December 26, 2012

Pope: St. Stephen, model of New Evangelization

   “On St. Stephen’s Day, we are called to fix our gaze on the Son of God”, and like St. Stephen, deacon and first martyr of the Church “open up our lives to the light that directs us” on life’s path, said Benedict XVI in his Angelus reflections this Wednesday.

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

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
   Each year, on the day after Christmas, the liturgy celebrates the feast of St. Stephen, deacon and first martyr. The book of Acts presents him as a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 6.8 to 10, 7.55); in him the full promise of Jesus recounted in today's Gospel passage is fulfilled, which is that believers who are called to bear witness in difficult and dangerous circumstances will not be abandoned or left defenceless: the Spirit of God will speak to them (cf. Mt 10:20). The deacon Stephen, in fact, worked, spoke and died animated by the Holy Spirit, bearing witness to the love of Christ to the point of extreme sacrifice. The first martyr is described, in his suffering, as a perfect imitation of Christ, whose passion is repeated even in the details. The life of Saint Stephen is entirely shaped by God, conformed to Christ, whose passion is repeated in him; in the final moment of death, on his knees, he takes up the prayer of Jesus on the cross, trusting in the Lord (cf. Acts 7.59 ) and forgiving his enemies: " Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (v. 60). Filled with the Holy Spirit, as his eyes are about to close, he fixed his gaze on "Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (v. 55), the Lord of all, who draws all to Him.
   On St. Stephen’s Day, we are called to fix our gaze on the Son of God, who in the joyful atmosphere of Christmas we contemplate in the mystery of His Incarnation. In Baptism and Confirmation, with the precious gift of faith nourished by the Sacraments of the Church, especially the Eucharist, Jesus Christ has bound us to Him and wants to continue in us, through the action of the Holy Spirit, his work of salvation that redeems, enhances, elevates and leads all to fulfilment. Allowing ourselves be drawn by Christ, like St. Stephen, means opening our lives to the light that calls, directs and makes us walk the path of good, the path of humanity according to God’s loving plan.
   Finally, St. Stephen is a model for all those who want to serve the new evangelization. He shows that the novelty of proclamation does not primarily consist in the use of original methods or techniques, which certainly have their uses, but in being filled with the Holy Spirit and allowing ourselves to be guided by Him. The novelty of proclamation lies in immerging ourselves deeply in the mystery of Christ, the assimilation of His Word and of His presence in the Eucharist, so that He Himself, the living Jesus, can act and speak through His envoy. In essence, the evangelizer becomes able to bring Christ to others effectively when he lives of Christ, when the newness of the Gospel manifests itself in his own life. We pray to the Virgin Mary, so that the Church, in this Year of Faith, sees more men and women who, like St. Stephen, know how to give a convinced and courageous witness of the Lord Jesus
   I am pleased to welcome all those present for this Angelus prayer. Today, immediately after Christmas Day, by tradition we celebrate the feast of the first martyr, Saint Stephen the Deacon. Like him, may we be blessed by God’s grace to have the courage to speak up and to defend the truth of our faith in public, with charity and constancy. God bless all of you and your loved ones!

December 25, 2012

Pope's Christmas Urbi et Orbi Message

“Veritas de terra orta est!” – “Truth has 
sprung out of the earth” (Ps 85:12).

Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, a happy Christmas to you and your families!
   In this Year of Faith, I express my Christmas greetings and good wishes in these words taken from one of the Psalms: “Truth has sprung out of the earth”. Actually, in the text of the Psalm, these words are in the future: “Kindness and truth shall meet; / justice and peace shall kiss. / Truth shall spring out of the earth, /and justice shall look down from heaven. / The Lord himself will give his benefits; / our land shall yield its increase. / Justice shall walk before him, / and salvation, along the way of his steps” (Ps 85:11-14).
   Today these prophetic words have been fulfilled! In Jesus, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary, kindness and truth have indeed met; justice and peace have kissed; truth has sprung out of the earth and justice has looked down from heaven. Saint Augustine explains with admirable brevity: “What is truth? The Son of God. What is the earth? The flesh. Ask whence Christ has been born, and you will see that truth has sprung out of the earth … truth has been born of the Virgin Mary” (En. in Ps. 84:13). And in a Christmas sermon he says that “in this yearly feast we celebrate that day when the prophecy was fulfilled: ‘truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven’. The Truth, which is in the bosom of the Father has sprung out of the earth, to be in the womb of a mother too. The Truth which rules the whole world has sprung out of the earth, to be held in the arms of a woman ... The Truth which heaven cannot contain has sprung out of the earth, to be laid in a manger. For whose benefit did so lofty a God become so lowly? Certainly not for his own, but for our great benefit, if we believe” (Sermones, 185, 1).
   “If we believe”. Here we see the power of faith! God has done everything; he has done the impossible: he was made flesh. His all-powerful love has accomplished something which surpasses all human understanding: the Infinite has become a child, has entered the human family. And yet, this same God cannot enter my heart unless I open the door to him. Porta fidei! The door of faith! We could be frightened by this, our inverse omnipotence. This human ability to be closed to God can make us fearful. But see the reality which chases away this gloomy thought, the hope that conquers fear: truth has sprung up! God is born! “The earth has yielded its fruits” (Ps 67:7). Yes, there is a good earth, a healthy earth, an earth freed of all selfishness and all lack of openness. In this world there is a good soil which God has prepared, that he might come to dwell among us. A dwelling place for his presence in the world. This good earth exists, and today too, in 2012, from this earth truth has sprung up! Consequently, there is hope in the world, a hope in which we can trust, even at the most difficult times and in the most difficult situations. Truth has sprung up, bringing kindness, justice and peace.
   Yes, may peace spring up for the people of Syria, deeply wounded and divided by a conflict which does not spare even the defenceless and reaps innocent victims. Once again I appeal for an end to the bloodshed, easier access for the relief of refugees and the displaced, and dialogue in the pursuit of a political solution to the conflict.
   May peace spring up in the Land where the Redeemer was born, and may he grant Israelis and Palestinians courage to end to long years of conflict and division, and to embark resolutely on the path of negotiation.
   In the countries of North Africa, which are experiencing a major transition in pursuit of a new future – and especially the beloved land of Egypt, blessed by the childhood of Jesus – may citizens work together to build societies founded on justice and respect for the freedom and dignity of every person.
   May peace spring up on the vast continent of Asia. May the Child Jesus look graciously on the many peoples who dwell in those lands and, in a special way, upon all those who believe in him. May the King of Peace turn his gaze to the new leaders of the People’s Republic of China for the high task which awaits them. I express my hope that, in fulfilling this task, they will esteem the contribution of the religions, in respect for each, in such a way that they can help to build a fraternal society for the benefit of that noble People and of the whole world.
   May the Birth of Christ favour the return of peace in Mali and that of concord in Nigeria, where savage acts of terrorism continue to reap victims, particularly among Christians. May the Redeemer bring help and comfort to the refugees from the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and grant peace to Kenya, where brutal attacks have struck the civilian population and places of worship.
   May the Child Jesus bless the great numbers of the faithful who celebrate him in Latin America. May he increase their human and Christian virtues, sustain all those forced to leave behind their families and their land, and confirm government leaders in their commitment to development and fighting crime.
   Dear brothers and sisters! Kindness and truth, justice and peace have met; they have become incarnate in the child born of Mary in Bethlehem. That child is the Son of God; he is God appearing in history. His birth is a flowering of new life for all humanity. May every land become a good earth which receives and brings forth kindness and truth, justice and peace. Happy Christmas to all of you!

