VATICAN CITY, 16 APR 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:
- Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
- Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
AP/ VIS 20110418 (30)
Monday, April 18, 2011
GOD DESIRES TO LIFT THE HUMAN BEING TO HIMSELF
VATICAN CITY, 17 APR 2011 (VIS) - Benedict XVI presided over the thousands of persons who filled St. Peter's Square for the Eucharistic celebration of Palm Sunday and the Lord's Passion and the day that celebrates, at a diocesan level, the XXVI World Youth Day on the theme "Rooted and Built in Christ: Firm in the Faith" (cf. Col 2:7).
Before Mass the Pope blessed the palms and olive branches at the obelisk of the square, then he moved in the Popemobile to the altar.
In the homily the Holy Father, reflecting on the meaning of Jesus' pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, explained that "he knew that ... he himself would take the place of the sacrificial lambs by offering himself on the cross. ... The ultimate goal of his pilgrimage was the heights of God himself; to those heights he wanted to lift every human being".
"But", he asked, "how can we keep pace with this ascent? Isn't it beyond our ability? Certainly, it is beyond our own possibilities. From the beginning men and women have been filled - and this is as true today as ever - with a desire to 'be like God', to attain the heights of God ... And yet the force of gravity which draws us down is powerful. With the increase of our abilities there has been an increase not only of good. Our possibilities for evil have increased and appear like menacing storms above history. Our limitations have also remained: we need but think of the disasters which have caused so much suffering for humanity in recent months".
Benedict XVI highlighted that "man finds himself betwixt this twofold gravitational force; everything depends on our escaping the gravitational field of evil and becoming free to be attracted completely by the gravitational force of God, which makes us authentic, elevates us, and grants us true freedom".
"God himself must draw us up, and this is what Christ began to do on the cross. He descended to the depths of our human existence in order to draw us up to himself, to the living God. ... Only in this way could our pride be vanquished: God's humility is the extreme form of his love, and this humble love draws us upwards".
The Pope placed special emphasis on the need we have of God. "he draws us upwards; letting ourselves be upheld by his hands - by faith, in other words - sets us aright and gives us the inner strength that raises us on high. We need the humility of a faith which seeks the face of God and trusts in the truth of his love. The question of how man can attain the heights, becoming completely himself and completely like God, has always engaged mankind".
"We are on pilgrimage with the Lord to the heights. We are striving for pure hearts and clean hands, we are seeking truth, we are seeking the face of God. Let us show the Lord that we desire to be righteous, and let us ask him: Draw us upwards! Make us pure!" He concluded, "grant that the words which we sang in the processional psalm may also hold true for us; grant that we may be part of the generation which seeks God, 'which seeks your face, O God of Jacob'"
HML/ VIS 20110418 (550)
Before Mass the Pope blessed the palms and olive branches at the obelisk of the square, then he moved in the Popemobile to the altar.
In the homily the Holy Father, reflecting on the meaning of Jesus' pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, explained that "he knew that ... he himself would take the place of the sacrificial lambs by offering himself on the cross. ... The ultimate goal of his pilgrimage was the heights of God himself; to those heights he wanted to lift every human being".
"But", he asked, "how can we keep pace with this ascent? Isn't it beyond our ability? Certainly, it is beyond our own possibilities. From the beginning men and women have been filled - and this is as true today as ever - with a desire to 'be like God', to attain the heights of God ... And yet the force of gravity which draws us down is powerful. With the increase of our abilities there has been an increase not only of good. Our possibilities for evil have increased and appear like menacing storms above history. Our limitations have also remained: we need but think of the disasters which have caused so much suffering for humanity in recent months".
Benedict XVI highlighted that "man finds himself betwixt this twofold gravitational force; everything depends on our escaping the gravitational field of evil and becoming free to be attracted completely by the gravitational force of God, which makes us authentic, elevates us, and grants us true freedom".
"God himself must draw us up, and this is what Christ began to do on the cross. He descended to the depths of our human existence in order to draw us up to himself, to the living God. ... Only in this way could our pride be vanquished: God's humility is the extreme form of his love, and this humble love draws us upwards".
The Pope placed special emphasis on the need we have of God. "he draws us upwards; letting ourselves be upheld by his hands - by faith, in other words - sets us aright and gives us the inner strength that raises us on high. We need the humility of a faith which seeks the face of God and trusts in the truth of his love. The question of how man can attain the heights, becoming completely himself and completely like God, has always engaged mankind".
"We are on pilgrimage with the Lord to the heights. We are striving for pure hearts and clean hands, we are seeking truth, we are seeking the face of God. Let us show the Lord that we desire to be righteous, and let us ask him: Draw us upwards! Make us pure!" He concluded, "grant that the words which we sang in the processional psalm may also hold true for us; grant that we may be part of the generation which seeks God, 'which seeks your face, O God of Jacob'"
ANGELUS: POPE ASKS FOR END OF VIOLENCE IN COLOMBIA
VATICAN CITY, 17 APR 2011 (VIS) - At the end of the celebration of the solemnity of Palm Sunday and the Lord's Passion, the Holy Father prayed the Angelus with the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square. Before the Marian prayer the Pope addressed those present in various languages, exhorting them above all, "to live the celebration of the Lord's Passion and Glorification in order to achieve the fullness of what these feasts mean and hold".
"I am particularly speaking to you, beloved youth" he continued in Spanish, "that you accompany me at the World Youth Day that will take place in Madrid this coming August, with the theme of "Rooted and Built in Christ: Firm in the Faith".
"Today I am also thinking of Colombia", he continued, "where the Day of Prayer for victims of violence will be held this coming Good Friday. I am spiritually near to this initiative and earnestly urge Colombians to participate in it, at the same time I ask God for those in this beloved nation who have been appallingly stripped of their lives and their possessions. I renew my urgent call to conversion, repentance, and reconciliation. No more violence in Colombia, that peace there reign!"
