05112007 Benedict XVI Homily canonization Friar Galvao

 

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May 11, 2007: Benedict XVI, Homily at the Mass for the canonization of Fray Galvao.

Gentlemen cardinals;

Archbishop of São Paulo and Bishops of Brazil and Latin America;

distinguished authorities;

sisters and brothers in Christ:

"I bless the Lord at all times; his praise is always in my mouth" (Ps 33, 2).

1. Let us rejoice in the Lord, on this day in which we contemplate another of the wonders of God who, by his admirable providence, allows us to taste a vestige of his presence in this act of surrender of Love represented in the holy sacrifice of the altar.

Yes, we cannot help but praise our God. Let us all praise him, peoples of Brazil and America; let us sing to the Lord his wonders, because he has done great things in our favor. Today, divine Wisdom allows us to meet around her altar in an attitude of praise and thanksgiving for having granted us the grace of the canonization of Fra Antonio de Santa Ana Galvão.

I want to thank the affectionate words of the Archbishop of São Paulo, Mons. Odilo Scherer, who has become a spokesman for all of you, and the request of his predecessor, Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, who promoted Father Galvão's cause with such determination. I appreciate the presence of each one of you, both the inhabitants of this great city and those who have come from other cities and nations. I am glad that, through the media, my words and expressions of my affection can enter every house and every heart. Rest assured that the Pope loves you, and he loves you because Jesus Christ loves you.

In this solemn Eucharistic celebration, the Gospel passage was proclaimed in which Jesus, in an attitude of interior rapture, proclaimed: "I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you hid these things from the wise and prudent and you revealed them to little ones" (Mt 11:25). For this reason, I am happy because the elevation of Brother Galvão to the altars will forever be framed in the liturgy that the Church offers us today.

I affectionately greet the entire Franciscan community and, in a special way, the Conceptionist nuns who, from the Monastery of Light, in the capital of the State of São Paulo, radiate the spirituality and charisma of the first Brazilian raised to the glory of the altars.

2. We thank God for the continuous benefits achieved by the powerful evangelizing influence that the Holy Spirit imprinted on so many souls through Brother Galvão. The Franciscan charism, evangelically lived, has produced significant fruits through his testimony as a fervent worshiper of the Eucharist, as a prudent and wise guide to the souls that sought him, and as a great devotee of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, of whom he was considered "son and perpetual slave".

God comes out to meet us, "trying to attract us, going as far as the Last Supper, to the Heart pierced on the cross, to the apparitions of the Risen One and the great works through which he, through the action of the Apostles, has guided the walk of the nascent Church" (Deus caritas est, 17). It is revealed through his Word, in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist. For this reason, the life of the Church is essentially Eucharistic. The Lord, in his loving providence, left us a visible sign of his presence.

When we contemplate the Lord, elevated by the priest, after the consecration of the bread and wine at holy mass, or when we devoutly adore him exposed in the Monstrance, we renew our faith with profound humility, as Fra Galvão did in "laus perennis ", in a constant attitude of adoration. In the Holy Eucharist is contained all the spiritual good of the Church, that is, Christ himself, our Pasch, the living Bread that came down from heaven enlivened by the Holy Spirit and life-giving because it gives life to men.

This mysterious and ineffable manifestation of God's love for humanity occupies a privileged place in the hearts of Christians. They must be able to know the faith of the Church, through its ordained ministers, due to the exemplary way in which they fulfill the prescribed rites, which in the Eucharistic liturgy always indicate the center of the entire work of evangelization. For their part, the faithful should try to receive and venerate the Blessed Sacrament with mercy and devotion, wishing to welcome the Lord Jesus with faith and resorting, whenever necessary, to the Sacrament of Reconciliation to purify the soul of all serious sin.

3. The example of Brother Galvão is significant because of his availability to serve the people whenever he was asked. He had a reputation as a counselor, peacemaker of souls and families, dispenser of charity especially in favor of the poor and the sick. He was highly sought after for confessions, as he was jealous, wise and prudent. A characteristic of someone who truly loves is not wanting the Beloved to be wronged; therefore, the conversion of sinners was the great passion of our saint. Sister Helena Maria, who was the first "religious" destined to start the "Recolhimento de Nossa Senhora da Conceição", witnessed what Brother Galvão said: "Pray so that God our Lord, with his powerful arm, will take sinners out of the miserable abyss of guilt in which they find themselves". May this delicate recommendation serve as an encouragement to recognize in divine Mercy the path that leads to reconciliation with God and with our neighbor and to the peace of our conscience.

