20 June 2007 (Homily)
Homily for the Mass with the Patrons of Great Britain
Wednesday, 20 June, 2007
Church of St. James in Spanish Place, London
I would like first of all to give everyone of you my heartfelt greetings, especially to the Patrons of the Arts of the Vatican Museums, and to thank-you for coming here today to join me in the celebration of the Eucharist. I also bring you the greetings and blessings of the Holy Father, Benedict the Sixteenth.
1. This beautiful church where we are gathered today has very special significance as witness to the Catholic faith. Long ago, when the Church was undergoing very trying times, the Catholic faithful could participate in the liturgical celebrations here, without chastisement, thanks to the diplomatic immunity it enjoyed through its connection with the Spanish Embassy. Now, for a very long time, there has been complete freedom of religion in this country, and practicing the Catholic faith is undisturbed; nevertheless, this does not mean that the witness to our faith is not without new challenges: in the ever-more secularized society of the western world, the faithful are called upon to take up a new commitment in the witness of their faith: more than ever, to use the words of Peter the Apostle, they must be capable of giving reason to the hope that is in them, of letting non-believers perceive something of the beauty of the Catholic faith.
2. Today’s liturgy of the Word, Wednesday on the XI (eleventh) week of ordinary time, invites us to special witness. I will try to offer just one obvious bit of reflection.
a) In the passage of the letter which was read, Saint Paul exhorts the Christians of Corinth to be generous in their help to the Church of Jerusalem. The Church of Jerusalem - let it be said incidentally – today, more than ever, needs help from the Church all over the world; the Christian faithful in the Holy Land, due to the grievous political situation, find themselves under tremendously severe social pressures. But the words of Saint Paul are of perennial value, independent of the particular circumstances of his time. Paul’s exhortation is an appeal to generosity: “He who sows bountifully will reap bountifully”, and he gives us the reason of it: God himself “will provide in abundance; he will multiply the seed you sow and increase your generous yield”. In other words: God himself fills our hands, but we have to show him an open heart. For this also, it is not surprising that Paul states: “Every one must give not sadly, not grudgingly, for God loves a cheerful giver”.
b) The Gospel passage we have just heard leads us to the very spirit which should animate our acts of generosity. It is the relationship we have with our Father in heaven. From that, we derive what we are and what we do. From that, comes our sense of meekness – what are we in front of God? – but also our sense of nobleness and magnanimity, because we are truly children of God, and as such we must live and act.
The Lord adds: “Your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” To this point, I would like to recall the experience of faith already written in the Old Testament. We can read from the Book of Sirach: “Give to the Most High as he has given to you, generously, according to your means. For the Lord is one who always repays, and he will give back to you sevenfold.” (Sirach 35, 9-10).
c) From the word of God we have just heard, the experience of faith that we live in the Eucharist receives a peculiar light. In the Eucharist we offer our simple gifts; we even offer ourselves; but God rewards us beyond our expectations, giving himself to us in Jesus Christ and making us participants in the hope of eternal life. May the light and the strength that comes from our encounter with Christ, sustain us always in the witness of our life.