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1. In the final days of his earthly
life, Jesus promises his disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit as
his greatest legacy, the continuation of his own presence (cf. Jn
14:16-17).
The Gospel just proclaimed has enabled us to relive the moment in
which that prom-ise became a reality: the Risen Lord enters the
Upper Room, greets the disciples, breathes on them and says:
“Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20:22). Pentecost, de-scribed in
today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, is the event
that made publicly evident, fifty days later, the gift which Jesus
bestowed upon his disciples on the evening of Easter.
The Church of Christ is always, so to speak, in a situation of
Pentecost: she is al-ways gathered in the Upper Room in prayer, and
at the same time, driven by the powerful wind of the Spirit, she is
always on the streets preaching. The Church is kept ever young and
alive, one, holy, catholic and apostolic, because the Spirit
con-stantly descends upon her in order to remind her of all that the
Lord has said to her (cf. Jn 14:25) and to guide her into the
fullness of truth (cf. Jn 16:13).
2. Today I wish to greet with special affection that portion of the
Church which makes its pilgrim way in the land of Croatia, gathered
here around its Pastors and represented in its richness and variety
by the faithful coming from different regions of the country.
I embrace the Archbishop of Rijeka, the Most Reverend Ivan Devcic,
who has greeted me in the name of all present, and Archbishop
Emeritus Josip Pavlisic, who was present with me at the Second
Vatican Council: I join him in giving thanks to God for the
sixty-fifth anniversary of his Priestly Ordination which he
celebrated last April. I wish to greet in particular the President
of the Episcopal Conference, the Most Reverend Josip Bozanic, the
Archbishop of Zagreb, and all the Bishops of Croatia, as well as the
Cardinals and Bishops who have come from other countries.
My respectful greetings go also to the President of the Republic and
to the other civil and military Authorities. I thank them for their
presence and for their valuable assis-tance in the planning and
realization of this, my third Pastoral Visit in Croatia.
I offer a special greeting to the many families present here on this
day dedicated to the family: you are an important part of society
and the Church, for “marriage and the family constitute one of the
most precious of human values” (Familiaris Consortio, 1).
3. We have gathered at the foot of this hill, beneath the Shrine of
Trsat, where, according to a devout tradition, the house of the
Virgin Mary stopped. Recalling the life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph at
Nazareth reminds us of the austere beauty and simplicity, and the
sacredness and inviolability of the Christian family.
In contemplating Mary and Joseph as they present the Child Jesus in
the Temple or on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Christian parents
can see a reflection of them-selves as they take part in the Sunday
Eucharist with their children or gather in prayer at home. Here I
would recall the programme that your Bishops initiated years ago at
Nin: “The Croatian Catholic family prays daily and celebrates the
Eucharist every Sunday”. If this is to happen, it is essential to
show respect for sacredness of Sunday, which enables members of the
family to recollect themselves and to join in giving due worship to
God.
Nowdays the family, also in Croatia, requires special consideration
and concrete policies aimed at promoting and protecting its
essential nature, its development and its stability. Among other
things, I am thinking of the serious problems associated with
housing and employment. It must not be forgotten that in helping the
family we also help to resolve other important problems, such as
providing assistance to the sick and the elderly, stopping the
spread of crime, and finding a remedy to drug use.
4. Dear Christian families, do not be afraid to present to others,
first and fore-most by the witness of your lives, God’s authentic
plan for the family as a community of life founded on marriage, in
other words, on the stable and faithful union of a man and a woman,
bound to each other by a bond which is publicly manifested and
rec-ognized.
It is your responsibility to provide for the human and Christian
education of your chil-dren, trusting also in the expert assistance
of committed and well-trained educators and catechists. This city of
Rijeka venerates as its patron Saint Vitus, a young man who did not
hesitate to give his life in order to preserve that fidelity to
Christ which he had learned from his holy parents Modestus and
Crescentia. Like them, you too must help your children to encounter
Jesus and to follow him, even amid the tempta-tions to which young
people are continuously exposed, along the path that leads to
authentic joy.
In carrying out your ministry as parents, do not tire of repeating
the invocation that for centuries the citizens of Rijeka have
confidently raised before the miraculous Crucifix venerated in their
Cathedral: “Pomogao nam sveti Kriz svetog Vida!” (May the holy Cross
of Saint Vitus come to our aid!).
5. Society today is tragically fragmented and divided. This is the
reason why it is so desperately unfulfilled. But Christians do not
become resigned to weariness or paralyzed by inertia. May you be a
people of hope! May you be a people which prays: “Come from the four
winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live”
(Ez 37:14). May you be a people which believes in the Word spoken by
God and accomplished in Christ: “I will put my Spirit within you,
and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land; then you
shall know that I, the Lord, have spo-ken, and I have done it, says
the Lord” (Ez 37:14).
Christ’s desire is that all people should be one in him, so that all
may experience the fullness of his joy (cf. Jn 15:11; 17:13). Today
too he expresses this desire, for the Church which is ourselves. For
this reason he, together with the Father, has sent us the Holy
Spirit. The Spirit is tirelessly at work, overcoming every division
and healing every wound.
6. Saint Paul has reminded us that “the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, pa-tience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control” (Gal 5:22-23). To-day the Pope invokes these gifts of
the Spirit on all the Christian married couples of Croatia, that by
their mutual gift of self, in fidelity to the duties of marriage and
in ser-vice to the cause of the Gospel, they may be in the world a
sign of God’s love for humanity.
I invoke these gifts upon all of you who take part in this
celebration and upon all who here reconfirm your commitment to bear
witness to Christ and his Gospel.
“Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in
them the fire of your love” (Gospel Acclamation).
Come, Holy Spirit! Amen.
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