CATHOLIC ACTION: LEARN THE ART OF TRUE LOVE

VATICAN CITY, 30 OCT 2010 (VIS) - In St. Peter's Square this morning, Benedict XVI met with 100,000 children and young people from Italian Catholic Action who are participating in a national meeting on the theme: "There is something more: Let us grow up together".

  The Pope replied to three questions put to him by a boy from Catholic Action, a young man and a school teacher.

  To the first question - "What does it mean to grow up? What must I do to grow up while following Jesus?" - the Holy Father replied by recalling his own youth. "I wanted to do something grand, to make more of my life", he said. "Being 'grown up' means loving Jesus, listening to Him and speaking with Him in prayer, meeting Him in the Sacraments, in Mass and Confession; it means ever greater knowledge of Him, and making Him known to others; it means being with one's friends, even the poor and sick, so as to grow together".

  To the second question - "What does it mean to love unto the end? How can we learn to love authentically?" - the Pope said: "This is a vital question. It is very important, I would say fundamental, to learn to love, to love truly, to learn the art of true love. ... You will grow up if you are capable of making your life a gift to others; not seeking yourself but giving yourself to others. ... You cannot and must not make do with a love reduced to a commodity, to be consumed with no respect for self or for others, incapable of chastity and purity. That is not freedom. A lot of the 'love' presented by the media and on the internet is not love but selfishness and closure. ... It binds you like a chain suffocating the most beautiful thoughts and feelings, the true impulses of the heart, that unquenchable force which is love and which finds in Jesus its highest expression, and in the Holy Spirit the strength and the fire to ignite your life, thoughts and affections. Of course it also takes some sacrifice to love truly - without sacrifice you cannot follow this path - but I am sure you are not afraid of the fatigue of a demanding and authentic love. It is the only thing which, in the final analysis, brings true happiness".

  The third question was: "What does it mean to be teachers today? How can we face the difficulties we meet in our service? How can we ensure that everyone takes responsibility for the present and the future of the new generations?"

  Benedict XVI replied by highlighting how "Being an educator means having joy in one's heart and communicating it to everyone so as to make life good and beautiful; it means providing reasons and goals for life's journey, presenting the beauty of the person of Jesus and making people love Him, His lifestyle, His freedom. ... Above all it means holding up the goal of ... that 'extra' that comes to us from God. This requires personal knowledge of Jesus, a personal, daily and loving contact with Him in prayer, meditation on the Word of God, faithfulness to the Sacraments, the Eucharist, Confession; it means communicating the joy of being part of the Church, of having friends with whom to share, not only the difficulties but also the beauties and surprises of a life of faith".

  "You will be good educators if you are able to involve everyone in the good of the young. You cannot be self-sufficient but must make the vital importance of educating the young generations felt at all levels. Without the presence of the family, for example, you risk building on sand; without a collaboration with schools it is not possible to create a profound knowledge of the faith; without the involvement of the those who work in the sector of leisure and communication your patient efforts risk being unproductive and ineffective in daily life. I am sure that Catholic Action is well rooted in the community and has the courage to be light and salt. Your presence here this morning tells not only me but everyone that education is possible, that it is tiring but beautiful to enthuse young people and children. Have the courage and audacity to ensure that no sector is deprived of Jesus, of His tenderness which you bring to everyone, especially the neediest and abandoned, through your mission as educators".

  The Pope concluded his remarks by inviting those present to remain faithful "to the identity and goals of Catholic Action".
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 30 OCT 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

 - Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

 - Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer S.J., secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
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GOD IS NOT CONDITIONED BY OUR HUMAN PREJUDICES

VATICAN CITY, 31 OCT 2010 (VIS) - Today at midday, Benedict XVI appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.

  "Luke the Evangelist dedicates particular attention to the subject of Jesus' mercy", said the Pope commenting on today's Gospel readings. "In his account, in fact, we find a number of episodes that highlight the merciful love of God, and of Christ Who affirms that He has come to call not the righteous but sinners", as in the case of Zaccheus the publican, collector of the taxes the Jews paid to the Romans and thus considered a great sinner.

