28 April 1992
Zagreb, Yugoslavia

My dear Friends of Jesus Christ,

I am very happy to have this opportunity of celebrating the Eucharistic Sacrifice with you. When we come together to celebrate the Mass, we cannot but think of the mystery of Our Lord's death on the cross. The Mass is, as our faith teaches us, the re-enactment of the sacrifice which Our Lord made of Himself on the cross. The mystery of the Eucharist and of Christ's sacrifice is presented, in accordance with Our Lord's command, under the appearances of bread and wine. When Jesus Christ offered His sacrifice on Calvary, it must not have been a pleasing sight. Fresh blood would have stained the ground.

Fresh blood has stained the soil of Croatia in recent months and there must be at present many aching hearts among your people. Hundreds of your people are mourning those who have died in battle; thousands, have seen their homes damaged or destroyed. Croatia, your Fatherland, has been transformed into a Golgotha. My prayer for your country and for you is that the Good Friday through which you have been passing, will give place to a Resurrection that will bring peace and consolation to all who live in this Christian land.

Today the Church is honoring a priest who shed his blood for the faith. He was Peter Chanel, a French priest who lived in the last century. He began his priestly life as a diocesan priest, but some years later, because of his desire to preach the Gospel in countries where Christ had not been proclaimed, he joined the Marist Congregation. In 1836 he set out to one of the islands in the Pacific Ocean, where he worked for five years. A tribal chieftain grew jealous of the success which this priest was having in preaching the Gospel and he had him murdered. The martyrdom of this generous priest on the 28 April 1841, at the age of thirty-eight brought about the conversion of the people of the island. Pope Pius XII thirty-eight years ago canonized Peter Chanel, allocating this day as his feast in the Church's calendar.

All martyrs for the faith are distinguished by their generosity. Did not Our Lord say: "Greater love than this no one has, to lay down one's life for one's friends." (Jn 15:13). Not every Christian is called to shed his blood for the faith, but every Christian is called to be generous towards all and especially to the poor and suffering members of Christ's Body.

The message of this evening's first reading is one which encourages us to be generous. The author of the first reading, St. Luke, tells us that the first Christians were so generous that no one among them experienced dire poverty. "The community of believers were of one heart and one mind...nor was there anyone in need among them, for all who owned property or houses sold them and donated the proceeds. They used to lay them at the feet of the Apostles to be distributed to everyone according to his need." (Acts 4:32, 34-35). St. Luke also singles out one particular parishioner for special mention because of his generosity. He was Barnabas, who later would become St. Paul's companion as he went from town to town, proclaiming Jesus Christ to be God and Saviour of the world.

Perhaps you have not too much money with which you can be generous. Do not be disheartened. Jesus Christ had no place on which He could lay His head. Yet can you think of anyone who was more generous than He, Who although He was God, emptied Himself and took the form of a servant when He lived among us? There are many things with which you can be generous: