«We cannot believe in Jesus and go to war. We cannot believe in Jesus and kill the innocent. We can’t believe in Jesus and abandon those who suffer, those who cry, those who flee from poverty». From the basilica of the Sagrada Familia, Pope Leo explains that the cross placed at the top of the temple, which illuminates the Mediterranean, «is the Cross of the last who become first, of sinners who become saints, of the dead who will be resurrected.”
Before blessing the Tower of Jesus Christ, the tallest of the entire construction, in the presence of the royals and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez who, for the first time since the beginning of his mandate, participates in a public mass, the Pontiff recalls that the one conceived by Gaudì, whose hundredth anniversary of his death is celebrated today, is a «temple sign of unity and harmony for all of Spain“, which invites us to raise our “gaze to meet the face of God the Father, radiant in his Son made man, Jesus Christ”.
In continuity with the words of Benedict XVI who dedicated the basilica on 7 November 2010, underlining that it “is a visible sign of the invisible God, for whose glory its towers soar”, he explains that he blesses the “highest tower, that of Jesus Christ”.
The dream of a genius, this «church which is a single building, made up of many stones. A house that grows steadily over the years, according to an identical project». Not an unfinished work, “but a temple still under construction”, which reminds us how Christian life is always on the move. «Its imperfection is not a defect, because it attests to a desire; it does not mean a lack, but expresses a promisewhich we want to honor consistently. Our gratitude then becomes commitment, as we cooperate in God’s plan, that is, in the construction to which He himself calls us.”
The basilica also indicates to us that “this work coincides with our life, which God thinks of as a masterpiece to be created together”. He thanks Gaudì, «commemorating the centenary of his death» and, together with him, he remembers and thanks «all the promoters and benefactors, the artists and the workers who cooperate to build an architectural masterpiece which is also an eloquent catechesis made of stones, colors and light». A sort of Biblia pauperum, as happened with the «ancient cathedrals, which in themselves are very rich messages of evangelization. In this temple of images it appears even more evident how art and beauty are eminent channels of evangelization.”
Leo invites us to raise our gaze, «admiring the tower of Jesus Christ» to «He who alone reveals to us the truth of God and the truth of ourselves. Looking to Christ we can see the world with renewed eyes: lhe tower of the Cross then becomes a banner of charity, because God loves us like this, transforming an instrument of death into a sign of hope”.
Remember the inscription placed at the base of the spire: «“Tu solus Sanctus, Tu solus Dominus, tu solus Altissimus”» and its shine during «day, reflecting the light of the sun», and at night «illuminating the city as a lighthouse open to the Mediterranean». Because “the light of Christ shines in the darkness, even if the darkness did not welcome it”
Rejection, however, does not diminish “the love of God: ‘When you have raised up the Son of Man,’ says the Lord, ‘then you will know that I Am and that I do nothing on my own, but speak as the Father has taught me.'” For this reason the cross is a “luminous sign of his love”. Leone underlines that it is faith that gives «shape to the stones and meaning to the building we are inhabiting together. In our prayer we therefore discover the original link of things with God, creator of heaven and earth: He is the artist who has imprinted his splendor on the cosmos. Created in his image, man corresponds to the work of God with his own ingenuity: this is how the artist makes talent a praise and creativity the testimony of the Creator himself. As an architect ardent in faith, the venerable Antoni Gaudì designed these spaces wanting to tell the mysteries of the life of the Lord: in this way he proposed to us a spiritual pilgrimage, which leads to the encounter with Christ born, died and risen for us”.
And then, contemplating the beauty of the temple, the Pope invites, as “we raise our gaze to Him, the Risen Crucified” to commit ourselves “to lifting the face of those who are in the dust”.
Thus demonstrating that «the basilica of the Sacrada Familia is the tallest church in the world not to excel in worldly rankings, but to guide the steps of the pilgrim people of God in this land of Catalonia, with the cross that lights the way.”
