VATICAN CITY, 16 NOV 2008 (VIS) - At midday today, the penultimate Sunday of the liturgical year, Benedict XVI appeared at the window of his private study to pray the Angelus with faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.
The Pope explained how today's Gospel reading of the parable of the talents, "invites us to be vigilant and industrious while awaiting the return of the Lord Jesus at the end of time".
The talents in the parable "represent the wealth the Lord left to us in inheritance, in order that we may might make it grow: His Word deposited in the Holy Gospel", said the Pope. "Today's parable stresses the attitude with which we must welcome and appreciate this gift.
"The wrong attitude is that of fear", he added. "This happens, for example, to those who, having received Baptism, Communion and Confirmation, bury these gifts under a layer of prejudice, under a false image of God that paralyses faith and works. ... Yet the parable also highlights the good fruits brought by the disciples who ... did not hide the gift ... but made if fructify by sharing it with others. What Christ has given us is multiplied when we give it to others".
"This evangelical teaching" he concluded "has also had a socio-historical effect, promoting an active and enterprising mentality among Christian peoples. But its central message concerns the spirit of responsibility with which we must welcome the Kingdom of God: responsibility toward God and towards humankind".
ANG/TALENTS/... VIS 20081117 (260)
The Pope explained how today's Gospel reading of the parable of the talents, "invites us to be vigilant and industrious while awaiting the return of the Lord Jesus at the end of time".
The talents in the parable "represent the wealth the Lord left to us in inheritance, in order that we may might make it grow: His Word deposited in the Holy Gospel", said the Pope. "Today's parable stresses the attitude with which we must welcome and appreciate this gift.
"The wrong attitude is that of fear", he added. "This happens, for example, to those who, having received Baptism, Communion and Confirmation, bury these gifts under a layer of prejudice, under a false image of God that paralyses faith and works. ... Yet the parable also highlights the good fruits brought by the disciples who ... did not hide the gift ... but made if fructify by sharing it with others. What Christ has given us is multiplied when we give it to others".
"This evangelical teaching" he concluded "has also had a socio-historical effect, promoting an active and enterprising mentality among Christian peoples. But its central message concerns the spirit of responsibility with which we must welcome the Kingdom of God: responsibility toward God and towards humankind".
ANG/TALENTS/... VIS 20081117 (260)
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