VATICAN CITY, MAY 29, 2005 (VIS) - This morning, the Pope traveled by helicopter to Bari for the closing ceremony of the 24th National Eucharistic Congress which was held this week in the southern Italian city, and had as its theme: "Without Sundays, We Cannot Live."
On his first apostolic trip in Italy, Benedict XVI concelebrated Mass with prelates of the Italian Episcopal Conference at 10 a.m. in the presence of 200,000 people gathered in the "Marisabella" esplanade. Following the Mass he prayed the Angelus with the faithful.
In his homily, the Pope recalled how the theme of the Eucharistic congress "takes us back to the year 304, when the emperor Diocletian prohibited Christians, on pain of death, from possessing the Scriptures and from coming together on Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist. ... In Abitene, a small town in what is today Tunisia, 49 Christians" were arrested one Sunday as they celebrated the Eucharist, "in defiance of the imperial proscription. ... Following atrocious tortures, they were put to death."
Like the martyrs of Abitene, it is not easy for Christians of this century "to live like Christians. ... The world in which we live (is) often marked by unbridled consumerism, by religious indifference and by a secularism closed to all forms of transcendence."
After recalling how God helped the Jewish people "with the gift of manna," the Pope said: "The Son of God, having been made flesh, could become Bread, and thus act as nourishment for His people on their journey to the promised land in heaven.
"We need this Bread in order to cope with the fatigue and weariness of the journey. Sunday, the day of the Lord, is the right occasion to draw strength from Him Who is the Lord of life. The precept of the feast day is not, then, simply an obligation imposed from outside. To participate in the Sunday celebration and feed on the Eucharistic bread is a need for Christians, who thus find the energy necessary for the path they must follow."
Benedict XVI emphasized that the Christ we encounter in the Sacrament of the Eucharist "is the one and same Christ present in the Eucharistic bread all over the world. This means we can encounter Him only together with everyone else. We can only receive Him in unity."
"The consequence of this is clear," he went on, "we cannot communicate with the Lord if we do not communicate with one another. ... For this it is necessary to learn the great lesson of forgiveness: do not let resentment gnaw at the soul, but open your hearts to the magnanimity of listening to others."
After again recalling that the Eucharist "is the Sacrament of unity," the Pope lamented the fact that it is precisely in the Sacrament of unity that Christians are divided. "Even more so then, supported by the Eucharist, we must feel stimulated to tend with all our strength towards that full unity that Christ so ardently anticipated in the Cenacle. Here in Bari, the city that holds the bones of St. Nicholas, a land of meeting and dialogue with our brother Christians of the East, I would like to reiterate a fundamental commitment: my desire to work with all my energy to reconstituting the full and visible unity of all Christ's followers."
He added: "I am aware that, to this end, expressions of good intentions are not enough. Concrete gestures are needed. Gestures that enter into souls and move consciences, calling everyone to that interior conversion that is the prerequisite for all progress on the road of ecumenism. I ask you all to start decisively down the road to that spiritual ecumenism which, in prayer, opens the doors to the Holy Spirit, Who alone can create unity."
After Mass and before praying the Angelus, the Holy Father said: "Our hearts are full of gratitude, to God and to all those who have worked for the realization of such an extraordinary ecclesial event, particularly meaningful because it takes place in the Year of the Eucharist, which has had in the Congress its most outstanding moment."
Benedict XVI then travelled by popemobile to the sports ground where he had landed, and returned by helicopter to the Vatican.
PV-BARI/NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS/... VIS 20050530 (720)
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