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1. “I beg you to lead a life worthy of
the calling to which you have been called” (Eph 4:1). Saint Paul
wrote these words to the Ephesians. His exhortation, dear brothers
and sisters, resounds today in our assembly with particular
timeliness.
But what is the vocation of a Christian? The answer is demanding,
but clear: the vocation of Christian is holiness. It is a vocation
which has its roots in Baptism and is proposed anew by the other
sacraments, and principally by the Eucharist.
Dear brothers and sisters of the Dioceses of Djakovo and Srijem, the
Bishop of Rome has come among you today in order to to remind you,
in the name of the Lord, that you are called to holiness in every
season of life: in the spring of youth, in the summer of maturity,
then in the autumn and winter of old age, and at last at the hour of
death and even beyond death, in the final purification preordained
by God’s merciful love.
2. I wish to recall this fundamental truth today, as I celebrate
together with you the solemn conclusion of the second Synod of your
local Church, to which you have devoted almost five years of prayer
and reflection on the theme: “You are the Christ, for us and for all
men and women.” May the Synod produce abundant fruits for a re-newal
of Christian commitment in this land which is firmly linked to the
See of Peter. Indeed, today, 7 June, is the anniversary of the
letters sent in 879 by Pope John VIII to Prince Branimir and to
Bishop Theodosius, which mark a significant date in your history
I cordially greet your Bishop, Marin Srakic, and I thank him for his
words of welcome at the opening of this liturgical celebration.
Together with him I greet your Auxiliary Bishops and your Bishop
Emeritus, Ciril Kos. I embrace with affection the Bishops and all
the faithful of the Dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of
Zagreb, which is celebrating the hundredth and fiftieth anniversary
of its establishment. My thoughts also go to the pilgrims who have
come with their Pastors from Bosnia-Hercegovina, from Hungary, and
from Serbia and Montenegro.
In this city of Osijek, I wish to recall Cardinal Franjo Seper, who
was born here. A faithful servant of the Church, he was my valued
co-worker as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith at the beginning of my Pontificate.
I greet our brothers and sisters who share with us faith in Jesus,
the Son of God and the one Saviour of the world. In particular I
greet Metropolitan Jovan and the other Bishops of the Serbian
Orthodox Church. I ask them to convey to His Be-atitude Patriarch
Pavle my fraternal greetings in the love of Christ. My greeting also
goes to our brothers and sisters of the Communities born of the
Reformation.
I also offer respectful greetings to the members of the Jewish
Community and to the followers of Islam. Finally my respectful
greetings go to the civil and military Authorities, whom I thank
most heartily for their commitment to the preparation of this
Pastoral Visit.
3. “I appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your
fruit should abide” (Jn 15:16). How can we not be grateful to God
for the clearer awareness which, in the years following the Second
Vatican Council, the lay faithful – men and women alike – have
gained of the baptismal dignity that is theirs? Christ’s followers
can never cultivate sufficiently the awareness of their proper
identity. This in fact is the model for their mission.
Consequently there are essential questions to which we continually
need to respond: What have I done with my Baptism and my
Confirmation? Is Christ truly the centre of my life? Do I give space
to prayer during my day? Do I live my life as a vocation and a
mission?
4. At the beginning of the third millennium God is calling
believers, and the laity in particular, to a renewed missionary
outreach. Mission is not “something added on” to the Christian
vocation. Indeed, the Council states that the Christian vocation is
by its very nature a vocation to the apostolate (cf. Apostolicam
Actuositatem, 2).
Dear brothers and sisters, the Church in Slavonia and Srijem has
need of you! After the trying times of the war, which has left the
people of this region with deep wounds not yet completely healed, a
commitment to reconciliation, solidarity and so-cial justice calls
for courage on the part of individuals inspired by faith, open to
brotherly love and concerned for defending the dignity of the human
person made in the image of God.
Dear lay faithful, men and women, you are called to assume
generously your own share of responsibility for the life of the
ecclesial communities to which you be-long. The image which parishes
present, as places of welcome and of mission, also depends upon you.
As sharers in the priestly, prophetic and royal office of Christ
(cf. Lumen Gentium, 34-36), enriched by the gifts of the Holy
Spirit, you can make your contribution in the areas of liturgy and
catechesis, and in the promotion of missionary and charitable
initiatives of various kinds. No baptized person can remain idle!
Do not grow discouraged in the face of complex situations! Seek in
prayer the source of all strength for the apostolate and draw from
the Gospel the light to guide your steps.
5. “Great is the Lord in all his works,” proclaims the Responsorial
Psalm. On my flight to Osijek, I was able to admire the beauty of
the plain of Slavonia – known as “the granary of Croatia” – and my
thoughts naturally turned to the field workers, so numerous in this
region. I greet them with particular affection.
Dear brothers and sisters, I know that your life is a hard one and
that the yield of the earth’s fruits does not at times match the
hard work which is demanded of you. I also know that farm work has
its own serious difficulties: it has lost a part of its value and
young people were already choosing urban life even before the last
war, which left many villages with scarcely any inhabitants.
I invite you to not lose confidence and to bear in mind that by your
manual work – which eloquently recalls the Biblical duty entrusted
to man of “subduing” the earth and to “having dominion” over the
visible world (cf. Gen 1:28) – you are daily “cooperators” of God
the Creator. Know that the Pope and the Church are close to you and,
with great esteem for the importance and dignity of your daily toil,
they pray that agriculture and field workers, both men and women,
will receive due recognition within the overall development of the
community (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 67; Laborem Exercens, 21).
6. The Apostle Paul has reminded us that there is “one God and
Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Eph
4:6). It is he, God the Father, who calls all of us to holiness and
to mission. By experiencing fully the newness of Easter, Christians
can transform the world and build the civilization of truth and
love. To him, who reigns in glory in every age be praise, glory and
honour!
I commend you to Mary, the Spouse of Joseph and the Mother of Jesus,
whom you greatly venerate at the shrines of Aljmas and Vocin. May
she be your teacher and obtain for you the spirit of contemplation
which was hers in Nazareth, the courageous strength which she showed
at Calvary and the missionary openness to the Spirit which, together
with the original community, she received at Pentecost. May Mary
bring all of you to Jesus! |
