ANGELUS TODAY
The Holy Father today reflected on the Gospel narration about Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. After the Angelus prayers, he made a strong appeal for an end to the use of weapons in Libya.
Here is how he synthesized his Gospel reflection for the English-speaking faithful:
I offer a warm greeting to all the English-speaking visitors present for this Angelus prayer. In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to the Samaritan women of the gift of the Holy Spirit, the water which wells up to confer eternal life in those who believe.
Through our Lenten observance may all of us be renewed in the grace of our Baptism and prepare with hearts renewed to celebrate the gift of new life at Easter. Upon you and your families I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace!
Here is a translation of the Pope's words at Angelus today:
Dear brothers and sisters:
This third Sunday in Lent is characterized by the famous dialog of Jesus with the Samaritan woman, narrated by the evangelist John.
The woman came every day to draw water from an ancient well from the time of the patriarch Jacob, and that day, she found Jesus, seated, "tired from his journey" (Jn 4,6).
St. Augustine comments, "Of course, Jesus was tired...You created the strength of Christ, you have re-created the weaknesses of Christ"... With your power you created us, with your weaknesss, you have come to search for us" (Ioh. Ev., 15, 2).
Jesus's weariness, a sign of his true humanity, can be seen as a prelude to his passion, with which he would bring to fulfillment the work of our redemption.
In particular, in his meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well, the theme of Christ's 'thirst' emerges, that which culminated in his cry from the Cross: "I thirst" (Jn 19, 28).
Certainly, this thirst, like his weariness, has a physical basis. But Jesus, as Augustine also notes, "was thirsting for the faith of that woman" (In Ioh. Ev. 15, 11), as he thirsts for the faith of us all. The omnipotence of Love always respects man's freedom; it knocks on his heart and patiently awaits a response.
The meeting with the Samaritan woman brings to the foreground the symbol of water, which alludes clearly to the Sacrament of Baptism, source of a new life of faith in the grace of God.
Indeed, this Gospel, as I recalled in the catechesis on Ash Wednesday, is part of the ancient itinerary of preparing the catechumens for Christian initiation, which took place on the great vigil on Easter eve.
"Whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (Jn 4,14).
This water represents the Holy Spirit, the 'gift' par excellence that Jesus came to bring us from God the Father. He who is reborn in water and the Holy Spirit, namely, in Baptism, enters into a real relationship with God, a filial relation, and can adore him "in spirit and truth" (Jn 4,23-24), as Jesus tells the Samaritan woman.
Thanks to the encounter with Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, man's faith achieves fulfillment in response to the fullness of God's revelation.
Each of us can emulate the Samaritan woman: Jesus awaits us, especially in this season of Lent, to speak to our hearts, to my heart. Let us pause a moment in silence, in our room, or in a church, or in a place apart. Let us listen to his voice which tells us, "If you would only know the gift of God..."
May the Virgin Mary help us not to miss such occasions on which our true happiness may depend.
Pope launches urgent appeal for
an end to use of weapons in Libya
March 27, 2011
Following the midday Angelus prayer this Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI launched the following urgent appeal:
Faced with the increasingly tragic reports from Libya, my trepidation for the safety and security of civilians and my concern for the unfolding situation, currently marked by the use of arms, is growing.
In times of greatest tension, the need to put to use all means available to diplomacy becomes increasingly urgent and to support even the weakest signs of openness and willingness on both sides involved, for reconciliation in search of peaceful and lasting solutions.
In view of this, as I lift my prayer to the Lord for a return to harmony in Libya and the entire North African region, I also appeal to the international bodies and all those in positions of military and political responsibility, for the immediate start of dialogue and the suspension of the use of weapons.
Finally, my thoughts turn to the authorities and citizens of the Middle East, where in recent days there have been several incidents of violence, so that the path of dialogue and reconciliation be privileged in the search for a just and brotherly co-existence.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 27/03/2011 21:16]