Paul Migrant Apostle of the Peoples
MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
FOR THE 95th WORLD DAY OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES (2009)
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
This year the
theme of the Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees is: “St Paul
migrant, ‘Apostle of the peoples’”. It is inspired by its felicitous
coincidence with the Jubilee Year I established in the Apostle's honour on the
occasion of the 2,000th anniversary of his birth. Indeed, the preaching and
mediation between the different cultures and the Gospel which Paul, “a migrant
by vocation” carried out, are also an important reference point for those who
find themselves involved in the migratory movement today.
Born into a
family of Jewish immigrants in Tarsus, Cilicia, Saul was educated in the Hebrew
and Hellenistic cultures and languages, making the most of the Roman cultural
context. After his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus (cf. Gal
1:13-16), although he did not deny his own “traditions” and felt both esteem and
gratitude to Judaism and the Law (cf. Rm 9:1-5; 10:1; 2 Cor 11:22; Gal 1:13-14;
Phil 3:3-6), he devoted himself without hesitation or second thoughts to his new
mission, with courage and enthusiasm and docile to the Lord's command: “I will
send you far away to the Gentiles” (Acts 22:21). His life changed radically (cf.
Phil 3:7-11): Jesus became for him his raison d’être and the motive that
inspired his apostolic dedication to the service of the Gospel. He changed from
being a persecutor of Christians to being an Apostle of Christ.
Guided by the
Holy Spirit, he spared no effort to see that the Gospel which is “the power of
God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the
Greek” (Rm 1:16) was proclaimed to all, making no distinction of nationality or
culture. On his apostolic journeys, in spite of meeting with constant
opposition, he first proclaimed the Gospel in the synagogues, giving prior
attention to his compatriots in the diaspora (cf. Acts 18:4-6). If they rejected
him he would address the Gentiles, making himself - an authentic “missionary to
migrants” - as a migrant and an ambassador of Jesus Christ “at large” in order
to invite every person to become a “new creation” in the Son of God (2 Cor
5:17).
The
proclamation of the kerygma caused him to cross the seas of the Near East
and to travel the roads of Europe until he reached Rome. He set out from
Antioch, where he proclaimed the Gospel to people who did not belong to Judaism
and where the disciples of Jesus were called “Christians” for the first time
(cf. Acts 11:20, 26). His life and his preaching were wholly directed to making
Jesus known and loved by all, for all persons are called to become a single
people in him.
This is the
mission of the Church and of every baptized person in our time too, even in the
era of globalization; a mission that with attentive pastoral solicitude is also
directed to the variegated universe of migrants - students far from home,
immigrants, refugees, displaced people, evacuees - including for example, the
victims of modern forms of slavery, and of human trafficking. Today too the
message of salvation must be presented with the same approach as that of the
Apostle to the Gentiles, taking into account the different social and cultural
situations and special difficulties of each one as a consequence of his or her
condition as a migrant or itinerant person. I express the wish that every
Christian community may feel the same apostolic zeal as St Paul who, although he
was proclaiming to all the saving love of the Father (Rm 8:15-16; Gal 4:6) to
“win more” (1 Cor 9:22) for Christ, made himself weak “to the weak... all things
to all men so that [he] might by all means save some” (1 Cor 9:22). May his
example also be an incentive for us to show solidarity to these brothers and
sisters of ours and to promote, in every part of the world and by every means,
peaceful coexistence among different races, cultures and religions.
Yet what was
the secret of the Apostle to the Gentiles? The missionary zeal and passion of
the wrestler that distinguished him stemmed from the fact that since “Christ
[had] made him his own”, (Phil 3:12), he remained so closely united to him that
he felt he shared in his same life, through sharing in “his sufferings” (Phil
3:10; cf. also Rm 8:17; 2 Cor 4:8-12; Col 1:24). This is the source of the
apostolic ardour of St Paul who recounts: “He who had set me apart before I was
born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me,
in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles” (Gal 1:15-16; cf. also Rm
15:15-16). He felt “crucified with” Christ, so that he could say: “It is no
longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20), and no difficulty
hindered him from persevering in his courageous evangelizing action in
cosmopolitan cities such as Rome and Corinth, which were populated at that time
by a mosaic of races and cultures.
