Pastoral visit to St Francis church, Abrahamic Family House, XI Sunday OT - Homily of Bp Paolo

I express my joy to be with you today, for my first pastoral visit to the Church of St. Francis in the Abrahamic Family House, and to be able to celebrate this Eucharist with you. Eucharist, as we know is the source and fulfilment of our entire Christian life.

 The word of the gospel that we just heard speaks to us first of all about the kingdom of God. Jesus offers us images to describe what it is and how it grows in us and in the world. If we look at Jesus' preaching from the beginning, we realize that the announcement of the kingdom of God is the fundamental content of his teaching. Jesus announces the good news of the kingdom of God. He tells us: “The kingdom of God is near”. Jesus himself understands his mission as the coming of the kingdom. For this reason, the fathers of the Church said that Jesus is the kingdom of God who comes among us in the mystery of his person. Therefore, where Jesus is present and welcomed, there the kingdom of God begins for us.

 The kingdom of God is a kingdom of peace and justice, of love and truth. Because the heaven is the most powerful symbol we have to indicate the transcendence of God, ultimately, the kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven is the realization of the heavenly Father's plan for us and for the entire universe.
 The Church, as a community of the baptized believers, is the beginning of the Kingdom of God – as the II Vatican Council states - because Jesus is among us and when Jesus is welcomed into our hearts, he changes our lives for good. 

 But the kingdom of God is larger than the Church. At the center there is not the Church but the kingdom of God. All men and women are called to participate in the kingdom of God, all people of good will. We recognize that even in other religions there are seeds of truth and values that lead to the kingdom of God. We collaborate with everyone to build a more human society in the perspective of the kingdom of God.

 The kingdom of God is not a political kingdom of this world, it is not in competition with the powers of this world or society. The kingdom of God is an event of the spirit; it is the final transformation of all things, when God will be all in all.

 Let us now look at the images that Jesus offers us in the Gospel to indicate how the kingdom of God comes among us. They are not images of violence or conquest but of patient transformation. The first image is that of a seed planted in the ground. Almost no one notices its presence, but it secretly grows over time, until it bears fruit. In this way the kingdom of God appears as a divine gift, not a human achievement. It is the gift of a small seed but with enormous potential. God makes it grow so that it bears fruit in his time.

 The second image is the mustard seed. The Gospel tells us that it is the smallest of all seeds, but over time it develops and becomes large shrub, with branches and leaves, so that birds can find shelter and rest. The Kingdom of God is therefore born through very small things which then become great and offer peace and rest to everyone.

 We find a similar image in the Old Testament in the book of prophet Ezekiel that we heard in the first reading. Here, God himself intervenes by taking the bud of cedar and planting it on a great mountain so that it can become a great cedar and all the birds can find a home among its branches. The kingdom of God is something that God brings forward with someone to reach and involve everyone: from the seed to the branches and on the branches all the birds of the sky can find a home. This is the task of the Church, it is the mission of the Christian community, to be a small seed to bring the fruits of a good life so that there is space for everyone to find peace and rest.

 Here I would like to give an example regarding the Abrahamic Family House. It is still a small reality like a seed which however has great potential for peace and good of all humanity. The three places of worship are like branches where everyone according to their own religion can find shelter and be welcomed. May this reality grow with God's blessing for the good of all.

 Finally, how can we encourage the advent of the kingdom within us? We must follow the logic given in today’s Gospel: from small things, great things arise. I invite you, first of all, to welcome within you the seed of the word of God. Always keep a Gospel in your pocket and every now and then read a few sentences and keep it in your heart. Be sure that it will bear fruit.

 Secondly, never neglect prayer during the day: prayer is like water for the seed of the word. Prayer waters and irrigates our heart where the seed of the word of God is sown so that it sprouts and grows.

 And finally, be always united with Christ because he is the kingdom of God in person. Be united with Christ by participating with all people in the Eucharist and asking for forgiveness of sins. In this way the kingdom of God will grow in us, and we will bear good fruit in life for the greater glory of God and for the good of all humanity.

 May Our Lady of Arabia protect us on the journey and may Saint Arethas and his fellow martyrs support us in our testimony.