Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Savona (Agenzia Fides) - On the afternoon of Saturday, May 17, the Holy Father Benedict XVI began his pastoral visit to Savona and Genoa paying homage to the Blessed Virgin Mary with a visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy in Savona. After remaining some time in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, the Pope descended into the Shrine’s crypt to make an act of veneration and prayer to the Virgin, at the close of which he placed a golden rose on the altar dedicated to the Virgin Mary, in memory of his visit. Later, arriving in the “Piazza del Popolo” Square in the city’s central quarter, he was greeted by the Mayor and later presided the Mass for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.
“On this Solemnity,” Benedict XVI said in his homily, “the liturgy invites us to praise God not only for the wondrous things He has done, but for who He is in Himself, for the beauty and goodness of His Being, the source of His every action. We are invited to contemplate, so to speak, the Heart of God, His most profound reality, which is that of His Unity in the Trinity, sum and profound Communion of love and life.”
The Pope then recalled the apparition of the Virgin Mary as “Our Lady of Mercy,” to a local farmer, on March 18, 1536. “Mary did not speak of Herself. She never spoke of Herself, but always of God,” the Holy Father continued, “and She did so with this name that is ever-ancient and ever-new: mercy, which is synonymous with love, grace. And here we behold the entire essence of Christianity, because it is the essence of God Himself. God is One in that He is entirely and only Love, however in being Love, He is openness, receptivity, dialogue; and in relation to us, sinful men, He is mercy, compassion, grace, forgiveness.”
In the passage from the Gospel of John that had been read shortly before his homily - “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (Jn 3:16) - lies the key to the entire work of the Most Holy Trinity: “the Father who offers us that which He most values; the Son who, consenting to the Father, divests Himself of His glory in order to give Himself to us; the Spirit who descends from the peaceful divine embrace in order to irrigate the deserts of humanity. In order to carry out this work of His mercy, in taking on our flesh, God chose to need a human ‘yes,’ the ‘yes’ of a woman who would become the Mother of His Incarnate Word, Jesus, the human face of Divine Mercy. Mary thus became and remains always the ‘Mother of Mercy.’”
“In the course of the Church’s history,” the Pope continued, “the Virgin Mary has done nothing other than invite Her children to return to God, to entrust themselves to Him in prayer, to knock with trusting insistence at the door of His Merciful Heart. Truly He desires nothing more than to pour out the overabundance of His Grace upon the world...My visit to Savona, on the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, is above all a pilgrimage, through Mary, to the well-springs of faith, hope, and love. It is a pilgrimage that is also in memory and in honor of my venerable predecessor, Pius VII, whose dramatic experience is intimately united to this city and its Marian Shrine. “
Benedict XVI proceeded in renewing the acknowledgement on behalf of the Holy See and of the entire Church, “for the faith, love, and courage” with which the people of Savona supported the Pope during his forced residence in the city, under orders of Napoleon Bonaparte...that dark time in the history of Europe has become, by the power of the Holy Spirit, a rich source of grace and lesson, even in our day. It teaches us the courage with which we should face the world’s challenges: materialism, relativism, secularism...without ever going back on our promises, willing to personally pay the consequences for remaining faithful to the Lord and His Church. The example of serene fortitude given by Pope Pius VII invites us to firmly maintain our trust in God in the midst of trials, aware that although He allows the Church to experience difficult moments, He never abandons her.”
The Pontiff encouraged those present to always trust “in the instruments of grace that the Lord places at our disposition in every circumstance...above all, prayer: personal, family, and community prayer.” Benedict XVI further encouraged young families to make the effort beginning in their first years of marriage, to live “a simple form of household prayer, blessed by the presence of young children,” and invited parishes and associations “to make space and time for prayer, because activities become pastorally sterile if they are not preceded, accompanied, and continually sustained by prayer.”
Later, the Holy Father pointed out the importance of the Lord’s Day: “Sunday is rediscovered in returning to its Christian roots, beginning with the celebration of the Risen Lord found in the Word of God and recognized in the breaking of the Eucharistic Bread. And in addition, therefore, the value of the Sacrament of Reconciliation must be rediscovered as the fundamental means for spiritual growth and for facing the challenges of modern life with strength and courage. Along with prayer and the Sacraments, other necessary instruments of growth are the works of charity carried out with a living faith.”
In concluding his homily, Pope Benedict XVI turned his focus to prisoners and the personnel working in the Prison “Sant’Agostino” (Saint Augustine) in Savona, as well as to the patients in the hospital , in clinics, or in their own homes. To the priests, he expressed his appreciation for their “silent labor and the committed fidelity” with which they carry it out. He encouraged them to “go out to the people, as the Lord did: in visiting families, contact with the sick, dialogue with young people, making their presence felt in every environment of work and life.” To the members of religious Congregations, he reminded them that “the world needs their testimony and their prayer.”
The Pope offered an “especially warm greeting” to the young people: “Dear friends, place the time of your youth at the service of God and your brothers. Following Christ always implies the courage of going against the current. However, it is worth all the effort: this is the path to true personal fulfillment and, therefore, of true happiness...This is why I encourage you to seriously identify yourselves with the ideal of holiness... Dear young people, dare to commit your lives in courageous decisions, not on your own of course, but with the Lord!”. The Holy Father concluded his homily expressing his hope that “the faith of God, One and Triune, may instill in every person and every community the ardor of love and hope, the joy of fraternal love and of humble service towards others.”
At the close of the Eucharistic Celebration, the Holy Father, returning to the Bishop’s Residence in Savona, made a private visit to the rooms where Pope Pius VII stayed while he was a prisoner of Napoleon, from 1809-1812. Then, following his farewell greetings, he left for Genoa via helicopter. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 19/5/2008; righe 90, parole 1227)
