An estimated 300 thousand Cuban faithful filled Havana’s Revolution Square for an
open air Mass presided over by Pope Benedict XVI on the final day of his visit to
the Americas.
Below the text of Pope Benedict XVI’s Homily at Mass in
Revolution Square, Havana
Dear Brothers and Sisters, “Blessed are
you, Lord God…, and blessed is your holy and glorious name” (Dan 3:52). This
hymn of blessing from the Book of Daniel resounds today in our liturgy, inviting us
repeatedly to bless and thank God. We are a part of that great chorus which praises
the Lord without ceasing. We join in this concert of thanksgiving, and we offer our
joyful and confident voice, which seeks to consolidate the journey of faith in love
and truth. “Blessed be God” who gathers us in this historic square so that we
may more profoundly enter into his life. I feel great joy in being here with you
today to celebrate Holy Mass during this Jubilee Year devoted to Our Lady of Charity
of El Cobre. I greet with cordial affection Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, Archbishop
of Havana, and I thank him for the kind words which he has addressed to me on your
behalf. I extend warm greetings to the Cardinals and to my brother Bishops of Cuba
and other countries who wished to take part in this solemn celebration. I also greet
the priests, seminarians, men and women religious, and all the lay faithful gathered
here, as well as the civil authorities who join us. In today’s first reading,
the three young men persecuted by the Babylonian king preferred to face death by fire
rather than betray their conscience and their faith. They experienced the strength
to “give thanks, glorify and praise God” in the conviction that the Lord of the universe
and of history would not abandon them to death and annihilation. Truly, God never
abandons his children, he never forgets them. He is above us and is able to save
us by his power. At the same time, he is near to his people, and through his Son Jesus
Christ he has wished to make his dwelling place among us in. “If you continue
in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth
will make you free” (Jn 8:31). In this text from today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals
himself as the Son of God the Father, the Saviour, the one who alone can show us the
truth and give genuine freedom. His teaching provokes resistance and disquiet among
his hearers, and he accuses them of seeking to kill him, alluding to the supreme sacrifice
of the Cross, already imminent. Even so, he exhorts them to believe, to keep his
word, so as to know the truth which redeems and dignifies. The truth is a desire
of the human person, the search for which always supposes the exercise of authentic
freedom. Many, however, prefer shortcuts, trying to avoid this task. Some, like Pontius
Pilate, ironically question the possibility of even knowing what truth is (cf. Jn
18:38), proclaiming that man is incapable of knowing it or denying that there exists
a truth valid for all. This attitude, as in the case of scepticism and relativism,
changes hearts, making them cold, wavering, distant from others and closed. They,
like the Roman governor, wash their hands and let the water of history drain away
without taking a stand. On the other hand, there are those who wrongly interpret
this search for the truth, leading them to irrationality and fanaticism; they close
themselves up in “their truth”, and try to impose it on others. These are like the
blind scribes who, upon seeing Jesus beaten and bloody, cry out furiously, “Crucify
him!” (cf. Jn 19:6). Anyone who acts irrationally cannot become a disciple
of Jesus. Faith and reason are necessary and complementary in the pursuit of truth.
God created man with an innate vocation to the truth and he gave him reason for this
purpose. Certainly, it is not irrationality but rather the yearning for truth which
the Christian faith promotes. Each human being has to seek the truth and to choose
it when he or she finds it, even at the risk of embracing sacrifices. Furthermore,
the truth which stands above humanity is an unavoidable condition for attaining freedom,
since in it we discover the foundation of an ethics on which all can converge and
which contains clear and precise indications concerning life and death, duties and
rights, marriage, family and society, in short, regarding the inviolable dignity of
the human person. This ethical patrimony can bring together different cultures, peoples
and religions, authorities and citizens, citizens among themselves, and believers
in Christ and non-believers. Christianity, in highlighting those values which
sustain ethics, does not impose, but rather proposes Christ’s invitation to know the
truth which sets us free. The believer is called to offer that truth to his contemporaries,
as did the Lord, even before the dark omen of rejection and the Cross. The personal
encounter with the one who is Truth in person compels us to share this treasure with
others, especially by our witness. Dear friends, do not hesitate to follow Jesus
Christ. In him we find the truth about God and about mankind. He helps us to overcome
our selfishness, to rise above our ambitions and to conquer all that oppresses us.
The one who does evil, who sins, becomes a slave of sin and will never attain freedom
(cf. Jn 8:34). Only by renouncing hatred and our hard and blind hearts will
we be free and a new life will well up in us. Convinced that it is Christ who
is the true measure of man, and knowing that in him we find the strength needed to
face every trial, I wish to proclaim openly Jesus Christ as the way, the truth and
the life. In him everyone will find complete freedom, the light to understand reality
more deeply and to transform it by the renewing power of love. The Church lives
to make others sharers in the one thing she possesses, which is none other than Christ,
our hope of glory (cf. Col 1:27). To carry out this duty, she must count on
basic religious freedom, which consists in her being able to proclaim and to celebrate
her faith also in public, bringing to others the message of love, reconciliation and
peace which Jesus brought to the world. It must be said with joy that in Cuba steps
have been taken to enable the Church to carry out her essentialmission of
expressing her faith openly and publicly. Nonetheless, this must continue forwards,
and I wish to encourage the country’s Government authorities to strengthen what has
already been achieved and advance along this path of genuine service to the true good
of Cuban society as a whole. The right to freedom of religion, both in its private
and in its public dimension, manifests the unity of the human person, who is at once
a citizen and a believer. It also legitimizes the fact that believers have a contribution
to make to the building up of society. Strengthening religious freedom consolidates
social bonds, nourishes the hope of a better world, creates favourable conditions
for peace and harmonious development, while at the same time establishing solid foundations
for securing the rights of future generations. When the Church upholds this human
right, she is not claiming any special privileges for herself. She wishes only to
be faithful to the command of her divine founder, conscious that, where Christ is
present, mankind becomes more human and founds its consistency. This is why the Church
seeks to give witness by her preaching and teaching, both in catechesis and in schools
and universities. It is greatly to be hoped that the moment will soon arrive when,
here too, the Church can bring to the arenas of knowledge the benefits of the mission
which the Lord entrusted to her and which she can never neglect. A shining example
of this commitment was the outstanding priest Félix Varela, educator and teacher,
an illustrious son of this city of Havana, who has taken his place in Cuban history
as the first one who taught his people how to think. Father Varela offers us a path
to a true social transformation: to form virtuous men and women in order to forge
a worthy and free nation, for this transformation depends on man’s spiritual life,
in as much as “there is no authentic fatherland without virtue” (Letters to Elpidio,
Letter 6, Madrid 1836, 220). Cuba and the world need change, but this will occur
only if each one is in a position to seek the truth and chooses the way of love, sowing
reconciliation and fraternity. Invoking the maternal protection of Mary Most Holy,
let us ask that each time we participate in the Eucharist we will also become witnesses
to that charity which responds to evil with good (cf. Rom 12:51), offering
ourselves as a living sacrifice to the one who lovingly gave himself up for our sake.
Let us walk in the light of Christ who alone can destroy the darkness of error. And
let us beg him that, with the courage and strength of the saints, we may be able,
without fear or rancour but freely, generously and consistently, to respond to God.
Amen.