December 25, 2012

Pope: Lord, proclaim peace today to us

   Pope Benedict XVI led the Universal Church in joyous celebrations for the birth of Our Lord Christmas Eve in Mass attended by thousands and broadcast globally from St. Peter’s Basilica. During his homily he posed a question to believers and non-believers alike: Will people find room in their hectic, technology-driven lives for children, the poor and God?. He also also prayed that Israelis and Palestinians live in peace and freedom, and asked the faithful to pray for strife-torn Syria as well as Lebanon and Iraq.

Below is a translation of the Holy Father’s Homily at Christmas Mass 2012:

Dear Brothers and Sisters!
   Again and again the beauty of this Gospel touches our hearts: a beauty that is the splendour of truth. Again and again it astonishes us that God makes himself a child so that we may love him, so that we may dare to love him, and as a child trustingly lets himself be taken into our arms. It is as if God were saying: I know that my glory frightens you, and that you are trying to assert yourself in the face of my grandeur. So now I am coming to you as a child, so that you can accept me and love me.
   I am also repeatedly struck by the Gospel writer’s almost casual remark that there was no room for them at the inn. Inevitably the question arises, what would happen if Mary and Joseph were to knock at my door. Would there be room for them? And then it occurs to us that Saint John takes up this seemingly chance comment about the lack of room at the inn, which drove the Holy Family into the stable; he explores it more deeply and arrives at the heart of the matter when he writes: “he came to his own home, and his own people received him not” (Jn 1:11). The great moral question of our attitude towards the homeless, towards refugees and migrants, takes on a deeper dimension: do we really have room for God when he seeks to enter under our roof? Do we have time and space for him? Do we not actually turn away God himself? We begin to do so when we have no time for him. The faster we can move, the more efficient our time-saving appliances become, the less time we have. And God? The question of God never seems urgent. Our time is already completely full. But matters go deeper still. Does God actually have a place in our thinking? Our process of thinking is structured in such a way that he simply ought not to exist. Even if he seems to knock at the door of our thinking, he has to be explained away. If thinking is to be taken seriously, it must be structured in such a way that the “God hypothesis” becomes superfluous. There is no room for him. Not even in our feelings and desires is there any room for him. We want ourselves. We want what we can seize hold of, we want happiness that is within our reach, we want our plans and purposes to succeed. We are so “full” of ourselves that there is no room left for God. And that means there is no room for others either, for children, for the poor, for the stranger. By reflecting on that one simple saying about the lack of room at the inn, we have come to see how much we need to listen to Saint Paul’s exhortation: “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rom 12:2). Paul speaks of renewal, the opening up of our intellect (nous), of the whole way we view the world and ourselves. The conversion that we need must truly reach into the depths of our relationship with reality. Let us ask the Lord that we may become vigilant for his presence, that we may hear how softly yet insistently he knocks at the door of our being and willing. Let us ask that we may make room for him within ourselves, that we may recognize him also in those through whom he speaks to us: children, the suffering, the abandoned, those who are excluded and the poor of this world.
   There is another verse from the Christmas story on which I should like to reflect with you – the angels’ hymn of praise, which they sing out following the announcement of the new-born Saviour: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.” God is glorious. God is pure light, the radiance of truth and love. He is good. He is true goodness, goodness par excellence. The angels surrounding him begin by simply proclaiming the joy of seeing God’s glory. Their song radiates the joy that fills them. In their words, it is as if we were hearing the sounds of heaven. There is no question of attempting to understand the meaning of it all, but simply the overflowing happiness of seeing the pure splendour of God’s truth and love. We want to let this joy reach out and touch us: truth exists, pure goodness exists, pure light exists. God is good, and he is the supreme power above all powers. All this should simply make us joyful tonight, together with the angels and the shepherds.
   Linked to God’s glory on high is peace on earth among men. Where God is not glorified, where he is forgotten or even denied, there is no peace either. Nowadays, though, widespread currents of thought assert the exact opposite: they say that religions, especially monotheism, are the cause of the violence and the wars in the world. If there is to be peace, humanity must first be liberated from them. Monotheism, belief in one God, is said to be arrogance, a cause of intolerance, because by its nature, with its claim to possess the sole truth, it seeks to impose itself on everyone. Now it is true that in the course of history, monotheism has served as a pretext for intolerance and violence. It is true that religion can become corrupted and hence opposed to its deepest essence, when people think they have to take God’s cause into their own hands, making God into their private property. We must be on the lookout for these distortions of the sacred. While there is no denying a certain misuse of religion in history, yet it is not true that denial of God would lead to peace. If God’s light is extinguished, man’s divine dignity is also extinguished. Then the human creature would cease to be God’s image, to which we must pay honour in every person, in the weak, in the stranger, in the poor. Then we would no longer all be brothers and sisters, children of the one Father, who belong to one another on account of that one Father. The kind of arrogant violence that then arises, the way man then despises and tramples upon man: we saw this in all its cruelty in the last century. Only if God’s light shines over man and within him, only if every single person is desired, known and loved by God is his dignity inviolable, however wretched his situation may be. On this Holy Night, God himself became man; as Isaiah prophesied, the child born here is “Emmanuel”, God with us (Is 7:14). And down the centuries, while there has been misuse of religion, it is also true that forces of reconciliation and goodness have constantly sprung up from faith in the God who became man. Into the darkness of sin and violence, this faith has shone a bright ray of peace and goodness, which continues to shine.
   So Christ is our peace, and he proclaimed peace to those far away and to those near at hand (cf. Eph 2:14, 17). How could we now do other than pray to him: Yes, Lord, proclaim peace today to us too, whether we are far away or near at hand. Grant also to us today that swords may be turned into ploughshares (Is 2:4), that instead of weapons for warfare, practical aid may be given to the suffering. Enlighten those who think they have to practise violence in your name, so that they may see the senselessness of violence and learn to recognize your true face. Help us to become people “with whom you are pleased” – people according to your image and thus people of peace.
   Once the angels departed, the shepherds said to one another: Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened for us (cf. Lk 2:15). The shepherds went with haste to Bethlehem, the Evangelist tells us (cf. 2:16). A holy curiosity impelled them to see this child in a manger, who the angel had said was the Saviour, Christ the Lord. The great joy of which the angel spoke had touched their hearts and given them wings.
   Let us go over to Bethlehem, says the Church’s liturgy to us today. Trans-eamus is what the Latin Bible says: let us go “across”, daring to step beyond, to make the “transition” by which we step outside our habits of thought and habits of life, across the purely material world into the real one, across to the God who in his turn has come across to us. Let us ask the Lord to grant that we may overcome our limits, our world, to help us to encounter him, especially at the moment when he places himself into our hands and into our heart in the Holy Eucharist.
   Let us go over to Bethlehem: as we say these words to one another, along with the shepherds, we should not only think of the great “crossing over” to the living God, but also of the actual town of Bethlehem and all those places where the Lord lived, ministered and suffered. Let us pray at this time for the people who live and suffer there today. Let us pray that there may be peace in that land. Let us pray that Israelis and Palestinians may be able to live their lives in the peace of the one God and in freedom. Let us also pray for the countries of the region, for Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and their neighbours: that there may be peace there, that Christians in those lands where our faith was born may be able to continue living there, that Christians and Muslims may build up their countries side by side in God’s peace.
   The shepherds made haste. Holy curiosity and holy joy impelled them. In our case, it is probably not very often that we make haste for the things of God. God does not feature among the things that require haste. The things of God can wait, we think and we say. And yet he is the most important thing, ultimately the one truly important thing. Why should we not also be moved by curiosity to see more closely and to know what God has said to us? At this hour, let us ask him to touch our hearts with the holy curiosity and the holy joy of the shepherds, and thus let us go over joyfully to Bethlehem, to the Lord who today once more comes to meet us. Amen.

