VATICAN CITY, 13 NOV 2011 (VIS) - The provisional nature of earthly life and the call to experience it as "a pilgrimage" towards God, Who "represents our final destination and gives meaning to our lives", were the central themes of the remarks Benedict XVI addressed to faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square before praying the Angelus today.
In the Parable of the Talents, as related in today's reading from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, "Jesus speaks of the three servants whose master departed on a long journey and entrusted them with his money. Two of them behaved correctly and redoubled the wealth they had received, but the third hid the money in a hole. When the master returned he asked what had become of his riches and, while he was pleased with the first two servants, he was disappointed with the third, ... because he had behaved as if his master would never return, as if the day of reckoning would never come.
"With this parable", the Holy Father added, "Jesus wished to teach His disciples to make good use of His gifts. God calls each one of us to life and gives us talents, at the same time entrusting us with a mission to accomplish. It would be foolish to think that these gifts are our due, just as refusing to employ them would be to fail in the goal of our lives. Commenting on this Gospel episode, St. Gregory the Great notes that the Lord does not stint His gift of charity and love to anyone".
"Let us accept the invitation to be watchful, as reiterated in the Scriptures. This is the attitude of those who know that the Lord will return and will wish to see in us the fruits of His love. Charity is the fundamental good which no one should fail to practise and without which all other gifts are in vain".
ANG/ VIS 20111114 (330)
Monday, November 14, 2011
RESPECT FOR THE EARTH AND RECONCILIATION IN AFRICA
VATICAN CITY, 13 NOV 2011 (VIS) - After praying the Angelus this morning, the Pope mentioned that today marks World Diabetes Day, "a chronic illness which affects many people, including the young", he said. "I pray for all those brothers and sisters, for those who share their daily fatigue, and for the healthcare workers and volunteers who assist them".
Speaking French, he also referred to his forthcoming trip to Benin during which he will sign the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. The Pope highlighted how his visit will seek "to reaffirm the faith and hope of Christians in Africa. ... To your prayers I entrust this journey and the inhabitants of the dear continent of Africa, especially those who are experiencing insecurity and violence. May Our Lady of Africa accompany and sustain the efforts of everyone who works for reconciliation, justice and peace".
Continuing his remarks in German, he sent greetings "to the faithful who today will participate in the beatification of the martyr priest Karl Lampert in Dornbirn. In the dark days of National Socialism, he clearly understood the words of St. Paul 'we are not of the night or of darkness'. During an interrogation which could have given him his freedom, he declared: 'I love my Church. I remain faithful to my Church and to the priesthood. I am with Christ and love His Church'".
He then recalled how, at the initiative of the "Aid to the Church in Need" association, Poland is currently celebrating a Day of Solidarity with the persecuted Church. "This year", he said, "with your prayers and your offerings you are giving particular support to the Church in Sudan. My hope is that the Day may raise people's awareness to poverty and persecutions, and to the need to respect human dignity and the right to religious freedom".
He also noted that the Italian Church is today celebrating the Day of Thanksgiving. "Looking at the fruits of the earth, which this year too the Lord has given us, we recognise that the work of man would be in vain if He did not make it fruitful. ... Let us give thanks and undertake to respect the earth, which the Lord has entrusted to our care".
ANG/ VIS 20111114 (390)
Speaking French, he also referred to his forthcoming trip to Benin during which he will sign the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. The Pope highlighted how his visit will seek "to reaffirm the faith and hope of Christians in Africa. ... To your prayers I entrust this journey and the inhabitants of the dear continent of Africa, especially those who are experiencing insecurity and violence. May Our Lady of Africa accompany and sustain the efforts of everyone who works for reconciliation, justice and peace".
Continuing his remarks in German, he sent greetings "to the faithful who today will participate in the beatification of the martyr priest Karl Lampert in Dornbirn. In the dark days of National Socialism, he clearly understood the words of St. Paul 'we are not of the night or of darkness'. During an interrogation which could have given him his freedom, he declared: 'I love my Church. I remain faithful to my Church and to the priesthood. I am with Christ and love His Church'".
He then recalled how, at the initiative of the "Aid to the Church in Need" association, Poland is currently celebrating a Day of Solidarity with the persecuted Church. "This year", he said, "with your prayers and your offerings you are giving particular support to the Church in Sudan. My hope is that the Day may raise people's awareness to poverty and persecutions, and to the need to respect human dignity and the right to religious freedom".
He also noted that the Italian Church is today celebrating the Day of Thanksgiving. "Looking at the fruits of the earth, which this year too the Lord has given us, we recognise that the work of man would be in vain if He did not make it fruitful. ... Let us give thanks and undertake to respect the earth, which the Lord has entrusted to our care".
ANG/ VIS 20111114 (390)
AUDIENCES
VATICAN CITY, 14 NOV 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience:
- Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
- Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello, president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and of the Governorate of Vatican City State.
- Alfonso Rivero Monsalve, ambassador of Peru, accompanied by his wife, on a farewell visit.
On Saturday 12 November he received in audience Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
AP/ VIS 20111114 (90)
- Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
- Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello, president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and of the Governorate of Vatican City State.
- Alfonso Rivero Monsalve, ambassador of Peru, accompanied by his wife, on a farewell visit.
