HALIFAX,
NOVA
SCOTIA
SEPTEMBER 13,
1984
Dear
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The
Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth
is a very beautiful episode
in the Gospel of Saint Luke. It is the dramatic encounter of two expectant
mothers, two women whose hearts are
filled with joy in anticipation
of the
"human miracle" which is unfolding within their bodies. The account also has an important
theological
message: it shows how John the
Baptist,
the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, bore witness to Jesus
already from
within his Mother's womb. It likewise focuses attention on Mary's
faith:
"Blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled" (Lk l:45).
Together
with these reflections we are brought to realize yet
another meaning that this Gospel
has for us.
We are drawn to appreciate the touching
human gesture of Mary as she reaches out in love to her cousin Elizabeth. She provides us with a model
of service
to others, an example of
how we,
as her spiritual sons and daughters, should open our hearts in
compassion to
those who yearn for Christ to come to them through us.
For
the idea of service, dear brothers and sisters, is
essential to the lay
apostolate and to
all ministry. Service is at the very core of every vocation in the
Church: the
service of God and our neighbour which is
at once zealous and humble, always motivated by a desire to fulfil [sp]
God's will as it is
manifested
through the guiding action of the Holy Spirit at work in the
Church.
I
wish to tell you how happy I am to be with
you this evening. You have
come from the farms, villages, towns and cities of Nova Scotia and Prince
Edward Island. By the grace of God each
of you has been called to bear witness to Christ in a
particular way.
You have heard this call and have
responded generously to it. I thank you for your active commitment
to the
Church,
and I greet you in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the name of Mary his Mother in this
Halifax
Basilica dedicated to her.
We
read in the Gospel: "God loved the
world so much that he gave his only
Son
so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have
eternal
life" (Jn 3:16). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took on human flesh not
"to be served but to serve and to give his life as a
ransom for many" (Mk 10:45).
After his
Resurrection Christ appeared to his disciples, breathing his Spirit into them and
sending them to continue his own mission: "As the Father sent me, so am
I sending
you" (Jn 20:21).
Thus
we understand that the Church was
founded on the Apostles to continue
Christ's mission, which is to lead all
humanity
through faith to eternal
life. Every activity undertaken by the Church for this
purpose forms
part of
her apostolate,
and
this apostolate is her response to the mission
entrusted to her by Christ.
Through
Baptism and Confirmation everyone is
called to share in the saving
mission
of the
Church. As a member of the living organism which is the
Mystical Body of Christ, no Christian can play a purely
passive part. Each person must
participate
actively in the life of the Church. For the Christian vocation is, of its nature, a vocation to the
apostolate.
It
is Christ
the Head of the Body who personally
commissions his members to the
apostolate. By sharing
in the Church's mission, all the faithful share in Christ's mission.
Their effective
contribution requires that
they live
by the faith, hope and charity that is poured into their hearts by the
Holy
Spirit. And the precept of charity, which is the Lord's greatest
commandment, urges everyone to work for the glory of God and for the communication of eternal life to
all people,
so that all may know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he has
sent (cf.
Jn 17:3).
Among
the members of the Church there exists
a diversity of services within a unity of mission. To the
Apostles and
their successors Christ has entrusted the ministry of teaching,
sanctifying and
governing in his name and
by his power. But the laity have been given a share in the priestly,
prophetic and kingly functions of Christ (cf. Lumen Gentium,
31). To fulfil
[sp] the role proper to them, they must join their
efforts to the ministry of the
entire
People of God and work in union with those whom the Holy Spirit has appointed to govern
the whole
Church (cf. Acts 20:28). At the same time, on all Christians
rests the
obligation of working to bring the divine message of salvation to all
people
throughout the world.
As
lay people you are called to bear witness to Christ within the context of your homes, neighbourhoods,
towns and
cities. You contribute to the Church's mission first of all by showing consistency
between your conduct
and your
faith. In word and deed
you must
proclaim Christ the Light of the world. This is the general call to the
apostolate which all Christians have received. As laity you also have
the
specific task of renewing the temporal order, by
permeating it
with the spirit of the Gospel.
Coming
as you do from different cultural and social backgrounds,
you are able to infuse the Christian spirit into the mentality and
behaviour, the laws and
structures of the community in which
you live. Likewise, you exercise a special work and
responsibility by
engaging in the apostolate of "like
towards like":
families
evangelizing families, students evangelizing
students,
young people
leading young people to Christ. Especially here the witness of your
lives is
completed by the witness of your word (cf. Apostolicam Actuositatem,
13). Through lives which manifest deep integrity and by your
persevering
practice of fraternal charity in dealing with others, those whom you
encounter
in your work and with whom you associate on various levels of social
life can
be profoundly influenced.
You
have the very special mission of speaking to the world in
a practical way: to manifest truth and justice in your
own lives;
to proclaim by action
your respect
for life, your social concern, your rejection
of materialism and consumerism. You are called to exemplify purity
of
life and, if you are married, to be living signs of conjugal fidelity and of the indissolubility of
marriage,
just as Christ preached them.
Never
doubt, dear friends, that the word of God has power to bring this about in you: "You are the salt
of the
earth ... You are the light of the
world" (Mt
5:13-14).
But
more than that, to each of you has been
given a charism, the gift of the
Holy
Spirit, enabling you to have a special aptitude for a
particular service within the
Church. As Saint Paul tells us,
the Holy Spirit is given in a particular way to each person:
"Our
gifts differ according to the
grace given us.
If your gift is prophecy, then use it as your faith
suggests;
if
administration, then use it for administration; if teaching, then
use it for teaching" (Rom 12:6-7).
