Pontiff's Homily at Open-air Mass

Pontiff's Homily at Open-air Mass


"For God to dwell in us, we need to listen to him; we must allow his Word to challenge us every day"

GUANAJUATO, Mexico, MARCH 25, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave Sunday morning at the open-air Mass he celebrated in Bicentennial Park.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I am very pleased to be among you today and I express my sincere gratitude to the Most Reverend José Guadalupe Martín Rábago, Archbishop of León, for his kind words of welcome. I greet the Mexican Bishops, and the Cardinals and other Bishops present here, and in a special way those who have come from Latin America and the Caribbean. I also extend a warm greeting to the authorities that are with us, as well as all who have gathered for this Holy Mass presided by the Successor of Peter.

We said, "A pure heart, create for me, O God" (Ps 50:12) during the responsorial psalm. This exclamation shows us how profoundly we must prepare to celebrate next week the great mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. It also helps us to look deeply into the human heart, especially in times of sorrow as well as hope, as are the present times for the people of Mexico and of Latin America.

The desire for a heart that would be pure, sincere, humble, acceptable to God was very much felt by Israel as it became aware of the persistence in its midst of evil and sin as a power, practically implacable and impossible to overcome. There was nothing left but to trust in God’s mercy and in the hope that he would change from within, from the heart, an unbearable, dark and hopeless situation. In this way recourse gained ground to the infinite mercy of the Lord who does not wish the sinner to die but to convert and live (cf. Ez 33:11). A pure heart, a new heart, is one which recognizes that, of itself, it is impotent and places itself in God’s hands so as to continue hoping in his promises. Then the psalmist can say to the Lord with conviction: "Sinners will return to you" (Ps 50:15). And towards the end of the psalm he will give an explanation which is at the same time a firm conviction of faith: "A humble, contrite heart you will not spurn" (v. 19).

The history of Israel relates some great events and battles, but when faced with its more authentic existence, its decisive destiny, its salvation, it places its hope not in its own efforts, but in God who can create a new heart, not insensitive or proud. This should remind each one of us and our peoples that, when addressing the deeper dimension of personal and community life, human strategies will not suffice to save us. We must have recourse to the One who alone can give life in its fullness, because he is the essence of life and its author; he has made us sharers in the same through his Son Jesus Christ.

Today’s Gospel takes up the topic and shows us how this ancient desire for the fullness of life has actually been achieved in Christ. Saint John explains it in a passage in which the wish of some Greeks to see Jesus coincides with the moment in which the Lord is about to be glorified. Jesus responds to the question of the Greeks, who represent the pagan world, saying: "Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified" (Jn 12:23). This is a strange response which seems inconsistent with the question asked by the Greeks. What has the glorification of Jesus to do with the request to meet him? But there is a relation. Someone might think – says Saint Augustine – that Jesus felt glorified because the Gentiles were coming to him. This would be similar to the applause of the multitudes who give "glory" to those who are grand in the world, as we would say today. But this is not so. "It was convenient that, before the wonder of his glorification, should come the humility of his passion" (In Joannis Ev. 51:9: PL 35, 1766).

Jesus’ answer, announcing his imminent passion, means that a casual encounter in those moments would have been superficial and perhaps deceptive. The Greeks will see the one they wished to meet raised up on the cross from which he will attract all to himself (cf. Jn 12:32). There his "glory" will begin, because of his sacrifice of expiation for all, as the grain of wheat fallen to the ground that by dying germinates and produces abundant fruit. They will find the one whom, unknown to them, they were seeking in their hearts, the true God who is made visible to all peoples. This was how Our Lady of Guadalupe showed her divine Son to Saint Juan Diego, not as a powerful legendary hero but as the very God of the living, by whom all live, the Creator of persons, of closeness and immediacy, of heaven and earth (cf. Nican Mopohua, v.33). At that moment she did what she had done previously at the wedding feast of Cana. Faced with the embarrassment caused by the lack of wine, she told the servants clearly that the path to follow was her Son: "Do whatever he tells you" (Jn 2:5).

Dear brothers and sisters, by coming here I have been able to visit the monument to Christ the King situated on top of the Cubilete. My venerable predecessor, Blessed Pope John Paul II, although he ardently desired to do so, was unable on his several journeys to this beloved land to visit this site of such significance for the faith of the Mexican people. I am sure that in heaven he is happy that the Lord has granted me the grace to be here with you and that he has blessed the millions of Mexicans who have venerated his relics in every corner of the country. This monument represents Christ the King. But his crowns, one of a sovereign, the other of thorns, indicate that his royal status does not correspond to how it has been or is understood by many. His kingdom does not stand on the power of his armies subduing others through force or violence. It rests on a higher power than wins over hearts: the love of God that he brought into the world with his sacrifice and the truth to which he bore witness. This is his sovereignty which no one can take from him and which no one should forget. Hence it is right that this shrine should be above all a place of pilgrimage, of fervent prayer, of conversion, of reconciliation, of the search for truth and the acceptance of grace. We ask Christ, to reign in our hearts, making them pure, docile, filled with hope and courageous in humility.

From this park, foreseen as a memorial of the bicentenary of the birth of the Mexican nation, bringing together many differences towards one destiny and one common quest, we ask Christ for a pure heart, where he as Prince of Peace may dwell "thanks to the power of God who is the power of goodness, the power of love". But for God to dwell in us, we need to listen to him; we must allow his Word to challenge us every day, meditating upon it in our hearts after the example of Mary (cf. Lk 2:51). In this way we grow in friendship with him, we learn to understand what he expects from us and we are encouraged to make him known to others.

At Aparecida, the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean saw with clarity the need to confirm, renew and revitalize the newness of the Gospel rooted deeply in the history of these lands "on the basis of a personal and community encounter with Jesus Christ which raises up disciples and missionaries" (Final Document, 11). The Continental Mission now taking place in the various dioceses of this continent has the specific task of transmitting this conviction to all Christians and ecclesial communities so that they may resist the temptation of a faith that is superficial and routine, at times fragmentary and incoherent. Here we need to overcome fatigue related to faith and rediscover "the joy of being Christians, of being sustained by the inner happiness of knowing Christ and belonging to his Church. From this joy spring the energies that are needed to serve Christ in distressing situations of human suffering, placing oneself at his disposition and not falling back on one’s own comfort" (Address to the Roman Curia, 22 December 2011). This can be seen clearly in the saints who dedicated themselves fully to the cause of the Gospel with enthusiasm and joy without counting the cost, even of life itself. Their heart was centred entirely on Christ from whom they had learned what it means to love until the end.

In this sense the Year of Faith, to which I have convoked the whole Church, "is an invitation to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the only Saviour of the world […]. Faith grows when it is lived as an experience of love received and when it is communicated as an experience of grace and joy" (Porta Fidei 6, 7).

Let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to assist us in purifying our hearts, especially in view of the coming Easter celebrations, that we may enter more deeply the salvific mystery of her Son, as she made it known in this land. And let us also ask her to continue accompanying and protecting her Mexican and Latin American children, that Christ may reign in their lives and help them boldly to promote peace, harmony, justice and solidarity. Amen.

On Journeying With Jesus Through the Desert

On Journeying With Jesus Through the Desert


VATICAN CITY, MARCH 19, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI gave Sunday before and after praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square.

* * *

Dear brothers and sisters!

