Text of Pope Benedict's Homily and “Regina Coeli” at the Holy Mass in the International
Stadium of Amman, Jordan
(May 10, 2009) Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I rejoice that we are able
to celebrate this Eucharist together at the beginning of my Pilgrimage to the Holy
Land. Yesterday, from the heights of Mount Nebo, I stood and looked out upon this
great land, the land of Moses, Elijah, and John the Baptist, the land where God’s
ancient promises were fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah, Jesus our Lord. This
land witnessed his preaching and miracles, his death and resurrection, and the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit upon the Church, the sacrament of a reconciled and renewed humanity.
As I pondered the mystery of God’s fidelity, I prayed that the Church in these lands
would be confirmed in hope and strengthened in her witness to the Risen Christ, the
Savior of mankind. Truly, as Saint Peter tells us in today’s first reading, “there
is no other name under heaven given among men by which we are to be saved” (Acts 4:12). Today’s
joyful celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice expresses the rich diversity of the
Catholic Church in the Holy Land. I greet all of you with affection in the Lord. I
thank His Beatitude Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, for his kind words of
welcome. With respect and gratitude I likewise greet His Royal Highness Prince Ghazi
Bin Mohammad, who represents the King of Jordan, and I thank him for his presence
in our midst. My greeting goes also to the many young people from Catholic schools
who today bring their enthusiasm to this Eucharistic celebration. In the Gospel
we have just heard, Jesus proclaims: “I am the good shepherd… who lays down his life
for the sheep” (Jn 10:11). As the Successor of Saint Peter, to whom the Lord entrusted
the care of his flock (cf. Jn 21:15-17), I have long awaited this opportunity to stand
before you as a witness to the Risen Savior, and to encourage you to persevere in
faith, hope and love, in fidelity to the ancient traditions and the distinguished
history of Christian witness which you trace back to the age of the Apostles. The
Catholic community here is deeply touched by the difficulties and uncertainties which
affect all the people of the Middle East. May you never forget the great dignity which
derives from your Christian heritage, or fail to sense the loving solidarity of all
your brothers and sisters in the Church throughout the world! “I am the good shepherd”,
the Lord tells us, “I know my own, and my own know me” (Jn 10:14). Today in Jordan
we celebrate the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. As we reflect on the Gospel of
the Good Shepherd, let us ask the Lord to open our hearts and minds ever more fully
to hear his call. Truly, Jesus “knows us”, even more deeply than we know ourselves,
and he has a plan for each one of us. We know, too, that wherever he calls us, we
will find happiness and fulfilment; indeed, we will find our very selves (cf. Mt 10:39).
Today I invite the many young people here present to consider how the Lord is calling
you to follow him and to build up his Church. Whether it be in the priestly ministry,
in consecrated life or in the sacrament of marriage, Jesus needs you to make his voice
heard and to work for the growth of his Kingdom. In today’s second reading, Saint
John invites us to “think of the love that the Father has lavished on us” by making
us his adopted children in Christ. Hearing these words should make us grateful for
the experience of the Father’s love which we have had in our families, from the love
of our fathers and mothers, our grandparents, our brothers and sisters. During the
celebration of the present Year of the Family, the Church throughout the Holy Land
has reflected on the family as a mystery of life-giving love, endowed in God’s plan
with its own proper calling and mission: to radiate the divine Love which is the source
and the ultimate fulfilment of all the other loves of our lives. May every Christian
family grow in fidelity to its lofty vocation to be a true school of prayer, where
children learn a sincere love of God, where they mature in self-discipline and concern
for the needs of others, and where, shaped by the wisdom born of faith, they contribute
to the building of an ever more just and fraternal society. The strong Christian families
of these lands are a great legacy handed down from earlier generations. May today’s
families be faithful to that impressive heritage, and never lack the material and
moral assistance they need to carry out their irreplaceable role in service to society. An
important aspect of your reflection during this Year of the Family has been the particular
dignity, vocation and mission of women in God’s plan. How much the Church in these
lands owes to the patient, loving and faithful witness of countless Christian mothers,
religious Sisters, teachers, doctors and nurses! How much your society owes to all
those women who in different and at times courageous ways have devoted their lives
to building peace and fostering love! From the very first pages of the Bible, we see
how man and woman, created in the image of God, are meant to complement one another
as stewards of God’s gifts and partners in communicating his gift of life, both physical
and spiritual, to our world. Sadly, this God-given dignity and role of women has not
always been sufficiently understood and esteemed. The Church, and society as a whole,
has come to realize how urgently we need what the late Pope John Paul II called the
“prophetic charism” of women (cf. Mulieris Dignitatem, 29) as bearers of love, teachers
of mercy and artisans of peace, bringing warmth and humanity to a world that all too
often judges the value of a person by the cold criteria of usefulness and profit.
