August 29, 2012

Audience: The Truth is the truth, there is no compromise

   The feast of John the Baptist’s martyrdom, “reminds us, Christians of our time that we can not stoop to compromises with the love of Christ, his Word, the Truth. The Truth is the Truth and there is no compromise”, said Pope Benedict XVI Wednesday during his general audience held in Castel Gandolfo.

   2, 600 French altar servers – girls and boys – were among the thousands gathered in Freedom Square, before the Apostolic palace to hear Pope Benedict’s catechesis dedicated to the memorial of the Forerunner to Christ and how he teaches us that Christian witness is fed by prayer. “Christian life”, he said “requires, so to speak, the daily "martyrdom" of fidelity to the Gospel, that is the courage to let Christ grow in us and direct our thinking and our actions”.
   The Holy Father added that this courage can only come from a solid relationship with God: “Prayer is not a waste of time, it does not rob much space from our activities, not even apostolic activities, it does the exact opposite: only if we are able to have a life of faithful, constant, confident prayer will God Himself give us the strength and capacity to live in a happy and peaceful way, to overcome difficulties and to bear witness with courage. St. John the Baptist intercede for us, so that we always maintain the primacy of God in our lives”. 

Below is a translation of Pope Benedict XVI’s general audience catechesis:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
   On the last Wednesday of August, we celebrate the liturgical memorial of the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus. In the Roman Calendar, he is the only saint whose birth, June 24, and death through martyrdom are celebrated on the same day. Today’s memorial dates back to the dedication of a crypt of Sebaste in Samaria, where, by the middle of the fourth century, his head was venerated. The cult spread to Jerusalem, in the Churches of the East and Rome, with the title of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. In the Roman Martyrology, reference is made to a second finding of the precious relic, transported, for the occasion, to the church of St. Sylvester in Campo Marzio, Rome.
   These small historical references help us to understand how ancient and profound devotion to the John the Baptist is. In the Gospels his role in relation to Jesus stands out very well. In particular, St Luke tells his birth, his life in the wilderness, his preaching, and St. Mark tells us about his tragic death in today’s Gospel. John the Baptist began his preaching under the emperor Tiberius, in AD 27-28, and his clear invitation addressed to the people who flocked to hear him, is to prepare the way to welcome the Lord, to straighten the crooked streets of life through a radical change of heart (cf. Lk 3, 4). But the Baptist did not limit himself to preaching repentance, conversion, he also recognized Jesus as the "Lamb of God" who comes to take away the sin of the world (Jn 1, 29), he has the deep humility to reveal in Jesus the true Messenger of God, stepping aside so that Christ can grow, be listened to and followed. As a final note, the Baptist bears witness to his fidelity to the commandments of God with his blood, without ever giving in or turning back, carrying out his mission to the very end. In his Homilies the IXth century monk, St. Bede writes: "For [Christ] he gave his life, although he was not ordered to deny Jesus Christ, he was ordered not to silence the truth. However, he died for Christ "(Hom. 23: CCL 122, 354). For the love of truth, he did not stoop to compromises with the powerful and was not afraid to use strong words with those who had lost the path of God.
   Now we look at this great figure, this strength in passion, in resistance to the powerful. Where does this life of rectitude and coherency, this interior strength, completely spent for God and to prepare the way for Jesus, come from? The answer is simple: from his relationship with God, from prayer, which is the main theme of his whole existence. John is the Divine gift that had been long invoked by his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth (cf. Lk 1:13), a great gift, humanly beyond hope, because both were advanced in years and Elizabeth was barren (cf. Lk 1:7), but nothing is impossible for God (cf. Luke 1:36). The announcement of the birth takes place in a place of prayer, the temple of Jerusalem, indeed it takes place when it is Zechariah’ turn to have the great privilege of entering the holiest place of the temple to burn incense to the Lord (cf. Lk 1: 8-20). The birth of John the Baptist was marked by prayer: the song of joy, praise and thanksgiving that Zechariah raises to the Lord and which we recite every morning at Lauds, the "Benedictus", enhances the action of God in history and prophetically indicates the mission of his son John, who precedes the Son of God made flesh in order to prepare the way for Him (cf. Lk 1.67 to 79). The whole existence of the Forerunner of Jesus is powered by his relationship with God, especially in the time he spent in the wilderness (cf. Lk 1.80), the desert is a place of temptation, but also the place where the man feels his poverty most because he is deprived of material support and safety, and he understands that the only solid reference point is God Himself. John the Baptist, however, is not only a man of prayer, of constant contact with God, but also a guide in our relationship with God. The Evangelist Luke notes that when introducing the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples the "Our Father", the request is formulated with these words: "Lord teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples "(cf. Lk 11:1).
   Dear brothers and sisters, the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist reminds us, Christians of our time, that we can not stoop to compromises with the love of Christ, his Word, the Truth. The Truth is the Truth and there is no compromise. Christian life requires, so to speak, the daily "martyrdom" of fidelity to the Gospel, that is the courage to let Christ grow in us and direct our thinking and our actions. But this can only happen in our lives if there is a solid relationship with God. Prayer is not a waste of time, it does not rob much space from our activities, not even apostolic activities, it does the exact opposite: only if we are able to have a life of faithful, constant, confident prayer will God Himself give us the strength and capacity to live in a happy and peaceful way, to overcome difficulties and to bear witness with courage. St. John the Baptist intercede for us, so that we always maintain the primacy of God in our lives.
   I offer a warm welcome to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors, especially those from England, Indonesia, Japan and Malta. Today, the Church celebrates the Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist. John, whose birth we celebrate on the twenty-fourth of June, gave himself totally to Christ, by preparing the way for him through the preaching of repentance, by leading others to him once he arrived, and by giving the ultimate sacrifice. Dear friends, may we follow John’s example by allowing Christ to penetrate every part of our lives so that we may boldly proclaim him to the world. May God bless all of you!