December 23, 2012

Pope: God Himself comes first to visit us

   Pope Benedict XVI prayed the Angelus on Sunday. Addressing pilgrims and tourists gathered in St Peter’s Square beneath the window of his study in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican on the fourth Sunday of Advent, the Holy Father spoke of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her cousin, Elisabeth – the episode narrated during the Gospel reading for the day. “The episode,” said Pope Benedict, “does not represent a mere gesture of courtesy, but dramatises with great simplicity the encounter of the Old Testament with the New Testament.”
   The Holy Father explained that the elderly and yet miraculously fertile Elisabeth represents Israel awaiting the Messiah. Noting that the expression with which Elisabeth greets Mary, “Blessed art thou among women,” is one that in the Hebrew Scriptures is spoken to the warrior women Jael and Judith, whose efforts saved the nation of Israel from peril, Pope Benedict says, “Now, it is spoken to the gentle young woman who shall before too long give birth to the Saviour of the World.” Pope Benedict went on to say that the scene of the Visitation also expresses the beauty of welcoming. “Wherever there are those who welcome one another, where there is careful attention, wherever there are people who make room for another,” he said, “there is God – and the joy that comes from Him.”

   “Let us imitate Mary in the Christmas season, visiting to those who are experiencing difficulty, especially the sick, the imprisoned, the elderly and little children,” prayed Pope Benedict, “and let us also imitate Elizabeth, who received her guest as God, Himself.” The Pope concluded by asking the faithful to pray that all men might seek God earnestly, and find that it is God Himself who comes first to visit us.”
   After the traditional prayer of Marian devotion, Pope Benedict had greetings for pilgrims in many languages, including English: "I greet all the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims present at this Angelus prayer. Today, as we approach the Solemnity of our Lord’s Birth among us, let us strive again to make room in our hearts to welcome the Christ child with love and humility before such a great gift from on high. In anticipation, let me already wish you and your families a holy and peaceful Christmas!"

December 19, 2012

Pope's Audience: What Mary teaches us about faith

   “Mary is filled with joy on learning that she is to be the mother of Jesus, God’s Son made man. True joy comes from union with God”, but she also teaches us that “everyone’s life of faith has times of light, but also times of darkness. If you want to walk in the light, let the word of God be your guide”. This, in a “tweeted” nutshell was the focus of Pope Benedict XVI’s catechesis Wednesday, in his final General Audience of Advent. In fact these two 140-character tweets were sent by the Pope to his over 2 million followers in a variety of languages, immediately after his weekly appointment with thousands of faithful in a festively decorated Paul VI hall. Meanwhile, he told those physically present Wednesday that Mary’s example reminds us that “faith, while fully obedient to the Lord’s will, also must seek daily to discern, understand and accept that will”.

