HOLY MASS WITH THE NEW CARDINALS
HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS
Vatican Basilica
Sunday, 23 February 2014
“Merciful Father, by your help, may
we be ever attentive to the voice of the Spirit” (Opening Prayer).
This prayer, the opening prayer of
today’s Mass, reminds us of something fundamental: we are called to listen to
the Holy Spirit who enlivens and guides the Church. By his creative and
renewing power, the Spirit always sustains the hope of God’s People as we make
our pilgrim way through history, and, as the Paraclete, he always supports the
witness of Christians. In this moment, together with the new Cardinals, all of
us want to listen to the voice of the Spirit as he speaks to us through the
Scriptures we have just heard.
In the first reading, the Lord’s
call to his people resounds: “You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am
holy” (Lev 19:2). In the Gospel Jesus echoes this call: “You, therefore, must
be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). These words
challenge all of us, as the Lord’s disciples. Today, they are especially
addressed to me and to you, dear brother Cardinals, and in a particular way to
those of you who yesterday entered the College. Imitating the holiness and
perfection of God might seem an unattainable goal. Yet, the first reading and
the Gospel offer us concrete examples which enable God’s way of acting to
become the norm for our own. Yet we – all of us – must never forget that
without the Holy Spirit our efforts are in vain! Christian holiness is not
first and foremost our own work, but the fruit of docility – willed and
cultivated – to the Spirit of God thrice holy.
The Book of Leviticus says: “You
shall not hate your brother in your heart … You shall not take vengeance or
bear any grudge … but you shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Lev
19:17-18). These attitudes are born of the holiness of God. We, however, tend
to be so different, so selfish and proud … and yet, God’s goodness and beauty
attract us, and the Holy Spirit is able to purify, transform and shape us day
by day. To make effort to be converted, to experience a heartfelt conversion:
this is something that all of us – especially you Cardinals and myself – must
do. Conversion!
In the Gospel Jesus also speaks to
us of holiness, and explains to us the new law, his law. He does this by
contrasting the imperfect justice of the scribes and Pharisees with the higher
justice of the Kingdom of God. The first contrast of today’s passage refers to
revenge. “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth. But I say to you … if anyone should strike you on the right cheek, turn
to him the other also” (Mt 5:38-39). We are required not only to avoid repaying
others the evil they have done to us, but also to seek generously to do good to
them.
The second contrast refers to our
enemies: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and
hate your enemy’. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you” (Mt 5:43-44). Jesus asks those who would follow him to love
those who do not deserve it, without expecting anything in return, and in this
way to fill the emptiness present in human hearts, relationships, families,
communities and in the entire world. My brother Cardinals, Jesus did not come
to teach us good manners, how to behave well at the table! To do that, he would
not have had to come down from heaven and die on the Cross. Christ came to save
us, to show us the way, the only way out of the quicksand of sin, and this way
of holiness is mercy, that mercy which he has shown, and daily continues to
show, to us. To be a saint is not a luxury. It is necessary for the salvation
of the world. This is what the Lord is asking of us.
Dear brother Cardinals, the Lord
Jesus and mother Church ask us to witness with greater zeal and ardour to these
ways of being holy. It is exactly in this greater self-gift, freely offered,
that the holiness of a Cardinal consists. We love, therefore, those who are
hostile to us; we bless those who speak ill of us; we greet with a smile those
who may not deserve it. We do not aim to assert ourselves; we oppose arrogance
with meekness; we forget the humiliations that we have endured. May we always
allow ourselves to be guided by the Spirit of Christ, who sacrificed himself on
the Cross so that we could be “channels” through which his charity might flow.
This is the attitude of a Cardinal, this must be how he acts. A Cardinal – I
say this especially to you – enters the Church of Rome, my brothers, not a
royal court. May all of us avoid, and help others to avoid, habits and ways of
acting typical of a court: intrigue, gossip, cliques, favouritism and
partiality. May our language be that of the Gospel: “yes when we mean yes; no
when we mean no”; may our attitudes be those of the Beatitudes, and our way be
that of holiness. Let pray once more: “Merciful Father, by your help, may we be
ever attentive to the voice of the Spirit”
The Holy Spirit also speaks to us
today through the words of Saint Paul: “You are God’s temple … God’s temple is
holy, and that temple you are” (1 Cor 3:16-17). In this temple, which we are,
an existential liturgy is being celebrated: that of goodness, forgiveness,
service; in a word, the liturgy of love. This temple of ours is defiled if we
neglect our duties towards our neighbour. Whenever the least of our brothers
and sisters finds a place in our hearts, it is God himself who finds a place
there. When that brother or sister is shut out, it is God himself who is not
being welcomed. A heart without love is like a deconsecrated church, a building
withdrawn from God’s service and given over to another use.
Dear brother Cardinals, may we
remain united in Christ and among ourselves! I ask you to remain close to me,
with your prayers, your advice and your help. And I ask all of you, bishops,
priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, and laity, together to implore the
Holy Spirit, that the College of Cardinals may always be ever more fervent in
pastoral charity and filled with holiness, in order to serve the Gospel and to
help the Church radiate Christ’s love in our world.
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