Speeches 1986 - Velha, Goa (India)
As priests, we owe it to our people to be men totally imbued with the word of God, constantly seeking to penetrate its mystery and meaning, ever eager to share the truth of the Gospel with others.
I know that the Sacred Scriptures of the Church, together with the revered writings of other religions, are venerated and held in honour in India. And those who are considered the sages of India are the people who meditate and nourish themselves on these books. As priests in this land you too must be sages. The written word of God and the Tradition of the Church as interpreted and presented by the Magisterium should be a constant object of study, reflection and prayer. Thus you will be able to preach God’s word to your people with ever greater conviction and persuasion, for it will first have taken root in your own lives. And be assured that fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church will be a guarantee of the re al effectiveness of your priestly ministry.
The gurus in India have been known as spiritual teachers playing a prominent role in the transmission and development of religious truths. The importance of a guru as mediator of divine truth is recognised in India. The necessity of having the saving truth come from one who is the manifestation of God is again well known in the Indian religious tradition. How much more zealously should priests fulfil their mission as spiritual guides to the people entrusted to their care, transmitting the Gospel truth to them more faithfully! How seriously are they called upon to be mediators between God and men in the saving world and the Sacraments! With what earnestness do not the people expect from our priests the life-giving nourishment that is to be found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
3. It is as servants of the Word that I encourage you in your efforts to form and strengthen your Christian communities in sound doctrine, transmitting to them the full content of the faith. Spare no effort to perform this task by making use of all the modern methods available. Give particular attention to children and youth, while not neglecting the catechesis of adults, adapted to the needs of various groups.
It is through such carefully programmed Christian formation of the people entrusted to your care that you will succeed in forming a truly enlightened and zealous laity, capable of assuming with vigour their responsibility in the Church and in the world. While helping to form Christian communities of deep faith, buoyant hope and active love, the laity will then be enabled to take upon themselves the responsibilities which are proper to them in the Church.
In this way the laity will be in the world like leaven in dough, working to improve the social, economic and political structures of society. They will willingly collaborate with all people of good will, irrespective of their religious affiliation, for the creation of a just order in society. And in the midst of the laity you have to stand, my beloved brothers, as servants and leaders: as servants who spend themselves without counting the cost, as leaders who form, inspire and guide the one People of God in the ways of the Lord. You must truly be builders of unity in a world threatened by division and violence.
4. The proclamation of the word of God and the various forms of priestly leadership find their culmination in the Eucharist, for the Eucharist is " the source and summit of the whole work of evangelization" . It is in the prayerful celebration of the Sacred Liturgy that you most fully collaborate in the work of sanctification. No other task that you perform will contribute as much to the building of community. The best service you can ever offer to the Church as a priest is to make the Eucharist Sacrifice the centre of your own life and the centre of the lives of the people you serve.
The identity of the priest, then, is always linked with the Eucharist. At the same time, a priest serves the Church in an irreplaceable way when he faithfully fulfils the ministry of reconciliation as exercised especially in the Sacrament of Penance. Only the ordained priest can forgive sins in the name of Jesus Christ. Acting in the "person of Christ", you help sinners to experience the personal love of the Most Holy Trinity. You have the joy of seeing God’s mercy bring forth new life and hope in the hearts of the faithful.
The Church has entrusted the Sacraments to your care, and she asks you to administer them for the spiritual benefit of all God’s people. How much do Christian hearts need and long for this, your unique and irreplaceable service!
5. An important teaching of the Second Vatican Council is the universal call to holiness. Everyone is called to love God with his whole heart and soul and to love his neighbour out of love for God. No one is excluded from the clarion call of Jesus: "You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" .
What a great need there is for priests to convince people that they all are called to holiness. And how can they do this unless their own hearts are filled with the love of Christ? My brothers, you must be men of prayer, men who are close to God and who know how to live in his presence. At the same time, priestly holiness does not separate you from those you serve. While it is true that you are set apart for the Gospel of God, you are not separate from the rest of the faithful. Rather, as true brothers in Christ, familiar with the real life and circumstances of your people, especially the poor, you help them hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and you bring them life-giving grace through the Sacraments and God’s word.
We must not forget that our ministry can succeed only if we undertake it as "God’s fellow workers" , as "servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God" , by living and working in deep union with the one who is our very life, Christ Jesus our Lord. As priests, we are invited by the Father to abandon ourselves into his hands and to trust him with the confidence of a child, putting ourselves totally under the sway of his Spirit. He invites us to direct our entire priestly ministry to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity. This is the proven way to fruitfulness in the priestly ministry.
