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VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXIII - N° 26
DATE 06-02-2013
Summary:
- POPE: HUMAN INTELLIGENCE CAN FIND KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD IN SACRED
SCRIPTURE
- BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR FEBRUARY
- AUDIENCES
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
___________________________________________________________
POPE: HUMAN INTELLIGENCE CAN FIND KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD IN SACRED
SCRIPTURE
Vatican City, 6 February 2013 (VIS) – Continuing his catechesis on the
symbol of Christian faith, the Holy Father's General Audience today focused on
the phrase “Creator of heaven and earth”, explained in light of
the first chapter of
Genesis.
“God,” the Pope said, “is the source of all things and the
beauty of creation reveals the omnipotence of the loving Father. As the origin
of life … He cares for what has He has created with unceasing love and
faithfulness.
Creation, therefore, becomes the place in which to know God's omnipotence and
goodness and becomes a call to faith for believers so that we might proclaim
God as Creator. … In the light of faith, human intelligence can find
the key to
understanding the world In Sacred Scripture. Particularly … in the
first chapter of Genesis, with the solemn presentation of divine creative
action … The phrase 'and God saw it was good' is repeated six times.
… Everything God
creates is good, and beautiful, full of wisdom and love. God's creative action
brings order and infuses harmony and beauty into it. In the story of Genesis,
it later says that the Lord created with His word and ten times in the text
the phrase 'God sai
d' is
repeated... Life springs forth, the world exists, so that everything might
obey the Word of God.”
“But does it still make sense to talk about creation,” the Pope
wondered, “in this age of science and technology? The Bible isn't
intended to be a natural science manual. Its intention is to reveal the
authentic and profound truth of
things. The fundamental truth revealed in the stories of Genesis is that the
world isn't a collection of opposing forces, but has its origin and stability
in the Logos, in God's eternal reason, which continues to sustain the
universe. There is a plan
for the world that springs from this reason, from the Creator Spirit.”
“Men and women, human beings, the only ones capable of knowing and
loving the Creator,” are the apex of all creation. “The creation
stories in Genesis … help us to know God's plan for humanity. First,
they say that God formed
man out of the clay of the ground. … This means that we are not God; we
have not made ourselves; we are clay. But it also means that we come from the
good earth by an act of the Creator. … Beyond any cultural and
historical distinctions,
beyond any social difference, we are one humanity, formed from the one earth
of God who … blew the breath of life into the body He formed from the
earth. … The human being is made in the image and likeness of God.
… We carry within
us His life-giving breath and all human life is under God's special
protection. This is the deepest reason for the inviolability of human dignity
against any temptation to judge the person according to criteria of utility or
power.&rd
quo;
In the first chapters of Genesis, “there are two significant images: the
garden with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the serpent. The
garden tells us that the reality that God has placed the human being within is
not a savage
forest, but a place that protects, nourishes, and sustains. Humanity must
recognize the world, not as property to plunder and exploit, but as a gift
from the Creator … to cultivate and care for respectfully, following
its rhythms and logic, in
accordance with God's plan. The serpent is a figure derived from oriental
fertility cults that fascinated Israel and that were a constant temptation to
forsake the mysterious covenant with God.” That is why, “the
serpent raised the suspicion
that the covenant with God was a chain that … took away freedom and the
most beautiful and precious things in life. The temptation becomes the
building of a world of one's own without accepting the limits of being a
creature, the l
imits
of good and evil, of morality. Dependence on the love of God the Creator is
seen as a burden to be overthrown. … But when our relationship with God
is distorted, when we put ourselves in His place, all our other relationships
are altered. Then
the other becomes a rival, a threat. Adam, after have succumbed to temptation,
immediately accuses Eve. … The world is no longer the garden in which
to live in harmony, but a place to exploit, one in which … envy and
hatred of the other
enter into our hearts.”
The Pope emphasized one last element of the creation stories. “Sin
begets sin and all the sins of history are related. This aspect leads us to
speak of what is called 'original sin'. What is the meaning of this reality,
which is so difficult to
understand? … First, we must keep in mind that no person is closed in
upon themselves. … We receive life from others, not only at birth, but
every day. The human being is relational: I am only myself in you and through
you, in the loving
relationship with the You of God and the you of the other. Sin alters or
destroys our relationship with God … taking the place of God …
Once that fundamental relationship is altered, our other relationships are
also compromised or
destroyed. Sin ruins everything. Now, if the relational structure of humanity
is altered from the beginning, all humans enter the world characterized by the
alteration of that relationship; we enter into the world changed by sin, which
marks
us
personally. The initial sin disrupts and damages human nature. … And
humanity cannot get out of this situation alone, cannot redeem itself. Only
the creator can restore the correct relationships. … This takes place
in Jesus Christ follows
the exact opposite path of Adam. … While Adam does not recognize his
being as a creature and wants to supplant the place of God, Jesus, the Son of
God is in perfect filial relation to the Father. He lowers himself, becomes a
servant, walks the
path of love, humbling himself even to death on the cross in order to restore
the relationship with God. Christ's Cross becomes the new Tree of Life.”
“Living by faith,” Benedict XVI concluded, “means
acknowledging God's greatness and accepting our smallness, our creatureliness,
letting God fill us with His love. Evil, with its burden of pain and
suffering, is a mystery that is
illuminated by the light of faith, giving us the certainty of being able to be
freed from it.”
