his letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul identifies himself as a steward of God’s grace. He recognized that the grace that God showered upon him was for the benefit of others. He wanted others to understand the insight into the mystery of Christ that was revealed to him. His capacity to preach the inscrutable riches of Christ to others was contingent upon his own experience of Jesus (cf. Ephesians 3:2-12).
As Catholic educators, you too, dear friends, are stewards of God’s grace. You have been called by God to share your insight, your understanding, your experience of the mystery of Christ with students. This presupposes that you yourselves have probed the mystery of Christ and experienced His presence in your lives. Daily prayer, reading sacred scripture, frequent reception of the Eucharist, regular confession, spiritual reading, ongoing education in theology and spirituality are means to understanding the mystery of Christ and to developing a personal relationship with Him. In this way, you become more convincing witnesses of the Catholic faith and more effective teachers in Catholic schools. Good teachers matter. Good teachers who really witness to their Catholic faith matter greatly.
Teaching, as you know so well, is not an easy calling. Young people have emerged as principal consumers of a culture that emphasizes a materialism and a permissiveness which are designed to sell as efficiently as possible products and entertainment to the greatest number of people. This popular culture has deeply influenced considerations of right and wrong and has increasingly come to obscure the responsibility associated with making choices. Movies, television shows, interactive video games and websites often promote popular culture. They use images that display value-free judgments of right and wrong founded only on expediency and utilitarianism. Much of the advertizing that is aimed at young people seeks to glamorize a culture that has no reference to Christian values. These powerful and attractive messages ignore, devalue or contradict the religious aspirations, morals, or values that young people have (cf. National Directory for Catechesis, p. 16).
Saint Paul faced many challenges. He recognized that the insight into the mystery of Christ that was given to him had been hidden from others. The mystery of Christ is sometimes hidden from the students you teach. Society can so inundate young people with so many images that the image of Christ gets lost.
There is, however, great reason for hope. In today’s Gospel Jesus promises to pray for His disciples and those who will come to believe in Him through their word. Notice that Jesus does not pray that the disciples should be taken out of the world. He prays that they might find victory. He asks his Father to consecrate them, to make them holy, to set them apart for special service.
So it is also with you, dear Catholic educators. Jesus prays for you and for the students you serve. You must always remember that God has chosen you. He has consecrated you in truth, and destined you for special service. That special service includes loving and serving Him and bringing others to do the same. As He did with Saint Paul, God willingly equips you with the qualities of mind and heart and character which are necessary for your task. If you are to serve God, you must be imbued with God’s goodness and wisdom. Anyone who would serve our holy God is called to holiness. God has not left us to carry out this great task by our own strength. Through His grace He fits us for it if we only place our lives in His hands.
Teachers are called to combine a knowledge of their academic discipline with an authentic witness of faith. From the time of Plato, education has been not merely the accumulation of knowledge or skills, but human formation directed toward a virtuous life. As noted by Pope Benedict XVI, if Catholic schools are to educate students properly, if they are to form students to be full and practicing Catholics, if Catholic schools are to be centers of evangelization, if Catholic schools are to assist students in being brought to perfection, then teachers in Catholic schools must proclaim Jesus with boldness and confidence (cf. Address to Academics in the Czech Republic, September 27, 2009).
We do not want our Catholic schools merely to be competitive with other educational institutions. We want our Catholic schools to lead the way. By offering education in a faith-filled environment, Catholic schools open students to God, who is the infinite horizon of life. Students are afforded the opportunity to pursue not simply the truth of a particular field of study, but Jesus, who is Truth itself. In coming to know Jesus, they enter into a relationship with Him and are transformed by Him. As a result, they grow not only in knowledge, but in self discipline, faith and morals (cf. Theme for 2010 Catholic Schools Week: Dividends for Life: faith, knowledge, discipline, morals). They find the fulfillment and happiness for which they long.
Dear friends, I offer you my prayerful good wishes and deep gratitude for your demanding work. Thank you for the many sacrifices you make on behalf of the young people whom God places before you. Through your own witness of faith, you are able to lead your students to enter into the mystery of Christ, to encounter Him, to discover themselves and the meaning of their lives in Him (cf. National Directory for Catechesis, p. 55).
There are, of course, many elements that go into being a good teacher in any school. Mastery of the subject matter, attractive instructional methodology, quality classroom and effective time management are among those ingredients. A good teacher in a Catholic school is distinguished by yet another important characteristic—lively faith. Education is not merely the accumulation of knowledge or skills. It must include helping students to live a virtuous and ethical life (cf. Pope Benedict XVI, ibid.). Teachers whose lives are built on Jesus help their students to come to know Jesus and the love that God has for them.
Through the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Incarnate Word, and the prayers of Saint John Neumann, fourth Bishop of Philadelphia, may Catholic education flourish for years to come in this Archdiocese. And may your generous and dedicated partnership in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for which I reiterate the deepest appreciation of our local Church, bring you profound personal fulfillment, peace and joy. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for Catholic Secondary Teachers
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
February 2, 2007
Bishop McFadden,
Dear brother Priests,
Dear Deacons, Catholic Educators, Students, Friends in the Lord,
Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever!
It is with these words that I greet all of you this morning, especially you dear teachers and collaborators in the Secondary Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, as we gather on this feast of the Presentation of the Lord to celebrate the Eucharist. I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak with you about our schools and about your vocation as Catholic Educators, your important role as partners in the mission of the Church, which is to communicate fully the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I desire to encourage you in your work of forming our young people in the Catholic faith and in authentic Christian living. I wish to express to each of you my deep gratitude for the commitment and sacrifices that you make to teach in our Catholic schools.
The liturgy speaks to us today about Christ as the light of the world. At the beginning of this Mass we blessed candles that the Church will use in her celebrations throughout the year. By the use of these candles the Church reminds us that Jesus Christ enlightens us and calls us out of the darkness of sin and despair into the wonderful light of His life with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. It is through Jesus Christ that we share on earth in the life of the Most Blessed Trinity and are given the gift of eternal life in heaven. It is through the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus that all of life has meaning and purpose.
In the Gospel of today’s liturgy we encounter Simeon, a devout and pious man who spent his whole life seeking to understand the ways of God and to know the meaning of life. We also encounter Anna, a prophetess, an elderly woman who was a widow and, in a real sense, at that time in history, among the poorest of the poor. She was in the Temple day and night, awaiting the consolation of Israel and the fulfillment of the promises made through the prophets of the Old Testament.
The Gospel writer Luke tells us that Simeon and Anna were impelled by the Holy Spirit to come to the Temple that day when Mary and Joseph would bring their child to be consecrated to the Lord in accord with the Mosaic Law. On encountering Jesus they proclaim Him to be the fulfillment of all history. Simeon points to Jesus as "a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory for your people Israel." Anna tells all who have been waiting for the redemption of Israel that it will be accomplished in this Child.
Just as Simeon and Anna pointed to Jesus as the fulfillment of all the hopes of humanity and as the one who gives all life its meaning, so too every Catholic school is called to witness to this same truth.
During my visits to some of our Catholic schools, I have seen a sign that reads: "Jesus Christ is the reason for this school." It is precisely this truth that I wish to proclaim and reaffirm with you today. The mission of our Catholic schools is clearly to proclaim Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, and to help our young people to come to know Him and through Him to know their own human dignity and destiny.
It is so important for you as teachers in our Catholic schools to embrace Jesus as the center of history and of your own life. The purpose of Jesus in coming into the world was to reveal the Truth and to help us proclaim that Truth to others.
Catholic schools exist in order to assist the Church in her mission of spreading the Gospel of Jesus. In doing so they are to reflect those truths and values that Jesus calls us to live as members of His Body, helping Him to build the kingdom of God on earth.
The Second Vatican Council in its "Declaration on Christian Education" asserted that "the Church’s involvement in the field of education is demonstrated especially by the Catholic School." The Council points out that the students of these schools are to live and grow in an atmosphere of freedom and charity. They are to learn to relate all human culture to the Good News of salvation so that the light of faith will illumine their knowledge of the world, of life and of mankind.
Back in 1972, the Bishops of the United States issued a Pastoral letter entitled "To Teach as Jesus Did." In that letter the Bishops pointed out that "Catholic education is an expression of the mission entrusted by Jesus to the Church He founded. Through education, the Church seeks to prepare its members to proclaim the Good News and to translate this proclamation into action. Since the Christian vocation is a call to transform oneself and society with God’s help, the educational efforts of the Church must encompass the twin purposes of personal sanctification and social reform in light of Christian values."
The Letter went on to state that "the educational mission of the Church is an integrated ministry embracing three interlocking dimensions: the message revealed by God...which the Church proclaims; fellowship in the life of the Holy Spirit...; service to the Christian community and the entire human community...."
This threefold purpose, dear Friends, continues today to be the focus of all our schools. It is so necessary that the message of Jesus be proclaimed clearly and effectively, especially for our young people. This is indeed what is accomplished by our Catholic schools through your help, your generous commitment and your dedicated efforts.
In our schools it is important that teachers allow the truth of the Gospel to shine in their lives and on their academic labors. In the concrete this means that when we approach an academic subject we do so from the perspective of a lively faith. When we help our children learn the mysteries of science we also help them to see the Creator who is at the center of all science and of all creation. When we teach them the social sciences they must know that the human race is not merely an accident of history but the story of people with a destiny and purpose. As they see the wonders of the universe unfold, they come to understand that in that universe they can discover God Himself and come to realize that the universe is His gift to us —a gift always to be respected, appreciated and protected.
In the way that we approach each student we recognize their human dignity and worth and help all in the school community to understand that we are called to be one family in Christ. Hopefully it can be said of each of our school communities what was said of the communities of the early Church: "See how they love one another." Today many of our young people come from families that are broken or dysfunctional. For many of them the home is no longer the safe haven that God intended it to be. When they come to our schools they need to find the love that all of us so deeply seek in our own lives. Our schools are places where the students are valued not mainly for their accomplishments or their talents. They are valued because each is a unique creation of God, possessing different gifts and talents and called to be a member of the family of God.
It is necessary that we teach our youth to be people for others, according to the teaching and example of Jesus. Hence we strive to engender in them an attitude of service toward all their fellow human beings. Society often encourages young people to focus only on their own pleasure and success. They are immersed in a culture that encourages them to be consumers, to value excessively material things and to exalt the self. Our challenge is made more difficult when such a message is promoted in the media. Thus our schools are called to be countercultural. As teachers you, dear Friends, are to be role models of the Christian life. Saint Paul reminds us: "Your attitude must be that of Christ." Your own generous self-giving will encourage your students to be generous in their service to others and to be willing to follow Christ in becoming the servant of all.
Our schools need to proclaim constantly the Gospel of Jesus in a manner which helps students achieve their potential and understand their rightful place in God’s family. We are doing this at a time when many forces seem to work against us. While we are not oblivious to the many problems and challenges that confront us, we go forward together in this work of Catholic education, relying on God’s help, trusting in the power of His grace.
As partners in this mission and in solidarity with the Lord Jesus, we are committed to do all we can to maintain our Catholic schools. We strive to be courageous in the face of challenges because we know we are not alone. That is why I desired to celebrate this Eucharist with you. In the Eucharist we recognize that Jesus is always with us and that He sustains all our efforts. The Eucharist draws the light of Christ to shine through us and through our united efforts as members of His Church.
Dear Friends: At the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple Simeon and Anna received light and hope from the Son of God and Savior of the world. This same Lord is the great source of light and hope for all Catholic education, for all those who benefit from it and for all those who collaborate in imparting it. May this celebration today confirm your hearts in the joy of being Catholic educators and in the fulfillment of knowing how important your partnership is in the mission of the Church—the mission of communicating Jesus and His way of life. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday
April 15, 2007
Dear Friends in the Risen Christ,
It was seven years ago on this Second Sunday after Easter that our Holy Father Pope John Paul II canonized in Saint Peter’s Square a Polish nun who was born in 1905 and who lived a short life. Her great mission in life was to draw attention to the fact that Jesus is merciful, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He is the God of mercy.
On the occasion of the canonization of Blessed Faustina Kowalska the Holy Father also changed the name of this Sunday from the Second Sunday of Easter to its new title which is the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday. Actually, quite independently of Saint Faustina Kowalska, the liturgy of the Church itself speaks to us today in a wonderful way about God’s mercy, about Divine Mercy, and this shows us that the message that this great Saint—Saint Faustina—proclaimed is a message that is rooted in the Sacred Scriptures. It is a message that is part of the very deposit of our faith. And, so, the role of Saint Faustina was simply to draw attention, in a very spectacular way, to something that God Himself has revealed in His holy word: that He is the God of mercy, that Jesus Christ is our merciful Savior.
Today we want to take a few moments to consider the Gospel reading that we have heard, to reflect on this stupendous message that is presented to us by Saint John. Today this Gospel takes us back, first of all, to Easter Sunday itself. This is where the Gospel opens up. Saint John says: "On the evening of that first day of the week"—the first Easter Sunday—"when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’"
The first thing we have to realize is that on this Easter Sunday the encounter with the Risen Lord is the first time that all the Apostles—being together—meet Jesus after His Death and Resurrection. We have to keep in mind that only a couple of days have passed since the events in the Garden of Olives, in the house of the high priest and in the praetorium. Only a few days have passed since the Apostles abandoned Christ; only a few days have passed since Peter denied Him. And now Jesus is victorious, Jesus is alive. He has been raised from the dead by His Father as a sign of the Father’s total acceptance of His Sacrifice. And yet the Apostles, on this Easter Sunday afternoon, are still filled with fear. Then Jesus appears to them. He comes into the room, with the doors locked. The Risen Lord comes into their midst. Not only are they filled with fear, but in meeting Jesus for the first time after their very poor record, they are also filled with shame and guilt. Being in the presence of Jesus Christ, the Risen One, the Apostles are truly weighed down by their sins.
Jesus takes this opportunity not to scold them, not to say: Here I am. You abandoned me. You did not trust me. Jesus takes this opportunity to give them His first message after His Resurrection from the dead. And that first message is: "Peace be with you." In His Risen body He brings them peace, not a scolding, not a condemnation—only peace. And then He shows them His hands and His side and once again He repeats the words: "Peace be with you." This is the mercy of the Risen Jesus. Something else very important follows and it is this. This is the moment—Easter Sunday—that Jesus chooses, when the Apostles are supremely conscious of their sins, when they are supremely conscious of their weakness, when they are filled with fear and shame and guilt—this is the moment that Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord, the Son of God chooses in order to communicate to these weak men the great power of forgiving sins. He does this not because they are any better than their brothers and sisters, but simply because it is His will to give to His Church a great treasure and that treasure is the forgiveness of sins. It is the great gift of God’s mercy in all its concentration. And, so, Jesus says to the Apostles—in this particular moment, in this particular psychological condition in which they find themselves—"Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."
Jesus breaks down all barriers. This is the supreme manifestation of God’s mercy revealed in the Sacrament of Penance. And the Sacrament of Penance, the Sacrament of the forgiveness of sins, the Sacrament of Confession, the Sacrament of Reconciliation becomes the Easter gift of Jesus Christ to His Church. Jesus knows that throughout the ages you and I will need His mercy and His forgiveness and His pardon. That is why He invests His Apostles with this power, not because of them, but because He is merciful and powerful. This is the reason today that, in the liturgy of the Church, we read this beautiful Gospel, we proclaim this beautiful Gospel of mercy, and this is why the Church now explicitly says that the Second Sunday of Easter, when this Gospel is proclaimed, is to be called henceforth the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday.
What is this Divine Mercy? Divine Mercy, dear friends—and we know it really by our intuition, but let us spell it out—is simply God’s love for us in the face of our weaknesses, God’s love in the face of our sins, God’s love as it reaches down and touches our needs. That is what mercy is. Love on God’s part, plus need or weakness or sinfulness on our part, equals Divine Mercy. Today we pause and celebrate this Divine Mercy.
As the people of God, however, there are two responses that we must give to Jesus. We cannot listen to this Gospel, to this great proclamation of God’s mercy without a response on our part. The response is a response of gratitude, of deep thankfulness to God that He reaches out and in His loving kindness gives us the forgiveness of our sins in the Sacrament of Penance.
But our gratitude cannot stop there. Our gratitude has to express itself in trust. And, so, our response to all of this, when we see the great Easter gift of Jesus Christ to His Church, is: Jesus, I trust in you! Jesus, we trust in you! If Jesus has done all this, if He has died on the Cross to forgive our sins, if he has established this great gift of His mercy within the Church, in the Sacrament of Penance, then, yes, we must trust. We must trust that this mercy is for us and for all our brothers and sisters. That was the great prayer of Saint Faustina. Actually, in her diary, she speaks of her visions with Christ Himself, and He constantly encouraged her to say this prayer: "Jesus, I trust in you!" See how all this is based on God’s revelation. It is based on God’s word. It is because God is merciful, because Jesus Christ the Risen Lord gives His Easter gift—the forgiveness of sins—to the Church for all ages that we trust.
Gratitude, trust and still one more response is necessary on our part. And it is this. If we have received mercy, then we must show mercy. If we have been forgiven, we must forgive. If we have been shown compassion, we must show compassion. There is no doubt about it. The Gospel parables go on to explain to us that, yes, anyone who is forgiven must forgive. Dear friends: this too is our response on this beautiful Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, when we proclaim the mercy of God, especially as it is revealed in the great Easter gift of the Risen Lord, the Sacrament of Penance, the Sacrament of God’s mercy.
Once again, the opportunity for Confession presented itself earlier today. Sometimes we do not think of the Sacrament of Penance as being appropriate to Easter, but today in the Gospel we see that the Sacrament of Penance is Christ’s Easter gift to His Church. For this reason, on this Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, the Church generously made Confessions available here earlier in this Cathedral Basilica. All this is within the context of our celebration today—the celebration of God’s mercy.
The image of Christ that we see displayed in the sanctuary today is the image of Jesus as He appeared to Saint Faustina, as He presented Himself as the merciful Savior. From His Sacred Heart there radiate rays of light—the red rays and the white rays—representing the blood and the water that flowed out of His Sacred Heart when His side was pierced on Calvary. This image is just one more assurance of what is already proclaimed in the word of God. It is only one more confirmation that what we have proclaimed today is the truth of God: Jesus Christ is the merciful Savior of the world. This means that you and I, dear friends, must trust in His mercy. We must bear witness to others of the forgiveness and pardon that we have received, of the compassion that we have experienced. Jesus Christ has been merciful to us and we are called to show mercy in His name. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Opening Mass for Academic Year
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
August 27, 2007
Dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,
I am delighted to be with you at the inauguration of a new academic year, and, in particular, to join with you in invoking the Holy Spirit and entrusting to Him all the academic, pastoral, human and spiritual pursuits of this Seminary. I greet with renewed sentiments of gratitude the Rector, Administration, Faculty and Staff of the Seminary. I especially extend a cordial welcome to our Faculty members, Father Diamonds, Monsignor Magee, Father Spitzer, Mr. Growdon, Ms. Anderson and Mr. Schmiedicke, who will make the Profession of Faith and the Oath of Fidelity during this Eucharistic Liturgy.
With great joy, I greet all of you, dear deacons and seminarians as you return for another year of formation, and, God willing, another year closer to the Priesthood, closer to Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, and closer to His Mother, Mary. I welcome particularly our new seminarians, those of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as well as those from other dioceses. Welcome to Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. The presence of the various dioceses and religious communities greatly enriches our Seminary.
I have mentioned a number of times that a few days after the election of Pope Benedict XVI, when I had the opportunity to be with him, our Holy Father said to me: "You have a good seminary." The sentiments of our Holy Father continue to inspire us to excellence in our program of Priestly Formation. I am grateful to your Bishops and Superiors for selecting our Seminary and for the confidence which they place in our faculty and administration in working to form you as priests for the future.
Like the first disciples, you have caught a glimpse of Jesus, who asks "What are you looking for?" The young men, awed by the presence of Jesus, simply asked, "Lord, where are you staying?" Jesus replied simply, "Come, and see!" Jesus extends to you the same invitation. Come, seek His Face; listen to His voice; follow in His footsteps. Thus you begin, or continue on, the wondrous and beautiful journey of priestly formation.
It is the custom of the Church to mark the beginning of a new Academic Year by invoking the Holy Spirit. This custom is most vital especially for a Seminary in which each young man is formed to be "another Christ." In this Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit, we are keenly aware of our need for the Third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, Font of Wisdom and Light, to guide our efforts, to enlighten our minds, and to renew our hearts—to make us worthy to listen to the word of God, to live the word of God, to bear and to proclaim the word of God wherever we may be.
In his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis, the Servant of God Pope John Paul II wrote: "And so the future priest also, and in the first place, must grow in his awareness that the agent par excellence of his formation is the Holy Spirit, who by the gift of a new heart configures and conforms him to Jesus Christ the good shepherd. In this way the candidate to the priesthood will affirm in the most radical way possible his freedom to welcome the molding action of the Spirit. But to welcome this action implies also, on the part of the candidate, a welcome for the human ‘mediating’ forces which the Spirit employs. As a result, the actions of the different teachers become truly and fully effective only if the future priest offers his own convinced and heartfelt cooperation to this work of formation" (no. 69).
The Scriptures just proclaimed in this Liturgy set the tone for the attitude with which we approach the beginning of a new academic year. The Prophet Isaiah foresaw the gifts which the Spirit would offer: wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, reverence and fear of the Lord (Is 11: 2) - all gifts with which you were sealed at the moment of your Confirmation; gifts which will play a significant role in every aspect of your priestly formation.
The night before His Passion and Death, seated at table during the Last Supper, Jesus exhorted His disciples: "The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you" (Jn 14: 26). Only through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit did the Apostles clearly understand all that Jesus taught them and commanded them. With and through the Holy Spirit, the Apostles were transformed and, in turn, set out to transform the face of the earth. From this day on, dear brothers and friends, like the Apostles, open yourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He has called you and He will teach you all that you need to know, as you cooperate with His grace and participate fully in the means by which all the areas of priestly formation—human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral—are offered here at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary.
Realize, too, that you are an important part of the life and mission of this seminary. Begin this new year of grace and formation with the same spirit reflected in the words of Saint Paul: "...live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Eph 4: 1-3). As seminarians, you will have a wonderful influence on those with whom you live, learn, pray and serve; but you will also have a tremendous impact on others beyond the walls of this seminary. The evidence of your joy, the example of your chastity, the witness of your reverence at prayer - especially at daily Mass - and the calming effect of your serenity will gently draw the notice of others - especially other young people - who will be attracted to the beauty of your life. Firmly believe that you will have a positive influence on the world. Know also that Jesus will use you to inspire other young men to consider a vocation to the Priesthood.
Dear seminarians, dedicate yourselves to prayer. Invoke the Holy Spirit daily. Ask Him to form you in the likeness of Jesus. Seek daily the Face of Jesus in the Eucharist, in the Gospels, in the Liturgy of the Hours, and in time spent adoring Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
Grow in wisdom and in holiness under the patronage of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the Immaculate Spouse of the Holy Spirit. Entrust your vocation to Mary and desire nothing more than that nearness to Jesus which will make all of your efforts, your studies, and your duties a pleasing offering to God. Pope John Paul II reminded us: "Every aspect of priestly formation can be referred to Mary, the human being who has responded better than any other to God’s call. Mary became both the servant and the disciple of the Word to the point of conceiving, in her heart and in her flesh, the Word made man, so as to give him to mankind" (Pastores Dabo Vobis, 82).
Today, dear friends, you offer yourselves as willingly as those who first followed Jesus. May each day in the months ahead be for you a journey of hope, of joy and of love. Guided by the Holy Spirit, protected by the Blessed Virgin Mary, open your minds and hearts to Christ Jesus. Let His love flow from your hearts and may His Face shine forth in yours. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Opening Mass of Serra International Convention
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Friday, June 25, 2004
Your Eminence, Cardinal Arinze,
Bishop Wuerl and other brother Bishops,
Dear Priests, Deacons and Religious,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
This 2004 Convention of Serra International finds us gathered together in this Diocese of Pittsburgh, gathered together in the name of Jesus and under the sign of His Sacred Heart.
We have come here to promote the special aim of Serra International, which is Vocations to the Priesthood. Even as we do this we show our deep appreciation and support of vocations to the consecrated religious life, the call of God to Christian married love, and the vocation to the single life of dedicated service. We know that God s plan is something very holy for all who have been called by Baptism to discipleship in Christ Jesus. We know also that all vocations in the Church need the priesthood because everyone needs the Eucharist. If there is no priesthood there is no Eucharist! If there is no Eucharist, there is no Church! It is the priesthood that keeps alive also the great treasure of God s mercy that is given to us in the Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation, the Sacrament of Confession. It is through the priesthood that the word of God is brought into our lives, and the supreme proclamation of this word is the sacramental proclamation of this word in the Sacrifice of the Mass.
For these reasons it is so fitting that everyone in the Church clergy, religious, and laity should make special efforts to promote vocations to the priesthood and to support priests in their sacred ministry. In God s providence, this role that belongs to everyone has been assumed with particular zeal by Serra International. How impressive it is that in Serra International, which is made
up principally of lay persons, such a great effort is made on behalf of the priesthood. This commitment and this goal show how greatly our Catholic faith has taken root in the hearts of our people how much the People of God understand and love God s plan for His church. How impressive that Catholic lay people, with their own important vocation, dedicate themselves to promote another vocation, different from their own, but intimately related to it and to the well-being of the whole Church.
Dear friends: The priesthood of Jesus Christ is a gift of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a gift of His love for His people, for all His people. Just recently the Church has celebrated the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and today we celebrate the votive Mass of the Sacred Heart precisely because we wish to concentrate our attention on the love that has made the priesthood possible and that motivates and sustains all the activities of Serra International.
To understand devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is to understand so much of what the Church is all about. Our votive Mass today of the Sacred Heart gives us the opportunity to penetrate the mysteries of Christ and to see them in their proper focus.
During the cycle of the liturgical year we celebrate so many different events in the life of Christ. In Advent we celebrate His longed-for coming into the world. On the feast of the Annunciation we celebrate the actual Incarnation of the Word of God, when the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, the Son of the Eternal Father, took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary and became man. He who was eternally divine, like His Father, now became human, like His Mother and like us. On Christmas we adore the newborn Savior in the arms of His Mother Mary and under the watchful gaze of Saint Joseph, His foster father.
As the liturgical year goes on, we recall the hidden life of Jesus, the events of His public life, and then the dramatic unfolding of His Paschal Mystery through His Passion, Death, Burial and glorious Resurrection. Following this, we celebrate Christ s triumphant Ascension into heaven where He is seated at the right hand of the Father. Then comes the feast of Pentecost, when Jesus sends the Holy Spirit from His Father to vivify His Church for all generations. After Pentecost, we still have other great mysteries to celebrate: the feast of the Most Blessed Trinity and then the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, which we call Corpus Christi and in which we honor and adore, under signs of bread and wine, the entire Christ: body and blood, soul and divinity.
At this point we ask ourselves: Is there anything else left to celebrate in this great cycle of feasts? In this regard, a great spiritual writer of the Church, Blessed Columba Marmion, recently beatified together with Pope John XXIII and Pope Pius IX says: yes. In celebrating the Sacred Heart of Jesus we celebrate the love that motivated all the other events of His life, all His actions, everything that Jesus did for us and for our salvation. It is love that explains everything in Jesus.
For the Church, the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a symbol of His love, but it is even more than this. It is a sign of His life. Without the beating of the human heart there can be no life. And so the human living heart of Jesus signifies that He is alive. In God, love is identical with life. This is why Saint John tells us in our second reading: God is love. The Heart of Jesus who is God expresses the life of God, which is love. And this love explains everything that Jesus did for us.
Today we celebrate the Heart of Jesus with a votive Mass in order to recall that it was love in Jesus that motivated Him to give His Church the gift of the priesthood. The priesthood comes directly to us from the love of Christ s Heart.
But love, dear friends the love of Christ calls for acceptance and response. Today we evoke the love of Christ s Heart also in order to understand that we must respond in love to the gift of the priesthood. The priesthood came from the Heart of Christ. We owe it to the Heart of Christ to show gratitude for so great a gift.
And this brings us back once more to Serra International and to its principal aim and holy end: to promote vocations to the priesthood and to sustain and support those who are called to this vocation.
What is at stake is the plan of God for His Church, the response of love to the gift of Christ s Heart, the acceptance in faith and the zealous promotion of the priesthood.
The greatest expression of love that we know is to lay down our lives. In the Gospel today Jesus explains to us that He is the Good Shepherd. Five times he speaks to us about laying down His life for us. He tells us that He does it willingly, that He has the power to do it, and that this is the reason that the Father loves Him: This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
In explaining his sacrificial love Jesus also outlines the very fabric of the priesthood and He lets us have yet another insight into the role of His priests in the history of salvation.
And from these words of Jesus, we can further understand what Serra International is called to promote and support in the priesthood of the Church, which is an everlasting gift of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Amen.
Address of Cardinal Justin Rigali
to
Serra International
Atlanta, Georgia
August 12, 2007
Dear brother Bishops, Priests and Deacons,
Dear Consecrated Members of the Church,
Dear Serrans,
Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Serra International: Lay Collaboration in the Church,
Lay Collaboration with Christ
The great value of our gathering together today is the fact that we are assembled in the name of Jesus, the Son of the Eternal Father, the Son of Mary. We gather together as members of His Church called to fulfill a mission for which we are empowered by His Church.
We gather at an historic moment in the life of the Church and the life of Serra International. Serra International is conscious of the mission that the Church has recognized for it - a holy mission, an ecclessial mission, a vital mission. There is great need for priestly vocations, for holy priestly vocations, and for a ministry of lay support for our priests. In addition, in a different but related way there is a great need for vocations to the consecrated life. In supporting also this important work Serra has given a great measure of assistance. There is, moreover, a pressing need for the holiness of the laity, and Serra is called to contribute to this.
This is the context in which we gather for this International Convention. It is important for us to recognize at this time the enormous challenges that face the Church of Christ. It is important for us to recognize the enormous challenges that face Serra International.
It is also important for us to recognize the beauty of Serra International, to understand how Serra is a part of the greater lay apostolate in the universal Church. It is important to recognize how the role of the laity in Christ's Church is fulfilled in a particular way in and through Serra.
May I share with you my own original contact with Serra International? It goes back to the time of my ordination to the priesthood. My brother Paul was a married man at the time. He was a member of Serra. Eventually he became the father of twelve children before his very premature death from cancer when he was only 51 years of age. What so impressed me at the time was how my brother Paul, like so many other dedicated lay people, had this deep interest in promoting the priesthood of Jesus Christ. He, like his fellow Serrans, had his own individual and particular vocation in the Church. His was the vocation to Christian marriage. Yet he had the time and the passion to promote the vocation to the priesthood through prayer, through good works, through the activities of Serra International. How impressive this is because Serra is so linked to the faith of the Church, to an understanding of the value of the Eucharist in every vocation, and the necessity of the Eucharist in the life of all Christians. It was from this generous involvement of my brother and so many other dedicated Catholic lay people that I was able to understand for the first time the wonderful objectives of Serra: their great love for the priesthood and their desire to see the Eucharist made available through worthy ministers to the people of God. And in the course of the years, in promoting the vocation to the priesthood, as a primary objective, they also contributed greatly to assisting and supporting and promoting the vocation to the consecrated life, which is so helpful in sustaining not only the priesthood but all vocations in the Church.
And so the great inspiration for Serra is part of the vision of the Church for the laity. A particular expression of the Church's activity is given to the laity so that they might contribute to the overall Eucharistic mission of the Church and to the good of all. The work of the laity has been so beautifully explained by the Second Vatican Council but the Second Vatican Council has its roots in the perennial teaching of the Church. It has also been faithfully implemented by succeeding Popes.
At this time I would like to share with you some words of an impressive talk given a number of years ago by Pope Paul VI. The Pope was quoting the Gospel of Saint Matthew, the passage where Jesus says to Peter, "You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church." Well, as with every Scripture quotation we are free to emphasize a particular word. And that day Pope Paul VI chose to emphasize the word "my," saying "You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church." He emphasized that word "my" to show that the Church belongs to Christ. And then he went on to explain that Christ vindicates possession of His Church. He lets every generation share in the mission of His Church-and what a privilege it is! Jesus gives the Pope great authority in the Church for the purpose of serving others. And yet, it is only for a season.
The Lord does not permit anyone to possess His Church. He does not permit anyone to change the constitution of His Church. He does not permit anyone to take over His Church. It is "my" Church, Jesus says, and this is a very sobering thought for all of us. Whereas this expression emphasizes our privilege of working together with Christ, it also injects a great deal of realism into the way that we proceed. We are servants of Christ's Gospel. In God's great love, we are able to contribute something that will last. As Jesus says: "I have chosen you, so that you may go forth and bear fruit, fruit that will last." So, we truly have wonderful opportunities to spread the Gospel, to build up the Church. And yet, the last word is with Christ. Christ alone possesses the Church. At the end of each pontificate, Christ entrusts His Church to another steward, another servant Pope who is to act only in His name. The same principle applies to all of us.
This helps us to have a better understanding of the importance of our own stewardship in the Church. We are all stewards of the mysteries of God. Our talents and all our gifts are to be used in accordance with the mission of the Church as determined by Christ and as proclaimed by the living teaching of the Church.
And what a privilege it is for us to be associated with Christ and His word! I cannot emphasize this enough. We are joined with Christ in His work of salvation, in His prayer and worship, in His activity of evangelizing the world, bringing the Gospel to all peoples, into all strata of humanity, and into all cultures. And what a privilege it is for us to serve the Church in the name of Jesus, to assist those in spiritual and material need, to communicate Christ's compassion all around us!
All our works are part of the Church's life. They are not unrelated individual works; they are not the unrelated works of individuals, parishes or groups. We are all part of the one mission that belongs to the universal Church and therefore to Christ.
Here there are two important principles to be stressed as we discuss this aspect of the Church. The first is, then, that the Church belongs to Christ. Christ knows what He is doing in guiding and governing His Church. Once we acknowledge this fact, we see that there is no contradiction whatsoever with our second principle, namely, that the members of the Church contribute something real and wonderful to the work of Christ the Head. And this is what we are involved in: contributing something real and wonderful to the work of Christ the Head. Christ lives in us and works through us, and Christ is willing to use us fully. In a real way, Christ needs us. The two principles go together; they complement each other. First, the Church belongs totally to Christ as His work. And yet, secondly, Christ is willing to need us in order to bring His work to completion.
Here I would like to explain our collaboration in the Church, because it is very important, and I would like to explain it in the words of Pope Pius XII in his encyclical on the Church, Mystici Corporis. What do we mean when we say that Christ needs us? The Pope explained this in these beautiful words: "As Jesus hung on the Cross, He not only fulfilled the justice of the Eternal Father . . . but He also won for us, His brothers and sisters, an unending flow of graces. It was possible for Him personally, immediately, to impart these graces; but He wished to do so only through a visible Church that would be formed by the union of people, and thus, through the Church, every individual would perform a work of collaboration with Him in dispensing the graces of redemption. The Word of God willed to make use of our nature, when in excruciating agony, He would redeem mankind; in much the same way, throughout the centuries, He makes use of the Church that the work begun might endure."