Listen again to the words of Jesus to his first disciples: "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" . What rich overtones and what deep demands do these words not contain for you, priests of India! The people of this great land of gurus and sages are a people who, being deeply religious, go on seeking gurus who are truly men of God, men plunged in God, men who radiate the God-experience they have had. More than men of work they need men of prayer. How eager, therefore, must you be to drink from this fountain of life, which is Jesus himself!
6. My brother priests, need I remind you that you should be men of the Church? Listen to what Saint Paul says: "Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the mashing of water with the word, that he might present the Church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish" . Follow the example of our great High Priest. Love the Church and prayerfully reflect on her nature as the Body of Christ on earth and as the Sacrament of salvation.
Love the Church, too, when you notice her weaknesses, and work earnestly for her authentic renewal according to the Gospel. Remember that each one of us with his own personal failings is part of this Church ever in need of renewal. Each of us by his personal failings somehow contributes to the disfigurement of the face of the Church. All reform must begin with a change of our own hearts.
To be men of our Church means to serve her with unswerving loyalty. It means to serve her with a heart that does not flinch even when you have to suffer for her sake. It means to live in true and deep communion with the Bishop of Rome and with your own bishops and brother priests, serving the Church in unison as teachers of the same faith, as shepherds of the one flock as leaders of the Christian community.
7. Before concluding, my dear brothers, I want to speak to you of two pastoral concerns which are very dear to my heart and of great importance in the Church today: namely solidarity with the poor and fraternal interest in youth.
In recent years, the Church has become more and more aware of the Lord’s invitation to care for the poor. The Sacred Scriptures clearly manifest God’s special love for the poor, the oppressed, the downtrodden, the destitute. And as Jesus began his ministry, he made his own the words of Isaiah: " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed" . Christ confirmed these words by his entire life lived in solidarity with the poor, in active concern for all those in need. As Saint Paul said: "Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich" . You, my brother priests, have been anointed for this same ministry.
It is important to realise that for the priest’s love for the poor to be authentic it must spring from a deep experience of God. It begins with a life style of simplicity and humble service to all, including those who are not poor. And it is meant to lead to the building up of a new world, a new human community where brother does not exploit brother but where hearts are united in peace.
Secondly, I urge you to make young people an important part of your pastoral care. By being open to them and truly interested in them, draw them into conversation about human life and lead them to the dialogue of salvation in Christ. By your example show them that Christ loves them and asks their love in return. Encourage youth to consider prayerfully their particular vocation in the Church. And may the Lord of the harvest bless us abundantly with religious and priestly vocations.
My beloved brother priests, I am grateful for this opportunity to speak to you about our priestly ministry. Know that I pray for you every day and I ask you to pray for me and for the Church throughout the world. I entrust you to the loving intercession of Mary, Mother of priests. With deep affection in the Lord, I bless you, and ask you to continue ever more generously your priestly service of giving Jesus to India.
Friday, 7 February 1986
Dear friends,
It is truly a great satisfaction for me to visit Trichur in the course of my apostolic pilgrimage through India.
1. I thank Bishop Kundukulam for his kind words of welcome and I greet all the bishops, priests, men and women religious and faithful present here in such great numbers.
From this place, the headquarters of the Trichur District, I greet the Syro-Malabar Dioceses of the northern part of Kerala: Trichur, Tellicherry, Mananthavady, Palghat and Irinjalakuda; the Syro-Malankara Dioceses of Tiruvalla and Battery; the Latin Archdiocese of Verapoly and the Dioceses of Calicut and Coimbatore.
I thank the representatives of the other Christian Churches for their presence: the Christians of the East, the Syrian Orthodox Christians, the Anjoorians, the Marthomites, and all those who in Saint Thomas the Apostle venerate the founding of Christ’s Church in India.
I express my high esteem and consideration for the representatives of all the religious traditions present in his region.
To the civil authorities and to the men and women who represent the various fields of public service, I express my appreciation and goodwill.
May Almighty God, our common Father, our origin and our destiny, bless this gathering and inspire us with true sentiments of mutual regard and love for all our fellow human beings, for the construction of a more just and peace-loving world!
2. Brothers and sisters in Christ, how true are the words of the Psalmist: "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brethren dwell in unity" .
When you recited the Creed in your own language, Malayalam, I gave thanks to Almighty God for your profession of faith. The faith in the Risen Lord which, according to tradition, the Apostle Thomas brought to these shores, lives on in your minds and hearts. For this reason, with Saint Paul: "I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus" .
Today, when I lit the lamp in your midst with the torch carried here from Crangannore by your young people, I recalled how, through the preaching of the Apostles, Christ has been made known as the Light of the Nations, the Light of the world. Jesus himself said: "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" .
Is it not right for me, the successor of Peter, called to the ministry of the service of unity, to give thanks that this light has been shining in this land since the earliest years of Christianity itself? Shall I not praise God that down through the centuries your forefathers have endeavoured to walk in this light and to let it guide their steps? Shall I not pray to God with all of you that this light may shine still and enlighten you today – and your children tomorrow – so that your lives may be filled with the presence of him who "enlightens every man"?
3. Brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Lord is calling you to cherish the faith and to profess openly the commitment to the Lord which you and your ancestors have made. Today, Christ, the Light of the world, is calling you to allow that light to shine ever more clearly through the testimony of your lives and the good works by which you witness to the authenticity of your Christian life. For light is not light unless it shines and lights up the world about it.
You are called then to let this light brighten your hearts and your homes. May this be so fully accomplished that you may truly be "children of the light", walking always in the light.
Only then will the light of Christ shine on all that you do and on all those who come into contact with you: your neighbourhood, your world of work, of study, of art, of committed service to the national and local communities. This will also be indicated symbolically in the foundation stones and memorial slabs that I am about to bless.
4. Christ, the Light of the Nations, is in a special way the light of every Christian family, of every Christian home. We have been reminded of this in the suggestive gesture of the newly married couples who have renewed here their marriage promises. We have been witnesses of the pledge they have taken: "to live from this moment to death with mutual love, mutual trust and united mind".
We who have witnessed their pledge are called upon to offer the support of our prayers for its fulfilment. I assure them and all the families of Kerala and of India that they have a particular place in my prayers.
The healthy condition of family life is essential to the well-being of individuals and of society . I am aware that family life in India has traditionally enjoyed the highest esteem and care. Yet today the family is often beset by difficulties of various kinds. People sensitive to the true needs of society will certainly indicate the safeguarding of marriage and family life as requiring urgent attention.
This is a grave concern of all religious traditions and of all sectors of civil society. In this respect the Holy See has published a "Charter of the Rights of the Family", addressed to governments, international organisations, to families themselves and to all who are concerned with the good of the family. The rights of families enunciated in the Charter are based on the common values of all humanity. It is the Holy See’s ardent hope that this document may serve as a point of reference in a world-wide effort to uphold and strengthen the family as the fundamental cell of society and the primary environment for the personal and social development of individuals.
5. I draw your attention to one of the various principles expressed in the preamble of the Charter: "the family constitutes, much more than a juridical, social and economic unit, a community of love and solidarity, which is uniquely suited to teach and transmit cultural, ethical, social, spiritual and religious values, essential for the development and well-being of its own members and of society".
Family life in Kerala and in India has been and continually strives to be just such a community of love and solidarity, and I encourage you to defend and promote the institution of the family.
In particular, Christian families are called to establish their identity and role upon God’s will for family life. In essence "the family has the mission to guard, reveal and communicate love, and this is a living reflection of and a real sharing in God’s love for humanity and the love of Christ the Lord for the Church his bride" .
Christian families of Kerala, do not forget that your homes are the ideal place for experiencing God’s love and making it known! I was pleased to learn that among the Saint Thomas Christians there existed a tradition of whispering the name of Jesus in the ears of a new-born baby, together with its own name.
Is it not necessary to continue such traditions today when a truly Christian formation of the young is more urgent than ever? Are not such traditions the genuine expression of the spiritual and human values on which your Christian families are built? Is it not a magnificent form of parental love for you to transmit to your children from their earliest years a deep love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to teach them how to pray, to teach them the truths of the catechism, to introduce them into the life of the Church?
May your families be blessed with unity, love and mutual support!
6. To the young people I wish to say: love your families and your country. Love the Church and share ever more fully in her life.
Some of you have carried the torch of light from Crangannore and a picture of Saint Thomas from Palayur. The Pope invites the young people of Kerala and of India to see in this symbol the need, your responsibility, to offer light, brotherhood, hope and solidarity to your contemporaries and to all those who search for the truth. You aspire to a better world. A more just, more peaceful, more humane world is possible – but it must be constructed step by step. In this process, your ideals, your energies, your faith are needed. Let Christ be your light!
