Homily Yankee's Stadium Mass 20 April 2008 New York
Dear Brothers and Sisters
in Christ, In the Gospel we have just heard, Jesus tells his Apostles to put their
faith in him, for he is “the way, and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6). Christ is
the way that leads to the Father, the truth which gives meaning to human existence,
and the source of that life which is eternal joy with all the saints in his heavenly
Kingdom. Let us take the Lord at his word! Let us renew our faith in him and put
all our hope in his promises! With this encouragement to persevere in the faith
of Peter (cf. Lk 22:32; Mt 16:17), I greet all of you with great affection. I thank
Cardinal Egan for his cordial words of welcome in your name. At this Mass, the Church
in the United States celebrates the two hundredth anniversary of the creation of the
Sees of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville from the mother See of Baltimore.
The presence around this altar of the Successor of Peter, his brother bishops and
priests, and deacons, men and women religious, and lay faithful from throughout the
fifty states of the Union, eloquently manifests our communion in the Catholic faith
which comes to us from the Apostles. Our celebration today is also a sign of
the impressive growth which God has given to the Church in your country in the past
two hundred years. From a small flock like that described in the first reading, the
Church in America has been built up in fidelity to the twin commandment of love of
God and love of neighbor. In this land of freedom and opportunity, the Church has
united a widely diverse flock in the profession of the faith and, through her many
educational, charitable and social works, has also contributed significantly to the
growth of American society as a whole. This great accomplishment was not without
its challenges. Today’s first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, speaks
of linguistic and cultural tensions already present within the earliest Church community.
At the same time, it shows the power of the word of God, authoritatively proclaimed
by the Apostles and received in faith, to create a unity which transcends the divisions
arising from human limitations and weakness. Here we are reminded of a fundamental
truth: that the Church’s unity has no other basis than the Word of God, made flesh
in Christ Jesus our Lord. All external signs of identity, all structures, associations
and programs, valuable or even essential as they may be, ultimately exist only to
support and foster the deeper unity which, in Christ, is God’s indefectible gift to
his Church. The first reading also makes clear, as we see from the imposition
of hands on the first deacons, that the Church’s unity is “apostolic”. It is a visible
unity, grounded in the Apostles whom Christ chose and appointed as witnesses to his
resurrection, and it is born of what the Scriptures call “the obedience of faith”
(Rom 1:5; cf. Acts 6:7). “Authority” … “obedience”. To be frank, these are not
easy words to speak nowadays. Words like these represent a “stumbling stone” for
many of our contemporaries, especially in a society which rightly places a high value
on personal freedom. Yet, in the light of our faith in Jesus Christ – “the way and
the truth and the life” – we come to see the fullest meaning, value, and indeed beauty,
of those words. The Gospel teaches us that true freedom, the freedom of the children
of God, is found only in the self-surrender which is part of the mystery of love.
Only by losing ourselves, the Lord tells us, do we truly find ourselves (cf. Lk 17:33).
True freedom blossoms when we turn away from the burden of sin, which clouds our perceptions
and weakens our resolve, and find the source of our ultimate happiness in him who
is infinite love, infinite freedom, infinite life. “In his will is our peace”. Real
freedom, then, is God’s gracious gift, the fruit of conversion to his truth, the truth
which makes us free (cf. Jn 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. This magnificent
vision of a world being transformed by the liberating truth of the Gospel is reflected
in the description of the Church found in today’s second reading. The Apostle tells
us that Christ, risen from the dead, is the keystone of a great temple which is even
now rising in the Spirit. And we, the members of his body, through Baptism have become
“living stones” in that temple, sharing in the life of God by grace, blessed with
the freedom of the sons of God, and empowered to offer spiritual sacrifices pleasing
to him (cf. 1 Pet 2:5). And what is this offering which we are called to make, if
not to direct our every thought, word and action to the truth of the Gospel and to
harness all our energies in the service of God’s Kingdom? Only in this way can we
build with God, on the one foundation which is Christ (cf. 1 Cor 3:11). Only in this
way can we build something that will truly endure. Only in this way can our lives
find ultimate meaning and bear lasting fruit. Today we recall the bicentennial
of a watershed in the history of the Church in the United States: its first great
chapter of growth. In these two hundred years, the face of the Catholic community
in your country has changed greatly. We think of the successive waves of immigrants
whose traditions have so enriched the Church in America. We think of the strong faith
which built up the network of churches, educational, healthcare and social institutions
which have long been the hallmark of the Church in this land. We think also of those
countless fathers and mothers who passed on the faith to their children, the steady
ministry of the many priests who devoted their lives to the care of souls, and the
incalculable contribution made by so many men and women religious, who not only taught
generations of children how to read and write, but also inspired in them a lifelong
desire to know God, to love him and to serve him. How many “spiritual sacrifices
pleasing to God” have been offered up in these two centuries! In this land of religious
liberty, Catholics found freedom not only to practice their faith, but also to participate
fully in civic life, bringing their deepest moral convictions to the public square
and cooperating with their neighbors in shaping a vibrant, democratic society. Today’s
celebration is more than an occasion of gratitude for graces received. It is also
a summons to move forward with firm resolve to use wisely the blessings of freedom,
in order to build a future of hope for coming generations. “You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people he claims for his own, to proclaim his
glorious works” (1 Pet 2:9). These words of the Apostle Peter do not simply remind
us of the dignity which is ours by God’s grace; they also challenge us to an ever
greater fidelity to the glorious inheritance which we have received in Christ (cf.
