The Weekly Benedict - Introduction

The Weekly Benedict is a compilation of documents, speeches, and other texts brought into an ebook format.

The Weekly Benedict was inspired by Catholic Apologist Jimmy Akin who came up with the idea to create a weekly link page to the words of the Holy Father.

All texts are © Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Considering the increasing prevalence of electronic book readers and their ease in reading textual documents this provides an ideal format in making available the wonderful and insightful words of Pope Benedict XVI. This ebook compilation is provided as a public service with no associated fees.

Jeff Miller The Curt Jester blog

Catholic Apologist Jimmy Akin's blog can be found at JimmyAkin.org

While this ebook publication take it's cue from Jimmy Akin's weekly post with links, it is done without association and any copyright problems or formatting mistakes are entirely my own.

Message from Benedict XVI to Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi on the occasion of the 16th Public Meeting of the Pontifical Academies

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

TO CARDINAL GIANFRANCO RAVASI

ON THE OCCASION OF THE 16th PUBLIC MEETING

OF THE PONTIFICAL ACADEMIES

To my Venerable Brother

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi

President of the Pontifical Council for Culture

On the occasion of the 16th Public Session of the Pontifical Academies I am please to convey to you my cordial greeting, which I gladly extend to the Presidents and Academicians and in particular to you, Venerable Brother, as President of the Coordination Council. I likewise address my greeting to the Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, Ambassadors and to all those who are taking part in this important event.

The annual Public Meeting of the Pontifical Academies has in fact become an established tradition which affords both the opportunity for members of the various Academies to gather in the Coordination Council and to evaluate through the Pontifical Academies Prize — set up on 23 November 1996 by my Venerable Predecessor, Bl. John Paul II — the contribution of young scholars, artists and institutions, with their research and cultural commitment, to promoting a new Christian humanism.

I therefore wish to thank you for the attention you pay to each and every one of the Academies, and for the impetus you have sought to give them so that they may truly be effective institutions of a high academic level at the service of the Holy See and of the whole Church.

The 16th Public Meeting was organized by the Pontifical Roman Academy for Archaeology and the Pontifical Academy “Cultorum Martyrum”, both of which boast a more than 100-year-old history, full of outstanding figures, archaeologists, scholars, and curators of Christian antiquities and of the martyrology.

The theme proposed for this Public Meeting, “Witness and Witnesses. The Martyria and the Champions of the faith”, gives us the opportunity to reflect on an element that is particularly dear to me: the historicity of Christianity, its continuous interweaving with history, to transform it in depth through the leaven of the Gospel and through holiness, lived and witnessed.

Historical and, especially, archaeological research aims to investigate the memorials and testimonies of the past ever more accurately and with increasingly sophisticated research instruments. Among these testimonies those of the ancient Christian communities are of particular interest to us.

They are, of course, material testimonies, constituted by all the elements – Church buildings, cemetery complexes, epigraphs and sculptures, frescos and decorations, artefacts of every kind which — if they are studied and understood in accordance with correct methodologies — enable us to rediscover many aspects of the life of the past generations, as well as of the faith experience of the ancient Christian communities that leaves ever more consistent traces in the milieu in which they were lived.

Today archaeological investigation can avail itself of extraordinary technological means at the different stages of the excavation and on-the-spot research, as well as for the recovery of artefacts that have deteriorated with time and with the poorest conditions of conservation. I am thinking, for example, of satellite images that can be used for many kinds of analysis, producing results that until a few decades ago were unimaginable; or of the application of laser techniques for the recovery of frescos covered with incrustations, as recently happened in the Catacomb of St Thecla in Rome where frescos of exceptional historical and artistic value came to light, including some very ancient images of the Apostles.

Yet, while technology is extremely useful, it is not enough on its own. Truly highly qualified, competent researchers are needed first of all, who have acquired experience through advanced studies and challenging apprenticeships, together with a genuine passion for research. This must be motivated by keen interest in human, hence also religious, experience that is hidden and is later revealed by material testimonies, including, as testimonies, that is as messages which reach us from the past and, by challenging our intelligence and our awareness, help to deepen our knowledge hence ultimately also our vision of the present and of our own existence.

If this can apply to every archaeological investigation, it especially applies when Christian monuments and in particular the martyria are studied, the archaeological and monumental evidence that testifies to the Christian communities’ religious devotion to a champion of exemplary faith: a martyr.

Among the many archaeological sites in which signs of the Christian presence emerge, one is pre-eminent and arouses a unique interest: the Holy Land, with the various places on which archaeological research has focused. The territory, already strongly marked by the presence of the people of Israel, is also becoming the environment par excellence in which to seek signs of the historical presence of Christ and of the first community of his disciples. The archaeological investigations carried out in recent decades in the Holy Land, thanks to the dedication of great and enthusiastic researchers such as, for example, Fr Bagatti, Fr Corbo and Fr Piccirillo who died recently, has led to remarkable discoveries and acquisitions, thereby contributing to defining ever better the historical and geographical coordinates of both the Judaic and the Christian presence.

Another strategic pole of the archaeological investigations is without a doubt the City of Rome and its territory in which Christian memorials are superimposed and interspersed with those of the Roman civilization. Here in Rome, and also in many other localities where Christianity had already spread in the early centuries of our epoch, it is still possible to admire and examine numerous monumental elements, starting with the martyria themselves, which not only attest to a generic Christian presence, but above all to a strong witness borne by Christians and by those who gave their lives for Christ: the martyrs.

Architectural monuments, particularly solemn and intricately decorated tombs, restructured passages in catacombs and even in cities, along with a wealth of other artistic elements, attest that since its origins the Christian community has wanted to exalt champions of the faith as models and reference points for all the baptized.

The plethora of monumental and artistic works dedicated to martyrs, documented, precisely, by archaeological investigations and by all the other associated forms of research, stems from an ever-present conviction in the Christian community, of the past as of today: the Gospel speaks to the human heart and is communicated above all through the living witness of believers. The proclamation of Christian newness, of the beauty of faith in Christ, needs people who, with the consistence of their lives, with their fidelity, witnessed if necessary even to the supreme sacrifice, demonstrate the absolute primacy of Love over any other claim. If we take a close look at the example of martyrs, at the courageous witnesses in Christian antiquity, and likewise at the many witnesses of our times, we realize that they are people who are profoundly free. They are free from compromises and selfish ties, aware of the importance and beauty of their lives and for this very reason are capable of loving God and their brethren to the point of heroism, defining the high standard of Christian holiness.

Champions of faith, far from representing a model in conflict with the world and with human realities, on the contrary proclaim and bear witness to the love of God the Father, rich in mercy and indulgence, who in the crucified Christ, the “faithful witness” (Rev 1:5), entered our history and our humanity, not to oppose or subjugate it but to transform it deeply, hence to render it capable once again of responding fully to his plan of love.

Today too, if the Church wishes to speak effectively to the world, if she wants to continue to proclaim the Gospel faithfully and to make her friendly presence felt to men and women who live their lives feeling that they are “pilgrims of truth and of peace”, even in contexts that seem more difficult or indifferent to the proclamation of the Gospel, the Church must make herself a witness of the credibility of the faith. This means that she must be able to offer concrete and prophetic testimonies through effective and transparent signs of consistence, fidelity and passionate, unconditional love for Christ, together with authentic charity, with love of neighbour.

In the past, as in our day, the blood of the martyrs, their tangible, eloquent testimony, touches human hearts. It makes them fertile, capable of bringing forth new life within them, of welcoming the life of the Risen One in order to take resurrection and hope to the surrounding world.

For the very purpose of encouraging those who wish to contribute to the promotion and realization of a new Christian humanism, through archaeological and historical research, accepting the proposal formulated by the Coordination Council, I am pleased to award ex aequo the Prize of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academies to the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum of Jerusalem and to Dr Daria Mastrorilli.

Further, as a sign of appreciation and encouragement, I would like the Medal of the Pontificate to be awarded to Dr Cecilia Proverbio.

Lastly, I wish them an ever more enthusiastic commitment in their respective fields, as I entrust each one to the motherly protection of the Virgin Mary, Queen of Martyrs, and warmly impart a special Apostolic Blessing to you, Your Eminence, and to all those present.

From the Vatican, 30 November 2011

BENEDICTUS PP XVI

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Address to participants at the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

TO PARTICIPANTS AT THE PLENARY ASSEMBLY

OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE FAMILY

Clementine Hall

Thursday, 1 December 2011

Your Eminences,

Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I am pleased to welcome you on the occasion of the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family, on a double 30th anniversary: that of the Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, published on 22 November 1981 by Bl. John Paul II and of the Dicastery itself, which he established on 9 March with the Motu Proprio Familia a Deo instituta, as a sign of the importance to be attributed to the family apostolate in the world and at the same time, as an effective tool to help promote it at every level (cf. John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, n. 73). I cordially greet Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, thanking him for his words introducing our meeting, as well as the Bishop Secretary, the staff and all of you gathered here.

The new evangelization depends largely on the Domestic Church (cf. ibid., n. 65). In our time, as in times past, the eclipse of God, the spread of ideologies contrary to the family and the degradation of sexual ethics are connected. And just as the eclipse of God and the crisis of the family are linked, so the new evangelization is inseparable from the Christian family. The family is indeed the way of the Church because it is the “human space” of our encounter with Christ. Spouses, “not only receive the love of Christ and become a saved community, but they are also called upon to communicate Christ's love to their brethren, thus becoming a saving community” (ibid., n. 49). The family founded on the Sacrament of Marriage is a particular realization of the Church, saved and saving, evangelized and evangelizing community. Just like the Church, it is called to welcome, radiate and show the world the love and presence of Christ. The reception and transmission of divine love are realized in the mutual commitment of the spouses, in generous and responsible procreation, in the care and education of children, work and social relationships, with attention to the needy, in participation in church activities, in commitment to civil society. The Christian Family to the extent it succeeds in living love as communion and service as a reciprocal gift open to all, as a journey of permanent conversion supported by the grace of God, reflects the splendour of Christ in the world and the beauty of the divine Trinity. St Augustine has a famous phrase: “immo vero vides Trinitatem, si caritatem vides” — “Well, if you see charity, yes indeed you see the Trinity” (De Trinitate, VIII, 8). And the family is one of the fundamental places where you live and are educated in love and charity.

In the wake of my Predecessors, I too have repeatedly urged Christian spouses to evangelize both with their witness of life and their involvement in pastoral activities. I did so recently in Ancona, at the end of the Italian National Eucharistic Congress. There I wanted to meet with couples and priests. In fact, the two sacraments called “at the service of communion” (CCC, Chapter Three, n. 1534), Holy Orders and Matrimony, are traced to the sole source of the Eucharist “both these states of life share the same root in the love of Christ who gives himself for humanity’s salvation. They are called to a common mission: to witness to, and make present, this love at the service of the community in order to build up the People of God.... This perspective makes it possible to overcome a reductive vision of the family, which sees it merely as the object of pastoral action.... The family is a source of wealth for married couples, an irreplaceable good for children, an indispensable foundation of society and a vital community for the journey of the Church” (Homily in Ancona, 11 September 2011). By virtue of this the “family is the privileged place of human and Christian education and remains, for this end, as the closest ally of the priestly ministry.... No vocation is a private matter, and even less so is the vocation to marriage because its horizon is the entire Church” (ibid.).

There are some areas where the role of Christian families, in collaboration with priests and under the guidance of Bishops, is particularly urgent: the education of children, adolescents and young people in loving, understood as gift of self and communion; the preparation of engaged couples for married life with a journey of faith; the formation of married couples, especially young couples; the experiences of associations with charitable and educational purposes, and civic commitment; and the pastoral care of families for families, a life-long commitment, giving due value to the time dedicated to work and to rest.

Dear friends, we are preparing for the Seventh World Meeting of Families to be held in Milan from 30 May to 3 June 2012. It will be a great joy for me and for us all to come together, to pray and to celebrate with the families who will come from around the world, accompanied by their Pastors. I thank the Ambrosian Church for her great effort made so far and for that in the coming months. I invite the families of Milan and Lombardy to open the doors of their houses to accommodate the pilgrims who will come from all over the world. In hospitality we experience joy and enthusiasm: it is nice to make acquaintances and friendships, recounting the experience of family life and the faith experience associated with it. In my Letter convoking the Meeting in Milan I asked for “an adequate process of ecclesial and cultural preparation”, so that the event will be a success and actively involve the Christian communities around the world. I thank those who have already taken steps in that direction and call on those who have not yet done so to make the most of the next few months. Your Dicastery has already provided valuable help in drawing up a catechism with the theme “The Family: Work and Rest”; it has also proposed a “family week” for the parishes, associations and movements, and other praiseworthy initiatives.

Thank you again for coming and for the work you do to promote the family at the service of the Gospel. While I assure you of my remembrance in prayer. I impart a special heartfelt Apostolic Blessing to each one of you and your loved ones.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

"Christmas Oratorio from the Alps" and projection of the film "From Heaven to Earth - Advent and Christmas in the Bavarian Alps", offered to the Holy Father by the Bayerischer Rundfunk

"CHRISTMAS ORATORIO FROM THE ALPS" AND PROJECTION OF THE FILM

"FROM HEAVEN TO EARTH - ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS IN THE BAVARIAN ALPS"

OFFERED BY THE BAYERISCHER RUNDFUNK

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Clementine Hall

Friday, 2 December 2011

Your Eminence, Your Excellencies,

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Friends,

At the end of this Advent meeting here in the Apostolic Palace I would like to address a few words to you. First of all, I cordially thank all those who have made this evening possible. I thank Mr Hans Berger, together with his Ensemble and the Montini Choir for their performance of the “Christmas Oratorio from the Alps”, which moved me deeply. My heartfelt thanks. I then thank the Bavarian Radio and Television, represented by Mr Mandlik and Mrs Sigrid Esslinger, for the screening of the film on Advent and Christmas in the Bavarian Prealps. You have all brought a taste of typically Bavarian customs and life to the Pope’s house. I can only wish you a very warm “Vergelt’s Gott” [may the Lord reward you] for this gift!

And I hope that our Italian friends have also enjoyed themselves with this inculturation of faith in our lands, especially you, Your Eminence [turning to Cardinal Bertone], on your birthday. As has been said, we call Advent the ‘time of silence’ — staade Zeit. Nature pauses; the earth is covered in snow; it is impossible, in the farming world, to work outside; all are obliged to stay at home. Through faith the silence of the house becomes expectation of the Lord, joy in his presence. So it is that all these melodies come into being, all these traditions which — as was also said today — “make” a little bit of “heaven present on earth”. A silent time, a time of silence.

Today Advent is often exactly the opposite: a time of frenzied activity, of people buying and selling, making preparations for Christmas, for large meals and so forth. It is also like this for us. Yet, as you have seen, the popular traditions of faith have not disappeared, indeed, they are being renewed, deepened, updated. And thus they create islands for the soul, islands of silence, islands of faith, islands for the Lord in our time, and to me this seems very important. And we must say “thank you” to all those who perpetrate them: they do so in families, in churches, with more or less professional groups, but they all do the same thing: they make the reality of faith present in our homes, in our epoch. And let us hope that in the future too this effort of faith, its visibility, will endure and will help us move forward, as Advent wishes, towards the Lord.

Once again, my heartfelt thanks and a Vergelt’s Gott to everyone!

