Prelature of Ayaviri

¿Ancha munaska wayke punaykuna imainailla kankichis?

Forgive me if my Kechua is not so good.

Maña kuykichis yachayta simiquichisti

After greeting the Apostolic Nuncio, his predecesor, and several other Bishops attending the Mass, and the priests, consecrated persons, laymen and lay women, the catechists and pastoral agents, and the civil authorities, Bishop Schmalhausen, said in his homily:

"With very special brotherly and pastoral affection I greet in sum each and every one of the faithful of Ayaviri. The Lord has called me to rise from the lands of the Misti to the high plains of Puno, a few steps closer to the sky, in order to serve this beautiful Church and each and every one of you. I want to express to you my joy for the immense blessing of being here with you and that we may be from now on - in the Lord - one single family. My sincere affection to all. Help me to enter into the heart of this beautiful Church that works, lives, dreams and suffers in this beautiful land. Kay ora pacha kankunawan kani!

And my thanks finally to all the brothers and sisters that have come from Lima, from Callao, from Arequipa and from Germany. The Church is catholic, she is universal, an overwhelming mystery of communion that surpasses geographical, social, and cultural borders; and the Lord is Her only Pastor. How well we see this reflected in this Eucharist!

BEING A GOOD PASTOR

Saint Augustine has written very beautifully on the office of the Bishop which I would like to make mine. He says: "The Lord, not according to my merits, but according to his infinite mercy, has desired that I occupy this place and dedicate myself to the pastoral ministry; for this I must have two things in mind, distinguishing them well: that on the one hand I am a Christian and on the other I am a Bishop. My being Christian is a gift that has been given me as my own; my being a Bishop, however, I have received for your good. Consequently, because of my condition as Christian I must think about my salvation; but, because of my condition as Bishop I must concern myself with yours."

As all of you I have been given the gift of being Christian, for you I have been entrusted with being a Bishop. And if in some sense my responsability is greater I have that much greater need of your prayers and help.

Therefore I want to ask, from my heart, that you help me to be a good Bishop, so that you may never lack your Shepherd's concern, and that I may never lack the openness, docility and trust of the flock, so that this way we may be one in charity, one single flock gathered around one single Sheperd.

THE PRESENCE OF THE RESURRECTED ONE

The Gospel of this third Sunday of Easter evokes in us more than anything else an experience very proper to this time: the Resurrected Lord bursts into the midst of the community of the disciples and apostles once again. Once again he makes Himself present to strengthen the faith of his own and to tell them that He is alive in the midst of the community; He Himself gathers his dispersed flock. And it is as if He has returned today to tell all of us: "Why are you afraid? Why do doubts arise in your hearts? ...Do not be afraid, I am He who lives. It is I."

With the whole Church we live this intense joy of Easter. Jesus is here, with us. Let's not be afraid! The Lord is here with all of us. He never fails! "Look at my hands and feet; it is I." Let us touch Jesus and let ourselves be touched by Him, by his living word, by his presence. He has come to give us life. He brings us peace. Only He saves. He knows our sufferings and hopes, He knows our desires and longings. He knows the material poverty that many live in, but He also knows our spiritual richness more than anyone else. He takes care of each and every one of us.

In the first reading we are told that Peter himself proclaimed his faith in the Resurrected Lord before the people. Yes, from the person of the Lord Jesus, from his Paschal Victory, surges the only force capable of restoring fallen man, man who is sick in his body or in his spirit; that man that can be each one of us.

In reality it is the same man of yesterday and of today. Man who aspires to a new world and who nonetheless is capable of projecting his interior ruptures, his own personal sins in situations of conflict, violence, egoism, marginalization, exploitation, injustice and corruption, betraying his own most intimate longings.

THE CHURCH CALLED TO EVANGELIZE

That is why the Church urgently (we can almost say vehemently) calls us to evangelize. "Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize." The light of the Gospel must not be a lamp hidden under the table. Jesus' last words before his ascension are repeated to all the baptized: "Go to the whole world and preach the Gospel." They are like his testament, entrusted to us.

I have thought intensely about the mission of the New Evangelization. And I wanted to share with you three ideas that I have about it and its relevance for us:

1. First of all, and before everything, that evangelization is proclamation, joyful proclamation of the Lord Jesus. We don't proclaim ourselves. It's not a matter of speaking a merely human language, no matter how sophisticated it may be. Nor is it a matter of inventing new doctrines; that would be a sterile and fruitless novelty. It's about witnessing with renewed vitality, with impetuous ardor, and with new methods, to the same and only faith of the Church, to the Lord Himself, who is the only person capable of integrally and totally transforming the human being.

To evangelize is to make the Son of God known, He who became the Son of Mary for us, He, who lived among us and died for me, for you, in order that by His Resurrection he may grant us participation in the full life that comes from God; this is the great and unique proclamation capable of revolutionizing the world. And it's a proclamation which we have to make in first person, as those who have met with Him: I speak to you of Him because I know Him!, He has looked at me!, He loves me and I want to share this joy with you!

Therefore dear brothers and sisters:

May our apostolate be very direct. Let us not be afraid to speak to about our faith; to share, like the Virgin, the joy of the Gospel. There are many people who search for God and suffer the terrible spiritual poverty of those who live without Him.

May our proclamation be accompanied by the exemplary testimony of our Christian life. How many times have we heard that simple truth that words move but examples are what compel!

To the priests: may we be reverent in the celebration of the liturgy and zealous in preaching the word of God, zealous also in being distributors of the sacramental life, of Confession administered with goodness, of the preparation of the parents for the Baptism of their children and of couples for marriage. Those are the particulars of our ministry. Let us love the liturgy; it is like a precious pearl. Let's take great care of it so that its beauty captivates us and elevates us, drawing us near to the mystery of the hidden God. All this, as well as our ministerial service, is a right the faithful can demand. Let us not allow that which is an immense blessing to become an anathema against us.

A proclamation which is complemented moreover by a catechesis which consolidates the faith of the children, young people and adults, bringing them to a mature, integral, and solid faith.

And, finally, an ardorous proclamation, because we are nourished by the sacraments and by prayer. The truth is that we know Jesus when we receive Holy Communion, when in the confessional we receive his forgiveness, when in our families we pray together; when we come near Him in the tabernacle and open our hearts to Him, sharing our sorrows and joys with Him.

2. Secondly, let's hold this conviction: the task of the New Evangelization requires a new wave of holiness! The history of the Church teaches us this. Behind the great evangelizing deeds and the true ecclesial renewals we always find saints.

There were saints among those who with decisive strength gave impulse to the first Evangelization of our lands. Holiness, is a universal calling. It's a demand that concerns us all.

That, however great it may seem to us, must not hold us back or frighten us. Truly, in order for the New Evangelization to bear the fruits that God expects we need it to rise in our lands as a new wave of holiness. If this is what God wants He will give us the grace and strength for it as well!

That's why Saint Paul says "This is the will of God, your sanctification." And Pope Benedict XVI said to us a year ago: "It is also our joy: God's will does not alienate us, it purifies us - even if this can be painful - and so it leads us to ourselves. In this way, we serve not only him, but the salvation of the whole world, of all history."

What an extraordinary horizon!: a Prelature in which one breathes joy, an intense desire on behalf of the whole people of God to respond, everyone according to his own identity as baptized and confirmed, to his state in life as priest, religious, or lay, as consecrated or married, but all with one single goal, one single objective: to want to live and reach the fullness of Christian life, the perfection in charity, and thus be light for the world.

3. And thirdly, the New Evangelization also speaks of a living Church. Our Church is young; it has the great beauty and enchantment of the first years. Let's make that in her one breathes a vitality that comes from faith, hope and charity, that comes from God. Thus: May the children and young people feel at home in her; it is also their Church.

To you young people I say: do not be afraid to assume the place that corresponds to you among all of us, with the joy and generosity proper to young people. Nor be afraid of answering the Lord with a courageous "YES" and with total dedication if you discover that He is calling you to follow Him along the path of the priesthood or a consecrated life. From this moment I commit myself especially to being with you.

May the adults and especially the families contribute to the Church with mature faith and the practice of Christian life.

To you families: be for us a visible example of a domestic Church; of love that knows how to give and receive; be true sanctuaries of life, of respect for the children and of defence of the life of those children yet to be born. The drama of abortion, so frequent in our country, is painful: heartrending suffering for the mother, tragedy for the innocent children; scandal in the midst of a society that remains silent and ignores it.

May the elderly and the sick find in us Christian hospitality and care for their needs, as well as our understanding in their difficulties. Of you I would like to ask especially: help our Church in Ayaviri; your sufferings, fragilities and not a few limitations have a precious value in the eyes of Jesus Crucified and Resurrected. Donate this immense treasure of grace as an offering to Him for the good of the Church and especially for the flowering of a new springtime of vocations.

May especially the poor and dispossessed know themselves loved and attended to by us all. It is you, our most destitute brothers and sisters, who bring us closer to the Lord Himself. Truly, we cannot forget your many needs that are like a shout which cries out to Heaven. Nevertheless, do not forget that even in the midst of poverty you can be bearers of precious evangelical values and of an edifying testimony.

But - as the beloved Pope John Paul II used to say - Hunger for God, yes! Hunger for bread, no! No more misery!

Too many have been the years in which the sons and daughters of our Prelature have lived in extreme poverty. This is why I implore you all: let us live the true charity which doesn't tire in its efforts and toil to alleviate the heavy and oftentimes unjust burdens of poverty, hunger, abandonment, misery and exploitation.

For all this we do not need ideologies. What is required is a sincere will to serve and to work for the most needy from the Gospel. This is their right and is also our duty, as well as my very personal commitment!

In concluding, my dearest brothers and sisters, evangelizing is an extraordinary endeavour, a motive for lively exaltation and for courageous commitment. Paul VI once exclaimed: "Woe to me if I don't evangelize! For this I have been sent by Christ Himself. I am apostle and witness. The further the goal is, the more difficult the mission is, that much more vehemently are we compelled by love. I must preach His Name: Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of the living God…I will never tire of speaking of Him."

I end these words, dear sons and daughters, with the desire to communicate this to you: Let us love the Church, she is our Mother, our house and our family!; let us live the thrilling adventure of giving ourselves to her evangelizing mission!; lets open ourselves to her mystery of communion: in her heart everyone, absolutely everyone without any exception whatsoever, has a place willed by God!

To the Virgin, the Mother of Alta Gracia (High Grace), the Mother of the Lord Jesus and our Mother; to Her, the patron of our Prelature, I commend my ministry; and let us altogether commend our particular Church, her Catholic Melgar, Carabaya and Sandia; let us place in her lap our work for the New Evangelization, our joys, our hopes and efforts. May She obtain abundant blessings from her Son for all of us.

Duis Bendisunchis! (God bless you!)