 | | | Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass at Nationals Park in Washington on April 17. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) | |
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"Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth!" (cf. Ps 104:30). The words of today's responsorial psalm are a prayer which rises up from the heart of the church in every time and place. They remind us that the Holy Spirit has been poured out as the first fruits of a new creation, "new heavens and a new earth" (cf. 2 Pt 3:13; Rv 21:1), in which God's peace will reign and the human family will be reconciled in justice and love.
We have heard St. Paul tell us that all creation is even now "groaning" in expectation of that true freedom which is God's gift to his children (Rom 8:21-22), a freedom which enables us to live in conformity to his will. Today let us pray fervently that the church in America will be renewed in that same Spirit and sustained in her mission of proclaiming the Gospel to a world that longs for genuine freedom (cf. Jn 8:32), authentic happiness, and the fulfillment of its deepest aspirations!
Here I wish to offer a special word of gratitude and encouragement to all those who have taken up the challenge of the Second Vatican Council, so often reiterated by Pope John Paul II, and committed their lives to the new evangelization. I thank my brother bishops, priests and deacons, men and women religious, parents, teachers and catechists. The fidelity and courage with which the church in this country will respond to the challenges raised by an increasingly secular and materialistic culture will depend in large part upon your own fidelity in handing on the treasure of our Catholic faith.
Young people need to be helped to discern the path that leads to true freedom: the path of a sincere and generous imitation of Christ, the path of commitment to justice and peace. Much progress has been made in developing solid programs of catechesis, yet so much more remains to be done in forming the hearts and minds of the young in knowledge and love of the Lord. The challenges confronting us require a comprehensive and sound instruction in the truths of the faith. But they also call for cultivating a mind-set, an intellectual "culture" which is genuinely Catholic, confident in the profound harmony of faith and reason, and prepared to bring the richness of faith's vision to bear on the urgent issues which affect the future of American society.
Dear friends, my visit to the United States is meant to be a witness to "Christ our hope." Americans have always been a people of hope: Your ancestors came to this country with the expectation of finding new freedom and opportunity, while the vastness of the unexplored wilderness inspired in them the hope of being able to start completely anew, building a new nation on new foundations. To be sure, this promise was not experienced by all the inhabitants of this land; one thinks of the injustices endured by the native American peoples and by those brought here forcibly from Africa as slaves.
Yet hope, hope for the future, is very much a part of the American character. And the Christian virtue of hope -- the hope poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, the hope which supernaturally purifies and corrects our aspirations by focusing them on the Lord and his saving plan -- that hope has also marked, and continues to mark, the life of the Catholic community in this country.
It is in the context of this hope born of God's love and fidelity that I acknowledge the pain which the church in America has experienced as a result of the sexual abuse of minors. No words of mine could describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse. It is important that those who have suffered be given loving pastoral attention. Nor can I adequately describe the damage that has occurred within the community of the church.
Great efforts have already been made to deal honestly and fairly with this tragic situation, and to ensure that children -- whom our Lord loves so deeply (cf. Mk 10:14) and who are our greatest treasure -- can grow up in a safe environment. These efforts to protect children must continue. Yesterday I spoke with your bishops about this. Today I encourage each of you to do what you can to foster healing and reconciliation, and to assist those who have been hurt. Also, I ask you to love your priests and to affirm them in the excellent work that they do. And above all, pray that the Holy Spirit will pour out his gifts upon the church, the gifts that lead to conversion, forgiveness and growth in holiness.
St. Paul speaks, as we heard in the second reading, of a kind of prayer which arises from the depths of our hearts in sighs too deep for words, in "groanings" (Rom 8:26) inspired by the Spirit. This is a prayer which yearns in the midst of chastisement for the fulfillment of God's promises. It is a prayer of unfailing hope, but also one of patient endurance and, often, accompanied by suffering for the truth. Through this prayer, we share in the mystery of Christ's own weakness and suffering, while trusting firmly in the victory of his cross. With this prayer, may the church in America embrace ever more fully the way of conversion and fidelity to the demands of the Gospel. And may all Catholics experience the consolation of hope and the Spirit's gifts of joy and strength.
Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