Pope Pius XII went on to clarify this very important principle, saying: "Because Christ the Head holds such an eminent position, one must not think that he does not need the Body's help. What Paul said of the human organism is to be applied likewise to the Mystical Body: 'The head cannot say to the feet: I have no need of you.' It is manifestly clear that the faithful need the help of the Divine Redeemer for He has said: 'Without me you can do nothing.' And in the teaching of the Apostle, every advance of this Body toward its perfection derives from Christ the Head. Yet this too must be held, marvelous though it appear: Christ needs His members."
This truth-that Christ needs His members-is spectacular. Stated 64 years ago by Pope Pius XII, in the encyclical Mystic Corpis, it explains so much about the meaning of collaboration in the Church. Incidentally, this encyclical was one of the rich sources of the documentation of the Second Vatican Council. How impressive this truth: Christ needs His members! How important its consequences.
The Pope then further explained: "Jesus Christ wishes to be helped by the members of His Body. This is not because he is indigent and weak, but rather because He has so willed it for the greater glory of His unspotted Spouse. Dying on the Cross, Christ left to His Church the immense treasury of the redemption. Toward this she contributed nothing. But, when those graces come to be distributed, not only does Christ share this task of sanctification with His Church, but he wants it, in a way, to be due to her action."
This leads us to confirm the immense value of our collaboration in the Church. The Pope helps us to understand this, by saying: "Deep mystery this, and subject of inexhaustible meditation: That the salvation of many people depends on the prayers and the voluntary penances which the members of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ offer for his intention, and on the assistance of pastors of souls, and of the faithful, especially of fathers and mothers of families which they must offer to our Divine Savior as His associates" (Mystici Corporis, 16, 54-55). In all of this, the main concept is that we are valued associates in the work of Christ; we assist Him in the application of His work of redemption.
We see then what a great contribution the laity are able to make to the Church, and the members of Serra International are honored to play a particular role in this regard. The mission of the Church then must be always before our eyes. The challenge of making our contribution must motivate us constantly.
And so with these thoughts we turn to this Convention of Serra International which is now drawing to a climax and will reach its summit in the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The purpose of this Convention, like others, is to regroup our strength, to rededicate ourselves to the mission which we now see more clearly and appreciate more deeply. On the occasion of this Convention it is therefore necessary to enter into a holy exchange with fellow members. Every gathering in the Church is one of dialogue. But our dialogue is not meant to be mere talk. It is directed to salvation and therefore to God's glory. In his first great encyclical, Ecclesiam Suam, Pope Paul VI offered to the Church a new category of dialogue. He called it "the dialogue of salvation." In this type of dialogue we recognize a variety of complementary charisms being exercised. We perceive the incompleteness of our own charisms and insights. Here at Serra International we are blessed to enjoy also the richness of input from different nations.
Our Convention is hence a moment to look to each other with a new attitude, a new openness, a new docility to grace. It is a moment to ponder in admiration the Church's mission in which we share. It is the moment to see our structures in relationship to our mission and to its achievement, always knowing that our mission cannot be separated from the mission of the universal Church and that of Christ.
In our exchanges and deliberations, the limits of our own human wisdom emerge clearly. We recognize the value of our own insights into the whole apostolate of vocations, and yet we recognize that the combined wisdom of the Church has so much more to teach us. We come with an attachment to our own ideas regarding the structures that serve our organization. At the same time we realize that the combined international insights of all our members assist us in all the important areas of our reflection. And so as we face all the challenges of Serra International, the challenges of our mission and the ways we fulfill it, we realize that it is not our strength and wisdom on which we rely but the power, light and strength of the Holy Spirit working in the Church.
I like to share frequently a personal experience I had during the years that I worked in the Vatican Secretariat of State. On one occasion there was a significant challenge, a significant problem that we were facing.. I remember my superior at the time telling me that he would refer the matter to the Holy Father, who was then Pope John Paul II. The essence of his report to the Holy Father was that this serious situation had not been resolved. The problem remained despite all the efforts that had been made toward its resolution. After referring the matter in audience to Pope John Paul II, my superior shared with me the Holy Father's comments on the matter. He began by saying to me, "Do you know what he told me after I said to him 'Holy Father, we still have this problem'"? He went on to relate that the Pope said very simply: "We have not prayed enough."
Behind that response of John Paul II was a whole attitude of understanding what the Church is, how she works in total and complete dependence on Christ, and how she does not make up her own solutions but relies on the power of God. Dear friends, it is exhilarating to reflect on how much God offers us though prayer. It is exhilarating to ponder how the great challenge in the Church today of finding worthy ministers of the Gospel and worthy celebrants of the Eucharist depends on God's own plan for the implementation of His design for the Church. And so, really, all of us are constrained, certainly invited, to repeat what John Paul II said: "We have not prayed enough." The great treasure of the priesthood, the great treasure of consecrated life in the Church, the great treasure of holiness for the laity-all of these treasures are dispensed in conjunction with prayer. Jesus himself said, "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His harvest."
What I would like to mention at this time is that the need for prayer in our lives, in the life of the Church and in Serra International is complemented by another need: the need for purification. What we are able to accomplish through prayer and through the purification of our hearts is simply extraordinary. Prayer and purification are able to supply for many lacks in the Church. I can remember, during one of the Synods of Bishops, an intervention by Cardinal Vlk of Prague who spoke about the life of the Church in the Czech Republic-at that time part of Czechoslovakia- during the era of communism. The Cardinal mentioned how the Church was restricted in every way possible. She had no external means to fulfill her mission. The Church had no access to the media. She had no Catholic press. The Church had no possibility of conducting schools. The Church had no opportunity to gather the faithful for any activities outside of the church building, outside of Mass. And yet with this repression and all these limitations the Church had to go on. And the Cardinal said that in spite of the fact that we had nothing, we had everything. Because we had the word of God, we had the sacraments, we had the presence of Jesus, we had the indwelling of the Spirit of God. And so the people of God were able, notwithstanding the repression and limitations to fulfill their essential role of being the Church. God was in charge. It was Christ's Church and Christ was repeating during those years "my Church," just as He had said so many years before during His earthly life: "Upon this rock I will build my Church."
Because the Church belongs to Christ, it is Christ who tells us what contributes to furthering the mission of His Church. It is Christ who tells us what is effective, what is necessary, what produces fruit. In other words: what works. And Christ has done this in a very special way through the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. I would like at this time to draw your attention to an extremely important principle of the Second Vatican Council. It is the principle of supernatural effectiveness, in other words, what works in God's plan. The Second Vatican Council explained this principle in a very special way when it treated the question of ecumenism or the restoration of Christian unity. Certainly the Second Vatical Council was very much in favor of dialogue. It recognized its great importance. But it is the dialogue of salvation, the dialogue about God, about Jesus Christ, about the will of God for His Church. It is not a dialogue of sterile and stubborn personal positions, but of prayerful seeking God's will. But what the Second Vatican Council emphasized even more than dialogue was the need for purification, the need for holiness in the Church. Here we have some of the most splendid reflections of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council.
Vatican II wanted us to understand what it is that really contributes to the restoration of Christian unity. What is it in God's plan that contributes on our part to rebuilding, to restoring the unity of divided Christians?. On this subject the Second Vatican Council is eloquent. It points out that the soul of the whole ecumenical movement, what is rightly called spiritual ecumenism, consists in a change of heart and holiness of life along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians. Vatican II insists that this is what is so absolutely essential in working for such a high goal as the unity of Christians. In other words, prayer, purification of heart, and holiness of life are necessary if we are to obtain a goal that is so important. God does not give us this extraordinary gift of full Christian unity without our fulfilling His conditions. It is the same way, dear friends, with our work for vocations. The Second Vatican Council urges explicitly: "That all Christ's faithful remember that the more purely they strive to live according to the Gospel, the more they are fostering and even practicing Christian unity. For they can achieve depth and ease in strengthening mutual brotherhood to the degree that they enjoy profound communion with the Father, the Word, and the Spirit." This text is mind-boggling in its beauty and its depth. It helps each of us to understand our Christian vocation. What Vatican II is telling us, dear friends, is that holiness of life, the way we are living the life of the Most Blessed Trinity, makes a difference in a pragmatic way to what we are going to achieve in fulfilling the great objectives of the Church. Certainly the promotion of vocations is one of these. Certainly all our efforts on behalf of the priesthood of Christ, on behalf of God's plan to supply worthy ministers and consecrated Religious for His Church-all of this depends on our fulfilling God's plan for us to live in holiness of life.
We are further stuck by those words of Vatican II that assert that "there can be no ecumenism worthy of the name without a change of heart. For it is from newness of attitudes, from self denial and unstinted love that yearnings for unity take their rise and grow toward maturity. We should therefore, pray to the Divine Spirit for the grace to be genuinely self-denying, humble, gentle in service to others....." What the Second Vatican says about the achievement of true ecumenism we can rightly say about the success of our efforts for vocations and our service of the Church. There is no worthy vocation apostolate without a change of heart, without prayer, without holiness of life, without the purification of our hearts whereby we live the life of the Most Blessed Trinity by grace and charity.
Dear friends, our assembly today, which is an assembly of the Church, rejoices in hope. We see the challenges ahead of us, we experience various difficulties but we have our eyes fixed on Jesus, whom Saint Paul identifies as "our hope." And in this Christian hope that we are living together we find joy: the joy of being associated, all together, in Serra International, the joy of fulfilling a role of working together in an apostolate in which the Church empowers us. In our differences and in our various charisms we experience mutual esteem because we all belong to Christ's Church. In our challenges, in our hopes, in our resolutions, in the renewal of our commitment to a mighty goal, we are sustained by an unbreakable trust that comes from the realization that we share in the mission of Jesus and His Church.
A number of years ago, as I mentioned earlier, Pope Paul VI reflected on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, quoting those words of Jesus to Peter, "You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church." In commenting on these words, Pope Paul VI explained that in the Church even the Pope's very special powers are given to him by Christ only for a season. Dear friends: we must not miss a very important lesson. While we have the great privilege of participating in the mission of the Church and are given the opportunity to make a contribution and sometimes a great contribution to Christ's Church, it is only for a season. This gives us a great sense of humility, dear friends, a great sense of how our mission, whatever it may be in the Church, is limited and therefore to be accomplished urgently. Our personal role is a gift of God and it is exercised in the Church of Christ but it is only for a season.
With this realization, we know that it is up to us to collaborate with great zeal and devotion, always placing our trust in the Lord, always relying on Christ to assist us to do His will. It is He who makes the life of the Church possible. It is He who, working through His Holy Spirit, infuses dynamism into the Church; it is He who accomplishes the objectives of the Church. But we share, we are His partners, we are His collaborators, we are His co-workers in the Kingdom of God. As we reflect on this great reality, the fact that the Church belongs to Christ, and that it is He who guides her and directs her, He who gives her stability and strength, we realize that all the obstacles that present themselves to us are to be faced with great serenity and loving trust. Everything is to be done for Jesus. Everything is to be accomplished by His strength. Everything is for His glory.
From the last book of the New Testament, the Book of Revelation, we begin to understand how the victory of Christ has already been accomplished. Christ is already, through the mystery of His Passion, Death and Resurrection, victorious. It is only a question of the unfolding of this victory in time. And we, dear friends, are called by God to participate in this victory. And we do this by faith. Saint Johns tells us that this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith (1 John 5:4).
Finally, as we pursue our work in Serra International and in the Church as we meet our challenges and face our problems, we must always remember the question that Jesus addressed to the two blind men who were seeking His assistance. They came to him asking for mercy, asking to be healed. Jesus' question to them was very direct and it is the direct question that he poses to all of us this afternoon. He said to them and now He says to us: "Do you believe that I can do this" (Matthew 9:28). This then, dear friends, is our final challenge: the challenge of our faith. Our response can be nothing other than, "Yes Lord we believe that you can do this. We believe that you can work through us if we will accept to recognize that it is your grace that accomplishes everything. We believe that with your help our work in Serra International will be fruitful and our mission in the Church successful. Yes, Lord, we believe that you can accomplish in us what you desire. We believe, we accept the conditions of prayer and the purification of our hearts, and we submit to you in love".
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Bishop Shanahan High School
Baccalaureate Mass
May 30, 2007
Praised be Jesus Christ!
My Brother Priests, Deacons, Graduates and Families, Administration, Faculty and Staff of Bishop Shanahan High School, Friends in Christ,
I offer my congratulations to our graduates. Today represents quite an accomplishment. I commend you for your hard work and sacrifice. May the formation you received at Bishop Shanahan assist you in providing faith-filled leadership for our Church and nation.
I also congratulate the parents of our graduates. I am sure you wonder where the years have gone. Daughters and sons have matured into young women and men. By your prayers, example and sacrifice, you have nurtured the lives entrusted to you by God. May God continue to work through you as instruments of grace to your children.
Graduation is an occasion that is filled with memories. Graduates recall the excitement and anticipation they experienced upon entering high school. There were new classmates and new teachers. There were different courses and schedules. There were the challenges of course work, examinations and SAT’s. There were the more joyful moments of sporting events, school plays, homecoming, proms, retreats and liturgies. During your high school years you learned much about God, the world, and yourself.
Although graduation provides an opportunity for reflection on the past, it is also offers an opportunity to look toward the future. Convocations at which graduates receive degrees and diplomas are known as commencement exercises. The term "commencement" indicates the time at which something begins, a new start. While graduation marks the end of high school years, it marks the beginning of a new and different stage of life. It is a time of hope.
For many graduates, the decisions that come with commencement, can be difficult and confusing. What does this next phase of life involve? Undoubtedly, you will receive suggestions about what you should do. Family and friends, guidance counselors and teachers, offer helpful advice. The recommendations will be varied and given with the best of intentions.
The best advice that anyone can give is this: Seek God’s will in your life and live it. If you seek and do the will of God you will never go wrong.
During this month of May, the Church remembers Mary, our Blessed Mother, in a special way. Her unique place in salvation history makes her worthy of special veneration and honor. At the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel extended God’s invitation for her to be the Mother of the Redeemer. The Gospel reveals that Mary was deeply troubled, and wondered what the message meant. Despite her uncertainty about the Angel’s words, she asked that God’s will be done in her life. Mary trusted that God would never ask what was beyond her strength. She was convinced that God, who had looked with favor upon her, would never forsake her. Her brief, but trusting response, "May your will be done," forever changed the course of human history. By opening herself to God’s will in her life, she conceived Jesus and gave birth to the Savior of the world. She was confident that God would only ask what was for her good and the good of others. As a result, all generations call her blessed.
Mary’s response was not easy and during her lifetime she had many challenges. She met and overcame those difficulties with the help of God’s grace and her own desire to do God’s will. In the end, she is counted as the greatest of all saints, the Queen of Heaven.
Doing God’s will was also the goal of Jesus. After the Last Supper, prior to Jesus’ arrest and death, the Gospels recount that Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane. There He prayed in preparation for his Crucifixion and Death. The Scriptures describe Him as being crushed by grief and anguish. His prayer is so intense that His sweat turns to drops of blood. With His brief, but courageous words, "Father, your will be done," He accepts the Cross. He is certain that His Father will never abandon Him. He is confident that by obeying His Father’s will, He will be victorious over sin and death. His Death and Resurrection change the world and human life forever.
By opening herself to God’s will, Mary gave flesh to God’s Son in the Incarnation. By opening Himself to His Father’s will, Jesus, liberated humanity from sin and opened the path to eternal life. From the beginning of His earthly life, to its triumphant conclusion, Jesus desired to do the Father’s will. Each and every day, Jesus prayed in communion with His Father, so that He might learn and live His Father’s will. When He taught His disciples to pray, He instructed them to say, "Our Father," and to ask "thy will be done...."
Each day, when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we ask that God’s will be done. In so doing, we entrust our lives to a God who loves us and desires what is best for us. As with Mary and Jesus, learning and living out God’s will can be challenging. Here, the Eucharist is so important. It is only in association with Jesus that we learn the truth about life. The Eucharist unites us with Jesus and mysteriously transforms us. It must form both the foundation and goal of our lives. In so doing, we learn God’s will for us and receive the grace to respond single-heartedly.
Society often tries to relegate the Christian faith to the margins of life as if it were irrelevant to everyday affairs. Living as if God does not exist is futile. There is a need to rediscover that Jesus Christ is not an abstract idea. He is a real person who has become part of human history and is capable of renewing the life of every man and woman and child.
The Eucharist gives new impulse to our lives. It gives rise to a love of others and commits us to give witness to God’s love through our words and actions. We become the instruments by which God’s love and compassion come to others. Graduates, always view others from the perspective of Jesus. Recognize that they, just like you, are created in God’s image and likeness. Do not remain passive in the face of human suffering and inequality. Place your enormous gifts and talents at the service of promoting the cause of life, justice, reconciliation and peace. The Gospel reminds us that if we wish to be great, we must be servants. If we want to be first, we must be the slave of all. In so doing, we will make God known and loved.
Some of you will respond to God’s will by serving as lay members of Christ’s faithful people. Others will be called to witness as Priests, Religious Sisters and Brothers. Just over a week ago, seven young men were ordained to the priesthood for service in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I am convinced that God is calling some of you to the priesthood and religious life. There are currently graduates of Bishop Shanahan at Saint Charles Seminary, preparing for the priesthood. What a joy and privilege to place your talents at the service of God as a priest, brother or sister. Parents, encourage your children to be open to doing God’s will. Trust in Jesus, and help your sons and daughters accept their vocation in life with wisdom and freedom, whether it be the vocation to Christian married love, to the Priesthood, to religious life or to a single life of dedicated service.
There is so much for which to be thankful this evening. I express my deep gratitude, first of all, to the parents who have entrusted the education and formation of their children to our Catholic schools. In so doing, you have given us the privilege of sharing a role in which you have the primary and irreplaceable responsibility.
I am grateful to the administration and faculty of Bishop Shanahan High School. We depend upon you to set high academic standards and instill a spirit of faith and those values rooted in Christ. You give generously of yourselves to advance the teaching mission of the church.
I am grateful for the support of the entire Catholic community. By their prayers and financial support, many receive a Catholic education who might otherwise be deprived of it.
I appreciate the hospitality that Monsignor Meehan and the parishioners of Saints Simon and Jude Parish have extended this evening. This church building is a beautiful setting in which to worship God.
Again, I congratulate our graduates. Your achievements are worthy of recognition. The future of the world and the Church belongs to you. We are proud of you. Christ expects great things from you. Put your talents at the service of the proclamation of the Good News. Be friends of Jesus and offer witness so that others might know Him and love Him.
We entrust to our Blessed Mother all our graduates, and in particular Austin DiIanni, whom we remember in a special prayer. May Mary, the Mother of the Church and our Mother, intercede for you, dear young people, on your important journey through life. And after offering God glory here on earth, may you come to the eternal glory that God has prepared for you in heaven. Amen.
The following article by Cardinal Justin Rigali appeared as his weekly column in the September 28, 2005 edition of The Catholic Standard and Times
By Cardinal Justin Rigali
Over the past week, we Catholics have come face to face with evil. We saw that, in our own Church, troubled priests, to whom we looked as ministers of sacramental grace, as collaborators in ministry and indeed as friends, had committed despicable acts of evil upon our most innocent and precious members, our children.
This knowledge, and the depravity of the acts detailed in the Philadelphia Grand Jury Report, affects me deeply. I grieve for the pain and humiliation victims of clergy sexual abuse have suffered.
To them I say, once again, with a heavy heart: I apologize to you personally. Your suffering is borne by all Catholics. All believers stand with you for support and are united with you in prayer. These words are meant to be first steps of healing, which I pray you will receive through the grace of God.
The Archdiocese stands ready to assist you in humble service. I am willing to meet with you as I have met with others. Our Victims Assistance Coordinators offer both spiritual and mental health services. Any victim or those who wish to report an allegation of abuse - which will be communicated immediately to civil authorities - may contact an assistance coordinator at 215-587-3880 or [email protected].
Many years ago I dedicated my life as a priest of Jesus, the High Priest, to serve Him and His Church, the people of God. Today I acknowledge the betrayal of abusive priests, as do so many dedicated priests here in the Archdiocese. These good and faithful servants of our Lord feel especially hurt. I know they have endured uncharitable comments or perhaps silent stares of condemnation from some members of the community. I extend my fraternal admiration for all the selfless service they render. They strive for personal holiness as they lead the people entrusted to their care to a deeper relationship of love with our Lord Jesus. To them I say with a full heart: thank you for all you do and are.
I express these words with deepest gratitude. But my words are not enough. I invite all the faithful to consider times in your life when a priest celebrated a significant moment in your life with you, or consoled your family at a time of grief, or in some small way accompanied you on your journey toward holiness of life in Jesus.
As you have considered the evil perpetrated by a minority of priests over several decades, I ask you to take the time to thank personally one of the overwhelming majority of priests who have performed generous service to you and the Church over a much longer span of time. If a priest has ever led you closer to the Father’s love, now may be the time to thank him personally with words of your own.
In my visits with parishioners during this past week, I have witnessed a realization among many that their faith in Jesus Christ, and His Body the Church, is strong. I thank each of you for your steadfast faith, despite the trials of this time.
Those whose faith has been badly shaken are seeking assurance that the grave evil of sexual abuse of minors will not afflict their families or the Church, our family of faith. To them I say with confidence: the Archdiocese renews its commitment to protect all children and young people and keep them as safe as is humanly possible. We pledge to do this by reporting all future allegations of abuse to civil authorities, to continue offering assistance to any victims, to continue to train all those who work with young people in any way to be models of appropriate behavior and to help children to be aware of proper personal boundaries.
Many faithful Catholics in this Archdiocese sincerely desire healing and renewal in the Church and in society. This is their hope, and mine.
The psalmist sings, “Our hope is in the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Our hope for healing the wounds in our Church and especially the young people defiled by this grave sin lies in the power of almighty God. We know Jesus Christ our Redeemer lives; He has the power to heal, and through the Holy Spirit will renew the face of the earth. This is my prayer.
I hope you, dear reader, will join me in praying for healing and renewal for the victims of sexual abuse; for the Church that so much needs the ever-present grace of her Lord Jesus; for our good and faithful priests who minister so selflessly; and for me the Pastor of this Archdiocese.
(Read more about the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's response to the Grand Jury Report)
21 de septiembre, 2005
Querido Pueblo de la Arquidiócesis de Filadelfia:
Desde abril del 2002, la Arquidiócesis de Filadelfia ha estado sujeta a una investigación de un gran jurado bajo la dirección del Fiscal General de la ciudad de Filadelfia. Esta investigación debía incluir «otras órdenes religiosas, organizaciones y denominaciones». Esta semana se anunció que la labor del gran jurado había concluido con la publicación de un informe muy extenso. La publicación de este informe está recibiendo mucha atención de parte de la prensa y de los medios de comunicación. Como Arzobispo de Filadelfia, quiero comunicarme con ustedes en relación a este informe en estos momentos tan críticos.
Es muy doloroso leer este informe. El dolor y sufrimiento de aquellos que han experimentado algún tipo de abuso de parte del clero es muy grande, y tenemos que continuar rezando por la sanación de las víctimas. Además, tenemos que rezar por aquellos miembros del clero que han perpetrado estos abusos. De una manera injustificada, este informe critica al Cardenal Anthony Bevilacqua, al Cardenal John Krol, y a otros que trabajaron en la administración de la Arquidiócesis de Filadelfia. Tenemos que trabajar juntos a través de la oración y la solidaridad mutua en estos momentos tan difíciles con la ayuda de nuestro Señor Jesucristo.
Una vez más, reconozco el gran sufrimiento que han vivido las víctimas del abuso y les ofrezco mis más sinceras disculpas. De ninguna manera, palabras solamente van a poder reponer y cerrar las heridas causadas, es por eso que continuamos ofreciendo la ayuda necesaria a todos los que hayan sufrido abuso de parte de un miembro del clero o empleado de la Iglesia.
Sin duda alguna, el informe especifica en detalle un número de eventos extremadamente dolorosos de casos conocidos de abuso sexual de menores por miembros del clero. La Arquidiócesis estuvo permitida de ofrecer una respuesta al informe del gran jurado. El texto completo de esta respuesta se encuentra en la página Internet de la Arquidiócesis www.archphila.org. Después de haber mencionado esto, es importante sobresalir los siguientes puntos:
· En cada incidente de abuso que se reportó a las autoridades de la Arquidiócesis, se procedió a tomar alguna forma de acción basados en la mejor información médica a nuestra disposición al momento del suceso.
· Nuestra política para reportar estos casos ha cambiado considerablemente desde el 2002. Hoy en día, reportamos todo incidente de abuso creíble a las autoridades respectivas.
· El número de de sacerdotes acusados de abusos creíbles es inferior al número que el informe especifica ya que el informe incluye sacerdotes que están bajo la supervisión de órdenes religiosas o de otras Diócesis o Arquidiócesis, y no la Arquidiócesis de Filadelfia. El número del informe también incluye a sacerdotes ya difuntos al momento de las acusaciones.
· En el 2002, el Cardenal Anthony Bevilacqua expuso que la Arquidiócesis sabía de aproximadamente 35 sacerdotes que habían sido acusados creíblemente de abuso sexual de menores de edad en los últimos 50 años. Desde el 2002, otras víctimas se han presentado, y como resultado, acusaciones que la Arquidiócesis no conocía en el 2002 fueron reportadas a las autoridades civiles e investigadas bajo la vigilancia del Consejo Supervisor de la Arquidiócesis. Hoy les puedo decir que 54 sacerdotes de la Arquidiócesis de Filadelfia han sido acusados creíblemente en los últimos 50 años.
· La Arquidiócesis de Filadelfia cooperó totalmente con el gran jurado y produjo más de 45,000 documentos; además ofreció los documentos originales en 30 ocasiones con documentos adicionales.
· La Arquidiócesis ha patrocinado talleres para promover un ambiente seguro para los menores de edad para más de 40,000 adultos. Este entrenamiento es para aquellos que están involucrados en el ministerio de la Arquidiócesis al servicio de los jóvenes y es un entrenamiento que se continúa llevando a cabo.
· La Arquidiócesis también está patrocinando talleres para promover un ambiente seguro entre los jóvenes. De acuerdo a sus edades, más de 110,000 jóvenes han recibido lecciones apropiadas sobre relaciones saludables y los límites en estas relaciones.
La Arquidiócesis permanece firmemente comprometida a crear un ambiente seguro para los jóvenes a nuestro cuidado. La misión tan importante de tratar de curar las heridas de las víctimas del abuso sexual por miembros del clero continúa. Yo pido y animo a aquellos que necesitan esta ayuda a llamar a los Coordinadores de Ayuda a Víctimas de la Arquidiócesis al 215-587-3880.
Todos los católicos comparten en el dolor y sufrimiento que los escándalos relacionados al abuso sexual por el clero ha impuesto en nuestra Iglesia. En estos momentos, estoy muy agradecido más que nunca a todos nuestros sacerdotes que han servido lealmente a la Iglesia. Estos hombres tan dedicados pueden sentirse afectados por la constante atención que se le da a los trágicos errores de una minoría de sus hermanos en el Sacerdocio. Los errores de esta minoría no deben de ensombrecer el compromiso de la mayoría al servicio del sacerdocio. Durante estos momentos tan difíciles, le pido al pueblo de la Iglesia que rece por sus sacerdotes y por todos aquellos que sirven en el ministerio de la Iglesia. Recen para que permanezcan comprometidos a su continuo crecimiento en santidad de manera que puedan servir al pueblo de Dios con un fervor y dedicación renovados en una vida íntegra. Recen también para que más hombres jóvenes respondan la llamada de Dios y sigan una vocación en el sacerdocio.
Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, la Palabra que se hizo carne y habita entre nosotros, nos llama a confiar siempre en forma total en Su amor permanente. Su luz brilla en la oscuridad. Ninguna oscuridad puede vencer el poder de la luz de Jesucristo. Que el Señor Jesucristo los bendiga a ustedes y a sus seres queridos, y que María, nuestra madre interceda siempre por ustedes.
Sinceramente en Cristo,
Cardenal Justino Rigali
Arzobispo de Filadelfia
Address of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Reception of Mother M. Anselma Award
May 16, 2010
Your Excellency, Archbishop Carlson,
Mother M. Regina Pacis,
Sister M. Stephanie,
Brother Priests,
Dear Friends in Christ,
It is a great joy for me to be back in St. Louis and to be here to celebrate the Spirit of Mother M. Anselma, Foundress of the Sisters of Saint Francis of the Martyr Saint George. It is a privilege to receive the Mother M. Anselma Award in the name of all priests who personify the spirit of true, faith-filled obedience to the Church exemplified by her, especially the priests of St. Louis, whom I once had the honor and joy to call “my priests.”
The Spirit of Mother M. Anselma, of which we are speaking, has a significant Franciscan content. It represents a significant contribution of Saint Francis of Assisi, which can be identified as the ingenuity of love and the creativity of charity in the face of need. This is what Saint Francis’ life was all about. His charism has been manifested since 1932 in Mother of Good Counsel Home, which is so much in our mind and heart tonight. And here this charism has benefitted so greatly over the years so many people, including a number of priests and their parents.
I have noticed in the biography of Saint Francis how beneficial was his contact with the lepers of his time. He was consoled by their presence. I do not know if any of the Sisters of Saint Francis of the Martyr Saint George in their great service to the Church throughout the world have ever had contact with and ministered to lepers, but I do know that the essential element of Saint Francis’ compassion for the lepers has, through them, embraced so many other categories of people in need.
Permit me to digress and share with you an experience of my own. It was some forty-two or forty-three years ago when I was stationed on the island of Madagascar in the service of the Holy See. I had the great privilege of visiting two leper colonies. On my visit to the first one, I was told to be very careful not to touch anything, and to wash my hands before and after the visit. It was truly a very moving experience and it was a privilege to circulate among the people affected by this serious disease and to show them deep interest and compassion. They reacted well and seemed very grateful for the visit that I made to them that day.
On a second occasion, I was invited by a Bishop in another location to accompany him to the leper colony in his Diocese. I thought the procedure would be more or less the same, but actually it was different. When we arrived a whole group of people affected with this disease came running up to the Bishop. With great familiarity and affection they embraced him and he embraced them. I could see that he had done this many times before and he knew exactly what to do. After the group greeted the Bishop so effusively, they turned to me. I was not quite psychologically prepared to know what to do. But I saw that they offered me their hands and came up to embrace me with their deformed limbs. I had never been in this situation. The other time I had been with the lepers they did not approach me in that way. I had just a split second to decide how to react. Luckily, I said to myself, if the Bishop can do it, I can do it too! So I extended my hands and it made such a big difference to be able to embrace these lepers. And, of course, there were no deleterious effects whatsoever. It was an extraordinary experience, though, to see how these people lived in patience and suffering and how they were ministered to by the Church. Now, many years later, I am sure that tremendous medical progress has been made, but certainly there are still so many people everywhere in need of healthcare.
The charism of our Sisters, the Sisters of Saint Francis of the Martyr Saint George, reflects the real charism of Saint Francis in so many different individual situations. And they serve with the same great compassion and personal involvement that the Bishop showed in his relationship with the lepers of Madagascar.
We know that our actions express who we are. The philosophical axiom says: “Action follows being”—Agere sequitur esse. Actually, Jesus expresses the idea very effectively when He says: “By their fruits you shall know them.” This is indeed the supreme criterion for judging the effectiveness of action, and the action of Mother M. Anselma was conditioned by the quality of her being, by her virtue. The fruits of her work reveal her extraordinary charism and that of her Sisters. She herself was a valiant woman who manifested in her actions and her apostolates the depth of her motivation. How revealing is her maxim: “For my Lord nothing is too hard.” But, for her, her Lord was identified with His brothers and sisters. The founding of her community was possible precisely because she believed: “For my Lord, nothing is too hard.” It was because of this principle that she was able to confront the challenges of life in Thuine. Her commitment made it possible for the Congregation to spread throughout northern Germany and even to Holland, within her lifetime. Later on, to Japan in 1920; to the United States in 1923; to Indonesia in 1923; to Tanzania in 1960; and to Brazil in 1972.
Tonight, the spirit of Mother M. Anselma honors priests just as Saint Francis did, and with such sincere love. Her spirit also challenges us to the same generosity, the same level of faith, the same ingenuity of love, the same creativity of charity. This maxim of Mother M. Anselma represents Gospel spirituality, splendid Christianity: “For my Lord, nothing is too hard.”
In the list of her maxims we also find this beautiful one: “See in the sick Our Lord Himself.” Mother M. Anselma showed that not only had she taken possession of the Gospel, but that the Gospel had taken possession of her. From the very beginning, the sick came to her in need. For her it meant that Jesus came, and in them she ministered to Him. How meaningful and inspiring for our priests, whose lives are so enriched and blessed and fulfilled in their ministrations to the sick, to the poor and all those in need.
What a beautiful arrangement of Divine Providence that the spiritual daughters of Mother M. Anselma have been able, here in this Archdiocese of St. Louis, to serve those people whom Saint Francis himself loved and respected and revered so much. In their double identity as priests and infirm brothers of the Lord, our priests have been served so faithfully by the charism of Mother M. Anselma and her Sisters in so many ways.
Yet another one of Mother M. Anselma’s maxims is: “Trials have to come for everybody.” These trials came abundantly, early in life, for Mother M. Anselma. They come abundantly also for our priests in every season. In her charism Mother M. Anselma perceived this reality and generously and providently encouraged her Sisters to pray for priests and to support and assist them. Today, the whole Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Francis of the Martyr Saint George prays fervently for priests so that they may be sustained in their Eucharistic ministry and service of God’s people, and in their tribulations too.
An outstanding example of how trials come to everybody is found in the last period of the life of Pope John Paul II. After having written so eloquently and compassionately about human suffering, the hour struck for him to bear the full measure of infirmity and pain, the full weight of the Cross. And bear it he did—with patience, dignity and contagious love.
In her own life of patience, dignity and contagious love, Mother M. Anselma was, in God’s loving plan, assisted by priests in fulfilling her important mission as a holy foundress in the Church. Father Gerhard Dall, the Pastor in Thuine, helped and encouraged her in the active founding of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Martyr Saint George, as did Bishop Johannes Heinrich Beckmann of Osnabrück.
Today in the name and spirit of Mother M. Anselma, our priests are recognized by the award which I am so pleased to accept in their name. Not only are they honored by the recognition of their dedication and generosity to their priestly ministry, so greatly esteemed by Saint Francis himself, but they are enriched by the spiritual legacy of Mother M. Anselma’s teaching and by the lasting value of her example, especially her ingenuity of love and her creativity of charity.
It is the hope and prayer of all of us that Mother of Good Counsel Home, which so concretely embodies the splendid heritage of Mother M. Anselma, may long fulfill, for the glory of God, its great role of merciful love, quality care and joyful service in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
Thank you.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Memorial Mass for Sister Paul Mercedes Perreca, I.H.M.
Saint Martin of Tours Church, Philadelphia
January 18, 2006
Dear Friends,
We gather together this evening to offer up our prayers for the soul of a beloved Sister Servant of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Sister Paul Mercedes Perreca, I.H.M.
