Eucharistic Liturgy in the Avenue of Martyrs (Bangui)

On Wednesday, 14 August 1985, the Holy Father celebrated the Eucharistic Liturgy “For the Church” in the Avenue des Martyrs Bangui (Central African Republic). In his homily, the Pope spoke on the importance of both faith and works for salvation.

1. “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples” ( Jn 15:8).

Dear brothers and sisters of Central Africa, these words addressed by Jesus to his apostles on the evening of the first Eucharist in the Upper Room in Jerusalem are also addressed to you today. You have become his disciples. You, your parents, or your grandparents, have heard the word of God, brought here over the course of this last century by other disciples to whom it had been passed down from generation to generation, beginning with Jesus, beginning with his apostles Peter and Paul. You believed . You desired Baptism, after a rigorous catechumenate. And immediately, as baptized and confirmed lay people, you taught others the path of faith. And with you, many have lived this Christian experience: the word of God is good; it has changed the hearts of men. Soon a people of God was formed on the banks of the Oubangui; your archbishop, Archbishop N'Dayen, has just presented the fruits of this people as the successor of Peter. I thank him for his words of welcome, and I thank all of you for your welcome. The essence of the Christian message you have received is this good news: God is Father. He created man in his own image. He did not abandon him to his sin. He loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that every man who believes in him may be saved and obtain eternal life. With Jesus, who died and rose for you, you have become adopted children of God. God has given you a share in his Holy Spirit who dwells within you. You are happy to follow Christ, he who is the way, the truth, and the life. Together with him, you pray to God with complete trust. With him, you can live a life filled with peace and love. With him, you endure your trials, even the trial of death. Because God is faithful, he calls you to share his life, both in this world and in the next. This is the essence of the faith you share with all Christians throughout the world, with the Church of which the Lord has made me universal pastor, in union with your bishops.

For this faith you have received, never cease to rejoice and to give thanks to God . It is a seed that can bear much fruit. It is a presence that can make your entire life blossom. Do not keep this treasure to yourselves: I hope that, through you, the proclamation of the Gospel will continue throughout this country, where many have not yet had the opportunity to truly know it and freely embrace it.

2. But you, never be satisfied with saying: “I am baptized,” “I have faith.” You have heard the warning given by the apostle James to the first Christians: “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?” ( James 2:14). Instead, everyone should say: “I will show you my faith by my works” ( James 2:18). And these works consist in fulfilling the law of Christ which is charity, love.

Of course, faith comes first. God is the source, because he loved us first. If he offers us this, it's not because of our merits: it's a free gift, a grace. And if we fulfill his law through meritorious works, it's because he himself continues to inspire and help us. And it's natural for us to respond to his will, even to the point of offering him in sacrifice what is most dear to us, as Abraham did. It's logical, it's necessary, that we respond to his love with all our strength, with all our heart. Thus, these works perfect faith, they bear witness to it. Without them, our faith would be like a dead body, no longer breathing.

Now, Christ's commandment is that we love one another as he has loved us (cf. Jn 15:12). How could we pray to God as our Father if we didn't consider our neighbors our brothers and sisters, and if we did nothing for them when they suffer from hunger, thirst, homelessness, sickness, imprisonment, or a stranger (cf. Mt 25: 35-36 ); and, I would add, when they are unemployed or without hope for a truly human future on this earth? Love of neighbor is never an abstract word: it tends to translate into concrete gestures of attention, respect, esteem, justice, sharing, and help in living, and living better.

3. Putting the Gospel into practice in all of your daily life , in the mentality of institutions, is what you are called to, Christians of Central Africa. It is the vocation of all Christian people. Baptism and Confirmation, in fact, make the laity active members of the body of Christ, both in the Church, where they can provide services to their own Christian community—around the priest, who has a specific role—and in the world, where they cooperate with others in various secular tasks, without conforming to the spirit of the world, but rather in the spirit of the Beatitudes: blessed are those who have the spirit of poverty; blessed are the peacemakers; blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice; blessed are the merciful; blessed are the pure in heart! The Second Vatican Council clearly expressed this role of the laity in society: “They live in the world, that is, involved in each and every work and business of the world, and in the ordinary circumstances of family and social life, of which their existence is, as it were, woven together. There they are called by God to contribute, as from within like leaven, to the sanctification of the world by the exercise of their proper function and guided by the spirit of the Gospel” ( Lumen gentium , 31).

