MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS “Jesus, at the sight of the
crowds, was moved with pity” (Mt
9:36) Dear Brothers and Sisters! Lent is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards Him
Who is the fount of mercy. It is a pilgrimage in which He Himself accompanies
us through the desert of our poverty, sustaining us on our way towards the
intense joy of Easter. Even in the “valley of darkness” of which the Psalmist
speaks (Ps 23:4), while the tempter prompts us to despair or to place a
vain hope in the work of our own hands, God is there to guard us and sustain
us. Yes, even today the Lord hears the cry of the multitudes longing for joy,
peace, and love. As in every age, they feel abandoned. Yet, even in the
desolation of misery, loneliness, violence and hunger that indiscriminately
afflict children, adults, and the elderly, God does not allow darkness to
prevail. In fact, in the words of my beloved Predecessor, Pope John Paul II,
there is a “divine limit imposed upon evil”, namely, mercy (Memory and
Identity, pp. 19ff.). It is with these thoughts in mind that I have chosen
as my theme for this Message the Gospel text: “Jesus, at the sight of the
crowds, was moved with pity” (Mt 9:36). In this light, I would like to pause and reflect upon an
issue much debated today: the question of development. Even now, the
compassionate “gaze” of Christ continues to fall upon individuals and peoples.
He watches them, knowing that the divine “plan” includes their call to
salvation. Jesus knows the perils that put this plan at risk, and He is moved
with pity for the crowds. He chooses to defend them from the wolves even at the
cost of His own life. The gaze of Jesus embraces individuals and multitudes,
and he brings them all before the Father, offering Himself as a sacrifice of
expiation. Enlightened by this Paschal truth, the Church knows that if
we are to promote development in its fulness, our own “gaze” upon mankind has to
be measured against that of Christ. In fact, it is quite impossible to separate
the response to people’s material and social needs from the fulfilment of the
profound desires of their hearts. This has to be emphasized all the more in
today’s rapidly changing world, in which our responsibility towards the poor
emerges with ever greater clarity and urgency. My venerable Predecessor, Pope
Paul VI, accurately described the scandal of underdevelopment as an outrage
against humanity. In this sense, in the Encyclical
Populorum Progressio,
he denounced “the lack of
material necessities for those who are without the minimum essential for life,
the moral deficiencies of those who are mutilated by selfishness” and
“oppressive social structures, whether due to the abuses of ownership or to the
abuses of power, to the exploitation of workers or to unjust transactions” (ibid., 21). As the antidote to such evil,
Paul VI suggested not only “increased esteem for the dignity of others, the
turning towards the spirit of poverty, cooperation for the common good, the will
and desire for peace”, but also “the acknowledgement by man of supreme values,
and of God, their source and their finality” (ibid.). In this vein, the
Pope went on to propose that, finally and above all, there is
“faith, a gift of God accepted by the good will of man, and unity in the charity
of Christ” (ibid.). Thus, the “gaze” of Christ
upon the crowd impels us to affirm the true content of this “complete humanism”
that, according to Paul VI, consists in the “fully-rounded
development of the whole man and of all men” (ibid.,
42). For this reason, the primary contribution that the Church offers to the
development of mankind and peoples does not consist merely in material means or
technical solutions. Rather, it involves the proclamation of the truth of
Christ, Who educates consciences and teaches the authentic dignity of the person
and of work; it means the promotion of a culture that truly responds to all the
questions of humanity. In the face of the terrible
challenge of poverty afflicting so much of the world’s population, indifference
and self-centered isolation stand in stark contrast to the “gaze” of Christ.
Fasting and almsgiving, which, together with prayer, the Church proposes in a
special way during the Lenten Season, are suitable means for us to become
conformed to this “gaze”. The examples of the saints and the long history of
the Church’s missionary activity provide invaluable indications of the most
effective ways to support development. Even in this era of global
interdependence, it is clear that no economic, social, or political project can
replace that gift of self to another through which charity is expressed. Those
who act according to the logic of the Gospel live the faith as friendship with
God Incarnate and, like Him, bear the burden of the material and spiritual needs
of their neighbours. They see it as an inexhaustible mystery, worthy of
infinite care and attention. They know that he who does not give God gives too
little; as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta frequently observed, the worst poverty is
not to know Christ. Therefore, we must help others to find God in the merciful
face of Christ. Without this perspective, civilization lacks a solid
foundation. Thanks to men and women obedient to the Holy Spirit, many
forms of charitable work intended to promote development have arisen in the
Church: hospitals, universities, professional formation schools, and small
businesses. Such initiatives demonstrate the genuine humanitarian concern of
those moved by the Gospel message, far in advance of other forms of social
welfare. These charitable activities point out the way to achieve a
globalization that is focused upon the true good of mankind and, hence, the path
towards authentic peace. Moved like Jesus with compassion for the crowds, the
Church today considers it her duty to ask political leaders and those with
economic and financial power to promote development based on respect for the
dignity of every man and woman. An important litmus test for the success of
their efforts is religious liberty, understood not simply as the freedom to
proclaim and celebrate Christ, but also the opportunity to contribute to the
building of a world enlivened by charity. These efforts have to include a
recognition of the central role of authentic religious values in responding to
man’s deepest concerns, and in supplying the ethical motivation for his personal
and social responsibilities. These are the criteria by which Christians should
assess the political programmes of their leaders. We cannot ignore the fact that many mistakes have been made
in the course of history by those who claimed to be disciples of Jesus. Very
often, when having to address grave problems, they have thought that they should
first improve this world and only afterwards turn their minds to the next. The
temptation was to believe that, in the face of urgent needs, the first
imperative was to change external structures. The consequence, for some, was
that Christianity became a kind of moralism, ‘believing’ was replaced with
‘doing’. Rightly, therefore, my Predecessor, Pope John Paul II, of blessed
memory, observed: “The temptation today is to reduce Christianity to merely
human wisdom, a pseudo-science of well-being. In our heavily secularized world,
a ‘gradual secularization of salvation’ has taken place, so that people strive
for the good of man, but man who is truncated…We know, however, that Jesus came
to bring integral salvation” (Redemptoris Missio, 11). It is this integral salvation that Lent puts before us,
pointing towards the victory of Christ over every evil that oppresses us. In
turning to the Divine Master, in being converted to Him, in experiencing His
mercy through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we will discover a “gaze” that
searches us profoundly and gives new life to the crowds and to each one of us.
It restores trust to those who do not succumb to scepticism, opening up before
them the perspective of eternal beatitude. Throughout history, even when hate
seems to prevail, the luminous testimony of His love is never lacking. To Mary,
“the living fount of hope” (Dante Alighieri, Paradiso, XXXIII, 12), we
entrust our Lenten journey, so that she may lead us to her Son. I commend to
her in particular the multitudes who suffer poverty and cry out for help,
support, and understanding. With these sentiments, I cordially impart to all of
you a special Apostolic Blessing. From the Vatican, 29 September,
2005. BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
|
Return to top of document. |