August 26, 2012

Pope: We understand because we have believed

   On Sunday, Pope Benedict prayed the Angelus with the faithful gathered at the Pope’s summer residence at Castel Gandalfo. Before the recitation of the Marian prayer, the Holy Father reflected on the day’s readings. The Gospel of the day relates the story of the reaction of Christ’s disciples to the Bread of Life discourse. Many of the those disciples left Jesus, the Pope said, because Christ’s revelation that He was the “living bread which came down from heaven” was incomprehensible to them. They had understood Jesus’ words in a material sense, when in reality they were a revelation of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus. The Apostles, however, remained with the Lord. Pope Benedict, quoting Saint Augustine, said the Apostles understood that Jesus had the words of eternal life because they had first believed.
   One of those who remained with Jesus, though, did not believe. Judas, expecting a worldly Messiah, felt betrayed by Jesus, and decided to betray Him. Judas’ problem, the Pope said, was that, not believing in Jesus, he nonetheless remained with Him. “The problem is that Judas did not go away, and his most serious fault was falsehood, which is the mark of the devil.” Concluding his remarks, Pope Benedict prayed that Mary would “help us to believe in Jesus, as St. Peter did, and to always be sincere with Him and with all people.” 

The full text of Pope Benedict’s Angelus message is below:

Dear brothers and sisters!
   In the past few Sundays we have meditated on the “Bread of Life” discourse that Jesus pronounced in the synagogue of Capernaum after feeding thousands of people with five loaves and two fishes. Today, the Gospel presents the disciples’ reaction to that speech, a reaction that Christ Himself knowingly provoked. First of all, John the Evangelist - who was present along with the other Apostles - reports that “from that time many of His disciples drew back and no longer went about with Him” (Jn 6:66). Why? Because they did not believe the words of Jesus when He said: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood will live forever” (cf. Jn 6,51.54). This revelation, as I have said, remained incomprehensible to them, because they understood it in a material sense, while in these words was foretold the Paschal Mystery of Jesus, in which He would give Himself for the salvation of the world: the new presence in the Holy Eucharist.
   Seeing that many of His disciples were leaving, Jesus addressed the Apostles, saying: “Will you also go away?” (Jn 6:67). As in other cases, it is Peter who replied on behalf of the Twelve: “Lord, to whom shall we go? - and we too can reflect: to whom shall we go? - You have the words of eternal life and we have believed and know that You are the Holy One of God" (Jn 6:68-69). On this passage we have a beautiful commentary of St. Augustine, who says in one of his homilies on John 6: “Do you see how Peter, by the grace of God, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has understood? Why did he understand? Because he believed. You have the words of eternal life. You give us eternal life by offering your risen body and your blood, your very self. And we have believed and understood. He does not say we have understood and then we believed, but we believed and then we understood. We have believed in order to be able to understand; if, in fact, we wanted to understand before believing, we would not be able either to understand or to believe. What have we believed and what have we understood? That You are the Christ, the Son of God, that is, that You are that very eternal life, and that You give in Your flesh and blood only that which You are” (Commentary on the Gospel of John, 27, 9). So Saint Augustine said in a homily to his faithful people.
