Gospel of Freedom: 700,000 Cubans Attend Closing Mass of Pope Benedict XVI in Cuba

We are living in a new missionary age. The message which sets men, women and Nations free is the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Cuban society has been held captive for years to that counterfeit ideology called Marxism. Karl Marx promised to create a new man and a new world without reference to God. He was a materialist as well as an atheist. Cuba was officially atheistic until it began to call itself a secular state. However, there is no doubt that the empty ideology of Marxism has left the Nation with a hole in its soul. The Pope proclaimed that the longing for freedom and truth within each of us is put there by God. Only He can fill that hole and set us truly free. He visited Cuba as a missionary.

P>HAVANA, Cuba (Catholic Online) - Marking the end of his apostolic visit to Cuba, the Vicar of Christ, Pope Benedict XVI,  proclaimed Jesus Christ as the path to authentic human freedom at the homily of his closing outdoor Mass. With 700,000 pilgrims in attendance in the "Plaza of the Revolution", the Pope preached the Gospel, emphasizing two themes of his pontificate, truth and freedom.

There is no word which echoes more passionately within the human heart or evokes a deeper response than freedom. When Pope Benedict arrived in Cuba he recalled the visit fourteen years ago, of Blessed John Paul II. John Paul II wrote in his Encyclical Letter on the Moral Life entitled The Splendor of Truth: "Human freedom belongs to us as creatures; it is a freedom which is given as a gift, one to be received like a seed and to be cultivated responsibly. It is an essential part of that creaturely image which is the basis of the dignity of the person."

This yearning for freedom is present in all men and women. It is the hunger of every human heart. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians Christians, "For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery." (Gal. 5:1) The Lord Jesus Christ called us all along the path to freedom with this promise, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31, 32)

The struggle of our age is being waged over the meaning of freedom. It is a contest with extraordinary implications. Almost every contemporary concern that we face can be positioned within this struggle. How one defines human freedom will influence the way that he or she views almost everything.

Freedom has consequences. The capacity to make choices is what makes us human persons. What we choose either humanizes us further or leads us, ultimately, into slavery. The capacity to choose reflects the "Imago Dei", the Image of God, present within every human person. Our choices have the capacity to not only change the world around us, but they make us to be the kinds of persons we become.

As the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council wrote in their document on the Mission of the Church in the Modern World, "Authentic freedom is an outstanding manifestation of the divine image within man." (Gaudium et Spes, "Joy and Hope", 17) Pope Benedict XVI has warned the West of a "dictatorship of relativism" at work in this secularist age. The antidote is Christianity, which insists that there is such a thing as truth, which can be known through the exercise of reason and is fully revealed in Jesus Christ, the Way, the TRUTH and the Life.

The Gospel exposes the contemporary counterfeit notions of freedom, whether they are of the Marxist materialist variety or the materialism which has gripped the formerly Christian Nations of the West. Those Nations have been deluded by secularist relativism and have given up the fundamental values which once informed their cultures. Those values were derived from Christianity.  

Cuban society has been held captive for years to that counterfeit ideology called Marxism. Karl Marx promised to create a new man and a new world without reference to God. He was a materialist as well as an atheist. Cuba was officially atheistic until just recently when it began to call itself a secular state. However, there is no doubt that the empty ideology of Marxism has left the Nation with a hole in its soul.

The Pope proclaimed that the longing for freedom and truth within each of us is put there by God. Only He can fill that hole and set us truly free. He visited Cuba as a missionary. He met with Fidel Castro - a former altar boy turned Marxist revolutionary - in a private meeting. Who knows what happened?  I am confident the discussion involved the Lord. As Fidel faces death, he is ripe for conversion and a return to the true faith. We should pray for his conversion. So too is the beautiful island Nation of Cuba.We should pray for the recovery of its Catholic faith.

Pope Benedict preached from the readings of the Mass of the day, read in every Catholic Church in the world. On Wednesday, March 28, 2012 the first reading "happened" to be taken from the story in the Book of Daniel. It spoke of the three young Hebrew men who refused to renounce their faith even when faced with threats from an unjust King (Dn 3). The Gospel was taken from St John, and "happened" to contain the profound promise of the Lord that if we continue in his word we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. (John 8)

None of this was accidental. Jesus Christ is alive and working through the Holy Spirit in the Church which is His Body. We are living in a new missionary age. The message which sets men, women and Nations free is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Only redemption in Him can help to bring about the "new man". In visiting Cuba, the Vicar of Christ accepted the invitation to preach the Gospel.

The fruits of this papal visit to Cuba will become evident in the months and years ahead. The Lord spoke through this promise through the prophet Isaiah, "Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down And do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, Giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me empty, but shall do what pleases me, achieving the end for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:10,11 )We will witness a free Cuba soon.

Here are some excerpts from the Popes closing homily. It can be read in its entirety here.

