VATICAN CITY, JUN 5, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father celebrated Mass at 5:15 p.m. today in the hippodrome of Sopot, a city northwest of Gdansk, on the occasion of the millennium of the canonization of St. Adalbert, archbishop of Gnessen and missionary to the Poles. Also known as the Apostle of Prussia, he died in 997 in Gdansk and was canonized two years later.
John Paul II told the more than 700,000 faithful present that he carried all the memories of his visit 12 years ago to Gniezno and the tomb of St. Adalbert, "in the depths of my heart. From the viewpoint of history, how different those times were! Other experiences and other challenges were then confronting the nation. At that time I spoke with you but, in a certain sense, I was also speaking in your name. Today things are different, I am moved as I remember those times, conscious of the great things that have since come about in our homeland."
The Holy Father then turned to today's Gospel where Christ tells us "'Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect'. ... This primordial human vocation has been inscribed by the Creator in man's nature. It is what makes every person seek love, even if at times he does so by choosing the evil of sin, which presents itself under the appearance of good." He stressed that when we seek to arrive at love and happiness without God, "in a groping way, ... in pleasures, in material things and what is earthly and transient," it deludes and is "painful for humanity."
"Dear brothers and sisters," exhorted the Pope, ""Do not let yourselves be intimidated by those who point to sin as the way to happiness. ... Man will never be happy at the expense of another man, destroying his freedom, trampling upon his dignity and cultivating selfishness."
John Paul II then relived events "in the land of Gdansk" during World War II, in December 1970, when workers took to the city's streets and "August 1980, a time of hope, and finally the dramatic period of martial law. ... It was in this city that 'Solidarnosc' (Solidarity) was born 19 years ago." This was, he added, "an event which signalled a turning point in the history of our nation and of Europe. ... At that time I heard you say in Gdansk: 'There is no freedom without solidarity'. Today we need to say: 'There is no solidarity without love'.
"We are therefore called," affirmed the Pope, "to build the future based on love of God and neighbor, establishing the 'civilization of love'. Today the world and Poland need great-hearted men who serve with humility and love."
He concluded. "Much has changed and is still changing in Poland. The centuries pass, and Poland grows, ... like a great, historic oak tree with healthy roots. Let us thank Divine Providence for blessing this 1,000 year process of growth with the presence of St. Adalbert and with his martyr's death on the Baltic."
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