   Finally, Jesus knew that even among the twelve apostles there was one that did not believe: Judas. Judas could have left, as many of the disciples did; indeed, he would have left if he were honest. Instead he remained with Jesus. He did not remain because of faith, or because of love, but with the secret intention of taking vengeance on the Master. Why? Because Judas felt betrayed by Jesus, and decided that he in turn would betray Him. Judas was a Zealot, and wanted a triumphant Messiah, who would lead a revolt against the Romans. Jesus had disappointed those expectations. The problem is that Judas did not go away, and his most serious fault was falsehood, which is the mark of the devil. This is why Jesus said to the Twelve: “One of you is a devil” (John 6.70). We pray to the Virgin Mary, help us to believe in Jesus, as St. Peter did, and to always be sincere with Him and with all people.
   After the recitation of the Angelus, Pope Benedict pilgrims and visitors from around the world. Speaking to the English speaking groups, the Holy Father offered special greetings to the new American seminarians of the Pontifical North American college. He prayed that we might all “remain faithful to the Lord, even when our faith in His teaching is tested.”
   I offer a warm welcome to the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at this Angelus prayer. I also greet the new students of the Pontifical North American College. Dear seminarians, use your time in Rome to conform yourselves more completely to Christ. Indeed, may all of us remain faithful to the Lord, even when our faith in his teachings is tested. May God bless you all!

August 22, 2012

Pope's weekly General Audience

   Pope Benedict XVI held his weekly General Audience on Wednesday. Marian devotion was the theme of his remarks, on the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin.

   “Dear friends,” said Pope Benedict in Italian-language remarks to pilgrims and tourists gathered in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace at Castel Gandolfo, “Devotion to Our Lady is an important part of spiritual life,” adding an appeal to the faithful, that they not not fail to turn confidently to Mary in prayer, saying, “She will not fail to intercede for us with her Son.”
   The Pope went on to recommend that all the faithful imitate Mary’s faith and her openness to the fullness of God’s loving design. “Mary,” said Pope Benedict, “is the Queen of Heaven - close to God – and also close to each of us, a mother who loves us and listens to our voice.”
   It was a theme to which the Holy Father returned during his English-language remarks:
   I welcome all the English-speaking pilgrims present at today’s Audience, especially the groups from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Japan and the United States of America. I also greet the young altar servers from Malta and their families. Today the Church celebrates the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. May the prayers of Our Lady guide us along our pilgrimage of faith, that we may share in her Son’s victory and reign with him in his eternal Kingdom. Upon all of you I invoke the Lord’s abundant blessings!
   The Holy Father also had especial greetings for the visiting Chaldean Sisters of Mary Immaculate, whose work on behalf of people in their native Iraq he praised. The Pope is in Castel Gandolfo for the Summer months, and is keeping a reduced schedule of appointments – though he is scheduled to travel to Lebanon from September 14^th to September 16^th.

