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His Holiness Pope John Paul II
Ranchi Visit
February 3, 1986, will be written in golden letters in the annals of
the history of Christianity in Bihar, and more specifically in the history
of Chotanagpur. On that day the Holy father, Pope John Paul II, on his
historic visit to India as pilgrim of Unity and Peace, touched the sacred
soil of Ranchi, the heartland of Chotanagpur.
'Ranchi in the land of Bihar
you are by no means the least of the leading
cities of
Bihar for to you will come the Vicar of Christ !
It was like a prophesy, foretold in ages past, being fulfilled. We
are grateful to God Almighty for this unique privilege of welcoming the
Vicar of Christ in our midst and of spending three short yet grace-filled
hours with him.
Message of the Holy Father
- "Before the mountains were born
or the earth or the world brought forth,
you are God, without beginning or end" (Ps 89(90):2)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Together with all of you, I wish to adore God the Creator: God the
Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth. I wish to
adore him on Indian soil. I wish to adore him here in this vast
country which stretches from the towering Himalayas in the North to
the Malabar and Coromandel coasts in the South. I wish to adore
the Creator here in Ranchi, with all of you from Bihar, Orissa and
Madhya Pradesh, from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and from the
Kingdom of Nepal. In a particular way, I join in praise and
worship with the millions and millions of workers in India: with every
man and woman who works in the fields, in the mines, in the factories,
in the workshops, in the offices, in the homes, in the remote villages
as well as in the urban centres. At this Eucharist in Ranchi, we
join our voice and hearts to adore our God who is without beginning or
end.
- The Psalmist proclaims the eternity of God when he
sings: "To your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday, come
and gone, no more than a watch in the night" (Ps 89 (90):4).
God is eternal, he is eternity itself. Yet he does not remain
separated from us or inaccessible to us. He is the Creator of
the world: from him everything has taken its beginning. He is
the Creator of man. And to us human beings who are mortal and
subject to decay in our bodies, God speaks in these words: "Go
back, sons of men" (Ps 89 (90): 3). And yet God invites
every person whom he has created in his own image and likeness to
become a sharer in his life, his wisdom and his eternity.
Hence each man and woman is a pilgrim on this earth - a pilgrim of the
Absolute, a pilgrim in search of the Absolute! And each one is
called. We are all pilgrims, members of the People of God whom
the Creator and Father leads towards his own holiness. He leads
us to Himself through the experiences and the trials of the present
life.
- In order to teach us the way of living that leads to
union with God, the Father has given us his Son. He has made him
the cornerstone, so that we may grow towards salvation (cf. 1 Pt 2:
6-8). For in him, in Jesus Christ, we too become living stones
"built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God" (1 Pt 2:5).
These spiritual sacrifices are linked with everything that makes up
our life. In a particular way they are linked with human work,
for work is a basic dimension of human life on earth.
- Today I would like to reflect with you on the value
and dignity of human work. Jesus Christ was a carpenter's
son. He worked for the greater part of his life on earth in the
same trade as his foster father, Joseph. By working, Jesus
proclaimed in the ordinary activities of his daily life the dignity of
work. All human work is a participation in the activity of the
Creator himself. Whether we work in a factory, an office or a
hospital, or in the fields, or as a rickshaw driver or as a mother at
home - whatever work we do - we all share in the creative activity of
God. This gives all work its meaning and worth. "The
basis for determining the value of human work is not primarily the
kind of work being done but the fact that the one who is doing it is a
person" (Laborem Exercens, 6). It follows from this that
all human work, however, humble it may appear, must be fully
respected, protected and justly remunerated, so that families and
indeed the whole community may live in peace, prosperity and progress.
- Work brings joy and fulfillment, but it also entails
toil and fatigue. The fulfillment and joy spring from the fact
that human work enables men and women to exercise that mastery over
the earth which God has entrusted to them (cf. Gen 1 : 26-28).
For God said to the first man and woman: "Be fruitful and
multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the
fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living
thing that moves upon the earth" (Gen 1: 28).
The work we do, however, may not be the type of work we would prefer,
or it may be hazardous, such as work deep down in the mines. The
work may be hard, monotonous and exhausting. Such is our human
condition. It is written in the Bible that because of
disobedience man will earn his bread by the sweat of his brow and that
land upon which he labours will not easily yield its fruits (cf. Gen
3: 16-19). Yet for a worker who places his trust in God, the
toil and fatigue of work is accompanied by the joy of knowing that he
or she is collaborating with the Creator.
- For those of us who are Christians, Jesus is the
perfect model and inspiration for our work. In his work, Jesus
remained in deep communion with his heavenly Father. We should
therefore consider carefully how Jesus faithfully performed his daily
work during the many years of his life in Nazareth. This is a
powerful example for all of us. The witness of Jesus in his work
as a carpenter fills us with joy and encourages us to persevere in our
humble service to humanity.