In our journey toward Easter, we have arrived at the fourth Sunday of Lent. It is a journey with Jesus through the “desert,” that is, a time in which to listen carefully to God’s voice and also to unmask the temptations that speak within us. The cross is outlined against the horizon of this desert. Jesus knows that it is the culmination of his mission: in effect, the cross of Christ is the apex of love, which bestows salvation upon us. Jesus himself tells us this in today’s Gospel: “Just as Moses raised up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be raised up, that whoever believes in him might have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). The reference is to the episode in which, during the exodus from Egypt, the Hebrews were attacked by poisonous serpents, and many died; so, God commanded Moses to fashion a serpent of bronze and place it upon a pole: if someone was bitten by a snake, looking upon the bronze serpent, he was healed (cf. Numbers 21:4-9). Jesus too will be raised up on the cross so that whoever is in danger of death because of sin, turning with faith toward him who died for us, he might be saved. “God indeed,” writes St. John, “did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).

St. Augustine comments: “The doctor, in what regards him, comes to heal the sick person. If someone does not follow the doctor’s prescriptions, he is the one who harms himself. The Savior came into the world … if you do not want to be saved by him, it is you who will judge yourself” (“Tractates on the Gospel of John,” 12, 12: PL 35, 1190). Thus, if God’s merciful love is infinite, he who even sent his only Son as a ransom for our life, [then] our responsibility is likewise great: each of us, in fact, must recognize that we are sick so that we may be healed; each of us must confess his sin so that God’s forgiveness, already given upon the cross, might have an effect in our heart and our life. St. Augustine further writes: God condemns your sins: and if you also condemn them, you are united to God … And when your own deeds will begin to displease you, from that time your good works begin, as you find fault with your wicked deeds” (ibid., 13: PL 35, 1191). Sometimes man loves darkness more than light because he is attached to his sins. But it is only in opening himself to the light, and only in sincerely confessing his faults to God, that he finds true peace and truth joy. It is thus important to approach the Sacrament of Penance regularly, especially during Lent, to receive the Lord’s forgiveness and to intensify our journey of conversion.

Dear friends, tomorrow we will celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph. I thank from my heart everyone who will remember me in prayer on my name day. In particular, I ask you to pray for the apostolic voyage to Mexico and Cuba, which will begin next Friday. We entrust it to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so loved and venerated in these two countries that I am preparing to visit.

[Following the Angelus, the Holy Father addressed those gathered in St. Peter’s Square in various languages. In Italian he said:]

Yesterday was the conclusion, in Marseilles, of the sixth World Water Forum and next Thursday will be observed the World Water Day, which this year underscores the fundamental link between such a precious and limited resource and food security. I hope that these initiatives contribute to guaranteeing equal, secure and adequate access to water for everyone, promoting in this way the rights to life and nourishment of every human being, and a responsible and solidary use of the goods of the earth, for the benefit of present and future generations.

[In English he said:]

I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present for today’s Angelus. This Sunday, we reach the mid-way point of our Lenten journey. As we continue on our way, we keep our eyes fixed upon our goal, when we will accompany our Lord on the path to Calvary, so as to rise with him to new life. May Christ, the light of the world, shine upon you and fill you with his blessings!

[Concluding in Italian he said:]

I wish you all a good Sunday and a good week. Have a good Sunday, everyone!

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

On the Praying Presence of Mary

On the Praying Presence of Mary




"Mary prays in and with the Church at every decisive moment of salvation history"


VATICAN CITY, MARCH 14, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter’s Square. The Pope continued his series of catecheses on prayer, today beginning a series of reflections on prayer in the Acts of the Apostles.

* * *

Dear brothers and sisters,

With today’s catechesis, I would like to begin to speak about prayer in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Letters of St. Paul. St. Luke, as we know, has given us one of the four Gospels, dedicated to the earthly life of Jesus; but he has also left us what has been called the first book on the history of the Church; i.e., the Acts of the Apostles. In both of these books, one of the recurring elements is prayer, from that of Jesus to that of Mary, the disciples, the women and the Christian community.

The beginning of the Church’s journey is rhythmically marked by the action of the Holy Spirit, who transforms the Apostles into witnesses of the Risen One to the shedding of their blood, and also by the rapid spread of the Word of God to the East and to the West. However, before the proclamation of the Gospel is spread abroad, Luke recounts the episode of the Ascension of the Risen One (cf. Acts 1:6-9). The Lord delivers to the disciples the program of their lives, which are devoted to evangelization. He says: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) In Jerusalem, the Apostles who were now eleven due to the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, were gathered together at home in prayer, and it is precisely in prayer that they await the gift promised by the Risen Christ, the Holy Spirit.

Within this context of expectancy -- between the Ascension and Pentecost -- St. Luke mentions for the last time Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and His brethren (verse 14). He had dedicated the beginning of His Gospel to Mary, from the announcement of the Angel to the birth and infancy of the Son of God made man. With Mary the earthly life of Jesus begins, and with Mary the Church’s first steps are also taken; in both instances, the atmosphere is one of listening to God and of recollection. Today, therefore, I would like to consider this praying presence of the Virgin in the midst of the disciples who would become the first nascent Church.

Mary quietly followed her Son’s entire journey during His public life, even to the foot of the Cross; and now she continues in silent prayer to follow along the Church’s path. At the Annunciation in the home of Nazareth, Mary welcomes the angel of God; she is attentive to his words; she welcomes them and responds to the divine plan, thereby revealing her complete availability: “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (cf. Luke 1:38). Because of her inner attitude of listening, Mary is able to interpret her own history, and to humbly acknowledge that it is the Lord who is acting.

In visiting her relative Elizabeth, she breaks forth into a prayer of praise and joy, and of celebration of the divine grace that filled her heart and her life, making her the Mother of the Lord (Luke 1:46-55). Praise, thanksgiving, joy: in the canticle of the Magnificat, Mary looks not only to what God has wrought in her, but also to what he has accomplished and continually accomplishes throughout history. In a famous commentary on the Magnificat, St. Ambrose summons us to have the same spirit of prayer. He writes: “May the soul of Mary be in us to magnify the Lord; may the spirit of Mary be in us to exult in God” (Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam 2, 26: PL 15, 1561).

Also in the Cenacle in Jerusalem, in the “upper room where [the disciples of Jesus] were staying” (cf. Acts 1:13), in an atmosphere of listening and prayer, she is present, before the doors are thrown open and they begin to announce the Risen Lord to all peoples, teaching them to observe all that Lord had commanded (Matthew 28:19-20). The stages in Mary’s journey -- from the home of Nazareth to that in Jerusalem, through the Cross where her Son entrusts to her the Apostle John -- are marked by her ability to maintain a persevering atmosphere of recollection, so that she might ponder each event in the silence of her heart before God (cf. Luke 2:19-51) and in meditation before God, also see the will of God therein and be able to accept it interiorly.

The presence of the Mother of God with the Eleven following the Ascension is not, then, a simple historical annotation regarding a thing of the past; rather, it assumes a meaning of great value, for she shares with them what is most precious: the living memory of Jesus, in prayer; and she shares this mission of Jesus: to preserve the memory of Jesus and thereby to preserve His presence.

The final mention of Mary in the two writings of St. Luke is made on the sabbath day: the day of God’s rest after Creation, the day of silence after the Death of Jesus and of expectation of His Resurrection. The tradition of remembering Holy Mary on Saturday is rooted in this event. Between the Ascension of the Risen One and the first Christian Pentecost, the Apostles and the Church gather together with Mary to await with her the gift of the Holy Spirit, without whom one cannot become a witness. She who already received Him in order that she might give birth to the incarnate Word, shares with the whole Church in awaiting the same gift, so that “Christ may be formed” (Galatians 4:19) in the heart of every believer.

