Cardinal Parolin visits East Timor

(Vatican Radio) The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, has travelled to East Timor as the Pope’s Special Envoy for the celebration of the fifth centenary of the evangelization of the country.

Cardinal Parolin celebrated Holy Mass at the Major Seminary in Dili, where he also delivered the homily. He called on the seminarians to become missionary disciples: “This must be our prayer and work ‘each day,’ to become what our Holy Father calls ‘missionary disciples.’ In fact, while every member of the Church is called to be a missionary disciple, for a priest it should be the model for his life.”

Read the full text of Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s homily for Mass at the Major Seminary in Dili, East Timor:

Mass at Major Seminary
Dili

13 August 2015

“Because of your love give me life, and I will do your will”

1. Before the proclamation of the Gospel, we proclaimed these words, which give significance to the meaning of our vocations as priests.  Yes, precisely because of God’s love, he has chosen us, and just as the prophet, Jeremiah, wrote, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart, and I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:5).  In the entire journey of your life in the seminary, this profound conviction must be in your hearts: It is the Lord who is calling you; it is the Lord who has chosen you, and it is the Lord who is holding your hand leading you to be a worker in his vineyard.

Your Excellencies Bishop Basilio do Nascimento
and Bishop Norberto do Amaral,
Dear Father Rectors, Formators and members of the seminary staff,
Dearest seminarians and novices,

2. I cannot express the depth of the joy that is my heart to be with you this evening, to celebrate Mass for the first time in this beloved country, Timor-Leste, and to be with you seminarians who represent the future of the Church in this Nation, which awaits you as shepherds and spiritual guides pointing people to God who is the source of our life, our faith and our vocation.

3. Together, let us hold fast to this important truth, it is God who chooses us, and as Pope Francis told priests in Ecuador, just over a month ago (8th July 2015): “Everyday renew the conviction that everything is a gift, the conviction that your being chosen is gratuitousness – we do not merit it.”

Let me take two words from that brotherly counsel of our Holy Father and bring it to your life in the seminary, and those two words are “everyday”.  Yes, I ask of you to live all aspects of your life in the seminary “everyday” with responsibility and diligence.  What are you asked to do “everyday”?

First and above all, you are asked to enter deeply into the process of formation with commitment and sincerity.  Yes, God has called you and with courage and faith you have answered.  You have come to the seminary in order to see, to understand and to discern the validity of this call.  Thus, the primary question that you must ask, “is the Lord really calling me”?

An answer to that question can only come if you dedicate yourselves “everyday” to the entire process of formation that the seminary offers.  On the human level, you should be able to develop your social qualities, especially in your interaction with people. On the intellectual level, to develop your capacity to embrace knowledge, especially to acquire the ability to understand and resolve challenges.  On the spiritual level, to develop your relationship with God, especially in deepening your dialogue with him, speaking to him and listening to him.

4. Ultimately, formation has as its goal the transformation of the heart.  In other words, “everyday” we must purify our hearts, shaving off all those defects which hinder us from achieving two essential goals: to love God and to be ready to love without hesitation the People of God who will be entrusted to us as priests.

Essentially, formation to the priesthood is the development of being a disciple of the Lord, which requires an intimate relationship with the Master, Jesus himself, and an ardent desire to be sent in order to serve.  This must be our prayer and work “each day”, to become what our Holy Father calls “missionary disciples”.  In fact, while every member of the Church is called to be a missionary disciple, for a priest it should be the model for his life.

To be a missionary disciple begins with the discovery of the presence of Christ in our lives.  Your formation must centre on that relationship with the Lord himself who never disappoints “those who take this risk” (Evangelii Gaudium, 3) of following him.  This relationship leads to a discovery of who Jesus truly is, for -and again I turn to the Holy Father- “he is the face of the Father’s mercy” (Misericordiae vultus, MV 1).  It is this sense of mercy, which forms us and moulds us to become disciples of mercy.  It is necessary that “everyday” we feel in the depths of our hearts that we have been touched by God, “who reveals his love as that of a loving father and mother” (MV, 7) and then be ready to give that love and mercy as his disciples to others.

Discipleship is not merely a private relation.  On the contrary, the deeper our relation with Christ is, the more we are compelled to go forth, to be missionaries, to bring what we have received, namely God’s love and mercy, to others especially to those who live on the periphery of society, those who are marginalized, those who are forgotten.  This is the primary and first goal of our priestly ministry and activity, yes to go to the peripheries, those who are living on the outskirts, “physically, socially, psychologically and spiritually” in other words, “those who are shunned, excluded and forced to live apart from others” (Homily of Pope Francis, 15 February 2015) and then to restore them to the family of God and to the very society to which they belong.

5. This is the heart of your formation, the model that you must pursue “everyday” to become “missionary disciples”.  This requires of you great responsibility and duty.  It is that upon which you must concentrate “everyday”.  Of course, it is a process that takes time and patience.  Be assured that the Lord is with you, guiding you, embracing you and walking with you.  This presence of Christ is not an abstract idea, but finds a concrete manifestation in the person of your spiritual director.  He is for you, the guide and the father.  Therefore, always be ready to speak with him with the greatest freedom and honesty, realizing that he is there to point you in the right direction, to assist you in your discernment and to encourage you in your formation.

6. Yes, dear brothers, in the seminary “everyday” is important, because inasmuch as you study with determination, follow the rhythm of seminary life, and speak frankly with your spiritual director your entire life will be opened to an immense joy, the joy of becoming priests, the joy of offering yourself to others.  Yes, the Lord has called you even before you were born, to be sent so that your hands, that will be consecrated for service, will be signs of the closeness of God, for which countless people are awaiting.

7. I commend you all to the powerful intercession of Mary, the Mother of Jesus and Queen of the Apostles.  Do not be afraid to turn to her with immense love and immense faith in all your daily undertakings, asking that she might transform you into the image of Jesus Christ, High Priest and Pastor, because the devotion to the our Blessed Lady is a privileged means “of finding Jesus Christ perfectly, of loving him tenderly, of serving him faithfully” (St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, Treatise on True Devotion, n. 62).

And may the holy Pastors assist you, they who shine like a guiding light on the Church of God.  Amen.