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Address to participants in the World Congress for the Pastoral Care of International Students

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE WORLD CONGRESS

FOR THE PASTORAL CARE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

Consistory Hall

Friday, 2 December 2011

Your Eminences,

Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,

Dear Students,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I am pleased to welcome you on the occasion of the Third World Congress for the Pastoral Care of International Students, organized by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. I greet and thank Archbishop Antonio Maria Vegliò for his kind words in opening this event. I likewise greet the Superiors and the Officials of the Dicastery and each one of you who have come from different parts of the world, especially from those countries with a high number of international students.

I would like to express my appreciation for your commitment to providing the young generation with guidance and support to improve their formation, addressing the challenges of a globalized and secularized world. I also greet in particular the international students present here, in the hope that, having received this special pastoral solicitude they may become protagonists in the Church’s Mission.

I noted with great interest the theme you have chosen for this Congress: “International students and the encounter of cultures”. The meeting of cultures is a fundamental reality in our epoch and for the future of humanity and of the Church. Men and women cannot reach a truly and fully human standard of living except through culture (Second Vatican Council, Apostolic Constitution Gaudium et Spes, n. 53). The Church is attentive to the centrality of the human person both as the protagonist of cultural activities and as the ultimate recipient.

Today more than ever the openness of cultures to one another is the most fertile terrain for dialogue among those committed to seeking authentic humanism. The meeting of cultures in universities must, then, be encouraged and supported having human and Christian principles, the universal values, as its foundation so as to bring up a new generation capable of dialogue and discernment, committed to spreading respect and cooperation for peace and development.

Thanks to their intellectual, cultural and spiritual formation, international students have, in fact, the potential to become architects and protagonists of a more human world.

I sincerely hope that there are good syllabi at a continental and worldwide level to offer many young people this opportunity. Because of a shortage of qualified training and appropriate facilities in their own country or origin, as well as social and political tensions, and thanks to funds for study abroad, international students form an increasingly large group within the broader phenomenon of migration.

Therefore it is important to offer them a healthy and well-balanced intellectual, cultural and spiritual formation, so that they do not fall prey to the “brain drain” but become a consistent social and cultural group in view of their return as future leaders of their countries of origin where they can help to build cultural, social and spiritual “bridges” with their host countries.

Catholic universities and institutions of higher education are called to be “laboratories for humanity” by offering syllabi and courses which aim to encourage young students to search not only for a professional qualification, but also the answer to the question of happiness and sense of fullness, which dwells in the human heart.

The university world is a vital field for the evangelization of the Church. As I pointed out in my Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees for next year, when Christian universities are faithful to their true identity, they become places of witness, where Jesus Christ can be met and known, where one can experience his presence, that reconciles, calms, and instills new hope. The spread of “weak” ideologies in the various sectors of society urges Christians to make fresh efforts in the academic world, to encourage the new generations in their search for and discovery of the truth about man and God. Bl. John Henry Newman’s life, so strongly associated with the academic world, confirmed the importance and beauty of promoting an educational environment in which intellectual formation, ethics and religious commitment walk hand in hand.

University ministry is offered to young people as support for communion with Christ to lead them to perceive the deeper mystery of man and of history. The meeting between university students helps to discover and appreciate the hidden treasure in every international student, considering his/her presence as an enriching human, cultural and spiritual factor.

Young Christians, who come from different cultures but belong to the one Church of Christ, can show that the Gospel is the Word of hope and salvation for men and women of every people and culture, of all ages and epochs, as I mentioned in my recent Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Africae Munus (cf. nn. 134, 138).

Dear young students, I encourage you to take advantage of your study time to grow in the knowledge and love of Christ, while you follow your itinerary of cultural and intellectual formation. Preserving your heritage of hope and faith, in the experience of your cultural formation abroad, may you value the universal opportunity of brotherhood and also the communication of the Gospel. I wish the work of your Congress success and I assure you of my prayers. I entrust to Mary, Mother of Jesus, the commitment and generosity of those who take care of migrants, in particular of students from abroad, and to all I warmly impart the Apostolic Blessing to you all.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Lighting via video link of the Christmas Tree, decorated with hundreds of lights, in the Italian town of Gubbio

LIGHTING VIA VIDEO LINK

OF THE LARGEST ILLUMINATED CHRISTMAS TREE

LOCATED IN GUBBIO (PERUGIA)

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Foconi Hall

Wednesday, 7 December 2011

Dear Citizens of Gubbio,

Dear Friends,

I willingly accepted the invitation to light the large Christmas Tree, which every year towers over the city of Gubbio. I thank the Organizing Committee and especially Bishop Ceccobelli for his words to me on behalf of the city and the Diocese of Gubbio. I greet all who are in the Square of Gubbio or linked live via television!

Before lighting the tree I would like to make a simple threefold wish. This large Christmas Tree is located on the slopes of Mount Ingino at the peak of which, as the Bishop recalled, the Basilica of the Patron of Gubbio, Saint Ubald, stands. Looking at it our gaze naturally turns upward, towards Heaven, towards the world of God.

The first wish, then, is that our gaze, that of the mind and the heart, may not only pause at the horizon of our world, at material things, but be a little like this tree, knowing how to be drawn above and how to turn to God. He never forgets us but also asks us not to forget him!

The Gospel tells us that on the night of holy Christmas a light shone on the shepherds (cf. Lk 2:9-11) announcing to them a great joy: the birth of Jesus, the One who comes to bring light, rather the One who is the true Light that enlightens every man (cf. Jn 1:9). The large tree, which will soon be lit, overlooks the city of Gubbio and will illuminate with its light the dark of the night.

The second wish is that it may serve as a reminder that we too need light that can illumine the path of our life and which gives us hope, especially in our time when we particularly feel the burden of difficulties, problems, suffering and a veil of darkness seems to envelope us. But what light is truly able to illuminate our heart and give us hope, firm and sure? It is the Child himself, whom we contemplate at holy Christmas in a simple and poor grotto, because it is the Lord who comes near to every one of us and asks that we welcome him again into our life, asks that we love him and trust in him, to feel his presence, he is with us, he sustains us and he helps us.

This large tree is made up of many lights. The last wish that I would like to make is that everyone may know how to bring a little light to the places where they live: in the family, at work, in the neighbourhood, in towns, in cities. May each of us be a light for those nearby; may we step out of the selfishness which often closes hearts and makes us think only of ourselves; may we give a little attention and love to others. Every small act of kindness is like a light of this great tree. Together with other lights it is able to illuminate the obscurity of the night, even the darkest.

Thank you and may the Lord’s light and blessing rest upon you all.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Homage to the statue of the Immaculate Conception at the Spanish Steps, 8 December 2011, Benedict XVI

ACT OF VENERATION OF THE IMMACULATE VIRGIN IN PIAZZA DI SPAGNA

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Solemnity of the Immaculate of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Thursday, 8 December 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Every year the important Feast of Mary Immaculate invites us to meet here, in one of Rome’s most beautiful squares, to pay homage to her, the Mother of Christ and our Mother. I greet with affection all of you present here, as well as all those who are joining us via radio and television. I thank you for your unanimous support in my act of prayer.

Mary is portrayed, on the top of the pillar around which we have gathered, by a statue which, in part, recalls the passage from the Book of Revelation that has just been proclaimed: “And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Rev 12:1). What is the meaning of this image? It represents at the same time Our Lady and the Church.

First of all the “woman” of the Book of Revelation is Mary herself. She appears “clothed with the sun, that is, clothed with God: the Virgin Mary in fact is wholly surrounded by God’s light and lives in God. This symbol of her luminous garment clearly expresses a condition that concerns Mary’s whole being: she is “full of grace”, filled with God’s love. And “God is light”, St John says further (1 Jn 1:5). Here, therefore, the One who is “full of grace”, “the Immaculate One”, reflects in her whole person the light of the “sun” which is God.

This woman has under her feet the moon, a symbol of death and of mortality. Indeed Mary is fully associated with the victory of Jesus Christ, her Son, over sin and death; she is free from any shadow of death and totally filled with life. Just as death no longer has power over the risen Jesus (cf. Rom 6:9), so, through a grace and a rare privilege of Almighty God, Mary has left it behind her and gone beyond it. And this is manifest in the two great mysteries of her life: in the beginning, having been conceived without original sin, which is the mystery that we are celebrating today; and, at the end, being taken up body and soul into Heaven, into God’s glory. However, the whole of her earthly life was also a victory over death, because it was spent entirely at God’s service, in the unreserved sacrifice of herself to him and to her neighbour. For this reason Mary is in herself a hymn to life; she is the creature in whom Christ’s words have already come true: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10).

In the vision of the Book of Revelation there is a further detail: upon the head of the woman clothed with the sun there is “a crown of twelve stars”. This sign symbolizes the 12 tribes of Israel and means that the Virgin Mary is at the centre of the People of God, of the entire communion of saints. And thus this image of the crown of 12 stars ushers us into the second great interpretation of the heavenly portent of the “woman clothed with the sun”: as well as representing Our Lady, this sign personifies the Church, the Christian community of all time. She is with child, in the sense that she is carrying Christ in her womb and must give birth to him in the world. This is the travail of the pilgrim Church on earth which, amidst the consolations of God and the persecution of the world, must bring Jesus to men and women.

It is for this very reason, because she is carrying Jesus, that the Church comes up against the opposition of a ferocious adversary, represented in the apocalyptic vision by “a great red dragon” (Rev 12:3). This dragon sought in vain to devour Jesus — the “male child”, destined to rule all the nations” (12:5) — because Jesus, through his death and resurrection, ascended to God and is seated on his throne. Therefore the dragon, defeated once and for all in Heaven, directly attacks the woman — the Church — in the wilderness of the world. However in every epoch the Church is sustained by the light and strength of God who nourishes her in the desert with the bread of his Word and of the Holy Eucharist. And so it is that in every tribulation, in all the trials she meets over time and in the different parts of the world the Church suffers persecution but turns out to be victorious. And in this very way the Christian community is her presence, the guarantee of God’s love against all the ideologies of hatred and selfishness.

The one threat of which the Church can and must be afraid is the sin of her members. Whereas Mary is indeed Immaculate, free from any stain of sin, the Church is holy but at the same time she is blemished by our sins. This is why the People of God, on pilgrimage through time, addresses its heavenly Mother and asks for help; it asks her to accompany it on its journey of faith, to encourage the commitment to Christian living and to support its hope. We are in need of this, especially at this time which is so difficult for Italy, for Europe, and for various parts of the world.

May Mary help us to see that there is a light beyond the blanket of thick fog in which reality seems to be enveloped. For this reason, we too, especially on this Feast, do not cease to ask her for help with filial trust: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who turn to you”. Ora pro nobis, intercede pro nobis ad Dominum Iesum Christum!

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Pastoral Visit to the Parish of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Casal Boccone, 11 December 2011, Benedict XVI

PASTORAL VISIT TO THE ROMAN PARISH

OF "SANTA MARIA DELLE GRAZIE" IN CASAL BOCCONE

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Third Sunday of Advent - "Gaudete" Sunday, 11 December 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Parish of Santa Maria della Grazie,

We have heard Isaiah’s prophesy, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted... to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” (Is 61:1-2). These words spoken so many centuries ago, ring out, in a very up-to-date way for us too, today, while we are halfway through Advent and already look forward to the great Solemnity of Christmas. These are words that revive hope, that prepare us to welcome the Lord’s salvation and announce the inauguration of a season of grace and liberation.

Advent is precisely a time of waiting, of hope and of preparation for the Lord’s coming. The figure and preaching of John the Baptist invite us to make this commitment, as we heard in the Gospel that has just been proclaimed (cf. Jn 1:6-8, 19-28). John had withdrawn into the wilderness to live a very austere life and to invite people to conversion, also by the example of his life. He conferred on them a baptism of water, a single rite of penance which distinguished it from the many rites of external purification of the sects of that time.

So who was this man? Who was John the Baptist? The response he himself gave is surprisingly humble. He was not the Messiah, he was not the light. He was neither Elijah come back to the earth nor the great prophet awaited. He was the Forerunner, a simple witness, totally subordinate to the One he proclaimed; a voice in the wilderness, as in our day too, in the wilderness of the great cities of this world, of the great absence of God, we need voices that simply announce to us “God exists. He is always near, even if he seems absent”.

John the Baptist was a voice in the wilderness and a witness to the light; and this moves our hearts, for in this world where there are so many shadows, so much darkness, we are all called to be witnesses of light. This is the mission of the Season of Advent itself: to be witnesses of light, and we can only be this if we carry the light within us, if we are not only certain that the light exists, but also that we have seen a ray of light.

In the Church, in God’s word, in the celebration of the sacraments, in the Sacrament of Confession with the forgiveness that we receive, in the celebration of the Blessed Eucharist where the Lord gives himself into our hands and hearts, we touch the light and receive this mission: to bear witness today that there is light, and to carry the light in our time.

Dear brothers and sisters, I am very glad to be with you on this beautiful, “Gaudete” Sunday, the Sunday of joy that tells us that “even in the midst of so many doubts and difficulties, joy exists because God exists and is with us!”.

I cordially greet the Cardinal Vicar, the Auxiliary Bishop of the sector, your parish priest, Fr Domenico Monteforte, whom I thank not only for his kind words to me on behalf of you all, but also for the beautiful gift of the parish history. And I greet the parochial vicar. I also greet the religious communities, the Sisters, Apostles of the Consolata, the Religious Teachers Venerini and the Guanellians; they are a precious presence in your parish and an important spiritual and pastoral resource for the life of the community as witnesses of light!

I also greet all those who are involved in the parish context. I am referring to the catechists — I thank them for their work — the members of the prayer group inspired by the Renewal in the Holy Spirit and the young people of the Gioventù Ardente Mariana Movement.

Next I would like to extend my thoughts to all the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, especially the elderly, the sick, those who are lonely or in difficulty, without forgetting the large Filipino community which is well integrated and plays an active part in the fundamental moments of community life.

Your parish came into being in one of the typical suburbs of the Agro Romano. It was canonically established in 1985 with this beautiful title: Santa Maria delle Grazie [St Mary of Grace], it took its first steps in the 1960s when, at the initiative of a group of Dominican Fathers led by the memorable Fr Gerard Reed, a small chapel was set up in a family home that was later moved to larger premises and served as the parish church until 2010, last year. In that year, in fact, as you know the building in which we are celebrating the Eucharist was dedicated precisely on 1 May. This new church is a privileged space for growing in the knowledge and love of the One whom we shall welcome in a few days’ time in the joy of his Birth.

As I look at this church and at the parish buildings, I see them as the result of your patience, dedication and love and I would like to encourage you with my presence to bring into being, better and better, the Church of living stones which you yourselves are.

Each one of you must feel you are an element of this living building. The community is built with the contribution that each one makes, with the commitment of all; and I am thinking in a special way of the field of catechesis, that of the liturgy and that of charity: pillars that support Christian life.

Yours is a young community, I saw it in greeting your children. It is young because it is made up of young families — especially with regard to the new settlements — and because so many children and boys and girls live in it, thanks be to God! I warmly hope that through the contribution of competent and generous people, your educational commitment may develop ever better and that your parish, also with the help of the Vicariate of Rome, may set up as soon as possible a well-structured after-school recreation and prayer centre with sufficient space for games and meeting-rooms, so as to meet the need of the young generations to develop in faith and in a healthy sociability.

