Holy Mass on the Esplanade of the Cathedral of Brasilia (30 June 1980)

On Monday, 30 June 1980, the Holy Father celebrated Mass on the Esplanade of the Cathedral of Brasilia. In his homily, the Pope spoke to the people of uniting their spiritual sacrifices with the Sacrifice of Christ; “in this way, the Eucharist becomes the sacrament of communion of the entire People of God with the heavenly Father and, simultaneously, a sign of fraternal union between men.”

Dear brothers and sons:

1. By celebrating this first Eucharist on Brazilian soil, at the foot of the Cross, I want to profess together with you the fundamental truth of faith and Christian life: that the entire Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a bloodless renewal of the Sacrifice offered on the cross by Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Church lives from this Sacrifice of Redemption, in it she incessantly renews herself, making a pilgrimage through all the trials of earthly life towards the eternal encounter in the House of the Father. All those who participate in the Sacrifice of Christ unite their spiritual sacrifices to it and, in this way, the Eucharist becomes the sacrament of communion of the entire People of God with the heavenly Father and, simultaneously, sign of fraternal union between men.

I was invited to come to Brazil first of all on the occasion of the National Eucharistic Congress in Fortaleza. This Brazilian Eucharistic Congress, the tenth, must constitute a special manifestation of the union of the entire Church in Brazilian lands, around the Sacrament of Love, in which Christ, by giving us his own Body and Blood under the species of bread and wine , makes us a permanent and pleasing offering to the Father (cf. Eucharistic Prayer III). The Eucharistic Congress must especially demonstrate and highlight the fact that the People of God here on earth lives from the Eucharist, that in it they will draw strength to face the daily fatigues and struggles in all fields of their existence.

Starting from this Cross, next to which I celebrate the first Mass on Brazilian soil —acceeding to the invitations that came to me from various quarters— I wish to go to many places afterwards, make contact with various environments and touch many dimensions of your life, with the in order to include, in a certain way, all this in the program of the Eucharistic Congress. It is my wish that my passage through your land serve as a preparation for that great event, at the center of which is the Sacrament of Love, as a source of life and holiness for each and all. I consider the visit to the Marian sanctuary of Aparecida a special stage in this itinerary, because I believe, like you, that the Mother of Christ brings us closer in a particularly effective and simple way to the sacrament of the Body and Blood of her Son.

2. And when, at the end of this pilgrimage, I find myself next to the altar of Fortaleza, for the opening of the X National Eucharistic Congress on Brazilian soil, then I will look back in the direction of this Cross, which always and everywhere reminds us of the of Christ and his death for the redemption of the world: a bloody sacrifice of which the Eucharist is a perennial and effective sign. And I will ask Christ that in this sign —in this great and rich sign of the entire Eucharistic Congress— all the fruits of my pastoral service in your land may be found. In the Eucharist that will be celebrated there, I would like not only the spiritual contribution of all those who participate in the Congress (and I want them to be as numerous as possible), but also of all those I have met throughout my pilgrimage,

In this way I wish to respond to the invitation for the Eucharistic Congress; and starting from today, here next to this cross, I ask Christ to help me to serve you and to gather everyone around Him, around Christ, who is the only Good Shepherd of our souls.

3. The introit of the Mass for the feast of the Holy Cross says: "We must find our glory in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In it is our salvation, our life and resurrection. Through it we were saved and liberated." These words, inspired by the Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians, it is not unreasonable to suppose that they were pronounced on that distant day of May 3, 1500, in the Mass that Fray Enrique de Coimbra celebrated —and with what intense fervor!— on the soil of Porto Seguro, on the soil of a recently discovered land. The paintings that try to reflect that episode, like the famous painting by Victor Meirelles, show a large cross raised on the beach and venerated with these words: "We must glory in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ." And the name given to the discovered region,

Another cross was installed on another later May 3: May 3, 1957. Before it, with the celebration of Mass, the gigantic work of building this singular city began again under the sign of the cross.

The Porto Seguro cross and the Brasilia cross, both perpetuated in the gigantic cross that stands a few meters from here, have symbolic value. Both proclaim that, with much more force than on their soil, the cross, in the history of this country, was installed in the hearts and lives of its inhabitants. Both tell us that, both in the past, as well as in the present and in the future of Brazil, the cross of Christ has a deep meaning.

