Dear brothers and sisters,
the divine word passes through history and renews it with the human voice of the Savior. Today we listen to the Gospel, good news for all times, in this basilica of Annaba dedicated to Saint Augustine, Bishop of ancient Hippo. Over the centuries, the places that host us have changed names, but the saints have remained as our patrons and faithful witnesses of a connection with the earth, which comes from heaven. This is precisely the dynamic that the Lord illuminates in the night of Nicodemus: this is the strength that Christ instills in the weakness of his faith and the tenacity of his search.
Sent by the Spirit of God, “who does not know where he comes from or where he is going” (Jn 3.8), Jesus is a special guest for Nicodemus. In fact, he calls him to a new life, giving his interlocutor and us a surprising task: “you must be reborn from above» (v. 7). Here is the invitation for every man and every woman who seeks salvation! From Jesus’ appeal comes the mission for the whole Church, and therefore for the Christian community of Algeria: to be born again from above, that is, from God. In this perspective, faith overcomes earthly hardships and the grace of the Lord makes the desert flourish. Yet the beauty of this exhortation brings with it a test, which the Gospel calls us to go through together.
The words of Christ, in fact, have all the force of a duty: you must be reborn from above! This imperative sounds to our ears like an impossible command. By listening carefully to the One who gives it, we understand that it is not a harsh imposition, nor a forcing or, much less, a condemnation to failure. On the contrary, the duty expressed by Jesus is for us a gift of freedom, because it reveals to us an unexpected possibility: we can be reborn from above, thanks to God. We must do so, therefore, according to his will of love, which desires to renew humanity by calling it to a communion of life, which begins with faith. While Christ asks us to renew our entire existence anew, he also gives us the strength to do so. Saint Augustine attests this well, who prays like this: “Give, O Lord, what you command and command what you want” (Confessiones, X, 29, 40).
So, when we ask ourselves how a future of justice and peace is possibleof harmony and salvation, let us remember that we are asking God the same question as Nicodemus: but Can our history really change? We are so full of problems, pitfalls and tribulations! Can our life really start over again? Yes! The Lord’s affirmation, so full of love, fills our hearts with hope. No matter how oppressed we are by pain or sin: the Crucifix carries all these burdens with us and for us. It doesn’t matter how disheartened we are by our weaknesses: precisely then the strength of God manifests itself, who raised Christ from the dead to give life to the world. Each of us can experience the freedom of new life that comes from faith in the Redeemer. Again, Saint Augustine offers us the example: even before his wisdom, we look to him for his conversion. In this rebirth, providentially accompanied by the tears of his mother, Saint Monica, he became himself by exclaiming: «I would not be, my God, I would not be at all, if You were not in me. Or rather, I wouldn’t be if I weren’t in you” (Confessiones, I, 2).
Yes, therefore: Christians are born from above, regenerated by God as brothers and sisters of Jesus, and the Church that nourishes them with the Sacraments is a welcoming womb for all the peoples of the earth. As we heard a little while ago, the Acts of the Apostles bear witness to this by describing the style that distinguishes humanity renewed by the Holy Spirit (see Acts 4:32-37). Even today it is necessary to welcome and implement this apostolic canon, meditating on it as an authentic criterion of ecclesial reform: a reform that begins from the heart, to be true, and concerns everyone, to become effective.
In the first place, in fact, “the multitude of those who had come to faith had one heart and one soul” (v. 32). This spiritual unity is a concord: a word that means the communion of hearts that beat together, because they are united with that of Christ. The nascent Church is therefore not based on a social contract, but on a harmony in faith, in affections, in ideas, in life choices which has at its center the love of God, made man to save all the peoples of the earth.
Secondly, we admire the material effect of this spiritual unity of believers: “Everything was common among them” (v. 32). Everyone has everything, sharing in each other’s goods as members of a single body. No one is deprived of anything, because everyone shares what is theirs.
Transforming possession into a gift, this fraternal dedication does not represent a utopia except for rival hearts and greedy souls for oneself. On the contrary, faith in the one God, Lord of heaven and earth, unites men according to perfect justice, which invites everyone to charity, that is, to love every creature with the love that God gives us in Christ. Therefore, especially in the face of poverty and oppression, Christians have charity as a fundamental code: we do to those around us what we would like them to do to us (see Mt 7:12). Animated by this law, which God writes in hearts, the Church is always nascent, because where there is desperation it lights up hope, where there is misery it brings dignity, where there is conflict it brings reconciliation.
Thirdly, in the text of the Acts we find the foundation of this new life, which involves people of every language and culture: «With great strength the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and they all enjoyed great favor» (Acts 4,33). The charity that animates them, before being a moral commitment, is a sign of salvation: the Apostles proclaim that our lives can change because Christ has risen from the dead. The first task of pastors, ministers of the Gospel, is therefore to bear witness to God to the world with one heart and one soulwithout worries corrupting us with fear nor fashions weakening us with compromise.
Together with you, brothers in the episcopate, and with you, priests, we constantly renew this mission for the good of those entrusted to us, so that the entire Church may, in its service, be a message of new life for those we encounter.
In this land, dear Christians of Algeria, remain as a humble and faithful sign of the love of Christ. Witness the Gospel with simple gestures, true relationships and a dialogue lived day by day: in this way you give flavor and light where you live. Your presence in the country brings to mind incense: a glowing grain that spreads perfume because it gives glory to the Lord and joy and comfort to many brothers and sisters. This incense is a small, precious element, which is not the center of attention, but invites us to turn our hearts to God, encouraging each other to persevere in the difficulties of the present time. In fact, praise, blessing and supplication rise from the censer of our heart, spreading the sweet odor (see Eph 5:2) of mercy, almsgiving and forgiveness. Your story is one of generous welcome and tenacity in trials: here the martyrs prayed, here Saint Augustine loved his flock by seeking the truth with passion and serving Christ with ardent faith. Be heirs of this tradition, bearing witness in fraternal charity to the freedom of those born from above as the hope of salvation for the world.
