VATICAN CITY, 18 SEP 2010 (VIS) - Before this evening's prayer vigil for the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, the Pope travelled in his popemobile around Hyde Park, one of London's largest public parks (142 hectares), where thousands of people were gathered to greet him.
Following the readings the Holy Father pronounced his address: "We are gathered here in prayerful vigil to prepare for tomorrow's Mass, during which a great son of this nation, Cardinal John Henry Newman, will be declared blessed", he said. "How many people, in England and throughout the world, have longed for this moment! It is also a great joy for me, personally, to share this experience with you. As you know, Newman has long been an important influence in my own life and thought, as he has been for so many people beyond these isles".
Benedict XVI referred to certain aspects of Newman's life which, he said, "I consider very relevant to our own lives as believers and to the life of the Church today".
"Newman, by his own account, traced the course of his whole life back to a powerful experience of conversion which he had as a young man. ... At the end of his life, Newman would describe his life's work as a struggle against the growing tendency to view religion as a purely private and subjective matter, a question of personal opinion. Here is the first lesson we can learn from his life: in our day, when an intellectual and moral relativism threatens to sap the very foundations of our society, Newman reminds us that, as men and women made in the image and likeness of God, we were created to know the truth, to find in that truth our ultimate freedom and the fulfilment of our deepest human aspirations. In a word, we are meant to know Christ Who is Himself 'the way, and the truth, and the life'.
"Newman's life", the Holy Father added, "also teaches us that passion for the truth, intellectual honesty and genuine conversion are costly. The truth that sets us free cannot be kept to ourselves; it calls for testimony, it begs to be heard, and in the end its convincing power comes from itself and not from the human eloquence or arguments in which it may be couched. Not far from here, at Tyburn, great numbers of our brothers and sisters died for the faith; the witness of their fidelity to the end was ever more powerful than the inspired words that so many of them spoke before surrendering everything to the Lord. In our own time, the price to be paid for fidelity to the Gospel is no longer being hanged, drawn and quartered but it often involves being dismissed out of hand, ridiculed or parodied. And yet, the Church cannot withdraw from the task of proclaiming Christ and His Gospel as saving truth, the source of our ultimate happiness as individuals and as the foundation of a just and humane society".
The Pope continued: "Finally, Newman teaches us that if we have accepted the truth of Christ and committed our lives to Him, there can be no separation between what we believe and the way we live our lives. Our every thought, word and action must be directed to the glory of God and the spread of His Kingdom. Newman understood this, and was the great champion of the prophetic office of the Christian laity. He saw clearly that we do not so much accept the truth in a purely intellectual act as embrace it in a spiritual dynamic that penetrates to the core of our being. Truth is passed on not merely by formal teaching, important as that is, but also by the witness of lives lived in integrity, fidelity and holiness; those who live in and by the truth instinctively recognise what is false and, precisely as false, inimical to the beauty and goodness which accompany the splendour of truth, 'veritatis splendor'".
Newman "taught that the 'kindly light' of faith leads us to realise the truth about ourselves, our dignity as God's children, and the sublime destiny which awaits us in heaven. ... Without the life of prayer, without the interior transformation which takes place through the grace of the Sacraments, we cannot, in Newman's words, 'radiate Christ'; we become just another 'clashing cymbal' in a world filled with growing noise and confusion, filled with false paths leading only to heartbreak and illusion".
The Holy Father laid emphasis on "Newman's fine Christian realism, the point at which faith and life inevitably intersect", expressing the view that "no-one who looks realistically at our world today could think that Christians can afford to go on with business as usual, ignoring the profound crisis of faith which has overtaken our society, or simply trusting that the patrimony of values handed down by the Christian centuries will continue to inspire and shape the future of our society.
"We know that in times of crisis and upheaval God has raised up great saints and prophets for the renewal of the Church and Christian society; we trust in His providence and we pray for His continued guidance. But each of us, in accordance with his or her state of life, is called to work for the advancement of God's Kingdom by imbuing temporal life with the values of the Gospel. Each of us has a mission, each of us is called to change the world, to work for a culture of life, a culture forged by love and respect for the dignity of each human person".
Finally, the Pope addressed some words to the young people present. "Christ has need of families to remind the world of the dignity of human love and the beauty of family life", he said. "He needs men and women who devote their lives to the noble task of education, tending the young and forming them in the ways of the Gospel. He needs those who will consecrate their lives to the pursuit of perfect charity, following Him in chastity, poverty and obedience, and serving Him in the least of our brothers and sisters. He needs the powerful love of contemplative religious, who sustain the Church's witness and activity through their constant prayer. And He needs priests, good and holy priests, men who are willing to lay down their lives for their sheep. Ask our Lord what He has in mind for you! Ask Him for the generosity to say 'yes!' Do not be afraid to give yourself totally to Jesus. He will give you the grace you need to fulfil your vocation".
Benedict XVI concluded by inviting young people to join him at World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain in August 2011. "It is always a wonderful occasion to grow in love for Christ and to be encouraged in a joyful life of faith along with thousands of other young people. I hope to see many of you there!".
The Pope's address was followed by the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the Litany of the Sacred Heart. Then, following Newman's prayer of "Irradiating Christ" and his hymn "Lead, Kindly Light", the vigil continued as the Holy Father left to travel back to the apostolic nunciature where he dined and spent the night.
