ANGELUS TODAY
August 19, 2012
'Jesus did not aspire
to an earthly throne'
Adapted from
Castel Gandolfo, August 19 (AsiaNews) - "Jesus was not a Messiah who aspired to an earthly throne. He did not seek popularity to conquer Jerusalem. In fact, he wanted to go to the Holy City to share the fate of the prophets, and give his life for the people of God," Benedict XVI said in his reflections today before a crowd of pilgrims that had gathered in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace for the Sunday noontime Angelus.
The Pontiff commented on the conclusion of the account in the Gospel of St. John of Jesus's discourse at the synagogue in Capharnaum after the multiplication of loaves and fishes, which has been the topic of the Gospel passages for the past few Sundays.
"The loaves, broken for thousands of people, were not meant to cause a triumphal march," said the Pope. "They foreshadowed the sacrifice on the Cross when Jesus became bread broken for the multitudes, body and blood offered in atonement for the life of the world. Jesus addressed the crowds to break their illusions and, especially, force his disciples to decide. In fact, many of them no longer followed him."...
My addendum:
In his greeting to Polish-speaking pilgrims, the Pope said:
I cordially greet His Holiness and all the Orthodox faithful.
These days, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill II, has been a guest of the Orthodox Church in Poland.
The program for his visit also included meetings with Catholic bishops and a common declaration of the desire to improve fraternal union [between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches] and to work together in spreading the evangelical virtues in the contemporary world, in the spirit of our common faith in Jesus Christ.
This is an important event that inspires hope for the future. I entrust its outcome to the benevolence of Mary, imploring God's blessing. Praised be Jesus Christ!
Here is a full translation of the Pope's words today:
Dear brothers and sisters:
The Gospel this Sunday (cfr Jn 6,51-58) is the final climactic part of the discourse by Jesus at the synagogue in Capharnaum, the day after he fed thousands of persons with only five loaves and two fishes.
Jesus reveals the meaning of that miracle, which is that the time had come for God's promises to be fulfilled: God the Father, who had fed the Israelites in the desert with manna, had now sent him, the Son, as the true Bread of life, and this bread was his flesh, his life, offered in sacrifice for us.
Therefore, his sacrifice has to be welcomed with faith, and not be scandalized by the fact that he is human; that it means eating his flesh and drinking his blood (cfr Jn 6,54), in order to have the fullness of life.
It is obvious that this discourse was not meant to attract consensus. Jesus knew it, and he says it intentionally anyway. In fact, it was a critical moment, a turning-point in his public mission.
The people and even his own disciples were enthusiastic about him when he performed miraculous acts. And the multiplication of the loaves and fish was a clear revelation that he was the Messiah, and immediately afterwards, the people wished to carry him aloft in triumph and proclaim him King of Israel.
But this was not what Jesus wanted, and with that long discourse in Capharnaum, he blunted enthusiasm and provoked much dissent. In fact, by dwelling on the image of bread, stated that he had been sent to offer his own life, and that whoever wished to follow him, ought to join him in a personal and profound way, by taking part in his sacrifice of love.
It is for this that at the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the Eucharist, so that his disciples could have his own charity in themselves - this is decisive - and as one body united with him, to prolong his mystery of salvation in the world.
Listening to his discourse, the people understood that Jesus was not the Messiah as they wanted, who aspired to an earthly throne. He was not seeking their consensus to conquer Jerusalem. Instead, he wished to go to the holy city to share the fate of the prophets: to give his life for God and the people.
The loaves, that he had broken for thousands of persons, were not meant to incite a triumphal march but to pre-announce the sacrifice on the Cross, in which Jesus would become Bread - flesh and blood offered in expiation.
Thus Jesus gave that discourse to relieve the crowds of their illusion, and above all, to provoke a decision among his disciples, many of whom, in fact, from that time onwards, ceased to follow him.
Dear friends, let us allow ourselves to be amazed anew by the words of Christ. He, the mustard seed cast into the furrows of history, is the first fruit of the new humanity, freed from the corruption of sin and death.
And let us rediscover the beauty of the sacrament of the Eucharist, which expresses all the humility and sanctity of God: that he made himself small - God made himself small - a fragment of the universe in order to reconcile everyone in his love.
May the Virgin Mary, who gave the world the Bread of life, teach us to always live in profound union with him.
After the prayers, he said this in English:
I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present for this Angelus. In the Gospel of today’s liturgy, Jesus presents himself as the living bread come down from heaven. May we always hunger for the gift of his presence in the Eucharistic sacrifice, wherein Jesus gives us his very self as food and drink to sustain us on our pilgrim journey to the Father. God bless all of you!
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 22/08/2012 23:32]