HOLY MASS FOR THE FAITHFUL OF THE DIOCESE OF MERIDA AND INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER JOHN PAUL II Xoclán-Muslay Esplanade, Mérida Wednesday August 11, 1993 Venerable brothers in the episcopate, dear priests, men and women religious, beloved brothers and sisters: “You are the salt of the earth ” (Mt 5, 13). one. These are the words of Jesus to his disciples, which we have heard in reading the Gospel in this solemn Eucharistic celebration. These are words that today, the Successor of Peter, in the name of the Lord, repeats with joy to all of you, gathered in Mérida to give fervent thanks to God for the gift of the Christian faith. Yucatan is the sonorous and expressive name of this land, which today is found on millions of lips throughout Latin America and around the world. Summoned by the Lord Jesus, alive and active in his Church, which today as yesterday continues to speak in the depths of each man, we want to celebrate the arrival of his message of salvation to the peoples of this blessed Continent. In it, under the action of the Spirit, the “seeds of the Word ”, present in the deep religious sense of their cultures, became fruitful and their hearts were opened to “the true Light that illuminates all man who comes into this world ” (Jn 1, 9). How beautiful it is to come together to celebrate the same faith and the same life in Christ! You and I are not only fruit, but also sowers of the words of Jesus: “Go and make disciples of all peoples ” (Mt 28, 19), that is, apostles of the new evangelization to which, by virtue of our baptism, we are all called. So the Lord reminds us again today that we are “the salt of the earth, the light of the world” (cf. ibid5, 13-14). 2. My greeting in this blessed land of Yucatan, which welcomed the Good News of Jesus Christ, wants to be in tune with your joy for the faith received, the germ of a new life that transforms all existence according to the providential designs of God. I greet you, therefore, brother Bishops of Mexico present here, as well as those of the different Nations of Latin America who have wanted to join us in our celebration. In particular, Monsignor Manuel Castro Ruiz, Pastor of this beloved Archdiocese that welcomes us today. I also extend my warmest welcome to the civil and military authorities that accompany us. I greet you, dear priests, men and women religious, that you continue with exemplary dedication the work of bringing the Gospel to all environments. I greet you, beloved faithful of Mérida, Yucatan and all of Mexico, who with enthusiasm and joy have awaited this meeting of faith and love. And, in a special way, I greet you, indigenous brothers and sisters, who represent the communities and ethnic groups not only of Yucatan and Mexico, but also of the entire American Continent, while I reiterate the particular love that the Church professes you. 3. “You are the salt of the earth ” (Mt 5, 13)). These are words that the Lord addresses to you today, gathered here on the Yucatan peninsula: he tells you, descendants of the first inhabitants of Mexico and the American Continent. In the Christian faith, you are truly the salt of the earth. Before the inhabitants of other continents arrived here, you had already given this land the flavor of the fatigue of your work and your sufferings, the richness of your ancestral cultures, of your human values, of your languages. But with the Christian faith all received a new and deeper meaning. You, who have accepted in your heart the saving message of Christ, are, therefore, to come out of the earth because you must contribute to preventing the life of man from deteriorating or corrupting himself by pursuing the false values that are so often proposed in contemporary society. You are salt of this land, Mexican land, American land. Today I come among you to pay tribute to the descendants of the ancient inhabitants of America; to give glory to divine Providence, who entrusted this land to make it fruitful and fruitful according to the designs of the Creator, who has destined the goods of creation for the service and utility of the entire human family. The Church, as Mother and Teacher, endorses the problems that affect man, and especially the poorest and most abandoned, and tries to enlighten them from the Gospel. For this reason, in the construction of a more just and fraternal society, the social doctrine of the Church always proposes the primacy of the person over things (Centesimus annus, 53-54), of the moral conscience on the utilitarian criteria, which seek to ignore the dignity of man, created in the image and likeness of God.

• published: 02 Nov 2024
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