May 30, 2012

Pope in Audience: the Spirit transforms our lives

   Pope Benedict XVI renewed his expressions of spiritual closeness and participation in the pain of those affected by Tuesday's earthquake in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, expressing the hope that, "with the help of the whole people and the solidarity of the entire nation, there might be a return to normal life in the stricken areas as soon as possible."   The Holy Father's appeal came at the end of his weekly General Audience in St Peter's Square on Wednesday, during which he continued his catechetical series on the theme of prayer in the writings of St. Paul the Apostle:

   Dear Brothers and Sisters, in our continuing reflection on prayer in the letters of Saint Paul, we now consider the Apostle’s striking affirmation that Jesus Christ is God’s “Yes” to mankind and the fulfilment of all his promises, and that through Jesus we say our “Amen”, to the glory of God (cf. 2 Cor 1:19-20). For Paul, prayer is above all God’s gift, grounded in his faithful love which was fully revealed in the sending of his Son and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, poured forth into our hearts, leads us to the Father, constantly making present God’s “Yes” to us in Christ and in turn enabling us to say our “Yes” – Amen! – to God. Our use of the word “Amen”, rooted in the ancient liturgical prayer of Israel and then taken up by the early Church, expresses our firm faith in God’s word and our hope in his promises. Through this daily “Yes” which concludes our personal and communal prayer, we echo Jesus’ obedience to the Father’s will and, through the gift of the Spirit, are enabled to live a new and transformed life in union with the Lord.
   The Holy Father also had special greetings for pilgrims in many languages, including English: I welcome the Vietnamese pilgrims from the Archidiocese of Hochiminh City, led by Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Mân. I also welcome the participants in the Buddhist-Christian Symposium being held in Castelgandolfo. My greeting likewise goes to the Hope for Tomorrow Foundation from the United States. Upon all the English-speaking visitors, including those from England, Ireland, Norway, India, Indonesia, Japan and the United States I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace!
   During his remarks to the faithful following the catechesis, Pope Benedict addressed the recent attention surrounding various leaks to the media. The Pope said, “Events in recent days regarding the Curia and my collaborators have brought sadness to my heart,” though, he continued, “the firm conviction that despite human weakness, despite the difficulties and trials, the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit, has never diminished – and the Lord will never fail to give His aid in sustaining the Church on her journey.” The Pope went on to say, “Nevertheless, some entirely gratuitous rumors have multiplied, amplified by some media, which went well beyond the facts, offering a picture of the Holy See that does not correspond to reality.” Pope Benedict concluded, saying, “I would like therefore to reiterate my confidence and my encouragement to my staff and to all those who, day in and day out, faithfully and with a spirit of sacrifice, quietly help me in fulfilling my ministry.”

May 27, 2012

Pope: Pentecost is a feast of unity, understanding and sharing

    Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday morning celebrated Pentecost Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. 

Here is a translation of the Pope's homily:

Dear brothers and sisters,
   I am happy to celebrate this Holy Mass with you – a Mass animated by the Choir of the Academy of Santa Cecilia and by the Youth Orchestra, which I thank – on this Feast of Pentecost. This mystery constitutes the baptism of the Church, it is an event that gave the Church the initial shape and thrust of its mission, so to speak. This shape and thrust are always valid, always timely, and they are renewed through the actions of the liturgy, especially.
   This morning I want to reflect on an essential aspect of the mystery of Pentecost, which maintains all its importance in our own day as well. Pentecost is the feast of human unity, understanding and sharing.We can all see how in our world, despite us being closer to one another through developments in communications, with geographical distances seeming to disappear – understanding and sharing among people is often superfical and difficult. There are imbalances that frequently lead to conflicts; dialogue between generations is hard and differences sometimes prevail; we witness daily events where people appear to be growing more aggressive and belligerent; understanding one another takes too much effort and people prefer to remain inside their own sphere, cultivating their own interests. In this situation, can we really discover and experience the unity we so need?
   The account of Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles, which we heard in the first reading, is set against a background that contains one of the last great frescoes of the Old Testament: the ancient story of the construction of the Tower of Babel. But what is Babel? It is the description of a kingdom in which people have concentrated so much power they think they no longer need depend on a God who is far away. They believe they are so powerful they can build their own way to heaven in order to open the gates and put themselves in God's place. But it's precisely at this moment that something strange and unusual happens. While they are working to build the tower, they suddenly realise they are working against one another. While trying to be like God, they run the risk of not even being human – because they've lost an essential element of being human: the ability to agree, to understand one another and to work together.
   This biblical story contains an eternal truth: we see this truth throughout history and in our own time as well. Progress and science have given us the power to dominate the forces of nature, to manipulate the elements, to reproduce living things, almost to the point of manufacturing humans themselves. In this situation, praying to God appears outmoded, pointless, because we can build and create whatever we want. We don't realise we are reliving the same experience as Babel. It's true, we have multiplied the possibilities of communicating, of possessing information, of transmitting news – but can we say our ability to understand each other has increased? Or, paradoxically, do we understand each other even less? Doesn't it seem like feelings of mistrust, suspicion and mutual fear have insinuated themselves into human relationships to the point where one person can even pose a threat to another? Let's go back to the initial question: can unity and harmony really exist? How?
   The answer lies in Sacred Scripture: unity can only exist as a gift of God's Spirit, which will give us a new heart and a new tongue, a new ability to communicate. This is what happened at Pentecost. On that morning, fifty days after Easter, a powerful wind blew over Jerusalem and the flame of the Holy Spirit descended on the gathered disciples. It came to rest upon the head of each of them and ignited in them a divine fire, a fire of love, capable of transforming things. Their fear disappeared, their hearts were filled with new strength, their tongues were loosened and they began to speak freely, in such a way that everyone could understand the news that Jesus Christ had died and was risen. On Pentecost, where there was division and incomprehension, unity and understanding were born.
   But let's look at today's Gospel in which Jesus affirms: “When he comes, the Spirit of truth, He will guide you to the whole truth”. Speaking about the Holy Spirit, Jesus is explaining to us what the Church is and how she must live in order to be herself, to be the place of unity and comunion in Truth; he tells us that acting like Christians means not being closed inside our own spheres, but opening ourselves towards others; it means welcoming the whole Church within ourselves or, better still, allowing the Church to welcome us. So, when I speak, think and act like a Christian, I don't stay closed off within myself – but I do so in everything and starting from everything: thus the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of unity and truth, can continue to resonate in people's hearts and minds, encouraging them to meet and welcome one another. Precisely because it acts in this way, the Spirit introduces us to the whole truth, who is Jesus, and guides us to examine and understand it. We do not grow in understanding by closing ourselves off inside ourselves, but only by becoming capable of listening and sharing, in the “ourselves” of the Church, with an attitude of deep personal humility. Now it's clearer why Babel is Babel and Pentecost is Pentecost. Where people want to become God, they succeed only in pitting themselves against each other. Where they place themselves within the Lord's truth, on the other hand, they open themselves to the action of his Spirit which supports and unites them.
   The contrast between Babel and Pentecost returns in the second reading, where the Apostle Paul says: “Walk according to the Spirit and you will not be brought to satisfy the desires of the flesh”. St Paul tells us that our personal life is marked by interior conflict and division, between impulses that come from the flesh and those that come from the Spirit: and we cannot follow all of them. We cannot be both selfish and generous, we cannot follow the tendency to dominate others and experience the joy of disinterested service. We have to choose which impulse to follow and we can do so authentically only with the help of the Spirit of Christ. St Paul lists the works of the flesh: they are the sins of selfishness and violence, like hostility, discord, jealousy, dissent. These are thoughts and actions that do not allow us to live in a truly human and Christian way, in love. This direction leads to us losing our life. The Holy Spirit, though, guides us towards the heights of God, so that, on this earth, we can already experience the seed of divine life that is within us.
St Paul confirms: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace”. We note how the Apostle uses the plural to describe the works of the flesh that provoke the loss of our humanity – while he uses the singular to define the action of the Spirit, speaking of “the fruit”, in the same way as the dispersion of Babel contrasts with the unity of Pentecost.
   Dear friends, we must live according to the Spirit of unity and truth, and this is why we must pray for the Spirit to enlighten and guide us to overcome the temptation to follow our own truths, and to welcome the truth of Christ transmitted in the Church. Luke's account of Pentecost tells us that, before rising to heaven, Jesus asked the Apostles to stay together and to prepare themselves to receive the Holy Spirit. And they gathered together in prayer with Mary in the Upper Room and awaited the promised event.
   Like when it was born, today the Church still gathers with Mary and prays: “Veni Sancte Spiritus! - Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love!”. Amen.

May 23, 2012

Pope: Fatherhood crisis hurts our understanding of God

    Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday continued his series on prayer in the letters of Saint Paul. Speaking to tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly general audience, the Holy Father expanded on the previous week’s catechesis on the Holy Spirit’s role in prayer.

   “In our reflection on prayer in the letters of Saint Paul, we now consider two passages in which the Apostle speaks of the Holy Spirit, who enables us to call upon God as ‘Abba’, our Father,” the Pope said.

   “The word ‘Abba’ was used by Jesus to express his loving relationship with the Father; our own use of this word is the fruit of the presence of the Spirit of Christ within us. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit in Baptism, we have become sons and daughters of God, sharing by adoption in the eternal sonship of Jesus.”

   The Holy Father pointed out Jesus never lost faith in the Father, and used the word ‘Abba’ even during his prayer at Gethsemane, where he asked the Father to “take the cup away from me.” (Mk 14:36)

   Pope Benedict pointed out the word ‘Abba’ appears in the letters of St. Paul twice.

   First in Galatians, which reads “As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’”(Gal 4:6) And then in Romans, where Paul says “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Rom 8:15)

   “These two substantial statements speak of the sending and receiving of the Holy Spirit, the gift of the Risen One, who makes us sons in Christ, the Only-begotten Son, and gives us a filial relationship with God,” the Pope said.

   Pope Benedict told the pilgrims the modern crisis of fathers absent from the family makes it more difficult to understand the profound meaning of God being a father to us.

   “Perhaps modern man does not perceive the beauty, grandeur and profound consolation contained in the word ‘father’ with which we can turn to God in prayer, because the father figure is often not sufficiently present in today’s world, and is often not a sufficiently positive presence in everyday life,” the Pope said.

   “But from Jesus himself, by his filial relationship with God, we learn the true significance of the word ‘father’, and what is the true nature of the Father who is in heaven.”

   The Holy Father then turned to the essence of our prayer in the Spirit.

   “When we turn to our Father in the privacy of our rooms, in silence and recollection, we are never alone,” he said.

   “Paul teaches us that Christian prayer is not simply our own work, but primarily that of the Spirit, who cries out in us and with us to the Father. In our prayer, we enter into the love of the indwelling Trinity as living members of Christ’s Body, the Church. Our individual prayer is always part of the great symphony of the Church’s prayer. Let us open our hearts ever more fully to the working of the Spirit within us, so that our prayer may lead us to greater trust in the Father and conformity to Jesus, his Son.”

