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.
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.
