VATICAN CITY, 5 MAR 2011 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon, in keeping with an annual tradition, the Holy Father visited the Major Roman Seminary for the occasion of the feast of its patroness, Our Lady of Trust.
In the major chapel of the seminary, the Pope presided at a "lectio divina" for all seminarians in the diocese of Rome, focusing on the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians.
Commenting on the word "call" or "vocation" as used by St. Paul, Benedict XVI highlighted how "Christian life begins with a call and is itself always a response, until the end". In this context he affirmed that "the image of the Annunciation to Mary represents much more than that single evangelical episode: ... it contains the whole mystery of Mary, her entire story, her very being. At the same time it speaks of the Church, of her eternal essence, and of each individual believer in Christ, of each Christian soul which receives the call".
"The Lord", he went on, "has called each of us; each is called by name. God is so great that He has time for each of us. He knows me, He knows each of us by name, personally. ... I believe that we must meditate on this mystery again and again: God, the Lord, has called me, He calls me, He knows me and awaits my response as He awaited Mary's response, as He awaited the response of the Apostles".
Turning then to consider the Lord's humility, about which St. Paul speaks in his Letter to the Philippians, the Pope said: "the God Who came down to me, Who was so great as to become my friend and to suffer for me, Who died for me: this is the humility we must learn, the humility of God. It follows that we must always see ourselves in the light of God, so as to appreciate how great it is to be loved by Him and, at the same time, to see our own smallness, our poverty, and thus rightly comport ourselves not as masters but as servants".
After then highlighting how "the call of God is also a call in community, an ecclesial call", the Holy Father explained that "the Holy Spirit creates the body and unites us as a single body. ... In this way we are in union with Christ, accepting the corporeity of His Church, of the Spirit which is incarnated in the body".
"We also have to bear in mind how beautiful it is to be part of a company, ... having friends in heaven and on earth, experiencing the beauty of this body, being happy that the Lord has called us into a single body and given us friends all over the world".
In closing, Benedict XVI reflected on "the importance of always seeking communion in the one Christ, the one God".
"The unity of the Church", he concluded, "is the result of harmony, of a shared commitment to act like Jesus, by virtue of His spirit. ... In order to conserve unity of spirit, it is necessary to mould our own behaviour on the humility, sweetness and magnanimity to which Jesus bore witness in His Passion. Our hands and heart must be tied by that bond of love which He accepted for us, making Himself our servant".
BXVI-VISIT/ VIS 20110307 (570)
In the major chapel of the seminary, the Pope presided at a "lectio divina" for all seminarians in the diocese of Rome, focusing on the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians.
Commenting on the word "call" or "vocation" as used by St. Paul, Benedict XVI highlighted how "Christian life begins with a call and is itself always a response, until the end". In this context he affirmed that "the image of the Annunciation to Mary represents much more than that single evangelical episode: ... it contains the whole mystery of Mary, her entire story, her very being. At the same time it speaks of the Church, of her eternal essence, and of each individual believer in Christ, of each Christian soul which receives the call".
"The Lord", he went on, "has called each of us; each is called by name. God is so great that He has time for each of us. He knows me, He knows each of us by name, personally. ... I believe that we must meditate on this mystery again and again: God, the Lord, has called me, He calls me, He knows me and awaits my response as He awaited Mary's response, as He awaited the response of the Apostles".
Turning then to consider the Lord's humility, about which St. Paul speaks in his Letter to the Philippians, the Pope said: "the God Who came down to me, Who was so great as to become my friend and to suffer for me, Who died for me: this is the humility we must learn, the humility of God. It follows that we must always see ourselves in the light of God, so as to appreciate how great it is to be loved by Him and, at the same time, to see our own smallness, our poverty, and thus rightly comport ourselves not as masters but as servants".
After then highlighting how "the call of God is also a call in community, an ecclesial call", the Holy Father explained that "the Holy Spirit creates the body and unites us as a single body. ... In this way we are in union with Christ, accepting the corporeity of His Church, of the Spirit which is incarnated in the body".
"We also have to bear in mind how beautiful it is to be part of a company, ... having friends in heaven and on earth, experiencing the beauty of this body, being happy that the Lord has called us into a single body and given us friends all over the world".
In closing, Benedict XVI reflected on "the importance of always seeking communion in the one Christ, the one God".
"The unity of the Church", he concluded, "is the result of harmony, of a shared commitment to act like Jesus, by virtue of His spirit. ... In order to conserve unity of spirit, it is necessary to mould our own behaviour on the humility, sweetness and magnanimity to which Jesus bore witness in His Passion. Our hands and heart must be tied by that bond of love which He accepted for us, making Himself our servant".
BXVI-VISIT/ VIS 20110307 (570)
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