If the Church does not exist without Pentecost, neither does Pentecost exist without the Mother of Jesus, since she lived in a wholly unique way what the Church experiences each day under the action of the Holy Spirit. St. Chromatius of Aquilea comments on the annotation found in the Acts of the Apostles in this way: “The Church was united in the upper room with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and with His brethren. One, therefore, cannot speak of the Church unless Mary, the Mother of the Lord, is present … The Church of Christ is there where the Incarnation of Christ from the Virgin is preached, and where the Apostles who are the brothers of the Lord preach, there one hears the Gospel” (Sermon 30, 1: SC 164, 135).

The Second Vatican Council wished to emphasize in a particular way the bond that is visibly manifest in Mary and the Apostles praying together, in the same place, in expectation of the Holy Spirit. The Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium affirms: “since it has pleased God not to manifest solemnly the mystery of the salvation of the human race before He would pour forth the Spirit promised by Christ, we see the apostles before the day of Pentecost ‘persevering with one mind in prayer with the women and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and with His brethren’ (Acts 1:14) and Mary by her prayers imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her in the Annunciation” (n. 59). The privileged place of Mary is the Church, where “she is hailed as a pre-eminent and singular member of the Church, and as its type and excellent exemplar in faith and charity” (Ibid, n. 53).

Venerating the Mother of Jesus in the Church therefore means learning from her to become a community that prays: this is one of the essential marks in the first description of the Christian community as delineated in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. 2:42). Often, prayer is dictated by difficult situations, by personal problems that lead us to turn to the Lord for light, comfort and help. Mary invites us to expand the dimensions of prayer, to turn to God not only in times of need and not only for ourselves, but also in an undivided, persevering, faithful way, with “one heart and soul” (cf. Acts 4:32).

Dear friends, human life passes through various phases of transition, which are often difficult and demanding and which require binding choices, renunciation and sacrifice. The Mother of Jesus was placed by the Lord in the decisive moments of salvation history, and she always knew how to respond with complete availability -- the fruit of a profound bond with God that had matured through assiduous and intense prayer. Between the Friday of the Passion and the Sunday of the Resurrection, the beloved disciple, and with him the entire community of disciples, was entrusted to her (cf. John 19:26). Between Ascension and Pentecost, she is found with and in the Church in prayer (cf. Acts 1:14). As Mother of God and Mother of the Church, Mary exercises her maternity until the end of history. Let us entrust every phase of our personal and ecclesial lives to her, not the least of which is our final passing. Mary teaches us the necessity of prayer, and she shows us that it is only through a constant, intimate, loving bond with her Son that we may courageously leave “our home,” ourselves, in order to reach the ends of the earth and everywhere announce the Lord Jesus, the Savior of the world. Thank you.

[Translation by Diane Montagna]

[In English, he said:]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In our continuing catechesis on Christian prayer, we now begin a new chapter on prayer in the Acts of the Apostles and the Letters of Saint Paul. Today I wish to speak of the figure of Mary, who with the Apostles in the Upper Room prayerfully awaits the gift of the Holy Spirit. In all the events of her life, from the Annunciation through the Cross to Pentecost, Mary is presented by Saint Luke as a woman of recollected prayer and meditation on the mystery of God’s saving plan in Christ. In the Upper Room, we see Mary’s privileged place in the Church, of which she is the “exemplar and outstanding model in faith and charity” (Lumen Gentium, 53). As Mother of God and Mother of the Church, Mary prays in and with the Church at every decisive moment of salvation history. Let us entrust to her every moment of our own lives, and let her teach us the need for prayer, so that in loving union with her Son we may implore the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the spread of the Gospel to all the ends of the earth.

* * *

I offer a warm welcome to the students of the United States Naval Academy. My greeting also goes to the many parish and school groups present. I thank the choirs for their praise of God in song. Upon all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors, including those from Great Britain, Ireland, Norway, Indonesia, Japan, Canada and the United States, I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace.

© Copyright 2012 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

[In Italian, he said:]

Lastly, I offer an affectionate thought to young people, to the sick and to newlyweds. May the precious season of Lent move you, dear young people, to rediscover the importance of faith; may it help you, dear sick, to unite your sufferings to the Cross of Christ for the building up of a civilization of love; dear newlyweds, may the sense of God’s presence in your family increase in you.

[Translation by Diane Montagna]

On Our Lady of Guadalupe

On Our Lady of Guadalupe


"True devotion to the Virgin Mary always takes us to Jesus"


GUANAJUATO, Mexico, MARCH 25, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the address Benedict XVI gave Sunday before praying the midday Angelus.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of the grain of wheat that falls to the ground, dies and bears much fruit. This is his response to some Greeks who approached Philip asking: "we would like to see Jesus" (Jn 12:21). Today we invoke Mary Most Holy and we ask her: "show Jesus to us".

As we now pray the Angelus and remember the Annunciation of the Lord, our eyes too turn spiritually towards the hill of Tepeyac, to the place where the Mother of God, under the title of "the Ever-Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe" has been fervently honoured for centuries as a sign of reconciliation and of God’s infinite goodness towards the world.

My predecessors on the Chair of Saint Peter honoured her with affectionate titles such as Our Lady of Mexico, Heavenly Patroness of Latin America, Mother and Empress of this continent. Her faithful children, in their turn, who experience her help, invoke her confidently with such affectionate and familiar names as the Rose of Mexico, Our Lady of Heaven, Virgin Morena, Mother of Tepeyac, Noble Indita.

Dear brothers and sisters, do not forget that true devotion to the Virgin Mary always takes us to Jesus, and "consists neither in sterile nor transitory feelings, nor in an empty credulity, but proceeds from true faith, by which we are led to recognize the excellence of the Mother of God, and we are moved to filial love towards our Mother and to the imitation of her virtues" (Lumen Gentium, 67). To love her means being committed to listening to her Son, to venerate the Guadalupana means living in accordance with the words of the blessed fruit of her womb.

At this time, when so many families are separated or forced to emigrate, when so many are suffering due to poverty, corruption, domestic violence, drug trafficking, the crisis of values and increased crime, we come to Mary in search of consolation, strength and hope. She is the Mother of the true God, who invites us to stay with faith and charity beneath her mantle, so as to overcome in this way all evil and to establish a more just and fraternal society.

With these sentiments, I place once again this country, all Latin America and the Caribbean before the gentle gaze of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I entrust all their sons and daughters to the Star of both the original and the new evangelization; she has inspired with her maternal love their Christian history, has given particular expression to their national achievements, to their communal and social initiatives, to family life, to personal devotion and to the Continental Mission which is now taking place across these noble lands. In times of trial and sorrow she was invoked by many martyrs who, in crying out "Long live Christ the King and Mary of Guadalupe" bore unyielding witness of fidelity to the Gospel and devotion to the Church. I now ask that her presence in this nation may continue to serve as a summons to defence and respect for human life. May it promote fraternity, setting aside futile acts of revenge and banishing all divisive hatred. May Holy Mary of Guadalupe bless us and obtain for us the abundant graces that, through her intercession, we request from heaven.

On the Praying Presence of Mary




"Mary prays in and with the Church at every decisive moment of salvation history"


VATICAN CITY, MARCH 14, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter’s Square. The Pope continued his series of catecheses on prayer, today beginning a series of reflections on prayer in the Acts of the Apostles.

