Vatican
City, 14 February 2013
(VIS) – Yesterday at 5:00pm, the Holy Father presided over the rite
of blessing and imposition of ashes. Traditionally, the celebration
is held in the Roman Basilica of Santa Sabina but, given the large
influx of persons and the desire of the cardinals and bishops of the
Roman Curia to accompany the Pope in the final acts of his
pontificate, it was moved to St. Peter's Basilica. Before the
ceremony, Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B.,
address a brief greeting to the pontiff, expressing the "emotion
and respect not only of the Church, but of the entire world" for
Benedict XVI on the news of his decision to renounce the Petrine
ministry. Following are ample excerpts from the Holy Father's homily.
"Today,
Ash Wednesday, … we have gathered to celebrate the Eucharist
following the ancient Roman tradition of Lenten station Masses. This
tradition calls for the first 'statio' Mass to take place in the
Basilica of Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill. Circumstances,
however, have suggested that we gather in the Vatican Basilica. We
are great in number around the tomb of the Apostle Peter, also to ask
for his intercession for the Church's journey in this particular
moment, renewing our faith in the Supreme Pastor, Christ the Lord.
For me, this is a opportune occasion to thank everyone, especially
the faithful of the Diocese of Rome, as I prepare to conclude my
Petrine ministry, and to ask for special remembrance in your
prayers."
"The
readings that have been proclaimed give us the idea that, with God's
grace, we are called to make our attitudes and behaviours take
concrete form this Lent. Above all, the Church proposes to us once
again, the strong appeal that the prophet Joel addresses to the
Israelites: Thus says the Lord: 'return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, weeping, and mourning'. Note the expression 'with your
whole heart', which means from the centre of our thoughts and
feelings, from the roots of our decisions, choices, and actions, with
a gesture of total and radical freedom. But is this return to God
possible? Yes, because there is a strength that doesn't reside in our
hearts but that springs from God's own heart. It is the power of His
mercy. … This return to God becomes a concrete reality in our lives
only when the Lord's grace penetrates to our innermost being, shaking
it and giving us the strength to 'rend our hearts'. Again the prophet
makes God's words ring out: 'Rend your hearts, not your garments'.
Indeed, even in our days, many are ready to 'rend their garments' in
the face of scandals and injustice―naturally
moved by others' situations―but
few seem willing to act on their own 'heart', on their own
conscience, and their own intentions, to let the Lord transform,
renew, and convert them."
"That
'return to me with your whole heart' then is a reminder that involves
not just the individual but the community. In the first reading we
have heard: 'Blow the horn in Zion! Proclaim a fast, call an
assembly!' … The dimension of community is an essential element in
faith and the Christian life. … This is important to remember and
to live in this Lenten period: each of us must be aware that the path
of penitence is not to be faced alone, but together with our many
brothers and sisters in the Church."
"Finally,
the prophet focuses on the prayers of the priests who, with tears in
their eyes, turn to God saying: 'do not let your heritage become a
disgrace, a byword among the nations! Why should they say among the
peoples, "Where is their God?"' This prayer makes us
reflect on the importance of the witness of faith and the Christian
life on the part of each of us and our communities to reveal the face
of the Church as well as how this face, at times is disfigured. I'm
thinking in particular of the blows to Church unity and the divisions
in the ecclesial body. Living Lent in a more intense and evident
ecclesial communion, overcoming selfishness and rivalries, is a
humble and precious sign for those who are far from the faith or
indifferent to it."
"'Behold,
now is the time of favour; behold, now is the day of salvation', The
Apostle Paul's words to the Christians of Corinth resound for us too,
with an urgency that allows for no omissions or inactivity. The word
'now', repeated again and again, says that we cannot let this moment
pass us by, it is offered to us as a unique and unrepeatable
opportunity. The Apostle's gaze focuses on the sharing that Christ
wanted to characterize his existence, taking on everything human even
to the point of bearing the very burden of humanity's sin. … The
reconciliation offered to us has had a high price, that of the cross
raised on Golgotha, on which was hung the Son of God made man. God's
immersion in human suffering and in the abyss of evil lies at the
root of our justification. 'Returning to God with our whole heart'
during our Lenten journey passes through the Cross, following Christ
on the road to Calvary, to the total gift of our self. …"
"In
the Gospel of Matthew, part of the so-called Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus refers to three fundamental practices required by Mosaic Law:
almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. They are also traditional directives
on the Lenten journey to respond to the invitation to 'return to God
with our whole heart'. But Jesus emphasizes that it is both the
quality and the truth of the relationship with God that determine the
authenticity of every religious gesture. This is why He denounces
religious hypocrisy, the behaviour that wants to appear a certain
way, the attitudes seeking applause and approval. The true disciple
doesn't serve himself or the 'public', but serves the Lord in
simplicity and generosity. … Our witness, then, will always be more
effective the less we seek our own glory and we will know that the
reward of the just person is God himself, being united to Him, here,
on the path of faith and at the end of our lives, in the peace and
light of meeting Him face to face forever."
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