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

Dear Brothers and Sisters!
   During the Advent journey, the Virgin Mary has a special place as she who waited for the fulfilment of God’s promises in a unique way, welcoming Jesus, the Son of God, in faith and in the flesh, in full obedience to the Divine will. Today I would like to briefly reflect on Mary's faith beginning with the great mystery of the Annunciation.
   "Chaîre kecharitomene, ho Kyrios meta sou", "Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28). These are the words - recounted by the Evangelist Luke - in which the archangel Gabriel greets Mary. At first glance the term Chaîre, "hail", looks like a normal greeting in the usual Greek, but this word, when read against the background of the biblical tradition, takes on a much deeper meaning. This same term is present four times in the Greek version of the Old Testament and always as a proclamation of joy at the coming of the Messiah (cf. Zeph 3:14; Joel 2:21; Zech 9:9; Lam 4:21). The angel's greeting to Mary is then an invitation to joy, a deep joy, announcing the end of the sadness that is in the world in front of the limits of life, suffering, death, wickedness, the darkness of evil which seems to obscure the light of the Divine goodness. It is a greeting that marks the beginning of the Gospel, the Good News.
   But why is Mary invited to rejoice in this way? The answer is in the second part of the greeting: "The Lord is with you." Here, too, in order to understand the meaning of the expression we must turn to the Old Testament. In the Book of Zephaniah we find this expression "Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion, ... the King of Israel, the Lord is in your midst... The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty savoir" (3:14-17). In these words there is a double promise made to Israel, to the daughter of Zion, God will come as a saviour and will dwell in the midst of his people, in the womb of the daughter of Zion. In the dialogue between the angel and Mary this very promise is realized: Mary is identified with the people married to God, she really is the daughter of Zion in person; in her the waiting for the definitive coming of God is accomplished, the living God comes to dwell in her.
   In the angel's greeting, Mary is called "full of grace": in Greek the word "grace," charis, has the same linguistic root of the word "joy." Even in this expression we further clarify the source of Mary’s rejoicing: the joy comes from the grace that comes from communion with God, by having so vital a connection with him, from being the dwelling place for the Holy Spirit, totally shaped by God’s action. Mary is the creature of God who, in a unique way, that has opened the door to her Creator, has placed herself in His hands, without limits. She lives entirely in and of her relationship with the Lord; it is an attitude of listening, careful to recognize the signs of God in the journey of His people; she is inserted into a story of faith and hope in the promises of God, which constitutes the fabric of her existence. And freely submits herself to the received word, to the will of God in the obedience of faith.
   The Evangelist Luke tells the story of Mary through a subtle parallel with the story of Abraham. As the great patriarch was the father of believers, who responded to God's call to leave the land in which he lived, to leave his certainties, to begin the journey to an unknown land, and possessed only in the divine promise, so Mary fully entrusts herself to the word that announces God’s messenger and becomes a model and mother of all believers.
   I would like to emphasize another important point: the opening of the soul to God and His action in faith also includes the element of darkness. The relationship between human beings and God does not erase the distance between the Creator and creature, does not eliminate what the Apostle Paul said in front of the depth of the wisdom of God, "How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!" (Rom 11 , 33). But he who - like Mary - is completely open to God, comes to accept the will of God, even if it is mysterious, although it often does not correspond to his own will and can be a sword that pierces the soul, as Simeon prophetically tells Mary, when Jesus is presented in the Temple (cf. Lk 2:35). The journey of faith of Abraham includes the moment of joy for the gift of his son Isaac, but also a time of darkness, when he has to climb Mount Moriah to carry out a paradoxical gesture: God asks him to sacrifice his son, who has he only just gifted him. On the mountain, the angel tells him: " Do not lay your hand on the boy. Do not do the least thing to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you did not withhold from me your son, your only one"(Gen 22:12); Abraham’s complete trust in God,faithful to his promise is not lacking even when his word is mysterious and difficult to understand. So it is with Mary, her faith lives the joy of the Annunciation, but also passes through the darkness of the Crucifixion of her Son, in order to reach the light of the Resurrection.
   It's no different in our own journey of faith: we encounters moments of light, but also passages where God seems absent, His silence weighs on our hearts and His will does not correspond to our own, to what we would like to . But the more we open ourselves to God, the more we receive the gift of faith, the more we place all our trust in Him - like Abraham and like Mary - the more He empowers us with his presence, to live every situation of life in peace and assurance of His faithfulness and His love. But this means going outside of ourselves and beyond our own projects, so that the Word of God can be a lamp to guide our thoughts and our actions.
   I want to focus again on one aspect that emerges in the stories on the Infancy of Jesus narrated by St. Luke. Mary and Joseph bring their son to Jerusalem, to the Temple to present him to the Lord and consecrate him as required by the law of Moses, "Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to the Lord" (Lk 2:22-24). This gesture of the Holy Family of Nazareth takes on an even deeper significance when read in the light of the Gospel knowledge of the twelve year old Jesus who, after three days of searching, is found in the Temple questioning the teachers. Responding to Mary and Joseph’s words full of concern: "Son , why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety "is the mystery of Jesus' answer:" Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house? "(Lk 2.48 to 49). Mary must renew the deep faith with which she said "yes" at the Annunciation; she must accept that the true Father of Jesus has precedence, she must learn to let go of the Son she gave birth to so he may follow his mission. And the "yes" of Mary to the will of God, the obedience of faith, is repeated throughout her life, until the most difficult moment, that of the Cross.
   Faced with all this, we can ask ourselves: how could Mary live this journey next to her Son with so strong a faith, even in darkness, without losing full confidence in God? There is an underlying attitude that Mary assumes in the face of what is happening in her life. At the Annunciation she is disturbed at hearing the words of the angel – it is the fear that man feels when touched by the closeness of God - but it is not the attitude of those who are afraid in front of what God may ask. Mary reflects, ponders the meaning of this greeting (cf. Lk 1:29). The Greek word used in the Gospel to define this "reflection", "dielogizeto" refers to the root of the word "dialogue." This means that Mary comes into an intimate dialogue with the Word of God that has been announced, she does not consider it superficially, but dwells on it, allows it to penetrate her, her mind and heart, to understand what the Lord wants from her, the meaning of the announcement. Another reference to the interior attitude of Mary before the action of God we find, again in the Gospel of St. Luke, at the time of the birth of Jesus, after the adoration of the shepherds. It is said that Mary "kept all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Lk 2:19), we could say that she "held them together", "placed" all the events that were happening in her heart; placed each element , every word, every fact together as a whole and pondered it, held it, recognizing that everything comes from the will of God. Mary does not stop at a first superficial understanding of what is happening in her life, but knows how to look deeper, she allows herself to be challenged by events, she processes them, discerns them, and gains the understanding that only faith can provide. This is the profound humility of Mary’s obedient faith that welcomes even what it does not understand of God’s action, allowing God to open her mind and heart. "Blessed is she who believed in the word of the Lord" (Lk 1:45), says her relative Elizabeth. It is for her faith that all generations will call her blessed.
   Dear friends, the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord which we will soon celebrate, invites us to live this same humility and obedience of faith. The glory of God is manifested in the triumph and the power of a king, which does not shine in a famous city, in a sumptuous palace, but dwells in the womb of a virgin and is revealed in the poverty of a child. The omnipotence of God, even in our own lives, acts with the often silent strength of truth and love. Faith tells us, then, that the defenceless power of the Child, in the end, defeats the noise of the powers of the world.
   As part of our catechesis for this Year of Faith, it is fitting, during these last days of Advent, to consider the faith of Mary, the Virgin Mother of Christ. At the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel greets Mary with an invitation to rejoice because the Lord is with her. This joy is that of the messianic hope of God’s people, the daughter of Zion, now being fulfilled in her. It is also the fruit of the grace which fills Mary’s heart and shapes her obedience to God’s word. Mary’s faith, like that of Abraham, combines complete trust in the Lord’s promises with a certain “unknowing”. In her life Mary knew, as we do, that God’s will can seem at times obscure and far from our expectations; it involves embracing the mystery of the Cross. It is significant that at the Annunciation Mary ponders in her heart the meaning of the Angel’s message. Her example reminds us that faith, while fully obedient to the Lord’s will, also must seek daily to discern, understand and accept that will. In this holy season, may Our Lady’s prayers help us to grow in a humble, trusting faith which will open the door to God’s grace in our hearts and in our world.

