Subject: VISnews130130
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VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXIII - N° 21
DATE 30-01-2013
Summary:
- SAYING "I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY" IS SAYING "I BELIEVE IN THE
POWER OF GOD'S LOVE"
- 'CONSTRUCTIVE' MEETING OF BILATERAL PERMANENT WORKING COMMISSION
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
___________________________________________________________
SAYING "I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY" IS SAYING "I BELIEVE IN THE
POWER OF GOD'S LOVE"
Vatican City, 30 January 2013 (VIS) – The first and most fundamental
definition that the Creed teaches us about God is that He is the Almighty
Father. This was the theme of Benedict XVI's Wednesday catechesis during
today's general audience that
was held in the Paul VI Audience Hall.
"It isn't always easy today to speak about fatherhood," the Pope began,
"...and, not having adequate role models, it even becomes problematic to
imagine God as a father. For those who have had the experience of an overly
authoritarian and inflexible
father, or an indifferent, uncaring, or even absent one, it is not easy to
calmly think of God as Father or to confidently surrender themselves to Him.
But Biblical revelation helps us to overcome these difficulties by telling us
about a God who shows
us what it truly means to be a 'father'. Above all it is the Gospel that
reveals to us this face of God as Father, who loves us even to the point of
giving us the gift of His Son for the salvation of humanity."
In the light of the Scriptures and the writings of the evangelists, the Holy
Father explained that God is our Father because "He has blessed us and chosen
us before the foundation of the world. He has truly made us His children in
Jesus. And, as Father,
God accompanies our existence with love, giving us His Word, His teaching, His
grace, His Spirit. ...If He is so good as to 'make His sun rise on the bad and
the good and … rain to fall on the just and the unjust', then we can
always, without
fear and in complete faith, entrust ourselves to His forgiveness as Father
when we choose the wrong path."
Tracing the history of salvation, Psalm 136 repeats "for his mercy endures
forever", and the pontiff emphasized, "The love of God the Father never fails,
never tires of us. … Faith gives us this certainty that becomes the
sure rock upon which to
build our lives. We can face every difficulty and every danger, the experience
of the darkness of times of crisis and pain, sustained by the confidence that
God does not abandon us and is always near to save us and bring us to
everlasting life."
The kind face of the Father who is in heaven is fully shown in the Lord Jesus.
"Knowing Him we know the Father and seeing Him we can see the Father. …
Faith in God the Father requires that we believe in the Son, through the
action of the Spirit,
recognizing the Cross that saves as the definitive revelation of divine love.
God is our Father, forgiving our sins and bringing us to the joy of the risen
life."
"We can ask ourselves, how is it possible to imagine an all-powerful God by
looking at the Cross of Christ? … We would certainly like a divine
omnipotence that corresponded to our thoughts and our desires; an 'almighty'
God … who
vanquishes our adversaries, who changes the course of events, and who takes
away our pain. … Faced with evil and suffering, ... it is difficult for
many of us to believe in God the Father and to believe that He is
all-powerful."
"Faith in God the Almighty, however, leads us to follow very different paths:
learning to understand that God's thoughts and God's paths are different from
ours and that even His omnipotence is different?it isn't expressed with
mechanical or arbitrary
force... Actually, God, in creating free creatures, in giving us freedom, gave
up a part of His power, allowing us the power of our freedom. Thus He loves
and respects love's free response to His call. His omnipotence isn't expressed
in violence or
destruction but rather through love, mercy, and forgiveness; through His
tireless call to a change of heart, through an attitude that is only weak in
appearance, and which is made of patience, clemency, and love."
"Only the truly powerful can endure evil and show compassion. Only the truly
powerful can fully exercise the power of love. And God, to whom all things
belong because He made them all, reveals His strength by loving everything and
everyone, patiently
awaiting our conversion because He wants us as His children. ...The
omnipotence of love isn't a worldly power, but is that of total gift and
Jesus, the Son of God, reveals to the world the Father's true omnipotence by
giving His life for us sinners.
This is the true ... divine power: responding to evil not with evil but with
good, responding to murderous hatred with a love that gives life. Evil is thus
truly vanquished, because it is washed by God's love. Death is thus
definitively defeated,
because it is transformed into the gift of life. God the Father resurrects His
Son. Death, the great enemy, is swallowed up and deprived of its sting and we
are freed from sin; we can grasp our reality as children of God."
"So, when we say 'I believe in God, the Father Almighty', we express our faith
in the power of God's love who?in His Son who died and rose again?conquers
hate, evil, and sin and gives us eternal life, a life as children who desire
to remain forever in
the 'Father's House'."
