Sunday, September 28, 2008

On John Paul I - XVI A

Benedict XVI

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Today the liturgy proposes to us the Gospel parable of the two sons whom the father sent out to work in his vineyard. One of them immediately says yes, but then does not go; the other at first refuses, but then, repenting, follows his father’s wishes.

With this parable Jesus emphasizes his predilection for sinners who convert, and he teaches us that humility is essential for welcoming the gift of salvation. St. Paul, too, in the passage from the Letter to the Philippians that we meditate on today, calls for humility. “Do nothing out of selfishness or vainglory,” he writes, “but humbly regard others as superior to you” (Philippians 2:3). These are Christ’s own sentiments, he who laid aside divine glory for love of us, became man and lowered himself even to dying on the cross (cf. Philippians 2:5-8). The Greek verb that is used here, “ekenôsen,” literally means that he “emptied himself” and places the profound humility and infinite love of Jesus, the humble Servant par excellence, in a clear light.

Reflecting on these biblical texts, I immediately thought of Pope John Paul I, the 30th anniversary of whose death is today. He chose Charles Borromeo’s motto as his own episcopal motto: “Humilitas”: a single word that synthesizes what is essential in Christian life and indicates the indispensable virtue of those who are called to the service of authority in the Church.

In one of the four general audiences of his very brief pontificate he said, among other things, in that tone that distinguished him: “I will just recommend one virtue so dear to the Lord. He said, ‘Learn from me who am meek and humble of heart.’ … Even if you have done great things, say: ‘We are useless servants.’ Alternatively, the tendency in all of us is rather the contrary: to show off” (General Audience of Sept. 6, 1978). Humility can be considered his spiritual legacy.

Because of this virtue of his, 33 days were enough for Pope Luciani to enter into the hearts of the people. In his speeches he used examples taken from concrete life, from his memories of family life and from popular wisdom. His simplicity was a vehicle of a solid and rich teaching that, thanks to the gift of an exceptional memory and great culture, he adorned with numerous references to ecclesiastical and secular writers.

He was thus an incomparable catechist, in the line of Pius X, his fellow countryman and predecessor in the See of St. Mark and then in the see of St. Peter. “We must feel small before God,” he said in the same audience. And added: “I am not ashamed to feel like a child before his mother; one believes in one's mother; I believe in the Lord, in what he has revealed to me.”

These words display the whole breadth of his faith. As we thank God for having given him to the Church and to the world, let us treasure his example, exerting ourselves to cultivate his humility, which made him capable of talking to everyone, especially the little and so-called distant. For these intentions let us call upon Mary Most Holy, humble handmaiden of the Lord.

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