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"In today's first reading, the three young men persecuted by the Babylonian king preferred to face death by fire rather than betray their conscience and their faith. They experienced the strength to "give thanks, glorify and praise God" in the conviction that the Lord of the universe and of history would not abandon them to death and annihilation.

"Truly, God never abandons his children, he never forgets them. He is above us and is able to save us by his power. At the same time, he is near to his people, and through his Son Jesus Christ he has wished to make his dwelling place among us in.

"If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (Jn 8:31). In this text from today's Gospel, Jesus reveals himself as the Son of God the Father, the Savior, the one who alone can show us the truth and give us genuine freedom.

"His teaching provokes resistance and disquiet among his hearers, and he accuses them of looking for reasons to kill him, alluding to the supreme sacrifice of the Cross, already imminent. Even so, he exhorts them to believe, to keep his word, so as to know the truth which redeems and justifies."

"The truth is a desire of the human person, the search for which always supposes the exercise of authentic freedom. Many, without a doubt, would prefer to take the easy way out, trying to avoid this task. Some, like Pontius Pilate, ironically question the possibility of even knowing what truth is (cf. Jn 18:38), claiming (they are) incapable of knowing it or denying that there exists a truth valid for all."

"This attitude, as in the case of skepticism and relativism, changes hearts, making them cold, wavering, distant from others and closed. There are too many who, like the Roman governor, wash their hands and let the water of history drain away without taking a stand."

"On the other hand, there are those who wrongly interpret this search for the truth, leading them to irrationality and fanaticism; they close themselves up in "their truth", and try to impose it on others. These are like the blind scribes who, upon seeing Jesus beaten and bloody, cry out furiously, "Crucify him!" (cf. Jn 19:6).

"Anyone who acts irrationally cannot become a disciple of Jesus. Faith and reason are necessary and complementary in the pursuit of truth. God created man with an innate vocation to the truth and he gave him reason for this purpose. Certainly, it is not irrationality but rather the yearning for truth which the Christian faith promotes. Each man and woman has to seek the truth and to choose it when he or she finds it, even at the risk of embracing sacrifices."

"Furthermore, the truth which stands above humanity is an unavoidable condition for attaining freedom, since in it we discover the foundation of an ethics on which all can converge and which contains clear and precise indications concerning life and death, duties and rights, marriage, family and society, in short, regarding the inviolable dignity of the human person. This ethical patrimony can bring together different cultures, peoples and religions, authorities and citizens, citizens among themselves, and believers in Christ and non-believers."

"Christianity, in highlighting those values which sustain ethics, does not impose, but rather proposes Christ's invitation to know the truth which sets us free. The believer is called to offer that truth to his contemporaries, as did the Lord, even before the ominous shadow of rejection and the Cross. The personal encounter with the one who is Truth in person compels us to share this treasure with others, especially by our witness."

"Dear friends, do not hesitate to follow Jesus Christ. In him we find the truth about God and about mankind. He helps us to overcome our selfishness, to rise above our vain struggles and to conquer all that oppresses us. The one who does evil, who sins, becomes its slave and will never attain freedom (cf. Jn 8:34). Only by renouncing hatred and our hard and blind hearts will we be free and a new life will well up in us."

"Convinced that it is Christ who is the true measure of man, and knowing that in him we find the strength needed to face every trial, I wish to proclaim openly that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. In him everyone will find complete freedom, the light to understand reality most deeply and to transform it by the renewing power of love."

"The Church lives to make others sharers in the one thing she possesses, which is none other than Christ, our hope of glory (cf. Col 1:27). To carry out this duty, she must count on basic religious freedom, which consists in her being able to proclaim and to celebrate her faith also in public, bringing to others the message of love, reconciliation and peace which Jesus brought to the world."

"It must be said with joy that in Cuba steps have been taken to enable the Church to carry out her essential mission of expressing her faith openly and publicly. Nonetheless, this must continue forwards, and I wish to encourage the country's Government authorities to strengthen what has already been achieved and advance along this path of genuine service to the true good of Cuban society as a whole."

"The right to freedom of religion, both in its private and in its public dimension, manifests the unity of the human person, who is at once a citizen and a believer. It also legitimizes the fact that believers have a contribution to make to the building up of society."

" Strengthening religious freedom consolidates social bonds, nourishes the hope of a better world, creates favorable conditions for peace and harmonious development, while at the same time establishing solid foundations for securing the rights of future generations."

"When the Church upholds this human right, she is not claiming any special privileges for herself. She wishes only to be faithful to the command of her divine founder, conscious that, where Christ is present, we become more human and our humanity becomes authentic."

"This is why the Church seeks to give witness by her preaching and teaching, both in catechesis and in the schools and universities. It is greatly to be hoped that the moment will soon arrive when, here too, the Church can bring to the fields of knowledge the benefits of the mission which the Lord entrusted to her and which she can never neglect."

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