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“Man, you are valuable because you are” – with this promise of the Gospel, Bishop Michael Gerber addressed the concerns of many believers about the future of the church at the Boniface Festival on Fulda Cathedral Square.
Fulda – Bishop Gerber opened this year’s Boniface pilgrimages with a pontifical mass on Sunday (June 7th). The This year the motto of the Boniface Festival was “One in the heart”. Parishes from Fulda and the surrounding area went on a star pilgrimage to the cathedral. There were also numerous walking and cycling pilgrimages from the Fulda region and beyond. Because of the preparations for the Hesse day This year, the groups were led over the side entrance of the cathedral to walk past the grave of St. Boniface.
Fulda's bishop preaches about letting go and loss at the Feast of Boniface
In his sermon, Bishop Gerber interpreted current experiences of loss in the church as a spiritual challenge. Especially where people and communities have to let go of what they hold dear, what constitutes the innermost core of the faith can become visible again, said the bishop. The Christian message about people is: “Man, you are valuable, not because you can do this and that. Man, you are valuable because of who you are.”
The starting point for his reflections was the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, which he interpreted with a view to the current upheavals in the church and society. Like Paul and St. Boniface, witnesses to the faith experienced phases of great effectiveness, but also limits, setbacks and experiences of apparent infertility, Gerber explained, according to the diocese of Fulda.
He linked this experience to the concern of many believers for church life. As an example, Gerber described an encounter on the eve of Pentecost: an older churchgoer approached him with a view to the Merger of parishes addressed: “We have to do something when faith and church life become so much weaker year after year”. This question is currently on the minds of many, said the bishop. The obvious thing to do is to continue to intensify activities or look for someone to blame – and if both don't work, to fall into resignation or cynicism.
Paul reacted differently, emphasized Gerber. It is precisely in frustrating situations that he discovers the work of the Holy Spirit. “By referring to the work of the Holy Spirit, Paul is not simply making light of the situation,” the bishop made clear. On the level of experience, the situation is dramatic. That's exactly where the question arises: “Who am I, given everything I have to experience that I don't succeed in?” The answer lies at the center of the Christian message, as Gerber explained: Before Damascus, Paul understood “what the Gospel fundamentally tells us about people” – precisely that promise of the inalienable value of every person before God.
Paul and Boniface not only proclaimed this message, but “lived it and suffered through it,” said the bishop. Where human achievement reaches its limits, space can arise for God's action: “Where your life seems barren, allow the Risen One to give you his new life.”
Gerber cited letting go as a prerequisite for such a spiritual path. “Letting go of some of the things we hold dear; letting go of some of our own wishes, some of our own visions; letting go of some of the forms of our church life,” he said. This letting go is not just a withdrawal, but can become a source of spiritual renewal: “Where I have to let go of many things, even against my will, I am once again pushed to the innermost core of my life.” Where a congregation shares this attitude, the church comes “deeply into contact with the core of its mission and renews itself.”
Gerber continued, no one can walk this path alone. Paul shared his experiences with his companions and the Emmaus disciples had their decisive encounter on the journey together. Saint Boniface also points to the importance of supporting relationships with his spiritual connection to Saint Lioba. The bishop continued his pastoral message during Lent, in which he described the church as a relationship “from person to person” and “from heart to heart”. “When I find a place in other people’s hearts, it helps me to discover the core that God himself has placed in me, especially in the face of loss,” said Gerber. Especially in loss it is about “discovering or rediscovering what is essentially God’s heartfelt concern for us personally and with us as a church.”
Musical arrangement and numerous concelebrants
The concelebrants of the pontifical mass included Auxiliary Bishop Karlheinz Diez, Bishop Emeritus. Heinz Josef Algermissen, Vicar General Martin Stanke as well as from the Dutch diocese of Groningen-Leeuwarden Bishop Ronald Cornelissen, Vicar General Peter Hermann Henrikus Wellen, Episcopal Vicar Arjen Bultsma, Pastor Bert van der Wal from Dokkum and Pastor Henk Nota from Ameland-Nes. Boniface connects Fulda and the diocese of Groningen-Leeuwarden in a special way: he was martyred near Dokkum and his grave is in Fulda Cathedral.
The pontifical mass was musically designed by, among others, the A and B choir of the Youth Cathedral Choir under the direction of cathedral music director Franz-Peter Huber, a wind choir from various music associations in the diocese under the direction of regional cantor Ulrich Moormann, and cathedral organist Max Deisenroth on the organ.
After the service, the pilgrims were invited to meet, listen to music and eat in the courtyard of the cathedral dean's office and in the cathedral garden. The KAB took care of the physical well-being. Associations, institutions and initiatives presented themselves at the Diocese Mile, including the Youth and Young Adults Department, Caritas, the Social Service for Catholic Women, the Permanent Deacons in the Diocese of Fulda and the Church's Vocations Department.