4. United to the Lord in the supreme communion of the Eucharist and reconciled with him and with our neighbour, we will be bearers of the peace that the world cannot give. Will the men and women of this world be able to find peace if they do not become aware of the need to reconcile with God, with their neighbor and with themselves? In this sense, what the Senate of São Paulo wrote to the Provincial Minister of the Franciscans at the end of the 18th century was very significant, defining Brother Galvão as a "man of peace and charity". What does the Lord ask of us?: "Love one another as I have loved you". But immediately he adds: "Bear fruit and that your fruit abide" (cf. Jn 15, 12.16). And what fruit does he ask of us, if not that of knowing how to love, inspiring us in the example of the saint of Guaratinguetá?

The fame of his immense charity knew no limits. People from all over the nation went to see Brother Galvão, who welcomed everyone paternally. They were poor, sick in body and spirit, who implored him for help.

Jesus opens his heart and reveals to us the center of his entire redemptive message: "Greater love has no one than he who lays down his life for his friends" (Jn 15, 13). He himself loved to the point of giving his life for us on the cross. The action of the Church and of Christians in society must also have this same inspiration. Social pastoral initiatives, if they are oriented towards the good of the poor and the sick, bear within themselves this divine seal. The Lord counts on us and calls us friends, because only those we love in this way are we capable of giving them the life provided by Jesus with his grace.

As we know, the V General Conference of the Latin American Episcopate will have as its fundamental theme: "Disciples and missionaries of Jesus Christ, so that our peoples may have life in him." How can we not see, then, the need to listen with renewed fervor to the call, to respond generously to the challenges that the Church must face in Brazil and in Latin America?

5. "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest", says the Lord in the Gospel, (Mt 11, 28). This is the final recommendation that the Lord directs us. How can we not see here the paternal and at the same time maternal feeling of God towards all his children? Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother, is particularly close to us at this time. Fray Galvão affirmed with a prophetic voice the truth of the Immaculate Conception. She, Tota Pulchra, the most pure Virgin, who conceived in her womb the Redeemer of men and was preserved from all original stain, wants to be the definitive seal of our encounter with God, our Savior. There is no fruit of grace in the history of salvation that does not have the mediation of Our Lady as a necessary instrument.

In fact, this saint gave himself irrevocably to the Mother of Jesus from his youth, wishing to belong to her forever and choosing the Virgin Mary as Mother and Protector of his spiritual daughters.

Dear friends, what a beautiful example Brother Galvão left us! How current are for us, who live in an age so full of hedonism, the words written in the formula of his consecration: "Take my life before I offend your blessed Son, my Lord." They are strong words, from a passionate soul, which should be part of the normal life of all Christians, both consecrated and non-consecrated, and which arouse desires for fidelity to God both inside and outside of marriage. The world needs limpid lives, clear souls, simple intelligences that refuse to be considered creatures that are the object of pleasure. It is necessary to say "no" to those media outlets that ridicule the sanctity of marriage and premarital virginity.

Right now Our Lady is the best defense against the evils that afflict modern life; Marian devotion is a sure guarantee of maternal protection and shelter in the hour of temptation. This mysterious presence of the most pure Virgin will come true when we invoke the protection and help of the Virgin Aparecida. Let us place in his most holy hands the lives of priests and consecrated laymen, seminarians and all those who have been called to religious life.

6. Dear friends, allow me to conclude by evoking the Marienfeld Prayer Vigil in Germany: before a crowd of young people, I presented the saints of our time as true reformers. And I added: "Only from the saints, only from God comes the true revolution, the decisive change in the world" (Homily, August 20, 2005: L'Osservatore Romano, Spanish language edition, August 26, 2005, p. eleven). This is the invitation that I extend to all of you today, from the first to the last, in this immense Eucharist. God said: "Be holy, as I am holy" (Lev 11, 44).

Let us give thanks to God the Father, to God the Son, to God the Holy Spirit, from whom come to us, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, all the blessings of heaven; from which comes this gift which, together with faith, is the greatest grace that the Lord can grant to a creature: the firm desire to reach the fullness of charity, with the conviction that holiness is not only possible, but also necessary to each one in his state of life, to reveal to the world the true face of Christ, our friend. Amen.

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