Bishops celebrate Mass in the face of tragedy in Spain: We want to share hope

Mons. Enrique Benavent, Archbishop of Valencia, presided this Tuesday in the Almudena Cathedral at a Mass, concelebrated by 107 Spanish bishops, on the occasion of the tragedy unleashed by the floods in Spain.

At the beginning of his homily, the prelate described how “we have had an experience of solidarity that, in this very dramatic circumstance, has brought to light the best that is in the heart of human beings: there have been people who, in the most dramatic hours “They have risked their lives to save the lives of others.”

In reference to Christ, the center of the Eucharistic celebration, the prelate explained that “his closeness and solidarity is the greatest that we can imagine: there is no human pain that He has not experienced in Himself, in His own flesh.”

For this reason, he encouraged us to approach the Lord “with the confidence of knowing that it is He who best understands the pain of those who suffer, who is closest to them.”

Share hope

On the other hand, the archbishop explained that, in the face of such dramatic events, which have claimed the lives of at least 226 people, “Christians cannot limit ourselves to sharing the pain. If we stayed at this we would be the most unfortunate of all men. “We want, above all, to share hope.”

A hope that has been noted in a multitude of gestures through which “people have felt loved, their loneliness and sadness have been alleviated, they have experienced a helping hand in them,” he added.

Specifically, he pointed out the work of “many young Christians and adults moved by a commitment to faith and, thanks to them, the announcement of Christian hope becomes more credible.”

“We Christians cannot hide that our hope has a name: Christ,” the prelate expressed in response to the question that arises in the face of the mystery of suffering and death: “Does this mean that God has stopped loving us?”

Bishop Benavent explained that love “Christ has made it present by approaching every human being in need of salvation, which is all of us, and opening our lives to the hope of eternal life. If our solidarity has a name, so does our hope: It is Christ.”

Next, the Archbishop of Valencia invited us to reflect “on the values ​​on which our lives are based and to recognize our poverty” because, he added, “we often live in a world that does not disfigure reality” and makes us believe that we are rich. in different ways.

However, he emphasized, “that is not true. Only the love of Christ is the treasure that gives us true joy”, something that has been made present by many volunteers who “with their closeness to those who are suffering, have made the love of Christ credible and have helped those who suffer to discover that Christ is the source of true joy.”

In reference to the Mother of the Helpless, patron saint of the Archdiocese of Valencia, Bishop Benavent expressed that “she shared the suffering of her Son and also shares the suffering of all those who suffer at this time.”

To this he added that “on the cross she is not only a woman who suffers, she is a believing woman: at that moment her faith is stronger than her pain.”

For this reason, he encouraged us not to focus on his pain, but on his faith because “he lives with the certainty that God does not abandon his Son. May all those affected also have the certainty that God has not stopped loving them and that they have not been abandoned by Him.”