Dubrovnik, (IKA) — “I have come with joy to this ancient and glorious city of Dubrovnik, a city proud of its history and its traditions of freedom, justice and the advancement of the common good,” announced Pope John Paul II in his homily at the Mass for the beatification of the Blessed Sister Mary of the Crucified Jesus Petkovic in Dubrovnik. The Pope presented the new blessed one as a model for all Croatian women, observing that during our times, perhaps more than in other periods of history, there is need “of that genius which belongs to women, and which can ensure sensitivity for human beings in every circumstance.” Pope John Paul II then urged women “to continue to see every person with the eyes of the heart. . . to reach out to them and to stand beside them with the sensitivity born of maternal instinct.”

At the beginning of the homily, the Pope said that Jesus’ response to a young man who asked what he must do to inherit eternal life was simple and immediate: “Keep the commandments!” “Gathered for this joyous celebration, the people of Dubrovnik, together with the pilgrims who have come from the rest of Croatia, from Bosnia-Herzegovina, from Montenegro and from other countries, accept with trepidation the invitation of the Good Teacher, and they implore his help and grace in order to be able to respond with generosity and conviction, ” said the Pope.

“In the footsteps of my predecessor Pius IV, who was archbishop here, I have come with joy to this ancient and glorious city of Dubrovnik, a city proud of its history and its traditions of freedom, justice and the advancement of the common good,” said the Pope as he continued his homily. He then expressed the hope that the patrimony of human and Christian values, “accumulated down the centuries will continue . . . to be the most precious treasure of the people of this country.”

Pope John Paul II then spoke about the newly beatified one, the Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified, who chose to consecrate herself to God forever and to fulfill her aspiration of “total devotion to the spiritual and material welfare of those most in need.” “Later she founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Mercy of the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis, with the specific task of spreading knowledge of God’s love through spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Difficulties were not lacking, but Sister Mary persevered with indomitable courage, offering up her sufferings as so many acts of worship and supporting her Sisters by her words and her example. For forty years she guided her Institute with maternal wisdom, opening it to missionary commitment in various countries of Latin America,” said the Pope.

The Pope also stated that the figure of the Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified Petkovic reminded him of all Croatian women, especially “those whose lives were forever changed by the grief of losing a family member in the cruel war of the 1990s or by other bitter troubles which they have endured.” The Pope also made the observation in his homily that the “frenetic pace of modern life can lead to an obscuring or even a loss of what is truly human. Perhaps more than in other periods of history, our time is in need of that genius which belongs to women, and which can ensure sensitivity for human beings in every circumstance.” Therefore, the Pope proclaimed: “Women of Croatia, conscious of your lofty vocation as wives and mothers, continue to see every person with the eyes of the heart. Continue to reach out to them and to stand beside them with the sensitivity born of your maternal instinct. Your presence is indispensable in the family, society and the ecclesial community.”

The Pope specifically addressed women who have consecrated their lives, urging them to be tireless in responding to “the one Love of your life.” The Pope explained that the consecrated life “is not only a generous commitment on the part of a human being; it is first and foremost a response to a gift from on high which cries out to be accepted in complete openness.” The Holy Father then called upon consecrated women in their daily experience of God’s freely-given love to be inspired to give their lives “unreservedly to the service of the Church and [their] brothers and sisters, commending all things, present and future, to his hands.”

The Pope also pointed out that all people, each according to his or her specific vocation, are called “to bring about within themselves and all about them the plan of God.”

The Pope concluded his homily in Dubrovnik with the following prayer: “May your Christian community grow and be strengthened in mutual forgiveness, charity and peace: this is the prayer that the Pope today raises to the Lord for all of you.”