It seems to me that the Church in Central Africa has well understood, for about fifty years now, this responsibility of the laity, as was demonstrated by the work of the Catholic Church's assemblies in January 1982. The proliferation of your small communities in rural villages or urban neighborhoods, with their leaders or advisors, as well as the various Christian movements, contribute to translating the spirit of the Gospel into the realities of daily life.

4. Your living environment awaits the action and dedication of Christians to address its human needs in solidarity. Your country, dear friends, is not lacking in riches, whether they be of the soil or underground. God has given you land and water; he entrusts this fertile land to you so that it may produce enough for all, and so that the children of this country never die of hunger or suffer from malnutrition. Without denying the need for national and international solidarity, it is up to you yourselves to enhance all your riches, through courageous, honest, organized, and modernized work, drawing on all the resources of your imagination and mutual aid among neighbors.

I know that, under the impetus of Christian movements, you demonstrate great dedication to rural and urban development. You undertake numerous concrete initiatives, for example, to ensure the construction of wells and springs, roads, to improve agricultural yields, the organization of cooperatives, literacy, schools, the training of artisans, home education and sewing, the promotion of women as a whole, dispensaries, health education, the fight against alcoholism, environmental improvement, and the joint defense of your rights...

Yes, it is good for each person to understand, with the help of their brothers and sisters, their rights and duties, as well as their possibilities, and to feel encouraged to cooperate, with the goal of becoming increasingly responsible, according to God's plan, and of serving the community in its essential needs. It is a work of fraternal charity and justice that is well suited to Christians.

5. Such action, which is absolutely and intrinsically necessary, must be integrated with what is being implemented throughout the country and in various fields in order to seek the common good of all , that is, the promotion of all social categories of the nation and of the conditions necessary for development, solidarity and peace. Christians must be at the forefront of those who educate people in this sense of the common good, beyond particular interests, and among those who cooperate in it. They will strive to acquire true competence, to carry out their profession conscientiously ; furthermore, if they have access to public office , they will strive to fill it in order to serve all their fellow citizens, especially the weakest, without accepting favoritism, intolerance between ethnic groups, or corruption. These Christians should be able to be recognized in these words of the Psalms: “Blessed is the merciful man who lends, / who administers his goods with justice . . . / his justice endures forever” ( Ps 112:5, 9).

The Second Vatican Council insisted on the participation of Christians in economic, social, and political life in order to help "humanize" them according to God's plan. To this end, "there is nothing better than to cultivate an interior sense of justice, love, and service to the common good, and to strengthen fundamental convictions about the true nature of the political community and about the purpose, legitimate exercise, and limits of competence of public authority" ( Gaudium et Spes , 73 § 5; cf. also no. 43). Everything possible must be done to resolve disputes through dialogue and justice, so that true peace may reign and the dignity of each person is respected.

I therefore encourage all those in this country who are working to shape consciences in this direction and to create, from now on, a more just, more fraternal world. I am thinking of the educational work and reflection of various Christian movements such as the JAC, the JEC, the Scouts, the Guides, the GEN, and the Little Catholic Action. The Church's witness is at stake, as is a better future for the country.

6. Youth deserves special attention . Young people have greater access to education, and this is a good thing for their spirit to blossom and serve the country with greater ability. However, they are increasingly disillusioned because they don't see the fruits they dreamed of, due to a lack of suitable jobs, and perhaps also due to a lack of training appropriate to their situation. The solutions are certainly complex, and we mustn't limit ourselves to blaming, as if the results were guaranteed to arrive from above or from others; however, no one can resign themselves to this disillusionment among young people: it risks leading some to anger, revolt, acts of vandalism, or selfish withdrawal into themselves, or even to escape into alcohol and drugs, or to cynical fatalism.