  For this reason Jesus aroused great scandal for staying with Zaccheus when He passed through Jericho. "Nonetheless, the Lord well knew what He was doing. He, so to speak, chose to risk, and He won the bet: Zaccheus was profoundly touched by Jesus' visit and decided to change life, promising to restore four times what he had stolen".

  "God excludes no-one, neither rich or poor. God does not allow Himself to be conditioned by our human prejudices but sees in everyone a soul to be saved, and He is especially attracted by those who are considered lost, or who consider themselves to be so. Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God, showed this immense mercy, which takes nothing from the gravity of the sin but always seeks to save the sinner, to offer him a chance to redeem, to start again, to convert".

  "Zaccheus accepted Jesus and converted, because Jesus had first accepted Him. Jesus did not condemn him but accommodated his desire for salvation. Let us pray to the Virgin Mary ... that we too may experience the joy of being visited by the Son of God, ... and transmit His mercy to others", the Pope concluded.

  After praying the Angelus, Benedict XVI recalled how yesterday in the cathedral of Oradea Mare in Romania, Cardinal Peter Erdo proclaimed as blessed Szilard Bogdanffy, bishop and martyr. "In 1948, when he was thirty-eight years old", said the Pope, "he was clandestinely consecrated as a bishop, and shortly afterwards arrested by the communist regime of his country, with the accusation of conspiracy. After four years of suffering and humiliation, he died in prison. Let us give thanks to God for this heroic pastor of the Church who followed the Lamb unto death. May his witness bring comfort to those who are suffering for the Gospel today".
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POPE SPEAKS OF SANCTITY, PRAYS FOR VICTIMS OF IRAQ ATTACK

VATICAN CITY, 1 NOV 2010 (VIS) - On today's Solemnity of All Saints, which "invites us to raise our gaze to heaven and meditate on the fullness of divine life which awaits us", the Holy Father prayed the Angelus with thousands of faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.

  "Sanctity, impressing Christ into one's own self, is the goal of Christian life", said Pope Benedict. "We have a foretaste of the gift and beauty of sanctity each time we participate in the Eucharistic liturgy, in communion with that 'immense multitude' of blessed spirits who are in heaven eternally acclaiming the salvation of God and the Lamb. 'The lives of the saints are not limited to their earthly biographies but also include their being and working in God after death. In the saints one thing becomes clear: those who draw near to God do not withdraw from men, but rather become truly close to them'.

  "Consoled by this communion of the great family of saints", he added, "tomorrow we will commemorate All Souls Day. The liturgy of 2 November and the pious practice of visiting cemeteries reminds us that Christian death is part of the journey of assimilation to God, and will disappear when God becomes everything in everyone. Separation from our earthly affections is certainly painful, but we must nor fear it because, accompanied by the prayer of the Church, it cannot break the profound bond that unites us in Christ".

  Following the Marian prayer the Pope spoke of the attack on the Syro-Catholic cathedral of Baghdad on 31 October which caused many injuries and deaths, including two priests and a group of faithful attending Sunday Mass.

  "I pray for the victims of this absurd violence, all the more ferocious because it targeted defenceless people gathered in the house of God, which is a house of love and reconciliation. I express my affectionate closeness to the Christian community, which has been struck once again, and encourage pastors and faithful to be strong and united in hope. In the face of such cruel episodes of violence, which continue to afflict the people of the Middle East, I would like to renew my heartfelt appeal for peace. Peace is a gift of God, but also the result of the efforts of men and women of goodwill, of national and international institutions. May everyone unite their efforts to put an end to all violence".
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PRAYER FOR THE DECEASED IN GROTTOS OF VATICAN BASILICA

VATICAN CITY, 2 NOV 2010 (VIS) - As is traditional on All Souls Day, at 6 p.m. today Benedict XVI went down to the grottos of the Vatican Basilica to pray privately for the Popes buried there, and for all the deceased.
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