2 July 1985
JH's Hertogenbosch, Holland

My dear Sisters,

Some of the most terrifying pictures of our time are those which were taken of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan after the dropping of the atomic bomb on them. The pictures came to my mind after reading and reflecting on the description of the destruction of the city of Sodom, which is recounted in the first reading of today's Mass. The scene was one of utter devastation, possibly caused by a combination of natural disasters. The destruction of Sodom was, according to the author of the book of Genesis, caused by the sinfulness of man. So, too, in the last analysis must we say that the destruction of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was caused by man's sinfulness. However frightening the destruction of Sodom was in the eyes of the author of Genesis, it was not as frightening as what happened to the two Japanese cities in 1945. The great mushroom cloud, that has become so familiar to us, has continued to grow so that we now all live under the threat that, not just two cities could be destroyed in an instant, but that man has it in his power for the first time in history to extinguish virtually all life on our planet. It is a terrifying thought to think that the greed and selfishness and malice of man could bring this about. It is terrifying to think that man, who is so tiny in this universe, has it in his power to destroy so much of the beauty of God's work on this planet and also destroy what God in partnership with man has built up.

What effect all this must have on the collective consciousness of the human race I do not know. Millions of people feel powerless in the face of it. However, as concerned Christians, we ask ourselves if there is anything we as individuals can do to save humanity from such a disaster. Unlike Lot, who could escape from Sodom, we cannot leave the cities that are threatened and go into the country, for it is the entire globe that lies under the threat of extinction.

At the end of today's reading it is suggested that Lot was saved because of the goodness of Abraham. "Thus it came to pass: when God destroyed the Cities of the Plain, he was mindful of Abraham by sending Lot away from the upheaval by which God overthrew the cities where Lot had been living." (Gn 19:29). God's saving power was mediated to Lot through Abraham. Today God's saving power is mediated through His Son Jesus Christ. It is through His Son Jesus Christ, as we are reminded at every Eucharist, that all good things come. When the Church asks God, the Father, for anything, she always does so in the name of Jesus Christ. All her official prayers are addressed to God, our Father in Heaven, through Jesus Christ. How familiar to us are these words: "We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever."

The most efficacious prayer that is addressed to the Father through His Son Jesus Christ is the Mass. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross is made present on our altars through the Mass. It is a sacrifice that is much more powerful than the life and sacrifice of Abraham, much more eloquent than the blood of Abel. The truth is that, whether the world knows it or not, it is through the Mass that all good things are coming to humanity today. The Mass is that sacrifice which, as the phrase in the fourth Eucharistic Prayer reminds us, "brings salvation to the whole world."

The Mass in its essence will not change until Jesus Christ comes again. The externals of the liturgy, however, do change and in our time rather dramatically so. Readings in the vernacular and greater participation of the laity in the celebration of the Eucharist are two of the most important external changes that we have seen in our lifetime. The question we can ask is: Has our attitude towards the Mass changed? Is the Mass as central to our days as it was twenty or thirty years ago? Is our attitude of reverence towards the Mass the same as it was before the liturgy was revised? These questions must be put first by us priests to ourselves, before we put them to the faithful, because the sheep will always follow the shepherd. If we must say that our convictions about the Mass have changed, that they are less strong, less deep, then we must humbly ask for the grace of not only being interested in saving this world from total destruction, but also of having confidence in that first means of doing so, namely, through a daily and personal union of ourselves with Jesus Christ in the sacrifice of the Mass, that sacrifice which "brings salvation to the whole world." The world is on the cliff edge of total destruction. It is for that reason that we cry out with the Apostles in today's Gospel: "Lord, save us. We are lost." (Mt 8:25). It is through the Mass that Jesus Christ still commands the winds and the waves of man's agitation to be still. It is through the Mass that a great calm can be won for the world, for our own lives and the lives of the poor we serve.

Before ending this brief reflection on the importance and value of the Mass for the world today, let me appeal to you to keep alive among you devotion to the Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. "The Blessed Sacrament," wrote Karl Rahner, "is the Mass held in meditation." When we visit Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, we play again the four great movements of the symphony of the Mass: adoration, thanksgiving, repentance and supplication. If we wish to have stability in our lives, we need to cultivate personal devotion to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. If we are to find Jesus Christ in the poor, we must first find Him in prayer and in the Blessed Sacrament. If we are to have a center for our hearts, a center-point to which we can refer all our apostolates, all our activities, all our needs, that center can only be Jesus Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament. There certainly would be less agitation in the Church, in our communities, in our lives, if all of us were more devoted to the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. It is a grace for which I ask God for each of us here today.

To the first Daughters of Charity St. Vincent said: "Go to Holy Mass every day, but do so with great devotion. Conduct yourselves in Church with great modesty and be an example of virtue to all who may see you....It is not only the priest who offers up the Holy Sacrifice, but also those who are present and I feel sure that, when you have been well instructed, you will have great devotion to the Mass, for it is the center of devotion." (Conf. Eng. ed., 31 July 1634, p. 4).

May the Mass, my dear Sisters, be just that for us, "a center of devotion." May the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, St. Vincent, St.