Pope Benedict XVI in Palermo (October, 2010)
On Marian Devotion
"Mary Is the Model of the Christian Life"
PALERMO, Italy, OCT. 4, 2010 - Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI
gave Sunday after celebrating an outdoor Mass in Palermo's Foro Italico Umberto
I, and before praying the midday angelus.
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
In this moment of profound communion with Christ, present and alive among us and
in us, it is a beautiful thing for us as an ecclesial family to turn in prayer
to his and our Mother, Mary, most holy and immaculate. Sicily has many Marian
sanctuaries and in this place I feel spiritually at the center of this "network"
of devotion, which joins all of the cities and villages of the island.
To the Virgin Mary I wish to entrust all of the people of God who live in this
beloved land. May she sustain the families in love and in educational
commitment; may she fructify the seeds of vocation that God liberally sows among
the young people; may she instill courage in trials, hope in difficulties,
renewed strength in doing the good. May the Madonna comfort the sick and all
those who are suffering, and help the Christian communities so that no one in
them be forgotten or in need, but that each one, especially the little and the
weak, feel welcomed and valued.
Mary is the model of the Christian life. I ask her above all to quicken your
footsteps and fill you with joy on the path to holiness, following the many
luminous witnesses to Christ, children of Sicily. In this context I would like
to recall that today, in Parma, Anna Maria Adorni is being beatified. In 19th
century she was an exemplary wife and mother and then, having become a widow,
she dedicated herself to charitable work among women in prison and in
difficulty, for whose service she founded two religious institutes. Mother
Adorni, because of her constant prayer, was called the "Living Rosary." I am
glad to mention her at the beginning of the month of the rosary. May the daily
meditation on the mysteries of Christ in union with Mary, the prayerful Virgin,
strengthen us in faith, in hope and in charity.
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
© Copyright 2010 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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Benedict XVI's Homily in Palermo
"We Never Do Enough for God"
PALERMO, Italy, OCT. 4, 2010 - Here is a translation of the homily Benedict XVI
gave Sunday during an outdoor Mass in Palermo's Foro Italico Umberto I.
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
My joy is great to be able to break the bread of the Word of God and the
Eucharist with you. I greet all of you with affection and I thank you for your
warm welcome! I greet your pastor in particular, Archbishop Monsignor Paolo
Romeo; I thank him for the expressions of welcome that he wished to offer me in
the name of everyone, and also for the meaningful gift that he gave me. I also
greet the archbishops and bishops present, the priests, religious, the
representatives of the ecclesial associations and movements. I address a
deferential thought to the mayor, Honorable Diego Cammarata, grateful for the
courteous address of greeting, to the representative of the government and the
civil and military authorities, who wished to honor our meeting with their
presence. A special thank you to those who generously offered their cooperation
for the organization and preparation of this day.
Dear Friends! My visit occurs on the occasion of an important regional ecclesial
gathering of young people and families, whom I will meet this afternoon. But I
also came to share the joys and hopes, toils and commitments, ideals and
aspirations of this diocesan community. When the ancient Greeks landed in this
area, as the mayor also recalled in his greetings, they called it "Panormo,"
that is, "all port": a name that was intended to indicate security, peace and
serenity. Coming among you for the first time, my wish is that this city, taking
inspiration from the most authentic values of its history and its tradition,
always truly know how to make the augury of peace and serenity summed up in its
name a reality for its inhabitants and the whole nation.
I know that in Palermo, as everywhere in Sicily, there is no lack of
difficulties, problems and worries: I think, in particular, of those who
concretely live their lives in precariousness because of the lack of work, the
uncertainty of the future, physical and moral suffering and, as the archbishop
noted, because of organized crime. Today I am with you to bear witness to my
nearness to you and my prayers for you. I am here to give you strong
encouragement to not be afraid to bear clear witness to the human and Christian
values that are so deeply rooted in the faith and the history of this place and
its people.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, every liturgical assembly is a space of the presence
of God. Gathered for the Holy Eucharist, the disciples of the Lord are immersed
in the redemptive sacrifice of Christ, they proclaim that he is risen, he lives
and is the giver of life, and they testify that his presence is grace, strength
and joy. Let us open our hearts to his word and welcome the gift of his
presence! All of the texts of liturgy this Sunday speak to us of faith, which is
the foundation of the whole Christian life. Jesus taught his disciples how to
grow in faith, to believe in him and entrust themselves to him more and more, to
build their lives upon the rock. Thus, they ask him: "Increase our faith" (Luke
17:6). It is a great request that they make of the Lord, it is the fundamental
request: The disciples do not ask for material goods, they do not ask for
privileges, rather they ask for the grace of faith, that orients and illuminates
life as a whole; they ask for the grace to recognize God and to be able to abide
in an intimate relationship with him, receiving from him all his gifts,
including those of courage, love and hope.
