Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - On May 27 of last year, on the feast of the Solemnity of Pentecost, Benedict XVI signed the “Letter to the Bishops, Priests, Consecrated persons, and Lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the People's Republic of China.” One year later, the Holy Father has personally composed the text of a prayer to be recited by all Catholics throughout the world on the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China, to be celebrated on May 24, a day dedicated to the liturgical memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary as “Help of Christians,” who is venerated with great devotion in the Shrine of Sheshan, in Shanghai.
In the prayer that the Holy Father has given us, some of the most important themes from his Letter to the Church in China are resumed. The prayer opens with a greeting to Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother, venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title “Help of Christians.” The Pope asks Our Lady of Sheshan to look upon the People of God and, with a mother’s care, guide them along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens. How can we not be reminded of the Holy Father’s Letter when he defines truth and love as “the two supporting pillars of the life of the Christian community”? (n.7 §3).
In the second and third paragraph of the prayer, in a brief yet concise description that moves from the “yes” of Nazareth to the supreme hour of the Cross, when Mary remained standing beside Her Son, who died that we might live, the prayer recalls the heart of the Gospel, the Pascal Mystery: the mystery of Redemption fulfilled by Christ made man in the virginal womb of Mary. “Today, as in the past, to proclaim the Gospel means to preach and bear witness to Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, the new Man, conqueror of sin and death. He enables human beings to enter into a new dimension, where mercy and love shown even to enemies can bear witness to the victory of the Cross over all weakness and human wretchedness” (n.3 §7).
To Mary, Mother of Hope, the Pope asks that She help the Church in discerning in every situation, even those that are darkest, the signs of God’s loving presence. In writing to the Chinese Catholics, to help them “discover what the Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, ‘the key, the center and the purpose of the whole of human history’ wants from you” (n.2 §2), the Holy Father spoke of God’s plan for human history and the need to discover what God wants of us, even when we are facing apparent failure (cfr n.19 §3).
The fervent cry of the Gospel - “Duc in altum” of n.3 §5 - we find expressed in the simple words of the prayer: “amid their daily trails, continue to believe, to hope, to love. May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world, and of the world to Jesus. In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high, offering him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love” (Prayer, n.3 §7).
The prayer closes asking that Mary, Mother of China, may help all the faithful of that noble nation and of the entire world to be credible witnesses of the Love made manifest and given to us on the Cross, united to the Universal Church and to Peter, the rock on which the Church has been built, according to the original plan willed by Christ Himself.
“In your country too, the proclamation of Christ crucified and risen will be possible to the extent that, with fidelity to the Gospel, in communion with the Successor of the Apostle Peter and with the universal Church, you are able to put into practice the signs of love and unity (‘even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another ... even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" - Jn 13:34-35; 17:21)” (n.3 §7).
Inspired by this prayer that Pope Benedict XVI has written for all of us, let us prepare ourselves to live this day of May 24, in communion with the Church in China. “I would like that date to be kept by you as a day of prayer for the Church in China. I encourage you to celebrate it by renewing your communion of faith in Jesus our Lord and of faithfulness to the Pope, and by praying that the unity among you may become ever deeper and more visible. I remind you, moreover, of the commandment that Jesus gave us, to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us, as well as the invitation of the Apostle Saint Paul: ‘First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth’ (1 Tim 2:1-4)” (n.19 §2).
“On that same day, the Catholics of the whole world - in particular those who are of Chinese origin - will demonstrate their fraternal solidarity and solicitude for you, asking the Lord of history for the gift of perseverance in witness, in the certainty that your sufferings past and present for the Holy Name of Jesus and your intrepid loyalty to his Vicar on earth will be rewarded, even if at times everything can seem a failure” (n.19 § 3). (Agenzia Fides 16/5/2008; righe 69, parole 1002)