May 20, 2012

Pope: Support the Church in China

    This Sunday Pope Benedict XVI called on Catholics worldwide to join in prayer with the Church in China, so that believers of the great nation may become ever more consistent in their witness to the faith.
   In a series of appeals following the midday recitation of the Regina Caeli prayer, the Holy Father also strongly condemned a bomb attack on a high school in southern Italy Saturday that left one young student dead and others seriously wounded and called for prayers for the victims of a magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck the north-east region of Emilia Romagna early Sunday morning.
   Despite the threat of rain St Peter’s Square was thronged with pilgrims and visitors this Sunday, which for many parishes worldwide marks the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord. In his reflections before the Marian prayer, Pope Benedict spoke to all those gathered about this mystery, the fulfilment of mankind’s salvation:

Below is a translation of Pope Benedict’s Regina Caeli address and appeals:

Dear brothers and sisters!
   Forty days after the Resurrection – according to the Acts of the Apostles - Jesus ascended to heaven, that is he returned to the Father, from whom he was sent into the world. In many countries, this mystery is not celebrated on Thursday, but today, the following Sunday. The Ascension of Our Lord marks the fulfilment of salvation which began with the Incarnation. After having instructed his disciples for the last time, Jesus ascended into heaven (cf. Mk 16.19). He, however, "did not separate himself from our condition" (cf. Prefazio), in fact, in his humanity, he took mankind with him in the intimacy of the Father, and so has revealed the final destination of our earthly pilgrimage. Just as he came down from heaven for us, and for us suffered and died on the cross, so for us he rose again and ascended to God, who therefore is no longer distant, but "Our God", "Our Father" (cf. Jn 20:17).
   The Ascension is the ultimate act of our deliverance from the yoke of sin, as the Apostle Paul writes: "He ascended on high, and took prisoners captive" (Eph. 4.8). St. Leo the Great says that with this mystery " not only is the immortality of the soul proclaimed, but also that of the flesh. Today, in fact, not only are we confirmed possessors of paradise, but in Christ we also penetrated the heights of heaven "(De Ascension Domains, Tractatus 73, 2.4: CCL 138 A, 451,453). For this, the disciples, when they saw the Master rise from the ground towards the heavens, they were not overwhelmed by dejection, indeed, they felt great joy and compelled to proclaim the victory of Christ over death (cf. Mk 16:20) . And the Risen Lord worked with them, distributing to each a their own charism, so that the Christian community as a whole, would reflect the harmonious richness of Heaven. St. Paul writes: "He gave gifts to men ... And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ"(Eph 4,8.11-13).
   Dear friends, the Ascension tells us that in Christ, our humanity is brought to the heights of God, so every time we pray, the earth joins with Heaven. And like burning incense, its fragrant smoke reaches on high, so that when we raise our fervent and trusting prayer in Christ to the Lord, it crosses the heavens and reaches the Throne of God, it is heard by Him and answered. In the famous work of St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel, we read that "to see realized the desires of our heart, there is no better way than placing the power of our prayer in what is most pleasing to God. Thus, He will not give us only what we ask of him, salvation, but also what He sees as both convenient and good for us, even if we do not ask this of Him "(Book III, ch. 44, 2, Rome 1991, 335).
   Let us beseech the Virgin Mary to help us contemplate the heavenly things, which the Lord promises us, and become more credible witnesses of divine life.

Pope’s speech after Regina Caeli:

Dear brothers and sisters! 
   Today we celebrate the World Day of Social Communications, on the theme "Silence and the Word: the process of evangelization." Silence is an integral part of communication, it is a privileged place of encounter with the Word of God and our brothers and sisters. I invite all to pray so that communications, in all forms, always serves to establish a genuine dialogue with others, founded on mutual respect, listening and sharing.
   Thursday, May 24, is a day dedicated to the liturgical memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, venerated with great devotion at the Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai: we join in prayer with all Catholics who are in China, so that they may announce with humility and joy the Risen Christ, be faithful to his Church and the Successor of Peter and live their daily life in a manner consistent with the faith we profess. Mary, Virgin most faithful, support the path of Chinese Catholics, render their prayer them ever more intense and precious in the eyes of the Lord, and advance the affection and the participation of the universal Church in the journey of the Church in China.
   I address a cordial greeting to the thousands of members of the Italian Movement for Life, meeting in Paul VI Hall. Dear friends, your movement has always been committed to defending human life, according to the teachings of the Church. In this line you have announced a new initiative called "One of us," to uphold the dignity and rights of every human being from conception. I encourage and urge you to always be witnesses and builders of a culture of life.
   Greetings in Italian: I greet the various school students present, and here today unfortunately I have to remember the girls and boys of the school in Brindisi, who yesterday were involved in a cowardly attack. Let us pray together for the wounded, some very seriously, especially for young Melissa, an innocent victim of brutal violence and for her family, who are in pain. My affectionate thoughts go also to the dear people of Emilia Romagna affected by an earthquake a few hours ago. I am spiritually close to those who are suffering from this calamity: we implore God's mercy for those who are dead and relief from suffering for the wounded. I wish everyone a good Sunday!

May 16, 2012

Pope: No human cry that God does not hear

   Continuing his catechesis on Christian prayer, this Wednesday Pope Benedict turned to the teaching of the Apostle Paul, whose letters show us that “in reality there is no human cry that is not heard by God” and that “prayer does not exempt us from trial and suffering”, “but allows us to live and cope with a new force, with the same confidence of Jesus”.

