Pope Benedict XVI's Homily at Opening Mass of Synod of Bishops

+ Pope Benedict XVI10/7/2012

"The Holy Spirit Has Nurtured in the Church a New Effort to Announce the Good News" VATICAN CITY, OCT. 7, 2012 - The following is the translation of the homily delivered by Pope Benedict XVI today at the Opening Mass of the Synod of Bishops on The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. During the Mass, the Holy Father proclaimed St. Juan of Avila and St. Hildegard of Bingen as Doctors of the Church. Dear Brother Bishops, Dear brothers and sisters, With this solemn concelebration we open the thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. This theme reflects a programmatic direction for the life of the Church, its members, families, its communities and institutions. And this outline is reinforced by the fact that it coincides with the beginning of the Year of Faith, starting on 11 October, on the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. I give a cordial and grateful welcome to you who have come to be part of the Synodal Assembly, in particular to the Secretary-General of the Synod of Bishops, and to his colleagues. I salute the fraternal delegates of the other churches and ecclesial communities as well as all present, inviting them to accompany in daily prayer the deliberations which will take place over the next three weeks. The readings for this Sunday’s Liturgy of the Word propose to us two principal points of reflection: the first on matrimony, which I will touch shortly; and the second on Jesus Christ, which I will discuss now. We do not have time to comment upon the passage from the Letter to the Hebrews but, at the beginning of this Synodal Assembly, we ought to welcome the invitation to fix our gaze upon the Lord Jesus, "crowned with glory and honor, because of the suffering of death (2:9). The word of God places us before the glorious One who was crucified, so that our whole lives, and in particular the commitment of this Synodal session, will take place in the sight of him and in the light of his mystery. In every time and place, evangelization always has as its starting and finishing points Jesus Christ, the Son of God (cf. Mk1:1); and the Crucifix is the supremely distinctive sign of him who announces the Gospel: a sign of love and peace, a call to conversion and reconciliation. My dear Brother Bishops, starting with ourselves, let us fix our gaze upon him and let us be purified by his grace. I would now like briefly to examine the new evangelization, and its relation to ordinary evangelization and the mission ad Gentes. The Church exists to evangelize. Faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ’s command, his disciples went out to the whole world to announce the Good News, spreading Christian communities everywhere. With time, these became well-organized churches with many faithful. At various times in history, divine providence has given birth to a renewed dynamism in Church’s evangelizing activity. We need only think of the evangelization of the Anglo-Saxon peoples or the Slavs, or the transmission of the faith on the continent of America, or the missionary undertakings among the peoples of Africa, Asia and Oceania. It is against this dynamic background that I like to look at the two radiant figures that I have just proclaimed Doctors of the Church, Saint John of Avila and Saint Hildegard of Bingen. Even in our own times, the Holy Spirit has nurtured in the Church a new effort to announce the Good News, a pastoral and spiritual dynamism which found a more universal expression and its most authoritative impulse in the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. Such renewed evangelical dynamism produces a beneficent influence on the two specific "branches" developed by it, that is, on the one hand the Missio ad Gentes or announcement of the Gospel to those who do not yet know Jesus Christ and his message of salvation, and on the other the New Evangelization, directed principally at those who, though baptized, have drifted away from the Church and live without reference to the Christian life. The Synodal Assembly which opens today is dedicated to this new evangelization, to help these people encounter the Lord, who alone who fills existence with deep meaning and peace; and to favor the rediscovery of the faith, that source of grace which brings joy and hope to personal, family and social life. Obviously, such a special focus must not diminish either missionary efforts in the strict sense or the ordinary activity of evangelization in our Christian communities, as these are three aspects of the one reality of evangelization which complement and enrich each other. The theme of marriage, found in the Gospel and the first reading, deserves special attention. The message of the word of God may be summed up in the expression found in the Book of Genesis and taken up by Jesus himself: "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Gen 2:24; Mk 10:7-8). What does this word say to us today? It seems to me that it invites us to be more aware of a reality, already well known but not fully appreciated: that matrimony is a Gospel in itself, a Good News for the world of today, especially the de-Christianized world. The union of a man and a woman, their becoming "one flesh" in charity, in fruitful and indissoluble love, is a sign that speaks of God with a force and an eloquence which in our days has become greater because unfortunately, for various reasons, marriage, in precisely the oldest regions evangelized, is going through a profound crisis. And it is not by chance. Marriage is linked to faith, but not in a general way. Marriage, as a union of faithful and indissoluble love, is based upon the grace that comes from the triune God, who in Christ loved us with a faithful love, even to the Cross. Today we ought to grasp the full truth of this statement, in contrast to the painful reality of many marriages which, unhappily, end badly. There is a clear link between the crisis in faith and the crisis in marriage. And, as the Church has said and witnessed for a long time now, marriage is called to be not only an object but a subject of the new evangelization. This is already being seen in the many experiences of communities and movements, but its realization is also growing in dioceses and parishes, as shown in the recent World Meeting of Families. One of the important ideas of the renewed impulse that the Second Vatican Council gave to evangelization is that of the universal call to holiness, which in itself concerns all Christians (cf. Lumen Gentium, 39-42). The saints are the true actors in evangelization in all its expressions. In a special way they are even pioneers and bringers of the new evangelization: with their intercession and the example of lives attentive to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they show the beauty of the Gospel to those who are indifferent or even hostile, and they invite, as it were tepid believers, to live with the joy of faith, hope and charity, to rediscover the taste for the word of God and for the sacraments, especially for the bread of life, the Eucharist. Holy men and women bloom among the generous missionaries who announce the Good News to non-Christians, in the past in mission countries and now in any place where there are non-Christians. Holiness is not confined by cultural, social, political or religious barriers. Its language, that of love and truth, is understandable to all people of good will and it draws them to Jesus Christ, the inexhaustible source of new life. At this point, let us pause for a moment to appreciate the two saints who today have been added to the elect number of Doctors of the Church. Saint John of Avila lived in the sixteenth century. A profound expert on the sacred Scriptures, he was gifted with an ardent missionary spirit. He knew how to penetrate in a uniquely profound way the mysteries of the redemption worked by Christ for humanity. A man of God, he united constant prayer to apostolic action. He dedicated himself to preaching and to the more frequent practice of the sacraments, concentrating his commitment on improving the formation of candidates for the priesthood, of religious and of lay people, with a view to a fruitful reform of the Church. Saint Hildegard of Bingen, an important female figure of the twelfth century, offered her precious contribution to the growth of the Church of her time, employing the gifts received from God and showing herself to be a woman of brilliant intelligence, deep sensitivity and recognized spiritual authority. The Lord granted her a prophetic spirit and fervent capacity to discern the signs of the times. Hildegard nurtured an evident love of creation, and was learned in medicine, poetry and music. Above all, she maintained a great and faithful love for Christ and the Church. This summary of the ideal in Christian life, expressed in the call to holiness, draws us to look with humility at the fragility, even sin, of many Christians, as individuals and communities, which is a great obstacle to evangelization and to recognizing the force of God that, in faith, meets human weakness. Thus, we cannot speak about the new evangelization without a sincere desire for conversion. The best path to the new evangelization is to let ourselves be reconciled with God and with each other (cf. 2 Cor. 5:20). Solemnly purified, Christians can regain a legitimate pride in their dignity as children of God, created in his image and redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and they can experience his joy in order to share it with everyone, both near and far. Dear brothers and sisters, let us entrust the work of the Synod meeting to God, sustained by the communion of saints, invoking in particular the intercession of great evangelizers, among whom, with much affection, we ought to number Blessed John Paul II, whose long pontificate was an example of the new evangelization. Let us place ourselves under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the New Evangelization. With her let us invoke a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit that from on high he may illumine the Synodal assembly and make it fruitful for the Church’s way ahead.

"When We Do the New Evangelization, It is Always in Cooperation with God"

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 9, 2012 - Here is the translation of Pope Benedict XVI's meditation at the opening of the First General Congregation of the Synod of Bishops yesterday morning.

Dear Brothers,

My meditation refers to the word "Evangelium" "euangelisasthai" (cf. Lk 4:18). In this Synod we want to know more about what the Lord tells us and what we can or must do. It is divided into two parts: the first is a reflection on the meaning of these words. Then I would like to try to interpret the hymn of the Third Hour "Nunc, Sancte, nobis Spiritus," on page 5 of the Prayer Book.

The word "Evangelium" "euangelisasthai" has a long history. It first appears in Homer and is the announcement of a victory, therefore an announcement of goodness, joy, and happiness. It appears, then, in […] Isaiah (see Isaiah 40.9), as a voice that announces joy from God, as a voice that makes clear that God has not forgotten his people, that God, Who apparently had almost retired from history, is there and is present. And God is powerful, God gives joy, he opens the doors of exile; after the long night of exile, his light appears and gives the possibility of a return to his people, he renews the story of good, the story of his love. In this context of evangelization, especially three words appear: dikaiosyne, eirene, soteria - justice, peace and salvation. Jesus himself took up the words of Isaiah in Nazareth, speaking of this "gospel" that now he brings to the excluded, to those in prison, to the suffering and to the poor.