* * *

Dear brothers and sisters,

With today’s catechesis, I would like to begin to speak about prayer in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Letters of St. Paul. St. Luke, as we know, has given us one of the four Gospels, dedicated to the earthly life of Jesus; but he has also left us what has been called the first book on the history of the Church; i.e., the Acts of the Apostles. In both of these books, one of the recurring elements is prayer, from that of Jesus to that of Mary, the disciples, the women and the Christian community.

The beginning of the Church’s journey is rhythmically marked by the action of the Holy Spirit, who transforms the Apostles into witnesses of the Risen One to the shedding of their blood, and also by the rapid spread of the Word of God to the East and to the West. However, before the proclamation of the Gospel is spread abroad, Luke recounts the episode of the Ascension of the Risen One (cf. Acts 1:6-9). The Lord delivers to the disciples the program of their lives, which are devoted to evangelization. He says: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) In Jerusalem, the Apostles who were now eleven due to the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, were gathered together at home in prayer, and it is precisely in prayer that they await the gift promised by the Risen Christ, the Holy Spirit.

Within this context of expectancy -- between the Ascension and Pentecost -- St. Luke mentions for the last time Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and His brethren (verse 14). He had dedicated the beginning of His Gospel to Mary, from the announcement of the Angel to the birth and infancy of the Son of God made man. With Mary the earthly life of Jesus begins, and with Mary the Church’s first steps are also taken; in both instances, the atmosphere is one of listening to God and of recollection. Today, therefore, I would like to consider this praying presence of the Virgin in the midst of the disciples who would become the first nascent Church.

Mary quietly followed her Son’s entire journey during His public life, even to the foot of the Cross; and now she continues in silent prayer to follow along the Church’s path. At the Annunciation in the home of Nazareth, Mary welcomes the angel of God; she is attentive to his words; she welcomes them and responds to the divine plan, thereby revealing her complete availability: “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (cf. Luke 1:38). Because of her inner attitude of listening, Mary is able to interpret her own history, and to humbly acknowledge that it is the Lord who is acting.

In visiting her relative Elizabeth, she breaks forth into a prayer of praise and joy, and of celebration of the divine grace that filled her heart and her life, making her the Mother of the Lord (Luke 1:46-55). Praise, thanksgiving, joy: in the canticle of the Magnificat, Mary looks not only to what God has wrought in her, but also to what he has accomplished and continually accomplishes throughout history. In a famous commentary on the Magnificat, St. Ambrose summons us to have the same spirit of prayer. He writes: “May the soul of Mary be in us to magnify the Lord; may the spirit of Mary be in us to exult in God” (Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam 2, 26: PL 15, 1561).

Also in the Cenacle in Jerusalem, in the “upper room where [the disciples of Jesus] were staying” (cf. Acts 1:13), in an atmosphere of listening and prayer, she is present, before the doors are thrown open and they begin to announce the Risen Lord to all peoples, teaching them to observe all that Lord had commanded (Matthew 28:19-20). The stages in Mary’s journey -- from the home of Nazareth to that in Jerusalem, through the Cross where her Son entrusts to her the Apostle John -- are marked by her ability to maintain a persevering atmosphere of recollection, so that she might ponder each event in the silence of her heart before God (cf. Luke 2:19-51) and in meditation before God, also see the will of God therein and be able to accept it interiorly.

The presence of the Mother of God with the Eleven following the Ascension is not, then, a simple historical annotation regarding a thing of the past; rather, it assumes a meaning of great value, for she shares with them what is most precious: the living memory of Jesus, in prayer; and she shares this mission of Jesus: to preserve the memory of Jesus and thereby to preserve His presence.

The final mention of Mary in the two writings of St. Luke is made on the sabbath day: the day of God’s rest after Creation, the day of silence after the Death of Jesus and of expectation of His Resurrection. The tradition of remembering Holy Mary on Saturday is rooted in this event. Between the Ascension of the Risen One and the first Christian Pentecost, the Apostles and the Church gather together with Mary to await with her the gift of the Holy Spirit, without whom one cannot become a witness. She who already received Him in order that she might give birth to the incarnate Word, shares with the whole Church in awaiting the same gift, so that “Christ may be formed” (Galatians 4:19) in the heart of every believer.

If the Church does not exist without Pentecost, neither does Pentecost exist without the Mother of Jesus, since she lived in a wholly unique way what the Church experiences each day under the action of the Holy Spirit. St. Chromatius of Aquilea comments on the annotation found in the Acts of the Apostles in this way: “The Church was united in the upper room with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and with His brethren. One, therefore, cannot speak of the Church unless Mary, the Mother of the Lord, is present … The Church of Christ is there where the Incarnation of Christ from the Virgin is preached, and where the Apostles who are the brothers of the Lord preach, there one hears the Gospel” (Sermon 30, 1: SC 164, 135).

The Second Vatican Council wished to emphasize in a particular way the bond that is visibly manifest in Mary and the Apostles praying together, in the same place, in expectation of the Holy Spirit. The Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium affirms: “since it has pleased God not to manifest solemnly the mystery of the salvation of the human race before He would pour forth the Spirit promised by Christ, we see the apostles before the day of Pentecost ‘persevering with one mind in prayer with the women and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and with His brethren’ (Acts 1:14) and Mary by her prayers imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her in the Annunciation” (n. 59). The privileged place of Mary is the Church, where “she is hailed as a pre-eminent and singular member of the Church, and as its type and excellent exemplar in faith and charity” (Ibid, n. 53).

Venerating the Mother of Jesus in the Church therefore means learning from her to become a community that prays: this is one of the essential marks in the first description of the Christian community as delineated in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. 2:42). Often, prayer is dictated by difficult situations, by personal problems that lead us to turn to the Lord for light, comfort and help. Mary invites us to expand the dimensions of prayer, to turn to God not only in times of need and not only for ourselves, but also in an undivided, persevering, faithful way, with “one heart and soul” (cf. Acts 4:32).

Dear friends, human life passes through various phases of transition, which are often difficult and demanding and which require binding choices, renunciation and sacrifice. The Mother of Jesus was placed by the Lord in the decisive moments of salvation history, and she always knew how to respond with complete availability -- the fruit of a profound bond with God that had matured through assiduous and intense prayer. Between the Friday of the Passion and the Sunday of the Resurrection, the beloved disciple, and with him the entire community of disciples, was entrusted to her (cf. John 19:26). Between Ascension and Pentecost, she is found with and in the Church in prayer (cf. Acts 1:14). As Mother of God and Mother of the Church, Mary exercises her maternity until the end of history. Let us entrust every phase of our personal and ecclesial lives to her, not the least of which is our final passing. Mary teaches us the necessity of prayer, and she shows us that it is only through a constant, intimate, loving bond with her Son that we may courageously leave “our home,” ourselves, in order to reach the ends of the earth and everywhere announce the Lord Jesus, the Savior of the world. Thank you.

[Translation by Diane Montagna]

[In English, he said:]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In our continuing catechesis on Christian prayer, we now begin a new chapter on prayer in the Acts of the Apostles and the Letters of Saint Paul. Today I wish to speak of the figure of Mary, who with the Apostles in the Upper Room prayerfully awaits the gift of the Holy Spirit. In all the events of her life, from the Annunciation through the Cross to Pentecost, Mary is presented by Saint Luke as a woman of recollected prayer and meditation on the mystery of God’s saving plan in Christ. In the Upper Room, we see Mary’s privileged place in the Church, of which she is the “exemplar and outstanding model in faith and charity” (Lumen Gentium, 53). As Mother of God and Mother of the Church, Mary prays in and with the Church at every decisive moment of salvation history. Let us entrust to her every moment of our own lives, and let her teach us the need for prayer, so that in loving union with her Son we may implore the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the spread of the Gospel to all the ends of the earth.

