VATICAN - Benedict XVI in Santa Maria di Leuca and Brindisi - “The sanctity and the missionary nature of the Church are two sides of the same coin. Only in as much as she is saintly - that is, full of divine love - can the Church achieve her mission”

Brindisi (Agenzia Fides) – On Sunday, June 15, the Holy Father Benedict XVI presided the Mass at the Port of Brindisi in the “Banchina di Sant’Apollinare.” Various Bishops and a numerous group of priests from the Puglia region concelebrated the Mass with the Holy Father. The event was also attended by the Metropolitan Patriarch Gennadios, whom the Pope greeted, “extending [a greeting] to all our Orthodox brethren and those of other creeds.”
“The biblical texts we have just heard on this 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time", the Pope said in his homily, "help us to understand the truth of the Church: the first reading (cf. Ex. 19:2-6a) recalls the alliance made on Mount Sinai, during the exodus into Egypt; the Gospel explains the call and mission of the twelve Apostles. Here we find a presentation of the Church’s ‘constitution.’ We cannot help but sense the implicit invitation being made to every community to be renewed in its own vocation and missionary task.”
Reflecting on the readings, the Holy Father explained the meaning of the alliance God makes with Moses and Israel on Sinai: “It is one of the great moments in salvation history, one of these moments that transcends history itself, in which the boundaries of Old and New Testament fade and reveal God’s perennial plan: the plan to save all mankind through the sanctification of a people.” Thus, Jesus’ call to the Apostles: “The Twelve cooperate with Jesus in building the Kingdom of God, that is, His reign of goodness that brings life, and life in abundance, for all humanity. In her very essence, the Church, as Christ and together with Him, is called and sent to build the Kingdom of life and drive out the dominion of death, so that the life of God may triumph in the world, so that God who is Love may triumph. This work of Christ is always in silence; it does not have a spectacular character. In the humility of being the Church, of living the Gospel every day, is where the great tree of true life grows. Precisely in these humble beginnings, the Lord encourages us so that in the humility of the Church today, in the poverty of our Christian lives, we may perceive His presence and thus, find the strength to journey towards Him and to make His love, this power of peace and of true life, present on this earth.”
God’s plan to “bestow His life-generating love upon humanity and the entire universe,” is not a spectacular process, Benedict XVI highlighted. The Lord wishes to implement it “while respecting our own freedom, because love by its nature cannot be imposed.” The Church is then, in Christ, “the place for welcoming and mediating God's love. In this perspective it is clear how the sanctity and the missionary nature of the Church are two sides of the same coin. Only in as much as she is saintly - that is, full of divine love - can the Church achieve her mission, and its precisely by virtue of this task that God has chosen her and sanctified her as His property. Thus, our primary duty in healing this world, is that of being holy, conformed to God. In this way, from us will flow a sanctifying and transforming power that can have an influence on others and on history.” On this “sanctity-mission” theme, the Church in Brindisi is taking steps through the celebration of its Diocesan Synod.
The Pope later mentioned that “the twelve Apostles were not perfect men, chosen for their irreprehensible moral and religious qualities. They were certainly believers, full of enthusiasm and zeal, but marked by their human limitations, sometimes serious limitations. Therefore, Jesus did not call them because they were already perfect saints, but so that they would become saints, so that they could be transformed and in turn, transform history. The same is true for us, for all Christians.” Recalling the second reading from the Mass, from the Apostle, Saint Paul, the Pope explained that “the Church is a community of sinners who believe in the love of God and allow themselves to be transformed by Him, and thus they become saints and sanctify the world.” The Holy Father confirmed the path of the local Church, “a path of sanctity and mission,” and continued, saying, “today’s Gospel presents us with the missionary method, in other words the inner attitude that is translated into real life. It cannot but be that of Jesus: the method of 'compassion’... Christian compassion has no connection with pietism, with the simple provision of assistance. Rather it is a synonym of solidarity and sharing, and it is animated by hope.” At the end of his homily, the Holy Father encouraged the faithful “of this ancient Church of Brindisi,” to be “signs and instruments of the compassion and mercy of Christ,” as “all the members of the People of God participate in various ways in Jesus’ mission, through the grace of Baptism and Confirmation... All of us, within the variety of charisms and ministries, are called to work in the Lord’s vineyard.” (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 17/6/2008)