Meeting with the Diocesan Community in the Cathedral

On Thursday, 15 August 1985, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Father met with the Diocesan Community in the Cathedral of Kinshasa (Zaire). In his homily, the Pope meditated on the parable of the talents.

Dear friends,

1. On this feast of the Assumption, after the solemn Mass this morning in which I had the joy of announcing the beatification of your sister Anuarite in your land, I am happy to meet you in this cathedral together with your bishops.

I extend my cordial greeting to all of you, who bear the responsibility of fostering the evangelization of this great country, in the diversity of your situations and roles. I bring you the good wishes and encouragement of the Successor of Peter, who wrote to the first Christians: "A servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have been made partakers of this precious faith with us through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be yours in abundance, in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord" ( 2 Pet 1:1-2).

I appreciate your desire to place our meeting within the framework of a liturgy of the word , culminating in the religious profession of many of your brothers and sisters. What a magnificent continuation of our celebration this morning, under the patronage of Our Lady of Zaire and Blessed Anuarite!

2. We have listened to the Gospel. I would like to meditate on the teaching of this parable of Jesus : he addresses it to his disciples, to you yourselves, agents of evangelization in Zaire.

I propose that you give thanks for the talents entrusted to you by the Lord. First, it is your beautiful country, where the land is generous. Then, it is the life you have. Your qualities of spirit and heart. The human community into which you were born, which shaped you, which passes on to you the legacy of its ancestral qualities, its irreplaceable values. It is the nature of man and the entire work of the Creator!

Among the talents you have received is also God's tireless fidelity to his creatures, even when they distance themselves from him, when they degrade his work, when they no longer recognize the face of the Father of total love. God has united himself with us, multiplying his alliances with us. When the time was right, he sent us his own Son , who gave his life to reunite us in his love. He has called us to bring his word of hope to the world, to form his Church, his people.

Before our Creator and our Savior, who entrusts us with so many true riches, we are the servants happy to make them bear fruit.

3. And it is our responsibility , the parable also says, not to leave our talents hidden. It fills us with dignity that the Master counts on us to participate in his creative and saving work. Certainly, each of us is but a modest builder, who would labor in vain if the Lord did not give the building solidity and the community vitality (cf. Ps 127:1). And he demands that we be so responsible that our eternal life itself depends on the response we give to his trust. The parable of the talents does not allow us to forget the gravity of our rejection.

Brothers and sisters, I repeat to you in the name of the Lord: be good and faithful servants. For the treasure to bear fruit, you are asked to use your abilities, each according to his or her role, to help your brothers and sisters discover God's plan. Day and night, bring the word of truth and hope. Go and tell your brothers and sisters: "We have found the Messiah" ( Jn 1:41)! "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you"; you can fulfill the mission entrusted to you by the risen Christ; you can fulfill it, because the promise is certain: "And behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age" ( Mt 28:19-20). Share with others the love with which you are loved! Build the spiritual temple (cf. 1 Pt 2:5)!

I know you may be weary and tempted to take other paths than the one the Lord has called you to. I know the contradictions you encounter in a world indifferent and sometimes hostile to the message you bring. However, do not be discouraged. Listen to Jesus who tells you: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom” ( Luke 12:32).

4. It is a happy circumstance that priests, religious, and laity are gathered here, for you are engaged in the same task. Your different roles contribute to a single work, just as the different members form a single body. So that the admirable talent that forms the foundation of the Church may bear fruit in this land of Zaire, may all unite their efforts, whether born in this country or from abroad, whether ordained ministers, consecrated men and women, or committed lay people.

Guided by the word of God, reassured by the Lord's presence, you make possible a fruitful encounter between African man and the Gospel . Being rooted in culture, if properly understood, means the growth of the Church in this land; it represents the concrete form of the alliance between God and humanity, in this place and in this time. It is the acceptance of universal truth by a human community endowed with its own particular sensitivity, shaped by its own long search for the meaning of life. Thus the plant grows and becomes a tree that "sends forth large branches so that the birds of the air can nest in its shade" ( Mk 4:32).

Let us always remember that God's covenant with humanity is the result of the initiative of the Creator and Savior. The faithfulness of the people to their Lord presupposes a humbly openness to the Gospel message, which is not their own, as well as the observance of certain fundamental rules of life. Putting this covenant into practice to build the Church requires us to adhere to the values expressed in the Gospel, which have been universally lived by the Church throughout the centuries. Your tasks of community leadership, formation, preaching, and support contribute to enlightening your brothers and sisters to live their lives in the spirit of Christian morality.

5. Among the many areas in which you work , I would like to mention just a few, in a few words, because of their particular importance for ensuring that the dignity of the human person is respected both in social life and in individual decisions.

I think first of all of the family, of the sanctity of marriage . Help young people to consciously prepare their union, so that the fidelity of their love reflects that of God. May spouses be generous enough to ensure that the couple is stable, happy, and provides a favorable environment for the development of children. Know the Church's doctrine. Do everything possible to ensure that it is understood and followed.

Many of you have educational responsibilities , and I know how much the Church works to help young people to be well prepared to enter active life and to face, with maturity and maximum ability, the difficulties that inevitably await them. Support their faith, help them find the meaning of their life and understand their vocation, in the light of the Gospel and in the community spirit to which the African tradition can so well prepare them.

Others provide numerous services in the health field . May they be encouraged by the special attention the Lord has always shown to the sick. Helping as many people as possible to enter the health field and accompanying those who suffer is a noble task in which the Church has always seen the exercise of authentic love for one's neighbor.