* * *

I offer a warm welcome to the students of the United States Naval Academy. My greeting also goes to the many parish and school groups present. I thank the choirs for their praise of God in song. Upon all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors, including those from Great Britain, Ireland, Norway, Indonesia, Japan, Canada and the United States, I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace.

© Copyright 2012 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

[In Italian, he said:]

Lastly, I offer an affectionate thought to young people, to the sick and to newlyweds. May the precious season of Lent move you, dear young people, to rediscover the importance of faith; may it help you, dear sick, to unite your sufferings to the Cross of Christ for the building up of a civilization of love; dear newlyweds, may the sense of God’s presence in your family increase in you.

[Translation by Diane Montagna]

Papal Address on Sacrament of Confession




"The new evangelization, thus, also begins in the confessional!"


VATICAN CITY, MARCH 12, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI gave Friday when he received in audience some 1,300 priests and deacons participating in an annual course regarding confession and matters of conscience, organized by the Apostolic Penitentiary.

* * *

Dear friends,

I am very happy to meet with you on the occasion of the annual course on the internal forum organized by the Apostolic Penitentiary. I address a cordial greeting to Cardinal Manuel Monteiro de Castro, the Major Penitentiary, who, for the first time in this vesture has presided over your study sessions, and I thank him for the cordial remarks he addressed to me. I also salute Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, regent of the Penitentiary, the personnel of this body and each one of you, who, with your presence, remind everyone of the importance that the Sacrament of Reconciliation has for the life of faith, demonstrating both the permanent necessity of an adequate theological, spiritual and canonical education for confessors and, above all, the constitutive bond between sacramental celebration and proclamation of the Gospel.

The Sacraments and the proclamation of the Word, in fact, must never be conceived as separate, but, on the contrary, “Jesus says that the proclamation of the Kingdom of God is the goal of his mission; this proclamation, however, is not only a ‘discourse’ but at the same time includes his action; the signs and miracles that Jesus works show that the Kingdom comes as a present reality and in the end coincides with his very Person, with his gift of himself. [...] The priest represents Christ, the One sent by the Father, he continues his mission, through the ‘word’ and the ‘sacrament,’ in this totality of body and soul, of sign and word” (General Audience, May 5, 2010). Precisely this totality, that sinks its roots down into the mystery itself of the Incarnation, suggests to us that the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is itself a proclamation and thus a path that must be traveled in the work of the new evangelization. In what sense, then, is sacramental Confession a “path” for the new evangelization?

In the first place this is so because the new evangelization draws its lifeblood from the sanctity of the sons and daughters of the Church, from the daily journey of personal and communal conversion to an ever more profound conformity to Christ. And there is a close connection between sanctity and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, testified to by all of the saints of history. The true conversion of hearts, which is an opening up to the transformative and renewing action of God, it is the “engine” of every reform and it translates itself into a true evangelizing force. In Confession the contrite sinner, by the gratuitous action of divine Mercy, is justified, forgiven and sanctified, he abandons the old man and puts on the new man. Only he who has let himself be deeply renewed by divine Grace can bear, and therefore proclaim, the newness of the Gospel in himself. Blessed John Paul II, in the apostolic letter “Novo Millennio ineunte,” stated: “I am also asking for renewed pastoral courage in ensuring that the day-to-day teaching of Christian communities persuasively and effectively presents the practice of the Sacrament of Reconciliation” (n. 37). I would like to repeat this request, in the awareness that the new evangelization must make the face of Christ known to the man of our time “as ‘mysterium pietatis,’ the one in whom God shows us his compassionate heart and reconciles us fully with himself. It is this face of Christ that must be rediscovered through the Sacrament of Penance” (ibid.).

In an age of educational emergency, in which relativism questions the possibility itself of an education understood as a progressive introduction to the knowledge of truth, to a deep sensitivity to reality, and so as a progressive introduction to the relationship with the Truth that is God, Christians are called to proclaim vigorously the possibility of an encounter between the man of today and Jesus Christ, in which God drew so near that we could see and hear him. From this perspective the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which is necessitated by a consideration of one’s concrete existential condition, helps in a singular way that “opening of the heart” that permits us to turn our gaze toward God that he might enter into our life. The certainty that he is near and that in his mercy he assists man, even when he is in sin, to heal his infirmities with the grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, is always a light of hope for the world.

Dear priests and dear deacons who are preparing for the priesthood, in administering this sacrament, you are given or will be given the possibility of being instruments of an ever renewed encounter of men with God. Those who come to you precisely in their condition as sinners, will experience a profound desire in themselves: the desire to change, the request for mercy and, definitively, the desire that, through the sacrament, there occur the encounter with Christ and his embrace. You will therefore be collaborators and protagonists in as many possible “new beginnings” as there are penitents who come to you, knowing that the authentic meaning of every “newness” does not consist so much in the abandonment or the denial of the past, as in welcoming Christ and opening up to his Presence, ever new and able to transform, to enlighten all the regions of shadow and to continually open a new horizon. The new evangelization, thus, also begins in the confessional! It begins, that is, from the meeting between man’s inexhaustible plea, the sign of mystery of creation in him, and God’s mercy, the only adequate response to the human need of the infinite. If the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation will be this, if in it the faithful will really experience that mercy that Jesus of Nazareth, Lord and Christ, has bestowed upon us, then they themselves will become credible witnesses of that sanctity, which is the goal of the new evangelization.

All of this, dear friends, if it is true for the lay faithful, will have even greater relevance for each of us. The minister of the Sacrament of Reconciliation collaborates in the new evangelization, first renewing in himself the consciousness of being a penitent and of needing to ask sacramental forgiveness, that there be renewed that encounter with Christ, which, begun in Baptism, found a specific and definitive configuration in the Sacrament of Holy Orders. This is my wish for each one of you: that the newness of Christ always be the center and the reason of your priestly existence, that those who meet you might, through your office, proclaim with Andrew and John: “We have met the Messiah” (John 1:41). In this way, every Confession, from which every Christian will emerge renewed, will represent a step forward in the new evangelization. May Mary, Mother of Mercy, Refuge of us sinners and Star of the new evangelization accompany your journey. I thank you from my heart and gladly impart to you my apostolic benediction.

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

On the Cleansing of the Temple




"Violence never serves humanity, but dehumanizes"

ROME, MARCH 12, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave Sunday before and after praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square.

* * *

Dear brothers and sisters!

The Gospel of this third Sunday of Lent refers – in the account given by John – to the celebrated episode in which Jesus casts the animal merchants and money changers out of the temple of Jerusalem (cf. John 2:13-25). The event, reported by all of the evangelists, occurs around the time of the feast of Passover and leaves a tremendous impression on both the crowds and the disciples. How should we interpret this gesture of Jesus? First of all it must be noted that it does not provoke any response from the guardians of public order because it was seen as a typical prophetic action: the prophets, in fact, in the name of God, often denounced abuses and sometimes they did this with symbolic acts. If there is a problem, it is their authority. This is why the Jews asked Jesus: “What sign do you give us to do these things?” (John 2:18). Show us that you truly act in God’s name.