I congratulate you on your work in preparing the boys and girls and young people to receive the sacraments. The challenge we are facing consists in planning and proposing a true and proper itinerary of formation in faith which involves all those who are receiving Christian initiation, helping them not only to receive the sacraments but to live them out, in order to be true Christians. This aim, to receive, must be to live, as we heard in the First Reading: justice must sprout, just as the seed sprouts from the ground. Live the sacraments so that justice, law and love will sprout likewise.

In this regard, the diocesan pastoral work that is currently being reviewed and that concerns, precisely, Christian initiation, is a favourable opportunity to deepen and live the Sacraments we have already received — such as Baptism and Confirmation — and those we continue to receive for nourishment on our journey of faith, Penance and the Eucharist. For this reason, necessary in the first place is attention to the relationship with God through listening to his word, through your response to the word in prayer and through the gift of the Eucharist.

I know that in your parish prayer meetings take place and lectio divina and that Eucharistic adoration is organized. These are precious initiatives for spiritual growth at the personal and community levels. I warmly urge more and more of you to take part in them. In a special way I would like to recall the importance and centrality of the Eucharist. May the centre of your Sunday be Holy Mass which should be rediscovered and lived as a day of God and of the community, a day on which to praise and celebrate the One who was born for us, who died and rose for our salvation and asks us to live together joyfully and to be a community open and ready to receive every person who is lonely or in difficulty.

Do not lose your sense of Sunday and be faithful to the Eucharistic gathering. The early Christians were prepared to give their lives for this. They realized that this is life and gives life.

In coming to see you I cannot but know that a great challenge is posed to your territory by religious groups who claim to be the depositaries of the Gospel truth. In this regard it is my duty to recommend you to be alert and to deepen your knowledge of the reasons for faith and for the Christian message; so that you may transmit it in a way that guarantees the authentic millenary tradition of the Church. May you — as St Peter says — always be prepared “to make a defence to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet 3:15); put into practice the language of love and brotherhood that is comprehensible to all, but without forgetting the commitment to purifying and strengthening your own faith in the face of the dangers and snares that may threaten it in these times.

Overcome the limitations of individualism, withdrawal into self and the fascination of relativism that views any kind of behaviour as licit, and of the attraction exercised by forms of religious sentiment that exploit the deepest needs and aspirations of the human soul, offering prospects of easy but deceptive gratification. Faith is a gift of God but demands of us a response, a decision to follow Christ, not only when he heals and alleviates but also when he speaks of love even to the point of self-gift.

Another point on which I want to insist is the witnessing to charity that must characterize your community life. In recent years you have seen it increase rapidly, in the number of its members too, but you have also seen it help many people in difficulty and in situations of hardship who need you, who need your material aid, but also and above all need your faith and your testimony as believers. Make sure that the face of your community is always able to express in practice the love of God, who is rich in mercy, and invite people to approach him with trust.

I would like to address a special word of affection and friendship to you, dear boys and girls and young people who are listening to me, as well as to your peers who live in this parish. History’s today and tomorrow and the future of faith are entrusted especially to you who are the new generations. The Church expects much of your enthusiasm, your ability to look ahead, to be inspired by ideals and your desire for radicalism in the decisions of life. The parish is accompanying you and I would like you also to feel my encouragement.

“Brethren.... Rejoice always” (1 Thes 5:16). This invitation to joy which St Paul addressed to the Christians of Thessalonica in that time, also characterizes this Sunday, commonly known as “Gaudete” Sunday. It resonates from the very first words of the Entrance Antiphon: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is at hand”; St Paul, in prison, wrote these words to the Christians of Philippi (cf. Phil 4:4-5) and also addresses them to us.

Yes, we are glad because the Lord is near us and in a few days, on Christmas night, we shall be celebrating the mystery of his birth. Mary, who was the first to hear the Angel’s invitation: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” (Lk 1:28), points out to us the way to reach true joy, which comes from God. St Mary of Grace, Mother of Divine Love, pray for us all. Amen!

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Pastoral Visit to the Parish of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Casal Boccone, 11 December 2011, Benedict XVI

PASTORAL VISIT OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

TO THE ROMAN PARISH

OF "SANTA MARIA DELLE GRAZIE" IN CASAL BOCCONE

Third Sunday of Advent - "Gaudete" Sunday, 11 December 2011

Greeting of the Holy Father to the children:

Dear Children,

I wish you all a good Sunday. We know that Christmas is approaching: let us prepare not only with gifts but with our hearts. Let us remember that Christ the Lord is near us, he enters our lives and gives us light and joy. St Paul says today in his Letter to the Thessalonians: “pray constantly”. This does not of course mean that we must always speak in words of prayer but it does mean that in our hearts we must not lose touch with God. If this contact exists, a factor of joy exists. I wish all of you all the joy of Christmas and all the joy of the presence in our hearts of the Child Jesus Christ who is God. My best wishes! Have a good Sunday and a Happy Christmas from this moment!

* * *

After Mass, outside the church, the Pope took his leave of the parish community of Santa Maria delle Grazie and said extemporaneously:

Dear friends, a spiritual embrace for you all. Thank you for your presence and for your warm welcome. This cordiality, so lovely and so open, the open, lively chorus, is what it was like in Africa. It gives me great joy to see how the Church lives here in the City of Rome: in this new parish people really participate in the Eucharist and are preparing for Christmas.

Preparing for Christmas is very difficult today. And I know there are so many commitments. But preparing for Christmas is not only buying, preparing and thinking, it is also keeping in touch with the Lord, going to meet him. And it seems to me very important not to forget this dimension. I have already explained to the children that St Paul said: “pray constantly”, in other words do not lose your contact with God. And this is not a burden in addition to all the others but rather the strength that helps us to do all that is necessary.

In this regard, I wish you an enduring contact with Jesus, hence all his joy and his strength in order to live in this world. Have a good Advent and a Happy Christmas! I thank you all.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Mass celebrated on the occasion of the bicentenary of the Independence of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean

EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION

ON THE OCCASION OF THE BICENTENARY OF INDEPENDENCE

OF COUNTRIES IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, Vatican Basilica

Monday, 12 December 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“The earth has yielded its increase” (Ps 67 [66]:6). The Fathers of the Church recognized in this image, taken from the Psalm we just heard and which invites all the peoples and nations to praise the Lord with joy, the Virgin Mary and of Christ, her Son: “The earth is Mary Most Holy, who comes from our earth, our lineage, from this clay, from this mud, from Adam. The earth has yielded its fruit: it first produced a flower ... this flower then became a fruit so that we might eat it so that we might eat its flesh. Would you like to know what this fruit is? It is the Virgin Son who proceeds from the Virgin Mother; the Lord from the handmaid; God from man; the Son from the Mother; the fruit from the earth” (St Jerome, Breviarum in Psalm. 66: PL, 1010-1011). Today, exulting over the fruit of this earth, we too are saying: “Let the peoples praise thee, O God” (Ps 67 [66]:4). We proclaim the gift of redemption gained by Christ and, in Christ, we acknowledge his power and divine majesty.

Moved by these sentiments, I greet fraternally the Cardinals and Bishops who are with us, the various diplomatic representatives, the priests and men and women religious, as well as the faithful gathered here in St Peter’s Basilica to celebrate with joy the Solemnity of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother and Star of the Evangelization of America. I also remember all those who have joined us in spirit and are praying to God with us for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, many of whom are celebrating the bicentenary of their Independence at this time and, going beyond the historical, social and political aspects of these events, are expressing anew to the Most High their gratitude for the great gift of faith they received, a faith that proclaims the redemptive mystery of the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, so that all the peoples of the earth may have life in Him. The Successor of Peter could not let this occasion pass without expressing the Church’s joy in the many gifts which God, in his infinite kindness, has in these years poured out upon these beloved nations, who so affectionately invoke Mary Most Holy.

The venerated image of the Black Madonna of Tepeyac, with her sweet and peaceful countenance, imprinted on the tilma of the indio St Juan Diego, shows her as “the ever Virgin Mary, Mother of the True God from whom she lives” (From the Office of Readings. Nicán Mopohua, 12th ed., Mexico City, D.F., 1971, 3-19). She reminds us of the “woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child” (Rev 12:1-2). She signals the presence of the Saviour to the indigenous and mestizo population. She always leads us to her divine Son, who is revealed as the foundation of the dignity of every human being, as a love that is stronger than the powers of evil and death, and the fountain of joy, filial trust, consolation and hope.

The Magnificat that we proclaimed in the Gospel “is the song both of the Mother of God and of the Church; the song of the Daughter of Zion and of the new People of God; the song of thanksgiving for the fullness of graces poured out in the economy of salvation and the song of the ‘poor’ whose hope is met by the fulfillment of the promises made to our ancestors” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2619). In an act of gratitude to her Lord and of the humility of his handmaid the Virgin Mary praises God for all that he is doing on behalf of his people Israel. God is the One who deserves all honour and glory, the Mighty One who does marvels for his faithful servant and today continues to show his love to all men and women, especially those who are facing difficult trials.

“Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass” (Zech 9:9), we heard in the First Reading. Since the Incarnation of the Word, the divine Mystery is revealed in Jesus Christ, who is the contemporary of every human person in every time and place through the Church, whose Mother and model is Mary. Therefore, today we can continue praising God for the wonders he has worked in the life of the people of Latin America and the whole world, revealing his presence in the Son and the outpouring of his Spirit as the newness of personal and community life. God has hidden these things from the “wise and learned”, letting them be known to the humble and simple of heart (cf. Mt 11:25).

By her “yes” to God’s call, the Virgin Mary manifested divine love among men. In this sense she, with her simplicity and maternal heart, continues to indicate the one Light and the one Truth: her Son, Jesus Christ, who is “the definitive answer to the question of the meaning of life, and to those fundamental questions which still trouble so many men and women on the American continent” (Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in America, n. 10). Similarly, “by her manifold intercession (she) continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home” (Lumen Gentium, n. 62).

At this time, as various parts of Latin America are commemorating the bicentenary of their Independence, the process of integration in this beloved continent is progressing, while at the same time it is playing a new role on the world scene. In these circumstances it is important that its diverse people can safeguard the rich treasure of faith and their historical-cultural dynamism, always being the defenders of human life from conception to natural end and promoters of peace; they must likewise care for the family in this genuine nature and mission, at the same time intensifying a vast grass-roots educational campaign that correctly prepares individuals and makes them aware of their capacities in such a way that they can face their destiny with responsibility and dignity. They are likewise called to foster ever more proven initiatives and effective programmes that promote reconciliation and fraternity, increase solidarity and care for the environment, at the same time intensifying efforts to overcome poverty, illiteracy and corruption, and to eradicate every form of injustice, violence, criminality, civic unrest, drug trafficking and extortion.

When the Church was preparing to recall the fifth centenary of the planting of the Cross of Christ in the good soil of the American Continent, on that same soil Bl. John Paul II formulated for the first time a programme for a new evangelization, new “in its ardour, in its methods, in its expression” (cf. Address to the CELAM Assembly, 9 March 1983, III: AAS 75, 1983, 778). Because of my responsibility of confirming in the faith, I also want to encourage the apostolic zeal that is now motivating and driving the “continental mission” promoted in Aparecida, so that “Christian faith may become more deeply rooted in the heart of Latin American individuals and peoples as founding event and living encounter with Christ” (Fifth General Conference of the Council of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, Final Document, n. 13). Thus there will be a multiplication of genuine disciples and missionaries of the Lord and a renewal of Latin America and the Caribbean’s vocation to hope. May the light of God shine more and more on the face of each of the sons and daughters of this beloved land and may his redemptive grace guide their decisions so that they may continue progressing untiringly in the building of a society founded upon the development of the good, the triumph of love and the spread of justice. With these fervent desires and sustained by the help of Divine Providence, I intend to undertake an Apostolic Journey to Mexico and Cuba before Easter, to proclaim there the Word of Christ and support the conviction that this is a precious time to evangelize with a true faith, a living hope and an ardent charity.

I commend to the loving mediation of Our Lady of Guadalupe, our heavenly Mother all these intentions and the present situation of the Latin American and Caribbean nations and their progress towards a better future. I likewise invoke upon them the intercession of the many saints and blesseds that the Spirit has raised up throughout the length and breadth of the history of this continent, offering heroic models of Christian virtue in diverse states of life and social milieu, that their example may promote more and more a new evangelization under the gaze of Christ, Saviour of man and strength of our soul. Amen.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI, 14 December 2011

BENEDICT XVI

GENERAL AUDIENCE

Paul VI Audience Hall

Wednesday, 14 December 2011

The prayer of Jesus linked to His miraculous healing action

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today I would like to reflect with you on the prayer of Jesus linked to his miraculous healing action. Various situations are presented in the Gospels in which Jesus prays while he contemplates the beneficial and healing work of God the Father who acts through him. This is a form of prayer which, once again, demonstrates his unique relationship of knowledge and communion with the Father, while Jesus lets himself be involved with deep human participation in the hardships of his friends, for example, those of Lazarus and his family or of the many poor and sick people to whom he seeks to give practical help.

A significant case is the healing of the deaf mute (cf. Mk 7:32-37). Mark the Evangelist’s account — that we have just heard — shows that Jesus’ healing action is connected with the intense relationship he had both with his neighbour — the sick man — and with the Father. The scene of the miracle is described carefully, in these words: “taking him aside from the multitude privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is ‘Be opened’” (Mk 7:33-34).

Jesus wanted the healing to take place “aside from the multitude”. This does not seem to be due solely to the fact that the miracle must be kept hidden from people to prevent them from making any restrictive or distorted interpretation of the Person of Jesus. The decision to take the sick man aside ensures that at the moment of his healing Jesus and the deaf mute are on their own, brought together in a unique relationship. With a single gesture the Lord touches the sick man’s ears and tongue, that is, the specific sites of his infirmity. The intensity of Jesus’ attention is also demonstrated in the unusual treatment that was part of the healing. He uses his fingers and even his saliva. And the fact that the Evangelist records the original word spoken by the Lord, ‘Ephphatha’, in other words, “be opened”, highlights the unusual character of the scene.

The central point of this episode however is the fact that when Jesus, was about to work the healing, he directly sought his relationship with the Father. Indeed the account relates that “looking up to heaven, he sighed” (v. 34). Jesus’ attention and treatment of the sick man are linked by a profound attitude of prayer addressed to God. Moreover, his sighing is described with a verb which, in the New Testament, indicates the aspiration to something good which is still lacking (cf. Rom 8:23).

Thus, as a whole, the narrative shows that it was his human involvement with the sick man that prompted Jesus to pray. His unique relationship with the Father and his identity as the Only Begotten Son surface once again. God’s healing and beneficial action become present in him, through his Person. It is not by chance that the people’s last remark after the miracle has been performed is reminiscent of the evaluation of the Creation at the beginning of the Book of Genesis: “He has done all things well” (Mk 7:37). Prayer clearly entered the healing action of Jesus as he looked up to heaven. The power that healed the deaf mute was certainly elicited by compassion for him but came from recourse to the Father. These two relationships interact: the human relationship of compassion with the man enters into the relationship with God, and thus becomes healing.

In the Johannine narrative of the raising of Lazarus this same dynamic is testified by an even greater proof (cf. Jn 11:1-44) Here too are interwoven, on the one hand, Jesus’ bond with a friend and with his suffering and, on the other, his filial relationship with the Father. Jesus’ human participation in Lazarus’ case has some special features. His friendship with Lazarus is repeatedly mentioned throughout the account, as well as his relationship with Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus. Jesus himself says: “our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep” (Jn 11:11).

