ANGELUS
Second Sunday of Advent
Adapted from the English service of
December 9, 2012
Thousands of pilgrims wrapped in scarves and hats withstood a gelid northerly wind that swept St Peter’s Square Sunday to pray the midday Angelus prayer with Pope Benedict XVI, who urged them to prepare their hearts and lives for the coming of the Lord.
On the second Sunday of Advent, the Pope dwelt on the figure of John the Baptist, as presented in Luke’s Gospel, saying that, after Mary, he was the figure most associated by Christians with Advent.
In English, he said:
In today’s Gospel John, the Baptist reminds us of the need for repentance and purification as we prepare a way for the Lord and await in hope his coming in glory. May God abundantly bless you and your loved ones!
He spoke of him as ‘the voice crying out in the desert' = even today, in the desert of consumerist society, “where we seek joy in things”. Instead the Baptist teaches us to live in an essential way, so that Christmas is not only experienced as an outward celebration, but as the feast of the Son of God who came to bring peace, life and true joy to people.
“Our aim today,” he continued “is to listen to that voice, to give room for Jesus and to welcome him, the Word that saves us, to our hearts”.
Here is a translation of the Holy Father's words at the Angelus today:
Dear brothers and sisters,
In the season of Advent, the liturgy highlights in a special way two figures who prepare the coming of the Messiah: the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist.
Today, St. Luke presents us the latter, and he does so with characteristics that are different from the other evangelists.
"All the four Gospels place the figure of John the Baptist at the start of Jesus's public activity and present him as his precursor. St. Luke has pushed the connection between the two and their respective missions farther back... Already in their conception and birth, he places Jesus and John in relation to each other" (L’infanzia di Gesù, 23).
This helps us understand that John, as the son of Zachary and Elizabeth, both from families of priests, is not just the last of the prophets, but he also represents the entire priesthood of the Old Testament, and thus, he prepares men for the spiritual worship of the New Covenant which was inaugurated by Jesus (cfr ibid. 27-28).
Moreover, Luke also discredits every mythical reading that is often made of the Gospels by situating the Baptist's life historically - "in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea... during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas. (Lk 3,1-2).
It is within this historical framework that the truly great event takes place - the birth of Christ, which was not even noted by his contemporaries. For God, the 'great' figures of history provide a frame for the little ones.
John the Baptist is described as "a voice of one crying out in the desert: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths!'" (Lk 3,4). The voice proclaims the words, but in this case, the Word of God came ahead, having descended on John, son of Zachary, in the desert (cfr Lk 3,2).
Thus he has a great role, but always as a function of Christ. As St. Augustine comments, "John is a voice. But of the Lord, it has been said, 'In the beginning was the Word'. John is the voice that passes, Christ is the eternal Word who was from the beginning. If words are taken from a voice, what remains? A vague sound. A voice without words strikes the ear but does not edify the heart" [Discourse 293, 3: PL 38, 1328).
It is our task today to heed that voice of John in order to grant room and welcome in our hearts for Jesus, the Word that saves us. During this season of Advent, let us prepare ourselves to see, with the eyes of faith, 'the salvation of God' in that humble cave in Bethlehem (cfr Lk 3,6).
In the consumer society, which attempts to find joy in things, the Baptist teaches us to live in an essential way, so that Christmas may be experienced not just as an exterior feast, but as the Feast of the Son of God who has come to bring peace, life and true joy to men.
Let us entrust our journey towards the Lord who is coming, to the maternal intercession of Mary, so that we may be ready to welcome, in our hearts and into our whole life, Emmanuel, God-with-us.[DIM]
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 10/12/2012 07:04]