(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis presided over Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica on Sunday,
one day after 19 bishops were added to the college of cardinals.
Please
find the English translation of the Pope’s homily below:
“Merciful Father,
by your help, may we be ever attentive to the voice of the Spirit”.
This prayer,
the opening prayer of today’s Mass, reminds us of something fundamental: we are called
to listen to the Holy Spirit who enlivens and guides the Church. By his creative and
renewing power, the Spirit always sustains the hope of God’s People as we make our
pilgrim way through history, and, as the Paraclete, he always supports the witness
of Christians. In this moment, together with the new Cardinals, we want to listen
to the voice of the Spirit as he speaks to us through the Scriptures we have just
heard. In the first reading, the Lord’s call to his people resounds: “You shall
be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy” (Lev 19:2). In the Gospel Jesus echoes this
call: “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).
These words challenge all of us, as the Lord’s disciples. Today, they are especially
addressed to me and to you, dear brother Cardinals, and in a particular way to those
of you who yesterday entered the College. Imitating the holiness and perfection of
God might seem an unattainable goal. Yet, the first reading and the Gospel offer us
concrete examples which enable God’s way of acting to become the norm for our own.
Yet we must never forget that without the Holy Spirit our efforts are in vain! Christian
holiness is not first and foremost our own work, but the fruit of docility – willed
and cultivated – to the Spirit of God thrice holy.
The Book of Leviticus says:
“You shall not hate your brother in your heart … You shall not take vengeance or bear
any grudge… but you shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Lev 19:17-18). These attitudes
are born of the holiness of God. We, however, are so different, so selfish and proud
… and yet, God’s goodness and beauty attract us, and the Holy Spirit is able to purify,
transform and shape us day by day. In the Gospel Jesus also speaks to us of holiness,
and explains to us the new law, his law. He does this by contrasting the imperfect
justice of the scribes and Pharisees with the higher justice of the Kingdom of God.
The first contrast of today’s passage refers to revenge. “You have heard that it was
said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you … if anyone should
strike you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Mt 5:38-39). We are required
not only to avoid repaying others the evil they have done to us, but also to seek
generously to do good to them.
The second contrast refers to our enemies:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy’.
But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt 5:43-44).
Jesus asks those who would follow him to love those who do not deserve it, without
expecting anything in return, and in this way to fill the emptiness present in human
hearts, relationships, families, communities, and entire world. Jesus did not come
to teach us good manners, how to behave well at the table! To do that, he would not
have had to come down from heaven and die on the Cross. Christ came to save us, to
show us the way, the only way out of the quicksand of sin, and this way is mercy.
To be a saint is not a luxury. It is necessary for the salvation of the world.
Dear
brother Cardinals, the Lord Jesus and mother Church ask us to witness with greater
zeal and ardour to these ways of being holy. It is exactly in this greater self-gift,
freely offered, that the holiness of a Cardinal consists. We love, therefore, those
who are hostile to us; we bless those who speak ill of us; we greet with a smile those
who may not deserve it. We do not aim to assert ourselves; we oppose arrogance with
meekness; we forget the humiliations that we have endured. May we always allow ourselves
to be guided by the Spirit of Christ, who sacrificed himself on the Cross so that
we could be “channels” through which his charity might flow. This is the attitude
of a Cardinal, this is how he acts. A Cardinal enters the Church of Rome, not a royal
court. May all of us avoid, and help others to avoid, habits and ways of acting typical
of a court: intrigue, gossip, cliques, favouritism and preferences. May our language
be that of the Gospel: “yes when we mean yes; no when we mean no”; may our attitudes
be those of the Beatitudes, and our way be that of holiness.
The Holy Spirit
also speaks to us today through the words of Saint Paul: “You are God’s temple … God’s
temple is holy, and that temple you are” (1 Cor 3:16-17). In this temple, which we
are, an existential liturgy is being celebrated: that of goodness, forgiveness, service;
in a word, the liturgy of love. This temple of ours is defiled if we neglect our duties
towards our neighbour. Whenever the least of our brothers and sisters finds a place
in our hearts, it is God himself who finds a place there. When that brother or sister
is shut out, it is God himself who is not being welcomed. A heart without love is
like a deconsecrated church, a building withdrawn from God’s service and given over
to another use.
Dear brother Cardinals, may we remain united in Christ and
among ourselves! I ask you to remain close to me, with your prayers, your advice and
your help. And I ask all of you, bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated men and women,
and laity, together to implore the Holy Spirit, that the College of Cardinals may
always be ever more fervent in pastoral charity and filled with holiness, in order
to serve the Gospel and to help the Church radiate Christ’s love in our world.