"It is time for the
mission," this is the mandate of Benedict XVI, entrusted now to five new
bishops ordained in St Peter’s basilica this morning. A mission that brings to men “the light of truth that frees them from poverty of truth, which is real sadness and real poverty. Mission that brings them the Good News that is not only words, but an event: God, Himself, has come from us. "
Receiving the Gospel, ring, mitre and pastoral cross,
signs of the Episcopal mission from the Pope this morning were; Mgr.
Savio Hon Tai-Fai, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization
of Peoples, Mgr. Marcello Bartolucci, secretary of the Congregation for
the Causes of Saints, Mgr. Celso Morga Iruzubieta, secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy, Mgr. Antonio Guido Filipazzi, Apostolic Nuncio, and Mgr. Edgar Peña Parra, who is also an apostolic nuncio.
Their mission is to "cast the net of the Gospel in the
rough seas of this time to obtain the adhesion of people to Christ"
because "it may seem that large parts of the modern world, of the men of
today, are turning away from God and consider faith a thing of the past
– and yet there is still a yearning for justice, love, peace, to be
finally established and poverty and suffering overcome, that people find
joy. All this yearning is present in today's world, a yearning for all that is great, for all that is good. It is nostalgia for the Redeemer, God himself, even where he is denied. "
It is a 'great task', which in practical terms requires
the four elements that have already been the theme for the Week of
Prayer for Christian Unity, the memory of how the early Christians
"devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of
bread and prayer"(Acts 2:42).
They are "the fundamental elements of
Christian communion in the Church of Jesus Christ," Benedict XVI traced
his homily from the phrase” and they devoted themselves”.
“Devotion,
diligence, belongs to the essence of being a Christian and is
fundamental to the pastors task as workers in the Lord's harvest. The
Pastor should not be like chaff driven by the wind, a servant of the spirit of the time. Being intrepid, having the courage to oppose the trends of the time, is essential to the task of the pastor. He
must not be chaff, but - according to the image of the first Psalm - he
must be like a tree that has deep roots, upon which it is solid and
well grounded. This has nothing to do with the rigidity or inflexibility. Only where there is stability is there also growth. Cardinal Newman, whose path was marked by three conversions, says that living means transforming oneself. But
his three conversions and the transformations that took place in them
are, however, one consistent journey: the journey of obedience to the
truth, to God, the true journey of continuity which in this way brings
about progress".
"Perseverance to the teaching of the Apostles", then,
means to remember that "faith has a concrete content. Spirituality is
not a vague, indefinable feeling for transcendence. God
has acted and He truly spoke. He has really done something and he
actually said something. Certainly, faith is, at first, trusting in God,
a living relationship with God But the God in whom we place our trust
has a face and gave us His word. We can count on the stability of His word."
The second “pillar of the life of the Church” is communion. "Communion with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Jn 1:1-4). God
made himself visible and tangible for us and so has created a real
communion with himself. We enter into communion through this belief and
live together with those whom have been touched by Him. With them and
through, we to in a certain way, see and touch the God who became close
for us. Thus the horizontal and vertical are here inextricably
intertwined with each other. By being in communion with the Apostles, by standing with them in faith, we ourselves are in contact with the living God. Dear friends, the purpose of the ministry of Bishops is that this chain of communion is not interrupted. This
is the essence of apostolic succession: to preserve communion with
those who have met the Lord in a visible and tangible way, and so keep
Heaven open, God's presence among us. Only through communion with
the Successors of the Apostles are we also in contact with the
incarnate God. But the reverse is also true: only through communion with
God, only through communion with Jesus Christ this chain of witnesses,
stays together. One is never a Bishop on his own, says Vatican II, but
always only in the College of Bishops. Therefore he cannot lock himself
up in the time of his generation. The intertwining of all generations,
the living Church of every age belongs to collegiality. You dear
Brothers - he continued, turning to the soon to be ordained – have the
mission of preserving this Catholic communion. You know that the Lord
has appointed St. Peter and his successors to be the centre of that
community, the guarantors of being in the totality of apostolic
communion and His faith. Offer your help so the joy of the great unity
of the Church, the communion of all the places and times, so the
community of faith that embraces the heavens and the earth remains
alive".
Third "fundamental element of the Church's" is the
breaking of bread. "The Holy Eucharist is the centre of the Church must
be the centre of our being Christians and our priestly life."
"Breaking
bread - along with what is also expressed in sharing, transmitting our
love with others. The social dimension, sharing is not a moral appendix which is added an to the Eucharist, rather it is part of it. This
is clear from his verse in Acts which follows the one quoted above:
"... All the believers had everything in common," says Luke (2:44). We
must be careful that faith is always expressed in love and justice of
one towards another and that our social practice is inspired by faith,
that faith is lived in love. "
"The last pillar of the Church's, is prayer. Prayer, on the one hand, must be very personal, a joining of my deepest self with God. It
must be my battle with Him, my search for Him, my thanks to Him and my
joy in Him. However, it is never simply a private matter of my
"individual self”, which does not affect others. Praying is always
essentially also praying in the "we" of God's children. Only in this
"we" are we the children of our Father, which the Lord has taught us to
pray. Only this "we" gives us access to the Father. On the one hand, our prayer must become more personal touch and penetrate more deeply the core of our self. On
the other, we must always be fed by prayerful communion, unity of the
Body of Christ, to truly shape myself beginning with love of God. Thus praying, ultimately, is not one activity among others, a certain corner of my time. Praying
is the answer to the imperative that is at the beginning of the Canon
in the Eucharistic celebration: Sursum corda - Lift up your hearts! It
is the ascending of my existence on high to God. "
The height, the high
standard of life, which today is so essential to witness in favour of
Jesus Christ, we can find it in prayer only when we allow ourselves to
be constantly pulled by Him toward His height. "