Pope in San Marino: Homily

Below we publish the text of a draft Vatican Radio translation of Pope Benedict XVI's homily during Mass for the Solemnity of the most Holy Trinity, celebrated in Serravalle Stadium, in the Reuplic of San Marino.

Dear brothers and sisters!

It is a great joy for me to be able to break the bread of the Liturgy of the Word of God and the Liturgy of the Eucharist and be able to address to you, my dear San Marino, my most cordial greetings. I extend a special greeting to the Captains Regent and other political and civil authorities present at this Eucharistic celebration, I greet your bishop Monsignor Luigi Negri with affection, I thank him for his kind words and, with him, all the priests and faithful of the diocese of San Marino-Montefeltro, and greeting each of you I express my deep gratitude for the cordiality and affection with which you have welcomed me. I have come to share with you the joys and hopes, efforts and commitments, ideals and aspirations of this diocesan community. I know that here too there are difficulties, problems and concerns. I want to assure you all of my closeness and a remembrance in my prayer, to which I unite my encouragement to persevere in the witness of human and Christian values, so deeply rooted in the faith and in the history of this territory and its population.

Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When one thinks of the Trinity, what really comes to mind is the mystery of the God who is Three in One, one God in three Persons. Instead, today's liturgy draws our attention to the reality of love that is contained in this first and greatest mystery of our faith. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one, because God is love: the Father gives everything to the Son, the Son receives everything from the Father with gratitude, and the Holy Spirit is like the fruit of this mutual love between the Father and Son . The texts of today’s Holy Mass speak of this love; they do not dwell so much on the three divine Persons - there is only one sentence in the Second reading which refers to them - but on the love which constitutes their essence.

The first passage that we heard from the Book of Exodus, and on which I focused in a recent Wednesday catechesis, is surprising because the revelation of God’s love takes place after the people had committed a serious sin. The covenant of Mount Sinai has just been sealed, and already the people are lacking in faithfulness to God. As Moses is kept away, the people ask Aaron to make a god who is visible, accessible, manageable, made to man’s measure. Aaron agrees and makes a golden calf. Coming down from Mount Sinai, Moses sees what has happened and breaks the tablets of the covenant, the two stones on which the "Ten Commandments" were written, the concrete content of the covenant with God. All seems lost, all friendship broken. Yet, despite having committed the gravest of sins, God, through the intercession of Moses, decides to forgive His people and calls Moses to ascend the mountain once more to receive His law, the Ten Commandments. Moses then asks God to reveal himself, to show him His face. But God does not reveal His face, rather he reveals the fullness of His goodness with these words: " The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity " (Ex 34.8). This self-definition of God manifests His merciful love, a love that conquers sin, covers it, eliminates it. There can be no clearer revelation. We have a God who renounces the destruction of the sinner and wants to show His love in an even more profound and surprising way right in front of the sinner in order to always offer the possibility of conversion and forgiveness.

The Gospel completes this revelation, because it indicates the extent to which God has shown His mercy. The evangelist John refers to this statement of Jesus: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life " (3:16). In the world there is evil, there is selfishness, there is wickedness and God might come to judge the world, to destroy evil, to punish those who work in darkness. Instead He shows He loves the world, He loves man, despite his sinfulness, and sends what is His most precious possession: His only begotten Son. He not only sends him, but He makes a gift to the world. Jesus is the Son of God who is born for us, who lived for us, who healed the sick, forgave sins, welcomed everyone. Responding to the love that comes from the Father, the Son gave His life for us: on the cross the merciful love of God comes to a climax. And it is on the cross that the Son of God obtains for us the possibility of sharing in eternal life, which is communicated to us with the gift of the Holy Spirit. So, in the mystery of the cross, there are three Divine Persons: the Father, who gave his only begotten Son for the salvation of the world, the Son, who carries out the will of the Father to the very end and the Holy Spirit - poured out by Jesus at the moment of his death - who comes to render us participants in divine life, to transform our lives, so that our lives are animated by divine love.


Dear brothers and sisters! Faith in the Triune God has also characterized this church of San Marino-Montefeltro, in the course of its ancient and glorious history. The evangelization of this land is attributed to St. Leo and Marino, who in the mid-third century AD are said to have landed in Rimini from Dalmatia. Because of their holiness of life they were consecrated by the Bishop, Gaudenzio, one a priest and the other a deacon and sent inland, one to Mount Feretro, which became known as St. Leo, and the other to Mount Titano , who later took the name of San Marino. Beyond the historical questions - which is not our task to investigate at this time – it is interesting to note how Marino and Leo with their faith in God revealed in Jesus Christ, brought new perspectives and values to the local context, resulting in the birth of a culture and a civilization centred on the human person, the image of God and therefore with intrinsic rights that precede all human jurisdiction. The variety of different ethnic groups - Romans, Goths and then the Lombards - who came into contact with each other, sometimes as a result of conflict, found in the common reference to the faith a powerful factor in ethical, cultural, social and, in some way, political edification. It was evident in their eyes that a project of civilization could not be considered realised until all the components of the people had become a living and well structured Christian community. Rightly, therefore, one may say that the wealth of this nation, your wealth, dear San Marino, was and is faith, and that this faith has created a unique culture. Next to faith, your absolute fidelity to the Bishop of Rome, to which this church has always looked with affection and devotion, as well as great attention to the tradition of the Eastern Church and a deep devotion to the Virgin Mary.

You are rightly proud of and grateful for what the Holy Spirit has worked through the ages in your church. But you also know that the best way to appreciate a legacy is to cultivate and enrich it. In fact, you are called to develop this precious deposit in one of the most decisive moments in history. Today, your mission is having to deal with profound and rapid cultural, social, economic and political transformations that have determined new reference points and changed attitudes, customs and sensibilities. Even here, in fact, as elsewhere, there are difficulties and obstacles, mainly due to hedonistic models, which cloud the mind and threaten to undo all morality. The temptation has crept in to believe that the wealth of man is not the faith, but his personal and social power, his intelligence, his culture and his ability to manipulate scientific, technological and social realities. Thus, in these lands, the Christian faith and values have begun to be replaced ​​with a presumed wealth, which in the end reveals itself inconsistent and incapable of containing the great promise of truth, goodness, of beauty and justice, which for centuries your ancestors identified with the experience of faith. Moreover the many families in crisis must not be forgotten, compounded by a widespread psychological and spiritual fragility of spouses, as well as the fatigue experienced by many educators in their attempts to ensure continuity in the formation of young people, conditioned by various uncertainties, first among all their role in society and employment opportunities.

Dear friends! I know well the commitment of every member of this Church, especially in promoting Christian life in its various aspects. I urge all the faithful to be like leaven in the world, showing both in Montefeltro and San Marino that you are present, proactive and consistent Christians. May the priests, religious men and women always live in the most friendly and active ecclesial communion, helping and listening to the diocesan Bishop. Even among you, there is the urgent need of a revival of priestly vocations, of special consecration: I appeal to families and young people, that they may open their souls to a prompt response to the Lord’s call. There are no regrets from being generous with God! For you lay people, I recommend an active part in the Community, so that in addition to your special civic, political, social and cultural tasks, you can find time and availability for the pastoral life. Dear San Marino! Remain firmly loyal to the heritage built over the centuries on the impulse of your great patrons, Marino and Leo. I invoke God's blessing on your journey of today and tomorrow and I recommend all to "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit" (2 Cor 13:11). Amen!