Pope: Homily at Mass concluding the XIII Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
(full text)
(Vatican Radio) Below, please find the full text of Pope Beendict XVI's homily at
the Mass concluding the XIII Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the New
Evangelization.
********************************************
Dear
Brother Bishops, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Brothers and Sisters, The
miracle of the healing of blind Bartimaeus comes at a significant point in the structure
of Saint Mark’s Gospel. It is situated at the end of the section on the “journey
to Jerusalem”, that is, Jesus’ last pilgrimage to the Holy City, for the Passover,
in which he knows that his passion, death and resurrection await him. In order to
ascend to Jerusalem from the Jordan valley, Jesus passes through Jericho, and the
meeting with Bartimaeus occurs as he leaves the city – in the evangelist’s words,
“as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude” (10:46). This
is the multitude that soon afterwards would acclaim Jesus as Messiah on his entry
into Jerusalem. Sitting and begging by the side of the road was Bartimaeus, whose
name means “son of Timaeus”, as the evangelist tells us. The whole of Mark’s Gospel
is a journey of faith, which develops gradually under Jesus’ tutelage. The disciples
are the first actors on this journey of discovery, but there are also other characters
who play an important role, and Bartimaeus is one of them. His is the last miraculous
healing that Jesus performs before his passion, and it is no accident that it should
be that of a blind person, someone whose eyes have lost the light. We know from other
texts too that the state of blindness has great significance in the Gospels. It represents
man who needs God’s light, the light of faith, if he is to know reality truly and
to walk the path of life. It is essential to acknowledge one’s blindness, one’s need
for this light, otherwise one could remain blind for ever (cf. Jn 9:39-41).
Bartimaeus,
then, at that strategic point of Mark’s account, is presented as a model. He was
not blind from birth, but he lost his sight. He represents man who has lost the light
and knows it, but has not lost hope: he knows how to seize the opportunity to encounter
Jesus and he entrusts himself to him for healing. Indeed, when he hears that the
Master is passing along the road, he cries out: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on
me!” (Mk 10:47), and he repeats it even louder (v. 48). And when Jesus calls him
and asks what he wants from him, he replies: “Master, let me receive my sight!” (v.
51). Bartimaeus represents man aware of his pain and crying out to the Lord, confident
of being healed. His simple and sincere plea is exemplary, and indeed – like that
of the publican in the Temple: “God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Lk 18:13) – it has
found its way into the tradition of Christian prayer. In the encounter with Christ,
lived with faith, Bartimaeus regains the light he had lost, and with it the fullness
of his dignity: he gets back onto his feet and resumes the journey, which from that
moment has a guide, Jesus, and a path, the same that Jesus is travelling. The evangelist
tells us nothing more about Bartimaeus, but in him he shows us what discipleship is:
following Jesus “along the way” (v. 52), in the light of faith.
Saint Augustine,
in one of his writings, makes a striking comment about the figure of Bartimaeus, which
can be interesting and important for us today. He reflects on the fact that in this
case Mark indicates not only the name of the person who is healed, but also the name
of his father, and he concludes that “Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, had fallen from
some position of great prosperity, and was now regarded as an object of the most notorious
and the most remarkable wretchedness, because, in addition to being blind, he had
also to sit begging. And this is also the reason, then, why Mark has chosen to mention
only the one whose restoration to sight acquired for the miracle a fame as widespread
as was the notoriety which the man’s misfortune itself had gained” (On the Consensus
of the Evangelists, 2, 65, 125: PL 34, 1138). Those are Saint Augustine’s words.
This
interpretation, that Bartimaeus was a man who had fallen from a condition of “great
prosperity”, causes us to think. It invites us to reflect on the fact that our lives
contain precious riches that we can lose, and I am not speaking of material riches
here. From this perspective, Bartimaeus could represent those who live in regions
that were evangelized long ago, where the light of faith has grown dim and people
have drifted away from God, no longer considering him relevant for their lives. These
people have therefore lost a precious treasure, they have “fallen” from a lofty dignity
– not financially or in terms of earthly power, but in a Christian sense – their lives
have lost a secure and sound direction and they have become, often unconsciously,
beggars for the meaning of existence. They are the many in need of a new evangelization,
that is, a new encounter with Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God (cf. Mk 1:1), who
can open their eyes afresh and teach them the path. It is significant that the liturgy
puts the Gospel of Bartimaeus before us today, as we conclude the Synodal Assembly
on the New Evangelization. This biblical passage has something particular to say
to us as we grapple with the urgent need to proclaim Christ anew in places where the
light of faith has been weakened, in places where the fire of God is more like smouldering
cinders, crying out to be stirred up, so that they can become a living flame that
gives light and heat to the whole house.