Without responding directly to their prayer, Jesus has recourse to a paradoxical
image to express the incredible vitality of faith. As a lever lifts much more
than its own weight, faith too, even a modicum of faith, is capable of
accomplishing unthinkable, extraordinary things, such as uprooting a great tree
and planting it in the sea (Luke 17:6). Faith -- trusting Christ, welcoming him,
allowing him to transform us, following him completely -- makes humanly
impossible things possible in every situation. The prophet Habakkuk also bears
witness to this in the first reading. He asks the Lord for deliverance from a
situation that is full of violence, iniquity and oppression; and precisely in
this difficult and uncertain situation, the prophet introduces a vision that
offers a glimpse of the plan that the God is tracing and actualizing in history:
"He who does not have a upright soul will falter while the just one shall live
because of his faith" (Habakkuk 2:4). The wicked one, he who does not act in
obedience to God, puts his trust in his own power, but he is leaning on
something fragile and inconsistent -- that is why he will slip, he is destined
to fall; the just man, however, puts his trust in a reality that is hidden but
unshakable, he trusts in God and because of this he will have life.
In past centuries the Church in Palermo was enriched and animated by a fervid
faith that found its highest and most successful expression in the saints. I
think of St. Rosalia, whom you venerate and honor and who watches over your
city, of which she is the patroness, from Monte Pellegrino. Neither must it be
forgotten how your religious sense has always inspired and guided family life,
nourishing values like your capacity to give and be in solidarity with others,
especially the suffering, and your innate respect for life, which constitute a
precious legacy to be jealously guarded and revivified in our day. Dear Friends,
conserve this precious treasure of faith of your Church; may Christian values
always guide your decisions and your actions!
The second part of today's Gospel presents another teaching, a teaching about
humility that, nevertheless, is closely connected with faith. Jesus invites us
to be humble and offers the example of a servant who works in the fields. When
he returns home the master asks him to continue working. According to the
mentality of Jesus' time the master had every right to do this. The servant owed
the master his complete availability; and the master did not think himself
obligated to him if he carried out his orders. Jesus makes us aware that, before
God, we find ourselves in a similar situation: we are God's servants; we are not
his creditors but we are always debtors in relation to him because we owe him
everything, because everything is his gift. Accepting and doing his will is the
way that we must live every day, in every moment of our life. Before God we must
not present ourselves as those who believe that they have done a service and
deserve a great recompense. This is an illusion that can arise in everyone, even
in persons who do a much work in the Lord's service, in the Church. We must
instead be aware that we never do enough for God. We must say, as Jesus
suggests: "We are useless servants. We did what we were obliged to do" (Luke
17:10). This is an attitude of humility that truly puts us in our place and
permits the Lord to be very generous with us. In fact, in another passage of the
Gospel, he promises us that "he will gird himself, have us sit at table and will
serve us" (cf. Luke 12:37). Dear Friends, if we do the Lord's will every day,
with humility, without expecting anything from him, Jesus himself will serve us,
help us, encourage us, give us strength and peace.
In today's second reading the Apostle Paul also speaks of faith. Timothy is
invited to have faith, and through it, to exercise charity. The disciple is
exhorted to stir up in faith the gift of God that is in him through the
imposition of Paul's hands, that is, the gift of priestly ordination, received
to carry out the apostolic ministry as Paul's co-worker (cf. 2 Timothy 1:6). He
must not let this gift be extinguished but must make it ever more alive through
faith. And the Apostle adds: "God, in fact, has not given us a spirit of fear
but of strength, of charity and of prudence" (1:7).
Dear Citizens of Palermo and dear Sicilians! Your beautiful island was among the
first regions of Italy to accept the faith of the Apostles, to receive the
proclamation of the Word of God, to adhere to the faith in a generous way so
that even in the midst of hardships and persecutions the flower of sanctity
blossomed in it. Sicily was and is a land of saints, who belonged to every
condition of life, who lived the Gospel with simplicity and integrity. To you,
faithful laypeople, I repeat: Do not be afraid to live and bear witness to the
faith in the various spheres of society, in the multiple situations of human
existence, above all in the difficult ones! Faith gives you the strength of God
to be always confident and courageous, to go forward with new decision, to
embark on the initiatives that are necessary to give a face to your land that is
ever more beautiful. And when you encounter the world's opposition, listen to
the words of the Apostle: "Do not be ashamed therefore to bear witness to our
Lord" (v. 8).
We must be ashamed of evil, of that which offends God, of that which offends
man; we must be ashamed of the evil that afflicts the civil and religious
community with actions that do not like to come into the light! The temptation
of discouragement, of resignation, comes to those who are weak in faith, to
those who confuse evil with good, to those who think that in the face of evil,
often great evil, there is nothing to be done. But those who stand firmly on
faith, those who are full of trust in God and live in the Church, are able to
unleash the explosive power of the Gospel. This is how the saints lived, who
flourished over the course of the centuries in Palermo and in every part of
Sicily, and how the laypeople and priests of today live whom you know well,
like, for example, Don Pino Puglisi. May they be the ones who always keep you
united and who encourage you in the desire to proclaim, with words and with
deeds, the presence and the love of Christ. People of Sicily, look with hope to
your future! Bring forth in all of its splendor the good that you wish for, that
you seek and that you have! Live the values of the Gospel with courage to make
the light of the good shine! With the power of God all things are possible! May
the Mother of Christ, the Virgin Odigitria greatly venerated by you, assist you
and lead you to the profound knowledge of her Son. Amen!
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
© Copyright 2010 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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