But for the meaning of the word "Evangelium" in the New Testament, in addition to this - the Deutero Isaiah opens the door - it is also important to use of the word done by the Roman Empire, beginning with the Emperor Augustus. Here the term "Evangelium" means a word, a message that comes from the Emperor. The message, then, of the Emperor - as such - brings good luck: it is a renewal of the world, it is salvation. Imperial message and therefore, as such, message of strength and power, it is a message of salvation, renewal and health. The New Testament accepts this situation. St. Luke explicitly compares the Emperor Augustus with the Child born in Bethlehem: "Evangelium" - he says - yes, it is a word of the Emperor, the true Emperor of the world. The true Emperor of the world made itself felt, he talks to us. And this fact, as such, is redemption, because the great human suffering - at that time, as now - is this: behind the silence of the universe, behind the clouds of history is there a God or not? And, if there is this God, does He know us, does He have to do with us? Is this God good, and the reality of good in the world does it have power or not? This question is so relevant today as it was at that time. Many people wonder: God is a hypothesis or not? Is it a reality or not? Why does He not make himself be heard? "Gospel" means: God has broken his silence, God has spoken, God exists. This fact as such is salvation: God knows us, God loves us, he has entered into history. Jesus is His Word, God with us, God shows us that He loves us, who suffers with us until his death and he resurrects. This is the Gospel itself. God has spoken, is no longer the great unknown, but He showed himself and this is salvation.

The question for us is: God has spoken, he has really broken the great silence, He has shown himself, but how do we get this reality to today‘s man, so that it may become salvation? In itself, the fact that he talked is salvation, is redemption. But how can man know? This point seems to me to be a question, but also an answer, a mandate for us: we can find the answer meditating the Hymn of the Third Hour "Nunc, Sancte, nobis Spiritus." The first stanza says: " Dignàre promptus ingeri nostro refusus, péctori “, that is, let us pray so that the Holy Spirit may come, may be in us and with us. In other words: we cannot make the Church, we can only know what He has done. The Church does not begin with our "doing", but with the "doing" and the "speaking" of God. So the Apostles did not say, after a few meetings: now we want to create a Church, and, as a Constituent Assembly, they would have drafted a constitution. No, they prayed and they waited in prayer, because they knew that only God himself can create his Church, that God is the first agent: if God does not act, our things are only ours and are insufficient; only God can testify that it is he who speaks and has spoken. Pentecost is the condition of the birth of the Church: only because God first acted, the Apostles can act with him and with his presence make present what He does. God has spoken and this "has spoken" is the ‘perfect’ of faith, but it is always also a ‘present’: the perfect of God is not only a past, because a past that is true carries always in itself the present and the future. God has spoken means: "he speaks." And, as in that time only with God's initiative the Church could be born, the gospel could be known, the fact that God spoke and speaks, so also today only God can begin, we can only cooperate, but the beginning must come from God. Therefore it is not only a mere formality if we start each day our Meeting with prayer: this corresponds to the reality itself. Only the fact that God precedes us makes it possible our own walking, our cooperation, which is always just a cooperation, not our own simple decision. Therefore, it is always important to know that the first word, the initiative itself, the true activity comes from God and only by inserting ourselves in this divine initiative, only begging this divine initiative, we too can become - with Him and in Him - evangelizers. God is always the beginning and only He can make Pentecost, can create the Church, can show the reality of His being with us. But on the other hand, however, this God, who is always the beginning, he also wants our involvement, He wants to involve our activity, so that the activities are ‘theandrich’, so to speak, made by God, but with our involvement and implying our being, our whole activity. So when we do the new evangelization it is always in cooperation with God, it is in being together with God, it is based on prayer and on his real presence.