The casting of the merchants out of the temple has also been interpreted in a political and revolutionary way, connecting Jesus to the movement of the zealots. They were “zealous” for God’s law and ready to use violence to make it respected. In Jesus’ time they were awaiting a Messiah that would liberate Israel from Roman rule. But Jesus disappointed this hope, so much so that some disciples abandoned him and Judas Iscariot betrayed him. In reality, it is impossible to interpret Jesus as violent: violence is against the Kingdom of God, it is an instrument of the antichrist. Violence never serves humanity, but dehumanizes. Let us hear Jesus’ words as he performs this deed: “Take these things away and do not make my Father’s house into a marketplace!” And the disciples recall that in a Psalm it is written: “I am consumed by zeal for your house” (69:10). This Psalm is a plea for help in a situation of extreme danger when one is at the mercy of his enemies’ hatred: the situation that Jesus will face in the passion. The zeal for the Father and his house will lead him to the cross: his is a zeal of love that he will pay for personally, not a zeal that serves God through violence. In fact, the “sign” that Jesus will give will be precisely his death and resurrection. “Destroy this temple,” he says, “and in three days I will raise it up.” And St. John observes: “He was speaking of the temple of his body” (John 2:20-21). With Easter Jesus initiates a new form of worship, the worship performed by love, and a new temple which he is himself, the risen Christ, through whom every believer can worship God “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23).

Dear friends, the Holy Spirit began building this temple in the womb of the Virgin Mary. By her intercession, we pray that every Christian may become a living stone in this spiritual edifice.

[Following the Angelus, the Holy Father spoke to the faithful in various languages. In Italian he said:]

Dear brothers and sisters,

My thoughts are above all with the dear people of Madagascar, who have recently been struck by natural calamities, with grave damage being done to persons, buildings and crops. While I assure my prayers for the victims and the families who have been severely tried, I hope for and encourage the generous assistance of the international community.

[In English he said:]

I greet the English-speaking visitors present for this Angelus prayer, including the Neo-catechumenal Community from Bristol. In today’s Gospel Jesus foretells his resurrection and points to the temple which is his body, the Church. May our meditation on these mysteries deepen our union with the Lord and his Church. Upon all of you I invoke God’s blessings!

[Concluding in Italian, he said:]

I wish everyone a good Sunday and a good week. Thanks and have a good Sunday.

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

On the Silence of Jesus

On the Silence of Jesus




An Attentive, Silent, Open Heart Is More Important Than Many Words

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 7, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter’s Square. The Pope concluded his series of reflections on the prayer of Jesus by today considering His silence.

* * *

Dear brothers and sisters,

In a previous series of catecheses I spoke about the prayer of Jesus, and I would not wish to conclude this reflection without briefly pausing to consider the theme of Jesus’ silence, which is so important in our relationship with God.

In the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, I made reference to the role that silence assumes in the life of Jesus, especially on Golgotha: “Here we find ourselves before the "word of the cross" (1 Corinthians 1:18). The word is muted; it becomes mortal silence, for it has "spoken" exhaustively, holding back nothing of what it had to tell us (n. 12). Faced with this silence of the cross, St. Maximus the Confessor places upon the lips of the Mother of God this touching phrase: "Wordless is the Word of the Father, who made every creature which speaks; lifeless are the eyes of the one at whose word and whose nod all living things move". (The Life of Mary, no. 89: Marian texts of the first millennium, 2, Rome 1989, p. 253).

The cross of Christ not only portrays the silence of Jesus as His final word to the Father; it also reveals that God speaks through the silence: “The silence of God, the experience of the distance of the almighty Father, is a decisive stage in the earthly journey of the Son of God, the incarnate Word. Hanging from the wood of the cross, he lamented the suffering caused by that silence: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46). Advancing in obedience to his very last breath, in the obscurity of death, Jesus called upon the Father. He commended himself to him at the moment of passage, through death, to eternal life: ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit’ (Luke 23:46)” (Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, 21). The experience of Jesus on the cross speaks deeply of the situation of the man who prays and of the culmination of prayer: after having heard and acknowledged God’s Word, we must also measure ourselves by God’s silence, which is an important expression of the same divine Word.

The interplay of word and silence that marks the prayer of Jesus during his entire earthly life -- especially on the cross -- also touches our own lives of prayer, in two ways. The first concerns our welcoming of God’s Word. Interior and exterior silence are necessary in order that this word may be heard. And this is especially difficult in our own day. In fact, ours is not an age which fosters recollection; indeed, at times one has the impression that people have a fear of detaching themselves, even for a moment, from the barrage of words and images that mark and fill our days. For this reason, in the already mentioned Exhortation Verbum Domini, I recalled the necessity of our being educated in the value of silence: “Rediscovering the centrality of God's word in the life of the Church also means rediscovering a sense of recollection and inner repose. The great patristic tradition teaches us that the mysteries of Christ all involve silence. Only in silence can the word of God find a home in us, as it did in Mary, woman of the word and, inseparably, woman of silence” (n. 21).

This principle – that without silence we neither hear nor listen nor receive the word – applies above all to personal prayer, but it also pertains to our liturgies: in order to facilitate an authentic listening, they must also be rich in moments of silence and unspoken receptivity. St. Augustine’s observation forever holds true: Verbo crescente, verba deficient -- “When the Word of God increases, the words of men fail” (cf. Sermon 288; 5: PL 38, 1307; Sermon 120,2: PL 38,677). The Gospels often present Jesus -- especially at times of crucial decisions -- withdrawing alone to a place set apart from the crowds and from his own disciples, in order to pray in the silence and to abide in his filial relationship with God. Silence is capable of excavating an interior space in our inmost depths so that God may abide there, so that his Word may remain in us, so that love for him may be rooted in our minds and in our hearts and animate our lives. The first way, then: to learn silence, [to learn] the openness to listening that opens us to the other, to the Word of God.

However, there is a second important element in the relation of silence with prayer. For in fact there exists not only our silence, which disposes us to listening to God’s Word; often in our prayer, we find ourselves before the silence of God; we experience a sense of abandonment; it seems to us that God is not listening and that He does not respond. But this silence of God - as Jesus also experienced - is not a sign of His absence. The Christian knows well that the Lord is present and that he is listening, even in the darkness of suffering, rejection and solitude. Jesus reassures the disciples and each one of us that God knows well our needs at every moment of life. He teaches the disciples: “In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8): an attentive, silent, open heart is more important than many words.

God knows us intimately, more deeply than we know ourselves, and He loves us: and knowing this should suffice. In the Bible, Job’s experience is particularly significant in this regard. This man quickly loses everything: family, wealth, friends, health; it seems that God’s attitude towards him is precisely one of abandonment, of total silence. And yet Job, in his relationship with God, speaks with God, cries out to God; in his prayer, despite everything, he preserves his faith intact and, in the end, he discovers the value of his experience and of God’s silence. And thus, in the end, turning to his Creator, he is able to conclude: “I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees thee” (Job 42:5): nearly all of us know God only through hearsay, and the more we are open to His silence and to our silence, the more we begin to know Him truly. This supreme confidence, which opens way to a profound encounter with God, matures in silence. St Francis Severio prayed, saying to the Lord: I love you, not because you can give me heaven or condemn me to hell, but because you are my God. I love You, because You are You.

As we approach the conclusion of our reflections on the prayer of Jesus, a number of the teachings from the Catechism of the Catholic Church come to mind: “The drama of prayer is fully revealed to us in the Word who became flesh and dwells among us. To seek to understand his prayer through what his witnesses proclaim to us in the Gospel is to approach the holy Lord Jesus as Moses approached the burning bush: first to contemplate him in prayer, then to hear how he teaches us to pray in order to know how he hears our prayer” (n. 2598).

