Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Pompeii (Agenzia Fides) - “I have come, especially, to entrust the Mother of God, in whose womb to Word was made flesh, the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops taking place in the Vatican on the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church. My visit also coincides with the celebration of World Mission Sunday: contemplating in Mary, She who received the Word of God and gave Him to the world, we pray in this Mass for all those who in the Church exert their energies in service of the proclamation of the Gospel to all nations.” With these words, the Holy Father Benedict XVI explained the motivations that led him to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii on October 19, following in the footsteps of Servant of God John Paul II.
In the homily in the Mass which he presided in the Square of the Shrine, Benedict XVI commented on the readings from the Mass for the day. “The first reading and the Responsorial Psalm express the joy of the People of Israel for the salvation that comes from God, salvation that is freedom from evil and hope for new life...Yes, the love of God has this capacity of renewing everything, beginning with the human heart, his masterpiece and the place where the Holy Spirit best performs His transforming action. With His grace, God renews man's heart, forgiving his sin, He reconciles him to Himself and inclines his heart to the good. All this is seen in the lives of the saints, and we see it in a special manner in the apostolic work of Blessed Bartolo Longo, founder of the new Pompeii.”
In the Gospel passage of the Wedding at Cana, the evangelist John “symbolically reveals that Jesus is the spouse of Israel, of the new Israel, which all of us faithful form a part of. He is the spouse that comes to bring the grace of the New Covenant, represented in the 'good wine.' At the same time, the Gospel highlights the role of Mary, who... personifies the beloved bride of the Lord, meaning the people he has chosen to spread his blessing to the entire human family. The symbol of the wine, united to that of the banquet, offer once more the theme of joy and festivity. The wine, like the other Biblical images of the vineyard and the vine, is a metaphorical reference to love: God is the owner of the vineyard, Israel is the vineyard, a vineyard that will find its perfect realization in Christ, of whom we are the branches. The wine is the fruit, that is to say, the love, because that is what God expects from His children...St. Paul also exhorts love in the Second Reading, from the Letter to the Romans. These pages delineate a program for the life of a Christian community, whose members have been renewed by love and who continually strive to renew themselves in order to discern the will of God and not to fall into the conformity of a worldly mentality.”
The Holy Father then reflected on the fact that “the characteristic of Christian civilization is charity: God's love that is translated into love of others.” Turning his thought to Bartolo Longo, the Pope recalled how he established a “a Marian citadel of charity, not isolated from the world...but founded here in this valley, rescuing and promoting it.” “The strength of charity is irresistible: it is love that truly carries the world forward!" the Pope emphasized, adding that “where God comes, the desert blooms!”
“Blessed Bartolo Longo, with his personal conversion he bore witness to a great spiritual force that transforms us from within, making us capable of carrying out great things according to God's plan. The story of his spiritual crisis and conversion are of great pertinence today,” the Pope continued. “His conversion, with the discovery of the true face of God, holds a very eloquent message for us, because unfortunately, the same tendencies are present in our day. In this Year of Saint Paul, I like to point out how Bartolo Longo, like Saint Paul, went from being persecutor to apostle: apostle of the Christian faith, Marian devotion – especially the Rosary, in which he found a synthesis of the entire Gospel.” The city of Pompeii, re-founded by Bartolo Longo, “is an example of how faith can work in the city of man, creating apostles of charity who place themselves at the service of the weak and the poor, and who work to that even the weakest may be respected in their dignity and find acceptance and support. Here in Pompeii it is evident that the love of God and neighbor are inseparable.”
Concluding his homily, the Holy Father entrusted all families to the care of the Virgin Mary, as they are “fundamental cells for society,” and he recalled how the Rosary is “a contemplative prayer that is accessible to all: large and small, laity and clergy, the learned and the uneducated...it is a spiritual 'weapon' in the fight against evil and all violence, for peace in our hearts, our families, our society, and our world.” At the end of the Mass, prior to the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father recited a prayer of Supplication to the Virgin of Pompeii. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 21/10/2008)