7. The Diocese of Trichur, in co-operation with the Government’s housing scheme for the poor, is donating a large number of houses to people in need. You have expressed the wish that I should hand over the key of one of the houses as a token of what is being done and of what still remains to be done. Here is a sign of development, the result, of praiseworthy collaboration for the benefit of society as a whole.
This particular gesture underlines the connection between socio-economic realities and the promotion of the dignity and total vocation of the human person . For individuals and families effectively to enjoy the degree of stability and freedom necessary for personal growth, certain minimum standards of living and working are absolutely required. There is an increasing awareness in the world that progress is not the exclusive right of some privileged individuals or even nations, but that the benefits of development should extend to all. In a world of great inequalities, where patterns of thought and behaviour change ever so slowly, it is imperative that all sectors of society feel duty-bound to has ten the achievement of that measure of social justice which consists in ensuring the basic necessities of life for every citizen. The efforts of governments and other agencies in this field are to be encouraged.
The role of religious bodies in this matter is above all to enlighten consciences regarding social rights and duties, and to ensure that human dignity and the spiritual nature of human life and activity are everywhere recognised and promoted. This is the work of justice which we must carry out under the inspiration of charity .
8. Dear people of Trichur, and friends from all parts of Kerala: Christ, the Light of the Nations, came into this world through his Immaculate Virgin Mother, Mary. I know how fervent you are in your devotion to her. I wish to encourage you in this.
In connection with the centenary celebrations of the Diocese of Trichur and of its Cathedral, I gladly entrust you to the care and intercession of our Blessed Mother. The statue that I shall crown, which will be kept in the Cathedral Church, will be a reminder of my pilgrimage to you – a reminder that we have prayed together to her whose faith shines from generation to generation as the model of our obedience to God and of our joyful acceptance of his will in our lives. May she watch over you and protect you always!
Ernakulam (India)
Saturday, 8 February 1986
Dear Archbishop Padiyara, Dear Cardinal Parecattil,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It is a great joy for me to come to Saint Mary’s Basilica in the Archdiocese of Ernakulam. On this happy occasion, I am reminded of the words of Jesus: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" . These words were first spoken in reply to a question of Saint Thomas who had asked: "Lord, how can we know the way"?
As Christians of Kerala, you trace your spiritual heritage to the preaching of this great Apostle. And just as Saint Thomas discovered that Jesus himself is the answer to the question, so you too, together with the whole Church, have come to believe that Jesus is " the way, and the truth, and the life ". This revelation by God is the cause of our joy and the foundation of our faith. May we always praise God for the great privilege of knowing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
Friday, 7 February 1986
Dear Archbishop Kelanthara,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It is a joy and an honour for me to visit this Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi. I am particularly pleased to be able to do so in this year when the Archdiocese of Verapoly is celebrating its centenary. This important occasion invites us to reflect with gratitude on the many blessings which God has poured out upon your forefathers, on the fruitful harvest of God’s word, and on the way that divine providence has guided the Church in every age.
I am pleased to join you in this great act of praise and thanks-giving. In the words of Saint Paul, I exhort you: "Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father" .
Friday, 7 February 1986
Your Beatitude,
Dear Brothers in Christ,
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing of heaven in Christ" .
1. Today I make my own these words which Saint Paul addressed to the Christians of Ephesus. I do so because I consider our meeting today to be a blessing bestowed by God on our Churches and especially on the Catholics and Syrian Orthodox of India.
The joy and the hope which I experience at this moment are out of proportion to the inevitable brevity of our meeting – brevity due simply to the very full programme of my pastoral visit to your great country.
2. It is a joy for me to see Your Beatitude again and to greet you, your bishops and all who accompany you. Nor have I forgotten your presence with His Holiness Ignatius Zakka Iwas I, Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch, during the visit he paid me in Rome two years ago.
The Common Declaration that I signed with him on that occasion in its doctrinal and pastoral implications marked a decisive step in relations between our two Churches as we move towards unity. I know that this Declaration made a great impact here, both in your Church and among the Catholic faithful. I know also that Your Beatitude is concerned to emphasise its importance and that you have made proposals for putting it into practice. The proposals have found a favourable response among many Catholics. It is my hope that shortly our Church will find new and effective means of going forward together in theological dialogue and in pastoral collaboration.
His Holiness Zakka Iwas and I affirmed in our Common Declaration: "We do not forget that we must still do all in our power to achieve the full visible communion between the Catholic Church and the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch and ceaselessly we implore our Lord to grant us that unity which alone will enable us to give to the world a fully unanimous Gospel witness". We went on to say: "We pledge ourselves solemnly to do all that in us lies to remove the last obstacles still hindering full communion between the Catholic Church and the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch" .