In reading the
Acts of the Apostles and the Letters that Paul addressed to various recipients,
we perceive a model of a Church that was not exclusive but on the contrary open
to all, formed by believers without distinction of culture or race: every
baptized person is, in fact, a living member of the one Body of Christ. In this
perspective, fraternal solidarity expressed in daily gestures of sharing, joint
participation and joyful concern for others, acquires a unique prominence.
However, it is impossible to achieve this dimension of brotherly mutual
acceptance, St Paul always teaches, without the readiness to listen to and
welcome the Word preached and practised (cf. 1 Thes 1:6), a Word that urges all
to be imitators of Christ (cf. Eph 5:1-2), to be imitators of the Apostle (cf. 1
Cor 11:1). And therefore, the more closely the community is united to Christ,
the more it cares for its neighbour, eschewing judgment, scorn and scandal, and
opening itself to reciprocal acceptance (cf. Rm 14:1-3; 15:7). Conformed to
Christ, believers feel they are “brothers” in him, sons of the same Father (Rm
8:14-16; Gal 3:26; 4:6). This treasure of brotherhood makes them “practise
hospitality” (Rm 12:13), which is the firstborn daughter of agape (cf. 1
Tm 3:2, 5:10; Ti 1:8; Phlm 17).
In this manner
the Lord's promise: comes true: “then I will welcome you, and I will be a father
to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters” (2 Cor 6:17-18). If we are aware
of this, how can we fail to take charge of all those, particularly refugees and
displaced people, who are in conditions of difficulty or hardship? How can we
fail to meet the needs of those who are de facto the weakest and most
defenseless, marked by precariousness and insecurity, marginalized and often
excluded by society? We should give our priority attention to them because,
paraphrasing a well known Pauline text, “God chose what is foolish in the world
to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God
chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring
to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence
of God” (1 Cor 1:27).
Dear brothers
and sisters, may the World Day for Migrants and Refugees, which will be
celebrated on 18 January 2009, be for all an incentive to live brotherly love to
the full without making any kind of distinction and without discrimination, in
the conviction that any one who needs us and whom we can help is our neighbor
(cf.
Deus Caritas Est, n. 15). May the teaching and example of St Paul, a
great and humble Apostle and a migrant, an evangelizer of peoples and cultures,
spur us to understand that the exercise of charity is the culmination and
synthesis of the whole of Christian life.
The commandment
of love - as we well know - is nourished when disciples of Christ, united, share
in the banquet of the Eucharist which is, par excellence, the sacrament of
brotherhood and love. And just as Jesus at the Last Supper combined the new
commandment of fraternal love with the gift of the Eucharist, so his “friends”,
following in the footsteps of Christ who made himself a “servant” of humanity,
and sustained by his Grace cannot but dedicate themselves to mutual service,
taking charge of one another, complying with St Paul's recommendation: “bear one
another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2). Only in this way
does love increase among believers and for all people (cf. 1 Thes 3:12).
Dear brothers
and sisters, let us not tire of proclaiming and witnessing to this “Good News”
with enthusiasm, without fear and sparing no energy! The entire Gospel message
is condensed in love, and authentic disciples of Christ are recognized by the
mutual love their bear one another and by their acceptance of all.
May the Apostle
Paul and especially Mary, the Mother of acceptance and love, obtain this gift
for us. As I invoke the divine protection upon all those who are dedicated to
helping migrants, and more generally, in the vast world of migration, I assure
each one of my constant remembrance in prayer and, with affection, I impart my
apostolic Blessing to all.
From Castel
Gandolfo, 24 August 2008
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
© Copyright
2008 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copied from
by LEAP OF
FAITH –
www.faithleap.org
Research Resources Contents New Items Prayerline E-mail Search
Leap of Faith Catholic Site© 1996-2010