Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, With great affection in the Lord, I greet
all of you, who represent the Bishops, priests and deacons, the men and women in consecrated
life, and the seminarians of the United States. I thank Cardinal Egan for his warm
welcome and the good wishes which he has expressed in your name as I begin the fourth
year of my papal ministry. I am happy to celebrate this Mass with you, who have been
chosen by the Lord, who have answered his call, and who devote your lives to the pursuit
of holiness, the spread of the Gospel and the building up of the Church in faith,
hope and love. Gathered as we are in this historic cathedral, how can we not think
of the countless men and women who have gone before us, who labored for the growth
of the Church in the United States, and left us a lasting legacy of faith and good
works? In today’s first reading we saw how, in the power of the Holy Spirit, the
Apostles went forth from the Upper Room to proclaim God’s mighty works to people of
every nation and tongue. In this country, the Church’s mission has always involved
drawing people “from every nation under heaven” (cf. Acts 2:5) into spiritual unity,
and enriching the Body of Christ by the variety of their gifts. As we give thanks
for past blessings, and look to the challenges of the future, let us implore from
God the grace of a new Pentecost for the Church in America. May tongues of fire, combining
burning love of God and neighbor with zeal for the spread of Christ’s Kingdom, descend
on all present! In this morning’s second reading, Saint Paul reminds us that spiritual
unity – the unity which reconciles and enriches diversity – has its origin and supreme
model in the life of the triune God. As a communion of pure love and infinite freedom,
the Blessed Trinity constantly brings forth new life in the work of creation and redemption.
The Church, as “a people made one by the unity of the Father, the Son and the Spirit”
(cf. Lumen Gentium, 4), is called to proclaim the gift of life, to serve life, and
to promote a culture of life. Here in this cathedral, our thoughts turn naturally
to the heroic witness to the Gospel of life borne by the late Cardinals Cooke and
O’Connor. The proclamation of life, life in abundance, must be the heart of the new
evangelization. For true life – our salvation – can only be found in the reconciliation,
freedom and love which are God’s gracious gift. This is the message of hope we
are called to proclaim and embody in a world where self-centeredness, greed, violence,
and cynicism so often seem to choke the fragile growth of grace in people’s hearts.
Saint Irenaeus, with great insight, understood that the command which Moses enjoined
upon the people of Israel: “Choose life!” (Dt 30:19) was the ultimate reason for our
obedience to all God’s commandments (cf. Adv. Haer. IV, 16, 2-5). Perhaps we have
lost sight of this: in a society where the Church seems legalistic and “institutional”
to many people, our most urgent challenge is to communicate the joy born of faith
and the experience of God’s love. I am particularly happy that we have gathered
in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Perhaps more than any other church in the United States,
this place is known and loved as “a house of prayer for all peoples” (cf. Is 56:7;
Mk 11:17). Each day thousands of men, women and children enter its doors and find
peace within its walls. Archbishop John Hughes, who – as Cardinal Egan has reminded
us – was responsible for building this venerable edifice, wished it to rise in pure
Gothic style. He wanted this cathedral to remind the young Church in America of the
great spiritual tradition to which it was heir, and to inspire it to bring the best
of that heritage to the building up of Christ’s body in this land. I would like to
draw your attention to a few aspects of this beautiful structure which I think can
serve as a starting point for a reflection on our particular vocations within the
unity of the Mystical Body. The first has to do with the stained glass windows,
which flood the interior with mystic light. From the outside, those windows are dark,
heavy, even dreary. But once one enters the church, they suddenly come alive; reflecting
the light passing through them, they reveal all their splendor. Many writers – here
in America we can think of Nathaniel Hawthorne – have used the image of stained glass
to illustrate the mystery of the Church herself. It is only from the inside, from
the experience of faith and ecclesial life, that we see the Church as she truly is:
flooded with grace, resplendent in beauty, adorned by the manifold gifts of the Spirit.
It follows that we, who live the life of grace within the Church’s communion, are
called to draw all people into this mystery of light. This is no easy task in a
world which can tend to look at the Church, like those stained glass windows, “from
the outside”: a world which deeply senses a need for spirituality, yet finds it difficult
to “enter into” the mystery of the Church. Even for those of us within, the light
of faith can be dimmed by routine, and the splendor of the Church obscured by the
sins and weaknesses of her members. It can be dimmed too, by the obstacles encountered
in a society which sometimes seems to have forgotten God and to resent even the most
elementary demands of Christian morality. You, who have devoted your lives to bearing
witness to the love of Christ and the building up of his Body, know from your daily
contact with the world around us how tempting it is at times to give way to frustration,
disappointment and even pessimism about the future. In a word, it is not always easy
to see the light of the Spirit all about us, the splendor of the Risen Lord illuminating
our lives and instilling renewed hope in his victory over the world (cf. Jn 16:33). Yet
the word of God reminds us that, in faith, we see the heavens opened, and the grace
of the Holy Spirit lighting up the Church and bringing sure hope to our world. “O
Lord, my God,” the Psalmist sings, “when you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth” (Ps 104:30). These words evoke the first creation,
when the Spirit of God hovered over the deep (cf. Gen 1:2). And they look forward
to the new creation, at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles
and established the Church as the first fruits of a redeemed humanity (cf. Jn 20:22-23).
These words summon us to ever deeper faith in God’s infinite power to transform every
human situation, to create life from death, and to light up even the darkest night.
And they make us think of another magnificent phrase of Saint Irenaeus: “where the
Church is, there is the Spirit of God; where the Spirit of God is, there is the Church
and all grace” (Adv. Haer. III, 24, 1). This leads me to a further reflection about
the architecture of this church. Like all Gothic cathedrals, it is a highly complex
structure, whose exact and harmonious proportions symbolize the unity of God’s creation.
Medieval artists often portrayed Christ, the creative Word of God, as a heavenly “geometer”,
compass in hand, who orders the cosmos with infinite wisdom and purpose. Does this
not bring to mind our need to see all things with the eyes of faith, and thus to grasp
them in their truest perspective, in the unity of God’s eternal plan? This requires,
as we know, constant conversion, and a commitment to acquiring “a fresh, spiritual
way of thinking” (cf. Eph 4:23). It also calls for the cultivation of those virtues
which enable each of us to grow in holiness and to bear spiritual fruit within our
particular state of life. Is not this ongoing “intellectual” conversion as necessary
as “moral” conversion for our own growth in faith, our discernment of the signs of
the times, and our personal contribution to the Church’s life and mission? For
all of us, I think, one of the great disappointments which followed the Second Vatican
Council, with its call for a greater engagement in the Church’s mission to the world,
has been the experience of division between different groups, different generations,
different members of the same religious family. We can only move forward if we turn
our gaze together to Christ! In the light of faith, we will then discover the wisdom
and strength needed to open ourselves to points of view which may not necessarily
conform to our own ideas or assumptions. Thus we can value the perspectives of others,
be they younger or older than ourselves, and ultimately hear “what the Spirit is saying”
to us and to the Church (cf. Rev 2:7). In this way, we will move together towards
that true spiritual renewal desired by the Council, a renewal which can only strengthen
the Church in that holiness and unity indispensable for the effective proclamation
of the Gospel in today’s world. Was not this unity of vision and purpose – rooted
in faith and a spirit of constant conversion and self-sacrifice – the secret of the
impressive growth of the Church in this country? We need but think of the remarkable
accomplishment of that exemplary American priest, the Venerable Michael McGivney,
whose vision and zeal led to the establishment of the Knights of Columbus, or of the
legacy of the generations of religious and priests who quietly devoted their lives
to serving the People of God in countless schools, hospitals and parishes. Here,
within the context of our need for the perspective given by faith, and for unity and
cooperation in the work of building up the Church, I would like say a word about the
sexual abuse that has caused so much suffering. I have already had occasion to speak
of this, and of the resulting damage to the community of the faithful. Here I simply
wish to assure you, dear priests and religious, of my spiritual closeness as you strive
to respond with Christian hope to the continuing challenges that this situation presents.