December 16, 2012

Pope: God will judge us according to our works

   Pope Benedict XVI prayed for the victims of Friday’s mass murder of school children in Newtown, Connecticut on Sunday. Speaking in English to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray the Angelus with him on this third Sunday in Advent, the Holy Father renewed expressions (first offered on Friday in a Message of condolence to the Diocese of Bridgeport, of which Newtown is part) of his profound grief over the incident, as well as his promises of prayers for the victims and spiritual closeness to their families. The Pope went on to call all the faithful everywhere to renew their prayer and action in favour of the cause of peace.

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

Dear brothers and sisters!
   The Gospel of this Sunday of Advent presents again the figure of John the Baptist, and portrays him as he speaks to the people that went by him in the Jordan River to be baptized. For John, cutting words, urges everyone to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, some ask him: "What shall we do?" (Lk 3,10.12.14). These dialogues are very interesting and have proven to be very timely.
   The first answer is given to the crowd in general. The Baptist says: "He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise" (v. 11). Here we can see a criterion of justice, enlivened by charity. Justice calls to overcome the imbalance between those who have and those who lack the necessary superfluous; charity urges us to be attentive to each other and to meet his needs, instead of finding excuses to defend their interests. Justice and charity are not opposed, but both are necessary and complement each other. "Love will always be necessary, even in the most just society," because "there will always be situations of material need where help is indispensable in the form of concrete love of neighbor" (Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, 28).
   And then we see the second answer, which is directed to some "tax" that is, tax collectors on behalf of the Romans. For that tax collectors were despised, and also because it often took advantage of their position to steal. To them the Baptist says to change jobs, but not to require anything more than what has been set (see verse. 13). The prophet, in God's name, do not ask gestures exceptional, but above all the honest fulfillment of duty. The first step to eternal life is always keeping the commandments, in this case the seventh: "Thou shalt not steal" (cf. Ex 20:15).
   The third answer about the soldiers, another category with a certain power, and therefore tempted to abuse it. Soldiers John says: "Do not oppress and extort anything be content with your wages" (v. 14). Again, the conversion starts honesty and respect for others, an indication that applies to everyone, especially for those with more responsibility.
   Considering these dialogues as a whole, hits the big concreteness of the words of John: since God will judge us according to our works, it is there, in behavior, which must be proven to follow his will. And for this the signs of the Baptist are always up to date in our complex world, things would be much better if each observe these rules of conduct. Then pray the Lord, through the intercession of Mary Most Holy, to help us to prepare for Christmas bringing good fruits of conversion (cf. Lk 3:8).
   Pope Benedict's English remarks: "I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Angelus. I was deeply saddened by Friday’s senseless violence in Newtown, Connecticut. I assure the families of the victims, especially those who lost a child, of my closeness in prayer. May the God of consolation touch their hearts and ease their pain. During this Advent Season, let us dedicate ourselves more fervently to prayer and to acts of peace. Upon those affected by this tragedy, and upon each of you, I invoke God’s abundant blessings!"

December 12, 2012

Pope about Discerning God’s presence in a distracted world

   “Advent … reminds us again and again that God is not removed from the world, He is not absent, we were not left to ourselves, but He comes to us in different ways, which we need to learn to discern”, said Pope Benedict XVI Wednesday. During his general audience, the Holy Father spoke of the season of preparation for Christmas and what it teaches us about our faith. “With our faith, our hope and our charity, are called every day to see and bear witness to this presence, in an often superficial and distracted world, to reflect in our lives the light that illuminated the cave of Bethlehem”

Below is a Vatican Radio translation of the Holy Father’s catechesis:

God Dear Brothers and Sisters,
   In the last catechesis I spoke of God's revelation as His communicating of Himself and His loving plan. This Revelation of God is inserted into human time and history: a history that becomes "the arena where we see what God does for humanity. God comes to us in the things we know best and can verify most easily, the things of our everyday life, apart from which we cannot understand ourselves"(John Paul II, Enc. Fides et Ratio, 12).
   The Evangelist Mark reports, clearly and synthetically, the initial moments of Jesus' preaching: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15). What illuminates and gives full meaning to the history of the world and man begins to shine in the cave of Bethlehem; it is the mystery that we will soon contemplate at Christmas: Salvation which is realized in Jesus Christ. In Jesus of Nazareth, God shows his face and asks man to decide to recognize and follow Him. God’s revealing Himself in history in order to enter into a relationship of loving dialogue with man, gives new meaning to the entire human journey. History is not just a succession of centuries, years, days, but it is the time of a presence that gifts it full meaning and opens it up to a solid hope.
   Where can we read the stages of this revelation of God? Sacred Scripture is the best place to discover the events of this journey, and I - once again - invite everyone, in this Year of Faith, to take up the Bible more often and meditate on it and pay more attention to the readings in Sunday Mass, all of which is valuable nourishment for our faith.
   Reading the Old Testament we see how God's intervention in the history of the people he has chosen and with whom he establishes a covenant are not actions that pass and are forgotten, but become "memory", constituting the "history of salvation" kept alive in the consciousness of the people of Israel through the celebration of the salvific events. Thus, in the Book of Exodus, the Lord tells Moses to celebrate the great moment of liberation from slavery in Egypt, the Passover, with these words: "This day will be a day of remembrance for you, which your future generations will celebrate with pilgrimage to the LORD; you will celebrate it as a statute forever"(12:14). For all the people of Israel remembering what God has done becomes a sort of permanent imperative so much so that the passage of time is marked by the living memory of past events so that day by day they form the new history and remain present. In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses spoke to the people, saying, "be on your guard and be very careful not to forget the things your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart as long as you live, but make them known to your children and to your children’s children"(4.9). And so he says to us: "Be careful not to forget the things that God has done for us”. Faith is fuelled by the discovery and the memory of the God who is always faithful, who guides history and is the sure and stable foundation on which to build their lives. The Magnificat, which the Virgin Mary raies to God, is one of the highest examples of the history of salvation. Mary praises God’s merciful action within the concrete journey of His people, fidelity to the covenant promises made to Abraham and his seed, and all of this is living memory of the Divine presence that never fails (cf. Luke 1:46-55 ).
   For Israel, the Exodus is the central historical event in which God reveals his powerful action. God frees the Israelites from slavery in Egypt so that they can return to the Promised Land and worship Him as the one true God. Israel does not start out to be a people like other people, to have a national independence, but to serve God in worship and in life, to create a place where God is present and adored in the world and man is obedient to Him, and of course not only for them but in the midst of other peoples. And the celebration of this event is a way of making Him present and actual, because God's work is never lacking. He is faithful to his plan of liberation and continues to pursue it, so that man can recognize and serve his Lord and respond with faith and love to His actions.
   God thus reveals Himself not only in the primordial act of creation, but entering in our history, in the history of a small nation that was neither the largest nor the strongest. And this revelation of God culminates in Jesus Christ: God, the Logos, the creative Word which is the origin of the world, became incarnate in Jesus and showed the true face of God. Jesus fulfils every promise, God's history with humanity culminates in him. When we read the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, as told by St. Luke, we clearly see how the person of Christ illuminates the Old Testament, the whole history of salvation and shows the great unified design of the two Testaments. In fact, Jesus explains to the two lost and disappointed travellers that He is the fulfilment of every promise: "Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures" (24:27). The Evangelist describes the exclamation of the two disciples after recognizing that their companion was the Lord: "Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us" ( 32).
   The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes the stages of Divine Revelation synthetically showing its development (cf. nn. 54-64): God invited man from the beginning to intimate communion with Him and even when man disobeyed Him and lost His friendship, God never abandoned him to the power of death, but again and again offered a covenant to man ( Roman Missal, Euc. Prayer IV). The Catechism retraces the path of God’s journey with man from His alliance with Noah after the flood, to His call to Abraham to leave his land become father to a multitude of nations. God formed Israel as His people, through the event of the Exodus, the Covenant of Sinai and the gift, through Moses, of the Law to be recognized and served as the one true and living God. With the prophets, God leads his people in the hope of salvation, through the second Isaiah we know of the second exodus, the return from exile in Babylon, the promised land, the re-establishment of the people and at the same time many remain dispersed and so begins the universality of this faith. In the end they are no longer waiting for just a king, David, a son of David, but the son of man, the salvation of all peoples, intercultural encounters take place first with Babylon and Syria, and then also with the Greek multitude. Thus we see how God’s journey is growing, becoming more open to the mystery of Christ, King of the universe. Finally, in Christ the Revelation in its fullness is realized, God’s loving plan in which He becomes one of us.
   I have reflected on remembering the action of God in human history, to show the stages of this great plan of love demonstrated in the Old and New Testament: one plan of salvation addressed to all humanity, progressively revealed and realized by the power of God This is crucial for our journey of faith. We are in the liturgical season of Advent which prepares us for Christmas. As we all know, the word "Advent" means "coming", "presence", and once upon a time indicated the arrival of the king or emperor to a particular province. For us Christians it possesses a truly wonderful and stirring meaning : God has left His Heaven and come down to earth for man; forged an alliance with him coming into the history of a people, He is the king who came down to this poor province that is the earth, and gifted us with His visit, taking on human flesh and becoming man like us. Advent invites us to follow the path of this presence and reminds us again and again that God is not removed from the world, He is not absent, we were not left to ourselves, but He comes to us in different ways, which we need to learn to discern. And we, with our faith, our hope and our charity, are called every day to see and bear witness to this presence, in an often superficial and distracted world, to reflect in our lives the light that illuminated the cave of Bethlehem!
   I offer a cordial welcome to the newly professed Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity. My greeting also goes to the group of visitors from Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Finally, a thought for the young, the sick and newlyweds. Today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas and Star of the New Evangelization. Dear young people, learn to love and hope at the school of Mary, dear sick people, the Blessed Virgin is comfort and companionship in your suffering and you, dear newlyweds, entrust to the Mother of Jesus, your marital journey. Upon all pilgrims present at today’s Audience I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace.

December 9, 2012

Pope about Preparing the way for Emmanuel

   Thousands of pilgrims wrapped in scarves and hats withstood a gelid northerly wind that swept St Peter’s Square Sunday to pray the midday Angelus prayer with Pope Benedict XVI, who urged them to prepare their hearts and lives for the coming of the Lord.
   On the second Sunday of Advent the Pope dwelt on the figure of John the Baptist, presented in Luke’s Gospel. He spoke of him as ‘the voice’ crying out in the desert of today’s consumerist society, “where we seek joy in things”. Instead the Baptist teaches us to live in an essential way, so that Christmas is not only experienced as an outward celebration, but as the feast of the Son of God who came to bring peace, life and true joy to people. “Our aim today” he continued “is to listen to that voice, to give space and welcome Jesus, the Word that saves us, to our hearts”.
   In comments in French Pope Benedict said “Advent invites us to go out to meet the Lord, and therefore we set off on a journey. This reality is very familiar to people forced to leave their region, for various reasons, including war or poverty. Migrants are aware of the precarious nature of their situation and often encounter little understanding. May they be welcomed and have a dignified life! In preparation for Christmas time, may a joyous and fraternal solidarity come to aid their needs and support their hopes! Do not forget that every Christian is en route to his or her true home: Heaven. Christ is the only way!”