PV-UNITED KINGDOM/ VIS 20100919 (1230)
Following the readings the Holy Father pronounced his address: "We are gathered here in prayerful vigil to prepare for tomorrow's Mass, during which a great son of this nation, Cardinal John Henry Newman, will be declared blessed", he said. "How many people, in England and throughout the world, have longed for this moment! It is also a great joy for me, personally, to share this experience with you. As you know, Newman has long been an important influence in my own life and thought, as he has been for so many people beyond these isles".
Benedict XVI referred to certain aspects of Newman's life which, he said, "I consider very relevant to our own lives as believers and to the life of the Church today".
"Newman, by his own account, traced the course of his whole life back to a powerful experience of conversion which he had as a young man. ... At the end of his life, Newman would describe his life's work as a struggle against the growing tendency to view religion as a purely private and subjective matter, a question of personal opinion. Here is the first lesson we can learn from his life: in our day, when an intellectual and moral relativism threatens to sap the very foundations of our society, Newman reminds us that, as men and women made in the image and likeness of God, we were created to know the truth, to find in that truth our ultimate freedom and the fulfilment of our deepest human aspirations. In a word, we are meant to know Christ Who is Himself 'the way, and the truth, and the life'.
"Newman's life", the Holy Father added, "also teaches us that passion for the truth, intellectual honesty and genuine conversion are costly. The truth that sets us free cannot be kept to ourselves; it calls for testimony, it begs to be heard, and in the end its convincing power comes from itself and not from the human eloquence or arguments in which it may be couched. Not far from here, at Tyburn, great numbers of our brothers and sisters died for the faith; the witness of their fidelity to the end was ever more powerful than the inspired words that so many of them spoke before surrendering everything to the Lord. In our own time, the price to be paid for fidelity to the Gospel is no longer being hanged, drawn and quartered but it often involves being dismissed out of hand, ridiculed or parodied. And yet, the Church cannot withdraw from the task of proclaiming Christ and His Gospel as saving truth, the source of our ultimate happiness as individuals and as the foundation of a just and humane society".
The Pope continued: "Finally, Newman teaches us that if we have accepted the truth of Christ and committed our lives to Him, there can be no separation between what we believe and the way we live our lives. Our every thought, word and action must be directed to the glory of God and the spread of His Kingdom. Newman understood this, and was the great champion of the prophetic office of the Christian laity. He saw clearly that we do not so much accept the truth in a purely intellectual act as embrace it in a spiritual dynamic that penetrates to the core of our being. Truth is passed on not merely by formal teaching, important as that is, but also by the witness of lives lived in integrity, fidelity and holiness; those who live in and by the truth instinctively recognise what is false and, precisely as false, inimical to the beauty and goodness which accompany the splendour of truth, 'veritatis splendor'".
Newman "taught that the 'kindly light' of faith leads us to realise the truth about ourselves, our dignity as God's children, and the sublime destiny which awaits us in heaven. ... Without the life of prayer, without the interior transformation which takes place through the grace of the Sacraments, we cannot, in Newman's words, 'radiate Christ'; we become just another 'clashing cymbal' in a world filled with growing noise and confusion, filled with false paths leading only to heartbreak and illusion".
The Holy Father laid emphasis on "Newman's fine Christian realism, the point at which faith and life inevitably intersect", expressing the view that "no-one who looks realistically at our world today could think that Christians can afford to go on with business as usual, ignoring the profound crisis of faith which has overtaken our society, or simply trusting that the patrimony of values handed down by the Christian centuries will continue to inspire and shape the future of our society.
"We know that in times of crisis and upheaval God has raised up great saints and prophets for the renewal of the Church and Christian society; we trust in His providence and we pray for His continued guidance. But each of us, in accordance with his or her state of life, is called to work for the advancement of God's Kingdom by imbuing temporal life with the values of the Gospel. Each of us has a mission, each of us is called to change the world, to work for a culture of life, a culture forged by love and respect for the dignity of each human person".
Finally, the Pope addressed some words to the young people present. "Christ has need of families to remind the world of the dignity of human love and the beauty of family life", he said. "He needs men and women who devote their lives to the noble task of education, tending the young and forming them in the ways of the Gospel. He needs those who will consecrate their lives to the pursuit of perfect charity, following Him in chastity, poverty and obedience, and serving Him in the least of our brothers and sisters. He needs the powerful love of contemplative religious, who sustain the Church's witness and activity through their constant prayer. And He needs priests, good and holy priests, men who are willing to lay down their lives for their sheep. Ask our Lord what He has in mind for you! Ask Him for the generosity to say 'yes!' Do not be afraid to give yourself totally to Jesus. He will give you the grace you need to fulfil your vocation".
Benedict XVI concluded by inviting young people to join him at World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain in August 2011. "It is always a wonderful occasion to grow in love for Christ and to be encouraged in a joyful life of faith along with thousands of other young people. I hope to see many of you there!".
The Pope's address was followed by the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the Litany of the Sacred Heart. Then, following Newman's prayer of "Irradiating Christ" and his hymn "Lead, Kindly Light", the vigil continued as the Holy Father left to travel back to the apostolic nunciature where he dined and spent the night.
PV-UNITED KINGDOM/ VIS 20100919 (1230)
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