1. Each day in the "Our Father" we pray: "Thy Kingdom come!" (cf. Mt 6:9-13). And in today's Gospel we have heard about Jesus sending out his disciples to proclaim that "the Kingdom of God is at hand" (cf. Lk 10:9).

Today we are celebrating the Good News of God's Kingdom here in Giants Stadium, in the Archdiocese of Newark, in New Jersey - the Garden State. I greet the whole Catholic community of Newark, in a special way your Pastor and my faithful friend, Archbishop McCarrick, whom I thank for his warm words of welcome. I greet God's beloved people from all of New Jersey - the Bishops, priests, deacons, seminarians, women and men Religious, parents, children, the young, the old, the sick; these greetings include our brothers and sisters of Eastern Rite Dioceses, whose presence gives vibrant witness to the rich diversity of God's Holy Church. I am also grateful to the civic leaders of City and State and the representatives of the various religious denominations who have wished to share this moment of prayer with us.

[In Castillan:] Quiero dar las gracias a las personas de lengua española que participan en esta misar pues la Iglesia en los Estados Unidos tambien habla español. ßeseo exhortarles a hacer que su fe se manifieste de una forma cada vez visible en su vida diaria, en el cuidado de su familia, y en sus compromisos profesionales y sociales. No pierdan nunca la alegria y la generosidad con que han aprendido a seguir a nuestro Senor Jesucristo.

I wish to greet all Spanish-speaking people present at this Mass, for the Church in the United States also speaks Spanish. I wish to encourage you to let your faith be ever more visible in your daily lives, in the care of your families, in your professional and social commitments. Never lose the joy and generosity with which you have learned to follow our Lord Jesus Christ!

What is this Kingdom which Jesus announced and which the Church continues to proclaim down the centuries? First, it is the affirmation of God's dominion over all creation. As Creator, he reigns over the world he has made. But the Kingdom means more. It means that God is present as Lord in this world. The Kingdom is present above all in Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son, who became flesh and dwelt among us (cf. Jn 1:14). Furthermore, the Kingdom embraces us all: by his Death on the Cross and his Resurrection from the dead, Christ redeemed us from our sins and gave us new life in the Spirit. Through the Paschal Mystery - as Saint Paul writes - God "has rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of his beloved Son" (Col 1:13).

2. Like the people of Israel spoken of in the first reading, who gathered around the priest Ezra and listened to the word of God with profound emotion (cf. Neh 8:5), we have stood to hear the message of God's presence and love which the Liturgy presents to us this evening. Nehemiah is speaking of the time after the Babylonian Captivity, when the Jewish people returned to their homeland. At the end of the reading, "Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people, their hands raised high, answered: 'Amen, Amen"' (Neh 8:6). This great "Amen" is echoed at every Mass when, at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, we offer glory and honor to the Father through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. With this "Amen" the whole community acknowledges the real presence on the Altar of Jesus Christ, the living and eternal Word of the Father. In the spirit of this great "Amen", all of us gathered here in Giants Stadium praise Jesus Christ for the newness of life (cf. Rom 6:4) which he gives us in the Holy Spirit! Praised be our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

See and hear the Pope deliver the complete Homily on this high quality DVD.