 |
| Benedict XVI signing Ecclesia in Medio Oriente |
"Your presence
makes my signing of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation
Ecclesia in
Medio Oriente all the more solemn; it testifies that this document,
while addressed to the universal Church, has a particular importance for
the entire Middle East.
Providentially, this event takes place
on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, a celebration
originating in the East in 335, following the dedication of the Basilica
of the Resurrection built over Golgotha and our Lord’s tomb by the
Emperor Constantine the Great, whom you venerate as saint. A month from
now we will celebrate the seventeen-hundredth anniversary of the
appearance to Constantine of the
Chi-Rho, radiant in the symbolic night
of his unbelief and accompanied by the words: "In this sign you will
conquer!" Later, Constantine signed the Edict of Milan, and gave his
name to Constantinople. It seems to me that the Post-Synodal Exhortation
can be read and understood in the light of this Feast of the Exaltation
of the Cross, and more particularly in the light of the
Chi-Rho, the
two first letters of the Greek word "Christos". Reading it in this way
leads to renewed appreciation of the identity of each baptized person
and of the Church, and is at the same time a summons to witness in and
through communion.
Are not Christian communion and witness grounded in
the Paschal Mystery, in the crucifixion, death and resurrection of
Christ? Is it not there that they find their fulfilment? There is an
inseparable bond between the cross and the resurrection which Christians
must never forget. Without this bond, to exalt the cross would mean to
justify suffering and death, seeing them merely as our inevitable fate.
For Christians, to exalt the cross means to be united to the totality of
God’s unconditional love for mankind. It means making an act of faith!
To exalt the cross, against the backdrop of the resurrection, means to
desire to experience and to show the totality of this love. It means
making an act of love! To exalt the cross means to be a committed herald
of fraternal and ecclesial communion, the source of authentic Christian
witness. It means making an act of hope!
In examining the
present situation of the Church in the Middle East, the Synod Fathers
reflected on the joys and struggles, the fears and hopes of Christ’s
disciples in these lands. In this way, the entire Church was able to
hear the troubled cry and see the desperate faces of many men and women
who experience grave human and material difficulties, who live amid
powerful tensions in fear and uncertainty, who desire to follow Christ –
the One who gives meaning to their existence – yet often find
themselves prevented from doing so. That is why I wanted the First
Letter of Saint Peter to serve as the framework of the document. At the
same time, the Church was able to admire all that is beautiful and noble
in the Churches in these lands. How can we fail to thank God at every
moment for all of you (cf. 1 Th 1:2; Part One of the Post-Synodal
Exhortation), dear Christians of the Middle East! How can we fail to
praise him for your courage and faith? How can we fail to thank him for
the flame of his infinite love which you continue to keep alive and
burning in these places which were the first to welcome his incarnate
Son? How can we fail to praise and thank him for your efforts to build
ecclesial and fraternal communion, and for the human solidarity which
you constantly show to all God’s children?
Ecclesia in Medio
Oriente makes it possible to rethink the present in order to look to the
future with the eyes of Christ. By its biblical and pastoral
orientation, its invitation to deeper spiritual and ecclesiological
reflection, its call for liturgical and catechetical renewal, and its
summons to dialogue, the Exhortation points out a path for rediscovering
what is essential: being a follower of Christ even in difficult and
sometimes painful situations which may lead to the temptation to ignore
or to forget the exaltation of the cross. It is here and now that we are
called to celebrate the victory of love over hate, forgiveness over
revenge, service over domination, humility over pride, and unity over
division. In the light of today’s Feast, and in view of a fruitful
application of the Exhortation, I urge all of you to fear not, to stand
firm in truth and in purity of faith. This is the language of the cross,
exalted and glorious! This is the "folly" of the cross: a folly capable
of changing our sufferings into a declaration of love for God and mercy
for our neighbour; a folly capable of transforming those who suffer
because of their faith and identity into vessels of clay ready to be
filled to overflowing by divine gifts more precious than gold (cf. 2 Cor
4:7-18). This is more than simply picturesque language: it is a
pressing appeal to act concretely in a way which configures us ever more
fully to Christ, in a way which helps the different Churches to reflect
the beauty of the first community of believers (cf. Acts 2:41-47: Part
Two of the Exhortation); in a way like that of the Emperor Constantine,
who could bear witness and bring Christians forth from discrimination to
enable them openly and freely to live their faith in Christ crucified,
dead and risen for the salvation of all.
Ecclesia in Medio
Oriente provides some elements that are helpful for a personal and
communal examination of conscience, and an objective evaluation of the
commitment and desire for holiness of each one of Christ’s disciples.
The Exhortation shows openness to authentic interreligious dialogue
based on faith in the one God, the Creator. It also seeks to contribute
to an ecumenism full of human, spiritual and charitable fervour, in
evangelical truth and love, drawing its strength from the commandment of
the risen Lord: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Behold, I
am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:19-20).
The
Exhortation as a whole is meant to help each of the Lord’s disciples to
live fully and to pass on faithfully to others what he or she has become
by Baptism: a child of light, sharing in God’s own light, a lamp newly
lit amid the troubled darkness of this world, so that the light may
shine in the darkness (cf. Jn 1:4f. and 2 Cor 4:1-6). The document seeks
to help purify the faith from all that disfigures it, from everything
that can obscure the splendour of Christ’s light. For communion is true
fidelity to Christ, and Christian witness is the radiance of the paschal
mystery which gives full meaning to the cross, exalted and glorious. As
his followers, "we proclaim Christ crucified … the power of God and the
wisdom of God" (1 Cor 1:23-24; cf. Part Three of the Exhortation).
"Fear
not, little flock" (Lk 12:32) and remember the promise made to
Constantine: "In this sign you will conquer!" Churches of the Middle
East, fear not, for the Lord is truly with you, to the close of the age!
Fear not, because the universal Church walks at your side and is
humanly and spiritually close to you! It is with this hope and this word
of encouragement to be active heralds of the faith by your communion
and witness, that on Sunday I will entrust the Post-Synodal Exhortation
Ecclesia in Medio Oriente to my venerable brother Patriarchs,
Archbishops and Bishops, and to all priests, deacons, men and women
religious, the seminarians and all the lay faithful. "Be of good cheer"
(Jn 16:33)! Through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the Theotókos, I
invoke God’s abundant gifts upon all of you with great affection! God
grant that all the peoples of the Middle East may live in peace,
fraternity and religious freedom! May God bless all of you!"
Benedict XVI, Melkite Greek Basilica of Saint Paul, in Harissa, Lebanon, 14 September 2012.
