MASS (FRONT MOUNTAIN ROAD)
"If our life in
Christ means anything to you, if love can persuade at all, or the spirit that we have in common, or any
tenderness and sympathy, then be
united in your convictions and united in your love... That is one thing which would make me completely happy. There
must be no competition among you... so that nobody thinks of his own
interests first but everybody thinks of other
people's interests instead. In your minds you must be the same as Christ
Jesus" (Ph 2:1-5).
These words, originally addressed by Saint Paul to the Christians
of Philippi, are also addressed to you, dear brothers and sisters of Moncton, of Acadia and of the entire province of New
Brunswick. I encourage you to form
human communities, that will be examples in their practice of solidarity. I
urge you to maintain in your church communities the dignity vested in them by Christ. Draw your inspiration in
this from the Gospel; look for what is just in the eyes of God. Have the
courage of faith, the dynamism of
charity and the strength of Christian hope, whatever be your trials. Yes, open your communities to the Spirit
of Christ.
To deepen this appeal I commend to you the
example and the words of the holy
bishop whom we are celebrating today, one of the most famous bishops of the first centuries of the
Christian East. The text of the psalm
admirably expresses his soul:
"My God, I have always loved your law
from the depths of my being. I have
always proclaimed your righteousness in the great assembly; nor do I mean to stop proclaiming, as you know well" (Ps 39(40),
9-10).
This great
pastor spoke again and again in order to enlighten his people, to educate them, to incite them to follow their
Christian vocation. They called him
"Chrysostom", which means "golden mouth". His teaching,
steeped in the Word of God and the
contemplation of Christ's mystery, was expressed in clear, convincing,
concrete terms, challenging Christians of all centuries
to make those choices essential to their salvation and to the bringing
about of "justice".
At the end of the fourth century, at a time
when the Church was in full
growth, John lived in Antioch of Syria. He would undoubtedly have been successful in the world of the courts, of the theater, of
literature, but following his baptism, around the age of twenty, he preferred
to devote himself to the study of Sacred Scripture and to the service of the
Church. He experienced a life of
contemplation and asceticism in remote mountain wildernesses. Then, for eleven years, as deacon and then priest, he tirelessly preached the Gospel to the crowds
in Antioch. He was called in 397 to become the Patriarch of
Constantinople but was only able to exercise freely
his episcopal responsibilities for six years. The milieu was a believing one and sensitive to piety, but it was
also given over to passion, to courtly intrigue, to worldly
manifestations, to the pursuit of luxury and
to the neglect of priestly and monastic duties. But he refused to reduce in any way the vigour and clarity of
the Gospel, the requirements of Christian baptism and of the Eucharist, of the
priesthood, of charity, of the dignity
of the poor. In truth, "he never ceased to proclaim justice".
Nor did he do so when twice he was deposed and driven into exile by the Empress
Eudoxia. She made his lot even more difficult on the second occasion on the road to the Caucasus, on which he
died on September 14, 407. We can
indeed consider him a martyr of pastoral courage. But what we will remember above all is that he succeeded in
forming a Christian people, Christian communities worthy of the name.
His "golden mouth" drew its
eloquence from the power of his faith. He could repeat after Saint Paul: "I believed and therefore I
spoke" (2 Co 4,13). And his faith, filled with
love, called forth his apostolic zeal: "You see, all this is for your
benefit, so that the more grace is multiplied
among people, the more thanksgiving there will be to the glory of God" (2
Co 4,15).
In fact his pastoral zeal was based on union
with Christ. This relationship
was particularly close when the great bishop of Constantinople was exposed to suffering and persecution. He too could say
following Saint Paul: "We carry with us
in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too, may always be
seen in our body" (2 Co 4,10). This union to Christ's suffering and
dying on the Cross made his apostolic service efficacious
and a source of supernatural life for others: "So death is at work
in us, but life in you" (2 Co 4,12).
John Chrysostom had no fear of unjust
judgements, of harassment, of defamation, of persecution. These merely made him
more firm in his proclamation
of the requirements of the Gospel, both because of his loyalty to Christ and because of his love for those he
wished to convert. Yet, unshakeable
as his strength was, it never caused him to go against charity. He truly lived
the words of Christ recorded in the Gospel of Luke and which we have just heard: "Love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who treat you badly" (Lk 6,27-28).
His eloquence made him popular with the crowds in Antioch, in Constantinople,
even in exile in Asia Minor; his frankness, however, drew down upon him the hatred of some. He had devoted
his gift of speech entirely to the service of justice and charity, for
which he paid dearly, in heart and body. Yet
he did not allow this to turn him away from loving others and from seeking to
do them good. He gave with no thought of return. "Do good and lend
without hoping for anything in return... Give and
it will be given to you" (Lk 6,35,38). Rather than see his followers
spill the blood of his
fellow citizens, he chose to surrender himself to the soldiers.
This is the
pastor, dear brothers and sisters, who formed a generation of Christians in a
large part of the East, through his preaching and by the example of his life. This is the witness that is presented to you
today as you seek to strengthen your church
communities.
Vatican II spoke of the "Christian
community" as a sign of the presence of God in the world. "By the eucharistic sacrifice it is on
the way to the Father with
Christ; carefully nourished by the Word of God, it bears witness to Christ; it
walks in love and glows with an apostolic spirit" (Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church, No. 15).
May your parishes and your
various communities carry out this program! But that it may be done according to the Gospel, it might be
well to listen once again to
John Chrysostom expressing his faith: "Am I relying on my own strength? I
possess his word; that is my support, my security and my harbour of peace" (cf. homily delivered before his departure
into exile, 1-3; PG 52, 427-430). Steep
yourself in this word, he added, "you must continually find your strength in the Scriptures". He also asks us
to pray unceasingly, everywhere, in that temple of God which is the
human heart.
John Chrysostom took great care in preparing
candidates for baptism and above all in helping the baptized to understand the
greatness of the gift given them
by God in the sacrament. He speaks in enthusiastic terms of the Eucharist by which we share in the
victory of Easter. But he never forgets that "the first road to conversion
is the condemnation of our faults.
Begin by confessing your faults in order to be justified" (cf. PG 49, 263-264).
This insistence of John Chrysostom on the gift
of grace, on faith, prayer
and the sacraments, invariably issues in a statement of the requirements for Christian living; if not we
would be faced with a lack of logic or
with hypocrisy. And it is in this connection that he speaks with surprising
vigour of charity, of the love of neighbour.
This love is reconciliation: "Let
no one who has an enemy come to the holy table... go first and be reconciled,
then receive the sacrament" (cf.
homily to the people of Antioch).
This love is will for unity and for
fraternity. "The Church does not exist so
that we will remain divided when we come to it, but rather so that our
divisions will be overcome there - that is the meaning of the assembly. If we come for the Eucharist, let us do nothing
that contradicts the Eucharist" (cf. homily Co 24,2; 27,3-5).
This love is respect and welcome for the
poor. "You wish to honour the body of Christ? Do not hold it in contempt when it is naked. Do not honour it here, in the church, by wearing
silken robes while you allow it to remain
outside suffering from the cold and lack of clothes... God needs no chalices of gold, but golden souls... Begin by feeding the hungry, and with what is
left, you may decorate the altar" (cf. PG 619-622).
Love is a search for what is useful for our
neighbour. "Nothing is colder than a Christian indifferent to the
salvation of others" (cf. PG 60,
162-164). "We neglect the salvation of our children. We are looking for nothing but profit. We are more
concerned with asses and horses than with our
children... What is comparable to the art of shaping a soul?" (PG 58, 580-584).
Love involves apostolic work; it is
missionary zeal that extends to the ends of the earth. "God does not ask us to succeed, but to
work... If Christ, that
model of pastors, worked until the very end to convert a man in despair
(Judas), what must we not do for those for whom we have been commanded to hope?" (cf. homily on the
Canaanite woman, 10-11). "As the leaven is absorbed into the mass, it loses none of its strength; on the contrary, it communicates it little by little... It is Christ alone who invests
the leaven with its power... and when the dough has risen it becomes leaven in
its turn, for all that remains" (Cf. homily on Mt 2-3).
These few strong words from Saint John
Chrysostom are evidence of the faith, charity, apostolic
courage and hope which he sought to share with his brothers and sisters.
Dear brothers and sisters of New Brunswick:
is it still necessary for the progress of your
communities for these exhortations to be articulated in terms of challenges
adapted to our times?
I know that your community spirit already
allowed you to overcome many early difficulties in Acadia;
still today you are known for your sense of fraternity, cordial hospitality and
sharing. But your region, like many
others, is undergoing a profound transformation which is a new test. Urban life
is developing, an economic crisis affects the local communities, and likewise a spiritual crisis, a crisis of values.