August 19, 2012

Pope: Rediscover the beauty of the Eucharist

   On the dot of twelve midday Pope Benedict XVI greeted the many faithful in the courtyard of the Papal Summer residence at Castel Gandolfo in the Roman Hills. Before reciting the Marian prayer, the Holy Father took time to reflect on Sunday’s Gospel featuring the speech made by Jesus in the synagogue at Capernaum.
   Setting the scene, the Holy Father explained that the previous day Jesus had fed thousands of people with just five loaves and two fishes . At Capernaum, said the Pope, Jesus reveals the meaning of this miracle, namely, that the time for promises is fulfilled.
   “In the Gospel of today’s liturgy, Jesus presents himself as the living bread come down from heaven. May we always hunger for the gift of his presence in the Eucharistic sacrifice, wherein Jesus gives us his very self as food and drink to sustain us on our pilgrim journey to the Father.”
   Pope Benedict described the pronouncement of Jesus being the bread of life, as being a critical moment and a turning point in his public mission. Jesus, said the Holy Father explains himself the image of the bread saying, that he was sent to offer his own life, and those who want to follow him are asked to join him in a deep and personal way, participating in his sacrifice of love.
   The Pope went on to say that this is why Jesus will go on to establish the Sacrament of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. Listening to this speech at Capernaum, said Pope Benedict the crowd understood that Jesus was not a Messiah who aspired to an earthly throne. Jesus was hinting at the sacrifice of the Cross, in which he would become the Bread broken for the masses. Concluding his address the Pope expressed the hope that people would once again be amazed by the words of Christ and rediscover the beauty of the Eucharist.
   Following the Angelus prayer the Pope sent greetings in Polish to His Holiness Kirill I, Patriarch of Moscow who is in Poland as a guest of the Orthodox Church there. The program of the visit also includes meetings with Catholic bishops and the common declaration of desire to grow the fraternal union and to collaborate in spreading the Gospel values ​​in the contemporary world, in the spirit of faith in Christ Jesus. The Holy Father said this was “an important event, which raises hope for the future.”

August 15, 2012

Pope marks Assumption with Mass and Angelus

   Pope Benedict XVI prayed the Angelus with the faithful gathered in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo at noon on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In remarks ahead of the Angelus, the Holy Father explained that Mary’s assumption, body and soul, into heaven at the end of the course of her earthly life – though only dogmatically defined in 1950 by Pope Pius XII – is something that Christians throughout the world have always believed, confessed and celebrated. The Pope called on all the faithful to ask Mary be the star that guides us on our way to meet her Divine Son. After the traditional prayer of Marian devotion, Pope Benedict greeted pilgrims in many languages, including English:
   I offer a warm welcome to the English-speaking visitors gathered for this Angelus prayer, including the groups from Nigeria, Ghana and Burkina Faso. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady. May the example and prayers of Mary, Queen of Heaven, inspire and sustain us on our pilgrimage of faith, that we may rejoice with her in the glory of the resurrection and the fulfilment of her Son’s promises. Upon you and your families I invoke the Lord’s abundant blessings!
   Earlier in the day, Pope Benedict celebrated the Mass of the Assumption at Castel Gandolfo’s parish church of St. Thomas of Villanova. “Let us,” the Holy Father prayed in his homily, “entrust ourselves to her maternal intercession, that she might ask the Lord to strengthen our belief in eternal life, help us to live well and with hope the time that God gives to us - a Christian hope,” he said, “which is not just nostalgia for Heaven, but living and active desire for God here in the world, a desire that makes us indefatigable pilgrims, feeding in us the courage and strength of faith, a fortitude that is at once the power of love.”

August 12, 2012

Pope: Join with me in prayer for the people of Asia

   On Sunday Pope Benedict XVI asked Christians world-wide to pray and show solidarity to the people of three Asian nations devastated by recent natural disasters. In an appeal launched after the midday Marian prayer.
   “Dear brothers and sisters,My thoughts go at this time to the people of Asia, especially to the Philippines, the People’s Republic of China, hardest hit by violent rains, as well as those of the North-west Iran, hit by a violent earthquake. These events have caused numerous deaths and injuries, thousands of displaced people and extensive damage. I invite you to join me in prayer for those who have lost their lives and for all the people tried by such devastating calamities. May our solidarity and our support not be lacking to these our brothers and sisters.”

Below is a translation of the Holy Father’s Angelus address:

Dear brothers and sisters,
    The reading of the 6th chapter of the Gospel of John, who takes us on this Sunday in the liturgy, led us to reflect on the multiplication of the bread, which the Lord has fed a crowd of five thousand men, and on the invitation that Jesus addresses those who had satisfied to get busy for food that endures for eternal life. Jesus wants to help them understand the deeper meaning of the miracle that has worked: in a miraculous satisfy their physical hunger, they have to welcome the announcement that he is the bread which came down from heaven (cf. Jn 6:41), that satisfies in permanently. Even the Jewish people during the long journey in the desert, had experienced a bread that came down from heaven, manna, which had kept alive until the arrival in the promised land. Now, Jesus speaks of himself as the true bread which came down from heaven, able to keep alive not for a moment or a little way, but forever. He is the food that gives eternal life, because it is the only begotten Son of God, who is in the bosom of the Father, the man came to give life to the full, to introduce the man in the very life of God
   In Jewish thought it was clear that the true bread from heaven, he felt Israel was the Law, the word of God the people of Israel recognized clearly that the Torah was the fundamental and lasting gift that Moses and the basic element distinguished him from other people was to know God's will and therefore the right way of life. Now Jesus, in the manifest as the bread of heaven, He testified that the Word of God Himself, the Word incarnate, through which man can do God's will his food (cf. Jn 4:34), which directs and supports its existence.
   Then doubting the divinity of Jesus, as do the Jews of today's Gospel passage, is to oppose God's work, they in fact say: he is the son of Joseph! Know his father and mother! (Cf. Jn 6.42). They do not go beyond its earthly origins, and why I refuse to hosting up as the Word of God made flesh. St. Augustine, in his Commentary on the Gospel of John, explains: "They were far from that heavenly bread, and were unable to feel hunger. They had the mouth of the heart sick ... In fact, this bread takes the hunger of the inner man "(26.1). And we must ask ourselves if we really feel the hunger, the hunger for the Word of God, the hunger to know the true meaning of life. Only those who are attracted by God the Father, who hears him and lets himself be instructed by him can believe in Jesus, meeting a Lo and feed on him and thus find true life, the way of life, justice, truth, love. Augustine adds: "... the Lord said to be the bread that comes down from heaven, exhorting us to believe in him. Eat the living bread, in fact, is to believe in him. And who thinks, eats, so invisible is satisfied, as equally invisible reborn [a life deeper, true], born within, in her under becomes a new man" (ibid.). 
   Invoking Mary, ask her to guide us to the encounter with Jesus that our friendship with him is always more intense; ask her to introduce us into the full communion of love with her Son, the living bread which came down from heaven, so as to be renewed by him in depths of our being.

August 8, 2012

Audience: A quiet space to talk to God

   Prayer, says Pope Benedict is our personal contact with God. Only this real, constant relationship gives us the strength to live every event, especially the most suffered moments of our lives. He urged people not to ‘takes holidays’ from their daily conversation with God, even if in an increasingly frenetic world it is difficult to find the time, the space and the right concentration for prayer.

   Instead, the Pope suggested Wednesday, we should learn from St Dominic Guzman, whose spiritual life inspired The Nine Ways of Prayer – basically a step by step guide to prayer, from our physical attitude before the Lord to our ability to orientate our whole person towards God.
   Inspired by the liturgical feast of the founder of the Order of Preachers, August 8^th, Pope Benedict returned for a second time during his general audience to this 13^th Century Saint. He spoke to the pilgrims gathered in Castel Gandolfo’s “Freedom Square” of how St. Dominic’s apostolic zeal was energized by his intense life of prayer.
   “St. Dominic reminds us of the importance of external attitudes in our prayers. That to kneel, to stand before the Lord, to fix our gaze on the Crucifix, to pause and gather ourselves in silence, is not a secondary act, but helps to us to place ourselves, our whole person, in relation to God. Once again, I would like draw attention to the need to find moments to pray quietly everyday for our spiritual life, we particularly have to take this time for ourselves during our vacation, to have time for this attempt to talk with God. This is also a way to help those who are near to us to enter into the luminous rays of the presence of God, who brings the peace and love that we all need”.

Below is a translation of the Holy Father’s general audience catechesis: 