Below is a translation of the original catechesis:

Dear brothers and sisters,
   In the last catechesis we reflected on prayer in the Acts of the Apostles, today I would like to begin to talk about prayer in the Letters of St. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. I would first like to note that it is no accident that his letters are introduced by and conclude with expressions of prayer: they begin with thanksgiving and praise, and end with the hope that the grace of God guide the path of the communities to which they are addressed. Among the opening salutations: “First, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ" (Rom. 1.8), and the final wish: "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all" (1 Cor 16:23), the contents of the Letters of the Apostle are developed. That of St. Paul is a prayer that is manifested in a wealth of forms, ranging from thanksgiving to blessing, praise to the request and intercession, from hymn to supplication: a variety of expressions that demonstrates how prayer involves and penetrates all situations of life, both personal and community life.
   One element that the Apostle would have us understand is that prayer should not be seen simply as a good work done by us towards God, as our own action. It is above all a gift, the fruit of the living, real, life-giving presence of the Father and Jesus Christ in us. In his Letter to the Romans he writes: "In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings" (Rom 8.26). And we know that is true when the apostle says we do not know how to pray as we ought to pray, we want to pray, but God is far away, we do not have the words, the language to talk with God, not even the thought. We can only open ourselves up, make time available for God; wait for Him to help us truly enter into dialogue. And the Apostle says this lack of words, this absence of words, but this desire to communicate with God is prayer that the Holy Spirit not only understands, but it brings, interprets before God. This weakness before God through the Holy Spirit becomes real prayer, real contact with God. The Holy Spirit is the interpreter that helps us understand, God understand, what we mean”.
   In prayer we experience, more than in other dimensions of existence, our weakness, our poverty, our being creatures, because we are faced with the omnipotence and transcendence of God. The more we progress in 'listening and in dialogue with God, so that prayer becomes the daily breath of our soul, the more we perceive the sense of our limitations, not only before concrete every day situations, but also in our relationship with the Lord. Thus the need grows within us to increasingly entrust ourselves to and rely on Him; we understand - as the Apostle says - that “we do not know how to pray as we ought “(Rom. 8.26). It is the Holy Spirit who helps our inability, enlightens our minds and warms our hearts, guiding our turning to God. For St. Paul prayer is above all the work of the Holy Spirit in our humanity, who takes on our weakness and transforms from men bound to the material things to spiritual men: in the First Letter to the Corinthians he says, "We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms"(2:12-13). Through his living in our human frailty, the Holy Spirit changes us, intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings and leads us to the heights of God (cf. Rom 8.26).
   With this presence of the Holy Spirit our union with Christ is realised, since it is the Spirit of the Son of God, in which we become children. St. Paul speaks of the Spirit of Christ (cf. Rom 8.9) and not only the Spirit of God. It is obvious that if Christ is the son of God, his spirit is also the spirit of God, and so if the spirit of God, the spirit of Christ, it becomes very close to us in the Son of God and Son of Man, the Holy Spirit of God becomes human and touches us. We can enter into the communion of the Spirit. It is like saying that not only God the Father made himself visible in the Incarnation of the Son, but the Spirit of God is manifested in the life and work of Jesus Christ who lived, was crucified, died and resurrected. The Apostle reminds us that “no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor 12.3). So the Spirit directs our hearts to Jesus Christ, so that "we no longer live, but Christ lives in us" (cf. Gal 2.20). In his Catechesis on the Sacraments, reflecting on the Eucharist, St. Ambrose states: "Who is inebriated by the Spirit is rooted in Christ" (5, 3, 17: PL 16, 450).
   I would now like to highlight three consequences in our Christian life when we allow not the spirit of the world to operate in us, but the Spirit of Christ as an inner principle of all our actions.
   First of all, with prayer animated by the Spirit we are enabled to abandon and overcome every form of fear or slavery, experiencing the true freedom of the children of God. Without the prayer that nourishes our being in Christ every day, in an intimacy that steadily grows, we are in the condition described by St. Paul in the Letter to the Romans Chapter 7: For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. (cf. Rom 7:19). This is the expression of the alienation of human beings, the destruction of our freedom for our being, for original sin. We want good, we do not do it and we do what we do not want, evil. The Apostle would have us understand that it is not above all our will that frees us from this condition, nor the law, but the Holy Spirit. And since "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17), in prayer we experience the freedom bestowed by the Spirit: an authentic freedom which is freedom from evil and sin for good and for life, for God. The Spirit of freedom, St. Paul continues, is never identified either with licentiousness, or with the possibility of choosing evil, but with the "fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. "(Gal 5.22). This is true freedom, to really follow our desire for good, the true joy of communion with God and not be overwhelmed by the circumstances that lead us in other directions.
   A second consequence that occurs in our lives when we allow the Spirit of Christ operate in us is that our relationship with God becomes so deep that it is not be impacted by any reality or situation. We understand that with prayer we are not freed from trial or suffering, but we can live them in union with Christ, his sufferings, with a view to participating in his glory (cf. Rom 8.17). Many times, in our prayer, we ask God for deliverance from spiritual and physical evil, and do so with great confidence. However, we often have the impression of not being listened to and then we risk losing heart and perseverance. In reality there is no human cry that is not heard by God, and in constant and faithful prayer we understand with St. Paul that "the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us" (Romans 8:18). Prayer does not exempt us from trial and suffering, indeed - as Saint Paul says - " we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies" (Rom. 8, 23), but allows us to live and cope with a new force, with the same confidence of Jesus, who - according to the Letter to the Hebrews - "in the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his reverence "(5.7). The response of God the Father to the Son and his loud cries and tears was not the immediate release from suffering, from the cross, from death, but it was a much greater fulfilment, a much deeper response, through the cross and death God has answered with the resurrection of the Son, with new life. Prayer animated by the Holy Spirit also leads us to live the journey of life each day with its trials and sufferings, in the full hope and trust in God who answers just as he answered his Son.
   And the third. Finally, the prayer of the believer is also open to the dimensions of humanity and all of creation, "for creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God;” (Rom 8.19). This means that prayer, sustained by the Spirit of Christ which speaks in the depths of our being, never stays closed in on itself, is never only pray for oneself, but is open to sharing the sufferings of our time, of others. It becomes intercession for others, and so deliverance from oneself, a channel of hope for all creation, an expression of that love of God that is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (cf. Rom 5.5). This is the sign of true prayer which is not for oneself, but open to others. And thus it frees us, thus it helps redeem the world.
   Dear brothers and sisters, St. Paul teaches us that in our prayer, we must open ourselves to the presence and action of the Holy Spirit, who prays in us with inexpressible groanings, to bring us to adhere to God with our whole heart and with all our being. The Spirit of Christ becomes the strength of our "weak" prayer, the light of our “dimmed” prayer, the focus of our "dry" prayer, giving us true inner freedom, teaching us to live by facing our trials, in the certainty we are not alone, opening us up to the horizons of humanity and creation "that is groaning in labour pains even until now" (Rom. 8:22). Thank you!