ANG/ VIS 20110418 (200)
"I am particularly speaking to you, beloved youth" he continued in Spanish, "that you accompany me at the World Youth Day that will take place in Madrid this coming August, with the theme of "Rooted and Built in Christ: Firm in the Faith".
"Today I am also thinking of Colombia", he continued, "where the Day of Prayer for victims of violence will be held this coming Good Friday. I am spiritually near to this initiative and earnestly urge Colombians to participate in it, at the same time I ask God for those in this beloved nation who have been appallingly stripped of their lives and their possessions. I renew my urgent call to conversion, repentance, and reconciliation. No more violence in Colombia, that peace there reign!"
PROGRAM OF THE POPE'S APOSTOLIC TRIP TO CROATIA
VATICAN CITY, 18 APR 2011 (VIS) - Following is the program of Benedict XVI's apostolic trip to Croatia - scheduled for 4 - 5 June - for the National Day of Croatian Families.
The Pope will leave at 9:30am on Saturday, 4 June, from Rome's Fiumicino Airport and will land at Pleso International Airport in Zagreb at 11:00am. After the welcoming ceremony, a courtesy visit will be made to Ivo Josipovic, the President of the Republic, at the presidential palace, following which the Pope will meet with Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor at the apostolic nunciature at 1:50pm. At 6:15pm, in the National Croatian Theater of Zagreb, he will meet with representatives of civil society, the political, academic, cultural, and business world, the diplomatic corps, and religious figures. At 7:30pm, in Josip Jelacic Square, he will preside over a prayer vigil with the Croatian youth.
On Sunday, 5 June, at 10:00am, he will celebrate Holy Mass on the National Day of Croatian Families in the Zagreb Hippodrome. At 2:00pm he will have lunch at the new offices of the Secretary of the Croatian Bishops' Council with the Croatian and other invited bishops. At 5:00pm he will presided over vespers with the bishops, priests, religious, and seminarians and will pray at the tomb of Blessed Aloysius Viktor Stepinac at Zagreb's Cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to St. Stephen. When finished there he will meet with Cardinal Josip Bozanic, archbishop of Zagreb, at his residence, and at 7:15pm will travel to Pleso Airport where, at 7:45pm he will make the return flight to Rome. The flight is scheduled to land at Rome's Ciampino Airport at 9:15pm.
PV-CROATIA/ VIS 20110418 (270)
The Pope will leave at 9:30am on Saturday, 4 June, from Rome's Fiumicino Airport and will land at Pleso International Airport in Zagreb at 11:00am. After the welcoming ceremony, a courtesy visit will be made to Ivo Josipovic, the President of the Republic, at the presidential palace, following which the Pope will meet with Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor at the apostolic nunciature at 1:50pm. At 6:15pm, in the National Croatian Theater of Zagreb, he will meet with representatives of civil society, the political, academic, cultural, and business world, the diplomatic corps, and religious figures. At 7:30pm, in Josip Jelacic Square, he will preside over a prayer vigil with the Croatian youth.
On Sunday, 5 June, at 10:00am, he will celebrate Holy Mass on the National Day of Croatian Families in the Zagreb Hippodrome. At 2:00pm he will have lunch at the new offices of the Secretary of the Croatian Bishops' Council with the Croatian and other invited bishops. At 5:00pm he will presided over vespers with the bishops, priests, religious, and seminarians and will pray at the tomb of Blessed Aloysius Viktor Stepinac at Zagreb's Cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to St. Stephen. When finished there he will meet with Cardinal Josip Bozanic, archbishop of Zagreb, at his residence, and at 7:15pm will travel to Pleso Airport where, at 7:45pm he will make the return flight to Rome. The flight is scheduled to land at Rome's Ciampino Airport at 9:15pm.
PV-CROATIA/ VIS 20110418 (270)
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
VATICAN CITY, 18 APR 2011 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father named:
- Fr. Jose Arturo Cepeda of the clergy of the archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Detroit, Michigan (area 10,106, population 4,556,000, Catholics 1,515,000, priests 641, religious 1,552, permanent deacons 191), USA. The bishop-elect was born in 1969 in San Luis de Potosi, Mexico, was ordained to the priesthood in 1996, and, to date, was Rector of the Assumption Seminary of San Antonio, Texas.
- Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA) as his special envoy to the bicentennial celebration of the birth of St. John Nepomuceno Neumann that will take place in Prachatitz, Czech Republic on 18 June 2011.
On Saturday, 16 April, the Holy Father appointed Bishop Beniamino Pizziol, auxiliary bishop of Venice, as bishop of Vicenza (area 2,200, population 855,608, Catholics 790,848, priests 732, permanent deacons 38, religious 2,086), Italy.
NER/ VIS 20110418 (150)
- Fr. Jose Arturo Cepeda of the clergy of the archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Detroit, Michigan (area 10,106, population 4,556,000, Catholics 1,515,000, priests 641, religious 1,552, permanent deacons 191), USA. The bishop-elect was born in 1969 in San Luis de Potosi, Mexico, was ordained to the priesthood in 1996, and, to date, was Rector of the Assumption Seminary of San Antonio, Texas.
- Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA) as his special envoy to the bicentennial celebration of the birth of St. John Nepomuceno Neumann that will take place in Prachatitz, Czech Republic on 18 June 2011.
On Saturday, 16 April, the Holy Father appointed Bishop Beniamino Pizziol, auxiliary bishop of Venice, as bishop of Vicenza (area 2,200, population 855,608, Catholics 790,848, priests 732, permanent deacons 38, religious 2,086), Italy.
NER/ VIS 20110418 (150)
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