Benedict XVI greets the crowd at Mass at Yankee Stadium.
Image by: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
The pope's message today at Yankee Stadium in NY is as masterful a piece of weaving the scriptures into a homily as you will find. Once again, I direct you to Rocco's place for the complete text.
One paragraph particular stands out as I read Benedict's homily because it so clearly addresses us on the parish level as we deal with the disappointments and tensions of parish closings and mergers in dioceses around the country, including the Archdiocese of Boston:
Today's first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, speaks of linguistic and cultural tensions already present within the earliest Church community. At the same time, it shows the power of the word of God, authoritatively proclaimed by the Apostles and received in faith, to create a unity which transcends the divisions arising from human limitations and weakness. Here we are reminded of a fundamental truth: that the Church's unity has no other basis than the Word of God, made flesh in Christ Jesus our Lord. All external signs of identity, all structures, associations and programs, valuable or even essential as they may be, ultimately exist only to support and foster the deeper unity which, in Christ, is God's indefectible gift to his Church.
We all have a long way to go in understanding and accepting this message but it contains an undeniable truth. The future of the Church in America will, no doubt, witness more change in our "external signs of identity" and we will need to continue to learn that our unity is rooted not in these but in the Word of God, made flesh in Christ Jesus our Lord.
-ConcordPastor
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please THINK before you write
and PRAY before you think!