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May 29, 2024Dear friends, this evening we officially begin my second pastoral visit to this parish of Saint Joseph. Although my presence among you is quite frequent, as the Bishop resides at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph, but the pastoral visit is not merely a formal program to fulfill the obligation but a substantial one.
First of all, it is important for the Bishop to be in relationship with the holy people of God, since there is no bishop without the people, and you are part of the people of God. It is important for the bishop to see your faces, listen to your voice and pray together with you. And it is important for the people to walk together with the bishop. Let us help each other to walk together towards the kingdom of God. The bishop as the successor of the apostles, in communion with the Pope and with all the other bishops, has the task of confirming you in faith and being a sign of unity among you. In fact, unity is the greatest ideal we have. We must always fight against all divisions.
The word of God that we heard helps us to delve deeper into one of the fundamental themes that I wish to discuss with you in the pastoral visit: the call to holiness. As baptized people, fully introduced to the mysteries of our faith through the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Eucharist, we are called to a life of holiness. Saint Peter says in his letter, recalling the book of Leviticus. “be holy in all you do, since it is the Holy One who has called you, and scripture says: Be holy, for I am holy”. In this way the sacred scripture reminds us of the profound root of our vocation to holiness and the love of God is the root of our holiness.
We were created in the image and likeness of God. God is holy. Therefore, we are called to holiness, that is, to the fullness of love. Dear faithful, without God, we cannot understand ourselves. When we do not live our faith in God, we become unknown to ourselves. Only the vocation to love that we received through baptism clarifies the meaning of our life. Saint John Paul II said: human person cannot understand himself or herself without love. The meaning of our bodies, the meaning of our souls, thoughts, words, and actions is love. Those who does not love, remain in death.
We can realize our life only if we allow ourselves to be loved and to love. All particular vocations in the life of the Church are to realize this fundamental law: marriage, consecrated life and ministerial priesthood are forms of the fundamental vocation to holiness.
The Gospel takes us a step further. The meeting between a young man who wanted eternal life and Jesus who invited him to sell all his possessions and follow him. But that young man was very rich, and his material wealth prevented him from following Jesus. Saint Peter then asks Jesus about the meaning of their following. The disciples left everything and followed him; will that be for their advantage? In his response, Jesus not only assures the gift of eternal life in the future world but promises already on this earth a foretaste of eternal life, a foretaste of true happiness: those who follow him, they will be repaid a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land – not without persecutions – now in this present time.
Those who follow Christ and make Jesus the criterion of their life begin to experience eternal life already in this world. Although they will not be spared from persecution, Jesus' disciples will experience a more intense life, full of significant human relationships, they will experience the fruitfulness of life in a new way. By following Jesus, we enter into a new relationship with people and with all things. Everything becomes a great gift that fills the heart with gratitude.
Dear faithful, each of us follows the Lord in a different way, we are all disciples and witnesses. For this reason, we too are called to experience a more intense and fuller human life. When God's love deeply marks our life, everything becomes more beautiful and shining with light.
Let us ask ourselves, dear faithful, are we able to recognize in our lives the signs of Jesus’ promises to those who follow him? Even the bishop's pastoral visit can be an opportunity to verify our Christian life: Are we truly following Jesus with a sincere heart? Do we have in our hearts the joy of being disciples of Jesus? Do we experience in our lives the beauty of being Christians? Is there in our heart the beginning of a profound happiness? Can we say that we experience the youthfulness of the Spirit?
May Our Lady of Arabia and Saint Joseph, who experienced the joy of having Jesus with them, help us to live our faith and our vocation with enthusiasm and dedication.
