The
relics of the apostle Peter were displayed alongside the altar,
contained in a bronze casket bearing the inscription “Ex ossibus
quae in Arcibasilicae Vaticane Hypogeo inventa Beati Petri Apostoli
esse putantur” (“Remains found in the Hypogeum of the Vatican
Basilica and believed to be of the Blessed Apostle Peter”).
Before
the Mass a collection was made in aid of the people of the
Philippines, recently afflicted by the typhoon Haiyan. At the end of
the celebration, the Holy Father consigned his Apostolic Exhortation
“Evangelii Gaudium” to thirty-six representatives of the People
of God, from eighteen countries: a bishop, a priest and a deacon
elected from among the youngest to have been ordained; consecrated
persons, various representatives for each Year of Faith event, newly
confirmed young people, a seminarian and a novice, a family,
catechists, one blind person (who received from the Pope a copy of
the document in CR-ROM format, to be able to listen to it), young
people, representatives of confraternities, movements, two artists,
and two representatives from the world of media and communications.
We
publish below the full text of Pope Francis' homily, pronounced
following the proclamation of the Gospel:
“Today’s
solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, the
crowning of the liturgical year, also marks the conclusion of the
Year of Faith opened by Pope Benedict XVI, to whom our thoughts now
turn with affection and gratitude for this gift which he has given
us. By this providential initiative, he gave us an opportunity to
rediscover the beauty of the journey of faith begun on the day of our
Baptism, which made us children of God and brothers and sisters in
the Church. A journey which has as its ultimate end our full
encounter with God, and throughout which the Holy Spirit purifies us,
lifts us up and sanctifies us, so that we may enter into the
happiness for which our hearts long.
“I
offer a cordial and fraternal greeting to the Patriarchs and Major
Archbishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches present. The exchange of
peace which I will share with them is above all a sign of the
appreciation of the Bishop of Rome for these communities which have
confessed the name of Christ with exemplary faithfulness, often at a
high price.
“With
this gesture, through them, I would like to reach all those
Christians living in the Holy Land, in Syria and in the entire East,
and obtain for them the gift of peace and concord.
“The
Scripture readings proclaimed to us have as their common theme the
centrality of Christ. Christ is at the centre, Christ is the centre.
Christ is the centre of creation, Christ is the centre of his people
and Christ is the centre of history.
“The
apostle Paul, in the second reading, taken from the letter to the
Colossians, offers us a profound vision of the centrality of Jesus.
He presents Christ to us as the first-born of all creation: in him,
through him and for him all things were created. He is the centre of
all things, he is the beginning: Jesus Christ, the Lord. God has
given him the fullness, the totality, so that in him all things might
be reconciled. He is the Lord of creation, he is the Lord of
reconciliation.
“This
image enables to see that Jesus is the centre of creation; and so the
attitude demanded of us as true believers is that of recognizing and
accepting in our lives the centrality of Jesus Christ, in our
thoughts, in our words and in our works. And so our thoughts will be
Christian thoughts, thoughts of Christ. Our works will be Christian
works, works of Christ; and our words will be Christian words, words
of Christ. But when this centre is lost, when it is replaced by
something else, only harm can result for everything around us and for
ourselves.
“Besides
being the centre of creation and the centre of reconciliation, Christ
is the centre of the people of God. Today, he is here in our midst.
He is here right now in his word, and he will be here on the altar,
alive and present amid us, his people. We see this in the first
reading which describes the time when the tribes of Israel came to
look for David and anointed him king of Israel before the Lord. In
searching for an ideal king, the people were seeking God himself: a
God who would be close to them, who would accompany them on their
journey, who would be a brother to them.
“Christ,
the descendant of King David, is really the 'brother' around whom
God’s people come together. It is he who cares for his people, for
all of us, even at the price of his life. In him we are all one, one
people, united with him and sharing a single journey, a single
destiny. Only in him, in him as the centre, do we receive our
identity as a people.
“Finally,
Christ is the centre of the history of humanity and also the centre
of the history of every individual. To him we can bring the joys and
the hopes, the sorrows and troubles which are part of our lives. When
Jesus is the centre, light shines even amid the darkest times of our
lives; he gives us hope, as he does to the good thief in today’s
Gospel.
“Whereas
all the others treat Jesus with disdain – 'If you are the Christ,
the Messiah King, save yourself by coming down from the cross!' –
the thief who went astray in his life but now repents, clings to the
crucified Jesus and begs him: 'Remember me, when you come into your
kingdom'. Jesus promises him: 'Today you will be with me in
paradise', in his kingdom. Jesus speaks only a word of forgiveness,
not of condemnation; whenever anyone finds the courage to ask for
this forgiveness, the Lord does not let such a petition go unheard.
Today we can all think of our own history, our own journey. Each of
us has his or her own history: we think of our mistakes, our sins,
our good times and our bleak times. We would do well, each one of us,
on this day, to think about our own personal history, to look at
Jesus and to keep telling him, sincerely and quietly: 'Remember me,
Lord, now that you are in your kingdom! Jesus, remember me, because I
want to be good, but I just don’t have the strength: I am a sinner,
I am a sinner. But remember me, Jesus! You can remember me because
you are at the centre, you are truly in your kingdom!' How beautiful
this is! Let us all do this today, each one of us in his or her own
heart, again and again. 'Remember me, Lord, you who are at the
centre, you who are in your kingdom'.
“Jesus’
promise to the good thief gives us great hope: it tells us that God’s
grace is always greater than the prayer which sought it. The Lord
always grants more, he is so generous, he always gives more than what
he has been asked: you ask him to remember you, and he brings you
into his kingdom! Let us go forward together on this road!”.
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