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NEW
YORK — Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his final Mass in the United States
before a full house in storied Yankee Stadium on Sunday, blessing his
enormous U.S. flock and telling Americans to use their freedoms wisely.
Raw Data: Text of Pope Benedict's Homily at Yankee Stadium
Video of Yankee Stadium homily: Part
I | Part
II
Benedict beamed before a joyous crowd of 57,000, hours after making
a solemn stop to pray at the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks
on the World Trade Center. He called the Mass "a summons to move forward
with firm resolve to use wisely the blessings of freedom, in order to
build a future of hope for coming generations." see the details Hot
link
from Fox news
Video:
Pope meets with 9/11 families at Ground Zero.
Prepared Text Yankee Stadium Holy Mass
POPE BENEDICT'S HOMILY AT
YANKEE
STADIUM, NEW YORK,
UNITED STATES AMERICA
APRIL
20TH, 2008
Dear
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In the Gospel we have just heard, Jesus tells his Apostles to
put their faith in him, for he is "the way, and the truth and
the life" (Jn 14:6). Christ is the way that leads to the Father,
the truth which gives meaning to human existence, and the source
of that life which is eternal joy with all the saints in his
heavenly Kingdom. Let us take the Lord at his word! Let us renew
our faith in him and put all our hope in his promises!
With this encouragement to persevere in the faith of Peter (cf.
Lk 22:32; Mt 16:17), I greet all of you with great affection.
I thank Cardinal Egan for his cordial words of welcome in your
name. At this Mass, the Church in the United States celebrates
the two hundredth anniversary of the creation of the Sees of
New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville from the mother
See of Baltimore. The presence around this altar of the Successor
of Peter, his brother bishops and priests, and deacons, men
and women religious, and lay faithful from throughout the fifty
states of the Union, eloquently manifests our communion in the
Catholic faith which comes to us from the Apostles.
Click
here to view the pope's Yankee Mass Program. (PDF)
Our
celebration today is also a sign of the impressive growth which
God has given to the Church in your country in the past two
hundred years. From a small flock like that described in the
first reading, the Church in America has been built up in fidelity
to the twin commandment of love of God and love of neighbor.
In this land of freedom and opportunity, the Church has united
a widely diverse flock in the profession of the faith and, through
her many educational, charitable and social works, has also
contributed significantly to the growth of American society
as a whole.
This great accomplishment was not without its challenges. Today's
first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, speaks of
linguistic and cultural tensions already present within the
earliest Church community. At the same time, it shows the power
of the word of God, authoritatively proclaimed by the Apostles
and received in faith, to create a unity which transcends the
divisions arising from human limitations and weakness. Here
we are reminded of a fundamental truth: that the Church's unity
has no other basis than the Word of God, made flesh in Christ
Jesus our Lord. All external signs of identity, all structures,
associations and programs, valuable or even essential as they
may be, ultimately exist only to support and foster the deeper
unity which, in Christ, is God's indefectible gift to his Church.
The first reading also makes clear, as we see from the imposition
of hands on the first deacons, that the Church's unity is "apostolic".
It is a visible unity, grounded in the Apostles whom Christ
chose and appointed as witnesses to his resurrection, and it
is born of what the Scriptures call "the obedience of faith"
(Rom 1:5; cf. Acts 6:7).
"Authority" … "obedience". To be frank, these are not easy words
to speak nowadays. Words like these represent a "stumbling stone"
for many of our contemporaries, especially in a society which
rightly places a high value on personal freedom. Yet, in the
light of our faith in Jesus Christ - "the way and the truth
and the life" - we come to see the fullest meaning, value, and
indeed beauty, of those words. The Gospel teaches us that true
freedom, the freedom of the children of God, is found only in
the self-surrender which is part of the mystery of love. Only
by losing ourselves, the Lord tells us, do we truly find ourselves
(cf. Lk 17:33). True freedom blossoms when we turn away from
the burden of sin, which clouds our perceptions and weakens
our resolve, and find the source of our ultimate happiness in
him who is infinite love, infinite freedom, infinite life. "In
his will is our peace".
Real freedom, then, is God's gracious gift, the fruit of conversion
to his truth, the truth which makes us free (cf. Jn 8:32). And
this freedom in truth brings in its wake a new and liberating
way of seeing reality. When we put on "the mind of Christ" (cf.
Phil 2:5), new horizons open before us! In the light of faith,
within the communion of the Church, we also find the inspiration
and strength to become a leaven of the Gospel in the world.
We become the light of the world, the salt of the earth (cf.
Mt 5:13-14), entrusted with the "apostolate" of making our own
lives, and the world in which we live, conform ever more fully
to God's saving plan.
This magnificent vision of a world being transformed by the
liberating truth of the Gospel is reflected in the description
of the Church found in today's second reading. The Apostle tells
us that Christ, risen from the dead, is the keystone of a great
temple which is even now rising in the Spirit. And we, the members
of his body, through Baptism have become "living stones" in
that temple, sharing in the life of God by grace, blessed with
the freedom of the sons of God, and empowered to offer spiritual
sacrifices pleasing to him (cf. 1 Pet 2:5). And what is this
offering which we are called to make, if not to direct our every
thought, word and action to the truth of the Gospel and to harness
all our energies in the service of God's Kingdom? Only in this
way can we build with God, on the one foundation which is Christ
(cf. 1 Cor 3:11). Only in this way can we build something that
will truly endure. Only in this way can our lives find ultimate
meaning and bear lasting fruit.
