VATICAN CITY, JUL 1, 2007 (VIS) - Prior to praying the Sunday Angelus today, the Pope dedicated some remarks to the theme of freedom and following Christ.
Speaking from his study window to the thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, Benedict XVI commented the Gospel of Luke's account of how Jesus set out "resolutely" towards Jerusalem, knowing that death on the cross awaited Him. In the expression 'resolutely'," said the Pope, "we see the free will of Christ," Who "in obedience to the will of the Father offered Himself for love.
"It is in this obedience to the Father that Jesus fulfils His own freedom, as an informed choice motivated by love," the Pope added. "Who is freer than Him Who is the Almighty? Yet He did not practice His freedom as arbitrariness or dominion" but "as service. In this way he gave meaning to freedom, which otherwise would have remained as an 'empty' possibility of doing or not doing a particular thing. Like man's own life, freedom draws meaning from love."
"Christian freedom is, then, anything but arbitrariness. It is to follow Christ in the giving of self even unto sacrifice on the cross. It may seem a paradox, but the high point of the Lord's freedom was on the cross: the pinnacle of love. On Calvary they cried: 'If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!' Yet He demonstrated His freedom ... by remaining on that scaffold to fulfil the Father's merciful will.
"This experience has been shared by so many other witnesses of truth: men and women who have proven their freedom even in a prison cell or under threat of torture. 'The truth will make you free.' Those who belong to the truth will never be slaves of power, but will always know, freely, how to serve their brothers."
After praying the Angelus, the Pope said: "From Colombia we have received the sad news of the barbarous murder of 11 regional deputies of the department of Valle del Cauca, who had been held for more than five years by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) While raising fervent prayers for them, I share the profound suffering of relatives, and of the beloved Colombian nation once again ravaged by fratricidal hatred. I renew my heartfelt appeal for an immediate end to all kidnappings and for all the victims of such inadmissible forms of violence to be restored to the affection of their loved ones."
ANG/FREEDOM:KIDNAPPINGS/... VIS 20070702 (420)
Speaking from his study window to the thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, Benedict XVI commented the Gospel of Luke's account of how Jesus set out "resolutely" towards Jerusalem, knowing that death on the cross awaited Him. In the expression 'resolutely'," said the Pope, "we see the free will of Christ," Who "in obedience to the will of the Father offered Himself for love.
"It is in this obedience to the Father that Jesus fulfils His own freedom, as an informed choice motivated by love," the Pope added. "Who is freer than Him Who is the Almighty? Yet He did not practice His freedom as arbitrariness or dominion" but "as service. In this way he gave meaning to freedom, which otherwise would have remained as an 'empty' possibility of doing or not doing a particular thing. Like man's own life, freedom draws meaning from love."
"Christian freedom is, then, anything but arbitrariness. It is to follow Christ in the giving of self even unto sacrifice on the cross. It may seem a paradox, but the high point of the Lord's freedom was on the cross: the pinnacle of love. On Calvary they cried: 'If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!' Yet He demonstrated His freedom ... by remaining on that scaffold to fulfil the Father's merciful will.
"This experience has been shared by so many other witnesses of truth: men and women who have proven their freedom even in a prison cell or under threat of torture. 'The truth will make you free.' Those who belong to the truth will never be slaves of power, but will always know, freely, how to serve their brothers."
After praying the Angelus, the Pope said: "From Colombia we have received the sad news of the barbarous murder of 11 regional deputies of the department of Valle del Cauca, who had been held for more than five years by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) While raising fervent prayers for them, I share the profound suffering of relatives, and of the beloved Colombian nation once again ravaged by fratricidal hatred. I renew my heartfelt appeal for an immediate end to all kidnappings and for all the victims of such inadmissible forms of violence to be restored to the affection of their loved ones."
ANG/FREEDOM:KIDNAPPINGS/... VIS 20070702 (420)
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