VATICAN CITY, 28 SEP 2008 (VIS) - At midday today, Benedict XVI appeared at the balcony of the Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo in order to pray the Angelus with faithful and pilgrims gathered below.
The Pope commented upon the Gospel reading of the two sons sent to work in their father's vineyard: one refuses but then changes his mind and goes, the other agrees to go but then fails to do so. "With this parable", the Holy Father said, "Jesus underlines His predilection for converted sinners, and teaches us that we need humility to welcome the gift of salvation".
"Humility", he went on, "may be considered the spiritual legacy" of John Paul I, who died thirty years ago and whose episcopal motto "was the same as that of St. Charles Borromeo, 'Humilitas'. A single word that encapsulates the essential core of Christian life and indicates the indispensable virtue for people who are called to a service of authority within the Church".
"Thanks to this virtue, 33 days were enough for Pope John Paul I to enter into peoples' hearts. In his discourses he used examples taken from real life, from his family memories and from popular wisdom. His simplicity was the vehicle for a solid and rich teaching which - thanks to the gift of an exceptional memory and a vast culture - he supplemented with many quotes from ecclesiastical and lay writers. He was a peerless catechist, following the footsteps of St. Pius X, his compatriot and predecessor first in the cathedra of St. Mark and then in that of St. Peter".
Remarking upon one of the four general audiences celebrated by John Paul I, Benedict XVI recalled how the Pontiff had used the phrase: "We must feel small before God", and had then added: "I am not ashamed to feel like a child before its mother: we believe our mothers, I believe in the Lord and what He revealed to me".
"These words", Pope Benedict concluded, "reveal the depth of his faith. As we thank the Lord for having given him to the Church and the world, we treasure his example, undertaking to cultivate the humility that was his and that made him capable of speaking to everyone, especially the smallest and those 'furthest away'".
ANG/HUMILITY JOHN PAUL I/... VIS 20080929 (390)
The Pope commented upon the Gospel reading of the two sons sent to work in their father's vineyard: one refuses but then changes his mind and goes, the other agrees to go but then fails to do so. "With this parable", the Holy Father said, "Jesus underlines His predilection for converted sinners, and teaches us that we need humility to welcome the gift of salvation".
"Humility", he went on, "may be considered the spiritual legacy" of John Paul I, who died thirty years ago and whose episcopal motto "was the same as that of St. Charles Borromeo, 'Humilitas'. A single word that encapsulates the essential core of Christian life and indicates the indispensable virtue for people who are called to a service of authority within the Church".
"Thanks to this virtue, 33 days were enough for Pope John Paul I to enter into peoples' hearts. In his discourses he used examples taken from real life, from his family memories and from popular wisdom. His simplicity was the vehicle for a solid and rich teaching which - thanks to the gift of an exceptional memory and a vast culture - he supplemented with many quotes from ecclesiastical and lay writers. He was a peerless catechist, following the footsteps of St. Pius X, his compatriot and predecessor first in the cathedra of St. Mark and then in that of St. Peter".
Remarking upon one of the four general audiences celebrated by John Paul I, Benedict XVI recalled how the Pontiff had used the phrase: "We must feel small before God", and had then added: "I am not ashamed to feel like a child before its mother: we believe our mothers, I believe in the Lord and what He revealed to me".
"These words", Pope Benedict concluded, "reveal the depth of his faith. As we thank the Lord for having given him to the Church and the world, we treasure his example, undertaking to cultivate the humility that was his and that made him capable of speaking to everyone, especially the smallest and those 'furthest away'".
ANG/HUMILITY JOHN PAUL I/... VIS 20080929 (390)
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