Messe in der St.-Patricks-Kathedrale - Die Predigt auf Englisch
Dear Brothers and
Sisters in Christ, With great affection in the Lord, I greet all of you, who represent
the Bishops, priests and deacons, the men and women in consecrated life, and the seminarians
of the United States. I thank Cardinal Egan for his warm welcome and the good wishes
which he has expressed in your name as I begin the fourth year of my papal ministry.
I am happy to celebrate this Mass with you, who have been chosen by the Lord, who
have answered his call, and who devote your lives to the pursuit of holiness, the
spread of the Gospel and the building up of the Church in faith, hope and love. Gathered
as we are in this historic cathedral, how can we not think of the countless men and
women who have gone before us, who labored for the growth of the Church in the United
States, and left us a lasting legacy of faith and good works? In today’s first reading
we saw how, in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles went forth from the Upper
Room to proclaim God’s mighty works to people of every nation and tongue. In this
country, the Church’s mission has always involved drawing people “from every nation
under heaven” (cf. Acts 2:5) into spiritual unity, and enriching the Body of
Christ by the variety of their gifts. As we give thanks for past blessings, and look
to the challenges of the future, let us implore from God the grace of a new Pentecost
for the Church in America. May tongues of fire, combining burning love of God and
neighbor with zeal for the spread of Christ’s Kingdom, descend on all present! In
this morning’s second reading, Saint Paul reminds us that spiritual unity – the unity
which reconciles and enriches diversity – has its origin and supreme model in the
life of the triune God. As a communion of pure love and infinite freedom, the Blessed
Trinity constantly brings forth new life in the work of creation and redemption.
The Church, as “a people made one by the unity of the Father, the Son and the Spirit”
(cf. Lumen Gentium, 4), is called to proclaim the gift of life, to serve life,
and to promote a culture of life. Here in this cathedral, our thoughts turn naturally
to the heroic witness to the Gospel of life borne by the late Cardinals Cooke and
O’Connor. The proclamation of life, life in abundance, must be the heart of the new
evangelization. For true life – our salvation – can only be found in the reconciliation,
freedom and love which are God’s gracious gift. This is the message of hope we
are called to proclaim and embody in a world where self-centeredness, greed, violence,
and cynicism so often seem to choke the fragile growth of grace in people’s hearts.
Saint Irenaeus, with great insight, understood that the command which Moses enjoined
upon the people of Israel: “Choose life!” (Dt 30:19) was the ultimate reason
for our obedience to all God’s commandments (cf. Adv. Haer. IV, 16, 2-5).
Perhaps we have lost sight of this: in a society where the Church seems legalistic
and “institutional” to many people, our most urgent challenge is to communicate the
joy born of faith and the experience of God’s love. I am particularly happy that
we have gathered in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Perhaps more than any other church
in the United States, this place is known and loved as “a house of prayer for all
peoples” (cf. Is 56:7; Mk 11:17). Each day thousands of men, women
and children enter its doors and find peace within its walls. Archbishop John Hughes,
who – as Cardinal Egan has reminded us – was responsible for building this venerable
edifice, wished it to rise in pure Gothic style. He wanted this cathedral to remind
the young Church in America of the great spiritual tradition to which it was heir,
and to inspire it to bring the best of that heritage to the building up of Christ’s
body in this land. I would like to draw your attention to a few aspects of this beautiful
structure which I think can serve as a starting point for a reflection on our particular
vocations within the unity of the Mystical Body. The first has to do with the stained
glass windows, which flood the interior with mystic light. From the outside, those
windows are dark, heavy, even dreary. But once one enters the church, they suddenly
come alive; reflecting the light passing through them, they reveal all their splendor.