Today we recall the bicentennial of a watershed in the history
of the Church in the United States: its first great chapter
of growth. In these two hundred years, the face of the Catholic
community in your country has changed greatly. We think of the
successive waves of immigrants whose traditions have so enriched
the Church in America. We think of the strong faith which built
up the network of churches, educational, healthcare and social
institutions which have long been the hallmark of the Church
in this land. We think also of those countless fathers and mothers
who passed on the faith to their children, the steady ministry
of the many priests who devoted their lives to the care of souls,
and the incalculable contribution made by so many men and women
religious, who not only taught generations of children how to
read and write, but also inspired in them a lifelong desire
to know God, to love him and to serve him. How many "spiritual
sacrifices pleasing to God" have been offered up in these two
centuries! In this land of religious liberty, Catholics found
freedom not only to practice their faith, but also to participate
fully in civic life, bringing their deepest moral convictions
to the public square and cooperating with their neighbors in
shaping a vibrant, democratic society. Today's celebration is
more than an occasion of gratitude for graces received. It is
also a summons to move forward with firm resolve to use wisely
the blessings of freedom, in order to build a future of hope
for coming generations.
"You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
people he claims for his own, to proclaim his glorious works"
(1 Pet 2:9). These words of the Apostle Peter do not simply
remind us of the dignity which is ours by God's grace; they
also challenge us to an ever greater fidelity to the glorious
inheritance which we have received in Christ (cf. Eph 1:18).
They challenge us to examine our consciences, to purify our
hearts, to renew our baptismal commitment to reject Satan and
all his empty promises. They challenge us to be a people of
joy, heralds of the unfailing hope (cf. Rom 5:5) born of faith
in God's word, and trust in his promises.
Each day, throughout this land, you and so many of your neighbors
pray to the Father in the Lord's own words: "Thy Kingdom come".
This prayer needs to shape the mind and heart of every Christian
in this nation. It needs to bear fruit in the way you lead your
lives and in the way you build up your families and your communities.
It needs to create new "settings of hope" (cf. Spe Salvi, 32ff.)
where God's Kingdom becomes present in all its saving power.
Praying fervently for the coming of the Kingdom also means being
constantly alert for the signs of its presence, and working
for its growth in every sector of society. It means facing the
challenges of present and future with confidence in Christ's
victory and a commitment to extending his reign. It means not
losing heart in the face of resistance, adversity and scandal.
It means overcoming every separation between faith and life,
and countering false gospels of freedom and happiness. It also
means rejecting a false dichotomy between faith and political
life, since, as the Second Vatican Council put it, "there is
no human activity - even in secular affairs - which can be withdrawn
from God's dominion" (Lumen Gentium, 36). It means working to
enrich American society and culture with the beauty and truth
of the Gospel, and never losing sight of that great hope which
gives meaning and value to all the other hopes which inspire
our lives.
And this, dear friends, is the particular challenge which the
Successor of Saint Peter sets before you today. As "a chosen
people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation", follow faithfully
in the footsteps of those who have gone before you! Hasten the
coming of God's Kingdom in this land! Past generations have
left you an impressive legacy. In our day too, the Catholic
community in this nation has been outstanding in its prophetic
witness in the defense of life, in the education of the young,
in care for the poor, the sick and the stranger in your midst.
On these solid foundations, the future of the Church in America
must even now begin to rise!
Yesterday, not far from here, I was moved by the joy, the hope
and the generous love of Christ which I saw on the faces of
the many young people assembled in Dunwoodie. They are the Church's
future, and they deserve all the prayer and support that you
can give them. And so I wish to close by adding a special word
of encouragement to them. My dear young friends, like the seven
men, "filled with the Spirit and wisdom" whom the Apostles charged
with care for the young Church, may you step forward and take
up the responsibility which your faith in Christ sets before
you! May you find the courage to proclaim Christ, "the same,
yesterday, and today and for ever" and the unchanging truths
which have their foundation in him (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 10;
Heb 13:8). These are the truths that set us free! They are the
truths which alone can guarantee respect for the inalienable
dignity and rights of each man, woman and child in our world
- including the most defenseless of all human beings, the unborn
child in the mother's womb. In a world where, as Pope John Paul
II, speaking in this very place, reminded us, Lazarus continues
to stand at our door (Homily at Yankee Stadium, October 2, 1979,
No. 7), let your faith and love bear rich fruit in outreach
to the poor, the needy and those without a voice. Young men
and women of America, I urge you: open your hearts to the Lord's
call to follow him in the priesthood and the religious life.
Can there be any greater mark of love than this: to follow in
the footsteps of Christ, who was willing to lay down his life
for his friends (cf. Jn 15:13)?
In today's Gospel, the Lord promises his disciples that they
will perform works even greater than his (cf. Jn 14:12). Dear
friends, only God in his providence knows what works his grace
has yet to bring forth in your lives and in the life of the
Church in the United States. Yet Christ's promise fills us with
sure hope. Let us now join our prayers to his, as living stones
in that spiritual temple which is his one, holy, catholic and
apostolic Church. Let us lift our eyes to him, for even now
he is preparing for us a place in his Father's house. And empowered
by his Holy Spirit, let us work with renewed zeal for the spread
of his Kingdom.
"Happy are you who believe!" (cf. 1 Pet 2:7). Let us turn to
Jesus! He alone is the way that leads to eternal happiness,
the truth who satisfies the deepest longings of every heart,
and the life who brings ever new joy and hope, to us and to
our world. Amen.
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