Meanwhile, you can look to the future with serenity if you stand firm in
the faith of the Risen Christ, if you allow
his Spirit to form within you the responses to the new challenges, if
you show solidarity with one another, if you accept being a leaven in the Church and in society.
And your Christian communities will immediately take up the
challenge if they are able to form and
deepen the faith of their members through the catechesis of youth and of
students, through the continuing formation of adults, through courses or retreats. It is a
question of a faith that is a personal
attachment to the living God and takes account of the whole creed. Do not allow religious ignorance to stand side by side with the
prestige of secular knowledge! Your
communities will progress and be renewed if you accord greater
place to meditation on the Gospel, to prayer, to the Sacraments
of the Eucharist and of Penance.
Efforts in sharing, justice and charity - which one can call
"social love" - run the risk of becoming simple philanthropy, if they
are not rooted in the spiritual energy to
which I have made reference in the writings
of Saint John Chrysostom. And yet, he was speaking to a group of believers who had forgotten the ethical
consequences of the faith. Today it is necessary in the first place to
revive the faith which, for a certain number,
has been shaken and questioned.
But it is evident that a well-understood faith
involves all the commitments of charity of which the
Pastor of Constantinople spoke and which today might be called:
- respect for persons, of their
freedom, of their dignity, so that they may
not be crushed by the new social constraints;
- respect for human rights, according
to the charters already well known, and including the right to life from the
moment of conception, the right to one's reputation, the right to development,
the right to freedom of conscience;
- the refusal of violence and torture;
- concern for the less fortunate categories,
for women, for labourers, for the unemployed, for
immigrants;
- establishment of social measures for greater equality and
justice, for all men and women, regardless
of individual interests or privileges;
- the will to live a simple life and to share, in contrast with the present race for profit, consumption and artificial gratification,
in such a way as not to be deprived of what
is essential for oneself, while also permitting the poor, whoever they may be,
to lead a dignified life;
- a more universal openness towards the basic needs of the less
fortunate countries, in particular those that are referred to as the "South",
the regions where each day thousands of human beings die because of the lack of peace or elementary care given to them; and hence
concern to inaugurate, at the international
level, effective solutions for a more equitable distribution of goods and
opportunities on the earth;
- missionary zeal for help among the Churches.
Thus your communities will be able to provide
a generous sharing that begins in the immediate neighbourhood and that then
opens up, without boundaries, to the world. You will not wait to settle your
own social problems - that are certainly most
real, and I am thinking in particular of unemployment
- before living that fullness of charity described by Saint John Chrysostom.
All this activity of solidarity you will
accomplish individually, or by your Christian
associations, and also taking part in the initiatives of the institutions of civil society (cf. Gaudium
et Spes, 42-43). And with the
Christian motivation which sees in the other person a brother or sister in God
and a member of Christ, you will be the leaven that raises the dough to a level
of greater justice, fraternal solidarity and social love.
Your ecclesial communities will be so much
more stable and dynamic if everyone plays his or her own role, according to his or her vocation and charisms, as I said this morning in the
Cathedral: Bishops, priests, religious,
laity.
It is necessary without doubt that there be formed what you call
the groupes-relais in order to manifest better the vitality of the
Church in allowing specialized
activities and truly human action. But all must be vigilant for unity within the common mission of
evangelization, and here the parish plays a unique role. For all groups
the parish's vocation "is to be a fraternal and welcoming family home, where
those who have been baptized and confirmed become aware of forming the People
of God... From that home they are sent out day by day to their apostolic
mission in all the centres of activity of the life of the world" (cf. Catechesi
Tradendae, 67).
Saint John Chrysostom, a disciple of the Lord, a successor of the
Apostles, was strengthened during the whole course of his toilsome and difficult life by an eschatological hope - the
hope of what lies beyond, of the new life promised by God - which Saint
Paul announced in his Letter to the
Corinthians: "Yes, the troubles which are soon over, though they weigh little, train us for the carrying of a weight of
eternal glory which is out of all
proportion to them. And so we have no eyes for things that are visible,
but only for things that are invisible; for visible things last only for a
time, and the invisible things are eternal" (2 Cor 4:17-18).
Let the voice of Saint Paul, let the voice of the great Saint of Constantinople continue to echo in your hearts,
together with the voice of your own Pastors united with the Successor of
Peter!
Through the intercession of Our Lady of the Assumption, Our Lady
of Acadia, may the Church of Moncton and of the other dioceses grow, be strengthened and shine forth, in conformity with
its eternal destiny. "Our regard is focused on the
invisible, on what is eternal!"
AMEN!