Many writers – here in America we can think of Nathaniel Hawthorne – have used the
image of stained glass to illustrate the mystery of the Church herself. It is only
from the inside, from the experience of faith and ecclesial life, that we see the
Church as she truly is: flooded with grace, resplendent in beauty, adorned by the
manifold gifts of the Spirit. It follows that we, who live the life of grace within
the Church’s communion, are called to draw all people into this mystery of light. This
is no easy task in a world which can tend to look at the Church, like those stained
glass windows, “from the outside”: a world which deeply senses a need for spirituality,
yet finds it difficult to “enter into” the mystery of the Church. Even for those
of us within, the light of faith can be dimmed by routine, and the splendor of the
Church obscured by the sins and weaknesses of her members. It can be dimmed too,
by the obstacles encountered in a society which sometimes seems to have forgotten
God and to resent even the most elementary demands of Christian morality. You, who
have devoted your lives to bearing witness to the love of Christ and the building
up of his Body, know from your daily contact with the world around us how tempting
it is at times to give way to frustration, disappointment and even pessimism about
the future. In a word, it is not always easy to see the light of the Spirit all about
us, the splendor of the Risen Lord illuminating our lives and instilling renewed hope
in his victory over the world (cf. Jn 16:33). Yet the word of God reminds
us that, in faith, we see the heavens opened, and the grace of the Holy Spirit lighting
up the Church and bringing sure hope to our world. “O Lord, my God,” the Psalmist
sings, “when you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face
of the earth” (Ps 104:30). These words evoke the first creation, when the
Spirit of God hovered over the deep (cf. Gen 1:2). And they look forward to
the new creation, at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and
established the Church as the first fruits of a redeemed humanity (cf. Jn 20:22-23).
These words summon us to ever deeper faith in God’s infinite power to transform every
human situation, to create life from death, and to light up even the darkest night.
And they make us think of another magnificent phrase of Saint Irenaeus: “where the
Church is, there is the Spirit of God; where the Spirit of God is, there is the Church
and all grace” (Adv. Haer. III, 24, 1). This leads me to a further reflection
about the architecture of this church. Like all Gothic cathedrals, it is a highly
complex structure, whose exact and harmonious proportions symbolize the unity of God’s
creation. Medieval artists often portrayed Christ, the creative Word of God, as a
heavenly “geometer”, compass in hand, who orders the cosmos with infinite wisdom and
purpose. Does this not bring to mind our need to see all things with the eyes of
faith, and thus to grasp them in their truest perspective, in the unity of God’s eternal
plan? This requires, as we know, constant conversion, and a commitment to acquiring
“a fresh, spiritual way of thinking” (cf. Eph 4:23). It also calls for the
cultivation of those virtues which enable each of us to grow in holiness and to bear
spiritual fruit within our particular state of life. Is not this ongoing “intellectual”
conversion as necessary as “moral” conversion for our own growth in faith, our discernment
of the signs of the times, and our personal contribution to the Church’s life and
mission? For all of us, I think, one of the great disappointments which followed
the Second Vatican Council, with its call for a greater engagement in the Church’s
mission to the world, has been the experience of division between different groups,
different generations, different members of the same religious family. We can only
move forward if we turn our gaze together to Christ! In the light of faith, we will
then discover the wisdom and strength needed to open ourselves to points of view which
may not necessarily conform to our own ideas or assumptions. Thus we can value the
perspectives of others, be they younger or older than ourselves, and ultimately hear
“what the Spirit is saying” to us and to the Church (cf. Rev 2:7). In this
way, we will move together towards that true spiritual renewal desired by the Council,
a renewal which can only strengthen the Church in that holiness and unity indispensable
for the effective proclamation of the Gospel in today’s world. Was not this unity
of vision and purpose – rooted in faith and a spirit of constant conversion and self-sacrifice
– the secret of the impressive growth of the Church in this country? We need but
think of the remarkable accomplishment of that exemplary American priest, the Venerable
Michael McGivney, whose vision and zeal led to the establishment of the Knights of
Columbus, or of the legacy of the generations of religious and priests who quietly
devoted their lives to serving the People of God in countless schools, hospitals and
parishes. Here, within the context of our need for the perspective given by faith,
and for unity and cooperation in the work of building up the Church, I would like
say a word about the sexual abuse that has caused so much suffering. I have already
had occasion to speak of this, and of the resulting damage to the community of the
faithful. Here I simply wish to assure you, dear priests and religious, of my spiritual
closeness as you strive to respond with Christian hope to the continuing challenges
that this situation presents. I join you in praying that this will be a time of purification
for each and every particular Church and religious community, and a time for healing.