The new evangelization applies to
the whole of the Church’s life. It applies, in the first instance, to the ordinary
pastoral ministry that must be more animated by the fire of the Spirit, so as to inflame
the hearts of the faithful who regularly take part in community worship and gather
on the Lord’s day to be nourished by his word and by the bread of eternal life. I
would like here to highlight three pastoral themes that have emerged from the Synod.
The first concerns the sacraments of Christian initiation. It has been reaffirmed
that appropriate catechesis must accompany preparation for Baptism, Confirmation and
Eucharist. The importance of Confession, the sacrament of God’s mercy, has also been
emphasized. This sacramental journey is where we encounter the Lord’s call to holiness,
addressed to all Christians. In fact it has often been said that the real protagonists
of the new evangelization are the saints: they speak a language intelligible to all
through the example of their lives and their works of charity.
Secondly, the
new evangelization is essentially linked to the Missio ad Gentes. The Church’s task
is to evangelize, to proclaim the message of salvation to those who do not yet know
Jesus Christ. During the Synod, it was emphasized that there are still many regions
in Africa, Asia and Oceania whose inhabitants await with lively expectation, sometimes
without being fully aware of it, the first proclamation of the Gospel. So we must
ask the Holy Spirit to arouse in the Church a new missionary dynamism, whose progatonists
are, in particular, pastoral workers and the lay faithful. Globalization has led
to a remarkable migration of peoples. So the first proclamation is needed even in
countries that were evangelized long ago. All people have a right to know Jesus Christ
and his Gospel: and Christians, all Christians – priests, religious and lay faithful
– have a corresponding duty to proclaim the Good News.
A third aspect concerns
the baptized whose lives do not reflect the demands of Baptism. During the Synod,
it was emphasized that such people are found in all continents, especially in the
most secularized countries. The Church is particularly concerned that they should
encounter Jesus Christ anew, rediscover the joy of faith and return to religious practice
in the community of the faithful. Besides traditional and perennially valid pastoral
methods, the Church seeks to adopt new ones, developing new language attuned to the
different world cultures, proposing the truth of Christ with an attitude of dialogue
and friendship rooted in God who is Love. In various parts of the world, the Church
has already set out on this path of pastoral creativity, so as to bring back those
who have drifted away or are seeking the meaning of life, happiness and, ultimately,
God. We may recall some important city missions, the “Courtyard of the Gentiles”,
the continental mission, and so on. There is no doubt that the Lord, the Good Shepherd,
will abundantly bless these efforts which proceed from zeal for his Person and his
Gospel.
Dear brothers and sisters, Bartimaeus, on regaining his sight from
Jesus, joined the crowd of disciples, which must certainly have included others like
him, who had been healed by the Master. New evangelizers are like that: people who
have had the experience of being healed by God, through Jesus Christ. And characteristic
of them all is a joyful heart that cries out with the Psalmist: “What marvels the
Lord worked for us: indeed we were glad” (Ps 125:3). Today, we too turn to the Lord
Jesus, Redemptor hominis and lumen gentium, with joyful gratitude, making our own
a prayer of Saint Clement of Alexandria: “until now I wandered in the hope of finding
God, but since you enlighten me, O Lord, I find God through you and I receive the
Father from you, I become your coheir, since you did not shrink from having me for
your brother. Let us put away, then, let us put away all blindness to the truth,
all ignorance: and removing the darkness that obscures our vision like fog before
the eyes, let us contemplate the true God ...; since a light from heaven shone down
upon us who were buried in darkness and imprisoned in the shadow of death, [a light]
purer than the sun, sweeter than life on this earth” (Protrepticus, 113: 2 – 114:1).
Amen.