May 13, 2012

Pope's homily at Mass in Arezzo

   Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass in the town of Arezzo in central Italy, in "Il Prato"park beside the cathedral church of the diocese of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro. In his homily, the Holy Father recalled the great contributions of the Church in the area, saying, "Over the centuries, the Church in Arezzo has been enriched and animated by many expressions of the Christian faith, the highest among them being the Saints." Below, please find the full text of the Holy Father's homily.

 

Dear brothers and sisters,

   It is a great joy for me to be able to break with you the bread of the Word of God and the Eucharist. I greet you all and I thank you for your kind welcome. I greet your Pastor, Archbishop Riccardo Fontana, whom I thank for his words of welcome, the Bishops, Priests, men and women religious, representatives of Church Associations and Ecclesial Movements. I greet the Mayor, Giuseppe Fanfani and thank him for his welcome, the Prime Minister Senator Mario Monti, and the other civil and military authorities present. My special thanks go to those who have generously contributed to this my Pastoral Visit.

   An ancient Church welcomes me today, a Church that is expert in relationships and praiseworthy for its commitment over the centuries to building the city of Man in the image of the City of God. Here in Tuscany, the community of Arezzo has often distinguished itself in the course of history for its sense of freedom and its ability to dialogue with different social groups. This is my first visit to you and my wish is that your City may always allow this precious heritage to bear fruit.

   Over the centuries, the Church in Arezzo has been enriched and animated by many expressions of the Christian faith, the highest among them being the Saints. I think, in particular, of St Donato, your Patron, whose life’s witness which fascinated Medieval Christians, is still appropriate today. He was an intrepid evangelizer, urging all to free themselves from pagan customs and to rediscover in the Word of God the strength to affirm the dignity of every person and the true meaning of freedom. Through his preaching, he brought people, whose Bishop he was, to unity with prayer and the Eucharist. The chalice that was broken and restored by St Donato, and which is referred to by St Gregory the Great, is the symbol of the peacemaking action of the Church in society, for the common good. Another of your witnesses is St Peter Damian and, with him, the great Camaldolese tradition which has been offering its spiritual riches to this diocesan Church and to the universal Church for a thousand years.

   Blessed Pope Gregory X is entombed in your cathedral, almost as a sign of the continuity of the service of the Church of Christ to the world, in different times and cultures. Sustained by the light that came from the burgeoning Orders of mendicant friars, including theologians and Saints, like St Thomas Aquinas and St Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, he confronted the great problems of his time: the reform of the Church, the healing of the schism with the Eastern Christian Church, which he tried to do by calling the Council of Lyon; attention to the Holy Land; peace and relations among peoples – he was the first person in the West to exchange ambassadors with Kublai Khan in China.

   Dear Friends, the first Reading presented us with an important moment which manifests the universality of Christ and the Church’s message: St Peter, in the house of Cornelius, baptized the first pagans. In the Old Testament, God didn’t want the blessing of the Jewish people to remain exclusive, but to extend it to all nations. When he called Abraham, he said: “All the tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by you”. Thus Peter, inspired from above, understood that “God does not have favourites, but anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right, is acceptable to him”. Peter’s gesture becomes a symbol of the Church’s openness to all humanity. Following the great tradition of your Church and your Community, be authentic witnesses of God’s love for all!

   But how can we, in our weakness, be witnesses to this love? In the second Reading, St John told us clearly that being freed of our sins and their consequences is not our initiative but God’s. We did not love him, he loved us and took our sins upon himself and washed them with the blood of Christ. God loved us first and wants us to enter his communion of love, to collaborate in his work of redemption.

   The Lord’s invitation rang out in the Gospel: “I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last”. He was speaking specifically to the Apostles, but in the broader sense, it regards all Jesus’ disciples. The whole Church is sent out into the world to preach the Gospel and salvation. But it is always God’s initiative; he calls us to different ministries, so that each one plays his proper role for the common good. He calls us to the ministerial priesthood, to consecrated life, to married life, to working in the world: all are asked to respond generously to the Lord, sustained by his Word which comforts us: “You did not choose me, no, I chose you”.