Our hearts go out in love to her dear parents, to her brothers, to the members of her community and to all those who were privileged to have her friendship, and to profit from her loving service as a Religious, as a dedicated Christian woman, as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is proud of this outstanding daughter of the Church and rejoices that members of other Christian denominations and other faiths express their solidarity today with us in prayer. Our gratitude goes to you, dear members of our ecumenical and interreligious communities.
The last great contribution of Sister Paul’s life is to bring together in prayer and fellowship so many people whom she loved and endeavored to serve in various ways. Present today are the young and the old, her grateful students, her religious sisters and so many categories of God’s people.
Many years ago, Sister Paul ratified her consecration by the Church as a Sister Servant of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Following a long tradition in both the Old and the New Testament she offered her life to God for the glory of His Name and the service of His people. Like the prophet Samuel mentioned in our first reading, she was courageous enough, in an act of faith and love, to address the Lord saying: "Speak, for your servant is listening." Furthermore, with exquisite generosity and dedication she endeavored to imitate our Blessed Mother Mary who, when informed by the angel Gabriel of her special mission, said: "Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."
In her initial act of consecrated love, she accepted to belong to Jesus Christ and His Church and to live according to God’s providence. She did not know what would eventually be required of her, but, on her part, she asked only for love and she promised faithful service till the end in the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Year after year she fulfilled her spousal covenant with the Lord and His Church. Her love for Jesus empowered her to love so many others in His name, just as His Mother Mary had done. Her generous, chaste and consecrated love brought her constantly into the service of others—and today their testimony to this fact is part of history.
Her own life was meant to proclaim the primacy of God’s love in this world and in the world to come. Her life thus became part of the great legacy of consecrated love that the Church passes on from one generation to the next. What she accomplished by God’s grace in her life was impressive, but who she was in her consecrated relationship to Jesus Christ and His Church in religious life was her greatest dignity after Baptism.
An important part of the life of every Christian and particularly of every consecrated Religious is to bear witness to the life of heaven, waiting in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. This life of expectation passes through the joys and sorrows, the hopes and anxieties of everyday living, with its hard work and committed service to others. And so it was for Sister Paul.
Being a life of faith, hers had to be a life of expectation, but also a life of trust in the One in whom she had placed all her confidence. As a Religious she had long since accepted in prayer any type of death that God’s providence would permit her to undergo.
Upon reflection we see how appropriately our psalm today expresses the conditions of Sister Paul’s faithful trust and reliance on her spouse Jesus Christ. From her place in eternal life she can testify, saying: "I have waited, waited for the Lord, and he stooped toward me and heard my cry. And he put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God."
Despite the tragic circumstances of her death, the power of Christ’s Paschal Mystery is fully operative in her passing to the Lord. She is now associated with the Lord Jesus in eternal life, where she is destined to participate in the liturgy of heaven, praising the victorious Lamb of God for all eternity.
In the sacred rite of this memorial Mass, as we commemorate and re-enact, in the Eucharist, the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are also called, through Him and in the Holy Spirit, to give thanks to the Father for all the graces and blessings bestowed on Sister Paul during her life. We praise and thank God for raising her up in the Church as an instrument of loving service to others, as a witness to the love of Jesus Christ.
And before we terminate our reflection we are conscious of a last duty that we have in regard to Sister Paul. Following the tradition of the Church we must commit ourselves, according to what we believe, to pray for her soul. We know that all humanity before God is imperfect and that in His great love Jesus Christ assures us, even after death, of the great gift of final purification, if such is necessary to enter into the splendid presence of God. And so we pray finally for the soul of Sister Paul, if such purification is still necessary for her, for we are convinced that she will indeed intercede for all of us in the luminous presence of the Most Blessed Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to whom belong all praise and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for the Solemnity of Saint Charles Borromeo
Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
November 4, 2008
My brother Bishops and Priests,
Monsignor Prior,
Members of the Board of Trustees, Faculty and Staff,
Dear Deacons and Seminarians,
I am very pleased to be with you today for the celebration of the Patronal Feast of our Seminary. It is also a joy for me to celebrate, for those aspiring to Holy Orders, the Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders. For all of us, the memory of the great Saint Charles Borromeo and the Rite of Candidacy spur us on to a deeper desire to serve Almighty God in the midst of His Church, and to fulfill our duties to Him in fidelity, humility, charity and joy, especially in our modern world.
The history of the Church demonstrates that, in times of difficulty, stress or trial, God raises up men and women who are recognized as outstanding in holiness. By the witness of their devotion and spirituality, their words and actions, by the moving force of their relentless prayers, by their constant imitation of Christ, these men and women have inspired others to greater holiness and more fervent service. This is certainly true in the life and example of Saint Charles Borromeo.
Daily, here in this Seminary, we are reminded of the simple motto which was at the core of the life, ministry and spirituality of Saint Charles Borromeo: Humilitas. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines humility as "The virtue by which a Christian acknowledges that God is the author of all good. Humility avoids inordinate ambition or pride, and provides the foundation for turning to God in prayer (2559). Voluntary humility can be described as ‘poverty of spirit’" (Glossary, p. 882).
While a young man, Saint Charles was called upon by his uncle, Pope Pius IV, to assume important responsibility in the Church. He became a Cardinal, the Bishop of Milan, and Papal Secretary of State. In spite of his important positions, Saint Charles fulfilled humbly and persevered unwaveringly in whatever the Church asked of him. He was particularly dedicated to the work of the Council of Trent which guided the Church’s efforts to preserve unity, refute error and combat heresy. He also devoted his energy to the establishment of seminaries and the spiritual renewal of the clergy and laity. In all of this, Saint Charles quietly exhibited an all-consuming charity which made him always available for the service of the poor and afflicted, and daily motivated him to use his physical strength and personal resources to assist those ravaged by hunger and disease in his Diocese of Milan.
We recall that Saint Charles was the Patron Saint of the Servant of God Pope John Paul II. Of his Patron, our late beloved Holy Father stated: "Saint Charles was indeed one of those saints to whom was given the word, ‘in order to make known the Gospel,’ of which he was ‘ambassador,’ because he had inherited the mission from the Apostles. He accomplished that mission in an heroic manner, with total dedication of his powers." Pope John Paul II continued his remarks by quoting an exhortation from Saint Charles to the Bishops of Lombardy. These words are appropriate, not only for Bishops, but also for priests and deacons, and all of you, dear seminarians, who aspire to Holy Orders. "Christ pointed out the sublimest motivation of our ministry... and taught that love above all must be the master and teacher of our apostolate, the love which he (Jesus) wills to express through us to the faithful entrusted to us" (quoted in Pope John Paul II, Prayers and Devotions, ed. by Bishop Peter Canisius Johannes Van Lierde). This is the love of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who not only leads and protects His flock, but also lays down His life for His sheep (cf. Jn 10:11,15-16).
The passage from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans, proclaimed a few moments ago, clearly conveys this love described by Saint Charles, the love which stirs and sustains the vocation to ministry within the Church. It is a love which is sincere, a love which is at the heart of that mutual affection which we call our fraternity, a love which moves us always to honor one another (cf. Rom 12:9). We can easily imagine Saint Charles encouraging us in the same words with which Saint Paul exhorted the Church of Rome: "Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality" (Rom 12:11-13).
The beautiful words of the psalmist also indicate that this call to apostolate, to ministry, comes from God. It is God Himself who chooses and consecrates; it is God who gives strength: "I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him, that my hand may always be with him, and that my arm will make him strong" (Ps 89: 21-22).
Saint Charles, considered to be a model shepherd, is an outstanding example of what the Council of Trent refers to as the magnum donum, the great gift of perseverance. In the daily conduct of his duties as the pastor of many souls as well as in the administration of the demanding affairs of the universal Church, in his tireless and zealous efforts at reform, and in immersing himself in the pastoral care of the sick and dying in his plague-ridden city, Saint Charles persevered in humility, in charity and in prayer, particularly at a time when the Church was faced with great difficulty and society was in great turmoil.
Dear seminarians, moved by the Holy Spirit, you present yourselves for Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders. Today, you profess and the Church accepts your intention to embrace a life of self-sacrifice, of celibate chastity, and obedience in imitation of Jesus Christ, our great High Priest. In our own turbulent time, when the culture of modern society moves along a perilous path of darkness and immorality, the world needs you, young men striving for holiness, living witnesses to the enduring love of Jesus and the transforming power of the Gospel. Our Liturgy of the Word and the example of Saint Charles Borromeo move you to be constantly in awe of the love of God, to be ever aware of the dignity of your call, and never to forget that God who chose you will also strengthen and sustain you. From the graciousness of God you have available to you that great gift of perseverance. Now, this great gift enables you to continue in the day-to-day routine of seminary life, work and study. The great gift of perseverance keeps you rooted in your spiritual exercises, prayers and devotions, even when you feel tired or arid. In the future, the great gift of perseverance will uphold you when, God willing, as priests you go forward to administer the Sacraments and to preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to a world so often indifferent, sometimes even hostile, to the Word of God.
Perseverance is nurtured and sustained by the prayerful vision of the face of Jesus through meditation. Saint Charles himself instructs us: "This is the way we can easily overcome the countless difficulties we have to face day after day, which, after all, are part of our work: in meditation we find the strength to bring Christ to birth in ourselves and in other men" (Office of Readings, November 4).
Dear friends: if you aspire to be configured to Jesus, as well as to lead others to Jesus, begin to deepen your prayer. Through meditation, through the devout recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours, through prayerful contemplation of the mysteries of the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, through adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and through fervent participation in Mass and Holy Communion, you will find the desire to imitate Jesus and to persevere, in the days and years to come, in carrying out whatever God asks of you. In conclusion, recall the words which our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI addressed to all seminarians during his visit to Saint Joseph Seminary, Dunwoodie: "The People of God look to you to be holy priests, on a daily journey of conversion, inspiring in others the desire to enter more deeply into the ecclesial life of believers. I urge you to deepen your friendship with Jesus the Good Shepherd. Talk heart to heart with him. Reject any temptation to ostentation, careerism, or conceit. Strive for a pattern of life truly marked by charity, chastity and humility, in imitation of Christ, the Eternal High Priest, of whom you are to become living icons" (Address to Young People and Seminarians, April 19, 2008).
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass with Admission to Candidacy
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbrook
Feast of Saint Charles Borromeo
November 4, 2009
Dear Friends,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
What a joy it is to gather together this morning on this feast of Saint Charles Borromeo and in this Seminary of Saint Charles Borromeo!
We are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, having been called by Him to share in His Eucharistic Sacrifice. It is in His name that I greet you all, beginning with Bishop Burbidge, our former Rector and now Bishop of Raleigh. Greetings to Bishop McFadden, Bishop Thomas, Monsignor Prior and all the Administration, faculty and staff, together with all our Seminarians, especially the nine men who are receiving Candidacy at this time. This event, which touches them deeply, unites us all in a special bond with the dioceses that present them: with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Diocese of Raleigh, the Diocese of Ogdensburg, the Diocese of Arlington and the Diocese of Allentown.
This is a great ecclesial event, which we pray will eventually lead these candidates definitively into the pastoral mission of Christ and His Church. Meanwhile, the Church offers them this great opportunity to open their hearts to the call of God and to respond with generosity and joy to what God is asking of them at this moment of their life.
As the Church prays over them they can hear clearly—as did the prophet Isaiah—the voice of the Lord, who says: "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" And surely these men are encouraged and motivated listening to the response of Isaiah, saying: "Here I am...send me!"
From their experience in the Seminary, they are already deeply aware that in order to be sent by the Lord, they must first come to be with Him and share in His company, His friendship, His life. They remember how Saint Mark describes the calling of the Apostles, saying: "[Jesus] appointed twelve [whom he named Apostles] that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons... (Mk 3:14).
Today we confirm and celebrate this coming to be with Jesus of our brothers, so that they may first be with Him, in preparation for being sent out to proclaim the Gospel and to bring all the power of the Paschal Mystery into contact with the sins of the world and the powers of darkness. Candidacy is then a special call to intimacy with Jesus Christ, experiencing His company, being supported by His friendship and learning the secrets of His Sacred Heart, which He yearns to communicate in their fullness.
To come and be with Jesus and then to be sent out are the two great elements of the apostolic and priestly vocation, both in the beginning and now, and forever.
Today the Church encourages and blesses our new candidates. In the words of Saint Paul, she says to them: "Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, persevere in prayer." The Church insists that the degree of their union with Jesus Christ, the extent of their holiness of life, will have a great impact on the future effectiveness of all their priestly and pastoral service to the Church. The life of the Church attests to this reality which is part of God’s plan of salvation in Jesus Christ.
As the Church encourages her sons with her wisdom and embraces them in her love, she also points out to them outstanding examples of supernatural success in priestly zeal and pastoral effectiveness. One of these great examples is Saint Charles Borromeo, who completed his work at the age of forty-six, within the short time-limit allotted him by God. Today the Church extols Saint Charles as a faithful imitator of Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd—the one who lays down His life for the flock. Through the ministry of Saint Charles, the voice of Jesus echoed strongly in the sixteenth century and continues today to have a powerful impact throughout the world.
It is so important in God’s plan that the seminarians of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary absorb the pastoral spirit exemplified by Saint Charles himself, but which he learned from Jesus the Good Shepherd. The essence of this pastoral spirit is expressed five times in the tenth chapter of Saint John’s Gospel: "The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." And Jesus repeats: "I am the good shepherd...and I will lay down my life for the sheep." And again: "This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life." And again: "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own." And finally: "I have power to lay it down...."
Dear friends, dear brothers: the power to be a good shepherd with Christ, the power to lay down one’s life for the flock is hidden in the Heart of Jesus. It is there that we must go to draw forth this power that will sustain our priesthood and give deep fulfillment to our lives. Saint Charles Borromeo, Saint John Vianney and so many other holy priests discovered the secrets of Christ’s Heart and drew from it an immense power of pastoral love and sacrifice.
And so, once again, the Church reminds us that every call to be sent forth is first of all a call to come to be with Jesus, to remain in His company, to share His friendship, to penetrate the secrets of His Sacred Heart and to draw from it the power to lay down one’s life for the flock.
Dear brothers: this is the meaning of your candidacy and the reason why the Church rejoices to acclaim your generosity and why she encourages you to even greater love. Amen.
The following commentary by Cardinal Rigali appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer on
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Catholic Church Urges Support for Adult Stem Cell Research
Representatives of the biotechnology industry from throughout the world are seeing the Philadelphia region as a potential center for advanced research as they gather in our city this week for the international convention of the Biotechnology Industry Organization. This gathering is an opportune time to examine an issue that will be discussed intensely by the attendees and considered carefully by us all: stem-cell research.
Let this be understood clearly: The Catholic Church supports adult stem cell research and opposes embryonic stem-cell research. The church can never condone destroying the unborn to develop a potential benefit for the sick. The deliberate destruction of human life is contrary to God's loving plan for all his creatures.
The goal of stem-cell research is noble: to treat debilitating illnesses and injuries. Certain stem cells give rise to other types of cells in the body. For this reason, researchers wish to understand and perhaps develop this ability into treatment of a sick or injured person by creating new cells to replace damaged ones, leading to a person's recovery to full health.
The Catholic Church's rich heritage of ethical teaching in the medical-moral area and her duty to transmit moral guidance provide a framework for decision-making and the understanding of stem-cell research. The church encourages the development of human understanding in this area in a manner that respects the sanctity of human life at every stage.
To understand stem-cell research, it is first important to recognize that there is more than one source of stem cells: human embryos and living human adults.
Stem cells from embryos, whether produced in-vitro or through cloning, are extracted by a process that results in the destruction of the embryo.
In the case of cloning, whether one "uses" (as if it were one's right to use one person for the benefit of another) an embryo produced through reproductive cloning or so-called therapeutic cloning, the result is the same: An innocent life, recognized as human from the moment sperm fertilizes ovum at conception, is destroyed.
Adult stem-cell research, however, presents none of the ethical dilemmas as when human embryos are killed to obtain stem cells. Adult stem-cell research presents hope for eventual treatments and has already been developed into treatments for more than 90 medical conditions. Embryonic stem cell research, however, has produced none.
Sources of adult stem cells include bone marrow, umbilical cord, skin and other tissues. They present no risk of rejection because they are derived from one's own body. Tissues grown from embryonic stem cells, however, have a high possibility of being rejected by the body.
Biotechnology firms are pursuing research in this field, and the church encourages such research with one caution. All research must be undertaken within a moral framework that respects human dignity at every stage of development. I urge researchers, entrepreneurs in biotechnology, and civic officials to conduct their activities from a perspective that views the human person with an innate dignity that cannot be violated. Life must never be destroyed for any potential good, even cures for the sick and injured. The end does not justify the means.
People of good will - many of them Catholic - have and will continue to speak out against attempts to attack human life, no matter how noble the goal.
The attendees of the biotechnology convention and all those in our region should see the advantage of Philadelphia as a global leader in adult stem-cell research. They should recognize the proven success of research on adult stem cells at producing treatments for medical conditions and its non-violation of human life.
Scientific, business and political leaders can help Pennsylvania prosper and develop treatments that return people to good health by pursuing research that does not sacrifice human life. Adult stem-cell research holds that promise, which visitors attending the biotechnology convention in Philadelphia - and all of us - should consider.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass in Thanksgiving for the Canonization of Saint Jeanne Jugan
Foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
October 25, 2009
Dear brother Priests and Deacons,
Dear Friends, and in particular you, Little Sisters of the Poor,
It is a joy to welcome you this afternoon to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul as we gather in thanksgiving for the canonization of Saint Mary of the Cross, born Jeanne Jugan. In her own words: “Blessed be God. Thank you, my God. Glory be to God.”
The reading from the Gospel of Saint Mark, proclaimed only a few moments ago, tells us that as Jesus was leaving the city of Jericho, with a sizeable crowd, a blind man sat by the side of the road begging. Jericho was an historic center of commerce. It was the marketplace city, the place where deals could be made. It was a city where business quickly turned shady. The buying and selling, trading and bargaining was known to have an edge: an edge that would cast the vulnerable to the sidelines rather quickly. Saint Ambrose tells us that “Jericho is an image of this world,” which Adam descended to “by the mistake of his transgression ...” (Exposition of the Holy Gospel According to Saint Luke with Fragments on the Prophecy of Isaias, 262-263;7:73).
Jericho thus represents the effects of sin in the world: the city of strife and cunning which takes advantage of the poor and the weak. Such a city always has its center and its margins, those who defraud and those who suffer, the crowd that plunders and takes advantage, especially of the weak and vulnerable. Sin always attempts to reduce the meaning and worth of the human person.
The Gospel tells us that at the edge of this city there was a blind beggar. His name was Bartimaeus, which means, “the son of fear.” He represents all those who live on the margins, whom society has pressured and pushed aside so that they now live in fear. As Jesus departs Jericho, He comes close to those who have literally been cast aside, who beg there on the outskirts, at the city gate: those who have been declared unworthy, unprofitable, and a burden to progress, those who have been left, literally, out in the cold.
On a winter’s evening in Brittany, France a young woman set out into the cold of the city night. And she discovered the people on the margins. She met those whom society had cast aside and who lived in fear. Jeanne Jugan was that young woman, and on that cold evening she met a blind and infirm elderly woman who was begging and had no one to care for her. Jeanne Jugan met that blind beggar at the edge of the city. She was in the same situation as was Jesus.
It is exactly to those on the edge and at the margins that the presence of Jesus is made known. The blind man of Jericho heard Jesus was passing by, and the blind man calls out. The crowd tells him to be quiet. Again, that crowd! The ones who put the blind man at the margins now want to keep him there. But the blind man calls again: “Son of David, have pity on me!” The son of fear is calling on the Son of David. And the Lord hears him. Jeanne Jugan went out into the city and found a blind beggar. She carried the woman home and placed her in her own bed. This blind and elderly woman, brought in by Jeanne Jugan, and indeed the entire Church, could now call out on that winter’s night in France, with the Prophet Jeremiah in the words of the first reading today: “The Lord has delivered his people” (Jer 31:7). Saint Jeanne Jugan had found Christ Himself.
That night in France, after she gave her bed to the poor elderly woman, Jeanne slept in the attic. She continued to seek out those who needed assistance. The poor began to come to her door. Soon, other women came to help her care for the poor. They went door to door begging for alms. The religious community of the Little Sisters of the poor was born.
The work spread, and Jeanne Jugan came even closer to the Cross: through the pain caused by ambition on the part of others she was cast aside from the leadership of the community she founded, and was sent out to beg for the community. Twenty-seven years later, when she died, some of the new young Sisters did not even know she was the Foundress of the community. Not only did God choose her to be his instrument in the world, but God purified her in a deeply interior way. She shared intimably in the sufferings of the Cross of Jesus.
The Little Sisters of the Poor profess the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. In addition to the evangelical counsels, the Sisters also profess a fourth vow, that of hospitality. The vow of hospitality serves to highlight the presence of Jesus in the weakest and most vulnerable as borne out by the words of Jesus: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:40). Saint Jeanne Jugan took to heart the words of the author of the Letter to the Hebrews: “Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowlingly entertained angels” (Heb 13:2). In their hospitality, the Sisters imitate the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who made herself totally available to God.
And today, we look to the work that continued from that cold, dark night. The work of the Little Sisters of the Poor extends now to include over 200 care residences throughout 32 countries, serving today over thirteen thousand residents. The Lay Association numbers over 2,000 members. Currently over 2,700 sisters practice the corporal works of mercy in a preeminent manner to the elderly and the poor. A few moments ago we heard the Lord promise through the prophet Jeremiah: “I will gather them from the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame in their midst … they shall return as an immense throng…. I will console and guide them” (Jer 31:8b-9a). Today, we give thanks to Almighty God that he called Saint Jeanne Jugan and the Little Sisters of the Poor to be His humble instrument so as to fulfill His great promise pronounced through the prophet Jeremiah.
The community of the Little Sisters of the Poor relied, as it still does, on God’s providence through the generosity of others. Saint Jeanne Jugan’s sufferings served to further illumine the simplicity, humility and generosity that characterize the life and ministry of the Little Sisters of the Poor. Their apostolate of welcoming and caring for the elderly poor emerges from the charism of a Foundress who knew the streets of the Jericho of her day, who knew the corners of destitution and the alley ways of pain, and who had allowed the humility of Jesus to reach the very deepest places of her heart.
It seems that every time and place, every generation of world history has its Jericho. The world so often attempts to measure people by gauging their profit, success, popularity, productivity or bottom-line. And those measurements seem to reduce, or even outright dismiss, the inherent dignity of the human person. In response, God does not send us policies. He does not send us quick-fixes. He sends us His Son. And His Son sends us His Saints. The actions of the Saint, because he or she adheres so closely to Christ, become timeless. The Saint, inevitably, can speak to any and to every age of world history. Saint Jeanne Jugan, this heroic woman of nineteenth-century France, addresses our own age with extraordinary perception and precision. She sees through the cold and darkness of our night, just as she did through that night long ago. She sees that the world of our day, too, has its bitter margins. It has identified those who are to be cast aside. For almost forty years, our age has declared, in policy and action, the dignity of the child in the womb as non-existent. That same disregard that threatens human life at its beginning, some would extend to threaten human life in its advanced stages. Some seek to quantify and define the average life span and actually seem to suggest that a person beyond this span, who may encounter sickness, disability and disease, is somehow a burden on society.
Saint Jeanne Jugan raises her voice today. Her message comes to us with the same clarity and persistence with which she journeyed out in that cold and dark evening on hundred and seventy years ago. She and the members of her community proclaim clearly and insistently that the elderly, and all human persons, have inviolable dignity. The prophetic actions of the heroic virtue of this woman of nineteenth-century France proclaim to the world of the twenty-first century that all forms of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are, no matter what the circumstances, absolute offenses against the inherent dignity of the human person. Saint Jeanne Jugan shows even the world of today another way: the way of true humanity, which is the way of Jesus!
Our age seems to be so impatient, and even dismissive with the elderly. In the rush and busyness we often miss what the elderly teach us. The elderly are the ones who are truly wise. They have lived through the years of work, dedication to family life, to society, and to the Church. Many have sacrificed in heroic ways, in ways they never would have expected. They have absorbed a seasoned and advanced wisdom that does not come through politics, cannot be fully earned through formal education alone, and is not garnered simply through reading words on a page. The Servant of God Pope John Paul II, in his Letter to the Elderly, stated, “There is an urgent need to recover a correct perspective on life as a whole. The correct perspective is that of eternity, for which life at every phase is a meaningful preparation. Old age too has a proper role to play in this process of gradual maturing along the path to eternity. And this process of maturing cannot but benefit the larger society of which the elderly person is a part. Elderly people help us to see human affairs with greater wisdom, because life's vicissitudes have brought them knowledge and maturity. They are the guardians of our collective memory, and thus the privileged interpreters of that body of ideals and common values which support and guide life in society” (Letter to the Elderly, 10).
My brothers and sisters: the elderly are God’s select gift to those who search for what really matters in life. The eyes of the elderly have seen so much, and are eager to see someone new and to share their story. The stories and memories of the elderly give life and provide direction. Without the elderly we do not know the direction to the future. To treasure the elderly is to treasure the faithfulness of God. As our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI said of Saint Jeanne Jugan in his homily during the Mass of Canonization on October 11, “Her charism is always relevant, while so many aged persons suffer different types of poverty and solitude, sometimes even abandoned by their families. The spirit of hospitality and fraternal love, founded on limitless trust in Providence, which Jeanne Jugan drew from the Beatitudes, illuminated her whole existence. The evangelical impulse is followed today throughout the world in the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor, which she founded and which bears witness to her following the mercy of God and the compassionate love of the Heart of Jesus for the littlest ones.”
In the Gospel reading of today, we may easily miss the apparently small detail that Jesus does not Himself physically go over to Bartimaeus. Instead, Jesus calls Bartimaeus from the side of the road, from the margins, onto the road, to the center, to Jesus Himself. Jesus restored Bartimaeus to his place of dignity. Saint Clement of Alexandria tells us that “The commandment of the Lord shines clearly, enlightening the eyes” (Exhortation to the Greeks, II). This is the light that led Bartimaeus. The Gospel tells us that Bartimaeus “received his sight and followed Jesus on the way” (Mk 10:52). This same light led Saint Jeanne Jugan to the poor and the elderly. There, she found Christ.
And now, that light extends throughout the world through the work of the Little Sisters of the Poor. We are most blessed that in the providence of God, the Little Sisters of the Poor serve here in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia at Holy Family Home located on Chester Avenue. For over 140 years the Sisters have witnessed to the Way that is Jesus by their faithful and steadfast service to the elderly.
Saint Jeanne Jugan, now and forever a Saint of the universal Church, calls us to the Way that is Jesus. May we respond, under the care of our Blessed Mother Mary, with the humility that filled the life of this great Foundress. And may Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, lead us to His Father, that we may all become citizens of the new and eternal Jerusalem. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Feast of Saint John Neumann
Saint Peter the Apostle Church
Thursday, January 5, 2006
Father Kevin Moley, Pastor of this Parish,
Father Patrick F. Woods, Redemptorist Provincial,
What a joy to gather with so many of the faithful of Saint Peter’s Parish and the Archdiocese, and with the Redemptorist Community here in Philadelphia. We celebrate the feast of our own Saint John Neumann, fourth Bishop of Philadelphia and outstanding son of the Redemptorist Order.
Our being together, in this holy place of Saint John Neumann’s burial, to celebrate the Eucharist is a great grace for all of us.
We celebrate his holy memory. We celebrate his holy life. We celebrate, above all, the powerful grace of Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd of the Church, who made John Neumann such an effective Bishop and shepherd of the Church of Philadelphia.
During these days our thoughts are still filled with Christmas joy as we continue our celebration of the Christmas mystery—the mystery of the Incarnate Word of God. Let us recall how our Christmas celebration began. We heard the Gospel of the Lord in which the angels announced to the shepherds the birth of Jesus. The angelic message: "For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord." We remember how the shepherds went to Bethlehem and found the Child Jesus with His Mother Mary and His foster father Joseph.
It was a wonderful experience for the shepherds to adore the Child, but it was also an extraordinary experience for Mary and Joseph to present the Child to the shepherds so they could acknowledge and adore their Savior. We can imagine that in the years to come Mary and Joseph must have spoken to Jesus about those shepherds and about the night of His birth when they came to visit Him.
At any rate, we know that Jesus was faimiliar with the lives of shepherds and with sheep. In His own teaching He compared Himself to a shepherd. He said: "I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." To be a shepherd, to be the Good Shepherd, was very important for Jesus. It explained so much of what His life was all about. And what was it all about? To lay down His life for His sheep, for us, for the members of His Church.
In the course of time, beginning with the Apostles, Jesus chose certain men to continue His ministry of being a shepherd, a good shepherd to His people. Down the centuries Jesus chose different men for this particular pastoral role in His Church. One of these men was John Neumann. He came from his native Bohemia to the United States. He was ordained a priest; he became a Redemptorist and afterwards the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia. He is buried in this church. His life in our local Church is the life of a faithful shepherd of God’s people who laid down his life in love for the flock. His life was short. He died young, at only forty-eight, but he was old enough to have fulfilled his role as a good shepherd laying down his life for others.
The Sacred Scriptures which we have proclaimed today help us to understand the greatness of Saint John Neumann by understanding the origin of his vocation, the aim of his ministry and the inspiration of his life.
His vocation came from God. We can compare it with the vocation of the prophet Jeremiah whom we encounter in our first reading. God’s words apply also to John Neumann: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you." And God’s further words to Jeremiah were also verified in John Neumann: "To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them, because I am with you...says the Lord."
To fulfill this his pastoral vocation, John Neumann left his home in Europe, embraced difficulties and laid down his life in order to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the lives of others.
Like Saint Paul, John Neumann could say: "For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus." John Neumann’s vocation was that of a shepherd. He was chosen to know and adore Jesus Christ and then to communicate Him to the world. His world included Philadelphia and all her immigrant peoples.
John Neumann could communicate Christ—he could tell the story of His birth, life, Death and Resurrection—because he had first found Him in the arms of the Virgin Mary, where, like the shepherds of Bethlehem, he adored Him.
And in the Eucharist, and in the wonderful practice of Forty Hours’ Devotion, which he introduced into the United States, John Neumann continued his contact with Christ and his adoration of the God whom he represented and proclaimed.
Everything about John Neumann is reminiscent of today’s Gospel, which constituted the inspiration of all of John Neumann’s life and ministry. John Neumann heard and embraced these words of Jesus: "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."
John Neumann knew that the power belonged to Jesus, but that Jesus was sharing it with him. He, too, was to be a shepherd of God’s people, reflecting the love, compassion and undersanding of the Good Shepherd, and so it was.
Today, dear Friends, Saint John Neumann reminds us of God’s presence—"I am with you always." He encourages us, in our own way, to take our measure of responsibility for communicating Christ to others. But he reminds us also that, in order to communicate Christ to others, we must retrace the path of the shepherds, find the Child in the arms of His Mother and adore Him.
And when, like the shepherds, we have adored the Child, we will begin to recognize Him more clearly in others and serve Him in the poor, in the immigrants, in all those in need, all those for whom Saint John Neumann gave his life in loving service.
And, finally, today, we praise the grace and power of our Lord Jesus Christ, who alone could and did raise up the little Bishop John Neumann to be a good and great shepherd of His people. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Feast Day of Saint John Neumann
Saint Peter Parish, Philadelphia
National Shrine of Saint John Neumann
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Father Moley, CSs.R., Pastor of Saint Peter the Apostle Parish,
Members of the Redemptorist Community,
Brother Priests and Deacons,
Dear Religious Sisters,
Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
In June of 1836 on the day of his first Mass, Father John Neumann (1811-1860) uttered a prayer that consisted of only five words: “Dearest God, Give me holiness.” He had only recently arrived in the United States. He had studied for the priesthood in his native Bohemia, but there were so many priests in his homeland that the bishop decided there would be no more ordinations for an extended period. So at the age of twenty-five John Neumann set out for America and was there ordained to the priesthood by the Bishop of New York. The next day, he prayed those five words: “Dearest God, Give me holiness.” As he celebrated the Eucharist at the very beginning of his priestly service he prayed for holiness.
This afternoon, during this Mass, we find ourselves little more than six months into that great prayer for holiness, which is the “Year of the Priest” inaugurated last June, on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI. The Holy Father proclaimed this special year in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the death of Saint John Mary Vianney (1786-1859), the patron of parish priests. Saint John Vianney died on August 4, 1859. The death of Saint John Neumann followed five months later, almost to the day, on January 5, 1860. How provident that in the middle of the “Year of the Priest” we in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia mark the 150th anniversary of the death of Saint John Neumann, another man who stands at the very center of what it means to be a priest. On this day, and throughout this entire year, we offer the prayer of Saint John Neumann again, with and for all of our priests: “Dearest God, Give me holiness.” In the life of Saint John Neumann, God has answered our prayer.
Holiness comes only from one source. The Holy Spirit, by His action in and through the Church, changes us, transforms us, configures us to Jesus Christ, and presents us to God the Father. Through the gift of holiness, the Holy Spirit communicates to us what is beyond our reach. Today we give thanks that the Holy Spirit configured John Neumann to Christ the Good Shepherd: first as a diocesan priest, then as a consecrated religious in the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, as a missionary, and finally as the fourth bishop of Philadelphia.
The words of Saint Paul, the great missionary Apostle, which we heard proclaimed only a few moments ago, apply so well to Saint John Neumann: “I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible. To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some. All this I do for the sake of the Gospel, so that I too may have a share in it” (1 Cor 9:19; 22-23). Devotion to his duties and faithfulness to the missionary spirit led Father John Neumann to study and learn eight modern languages, including Gaelic, which he studied so that he might minister to the Irish immigrants. He was appointed the United States superior of the Redemptorists in 1848. He built 100 new churches and established 80 new Catholic schools. He is known as the Father of the Parochial Schools in America. He founded a religious order of women, the Third Order of Saint Francis of Glen Riddle, and drafted their rule. In the midst of his tireless efforts he welcomed the School Sisters of Notre Dame to America, and offered great assistance to many other communities of women religious He introduced the Forty Hours’ Eucharistic Devotion in America and began the building of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. He stood firm against anti-Catholic prejudice. In the midst of his administrative duties he wrote not one but two catechisms which received the approval of the bishops of the United States in 1852 and were used widely in this country for many decades.
When it came to obedience to God, Saint John Neumann made no excuses, had no hesitation, and entertained no mediocrity. He took shelter only in Jesus Christ. His episcopal motto, “Passion of Christ Strengthen Me,” reveals his deep and dynamic faithfulness to the Cross. In this he was united most closely to the Blessed Mother and to the Sacrifice of the Mass. As our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI teaches in Sacramentum Caritatis “[The] Mass is formative in the deepest sense of the word, since it fosters the priest’s configuration to Christ and strengthens him in his vocation” (no. 80). The Holy Father tells us that the Eucharist provides “moral energy … for sustaining the authentic freedom of the children of God” (no. 82).
