ANGELUS TODAY
In his remarks before the Angelus prayers today, the Holy Father reflected on the Gospel reading in which Jesus Christ refers to himself as 'the Bread of Life' shortly after the multiplication of the loaves and fish.
Though material needs are important,” said Pope Benedict, “Jesus wants to help people move beyond the immediate satisfaction of them.”
He said in English:
I welcome all the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims present today and I pray that your stay in Rome will help you to grow closer to the Lord Jesus.
In today’s Gospel he says to the people: "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, whoever believes in me will never thirst." Let us put our faith in him, and let us put our trust in his promises, so that we may have life in abundance. May God bless you all!
Here is a translation of the Holy Father's reflection today:
Dear brothers and sisters,
This Sunday's Liturgy of the Word continues with Chapter 6 of the Gospel of John. We are at the synagogue of Capharnaum where Jesus gave his famous discourse after the multiplication of loaves.
The people had been acclaiming him as King, but Jesus retreated, first to the mountain with God, with his Father, and then to Capharnaum. Not seeing him, the people started looking for him, they took to their boats to reach the other side of the lake, and finally found him in Capharnaum.
But Jesus knew very well why they were so eager to follow him, and he says so clearly to them: "You are looking for me not because you saw signs [and your heart was impressed] but because you ate the loaves and were filled" (v 26).
Jesus wished to help them go beyond the immediate satisfaction of their own material needs, though that is important. But he wished to open for them a horizon of existence that was not simply that of the daily concerns of food, clothing and work.
Jesus spoke of a food that does not perish, which it is important to seek and to accept. He says: "Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (v 27).
The crowd did not understand - they thought Jesus was asking for the observance of precepts that would result in the continuation of the miracle, and they asked: "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?" (v 28)
Jesus's response was clear: "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent" (v 29)
The center of existence, that which gives sense and firm hope to the often difficult journey of life is faith in Jesus, the encounter with Christ. We too ask: What must we do to obtain eternal life?
And Jesus says, "Believe in me ". Faith is the fundamental thing. This has nothing to do with following an idea or a plan, but with meeting Jesus as a living person, to let oneself be totally involved in him and his Gospel.
Jesus invites us not to stop at a purely human horizon but to open ourselves to the horizon of God, the horizon of faith. He demands one work only: to welcome the plan of God, that is, "to believe in the one he sent" (v 29).
Moses had given Israel manna, bread from heaven, with which God himself had fed his people. Jesus does not give something, he gives himself. He is the "true bread, descended from heaven". He is the living Word of the Father. In meeting him, we meet the living God.
"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?" (v 28), the crowd asked him, ready to act so that the miracle of the loaves would continue. But Jesus, the true bread of life who satisfies our thirst for meaning, for truth, cannot be 'earned' by human work - he comes to us only as a gift of God's love, as the work of God to ask for and to welcome.
Dear friends, during days laden with worries and problems, but even on days of rest and relaxation, the Lord calls on us not to forget that it while is necessary to be concerned with material bread and to temper our strength accordingly, it is even more fundamental to make our relationship with him grow, to reinforce our faith in him who is the 'bread of life', who fulfills our desire for truth and for love.
May the Virgin Mary, on the day when we commemorate the dedication of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore here in Rome, sustain us in our journey of faith.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 05/08/2012 19:45]