ANGELUS TODAY
Second Sunday of Advent
Pope asks for prayers
against situations of violence,
intolerance and suffering
In this Advent season, in which we are called to nurture our awaiting the coming of the Lord and to welcome him among us, I invite you to pray for all situations of violence, intolerance, suffering in the world, that the coming of Jesus may bring consolation, reconciliation and peace.
I think of the many difficult situations, such as the continuous attacks that occur in Iraq against Christians and Muslims, the clashes in Egypt where there were deaths and injuries, the victims of traffickers and criminals, such as the drama of the hostages, Eritreans and of other nationalities, in the Sinai desert*.
Respect for the rights of all is the prerequisite for peace. Our prayer to the Lord and our solidarity can bring hope to those who are suffering.
Pope Benedict XVI spoke these words after the Angelus prayers today. Thousands of families had flocked to St Peter’s square, despite the rigid winter chill, to see the towering Christmas tree, still bare of decorations, which had been lifted into position earlier this week, beside the Nativity scene under construction.
Small children crowded around the barriers that conceal the work in progress, hoping to catch a glimpse of this year's re-creation of Bethlehem in the heart of the Vatican.
Speaking to them before the Marian prayer, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on Advent as a time of preparation for the coming of Our Savior, inspired by the Gospel of the day.
He said “it presents the figure of St. John the Baptist, who, according to a famous prophecy of Isaiah (cf. 40.3), withdrew into the wilderness of Judea and through his preaching, called the people to repent in order to be ready for the imminent coming of the Messiah".
Here is a full translation of the Holy Father's words before the Angelus prayers:
Dear brothers and sisters:
The Gospel of this second Sunday of Advent (Mt 3,1-12) presents us with the figure of St. John the Baptist who, according to a well-known prophesy of Isaiah (cfr 40,3), withdrew to the desert of Judea, and then with his preaching, called on the people to convert themselves in order to be ready for the imminent coming of the Messiah.
St. Gregory the Great commented that the Baptist "preaches correct faith and good works - so that the power of grace may penetrate, the light of truth may shine, the ways to God be set straight, and that honest thoughts may arise in the spirit after listening to the Word which leads to goodness" (Hom. in Evangelia, XX, 3, CCL 141, 155).
The Precursor of Jesus, placed between the Old and New Covenants, is like a star that precedes the rising of the Sun: Christ, he upon whom, according to a second prophesy of Isaiah, "The spirit of the Lord shall rest - a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord" (Is 11,2).
In the period of Advent, we too are called on to listen to the voice of God, which resounds in the desert of the world through Sacred Scriptures, especially when they are preached with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Faith in fact is strengthened as it allows itself to be illuminated by the Divine Word, by all that, as the Apostle Paul reminds us, "was written previously... for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Rom 15,4).
The model of listening is the Virgin Mary: "Contemplating in the Mother of God an existence totally shaped by the Word, we discover that we too are called to enter into the mystery of faith, through which Christ comes and dwells in our life. Every Christian who believes, St. Ambrose reminds us, conceives and generates, in a certain sense, the Word of God" (Post-Synodal Apost. Ehort Verbum Domini, 28).
Dear friends, "our salvation rests on a coming", Romano Guardini wrote (La santa notte. Dall’Avvento all’Epifania, Brescia 1994, p. 13). "The Savior came out of God's freedom. Thus the decision of faith consists... in welcoming Him who comes" (ivi, p. 14).
"The Redeemer", he adds, "comes to each man: in his joy and anguish, in his clear consciousness, in his perplexities and temptation, in everything that constitutes his nature and his life" (ivi, p. 15).
Let us ask the Virgin Mary, in whose womb the Son of the Most High dwelt, and whom on Wednesday, December 8, we celebrate in the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, to sustain us in this spiritual journey to welcome with faith and love the coming of the Lord.
World ignores horror
of Sinai hostages
5 DEC 2010 (RV) - An estimated 600 men and women are being held in chains, tortured, beaten and threatened with being traded to organ traffickers. Pope Benedict XVI TODAY called for urgent intervention in the horrific plight of these refugees from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan.
They have been held by Bedouin people traffickers in the Sinai desert on the border between Egypt and Israel for over a month in purpose-built containers and their captors are demanding payment of up to 8 thousand dollars per person for their release.
Dr Khataza Gondwe is advocacy officer for Sub-Saharan Africa for Christian solidarity worldwide. She has been working on their case since it was first reported, and tells Emer McCarthy that these people “are being threatened, restrained with chains around their ankles, beaten and tortured. At one stage they were denied water to clean themselves for 20 days as well as food. There are even pregnant women among them, who are particularly vulnerable”.
Dr. Gondwe adds that since last weekend three Eritrean hostages were shot dead after revealing they could not pay the ransom, while others risk being sold to organ traffickers if they fail to produce the money.
She described the cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment these men, women and teenagers are been subjected to and the incredible fact that they have been held slaves for over a month and no-one has tried to save them.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 08/12/2010 16:19]