3. Your Beatitude: it is a blessing of God that we are able here to confirm our commitment and to invite all our brother bishops and all the faithful to make it their own. Since we are called to be a source of unity and reconciliation within our Churches, between our Churches and in the world, we must give due importance to the search for unity at the local level, since all division is an obstacle to the spreading of the Gospel and thus to the Church’s fulfilment of her calling. Together in this church, before the altar of God, may we hear anew his call to do all we can to hasten that blessed day when we will be able to celebrate the Eucharist together.
This meeting, through you and the bishops and others who are with you, is for me a meeting with the whole of your Church. With fraternal love for my brother His Holiness Patriarch Zakka Iwas I, I implore God’s abundant blessing on him, on Your Beatitude, on your clergy and on your people.
Saturday, 8 February 1986
Your Holiness,
Dear Friends and Brothers in the Lord,
"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" .
1. It is a joy for me to greet you with these words of faith and hope which were addressed by Saint Paul to the Christians of Corinth. Blessed be the Spirit of God who has filled us with his love and who guides us into the fullness of truth.
It is this same Spirit which plants in the hearts of the baptised throughout the world a desire to come together in perfect unity to accomplish the will of Jesus expressed in his prayer to his Father: "That they may be one so that the world may believe" . We must first of all give thanks for the rapprochement which has come about between our Churches in recent years.
2. The visit that Your Holiness paid to me three years ago marked an important stage on our journey towards greater unity with one another and with Christ. It is with gratitude that I recall both our meeting and your pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul. You then addressed to me words that were full of hope and of fraternal love: "It is our task", you said, "to repent and to recreate history in accordance with the will of the Lord". We are now in the process of fulfilling the Lord’s will – a process of which our meeting today, although brief, is a sure sign. We cannot tary on our journey towards unity; our separations – like all separations among those who believe in Christ – are an obstacle to the spreading of the Gospel and to the fulfilment of our calling.
I know that Your Holiness has expressed on various occasions your desire to see progress in the fraternal relations between Catholics and Syrian Orthodox in India. As I said to you when you made your historic visit to the Church of Rome: "Ecumenism on the local level has decisive importance for the general promotion of the unity of all Christians. Unity is a distinctive mark of the Christian community. Division in its various expressions tarnishes it, sometimes compromises it" .
3. With you I desire that our Churches may soon find effective ways of resolving the urgent pastoral problems that face us, and that we may progress together in brotherly love and in our theological dialogue, for it is by these means that reconciliation among Christians and reconciliation in the world can come about. I can assure you that the Catholic Church, with the commitment she made at the Second Vatican Council, is ready to participate fully in this enterprise.
The joy of greeting you and your delegation here in this holy place, Your Holiness, nourishes our hope and our prayer. May the Lord hasten the day when, having overcome the differences that stand between us, we may celebrate the Eucharist together, at his holy altar.
I thank you for this meeting, and I implore the blessing of Almighty God on Your Holiness and on the clergy and people of your Church. Be assured of my love in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Saturday, 8 February 1986
Dear Bishop Kunnacherry,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
It is a great pleasure for me to visit the Cathedral of Kottayam dedicated to Christ the King. The name of this church calls to mind the time, just before his death on the Cross, when Jesus admitted his own kingship. He said to Pilate: "Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice" .
"To bear witness to the truth": this is why Jesus came into the world, and in this way he fulfilled his role as King. And we show our love for him when we listen to his voice and live according to the truth. This was the way to holiness of Blessed Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Blessed Alphonsa. May we follow their example. By living in truth and love, may we always give praise and glory to God – the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Saturday, 8 February 1986
Dear Bishop Elanjikal,
Dear Friends in Christ,
I am very pleased to visit Good Shepherd Church, the oldest church of the Diocese of Vijayapuram. Jesus tells us: "I am the Good Shepherd; I know my own and my own know me". What a blessing it is to know Christ, the Good Shepherd, to know him as the Redeemer who laid down his life for the sheep, to know him as the Risen Lord, the source of everlasting joy and life. What a blessing it is to know the Good Shepherd and to believe in him. This gift of faith is the greatest blessing we could ever receive in life.
Saint Paul said: "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord". With Saint Paul, we too rejoice in the gift which has been given to us. May this joy stir up within us a deep desire to live our faith and to bear witness to it before others. And may the Good Shepherd watch over and protect all the clergy, religious and laity of the Diocese of Vijayapuram.
Speeches 1986 - Velha, Goa (India)