Jesus’ sincere affection for his friend is also highlighted by Lazarus’ sisters, as well as by the Jews (cf. Jn 11:3; 11:36). It is expressed in Jesus’ deep distress at seeing the grief of Martha and Mary and of all Lazarus’ friends and he finds relief by bursting into tears — so profoundly human — on approaching the tomb: “When Jesus saw her [Martha] weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled; and he said, ‘Where have you laid him?’. They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see’. Jesus wept” (Jn 11:33-35).

This bond of friendship and Jesus’ participation and distress at the sorrow of Lazarus’ relatives and acquaintances, is connected throughout the narrative to a continuous, intense relationship with the Father. The event, from the outset, is interpreted by Jesus in relation to his own identity and mission and to the glorification that awaits him. In fact on hearing of Lazarus’ illness he commented: “The illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it” (Jn 11:4).

Jesus also hears the news of his friend’s death with deep human sadness but always with a clear reference to his relationship with God and with the mission that God has entrusted to him; he says: “Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe” (Jn 11:14-15). The moment of Jesus’ explicit prayer to the Father at the tomb was the natural outlet for all that had happened, which took place in the double key of his friendship with Lazarus and his filial relationship with God.

Here too, the two relationships go hand in hand. “And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me’” (Jn 11:41): it was a eucharist. The sentence shows that Jesus did not cease, even for an instant, his prayer of petition for Lazarus’ life. This prayer continued, indeed, it reinforced his ties with his friend and, at the same time strengthened Jesus’ decision to remain in communion with the Father’s will, with his plan of love in which Lazarus’ illness and death were to be considered as a place for the manifestation of God’s glory.

Dear brothers and sisters, in reading this account each one of us is called to understand that in our prayers of petition to the Lord we must not expect an immediate fulfilment of what we ask, of our own will. Rather, we must entrust ourselves to the Father’s will, interpreting every event in the perspective of his glory, of his plan of love, which to our eyes is often mysterious. For this reason we too must join in our prayers, petitions, praise and thanksgiving, even when it seems to us that God is not responding to our real expectations.

Abandoning ourselves to God’s love which always precedes and accompanies us is one of the basic attitudes for our dialogue with him. On Jesus’ prayer in the account of the raising of Lazarus the Catechism of the Catholic Church comments: “Jesus' prayer, characterized by thanksgiving, reveals to us how to ask: before the gift is given, Jesus commits himself to the One who in giving gives himself. The Giver is more precious than the gift; he is the ‘treasure’; in him abides his Son's heart; the gift is given ‘as well’ (cf. Mt 6:21, 33)” (n. 2604). To me this seems very important: before the gift is given, committing ourselves to the One who gives. The Giver is more precious than the gift. For us too, therefore, over and above what God bestows on us when we call on him, the greatest gift that he can give us is his friendship, his presence and his love. He is the precious treasure to ask for and to preserve for ever.

The prayer that Jesus prays as the rock was rolled away from the entrance to Lazarus’ tomb thus has a special and unexpected development. In fact, after thanking God the Father, he adds: “I knew that you hear me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that you sent me” (Jn 11:42). With his prayer Jesus wanted to lead people back to faith, to total trust in God and in his will. And he wanted to show that this God who so loved man and the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son (cf. Jn 3:16). He is the God of Life, the God who brings hope and can reverse humanly impossible situations. Therefore a believer’s trusting prayer is a living testimony of God’s presence in the world, of his concern for humankind, of his action with a view to bringing about his plan of salvation.

Jesus’ two prayers on which we have meditated just now and which accompany the healing of the deaf mute and the raising of Lazarus, reveal that the deep connection between the love of God and love of one’s neighbour must also come into our own prayer.

In Jesus, true God and true man, attention to others, especially if they are needy and suffering, compassion at the sight of the sorrow of a family who were his friends, led him to address the Father in that fundamental relationship which directed his entire life. However, the opposite is also true: communion with the Father, constant dialogue with him, spurred Jesus to be uniquely attentive to practical human situations so as to bring God’s comfort and love to them. Human relationships lead us toward the relationship with God, and the relationship with God leads us back to our neighbour.

Dear brothers and sisters, our prayer opens the door to God who teaches us to come out of ourselves constantly, to make us capable of being close to others to bring them comfort, hope and light, especially at moments of trial. May the Lord grant us to be capable of increasingly more intense prayer, in order to strengthen our personal relationship with God the Father, to open our heart to the needs of those beside us and to feel the beauty of being “sons in the Son”, together with a great many brothers and sisters. Many thanks.

To special groups:

I offer a warm welcome to all the English-speaking visitors present, including the groups from Vietnam, Nigeria and the United States. As we prepare to celebrate the Saviour’s birth at Christmas, I cordially invoke upon you and your families his abundant blessings of joy and peace!

I greet and thank all those who have sponsored, funded and undertaken the restoration of the famous sculpture called “The Resurrection” by Maestro Pericle Fazzini, which the Servant of God Paul VI commissioned for this Hall and which you can see in front of you. After a period of painstaking labour, today we have the joy of admiring this work of art and faith in all its original splendour.

Lastly, my thoughts turn to the young people, the sick and the newlyweds. I hope that you, dear young people, will prepare your hearts to welcome Jesus who saves us with the power of his love. Dear sick people who are feeling increasingly the burden of the Cross, may the forthcoming Christmas celebrations bring you serenity and comfort. And may you, dear newlyweds, grow increasingly in that love which Jesus came to bring us in his Nativity.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Vespers for the university students of Rome

VESPERS FOR THE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS OF ROME

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Vatican Basilica

Thursday, 15 December 2011

“Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord” (Jas 5:7).

With these words the Apostle James points out to us the inner attitude for preparing ourselves to hear and welcome once again the proclamation of the Redeemer’s birth in the Bethlehem Grotto, an ineffable mystery of light, love and grace. I address my greeting to you with affection, dear university students of Rome whom I have the joy of meeting at this traditional event. I welcome you in the proximity of Holy Christmas with your aspirations, your expectations and your worries; and I also greet the academic communities that you represent. I thank Prof. Massimo Egidi, Rector Magnificent, for his courteous words to me on behalf of you all and in which he has highlighted the sensitive role of the university professor. I greet with warm cordiality Prof. Francesco Profumo, Minister for Education, University and Research, and the academic authorities of the various athenaeums.

Dear friends, St James urges his brethren to imitate the farmer who “waits for the precious fruit of the earth” (Jas 5:7). To you who live in the heart of the cultural and social environment of our time, who are experiencing the new and ever more refined technologies and who are protagonists of a dynamism in history that at times seems overwhelming, the Apostle’s invitation may seem anachronistic or as it were an invitation to leave history, not to want to see the results of your work, of your research. But is this really so? Is God’s invitation to wait really untimely? And we might ask ourselves even more radically: what does Christmas mean for me? Is it really important for my existence, for building society? There are many people in our time, especially among those you meet in university lecture halls, who voice the question of whether we should await something or someone; whether we should await another messiah, another god; whether it is worth trusting in that Child whom we shall find on Christmas Night in the manger between Mary and Joseph?

The Apostle’s exhortation to patient perseverance, which in our time might leave us somewhat perplexed, is in fact the way to accept the question of God in depth, the meaning he has in life and in history, because it is actually by patience, fidelity and constancy in seeking God and openness to him that he reveals his Face. We do not need a generic, indefinite god but rather the living, true God who unfolds the horizon of man’s future to a prospect of firm, well-founded hope, a hope rich in eternity that enables us to face the present courageously in all its aspects. Then, however, we should ask ourselves “where can my search find the true Face of this God?”. Or better still, “where does God himself come to meet me, showing me his Face, revealing his mystery to me, entering my life?”.

Dear friends, St James’ invitation: “be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord”, reminds us that the certainty of the world’s great hope is given to us, that we are not alone and that we do not build history by ourselves. God is not distant from man but reached down to him and became flesh (Jn 1:14) so that man might understand where the solid foundation of all things, the fulfilment of his deepest yearnings lies: in Christ (cf. Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, n. 10). Patience is a virtue of those who entrust themselves to this presence in history, who do not allow themselves to succumb to the temptation to put all their hope in the immediate, in a purely horizontal perspective or in projects that are technically perfect but far from the most profound reality, the one that gives the human person the loftiest dignity: the transcendent dimension, that of being a creature in the image and likeness of God and of carrying in our heart the desire to rise him.

However, there is another aspect I would like to emphasize this evening. St James has told us: “Behold, the farmer waits [for the precious fruit of the earth] being patient over it” (5:7). God, in the Incarnation of the Word, in the incarnation of his Son, experienced the time of human beings, their growth, their action in history. That Child is the sign of the patience of God who is first patient, constant and faithful to his love for us; he is the true “farmer” of history who knows how to wait. How often have men and women tried to build the world by themselves, without or in opposition to God! The result is marked by the drama of ideologies which, in the end, have proven to be against man and his profound dignity. Patient perseverance in building history, both at the personal and community levels, is not identified with the traditional virtue of prudence — which one certainly needs — but is something greater and more complex. Being persevering and patient means learning to build history together with God, because it is only by building on him and with him that the construction is firmly founded, not exploited for ideological ends but truly worthy of the human being.

This evening, therefore, let us rekindle an even brighter hope in our hearts, because the word of God reminds us that the coming of the Lord is at hand, indeed, that the Lord is with us and that we can build with him. In the Bethlehem Grotto human loneliness is overcome, our existence is no longer left to the impersonal forces of natural and historical processes, our house can be built on the rock: we can plan our history, the history of humanity, not in Utopia but in the certainty that the God of Jesus Christ is present and goes with us.

Dear university friends, let us run joyfully towards Bethlehem, let us welcome in our arms the Child that Mary and Joseph will present to us. Let us start out from him and with him, facing all the difficulties. The Lord asks each one of you to cooperate in building the city of man, seriously and enthusiastically conjugating faith and culture. For this reason I invite you to seek always, with patient perseverance, the true Face of God, helped by the pastoral journey that is proposed to you during this academic year. Seeking the Face of God is the profound aspiration of our heart and is also the answer to the fundamental question that continues to surface ever anew in contemporary society. Dear university friends, you know that the Church of Rome is close to you, with the wise and caring guidance of the Cardinal Vicar and of your chaplains. Let us thank the Lord because, as has been mentioned, 20 years ago Bl. John Paul II set up the Office for University Ministry at the service of the academic community of Rome. The work it has done has encouraged the creation and development of chaplaincies and has reached the point of being a well-organized network, where the formative proposals of the different athenaeums — of the State, private, Catholic and Pontifical — can contribute to elaborating a culture at the service of the human person’s integral growth. At the end of this Liturgy the Spanish University Delegation will consign the Sedes Sapientiae Icon to the Delegation from La Sapienza University of Rome. This will mark the beginning of the Marian peregrinatio to the chaplaincies, which I will accompany with my prayer. Be assured that the Pope trusts in you and your faithful testimony and apostolic commitment.

Dear friends, let us hasten confidently together this evening on the journey to Bethlehem, taking the expectations and hopes of our brethren with us so that all may encounter the Word of life and entrust themselves to him. This is my hope that I address to Rome’s academic community: take to everyone the proclamation that the true Face of God is in the Child of Bethlehem, so close to each one of us that it is impossible for anyone to feel excluded, no one must doubt in the possibility of the encounter for he is the patient and faithful God, who knows how to wait and how to respect our freedom.

This evening let us profess with trust the deepest aspiration of our heart: “Your face, Lord, do I seek. Come, do not delay”. Amen.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

The logic of power breaks up society

Benedict xvi speaks to eleven new ambassadors at the ceremony for the presentation of their Letters of Credence

“Private interests and the logic of power”, the Holy Father said, “lead to the disintegration of society and accentuate poverty”. The Pope was speaking at the ceremony, in the Vatican’s Clementine Hall on Thursday morning, 15 December, at which each ambassador personally presented to him his Letters of Credence in the presence of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State. Benedict xvi then addressed the ambassadors, their co-workers and their relatives. The following is a translation of the Pope’s Discourse, which was given in French.

Your Excellencies,

I receive you with joy this morning in the Apostolic Palace for the presentation of the Letters accrediting you as Ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary of your respective countries to the Holy See: Trinidad and Tobago, the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, the Swiss Confederation, Burundi, Thailand, Pakistan, Mozambique, Kyrgyzstan, the Principality of Andorra, Sri Lanka and Burkina Faso. You have just addressed to me the courteous words of your Heads of State, for which I thank you. I would be grateful if you would kindly reciprocate by conveying to them my respectful greetings and good wishes, for themselves and for the lofty office they are carrying out at the service of their country and their people. I also wish to greet through you all the civil and religious authorities of your nations, as well as all your compatriots, I likewise naturally address my prayers and thoughts to the Catholic communities resident in your countries.

The unity of the human family is being lived today as a fact. By virtue of the means of social communication, which link all the regions of the globe, the means of transport which facilitate human exchanges, trade agreements that make economies interdependent and the challenges which are acquiring a global dimension — such as the safeguard of the environment and the importance of migratory flows — people have realized that henceforth they have a common destiny.

Next to the positive aspects, this awareness is sometimes seen as a burden, in the sense that it considerably extends the realm of individual responsibility and makes the resolution of problems all the more complex the greater the number of people actively involved. This cannot be denied; however, the way humanity sees itself must develop if it is not to find this interdependence a threat but rather an advantage: that of human beings who work with and for each other. We are all responsible for everyone and it is important to have a positive concept of solidarity. Solidarity is the real pivot that enables humanity to achieve integral development and to move on towards its fulfilment. In considering all the areas where solidarity deserves to be practised, we must welcome as a positive sign of today’s culture the need, ever more present in the conscience of our contemporaries, for an intergenerational solidarity. This is naturally rooted in families, which it is right to support so that they continue to carry out their essential role in society.

And, at the same time, in order to broaden the field of solidarity to allow it to advance, the education of youth is the main priority. In this sphere I encourage each one — whatever the level of his or her responsibility — and governments in particular to show creativity, to use and invest the necessary means to give youth the fundamental ethical bases, helping them in particular to acquire a training and to combat the social evils inherent in unemployment, drugs, crime and the lack of respect for the person. Concern for the future generations and their future will bring significant headway in the perception of the unity of the human race.

There is no need to fear that this common, shared responsibility for the good of the human race in its entirety may constantly collide with cultural and religious diversity as a dead end. The plurality of cultures and religions does not oppose the common search for truth, goodness and beauty. Illuminated and sustained by the light of Revelation, the Church encourages men and women to trust in reason which, if it is purified by faith is exalted by Revelation and thereby enabled “to broaden its horizons to enter into a field of research as unfathomably expansive as the mystery itself” (cf. Address to Congress on the Occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the Encyclical ‘Fides et Ratio’, 16 October 2008).

It is then capable of surmounting partisan or interested forms of conditioning, to recognize the universal goods that all human beings need. Among these goods, peace and social and religious harmony, so deeply desired, are not only linked to a just and adapted legislative framework but also to the moral calibre of each citizen since “solidarity is seen... under two complementary aspects: that of a social principle and that of a moral virtue” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, n. 193).