We seek the same moral energy which sustained Saint John Neumann. We are so thankful to Almighty God that he sent Saint John Neumann to us! How fortunate we are that we can come to “Fifth and Girard,” to this great Shrine of a great Saint! How many have made a pilgrimage to this Shrine? How many have prayed the novena prayers for Saint John Neumann’s intercession? How many bear his name as their patron Saint? How many more, learning of his heroic life, chose his name as their confirmation name? How many have prayed at this Shrine for peace in the world and in our neighborhoods? How many have prayed to Saint John Neumann for relief from unemployment, pain, suffering, disease, hunger and drug addiction? How many have sought the intercession of “the little bishop” for deliverance from loneliness, for an end to economic imbalance, for respect for immigrants, safety for family members and friends who serve in the military, for the benefit of a good education, for the return of their children to the practice of the faith, for the healing of painful memories, for the suffering of parents or grandparents to be eased? How many have sought the intervention of Saint John Neumann for protection from violence close to home or on a foreign battlefield? How many have prayed in these very pews for the preservation of the rights of conscience and religious liberty, for the protection of marriage as the institution of one man and one woman, and for the defense of all human life from the moment of conception to natural death? We must remember today the words of our Holy Father Pope Benedict in his most recent encyclical letter, Caritas in Veritate: “Openness to life is at the center of all true development” (no. 28).
Saint John Neumann served the flock entrusted to him by ensuring that the administrative and institutional means were in place to minister the sacramental realities by which the mysteries of the faith were passed on to the next generation. The life of Saint John Neumann witnesses to us that the life of the theological and cardinal virtues is not a distant, abstract ideal, but a reachable, concrete reality to be lived daily in our homes, schools, places of work, parishes, and neighborhoods. His life reveals for us that despite our frailty and weakness, fidelity to the Ten Commandments and the life of the Beatitudes can truly be our daily path. As we commemorate the sesquicentennial of his birth into eternal life, we rejoice that over these past one-hundred and fifty years the pastoral zeal, heroic virtue, priestly charism and personal holiness of Bishop John Neumann have been central to our heritage and legacy as a local Church.
On January 5th, one-hundred and fifty years ago this very day, Saint John Neumann laid down his life. As he was walking the streets of Philadelphia, seeing to the details of returning a newly consecrated chalice to a priest, the Bishop took ill and collapsed on a door step. Even in his final moments he was configured to Christ the Good Shepherd who “had no place to lay his head” (Mt 8:20). This great Saint shows us that the pathway to sanctity is found in our very streets. How fitting that his final pastoral act was one of pastoral charity centered on the priesthood and the celebration of the Eucharist.
“Dearest God, Give me holiness.” This afternoon we pray again these same five words prayed by Father John Neumann on the day of his first Mass. The Saint who first prayed these words, hears them now again, recognizes them as his own, recognizes us as his own, and again whispers his prayer to God―Father, Son and Holy Spirit―now, on our behalf: “Dearest God, Give them holiness.” May the witness and intercession of Saint John Neumann guide us deeper into the life of holiness, which is a life of integrity, truthfulness, justice, honesty, compassion and merciful love in the individual vocation that God has given to each of us. It is the life of the Spirit, into which we have all been baptized and in which we are called to live. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Feast of Saint Katharine Drexel
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
March 3, 2007
Dear Friends in Christ,
especially you, dear Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament,
Jesus worked miracles everywhere during his public ministry, in every place, that is, except in his own home town. No miracles were worked there because the people just did not give him a chance. They simply did not expect one of their own to work miracles, so they were not receptive. The two proven miracles attributed to the intercession of Saint Katharine Drexel, in favor of Robert Gutherman and Amy Wall, happened right in her hometown, right here in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where Mother Katharine was born, where she lived and were she died and is now entombed.
So, why some miracles and not others? Why here and not there? Well, God works miracles in our lives when we have an expectant faith, when we believe in His power and are open to recognizing that power in our lives. The truth is that all too often we tend to get in God’s way and resist allowing Him to work in us and through us. God asks only for our willingness to be of service to others, like Saint Katharine Drexel, by clothing the poor, by bringing justice to the oppressed and relief to the hungry, and by daily striving to come closer to Him through prayer.
In his homily at the canonization of Katharine Drexel and 122 others as saints on October 1, 2000, the Servant of God Pope John Paul II, said: " Mother Katharine Drexel was born into wealth...but from her parents she learned that her family's possessions were not for them alone but were meant to be shared with the less fortunate. As a young woman, she was deeply distressed by the poverty and hopeless conditions endured by many Native Americans and Afro-Americans. She began to devote her fortune to missionary and educational work among the poorest members of society. Later, she understood that more was needed. With great courage and confidence in God's grace, she chose to give not just her fortune but her whole life totally to the Lord."
Today, Jesus asks us to bring to Him our five loaves and two fish and to see what He can do with them. We should not wait until we are able to do things perfectly before we act. Rather, we are to give to Jesus our widow’s mite, our tiny mustard seeds, our little bits of leaven, and then let Jesus work wonders with them.
Throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament we are told that God brings strength out of weakness. Did not God make the elderly Sarah—Abraham’s sterile wife—fertile? Did not Mary, a young virgin from Nazareth, give birth to God’s Son? Why, then, should we insist on not getting involved until we feel comfortable or adequate? That is the very thing that prevents God’s saving action in our lives: putting up barriers and refusing to put our total trust in God.
We are called to overcome our pride and to offer God our weakness. Then God can act through us to bring freedom to those imprisoned in any way, joy to those in sorrow, and relief to those who are poor. Like Mother Katharine, we are to be attentive to the call of God’s Wisdom issued through the Book of Proverbs. It "calls from the heights out over the city: ‘Let whoever is simple turn in here.’" Is not God calling us to spend more time in prayer with Him before the Blessed Sacrament, as Saint Katharine did especially in the last two decades of her life? Then, we must not wait. The invitation is for now. Do we feel called to spend more time with a family member or friend who may be struggling with loneliness, illness, or some other burden? We must not wait until we have a lot of "spare time." Rather, like Saint Katharine Drexel, who was available to all in need despite her own physical illnesses, we are called to offer support now.
Is there a request on behalf of the poor? We must not hold back from giving until we can make a substantial contribution from our time, talent or treasure. From an early age, Saint Katharine used every penny of her vast trust fund to evangelize the poor and needy. She took to heart today’s words from the 145th Psalm: "You open your hand to feed us; you answer all our needs." She taught thousands of people among the Native American and the African Americans about their need to be dependent on the bread that always satisfies—the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ Himself.
Giving something is always better than giving nothing. Let us pray that we all become more open to God’s action in us. Too many people all around us, right in our very midst, in our own hometown, are hungry for food, for justice, for peace, for love, for employment, for acceptance, for honesty, for the Holy Eucharist. Like the crowds in today’s Gospel passage from Saint Luke, through us they can all eat and be satisfied. But if we cling only to the things we like to do or feel comfortable doing, we are not allowing God’s work to be accomplished in and through us. If we cling to what we have—to our own loaves and fish—those who are in need can sink into a worse form of hunger. They will deeply experience a famine for the presence of God which we failed to share with them.
So today, in the spirit of our very own Saint Katharine Drexel, who died just fifty-two years ago this very day, let us be generous in our service, generous with our gifts, insignificant as they might seem to us. We must let God handle the results and take care of the successes. Let us fearlessly and faithfully offer God our willingness. With God’s power and our willingness, miracles will happen and we will be unstoppable, as was this holy woman whose memory we venerate today: Mother Katharine Drexel.
Mother Katharine: share with all of us today the great secret of your success. Help us to learn why you could serve others so generously, so lovingly, so perseveringly. Let us really understand your mighty charism—the source of your strength and the wellspring of your relentless energy. For, like our Blessed Mother Mary, you were a woman of the Eucharist. In the Eucharist you embraced Jesus, and in embracing Jesus you embraced all those whom He loved and for whom He shed His Precious Blood. It was Jesus in the Eucharist who taught you how to work so effectively for justice and how to love so deeply. It was Jesus in the Eucharist who gave you true wealth: the power to give yourself and everything you had to serve others in His name. And finally it was Jesus in the Eucharist who gave you the power to share fully in His Death and glorious Resurrection. Saint Katharine Drexel of Philadelphia, pray for us. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for the Tenth Anniversary
of the Canonization of Saint Katharine Drexel
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
October 3, 2010
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
With joy, we recall that wonderful day ten years ago-interspersed with heavy rain and bright sunshine-when Venerable John Paul II declared Mother Katharine Drexel a Saint of the Church. I extend greetings to Sister Patricia Suchalski, President of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, the members of the Leadership Team, as well as all of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and their associates and friends gathered for this Eucharistic celebration.
The Prophet Habakkuk bewails the horrible conditions which plagued the people of Judah as they were under siege by the Chaldeans: "Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery?" (Hab 1:3). Similarly, with tremendous compassion, Saint Katharine Drexel beheld the plight and misery of people oppressed by poverty, racism and ignorance. The condition of life for numerous Native American and African American peoples weighed heavily upon the young heiress from Philadelphia. Just as God revealed to Habakkuk a vision of hope-a vision which "presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint" (Hab 2:30-so God instilled in the mind and heart of the Saint Katharine a vision of justice, light and renewal in Jesus Christ. This vision would bear fruit in the gradual use of her share of the Drexel fortune to eradicate injustice and discrimination, and in the eventual donation of her entire being as she consecrated herself to a life in imitation of the chaste, poor and obedient Christ.
To the young Bishop, Timothy, the great Apostle Paul wrote: "I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God you have received. . . . For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. ... [B]ear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God" (2 Tim 1:6-8). For young Katharine, there was a process of discernment as she considered her vocation to the consecrated life. Her objections were well considered, based on her own fear of the unknown, her weakness, her devotion to her family, and her attachment to the comforts which had surrounded her since birth. However, her list of positives portrays a young woman of wisdom, insight and devotion. She wrote: "We were created to love God. In religious life we return Our Lord's love for love by a constant voluntary sacrifice to our feelings, our inclinations, our appetites against all of which nature powerfully rebels, but it is only by conquering the flesh that the soul lives" (printed in Saint Katharine Drexel, Apostle to the Oppressed, by Lou Baldwin, p. 42). Ultimately, as expressed in a letter to Bishop James O'Connor of Omaha, Katharine felt that "If all of this is for God's greater glory-I must drown inclination and say Fiat" (ibid., p. 46).
With admirable courage, Katharine Drexel immersed herself in the establishment of a new Religious Family solely dedicated to the transforming power of the Holy Eucharist. Their mission was to the Native Americans and African Americans. To them, Saint Katharine and her Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament brought the message of hope: hope in the dignity of all human beings; hope for a brighter future through access to Catholic education; hope in the goodness and mercy of God who relieves them in time of poverty and suffering; hope in Christ, who gives Himself totally in the Eucharist. In his homily at the Canonization Liturgy, Pope John Paul II clearly summarized the life and legacy of Saint Katharine Drexel: "To her religious community, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, she taught a spirituality based on prayerful union with the Eucharistic Lord and zealous service of the poor and the victims of racial discrimination. Her apostolate helped to bring about a growing awareness of the need to combat all forms of racism through education and social services. Katharine Drexel is an excellent example of that practical charity and generous solidarity with the less fortunate which has long been the distinguishing mark of American Catholics."
Katharine Drexel was acutely aware of the wonders contained in and worked through the Eucharist. "If God in His mercy consumes self as Victim of charity-love of God," wrote Saint Katharine, "self must be consumed and changed as the Sacred Host....The bread is changed into Jesus Christ; so I must be changed into Jesus Christ so that His Will alone lives in me" (Reflections of Life in the Vine Found in the Writings of Mother M. Katharine Drexel, p. 11). How beautifully Saint Katharine lived the mystery of the Eucharist! She emptied herself completely-sacrificing comfort and fortune-in order to be filled with the self-giving love of Jesus Christ! That love was poured forth like a torrent from the generous and compassionate heart of Mother Katharine, whose vision for justice and transformation of hearts never faded and continues to press on to fulfillment. Not only did this love flow in her every missionary journey, in her every establishment of a new school, in every personal encounter with everyone she met. This love flowed forth from and rushed back to Jesus truly present in the Holy Eucharist. In her daily participation in the Mass, in her daily reception of Holy Communion, in her many hours spent in adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Saint Katharine Drexel was revitalized and in turn helped to vitalize the missionary endeavors of her community and of the entire Church. All that Saint Katharine Drexel accomplished for God derived from her relationship with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. In her own words, "The life of adoration associates us with the power of God" (ibid., p. 16).
Today, the first Sunday in October, the Church observes "Respect Life Sunday." In our own day, when the dignity of the human person is disregarded; when moral values and gospel teachings are cast aside; when the most defenseless are threatened with extermination, we are spurred on to engage actively in defense of life, in the sharing of faith. The life and witness of Saint Katharine Drexel place before us the marvels which God accomplishes when we, with our weaknesses and limitations, surrender ourselves daily to His Will, to His plan for us as we participate in the mission of the Church. In his 2004 Apostolic Letter on the Eucharist, Mane Nobiscum Domine, Venerable John Paul II wrote: "The Eucharist not only provides the interior strength needed for this mission, but is also-in some sense-its plan. For the Eucharist is a mode of being, which passes from Jesus into each Christian, through whose testimony it is meant to spread throughout society and culture" (no. 25). Pope Benedict XVI, in his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, noted that, "'Worship' itself, Eucharistic communion, includes the reality both of being loved and of loving others in turn." Our Holy Father added, "A Eucharist which does not pass over into the concrete practice of love is intrinsically fragmented" (no. 14).
Saint Katharine Drexel, as a fruit of her Eucharistic Communion and Eucharistic Adoration, donated herself completely to the glory of God through the Christian formation of all people, but most especially for the poor and oppressed. Her vision still presses on to fulfillment. With the strength which comes from Jesus in the Eucharist, we press on to combat the oppressive and destructive forces still rampant in our society: racism and poverty, violence and greed, substance abuse and addictions of all sorts, sexual abuse and promiscuity, abortion and euthanasia. By our knowledge of the truth, by our living of our holy faith, and by our encounter with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, we are equipped to evangelize our culture; we are strengthened in our service in charity to others; and, our hearts are drawn to the Kingdom that is prepared for those who love God.
May Saint Katharine Drexel remain by our side as we walk in her footsteps in service and love, and may she pray with us that we have a more ardent devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. Also, may Our Lady of the Rosary inspire us and lead us to victory as we entrust to her intercession our efforts and our prayers in the cause of life and of justice. Sustained by the Eucharist, may we seek always to accomplish the Will of God that we may say with the servants mentioned in the gospel, "We have done what we were obliged to do" (Lk 17: 10). Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Saint Luke Mass for the Catholic Medical Association
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Dear Friends in the Medical Profession,
It is with real joy that I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and express to you my highest esteem. The lofty calling that you pursue, and your desire to bring your faith in the Lord of life to bear in your medical profession, are indeed a source of great inspiration. You bring light to a world of much darkness; and in practicing the art you have cultivated, having been blessed with special gifts and talents, you are a healing balm for both body and soul.
There is a quite significant link between the theme of resurrection which emerges in today’s readings and the profession that unites you. In the first reading from the Second Book of Maccabees, a terrible story of suffering is recounted in which, if we continue the account, seven brothers and their mother are mercilessly tortured and executed for following their conscience and refusing to violate their faith in the living God. In offering their lives as a sacrifice they show a confident hope of vindication and new life from the God of love and justice. The second brother makes his proclamation to the torturer: “You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever. It is for his laws that we are dying.”
It is strange to realize that most of the people of the Old Testament did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. By the first century B.C. a small number of Jews had come to accept the idea. In the Gospel it is clear that many religious leaders, such as the Sadducees, still rejected it. They bristled at Jesus' preaching about the resurrection of the dead and tried to disparage Him. Today's subtle attack mentioned in Saint Luke’s gospel account is prompted by an obscure law. If a man died without children, his brother had to marry the widow and have children by her. In posing this hypothetical situation, the Saduccees were trying to make a mockery of Jesus and to denigrate the concept of resurrection which, even though they rejected it, they saw as a mere continuance of this earthly reality.
The Sadducees, and many others before and after them, mistakenly presumed that life is merely the “here-and-now,” that there is nothing more than the memories of the living that keep one living on. But we know that there is so much more. The Son of God has definitively testified to it and has revealed Himself as the source of that new life in eternal communion with the Most Blessed Trinity. Jesus reveals eternity as a new and transformative reality which does not destroy earthly relationships but changes them into something far beyond what we are used to on earth.
Since we look to eternal life, we learn that it is essential to order our lives―all that we do and say―toward the attainment of the Divine Love that will carry us into eternal life. Your primary vocation, dear friends, as Catholic Christians, gives shape to and informs every part of your personal and professional lives. Your desire for loving union with God shapes and informs your intimate communion with your spouse, children, friends and colleagues. But of course it does not stop there. In your professional lives you gladly recognize the wonderful gifts you have been given and the great responsibility you take on in caring for the sick, the broken, and the vulnerable. In turn you make a return to the Lord by carrying out your professional call with excellence and diligence, but also in charity and integrity. In this you are rightly held in high regard by the wider community, but of course the highest source of satisfaction comes in the realization of your fidelity to God, which flows from your love of God sustained by His grace.
There are many practitioners in the medical community, as well as many people who seek the aid of the health care community, who come to find themselves because of your faith. Your gathering here at the Lord’s table is not only a source of personal strength, but the presence of each of you is a powerful witness and source of strength to your colleagues. Often enough it has been expressed to me, and to many priests who carry out ministry to the sick and infirm, how much it meant to a patient or to the family members to find out that their attending physician or nurse is a person of faith. No, your role is not always the explicit proclamation of the Gospel message. Nevertheless, as Christians following the promptings of the Holy Spirit in your heart, and hearing utterances from the lips of patients and family members, you may often come easily upon those occasions to speak a word of faith or consolation at difficult times for patients, whether or not their physical prognosis is a good one.
Of course Christians must be sensitive to the needs the patient expresses, some of whom show anger toward God or reject Him outright. It is much more in one’s disposition of charity, not in proselytizing―which the Church rejects as not being an authentic form of witness―that the gentle voice of God can be heard.
Even in the medical community, there are some for whom any expression of faith is perceived to be irrational, an opiate or a delusion. Typically, their rejection comes simply in the form of a dismissive or indifferent posture. Yet sometimes in the name of care, in the name of autonomy, there are systematic pressures, even legal pressures, put on those in the medical community whose consciences forbid them to take an active role in the evils of abortion and euthanasia, in various forms of embryonic abuse and destruction, and in contraceptive practices. It is vitally important that communities like the Catholic Medical Association continue to do everything possible to preserve the integrity of the medical profession in general and in the personal practice of that profession.
Good results in the short term are not promised us, but if we remain faithful to the Lord, faithful to serving that true good of persons which is knowable by human reason and elevated by divine Revelation, we will be blessed now and in eternity. The brothers and their mother in the Second Book of Maccabees recognized the purpose of God’s gifts, to be used rightly and never to be abused. The third brother to suffer cruel sport put out his tongue and bravely held out his hands when he was ordered to do so. We are told that he spoke these noble words:“It was from heaven that I received these; for the sake of his laws I disdain them; from him I hope to receive them again.”We are called to have such obedience to God’s law that we place it at the highest premium, even at the expense of our lives. With God’s help such courage in righteous living and faithful love is indeed possible. The author of the Book of Maccabees emphasized the effect that courage and fidelity had on others, as he said: “Even the king and his attendants marveled at the young man's courage, because he regarded his sufferings as nothing.”
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: you are shining lights, you are sons and daughters of God. May He bless your lives, may He bless your good works, and may He always strengthen you to be leaders in your exhilarating vocation to heal, to serve and to uplift through love. This grace is not cheap, it comes at some cost; but guided in strength and love by the Holy Spirit, you will be fortified in your zealous care for those brothers and sisters who need your help, and you will be fortified in your obedience to the living God.
May Mary the Mother of the Incarnate Word, the Mother of Life be for all of you the cause of your joy. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass celebrating the 44th Anniversary
of the Canonization of Saint Martin de Porres
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
November 5, 2006
Dear brother Bishops and Priests, Dear Deacons, men and women Religious,Dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,
One of the songs familiar to the African American community begins with the words, "Come and go with me to my Father’s House where there’s joy!" Those words come to mind today as we gather in this great basilica, the mother church of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Indeed, there is joy in this House today. In spite of all of the challenges and burdens of life, we still find joy — deep joy, great joy. This is one of the many gifts that African Americans bring to our Church. You, dear Friends, are a joyful people and the whole Church needs that joy today!
We are especially joyful in the fact that forty-four years ago, precisely May 6, 1962, Pope John XXIII, now Blessed John XXIII, canonized Martin de Porres a saint of the Church. As a young priest studying in Rome, I was there for that great event. In his homily that day, the Pope said, "The example of Martin’s life is ample evidence that we can strive for holiness and salvation as Christ Jesus has shown us: first by loving God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind; and second, by loving your neighbor as yourself."
God does not need saints, God needs nothing, for God is infinitely blessed in Himself. Yet, the Church raises up men and women outstanding in holiness, people like Saint Martin de Porres, to inspire us and to help us grow in holiness. Yes, we need the saints! How many people in our Church have been drawn to Saint Martin de Porres, especially those of African descent and of Hispanic decent. Images like the one we see today in this sanctuary inspire us in our efforts to be holy.
In the Gospel for Mass today on this 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, we hear that a scribe comes to Jesus and asks Him what is the greatest commandment. He does this to test Jesus in His knowledge of one of the most sacred passages in the Old Testament, the great teaching given by Moses. We heard this in our first reading from Deuteronomy, "Hear O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength."
But interestingly Jesus adds a second commandment. He says "The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus adds this second commandment, because the two are really inseparable. We cannot say that we love God with all our being and not strive to love each other. This is what it truly means to be a Christian. We must not just talk like Jesus, we must act like Jesus.
Recently, we have seen and heard of so many acts of violence in our City, but also in our surrounding communities and indeed throughout the world. These incidents sadden us and we often ask what can we do to promote peace and end violence. But really peace and love begin by the way we think, speak and act towards our family, co-workers and neighbors.
Why should we love? Why should we promote peace? The reason why we love is precisely because we have been loved by God. "For God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son" (John 3:16). Because God has loved us so perfectly, so powerfully in Christ Jesus, we must in turn love each other. Saint Martin de Porres understood that and lived that teaching to perfection. He lived it humbly, generously and with immense dedication. In his humility he impressed the whole world.
It is not easy to love. As we study the life of Saint Martin de Porres, we know the many challenges he faced. Yet, by loving God and his neighbor so well, he now sees God face to face and enjoys light, happiness and peace.
Perhaps, more that ever, we need Saint Martin de Porres to pray for us. May he intercede for us that we may keep on loving and serving until we all get to heaven and enjoy perfect joy forever. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
47th Annual Celebration of the Canonization of
Saint Martin de Porres
Recognition of the Centennial of the Founding of the
Knights of Peter Claver
Recognition of the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Establishment of the
Martin de Porres Foundation
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
November 8, 2009
Bishop Maginnis,
Brother Priests and Deacons,
Dear Men and Women in Consecrated Life,
Dear Knights and Ladies of Peter Claver,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
Praised be Jesus Christ!
A few moments ago, dear friends, we sang “All Hail the Power of Jesus Name”. What a beautiful way for us to begin this Sacred Liturgy, for it is indeed in the Name of Jesus that we gather to offer praise and thanksgiving to God the Father.
We gather today to remember and honor our beloved Saint Martin de Porres so close to his actual feast day. This is indeed a great tradition in our Archdiocese, whereby since his canonization in 1962, we have venerated him as a saint of the Church. I was blessed to be present in Rome for his canonization in 1962. What a joyful day that was for our Church! We also recognize this year the centennial of the founding of the Knights of Peter Claver. Our local Councils and Courts of Knights and Ladies are present here today in such numbers and we are grateful for all they do for our Church.
Finally, we remember this year the vision and generosity of Mr. Matthew McCloskey, Jr., who founded the Martin de Porres Foundation sixty years ago. This great gift to our Archdiocese has offered so much support to build up leadership in our Church among our African American brothers and sisters.
Yet, the primary cause of our joy is Jesus Christ, who comes to us at this Holy Mass in Word and Sacrament. So, once again then we proclaim: praised be Jesus Christ!
In our readings today, we focus on two widows. In the Book of Kings, the prophet Elijah asks a poor widow for a cup of water and then a little cake. She is surprised by his request, since she herself is in such great need. However, she trusts in his promise that, if she is generous, God will bless her. Indeed, after sharing what little she had, she and her son were able to eat for a year. Because of her faith and generosity, as the Scriptures attest: “the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry.”
That same theme is heard in the Gospel of Saint Mark, as Jesus calls His disciples to focus on a poor widow and her generosity. He invites them to notice how she makes her offering of “two small coins worth a few cents.” He tells them that, unlike the others who gave from their surplus wealth, “she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.” She does not simply make a financial contribution, but surrenders her whole life.
Dear friends, these are great stories of inspiration. Even with the little that we may have, we are called to be generous and to share, just as God has done for us. How well do we know the passage from the Gospel of Saint John: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3: 16).
Our Heavenly Father has shown us His generosity by giving us His Son, Jesus, “Who did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, but Heaven itself, that He might now appear before God on our behalf” (Hebrews 9:24-28) It was precisely His sacrifice on the cross that saved us and saved our world. It was that sacrifice that shows each one of us how we are to love one another. For there can be no love without sacrifice.
Is that not exactly what Saint Martin de Porres did so well? Did he not offer his life as a sacrifice of service to the poor and the needy? In his homily at the canonization of Saint Martin de Porres, Pope John XXIII, now Blessed John XXIII said: “He was tireless in his efforts to reform the criminal, and he would sit up with the sick to bring them comfort. For the poor be would provide food, clothing and medicine. Common people responded by calling him “Martin the charitable.”
As we honor Saint Martin de Porres today, as we do every year, we are challenged to do so by imitating him. We are called to offer our time, talent and treasure to help those in need. Even our small acts of kindness, like helping in our parishes and schools, visiting the sick, or sharing our resources, imitate the life of Saint Martin de Porres and indeed Jesus Himself.
Saint Paul wrote these beautiful words to the Galatians: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). May we put those words into action and may Saint Martin de Porres pray for us. Amen
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
48th Annual Celebration of the Canonization of
Saint Martin de Porres
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
November 7, 2010
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Dear brother Bishops, Priests and Deacons,
Dear Men and Women in Consecrated Life,
Dear Knights and Ladies of Peter Claver,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord.
What a great joy for me to gather with you to offer this Holy Mass. We gather on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, to celebrate the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ over sin and death. We gather in our beautiful Cathedral Basilica, our mother church, to hear God’s Word and to receive the Holy Eucharist. We gather as bishops, priests, deacons, men and women in consecrated life, and especially as lay faithful. Indeed, it is good for all of us to be here.
In a particular way, we remember today the life and ministry of Saint Martin de Porres. Some forty-eight years after his canonization in Rome, he still inspires us to live the call to conversion and holiness. Like all the saints, he reminds us that conversion and holiness are inseparable. By our Baptism, we strive to turn away from sin and walk in the light of Christ.
Saint Martin de Porres, being a black man, also reminds us of the blessings of the African American Catholic community.
In 1987, the Servant of God Pope John Paul II spoke to Black Catholics in New Orleans and shared these words: “Dear brothers and sisters: your black cultural heritage enriches the Church and makes her witness of universality more complete. In a real way the Church needs you, just as you need the Church, for you are part of the Church and the Church is part of you.” The Holy Father went on to say: “It is important to realize that there is no black Church, no white Church, no American Church; but there is and must be, in the one Church of Jesus Christ, a home for blacks, whites, Americans, every culture and race.” We are united in that one Church of Jesus Christ today.
In our first reading for Mass today, we listened to the Second Book of Maccabees. It is a story of seven brothers who were arrested and tortured for their beliefs and morals. Yet, these witnesses were strong and resolute in their faith. One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said: "What do you expect to achieve by questioning us? We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors."
At the point of death he said: "You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever. It is for his laws that we are dying" (2 Mc 7:1-2).
These men were able to remain faithful, because they knew well what Saint Paul wrote in his Letter to the Thessalonians: “The Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you against the evil one.”
Saint Martin de Porres knew that as well. He too experienced pain and mistreatment in his life. The very color of his skin made him an outcast to some. Yet, Saint Martin de Porres understood that he was made in the image and likeness of God and that God loved him. He loved and served the Lord, who was faithful to His people. Indeed, Saint Martin’s relationship with God was so alive that it overflowed and led him to love and serve His neighbor. He did this to perfection. As a Dominican lay brother, he was particularly loving to the poorest of the poor in his time. He reached out and shared through the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. He cared for the sick, fed the hungry and spent long hours before the Most Blessed Sacrament, where he received his strength.
In our Gospel today, Jesus responds to the question of the Sadducees about the resurrection of the dead. He tells them clearly: “That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called out 'Lord,’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."
It is indeed, this “God of the living” that we must come to know more deeply in our spiritual lives. It is His only Son, Jesus Christ whom we must share with a world that desperately needs to know His love and mercy. It is the Holy Spirit that draws us to conversion and holiness so that one day we might share the joy of Saint Martin de Porres in the company of the Most Blessed Trinity in heaven.
There is an old African American Spiritual that summarizes this all so well. The words are: “Walk together children and don’t you get weary, walk together children because there’s a great camp meeting in the Promised Land.” May we never grow tired of doing good and may we walk together with Jesus leading us. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of
Saint Thomas More High School
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
April 3, 2011
Dear Friends in Christ,
I am honored to be with you to recall and to celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the founding of Saint Thomas More High School. With joy and great gratitude, I greet the members of Saint Thomas More High School Alumni Association. Your fidelity to the memory of your high school, and your efforts to preserve the legacy and further the availability of Catholic Education are a great blessing to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. For all that you have done, for your present dedication, and for all that is to be accomplished in the future, I thank you.
On this Fourth Sunday of Lent, the Church presents to us the Gospel passage about the man born blind. In ancient times, many understood that a physical disability, such as blindness, was a punishment from God for sin. The disciples of our Lord asked Jesus for whose sin―a personal sin or the sin of his parents―was the man punished with blindness. Jesus quickly responded that this blindness was not a punishment for sin, but rather a means through which God’s works would be made visible. Upon declaring Himself ‘the Light of the World,’ our Lord took immediate action. Using His saliva, Jesus made clay and smeared it upon the eyes of the man with the instructions “Go and wash in the pool of Siloam.” The man did this and was healed.
When Jesus instructed the man to “go and wash,” we can see that this is a clear reference to the Sacrament of Baptism. Through the saving waters of Baptism, we are washed clean, the blindness of sin is removed, and we are infused with the light of grace. We become a new creation. The drama of this incident involves the core disbelief of the Pharisees, as well as their resentment that Jesus would work a miracle on the Sabbath day. Further, the Pharisees sought to intimidate the man who was healed of blindness as well as his parents. Although the man who was healed had not seen Jesus, he knew that Jesus had healed him. He came to believe that Jesus was sent from God and he testified to the Pharisees that Jesus was “a prophet.” Once Jesus sought the man, and this man saw the face of Jesus, the man who had been blind came not only to believe in but also to worship Jesus.
The episode of the man born blind and healed of his blindness reflects the experience of believers. Through the waters of Baptism, we are washed and healed. Through our encounter with Jesus, we come to believe. Our belief is reflected in our worship of Jesus Christ, our Lord and God. The Church, founded by Christ, has the mandate to preach the Gospel to every nation and to baptize in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Church is to proclaim to people in every time and place the truth of Jesus Christ. Through her task of teaching the faith, the Church is to influence culture and transform society in Christ, who is the Light of the World. Our celebration today marks how particularly this local Church―the Church in Philadelphia―has, through Catholic education formed young minds and prepared faithful citizens to have a positive impact on the culture of our time. Saint Thomas More High School, although closed for a number of years, impressed upon you, graduates and members of the Alumni Association, the significance of faithful citizenship, the obligation to profess and live our holy Faith constantly and courageously, and the lasting contribution and value of Catholic education.
In his Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul declared: “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of the light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth” (Eph 5:8-9). This exhortation applies to all who have been transformed by the encounter with Jesus. Through Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, we receive our mission to live and proclaim our faith; we receive the courage and sustenance necessary to fulfill that mission. Through prayer we are revitalized for the task entrusted to us; and, whenever we fail through weakness and sin, we are forgiven through the Sacrament of Penance and granted the encouragement to resume the work of giving witness to Jesus. All of this―this wonderful relationship with God and the good fruits which are produced by our union with Him―is made clear to us through Catholic education. You, my friends, have been formed by Catholic education and now, in gratitude for the gift which you have received, you make this gift possible for youth of our present day. The torch―the brilliant Light of Christ―which was handed to you, you in turn hand on to others.
In this generous task, you have no better patron than Saint Thomas More, a man passionately transformed by his love for Christ and His Church who lived at a time when forces in society sought to suppress―even destroy―the Catholic Faith. Venerable John Paul II described Thomas More as, “a model layman, living the Gospel to the full... a fine scholar and an ornament to his profession, a loving husband and father, humble in prosperity, courageous in adversity, humorous and godly” (Pope John Paul II, Prayers and Devotions, p. 232). As we observe the seventy-fifth anniversary of the canonization of Saint Thomas More, we honor a martyr whose courage flowed from a serene spirit and clear conscience. Well-formed in the light of truth, the truths of our holy Catholic faith, Saint Thomas More could not consent to the Oath of Supremacy in which King Henry VIII declared himself Supreme Head of the Church in England. Though countless others succumbed to pressure, Thomas More―along with the ascetic and brilliant Bishop of Rochester, Saint John Fisher ―adamantly refused. After having all of his property confiscated, his family reduced to poverty, his many months in prison and, finally being sentenced to death, Thomas never bore ill will to King Henry VIII. Rather, as he so simply stated before his execution, that he “died the King’s good servant but God’s first” (quoted in Peter Ackroyd, The Life of Thomas More, p. 405).
The witness of Saint Thomas More―his life in the public sphere guided by the unwavering practice of his unshakeable faith―remains a model for all. Throughout his whole life, Thomas More was inspired by our Catholic faith. He matured in belief, he was sustained by worship, he was strengthened by self-discipline and penance, he was comforted by gazing upon the face of Christ. This witness in so many ways describes the purpose of Catholic education―to instill Catholic values in our children so that, formed by the light of the Gospel and instructed in all disciplines, they may have stability in times of turmoil, security in hardship, hope and guidance in every difficulty, and that surety of belief in Christ, who promised to be with His Church until the end of time.
As we advance more deeply into this Lenten season, and as our observance of the Passion of our Lord draws nearer, let us make our own the words of a prayer composed by Saint Thomas More as he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. The great martyr prayed: “Give me Your grace, good Lord, to set the world at nought, to set my mind fast upon You....To be joyful of tribulations, to walk the narrow way that leadeth to life. To bear the cross with Christ. To have continually in my mind the passion that Christ suffered for me; for His benefits incessantly to give Him thanks” (from “A Godly Meditation,” printed in Manual of Prayers, Pontifical North American College).