___________________________________________________________
'CONSTRUCTIVE' MEETING OF BILATERAL PERMANENT WORKING COMMISSION
Vatican City, 30 January 2013 (VIS) – Yesterday, 29 January, the
Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the Holy See and the State of
Israel held a plenary meeting in Jerusalem to continue negotiations pursuant
to Article 10 para. 2 of the
Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel.
The meeting was headed by Mr. Daniel Ayalon, M.K, deputy minister of Foreign
Affairs and by Msgr. Ettore Balestrero, under-secretary of the Holy See for
the Relations with States. The Holy See's delegation thanked Deputy Foreign
Minister Ayalon for his
contribution to the negotiations and wished him success in his new endeavours.
The negotiations took place in a thoughtful and constructive atmosphere. The
Commission took notice that significant progress was made and looks forward to
a speedy conclusion of the Agreement. The parties have agreed on future steps
and to hold the
next plenary meeting in June 2013 at Vatican City.
___________________________________________________________
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 30 January 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father appointed
Juan Carlos Barreto Barreto as bishop of Quibdo (area 12,500, population
198,310, Catholics 186,010, priests 49, religious 62), Colombia. The
bishop-elect, previously of the
clergy of the diocese of Espinal, Colombia, was born in Guamo, Colombia in
1968 and ordained a priest in 1993. Bishop-elect Barreto has served as pastor
in several Colombian parishes and as diocesan delegate to several
organizations. Since 2008 he has
been rector of the Espinal diocese's major seminary, La Providencia.
___________________________________________________________
Per ulteriori informazioni e per la ricerca di documenti consultare il
sito: www.wisnews.org e www.vatican.va
Il servizio del VIS viene inviato soltanto agli indirizzi di posta
elettronica che ne hanno fatto richiesta. Se per qualunque motivo
non si desidera continuare a riceverlo, si prega di visitare nostra pagina
dinizio:
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/italinde.php
Copyright (VIS): Le notizie contenute nei servizi del Vatican
Information Service possono essere riprodotte parzialmente o totalmente
citando la fonte: V.I.S. - Vatican Information Service.
--Boundary_(ID_J1eCzuol/DYzU1HugdqM/Q)
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VISnews130130
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE YEAR XXIII - N° 21DATE 30-01-2013
Summary: - SAYING "I BELIEVE IN GOD THE
FATHER ALMIGHTY" IS SAYING "I
BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF GOD'S LOVE" - 'CONSTRUCTIVE' MEETING OF
BILATERAL PERMANENT WORKING COMMISSION - OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS ___________________________________________________________
SAYING "I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY" IS SAYING "I BELIEVE IN THE
POWER OF GOD'S LOVE"
Vatican City, 30 January 2013 (VIS) – The first and most fundamental
definition that the Creed teaches us about God is that He is the Almighty
Father. This was the theme of Benedict XVI's Wednesday catechesis during
today's general audience
that was held in the Paul VI Audience Hall.
"It isn't always easy today to speak about fatherhood," the Pope began,
"...and, not having adequate role models, it even becomes problematic to
imagine God as a father. For those who have had the experience of an overly
authoritarian and inflexible
father, or an indifferent, uncaring, or even absent one, it is not easy to
calmly think of God as Father or to confidently surrender themselves to Him.
But Biblical revelation helps us to overcome these difficulties by telling us
about a God who shows
us what it truly means to be a 'father'. Above all it is the Gospel that
reveals to us this face of God as Father, who loves us even to the point of
giving us the gift of His Son for the salvation of humanity."
In the light of the Scriptures and the writings of the evangelists, the
Holy Father explained that God is our Father because "He has blessed us and
chosen us before the foundation of the world. He has truly made us His
children in Jesus. And, as
Father, God accompanies our existence with love, giving us His Word, His
teaching, His grace, His Spirit. ...If He is so good as to 'make His sun rise
on the bad and the good and … rain to fall on the just and the unjust',
then we can always,
without fear and in complete faith, entrust ourselves to His forgiveness as
Father when we choose the wrong path."
Tracing the history of salvation, Psalm 136 repeats "for his mercy endures
forever", and the pontiff emphasized, "The love of God the Father never fails,
never tires of us. … Faith gives us this certainty that becomes the
sure rock upon which
to build our lives. We can face every difficulty and every danger, the
experience of the darkness of times of crisis and pain, sustained by the
confidence that God does not abandon us and is always near to save us and
bring us to everlasting life."