Solidarity totally fulfils its role as a social principle when it relies on structures of subsidiarity and on each person’s firm and persevering determination to work for the common good in the awareness of a common responsibility. The new challenges that your countries are facing today call for a mobilization of minds and human creativity in order to fight poverty and for a more effective and healthier use of the available resources and energy. At both individual and political levels it is a matter of advancing firmly towards a more practical, more widely shared commitment with regard to respect and to the protection of creation. I therefore warmly encourage the political authorities of your countries to work with this in mind.

Lastly, increasing the responsibility of all also entails exercising active and effective vigilance over respect for human dignity and its promotion, in the face of every attempt to diminish it, such as its denial or the exploitation of every individual. This approach will contribute to preventing social action from too easily falling prey to private interests and the logic of power that lead to the disintegration of society and accentuate poverty.

It is reliance on the notion of the integral development of the human person that will make solidarity possible and permit greater justice. In this regard it is not only the task of religions to honour the primacy of the spirit, but it is also up to states to do so, especially by means of a cultural policy that encourages the access of all to the goods of the spirit, promotes good social ties and never discourages human beings from freely pursuing their spiritual quest.

While you are beginning your mission to the Holy See I would like to assure you, Your Excellencies, that you will always find with my collaborators attentive listening and the help you may need. I invoke upon you yourselves, upon your families, upon the members of your diplomatic mission and upon all the nations that you represent, an abundance of divine Blessings.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Address to the Ukrainian Delegation that donated the Christmas tree for St Peter's Square

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

TO THE UKRAINIAN DELEGATION

THAT DONATED THE CHRISTMAS TREE FOR ST PETER'S SQUARE

Clementine Hall

Friday, 16 December 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I am glad to welcome you and to address my cordial greeting to each one of you. I greet H.B. Sviatoslav Schevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyč, Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki of Lviv for Latins and Bishop Milan Šašik, Eparch of Mukachevo, together with my other Brothers in the Episcopate and in the presbyterate of the Greek-Catholic Church and the Latin Church. I extend my affectionate thought to all the faithful of Ukraine represented here. I greet with respect the civil authorities and in particular Mr Kolesnikov Borys, Vice-Prime Minister. I thank him for his courteous words and for the gift of the fine Christmas tree that adorns St Peter’s Square as well as for the Icon. I address a special thought to the distinguished representatives of the Orthodox Church, with the Archbishop of Poltava and Myrhorod, expressing my sincere appreciation of their meaningful presence. Lastly, I greet all the Ukrainians, those in the homeland, those scattered across the world and also those present here in Rome.

This decorated tree will stand beside the crib, until the end of the Christmas festivities, to be admired by the inhabitants of Rome and by the pilgrims coming here from every part of the world. It is a significant symbol of Christ’s Nativity because, with its evergreen branches, it evokes the continuing of life. The fir is also a sign of the popular piety of your land and of the Christian roots of your culture. I hope these roots will increasingly strengthen your national unity and foster the promotion of authentic and shared values. Down the centuries your country has been a crossroads of different cultures, a meeting point between the spiritual riches of East and West. Adhering tenaciously to the values of faith, may it continue to respond to this particular vocation.

You have wished to accompany this impressive red fir-tree with smaller trees for the Apostolic Palace and other parts of the Vatican. These plants, together with the traditional costumes, evocative music and local produce will make known to Rome come characteristic elements of your country. May this pilgrimage of yours awaken throughout the Christian Ukrainian community a renewed desire to live and witness joyfully to faith and to promote the values of life, solidarity and peace which Christ’s birth presents to us every year anew.

In this Advent season the Church invites us to prepare ourselves for the Nativity of the Saviour, intensifying our spiritual journey and our relationship with Christ. Our epoch needs holy Christians, enthusiastic about their faith! The Virgin Mary is our model and our guide: to understand God’s will for her life and the meaning of the events that concerned the Son of God, she adopted a unique contemplative approach: listening, observing, preserving, meditating and praying. How necessary it is to recover the taste for prayer! How careful we must be not to let ourselves be swept on by the hectic pace of life that prevents us from re-entering ourselves and finding ourselves as we stand before the marvellous mystery of God who dwells in our heart!

Dear friends, the tree and the crib are elements of the typical Christmas atmosphere that is part of our communities’ spiritual legacy: an atmosphere steeped in religious devotion and family closeness that we must also preserve in today’s society, in which consumerism and the quest for material goods sometimes seem to prevail. Christmas is a Christian feast and its symbols are important references to the great mystery of the Incarnation and Birth of Jesus, which the liturgy constantly calls to mind. The Creator of the universe, in making himself a child, came to live among us to share our journey. He made himself little to enter the human heart and thus to renew it with his love. Let us prepare to welcome him with faith.

I express my deep gratitude anew to all of you, to your collaborators who have stayed at home and to all those who contributed to the transport of the tree. Thank you for the contribution that each one of you has made with great generosity.

I take this favourable opportunity to offer you my most fervent good wishes for Christmas, now at hand, and for the Christmas celebrations. I assure you of my remembrance in prayer for you yourselves, for your families, for Ukraine and for all the Ukrainians, as I warmly impart the Apostolic Blessing to you. Happy Christmas!

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Address to the Bishops of the Episcopal Conferences of the Pacific and of New Zealand on their ad Limina visit

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

TO THE BISHOPS OF THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCES

OF THE PACIFIC AND OF NEW ZEALAND

ON THEIR "AD LIMINA" VISIT

Consistory Hall

Saturday, 17 December 2011

Dear Brother Bishops and Priests,

I am pleased to offer you a warm fraternal welcome on the occasion of your visit ad Limina Apostolorum. This gathering is a tangible sign of our communion in faith and charity in the one Church of Christ. I wish to thank Archbishop Dew and Bishop Mafi for the kind words offered on your behalf. My cordial greetings go to the priests, the men and women religious, and those entrusted to your pastoral care. Please assure them of my prayers for their growth in holiness and of my affection for them in the Lord.

With gratitude to Almighty God, I note from your reports the many blessings which the Lord has bestowed upon your Jurisdictions. I am also aware of the challenges to the Christian life which are common to all of you, in spite of the many social, economic and cultural contexts in which you work. You have mentioned in particular the challenge set before you by the secularism characteristic of your societies, a reality that has a significant impact on the understanding and practice of the Catholic faith. This is seen specifically in a weakened appreciation for the sacred nature of Christian marriage and the stability of the family. In such a context, the struggle to lead a life worthy of the our baptismal calling (cf. Eph. 4:1) and to abstain from the earthly passions which wage war against ours souls (cf. 1 Pet 2:11) becomes ever more challenging. Yet we know that, ultimately, Christian faith provides a surer basis for life than the secular vision; for “it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of humanity truly becomes clear” (Gaudium et Spes, 22).

Thus, the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization was recently established. Since the Christian faith is founded on the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, the new evangelization is not an abstract concept but a renewal of authentic Christian living based on the teachings of the Church. You, as Bishops and Pastors, are called to be protagonists in formulating this response according to local needs and circumstances in your various countries and among your peoples. By strengthening the visible bonds of ecclesial communion, build among yourselves an ever stronger sense of faith and charity, so that those whom you serve, in their turn, may imitate your charity and be ambassadors of Christ both in the Church and in the civil arena.

As you face this historic challenge, you must do so under the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit, who also calls forth, consecrates and sends priests as “co-workers of the Order of Bishops, with whom they are joined in the priestly office and with whom they are called to the service of the people of God” (Rite of Ordination of Priests). Dear Brother Bishops, I encourage you to have a special care for your priests. As you know, one of your first pastoral duties is to your priests and to their sanctification, especially those who are experiencing difficulties and those who have little contact with their brother priests. Be a father who guides them on the path to holiness, so that their lives may also attract others to follow Christ. We know that good, wise and holy priests are the best promoters of vocations to the priesthood. With the confidence that comes from faith, we can say that the Lord is still calling men to the priesthood, and you are aware that encouraging them to consider dedicating their lives fully to Christ is among your top priorities. In our day young people need more assistance with spiritual discernment so that they may know the Lord’s will. In a world affected by a “profound crisis of faith” (Porta Fidei, 2), ensure too that your seminarians receive a well-rounded formation that will prepare them to serve the Lord and love his flock according to the heart of the Good Shepherd.

In this context, I wish to acknowledge the significant contribution to the spread of the Gospel made by the men and women religious present throughout your region, including those active in pastoral, catechetical, and educational fields. Together with those living a contemplative life, may they remain faithful to the charisms of their founders, which are always united with the life and discipline of the entire Church, and may their witness to God continue to be a beacon that points towards a life of faith, love and right living.

Likewise, the lay faithful’s role in the well-being of the Church is essential since the Lord does not expect pastors “to undertake by themselves the entire saving mission of the Church” (Lumen Gentium, 30). I understand from your reports that your task of spreading the Gospel often depends on the assistance of lay missionaries and catechists. Continue to ensure that a sound and ongoing formation be afforded them, especially within the context of their associations. In so doing, you will equip them for every good work in the building up of the body of Christ (cf. 2 Tim 3:17; Eph 4:12). Their zeal for the faith under your continued leadership and support will surely bear much fruit in the vineyard of the Lord.

My dear Brother Bishops and Priests, as I have had this opportunity to discuss with you the New Evangelization, I do so mindful of the recently proclaimed Year of Faith, which “is intended to give a fresh impetus to the mission of the whole Church to lead human beings out of the wilderness in which they find themselves” (Homily, 16 October 2011). May this privileged time serve as an inspiration as you join the entire Church in the ongoing efforts of the New Evangelization, for although you are spread among many islands and we are separated by great distances, together we profess “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all” (Eph 4:5-6). May you continue to be united among yourselves and with the Successor of Peter. Commending you to the intercession of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, and assuring you of my affection and prayers for you and for those entrusted to your pastoral care, I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Address to the Bishops of the Episcopal Conferences of the Pacific and of New Zealand on their ad Limina visit

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

TO THE BISHOPS OF THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCES

OF THE PACIFIC AND OF NEW ZEALAND

ON THEIR "AD LIMINA" VISIT

Consistory Hall

Saturday, 17 December 2011

Dear Brother Bishops and Priests,

I am pleased to offer you a warm fraternal welcome on the occasion of your visit ad Limina Apostolorum. This gathering is a tangible sign of our communion in faith and charity in the one Church of Christ. I wish to thank Archbishop Dew and Bishop Mafi for the kind words offered on your behalf. My cordial greetings go to the priests, the men and women religious, and those entrusted to your pastoral care. Please assure them of my prayers for their growth in holiness and of my affection for them in the Lord.

With gratitude to Almighty God, I note from your reports the many blessings which the Lord has bestowed upon your Jurisdictions. I am also aware of the challenges to the Christian life which are common to all of you, in spite of the many social, economic and cultural contexts in which you work. You have mentioned in particular the challenge set before you by the secularism characteristic of your societies, a reality that has a significant impact on the understanding and practice of the Catholic faith. This is seen specifically in a weakened appreciation for the sacred nature of Christian marriage and the stability of the family. In such a context, the struggle to lead a life worthy of the our baptismal calling (cf. Eph. 4:1) and to abstain from the earthly passions which wage war against ours souls (cf. 1 Pet 2:11) becomes ever more challenging. Yet we know that, ultimately, Christian faith provides a surer basis for life than the secular vision; for “it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of humanity truly becomes clear” (Gaudium et Spes, 22).

Thus, the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization was recently established. Since the Christian faith is founded on the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, the new evangelization is not an abstract concept but a renewal of authentic Christian living based on the teachings of the Church. You, as Bishops and Pastors, are called to be protagonists in formulating this response according to local needs and circumstances in your various countries and among your peoples. By strengthening the visible bonds of ecclesial communion, build among yourselves an ever stronger sense of faith and charity, so that those whom you serve, in their turn, may imitate your charity and be ambassadors of Christ both in the Church and in the civil arena.

As you face this historic challenge, you must do so under the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit, who also calls forth, consecrates and sends priests as “co-workers of the Order of Bishops, with whom they are joined in the priestly office and with whom they are called to the service of the people of God” (Rite of Ordination of Priests). Dear Brother Bishops, I encourage you to have a special care for your priests. As you know, one of your first pastoral duties is to your priests and to their sanctification, especially those who are experiencing difficulties and those who have little contact with their brother priests. Be a father who guides them on the path to holiness, so that their lives may also attract others to follow Christ. We know that good, wise and holy priests are the best promoters of vocations to the priesthood. With the confidence that comes from faith, we can say that the Lord is still calling men to the priesthood, and you are aware that encouraging them to consider dedicating their lives fully to Christ is among your top priorities. In our day young people need more assistance with spiritual discernment so that they may know the Lord’s will. In a world affected by a “profound crisis of faith” (Porta Fidei, 2), ensure too that your seminarians receive a well-rounded formation that will prepare them to serve the Lord and love his flock according to the heart of the Good Shepherd.

In this context, I wish to acknowledge the significant contribution to the spread of the Gospel made by the men and women religious present throughout your region, including those active in pastoral, catechetical, and educational fields. Together with those living a contemplative life, may they remain faithful to the charisms of their founders, which are always united with the life and discipline of the entire Church, and may their witness to God continue to be a beacon that points towards a life of faith, love and right living.

Likewise, the lay faithful’s role in the well-being of the Church is essential since the Lord does not expect pastors “to undertake by themselves the entire saving mission of the Church” (Lumen Gentium, 30). I understand from your reports that your task of spreading the Gospel often depends on the assistance of lay missionaries and catechists. Continue to ensure that a sound and ongoing formation be afforded them, especially within the context of their associations. In so doing, you will equip them for every good work in the building up of the body of Christ (cf. 2 Tim 3:17; Eph 4:12). Their zeal for the faith under your continued leadership and support will surely bear much fruit in the vineyard of the Lord.

My dear Brother Bishops and Priests, as I have had this opportunity to discuss with you the New Evangelization, I do so mindful of the recently proclaimed Year of Faith, which “is intended to give a fresh impetus to the mission of the whole Church to lead human beings out of the wilderness in which they find themselves” (Homily, 16 October 2011). May this privileged time serve as an inspiration as you join the entire Church in the ongoing efforts of the New Evangelization, for although you are spread among many islands and we are separated by great distances, together we profess “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all” (Eph 4:5-6). May you continue to be united among yourselves and with the Successor of Peter. Commending you to the intercession of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, and assuring you of my affection and prayers for you and for those entrusted to your pastoral care, I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Fourth Sunday of Advent - Angelus, 18 December 2011, Benedict XVI

BENEDICT XVI

ANGELUS

St Peter's Square

Fourth Sunday of Advent, 18 December 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On this fourth and last Sunday of Advent, this year the liturgy presents the narrative of the Angel’s announcement to Mary. Contemplating the amazing icon of the Blessed Virgin at the moment when she receives the divine message and gives her answer, we are enlightened within by the light of truth that shines from that mystery ever new. In particular I would like to reflect briefly on the importance of Mary’s virginity, namely that she conceived Jesus while remaining a virgin

Against the background of the event of Nazareth is the prophecy of Isaiah. “Behold, a young virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Is 7:14). This ancient promise found superabundant fulfilment in the Incarnation of the Son of God. Indeed, not only did the Virgin Mary conceive, but she did so through the work of the Holy Spirit, that is, God himself.