And how does Jesus teach us to pray? In the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church we find a clear answer: “Jesus teaches us to pray not only with the Our Father” -- certainly the central act in his teaching on how we are to pray -- “but also when [He himself] prays. In this way he teaches us, in addition to the content, the dispositions necessary for every true prayer: purity of heart that seeks the Kingdom and forgives one’s enemies, bold and filial faith that goes beyond what we feel and understand, and watchfulness that protects the disciple from temptation” (n. 544).

In surveying the Gospels, we saw how the Lord is the interlocutor, friend, witness and teacher of our prayer. In Jesus the newness of our dialogue with God is revealed: filial prayer, which the Father awaits from His children. And we learn from Jesus how constant prayer helps us to interpret our lives, to make decisions, to recognize and accept our vocation, to discover the talents that God had given us, to daily fulfill His Will, which is the only path to attaining fulfillment in our lives.

The prayer of Jesus indicates to us who are often preoccupied by the efficiency of our work and the concrete results we achieve that we need to stop and to experience moments of intimacy with God, “detaching ourselves” from the daily din in order to listen, to go to the “root” that supports and nourishes life. One of the most beautiful moments in the prayer of Jesus is precisely the moment when he -- in order to face the disease, distress and limitations of his interlocutors -- turns to his Father in prayer, thus teaching those around him where the source of hope and salvation is to be sought.

I already recalled the moving example of Jesus’ prayer at the tomb of Lazarus. The Evangelist John recounts: “So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’” (John 11:41-43).

But Jesus reaches the heights of the depth of his prayer to the Father during his Passion and Death, when he pronounces his supreme “yes” to the plan of God and reveals how the human will finds its fulfillment precisely in adhering fully to the divine will, rather than the opposite. In Jesus’ prayer, in his cry to the Father on the Cross, “all the troubles, for all time, of humanity enslaved by sin and death, all the petitions and intercessions of salvation history are summed up … Here the Father accepts them and, beyond all hope, answers them beyond all hope, answers them by raising his Son. Thus is fulfilled and brought to completion the drama of prayer in the economy of creation and salvation” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2606).

Dear brothers and sisters, with trust let us ask the Lord to enable to live out the journey of our filial prayer, by learning day by day from the Only Begotten Son made man for us how to turn to God. The words of St. Paul on the Christian life apply also to our own prayer: “For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

[Translation by Diane Montagna]

[In English, he said:]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In concluding this series of catecheses on the prayer of Jesus, I would like to speak of the importance of silence in our relationship with God. In Christ’s own life and prayer, and especially in his experience of the Cross, we see a constant interplay of word and silence. Jesus’ mortal silence on the Cross is his final word to the Father, his supreme prayer. To hear God’s word requires the cultivation of outward and inward silence, so that his voice can resound within our hearts and shape our lives. But Jesus teaches us that God also speaks to us, especially at times of difficulty, through his silence, which invites us to deeper faith and trust in his promises. Jesus is our great teacher of prayer; from his prayer we learn to speak with confidence to our heavenly Father as his beloved sons and daughters. In this filial dialogue we are also taught to recognize God’s many gifts and to obey his will, which gives meaning and direction to our lives.

* * *

I welcome the many student groups present at today’s Audience, including those from the United States Coast Guard Academy, the Catholic University of America, Saint Mary’s Seminary and the Franciscan University of Steubenville. My greetings and prayerful good wishes also go to the participants in the Congress of the International Society of Plastic Regenerative Surgery. Upon all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors, including those from England, Demark and the United States, I invoke God’s abundant blessings.

© Copyright 2012 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

[In Italian, he said:]

Lastly, my thoughts go to young people, to the sick and to newlyweds. May the Lenten journey we are on lead you, dear young people, to maturity of faith in Christ; dear sick, may it increase your hope in Him who always sustains us in trial; may it help you, dear newlyweds, to make your family life a mission of faithful and generous love.

[Translation by Diane Montagna]

Greetings to the Synod of the Armenian Catholic Church

Dear brothers and sisters, with fraternal affection I now wish to greet His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenian Catholics, and the Bishops who have come to Rome from the various Continents in order to celebrate the Synod. I wish to express to them my sincere gratitude for their fidelity to the patrimony of their venerable Christian tradition and to the Successor of the Apostle Peter, a fidelity that has always sustained them in the innumerable trials of history.

I accompany your Synod with my fervent prayers and with an Apostolic Blessing, in the hope that it may increasingly favor communion and understating among pastors, that they may know how to guide, with renewed evangelical fervor, Armenian Catholics along the path of generous and joyful witness to Christ and to the Church. As I entrust the Armenian Synod to the maternal intercession of the most holy Mother of God, my prayerful thoughts also go to the regions of the Middle East, and I encourage pastors and all the faithful to persevere with hope amidst the great suffering which afflicts those dear peoples. May the Lord bless you all. Thank you.

[Translation by Diane Montagna]

On Preparing for the Passion

On Preparing for the Passion



"We all have need of interior light to overcome life's trials"


VATICAN CITY, MARCH 5, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave Sunday before and after praying the midday Angelus.

* * *

Dear brothers and sisters!

This Sunday, the second of Lent, is the Sunday of the Transfiguration of Christ. In fact, the Lenten itinerary, after having invited us to follow Jesus in the desert, to face and conquer the temptations with him, proposes that we climb the “mountain” of prayer, to contemplate the glorious light of God upon his human face. The episode of Christ’s transfiguration is testified to in a unified way by the evangelists Matthew, Mark and Luke. There are two essential elements: first of all, Jesus ascends a high mountain with his disciples Peter, James and John and there “he was transfigured before them" (Mark 9:2), his face and his vesture radiate a glistening light while next to him appeared Moses and Elijah; secondly, a cloud descended upon the top of the mountain and from it came a voice that said: “This is my Son, my beloved; listen to him!” (Mark 9:7). So, the light and the voice: the divine light that shone upon Jesus’ face, and the voice of the heavenly Father that witnesses to him and commands that he be heard.

The mystery of the Transfiguration must not be detached from the context of the journey that Jesus is undertaking. He is now decisively set on the accomplishment of his mission, knowing full well that to reach the resurrection he must pass through the passion and death on the cross. He spoke about this openly with the disciples, who did not understand it however; indeed, they rejected this prospect, because they did not think as God thinks but as men do (cf. Mark 16:23). This is why Jesus takes three of them with him up the mountain and reveals his divine glory, the splendor of Truth and Love. Jesus wants this light to illumine their hearts when they pass through the thick darkness of his passion and death, when the scandal of the cross will be too much for them. God is light, and Jesus wants to provide his most intimate friends with an experience of this light that lives in him. Thus, after this event, he will be an interior light in them, able to protect them from the assaults of darkness. Even in the darkest night Jesus is the lamp that never goes out. St. Augustine, summing up this mystery with a very beautiful expression, says: “That which is for the eyes of our body the sun that we see, [Christ] is for the eyes of the heart” (Sermo 78, 2: PL 38, 490).

Dear brothers and sisters, we all have need of interior light to overcome life’s trials. This light comes from God, and it is Christ who bestows it, he, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity (cf. Colossians 2:9). Let us climb the mountain of prayer together with Jesus and, contemplating his countenance full of love and truth, let ourselves be filled interiorly by his light. Let us ask the Virgin Mary, our guide in the journey of faith, to help us to live this experience in the time of Lent, finding every day some moment for silent prayer and for listening to the Word of God.

