Full Text of Pope Benedict's Remarks to Volunteers
(10 Sept. 07 -RV) Below is the full text of Pope Benedict XVI's remarks to volunteers
gathered Sunday afternoon in Vienna's concert hall...
Address of the Holy
Father Meeting with Volunteer Associations Wiener Konzerthaus Sunday, 9 September
2007
Mr President, Archbishop Kothgasser, Dear Volunteers and
Honorary Members of the different Charitable Agencies in Austria, Ladies and
Gentlemen, and above all: Dear young friends,
I have looked forward with
particular joy to this meeting, which takes place near the end of my visit to Austria.
It is good to meet people who are trying to give a face to the Gospel message in our
communities; to see people, young and old, who concretely express in Church and society
the love which we Christians have come to know: the love of God which enables us to
see others as our neighbours, our brothers and sisters! I am filled with gratitude
and admiration when I think of the generous volunteer work done in this country by
so many people of all ages. To all of you, and to those who hold honorary and unremunerated
positions in Austria, I would like today to express my special appreciation. I thank
you, Mr. President, you, Archbishop Kothgasser, and, above all, you, the young people
representing volunteer workers in Austria, for your kind words of greeting.
Thanks
be to God, many people consider it an honour to engage in volunteer service to individuals,
groups and organizations, or to respond to specific needs concerning the common good.
This kind of involvement is first of all an occasion for personal growth and for active
and responsible participation in the life of society. The willingness to take up
volunteer work can have various motivations. Frequently it is simply born of a desire
to do something meaningful and helpful, and out of a desire for new experiences.
Young people rightly and naturally also discover in volunteer work a source of joy,
positive experiences and genuine camaraderie in carrying out a worthwhile project
alongside others. Often these personal ideas and initiatives are linked to a practical
love of neighbour; the individual thus becomes part of a wider community of support.
I would like to express my gratitude and heartfelt thanks for the remarkable “culture
of volunteerism” existing in Austria. I wish to thank every woman and every man,
all the young people and all the children – the volunteer work carried out by children
is at times impressive; we need only think of the activity of the Sternsinger at Christmastime.
I would also like to express gratitude for the efforts, large and small, which often
go unnoticed. Thank you and Vergelt’s Gott [May God reward you!] for your contribution
to building a “civilization of love” at the service of everyone and the betterment
of the nation. Love of neighbour is not something that can be delegated; the State
and the political order, properly concerned with the relief of the needy and the provision
of social services, cannot take its place. Love of neighbour always demands a voluntary
personal commitment, and the State, of course, should provide the conditions which
make this possible. Thanks to such involvement, assistance maintains a human dimension
and does not become depersonalized. Volunteers like yourselves, then, are not “stopgaps”
in the social fabric, but people who truly contribute to giving our society a humane
and Christian face.
Young people especially long to have their abilities and
talents “awakened and discovered”. Volunteers want to be asked, they want to be told:
“I need you” - “You can do it!” How good it feels to hear words like these! In their
human simplicity, they unwittingly point us to the God who has called each of us into
being and given us a personal task, the God who needs us and awaits our response.
Jesus called men and women, and gave them the courage needed to embark on a great
undertaking, one to which, by themselves, they would never have dared to aspire.
To allow oneself to be called, to make a decision and then to set out on a path -
without the usual questions about whether it is useful or profitable - this attitude
will naturally bring healing in its wake. The saints have shown us this path by their
lives. It is a fascinating and thrilling path, a path of generosity and, nowadays,
one which is much needed. To say “yes” to volunteering to help others is a decision
which is liberating; it opens our hearts to the needs of others, to the requirements
of justice, to the defence of life and the protection of creation. Volunteer work
is really about the heart of the Christian image of God and man: love of God and love
of neighbour.
Dear Volunteers, Ladies and Gentlemen. Volunteer work reflects
gratitude for, and the desire to share with others, the love that we ourselves have
received. In the words of Duns Scotus, Deus vult condiligentes – God wants persons
who love together with him. Seen in this light, unremunerated service has much to
do with God’s grace. A culture which would calculate the cost of everything, forcing
human relationships into a strait jacket of rights and duties, is able to realize,
thanks to the countless people who freely donate their time and service to others,
that life is an unmerited gift. For all the many different and even contradictory
reasons which motivate people to volunteer their services, all are ultimately based
on a profound solidarity born of “gratuitousness”. It was as a free gift that we
received life from our Creator, it was as a free gift that we were set free from the
blind alley of sin and evil, it was as a free gift that we were given the Spirit with
his many gifts. “Love is free; it is not practised as a way of achieving other ends”.
