Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, has called for prayers for persecuted Christians in various parts of the world and warned that many contemporaries live «as if God did not exist.»
The cardinal made these remarks during the celebrations for the ninth centenary of the transfer of Saint Agatha’s relics to Catania, Sicily, in which he participated as papal legate of Leo XIV.
Parolin presided over a prayer vigil on August 16 in Aci Castello, the place where the relics landed before being transferred to Catania in 1126, and the following day celebrated the pontifical Mass in the city’s cathedral. In his addresses, he dealt with Christian fidelity in the face of difficulties, martyrdom, and the witness of believers in everyday life.
«People live as if God did not exist»
During the vigil in Aci Castello, Parolin took Psalm 1 as his starting point to refer to the need to remain rooted in God and the ways in which man can gradually distance himself from Him.
The Secretary of State pointed out that evil «often does not come with clamorous gestures, but through small steps» and habits that slowly modify «our heart and our way of thinking.»
«Thus we become accustomed to living without God, as if God were not necessary. It is the condition of many of our contemporaries. There is no longer any concern to deny God, but rather people live as if God did not exist,» he stated.
According to Parolin, this attitude leads to organizing one’s own life «as if He had not spoken to us, as if He had not come to meet us, as if He had not shown us the path to happiness.»
In contrast, he presented the Word of God as «a source» and maintained that «it is not a limit to freedom, but the path that leads to true freedom.»
Saint Agatha, a life «rooted» in God
The cardinal also used the biblical image of the tree planted by streams of water to explain Saint Agatha’s fidelity.
«Whoever puts down roots in the Lord can go through even the most difficult trials, yet does not lose hope and continues to bear fruit,» he assured.
Parolin recalled that faith does not imply the absence of suffering: «Faith does not eliminate trials, but provides a new presence and strength to go through them.»
The Sicilian martyr, he added, represents a life «rooted» in God that continues to produce «fruits of life, fruits of hope, fruits of true happiness.» For this reason, he asked the faithful to remain steadfast and not allow themselves to be carried away «by the wind of fears, fashions, and illusions.»
Parolin asks for prayers for persecuted Christians
The following day, during the Mass celebrated in Catania, the Secretary of State expressly referred to the persecution that Christians currently suffer in different countries.
«Let us remember and pray at this moment for all our brothers and sisters scattered throughout the different parts of the world who suffer persecution for the name of the Lord and for His Gospel,» he stated.
Parolin linked this reality to the witness of Saint Agatha, martyred in the third century during the persecutions against Christians.
Her martyrdom, he explained, «is not primarily the account of violence suffered, but the manifestation of a love that no violence managed to extinguish.»
The cardinal also pointed out that Saint Agatha «does not belong simply to the history of Catania,» but that her witness remains relevant for Christians today. Her holiness, he added, «does not belong to the museums of memory,» but continues to generate «faith, hope, and charity.»
The «daily martyrdom of fidelity»
Parolin distinguished between the martyrdom of blood and another form of Christian witness that he described as the «daily martyrdom of fidelity.»
Among his examples, he mentioned spouses who maintain their commitment in difficulties, parents who educate their children in a Christian way, young people who do not give in to «the culture of appearance,» priests and consecrated persons who give their lives, and the elderly who offer their sufferings.
He also referred to those who, in ordinary circumstances, «choose each day justice instead of compromise, truth instead of convenience, and forgiveness instead of revenge.»
The Secretary of State linked this daily witness to the universal call to holiness formulated by the Second Vatican Council.
«Do not be afraid»
Another focus of the homily was the biblical exhortation «Do not be afraid.»
Parolin pointed out that these words «are not a simple psychological stimulus, but the very foundation of our Christian life.» Christ, he explained, does not promise an existence without trials and tribulations, but rather His presence in the midst of them.
The cardinal also applied this principle to the Church itself, which, he stated, «does not live by its own efficiency» nor «is founded on the abilities of its members,» but «on the fidelity of the Lord who continues to work in human weakness.»
Leo XIV recalls «the victory of grace over violence»
Leo XIV had appointed Parolin as papal legate for the celebrations through a letter dated June 20.
In it, the Pope pointed out that, in the martyrdom of Saint Agatha, «an illustrious example of fidelity to Christ and of love to the point of complete self-giving,» the ecclesial community contemplates «the victory of grace over violence, of faith over fear, and of charity over death.»
The celebrations commemorate the 900 years since the return of the saint’s relics to Catania. After having been transferred to Constantinople in the eleventh century, they returned to Sicily and landed in Aci Castello before being taken in procession to Catania on August 17, 1126.
The social difficulties of Sicily
At the end of his homily, Parolin referred to some of the problems currently affecting Catania and Sicily as a whole, including poverty, inequalities, family difficulties, new forms of material and spiritual poverty, and the departure of young people seeking professional opportunities outside the island.
The Secretary of State called for preserving Catania’s heritage of «faith, culture, popular piety, and charity» and making it bear fruit in the face of these difficulties.
«Evil is not overcome with another evil,» Parolin concluded, but with «the charity that is born of the Cross and transforms history from within.»