Pope Benedict and the "New Evangelisation"
New evangelisation was at the heart of Pope Benedict’s reflections on Sunday before the recitation of the Angelus, his last before a visit to Germany. Speaking to the many people who had gathered in the courtyard of the Papal Summer Residence at Castelgandolfo, the Holy Father said that “Today we live in an epoch of new evangelisation. Vast horizons are opening to the Gospel, while traditionally Christian regions are called to rediscover once again the beauty of the faith”. The Holy Father then went on to praise the men and women, families, and communities “who accept, as he put it, to work in the vineyard of the Lord, an image taken from Sunday’s Gospel. These people, the Pope added, are “Humble, generous workers who ask no other recompense but to participate in the mission of Jesus and his Church.”
“In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear Jesus compare the Kingdom of Heaven to the actions of a landowner who is generous to all the workers in his vineyard. Perhaps at times we may feel envious of the success of others or feel that we have not been sufficiently thanked for our service. May we always strive to be humble servants of the Lord and rejoice when God bestows abundant graces on those around us.”
Continuing on this theme of evangelisation Pope Benedict turned to the great figure of St Paul, a man who embodied the “new evangelisation.” St Paul the Pope recalled said “Life to me is Christ.” He said this, continued the Pope, because he understood that Jesus is a man in whom God himself lives” and not just a religious leader or master of wisdom.
In concluding words on Sunday Pope Benedict asked the German people to pray for him during his upcoming visit to his homeland. 