HOMILY AT THE 'RING MASS' FOR NEW CARDINALS, 11/25/07
Lord Cardinals,
venerated brothers in the Episcopatea nd priesthood,
distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
dear brothers and sisters!
This year, the solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe, which crowns the liturgical year, is enriched by the welcome into the College of Cardinals of 23 new members whom, following tradition, I have invited today to concelebrate the Eucharist with me.
To each of them, I address my heatfelt greeting, which I extend with fraternal affection to all the cardinals present.
I am happy to greet the delegations that have come from various nations and the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See; the bishops, prietsts, religious and lay faithful, especially those coming from the dioceses entrusted to the leadership of many among our new cardinals.
The liturgical recurrence of Christ the King offers our celebration a background that makes it more significant, illuminated by its Biblical passages. We find ourselves in the presence of three great scenes: in the center is the Crucifixion, according to the account of the evangelist Luke; on the one hand, the kingly anointing of David by the ancients of Israel; and on the other, Che christologic hymn with which St. Paul introduces the Letter to the Colossians.
Dominating all is the figure of Christ, the only Lord, before whom we are all brothers. The entire hierarchy of the Church, every charism and service, everything and everyone - we are all at the service of his Lordship.
We must start with the central event: the Cross, on which Christ manifests his singular kingliness.
On Calvary, two opposite attitudes confronted each other. Some persons at the foot of the Cross, and even one of the two thieves, addressed the Crucified One with contempt: If you are Christ, the Mesiah and King - they said - save yourself and come down from the scaffold.
Jesus instead reveals his glory by staying there, on the Cross, as the sacrificed Lamb. The other thief unexpectedly takes his side, implicitly acknowledging the kingliness of the justly innocent, and implores: "Remember me when you enter into your kingdom: (Lk 23,42).
St. Cyril of Alexandria commented: "You see him crucified and call him King. You believe that he who undergoes mockery and suffering will reach divine glory" (Comment on Luke, homily 153).
According to the evangelist John, divine glory is already present although hidden by the disfigurement of the Cross. But even in the language of Luke, the future is already anticipated in the present when Jesus promises the good thief: "Today you will be with me in Paradise" (Lk 23,43).
St. Ambrose observed: "This man prayed that the Lord remember him when he reached his Kingdom, but the Lord answered him: 'In truth, in truth, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise'. Life is to be with Christ, because where Christ is, there is the Kingdom" (Exposition of the Gospel according to Luke, 10,121).
The attribution "This is the King of the Jews", written on a tablet nailed above the head of Jesus, thus becomes a proclamation of the truth. St. Ambrose notes further: "The writing is properly at the top of the Cross, because although the Lord jesus Christ is on the Cross, he nevertheless shines above it with regal majesty" (ivi, 10,113).
The Crucifixion scene, in the four Gospels, constitutes the moment of truth, when the 'veil of the Temple' is rent to reveal the Holy of Holies. Jesus crucified is the maximum possible revelation of God in this world, because God is Love, and Jesus's death on the Cross is the greatest act of love in all history.
The Crucifixion is represented in the cardinal's ring, which I will shortly consign to the new members of the Sacred College. May this, dear brothers and sisters, always be for you an invitation to remember which King you serve, the throne on which he was raised, and how he was faithful to the very end in order to defeat sin and death with the power of divine mercy.
Mother Church, bride of Christ, gives you this token in memory of her Spouse who loved her and delivered himself up for her (cfr Eph 5,25). Thus, in carrying the cardinal's ring, you are constantly called on to give your life for the Church.
If we turn our attention to the scene of David's kingly anointing, presented in the first Reading, we are struck by an important aspect of kingliness, that is, its 'corporative' dimension. The ancients of Israel went to Hebron, concluded a pact of alliance with David, declaring tthat they considered themselves united to him and to wish to be one single entity with him.
If we refer this kingly figure to Christ, I think this same profession of alliance lends itself very well to be made by you, dear brother cardinals.
You, too, who make up the 'senate' of the Church, can say to Jesus: "We consider ourselves your flesh and bone" (2 Sam 5,1). We belong to you, and with you, we wish to be one sole entity. You are the shepherd of the people of God, you are the head of the Church" (cfr 2 am 5,2). In this solemn eucharisetic celebration, we wish to renew this pact with you, our friendship, because only in this intimate and profound relationship with you, Jesus our King and Lord, is there sense and value to the honor which has been conferred on us and the responsiblity that it brings."