4. The cross is, above all, a symbol of faith. With the cross of Fray Enrique de Coimbra, it was especially the Catholic faith that marked the first moments and was deeply inserted into the life and destinies of the country that was being born. It can be said of Brazil —in due proportions— what the Puebla Document affirms of the entire Latin American continent: its culture is radically Catholic. This means that, despite the obstacles and challenges it encounters, the Catholic faith, not so much in its abstract formulation as in its practical concretion, in the norms that it inspires and in the activities that it gives rise to, is at the root of the formation of Brazil. especially their culture.

Trying to erase that faith is to forget so many centuries of history in what is most authentic; it is mutilating the message of the Gospel, it is condemning oneself to ignore the deep reason for certain traits of the religious personality of Brazilians.

The first evangelizers understood it well —that constellation of apostles in which Blessed José de Anchieta shines with his own light— when they tried to propagate and root that faith, both among the indigenous peoples scattered throughout the immense territory and among the colonizers. It was well understood in the following centuries, up to our days, by missionaries, catechists and Pastors concerned with arousing, defending and promoting the faith. It is well understood today by those who are at the service of the Church —bishops and priests, religious and laity— considering their pastoral work in full awareness that the mission of the Church cannot be reduced to the socio-political, but rather consists in announcing the that God revealed about Himself and about the destiny of man. It consists of presenting Jesus Christ and the Good News of salvation from him.Jn 14, 7-9. 13; 17, 3; 1 Jn 5, 20).

5. Symbol of faith, the cross is also a symbol of suffering that leads to glory, of passion that leads to resurrection. "Per crucem ad lucem", through the cross, to reach the light: this profoundly evangelical proverb tells us that, lived in its true meaning, the Christian's cross is always an Easter cross. In this sense, every time we celebrate, as we would like to do today, the mystery of the cross, the light of faith increases in us, the certainty that the time of sacrifice and renunciation may very well be the beginning of time. news of fulfillment and fulfillment. This goes for people. But it also applies to communities. And it can be valid for an entire people, for a country.

Before the cross, there can be two possible attitudes, both dangerous. The first consists in trying to see in the cross what is oppressive and painful to the point of delighting in pain and suffering as if they had value in themselves. The second is that of those who, perhaps as a reaction against the previous one, reject the cross and succumb to the mystique of hedonism or glory, pleasure or power. A great spiritual author, Fulton Sheen, spoke, in this regard, of those who adhere to a cross without Christ, as opposed to those who seem to want a Christ without a cross. Now, Christianity knows that the Redeemer of man is a Christ on the cross and, therefore, only the cross with Christ is redemptive!

6. This being so, the cross also becomes a symbol of hope. From an instrument of punishment, it becomes an image of a new life, of a new world.

I think of all this when contemplating the great cross that stands in the geographical center of this young city, which is also the political center of the country. She stands there, a sign of a new stage in the history of Brazil, a present bridge between the future and the past of your country and your society, with all of history linked to the sign of the cross. Linked to the mystery of the cross of Christ.

That sign and that mystery, planted in the hearts of the men of this country, will become the life of their souls, signs of salvation.

In this sign, the love of God the Father was manifested once and for all, who "so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him should not die, but have eternal life" ( Jn 3, 16).

In this sign the permanent unity of the Son of God with the children of men, with the children of this earth, was manifested, since he wanted to become one of them, equal to them in everything, except sin in him (cf. Heb 4 , 15 ), to make them equal to Him.

In the sign of the cross, Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son, gave us the strength to become children of God. In that sign, the Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son —the Holy Spirit— foretold by Christ as Paraclete and guest of our souls, who visits the hearts of men and acts in the history of humanity, became a breath that passed and continues to pass through Brazilian land.

With this sign — the sign of the cross — entire generations of sons and daughters of this land have been marked for almost five centuries . Parents transmit this sign of faith to their children, grandparents to their grandchildren...

7. And today, as I begin my pilgrimage in the heart of the People of God on Brazilian soil, I wish, with the same sign of the cross, to sign my forehead, my lips, my chest together with you .

And as Successor of Peter, Bishop of Rome and Pastor of the Church, I want to bless all of you gathered here and all of Brazil with this sign.

Old and new Brazil. Your yesterday, today and tomorrow.

And I want to tell you that the cross is the sign of hope for man at all times. In her. God revealed to man what is the dignity that he has in himself, since it was designated as the mission of his Son.

Therefore, look towards the cross! In her you are called to the only hope of your vocation (cf. Eph 4:4). Look towards the cross! She is the sign of the new beginning that man always and everywhere finds in God.

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