   Dear Friends. I know about your Church’s commitment to promoting Christian life. Be ferment in society, be present as Christians, be active and coherent. With its centuries-old history, the City of Arezzo summarizes significant expressions of culture and values. Among the treasures of your tradition, you are proud of your Christian identity, visible in many signs and rooted in devotions like the one to Our Lady of Comfort. This land was the birthplace of great Renaissance personalities, from Petrarch to Vasari, and played an active role in affirming that concept of man which left its mark on the history of Europe, drawing strength from Christian values. In recent times too, the ideal heritage of your city has been expressed by some of its most illustrious children through their university research and other institutions where they have elaborated the concept of civitas, defining it in terms of the Christian ideal among people of our time. Within the context of the Church in Italy, committed to the theme of education, we must ask – especially in this Region where the Renaissance was born – what vision of man are we proposing to the new generations. The Word of God we have heard is a powerful invitation to live God’s love towards all, and, among its distinctive values, the culture of this land includes solidarity, attention to the weak, respect for the dignity of all. Your capacity to welcome those who have come here recently in search of freedom and work, is well known.

   Showing solidarity with the poor, means recognizing the plan of God the Creator, who made us all one family. Of course, this area has also been severely struck by the economic crisis. The complexity of the problems makes it difficult to find quick and effective solutions to come out of the present situation which affects the weakest elements especially and greatly worries young people. Since the remotest times, attention to others has moved the Church to show concrete signs of solidarity with those in need, sharing resources, promoting simpler lifestyles, going against an ephemeral culture which has disappointed many and determined a profound spiritual crisis. May this Diocesan Church, enriched by the shining witness of St Francis of Assisi, continue to be caring and attentive towards those in need, and may it teach how to go beyond purely materialistic ideologies that often mark our age and end up clouding our sense of solidarity and charity.

   Witnessing to the love of God by caring for the weakest is tied to the defence of human life, from its beginning to its natural end. In your Region, ensuring everyone dignity, health and fundamental rights, is justly considered an indispensable good. The defence of the family, through laws that are just and protect the weakest elements, is always an important point that keeps the fabric of society strong and offers hope for the future. Just as in the Middle Ages, the statutes of your city became instruments that ensured inalienable rights to many, may they continue that task today, promoting a City with an ever more human face. The Church offers her contribution to this task so that the love of God may always be accompanied love for one’s neighbour.

   Dear brothers and sisters, Continue serving God and man according to the teaching of Jesus, the shining example of your saints and the tradition of your people. May the maternal protection of Our Lady of Comfort, whom you love and venerate, accompany and sustain you in this task. Amen.

May 9, 2012

Audience: Praying for Peter and the Church

   The story of the Lord’s liberation of Peter from prison tells us that the Church, each one of us, “goes through a night of trial”, but that it is the unceasing vigilance of prayer that sustains us, said Pope Benedict Wednesday as he continued his lessons on the power of prayer as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles.
   In a very personnel comment on the narrative, the Pope who is the 264^th Successor of St Peter, told the thousands who crammed into St Peter’s Square for the Wednesday audience: “I, too, from the first moment of my election as the Successor of St. Peter, I have always felt supported by the prayers of you all, by the prayer of the Church, especially by your prayers, especially during difficult times thank you from my heart”. Applause greeted the Holy Father’s words.
   He continued “With constant and trusting prayer the Lord frees us from the chains, guides us through every night of captivity that can gnaw at our hearts, gives us the peace of heart to face the difficulties of life, even rejection, opposition, persecution”.
   But this only if "the whole community together speaks with God, truly praying assiduously and unanimously. Even the discourse on God, in fact, may lose its inner strength and witness dries up if they are not animated, supported and accompanied by prayer, by the continuity of a living dialogue with the Lord. An important reminder for us and for our communities, both small ones such as the family, as well as more extensive ones such as the parish, the diocese, the whole Church. It makes me think that they prayed in this community of James, but prayed badly, only for their own passions[…]. We must continually learn to pray well, really pray, directed towards God and not towards our own good".

Below is a translation of Pope Benedict XVI’s catechesis this Wednesday:

Dear brothers and sisters,
   Today I will touch on the last episode in the life of St. Peter as told in the Acts of the Apostles: his imprisonment by order of Herod Agrippa and his release through the miraculous intervention of the Angel of the Lord, on the eve of his trial in Jerusalem (cf. Acts 12.1 to 17).
   The story is once again marked by the prayer of the Church. St. Luke, in fact, writes: "Peter thus was being kept in prison, but prayer by the church was fervently being made to God on his behalf" (Acts 12.5). And, after miraculously walking out of prison, on the occasion of his visit to the house of Mary, the mother of John, Mark, states that "many people gathered in prayer" (Acts 12:12). Between these two important records that show the attitude of the Christian community in the face of danger and persecution, the detention and liberation of Peter is narrated, which comprises all night. The strength of the unceasing prayer of the Church rises to God and the Lord hears and carries out an unthinkable and un-hoped for deliverance, sending His Angel.
   The story recalls the great elements of the liberation of Israel from slavery in Egypt, the Passover. As was essential in that event, here too the main action is accomplished by the Angel of the Lord who frees Peter. And the same actions of the Apostle - who is asked to stand up quickly, to put on his belt and sandals - these events are based on those of the elected people on the night of deliverance from God's intervention when they were invited to eat the lamb in a hurry with their loins girded, sandals on their feet, stick in hand, ready to leave the country (cf. Ex 12:11). Thus, Peter can exclaim: "Now I really know that the Lord sent His Angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod" (Acts 12:11). But the Angel not only recalls the liberation of Israel from Egypt, but also that of the Resurrection of Christ. The Acts of the Apostles tells us so: “Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him"(Acts 12.7). The light that fills the room of the prison, the very act of arousing the Apostle, refers to the liberating light of the Passover of the Lord that overcomes the darkness of the night and evil. The invitation, finally, “Put on your cloak and follow me" (Acts 12.8), echoes in our hearts the words of the initial call of Jesus (cf. Mk 1.17), repeated after the resurrection of the lake of Tiberias, where the Lord says twice to Peter, "Follow me" (Jn 21, 19.22). It is a pressing invitation to follow him: only by coming out of yourself in order to start walking with the Lord and doing His will, will you experience true freedom.
   I would like to emphasize another aspect of the attitude of Peter in prison; we note, in fact, that while the Christian community prays earnestly for him, Peter, "was asleep" (Acts 12.6) so says St. Luke. In such a critical situation of serious danger, this attitude may seem odd, but it denotes trust and confidence, he trusts in God, he knows he is surrounded by the solidarity and prayer and abandons himself totally in the hands of Lord. So must be our prayer, assiduous, in solidarity with others, fully trusting that God knows us deeply and takes care of us to the point that – as Jesus says - "the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid ... "(Mt 10, 30-31). Peter lives the night of his captivity and liberation from prison as a follower of the Lord, who overcomes the darkness of the night and frees from the chains of slavery and the danger of death. His release is prodigious, marked by several carefully described steps: guided by the Angel, despite the surveillance of the guards, through the first and second guard post, until the iron door leading into the city: and the door opens on its own in front of them (cf. Acts 12.10). Peter and the Angel of the Lord, travel a stretch of road together until, returning to himself, the Apostle realizes that the Lord has truly freed him and, after some thought, he went into the house of Mary, the mother of Mark where many disciples were gathered in prayer; once again the community's response to difficulty and danger is to rely on God, strengthening the relationship with Him.
   Here it seems useful to recall another difficult situation that the first Christian community experienced. St. James speaks of it in his letter. It is a community in crisis, in difficulty, not because of persecution but because there are jealousies and contentions inside (cf. Jas 3.14 to 16). And the Apostle ponders the reason for this situation. And he finds two principal reasons: the first is allowing oneself to be dominated by passions, by the dictatorship of their own desires, egoism (cf. Jas 4.1-2a), the second is lack of prayer - " you do not ask," he says (James 4.2 b) - You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." (James 4.3). This situation would change, according to St. James, if the whole community together speaks with God, truly praying assiduously and unanimously. Even the discourse on God, in fact, may lose its inner strength and testimony dries up if they are not animated, supported and accompanied by prayer, by the continuity of a living dialogue with the Lord. An important reminder for us and for our communities, both small ones such as the family, as well as more extensive ones such as the parish, the diocese, the whole Church. It makes me think that they prayed in this community of James, but prayed badly, only for their own passions[…]. We must continually learn to pray well, really pray, directed towards God and not towards our own good.
   The community, however, that accompanies the imprisonment of Peter is a community that really prays, all night long, deeply united. And it is a sheer joy that fills the hearts of all when the Apostle knocks at the door unexpectedly. It is joy and amazement at the action of God who listens. So from the Church rises the prayer for Peter and he returns to the Church to tell "how the Lord had brought him out of prison" (Acts 12:17). To the Church where he is placed as a rock (cf. Mt 16:18), Peter tells of the "Passover" of his liberation: he experiences that true freedom is in following Jesus, it is surrounded by the radiant light of the Resurrection, and for this he is able to witness to the point of martyrdom that the Lord is Risen, and "for certain that [the] Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod" (Acts 12:11). The martyrdom he goes on to suffer in Rome will join him permanently to Christ, who told him: when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God (cf. Jn 21.18-19).
   Dear brothers and sisters, the story of the liberation of Peter as told by Luke tells us that the Church, each of us, goes through the night of trial, but it is the unceasing vigilance of prayer that sustains us. I, too, from the first moment of my election as the Successor of St. Peter, I have always felt supported by the prayers of you all, by the prayer of the Church, especially by your prayers, especially during difficult times thank you from my heart. With constant and trusting prayer the Lord frees us from the chains, guides us through every night of captivity that can gnaw at our hearts, gives us the peace of heart to face the difficulties of life, even rejection, opposition, persecution. The episode of Peter shows this power of prayer. And the Apostle, though in chains, feels confident in the certainty of never being alone: ​​the community is praying for him, the Lord is near, even he knows that "the strength of Christ is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12.9). Unanimous and constant prayer is a precious instrument in overcoming all of the trials that may arise in the path of life, because it is our being deeply united with God that allows us to also be deeply united to others. Thank you.

* * * * *

   I offer a warm welcome to the participants in the Conference on Combating Human Trafficking hosted by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. My greeting also goes to the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce from New York. Upon all the English-speaking pilgrims present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and the United States, I cordially invoke God’s abundant blessings.