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

Dear brothers and sisters!
   In the season of Advent, the liturgy particularly emphasizes two figures who prepare the coming of the Messiah, the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. Today St. Luke presents us with the latter, and does so with characteristics that differ from the other Evangelists. "All four Gospels place the figure of John the Baptist at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, as his precursor. St. Luke has further moved the connection between the two figures and their respective missions ... Already in their conception and birth, Jesus and John are brought into relation with each other "(The Infancy of Jesus, 23). This setting helps to understand that John, as the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, both of priestly families, is not only the last of the prophets, but also represents the whole priesthood of the Old Covenant and therefore prepares men to spiritual worship of the New Covenant inaugurated by Jesus (cf. ibid. 27-28). Luke also dispels a mythical reading that is often made of the Gospels and historically contextualizes the life of John the Baptist: "In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor ... during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas" (Lk 3, 1-2). Within this historical framework lies the true great event, the birth of Christ, which his contemporaries will not even notice. By God the great men of history form the backdrop to small!
   John the Baptist is defined as the "voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths" (Lk 3:4). The voice proclaims the word, but in this case the Word of God, as it comes down to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness (cf. Lk 3:2). Thus he plays an important role, but always in relation to Christ. St. Augustine says: "John is the voice. Instead of the Lord says: "In the beginning was the Word" (John 1:1). John is the voice that passes away, Christ is the eternal Word who was in the beginning. If you take the word away from the voice, what is left? A faint sound. The voice without the word strikes the hearing, but does not build up the heart"(Sermon 293, 3). Our aim today is to listen to that voice, to give space and welcome Jesus, the Word that saves us, to our hearts. In this time of Advent, let us prepare to see, with the eyes of faith, God's salvation in the humble stable in Bethlehem (cf. Lk 3:6). In a consumerist society, where we seek joy in things, the Baptist teaches us to live in an essential way, so that Christmas is not only experienced as an outward party, but as the feast of the Son of God who came to bring peace, life and true joy to people.
   We entrust our journey towards the Lord to the maternal intercession of Mary, Virgin of Advent, so we may be ready to welcome, into our hearts and life, Emmanuel, God-with-us. I would now like to offer a word of greeting to all the English-speaking visitors present at this Angelus prayer. In today’s Gospel John the Baptist reminds us of the need for repentance and purification as we prepare a way for the Lord and await in hope his coming in glory. May God abundantly bless you and your loved ones!

December 5, 2012

Pope about Advent and God’s benevolent plan

   Marking the first week of Advent and the beginning of the new liturgical year, Pope Benedict XVI dedicated his general audience catechesis to living the season as an act of faith in God’s benevolent plan for humanity.

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

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
   At the beginning of his letter to the Christians of Ephesus (cf. 1, 3-14), the apostle Paul raises a prayer of blessing God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ – a prayer that we have just heard - that introduces us to live the season of Advent, in the context of the faith. The theme of this hymn of praise is God's plan for man, defined in terms full of joy, wonder and gratitude, as a "benevolent plan" (see 9), mercy and love.
   Why does the Apostle raise this blessing God, from the depths of his heart? Because he looks at his work in the history of salvation, culminating in the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus, and he contemplates how Heavenly Father has chosen us even before the creation of the world, to be his sons in his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ (cf. Rom 8:14 s.; Gal 4:4 f.). Therefore we exist from eternity in God, in a major project that God has kept within himself and decided to implement and to reveal in "the fullness of time" (cf. Eph 1:10). St. Paul helps us to understand, then, how all creation and, in particular, man and woman are not the result of chance, but a loving plan to respond to the eternal reason of God with the creative and redemptive power of his Word which creates the world. This first statement reminds us that our vocation is not simply to exist in the world, being inserted in history, or even just being a creature of God, it is something greater: it is being chosen by God, even before the creation of the world, in the Son, Jesus Christ. In Him we exist, so to speak, already. God contemplates us in Christ, as adopted children. The "benevolent plan" of God, which is qualified by the Apostle as a "loving plan" (Eph 1:5), is called "the mystery" of Divine will (v. 9), hidden and now revealed in the Person and work of Christ. The divine initiative precedes any human response: it is a free gift of His love that surrounds us and transforms us.
   But what is the ultimate goal of this mysterious plan? What is the centre of God's will? It is - Saint Paul tells us - to "bring all things back to Christ, the only head" (v. 10). In this expression we find one of the central formulations of the New Testament that make us understand the plan of God, his plan of love for humanity, a formulation in the second century, St. Irenaeus of Lyons placed at the core of his Christology : "to restore " all reality in Christ. Perhaps some of you remember the formula used by Pope St. Pius X for the consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus: "Instaurare omnia in Christo", a formula that refers to this Pauline expression, and that was also the motto of this holy Pontiff . The Apostle, however, speaks more specifically of restoring the universe in Christ, and this means that in the great design of creation and history, Christ stands as the center of the entire journey of the world, the central pillar, that attracts the whole of reality to itself, to overcome dispersion and limitation and lead everything to the fullness desired by God (cf. Eph 1:23).
   This "benevolent plan" has not been kept, so to speak, in the silence of God in the height of his heaven, but He has made it known by engaging with the man, to whom He has not only revealed something, but His very self. He has not simply communicated a set of truths, but He communicated Himself to us, to the point of becoming one of us, to being incarnate. The Second Vatican Council in its Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum affirms: " In His goodness and wisdom God chose to reveal Himself and to make known to us the hidden purpose of His will (see Eph. 1:9) by which through Christ, the Word made flesh, man might in the Holy Spirit have access to the Father and come to share in the divine nature "(n. 2). God not only says something, He communicates with us, draws us into the divine nature, so that we are involved in the divine nature, deified. God reveals His great plan of love engaging with man approaching him to the point of becoming himself is a man. The Council continues: "The invisible God out of the abundance of His love speaks to men as friends (see Ex. 33:11; John 15:14-15) and lives among them (see Bar. 3:38), so that He may invite and take them into fellowship with Himself "(ibid.). By his intelligence and abilities alone man could not have reached this illuminating revelation of God’s love, it is God who has opened up His heaven and lowered himself to lead man into the abyss of his love.
   As St. Paul writes to the Christians of Corinth: "What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him," this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God"(2:9-10). And St. John Chrysostom, in a famous comment on the beginning of the Letter to the Ephesians, invites us to enjoy all the beauty of this "benevolent plan" of God revealed in Christ, and St. John Chrysostom says: " What are you lacking? You have become immortal, you have become free, you have become a child, you have become righteous, you are a brother, you have become a joint heir, to reign with Christ, with Christ you are glorified. Everything is given to us, and - as it is written - "how will he not also give us everything else along with him?" (Rom 8:32). Your firstfruits (cf. 1 Cor 15,20.23) is adored by angels [...]: what do you miss? "(PG 62.11).
   This communion in Christ through the Holy Spirit, offered by God to all men with the light of Revelation, is not something that overlaps with our humanity, but it is the fulfilment of the deepest human longings, of the desire for infinity and fullness that dwells in the depths of the human being, and opens it up not to a temporary and limited happiness, but eternal. St. Bonaventure, referring to God who reveals Himself and speaks to us through Scripture to lead us to Him, says this: "Sacred Scripture is [...] the book in which the words of eternal life are written so that not only we believe, but may also possess eternal life, in which we shall see, we shall love and all our wishes shall be realized "(Breviloquium, Ext., Opera Omnia V, 201S.). And finally, Blessed Pope John Paul II recalled also that - and I quote - " Revelation has set within history a point of reference which cannot be ignored if the mystery of human life is to be known. Yet this knowledge refers back constantly to the mystery of God which the human mind cannot exhaust but can only receive and embrace in faith "(Encyclical Fides et Ratio, 14).
   In this perspective, what is then, the act of faith? It is man's response to God's Revelation, which is made known, which shows His loving plan for humanity, and is, to use an expression of St. Augustine, allowing ourselves be grasped by the truth that is God, a truth that is love . This is why St. Paul emphasizes that we owe God, who has revealed His mystery, "obedience of faith" (Rom 16:26; see 1.5, 2 Cor 10: 5-6), the attitude with which man commits his whole self freely to God, offering the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals, and freely assenting to the truth revealed by Him” (Dei Verbum, 5). Obedience is not an act of coercion, it letting go, surrendering to the ocean of God's goodness All this leads to a fundamental change in the way we deal with the whole of reality, everything appears in a new light, it is therefore a true "conversion," faith is a "change of mentality" because the God who has revealed Himself in Christ, and has made known His plan, seizes us, draws us to Himself, becomes the meaning that supports life, the rock on which it can find stability. In the Old Testament we find an intense expression on faith, which God entrusts the prophet Isaiah to communicate to the king of Judah, Ahaz. God says: "Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm" (Is 7.9 b). There is therefore a link between being and understanding that expresses how faith is a welcoming into our lives God’s vision of reality, letting God guide us through His Word and Sacraments to understand what we must do, the path we must take, how to live. At the same time, however, it is precisely understanding according to God, seeing with His eyes that makes our lives more solid, which allows us to "stand", not to fall.
   Dear friends, Advent, the liturgical season that we have just begun and that prepares us for Christmas, places us before a the luminous mystery of the coming of the Son of God, the great "Benevolent Plan" with which he wants to draw us to Himself, to help us live in full communion of joy and peace with Him Advent invites us once again, in the midst of many difficulties, to renew our awareness that God is present: He came into the world, becoming a man like us , to bring His plan of love to fullness. And God demands that we become a sign of his action in the world. Through our faith, our hope, our love, He wants to enter the world again and again He wants to shine His light in our night. Thank you!