The human being who came to life in her womb took Mary’s flesh, but his existence derived totally from God. He is fully man, made of clay — to use the biblical symbol — but comes from on high, from Heaven. The fact that Mary conceived while remaining a virgin is thus essential to the knowledge of Jesus and to our faith, because it testifies that it was God’s initiative and, above all, it reveals who the conceived being was.

As the Gospel says: “the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Lk 1:35). In this sense, the virginity of Mary and the divinity of Jesus guarantees each other. This is what makes that single question so important that Mary, “greatly troubled”, asks the Angel: “How can this be, since I have no husband?” (Lk 1:34). Mary was very wise in her simplicity. She did not doubt God’s power, but she wanted to better understand his will, in order to conform herself completely to this will. Mary was infinitely overcome by the Mystery, yet she occupied perfectly the place which, in its centre had been assigned to her. Her heart and her mind are fully humble and precisely because of her unique humility, God awaits this young woman’s “yes” in order to carry out his plan. He respects her dignity and her freedom. Mary’s “yes” entailed motherhood and virginity as a whole. She wanted everything in her to glorify God and he wanted the Son, born of her, to be totally a gift of grace.

Dear friends, Mary’s virginity is unique and unrepeatable; but its spiritual meaning concerns every Christian, who is essentially linked to faith. In fact, those who put deep trust in God’s love welcome Jesus and his divine life within them through the action of the Holy Spirit. This is the mystery of Christmas! I hope that you will all experience it with deep joy.

After the Angelus :

Dear brothers and sisters, yesterday in Madrid, 22 missionaries Oblates of Mary Immaculate and a layman were beatified. They were killed in Spain in 1936 for simply being zealous witnesses of the Gospel. The hope that their sacrifice will continue to bear abundant fruits of conversion and reconciliation is joined with joy in their beatification.

I would like to reassure my closeness to the populations of the southern Philippines, hit by a violent tropical storm. I pray for the victims, many of whom are children, for the homeless and for the many who have been dispersed.

I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at this Angelus prayer. The Gospel of today’s liturgy recounts the Archangel Gabriel’s Annunciation to the Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and bear a son to be called Jesus. Just as the Immaculate Virgin brought God to us, may we be not afraid to let her bring us to God. In this final week of Advent, let us intensify our efforts to prepare for his coming. Upon you and your loved ones, I invoke the blessings of Almighty God!

I wish everyone a good Sunday and a good preparation for Holy Christmas.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI, 21 December 2011

BENEDICT XVI

GENERAL AUDIENCE

Paul VI Audience Hall

Wednesday, 21 December 2011

Holy Christmas

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I am glad to welcome you at the General Audience a few days before the celebration of the Lord’s Birth. The greeting on everyone’s lips in these days is “Happy Christmas! Best wishes for the Christmas festivities!”. Let us ensure that in today’s society too the exchange of good wishes does not lose its profound religious value and that the feast is not emptied by the exterior aspects which pluck at our heartstrings. The external signs are of course beautiful and important, as long as they do not distract us but rather help us to live Christmas in its truest sense, as sacred and Christian, so that our joy too may not be superficial but profound.

With the Christmas liturgy the Church ushers us into the great Mystery of the Incarnation. Christmas, in fact, is not merely an anniversary of Jesus’ Birth; it is also this, but it is more, it is celebrating a mystery that has marked and continues to mark human history. God himself came to dwell among us (cf. Jn 1:14), he made himself one of us. It is a mystery that concerns our faith and our life; a mystery that we actually experience in the liturgical celebrations, and, in particular, in Holy Mass. Some people might ask themselves: how is it possible for me to experience this event today that happened so long ago? How can I participate fruitfully in the Birth of the Son of God that occurred more than 2,000 years ago?

In Holy Mass on Christmas Night we shall repeat these words in the refrain of the Responsorial Psalm: “Today is born our Saviour, Christ the Lord”. This adverb of time, “today”, recurs several times throughout the Christmas celebrations and is applied to the event of the Birth of Jesus and to the salvation that the Incarnation of the Son of God comes to bring us. In the liturgy this event goes beyond the limits of time and space and becomes real, becomes present; its effect endures, even with the passing of days, years and centuries. In pointing out that Jesus is born “today”, the liturgy is not using a meaningless sentence but stresses that this Birth invests and permeates the whole of history and that today too it remains a reality we can attain in the liturgy itself.

For us believers the celebration of Christmas renews our certainty that God is really present with us, still “flesh” and not far away: although he is with the Father he is close to us. In the Child born in Bethlehem God came close to man: we can still encounter him now, in a “today” on which the sun never sets.

I would like to insist on this point because people of today, people of the “tangible”, of what can be experienced empirically, are finding it ever harder to open their horizons and enter the world of God. Of course, humanity’s redemption happened at a precise and identifiable moment in history: in the manifestation of Jesus of Nazareth; but Jesus is the Son of God, he is God himself, who not only has spoken to man, showed him miraculous signs and guided him throughout the history of salvation, but also became man and remains man.

The Eternal One entered the limits of time and space to make the encounter with him possible “today”. The liturgical texts of Christmas help us to understand that the events of salvation brought about by Christ are always up to date and concern every person and all people. When in the liturgical celebrations we hear or proclaim: “today is born our Saviour”, we are not using an empty, conventional expression. Rather, we mean that God is offering to us “today”, now, to me, to each one of us, the possibility of recognizing and welcoming him, as did the shepherds in Bethlehem, so that he may also be born in our lives and renew, illuminate and transform them by his Grace and by his Presence.

Therefore, while Christmas commemorates the Birth of Jesus in the flesh from the Virgin Mary — and many liturgical texts bring one episode or another to life before our eyes — it is an effective event for us. Pope St Leo the Great, in presenting the profound meaning of the Feast of Christmas invited his faithful with these words: “Let us be glad in the Lord, dearly-beloved, and rejoice with spiritual joy that there has dawned for us the day of ever-new redemption, of ancient preparation, of eternal bliss. For as the year rolls round, there recurs for us the commemoration of our salvation, which promised from the beginning, accomplished in the fullness of time will endure for ever” (Sermo 22, In Nativitate Domini, 2, 1: PL 54, 193).

And, St Leo the Great also said in another of his Christmas sermons: “Today the Maker of the world was born of a Virgin’s womb, and he, who made all natures, became Son of her, whom he created. Today the Word of God appeared clothed in flesh, and that which had never been visible to human eyes began to be tangible to our hands as well. Today the shepherds learned from angels’ voices that the Saviour was born in the substance of our flesh and soul” (Sermo 26, In Nativitate Domini, 6, 1: PL 54, 213).

There is a second aspect that I would like to mention briefly: the event of Bethlehem must be considered in the light of the Paschal Mystery; they are both part of Christ’s one work of redemption. Jesus’ Incarnation and Birth are already an invitation to us to direct our gaze to his death and his Resurrection. Christmas and Easter are both feasts of redemption. Easter celebrates it as a victory over sin and death; it marks the final moment when the glory of the Man-God shines out like the light of day. Christmas celebrates it as God’s entry into history, his becoming man in order to restore mankind to God. It marks, so to speak, the initial moment when we see the first gleam of dawn.

However just as daybreak precedes and heralds the light of the day, so Christmas already proclaims the Cross and the glory of the Resurrection. And the two seasons of the year in which the two great feasts are placed, at least in some parts of the world, can help us understand this aspect. Indeed, whereas Easter comes at the beginning of Spring, when the sun dispels the thick, cold fog and renews the face of the earth, Christmas falls at the very beginning of Winter, when the sun’s light and warmth do not succeed in reawakening nature, enveloped in the cold beneath whose pall life is nevertheless pulsating and the victory of the sun and its warmth begins again.

The Church Fathers always interpreted Christ’s Birth in the light of the whole redemptive work which culminates in the Paschal Mystery. The Incarnation of the Son of God not only appears as the beginning and condition for salvation, but as the very presence of the Mystery of our salvation: God is made man, he is born an infant, like us, he takes our flesh to conquer death and sin.

Two important texts of St Basil illustrate this clearly. St Basil said to the faithful: “God takes flesh precisely in order to destroy death that is concealed in it. Just as antidotes to poison neutralize its effects as soon as they are ingested and as the shadows in a house are dispelled by sunlight, so death that held sway over human nature was destroyed by God’s presence. But just as ice in water remains solid as long as night lasts and darkness prevails, it quickly melts in the heat of the sun, so death, that reigned until Christ’s coming, as soon as God the Saviour’s grace appeared and the sun of justice arouse, unable to coexist with life, ‘is swallowed up in victory’ (1 Cor 15:54)” (Homily on the Birth of Christ, 2: PG 31, 1461).

In another text St Basil again formulates this invitation: “Let us celebrate the salvation of the world, the birth of the human race. Today, Adam’s sin has been pardoned. Now we can no longer say “you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3:19) but: united to him who came from heaven, you will be admitted to heaven (Homily on the Birth of Christ, 6: PG 31, 1473).

In Christmas we find the tenderness and love of God who stoops to our limitations, to our weaknesses, to our sins, and who bends down even to us. St Paul declares that Jesus Christ, “who, though he was in the form of God... emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:6-7).

Let us look at the Bethlehem Grotto: God humbled himself to the point of being laid in a manger, already a prelude to the humbling of himself in the hour of his passion. The culmination of the love story between God and man passes through the manger in Bethlehem and the tomb in Jerusalem.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us experience Christmas that is now at hand with joy. Let us experience this wondrous event: the Son of God is born again “today”, God is truly close to each one of us and wants to meet us, he wants to bring us to him. He is the true light that dispels and dissolves the shadows that envelop our life and humanity. Let us experience the Nativity of the Lord contemplating the path of the immense love of God who lifts us up to him through the Mystery of the Incarnation, passion death and resurrection of his Son; for, as St Augustine said, “In [Christ] the divinity of the Only Begotten One was made to share in our mortality, that we might share in his immortality” (Epistola 187, 6. 20: PL 33, 839-840).

Above all let us contemplate and live this Mystery in the celebration of the Eucharist, the heart of Holy Christmas; in it Jesus becomes present in a real way, the true Bread come down from heaven, the true Lamb immolated for our salvation.

I wish all of you and your families a truly Christian celebration of Christmas so that the exchange of greetings on that day may also be an expression of the joy of knowing that God is close to us and wants to accompany us on our journey through life. Many thanks.

To special groups:

I greet all the English-speaking visitors present, including the pilgrimage groups from Singapore and the United States. My special greetings and good wishes go to the Tenth World Congress of the International Association of Maternal and Neonatal Health. My greeting also goes to the primary school children from Korea. I welcome the alumni of the Pontifical North American College who are celebrating their fiftieth anniversary of ordination, and the students of Holy Spirit Seminary in Brisbane, Australia. Upon all of you and your families I invoke God’s abundant blessings. Merry Christmas!

I address a special greeting to the young people, the sick and the newlyweds. Dear young people, especially you, students at the Braucci di Caivano Secondary School, may you draw close to the mystery of Bethlehem with the same sentiments of faith as those of the Virgin Mary; may you be granted, dear sick people, to draw from the Crib that joy and deep peace that Jesus comes to bring to the world; and may you, dear newlyweds, contemplate with perseverance the example of the Holy Family of Nazareth to impress the virtues practised in it on your journey of family life on which you have just set out.

In reciprocating your greetings, I wish everyone a Holy Christmas filled with every good thing.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Address by the Holy Father on the occasion of Christmas greetings to the Roman Curia

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

ON THE OCCASION OF CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

TO THE ROMAN CURIA

Clementine Hall

Thursday, 22 December 2011

Dear Cardinals,

Brother Bishops and Priests,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The occasion that brings us together today is always particularly moving. The holy feast of Christmas is almost upon us and it prompts the great family of the Roman Curia to come together for a gracious exchange of greetings, as we wish one another a joyful and spiritually fruitful celebration of this feast of the God who became flesh and established his dwelling in our midst (cf. Jn 1:14). For me, this is an occasion not only to offer you my personal good wishes, but also to express my gratitude and that of the Church to each one of you for your generous service; I ask you to convey this to all the co-workers of our extended family. I offer particular thanks to the Dean of the College, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who has given voice to the sentiments of all present and of all who work in the various offices of the Curia and the Governorate, including those whose apostolate is carried out in the Pontifical Representations throughout the world. All of us are committed to spreading throughout the world the resounding message that the angels proclaimed that night in Bethlehem, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will” (Lk 2:14), so as to bring joy and hope to our world.

As this year draws to a close, Europe is undergoing an economic and financial crisis, which is ultimately based on the ethical crisis looming over the Old Continent. Even if such values as solidarity, commitment to one’s neighbour and responsibility towards the poor and suffering are largely uncontroversial, still the motivation is often lacking for individuals and large sectors of society to practise renunciation and make sacrifices. Perception and will do not necessarily go hand in hand. In defending personal interests, the will obscures perception, and perception thus weakened is unable to stiffen the will. In this sense, some quite fundamental questions emerge from this crisis: where is the light that is capable of illuminating our perception not merely with general ideas, but with concrete imperatives? Where is the force that draws the will upwards? These are questions that must be answered by our proclamation of the Gospel, by the new evangelization, so that message may become event, so that proclamation may lead to life.

The key theme of this year, and of the years ahead, is this: how do we proclaim the Gospel today? How can faith as a living force become a reality today? The ecclesial events of the outgoing year were all ultimately related to this theme. There were the journeys to Croatia, to the World Youth Day in Spain, to my home country of Germany, and finally to Africa – Benin – for the consignment of the Post-Synodal document on justice, peace and reconciliation, which should now lead to concrete results in the various local churches. Equally memorable were the journeys to Venice, to San Marino, to the Eucharistic Congress in Ancona, and to Calabria. And finally there was the important day of encounter in Assisi for religions and for people who in whatever way are searching for truth and peace, representing a new step forward in the pilgrimage towards truth and peace. The establishment of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization is at the same time a pointer towards next year’s Synod on the same theme. The Year of Faith, commemorating the beginning of the Council fifty years ago, also belongs in this context. Each of these events had its own particular characteristics. In Germany, where the Reformation began, the ecumenical question, with all its trials and hopes, naturally assumed particular importance. Intimately linked to this, at the focal point of the debate, the question that arises repeatedly is this: what is reform of the Church? How does it take place? What are its paths and its goals? Not only faithful believers but also outside observers are noticing with concern that regular churchgoers are growing older all the time and that their number is constantly diminishing; that recruitment of priests is stagnating; that scepticism and unbelief are growing. What, then, are we to do? There are endless debates over what must be done in order to reverse the trend. There is no doubt that a variety of things need to be done. But action alone fails to resolve the matter. The essence of the crisis of the Church in Europe is the crisis of faith. If we find no answer to this, if faith does not take on new life, deep conviction and real strength from the encounter with Jesus Christ, then all other reforms will remain ineffective.

On this point, the encounter with Africa’s joyful passion for faith brought great encouragement. None of the faith fatigue that is so prevalent here, none of the oft-encountered sense of having had enough of Christianity was detectable there. Amid all the problems, sufferings and trials that Africa clearly experiences, one could still sense the people’s joy in being Christian, buoyed up by inner happiness at knowing Christ and belonging to his Church. From this joy comes also the strength to serve Christ in hard-pressed situations of human suffering, the strength to put oneself at his disposal, without looking round for one’s own advantage. Encountering this faith that is so ready to sacrifice and so full of happiness is a powerful remedy against fatigue with Christianity such as we are experiencing in Europe today.

