Eucharistic Concelebration in La Sabana Park (3 March 1983)

On Thursday, 3 March 1983, the Holy Father presided at a Eucharistic Concelebration in “La Sabana Park,” San José, Costa Rica. In his homily, the Pope said that he felt called again to  "proclaim and increase our love for the Holy Catholic Church, wife of Christ, whom He loved 'until death'”.

Beloved Brothers in the Episcopate,
dear brothers and sisters

1. With deep joy I came to this prayer meeting in the Sabana metropolitan park, to meet with you, faithful from the beautiful city of San José, from all of Costa Rica and from the other sister Republics of this geographical area, as numerous and enthusiastic as for make it very clear that you want to warmly welcome the Pope's presence in this beautiful and noble country.

I come to see you as a big brother to your brothers; like a father in faith his children; as the Successor of Peter the flock entrusted to him; like the apostolic pilgrim those "to whom he is indebted" (cf. Rom . 1, 14) of his word and his affection.

Please receive, first of all, my most cordial greeting, which is addressed to the Pastor and Archbishop of this city, to the other Bishops, to consecrated persons and to the sons and daughters of the Church. I also greet the President and the Authorities present here.

2. "Christ loved the Church and gave himself for her" ( Eph . 5:25), we have just heard in the first biblical text of this Mass.

These words condense the nature and purposes of my apostolic visit: to announce the message of the Gospel and encourage love for Christ and the Church.

Yes, my brothers: in this meeting I hope that we feel called again to proclaim and increase our love for the Holy Catholic Church, wife of Christ, whom He loved "until death". This encounter of faith at the altar is already a proof of love for the Church.

Indeed, if you are gathered here in the name of Christ; if I came from Rome to Central America and this beloved country; If your Bishops, who invited me in a fraternal way, propose to make this visit and your generous response to it a starting point for a growing renewal of Christian life, it is because we love the Church, following the example of Jesus Christ who loved her until death.

Jesus Christ is, without a doubt, the only foundation (cf. 1 Cor . 3, 12), the supreme Shepherd (cf. Jn.10; 1 Pet . 5, 4) and the Head of the Church (cf. 1 Cor . 12 , 12; Col. 1, 18). He founded it on Peter and his Successors. He governs it and vivifies it constantly.

The Church is his work, in which he extends himself, reflects himself and is always present in the world. She is his wife, to whom he gave himself completely, chose her for himself, made her and keeps her always alive. Even more: he gave his life so that she might live. Therefore, in the open back of Jesus on the cross — as we have just read in the Gospel — we see the origin of the Church, as Eve was born from the side of Adam.

Brothers! Let us be well aware of this truth: Jesus Christ "loved" and loves the Church. It is, in reality, the same love of the Father for the "world", for men, for us, that mysteriously moved Him to hand over His only Son "to death, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have the eternal life" ( John 3:16).

If, therefore, Jesus Christ loved the Church until he died for her, this means that she is worthy of being loved by us too.

3. Without a doubt, some Christians sometimes look at the Church as if they were outside it, on its margins. They criticize her as if they had nothing to do with her. They distance themselves from the Church, as if its relationship with Jesus Christ, its Founder, was accidental and it had emerged as a mere occasional consequence of his life and death; as if He were not alive in the Church, in its doctrine and in its sacramental action; as if it were not the very mystery of Christ entrusted to men.

For others, the Church appears indifferent, alien. On the contrary, for conscious Christians, who know "what spirit they are of" (cf. Lc . 9, 55), the Church is Mother.

Yes, dear brothers, the Church is your mother; she is the mother of all Christians. She generated us to eternal life through Baptism, the sacrament of new birth (cf. Jn 3:5). She brought us to maturity as children of God in the sacrament of Confirmation. She constantly feeds us with the Body and Blood of Christ, when she celebrates the mystery of the Lord's death and resurrection. She, through the sacrament of Penance, reconciles us with the Father and with herself, by virtue of the reconciliation wrought by Christ in his death (cf. 2 Cor . 5:19).

