Vatican
City, 10 February 2013 (VIS) – As is customary on Sundays, Benedict
XVI appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with the
faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.
The
Pope commented on the Gospel of St. Luke that narrates the call of
the first disciples, a call "preceded by Jesus' teaching to the
multitude and by a miraculous catch of fish." While the crowd
gathered on the shore of Lake Gennesaret to listen to Him,
Jesus―seeing Simon disheartened
because he hadn't caught anything the whole night―asks if He can
board his boat to preach to the people a little way from the shore.
Once finished preaching, Christ orders Simon to go out to sea with
his companions and to cast their nets. Simon obeys and the nets are
filled with an incredible amount of fish. "The Gospel writer
shows that the first disciples followed Jesus, trusting in Him,
acting on His Word, while accompanied by prodigious signs. … This
is the pedagogy of God's call, which doesn't look as much at the
quality of the chosen as at their faith, as in Simon's case.
"The
image of the catch," the Pope emphasized, "recalls the
Church's mission … Peter's experience, certainly unique, is also
representative of the call of each Apostle in the Gospel, who should
never lose heart in proclaiming Christ to all people, even to the
ends of the earth. today's text also brings us to reflect on the
vocation to the priesthood and to consecrated life. This is God's
work. Human beings are not the authors of their own vocation, but
respond to a divine call. Human weakness should not lead us to fear
God's call. It is necessary to be confident in His strength, which
acts precisely in our weakness. We must trust ever more in the power
of His mercy, which transforms and renews us."
"May
this Word of God also reignite in us and in our Christian communities
the courage, confidence, and enthusiasm to announce and witness to
the Gospel. Challenges and difficulties don't dishearten us: it falls
to us to cast our nets with faith. The Lord will do the rest,"
concluded the Holy Father.
After
praying the Angelus, Benedict XVI noted that many Asian countries are
celebrating the Lunar New Year. Peace, harmony, and thanksgiving to
heaven," he observed, "are the universal values that are
celebrated in this happy circumstance, and they are wished for by all
so as to build their family, society, and their nation upon them. I
wish for those peoples the fulfilment of their aspirations for a
happy and prosperous life. I send a special greeting to the Catholics
of those countries that, in this Year of Faith, they may be guided by
Christ's wisdom.
Lastly,
he spoke of the World Day of the Sick, which will be celebrated
tomorrow, 11 February, on the liturgical feastday of Our Lady of
Lourdes. "The solemn ceremony," he said, "will take
place in the Marian Shrine in Altotting, Bavaria, Germany. I am near
to all the ill in prayer and affection and I spiritually join with
those gathered in that sanctuary that I love so much."
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