A further remedy against faith fatigue was the wonderful experience of World Youth Day in Madrid. This was new evangelization put into practice. Again and again at World Youth Days, a new, more youthful form of Christianity can be seen, something I would describe under five headings.

1. Firstly, there is a new experience of catholicity, of the Church’s universality. This is what struck the young people and all the participants quite directly: we come from every continent, but although we have never met one another, we know one another. We speak different languages, we have different ways of life and different cultural backgrounds, yet we are immediately united as one great family. Outward separation and difference is relativized. We are all moved by the one Lord Jesus Christ, in whom true humanity and at the same time the face of God himself is revealed to us. We pray in the same way. The same inner encounter with Jesus Christ has stamped us deep within with the same structure of intellect, will and heart. And finally, our common liturgy speaks to our hearts and unites us in a vast family. In this setting, to say that all humanity are brothers and sisters is not merely an idea: it becomes a real shared experience, generating joy. And so we have also understood quite concretely: despite all trials and times of darkness, it is a wonderful thing to belong to the worldwide Church, to the Catholic Church, that the Lord has given to us.

2. From this derives a new way of living our humanity, our Christianity. For me, one of the most important experiences of those days was the meeting with the World Youth Day volunteers: about 20,000 young people, all of whom devoted weeks or months of their lives to working on the technical, organizational and material preparations for World Youth Day, and thus made it possible for the whole event to run smoothly. Those who give their time always give a part of their lives. At the end of the day, these young people were visibly and tangibly filled with a great sense of happiness: the time that they gave up had meaning; in giving of their time and labour, they had found time, they had found life. And here something fundamental became clear to me: these young people had given a part of their lives in faith, not because it was asked of them, not in order to attain Heaven, nor in order to escape the danger of Hell. They did not do it in order to find fulfilment. They were not looking round for themselves. There came into my mind the image of Lot’s wife, who by looking round was turned into a pillar of salt. How often the life of Christians is determined by the fact that first and foremost they look out for themselves, they do good, so to speak, for themselves. And how great is the temptation of all people to be concerned primarily for themselves; to look round for themselves and in the process to become inwardly empty, to become “pillars of salt”. But here it was not a matter of seeking fulfilment or wanting to live one’s life for oneself. These young people did good, even at a cost, even if it demanded sacrifice, simply because it is a wonderful thing to do good, to be there for others. All it needs is the courage to make the leap. Prior to all of this is the encounter with Jesus Christ, inflaming us with love for God and for others, and freeing us from seeking our own ego. In the words of a prayer attributed to Saint Francis Xavier: I do good, not that I may come to Heaven thereby and not because otherwise you could cast me into Hell. I do it because of you, my King and my Lord. I came across this same attitude in Africa too, for example among the Sisters of Mother Teresa, who devote themselves to abandoned, sick, poor and suffering children, without asking anything for themselves, thus becoming inwardly rich and free. This is the genuinely Christian attitude. Equally unforgettable for me was the encounter with handicapped young people in the Saint Joseph Centre in Madrid, where I encountered the same readiness to put oneself at the disposal of others – a readiness to give oneself that is ultimately derived from encounter with Christ, who gave himself for us.

3. A third element, that has an increasingly natural and central place in World Youth Days and in the spirituality that arises from them, is adoration. I still look back to that unforgettable moment during my visit to the United Kingdom, when tens of thousands of predominantly young people in Hyde Park responded in eloquent silence to the Lord’s sacramental presence, in adoration. The same thing happened again on a smaller scale in Zagreb and then again in Madrid, after the thunderstorm which almost ruined the whole night vigil through the failure of the microphones. God is indeed ever-present. But again, the physical presence of the risen Christ is something different, something new. The risen Lord enters into our midst. And then we can do no other than say, with Saint Thomas: my Lord and my God! Adoration is primarily an act of faith – the act of faith as such. God is not just some possible or impossible hypothesis concerning the origin of all things. He is present. And if he is present, then I bow down before him. Then my intellect and will and heart open up towards him and from him. In the risen Christ, the incarnate God is present, who suffered for us because he loves us. We enter this certainty of God’s tangible love for us with love in our own hearts. This is adoration, and this then determines my life. Only thus can I celebrate the Eucharist correctly and receive the body of the Lord rightly.

4. A further important element of the World Youth Days is the sacrament of Confession, which is increasingly coming to be seen as an integral part of the experience. Here we recognize that we need forgiveness over and over again, and that forgiveness brings responsibility. Openness to love is present in man, implanted in him by the Creator, together with the capacity to respond to God in faith. But also present, in consequence of man’s sinful history (Church teaching speaks of original sin) is the tendency that is opposed to love – the tendency towards selfishness, towards becoming closed in on oneself, in fact towards evil. Again and again my soul is tarnished by this downward gravitational pull that is present within me. Therefore we need the humility that constantly asks God for forgiveness, that seeks purification and awakens in us the counterforce, the positive force of the Creator, to draw us upwards.

5. Finally, I would like to speak of one last feature, not to be overlooked, of the spirituality of World Youth Days, namely joy. Where does it come from? How is it to be explained? Certainly, there are many factors at work here. But in my view, the crucial one is this certainty, based on faith: I am wanted; I have a task in history; I am accepted, I am loved. Josef Pieper, in his book on love, has shown that man can only accept himself if he is accepted by another. He needs the other’s presence, saying to him, with more than words: it is good that you exist. Only from the You can the I come into itself. Only if it is accepted, can it accept itself. Those who are unloved cannot even love themselves. This sense of being accepted comes in the first instance from other human beings. But all human acceptance is fragile. Ultimately we need a sense of being accepted unconditionally. Only if God accepts me, and I become convinced of this, do I know definitively: it is good that I exist. It is good to be a human being. If ever man’s sense of being accepted and loved by God is lost, then there is no longer any answer to the question whether to be a human being is good at all. Doubt concerning human existence becomes more and more insurmountable. Where doubt over God becomes prevalent, then doubt over humanity follows inevitably. We see today how widely this doubt is spreading. We see it in the joylessness, in the inner sadness, that can be read on so many human faces today. Only faith gives me the conviction: it is good that I exist. It is good to be a human being, even in hard times. Faith makes one happy from deep within. That is one of the wonderful experiences of World Youth Days.

It would take too long now to go into detail concerning the encounter in Assisi, as the significance of the event would warrant. Let us simply thank God, that as representatives of the world’s religions and as representatives of thinking in search of truth, we were able to meet that day in a climate of friendship and mutual respect, in love for the truth and in shared responsibility for peace. So let us hope that, from this encounter, a new willingness to serve peace, reconciliation and justice has emerged.

As I conclude, I would like to thank all of you from my heart for shouldering the common mission that the Lord has given us as witnesses to his truth, and I wish all of you the joy that God wanted to bestow upon us through the incarnation of his Son. A blessed Christmas to you all! Thank you.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Midnight Mass - Christmas 2011

MIDNIGHT MASS

SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Saint Peter's Basilica

Saturday, 24 December 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to Titus that we have just heard begins solemnly with the word “apparuit”, which then comes back again in the reading at the Dawn Mass: apparuit – “there has appeared”. This is a programmatic word, by which the Church seeks to express synthetically the essence of Christmas. Formerly, people had spoken of God and formed human images of him in all sorts of different ways. God himself had spoken in many and various ways to mankind (cf. Heb 1:1 – Mass during the Day). But now something new has happened: he has appeared. He has revealed himself. He has emerged from the inaccessible light in which he dwells. He himself has come into our midst. This was the great joy of Christmas for the early Church: God has appeared. No longer is he merely an idea, no longer do we have to form a picture of him on the basis of mere words. He has “appeared”. But now we ask: how has he appeared? Who is he in reality? The reading at the Dawn Mass goes on to say: “the kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed” (Tit 3:4). For the people of pre-Christian times, whose response to the terrors and contradictions of the world was to fear that God himself might not be good either, that he too might well be cruel and arbitrary, this was a real “epiphany”, the great light that has appeared to us: God is pure goodness. Today too, people who are no longer able to recognize God through faith are asking whether the ultimate power that underpins and sustains the world is truly good, or whether evil is just as powerful and primordial as the good and the beautiful which we encounter in radiant moments in our world. “The kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed”: this is the new, consoling certainty that is granted to us at Christmas.

In all three Christmas Masses, the liturgy quotes a passage from the Prophet Isaiah, which describes the epiphany that took place at Christmas in greater detail: “A child is born for us, a son given to us and dominion is laid on his shoulders; and this is the name they give him: Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace. Wide is his dominion in a peace that has no end” (Is 9:5f.). Whether the prophet had a particular child in mind, born during his own period of history, we do not know. But it seems impossible. This is the only text in the Old Testament in which it is said of a child, of a human being: his name will be Mighty-God, Eternal-Father. We are presented with a vision that extends far beyond the historical moment into the mysterious, into the future. A child, in all its weakness, is Mighty God. A child, in all its neediness and dependence, is Eternal Father. And his peace “has no end”. The prophet had previously described the child as “a great light” and had said of the peace he would usher in that the rod of the oppressor, the footgear of battle, every cloak rolled in blood would be burned (Is 9:1, 3-4).

God has appeared – as a child. It is in this guise that he pits himself against all violence and brings a message that is peace. At this hour, when the world is continually threatened by violence in so many places and in so many different ways, when over and over again there are oppressors’ rods and bloodstained cloaks, we cry out to the Lord: O mighty God, you have appeared as a child and you have revealed yourself to us as the One who loves us, the One through whom love will triumph. And you have shown us that we must be peacemakers with you. We love your childish estate, your powerlessness, but we suffer from the continuing presence of violence in the world, and so we also ask you: manifest your power, O God. In this time of ours, in this world of ours, cause the oppressors’ rods, the cloaks rolled in blood and the footgear of battle to be burned, so that your peace may triumph in this world of ours.

Christmas is an epiphany – the appearing of God and of his great light in a child that is born for us. Born in a stable in Bethlehem, not in the palaces of kings. In 1223, when Saint Francis of Assisi celebrated Christmas in Greccio with an ox and an ass and a manger full of hay, a new dimension of the mystery of Christmas came to light. Saint Francis of Assisi called Christmas “the feast of feasts” – above all other feasts – and he celebrated it with “unutterable devotion” (2 Celano 199; Fonti Francescane, 787). He kissed images of the Christ-child with great devotion and he stammered tender words such as children say, so Thomas of Celano tells us (ibid.). For the early Church, the feast of feasts was Easter: in the Resurrection Christ had flung open the doors of death and in so doing had radically changed the world: he had made a place for man in God himself. Now, Francis neither changed nor intended to change this objective order of precedence among the feasts, the inner structure of the faith centred on the Paschal Mystery. And yet through him and the character of his faith, something new took place: Francis discovered Jesus’ humanity in an entirely new depth. This human existence of God became most visible to him at the moment when God’s Son, born of the Virgin Mary, was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. The Resurrection presupposes the Incarnation. For God’s Son to take the form of a child, a truly human child, made a profound impression on the heart of the Saint of Assisi, transforming faith into love. “The kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed” – this phrase of Saint Paul now acquired an entirely new depth. In the child born in the stable at Bethlehem, we can as it were touch and caress God. And so the liturgical year acquired a second focus in a feast that is above all a feast of the heart.

This has nothing to do with sentimentality. It is right here, in this new experience of the reality of Jesus’ humanity that the great mystery of faith is revealed. Francis loved the child Jesus, because for him it was in this childish estate that God’s humility shone forth. God became poor. His Son was born in the poverty of the stable. In the child Jesus, God made himself dependent, in need of human love, he put himself in the position of asking for human love – our love. Today Christmas has become a commercial celebration, whose bright lights hide the mystery of God’s humility, which in turn calls us to humility and simplicity. Let us ask the Lord to help us see through the superficial glitter of this season, and to discover behind it the child in the stable in Bethlehem, so as to find true joy and true light.

Francis arranged for Mass to be celebrated on the manger that stood between the ox and the ass (cf. 1 Celano 85; Fonti 469). Later, an altar was built over this manger, so that where animals had once fed on hay, men could now receive the flesh of the spotless lamb Jesus Christ, for the salvation of soul and body, as Thomas of Celano tells us (cf. 1 Celano 87; Fonti 471). Francis himself, as a deacon, had sung the Christmas Gospel on the holy night in Greccio with resounding voice. Through the friars’ radiant Christmas singing, the whole celebration seemed to be a great outburst of joy (1 Celano 85.86; Fonti 469, 470). It was the encounter with God’s humility that caused this joy – his goodness creates the true feast.

Today, anyone wishing to enter the Church of Jesus’ Nativity in Bethlehem will find that the doorway five and a half metres high, through which emperors and caliphs used to enter the building, is now largely walled up. Only a low opening of one and a half metres has remained. The intention was probably to provide the church with better protection from attack, but above all to prevent people from entering God’s house on horseback. Anyone wishing to enter the place of Jesus’ birth has to bend down. It seems to me that a deeper truth is revealed here, which should touch our hearts on this holy night: if we want to find the God who appeared as a child, then we must dismount from the high horse of our “enlightened” reason. We must set aside our false certainties, our intellectual pride, which prevents us from recognizing God’s closeness. We must follow the interior path of Saint Francis – the path leading to that ultimate outward and inward simplicity which enables the heart to see. We must bend down, spiritually we must as it were go on foot, in order to pass through the portal of faith and encounter the God who is so different from our prejudices and opinions – the God who conceals himself in the humility of a newborn baby. In this spirit let us celebrate the liturgy of the holy night, let us strip away our fixation on what is material, on what can be measured and grasped. Let us allow ourselves to be made simple by the God who reveals himself to the simple of heart. And let us also pray especially at this hour for all who have to celebrate Christmas in poverty, in suffering, as migrants, that a ray of God’s kindness may shine upon them, that they – and we – may be touched by the kindness that God chose to bring into the world through the birth of his Son in a stable. Amen.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Urbi et Orbi, Christmas 2011 - Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE

OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI

CHRISTMAS 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Rome and throughout the world!

Christ is born for us! Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to the men and women whom he loves. May all people hear an echo of the message of Bethlehem which the Catholic Church repeats in every continent, beyond the confines of every nation, language and culture. The Son of the Virgin Mary is born for everyone; he is the Saviour of all.

This is how Christ is invoked in an ancient liturgical antiphon: “O Emmanuel, our king and lawgiver, hope and salvation of the peoples: come to save us, O Lord our God”. Veni ad salvandum nos! Come to save us! This is the cry raised by men and women in every age, who sense that by themselves they cannot prevail over difficulties and dangers. They need to put their hands in a greater and stronger hand, a hand which reaches out to them from on high. Dear brothers and sisters, this hand is Christ, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary. He is the hand that God extends to humanity, to draw us out of the mire of sin and to set us firmly on rock, the secure rock of his Truth and his Love (cf. Ps 40:2).

This is the meaning of the Child’s name, the name which, by God’s will, Mary and Joseph gave him: he is named Jesus, which means “Saviour” (cf. Mt 1:21; Lk 1:31). He was sent by God the Father to save us above all from the evil deeply rooted in man and in history: the evil of separation from God, the prideful presumption of being self-sufficient, of trying to compete with God and to take his place, to decide what is good and evil, to be the master of life and death (cf. Gen 3:1-7). This is the great evil, the great sin, from which we human beings cannot save ourselves unless we rely on God’s help, unless we cry out to him: “Veni ad salvandum nos! – Come to save us!”

