Cardinal Bertello’s Reflections at the Ecumenical Service at the Holy Spirit Cathedral on Saturday, March 4, 2017

Our times are characterized by multiple advancements in science and technology, but they are also filled with disparity and insecurity for the future; it is a time capable of achieving innovations and great things for humanity, yet incapable of eradicating extreme poverty, which forces entire multitudes to emigrate in search of a better life.

Regardless of the presence of indispensable international institutions which should help find solutions to the various conflicts – and, in extreme cases, must intervene to quell them – our times have often shown an incapacity to stop the violence of wars that have bloodied the planet.

There is the incapacity to impede discrimination and persecution motivated by diverse reasons including the manipulation by various forms of fundamentalism to distort religious creeds.

It is a time in which human rights – foremost the right to life and religious liberty – in many places around the world, are not always respected and are even undermined and attacked through one pretext or another.

Our times have given mankind greater power over the forces of nature, but with difficulty it is being put to good use to protect the planet – our common home – from pollution, which endangers our health and that of future generations. In the context of rapid social and civic transformations, there remains the constant need for a profound wisdom and vision that only the Lord can provide to guide both leaders and all citizens.

In times of change there is an ever urgent need for the blessings from Heaven. There is a need to turn to God with a humble heart to ask Him for wisdom, knowledge, courage, rectitude and the capacity for discernment, to recognize what has to be accomplished and find the strength to do so.

To achieve this, it is a foremost priority to form a class of leaders who are attentive to the values of the human person and their fundamental rights, to rediscover the great importance of a personal encounter with God, respecting the diversity of others within shared social settings since it is not the idols of money or success at all cost that must take precedent in society, but the needs of the human person, especially the most weak and poor.

The consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus reminds us of all this. It reminds us that our destinies are in the hands of God, who is a merciful and generous Father, who sent His only Son to us as His most precious gift.

This ceremony is not just a formality, a formula meant to produce not an effect, but it is a milestone in the history of Ghana, a moment whereby the nation acknowledges publicly and spiritually the Lordship of God, as an object of His love and turns to Him in order to confront the inevitable challenges and difficulties in a rightful way.

With the act of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, your country is affirming this: “For my eyes are upon you, O Lord, my Lord; in you I take refuge; do not take away my soul.” (Psalm 141, 8 – New Jerusalem Bible)

These words are taken from the Psalm that we just proclaimed. They reflect the pure and profound faith in God by the psalmist, his complete trust in God and the confidence that He will provide in times of uncertainty and danger.

Would it be as Heaven wishes, that all people turn toward God with those words and recognize the Lord as master of their destinies! Would it be as Heaven wants, that all people seek refuge in the wounds of Christ to receive comfort and fortitude.

In this way they would give sure proof of not receiving the Grace of God in vain (cf. 2Cor 6,1), of remembering His words and that without His help and presence, nothing truly holy or good can be done, nothing truly lasting and authentic can be constructed, as much for the life of a single person as that of an entire nation.

Mr. President, dear brothers and sisters of Ghana, it is my honor to transmit the personal best wishes and sincere congratulations from the Holy Father, Pope Francis, on the 60th Anniversary celebration of your independence and the 40th Anniversary of diplomatic relations with the Holy See.

In joining my sentiments with those of the Holy Father, it is my fervent hope that the importance and beauty of your consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus will always be remembered as a guiding light and a permanent blessing on you and your country.