On Saturday 12 November he received in audience Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
AP/ VIS 20111114 (90)
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
VATICAN CITY, 14 NOV 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Brisbane, Australia, presented by Archbishop John A. Bathersby, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Msgr. Francesco Cavina of the clergy of the diocese of Imola, Italy, official of the Secretariat of State, as bishop of Carpi (area 415, population 127,808, Catholics 117,785, priests 56, permanent deacons 13, religious 62), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Faenza, Italy in 1955 and ordained a priest in 1980. He has worked as vice rector of the regional seminary of Bologna, defender of the bond and later judge in the Tribunal of the same archdiocese, and canon of the cathedral of Imola. He succeeds Bishop Elio Tinti, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
RE:NER/ VIS 20111114 (150)
- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Brisbane, Australia, presented by Archbishop John A. Bathersby, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Msgr. Francesco Cavina of the clergy of the diocese of Imola, Italy, official of the Secretariat of State, as bishop of Carpi (area 415, population 127,808, Catholics 117,785, priests 56, permanent deacons 13, religious 62), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Faenza, Italy in 1955 and ordained a priest in 1980. He has worked as vice rector of the regional seminary of Bologna, defender of the bond and later judge in the Tribunal of the same archdiocese, and canon of the cathedral of Imola. He succeeds Bishop Elio Tinti, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
RE:NER/ VIS 20111114 (150)
Friday, November 11, 2011
VOLUNTEER WORK: A REASON FOR CONFIDENCE IN A TIME OF CRISIS
VATICAN CITY, 11 NOV 2011 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Pope received bishops with pastoral responsibility for charitable work and representatives of European charity organisations. They are currently participating in a meeting promoted by the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" in the context of the European Year of Volunteering.
"At the present time, marked as it is by crisis and uncertainty", the Pope began, speaking English, "your commitment is a reason for confidence, since it shows that goodness exists and that it is growing in our midst. ... For Christians, volunteer work is not merely an expression of good will. It is based on a personal experience of Christ", Whose "grace helps us to discover within ourselves a human desire for solidarity and a fundamental vocation to love. ... We also become visible instruments of His love in a world that still profoundly yearns for that love amid the poverty, loneliness, marginalisation and ignorance that we see all around us.
"Of course", he added, "Catholic volunteer work cannot respond to all these needs, but that does not discourage us. ... The little that we manage to do to relieve human needs can be seen as a good seed that will grow and bear much fruit; it is a sign of Christ's presence and love. ... This is the nature of the witness which you, in all humility and conviction, offer to civil society. While it is the duty of public authority to acknowledge and to appreciate this contribution without distorting it, your role as Christians is to take an active part in the life of society, seeking to make it ever more humane, ever more marked by authentic freedom, justice and solidarity".
Benedict XVI went on: "Our meeting today takes place on the liturgical memorial of St. Martin of Tours. Often portrayed sharing his mantle with a poor man, Martin became a model of charity throughout Europe and indeed the whole world. Nowadays, volunteer work as a service of charity has become a universally recognised element of our modern culture. Nonetheless, its origins can still be seen in the particularly Christian concern for safeguarding, without discrimination, the dignity of the human person created in the image and likeness of God. If these spiritual roots are denied or obscured and the criteria of our collaboration become purely utilitarian, what is most distinctive about the service you provide risks being lost, to the detriment of society as a whole".
The Pope concluded his remarks by inviting young people "to discover in volunteer work a way to grow in the self-giving love which gives life its deepest meaning".
AC/ VIS 20111111 (450)
"At the present time, marked as it is by crisis and uncertainty", the Pope began, speaking English, "your commitment is a reason for confidence, since it shows that goodness exists and that it is growing in our midst. ... For Christians, volunteer work is not merely an expression of good will. It is based on a personal experience of Christ", Whose "grace helps us to discover within ourselves a human desire for solidarity and a fundamental vocation to love. ... We also become visible instruments of His love in a world that still profoundly yearns for that love amid the poverty, loneliness, marginalisation and ignorance that we see all around us.
"Of course", he added, "Catholic volunteer work cannot respond to all these needs, but that does not discourage us. ... The little that we manage to do to relieve human needs can be seen as a good seed that will grow and bear much fruit; it is a sign of Christ's presence and love. ... This is the nature of the witness which you, in all humility and conviction, offer to civil society. While it is the duty of public authority to acknowledge and to appreciate this contribution without distorting it, your role as Christians is to take an active part in the life of society, seeking to make it ever more humane, ever more marked by authentic freedom, justice and solidarity".
Benedict XVI went on: "Our meeting today takes place on the liturgical memorial of St. Martin of Tours. Often portrayed sharing his mantle with a poor man, Martin became a model of charity throughout Europe and indeed the whole world. Nowadays, volunteer work as a service of charity has become a universally recognised element of our modern culture. Nonetheless, its origins can still be seen in the particularly Christian concern for safeguarding, without discrimination, the dignity of the human person created in the image and likeness of God. If these spiritual roots are denied or obscured and the criteria of our collaboration become purely utilitarian, what is most distinctive about the service you provide risks being lost, to the detriment of society as a whole".
The Pope concluded his remarks by inviting young people "to discover in volunteer work a way to grow in the self-giving love which gives life its deepest meaning".
AC/ VIS 20111111 (450)
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