Now, let us admire the third part of the 'triptych' which the Word of God has placed before us today: the Christologic hyymn from the Letter to the Colossians. Above all, let us take as our own the joy and gratitude that gushes forth from it because of the fact that Christ, "the fate of the saints who are in the light", is not something who can only be glimpsed from afar, but a reality of whom we are called to be part, into which we have been 'transferred', thanks to the redemptive work of the Son of God (cfr Col 1,12-14).
This action of grace opened St. Paul's spirit to the contemplation of Christ and his mystery in its two principal dimensions: the creation of all things, and their reconciliation.
For the first aspect, the lordship of Christ consists in the fact that "all things were created through him and for him " (Col 1,16). The second dimension centers on the Paschal mystery: Through the death of his Son on the Cross, God reconciled very creature to him; he made peace between heaven and earth.
Resurrecting him from the dead, he gave him the primacy of the firstborn in the new creation, the 'fullness' of every reality, 'head of the mystical Body' of the Church (cfr Col 1,18-20).
We are once again before the Cross, the central event in the mystery of Christ. In the Pauline vision, the Cross is framed within the entire economy of salvation, where the kingliness of Jesus is seen in all its cosmic amplitude.
This text of the Apostle expresses a synthesis of truth and faith so powerful that we cannot but remain profoundly admiring. The Church is the repository of the mystery of Christ: It is so, in all humility and without a shadow of pride or arrogance, because it is a gift that she received freely, not through any merit, and which she is called on to give freely to mankind in every age as the horizon of meaning and salvation.
Itr is not philosophy, or gnosis, even if it does embrace wisdom and knowledge. It is the mystery of Christ - Christ himself, Logos incarnate, who died and resurrected to become King of the Universe.
How can we not feel a wave of enthusiasm filled with gratitude for having been admitted to contemplate the splendor of this revelation? How can we not feel at the same time the joy and the responsibity of serving this King, to testify with our life and words to his Lordship?
This, in a particular manner, is our task, venerated brothers cardinals: to announce to the world the truth of Christ, hope for every man and the entire human family.
In the wake of the Second Vatican Council, my venerated predecessors, the Servants of God Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II, were authentic heralds of the kingliness of Christ to the contemporary world.
For me, it is a reason for comfort to be able to count always on you, collegially as well as individually, so that I, too, may fulfill the fundamental mission of the Petrine minsitry.
Closely united to this mission is an aspect which I wish, in conclusion, to touch upon and entrust to your prayers: peace among all the disciples of Christ as a sign of the peace which Jesus came to establish in the world.
We heard the great news in the Christologic hymn: It pleased God to 'make peace' in the universe through the Cross of Christ (cfr Col 1,20).
The Church is that part of humanity in which the kingliness of Christ is already manifest and whose preferential manifestation is peace. It is the new Jerusalem, still imperfect while it is a pilgrim through history, but able to anticipate in some way the heavenly Jerusalem.
Here we can also refer to the text of the Responsorial Psalm, the 121st (122nd) - it belongs to the so-called 'songs of ascent' and it is the hymn of joy of the pilgrims who, reaching the gates of the holy city, address it with a greeting of peace: Shalom!
According to popular etymology, the word Jerusalem meant 'city of peace' - the peace which the Messiah, son of David, would install in the fullness of time. In Jerusalem, we recognize a metaphor for the Church, sacrament of Christ and his Kingdom.
Dear brother cardinals, this Psalm expreses well the ardent song of love for the Church which you certainly carry in your hearts. You have dedicated your life in the service of the Church, and now you are called on to carry out a higher responsibility within it.
May the words of the Psalm have your full adherence: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!" (v. 6) The prayer for peace and unity constitutes your first and principal mission, so that the Church may be 'firm and compact' (v. 3), sign and instrument of unity for the entire human race (cfr
Lumen gentium, 1).
I wish to place - or rather, let us all together - place this mission under the vigilant protection of the Mother of the Church, the Most Holy mary. To her, united with her Son on Calvary and assumed as Queen to glory at his side, let us entrust the new cardinals, the College of Cardinals, and the entire Catholic community, committed to sow in the furrows of history the seeds of the Kingdom of Christ, Lord of life and Prince of peace.