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ANGELUS TODAY:
The Beatitudes, the doves of peace,
a prayer for the Holy Land,
solidarity with lepers -
and a happy Lunar New Year!
30 JAN 2011 (RV) - Pope Benedict XVI joined the International Day of Intercession for Peace in the Middle East Sunday, with a prayer to God to converge hearts and minds towards concrete solutions for peace in the Holy Land.
Following the midday Marian prayer he was joined at the window of his private study above St Peter’s Square by a boy and girl from Rome’s Azione Cattolica Ragazzi (Children's Catholic Action). The theme for this year's event is 'CONTIAMO SULLA PACE!' - We count on peace.
There in an what has become an annual tradition marking the end of the youth group's annual “Caravan of Peace”, the Pope released two white doves above the crowds.
He also noted that today is the World Day for Leprosy Sufferers, promoted in the 1950s by Raoul Follereau and officially recognized by the United Nations.
"Although declining", he said, "leprosy still unfortunately affects many people who live in conditions of severe poverty. I assure all those who suffer of my special prayer, which I also extend to those who assist them and, in many ways, are committed to defeating Hansen's disease".
And looking ahead to this week’s celebration of the Lunar New Year, Pope Benedict sent a special greeting of “serenity and prosperity” to the people of the Far East.
Earlier, during his reflections on the Sunday Gospel, which this week proposes the Sermon on the Mount, the Holy Father spoke of the Beatitudes as a program of life that seeks to liberate mankind from the false values of this world.
He said "the Church does not fear poverty, contempt, persecution in a society often attracted to material wealth and worldly power," because "as St. Paul writes, God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something" (1 Cor 1:27-28).
The Beatitudes, he concluded,“are the transposition of the cross and resurrection in the existence of the disciples. They reflect the life of the Son of God who allows himself to be persecuted, despised to the point of death for the salvation of mankind”.
Here is a translation of the Holy Father's words today:
Dear brothers and sisters:
On this fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Gospel presents the first great discourse by the Lord to the people, from the gentle hills along the Lake of Galilee.
"When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them..." (Mt 5,1-2)
Jesus, the new Moses, "sits on the cathedra of the mountain" (Gesu di Nazareth, Milano 2007, p 88) and proclaims 'blessed' the poor in spirit, the afflicted, the merciful, those who hunger for justice, the pure of heart, the persecuted (cfr Mt 5,3-10).
It was not a new ideology, but a teaching that came from on high about the human condition, that which the Lord through his Incarnation, wished to assume in order to save mankind.
That is why the Sermon on the Mount is addressed to the whole world, in the present and in the future - and can be understood and lived only by following Jesus, in walking with him (Gesu di Nazaret, p 92).
The Beatitudes are a new program for life, to liberate oneself from the false values of the world and open up to all that is truly good, present and future.
Indeed, when God comforts us, when he satisfies the hunger for justice, wipes the tears of the afflicted, it means that beyond rewarding each one sensibly, he opens the Kingdom of Heaven.
"The Beatitudes are the transposition of the Cross and the Resurrection into the existence of the disciples" (ibid., p 97). They mirror the life of the Son of God who allows himself to be persecuted, despised to the point of being condemned to death, so that men may be granted salvation.
An ancient hermit stated: "The Beatitudes are gifts of God, and we must give him great thanks for them and for the rewards that derive from them, namely, the Kingdom of Heaven in future centuries, comfort here and now, the fullness of every grace and mercy from God - once one has become the image of Christ on earth" (Pietro di Damasco, Filocalia, vol. 3, Torino 1985, p. 79).
The commentary on the Gospel of the Beatitudes is the history of the Church herself, the history of Christian sanctity, because, as St. Paul writes, "God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something" (1 Cor 1,27-28).
That is why the Church does not fear poverty, contempt, or persecution, in a society that is often attracted by material well-being and by worldly power. St. Augustine reminds us that "it does not help to suffer these bad things, but they must be borne in the name of Jesus, not only with a serene spirit, but even with joy" (De sermone Domini in monte, I, 5,13: CCL 35, 13).
Dear brothers and sisters, let us invoke the Virgin Mary, the Blessed One par excellence, asking for the strength to seek the Lord (cfr Soph 2,3) and to follow him always with joy along the way of the Beatitudes.
After the prayers, he said this:
On this Sunday we observe the World Day for Leprosy Sufferers, which was promoted in the 1950s by Raoul Follereau and officially recognized by the United Nations.
Leprosy, although in decline, unfortunately still afflicts many persons today, especially those who are in extreme poverty. I assure all who are afflicted of my special prayers, which i extend to those who assist them and those who, in various ways, are committed to vanquishing Hansen's disease. I especially greet the Associazione Italiana Amici di Raoul Follereau (Italian Association of the Friends of Raoul Follerreau) which marks 50 years of activity.
In the coming days, many countries in the Far East will celebrate with joy, especially in the intimacy of the family, the Lunar New Year. I extend to all of them my heartfelt wishes for peace and prosperity,
Today is also the International Day of Intercession for Peace in the Holy Land. I join the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Custodian of the Holy Land in asking everyone to pray to the Lord so he may make hearts and minds converge towards concrete plans for peace.
And I am happy to address a warm greeting to the boys and girls of Catholic Action in the Diocese of Rome, under Cardinal Vicar Agostino Vallini.
Dear children, this year, once again, you have come here in great numbers at the end of your Caravan for Peace, under the slogan, "CONTIAMO SULLA PACE' (We are counting on peace). Let us listen to the message of your two friends beside me, who will read it to us.
[The children read the message, after which they assist the Pope in releasing two doves symbolizing peace.]
Dove malfunction!
VATICAN CITY, Jan. 30 (AFP) - Two doves of peace released by Pope Benedict XVI during the weekly Angelus prayer on Sunday refused to leave the Vatican and flew straight back in through the open window, an AFP photographer said.
Officials only managed to catch and re-release one of the birds.
The pope was accompanied at the window of his studio in St. Peter's square by two children from the Catholic Action of Rome who had celebrated a "Month for Peace" in January.
The amused pair joined the effort to recapture the doves.
During the Angelus, Benedict marked the International Day of Intercession for Peace in the Holy Land, calling for "concrete plans for peace," and wished serenity and prosperity for those about to celebrate the Lunar New Year in the Far East.
The Pope made no reference to the ongoing tensions in Egypt. [The situation does not call for him to say anything about it for now. There are reports of dozens killed, for instance, but none of the protestors seen on TV appear to be protesting anyone killed so far, only asking for President Mubarak to resign now.]
As picture-perfect as the dove looked hovering above the Vicar of Christ, it ended up preferring to join a painted dove on the molding of the Pope's study.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 31/01/2011 10:58] |