[Following the Angelus, the Holy Father greeted those present in various languages. In English he said:]

I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at this Angelus prayer, especially students from the United States of America. In today’s Gospel, Jesus is transfigured, and shows his disciples that his Passion will lead to the Resurrection. By God’s grace, may our Lenten observance lead to a renewal of his radiance within us. Upon you and your loved ones, I invoke God’s abundant blessings!

[And concluding in Italian he said:]

I wish everyone a good Sunday, a good week. Thank you for your presence. Have a good Sunday!

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

On Temptation

On Temptation




"It Is With Patience and With True Humility That We Become Stronger Than Every Enemy"


VATICAN CITY, FEB. 27, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave Sunday before and after praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square.

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Dear brothers and sisters!

On this Sunday of Lent we meet Jesus who, after having received baptism in the Jordan River from John the Baptist (cf. Mark 1:9), undergoes temptation in the desert (cf. Mark 1:12-13). St. Mark's narration is concise, lacking the details that we read in the other two gospels of Matthew and Luke. The desert of which he speaks has different meanings. It can indicate a condition of abandonment and solitude, the "place" of man's weakness where there are no footholds or certainties, where temptation is the strongest. But it can also mean a place of refuge and rest, as it was for the people of Israel, who had escaped from Egyptian slavery, where one can experience God's presence in a special way. Jesus "remained in the desert for 40 days, tempted by Satan" (Mark 1:13). St. Leo the Great comments that "the Lord wished to face the tempter's attack to defend us with his help and to instruct us with his example" (Tractatus XXXIX, 3 De ieiunio quadragesimae: CCL 138/A, Turnholti 1973, 214-215).

What can this episode teach us? As we read in the book "The Imitation of Christ," "as long as he lives man is never entirely free from temptation ... but it is with patience and with true humility that we become stronger than every enemy" (Liber I, c. XIII, Città del Vaticano 1982, 37), the patience and humility of following the Lord every day, learning to build our life not apart from him or as if he did not exist, but in him and with him, because he is the font of true life. The temptation to remove God, to create order in ourselves and the world by ourselves, counting on our own resources, is always present in human history.

Jesus proclaims that "the time is accomplished and the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15), announces that in him something new is happening: God addressed man in an unexpected way, with a unique and concrete nearness, full of love; God becomes incarnate and enters into the world of man to take sin upon himself, to conquer evil and being man and the world back to God. But this announcement is accompanied by the request to correspond to a great gift. Jesus, in fact, adds: "convert and believe in the Gospel" (Mark 1:15); it is the invitation to have faith in God and every day to convert our life to his will, orienting every action and thought of ours to the good. The time of Lent is the propitious moment to renew and strengthen our relationship with God, through daily prayer, gestures of penance, works of fraternal charity.

We supplicate Mary Most Holy with fervor that she accompany us on our Lenten path with her protection and help us to impress in our heart and in our life the words of Jesus Christ, to convert ourselves to him. I also entrust to your prayers the week of retreat that I will be begin this evening with my collaborators in the Roman Curia.

[Following the Angelus the Holy Father addressed the faithful in various languages. In English he said:]

I am pleased to greet all the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims present for this moment of prayer. In these first days of Lent, I invite you to embrace the spirit of this holy season, through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. As we do so, may the Lord accompany us, so that, at the end of Lent, we may worthily celebrate his victory on the cross. God bless all of you abundantly!

[Concluding in Italian he said:]

I wish everyone a good Sunday and a good Lent.

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

Pope's Address on Receiving Peter's Pence

Pope's Address on Receiving Peter's Pence



"Charitable Service Becomes a Privileged Form of Evangelization"


VATICAN CITY, FEB. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today to members of the "Circolo di San Pietro," who gave him, as they traditionally do every year, the "Peter's Pence" collection raised annually in parishes and religious institutes of the Diocese of Rome.

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Dear Members of St. Peter's Circle!

I am happy to receive you in this meeting which is taking place close to the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, a circumstance that offers you the occasion to manifest the particular fidelity to the Apostolic See that has always distinguished your meritorious Circle. I greet you all with heartfelt cordiality. I greet the General President, Duke Leopold Torlonia, thanking him for the affectionate and devoted words that he has addressed to me, interpreting all your sentiments, and I greet the ecclesiastical Assistant.

We have just begun our Lenten journey and, as I reminded in my recent Message (cf. L'Osservatore Romano, February 8, 2012, p. 8), this liturgical season invites us to reflect on the heart of the Christian life: charity. Lent is a propitious time so that, with the help of the Word of God and of the Sacraments, we are renewed in faith and love, both at the personal as well as the community level. It is a journey marked by prayer and sharing, by silence and fasting, in the hope of living the paschal joy. The Letter to the Hebrews exhorts with these words: "let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works" (Hebrews 10:24).

Dear friends, today as yesterday, the testimony of faith touches men's hearts in a particular way; the New Evangelization, especially in a cosmopolitan city like Rome, requires great openness of spirit and wise availability to all. Well placed in this connection is the network of welfare interventions that you carry out every day in favor of all those who are in need. I am pleased to recall the generous work you do in the kitchens, in the night shelter, in the Family House, in the multi-functional Center, as well as your silent witness, that much more eloquent, however, as you give support to the sick and their relatives in the Fondazione Roma Hospice, not forgetting your missionary commitment in Laos and long-distance adoptions.

We know that the authenticity of our fidelity to the Gospel is also verified on the basis of the care and concrete solicitude that we manifest toward our neighbor, especially toward the weakest and marginalized. Care of the other entails desiring the good for him, under all aspects: physical, moral and spiritual. Even if contemporary culture seems to have lost the sense of good and evil, it is necessary to confirm forcefully that good exists and conquers. Hence responsibility toward one's neighbor means to wish and to do good to the other, desiring that he open himself to the logic of the good; to be interested in one's brother means to open one's eyes to his needs, overcoming the hardness of heart that renders one blind to the sufferings of others. In this way charitable service becomes a privileged form of evangelization, in the light of the teaching of Jesus, who will hold as if done to himself whatever we have done for our brothers, especially the one among them who is little and neglected (cf. Matthew 25:40). We must harmonize our heart with the heart of Christ, so that the loving support given to the other is translated into participation and conscious sharing of his sufferings and hopes, thus rendering visible on one hand the infinite mercy of God toward every man, which shines on the face of Christ, and on the other our faith in Him. The encounter with the other and the opening of our heart to his need are occasions of salvation and blessedness.

Dear members of Saint Peter's Circle, as every year you have come today to give me the offering for the Pope's charity, which you collected in the parishes of Rome. It represents a concrete help offered to the Successor of Peter, so that he can respond to the innumerable requests that come to him from all parts of the world, especially from poor countries. My heartfelt thanks for all the activity you carry out generously and with a spirit of sacrifice, which is born from your faith, from your relationship with the Lord cultivated every day. Faith, charity and witness continue to be the guidelines of your apostolate. And, then, how can we not remember your presence during the liturgical celebrations in St. Peter's Basilica? It turns that much more to your honor, in as much as with it you manifest the constant dedication and devoted fidelity that unite you to the See of the Apostle Peter. May the Lord give you merit and fill your Circle with blessings; may he help each one of you to realize your Christian vocation in the family, in your work and within your Association.

Dear friends, in renewing my appreciation for the service you render the Church, I entrust you, together with your families, to the maternal help of the Virgin Mary Salus Populi Romani and of the Saints your Protectors. On my part, I assure you of my remembrance in prayer for you, for all who work by your side in the different initiatives and for those you meet in your daily apostolate, while I impart to all with affection a special Apostolic Blessing.

[Translation by ZENIT]