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ANGELUS TODAY
Here is what the Holy Father said in English after the Angelus prayer this noon:
I welcome the English-speaking pilgrims here at Castel Gandolfo and in Rome!
Dear friends, this Saturday I begin my Apostolic Visit to the Czech Republic. I ask all of you to join me in praying for the spiritual success of this journey.
Today’s Gospel reminds us that the one who wishes to be greatest must become a servant of all. May God grant us to be humble servants of others and witnesses to his goodness.
Upon all of you and your loved ones, I gladly invoke the strength and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Here is a full translation of the Holy Father's words today:
Dearest brothers and sisters!
Today, for our usual Sunday reflection, I will consider the passage from the Letter of James which is offered in today's liturgy, and I will dwell, in particular, on an expression that is striking for its beauty and for its relevance.
It deals with a description of true wisdom which the Apostle opposes to the false. While the latter is 'earthly, material and diabolical' - which can be recognized by the fact that it provokes jealousy and selfish ambition, disorders and every foul practice (cfr 3,16) - "the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity" (3, 17).
(There follows) a list of seven qualities, according to Biblical usage, which highlight the perfection of true wisdom and the positive effects it produces.
As teh first and principal quality, almost like a prerequisite to the others, St. James cites 'purity', that is, holiness, the transparent reflection, so to speak, of God in the human soul.
Like God from whom it comes, wisdom does not need to impose itself by force, because it has the invincible vigor of truth and love that is self-affirming.
That is why it is peaceable, gentle and complaint - it does not employ partiality, much less have recourse to lies; it is indulgent and generous, and is recognized in the fruits of good that it gives rise to in abundance.
Why do we not stop to contemplate every so often the beauty of this wisdom? Why don't we draw the wisdom of the heart from the uncontaminated source of God's love which detoxifies us from the slag of lies and selfishness?
This goes for everyone, but in the first place, for those who are called on to be the promoters and 'weavers' of peace in the religious and civilian communities, in social and political relationships and in international relations.
In our day, perhaps due as well to certain dynamics inherent in mass societies, one observes not rarely a lack of respect for the truth and for one's given word, along with a widespread tendency to aggressiveness, hate and revenge.
"The fruit of righteousness," St. James wrote, "is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace" (3,18). But to work for peace, one must be a man of peace, putting oneself in the school of "wisdom from above', in order to assimilate the quality and produce its effects.
If each one, in his own field, succeeds in rejecting lies and violent intentions, in words and deeds, carefully cultivating sentiments of respect, understanding and esteem towards others, it will not perhaps resolve all the problems of daily life but they can be faced more serenely and effectively.
Dear friends, once again Sacred Scripture has led us to reflect on the moral aspects of human existence, but starting from a reality that precedes morality itself, namely, true wisdom.
Let us ask God with confidence for the wisdom of the heart, through the intercession of she who welcomed into her womb and generated incarnate Wisdom, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Mary, Seat of Wisdom, pray for us.
After the prayers, he had the following messages:
From the numerous situations of conflict that exist in the world, tragic news of victims, both military and civilian, reach us almost every day. These are facts that we can never be accustomed to, giving rise to profound reproach as well as uneasiness in societies which have at heart the good of peace and civil coexistence.
These days, the news of the grave attack in Afghanistan against some Italian soldiers has given me deep sorrow. I join in prayer with the suffering of the victims' families and with the military and civilian communities.
I think with similar sentiments of the participation of other international contingents who have also suffered victims recently and who work to promote peace and the development of institutions that are necessary to human coexistence.
I assure all that I will emember them before the Lord with a particular thought for the beloved civilian populations. I invite everyone to raise our prayer to God.
I also wish to renew my encouragement for the promotion of solidarity among nations to counteract the logic of violence and death; favor justice, reconciliation and peace; and sustain the development of peoples starting off with love and reciprocal understanding, as I recently wrote in my encyclical Caritas in veritate (No. 72).
Starting next Saturday, Sept. 26, to Monday, Sept. 28, God willing, I will make an apostolic trip to the Czech Republic. I will stay in Prague, the capital, but I will also be going to Brno in Moravia, and Stara Boleslav, site of the martyrdom of St. Wenceslas, the principal patron saint of the nation.
The Czech Republic is geographically and historically in the heart of Europe, and after having gone through the tragedies of the past century, like the entire Continent, it needs to rediscover the reasons for faith and hope.
In the footsteps of my beloved predecessor John Paul II who visited that country three times, I, too, wish to render homage to their heroic witnesses for the Gospel, ancient and recent, and I encourage everyone to move forward in love and truth.
I thank all those who will accompany me with prayer on this trip so that the Lord may bless it and make it fruitful.
Something is amiss at Vatican Radio online. They have not updated their images since the General Audience on Wednesday!
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 20/09/2009 19:05] |