On the
occasion of the dedication of a Roman church in honour of St Giuseppe Moscati
On
Sunday, 21 February, the Holy Father went to the rapidly-growing Cinecittà East area of
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
1.”Come
to him, a living stone…and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a
spiritual house” (1 Pt 2:4-5).
The
statement from the First Letter of Peter shows the profound meaning of the
liturgy which we are celebrating in this church, which for some time has
welcomed you but which today, with the solemn rite of dedication, will fully
assume its function.
This
is a time of joy which, I am sure, will be deeply etched in your memory. This
church is now totally one with your parish community and your area of the city.
Amid your homes it will be a witness of birth and death, of the growth of your
children, of the toil of daily life. Among the many places of worship in
However,
beyond this affective and functional meaning, it will have an even greater
meaning for you as a symbol of the Church,
the mystery of communion, a temporal image of the eternal life of the Trinity.
It is no accident that since ancient times the word “church” has been used to
indicate both the community and the place where they gather. The two realities
refer to one another: the place defines
the mystery. This mystery is precisely what the word of God proclaimed a
little while ago is meant to tell us.
2.”Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord
must be your strength” (Neh 8 10). The first reading,
taken from the book of Nehemiah, took us back to a significant moment in the
history of the people of the old covenant when finally, after years in exile,
they could rebuild the temple and, despite many difficulties, round about it,
their assent to the law of the Lord flourished once again.
It is important to emphasize this connection between the temple and the law: in
the face of the facile temptation to a piety reduced to ritual, the reform of
Ezra and Nehemiah demanded first of all a spiritual commitment that was
witnessed to in life. God’s covenant with his people needed to be celebrated
not only in the temple rituals, but first and foremost in the worship of life.
We
know the role that the temple played in ancient
In
this way the Lord, with the weight of his divine authority, gave new emphasis
to the efforts so often made by the prophets to lead the people of God back on
the path of true fidelity to the covenant. The whole book of Nehemiah is
situated in this context, showing us a people finally determined to return to
the law of the Lord, which the new temple will both safeguard and symbolize.
This return is filled with rejoicing: “Rejoicing in the Lord must be your
strength”.
3.Christ is the “living stone, rejected by
human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God” (1 Pt 2 4). As we
heard in the second reading, from now on he will be God’s dwelling among
people. With Jesus, in fact, even the temple theology was destined to change.
It was precisely in the temple of Jerusalem where he announced a new economy of
grace, indicating his own person as the new temple which people will try to
knock down, but which the power of God will rebuild in three days (cf. Jn 2:19-22). It is a clear reference to the resurrection,
which will make his divinity radiate in the living temple of his body.
“For
in him”,
4.But why are we here to dedicate this building to the Lord
if now there is but one temple, one “living stone”, one place of salvation in
the person of Jesus?
In
reality, this church has meaning precisely
because it expresses such a supernatural reality wholly centred
on the Redeemer.
From
the very beginning of its history, the Christian community needed places to
gather. At the beginning it was the homes of Christians that functioned as churches.
Later buildings destined particularly for worship came into being. However, we
must never lose sight of the new meaning of a Christian church; beyond the architecture there is a life and,
in the final analysis, this life is the mystery of Christ symbolized in
particular by the altar from which each day, in the Eucharistic celebration,
the light of the paschal mystery shines on believers.
Church building at
service of Church communion
5.This particularly involves us, the “living stones”
destined to be, according to the words of the First Letter of Peter, united to
Christ, the “cornerstone”, to form a spiritual house, a holy priesthood.
This
ecclesial dimension of the “temple” is recalled to us from another perspective
by the Gospel passage just proclaimed, which shows us Peter’s fundamental role
in the living building which is the
Church: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church” (Mt 16:18).
Thus
every Christian church, like the one we are dedicating today, serves to
indicate the Christus totus, Christ
the Head and his members. The church building is at the service of the Church
communion: it is an instrument of her unity, of her growth, and her holiness.
In
the light of this spiritual meaning of the temple, we can also understand the
meaning of the ancient custom by which every
church is to
have a title dedicated to some aspect of the divine mystery or referring to
the heavenly Mother of God or some
saint. It is not only a question of naming a building but of recalling its sacred
nature, reminding the Christian people of every baptized person’s call to
holiness.
6.You, dear brothers and sisters, are reminded of this most
noble vocation by a sterling witness of our time, St Giuseppe Moscati, whom I had the joy
of raising to the honours of the altar.
His
was the holiness of a layman immersed in the reality and problems of daily life
but deeply rooted in contemplation.
As
you know, he was a physician: people turned to him to relieve their physical
suffering, but they received more than a medical prescription. He knew how to
see people as God saw them. He did not act like an insensitive professional, he
was a brother who knew how to identify with the suffering of his patients,
surrounding them with
the tenderness of his heart. One could say that, in addition to
the resources of his acclaimed skill, in caring for the sick he used the warmth
of his humanity and the witness of his faith.
Of
course his life was not without difficulty and hard work, but in the Eucharist,
in listening to the
word of God and in participating in the life of the Christian community he
found the inexhaustible source upon which he could draw to restore his
strength.
Today,
on this special occasion, St Giuseppe Moscati says to
you, the members of this community which has chosen him as a patron, courage, holiness is possible; it is
possible in every situation, despite the effects of evil. A great flourishing
of holiness alone is capable of giving an adequate response to the crisis of
our day.
7.In this new church, dear brothers and sisters, you have a
great help. Here, whenever you want, you can experience the regenerating power
of personal and communal prayer. You will gather within these walls not as
strangers, but as brothers and sisters capable of gladly lending a hand to one another.
With
these sentiments I cordially greet all of you: the Vicar, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Bishop Giuseppe Mani, Auxiliary for this sector,
your parish priest, Fr Francesco Porcelli; his priest
coworkers, the religious and all those who actively work to serve the Christian
people; and all those present. I know that your daily effort is to walk
together in a true journey of faith. I encourage you to continue in the generosity of
your effort, paying special attention to the
family, the basic cell of the Church and society. There are many young
families among you. May they never suffer from a lack of assistance and the
warmth of the community so that they may keep their faith and love strong and,
when they need it, feel your support in their material needs as well.
From
an attentive family apostolate we can hope for an increase of vocations to the priesthood and
religious life. It is always the Lord who calls, but it is necessary to foster an attentiveness to this call and encourage generosity in
responding to it.
Be
concerned to follow young people so
that they will not feel abandoned amid life’s thousand difficulties. May they
feel at home in the parish, breathing an atmosphere of faith and fellowship and
thus be able to discover the joy of commitment, the capacity to serve,
confidence in the future.
Dear
parishioners, the Diocese of Rome is also counting on you for the success of the great
effort of evangelization and renewal begun with the pastoral Synod. It is a great undertaking, and its fulfilment requires every parish, every ecclesial
association and movement, every Christian of Rome to accept the challenges of
today’s society and offer their response.
8.”Rejoicing
in the Lord must be your strength”. The word of God proclaimed in this
liturgical assembly quite fittingly encourages us in the journey of our
Christian life. Christ is the living
stone, the
foundation of the hope and commitment of every believer.
We
are invited to turn our gaze confidently to him: “You are the Messiah, the Son
of the living God”. Let us come to him, and we too, will be like “living
stones…built into a spiritual house” built into his Church.
Amen.