Dear brothers and sisters,
   Today the Church celebrates the memory of St. Dominic de Guzman, priest and founder of the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans. In a previous catechesis, I already illustrated this noble figure and the vital contribution he made to the renewal of the Church of his time. Today, I would like to bring to light an essential aspect of spirituality: his life of prayer. St. Dominic was a man of prayer. In love with God, his only aspiration was the salvation of souls, especially those who, at the time, had fallen into heresy; in imitation of Christ, he radically embodied the three evangelical counsels uniting the proclamation of the Word with witness to a life of poverty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he progressed along the path of Christian perfection. In every moment, prayer was the force that renewed and rendered fruitful his apostolic works.
   Blessed Jordan of Saxony (who died in 1237), his successor as head of the Order, thus writes: "During the day, no-one was more sociable than he…conversely at night, no one more diligent in keeping vigil in prayer. He devoted his days to others, but the night he gave to God "(P. Filippini, Domenico visto dai suoi contemporanei, Bologna 1982, p 133). In St. Dominic we can see an example of the harmonious integration of contemplation of the divine mysteries and apostolic activity. According to the testimonies of those closest to him, "he always spoke with God or of God." This observation indicates his deep communion with the Lord and at the same time, a continued commitment to lead others to this communion with God. He did not leave writings on prayer, but the Dominican tradition collected and handed down his living experience in a work entitled: The Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic. This was composed between 1260 and 1288 by a Dominican friar, it helps us to understand something of the Saint’s inner life, it also helps us in all our differences to learn something about how to pray.
   There are therefore, nine ways of praying according to the Saint, and each of these was always carried out in front of Jesus Crucified, and express a corporal and spiritual attitude, that intimately interpenetrating, favor recollection and fervor. The first seven ways follow an ascending line, like the steps of a journey, towards an intimate communion with God, with the Trinity: St. Dominic prayed standing, bowing to express humility, lying prostrate on the ground to ask forgiveness for his sins, on his knees in penance to participate in the sufferings of the Lord, with his arms open staring at the crucifix to contemplate the Supreme Love, with his gaze directed towards the heavens feeling himself drawn towards the world of God. Therefore there are three forms, standing, on ones’ knees, lying prostrate on the ground, but always with our gaze toward the Crucified Lord.
   However, I would like to pause briefly on the last two ways which correspond to two forms of piety that the Saint normally practiced. First, personal meditation, where prayer acquires a more intimate, fervent and soothing dimension. At the end of the recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours, and after the celebration of Mass, St. Dominic prolonged his conversation with God, without any time limits. He would sit in an attitude of quite recollection and listening, reading a book or staring at the Crucifix. He lived these moments of his relationship with God so intensely that his reactions of joy or tears were outwardly perceptible. Thus he assimilated this through the reality of faith. Witnesses say that at times he would go into a sort of ecstasy, his face transfigured, but immediately afterwards he would humbly resume his daily activities recharged by the power that comes from on High. Then prayer while traveling between one monastery or another, he would recite Lauds, Sext, Vespers with companions, and, crossing the valleys and hills, contemplate the beauty of creation. At such times a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God for so many gifts would gush from his heart, especially for the greatest wonder of all: the redemption accomplished by Christ.
   Dear friends, St. Dominic reminds us that at the origin of witnessing to the faith, which every Christian should give in the family, at work, in society, and even in moments of relaxation, is prayer, a personal contact with God; only this real relationship with God gives us the strength to live every event, especially the most suffered moments, intensely. This saint reminds us of the importance of external attitudes in our prayers. That to kneel, to stand before the Lord, to fix our gaze on the Crucifix, to pause and gather ourselves in silence, is not a secondary act, but helps to us to place ourselves, our whole person, in relation to God. Once again, I would like draw attention to the need to find moments to pray quietly everyday for our spiritual life, we particularly have to take this time for ourselves during our vacation, to have time for this attempt to talk with God. This is also a way to help those who are near to us to enter into the luminous rays of the presence of God, who brings the peace and love that we all need.

August 5, 2012

Pope's Sunday Angelus: Jesus is the Bread of Life

   Pope Benedict XVI prayed the Angelus this Sunday, with pilgrims and tourists gathered in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo. The Holy Father focused his remarks ahead of the Angelus on this Sunday’s Gospel reading, which is taken from the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to St. John (Jn 6:24-35), in which Our Lord begins to reveal Himself as the Bread of Life. “Though material needs are important,” said Pope Benedict, “Jesus wants to help people move beyond the immediate satisfaction of them,” explaining that the Lord desires to open for us a horizon of existence that is not simply that of the daily concerns of eating, of clothing, and of one’s working career. He said, “Jesus speaks of a food that does not perish, a food that we must seek and welcome."

   It was a theme to which the Holy Father returned in his English remarks to the faithful following the traditional prayer of Marian devotion: I welcome all the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims present today and I pray that your stay in Rome will help you to grow closer to the Lord Jesus. In today’s Gospel he says to the people: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, whoever believes in me will never thirst.” Let us put our faith in him, and let us put our trust in his promises, so that we may have life in abundance. May God bless you all!
   The Holy Father is in Castel Gandolfo for the month of August, where he is resting and taking time to make progress on literary projects. Late last week the Press Office announced that the Pope has completed the third and final volume of his theological work, Jesus of Nazareth. The manuscript is now being translated into the major modern languages.