Talk of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Neumann College, Aston, PA
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws and Founder's Day
March 16, 2005
Sister Lynn Patrice Lavin, OSF and the leadership and members of the Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia, I offer my prayers and congratulations on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of your founding by Mother Francis Bachmann and Saint John Neumann. Dr. Mirenda, members of the Board of Trustees, Administration, Faculty, Staff and Students of Neumann College, I extend to you my prayerful best wishes on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the founding of Neumann College. These two milestones are also a significant celebration for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as generations of Catholics, as well as other fellow Christians and members of other religions, have benefitted from the works of the Sisters and of the College.
I express also my gratitude for the opportunity to serve as keynote speaker for the Dr. Dorothy A. P. Leunissen Presidential Lecture Series during this joyful time of celebration for both Neumann College and the Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia. Furthermore, I am honored to be awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by Neumann College.
The observance of the 40th anniversary of the founding of Neumann College affords an opportunity for reflection on origins that were both humble and ambitious. Motivated by the desire to educate and also to provide educators, the Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia invested years of planning as well as finances into establishing their own college dedicated to Our Lady of Angels. In 1980, the college was renamed to honor the great Saint John Neumann who co-founded the Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia and who was so passionate about Catholic education. For four decades, Neumann College has educated the Sisters as well as many hundreds of students in the spirit and tradition of Saint Francis of Assisi, whose mind, heart and entire being were so deeply rooted in Jesus Christ and His Church. The successes of the past help to form a clear vision for the future.
Neumann College is proud of the Franciscan tradition in which this institution was founded. In Saint Francis of Assisi, countless men and women, throughout the past eight centuries, have an example of one who encountered Jesus Christ and was completely transformed by that encounter. Having been transformed himself, Saint Francis then wanted to help transform others.
It is fitting to recall the words of the great Franciscan priest, bishop and Doctor of the Church, Saint Bonaventure, written in his Prologue to The Life of Saint Francis: “In these last days the grace of God our Savior has appeared in his servant Francis.... He was poor and lowly, but the Most High God looked upon him with such condescension and kindness that he not only lifted him up in his need from the dust of a worldly life, but made him a practitioner, a leader and a herald of Gospel perfection and set him up as a light for believers so that by bearing witness to the light, he might prepare for the Lord a way of light and peace into the hearts of his faithful. Shining with the splendor of his life and teaching like the morning star in the midst of clouds, by his resplendent rays he guided into the light those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death” (no. 1).
In the tribute which Saint Bonaventure paid to Saint Francis, it is evident that any college or university which is embedded in the Franciscan tradition must then reflect those virtues which made Saint Francis a light to the people of his time. Those same virtues have inspired and illuminated the Church throughout the centuries following the life and death of Saint Francis. His life and witness always point the way to Christ through His Church, and, as we so well recall, Saint Francis saw his mission as a call from Christ to build up the Church. So, too, must the college point the way to Christ and work toward the building up of the Church, which in turn serves all humanity.
When, over twenty-five years ago, our Holy Father Pope John Paul II visited the Catholic University of America, he outlined three goals to which institutions which bear the title “Catholic” should aspire. He stated: “A Catholic university or college must make a specific contribution to the Church and to society through high-quality scientific research, in-depth study of problems, and a just sense of history, together with the concern to show the full meaning of the human person regenerated in Christ, thus favoring the complete development of the person. Furthermore, the Catholic university or college must train young men and women of outstanding knowledge who, having made a personal synthesis between faith and culture, will be both capable and willing to assume tasks in the service of community and of society in general, and to bear witness to their faith before the world. And finally, to be what it ought to be, a Catholic college or university must set up, among its faculty and students, a real community which bears witness to a living and operative Christianity, a community where sincere commitment to scientific research and study go together with a deep commitment to authentic Christian living” (Address of October 7, 1979).
These words of Pope John Paul II reflect what could serve in a mission statement for any Catholic college or university. Every institution of higher learning aims toward the betterment of society and culture through the education it imparts. However, it is the unique and supreme task of a Catholic college to strive toward the formation of the human person in the light of Jesus Christ. Thus, the Catholic college contributes to the betterment of society and culture, not only through the academic training of minds, but also through the spiritual development of hearts. Formed in the school of the Gospel and versed in the truths of the Church, students are then sent into the heart of society to radiate the light of Christ Himself.
When we consider the condition of our modern world, we must also acknowledge that there is darkness as well as light, a darkness that tries to extinguish the light of Christ but which will never do so. Troublesome ideologies have indeed taken hold of society and have adversely influenced many minds. Consumerism, with its daily invitation to possess the superfluous, has led to a rampant materialism. In this context, one's worth is determined by one's wealth, achievements and status. This mindset results in the utilitarianism which has tainted the contemporary view of the value of human life. Some people reason that if a person cannot be "productive", then that person no longer has value. "Unproductive" individuals are seen as inconveniences to be eliminated. Some fruits of this mindset are abortion, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.
The world of today has become obsessed with physical perfection, leading to sensualism. In society today, God’s gift of physical beauty is often distorted. In addition, the disturbing reality of pornography is actualized in a rampant billion-dollar industry. The accessibility of pornography through film, magazine and internet has led to hedonism, sexual addictions and violent crimes, notably against women and children.
Escapism, another cultural addiction, can be a strong temptation to youth. Young people of today face great difficulties. They have observed horrible acts of violence and terrorism, and have sometimes imitated them. They see an aggressive attack on the dignity of marriage and the family. Some have been victims of domestic violence and abuse. Without a solid foundation of faith and family, many young people seek to “escape”from their troubles through excessive use of alcoholic beverages and through so-called “recreational” drugs. Far too many young lives have been ruined - even ended - through substance abuse.
All of these ideologies - consumerism, materialism, utilitarianism, sensualism, escapism - are components of contemporary culture. Against the backdrop of these elements, Catholic colleges have the responsibility and exhilarating mission to let shine the light of Christ and thus to fortify minds and consciences to stand in contradiction to false ideologies.
In another address given to the leadership of Catholic Higher Education in the United States, Pope John Paul II emphasized the tremendous influence which our Catholic Faith can and must have on culture: “It is true of course that the culture of every age contains certain ambiguities, which reflect the inner tensions of the human heart, the struggle between good and evil. Hence the Gospel, in its continuing encounter with culture, must always challenge the accomplishments and assumptions of the age. Since, in our day, the implications of this ambiguity are often so destructive to the community, so hostile to human dignity, it is crucial that the Gospel should purify culture, uplift it, and orient it to what is authentically human” (Address of September 12, 1987). For Catholic colleges, steeped in Catholic teachings and values, what could be more significant than to offer to students the light of Christ and of those timeless truths which have formed, guided and inspired humanity and culture for two thousand years?
Saint Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians can very well be applied in our struggle against the errors of our age: “Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph 6: 13-17).
Christ’s commission to His Church is: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mk 16: 15). Against seemingly unsurmountable odds, the Apostles heeded Christ’s commission and built up the Church in the ancient world. Following the example of the Apostles, armed with the Word of God and the truths of faith, Saint Francis of Assisi arose to convert the world of his time. Armed with the Word of God and the truths of faith, the Church sets out in our day to reverse the erroneous philosophies and ideologies which have weakened society, and to point out to all people the uplifting message of Jesus Christ, which offers true freedom and calls for justice and peace, charity and chastity, and a profound respect for human life and human dignity.
In the Church’s efforts constantly to insert Gospel values into our culture, Catholic colleges and universities have such a significant role to play. In upholding and teaching the truths of faith, Catholic institutions of higher learning must work in a close and intimate relationship with the Church’s Magisterium. Both the local Bishop and the Catholic college have at the very heart of their concerns proper Christian formation.
As the local Bishop is entrusted with the threefold office of teaching, governing and sanctifying, so Catholic colleges and universities work in solidarity with the Bishop to ensure that the Catholic Faith in all its richness is upheld and taught, without being diluted by popular opinion or error. Thus, in offering to students the faith—whole and entire—Catholic colleges and universities guide students to discover the light of Christ. In their encounter with Jesus Christ, students recognize their call to holiness of life as well as their unique ability to contribute to the new evangelization of culture, in every sphere of public life—government, law, commerce, media, medicine, science and the arts—as well as by serving the Church in the state of the priesthood or that of consecrated life.
Certainly, as Neumann College reviews the achievements of the past forty years, there is much to celebrate. The reflection on the past, however, encourages a plan for the future. The mission statement of Neumann College highlights a very significant goal: “Implicit in the College’s Mission is the responsibility to offer educational programs which anticipate and respond to the changing needs of society.” The consideration of the condition of society in our day, as well as some anticipation of society in the near future, spurs the Neumann College community to appreciate more deeply the specific and indeed salvific task of those committed to Catholic higher education. By virtue of its nature as a Catholic college, Neumann College has had and can continue to have a tremendous impact on culture and society by forming women and men in the faith, by aiding in their sanctification by communicating to them the light of Christ and of His teaching. By virtue of its Franciscan heritage, Neumann College necessarily must be passionate in its faith in Christ and His Church and in the desire to share that faith with all those who freely wish to explore it and embrace it.
As a Catholic college, Neumann College has not only the obligation to educate the mind, but it also enjoys the ability to minister to the spiritual needs of the college community. How well the words of Pope John Paul II, addressed to the Leadership of Catholic Higher Education, can be applied to you: “It is your privilege to serve your students in faith and love; to help them deepen their friendship with Christ; to make available to them the opportunities for prayer and liturgical celebration, including the possibility to know the forgiveness and love of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of Penance and the Eucharist. You are able, as Catholic educators, to introduce your students to a powerful experience of community and to very serious involvement in social concerns that will enlarge their horizons, challenge their life styles and offer them authentic human fulfillment.”
During this special season of grace known as Lent, and, in particular, during this Year of the Eucharist, Jesus Christ crucified and risen encourages those who are engaged in the Catholic education of leaders. Once more, humanity, whose vision is often blurred by the false notions of the world, must be confronted with the “folly of the Cross” (cf. 1 Cor 1:18), to see Jesus Christ “publicly portrayed as crucified” (Gal 3:1). Although, “the whole of Christ’s life was a continual teaching: his silences, his miracles, his gestures, his prayer, his love for people, his special affection for the little and the poor,” most particularly we see that “his acceptance of the total sacrifice on the cross for the redemption of the world, and his resurrection are the actualization of his word and the fulfilment of revelation. Hence for Christians the crucifix is one of the most sublime and popular images of Christ the Teacher” (Catechesi Tradendae, 9).
Saint Francis of Assisi knew this. Christ crucified spoke to the very heart of Francis. From his own heart, Saint Francis saw in Christ crucified the ideal of all that he longed to be. In his struggles and trials, in his weakness and sufferings, in his desire to understand and accomplish the will of God, Saint Francis poured out his heart in the Church of San Damiano at the feet of Jesus Christ crucified. In a supplication which certainly reflects the genuine longing, yearning and hopes of so many men and women in this modern world, Saint Francis prayed:
Most high,
glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of my heart
and give me, Lord,
a correct faith,
a certain hope,
a perfect charity,
sense and knowledge,
so that I may carry out your holy and true command.
I pray that this year of celebration will be for the Neumann College community, as well as for the Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia, a time of grace and hope. In the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi, you are invited to look to the future of the human family through the eyes of Jesus Christ and to help change hearts by sending out into the marketplace enthusiastic young people set afire with the love of Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead. Maintain the vision of Saint John Neumann, your patron, and Mother Francis Bachmann, your foundress. Recognize the power of Catholic higher education to contribute mightily to society and to serve humanity in truth and love. Recognize the power of Christ’s light shining through your lives, never forgetting the experience attested to by Saint John who wrote: “...the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it” (Jn 1:5). In the midst of difficulties and challenges be always people of hope and trust.
In the Franciscan tradition, I prayerfully greet all of you: Pax et bonum!
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass
for Catholic School Teachers Celebrating Twenty-Five Years of Service
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, February 8, 2004
Dear Friends,
We gather today in our Cathedral Basilica, the center of Catholic life in Philadelphia, to recognize Catholic teachers who for a significant time have chosen to model for so many of our youth the Gospel message of Jesus who is our truth and our peace. The words that Jesus addressed to Peter in today s Gospel come to us with power and excitement: Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men. You, jubilarian teachers, have been fishers of young people. Whether you teach Math, Science, Business, English, History, or Religion, you all teach in the Church and bring our students closer to the Jesus whom they desire to know and whom they search for in their lives.
Saint Paul, a man of great evangelizing spirit, succinctly presents to us the mission of Jesus when he writes, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day...; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once&. Last of all he appeared to me .... Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed. These very words stir up within us the Spirit of Jesus who desires our young people to hear in their hearts the reality of God s love for them, to see with their eyes the presence of Jesus in their daily lives and to touch with their hands the Body of Christ, which is the center of everything they are. The Eucharist ignites in us a challenge to simplicity and courage. These virtues, in turn, arouse in others a thirst for Jesus. This is how Catholic school teachers evangelize our young people, by seizing the Word itself and incarnating it in their lives. How else could we succeed? We would be like Peter in the Gospel who said, Master, we have worked hard all night long and have caught nothing. Jesus wanted His followers to understand that they could do nothing without Him. But, if we allow Jesus to be the source and reason for our work, we will catch a great number of fish and our nets will be at the breaking point.
In its document on the Missionary Activity of the Church, the Second Vatican Council called missionaries to become living examples of a simple life and avid preachers obedient to the Magisterium of the Church. Fortified by the sacramental life, they must be servants to all God s people. Is not this, in fact, who you are? You, as teachers, are missionaries of God s Word from the daily interaction of the classroom to the endless nightly preparations and research. The classroom becomes the marketplace wherein Christ dwells. The Gospel reading today reminds us: Do not be afraid. We recognize the sacrifices that you have made in order to cultivate the moral and religious character of a generation of young Catholic people. It is within this context that we are proud to call you teachers.
Today as we honor your lives as Catholic educators and as daily catechists in the Church, we take this opportunity to renew together our commitment to Catholic Education. We depend on the Gospels and the Catechism as texts of our faith. Through these we identify pillars in our lives of faith. These pillars include: the Church, the family, the common good, and the dignity of each human person. In turn, these pillars require a culture of life which is so necessary for our young people and which opens doors to the holiness our youth so desire.
The Church is the center of our Catholic culture. In the words of Vatican II, she truly knows that only God, whom she serves, meets the deepest longings of the human heart (Gaudium et Spes, 41). It is in the communion of the Church that all baptized persons share in the Kingdom of God. And so our communion in the Church, expressed by our presence here today in this Cathedral Basilica, reflects our own desire to contribute significantly to the building up of the Kingdom of God.
The family, too, builds up God s Kingdom. God Himself is the author of the sacred covenant of Christian marriage. Now, more that ever, it is imperative that teachers collaborate with parents in planting the seeds of good family life in the hearts of our children. Especially in a society trying to avoid its definition of family , alienating itself from the articulation of truth, our students need you as responsible adults to describe faithfully this great gift of God called the family . Teachers are bonded by a sacred trust to the parents of their students. They are called to reinforce the model of family life found in the Holy Family of Nazareth. Catholic teachers also catechize their students about the life of the eternal Family of God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Your mission, dear friends, involves supporting and encouraging the common good. When our Catholic forebears came to this country, they did so because of its promise of religious freedom. They came with a healthy respect for the good of all and with an intent to enact laws that protect individual liberty as well as the common good. Today we need to teach our children that the common good is the sum total of social conditions which allow people either individually or in groups, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1906). We need to help them understand that maintaining the common good calls for prudence from each one of us and, even more so, from those who exercise authority. A healthy balance is needed in promoting the well-being of the individual and the common good.
Another pillar that we want to articulate for our young people is the dignity of the human person. This dignity requires that every person should glorify God in his body and not permit it to serve the evil inclinations of his heart. Our students must also come to understand the dignity of the human family. They must believe that we are good and that God truly desires us to respond to His ever ready love. It is in your interpersonal relationship with each of your students that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, you demonstrate to them respect, charity, compassion and their proper role in the community in which they live. It is the sanctity of the classroom that our children increase and develop their love and respect for all human life from conception to natural death. This love and this respect are the very foundation of the human family.
My brothers and sisters, my fellow educators in our holy, Catholic faith: it takes great pledication to live simply and courageously, with hearts open to the service of others. Today we remember with respect and affection your freely chosen response to a calling to collaborate in the Church s divine mission of education exercised through schools which are linked to my predecessor St. John Neumann, and which extol the family, this great nation and the human dignity of each person. On this joyful occasion, we acknowledge your great dignity and contribution to this mission of the Church, which is rooted in your Baptism and strengthened daily by your relationship to God through prayer and the sacraments.
The great love you have shown God through your students surely has become contagious and will illuminate for many the way to God. Saint Bernard once wrote: When God loves, all he desires is to be loved in return, for the sole purpose of His love is to be loved. Renewed by your commitment and zeal to bring young people to love God more fully through His Church, I encourage you to continue to answer daily the question the Lord poses in today s first reading: Whom shall I send? Your response of Here I am Lord ... send me, contributes greatly to the building up of the Church for generations to come. For this reason, dear Teachers, dear Friends, we thank God for your dedicated partnership in the Gospel and for the zeal that inspires you to communicate Jesus Christ to our children and young people. May God sustain you in generosity and joy. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
First National Congress on the Theology of the Body
Normandy Farms, Blue Bell
July 30, 2010
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
I am very pleased to participate in the First National Theology of the Body Congress sponsored by the Theology of the Body Institute, and in this context to celebrate the Eucharist with you today. This Congress is an important initiative which brings all of us together in the name of Jesus priests, religious, and laity from a broad area of scholarship, expertise and ministerial service.
Thirty years ago the Venerable Servant of God Pope John Paul II was laying out a plan, God=s plan for humanity. He was describing it in detail. He did not attempt to hide it, conceal it or keep it under wraps. His plan was called the theology of the body. Thirty years ago John Paul II was one full year into his catechesis on the theology of the body. Thirty years ago, this very week, he told us that there is only one way to form a true communion of persons. That way, he explained, is through love a love which always takes the form of a gift of self.
He repeated his plan in his teaching and travels, in cathedrals, in stadiums and from countrysides, on every continent, in his writings and homilies, to heads of state or local pilgrims. He insisted that love, authentic love, always and everywhere takes the form of a gift of self, modeled on Christ's gift of Himself to His Father.
Love is the most misunderstood word in our language. One syllable, four letters. A secularistic culture in the world has long had another plan. There are two main targets of this plan. The first is to attack the inviolable dignity of human life, in particular in its weakest and most vulnerable moments: life in the womb and in advanced age. The second is to deconstruct marriage as the permanent, faithful and fruitful union of one man and one woman. In this regard modern society faces a deep cultural crisis. It is a crisis of love.
For over two generations now this secularistic culture has been forming what may prove to be the most threatening ideology in all of history. This contemporary secularistic culture tolerates:
a consumerist materialism that tells us that the more money, popularity and power we have, the better we are;
an individualism that leads us to be selfishly obsessed with our own status and tells each of us that AI am number one@; that my opinion, simply because I have it, is as good as true;
an entitlement autonomy that tells us that there is no authority over individual choice;
a dominant relativism that insists that popular opinion replaces timeless truth. Here the sense of right and wrong all but vanishes. There are no limits on what passes for entertainment. Violence has moved from the television and movie screen into our schools and neighborhoods.
The contemporary secularistic culture not only tolerates the frenetic pursuit of pleasure, but it accelerates the notion that if we feel a need, we must satisfy it immediately. It tells us that no craving should go unmet and all urges are irresistible. Human sexuality is being reinterpreted as the absolute right to satisfy every craving.
Embracing consumerism, materialism, individualism, entitlement autonomy, relativism and hedonism the one thing that the abiding secularistic culture appears unable to tolerate is religion. Faith, the moral law and belief in God are relegated to the realm of private practice, which we are told repeatedly must never reach into the culture.
All of these attitudes form the secularistic ideology that has paved the way for numerous errors and distortions resulting in promiscuity, cohabitation, divorce, contraception, direct sterilization, adultery, abortion, domestic violence, sexual abuse and the attempt to deconstruct marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Remember the two targets: the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of marriage.
Despite all of the messages we hear in advertisements and the popular media that our self-worth depends on our net worth, that our individual choices and opinions are sacrosanct, that there is no objective right and wrong, that there are no limits, and that having a craving is reason enough to satisfy it, this generation knows despite all claims to the contrary, something is missing. The current generation is desperately hungry for something more. It is searching for what St. Paul referred to in the Letter to the Ephesians, which we heard proclaimed a few moments ago, as "the inscrutable riches of Christ"(Eph 3:8). The secularistic culture views excess as glamorous and exciting. That culture tells us that self-control is pointless, and that for our life to be worthwhile we must move from one excitement to the next. Yet, these tenets evaporate very quickly and abruptly. They are illusions. Once they dissolve, the only thing left for those who embrace them is a raw inner emptiness that congeals in a deep wound. In fact, with the passing of time, painful wounds highlight the true nature of the secularistic culture. The wounds tell society that something indeed is missing.
What is missing? What is missing is the one thing that can never be found in all the false promises of consumerism, materialism, individualism, entitlement autonomy, relativism, and hedonism. The one thing that transforms the pain of an abject secularism into the promise of life is the gift the gift of self in love. That is the theme of this Congress,"Receiving and Proclaiming the Gift." As the Second Vatican Council taught, and Pope John Paul II quoted so often: "... man can fully discover his true self only in the sincere gift of self"(Gaudium et Spes, 24). This generation knows it is hungry, and Pope John Paul II knew for what, or, rather, for Whom it was hungry: Jesus Christ, the Word made Flesh, the gift of the Father's love, the fruit of the Virgin Mary's womb. No amount of possessions, prestige, or pleasure can totally block the deep yearning of the human heart, which calls out with the psalmist: "Lord, teach me your statutes"(Ps 119:12).
Among Pope John Paul II's initial pastoral priorities was to teach the theology of the body. With enduring consistency, from the very beginning of his papacy, he reached into the deposit of faith and drew forth a new concentration of hope hope for the human person and marriage. Like St. Paul in the Letter to the Ephesians, Pope John Paul II proclaimed Athe inscrutable riches of Christ"(Eph 3:8) and brought Ato light for all what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known ..."(Eph 3:9). Pope John Paul declared society's answers to be superficial and found wanting. He showed us that the limelight of the world is a false glare that blinds the human person to the true and the good. Only the luminous radiance of Jesus Christ unveils the plan that fulfills man. John Paul II repeated the instruction of Jesus, that we must go back to Athe beginning"(Mt 19:4, 8) to learn the true identity of the human person and the true nature of marriage.
Pope John Paul II showed us in specific detail how, in the plan of God, the gift of love in marriage transforms man and woman into husband and wife. That same gift of love, expressed in and through their bodies can further transform them to be father and mother through the gift of the child; it can bestow the gift of life on the world. Pope John Paul II showed us that, within the inner logic of love, only the gift transforms a person into a new creation. Week after week, month after month, year after year, from 1979 to 1984, Pope John Paul II moved from St. Matthew's Gospel, to the Book of Genesis, to the writings of St. Paul, and distilled the sublime benchmarks of human identity in a personal style which attracted the entire world.
Pope Benedict XVI has continued this generational summons. In his recent Apostolic Journey to Fatima, he emphasized that AInitiatives aimed at protecting the essential and primary values of life, beginning at conception, and of the family based on the indissoluble marriage between a man and a woman, help to respond to some of today's most insidious and dangerous threats to the common good. Such initiatives represent, alongside numerous other forms of commitment, essential elements in the building of the civilization of love" (Church of the Most Holy Trinity, Fatima, May 13, 2010).
Today, this First National Congress on the Theology of the Body shows us that the catechesis given thirty years ago is now the curriculum of the Culture of Life. This Congress must not end. The contribution of the speakers and participants, the fruits of the seminars, discussions, and artistic performances must advance still further. This Congress must become a campaign of human and catechetical formation. The teaching of John Paul II on the theology of the body must be further introduced into Pre-Cana programs, RCIA instruction, Natural Family Planning training, parish adult education programs, campus ministry programs, youth groups, homilies and religious education among children and adolescents. Its rich content must be mined and proclaimed so that the next generation can continue to access and comprehend it.
In the theology of the body, Pope John Paul II has given us a step-by-step, Spirit-laden presentation that resonates with the hunger so many people feel every day. How many times have we heard the phrase, AWhy have I never heard this before?"from audiences who listen to this splendid catechesis? In its pages lies a multi-level, clear and definitive response to a secularistic culture: The body is created for the authentic gift of self in love. No ideology, no trend, no fad, no lobby group can deliver the lasting sense of truth as can this catechesis drawn from the Ainscrutable riches of Christ"(Eph 3:8). The emerging generation simply must, without qualification, be transformed into a generation that understands the meaning of Christian marriage and that honors the inviolable dignity of human life from the first moment of conception to natural death. This generation must embrace the truth that human sexuality is based only on the spousal meaning of the body.
This First National Theology of the Body Congress takes place three decades after John Paul II had begun his catechesis on the theology of the body. As we heard in the Gospel of St. Luke a few moments ago: "Every tree is known by its fruit"(Lk 6:44). Today, the tree planted by Pope John Paul II is producing its rich fruit. The roots of the tree are deep. Its branches are strong. The fruit is plenty. This Congress is planting seeds coming from this same tree. Our task now is to care for these seeds, being planted deep in our desire, deep in our lives, parishes, families and homes. We must nurture these seeds by courageously proclaiming the two great hinges of the Culture of Life: the inviolable dignity of human life from the moment of conception to natural death and the protection of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
Dear friends: the Lord of the harvest is providing a springtime that so deeply manifests the Ainscrutable riches of Christ"(Eph 3:8). He is leading us to the harvest, which is that great fulfillment in our own day of Athe plan of the mystery"(Eph 3:9) of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Third Sunday of Advent - Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
December 12, 2009
Muy queridos Hermanos y Hermanas:
Aunque estamos en pleno Adviento y las lecturas para la Misa de hoy son las del tercer domingo de Adviento, hoy nos hemos parado para celebrar también la gran fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. Es muy interesante que tanto las lecturas de nuestra santa Misa como el festival que celebramos tienen algo en común: la proclamación de la Buena Nueva, es decir, la Palabra de Dios, la Palabra de Salvación encarnada en la persona de Jesucristo, nacido de la Virgen María.
En los dos primeros domingos de Adviento hemos oído el anuncio de la Salvación y hemos contemplado los caminos por donde nos viene dicha Salvación. En este tercer domingo de Adviento, la Palabra de Dios nos habla del gozo que debemos sentir al experimentar la actuación de Dios en nosotros.
La primera lectura tomada del profeta Sofonías nos exhorta este domingo de “Gaudete,” (es decir, regocijarse), de cantar y de ser alegres porque Dios viene no para juzgarnos sino para salvarnos y renovarnos. También Sofonías nos asegura que Dios “está en medio” de nosotros y nos ama profundamente. Es decir, que como cristianos tenemos la Salvación en plenitud. Este amor de Dios hacia nosotros incluso es causa de júbilo en los días de fiesta como la de hoy, la fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, cuando hemos cantado y regocijado en las Mañanitas.
En la segunda lectura, tenemos también la alegría en plenitud. San Pablo nos lo recuerda y dice: “Alégrense siempre en el Señor, se lo repito; ¡alégrense!” El motivo de este gozo colmado es la presencia de Cristo: “El Señor está cerca.” Con la presencia del Señor, es imposible estar tristes. Además, San Pablo nos recomienda que nuestra alegría tenga una expansión entre los que están a nuestro alrededor. Tiene que ser una alegría de contagio: una alegría de testimonio: “Que la benevolencia de ustedes sea conocida por todos.”
En la tercera lectura del Evangelio de San Lucas, el evangelista nos transmite el aviso de Juan Bautista: La alegría cristiana debe ser extendida mediante una actuación justa en el mundo. El cristiano sabe que con su conducta expande el gozo de la salvación, sobre todo, la generosidad a los que no tienen lo que tenemos: “Quien tenga dos túnicas, que dé una al que no tiene ninguna, y quien tenga comida, que haga lo mismo.” Tanto como lo anunciará Jesús, Juan Bautista insiste que la ley fundamental de la transformación del mundo es el amor. El cristiano se funda en el “nuevo mandamiento”: del amor a todos y en todas las ocasiones de la vida. Es una dimensión misionera del cristianismo: el cristiano se salva en cuanto ayuda a salvar a los demás. Todos estamos llamados y obligados a hacer extensiva y eficaz la alegría de la Salvación nacida en Jesucristo, Hijo de Dios e Hijo de la Santísima Virgen María.
Queridos hermanos y hermanas, la celebración de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe demuestra la llegada de la buena nueva de la Salvación para la humanidad. En realidad, esta aparición no es muy distinta de otras apariciones de los pueblos oprimidos que buscaban un signo de libertad, esperanza y alegría. La Virgen María, ella misma Portadora de la Palabra de Salvación, siempre ha estado presente tanto en los momentos de triunfo y alegría como en las horas de dolor, en las calamidades de la naturaleza o de la política, en las luchas y en las persecuciones. Madre espiritual por ser Ella Madre de la Iglesia por habernos dado a Jesucristo, y Madre, en segundo lugar, por haber inspirado y protegido a todos los que le acudían pidiendo su ayuda. Recordemos hoy la bella oración que recomiendo que recen diariamente a la Virgen María, el “Memorare”: Acuérdate, ¡oh piadosísima Virgen María!, que jamás se oyó decir, que ninguno de los que han acudido a tu protección, implorado tu asistencia y reclamado tu socorro haya sido abandonado de ti. Animado de esta confianza, a ti también acudo, oh Madre Virgen de las vírgenes, y gimiendo bajo el peso de mis pecados, me atrevo a comparecer ante tu presencia soberana, ¡oh Madre de Dios y Madre nuestra!, no deseches mis súplicas; antes bien, escúchalas y acógelas benignamente.”
Queridos hermanos y hermanas, ya que se acerca la Navidad, recordemos, sobretodo hoy en la celebración de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, que la fe que Dios nos pide es, como El mismo, desconcertante. Pero como cristianos esperamos a Dios que vive con nosotros y que nos ama profundamente. Esperamos en este santo tiempo de Adviento a Dios no como a un equipo de fútbol triunfador, no como a una estrella de cine o de la canción, no como a ningún líder político poderoso, sino como a un amigo que viene a cenar en nuestra casa porque en esta Santa Eucaristía, este amigo nos está invitando a cenar con Él, ofreciéndole nuestros corazones y nuestras vidas enteras. ¡Que la Eucaristía que estamos celebrando en honor de la Virgen de Guadalupe nos dé la fuerza de voluntad que necesitamos para imitar a María para que seamos también portadores de la Buena Nueva del Amor a todo el mundo!
Cardinal Justin Rigali writes the following letter to the faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
My dear People,
Friday, October 7, is the second anniversary of my pastoral service as Archbishop of Philadelphia. As I reflect on these past two years, I am profoundly aware of God’s love and mercy and I continually thank God for all of you. So many wonderful things have been accomplished in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ by our dedicated priests, deacons, religious and laity here in our local Church.
At the same time, our Archdiocese has been humbled by sins and failings which have scarred the lives of many young people and have deeply pained and scandalized the faithful. As a result of the sinful actions of some priests, these young people were severely hurt and the pain lingers well into their adult years. Family members have also been hurt. I also know that many Catholics are offended by the actions taken or not taken by those in authority. And now, as an Archdiocese we are all experiencing great pain.
I send this letter to you from Rome where I am participating in the Synod on the Eucharist at the close of this Year of the Eucharist. Although I am separated from you by distance, I remain one with you in thought and prayer, ever aware of the suffering that many of you have expressed in view of the reports these past weeks concerning the sexual abuse of minors by some priests.
On my part, I have committed myself to prayer in the presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament to ask healing and strength from God for the victims, for their families and for you, dear people of the Archdiocese. I also go before our Lord to seek renewed forgiveness for the evil committed by these priests as well as for harm resulting from mistakes or errors in judgment made in the handling of these matters by anyone in administration. At the same time, I pray for the wisdom and strength to lead our Church through this period to a deeper commitment and faithfulness to the call of Jesus Christ-a call that can be answered only through a life of integrity and holiness on the part of each one of us.
This is certainly a time of purification for the Catholic Church in Philadelphia. It must be, also, a time of reparation for sins and a time for renewal.
Reparation acknowledges that evil has been committed. It admits that God has been grievously offended and acknowledges the grave harm caused to minors. Repentance and sorrow, as well as prayer, are essential elements of reparation. As I have said before, I know that no amount of words could ever truly repair the harm caused to those abused as children by unfaithful priests. Nonetheless, I wish to express, once again, my profound sorrow to the victims for the pain they have endured and continue to endure.
Restoring peace of mind and heart does not come easily. It can only completely come about through the gift of God Himself. Christian faith assures us that our Lord Jesus Christ has the power to make all things new. Jesus Christ can, in every situation, reach into the hearts and souls of all of us to comfort us, heal us, forgive us, purify us and strengthen us.
Jesus taught that evil can only be rooted out through humble prayer and penance. The evil that has come to light at the present time presents such a need. I ask that, in a spirit of reparation, we join together in repeated acts of prayer and penance.
Besides being a time of reparation, this must also be a time of renewal. Renewal calls for a deep conversion of heart on the part of all of us in every area of our life. It demands a commitment to greater holiness and integrity of life, which involves absolute respect for others and the observance of all God’s commandments.
At this time I acknowledge with profound gratitude and fraternal love the faithful priests of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, who are, and have been over the years, the vast majority of our priests. Your dedication and generosity, dear brothers, in serving the people of God faithfully are deeply appreciated and recognized by the Catholic faithful and by so many other upright citizens with whom you collaborate and are associated. You are, and remain, a great credit to the Catholic Church and to our community. The Eucharist is the source of your strength as you continue to offer your lives in service to Jesus Christ and to His people. Hundreds of thousands of individuals benefit from your ministry.
My thoughts turn also now to you, dear seminarians. I encourage you not to grow discouraged but to be confident in answering the Lord’s personal call to you to be a priest. I am proud of you and commend you for your willingness and courage to persevere in your preparation for the priesthood even as the community of the Church undergoes purification. More than ever, I ask you to remain faithful to your responsibility to be formed in the image of Jesus Christ. The Church needs you. The people of God need you. We are all one in praying for you. By committing yourselves to lives of ever greater holiness and integrity, you will be able to lead God’s people in reparation and renewal.
It is providential that I find myself participating in the Synod in Rome, reflecting on the Holy Eucharist. It is only in the power of the Eucharistic Lord that we will have the strength to make reparation for our sins and failings and to move forward in renewal as followers of Jesus Christ. We must turn to Jesus in the Eucharist.
For this reason, I am directing every parish within the Archdiocese to celebrate a holy hour in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament once a week for the intentions of reparation and renewal. I ask pastors to choose a time which is convenient for as many parishioners as possible. Some parishes already have more extended periods of Eucharistic adoration and I encourage them to maintain this practice, including perpetual Eucharistic adoration where this is possible.