By its public witness of respect for women, and its defence of the innate dignity
of every human person, the Church in the Holy Land can make an important contribution
to the advancement of a culture of true humanity and the building of the civilization
of love. Dear friends, let us return to the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel. I
believe that they contain a special message for you, his faithful flock in these lands
where he once dwelt. “The good shepherd”, he tells us, “lays down his life for his
sheep.” At the beginning of this Mass, we asked the Father to “give us new strength
from the courage of Christ our shepherd”, who remained steadfast in fidelity to the
Father’s will (cf. Opening Prayer, Mass of the Fourth Sunday of Easter). May the courage
of Christ our shepherd inspire and sustain you daily in your efforts to bear witness
to the Christian faith and to maintain the Church’s presence in the changing social
fabric of these ancient lands. Fidelity to your Christian roots, fidelity to the
Church’s mission in the Holy Land, demands of each of you a particular kind of courage:
the courage of conviction, born of personal faith, not mere social convention or family
tradition; the courage to engage in dialogue and to work side by side with other Christians
in the service of the Gospel and solidarity with the poor, the displaced, and the
victims of profound human tragedies; the courage to build new bridges to enable a
fruitful encounter of people of different religions and cultures, and thus to enrich
the fabric of society. It also means bearing witness to the love which inspires us
to “lay down” our lives in the service of others, and thus to counter ways of thinking
which justify “taking” innocent lives. “I am the good shepherd; I know my own,
and my own know me” (Jn 10:14). Rejoice that the Lord has made you members of his
flock and knows each of you by name! Follow him with joy and let him guide you in
all your ways. Jesus knows what challenges you face, what trials you endure, and the
good that you do in his name. Trust in him, in his enduring love for all the members
of his flock, and persevere in your witness to the triumph of his love. May Saint
John the Baptist, the patron of Jordan, and Mary, Virgin and Mother, sustain you by
their example and prayers, and lead you to the fullness of joy in the eternal pastures
where we will experience for ever the presence of the Good Shepherd and know for ever
the depths of his love. Amen.
Text of Pope Benedict's Regina Coeli Address
- Jordan Dear Friends, During the Mass I spoke about the prophetic charism of
women as bearers of love, teachers of mercy and artisans of peace. The supreme example
of womanly virtue is the Blessed Virgin Mary: the Mother of Mercy and Queen of Peace.
As we turn to her now, let us seek her maternal intercession for all the families
of these lands, that they may truly be schools of prayer and schools of love. Let
us ask the Mother of the Church to look down in mercy upon all the Christians of these
lands, and with the help of her prayers, may they be truly one in the faith they profess
and the witness they bear. Let us ask her who responded so generously to the angel’s
call, and accepted her vocation to become the Mother of God, to give courage and strength
to all young people today who are discerning their vocations, so that they too may
generously dedicate themselves to carrying out the Lord’s will. In this season
of Eastertide, it is with the title Regina Coeli that we call upon the Blessed Virgin.
As a fruit of the Redemption won by her Son’s death and resurrection, she too was
raised to everlasting glory and crowned Queen of Heaven. With great confidence in
the power of her intercession, with joy in our hearts and with love for our glorious
ever-Virgin Mother, we turn to her now and ask for her prayers.