“Those who are in a position to help others will realize that in doing so they themselves
receive help; being able to help others is no merit or achievement of their own.
This duty is a grace”. By our commitment to volunteer work, we freely pass on what
we ourselves have received. This “inner logic” of gratuitousness goes beyond strict
moral obligation.
Without volunteer service, society and the common good could
not, cannot and will not endure. A readiness to be at the service of others is something
which surpasses the calculus of outlay and return: it shatters the rules of a market
economy. The value of human beings cannot be judged by purely economic criteria.
Without volunteers, then, no state can be built up. A society’s progress and worth
constantly depend on people who do more than what is strictly their duty.
Ladies
and Gentlemen! Volunteer work is a service to human dignity, inasmuch as men and
women are created in the image and likeness of God. As Irenaeus of Lyons says: “The
glory of God is the living man, and the life of man is the vision of God”. Nicholas
of Cusa, in his treatise on the vision of God went on to develop this insight: “Since
the eye is where love is found, I know that you love me… Your gaze, O Lord, is love….
By gazing upon me, you, the hidden God, enable me to catch a glimpse of you… Your
gaze bestows life… Your gaze is creative”. God’s gaze – the gaze of Jesus fills us
with God’s love. Some ways of looking at others can be meaningless or even contemptuous.
There are looks that reveal esteem and express love. Volunteer workers have regard
for others; they remind us of the dignity of every human being and they awaken enthusiasm
and hope. Volunteer workers are guardians and advocates of human rights and human
dignity.
Jesus’ gaze is connected with another way of seeing others. In the
Gospel the words: “He saw him and passed by” are said of the priest and the Levite
who see the man lying half-dead on the wayside, yet do not come to his help (Lk 10:31-2).
There are people who see, but pretend not to see, who are faced with human needs yet
remain indifferent. This is part of the coldness of our present time. In the gaze
of others, and particularly of the person who needs our help, we experience the concrete
demands of Christian love. Jesus Christ does not teach us a spirituality “of closed
eyes”, but one of “alertness”, one which entails an absolute duty to take notice of
the needs of others and of situations involving those whom the Gospel tells us are
our neighbours. The gaze of Jesus, what “his eyes” teach us, leads to human closeness,
solidarity, giving time, sharing our gifts and even our material goods. For this
reason, “those who work for the Church’s charitable organizations must be distinguished
by the fact that they do not merely meet the needs of the moment, but they dedicate
themselves to others with heartfelt concern… This heart sees where love is needed,
and acts accordingly”. Yes, “I have to become like someone in love, someone whose
heart is open to being shaken up by another’s need. Then I find my neighbour or -
better – then I am found by him”.
Finally, the commandment of love for God
and neighbour (cf. Mt 22:37-40; Lk 10:27) reminds us that it is through our love of
neighbour that we Christians honour God himself. “As you did it to one of the least
of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). If Jesus himself is present in
the concrete man or woman whom we encounter, then unremunerated service can bring
us to an experience of God. Sharing in human situations and needs leads to a “new”
and meaningful kind of togetherness. In this way, volunteer work can help bring people
out of their isolation and make them part of a community. To conclude, I would
like to mention the power of prayer and its importance for everyone engaged in charitable
work. Praying to God sets us free from ideologies or a sense of hopelessness in the
face of endless needs. “Even in their bewilderment and failure to understand the
world about them, Christians continue to believe in the ‘goodness and loving kindness
of God’ (Tit 3:4). Immersed like everyone else in the dramatic complexity of historical
events, they remain unshakably certain that God is our Father and loves us, even when
his silence remains incomprehensible”.
Dear members and volunteer workers
of charitable organizations in Austria, Ladies and Gentlemen! Whenever people do
more than their simple duty in professional life and in the family – and even doing
this well calls for great strength and much love – , and whenever they commit themselves
to helping others, putting their precious free time at the service of man and his
dignity, their hearts expand. Volunteers do not understand the term “neighbour” in
the literal meaning of the word; for them, it includes those who are far away, those
who are loved by God, and those who, with our help, need to experience the work of
redemption accomplished by Christ. The other, whom Christ’s Gospel calls our “neighbour”,
thus becomes our privileged partner as we face the pressures and constraints of the
world in which we live. Anyone who takes seriously the “priority” of his neighbour
lives and acts in accordance with the Gospel and shares in the mission of the Church,
which always looks at the whole person and wants everyone to experience the love of
God. The Church fully supports this valuable service that you offer. I am convinced
the volunteers of Austria will continue to be a source of great blessing and I assure
you of my prayers. Upon all of you I invoke the joy of the Lord which is our strength
(cf. Neh 8:10). May God in his goodness be ever close to you and guide you constantly
by the help of his grace.