The Church is also your mother, children of Costa Rica and the peoples of Central America, because your culture and civilization emerged and developed under her presence and action. She was able to harmoniously integrate the rich heritage of indigenous traditions and the Gospel, thus creating a new family, the family of God in his Church.

4. This Church, with its doctrine and example, that of its saints and teachers, exhorts us to concern ourselves not only with things of the spirit, but also with the realities of this world and the human society of which we are part. It urges us to commit ourselves to the elimination of injustice, to work for peace and overcoming hatred and violence, to promote human dignity, to feel responsible for the poor, the sick, the marginalized and oppressed, refugees, exiles and displaced people, as well as many others to whom our solidarity must extend. I know the environment of work and peace that distinguishes you, beloved children of Costa Rica. The Church, with your Bishops, priests, men and women religious at its head, has continually been an example and encouragement to achieve this.

I continued forward. Do not be discouraged by difficulties. Do not forget the Christian values ​​that distinguish you and have helped you up to the present. Be faithful to your tradition and aspire to be a model of fair social organization, in moments of profound transformations and serious challenges.

5. But we also have to think about our duties towards the Church.

First of all, we are all responsible for the Church. Because we are its members and its children. As living members of the body of Christ, we all have to offer our contribution to the growth of that Body. The teaching of Saint Paul invites us to this (cf. 1 Cor . 12, 15-16), based on the suggestive image of the body and its members.

Each member, it is true, has his own role in the Church, his own responsibility: "Are they all apostles? Are they all prophets? Are they all doctors?", asks Saint Paul. No, each person has and exercises their own function, respecting others in the unity and hierarchical structure of the Church.

But no one can say: the Church, its holiness, its mission in the world, its worship of God, are not my thing. It corresponds to us all. Bishops, Priests, Religious; Religious, lay people, each in their own place, build the Church, or better yet, serve as active instruments for the Lord who builds it by his Spirit (cf. Eph . 2:20-22). And how is the Church built?

6. Those who, faithful to their Baptism, live holily, renounce sin, carry their cross with Christ, build the Church, and in their conduct demonstrate to their brothers and sisters the demanding and joyful reality of the Church. Gospel.

The Church is built by those who, united as spouses through the sacrament of marriage, make their family a true church, domestic, exemplary for all, stable in their union, faithful to the acquired commitments of unity and fidelity, of absolute respect for life since its inception. conception, and therefore rejecting the crime of abortion, faithful to the commitment of transmitting the faith and Christian education of their children.

Those who care about others, especially the poor and abandoned, the marginalized and oppressed, build the Church; those who are faithful to the duty of solidarity, especially in the economic crises that are currently shaking societies.

Those who strive to improve or transform what hinders or interrupts the full development of man and all men build it.

Those who faithfully exercise the ministries and services entrusted by their Bishops build the Church. I think of the catechists, the extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, the delegates of the Word, those who prepare their brothers for the dignified reception of the sacraments and those who are committed to the various movements of apostolate.

Young people for whom the ideal is Christ build the Church and with generosity, enthusiasm and clarity of heart they give themselves to the service of others, being a renewing leaven for a society that is often aged and sad.

In a word: we build the Church when we strive to be holy; for always and in everything fulfilling the will of God, so that, although composed of sinful men, it may be increasingly faithful to its vocation of holiness. This is the best proof of our love for the Church.

7. Dear brothers and sisters: let us always love the Church. Let us feel responsible for it, for its fidelity to the Word of God, for the mission that God entrusted to it, for its vocation to be "like a sacrament", that is, a sign and instrument of intimate union with God and the unity of the human race (cf. Lumen gentium 1).

Let us love her like our mother; how we love Holy Mary, the one you call with the affectionate name of "la Negrita de los Angeles" in her sanctuary in Carthage.

Let us love her above all as Christ loved her, until he gave his own life for her. And let us ask Him in this Eucharist that we celebrate, that love for the Church be the characteristic of your Christian life, faithful children of Costa Rica and Central America, So be it.

Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana