ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

            It is good for us to gather together in prayer to praise our God who sent His Son, so that the whole world may know your will; so that all nations may know your salvation (Psalm 67:2). We, the baptized, infused with the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, rejoice that Jesus gave His life so that our sins might be forgiven and so that we might live forever with the Father. God is our Father who loves each of us without reservation and unconditionally. Dear brothers and sisters with disabilities, your families and friends are profound witnesses to this reality. I welcome and extend my greetings to you. Today our Sacred Scripture re-enforces the need to celebrate our unity as members of the one Body of Christ, all invited to live out our baptismal call.

            Our coming together today, in many ways, models the gathered community of the early Church, a community made up of many individuals. They were Jews and Gentiles, free and enslaved, all desirous of learning more about Jesus and His message. They wanted to know this Jesus who promised, that the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you (John 14: 26). Not unlike the early Church, we, too, are a Church blessed with many individuals possessing different gifts and talents to be shared for the good of the community and for ourselves. My dear brothers and sisters, we must take the faith and knowledge we have in Jesus, and, guided by the Holy Spirit, share this life-giving message with all whom we encounter. We are all called to be residents of the New Jerusalem, in a close relationship with our loving God. That closeness bids each one of us to carry out the work Jesus began. The work of salvation is built upon love, compassion, forgiveness and caring for one another.

            Saint Paul was instrumental in the early Church laboring for a common bond between Jew and Gentile as Jesus opened the doors to all people. This bond was forged together by a shared faith, common needs and desire to live as Jesus taught. As faith-filled members of the Body of Christ, we all are charged to carry on St. Paul s efforts toward unity. Today I ask for your help as members of our faith community to assist me in this work. I reiterate the words of our Holy Father spoken on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Disabled in December 2000, when he said, In Christ s name, the Church is committed to making herself more and more a welcoming home for you. We know that the disabled person - a unique and unrepeatable person in his/or her equal and inviolable dignity - needs not only care, but first of all love, which becomes recognition, respect and integration: from birth to adolescence, [and] to adulthood . . . (Homily December 3, 2000 ). In our common humanity and in our differences we can find the strength needed to build bridges which carry us all to a common understanding of a Church open and welcoming to all, one without walls of segregation and prejudice. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is that bridge which will brings us all together. Today, I say to you, my brothers and sisters, that you have the duty, like all the baptized to do the Lord s work in the world being mindful of your God-given talents and gifts. It is the desire of the Church that you be fully integrated into the community, welcomed into the apostolate of the Church and active witnesses to the compassion and love of Jesus Christ.

             Our brothers and sisters in the early Church experienced a difference of opinion regarding who was to be welcomed into the community. Guided by the Holy Spirit the community and its leaders struggled with the issue and found their way to a common good inclusive of all who desired to follow Jesus. Remember, dear friends, we are a universal Church, made up of many parts all important to each other as we journey together in this life to salvation.

            I know that the journey can be challenging especially when circumstances limit or restrict one s full participation within society. But we must take heart that, like the early Church, we, too, will overcome certain limits with the aid of the Holy Spirit and move to even greater openness and inclusion. The perfect model of openness is found in the words and actions of Jesus who stopped, noticed and called the person forward as he did the two men born blind in Jericho (Mt: 20: 32-33): What do you want me to do for you? We know that Jesus showed compassion and touched them. Through his healing power, he reminds us that people with disabilities possess the sacred and inalienable rights that belong to every creature.... (Pope John Paul II to the International Symposium on the Dignity and Rights of the Mentally Disabled Person, January 5, 2004). So, too, recall Jesus compassion for the deaf man in the Gospels of Saint Mark and Saint John, when He shows deep regard for persons with disabilities. Jesus tells His disciples: neither he nor his parents sinned. He was born blind so that the works of God might be made visible through him.

            Our Sacred Scriptures today continue to lead us into a deeper and more profound understanding of the magnificent love God has for all of us a love that is manifested in each one of us through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who guided the members of the early Church continues to guide us today. May the peace of Jesus Christ bring you the well-being of daily life in harmony with your neighbor, yourself and God, now and forever. Amen.