ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Dear Friends in Christ,

I welcome you to this Catholic Life Congress, and I applaud you for your desire to deepen your faith and pastoral skills in order to serve more effectively the people of God. It is a noble work to commit yourself to bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others through your life and your apostolates. This great occasion brings us together to celebrate that commitment and the opportunity to grow together in God’s wisdom and grace. The theme of this Congress reminds us that we are One People, united in One Lord and sharing One Faith. It is a unity that surpasses all earthly differences. Our loving God gently weaves together the threads of our differences into a beautiful tapestry of oneness called the Church.

The late Pope John Paul II said that "the prime value which must be ever more widely inculcated is that of solidarity." The Holy Father believed that "A society depends on the basic relations that people cultivate with one another in ever widening circles (Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace, January 1, 2001, no. 17). And, so, we gather here today, casting aside any differences of age or race, language or culture. United by our common fellowship of faith, we celebrate our oneness, our solidarity, in the Lord.

It is providential that today is the feast of Saint Martin de Porres. Born into poverty in Peru during the sixteenth century, Saint Martin was of mixed race and experienced firsthand the cruel realities of discrimination and injustice. Yet, with great piety and an openness to the Spirit, Saint Martin used these obstacles as a pathway to a life of holiness and service to God’s poor and marginalized. Through him, God touched the orphan, the sick and the outcast, working miracles and healing souls as well as bodies. With great humility Martin went about his daily tasks, assured that all work, no matter how great or small, is sacred. Truly, we have that same assurance. In whatever venue we minister, whatever service we are able to render in God’s name is blessed. Often, we do not know the far-reaching effects of our efforts. Yet, just as Saint Martin de Porres did, we respond in faith to the call of today’s Gospel to "love your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind and to love your neighbor as yourself" (Mt 22:37).

Our lives and our work are not without great challenge in today’s world. Daily, we are faced with concerns and fears and perhaps even with opposition to the Gospel message we try to share. Yet, through grace, we are able to remain strong and faithful to our call. Our Scripture readings today are especially fitting for this gathering and they bolster our resolve. In the first reading, Saint Paul reminds us that "The Lord is near" and that we are to "have no anxiety" (Phil 4:6 ). The message is clear to all those who toil in the vineyard of the Lord as we do: "Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me" (Phil 4:9). In other words, keep teaching and proclaiming the Gospel; continue ministering to the poor and homeless and those challenged by disabilities; keep binding up the wounds of the ill, the forgotten, the elderly; keep advocating for the unborn. In these and so many other ways, we become the hands and feet and voice of Christ. The words of Saint Teresa of Avila remind us that "Ours are the eyes through which [Christ’s] compassion must look out on the world." It is this compassion, this kindness, which Saint Paul tells us today "should be known to all" (Phil 4:5). It is with the eyes of Christ that we look upon our brothers and sisters of all cultures and socio-economic strata, of every state and condition of life. It is with the hands of Christ that we serve those in need. It is with the compassion of Christ that we are able to pour ourselves out as an offering for many. But in order to bring Christ, we must first know Him and be one with Him. Hence, we come to the Eucharistic banquet to be fed and nourished and strengthened for the journey. We find in the Eucharistic mystery the courage and energy to follow Christ and to serve Him in others. Indeed, it is the Eucharist that enables us to see Christ in the face of another human being and to transform the obstacles that life sends our way into the stones which pave our way to eternal life. It is the Eucharist which opens our minds and hearts to the will of God and allows us to make choices that align us more closely with all that is holy.

In a homily this past spring, Pope Benedict XVI observed that "In truth, life is always a choice: between faithfulness and unfaithfulness, between selfishness and altruism, between good and evil... no servant can serve two masters. A fundamental decision is necessary then....If loving Christ and our fellow man is not considered as a superficial accessory but rather as the real and ultimate aim of our entire life, we must know how to make fundamental decisions, to be ready to make radical sacrifices. Today, as yesterday, the life of Catholics calls for the courage to swim against the tide, to love like Jesus, who went so far as to sacrifice Himself upon the Cross."

Your choice to be here today, to serve and assist others in faith is, in itself, proof of your fundamental choice, of your decision to choose Christ rather than the world, to focus, as Saint Paul tells us, on "what is true... honorable... just... pure... lovely... gracious [and] worthy of praise" (Phil 4:8). For two hundred years, clergy, Religious and laity of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia have made this same choice. They have come to the altar of God to receive Jesus Christ and to bring that same Christ to a hungry world. You are part of that proud history—you are part of that strong heritage. On your shoulders, future generations of faithful Catholics will stand and will continue the work of Christ just as you now do. As you follow the example of those who have gone before us , others will follow in your footsteps. We are links in a chain that spans centuries. We do what God asks of us so that others, too, may do the same. Take courage, then. Be of strong heart in the service of God. "Have no anxiety at all" (Phil 4:6). Cast all of your cares upon the Lord; and He will sustain you in your life, in your work, and in your choices.

Then, you will be able to rejoice with the Psalmist and say, "In you, Lord, I have found my peace" (Ps 131: 2), and your peace and joy will be complete. Amen.