This
exercise of the Christian apostolate may be done as
individuals or as members
of groups of
people who work together for the same particular aim. Within the vast variety of the
apostolate some are called to
proclaim God's word as catechists, teachers or as those who
lead adults
through the Rite of Christian
Initiation.
Some will minister to families, the sick, the imprisoned, the disabled, youth or
the aged. Some will assist in the
area of social justice or health care or ecumenism. Others exercise administrative
talents in diocesan or parish councils, or in the various organisms needed to involve the wider
Christian
community. Specialized movements of spiritual renewal for
individuals
and groups, especially for families, are able to contribute greatly to
the
Church's mission.
The
role played by the family in the service
of the Gospel is held in special
honour by the Church. In my Apostolic Exhortation on the role of the
Christian family in the modern world, I emphasized that
"the ministry of evangelization carried out by Christian parents is
original and irreplaceable" (Familiaris
Consortio, 53). In this regard, children too have a role to
play and
they should be encouraged to make their contribution.
In the words of the Second Vatican Council: "They have their own apostolic work to do" (Apostolicam
Actuositatem, 12).
Since
the primary aim of the Church's
apostolate is to announce to the world
by
word and action the message of Christ and to communicate to it the saving grace of Christ, the principal
means of
bringing this about is the ministry
of
the word and of the sacraments. This task if fulfilled in a specific
way through the ordained ministries conferred by the Sacrament of Orders. Christ himself has instituted
the
ministerial priesthood to make available
to the whole People of God the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which is "the
source and summit of the whole Christian life" (Lumen Gentium,
11).
Hence all ministry is directed to
this
Sacrifice as to its goal and centre.
Some
lay people are called to be associated
in a particular way with the activities of the Bishops, priests and
deacons, or
to exercise certain pastoral or ministerial tasks in a stable manner.
When
there is a shortage of
clergy, this aspect of lay ministry is particularly providential. Yet all
the laity are permanently assigned by
Christ himself to the service of his
Gospel
within
the unity of his Church. The Church rejoices when clergy,
religious and laity work together,
each group according to its specific
calling, to give a
united witness to the world of common mission - the mission of Christ.
There
is so much to be done.
There are whole areas of human life which
seem to be withdrawn from any ethical or
religious influences. In this situation we are reminded of Jesus: "When
he
saw the crowds he felt sorry
for them because they
were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his
disciples, 'The harvest is rich but the labourers
are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest'" (Mt 9:36-37). The true
disciple is
eager to announce Christ by word,
either to unbelievers so as to draw them to the faith, or to the faithful in order to instruct them,
strengthen
them and incite them to more fervent Christian lives (cf. Apostolicam
Actuositatem, 6). There is truly an urgent need in the Church today for
more lay people engaged in
teaching Christian doctrine to the young.
The
diversities of human needs requires a
diversity of response on the part
of
the Church. The Church is one, as is her saving Gospel and her Eucharist,
but she counts on the diligence of
her members to discover effective
ways to face new problems and new needs. Paul VI has clearly stated the
Church's stand: "We cannot but experience a great inner joy when we see
so
many pastors, religious and lay people, fired with their mission
to evangelize, seeking ever more
suitable ways of proclaiming the Gospel effectively" (Evangelii
Nuntiandi, 73).
We
know that the foundation and the
fruitfulness of every apostolate and
ministry in the Church depends on our living union with Christ our Lord
and Master. This life of intimate
union with Christ
is maintained and nourished by prayer. In a very real sense we
can say
that the apostolate is
the unfolding
of Jesus' love for others from within ourselves. However, without that
union
with Christ which is fostered through prayer our energy flags, we lose fervour and we run the
risk of
becoming as "a sounding brass or
tinkling cymbal" (1 Cor 13:1).
Moreover,
all ministry requires the support
of the whole Christian community, especially through our perseverance
in prayer
for each other. How
we need to
pray for each other! How I appreciate and need your prayers!
How your Bishops, priests and deacons
count on your prayerful support!
They know how much you contribute to the well-being of the entire
Church, how
much you do to promote the saving mission of the Church to the world.
We
find a model of this apostolic spiritual life in the
humble Virgin of Nazareth, the
Mother of
Jesus, Queen of the Apostles. As the Second Vatican Council says of her: "While on
earth
Mary's life was like that of any
other, filled with labours and the cares of the home; always, however, she remained intimately united to her
Son and
cooperated in an entirely unique
way
in the Saviour's work. And now, assumed into heaven, 'her motherly care keeps her attentive to
her Son's
brothers and sisters, still on pilgrimage amid the dangers and
difficulties of
life, until they arrive at the happiness of their homeland'" (Apostolicam
Actuositatem, 4).
My
brothers and sisters: be thankful to
God for the opportunity to serve
Christ and his Church.
Serve with gratitude and joy! Be thankful to God
for the faith you have found in your maritime homes and
communities which has spread to every corner of this country, and even
around
the world. Be thankful for all those who have served before you, for
all who
have preached the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ along these Atlantic shores. Be thankful for your parents,
teachers and
pastors who first presented you with the Gospel.
As
a servant of
Christ who loves you all,
I urge you, my companions in the
faith, fellow pilgrims in our journey to
the Father, to listen again to the
words which Saint Peter
wrote to the early Christian community:
"Each
of you has received a special grace, so, like good
stewards responsible for all these different graces of God, put
yourselves at
the service of others. If you
are a speaker,
speak in words which seem to come from God; if you are a
helper, help as
though every action was done at God's
orders; so that in everything God may receive the glory, through Jesus
Christ, since to him alone belong all
glory and power, for ever and ever. Amen" (1
P 4:10-11).
Conférence
des évêques catholiques du Canada