The very fact that we cry to heaven in this way already sets us aright; it makes us true to ourselves: we are in fact those who cried out to God and were saved (cf. Esth [LXX] 10:3ff.). God is the Saviour; we are those who are in peril. He is the physician; we are the infirm. To realize this is the first step towards salvation, towards emerging from the maze in which we have been locked by our pride. To lift our eyes to heaven, to stretch out our hands and call for help is our means of escape, provided that there is Someone who hears us and can come to our assistance.

Jesus Christ is the proof that God has heard our cry. And not only this! God’s love for us is so strong that he cannot remain aloof; he comes out of himself to enter into our midst and to share fully in our human condition (cf. Ex 3:7-12). The answer to our cry which God gave in Jesus infinitely transcends our expectations, achieving a solidarity which cannot be human alone, but divine. Only the God who is love, and the love which is God, could choose to save us in this way, which is certainly the lengthiest way, yet the way which respects the truth about him and about us: the way of reconciliation, dialogue and cooperation.

Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, on this Christmas 2011, let us then turn to the Child of Bethlehem, to the Son of the Virgin Mary, and say: “Come to save us!” Let us repeat these words in spiritual union with the many people who experience particularly difficult situations; let us speak out for those who have no voice.

Together let us ask God’s help for the peoples of the Horn of Africa, who suffer from hunger and food shortages, aggravated at times by a persistent state of insecurity. May the international community not fail to offer assistance to the many displaced persons coming from that region and whose dignity has been sorely tried.

May the Lord grant comfort to the peoples of South-East Asia, particularly Thailand and the Philippines, who are still enduring grave hardships as a result of the recent floods.

May the Lord come to the aid of our world torn by so many conflicts which even today stain the earth with blood. May the Prince of Peace grant peace and stability to that Land where he chose to come into the world, and encourage the resumption of dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. May he bring an end to the violence in Syria, where so much blood has already been shed. May he foster full reconciliation and stability in Iraq and Afghanistan. May he grant renewed vigour to all elements of society in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East as they strive to advance the common good.

May the birth of the Saviour support the prospects of dialogue and cooperation in Myanmar, in the pursuit of shared solutions. May the Nativity of the Redeemer ensure political stability to the countries of the Great Lakes Region of Africa, and assist the people of South Sudan in their commitment to safeguarding the rights of all citizens.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, let us turn our gaze anew to the grotto of Bethlehem. The Child whom we contemplate is our salvation! He has brought to the world a universal message of reconciliation and peace. Let us open our hearts to him; let us receive him into our lives. Once more let us say to him, with joy and confidence: “Veni ad salvandum nos!”

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Feast of St Stephen, Protomartyr - Angelus, 26 December 2011 - Benedict XVI

FEAST OF ST STEPHEN, PROTOMARTYR

BENEDICT XVI

ANGELUS

Saint Peter's Square

Monday, 26 December 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today, the day after the solemn liturgy of the Lord’s Birth, we are celebrating the Feast of St Stephen, a deacon and the Church’s first martyr. The historian Eusebius of Caesarea describes him as the “perfect martyr” (Die Kirchengeschichte v. 2,5: GCS II, I, Lipsia 1903, 430), because in the Acts of the Apostles it is written that “Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people” (6:8). St Gregory of Nyssa commented: “he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit. He was sustained by the goodness of his will to serve the poor and curbed enemies by the Spirit's power of the truth” (Sermo in Sanctum Stephanum II: GNO X, 1, Leiden 1990, 98). A man of prayer and of evangelization, Stephen, whose name means “crown”, received from God the gift of martyrdom. Indeed, “full of the Holy Spirit ... he saw the glory of God” (Acts 7:55) and while he was being stoned he prayed: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). Then, he fell to his knees and prayed for forgiveness for those who accused him: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60).

This is why the Eastern Church sings in her hymns: “The stones became steps for you and ladders for the ascent to heaven... and you joyfully drew close to the festive gathering of the angels” (MHNAIA t. II, Rome 1889, 694, 695).

After the generation of the Apostles, martyrs acquired an important place in the esteem of the Christian community. At the height of their persecution, their hymns of praise fortified the faithful on their difficult journey and encouraged those in search of the truth to convert to the Lord. Therefore, by divine disposition, the Church venerates the relics of martyrs and honours them with epithets such as: “teachers of life”, “living witnesses”, “breathing trophies” and “silent exhortations” (Gregory of Nazianzus, Oratio 43, 5: PG 36, 500 C).

Dear friends, the true imitation of Christ is love, which some Christian writers have called the “secret martyrdom”. Concerning this St Clement of Alexandria wrote: “those who perform the commandments of the Lord, in every action ‘testify’, by doing what he wishes, and consistently naming the Lord’s name; (Stromatum IV, 7,43,4: SC 463, Paris 2001, 130). Today too, as in antiquity, sincere adherence to the Gospel can require the sacrifice of life and many Christians in various parts of the world are exposed to persecution and sometimes martyrdom. However, the Lord reminds us: “he who endures to the end will be saved” (Mt 10:22).

To Mary Most Holy, Queen of Martyrs, let us address our supplication to preserve the desire for good in its wholeness, especially the good of those who oppose us. Today let us entrust the Church’s deacons in particular to divine mercy so that, illuminated by St Stephen’s example, they may collaborate, in accordance with their mission, in the task of evangelization (cf. Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, n. 94).

After the Angelus:

I am happy to greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present for this Angelus prayer. Today we celebrate St Stephen, the first Christian martyr. May his example inspire us to be courageous in living our faith in Christ our Saviour and ready to forgive those who harm us. I pray that your stay in Rome may renew your love of Christ and his Church and I wish you all a blessed Christmas Season!

I wish you all happy celebrations. Many thanks!

Appeal asking for an end to violence in the world:

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Holy Christmas awakens within us even more forcefully the prayer to God that the hands of the violent who sow death may be prevented, and that justice and peace may prevail throughout the world. Yet our earth continues to be bathed in innocent blood. I learned with deep sorrow the news of the attacks which this year too have brought mourning and grief to several Churches in Nigeria on the Day of Jesus’ Birth. I would like to express my sincere and affectionate closeness to the Christian community and to all who are affected by this absurd act, and I ask you to pray the Lord for the many victims. I appeal for the restoration of safety and serenity, with the joint efforts of the various members of society. At this time I wish to say forcefully once again: violence is a way that leads only to suffering, destruction and death; respect, reconciliation and love are the only way to achieve peace.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Te Deum and First Vespers: Homily of Benedict XVI, 31 December 2011

TE DEUM AND FIRST VESPERS

OF THE SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

St Peter's Basilica

Saturday, 31 December 2011

Dear Cardinals,

Brother Bishops and Priests,

Distinguished Authorities,

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

We have come together in the Vatican Basilica to celebrate First Vespers of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and to give thanks to the Lord at the end of the year by singing the Te Deum together. I thank all of you for choosing to join me for this occasion that is always so poignant and significant. In the first place I greet the Cardinals, my brother Bishops and Priests, men and women religious, consecrated persons and members of the lay faithful representing the entire ecclesial community of Rome. In a particular way I greet the Authorities present, beginning with the Mayor of Rome, and I thank him for the gift of a chalice, a gift that is renewed every year, in accordance with a fine tradition. I hope and pray that all will remain committed to making this City ever more in tune with the values of faith, culture and civilization that form an integral part of its vocation and its thousands of years of history.

Another year is drawing to a close, as we await the start of a new one: with some trepidation, with our perennial desires and expectations. Reflecting on our life experience, we are continually astonished by how ultimately short and ephemeral life is. So we often find ourselves asking: what meaning can we give to our days? What meaning, in particular, can we give to the days of toil and grief? This is a question that permeates history, indeed it runs through the heart of every generation and every individual. But there is an answer: it is written on the face of a Child who was born in Bethlehem two thousand years ago, and is today the Living One, risen for ever from the dead. From within the fabric of humanity, rent asunder by so much injustice, wickedness and violence, there bursts forth in an unforeseen way the joyful and liberating novelty of Christ our Saviour, who leads us to contemplate the goodness and tenderness of God through the mystery of his Incarnation and Birth. The everlasting God has entered our history and he remains present in a unique way in the person of Jesus, his incarnate Son, our Saviour, who came down to earth to renew humanity radically and to free us from sin and death, to raise us to the dignity of God’s children. Christmas not only recalls the historical fulfilment of this truth that concerns us directly, but in a mysterious and real way, gives it to us afresh.

How evocative it is, at this close of a year, to listen again to the joyful message addressed by Saint Paul to the Christians of Galatia: “when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal 4:4-5). These words penetrate the heart of the history of us all and illumine it, or rather, they save it, because since the Day of the Lord’s Nativity, the fullness of time has reached us. So there is no more room for anxiety in the face of time that passes, never to return; now there is room for unlimited trust in God, by whom we know we are loved, for whom we live and to whom our life is directed as we await his definitive return. Since the Saviour came down from heaven, man has ceased to be the slave of time that passes to no avail, marked by toil, sadness and pain. Man is son of a God who has entered time so as to redeem it from meaninglessness and negativity, a God who has redeemed all humanity, giving it everlasting love as a new perspective of life.

The Church lives and professes this truth and intends to proclaim it today with fresh spiritual vigour. In tonight’s celebration we have special reasons to praise God for his mystery of salvation, active in the world through the ministry of the Church. We have so many reasons to thank the Lord for what our ecclesial community, at the heart of the universal Church, is accomplishing in the service of the Gospel in this City. In that regard, together with the Vicar General, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the Auxiliary Bishops, parish priests and the whole diocesan presbyterate, I would like to thank the Lord especially for the promising communal project aimed at tayloring day-to-day pastoral work to the demands of our time, through the programme “Belonging to the Church and Pastoral Co-responsibility”. The aim is give first priority to evangelization, so as to make the participation of the faithful in the sacraments more responsible and more fruitful, so that every person can speak of God to modern man and proclaim the Gospel incisively to those who have never known it or have forgotten it.

In the Diocese of Rome, as elsewhere, the most urgent pastoral challenge facing us is the quaestio fidei. Christ’s disciples are called to reawaken in themselves and in others the longing for God and the joy of living him and bearing witness to him, on the basis of what is always a deeply personal question: why do I believe? We must give primacy to truth, seeing the combination of faith and reason as two wings with which the human spirit can rise to the contemplation of the Truth (cf. Fides et Ratio, Prologue); we must ensure that the dialogue between Christianity and modern culture bears fruit; we must see to it that the beauty and contemporary relevance of the faith is rediscovered, not as an isolated event, affecting some particular moment in our lives, but as a constant orientation, affecting even the simplest choices, establishing a profound unity within the person, so that he becomes just, hard-working, generous and good. What is needed is to give new life to a faith that can serve as a basis for a new humanism, one that is able to generate culture and social commitment.

Within this framework, at the Diocesan Conference held last June, the Diocese of Rome launched a programme which sets out to explore more deeply the meaning of Christian initiation and the joy of bringing new Christians into the faith. To proclaim faith in the Word made flesh is, after all, at the heart of the Church’s mission, and the entire ecclesial community needs to rediscover this indispensable task with renewed missionary zeal. Young generations have an especially keen sense of the present disorientation, magnified by the crisis in economic affairs which is also a crisis of values, and so they in particular need to recognize in Jesus Christ “the key, the centre and the purpose of the whole of human history” (Gaudium et Spes, 10).

Parents are the first educators in faith of their children, starting from a most tender age, and families must therefore be supported in their educational mission by appropriate initiatives. At the same time it is desirable that the baptismal journey, the first stage along the formative path of Christian initiation, in addition to fostering conscious and worthy preparation for the celebration of the Sacrament, should devote adequate attention to the years following Baptism, with appropriate programmes that take account of the life conditions that families must address. I therefore encourage parish communities and other ecclesial groupings to engage in continuing reflection on ways to promote a better understanding and reception of the sacraments, by which man comes to share in the very life of God. May the Church of Rome have no shortage of lay faithful who are ready to make their own contribution to building living communities that allow the Word of God to burst forth in the hearts of those who have not yet known the Lord or have moved away from him. At the same time, it is appropriate to create opportunities to encounter the City, giving rise to fruitful dialogue with those who are searching for Truth.

Dear friends, ever since God sent his only-begotten Son, so that we might obtain adoptive sonship (cf. Gal 4:5), we can have no greater task than to be totally at the service of God’s plan. And so I would like to encourage and thank all the faithful from the Diocese of Rome who feel a responsibility to restore our society’s soul. Thank you, Roman families, the first and fundamental cells of society! Thank you, members of the many Communities, Associations and Movements that are committed to animating the Christian life of our City.

Te Deum laudamus! We praise you, O God! The Church suggests that we should not end the year without expressing our thanks to the Lord for all his benefits. It is in God that our last hour must come to a close, the last hour of time and history. To overlook this goal of our lives would be to fall into the void, to live without meaning. Hence the Church places on our lips the ancient hymn Te Deum. It is a hymn filled with the wisdom of many Christian generations, who feel the need to address on high their heart’s desires, knowing that all of us are in the Lord’s merciful hands.

Te Deum laudamus! This is also the song of the Church in Rome, for the wonders that God has worked and continues to work in her. With hearts full of thanksgiving, let us prepare to cross the threshold of 2012, remembering that the Lord is watching over us and guarding us. To him this evening we wish to entrust the whole world. Let us place in his hands the tragedies of this world and let us also offer him our hopes for a brighter future. And let us place these prayers in the hands of Mary, Mother of God, Salus Populi Romani. Amen.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Table of Contents

The Weekly Benedict - Introduction

Message from Benedict XVI to Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi on the occasion of the 16th Public Meeting of the Pontifical Academies

Address to participants at the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family

"Christmas Oratorio from the Alps" and projection of the film "From Heaven to Earth - Advent and Christmas in the Bavarian Alps", offered to the Holy Father by the Bayerischer Rundfunk

Address to participants in the World Congress for the Pastoral Care of International Students

Lighting via video link of the Christmas Tree, decorated with hundreds of lights, in the Italian town of Gubbio

Homage to the statue of the Immaculate Conception at the Spanish Steps, 8 December 2011, Benedict XVI

Pastoral Visit to the Parish of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Casal Boccone, 11 December 2011, Benedict XVI

Pastoral Visit to the Parish of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Casal Boccone, 11 December 2011, Benedict XVI

Mass celebrated on the occasion of the bicentenary of the Independence of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean

General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI, 14 December 2011

Vespers for the university students of Rome

The logic of power breaks up society

Address to the Ukrainian Delegation that donated the Christmas tree for St Peter's Square

Address to the Bishops of the Episcopal Conferences of the Pacific and of New Zealand on their ad Limina visit

Address to the Bishops of the Episcopal Conferences of the Pacific and of New Zealand on their ad Limina visit

Fourth Sunday of Advent - Angelus, 18 December 2011, Benedict XVI

General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI, 21 December 2011

Address by the Holy Father on the occasion of Christmas greetings to the Roman Curia

Midnight Mass - Christmas 2011

Urbi et Orbi, Christmas 2011 - Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

Feast of St Stephen, Protomartyr - Angelus, 26 December 2011 - Benedict XVI

Te Deum and First Vespers: Homily of Benedict XVI, 31 December 2011