Now, this acting of ours, which follows from the initiative of God, we find it described in the second stanza of this hymn: "Os, lingua, mens, sensus, vigor, confessionem personent, flammescat igne caritas, accendat ardor proximos." Here we have, in two lines, two fundamental nouns: "confession" in the first lines, and "caritas" in the second two lines. "Confessio" and "caritas," as the two ways in which God involves us, makes us act with Him, in Him and for mankind, for his creature: "confessio" and "caritas." And the verbs are added: in the first case "personent" and in the second "caritas" interpreted with the word fire, ardor, to light, to flame. Let us see the first: "confessionem Personent." Faith has a content: God communicates himself, but this ‘I’ of God really wholly appears in the figure of Jesus and is interpreted in the "confession" that speaks of his virginal conception, of the Nativity, of the Passion, of the Cross, of the Resurrection. This manifesting himself of God is wholly a Person: Jesus as the Word, with a very specific content that is expressed in the "confessio." So, the first point is that we must enter into this "confession", let us be penetrated, so that "personent" - as the hymn says - in us and through us. Here it is important to also observe a small philological thing:"confessio" in the pre-Christian Latin would be expressed not with "confessio" but with "professio" (profiteri): this is to present positively a reality. Instead, the word "confessio" is referred to the situation in a court, in a trial where one opens his mind and confesses. In other words, this word "confession", which in the Christian Latin has replaced the word "profession", bears in itself the martyrological element, the element of testifying in situations hostile to faith, to witness even in situations of passion and danger of death. The willingness to suffer belongs essentially to the Christian confession: this seems to me very important. Always in the essence of the "confessio" of our creed, is also involved the availability to the passion, to suffering, indeed, to the gift of life. And this ensures the credibility: the "confessio" is not something that you could also eliminate; the "confessio" implies the availability to give my life, to accept the passion. This is precisely also the verification of the "confessio". We see that for us the "confession" is not a word, it is more than the pain, it is more than death. For the "confessio" it is really worth to suffer, it is worth to suffer until death. Who makes this "confession" really shows that what he confesses is more than life itself, the treasure, the precious and infinite pearl. Just in the martyrological dimension of the word "confessio" appears the truth: it happens only for one reality for which it is worth to suffer, which is stronger even than death, and demonstrates that it is a truth which I hold in my hand, that I am safer, that I “carry” my life because I find life in this confession.

Now let's see where it should penetrate this "confession", " Os, lingua, mens, sensus, vigor." From St. Paul, Letter to the Romans 10, we know that the location of the "confession" is in the heart and in the mouth: it must stay in the deep of my heart, but it must also be public, the faith carried in the heart must be announced: it is never only a reality of the heart, but tends to be communicated, to be confessed really before the eyes of the world. So we have to learn, on the one hand, to be really - let's say - penetrated in the heart by the "confession", so our heart is formed, and from the heart will also find, along with the great history of the Church, the word and the courage of the word, and the word that indicates our present, this "confession" which is always, however, one. "Mens”: the" confession "is not only something of the heart and mouth, but also of the intelligence; it must be thought and so, as thought and intelligently conceived, touches the other and it presupposes always that my thought may be really placed in the "confession". "Sensus": it is not a purely abstract and intellectual thing, the "confession" must also penetrate the senses of our life. St. Bernard of Clairvaux told us that God, in his revelation, in the history of salvation, has given to our senses the possibility to see, to touch, to taste the revelation. God is not anymore only a spiritual thing: he entered the world of senses and our senses must be filled of this taste, of this beauty of God's Word, which is real. "Vigor": it is the life force of our being and also the legal force of a reality. With all our strength and vitality, we must be penetrated by the "confession", which must really "personare”; the melody of God must tune our being in its entirety.

"Confessio" is the first pillar - so to speak - of evangelization and the second is "caritas." The "confessio" is not an abstract thing, it is "caritas," love. Only in this way it is really the reflection of divine truth, that as truth is inseparably also love. The text describes, with very strong words, this love: it is ardor, flame, it fires up others. There's a passion of ours that must grow from faith, which must be transformed into the fire of charity. Jesus said: I came to cast fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled. Origen has conveyed us a word of the Lord: "Whoever is near me is near the fire." The Christian must not be lukewarm. The Book of Revelation tells us that this is the greatest danger for a Christian: not that he may say no, but that he may say a very lukewarm yes. This being lukewarm is what discredits Christianity. Faith must become in us flame of love, flame that really fires up my being, becomes the great passion of my being, and so it fires also my neighbor. This is the way of evangelization: "Accéndat ardor proximos," that truth may become in me charity and charity may lit up also the other. Only in this lighting up the other through the flame of our charity, evangelization really grows, the presence of the Gospel, which is no longer just word, but a lived reality.

St. Luke tells us that at Pentecost, in this foundation of the Church of God, the Holy Spirit was the fire that has transformed the world, but fire in the form of tongues, that is, fire which is however reasonable, that is spirit, which is also understanding , fire that is joined to the thought, to the "mens." And this intelligent fire, this "sobria ebrietas," is characteristic of Christianity. We know that fire is at the beginning of human culture, fire is light, heat, power to transform. Human culture begins when man has the power to create fire: with fire it can destroy, but with fire it can transform and renew. The fire of God is transforming fire, the fire of passion - certainly - that destroys also so much in us, that leads to God, but fire especially that transforms, renews and creates a novelty in man, which becomes light in God.

So, at the end, we can only pray the Lord that the "confessio" may be deeply founded in us and may become fire that kindles other; so the fire of his presence, the novelty of his being with us, becomes really visible and strength of the present and of the future.

[Translation by Pietro Gennarini]