I join you in praying that this will be a time of purification for each and every
particular Church and religious community, and a time for healing. I also encourage
you to cooperate with your Bishops who continue to work effectively to resolve this
issue. May our Lord Jesus Christ grant the Church in America a renewed sense of unity
and purpose, as all – Bishops, clergy, religious and laity – move forward in hope,
in love for the truth and for one another. Dear friends, these considerations lead
me to a final observation about this great cathedral in which we find ourselves.
The unity of a Gothic cathedral, we know, is not the static unity of a classical temple,
but a unity born of the dynamic tension of diverse forces which impel the architecture
upward, pointing it to heaven. Here too, we can see a symbol of the Church’s unity,
which is the unity – as Saint Paul has told us – of a living body composed of many
different members, each with its own role and purpose. Here too we see our need to
acknowledge and reverence the gifts of each and every member of the body as “manifestations
of the Spirit given for the good of all” (1 Cor 12:7). Certainly within the Church’s
divinely-willed structure there is a distinction to be made between hierarchical and
charismatic gifts (cf. Lumen Gentium, 4). Yet the very variety and richness of the
graces bestowed by the Spirit invite us constantly to discern how these gifts are
to be rightly ordered in the service of the Church’s mission. You, dear priests,
by sacramental ordination have been configured to Christ, the Head of the Body. You,
dear deacons, have been ordained for the service of that Body. You, dear men and
women religious, both contemplative and apostolic, have devoted your lives to following
the divine Master in generous love and complete devotion to his Gospel. All of you,
who fill this cathedral today, as wells as your retired, elderly and infirm brothers
and sisters, who unite their prayers and sacrifices to your labors, are called to
be forces of unity within Christ’s Body. By your personal witness, and your fidelity
to the ministry or apostolate entrusted to you, you prepare a path for the Spirit.
For the Spirit never ceases to pour out his abundant gifts, to awaken new vocations
and missions, and to guide the Church, as our Lord promised in this morning’s Gospel,
into the fullness of truth (cf. Jn 16:13). So let us lift our gaze upward! And
with great humility and confidence, let us ask the Spirit to enable us each day to
grow in the holiness that will make us living stones in the temple which he is even
now raising up in the midst of our world. If we are to be true forces of unity, let
us be the first to seek inner reconciliation through penance. Let us forgive the
wrongs we have suffered and put aside all anger and contention. Let us be the first
to demonstrate the humility and purity of heart which are required to approach the
splendor of God’s truth. In fidelity to the deposit of faith entrusted to the Apostles
(cf. 1 Tim 6:20), let us be joyful witnesses of the transforming power of the Gospel!
Dear brothers and sisters, in the finest traditions of the Church in this country,
may you also be the first friend of the poor, the homeless, the stranger, the sick
and all who suffer. Act as beacons of hope, casting the light of Christ upon the
world, and encouraging young people to discover the beauty of a life given completely
to the Lord and his Church. I make this plea in a particular way to the many seminarians
and young religious present. All of you have a special place in my heart. Never
forget that you are called to carry on, with all the enthusiasm and joy that the Spirit
has given you, a work that others have begun, a legacy that one day you too will have
to pass on to a new generation. Work generously and joyfully, for he whom you serve
is the Lord! The spires of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral are dwarfed by the skyscrapers
of the Manhattan skyline, yet in the heart of this busy metropolis, they are a vivid
reminder of the constant yearning of the human spirit to rise to God. As we celebrate
this Eucharist, let us thank the Lord for allowing us to know him in the communion
of the Church, to cooperate in building up his Mystical Body, and in bringing his
saving word as good news to the men and women of our time. And when we leave this
great church, let us go forth as heralds of hope in the midst of this city, and all
those places where God’s grace has placed us. In this way, the Church in America
will know a new springtime in the Spirit, and point the way to that other, greater
city, the new Jerusalem, whose light is the Lamb (Rev 21:23). For there God is even
now preparing for all people a banquet of unending joy and life. Amen.