Within the national community, everything related to development is also a duty. By participating in it, Christians integrate themselves into the plan of creation, responding to the word of the Lord who, from the beginning, entrusted the earth to humanity so that it might live (cf. Gen 1:26-29). Participation in development is indispensable; I know that you dedicate yourselves to it with a concern for justice and harmony in society, and in particular that you support the poorest and are concerned about youth employment.

6. Dear friends who assume so many responsibilities among the Christians of Zaire, your vocation has led you to take on the "talents" entrusted by the Lord. Whether you are priests, religious, or committed lay people, it is a grace to be able to respond generously to this call. So that, over the years, you may be good and faithful servants of Christ, I strongly urge you to unite in your personal lives active and selfless commitment with a life of prayer and intellectual culture.

Naturally, the type of formation will vary according to your circumstances in life and the nature of your task. However, my urgent invitation is extended to all. You will achieve balance and be happy if you never cease to deepen your spiritual life, study the Word of God and the doctrine of the Church, while advancing in mastery of the most diverse techniques useful for the exercise of your duties. And you will achieve this all the better the more open you are to fraternal exchange within the community and to the guidance of your pastors and superiors.

Regarding the meaning of the Christian message , it is important to consider it in all its breadth , seeking a comprehensive vision without neglecting certain seemingly more difficult aspects, in favor of others in which one's own interests are more spontaneously found. The generous dynamism of evangelization achieves its goal better if it occurs through a good understanding of the content of the message in its entirety, as well as through the profound spiritual availability of the bearer of the message towards the Lord who sends it to his brothers.

Dear brothers and sisters, it is to all of you that I have addressed myself, because you are agents of the same evangelization.

The Church relies in particular on the specific role of the laity within the world, as well as on those who, full-time or part-time, engage in essential tasks with immense dedication, in catechesis, liturgy, in the animation of prayer groups and other movements in charitable services.

7. I would now like to express to the priests who participate in the plenary priesthood of their bishop how much I appreciate their personal disinterest in the ministry. The diocesan priests born here, those who belong to international missionary institutes, and those who come through "fidei donum" together provide a service of primary importance. Much is required of them, since the talent entrusted to them is the priesthood instituted by Christ on the eve of his Passion. Through them, the Lord gathers his own, for he sends them to be the shepherds of his flock. Through them, the grace of the Savior's tangible presence is offered to all. Through their priesthood, the Church of a given place is united with that of the diocese and with the universal Church, which is the great body of Christ, one in the world. Through their participation in Christ's priesthood, they demonstrate that the community does not draw from itself what gives it life, but rather that it receives it as a gift.

Priests, my brothers, as the successor of Peter, I come to encourage you. You have a demanding task that requires the availability of your entire life, of your whole heart. I pray that the Lord will make you happy in this priestly ministry in which you are servants of God's servants, following Jesus Christ, who, loving us to the end, has taken the place of one who serves among us (cf. Jn 13:1; Lk 22:27).

8. This day is particularly important for you, dear brothers and sisters engaged in religious life. This morning we remembered and celebrated your blessed sister Anuarite. Now, in the midst of this great pastoral assembly, a group of religious men and women are also embarking on the path of commitment.

Anuarite fully responded to her vocation. We see her offering her life out of devotion to the Lord, to whom she offered her chastity, obedience, and poverty. She shone like a sign in the heart of your communities, at the center of the Church of Zaire. Your vocation is to be, you too, a sign that service to the Lord and his brothers is a fundamental value, so much so that some men and women devote their entire lives, all their energies, all their love to it. A few months before her martyrdom, on a day of reflection, Anuarite had written the essential words in her personal diary: "Our vocation is love. To serve God. The Lord Jesus when he asked us to make sacrifice: the sacrifice of the things of this world, the sacrifice of human love, the sacrifice of our very selves."

Enlightened by Anuarite's devotion, all the men and women religious, all the consecrated persons living in this country, renew their unreserved commitment to following Christ. All join in praising the Lord. I think especially of the contemplative monasteries, which are privileged witnesses to the life offered to God in the Church.

Dear brothers and sisters who are about to profess perpetual vows and be consecrated to the Lord, know that, together with your superiors, the Pope, your bishops, and the entire community encourage you and express their gratitude for your devotion. In your institutes, you commit your entire being to God. The entire People of God counts on your faithfulness, the strength of your example, and your prayers. The Church counts on the services to which you have dedicated yourselves over the years, particularly to the poorest, to those who await the Word of God to be heard and understood, and to the communities that need to be inspired and sustained by your support.

In offering yourselves to God, you promise to live in poverty, chastity, and obedience. May the necessary sacrifices be a joy for you, for they are a sign of true love. For the sacrifice you consent to, the strength of the Holy Spirit will not fail you: he will enable you to fulfill it together with Jesus in the new and eternal covenant. For you who pronounce your first vows, the cross you will receive will be a daily witness to the presence in your lives of Jesus, dead and risen. To you, professed sisters, your superiors will soon give a ring that I bless; may it be the sign of your unreserved union with the faithful God, in the community of your sisters. The entire Church, with the saints we will now invoke, prays for your fidelity to the commitment you have made.

Priests, lay people, and religious men and women who are gathered around these newly professed nuns, let us give thanks to the Lord!

May Our Lady of Zaire support you with her maternal intercession!

And may the God of hope fill you with every joy and peace in faith!

May Anuarite's example remain an indelible mark on you.

Amen.

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