Dear adults, parents, teachers, those responsible for the common good of the nation, do not accept such a risk. Make an effort to prepare the future of young people. Explore what can be done, take courageous initiatives, lead the entire nation towards this goal, and do everything possible to support the conscience of young people on the right path.

And you yourselves, dear young people, react with dignity, courage, and solidarity, certain that there is hope for those who seek in the spirit of the Gospel. The beautiful motto of the Central African Republic is: "Unity, Dignity, Work"; I translate it: become free men, with your heads held high ; freedom is not a gift, it must be earned. Reject division and hatred. Prepare a better life through your work and your dedication to others.

The Church intends to collaborate as much as possible in the religious and integral education of young people—both in state schools and in those for which it may have direct responsibility—both to help the young people themselves and to support educators in their magnificent vocation, among other things within the framework of "Teachers' Groups."

7. The basic cell of society remains the family . The very first missionaries were keen to prepare boys and girls capable of founding a Christian home. I think of Pierre Kwesse and Marie Peke, who, since their conversion, less than five years after the first proclamation of the Gospel in this country, have formed an admirable family. The freedom of future spouses, the stability of their union, their decisive influence on their children are too often threatened, both by certain negative aspects of customs that would be good to eliminate, and by certain seductions of the modern age.

I extend my congratulations to the members of the Association of Christian Focolare Movements who strive to bring their friends to a Christian understanding of the family, according to the principles I myself set forth in the exhortation Familiaris Consortio to a synod of bishops from around the world. These demands, freely accepted, embraced in the sacrament of marriage, and constantly lived with Christ in prayer, ensure Christian spouses depth, constancy, and fruitfulness of conjugal love, and education in the faith, as in a miniature Church. Dear friends, may God help you promote such focolare movements! Do not neglect the sacrament of marriage, which Christ instituted to sanctify the union and the entire life of spouses, and to allow them to always draw closer to the other sources of grace!

Yes, may a well-formed Christian conscience make the light of the Gospel shine everywhere, spread love, and inspire hope!

8. “I have appointed you that you should go and bear fruit” ( Jn 15:16), Jesus declared. This applies to all of Christ's disciples. Jesus said it first of all to the apostles. He entrusted them with a special role, to proclaim the Gospel in all its power, to watch over the perseverance of the disciples, to give them in his name the bread of life which is his body, as well as the forgiveness of sins, to make them live in fraternal unity beyond all particularisms, to connect the new scattered communities to the entire Church gathered in a single body. Today this is the irreplaceable role of your bishops and their immediate collaborators, the priests and deacons.

People of God in this land of Central Africa, are you sufficiently aware of the invaluable role of the priest within your Church? Vocations reaching maturity have long been few in number. Progress is evident... I rejoice in this. It would be unthinkable for good Christian homes and fervent communities not to do everything possible to awaken these vocations, to encourage them, and then to support these ministers of Christ who dedicate their entire lives to his service in the Church. The laity themselves will be able to fully fulfill their role only if priests support their Christian lives, and it would be good if more Central African bishops assumed this responsibility in the Church.

I am thinking here of all consecrated persons, men and women religious , and members of secular institutes: the witness of the total gift of one's self to Christ and to others, in chastity, obedience, and poverty, is a sign of the Gospel par excellence, and also a sign of the Church's maturity. How many committed lay people, how many catechists, have found the path of Christ and become evangelizers thanks to their mediation! I am sure you are longing for the moment when Central African nuns will replace deserving nuns from other countries. We must actively prepare for this stage and accept the formation necessary for religious life.

I do not forget those men and women who, within this Church, lead a contemplative religious life: they too, through prayer and sacrifice, build the City of God.

9. Dear brothers and sisters, Christ still has some words to entrust to you, beautiful and serious words: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing” ( Jn 15:5).

All the fruits we have spoken of, in your personal, family, social, and national life, will be possible, and will be fruits of love, only if you remain firmly attached to Christ like the branch to the vine, like the branch to the trunk of the tree. The sap that will generate the dynamism of love in you is the love that resides in the heart of Christ, his love for the Father and his love for humanity. Without this love, our efforts will be mere activism, "like a clanging cymbal" (cf. 1 Cor 13:1).

Dear brothers and sisters, remain in Christ, doing everything possible to strengthen your bonds with him. Remain in Christ through faith , a living faith, a faith nourished by the words of Christ—"let my words abide in you"—meditating personally or in groups, and asking the Church for authentic interpretation; in short, a faith that seeks to better understand salvation and God's will. Highlights of this recharging and spiritual support are the homily at Mass, catechesis, discussion meetings, spiritual retreats, and Bible study groups.

Remain in Christ through prayer : prayer maintains bonds of love with God, expresses the gratitude of the child who thanks, the boldness of the child who asks, the willingness of the child who says: “Lord, what do you want me to do?”

Remain in Christ by welcoming his sacraments , which are the effective signs of his presence. Prepare to receive them, ask the Lord to purify and elevate you through the sacrament of reconciliation. Ask him to nourish you with his life through the Eucharist, especially in the Sunday assembly. Ask him to transfigure your human love through the sacrament of marriage.

Your parishes are privileged, indispensable places to help you remain in Christ. I said this to your bishops during the “ad limina” visit: “May the parishes offer everyone substantial doctrinal nourishment, a liturgy that introduces prayer, a warm welcome, and, in a complementary way, may the small communities foster a witness that enlivens daily life!” (John Paul II, Allocutio ad Episcopos Africae Centralis occasione oblata eorum visitationis “ad limina Apostolorum” , 4, 19 November 1982 : Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II , V/3 [1982] 1330).

10. We are now preparing to continue our Eucharistic prayer, in union with the Christians of all countries gathered at the Eucharistic Congress in Nairobi, to which I am about to go. Let us concentrate there all the worthy efforts of your Church, to unite them in offering to Christ. Let us present to the Lord our intentions, our needs. Jesus tells us how to pray: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you... Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you” ( Jn 17:7, 16).

Perhaps we don't dare ask enough? We will pray for all the people of the Central African Republic, for peace, for unity, for development, for progress in every respect. We will pray for the Church in this country and also for the universal Church. And you, pray for my ministry. Everyone's prayers will bring these intentions to fruition.

Lord, may the Church unite in the Holy Spirit to be the leaven and soul of the world (opening prayer):

- Lord, help the Church to reveal the riches of the Gospel to the poor (prayer after communion);

- may it be a place of truth and freedom, of justice and peace. Give us the Spirit of love, the Spirit of your Son (Eucharistic Prayer).

May all of us, in the Church and in society, be animated by the Spirit of love, which translates into service. Christ tells us: “You are my friends if you do everything I command you . . . You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that . . . you should bear fruit and that your fruit should abide” (Jn 15 :14-16). And remember: “The Son of Man . . . did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” ( Mt 20:28).

I myself, John Paul II, was chosen from among my brothers to ensure the service of God's servants, the service of unity, of constancy, of the coherent march of the Church. Following Jesus, I would like to be among you as one who serves (cf. Lk 22:27).

I pray to God to increase in each of the Christians present here the faith that allows you to enter into God's plan, the love that puts you at the service of others, and finally hope . Yes, hope, so that never, for any reason, may you give in to discouragement, but rather be like those men and women who heard Jesus' call: "Rise and walk" ( Mt 9:5).

May our journey always be made together with Mary, the Servant of the Lord.

O Mary, whom we prepare to celebrate tomorrow, / O Mary, ascended into heaven, in the glory of your Son, / you, our Mother, believed, / you loved, / you hoped better than any creature. / You were filled by God. / May your example and your intercession / help the Central African people to participate in the kingdom of God, / on this earth and for eternity! / Amen.

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