Here in Philadelphia, we have the wonderful tradition, established by Saint John Neumann, of celebrating the Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotion annually in all our parishes. I also ask that a special intention in this celebration be reparation and renewal. If for some reason a parish has discontinued the practice of celebrating Forty Hours, I ask that every effort be made to restore it in the coming year and in the years to come.
I likewise request that, in the spirit of ecclesial communion with the local Church, all religious communities within the Archdiocese, all Catholic institutions, colleges and universities, retreat houses, all religious houses where there are chapels with the Blessed Sacrament reserved to join our parishes in holding a weekly holy hour with Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
I ask as many of you, the faithful, as possible to participate in these holy hours. I urge everyone to try to find some time during the week to pray before the Blessed Sacrament as we renew together our holy Catholic faith in the Eucharist.
During these hours of prayer, we will pray for the victims and their families. We will ask Jesus to heal hearts, minds and memories, and to open the way to deep peace and serenity for all. In our time before the Blessed Sacrament, we need to pray also for the priests who perpetrated these evil acts, so that they will be brought to true repentance and receive the Lord’s forgiveness. We need to pray for the forgiveness of all our own sins, which have offended God and dealt harm to His Church. In union with our Eucharistic Lord we are called to make reparation also for all the sins of the world.
Let us remember that in the Mass, at the consecration of wine into the Blood of Christ, the priest prays: "This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven." Forgiveness of sins is at the heart of our Lord’s Passion and Death, which are renewed in the Eucharist.
I ask that prayers be offered for our whole community, that we will have the wisdom to address this problem ever more effectively, so that we will do everything humanly possible to ensure that this evil of sexual abuse of minors is rooted out, never to happen again in our parishes, our institutions, our homes or anywhere else in our community. Let us pray that all of us in our own life and vocation will live more faithfully the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The anniversary of my installation as Archbishop of Philadelphia, October 7, is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Certainly, Mary has a special part to play in supporting our efforts for reparation and renewal. In the beautiful prayer, the Memorare, we pray: "Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins my Mother. To thee I come, before thee I stand sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen."
Finally, I ask that, turning to our Blessed Mother Mary in the confident spirit of the Memorare, we pray the rosary, meditating on the suffering, Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which are then re-enacted in the Eucharist. Trusting in the power of the Lord Jesus, who comes to us through Mary and remains with us in the Eucharist, let us faithfully commit ourselves to reparation for sins and to the renewal of our lives of Christian service.
May the Lord Jesus Christ grant us all grace and peace!
Cardinal Justin Rigali
Archbishop of Philadelphia
October 4, 2005
Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Celebration in honor of the Holy Martyrs of Uganda
Saint Athanasius Church, Philadelphia
June 7, 2006
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,
This evening we gather in this Church dedicated to Saint Athanasius. Entering this great house of God, one is immediately inspired by the beauty of the sacred art and images that raise our minds to God. However, tonight this sacred place is especially beautified by the gathering of God’s holy people. For we gather tonight in the Name of Jesus to celebrate the lives of the Holy Martyrs of Uganda.
Among these twenty-two young men from Africa we find Charles Lwanga, Andrew Kaggwa, Kizito and Gonzaga Gonza. They remained loyal to their faith in Jesus Christ rather than succumb to the evil demands of the king. They clearly acknowledged their Lord and Savior was Jesus Christ. They knew that the king could attack their bodies but had no claim on their souls, for their souls were purchased by the Blood of the Lamb of God. Their story reminds us of the words of the African American Spiritual— Oh Freedom: "Oh freedom, Oh freedom over me. And before I’ll be a slave, I’ll be buried in my grave And go home to my God and be free!"
Our first reading this evening was taken from the Second Book of Maccabees. In the account, seven brothers and their mother were arrested and tortured by the king. They were told to violate the law of God. Yet, they responded to this persecution with courage and conviction. They remained faithful and loyal, even until death. The writer tells us: "One of the brothers, speaking for the others said, "What do you expect to achieve by questioning us? We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors" (2 Mc 7:1-2).
This story of great courage is the same as that of the Ugandan Martyrs. Indeed, it is the same story as that of every martyr of Holy Mother Church. For the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Christian Faith that we celebrate today. It is also exactly what Jesus Himself teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus goes up a mountain and takes His seat as the New Moses and New Teacher and gives us the message of how we are called to live. Over and over, Jesus lists the attributes of a follower of His. Jesus calls "blessed" those who are persecuted for righteousness and He promises that the Kingdom of God is theirs! (cf. Mt 5:1-12).
We all know that it is not easy to follow Jesus and be a faithful member of His Body, the Church. We all know that sometimes we too are persecuted for our faith. This is why our Church gives us the saints, the holy men and women of every time and place that we can identify with in our struggle to avoid evil and do good. God does not need saints, we do! We need them to inspire us to be faithful, even in the midst of persecution.
In canonizing the Martyrs of Uganda in 1964, Pope Paul VI said this: "These African martyrs herald the dawn of a new age. If only the mind of man might be directed not toward persecutions and religious conflicts but toward a rebirth of Christianity and civilization! "That hope expressed by Pope Paul VI now becomes our prayer. We pray indeed that the Christian faith be born anew in the hearts and lives of all God’s people! And we entrust this prayer to our Blessed Mother Mary.
How good it is that in this celebration we gaze upon the altar and we see the source of our unity and the cause of our joy—Jesus Christ. Our Church is indeed one, holy, catholic and apostolic precisely because of Jesus Christ. The Holy Eucharist, the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ, must always be the center of our lives. It was the inspiration and strength of the Ugandan Martyrs and every saint of the Church and it is ours today and always. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass at the National Shrine
of the Immaculate Conception
USCCB Bishops' Assembly
Washington, DC
November 10, 2003
Your Eminence, Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington,
Your brother Cardinals and Bishops are very pleased to be here with you and our President, Bishop Wilton Gregory, in this National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, in the Archdiocese of Washington, together with so many priests, religious and laity, and in particular with Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, representing our Holy Father Pope John Paul II, to whom we are joined closely in prayer and with filial affection. We are pleased, in the course of the annual November Bishops Meeting, to gather, above all with our Lord Jesus Christ Himself in His Eucharistic Sacrifice, which is His great act of praise and intercession for the Church.
In the Gospels we find that Jesus is extremely conscious of being loved by His Father, whom He loves in return and who is always close to Him. Jesus says: "I am not alone." He is conscious of the Father's presence. The Father and Jesus act together (cf. Jn 8:16).
Our liturgy today speaks about the identity of Jesus as the Son of God. Today's feast is the memorial of Pope Saint Leo the Great (440-461), an intrepid defender and proclaimer of the divine personhood of Jesus Christ, in whom both the human nature and the divine nature come together. Saint Leo, during the years of his pontificate, kept alive the testimony of the Apostle Peter that we find in the Gospel this evening: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And now, almost 1550 years after Pope Leo, John Paul II ceaselessly proclaims to Jesus, in the name of all of us: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
So very recently on the 25th anniversary of his pontificate, our Holy Father recalled the many times he has proclaimed these words, the many times he has renewed, before the world, the faith of Peter, the faith of Leo, the faith of all their successors in the divinity of Christ, which is our holy Catholic faith.
In the Gospel we have heard proclaimed, Jesus perceives a growing hostility to Him and a lack of understanding of who He is. In this situation He wants His disciples to take a stand on His identity. And so He says: "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied: "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He then said to them: "But who do you say that I am?" And at this point came the reply of Simon Peter: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
For all these centuries the Church has meditated on these words, clarifying both the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ. With Saint Leo the Great we have learned to say that Jesus is "consubstantial with His Father and consubstantial with His Mother." In other words, He is divine like His Father and human like His Mother and like us. The Church summarizes this in her beautiful prayer: "Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man."
Saint Matthew joins to the Confession of Saint Peter the promise of Jesus to found His Church on Peter. The Messiah, whom Peter acknowledges and also confesses as the Son of God, cannot be understood without His people. And so Jesus promises to found His Church-the people of the New Covenant-on the one who, through the power of the Father, acknowledges and confesses His identity. Saint Matthew gives us these wonderful words of Jesus: "And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
All of this signifies that great power was given to Peter. I remember many years ago hearing Pope Paul VI comment on this text. He explained that Peter and his successors were given special powers to serve the community of the Church, but for each one it was to last only for a season. Jesus reserved to Himself the ultimate power over the Church. Pope Paul VI explained beautifully how Jesus considered the Church to be forever His. In repeating the words of Jesus, Paul VI emphasized one word: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church." All of us have the privilege of serving the Church and her mission of evangelization. We know that there is an urgency in our efforts, efforts which the Lord accepts and utilizes, but they are only for a season.
The Lord Jesus governs His Church, season after season, through the successors of Peter together with the other apostles. Pope Leo has told us that just as what Peter believed about Jesus is always true, so what Jesus gave to Peter will always endure.
If we read on in the 16th chapter of Saint Matthew's Gospel we see that Jesus is not only the anointed Messiah, who is the Son of God, but He is also the Suffering Servant of the Lord, who indeed requires us to accept Him as our crucified and risen Savior. We must belong to Him in the Church built upon the rock of Peter, who has received from Christ a mission and the power to fulfill it. With Peter we must likewise repent of any past infidelity.
Today at this sacred liturgy in the context of their annual November meeting the Bishops of the United States gather together, as servants of truth and teachers of the faith, in communion with the Successor of Peter. They gather together with representatives of the whole people of God in an exhilarating hour of Catholic unity here in this National Shrine, as they experience also the presence of the Mother of Jesus.
It is a blessing for the Bishops to be together. Together they find support since their gathering corresponds to Christ's plan to form His Apostles into a group, known as the Apostolic College.
It is wonderful for the Bishops to be together with so many of their priests, through whom they are assisted to fulfill their ministry. The Second Vatican Council reminds the Church that it is through the Bishops, together with their priests, that the Lord Jesus Christ is present in the midst of His people (cf. Lumen Gentium, 21).
But it is also wonderful for the Bishops to be together in prayer and worship with so many members of the people of God-religious and laity.
Today, dear friends, we assemble with Jesus as His Church. We are the diverse members of His Body. Today we honor the plan of the Eternal Father for the structure of His Church, built upon Peter and the other Apostles, perpetuated through the ministry of the Pope and the Bishops in communion with him, and sustained by the people of God. This gives us a deep insight into the importance of our liturgical assembly this evening.
As a community of faith and prayer, a community of love and service, we face together the many challenges present in the Church and in the world. We gather to pray for and commit ourselves, for example, to the great need of forming and supporting holy families, and of perpetuating the priesthood and promoting vocations to it. We gather together to thank God for the recent Partial Birth Abortion ban and to recommit ourselves to the defense, support and protection of human dignity and human life at every stage, from conception to natural death.
Even as we serve others, we are conscious of the Holy Father's call to us as Bishops-his call to holiness in our lives and ministry. Here too we count on the prayerful support of the people of God. For even as we pray and strive for holiness we know that we cannot wait to attain full holiness before encouraging others to do so. And in this way we move forward with humility and resolution, asking once again for the generous and persevering help of the people of God.
In his recent Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, signed on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his election, Pope John Paul II reflected on this theme: The Bishop, Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the Hope of the World. In this Exhortation he pointed out both the duty and the needs of the Bishops of the Church, appealing both to them and to the people of God. He said: "The duty of Bishops at the beginning of a new millennium is thus clearly marked out. It is the same duty as ever: to proclaim the Gospel of Christ, the salvation of the world. But it is a duty which has a new urgency and which calls for cooperation and commitment on the part of the whole People of God. The Bishop needs to be able to count on the members of his diocesan presbyterate and on his deacons, the ministers of the Blood of Christ and of charity; he needs to be able to count on his consecrated sisters and brothers, called to be for the Church and the world eloquent witnesses of the primacy of God in the Christian life and the power of his love amid the frailty of the human condition; and he needs to be able to count on the lay faithful, whose greater scope for the apostolate represents for their pastors a source of particular support and a reason for special comfort.
"At the conclusion of these reflections, we appreciate how the theme of the Tenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops leads each of us Bishops back to all our brothers and sisters in the Church and to all the men and women of the world. Christ sends us to them, even as he once sent the Apostles (cf. Mt 28:19-20). We need to become, for each and every person, in an outstanding and visible way, a living sign of Jesus Christ, Teacher, Priest and Pastor."
In doing this, the Bishop will constantly-with Peter, Leo and John Paul II-proclaim Jesus Christ as the Son of the living God and the Suffering and Victorious Servant of the Lord.And as he does so, the Bishop will realize that, like Jesus, he is not alone. The Father is with him. And in the power of the Holy Spirit the people of God are one with him as he is one with them and with the College of Bishops and its Head, John Paul II whom Christ has called to be His servant Vicar on earth. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Vigil for Life
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Washington, DC
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 7:00 p.m.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Your Eminences,
Archbishop Wuerl, pastor of the Church of Washington,
My brother Bishops,
Dear Priests, Deacons, Consecrated Religious, Seminarians,
Supporters and Defenders of human life,
Brothers and Sisters all, in Jesus Christ,
and especially you, dear young people of the Church,
together with the millions watching live this Mass worldwide
on the Eternal Word Television Network.
We gather tonight to celebrate the gift of life and to dedicate ourselves anew to respect, protect, love and serve lifeÿevery human life. We do this in prayerÿwe have come here to prayÿrealizing the enormous challenges to life, but expressing with confidence the sentiments of Saint Paul who says: “For this we toil and struggle, because we have set our hope on the living God” (1 Tim 4:10). It is so moving, dear friends, to be with you, the thousands of faithful pilgrims who fill this Basilica and its many side chapels as well as the crypt. We join also in spirit with the crowds who could not even get inside the doors tonight. I thank Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, and Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, who kindly volunteered to offer two Masses nearby to assist these other pilgrims.
You have traveled here also with the intention to march tomorrow, along with many thousands of others, to protest the injustice of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. The infamous 1973 Supreme Court decisions legalized abortion for any reason whatsoever, throughout all nine months of pregnancy Many of you have traveled long hours in buses, and I applaud you for all the sacrifices you have made on your journey. Your presence reminds me of the words of the late Father Richard John Neuhaus who said: “Whatever else it is, the pro-life movement of the last thirty-plus years is one of the most massive and sustained expressions of citizen participation in the history of the United States.”
On behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, I express deep admiration for your efforts on behalf of God's precious gift of human life. Thank you for your commitment to live out your faith, and to exercise your duties as Catholic citizens by standing up for those who cannot speak for themselves.
This morning’s dawn began the first full day in office of the first African-American president our nation has ever had. We observe this as an historic milestone in the life of a country where people were once oppressed and even enslaved because of the color of their skin. The rejection of slavery and racism has signified an enormous change for the benefit of our civilization. Today, as people called to witness to the Gospel of Life, we must constantly proclaim the need for a new change, one that will complete this march toward human equality. Desperately needed is a culture of life in which all people, from conception to natural death, are valued and respected regardless of their age, race, disability, stage of development, or condition of dependency. This change we need! This change we believe in!
We welcome a new Administration and a new Congress. They will need our encouragement and our prayers, but they will also need our voices, united as a constant reminder of the rights of the poor, the sick, the elderly, those with disabilities, the imprisoned, and, yes, especially the most innocent, vulnerable and weakest among us: the child in the womb. We intend to work with those in public office whenever we can, and to raise our voices in respectful but impassioned protest when we must.
Just nine months ago, our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI walked through this magnificent Basilica as part of his first apostolic visit to the United States. He had chosen as the theme of that visit “Christ our Hope.” As we gather tonight to draw strength from the Lord and pray for an end to abortion, we are called to make Christ our Hope the foundation of all our work. We are, then, filled with confidence in the great task of sustaining, with God's help, what Pope John Paul II once called "a great campaign in support of life." This urgent project is well under way, but we know it is still far from complete. Advocating for legal protection for the unborn, helping others to appreciate the dignity of human life, and serving the needs of the many mothers, fathers, grandparents siblings and other family members affected by abortion are difficult work. Even when we face those who do not share our vision, we can take courage in the promise of Christ our Hope, since in Him the victory of life is already won, even if it is still unfolding.
As we pray and work to advance the day when all human life is valued and protected, we draw strength and encouragement from the word of God. Let us then turn to today’s readings, and to the life of Saint Agnes, whose feast day we celebrate, to help us face the challenges and appreciate the current signs of hope in our efforts to build a culture of life.
In our first reading, Saint Paul speaks to the early Christians, called to spread Christ’s message of love and humility. He reminds them, and us, that God chooses the weak, the lowly and the despised of this world to accomplish His will. We are to “boast in the Lord,” not in earthly power or human wisdom.
Some of you have experienced exclusion or derision from acquaintances, classmates or co-workers as you have shared your views on life or boldly proclaimed your faith. Sometimes it may seem there is nothing in this nation more feared or more dismissed than the pro-life movement. We can be rejected because we confront society with the obligation to respect and protect those who are considered a burden or an inconvenience. Yet we push on “because we have set our hope on the living God.” Our Responsorial Psalm reminds each of us: “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage.” God generously gives us what we need to accomplish His work and to defend His law that is so deeply written in each human heart: “Thou shalt not kill.”
In our Gospel tonight we hear of a person who finds a buried treasure in a field, and of another who finds a pearl of great price. Both go and sell everything they have in order to acquire that one great prize of immense value. Jesus uses these images to teach us about the Kingdom of heaven, which is indeed the great prize of immense value. Are we prepared, dear friends, to follow our Lord, even if it means surrendering all we have in order to possess what only He can give? Are we prepared to say “yes” to His will, without counting the cost?
You who are here tonight already clearly understand that to live joyfully with God in heaven is the greatest goal of life, the greatest treasure we can possibly obtain. And this is one reason we toil and struggle to end abortion. People greatly loved by God are being deceived into thinking that abortion is a simple procedure with no consequences for their physical, emotional, spiritual and eternal well-being. But we know that the consequences of abortion can be devastating and eternal.
God, our loving Father, is eager, however, to bestow His healing mercy on all who have sorrow for their involvement in an abortion. So, tonight I invite all who may possibly have been involved in an abortion to ask humbly the Lord’s forgiveness. Open your heart to His grace. Let his love embrace you and restore peace to your troubled heart. A simple phone call, for example, to your local Project Rachel office can put you in touch with one of the hundreds of priests and lay counselors across the United States who understand what you have been going through and can walk with you on your healing journey.
Young Saint Agnes, who lived seventeen hundred years ago and whose feast we celebrate today, understood the treasure that she had in Jesus Christ. Agnes was very attractive and many men wanted to marry her. But as a young Christian, she had already come to know someone who gave her everything she needed, everything she wanted. Jesus Christ was the one who would never use or exploit her. Rather, He loved her completely, totally, unconditionally—the way she deserved to be loved. In return, Agnes was so grateful for all He had done for her that she chose to belong to Jesus Christ and to Him alone. She chose to remain a virgin and Jesus gave her that kind of singular and exclusive love for Him that those called to celibacy are offered as a special gift. She had found that pearl of great price, and was willing to give everything she had to keep it. She was willing to live for Him, and even to die for Him at the hands of the men who wanted to use her. When she refused to give up her virginity, Saint Agnes was abused, tortured and martyred because of her love for Jesus Christ.
Dear young people, like the young Saint Agnes, you have received the gift of faith. You have been offered the Kingdom of heaven, the pearl of great price, the treasure worth many sacrifices. How is God calling you to thank Him, to love and serve Him, even when there are great challenges? How is the Lord calling you in the pro-life movement to remain steadfast, even against great odds? Tonight, we all pray to know His will, and to have the courage to follow it.
Such courage is needed more than ever as we reflect on this 36th anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, which has meant the death of more than 50 million children and has inflicted emotional, physical and spiritual wounds on untold millions of parents in our country. Not only is abortion-on-demand legal, but pro-abortion activists and their allies in Congress have been promoting an agenda that would deprive Americans of their freedom to enact almost any restraint on abortion at any stage of pregnancy. They want to overturn hundreds of current laws on conscience rights, informed consent, limits on taxpayer funding of abortion, and parental involvement in minors' abortion decisions.
Even more immediately, Congress is working on new appropriations bills that fund all federal programs. Many current safeguards on taxpayer funding, conscience rights, and other issues exist only as provisions in these bills. These safeguards could be eliminated with the stroke of a committee chairman's pen, which would pave the way for more wholesale assaults on unborn children. Hence, pro-life Americans must voice their opposition, early and clearly.
As you know, when the full body of bishops gathered for their annual meeting in November, they offered good wishes to those elected and expressed willingness to work with them whenever possible. The bishops also urged the new Congress and President not to eliminate the modest pro-life protections we currently have in place. Cardinal Francis George, the President of our Conference, spoke for us all in expressing alarm at the especially grave threat posed by the “Freedom of Choice Act,” the most radical pro-abortion legislation we have ever faced. “Aggressively pro-abortion policies, legislation and executive orders,” he said, “will permanently alienate tens of millions of Americans, and would be seen by many as an attack on the free exercise of their religion.”
At that meeting the bishops voted unanimously to mobilize the resources of the entire Catholic community to work to prevent the elimination of current pro-life laws and policies, and to oppose the “Freedom of Choice Act” or any similar pro-abortion initiative. As Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, I am so very grateful for the tremendous support offered by my brother bishops from all over the country. They deserve thanks for speaking and acting with courage and determination.
As it did in the past in response to other significant threats to human life, the Bishops’ Conference has authorized us to move forward with a massive postcard campaign to Congress. In the coming weeks, parishes across the country will have the opportunity to participate in this nationwide effort to protect the modest laws that have reduced abortions and prevented government funding and promotion of abortion. These laws must not be swept awayÿneither all at once, through comprehensive measures like the Freedom of Choice Act, nor one at a time. We must urge Congress not to start down this destructive path, but to serve the life, health and well-being of all Americans, beginning with the most vulnerable: the child in the womb.
I am happy to report that millions of postcards have been ordered by dioceses across our land. Tonight we also have an opportunity to pick up postcards at the information counters on the lower level of this Basilica. Your help is needed in getting the message to Congress that all human life is sacred and must be respected. This responsibility is not limited to Catholics alone; it belongs to all people of good will. What is at stake is justiceÿ“liberty and justice for all.” This campaign is open to all. And each of us is invited to help it succeed.
As we toil and struggle in the cause of human life, which is the supreme cause of justice, we must remind ourselves of the importance and power of prayer. Our dedication to daily prayer and the sacraments will sustain us in hope, as we work to usher in a new culture of lifeÿa culture of life, dear young people, worthy of your generation.
As we ask you to be strong in hope, you in turn inspire hope in your bishops and priests. I am speaking of the thousands of you at Masses today; those who will stay tonight for the Rosary, for Confession and for Eucharistic adoration of our Lord Jesus Christ throughout the night; the 20,000 of you who will be at the Verizon Center tomorrow and the thousands more who will participate in overflow Masses; and of course the more than 150,000 who will march for life here in Washington DC, and the thousands that participate in the West Coast Walk for Life, not to mention similar marches in state capitals around the nation. Truly you inspire hope, and we are all grateful to you for the encouragement that you give the Church and all society.
Political pundits have said that the pro-life movement is now history. Actually, they say this every few years, back to 1973. They imply that pro-lifers should just pack up and go home. Yet you do not look to me as though you are heading home. You look to me like a multitude of witnesses, a great multitude of pro-life witnesses, ready to uplift the world from the despair of the culture of death to enthrone in it the hope of a culture of life.
There are other significant signs of hope, in terms of public sentiment. To be sure, a majority vote does not make something right or wrong. Direct attacks on innocent persons at any stage of life are radically wrong, unjust, evil. We would be called to witness to the sacred dignity of human life even if we stood alone. But opinion surveys continue to show that we are far from alone in rejecting abortion on demand. In December, our Pro-Life Secretariat commissioned a nationwide survey conducted online by one of the nation's top pollsters. Four out of five people responding to this survey (82%) think abortion should be illegal or restricted in some way. Only 9% of U.S. adults think abortion should be legal for any reason at any stage in pregnancy, which is our current law under Roe v. Wade. So when you march against Roe v. Wade tomorrow, know that 82% of Americans join you in disagreeing with its extreme policy on abortion.
We have great hope in the Lord’s power to heal our land of the painful wound of legalized abortion. Every abortion is a personal tragedy. Its dread impact falls not only on a little boy or a little girl, but on the child’s parents, grandparents, siblings and everyone involved. Knowing that God’s mercy is greater than all of our sins, tonight we pray for all these people. We pray for the conversion of all those who promote death as a solution to social ills or to an unplanned pregnancy. We pray for legislators, educators, counselors and all health care professionals who put their skills and training at the service of life. We lift up Project Rachel and other post-abortion counseling ministries, pro-life pregnancy centers, and organizations that work every day to usher in a culture of life. We pray earnestly for the healing of our nation.
Finally, let us all pray for one another, that we may be encouraged and inspired by the word of God and by the holy example of Saint Agnes and all the saints. May we continue to hope in Jesus Christ, as we await the day when all human life will be protected in law and cherished in every human heart.
And now may these words of Pope Benedict XVI prepare us to participate fully in the great Eucharistic Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ: “If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christÿand you will find true life. Amen!”
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Vocation Awareness Day
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Praised be Jesus Christ!
On behalf of all the Bishops, priests, deacons and seminarians, I wish to express words of heartfelt welcome to all of you, young men of our Archdiocese, gathered here today for this special Vocation Day at St. Charles Seminary.
How good it is to be here today with you and to be with so many brother priests as we celebrate the great gift of the Priesthood. I express my special thanks to Monsignor Prior and the seminary community for opening their doors to us this day, and to all the priests who, after a long day of priestly ministry, have accompanied you here today. Dear brother priests, I am most grateful to you for your presence.
Dear friends, we have just listened to some words of Saint Paul addressed to the Corinthians. These are words that the Church has selected for our meditation during Evening Prayer. They are words of reminder, words of strength, and words of great hope which we are privileged to hear today. For they are words that remind us who we are as Christian men. We are people in an awesome race. We are men with a purpose, called to be strong, called to endure much not for a crown that withers but for the crown of eternal glory.
While these words indeed describe the vocation of every Christian, they are particularly applicable to the vocation and mission of the Catholic Priest. For a priest is a man like others, in the race for salvation. But he is one who has been chosen, called and sent forth as a leader in this race for salvation. He is a marked man, a man set apart, a man not his own, called to be with others, to lead others, to serve others, and in the name of Jesus to help guide others to attain salvation.
This is the unique role and mission of the Catholic priest. How privileged priests are to have received this role and to exercise it for the benefit of God’s people.
Throughout the history of the Church, we can find countless heroic priests who have exercised this role well. We can find priests who died for others, priests who lived for others. Some are famous priests like John Paul II, John Vianney, Maximilian Kolbe. Men whom God has raised up for a special service in the Church. And while we are grateful for these famous witnesses, the fact is that the vast majority of priests are not so famous. Rather, they are silent heroes, ordinary men, who faithfully live out their mission in countless ordinary and quiet ways. Men whose lives for the most part will remain unknown to the vast majority of people. But men whose lives profoundly make a difference and influence the lives and salvation of others. Men who each day have the privilege of leading people to God.
Today on this eve of the feast of Saint Joseph, I would like to hold up to all the witness of Saint Joseph. Joseph was not a priest but he is a model for everyone. As is the case of many priests in history, we do not know very much about Saint Joseph. Not a single word of his is recorded in Sacred Scripture. But what is recorded is very clear and powerful. Joseph was a man who lived His vocation to the full, with great trust and strength. He not only heard the call of God, but He embraced and lived that call without reserve. Called to be the husband of Mary, head of the Holy Family and foster-father of Jesus, Joseph said "yes" and he never turned back.
When we consider the life of Saint Joseph, we quickly find a man who lived the words of Saint Paul. He ran the race well, not knowing where it would lead him. We find a man who lived his life with a purpose, all for Jesus and Mary. We find a strong man who received the crown of life.
Dear friends, we see in Joseph what it means to be a Christian man, and we find so many qualities needed to be a good priest. The qualities of Saint Joseph are qualities you are called to embrace. Not all of you here today may be called to the priesthood. But we can say that every one of you is called to embrace God’s plan for your life. To recognize it and to live it well. To be not merely in the race for salvation, but to run in the race, so as to win.
Today, there are many needs in the Church. We need not only more priests, but we need first and foremost courageous men like Joseph. Men who are willing to be faithful and committed, men willing to make effort and endure hardship for the sake of Christ, and willing to live life with heroic love for others. This is what we need, this is what the Church needs today: men committed to the person and mission of Jesus.
Some of you young men here today, like the priests next to you, have a vocation to the priesthood. There are some of you who have heard God’s mysterious call, to leave other things behind and to follow Jesus. Do not be afraid of such a call. Rather, with all your heart, submit to it, accept it. It is an awesome call, a call that will not leave you wanting. Rather, it will bring you fulfillment, joy and peace. And if you follow this call you will help so many other people reach salvation.
Tonight, on this eve of Saint Joseph, in the presence of Jesus and Mary, on this holy ground of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, I entrust you all to the care and protection of Saint Joseph. Like him, may we remain close to Jesus and Mary. May we become ever more the men God has called us to be. Not for ourselves but for the Church, to help so many people reach salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Homily
of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Vocation Awareness Week
Sunday, January 14, 2007
"Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations."
These words are very meaningful to me personally because, back in 1985 when I was ordained a Bishop by our Holy Father Pope John Paul II, one of the things he told me that day was to proclaim the marvelous deeds of the Lord. But actually, dear Friends, this Psalm applies to all of us who are followers of Jesus. We all have it as part of our role in life, as part of our Christian vocation, to proclaim God’s wonderful deeds. The only thing is that we do it in different ways.
Today, in the Sacred Scriptures which we heard proclaimed, we have a very important message from Saint Paul. Saint Paul speaks to us, in our Second Reading this evening, about the great variety of gifts that exists in the Church. The phrase that he uses is that there are different kinds of spiritual gifts in the Church of God. He adds: "but there is only one Spirit," only one Holy Spirit. And what Saint Paul says in our Second Reading confirms that the Church is like to a body with many parts.
The Church is actually called the Mystical Body of Christ. There is only one Body and Jesus is the Head of this Body, and all of us, dear Friends, have the immense privilege, through Baptism, of being part of this Body which is the Church. And the point is that all of us, just like the members of a physical body, have a different role to play. But that role is very important. The head cannot say to the hands, "I do not need you." No, not at all. Everyone in the Body of Christ is extremely important, and the role that each one plays is by reason of his or her Baptism and the dignity of being a follower of Christ.
This evening we want to concentrate on the fact, as Saint Paul tells us, that there is a variety of gifts. For example, we have this beautiful Gospel which describes Jesus beginning His public life. He is just appearing on the scene after having spent thirty years with His Mother and His foster father in the home and carpenter shop in Nazareth. And as He does this, what is the event that He participates in? It is a marriage; it is the celebration of the wedding feast in Cana. At this celebration Jesus begins His public life and shows the tremendous love that God has for Marriage. He recognizes and enhances the dignity of a man and a woman who unite in the Sacrament of Marriage in order to exchange love, to transmit life and to form a family. And how important this is because, without the family, without the Sacrament of Matrimony, we would not have the community of the faithful. So there can be no doubt about the great dignity of the Sacrament of Marriage and the importance of the vocation to Christian married love.
But we also know that everyone in the Church, with various gifts and differing vocations—to the married, single, consecrated or priestly state of life—needs the Eucharist. Without the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, there is simply no Church. And if tomorrow there would be no Eucharist, then tomorrow there would be no Church. But in order to have the Eucharist, we need priests—priests who will supply the Eucharist to all the different categories of the People of God.
This evening we are concentrating in a special way on the importance of the vocation to the priesthood and to the religious life. We know that Jesus called a group of men around Him, when He was teaching during those three years of His public ministry. Saint Mark tells us that Jesus gathered these twelve Apostles around Him and Saint Mark also tells us why He did that. He called so that they might be with Him—to be with Jesus, to be His companions, to absorb His lessons and then, secondly, to be sent out on a mission—the mission to proclaim, through the priesthood, His wonderful deeds throughout the whole world. That was the vocation of the Apostles, to go out to the whole world, beginning in the Roman Empire, and to preach Jesus Christ and celebrate the Eucharist so that everybody could live as a follower of Jesus. To be a priest was a special vocation in the life of the Church at the time of the Apostles and it still is today.
Over the years there developed another special vocation, apart from the priesthood and great and holy state of matrimony. This is the vocation to the religious life, in which young women and young men consecrate themselves to Jesus Christ, in order to be a sign to the world of His particular love. Their particular vocation testifies to the world that they wish to live humbly, that they wish to live in chastity, poverty and obedience in order to show the world that the love of Jesus is all consuming, all satisfying, all fulfilling. Consecrated religious life is one of the many gifts with which God has enriched His Church.
And so, dear Friends, we see that these are particular vocations in the Church. Certainly the majority of our people are called to Christian married love which is absolutely essential to the structure of the Church. Without the family there can be no priests, no Eucharist and no forgiveness of sins. On its part religious life is important in offering to the world, its own witness of joyful love.
And so this evening, as we bring this week of prayer for vocations to conclusion—this Vocations Awareness Week—we all want to stop, no matter what our individual vocation is, and to reflect once again on the fact that each of us has this wonderful charge given us in the Psalm "to proclaim the wonderful works of the Lord." As Christian people we do this in different ways, we also realize that it is very important to support those young people who are thinking of the vocation to the priesthood or to the religious life. These vocations benefit of all of us; they are at the service of the whole Community.
Just as it is important to support every young person in his or her vocation to Christian married love and also to the single state of dedicated Christian living, tonight the Church makes a very special appeal to parents, to the parents of young people everywhere, never to put them under pressure, never to encourage them to do something that they do not feel called to, but rather encourage them to esteem the vocation to the priesthood or the religious life. With this support–every young person can listen to Christ and discern, through prayer and with the help of the Holy Spirit, what his or her particular vocation is.
Once again, Saint Paul tells us in our reading that there are different gifts, but they are all for the benefit of the whole body and each one is special. But it is very necessary for the Church to have good priests and faithful religious living, as their particular vocation, a life of intimate union with Jesus Christ. We assure our young people that, by all means, these vocations are fulfilling, life-giving and is satisfying, because they are at the service of the whole Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. Above all they involve a particular relationship with Jesus. That is why Saint Mark tells us in the Gospel, when Jesus chose the Apostles, it was not just to go out and do something. First of all, before Jesus would send them out, He wanted them to be with Him. He wanted them to be His companions because He had to teach them. He had to inspire them. He had to fortify them. He had to strengthen them by His presence, so that, then, they could go out and bring the message of salvation to the whole world. They could proclaim the wonderful works of God.
And, dear Friends, this is where we are in the Church today, with everyone being called at this hour in history, to the fullness of Christian life—married couples, families, parents, children, young people. Everyone is being called to follow Jesus’ way of life. And, then, there are some who are called to the particular vocation of the priesthood or the religious life in order to be a servant of the entire community.
This is what we mean by the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ—all of us united, just as closely as the parts of a physical body are united. But, we are united in a spiritual way. And the thing that is so important is that Jesus is our Head and Jesus is the one who is asking us to get to know Him better. He is asking some young men to step forward for the priesthood and some young women and young men to step forward for religious life in a vocation that would bring joy and peace and fulfillment and service. But one thing that the young people of our Church know, by intuition, is that they do not want anything to do with any vocation that is not filled with joy. But, in order to be filled with joy, we have to be filled with Christ.