Eph 1:18). They challenge us to examine our consciences, to purify our hearts, to
renew our baptismal commitment to reject Satan and all his empty promises. They challenge
us to be a people of joy, heralds of the unfailing hope (cf. Rom 5:5) born of faith
in God’s word, and trust in his promises. Each day, throughout this land, you
and so many of your neighbors pray to the Father in the Lord’s own words: “Thy Kingdom
come”. This prayer needs to shape the mind and heart of every Christian in this nation.
It needs to bear fruit in the way you lead your lives and in the way you build up
your families and your communities. It needs to create new “settings of hope” (cf.
Spe Salvi, 32ff.) where God’s Kingdom becomes present in all its saving power. Praying
fervently for the coming of the Kingdom also means being constantly alert for the
signs of its presence, and working for its growth in every sector of society. It
means facing the challenges of present and future with confidence in Christ’s victory
and a commitment to extending his reign. It means not losing heart in the face of
resistance, adversity and scandal. It means overcoming every separation between faith
and life, and countering false gospels of freedom and happiness. It also means rejecting
a false dichotomy between faith and political life, since, as the Second Vatican Council
put it, “there is no human activity – even in secular affairs – which can be withdrawn
from God’s dominion” (Lumen Gentium, 36). It means working to enrich American society
and culture with the beauty and truth of the Gospel, and never losing sight of that
great hope which gives meaning and value to all the other hopes which inspire our
lives. And this, dear friends, is the particular challenge which the Successor
of Saint Peter sets before you today. As “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a
holy nation”, follow faithfully in the footsteps of those who have gone before you!
Hasten the coming of God’s Kingdom in this land! Past generations have left you an
impressive legacy. In our day too, the Catholic community in this nation has been
outstanding in its prophetic witness in the defense of life, in the education of the
young, in care for the poor, the sick and the stranger in your midst. On these solid
foundations, the future of the Church in America must even now begin to rise! Yesterday,
not far from here, I was moved by the joy, the hope and the generous love of Christ
which I saw on the faces of the many young people assembled in Dunwoodie. They are
the Church’s future, and they deserve all the prayer and support that you can give
them. And so I wish to close by adding a special word of encouragement to them.
My dear young friends, like the seven men, “filled with the Spirit and wisdom” whom
the Apostles charged with care for the young Church, may you step forward and take
up the responsibility which your faith in Christ sets before you! May you find the
courage to proclaim Christ, “the same, yesterday, and today and for ever” and the
unchanging truths which have their foundation in him (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 10; Heb
13:8). These are the truths that set us free! They are the truths which alone can
guarantee respect for the inalienable dignity and rights of each man, woman and child
in our world – including the most defenseless of all human beings, the unborn child
in the mother’s womb. In a world where, as Pope John Paul II, speaking in this very
place, reminded us, Lazarus continues to stand at our door (Homily at Yankee Stadium,
October 2, 1979, No. 7), let your faith and love bear rich fruit in outreach to the
poor, the needy and those without a voice. Young men and women of America, I urge
you: open your hearts to the Lord’s call to follow him in the priesthood and the religious
life. Can there be any greater mark of love than this: to follow in the footsteps
of Christ, who was willing to lay down his life for his friends (cf. Jn 15:13)? In
today’s Gospel, the Lord promises his disciples that they will perform works even
greater than his (cf. Jn 14:12). Dear friends, only God in his providence knows what
works his grace has yet to bring forth in your lives and in the life of the Church
in the United States. Yet Christ’s promise fills us with sure hope. Let us now join
our prayers to his, as living stones in that spiritual temple which is his one, holy,
catholic and apostolic Church. Let us lift our eyes to him, for even now he is preparing
for us a place in his Father’s house. And empowered by his Holy Spirit, let us work
with renewed zeal for the spread of his Kingdom. “Happy are you who believe!” (cf.
1 Pet 2:7). Let us turn to Jesus! He alone is the way that leads to eternal happiness,
the truth who satisfies the deepest longings of every heart, and the life who brings
ever new joy and hope, to us and to our world. Amen.
* * * * *
Queridos
hermanos y hermanas en el Señor: Les saludo con afecto y me alegro de celebrar
esta Santa Misa para dar gracias a Dios por el bicentenario del momento en que empezó
a desarrollarse la Iglesia Católica en esta Nación. Al mirar el camino de fe recorrido
en estos años, no exento también de dificultades, alabamos al Señor por los frutos
que la Palabra de Dios ha dado en estas tierras y le manifestamos nuestro deseo de
que Cristo, Camino, Verdad y Vida, sea cada vez más conocido y amado. Aquí, en
este País de libertad, quiero proclamar con fuerza que la Palabra de Cristo no elimina
nuestras aspiraciones a una vida plena y libre, sino que nos descubre nuestra verdadera
dignidad de hijos de Dios y nos alienta a luchar contra todo aquello que nos esclaviza,
empezando por nuestro propio egoísmo y caprichos. Al mismo tiempo, nos anima a manifestar
nuestra fe a través de nuestra vida de caridad y a hacer que nuestras comunidades
eclesiales sean cada día más acogedoras y fraternas. Sobre todo a los jóvenes
les confío asumir el gran reto que entraña creer en Cristo y lograr que esa fe se
manifieste en una cercanía efectiva hacia los pobres. También en una respuesta generosa
a las llamadas que Él sigue formulando para dejarlo todo y emprender una vida de total
consagración a Dios y a la Iglesia, en la vida sacerdotal o religiosa. Queridos
hermanos y hermanas, les invito a mirar el futuro con esperanza, permitiendo que Jesús
entre en sus vidas. Solamente Él es el camino que conduce a la felicidad que no acaba,
la verdad que satisface las más nobles expectativas humanas y la vida colmada de gozo
para bien de la Iglesia y el mundo. Que Dios les bendiga.