Furthermore, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we must never forget
the reason why Jesus came into the world. Jesus came to
accomplish the work of salvation. And how did he accomplish the
work of salvation? Through his suffering and death on the Cross
and by the victory of his glorious Resurrection. All human work,
no matter how insignificant it may seem, shares in this work of
salvation. As I stated in my Encyclical on Human Work: "By
enduring the toil or work in union with Christ crucified for us, man
in a way collaborates with the Son of God for the redemption of
humanity. He shows himself a true disciple of Christ by carrying
the Cross in his turn every day in the activity that he is called upon
to perform" (Laborem Exercens, 77).
- The Church, seeking to be faithful to the example and
witness of Christ, has a very special concern for the welfare of
workers. The well-known Encyclicals of the Popes starting with
Rerum Novarum of Leo XIII have continually defended the right of the
worker to a just wage and to proper working conditions. The
Church's teaching is founded on the principle that every human person
is created in the image of God and has a unique-God-given
dignity. Thus no one should be used as a mere instrument for
production, as though the person were a machine or a beast of
burden. The Church rejects any social or economic system that
leads to the depersonalization of workers. Over and above her
concern for proper working conditions, the Church insists on a just
wage for workers, a wage that takes into account the needs of their
family. "Just remuneration for the work of an adult who is
responsible for a family means remuneration which will suffice for
establishing and properly maintaining a family and for providing
security for its future" (Laborem Exercens, 19).
My heart goes out in a special way to the many unemployed who want to
work but are unable to find suitable employment, at times because of
discrimination based on religion, caste, community or language.
Unemployment and under-employment give rise to frustration and a
feeling of uselessness, and cause disharmony in the family; they bring
anguish and untold hardships and weaken the very fabric and structure
of society. They threaten the dignity of every man and
woman. There is an urgent need to take fresh initiatives to
solve this grave problem, and these initiatives often require
collaboration on the national and international level. And it is
crucially important that the negotiations and plans to overcome
unemployment be marked by respect and dialogue between the employers
and those seeking work.
- At this Mass today, I am pleased to wear liturgical
vestments which have a particular symbolic meaning for the Catholic
people of this part of India. The designs on the chasuble
symbolize your belief in the abundant blessings that God the Creator
pours out on his people, and they show your faith in the power of God
to overcome all evil.
The chasuble and stole are signs of the priesthood: signs of the
priestly vocation, character and ministry. Through his ministry
of God's word and the sacraments, in particular the Eucharist, the
priest reminds all the baptized of everything which the first reading
of this Mass so splendidly expresses: "You are a chosen race, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people" (1 Pt 2:9).
And since you are God's chosen ones, you must proclaim the wonderful
works of God. You must proclaim the wonderful works of God the
Creator through everything that is the result and fruit of human
work. Precisely for this reason we bring to the altar the fruits
of human work and we offer them in sacrifice.
- God has "called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light"(1 Pt.2:9).
Yes, he has called us all in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is
the light. Indeed, he is "the way, and the truth, and the
light" (Jn. 14:6). And so he can lead us to the Father, to
this God who is light and truth and holiness itself. Jesus calls
us and invites us to share in his own divine life - through everything
which makes up our earthly existence, through all the toil of our
human work.
Accepting the light which is in Christ, we too must become "the
light of the world" (Mt 5:14). We have to become "the
salt of the earth" (Mt 5:13) which gives taste to human life.
As followers of Christ, you are called to be the light of Christ here
in India and with Christ to transform the world. Let your work
serve the good of your neighbour. Share with the
underprivileged, the sick and the handicapped. Strive to remove
everything that oppresses people, and working together do all you can
to solve the unemployment situation. Wherever you are, seek to
radiate the presence of Christ: in your families, before your
children, in your place of work, through the joyful practice of the
virtues you have found in Jesus.
In this great nation, against the background of the ancient heritage
of India, I ask you, dear brothers and sisters, to accept these words
that Christ speaks to you today, just as he once spoke them to his
first listeners and disciples: "Let your light so shine before
men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father
who is in heaven" (Mt. 5:16).
Sons and daughters of the great Indian motherland, accept these words
! You are the Church of the Living God in this most ancient
land, through which have passed so many generations, languages and
civilizations, Accept these words !
They are the words of Jesus Christ. It is the Redeemer of the
world who speaks, who tells you: "You are the light of the
world" ! "You are the salt of the earth" !
And he is the "cornerstone" of our salvation; he is the
cornerstone of our life in God ! Amen.
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