And so, dear Friends, this is what we are doing this week. And I thank you for your presence here today and ask you to continue your prayers so that the Church will be strong, so that the community will have the service of young people who are idealistic, who are generous in the way Pope John Paul II encouraged the young people of the world to be. He told them not to be afraid. If God is calling you, He is with you. He will not abandon you in whatever vocation is yours. And the young people of the world understood him well.
And so, this evening, we join together to pray, because the Church needs holy people, including holy priests and religious. To obtain this she needs your understanding, your prayer, your respect, your encouragement, your gentle, gentle support of the young people who are called. And, at the same time, everyone is invited to be faithful to Jesus Christ in the vocation that is his or hers.
Finally, in the Gospel this evening—this beautiful Gospel that shows in a special way Jesus’ love for the Sacrament of Marriage—we have the presence of our Blessed Mother. It was she who went to Jesus to speak to Him about the young couple at the marriage feast where the wine ran out. Here Mary is concerned with a small detail but she goes to Jesus and presents to Him the need, the embarrassment of a young couple. You might think that the first miracle of Jesus would have been something more earth-shaking that would affect the whole history of the world. Well it did, but it affected the history of the world in the sense that Jesus simply revealed His love and His gentleness and His understanding for that young couple and for all humanity. And at the request of His Mother Jesus performed the miracle which eventually brought Him to His death. In her request our Blessed Mother used those words with which I would finish this evening. After Jesus spoke to her, she turned to the waiters and said: "Do whatever he tells you."
And that, dear friends, is the meaning of our life: to do whatever Jesus tells us. And why He tells you one thing and someone else something else—that is part of the mystery of God’s love for each one of us individually. But the prayer, the instructions of our Blessed Mother are very important for us all: to do whatever He tells us. And we shall pray, and we shall work together and we shall stand united, dear Friends, in this community, this Archdiocese as a single community of faith and worship, of love and service. And with our Blessed Mother interceding for us, we will endeavor tonight and always to do what He tells us. Amen.
Homily
of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Holy Hour for Vocations
to the Diocesan Priesthood
Resurrection of Our Lord
Church
Thursday, February 10,
2005
Dear Friends, dear Young People in particular,
The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or what we have but by who we are and whose we are!
We are priceless in the eyes of Jesus because we realize that Jesus loves us so much. As we gather this evening in front of our Eucharistic Lord, present in the Blessed Sacrament, we give praise and thanks to Almighty God for our love of His son Jesus, for our love of the Eucharist. We realize the value of our lives. Yet so many times in the midst of the crosses we bear, in the midst of the hardships we endure, the times in our life when we feel discouraged, we come to Jesus, present in the Eucharist, so that He may give us hope and sustain us throughout our Christian life. Our love of Jesus is sustained through prayer and our desire to grow in holiness.
In Saint Matthew's Gospel, Jesus assures us that we are the "salt of the earth" but if salt goes flat then how can its flavor be restored? It is good for nothing. When the flavor of our love for Jesus seems to be gone we need to have Jesus as our light leading us and guiding us to the Eucharist, which is the source and summit of everything we do. The Eucharist gives us life and strengthens us in our journey of faith.
Tonight we gather in front of the Eucharist to pray for more vocations, in particular vocations to the priesthood. The Gospel reminds us that God calls all of His people to be rooted in His love. He gives everyone a vocation. Some He calls to the married life, others to a dedicated single life of service, and to some he gives a particular vocation to be a religious. And some are called to be priests. If God is calling you to be a priest you must not be ashamed of that call, you must be proud of it. Let that excitement and love you have for Jesus shine forth in your heart; let it shine forth for the world to see.
A vocation is a precious gift from God. To be called to be a priest is a special call that God gives to some men to follow Him in a particular way. To be a priest means to be called to serve the Church in a specific way. The role of the priest is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to celebrate the Sacraments and especially to offer up the Eucharistic Sacrifice.
Pope John Paul II, in his letter to priests in 2004 states: "We were born from the Eucharist. If we can truly say that the whole church lives from the Eucharist (Ecclesia de Eucharistia vivit), as I reaffirmed in my recent encyclical, we can say the same thing about the ministerial priesthood: It is born, lives, works and bears fruit 'de Eucharistia'" On a previous occassion the Pope told us: "There can be no Eucharist without the priesthood, just as there can be no priesthood without the Eucharist" (Gift and Mystery. pp 77-78).
We need priests to make the Eucharist present for the people. Every time we gather at the liturgy, we witness the priest taking ordinary bread and wine and changing them into the Body and Blood of Christ. We recognize Jesus present on our altar this evening. It is through the priest that Jesus comes into our lives. By virtue of our Baptism we are called to be attentive to various vocations in the Church. Today I am inviting young men to consider the priesthood.
It is through the awesome gift of the priesthood that Jesus comes to us. Jesus is made present by the sacramental ministry of the priest. How many of us have benefitted from the help of a priest? When we need consolation at the death of a loved one, when we need the forgiveness that comes to us through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the priest walks in solidarity with Jesus as a servant and evangelizer. The priest's central service is evangelization, which finds its source and summit in the Eucharist. With Christ and in His Church priests are ministers of reconciliation, proclaiming mercy and pardon and the forgiveness of sins. Priests are builders of community - on the one foundation, Jesus Christ. Priests are teachers in the Church; they speak with the love of Christ and in accordance with the wisdom of His Church. As priests proclaim the Paschal Mystery of Christ's death and resurrection and His whole Gospel of life, sometimes they have to part ways with the majority opinion, with unanimous verdicts, and with politically correct positions. Priests are always called upon to remember that Jesus says: "My teaching is not my own but is from the one who sent me" (John 7:16).
In speaking about the pastoral charity of priests, Pope John Paul II says: "The priest's special love will always be with the sick and dying, with those in pain and sorrow, and with those in sin." And he adds, "For every Bishop and every priest there is but one ideal-the person who says, 'I am the good shepherd . . . and I lay down my life for the sheep'" (Ad Limina Address of September 9, 1983).
Vast new horizons and possibilities open up for us as we speak about Jesus, as we proclaim His death and resurrection and the pardon and merciful love that flow from them.
The community of the Church is with their priests in prayer and pledge them support and love as they strive to respond faithfully, generously, perseveringly to the question of Jesus: "Do you love me?" and as they strive to meet His challenge and fulfill His words: "Feed my lambs . . . tend my sheep."
This is the awesome gift of the priesthood. That is the gift I invite young men to consider this evening. All of us are on a journey of faith. No matter what we do, God is always there to forgive us, and the priest is the instrument of the forgiveness and unconditional love of Jesus.
Our Gospel tells us this evening to let that light of Christ shine before others that they may see the good we do. The good we do for one another is a good that stems and shines forth from the Eucharist. The Eucharist gives us joy. The Eucharist helps us to participate in the life of Jesus. I believe the more time we spend with Jesus, the more we become like Jesus. We gather this evening as priests and as members of the Body of Christ and as young people to pray for more vocations. We ask the Lord of the Harvest to strengthen us in our journey of faith. To strengthen our Church with more young men willing to consider the priesthood, with more young women willing to consider Religious Life. Once received, the awesome gift of the priesthood is a gift that must not be taken for granted but rather be lived out each day and every moment of the priest's life. The priest lives to celebrate the Eucharist.
Pope John Paul II was once asked a question by a reporter. "What is the greatest joy you have as Pope?" Some were waiting for a complicated answer. Quite simply the Pope said that his greatest joy was to be able to celebrate Mass every day, just like every Catholic priest throughout the world.
Tonight as we gather as members of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and particularly the Philadelphia North Vicariate, we gather to celebrate our love for Jesus in the Eucharist, our love of the priesthood and our commitment to be attentive to vocations in our families and our parishes. To be attentive to vocations in our midst is so vitally important.
May the Lord of the Harvest bless all of you, dear friends, and bless our Church with more vocations to the priesthood and Religious Life.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit for the Beginning of the Academic Year
Saint Joseph Retreat House, Malvern
Monday, August 29, 2011
Father Mahoney,
Faculty and Staff,
Dear Deacons,
Dear Seminarians,
Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and forever!
I greet you with deep affection and am truly pleased to be with you to celebrate the beginning of a new Academic Year. As we enter into this moment, rich with opportunity to study, to serve, to labor for the Kingdom of God, we do so in supplication and in prayer to the Holy Spirit. The Church is ever-conscious of the presence of the Holy Spirit, especially at beginnings of great significance. We consider most especially the presence of the Holy Spirit at the Incarnation, when "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." We recall the presence of the Holy Spirit when Our Lord, during His Baptism at the Jordan River, began His Public Ministry. We are reminded of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the birth of the Church on Good Friday and her great visible manifestation on Pentecost Sunday. In acknowledgment of the workings of the Holy Spirit, the Church entrusts new beginnings to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity so that He will guide all of our activities and bring them to completion.
I welcome you, our Deacons and Seminarians, upon your return as you draw another year closer to ordination to the Priesthood. I extend a very special welcome to our new seminarians, for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and for other Dioceses and Religious Communities. Your "yes" to God, initiated by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, is an inspiration and a source of encouragement to many.
The Liturgy of the Word provides for us a glimpse at the importance of the Holy Spirit in the workings of the Church. At the Last Supper, Jesus stated "It is better for you that I go." Certainly the Apostles were puzzled by this declaration. However, immediately, Jesus added: "For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." The Holy Spirit will bring to completion the work of Jesus, which will be carried on in the mission of the Church.
This passage stirs me at this time in my own life and in the history of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. As my tenure as Archbishop comes to an end and as the Archdiocese prepares for the beginning of Archbishop Chaput's ministry, I am reminded of a beautiful action of Pope Leo XIII. In 1897, advanced in years, Pope Leo XIII thought that the end of his long Pontificate was imminent. He wisely consecrated all of the work of his Pontificate to the Holy Spirit, in order that the Holy Spirit might bring it "to maturity and fruitfulness" (Divinum Illud, 2). Similarly, as I look back upon the years in which I have been privileged to minister as a priest and bishop, and, especially these last eight years as Archbishop of Philadelphia, I entrust to the Holy Spirit all of my labors, in the hope that God will bless with fruitfulness my efforts for the good of the Church and of the souls who have been entrusted to my care. So too, we entrust to the Holy Spirit the ministry of Archbishop Chaput and all that he hopes to accomplish for the welfare of our great Archdiocese. As one era is completed, so a new era begins. All of this is the work of the Holy Spirit who inspires and brings to completion every good work.
The beginning of the Academic Year at the Seminary also marks a deepening in your relationship with God as you discern your vocation through the areas of priestly formation. Added to the field of intellectual formation, you also will be engaged in human and pastoral formation, as well as the all-important spiritual formation. Each of these fields contributes greatly to the preparation of a mature, healthy, holy, zealous priest. Blessed John Paul II, in Pastores Dabo Vobis, emphasized: "And so the future priest also, and in the first place, must grow in his awareness that the agent par excellence of his formation is the Holy Spirit, who by the gift of a new heart configures and conforms him to Jesus the Good Shepherd. In this way the candidate will affirm in the most radical way possible his freedom to welcome the molding action of the Spirit" (no. 69). The entire program of priestly formation, under the care and attention of a highly competent faculty, is the delicate work of the Holy Spirit to form each candidate. As Blessed John Paul II further noted, "the actions of the different teachers become truly and fully effective only if the future priest offers his own convinced and heartfelt cooperation to this work of formation" (ibid.).
During his public ministry, Jesus instructed the Apostles in the Truth. Before the Passion, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, would guide them to all truth (Jn 16:13a). Further, as the passage from The Acts of the Apostles describes, Jesus, before the Ascension, instructed the Apostles to wait for the promise of the Father - the gift of the Holy Spirit. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses ... to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
The Apostles listened and learned, waited and prayed for that gift, for that power, which would transform them and propel them in boldness and zeal from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. So for you, dear Deacons and Seminarians, your time of formation is a time of listening and learning, of working and praying, of patience and perseverance as you prepare for the Priesthood. Is the call to the Priesthood arduous? Is this call challenging? Yes, particularly in our time as the Church seems so battered by the storms of our day. Nonetheless, we must understand that we receive power, the power of the Holy Spirit, and He will guide us in all things.
When we comprehend what is at stake and when we fully realize the great power that is given to us, we know, then, that this is a wonderful time to be part of the Seminary community, an excellent time for you to place your lives at the service of the Gospel, a great opportunity to be part of the renewal of our age. Just as the Holy Spirit formed Jesus in the womb of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, so the Holy Spirit forms Jesus in the minds and hearts of those who place themselves at His service through the hands of our Blessed Mother. We must be in awe of the mystery of the priestly vocation. Jesus declares to you today, "You will be my witnesses to all the world." Be resolved then, at the beginning of this new Academic Year, to allow the Holy Spirit to guide you, to form you, to be the power which sustains you in your vocation.
At a Mass for Seminarians during the World Youth Day ceremonies, Pope Benedict XVI offered the following words of encouragement to those preparing for the Priesthood: "As seminarians you are on the path towards a sacred goal: to continue the mission which Christ received from the Father. Called by him, you have followed his voice and, attracted by his loving gaze, you now advance towards the sacred ministry. Fix your eyes upon him who through his Incarnation is the supreme revelation of God to the world and who through his resurrection faithfully fulfills his promise. Give thanks to him for this sign of favor in which he holds each of you" (August 20, 2011).
Dear Seminarians, may you always know the great power available to you in the Person of the Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit brings to completion the divine operations of the Most Blessed Trinity, so may the Holy Spirit bring to completion and perfection the good work which is begun in you!
Be assured, all of you, dear friends, of my gratitude and affection in Christ Jesus. Amen
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Wedding Anniversary Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 2, 2010
Dear Friends in the Risen Christ,
Thank you for coming to this Mass of the Fifth Sunday of EasterCthis annual Wedding Anniversary Mass. It is a joy to be here today with you, celebrating your marriages of twenty-five, fifty, or more years.
It is a long journey that you have taken together, and you are still journeying together, Auntil death do you part.@ In today=s first reading from Acts, we hear about Saint Paul=s first missionary journey, where he witnesses and proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Your marriage is likewise a journey and a witness to others. It is both a witness to your love for one another, and to Christ=s love, present in your marriage. Saint Paul made many stops in cities, many of which were located in what is now Turkey. He went to Lystra, Iconium, Pisidia, Pamphylia, Perga, and Attalia. Along with another disciple, Barnabus, he preached the good news to the Gentiles, and even returned to some cities, after having been forcibly removed, in order to strengthen Athe spirits of the disciples,@ and to exhort them Ato persevere in the faith@ (Acts 14:22). When Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch, their home base at the end of this journey, they reported to the disciples there Awhat God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles@ (Acts 14:27). God has been so good to you too, and you have come here today to give thanks for His many blessings in your marriage.
Today, as we celebrate God=s love and blessings in your marriage, the psalm proclaims, AYour kingdom is a kingdom for all ages, and your dominion endures for all generations@ (Ps 145:13). God is the one who designs the plan for all ages, and who in His providence brings man and woman together in marriage. He continues to accompany you in the joys and the trials of your lives. A Christian marriage cannot be sustained on the merely human level; it also needs God=s grace for strength and guidance, as you all can attest from experience.
We also read in the psalm that AThe Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The Lord is good to all, and compassionate toward all his works@ (Ps 145:8-9). In every Christian family, its members are called to follow the Lord=s lead. If we are slow to anger, merciful, gracious, and compassionate toward each other, we will truly build a culture of life and love. The way we treat one another within our families is meant to reflect the mercy and love that God shows us.
When we act in this way, we help advance the kingdom of heaven on earth. In the second reading today, we see a description of Aa new heaven and a new earth,@ and a Anew Jerusalem@ in the book of Revelation (Rev 21:1, 2). This New Jerusalem does exist. The place where God makes His home among mankind is real. God=s City, the New Jerusalem, is present in the Church. The reading states: A"Behold, God's dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God@ (Rev 21:3-4). Jesus promised the Samaritan woman that Athe hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth@ (Jn 4:23). How beautifully this promise is fulfilled through the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The Eucharist gives us the spirit of love and mercy, strengthens us for our journey, and allows us to communicate Christ=s love to one another. The Lord says in today=s reading, ABehold, I make all things new@ (Rev 21:5). Let Christ, dear friends, make everything new in your lives and in your families. Let Him breathe His love into your everyday activities, and you will see the new life that will flow.
In today=s Gospel, Jesus gives us a new commandment: to Alove one another@ (Jn 13:34). He states: AAs I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another@ (Jn 13:34-35). It is not enough simply to love; we must love as HE loves. How did Jesus love? With deep generosity and sacrifice! Jesus was moved with compassion when he encountered those in need. Many miracles in the Gospels begin with Jesus being moved with pity. Think of Jesus raising the widow=s son (cf. Jn 7:11-14), or bringing Lazarus back to life (cf. Jn 11:32-44), or healing the man with the shriveled hand (cf. Mt 12: 9-13). While we may not be able to perform miracles, we can allow our hearts to be moved with understanding and concern for others, and to respond with our talents and time. That is how Jesus loved.
Jesus served and helped others with kindness and tenderness. He was not beneath washing His disciples= feet. No task was too menial or humble for him. He told us that to be first, we must make ourselves last (cf. Mk 9: 33-35). We can love by serving others in basic and practical ways, using what God gave us to the best of our ability. That is how Jesus loved.
Jesus was concerned about the needs of others, and was sensitive to their feelings. He saved the bride and groom from embarrassment at the wedding at Cana (cf. Jn 2). He offered the disciples breakfast on the beach after they had a long hard night of fishing (cf. Jn 21:12). While on the cross, He instructed the apostle John to look after His mother out of concern for her well-being (cf. Jn 19:26-27). Jesus cared for the concrete needs of others and was interested in their security and daily well-being. That is how Jesus loved.
Jesus was obedient to the vocation given to Him by the Father. Expressing the depths of humility, He went to the River Jordan to be baptized as part of His Father=s plan (cf. Mt 3:13-17). In the Garden of Gethsemane, He accepted His Father=s will, despite His personal anxieties and fears, saying, AAbba, Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will@ (Mk 14:35-36). Living out God=s will and obeying the call to one=s vocation is a response to love, and is what Jesus did. That is how Jesus loved.
Jesus sacrificed His life for us because He loves us. Sacrifice is a reality in life, and touches us all. Spouses sacrifice for each other. Parents sacrifice for their children. Adult children often sacrifice in caring for aging parents. Priests, deacons, and religious sisters and brothers sacrifice in living out their lives in service to others. Loving others always involves sacrifice. That is how Jesus loved.
How Jesus loved is how we must love. In living our lives, we must constantly be moved with compassion to help others, be concerned about the needs of others, be obedient to God=s will for us, and sacrifice for others. This is how people will know that we are Christ=s disciples. I pray that you, dear friends, will continue to be a witness to Christ=s love in your marriage, and that you will continue to love one another as Jesus loves you.
On this blessed day of memories, as you celebrate your wedding anniversary, the Church asks you, dear spouses, to re-commit yourselves in generosity and joy to each other and to your families. It is Jesus Christ who in this Eucharist associates you with Himself in offering thanks to the Father for giving you the gift of each other and for sustaining you in fidelity during all the years of your marriage. And it is Jesus Christ who fills you with His grace and strength to renew your pledge of love for each other today and all the days of your life. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Wedding Anniversary Mass
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday, May 4, 2008 - 11:00 a.m.
Dear brother Priests,
Dear Deacons,
Dear Friends in Christ, especially you, dear Jubilarians of fifty years of Christian married life,
We celebrate this beautiful liturgy today at a very important moment of the Church’s year.
It was just last Thursday that we celebrated the feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ into heaven. Jesus, after the completion of His mission on earth, returned to His Father in heaven. And next Sunday we will celebrate the feast of Pentecost and, therefore, we are preparing for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Both of these events we celebrate within what we call the “Easter season.” We continue to celebrate the victory and triumph of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Within this beautiful context of Easter, the Ascension and the coming feast of Pentecost, we celebrate another victory, another triumph—your wedding anniversaries, dear friends. Twenty-five, fifty and more years of Christian married life are a wonderful gift to celebrate with joy and thanksgiving.
Actually all the graces and blessings you received during these years, the victory of your love for each other and for your family are all part of the victory of Christ over sin and death. In other words, from Christ’s Death and Resurrection you have drawn grace and strength for your married life, for your love, your family, your mission.
The power of Jesus’ Resurrection has been infused into your hearts and lives—to enable you to love and support each other and to live according to Christ’s commandment of love.
This celebration of your anniversary is a very special time in your lives. But it is also special for the whole Archdiocese of Philadelphia and for the whole Church, because you are an important part of Christ’s Church.
This occasion is one of remembrance and thanksgiving. You look back to the beginning of your marriage to praise God, to thank Him for each other and—all of you who were blessed with children—to thank Him for your family.
In this context of looking back, I would like to share with you words that were often used in the marriage ceremony. You will remember some of the phrases and all of the sentiments expressed.
May I ask you to listen prayerfully, to savor those words of the Church that sealed your love and prepared you for the reality of Christian marriage in everyday ordinary life. On your wedding day the priest began with these or similar words:
“Dear friends in Christ: As you know, you are about to enter into a union which is most sacred and most serious. It is most sacred because it was established by God Himself. By it, He gave to man and woman a share in the greatest work of creation, the work of the continuation of the human race. And in this way He sanctified human love and enabled man and woman to help each other live as children of God, by sharing a common life under His fatherly care.
“Because God Himself is thus its author, marriage is of its very nature a holy institution, requiring of those who enter into it a complete and unreserved giving of self. But Christ our Lord added to the holiness of marriage an even deeper meaning and a higher beauty. He referred to the love of marriage to describe His own love for His Church, that is, for the people of God whom He redeemed by His own blood. And so He gave to Christians a new vision of what married life ought to be, a life of self-sacrificing love like His own. It is for this reason that His Apostle, St. Paul, clearly states that marriage is now and for all time to be considered a great mystery, intimately bound up with the supernatural union of Christ and the Church, which union is also to be its pattern.
“Your marriage is also then most serious, because it will bind you together for life in a relationship so close and so intimate, that it will profoundly influence your whole future. That future, with its hopes and disappointments, its successes and its failures, its pleasures and its pains, its joys and its sorrows, is hidden from your eyes. You know that these elements are mingled in every life, and are to be expected in your own. And so, not knowing what is before you, you take each other for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death.
“Truly, then, these words are most serious. It is a beautiful tribute to your undoubted faith in each other, that, recognizing their full import, you are nevertheless so willing and ready to pronounce them. And because these words involve such solemn obligations, it is most fitting that you rest the security of your wedded life upon the great principle of self-sacrifice. And so you begin your married life by the voluntary and complete surrender of your individual lives, in the interest of that deeper and wider life which you are to have in common. Henceforth you belong entirely to each other; you will be one in mind, one in heart, and one if affections. And whatever sacrifices you may hereafter be required to make to preserve this common life, always make them generously. Sacrifice is usually difficult and irksome. Only love can make it easy; and perfect love can make it a joy. We are willing to give in proportion as we love. And when love is perfect, the sacrifice is complete. God so loved the world that He gave His Only begotten Son; and the Son so loved us that He gave Himself for our salvation. ‘Greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’
“No greater blessing can come to your married life than pure conjugal love, loyal and true to the end. May, then, this love with which you join your hands and hearts today, never fail, but grow deeper and stronger as the years go on. And if true love and the unselfish spirit of perfect sacrifice guide your every action, you can expect the greatest measure of earthly happiness that may be allotted to man in this vale of tears. The rest is in the hands of God. Nor will God we wanting to your needs; He will pledge you the life-long support of His graces in the Holy Sacrament which you are now going to receive.”
With these words, dear friends, you joined your hands and hearts, with trust in God and each other. And the years have passed.
But this anniversary, this remembrance, is the occasion for great thanksgiving to God. And this you do by participating in the Sacrifice of the Mass which makes present in your lives the victory of Jesus Christ. It brings into your hearts the grace and power of Christ’s Resurrection.
Even as you thank God for the great gift of each other and for the wonderful blessing of your love, you realize that you have lived this reality of love in the context of human limitations and challenges. And so, today, in your great act of thanksgiving to God, your celebration invites you to personal renewal and ever greater generosity and self-giving.
Those of you who have children are joined by them as you renew your joy and your love!
And those of you who may not have children still possess the great gift of each other and your lifelong love.
Today, in your anniversary celebration, the Church assures all of you once again that through the Sacrament of Marriage your love has been elevated even beyond its natural goodness, to be a sign of Christ’s love for His Church. And, once again, the generosity of Christ, His sacrifice, His self-giving is held out to all of you, dear friends, as the ever relevant pattern of your love for each other and for your families.
May, then, this day of remembrance, thanksgiving and renewal fill your hearts and lives with the peace of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Wedding Anniversary Masses
11 AM & 2:30 PM
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 3, 2009
Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and forever!
My brothers and sisters in Christ, it is my pleasure to have you here today at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul for this Archdiocesan Wedding Anniversary Mass. Thank you for coming today, as together we publicly celebrate your committed love for one another for twenty-five, fifty, or more years of marriage.
Today on the fourth Sunday of Easter, we heard the inspiring reading from the Acts of the Apostles about Peter and John speaking to the people in the Temple of Jerusalem. They had just cured, in Jesus’ name, a man who was "crippled from birth" (Acts 3:2). Disturbed that the two apostles were "teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead" (Acts 4:2), the priests, the captain of the guard, and the Sadducees apprehended them.
When they were questioned by the priests, elders, and scribes the next day, Peter ardently explained to them that it was not through their "own power or piety" (Acts 3:12) that this man was now able to walk, but that "it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene… [that] this man stands before you healed" (Acts 4:10). He explained that Jesus truly is the "stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone" (Acts 4:11).
Jesus was rejected by these leaders of the people, the leaders to whom Jesus had also offered salvation. They had scourged and crucified him. However, as we know, Jesus became, and will be forever, the victor—indeed, our Redeemer. Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead on the third day, conquering death itself, is the cornerstone of our Catholic faith.
Jesus is the cornerstone of the truth and fidelity that forms the foundation of your marriage as well and which empowers you to endure the trials of life, to remain faithful to one another and to be fruitful in your loving relationship. With this foundation, your marriage has become, as the Church teaches, the most fundamental living cell of society through your witness to the depth of God’s love. Today, sadly, there are those who reject the institution of marriage or seek to define it as something other than the union of a man and woman meant for unitive and fruitful love. In light of this crisis within contemporary society, your outward witness is especially needed today. We know that the sacrament of marriage is the permanent and faithful union between a man and a woman, and is the vital foundation of a just and stable society. My dear people, what we celebrate today is more than an anniversary; it is the commitment you made before God many years ago to love each other and to share this love with others in our families, neighborhoods and communities. It is a love that gives witness to the same covenant of love that Jesus has with His Body, the Church.
Today, in the beautiful Gospel from Saint John, we hear Jesus proclaim, "I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (Jn 10:11). A short three weeks ago, we commemorated the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, literally laid down His life for us. As His brothers and sisters, we are His flock; and He is our shepherd. When we reflect upon the importance of sheep in Jesus’ time, we know they were primarily bred for their milk and their wool. Because of their value to the shepherd, he did not keep an emotional distance from them but came to love and cherish them, even to know them individually. When the shepherd called, they came as Jesus said, "I know mine and mine know me" (Jn 10:14). In the image of a shepherd, we behold the image of Jesus, who is our friend. But He is even more than that—He is our Savior who loves us each personally and unconditionally.
Jesus also says, "A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.…No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own" (Jn 10: 11, 18). In marriage, spouses are called to lay down their lives for each other and for the good of their relationship. As Jesus laid down His life for us, so, too, we must do the same for others. As we recounted on Good Friday, Jesus submitted to suffering and ultimately to crucifixion. He endured His sacrifice, knowing that to do so would be to redeem us from our sins, bringing us new life.
Through your perseverance and commitment to each other all these years, my dear friends, you have demonstrated your willingness to lay down your life for the sake of your spouse. By being willing to sacrifice for one another, and by the many ways that you have "died to self" through the years of your marriage, you have indeed served one another and your family; and you have given a joyful witness to the love of Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd of His Church.
Again, my brothers and sisters, I want to say thank you: for your witness to life and to love; for your clear choice to be faithful to each other and to love your family with all their strengths and faults; for laying down your lives for each other. You have shown, and continue to show, our society how important marriage is. How truly crucial it is to support and defend marriage, a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, as the cornerstone of a just and peaceful society.
Let us all, then, united in the name of Jesus, thank God for the gift of His presence with you throughout your marriages. Let us thank Him for the gift of the Holy Family, a model of self-giving love for all of us in our families. Finally, let us thank God the Father for the gift of His Son, Jesus, in the Holy Eucharist, the source and summit of life and love.
May God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit bless you all today, during this blessed Easter season, and for all the days of your life. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Wedding Anniversary Masses
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 15, 2011
Dear Friends,
It is a joy to welcome today to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul the married couples, husbands and wives, celebrating the Golden Anniversary of their marriage, as well as the couples celebrating their Silver Anniversary. It is also a joy to welcome the couples celebrating other years of anniversary. How satisfying, likewise, to welcome your children and grandchildren, family and friends who crowd around you to celebrate as you cross this threshold of love.
An anniversary is an occasion, an invitation, to glance into the depths of mystery. I do not mean mystery as a fiction detective drama as portrayed in popular television programs. I do not mean mystery as a seemingly inexplicable phenomenon. Those are not mysteries in the proper sense. A mystery is something immeasurably more than entertainment or suspense. A mystery is a part of God’s reality. In experiencing it, you and I are carried into the depths of a love beyond ourselves. Today as we celebrate the Golden and Silver anniversaries of marriage we have the opportunity to glance again into the depths of mystery. And the Sacrament of Marriage is no superficial mystery. As our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed in his Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini: “Jesus himself made marriage one of the institutions of his Kingdom (cf. Mt 19:4-8), elevating to the dignity of a sacrament what was inscribed in human nature from the beginning” (no. 85).
As we glance into the mystery of married love today, we recall that on the day of your wedding you made vows to one another. Those vows, the moment they were spoken, 50, 25, or however many years ago, brought something new into being. The vows you spoke to one another created and brought into being something beyond both of you. As you spoke the vows of marriage, a true and real bond arose between the two of you as husband and wife, as spouses. This bond of marriage sealed and united you in the permanent, faithful, fruitful love of the sacred institution of marriage. When you spoke the vows to one another and that indestructible bond arose between you, it was not your own power that came forth. It was God’s. There is an ultimate meaning inscribed in the mutual reciprocity and gift of self in marriage. Your married love is caught up in divine love and becomes a sacred sign of the love of God for all humanity. Your married love is the sacred sign of the faithful and enduring love that Jesus has for His Church.
Today, as we glance into the mystery of the bond of marriage, we can perceive all the intangible moments of deep personal love. We give thanks to God for those tender moments in which your love transmitted new life to your children. The Church also joins you as you renew your reliance on God’s strength for those perplexing and all-too concrete moments of hardship and suffering, those moments of loss and pain. Even that time of loss and pain can and does reveal, in a way we might not even now understand, the inexhaustible riches of God’s love for you. Nothing can overwhelm the sacred bond of your sacramental marriage.
The eye of contemporary society is impeded, it seems, from beholding the grandeur of the bond of marriage. So much of society wants marriage not to be a mystery; it wants marriage to be magic. Society wants marriage not to be about husband and wife and children, but about an individual, simply about satisfaction and pleasure, about usefulness, convenience, autonomy and functionalism. So often it wants to exclude effort and sacrifice, without which there can be no true and complete and lasting fulfillment. Marriage is in a precarious situation today. It is seen and understood simply in a one-dimensional way that is based in illusion and trivializes the sanctity of human sexuality and the inviolable dignity of human life.
But your daily life for all these years, lived in the power of the Sacrament of Matrimony instituded by Christ, is testimony that marriage is not a naïve, story-book ideal or fairy-tale story. Marriage is not magic. It is far more real. Marriage is the mystery of the fundamental human experience of love between husband and wife. Jesus sanctifies this human love of marriage, between man and woman, so that they may become husband and wife in a permanent, faithful and fruitful bond. And husband and wife are called by Jesus to live marriage as a vocation to holiness. As we glance into the mystery of marriage today we see the bond of love that unites you as husband and wife: the indissoluble bond of steadfast fidelity, the bond which nourishes and fosters conjugal love that is open to life, the bond of heroic virtue that makes ordinary moments daily occasions of the grace of Jesus. Married couples have both a mission and a moral power, a depth to their vocation that society needs now more than ever. We need today a new awareness, a new drive. As we celebrate the generations of love before us today in this Cathedral Basilica, we are keenly aware that the next generation is called, perhaps more than any other in history, to realize why it must be a generation of Christian marriage that draws power from the Risen Lord to live in fulfillment, sacrifice and joy.
As we glance today into the mystery of married love, we are led to gaze upon another mystery, the mystery to which all married love points and the mystery in which Christian married love directly participates: the mystery of the love of Jesus in the Eucharist. As Blessed Pope John Paul II proclaimed in 1981, in his Apostolic Exhortation, Familiaris Consortio: “Willed by God in the very act of creation, marriage and the family are interiorly ordained to fulfillment in Christ” (no. 3). In the Eucharist we receive the true Body and Blood of Jesus. This is the Body He gave up for His bride, the Church. As the second reading emphasizes: “He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1Pt 2:24). The Eucharist is the nourishment and healing each of us receives to live our state in life, to fulfill our vocation and mission in the world.
Thank you, dear friends, dear faithful people of God, for your fifty years, your twenty-five years, for however many years you celebrate today. Your bond of marriage has borne fruit and continues to bear fruit for the Church and society. As you mark this great threshold of love, this anniversary and jubilee moment, you allow the world to glimpse the mystery of married love today. May this glimpse become a prolonged appreciation of the many sacrifices that have enriched your love. May the words of today’s Responsorial Psalm, the twenty-third psalm, truly be your blessing: May “only goodness and kindness follow” you all the days of your life. And, united in the love of God―Father, Son and Holy Spirit―may you “dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come” (Ps 23:6). Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Wedding Anniversary Mass For Couples
Married 25 - 50 Years or More
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
May 2, 2004
Dear Jubilarians,
Dear Members of the Jubilarians' Families,
What a wonderful gathering we have this morning in this Cathedral Basilica as we celebrate
in our Lord Jesus Christ the great event of these anniversaries of faithful people, faithful spouses, faithful
parents.
Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. You have noticed the Gospel. It speaks about Jesus
as the Good Shepherd. And what we are celebrating today, in a special way, is the love of Jesus for His people,
the love of Jesus as the Good Shepherd of His Church. The love that Jesus shows us is a sacrificial love. Jesus
explains this Himself and He says that He lays down His life for the flock. It was when He died that His sacrifice
was complete, that the laying down of His life was total. It was at that moment that He consummated His work and
that He communicated life to the Church.