May 6, 2012

Regina Coeli: Christ is the vine, we are the branches

   In his message for the Regina Coeli, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the Gospel for today, the Fifth Sunday of Easter. He recalled the words of Christ, who said, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine-grower.”
   “On the day of our Baptism,” the Pope said, “The Church grafts us as branches into the Paschal Mystery of Christ, into His own Person.” He called upon the faithful to bear in mind that “every one of us is like a vine, which lives only if it is growing every day in prayer, participation in the Sacraments, in charity, in its union with the Lord. And he who loves Jesus, the true vine, produces fruits of faith for an abundant spiritual harvest. Let us beseech the Mother of God that we might remain firmly grafted in Jesus and that all our actions may have their beginning, and their fulfillment, in Him.”
   After the Regina Coeli prayer, the Holy Father greeted pilgrims and visitors from around the world. He reminded the faithful of the VII World Meeting of Families, taking place at the beginning of next month. The Meeting is being sponsored by the Pontifical Council of the Family, headed by Cardinal Ennio Antonelli. The Holy Father thanked the Ambrosian Diocese and other dioceses in Lombardy who are cooperating in the preparation of this ecclesial event, and noted that, “I, too, God willing, will have the joy of participating” in the Meeting.
   Pope Benedict then greeted pilgrims from around the world. In his remarks to the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors, the Holy Father said: “I extend warm greetings to the English-speaking visitors present for today’s Regina Coeli, and especially to the large group of pilgrims from Indonesia. In today’s Gospel Jesus speaks of himself as the true vine and He calls us to be fruit-bearing branches. I pray that God’s children all over the world will grow in unity and love, sustained and nourished by the divine life that he has planted deep within us. May God bless all of you!”

May 2, 2012

Audience: Prayer and the strength to face persecution 

   Prayerful meditation on Sacred Scripture in communion with Jesus and his Church can help us face all of life’s difficulties and even persecution, just like St Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Continuing his series of lessons on prayer in the Acts of the Apostles, Pope Benedict XVI focused his Wednesday audience catechesis on Acts Chapter 6, Stephens discourse before the Sanhedrin, delivered before his death.

   Forty thousand people thronged St Peter’s Square, and speaking to English pilgrims the Pope noted: “Stephen’s words are clearly grounded in a prayerful re-reading of the Christ event in the light of God’s word”.

   In comments in Italian, Pope Benedict recalled how Stephen was "one of the seven chosen for the service of charity". Accused of saying that Jesus would destroy the Temple and the customs handed down by Moses, Stephen responds by presenting Jesus as the Righteous One proclaimed by the prophets, in whom God has become present to humanity in a unique and definitive way”.

   "Stephen’s discourse before the court, the longest of the Acts of the Apostles develops from this prophecy of Jesus, who is the new temple, who inaugurates the new cult and replaces the ancient sacrifices with the offering of himself on Cross. Stephen wants to show how unfounded the accusation made against him of having subverted the law of Moses and illustrates his vision of the history of salvation, the covenant between God and man. He thus re-reads the biblical narrative, the itinerary contained in the Holy Scripture, to show that it leads to the "place" the ultimate presence of God, which is Jesus Christ, especially His Passion, Death and Resurrection. In this perspective, Stephen also reads his being a disciple of Jesus, following him to martyrdom. "

   Stephen’s meditation on Sacred Scripture helps him understand his present reality. "In his speech Stephen begins with the call of Abraham, a pilgrim to the land indicated by God and which was only a promise; he then passes to Joseph sold by his brothers, but assisted and freed by God, to arrive at Moses, who becomes an instrument of God to free his people, but who also on several occasions encounters the rejection of his own people. In these events narrated in Sacred Scripture, which Stephen religiously listens to, God, who never tires of encountering man despite often finding stubborn opposition, always emerges. "

   "In all this he sees a foreshadowing of the story of Jesus, the Son of God made flesh, who - like the ancient Fathers - encounters obstacles, rejection, death." In his meditation on the action of God in salvation history, Stephen highlights the perennial temptation to reject God and his action and says that "Jesus is the Righteous One announced by the prophets; in Jesus, God himself is present in such a unique and definitive way: Jesus is the true place of worship. "

   Stephen does not deny the importance of the temple, "but stresses that God does not dwell in houses made by human hands. The new temple in which God dwells is his Son, who took on human flesh, it is the humanity of Christ, the Risen One who gathers the people and unites them in the Sacrament of his Body and his Blood. "

   "The life and discourse of Stephen is suddenly interrupted by his stoning, but his very martyrdom is the fulfillment of his life and his message: he becomes one with Christ." Before he died, he asks for Jesus to receive his spirit, and like Jesus asks God "not to hold this sin" against those who stoned him.

   St. Stephen drew the strength to face his persecutors to the point of the gift of himself "from his relationship with God" and "meditation on the history of salvation, from seeing the action of God, which in Jesus Christ came to the summit. " So "our prayer must be nourished by listening to the Word of God."

   He also "sees foreshadowed, in the history of the relationship of love between God and man, the figure and mission of Jesus He - the Son of God - is a temple" not made with human hands " where the presence of God the Father came so close as to take on our flesh to bring us to God, to open up the gates of Heaven to us. Our prayer, then, must be the contemplation of Jesus at the right hand of God, of Jesus as Lord of our, of my daily, existence. In him, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we too can turn to God with the trust and abandonment of children who turn to a Father who loves them infinitely ".

   Pope Benedict concluded: “As the Son of God made man, Jesus is himself the true temple of God in the world; by his death for our sins and his rising to new life, he has now become the definitive “place” where true worship is offered to God. Stephen’s witness to Christ, nourished by prayer, culminates in his martyrdom. By his intercession and example may we learn daily to unite prayer, contemplation of Christ and reflection on God’s word. In this way we will appreciate more deeply God’s saving plan, and make Christ truly the Lord of our lives”.

   "I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Nigeria, Australia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Canada and the United States. I offer a cordial welcome to the delegation from the Christian Council of Norway and to the ecumenical groups from Sweden. I also thank the traditional choir from Indonesia for their song. Upon you and your families I cordially invoke God’s abundant blessings".