The kind face of the Father who is in heaven is fully shown in the Lord
Jesus. "Knowing Him we know the Father and seeing Him we can see the Father.
… Faith in God the Father requires that we believe in the Son, through
the action of the
Spirit, recognizing the Cross that saves as the definitive revelation of
divine love. God is our Father, forgiving our sins and bringing us to the joy
of the risen life."
"We can ask ourselves, how is it possible to imagine an all-powerful God by
looking at the Cross of Christ? … We would certainly like a divine
omnipotence that corresponded to our thoughts and our desires; an 'almighty'
God … who
vanquishes our adversaries, who changes the course of events, and who takes
away our pain. … Faced with evil and suffering, ... it is difficult for
many of us to believe in God the Father and to believe that He is
all-powerful."
"Faith in God the Almighty, however, leads us to follow very different
paths: learning to understand that God's thoughts and God's paths are
different from ours and that even His omnipotence is different?it isn't
expressed with mechanical or
arbitrary force... Actually, God, in creating free creatures, in giving us
freedom, gave up a part of His power, allowing us the power of our freedom.
Thus He loves and respects love's free response to His call. His omnipotence
isn't expressed in
violence or destruction but rather through love, mercy, and forgiveness;
through His tireless call to a change of heart, through an attitude that is
only weak in appearance, and which is made of patience, clemency, and
love."
"Only the truly powerful can endure evil and show compassion. Only the
truly powerful can fully exercise the power of love. And God, to whom all
things belong because He made them all, reveals His strength by loving
everything and everyone, patiently
awaiting our conversion because He wants us as His children. ...The
omnipotence of love isn't a worldly power, but is that of total gift and
Jesus, the Son of God, reveals to the world the Father's true omnipotence by
giving His life for us sinners.
This is the true ... divine power: responding to evil not with evil but with
good, responding to murderous hatred with a love that gives life. Evil is thus
truly vanquished, because it is washed by God's love. Death is thus
definitively defeated,
because it is transformed into the gift of life. God the Father resurrects His
Son. Death, the great enemy, is swallowed up and deprived of its sting and we
are freed from sin; we can grasp our reality as children of
God."
"So, when we say 'I believe in God, the Father Almighty', we express our
faith in the power of God's love who?in His Son who died and rose
again?conquers hate, evil, and sin and gives us eternal life, a life as
children who desire to remain forever
in the 'Father's House'."
'CONSTRUCTIVE' MEETING OF BILATERAL PERMANENT WORKING COMMISSION
Vatican City, 30 January 2013 (VIS) – Yesterday, 29 January, the
Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the Holy See and the State of
Israel held a plenary meeting in Jerusalem to continue negotiations pursuant
to Article 10 para. 2 of
the Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel.
The meeting was headed by Mr. Daniel Ayalon, M.K, deputy minister of
Foreign Affairs and by Msgr. Ettore Balestrero, under-secretary of the Holy
See for the Relations with States. The Holy See's delegation thanked Deputy
Foreign Minister Ayalon for
his contribution to the negotiations and wished him success in his new
endeavours.
The negotiations took place in a thoughtful and constructive atmosphere.
The Commission took notice that significant progress was made and looks
forward to a speedy conclusion of the Agreement. The parties have agreed on
future steps and to hold the
next plenary meeting in June 2013 at Vatican City.
Vatican City, 30 January 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father
appointed Juan Carlos Barreto Barreto as bishop of Quibdo (area 12,500,
population 198,310, Catholics 186,010, priests 49, religious 62), Colombia.
The bishop-elect, previously of the
clergy of the diocese of Espinal, Colombia, was born in Guamo, Colombia in
1968 and ordained a priest in 1993. Bishop-elect Barreto has served as pastor
in several Colombian parishes and as diocesan delegate to several
organizations. Since 2008 he has
been rector of the Espinal diocese's major seminary, La Providencia.
Per ulteriori informazioni e per la ricerca di documenti consultare il
sito: www.wisnews.org e www.vatican.va Il servizio del
VIS viene inviato soltanto agli indirizzi di posta elettronica che ne
hanno
fatto richiesta. Se per qualunque motivo non si desidera continuare a
riceverlo, si prega di visitare nostra pagina dinizio: http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vi
/italinde.php
Copyright (VIS): Le notizie contenute nei servizi del Vatican
Information Service possono essere riprodotte parzialmente o totalmente
citando la fonte: V.I.S. - Vatican Information Service.
--Boundary_(ID_J1eCzuol/DYzU1HugdqM/Q)--
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