And so what a beautiful day it is to celebrate the anniversary of your marriages because marriage means self-giving
love. The love of marriage is fruitful first of all in the communication of love to one another, to husband and
wife. It is then fruitful in the transmission of life that springs from love.
Today we gather to thank God for the love He has given you, dear friends. But also,
to reflect on this mystery of Christian married love, to offer you the opportunity to renew your intention to be
faithful in love to each other, and to rejoice in the love that God has given you to share with each other and
with your children, and your children's children. And even when it was not possible for some of you to have children,
you still retained the great gift of love for each other. What is so important to realize is that marriage is God's
plan. It is God's plan to show His Love in the world, to have the union of a man and a woman as a sign of His love.
And so Christ, who is the Good Shepherd of the Church, is also the Bridegroom of the Church. He is referred to
in the Scriptures in this way, and the Church is His spouse. And He loves the Church. Jesus loves the Church as
His spouse. And He has instituted the Sacrament of Marriage so that marriage will be first and foremost a reflection
in the world of His love for His spouse, the Church. It is important also to see how the great mystery of the communication
of life, takes place in the Sacrament of Marriage, which communicates life, transmits life, and brings children
into the world.
When Christ died on Calvary, at the very moment of His supreme giving, life was given
to His Church. It was at that moment when He communicated all and gave all that the Church came into being. And
at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit of God's love would reinforce and strengthen this love in the Church. By living Christian
married love, dear friends, for all these years, despite your limitations, despite your human weaknesses, and even
your sins, the mystery of God's love, of Christ's sacrificial love for the Church, has been actuated in the world
through you. This is the great mystery, the great reality of Christian married love raised to the level of a Sacrament
by Christ Himself. This is God's plan. And so today, dear friends, the Church wants you to rejoice and to exult
in your vocation, but she also wants you to recognize, even more than on that first day of marriage, how important
is God's gift is to you of human Christian love. It is Christ who made it possible for you to love each other at
such a beautiful level, and to communicate that love to your children and to your children's children. God has
made your love a sign of His and a source of the generosity and service that you have given to others.
For a few moments, let us go back many years and reread the beautiful instruction
of the Church of your wedding day. It was in these or similar words that the Church tried to help you understand
your vocation. And now years later, I am sure that you will hear them from another perspective and with a fuller
realization of how true they are. And so the priest said to you on that occasion: "Dear friends in Christ,
as you know you are about to enter into a union that is most sacred and most serious. It is most sacred because
it was established by God Himself and by it He gave to man a share in the greatest work of creation, the work of
the continuation of the human race. And in this way, God sanctified human love and enabled man and woman to help
each other live as children of God by sharing a common life under his Fatherly care. Because God Himself is thus
its author, marriage is of its very nature a holy institution, requiring of those who enter into it a complete
and unreserved giving of self. (This has been your aim during all these years - a total and unreserved giving of
self to each other.)
But Christ Our Lord added to the holiness of marriage an even deeper meaning and a
higher beauty. He referred to the love of marriage to describe His own love for the Church, that is for the people
of God whom He redeemed by His own blood. And so he gave to Christians a new vision of what married life ought
to be - a life of self-sacrificing love, like His own. It was for this reason that His apostle, Saint Paul, clearly
states that marriage is now and for all times to be considered a great mystery, a divine reality intimately bound
up with the union of Christ and His church. Your marriage is also, dear friends, most serious, because it will
bind you together for life in a relationship so close and so intimate that it will profoundly influence your whole
future. That future, with its hopes and disappointments, its successes and its failures, its pleasures and its
pains, its joys and its sorrows, is hidden from your eyes. You know that these elements are mingled in every life
and are to be expected in your own. And so not knowing what is before you, you take each other for better or for
worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death. Truly then, these words are most serious.
It is a beautiful tribute to your undoubted faith in each other that recognizing their full import you are nevertheless
so willing and ready to pronounce them.
And because these words involve such solemn obligation, it is most fitting that you
rest the security of your wedded life upon the great principle of self-sacrifice. As so you begin your married
life by the voluntary and complete surrender of your individual lives in the interest of that deeper and wider
life which you are to have in common. Henceforth, you belong entirely to each another. You will be one in mind,
one in heart, and one in affection. And whatever sacrifices you may hereafter be required to make to preserve this
common life, always make them generously. Sacrifice is usually difficult and irksome, only love can make it easy,
and perfect love can make it a joy. We are willing to give in proportion as we love. And when love is perfect,
the sacrifice is complete. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, and the Son so loved us that
He gave Himself for our salvation. "Greater love than this, no man has that a man lay down his life for his
friends."
No greater blessing can come to your married life than pure conjugal love, loyal and
true to the end. May then this love, with which you join your hands and hearts today, never fail but grown deeper
and stronger as the years go on. And if true love, and the unselfish spirit of perfect sacrifice guide your every
action, you can expect the greatest measure of earthly happiness that may be allotted to man in this veil of tears.
The rest is in the hands of God. Nor will God be wanting to your needs. He will pledge you the lifelong support
of His graces in the Holy Sacrament which you are now going to receive."
And so these were the words, dear friends, and this was the way you began your married
life.
Finally today on this Good Shepherd Sunday, we pray that your families, your children,
and your children's children will continue to show love and esteem for the sacrament of married life, love and
esteem for God's plan for a man and a woman. We pray that in the heart of the family there will grow up a love
and esteem for every vocation in the Church. From you and your families, may the younger generation learn the meaning
of sacrificial Christian married love, and may they also learn love, respect and esteem for the other vocations
in the Church - the vocation to the religious life and to the priesthood. It is only in holy families that God's
plan can blossom.
And so we gather together in thanksgiving, and at the same time to offer you, dear
friends, this wonderful opportunity to renew your love for one another, once again before the altar of God, once
again through the Eucharist, once again in union with our Lord Jesus Christ. Once again you consecrate yourselves
and your love to God. And as you renew your love to each other, you fulfill your vocation to be a sign, a living
sign, a concrete sign in the world of Christ's love for His Church. And as your love continues in the blessing
of your children, we know that the Lord will bring to completion in you His beautiful plan. He will continue to
give you deep joy and peace in your vocation of Christian married love, loyal and true to the end. Amen
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for the Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom
Conference on "Innovations in Women's Health"
Chapel, Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
September 13, 2008
Dr. Hilgers,
Members of the Philadelphia Guild of the Catholic Medical Association
and the Friends of FertilityCare—Philadelphia,
Clinicians Providing Care to Women,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,
I am so pleased to be with you today as you meet to advance women’s health, and especially to discuss ways of assisting the natural gift of procreation for married couples. By exploring medically and morally sound ways to alleviate the problems couples may face regarding their fertility, you provide a wonderful service to Christian marriage, to the Church and to all humanity.
Our first reading today is one of the great New Testament passages about the meaning and importance of the Eucharist, which is indeed the crown of all the Sacraments because it is the Body and Blood of Christ. Saint Paul tells us something more: By our communion with our Lord Jesus Christ, by receiving His Body, we ourselves become one body. In the words of Saint John Chrysostom, whose feast we celebrate today: "For what is the bread? The Body of Christ. And what do they become who partake of it? The Body of Christ: not many bodies, but one body" (Homily XXIV on I Corinthians). By being joined to Him, we members of the Church are joined to one another. Christ is the Head. We, as members of His Body, must unite with each other in love to communicate His life-giving Gospel to the world.
Our reading from the Gospel according to Luke completes this thought. Only if we are grafted onto Christ, only if we begin from a heart of goodness, can we bear good fruit. Only if we rest on the solid foundation of His word, and a readiness to act on that word, can we make a lasting contribution to the world. With any less solid foundation, everything we try to do can be swept away.
As you know, there is only one other context where Scripture talks about people becoming so intimately united with each other that they are "one body." This is in marriage where "a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body" (Genesis 2:24). In his Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul would draw out this striking analogy in detail: "Husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the Church, because we are members of his body" (Ephesians 5: 28-30). Immediately he adds that very same passage from Genesis, about man and wife becoming one body. The relationship of husband and wife is an image of the relationship of Christ and His Church—that is, between Christ the Head and His own Body.
It is easy to see, then, why the Catholic Church recognizes marriage as a sacrament. The union it celebrates is our best symbol on earth of the union we have with Christ in the Eucharist, our supreme sacrament. And this bodily union between husband and wife expresses and consummates a love that transcends our human condition, invoking God as its source and sponsor.
Like the union of Christ with His Church, this bodily union in marriage is fruitful. The total love and commitment of the spouses is open to giving rise, with God’s help, to a new human being whom husband and wife will love and care for together. This child is a new human person, body and soul, made in the image and likeness of God. Therefore he or she is the parents’ equal in human dignity. He or she is not an object or a possession, or something we can demand from God as a matter of right. Rather, the spouses are called to be open to this new life, prepared to receive the child as a wonderful gift if their bodily union does give rise to a new life.
As in the Christian life generally, authentic progress in becoming a parent and building a family depends on whether one builds on the foundation of the Lord’s will. As we are dealing with the power to cooperate with God in creating a new human person, we cannot treat fertility as simply a bodily function like any other. The means we employ are as important as the end in view. We must resist any approaches to fertility treatment that violate the integrity of marriage, substituting other people in the roles that only husband and wife can serve for each other. We hear today, for example, of sperm and eggs "donated" (or more often, sold) by outside parties, of "surrogate" mothers whose wombs are hired out to bear a child for others. Nor can we replace the coming together of husband and wife as "one body" with a technical procedure that is more like the manufacturing of a product, a commodity. This procedure treats the newly conceived child as an object in the laboratory, and makes possible so many further terrible abuses—as we have learned from the drive to obtain and destroy human embryos for stem cell research.
No, like the Son of God himself, our children have a dignity equal to that of their parents. We respect that dignity by ensuring that they are "begotten, not made." But this does not mean we can or should leave couples without recourse when they face infertility. We must learn and further explore ways of truly assisting these couples, so that their married love, open to new life, may indeed bring it forth. The Church welcomes and exults in new advances in scientific and medical progress obtained and used in morally sound ways. Taking the dignity of marriage and the sanctity of each human life as your foundation, you have achieved wonderful things for women, for married couples and for their children. Your commitment to healing in the fullest sense of the word, to helping your patients and their families to achieve their total human potential is indeed a great service to the realization of God’s plan for human love and human life.
What is so exhilarating is that you come together this morning, dear friends, in the Eucharistic Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the unity of His Body the Church to renew your commitment and to pledge your contribution to Women’s Health Care and to God’s marvelous design for the procreation of the human race. The Church invokes upon your activities that fruitfulness which can come only through the action of the Holy Spirit of God’s love. And may the Mother of the Incarnate Word who conceived by the Holy Spirit sustain you in joy, serenity and strength. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Opening Mass for the Annual Meeting of the
Conference of Major Superiors of Women Religious
Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville, Illinois
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Dear Friends in Christ,
The Prophet Joel, thousands of years ago, transmitted this magnificent prophecy: “Thus says the Lord: I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; even upon the servants and the handmaids, in those days, I will pour out my spirit” (Jl 3:1-2).
How significant and fitting it is that you come together, at the beginning of this Conference, to invoke the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit who inspires dreams and visions of hope is present among us to inspire all of the participants in this Conference to a renewed vision of consecrated service in the Church for the evangelization of the world. I am deeply pleased to be with you, the Major Superiors of many and various Congregations and Institutes of Consecrated Women Religious, to celebrate this Mass and to assure you of my prayerful support for you and for your communities. Be assured, too, of my personal gratitude and that of my brother Bishops in whose dioceses your communities serve. Your collaboration with the Bishops is extremely important as, together, we proclaim, through our mutual mission and your diverse apostolates, the message, the love, the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Liturgy of the Word, selected from the readings for Pentecost Sunday, transports us to the Upper Room in Jerusalem. There, gathered in prayer, are the Apostles of Jesus, many of the disciples including the holy women, and, at the heart of the Cenacle, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of the Church and the Queen of Apostles. This Shrine dedicated to Our Lady is for us like the Cenacle. Gathered in prayer, we look to Mary to be with us and to intercede for us as we invoke the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon this important conference.
Saint Luke the Evangelist, in the Acts of the Apostles, describes the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday, fifty days after the Resurrection of Jesus. In the form of wind and flame, the Holy Spirit, with His manifold gifts, descends upon the Apostles and those gathered in the Upper Room. Transformed by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles burst forth from the locked doors of the Upper Room to announce to the people gathered in Jerusalem the Good News of Jesus Christ: the love and mercy of God lavished upon mankind through the paschal mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
For two thousand years, the Church has carried out, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, this mission of the proclamation of the Good News. This is the task of evangelization and you, dear Sisters in Christ, by your living of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience, and by your fidelity to the charisms of your founders and foundresses, have contributed in unfathomable ways to the success of the Church’s mission. The Second Vatican Council, in Lumen Gentium, summarized well the influential role of consecrated Religious in the life of the Church: “Being means to and instruments of love, the evangelical counsels unite those who practice them to the Church and her mystery in a special way. It follows that the spiritual life of such Christians should be dedicated also to the welfare of the entire Church. To the extent of their capacities and in keeping with the particular kind of religious life to which they are individually called, whether it be one of prayer or of active labor as well, they have the duty of working for the implanting and strengthening of the kingdom of Christ in souls and for spreading it to the four corners of the earth. It is for this reason that the distinctive character of various religious institutes is preserved and fostered by the Church” (no. 44).
The Holy Spirit first moved you to enter the consecrated life and to embrace the evangelical counsels. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, you have detached yourselves from the ways of the world. Yet, you are sustained by the Holy Spirit in chastity, poverty and obedience so that you will have a pivotal role in the world. In our own day, scarred by widespread violence, confused by indifference to the gift of human life and the sacred bond of marital love, blind to the impoverished conditions of so many, and made tense by a volatile economy, people more than ever need the visible sign of your witness to the chaste, poor, obedient and victorious Christ. Jesus alone remains the answer to the questions and worries of life. He alone is the Hope and Light of the World.
How well the Servant of God Pope John Paul II reminded you of the purpose of your vocation and of the gifts which you have received when, in Vita Consecrata, he exhorted all Religious: “Live to the full your dedication to God, so that this world may never be without a ray of divine beauty to lighten the path of human existence. Christians, immersed in the cares and concerns of this world but also called to holiness, need to discover in you purified hearts which in faith ‘see’ God, people docile to the working of the Holy Spirit who resolutely press on in fidelity to the charism of their call and mission” (no. 109).
That the Holy Spirit is at work within you and within your religious families causes great joy and tremendous confidence, particularly as you engage in the work of the apostolate. Pope Leo XIII, back in 1897, in his encyclical Divinum Illud Munus, addressed to the Church a magnificent reminder about “attribution,” that is, of how certain “operations” are attributed or appropriated to an individual Person of the Most Blessed Trinity. Although the Blessed Trinity is one and inseparable, and though the Three Divine Persons act inseparably, to each of the three Divine Persons is attributed a particular work. For example, God the Father is the First Cause of all things; God the Son is the Exemplar from whom all beauty and goodness are borrowed. He is also the Redeemer of the human race. God the Holy Spirit is the bond of love between the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit, in the words of Pope Leo XIII, “completes and perfects, by His strong yet gentle power, the secret work of man’s eternal salvation” (no. 3). Writing as he perceived his long Pontificate coming to an end, Pope Leo XIII knew that he would yet face suffering and difficulty; however, he entrusted all of his efforts to the Holy Spirit to bring them to conclusion and perfection.
Similarly, full of joy and confidence, we invoke the Holy Spirit in the understanding that He who has drawn you into the consecrated life, He who has inspired you to embrace the life-transforming evangelical counsels, He who urges you and your communities on to bear light and hope to the world, will bring to completion and perfection His work in you. In our time, as the Church daily faces and addresses the hardships and burdens of the world, we know that we, too, must suffer, like Jesus, in order to share in His victory.
Saint Paul, in the First Letter to the Corinthians, reminds us—and speaks to you, particularly—that the work to be done comes from God: “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit” (1 Cor 12:4-7). Whether through Catholic education, care for the sick and the dying, outreach to the poor and homeless, the abused and abandoned, mission work among those who are uncatechized, whatever your apostolate, it is a call and gift from the Holy Spirit, who sustains you and will bring to completion and perfection the good works with which the Church has entrusted you. Therefore, all service within the Church, all apostolic work, must be nurtured by prayer—liturgical, individual, communal and contemplative.
Pope Paul VI, in his 1971 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelica Testificatio, addressed Religious on the need for steadfast prayer in these stirring words: “Dear Religious, how could you fail to desire to know better him whom you love and whom you wish to make manifest to men? It is prayer that unites you to him. If you have lost the taste for prayer, you will regain the desire for it by returning humbly to its practice. Do not forget, moreover, the witness of history: faithfulness to prayer or its abandonment are the test of the vitality or decadence of the religious life” (no. 42). Blessed Teresa of Calcutta instructed her Sisters, the Missionaries of Charity saying: “We must love prayer. It widens the heart to the point of making it capable of containing the gift that God makes of himself. Ask and seek, and your heart will be widened to welcome him and to keep him within itself” (Mother Teresa, Heart of Joy, p. 114).
As this conference begins, dear Sisters, we pray that the Holy Spirit will ever expand and constantly fill your hearts with the love needed to redirect society to a loving gaze upon Jesus. Your own love for Jesus present in the Sacred Scriptures and in the Holy Eucharist will enlighten, inspire and influence each person with whom you come in contact. May Our Lady, Queen of the Holy Rosary, Mother of Mercy, intercede for you as you show to the world the light, the love and the face of Jesus Christ, Son of the Eternal Father, her Son, and our Lord. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for World Mission Sunday
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
October 21, 2007
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
By virtue of your Baptism all of you are called to be involved in the missionary work of the Church. You are called to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ by what you say and do and by how you live your lives.
On the occasion of World Mission Sunday Pope Benedict XVI invites you and the entire People of GodÿBishops, priests, deacons, men and women religious and laityÿto reflect on the urgent need and importance of the Church's missionary activity in our own time.
Our Holy Father reminds us that our Lord Jesus Christ gave a mandate to His Apostles, before ascending into Heaven, in words that still ring out a universal call and an urgent appeal: Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And Jesus added, "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).
These words of challenge and comfort help us to reflect on the theme chosen for World Mission Sunday, 2007: "All the Churches for all the World."
This theme encourages us to go beyond our own individual call to holiness and service. It invites the dioceses or local Churches of every continent to re-launch missionary activity in the face of the many serious challenges of our time, the changes of a secularized culture, the crisis of family life, fewer religious vocations and the progressive aging of the clergy.
In our Archdiocese of Philadelphia, as we celebrate our Bicentennial, we also celebrate the missionary spirit that has helped us address the challenges to evangelization that have come our way.
Saint Katharine Drexel personally asked Pope Leo XIII to establish a religious congregation so that African American and Native American people would come to know Jesus and receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The Pope indicated that she should do this.
Saint John Neumann brought the message of Jesus to immigrant people in the new world. And he established the Forty Hours Devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament to draw people closer to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.
So many members of our Religious Congregations, filled with love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, have been sent to establish missions in other countries of America and in Africa, India, China and other mission areas of the world.
For one year beginning today in our own Archdiocese, we intend to acknowledge in a special way the "fruits of holiness" that the Servant of God Pope John Paul II cites in his Apostolic Exhortation “the Church in America.” Saint Rose of Lima is recognized as America's "first flower of holiness."
We recall with affection some of these holy missionaries with whom we are most familiar: the holy martyrs Saints Isaac Jogues, John de Brebeuf and companions, who brought the Gospel message to the native American peoples of the United States and Canada; Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, whose Sisters educated our young people in the United States and cared for our sick, and Saint Juan Diego, who helped introduce Our Lady of Guadalupe to Mexico, to all America and to the world.
These and so many other missionaries have accepted the Lord's mandate to go into the whole world and serve in village missions, small schools, medical outposts, orphanages and in countless poor cities throughout Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands and remote regions of Latin America. They believed the words in Paul's letter to the Romans: For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, (Romans 10:13) and accepted his challenge. But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? (Romans 10:14-15).
Paul's words are a challenge to each one of us because the Church is essentially missionary and hence we are called to be missionaries.
What we need to do is take what we have learned about God, what we experience in prayer and devotion and what we draw from our encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist at Sunday Mass and go and communicate it to others.
God is at work in the world and wants us to join him. He wants all of us to go out to the world and be witnesses to His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Remember, people will judge you by the way you act and by the way you live. They may decide by your actions whether God and His word are real. You may be the only Catholic a person will ever know. Go out then today and be the face of Christ to others. Present the person of Jesus to them, for by virtue of your Baptism He has called you to be His missionaries.
World Mission Sunday reminds us that the missionary mandate Christ gave to His Apostles involves us all. So ask the master of the harvest, He said to His disciples, to send out laborers for his harvest (Matthew 9:38).
Saint Thérèse of the Infant Jesus never left her cloister. Yet because of her prayers to Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament for the Missions, she has been declared Co-Patron of the Missions.
How fortunate and blessed we are in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to have the contemplative Carmelite Nuns, the Poor Clare Nuns, the Sisters, Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration, and the Visitation Nuns praying for us and for the missionary activity of the Church throughout the world.
As the first reading of today's Mass indicates, prayer is one of the first steps on our missionary journey to proclaim the word of God. Come, let us climb the Lords mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths (Isaiah 2:3). We go up to the mountain of the Lord so that He may teach us His ways. We go up to the mountain of the Lord through prayer. We place ourselves in His presence and listen to Him and His teachings as He prepares us for our missionary work. We learn that prayer is the first contribution we are called to offer to the missionary activity of the Church.
On this special World Mission Sunday we also realize that our financial support given to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith helps our missionaries carry out their task to make disciples of all nations.
May the Lord bless you for your prayers and your generous financial support of the Mission work of the Church.
And may our Blessed Mother Mary draw all of us closer to her divine Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
World Mission Sunday
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
October 19, 2008
Dear Friends in Christ,
At Baptism, each of us is given a distinct responsibility. The Lord calls us to tell the world the "Good News" of His love and salvation. He calls us to be, in our own way, His missionaries.
On the occasion of World Mission Sunday, which we are celebrating today, Pope Benedict XVI invites you and me, and the entire People of God, to reflect on the urgency of sharing the Gospel with others. The missionary charge continues to be an absolute priority for all baptized persons because we are all called to be "servants and apostles of Christ Jesus."
Over thirty years ago Pope Paul VI beautifully stated these words: "Evangelizing is, in fact, the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14). Just recently our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI pointed to Saint Paul, the Apostle of the nations, as a model of this apostolic commitment. We celebrate the life of Saint Paul, born 2000 years ago, by embracing as he did the mission of proclaiming the Gospel to others.
This special year dedicated to Saint Paul offers the opportunity for local Churches, Christian communities and the individual faithful to share the Gospel of salvation with everyone who freely chooses to listen to us. The Holy Father has affirmed that Saint Paul "understood on the road to Damascus, then experienced in his later ministry, that redemption and mission are acts of love. It was the love of Christ that impelled him to follow the roads of the Roman Empire as a herald ...of the Gospel ...It is love that must impel us to announce to all mankind, frankly and courageously, the truth that saves.... Mankind awaits Christ."
This year, World Mission Sunday also takes on an added significance as the Church here in the United States marks the 100th anniversary of a papal decree which removed the designation of "mission territory" from this country. Up until that time the generosity of European Catholics felt the need to support the Pontifical Mission Society for the Propagation of the Faith in America.
Philadelphia had been one of the first recipients of help from the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in Europe. Years of such financial assistance helped build thousands of parishes, schools and hospitals to serve our brothers and sisters who were in need and who hungered to hear about God’s love. The seeds of evangelization sown by these missionaries of the past have become the seeds we now sow in other missionary lands today. It is our turn to evangelize.
This year, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia honors the many missionaries from Europe who were instrumental in bringing the Lord’s gift of faith and His message of hope to our nation and Archdiocese.
Remembering the missionaries of the past who served the Church in the United States, we too must continue to embrace their spirit and zeal for spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. We also give thanks to God for the many missionaries born and formed in the faith here in our own nation and Archdiocese who have accepted the Lord's challenge to go into the whole world to evangelize. Ours is a world that is hungry for the message of God’s love and compassion, a world that is as close as the hills of Kentucky or as distant as Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands and the remote regions of Latin America. Our missionaries serve in urban and rural settings, remote mission churches, schools, medical outposts and orphanages. In Africa, for example, the Church is growing rapidly because of God’s grace and the efforts of these missionaries, resulting in many native-born priests and religious. The people of mission lands are inspired by the words and actions of countless missionaries to "implore the favor of the Lord" and "go to seek the Lord," as we hear in today’s reading from the Book of the Prophet Zechariah. The missionaries’ faith and love help the people they serve to follow them, to trust them and to say: "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you" (Zech 8:23).
Missionaries have wholeheartedly embraced Saint Paul’s message to the Romans: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved," and they have accepted his challenge. How can people call on the Lord in whom they have not believed, and how can they believe in him whom they have not heard of? How can they hear without someone to preach, and how can they preach unless they are sent? Paul's words are a challenge to each one of us because the Church is essentially missionary and we are all meant to be missionaries in our own way.
There are many great stories to be told about the missions, even in our own rich mission history. As we pray and respond on this World Mission Sunday here in Philadelphia, we are sharing in what is taking place in every church and parish all over the world. No matter the setting for our liturgy, we know that the Lord Himself calls us and sends us to bear witness to our Catholic faith and share it with others.
Let us then take to heart the words of Jesus, repeated so often by Pope John Paul II: Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. Let us set out on the vast sea of the world and, following Jesus’ invitation, let us cast our nets without fear, confident in his constant help. In today’s Gospel we also hear these words of Jesus speaking to His Father, saying: "Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth" (John 17: 17-18). With God’s word and strength, each of us can make an important missionary contribution. To be missionary means to love God with all one’s heart. To be missionary is to tend, like the Good Samaritan, to the needs of others, particularly those who are poor and marginalized. To be missionary is to offer prayers and make acts of sacrifice so that people throughout the world will come to know and love Jesus Christ and final salvation in His name.
From His being tempted in the desert and throughout His public ministry, Jesus kept close to His Father. Even in today’s Gospel, Jesus is in prayer, making a request to His Father for all of us His brothers and sisters. He lifts His eyes toward heaven in His prayer for us! Following this example, we are invited to fix our eyes on heaven and pray with Jesus. May this prayer be intensified ever more for missionaries and people everywhere, who are yearning to know Christ. For all of us prayer is the greatest spiritual means for spreading among all peoples the light of Christ, the light that illuminates the darkness.
Let us pray together in our Mass this morning for all who long to hear the hope-filled message of Jesus’ love and salvation. In the words of Pope Benedict XVI: "It becomes...indispensable for Christians on every continent to be ready to respond to whoever asks the reason for the hope that is within them (cf 1Pt 3:15), announcing the Word of God with joy and living the gospel without compromise." Let us raise our voices in prayer on this World Mission Sunday so that the message of Jesus’ love will be shared, embraced and lived.
May the Lord Jesus bless you for your prayers and financial support for the mission work of His Church.
And may our Blessed Mother Mary draw all of us closer to her divine Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and God. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
World Mission Sunday
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
October 24, 2010
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Today, all over the world, the Church is celebrating World Mission Sunday.
The Church is drawing our attention to the fact that Jesus Christ the Son of God was sent by His Father in heaven on a mission into the world. He came in order to take on our humanity in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He did this in order to reveal God’s love to us, to redeem us, and to teach us how to live and enter into the life of God.
Jesus, who was sent by the Father, in turn sent His Apostles on a mission. It was the extension of His mission. He told them: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (Jn 20:21). In effect He sent them to reveal God’s love, to uplift humanity and to challenge the world to love and serve others.
Missionary work began at the very beginning of the Church. On Pentecost Sunday, the Apostle Peter proclaimed Jesus Christ to all those who were gathered on that day. Afterwards he left Jerusalem and went eventually all the way to Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, to proclaim Jesus Christ. The Apostle Saint Paul preached throughout the known world at that time. He journeyed all throughout Asia Minor and Greece and, finally, he was martyred in Rome. In all the centuries of the Church missionaries have been sent all over the globe to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Second Vatican Council tells us so clearly that the Church is, by her very nature, missionary. In other words, she cannot be understood apart from the fact that she exists in order to share the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ. There have always been men and women who leave their homes to share the Gospel with others. In the United States we received the faith through generous missionaries from Europe and many of our own sons and daughters have become missionaries in foreign lands in order to spread the good news of God’s love.
But Vatican II also showed how everyone shares in the mission of the Church. The Church is indeed missionary by nature. All her members are called to share their faith and to be concerned for their brothers and sisters throughout the world.
The model for the Church in all her missionary activity is Jesus. He went about proclaiming the kingdom of God, but also healing those who were sick and freeing others from the power of the devil.
That activity is what our missionaries have promoted over the years. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is sanctfying, but also uplifting. We are all called to share our faith and to help those in spiritual need and in material need in our homeland and throughout the world.
This morning, we have a reading from the Book of Sirach. It tells us that God hears the cry of the oppressed. We also have a very beautiful psalm that elaborates on this idea. The psalm tells us that “the Lord hears the cry of the poor.... The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and those who are crushed in spirit.”
All throughout the centuries God has heard and responded to those in need. In doing so He uses the missionaries of the Church and all those who share their faith with their neighbor. Saint Paul tells us this morning that in his efforts the Lord stood by him. It took a great deal of courage, a great deal of generosity, a great deal of sacrifice for him to fulfill his mission, which was to collaborate in the mission of Jesus Christ. The great missionaries of the Church over the centuries have influenced millions of people. Think of a man like Saint Patrick who converted Ireland by his preaching. And think of a missionary like Saint Boniface who brought the faith to Germany. And think of a woman like Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, whose love and witness have influenced countless people throughout the world in recent years.
Today, dear friends, the Church again recalls that she is by her nature missionary, because that is the way Jesus established her. And Jesus has transmitted to all the members of His Church a share in His mission of revealing the love of the eternal Father. Jesus brought the Father’s love into the world and He shared it with us, but He wants us to share it with others.
In receiving the Father’s love we are called to continue Jesus’ mission. In the Church, God’s love for us becomes a challenge of service and generosity: to help God hear the cry of the poor and oppressed, and to spread our holy Catholic faith to all those who willingly choose to listen to us. A great part of our Christian lives is the witness that we are called to bear to everyone by the upright witness of our everyday lives. The great Indian peace-maker Mahatma Gandhi once scolded Christians by saying: “The whole world would be Christian, but you Christians are so little like your Christ.” And so we realize the great challenge to our personal lives. Even as we bear witness to our faith, we realize that we have much to do to live up fully to what God asks of us.
In the Gospel this morning, we have the example of two men: one is a Pharisee and the other is a tax collector. The Pharisee pretends to be perfect. The other man admits his limitations and his sins, saying: “Have mercy on me a sinner.” Despite our limitations and our sins, we have a great mission, dear friends, because we belong to a missionary Church. We have received the treasure of God’s love and mercy which we must share with others in humble service. We have been introduced to the teachings of Christ, which are able to uplift the world. We must pass them on to each new generation.
And so we give thanks for the missionaries that brought us our holy Catholic faith and introduced us to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But this Gospel of love and life of justice, peace and service is meant to be shared with the whole world.
If you ever wondered, dear friends, just how important you are, and just how much you can contribute to the world, remember that you have received the gift of the love of Jesus Christ at your Baptism and you belong to a Church that believes in sharing this love with the world. You are a member of Christ’s Church, which is and always will be missionary by her very nature. You have received the gift of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation to strengthen you so that you may worthily fulfill your mission, together with Jesus, as He continues, working through you to manifest His love and mercy to the world. Amen.
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Youth For The Eucharist Holy Hour
St. Titus Church, East Norriton, PA
October 8, 2006
My dear young people,
I am very happy to be here with you, to adore and praise Jesus truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament. You mean so much to Jesus, to the Church and to me. In fact, you are a gift to the whole Catholic Church and to the world. Your presence here sets an example for young people everywhere. You are a sign of hope and promise for what is good in the world.
We live in a world of great tolerance. No matter what people believe, they can find someone to agree with them. Some people see sex before marriage as acceptable. Others accept lying and cheating for financial gain. Others want to justify violence against those who do not think or believe as they do. In your own living room on TV you can see that some accept swapping wives and being sexually intimate with people of the same sex. The question becomes: how do you decide what is acceptable?
What is important for you is always to know that what Jesus says is what is acceptable. He came to earth for the purpose of saving us from our sins and to show us the way to heaven. He is very clear about what is right and what is wrong. He gives us guidelines and commandments. He also gives us the grace of forgiveness when we fall short and sin. Jesus challenges us to live an upright and holy life and then He offers us forgiveness and grace when we recognize our human weakness and turn to Him for help. Sometimes people pretend that things are acceptable because of their own human weaknesses. They prefer to give in rather than to make an effort. They are tempted and so they follow their own desires rather than trying to please God. If you watch these people long enough, you will realize that they are not truly happy. They have no true joy.
You, on the other hand, are obviously interested in pleasing God. This holy hour here tonight is not fulfill an obligation for you. This holy hour fulfills a longing in your heart for Jesus.
You come before God with open hearts and open hands bringing all that you are to Him. You sing with joy of your belief, giving God glory and praise. What you do tonight will be recorded in heaven forever. You are the Church militant still working and struggling for holiness. The saints in heaven, in the Church triumphant, intercede for you because you are doing what they spent their lives on earth doing. By your presence and praise, you proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed.
I challenge you, dear young people, to be brave in this world that you live in. When you go forth from this church, Jesus sends with you His Holy Spirit. In fact, this Jesus whom you adore goes before you to prepare the way for you in everything. Troubles will come, but here tonight, and every time that you come to Him, Jesus will give you strength to persevere and grace and courage to make progress in Christian living. Saint Rose of Lima was a young woman who said that trials and tribulations become the stairway to heaven. It is Jesus who makes that possible for you.
You sing a song called "My All in All". You say "Jesus, Lamb of God, worthy is Your Name. You are my All in All." I say to you believe those words that you sing. They are true. Jesus is everything that you need. How many of you know what to do with your life? I tell you, Jesus knows what you are to do. Even if you think you already know, ask Him! Each one of you was created with a distinct purpose. Many of you are called to the vocation of Christian married love. Others are called to a single life of dedicated service. Some are called to the consecrated life and some of you young men are called to be priests. It is this vocation that serves every category in the Church because everyone needs the Eucharist. When God created you He had in mind a job that no one else can do as perfectly as you can. Many people do not understand this. Yet, it is true! He says "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." There is no one else exactly like you.
So, I challenge you to go forth into the world and be an advocate for Jesus. He is an advocate for you and all of heaven supports you. When you call on your heavenly friends, they will help you. Read about the lives of the Saints and how they are able to help you. Spend a few minutes every day, talking to them and especially to our Blessed Mother Mary. Come back to be with Jesus often. Each time you are with Him, you will grow in strength and holiness. Do not be afraid. Go forth with the joy that so many cannot find. This joy comes from the Heart of Jesus. You have Jesus, the Light of the World, and so you are able to light up the world. Give everything to Jesus. I challenge you to spend your life doing something worthy of Jesus.