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1. “Good Teacher, what must I do to
inherit eternal life?” (Mk 10:17). This was the question asked by
the young man who met Jesus that day and knelt down before him.
Today, dear brothers and sisters, gathered in this liturgical
assembly as disciples of the “Good Teacher”, we too put this
question to Jesus, for we wish to know the path which leads to
undying life.
Jesus’ response is simple and immediate: “Keep the commandments!”.
It comes from the One who is the true source of truth and life.
Gathered for this joyous cele-bration, the people of Dubrovnik,
together with the pilgrims who have come from the rest of Croatia,
from Bosnia-Hercegovina, from Montenegro and from other coun-tries,
accept with trepidation the invitation of the Good Teacher, and they
implore his help and grace in order to be able to respond with
generosity and conviction.
2. With affection I greet you, dear brothers and sisters, together
with your Bish-ops and the priests and religious who accompany you
on the path of your witness to Christ. I cordially greet the Bishop
of Dubrovnic, the Most Reverend Zelimir Puljic, whom I thank for his
kind words of welcome, and in a special way the Daughters of Mercy
founded by the new Blessed. My respectful greetings also go to the
civil and military authorities; I thank them and all those who have
helped to make my visit possible.
In the footsteps of my predecessor Pius IV who was Archbishop here,
I have come with joy to this ancient and glorious city of Dubrovnik,
a city proud of its history and its traditions of freedom, justice
and the advancement of the common good. This is seen in the lapidary
phrase inscribed on the fortress of Saint Lawrence: Non bene pro
toto libertas venditur auro (“Freedom cannot be sold for all the
money in the world”) and above the door of the Council Hall in the
Governor’s Palace: Obliti priva-torum, publica curate (“Forget all
private interests, and tend to public concerns”).
It is my hope that the patrimony of human and Christian values,
accumulated down the centuries, will continue, with the help of God
and of your Patron Saint Blase, to be the most precious treasure of
the people of this country.
3. “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mk
10:17). This is the question that Sister Marija of Jesus Crucified
asked her Lord from the time of her youth in Blato on the island of
Korcula, when she took active part in the life of her parish and
devoted herself generously to others in the Association of the Good
Shepherd, in the Association of Catholic Mothers, and in the
people’s Kitchen.
The response echoed clearly in her heart: “Come and follow me!”
Overwhelmed by the love of God, she chose to consecrate herself to
him for ever and to fulfil her aspi-ration to total devotion to the
spiritual and material well-being of those most in need. Later she
founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Mercy of the Third
Order Regular of Saint Francis, with the specific task of “spreading
knowledge of God’s love through the spiritual and corporal works of
mercy.” Difficulties were not lacking, but Sister Marija persevered
with indomitable courage, offering up her sufferings as so many acts
of worship and supporting her Sisters by her words and her example.
For forty years she guided her Institute with maternal wisdom,
opening it to mission-ary commitment in various countries of Latin
America.
4. The figure of Blessed Marija Propetoga Isusa reminds me of all
the women of Croatia, those who are wives and mothers, those whose
lives were for ever changed by the grief of losing a family member
in the cruel war of the 1990s or by other bitter troubles which they
have endured.
I think of you, dear women, because by your sensitivity, generosity
and strength, “you enrich the world’s understanding and help to make
human relations more hon-est and authentic” (Letter to Women, 2). In
a special way God has entrusted chil-dren to your care, and thus you
are called to become an important support in the life of every
person, especially within the context of the family.
The frenetic pace of modern life can lead to an obscuring or even a
loss of what is truly human. Perhaps more than in other periods of
history, our time is in need of “that ‘genius’ which belongs to
women, and which can ensure sensitivity for human beings in every
circumstance” (Mulieris Dignitatem, 30).
Women of Croatia, conscious of your lofty vocation as “wives” and
“mothers”, con-tinue to see every person with the eyes of the heart.
Continue to reach out to them and to stand beside them with the
sensitivity born of your maternal instinct. Your presence is
indispensable in the family, in society, and in the ecclesial
community.
5. In a particular way, I think of you, consecrated women, who, like
Marija Petkovic, who have accepted the invitation to follow with
undivided heart Jesus Christ, chaste, poor and obedient.
Be tireless in responding faithfully to the one Love of your life.
For the consecrated life is not only a generous commitment on the
part of a human being; it is first and foremost a response to a gift
from on high which cries out to be accepted in com-plete openness.
May the daily experience of God’s freely-given love inspire you to
give your lives unreservedly to the service of the Church and of
your brothers and sisters commending all things, present and future,
to his hands.
6. “Jesus looking upon him loved him” (Mk 10:21). God turns a loving
gaze upon all those who desire to do his will and to walk in his
ways (cf. Ps 1:1-3). All people, each according to his or her
specific vocation, are called to bring about within themselves and
all about them the plan of God. That is why the Spirit of the Lord
fills God’s faithful ones with “compassion, kindness, lowliness,
meekness and patience” (Col 3:12). Only thus can the earthly city be
built in the image of the heav-enly city.
May your Christian community grow and be strengthened in mutual
forgiveness, charity and peace: this is the prayer that the Pope
today raises to the Lord for all of you.
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of
the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col
3:17).
To Christ be glory for ever and ever! |