I also encourage you to cooperate with your Bishops who continue to work effectively
to resolve this issue. May our Lord Jesus Christ grant the Church in America a renewed
sense of unity and purpose, as all – Bishops, clergy, religious and laity – move forward
in hope, in love for the truth and for one another. Dear friends, these considerations
lead me to a final observation about this great cathedral in which we find ourselves.
The unity of a Gothic cathedral, we know, is not the static unity of a classical temple,
but a unity born of the dynamic tension of diverse forces which impel the architecture
upward, pointing it to heaven. Here too, we can see a symbol of the Church’s unity,
which is the unity – as Saint Paul has told us – of a living body composed of many
different members, each with its own role and purpose. Here too we see our need to
acknowledge and reverence the gifts of each and every member of the body as “manifestations
of the Spirit given for the good of all” (1 Cor 12:7). Certainly within the
Church’s divinely-willed structure there is a distinction to be made between hierarchical
and charismatic gifts (cf. Lumen Gentium, 4). Yet the very variety and richness
of the graces bestowed by the Spirit invite us constantly to discern how these gifts
are to be rightly ordered in the service of the Church’s mission. You, dear priests,
by sacramental ordination have been configured to Christ, the Head of the Body. You,
dear deacons, have been ordained for the service of that Body. You, dear men and
women religious, both contemplative and apostolic, have devoted your lives to following
the divine Master in generous love and complete devotion to his Gospel. All of you,
who fill this cathedral today, as wells as your retired, elderly and infirm brothers
and sisters, who unite their prayers and sacrifices to your labors, are called to
be forces of unity within Christ’s Body. By your personal witness, and your fidelity
to the ministry or apostolate entrusted to you, you prepare a path for the Spirit.
For the Spirit never ceases to pour out his abundant gifts, to awaken new vocations
and missions, and to guide the Church, as our Lord promised in this morning’s Gospel,
into the fullness of truth (cf. Jn 16:13). So let us lift our gaze upward!
And with great humility and confidence, let us ask the Spirit to enable us each day
to grow in the holiness that will make us living stones in the temple which he is
even now raising up in the midst of our world. If we are to be true forces of unity,
let us be the first to seek inner reconciliation through penance. Let us forgive
the wrongs we have suffered and put aside all anger and contention. Let us be the
first to demonstrate the humility and purity of heart which are required to approach
the splendor of God’s truth. In fidelity to the deposit of faith entrusted to the
Apostles (cf. 1 Tim 6:20), let us be joyful witnesses of the transforming power
of the Gospel! Dear brothers and sisters, in the finest traditions of the Church
in this country, may you also be the first friend of the poor, the homeless, the stranger,
the sick and all who suffer. Act as beacons of hope, casting the light of Christ
upon the world, and encouraging young people to discover the beauty of a life given
completely to the Lord and his Church. I make this plea in a particular way to the
many seminarians and young religious present. All of you have a special place in
my heart. Never forget that you are called to carry on, with all the enthusiasm and
joy that the Spirit has given you, a work that others have begun, a legacy that one
day you too will have to pass on to a new generation. Work generously and joyfully,
for he whom you serve is the Lord!The spires of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral are dwarfed
by the skyscrapers of the Manhattan skyline, yet in the heart of this busy metropolis,
they are a vivid reminder of the constant yearning of the human spirit to rise to
God. As we celebrate this Eucharist, let us thank the Lord for allowing us to know
him in the communion of the Church, to cooperate in building up his Mystical Body,
and in bringing his saving word as good news to the men and women of our time. And
when we leave this great church, let us go forth as heralds of hope in the midst of
this city, and all those places where God’s grace has placed us. In this way, the
Church in America will know a new springtime in the Spirit, and point the way to that
other, greater city, the new Jerusalem, whose light is the Lamb (Rev 21:23).
For there God is even now preparing for all people a banquet of unending joy and life.
Amen.