We gather today to unite
our intentions and heart with the intentions and heart of our beloved Holy
Father and to inaugurate this Year of Faith, a year to both give
thanks for and to reflect upon the fruits of the Second Vatican Council as well
as the publishing of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. One of the documents
of the Second Vatican Council teaches: “the key, the center and the purpose of
the whole of man’s history is to be found in her Lord and Master”[1].
As
Christ renews us in the life we share with and through Him, we are called to
live our faith not only in the eyes of God, but in the sight of our neighbors[2].
As you recall, last Sunday we celebrated Mass in the garden of the parish, and
we blessed the animals. And during mass I was thinking: what the neighbors are
thinking of this? What will they think when they hear the words of the
doxology, Through him, with Him and in
Him?
In
short, this Year of Faith is a call to renew one of the great themes of the
Second Vatican Council, namely, all of us are called to holiness. All of us are
called to be saints. My brother, my sister, let this be our goal: holiness is
nothing short of being united to Christ. United to Christ, He will renew His
Church. United to Christ, He will renew the society of our age; He will renew
the face of the earth.
But,
Father, how can we more united with Christ? Simple: through Confession, through
the Eucharist, through prayer. If we are not strong internally, our outer life
will be weak. The Year of Faith is as great and good a time to deepen our faith,
to learn more about the Catholic Church and discover all its treasures. And
when I say "the treasures of the Church," I mean her music, her art, her
literature, the Fathers of the Church, the medieval writers, the Liturgy of the
Hours, the documents of the Magisterium, and so many things! If we love something, we must first
know. This year is therefore a great opportunity to learn more and better to
the Church and its riches, to deepen our Catholic faith that has more than two
thousand years old and remains strong and firm.
Let
us return to Christ through regular reception of the Sacrament of
Reconciliation. Let us return to Christ in the sacramental love of Holy
Matrimony. Let us return to Christ
in Eucharistic Adoration. Let us return
to Christ through devotion to His Blessed Mother and praying the rosary. Let us return to Christ by living an
uncompromising and consistent faith in the public square. Let us return to Christ by loving God
and loving your neighbor ■
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