Homily, Praise Celebration (15 June 1984)

On Friday, 15 June 1984, the Holy Father presided in a Praise Celebration at the Shrine of Einsiedeln. In his homily, he spoke of “the deep human longing to experience the living God.”

Dear brothers and sisters!

1. We are gathered this morning in the Shrine of Our Lady of Einsiedeln to praise God. I greet from the bottom of my heart the faithful guardians of this place of grace, the sons of St Benedict and their entire monastic community; I greet those who have come here on pilgrimage today, as well as all those who are celebrating this Mass at home with their families.

In the first Psalm we have just sung: "O God, my God, I seek you; my soul thirsts for you . . . Therefore I look for you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory . . . " ( Ps 63:2, 3). The voice of this Psalm is our voice: "O God, my God, I seek you . . . ". This longing is implanted in every human heart - even if it is sometimes buried: the longing for a fullness of life that will bring us eternal happiness, the longing for God! If our inner voice is not drowned out, we hear our heart calling for an experience of God. The words of the Psalmist repeatedly come to our lips: "O God, my God, . . . my soul thirsts for you . . ." We seek a happiness that can only be found in him.

However, God cannot be experienced in the same way that we experience things in nature. Therefore, like the Psalmist, we look for him in his "sanctuary". We can only encounter God in faith. In today's reading, Isaiah speaks of his own personal experience of God. He sees the holy God in a mysterious way and hears the song of praise: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord!" ( Isaiah 6:3). As a human being, he experiences the holy, awe-inspiring God and at the same time his own sinfulness: "Woe is me!" The experience of God's closeness is a borderline experience for humans. But the prophet immediately hears the forgiving word: "Your guilt is wiped out!" ( ibid . 6:5-7). The closeness of the holy God is a loving and healing closeness. A blissful experience: Whoever God calls into his presence, he heals!

2. This morning, like the Psalmist, we look together for God in Mary's sanctuary. Even more than the prophet Isaiah, Mary experienced what it means to be able to experience God's closeness. Mary is the virgin whose heart is not divided; she is only concerned about the Lord's cause and wants to please him alone in her actions and thoughts ( 1 Cor 7:32-34). At the same time, however, she too feels holy awe and is "terrified" by the words of God's messenger. God has chosen and sanctified this virgin as the dwelling place of his eternal Word.

Mary, the exalted daughter of Zion, experienced like no one else how close the "power and glory" of God is. She cries out in grateful joy in the Magnificat: "My soul magnifies the Lord . . . He who is Mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name." At the same time, Mary is deeply aware of her creatureliness: "He has looked upon the lowliness of his servant." She knows that all generations will call her blessed ( Luke 1:46-49), but she points away from herself to Jesus: "Do whatever he tells you!" ( John 2:5). She is concerned with the Lord's cause. In a constantly renewed availability for her God, Mary walked the "pilgrimage of faith" ( Lumen Gentiutm , 58). The Virgin of Nazareth looked at the incomprehensible actions of God with the eyes of faith. Twice Luke emphasizes that she pondered "in her heart" what had happened ( Luke 2:19, 51). Such faith is praised as blessed: "Blessed is she who believed . . . " ( Ibid . 1:45).

3. Dear brothers and sisters! Follow the pilgrimage of faith that Mary took! Open your hearts completely to the Lord's cause like she did! I address this invitation to everyone, to bishops, priests and deacons, to religious and lay people, to men and women. In all of us lives the deep human longing to experience the living God. This longing has repeatedly called people to the path of faithful discipleship of Christ. Is this Marian shrine not marked by the longing of countless pilgrims in faith to experience God's presence in this world? Here these searching people were allowed to enter an atmosphere of prayer. At this place the hermit Saint Meinrad (+ 861) sought God in silence. Saints made pilgrimages here: the bishops Ulrich (+ 983), Wolfgang (+ 994) and Konrad (+ 995), the pilgrim Dorothea von Montau (around 1384), the prayerful Nicholas of Flüe (around 1474), the renewer of church life Charles Borromeo (1570), the teacher of the faith Peter Canisius (+ 1597), the penitent Benedict Josef Labre (+ 1783), the helper of the poor Johanna Antida Thouret (1795) and countless nameless saints. They and all pilgrims were aware of their need for help and their sinfulness. Together with Mary, the mother of Jesus, they remained here in prayer, open to God and his spirit.

This is how faith is passed on: the living faith of prayer, the personal experience with God. Anyone who seeks out the community of believers, and especially anyone who approaches Mary, enters an atmosphere of the Spirit. Mary received the promise of grace and the Spirit from the angel ( Luke 1:28, 35). Like Mary, we want to be open to God's Spirit so that we can experience his power, which equips us for the service and witness to which we are called.

4. Dear brothers and sisters! Be concerned about the Lord's cause! Look out for the holy God! I recall once again the vision of the calling of the prophet Isaiah. His mission to humanity is rooted in the personal experience of the thrice-holy God. He becomes able to hear the voice of the Lord. He hears the question about his readiness for prophetic service. And he gives his consent to the mission that comes from above: "Here I am, send me!" ( Is 6:8). He then receives the order: "Go and tell this people: You must listen..." ( Ibid . 6:8-9). The prophet is taken into service by God unconditionally. From now on he is undividedly on God's side. But he will also remain in solidarity with the people to whom he is sent.

Mary too was able to experience the Lord's closeness at first: "The Lord is with you!" She received the promise of grace before being asked about her willingness to accept the unique mission of becoming the mother of the Messiah. She then gave her unconditional yes to her participation in God's work of salvation: "I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word" ( Lk 1:28, 30). She acts carefully, but she also sets no conditions. She is ready to serve because she knows that the holy God is near. With patience she walks the "pilgrimage of faith" to the foot of her son's cross. On this path she stands in complete solidarity with us: a compassionate mother and sister.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us take Mary, the Mother of Jesus, who is also the Mother of the Church and our Mother, as our model and our companion on the path of our earthly pilgrimage! In all situations in our lives, let us look with her for the holy God who is always different and greater than us, but who is always mysteriously close to us and loves us. Looking to this God, who has become our Father in Christ, we too say: "Here I am, send me!" - "Let it be done to me according to your word!" In service to God and in service to humanity. Amen.

© Copyright 1984 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana