We proclaim Christ to the world
From a homily by Pope Paul VI (1897-1978)
We proclaim Christ to the whole world
Not to preach the Gospel would be my undoing, for Christ himself sent me as his apostle and witness. The more remote, the more difficult the assignment, the more my love of God spurs me on. I am bound to proclaim that Jesus is Christ, the Son of the living God. Because of him we come to know the God we cannot see. He is the firstborn of all creation; in him all things find their being. Man’s teacher and redeemer, he was born for us, died for us, and for us he rose from the dead.
All things, all history converges in Christ. A man of sorrow and hope, he knows us and loves us. As our friend he stays by us throughout our lives; at the end of time he will come to be our judge; but we also know that he will be the complete fulfillment of our lives and our great happiness for all eternity.
I can never cease to speak of Christ for he is our truth and our light; he is the way, the truth and the life. He is our bread, our source of living water who allays our hunger and satisfies our thirst. He is our shepherd, our leader, our ideal, our comforter and our brother.
He is like us but more perfectly human, simple, poor, humble, and yet, while burdened with work, he is more patient. He spoke on our behalf; he worked miracles; and he founded a new kingdom: in it the poor are happy; peace is the foundation of a life in common; where the pure of heart and those who mourn are uplifted and comforted; the hungry find justice; sinners are forgiven; and all discover that they are brothers.
The image I present to you is the image of Jesus Christ. As Christians you share his name; he has already made most of you his own. So once again I repeat his name to you Christians and I proclaim to all men: Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, Lord of the new universe, the great hidden key to human history and the part we play in it. He is the mediator – the bridge, if you will – between heaven and earth. Above all he is the Son of man, more perfect than any man, being also the Son of God, eternal and infinite. He is the son of Mary his mother on earth, more blessed than any woman. She is also our mother in the spiritual communion of the mystical body.
Remember: it is Jesus Christ I preach day in and day out. His name I would see echo and reecho for all time even to the ends of the earth.
Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings
Pope Paul VI was born of an upper class family in 1897 at Consecio (Lombardy) and given the name Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini. His father was a lawyer turned editor and a courageous promoter of social action. Giovanni received his early education from the Jesuits and entered the seminary in 1916. He was ordained a priest in 1920. He studied cannon law at the Gregorian University and the University of Rome and was assigned to the office of the Secretariat of State where he remained for the next thirty years. During World War II he was responsible for organizing extensive relief work and the care of political refugees. At the Conclave in 1958 his name was frequently mentioned and at Pope John’s first consistory he was one of 23 prelates named cardinal.
His response to the call for the Vatican II Council was immediate and was appointed to the Central Preparatory Commission and also to the Technical Organizational Commission. On the death of Pope John XXIII he was elected Pope to succeed him on June 21 1963.
In 1965 he established the Synod of Bishops called for by the Council fathers. Celibacy, removed from the debate of the fourth session of the Council was made the subject of an encyclical on June 24, 1967. The regulation of birth was treated in his last encyclical Humanae vitae on July 24, 1968. The controversies over these two pronouncements tended to overshadow the last years of his pontificate.
Those who knew him best described him as a brilliant man, deeply spiritual, humble, reserved and gentle, a man of “infinite courtesy.” One of the most traveled popes in history and the first to visit five continents, he was called “The Pilgrim Pope.” His successful conclusion of Vatican II has left its mark on the history of the Church. His encyclicals show a remarkable awareness of many serious problems arising in the Church and facing the world; problems whose consequences have since come to light.
Pope Paul VI died on August 6, 1978 on the feast of the Transfiguration. He asked that his funeral be simple with no monument over his grave.
Source: The Vatican website: Biography of Pope Paul VI