August 1, 2012

Audience: the grace to live wisely and well

   Pope Benedict XVI resumed his weekly appointment with pilgrims this Wednesday, who packed into Castel Gandolfo’s tiny “Freedom Square” to hear the Pope’s latest installment in his School of Christian Prayer series. And with one eye on the liturgical calendar, Pope Benedict dedicated his reflections to one of the most popular 18^th century Saints, Alphonsus of Liguria, founder of the Redemptorist order who – said the Pope – teaches us to pray to God for the grace to live wisely and well.

Below is a translation of the Holy Father’s General Audience:

Dear brothers and sisters!
   Today marks the liturgical memorial of St. Alphonsus Maria de 'Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), patron of scholars of moral theology and confessors. St. Alphonsus is one of the most popular saints of the eighteenth century, for his simple, straightforward style, and for his teaching on the Sacrament of Reconciliation: in a time of great rigor, the result of the influence of Jansenism, he recommended confessors to administer this Sacrament expressing the joyful embrace of God the Father, who in His infinite mercy never ceases to welcome every repentant son. Today's celebration gives us the opportunity to dwell on the teachings of St. Alphonsus concerning prayer, even now precious and full of spiritual inspiration. The treaty, Prayer: The Great Means of Salvation and of Perfection, which he considered the most useful of his writings, dates back to 1759 . In fact, it describes prayer as "a means necessary to salvation and the graces we need to achieve it" (Introduction). This sentence synthesizes Alphonsian understanding of prayer.
   First of all, saying it is a means, reminds of the ends: God created us out of love, to gift us life in abundance; but because of sin this goal, eternal life, has, so to speak, distanced itself as we all know and only the grace of God can render it accessible. To explain this basic truth and make immediately clear the real risk of man’s "becoming lost", St. Alphonsus coined a famous and very simple maxim: " He who prays is certainly saved; he who does not pray is certainly damned." Commenting on this precious phrase, he added: "to save one's soul without prayer is most difficult, and even [as we have seen] impossible…but by praying our salvation is made secure, and very easy” (II, Conclusion). And again: " if we do not pray, we have no excuse, because the grace of prayer is given to every one... if we are not saved, the whole fault will be ours; and we shall have our own failure to answer for, because we did not pray " (ibid.). Saying then that prayer is a necessary, St. Alphonsus wanted us to understand that in every situation of life we need to pray, especially in times of trial and difficulty. We must always knock at the door of the Lord with confidence, knowing that He cares for all His children. For this, we are asked not to be afraid to turn to Him with confidence and to submit to our petitions, in the certainty of receiving what we need.
   Dear friends, this is the central question: what is really necessary in our lives? We answer together with St. Alphonsus: "The health and all the grace we need" (ibid.), meaning not only the health of the body, but primarily that of the soul which Jesus gifts to us. More than anything else we need his liberating presence that makes us truly fully human, and thus our existence full of joy. And only through prayer can we accept Him, His grace, which, by illuminating us in every situation, helps us discern the truth, and, by fortifying us, renders our will capable of implementing what we know to be good. We often know what is good, but are incapable of doing it. Through prayer, we can.The disciple of the Lord knows he is always exposed to temptation and in prayer never fails to ask God for help conquer it.
   St. Alphonsus gives the example of St. Philip Neri, who "from the first moment when he woke in the morning, said to God:" My God, beware of Philip; otherwise he will betray you'"(III, 3). We too aware of our weakness, must seek the help of God with humility, relying only on the wealth of His mercy. St. Alphonsus says in another passage: " We are so poor that we have nothing; but if we pray we are no longer poor. If we are poor, God is rich "(II, 4). And, in the wake of St. Augustine, he invites all Christians not to be afraid to obtain from God, through prayers, the power we are lacking, that we need to do good, in the certainty that the Lord does not deny His help to those who pray with humility (cf. III, 3). Dear friends, St. Alphonsus reminds us that the relationship with God is essential in life and that only with a daily personal prayer and participation in the sacraments, can the Divine presence that directs, illuminates and makes safe and peaceful our path, even in the midst of difficulties and dangers, grow in us.