COOPERATORES
VERITATIS
PILGRIMAGE
OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
TO THE HOLY LAND
(8-15 MAY 2009)
VISIT TO THE HOLY SEPULCHRE
ADDRESS
OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
Jerusalem
Friday, 15 May 2009
Friday, 15 May 2009
Dear Friends in Christ,
The hymn of praise which we have
just sung unites us with the angelic hosts and the Church of every time and
place – “the glorious company of the apostles, the noble fellowship of the
prophets and the white-robed army of martyrs” – as we give glory to God for the
work of our redemption, accomplished in the passion, death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ. Before this Holy Sepulchre, where the Lord “overcame the sting of
death and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers”, I greet all of you in
the joy of the Easter season. I thank Patriarch Fouad Twal and the Custos,
Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, for their kind greeting. I likewise express my
appreciation for the reception accorded me by the Hierarchs of the Greek
Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church. I gratefully acknowledge the
presence of representatives of the other Christian communities in the Holy
Land. I greet Cardinal John Foley, Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre and also the Knights and Ladies of the
Order here present, with gratitude for their unfailing commitment to the
support of the Church’s mission in these lands made holy by the Lord’s earthly
presence.
Saint John’s Gospel has left us an
evocative account of the visit of Peter and the Beloved Disciple to the empty
tomb on Easter morning. Today, at a distance of some twenty centuries, Peter’s
Successor, the Bishop of Rome, stands before that same empty tomb and contemplates
the mystery of the Resurrection. Following in the footsteps of the Apostle, I
wish to proclaim anew, to the men and women of our time, the Church’s firm
faith that Jesus Christ “was crucified, died and was buried”, and that “on the
third day he rose from the dead”. Exalted at the right hand of the Father, he
has sent us his Spirit for the forgiveness of sins. Apart from him, whom God
has made Lord and Christ, “there is no other name under heaven given to men by
which we are to be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Standing in this holy place, and
pondering that wondrous event, how can we not be “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37), like those who first
heard Peter’s preaching on the day of Pentecost? Here Christ died and rose,
never to die again. Here the history of humanity was decisively changed. The
long reign of sin and death was shattered by the triumph of obedience and life;
the wood of the Cross lay bare the truth about good and evil; God’s judgement
was passed on this world and the grace of the Holy Spirit was poured out upon
humanity. Here Christ, the new Adam, taught us that evil never has the last
word, that love is stronger than death, that our future, and the future of all
humanity, lies in the hands of a faithful and provident God.
The empty tomb speaks to us of hope,
the hope that does not disappoint because it is the gift of the Spirit of life
(cf. Rom 5:5). This is the
message that I wish to leave with you today, at the conclusion of my pilgrimage
to the Holy Land. May hope rise up ever anew, by God’s grace, in the hearts of
all the people dwelling in these lands! May it take root in your hearts, abide
in your families and communities, and inspire in each of you an ever more
faithful witness to the Prince of Peace! The Church in the Holy Land, which has
so often experienced the dark mystery of Golgotha, must never cease to be an
intrepid herald of the luminous message of hope which this empty tomb
proclaims. The Gospel reassures us that God can make all things new, that
history need not be repeated, that memories can be healed, that the bitter
fruits of recrimination and hostility can be overcome, and that a future of
justice, peace, prosperity and cooperation can arise for every man and woman,
for the whole human family, and in a special way for the people who dwell in
this land so dear to the heart of the Saviour.
This ancient Memorial of the
Anástasis bears mute witness both to the burden of our past, with its failings,
misunderstandings and conflicts, and to the glorious promise which continues to
radiate from Christ’s empty tomb. This holy place, where God’s power was
revealed in weakness, and human sufferings were transfigured by divine glory,
invites us to look once again with the eyes of faith upon the face of the
crucified and risen Lord. Contemplating his glorified flesh, completely
transfigured by the Spirit, may we come to realize more fully that even now,
through Baptism, “we bear in our bodies the death of Jesus, that the life of
Jesus may be manifested in our own mortal flesh” (2 Cor 4:10-11). Even now, the
grace of the resurrection is at work within us! May our contemplation of this
mystery spur our efforts, both as individuals and as members of the ecclesial
community, to grow in the life of the Spirit through conversion, penance and
prayer. May it help us to overcome, by the power of that same Spirit, every
conflict and tension born of the flesh, and to remove every obstacle, both
within and without, standing in the way of our common witness to Christ and the
reconciling power of his love.
With these words of encouragement,
dear friends, I conclude my pilgrimage to the holy places of our redemption and
rebirth in Christ. I pray that the Church in the Holy Land will always draw new
strength from its contemplation of the empty tomb of the Savior. In that tomb
it is called to bury all its anxieties and fears, in order to rise again each
day and continue its journey through the streets of Jerusalem, Galilee and
beyond, proclaiming the triumph of Christ’s forgiveness and the promise of new
life. As Christians, we know that the peace for which this strife-torn land
yearns has a name: Jesus Christ. “He is our peace”, who reconciled us to God in
one body through the Cross, bringing an end to hostility (cf. Eph 2:14). Into
his hands, then, let us entrust all our hope for the future, just as in the
hour of darkness he entrusted his spirit into the Father’s hands.
Allow me to conclude with a special
word of fraternal encouragement to my brother Bishops and priests, and to the
men and women religious who serve the beloved Church in the Holy Land. Here,
before the empty tomb, at the very heart of the Church, I invite you to
rekindle the enthusiasm of your consecration to Christ and your commitment to
loving service of his mystical Body. Yours is the immense privilege of bearing
witness to Christ in this, the land which he sanctified by his earthly presence
and ministry. In pastoral charity enable your brothers and sisters, and all the
inhabitants of this land, to feel the healing presence and the reconciling love
of the Risen One. Jesus asks each of us to be a witness of unity and peace to
all those who live in this City of Peace. As the new Adam, Christ is the source
of the unity to which the whole human family is called, that unity of which the
Church is the sign and sacrament. As the Lamb of God, he is the source of that
reconciliation which is both God’s gift and a sacred task enjoined upon us. As
the Prince of Peace, he is the source of that peace which transcends all
understanding, the peace of the new Jerusalem. May he sustain you in your
trials, comfort you in your afflictions, and confirm you in your efforts to
proclaim and extend his Kingdom. To all of you, and to those whom you serve, I
cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of Easter joy and peace.
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