December 2, 2012

Pope: Devasahayam Pillai's witness to Christ is an example

  Pope Benedict XVI prayed the Angelus this Sunday with the faithful gathered beneath his window in St. Peter’s Square. Below is the full text of Holy Father's Angelus address:
Dear brothers and sisters!
   Today the Church begins a new liturgical year, a path that is further enhanced by the Year of Faith, 50 years since the Second Vatican Council. The first time this route is Advent, formed in the Roman Rite, the four weeks leading up to Christmas, which is the mystery of the Incarnation. The word "advent" means "coming" or "presence." In the ancient world meant the visit of the king or emperor to a province, in Christian language refers to the coming of God to his presence in the world, a mystery that surrounds the entire cosmos and history, but who knows two highlights: the first and the second coming of Jesus Christ. The first is just the Incarnation, and the second is the glorious return at the end of time. These two moments, which are chronologically distant - and we can not know how much -, deep touch, because by his death and resurrection, Jesus has already made the transformation of man and the cosmos that is the ultimate goal of creation. But before the end, it is necessary that the Gospel be proclaimed to all nations, Jesus says in the Gospel of St. Mark (cf. Mk 13:10). The coming of the Lord continues, the world must be penetrated by his presence. And this coming of the Lord in the Gospel permanent constantly asking our cooperation, and the Church, which is like the girlfriend, the promise Bride of the Lamb of God crucified and risen Christ (cf. Rev 21:9), in communion with the Lord works in this coming of the Lord, which has already begun his glorious return.
   This is what we call today the Word of God, tracing the line of conduct to be followed in order to be ready for the coming of the Lord. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the disciples: "Your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life ... be vigilant at all times praying" (Lk 21,34.36). So, simplicity and prayer. And the apostle Paul adds the invitation to "increase and abound in love" with us and for all, to make firm our hearts blameless in holiness (cf. 1 Thes 3.12 to 13). Amid the turmoil of the world, or the deserts of indifference and materialism, Christians accept salvation from God and testify to a different way of life, like a city set on a hill. "In those days - announces the prophet Jeremiah - Jerusalem will live quiet, and shall be called, The LORD our righteousness" (33.16). The community of believers is a sign of the love of God, of His righteousness which is already present and active in history, but that is not yet fully realized, and it should always waiting invoked, sought with courage and patience.
   The Virgin Mary perfectly embodies the spirit of Advent, which involves listening to God, and a deep desire to do his will, joyful service to others. Let us be guided by you, that the God who is there are closed or distracted, but may, in each of us, extending a little 'his kingdom of love, justice and peace.

Pope Benedict XVI give the following message to the faithful after Angelus:

Dear brothers and sisters!
   Today, Kottar, India, is beatified Devasahayam Pillai, a faithful layman who lived in the 18th century and died as a martyr. We join the joy of the Church in India and pray that the new Blessed sustain the faith of the Christians of that great and noble country.

   Tomorrow we celebrate the International Day of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Every person, even with its physical and mental limits, even serious ones, it is always invaluable, and as such should be considered. Encourage church communities to be attentive and welcoming towards these brothers and sisters. I urge lawmakers and government to protect people with disabilities and promote their full participation in society.
   I welcome all Gathered here today to pray with me. I especially greet the people of Kottar who today celebrated the beatification of Devasahayam Pillai. His witness to Christ is an example of That attentiveness to the coming of Christ Recalled by this first Sunday of Advent. May this holy season help us to center our lives more on Christ, our hope. God bless all of you!