___________________________________________________________
BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR FEBRUARY
Vatican City, 6 February 2013 (VIS) - Pope Benedict's general prayer intention
for February is: "That migrant families, especially the mothers, may be
supported and accompanied in their difficulties".
His mission intention is: "That the peoples at war and in conflict may lead
the way in building a peaceful future"..
___________________________________________________________
AUDIENCES
Vatican City, 6 February 2013 (VIS) – After today’s General
Audience, the Holy Father met with participants in the general assembly of the
Priestly Fraternity of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo.
___________________________________________________________
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 6 February 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father:
- elevated the territorial prelature of Cameta, Brazil, to the rank of
diocese. He appointed Bishop Jesus Maria Cizaurre Berdonces, O.A.R., prelate
of Cameta, as first bishop of the new diocese.
- appointed Fr. Valdir Mamede as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of
Brasilia (area 5,814, population 2,246,000, Catholics 1,541,000, priests 320,
permanent deacons 69, religious 674), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in
Silvianopolis, Brazil and
was ordained to the priesthood in 1988. He has served as pastor in several
Brazilian parishes, most recently Imaculado Coracao de Maria, and was also
judicial vicar of the archdiocese.
___________________________________________________________
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_NMpVlcSH4+cuniojDlTjug)
Content-type: text/html; CHARSETUS-ASCII
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VISnews130206
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE YEAR XXIII - N° 26DATE 06-02-2013
Summary: - POPE: HUMAN INTELLIGENCE CAN
FIND KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE
WORLD IN SACRED SCRIPTURE - BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR
FEBRUARY - AUDIENCES - OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS ___________________________________________________________
POPE: HUMAN INTELLIGENCE CAN FIND KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD IN SACRED
SCRIPTURE
Vatican City, 6 February 2013 (VIS) – Continuing his catechesis on
the symbol of Christian faith, the Holy Father's General Audience today
focused on the phrase “Creator of heaven and earth”, explained in
light of the first chapter
of Genesis.
“God,” the Pope said, “is the source of all things and
the beauty of creation reveals the omnipotence of the loving Father. As the
origin of life … He cares for what has He has created with unceasing
love and faithfulness.
Creation, therefore, becomes the place in which to know God's omnipotence and
goodness and becomes a call to faith for believers so that we might proclaim
God as Creator. … In the light of faith, human intelligence can find
the key to
understanding the world In Sacred Scripture. Particularly … in the
first chapter of Genesis, with the solemn presentation of divine creative
action … The phrase 'and God saw it was good' is repeated six times.
… Everything God
creates is good, and beautiful, full of wisdom and love. God's creative action
brings order and infuses harmony and beauty into it. In the story of Genesis,
it later says that the Lord created with His word and ten times in the
text the phrase 'God said' is repeated... Life springs forth, the world
exists, so that everything might obey the Word of God.”
“But does it still make sense to talk about creation,” the Pope
wondered, “in this age of science and technology? The Bible isn't
intended to be a natural science manual. Its intention is to reveal the
authentic and profound truth
of things. The fundamental truth revealed in the stories of Genesis is that
the world isn't a collection of opposing forces, but has its origin and
stability in the Logos, in God's eternal reason, which continues to sustain
the universe. There is a plan
for the world that springs from this reason, from the Creator Sp
rit.”
“Men and women, human beings, the only ones capable of knowing and
loving the Creator,” are the apex of all creation. “The creation
stories in Genesis … help us to know God's plan for humanity. First,
they say that God formed
man out of the clay of the ground. … This means that we are not God; we
have not made ourselves; we are clay. But it also means that we come from the
good earth by an act of the Creator. … Beyond any cultural and
historical distinctions,
beyond any social difference, we are one humanity, formed from the one earth
of God who … blew the breath of life into the body He formed from the
earth. … The human being is made in the image and likeness of God.
… We carry within
us His life-giving breath and all human life is under God's special
protection. This is the deepest reason for the inviolability of human dignity
against any temptation to judge the person according to criteria of utility
or power.”
In the first chapters of Genesis, “there are two significant images:
the garden with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the serpent.
The garden tells us that the reality that God has placed the human being
within is not a savage
forest, but a place that protects, nourishes, and sustains. Humanity must
recognize the world, not as property to plunder and exploit, but as a gift
from the Creator … to cultivate and care for respectfully, following
its rhythms and logic, in
accordance with God's plan. The serpent is a figure derived from oriental
fertility cults that fascinated Israel and that were a constant temptation to
forsake the mysterious covenant with God.” That is why, “the
serpent raised the suspicion
that the covenant with God was a chain that … took away freedom and the
most beautiful and precious things in life. The temptation becomes the
building of a world of one's own without accepting the limits of being a
creature, the limits of good and evil, of morality. Dependence on the love of
God the Creator is seen as a burden to be overthrown. … But when our
relationship with God is distorted, when we put ourselves in His place, all
our other relationships
are altered. Then the other becomes a rival, a threat. Adam, after have
succumbed to temptation, immediately accuses Eve. … The world is no
longer the garden in which to live in harmony, but a place to exploit, one in
which … envy and
hatred of the other enter into our hearts.”
The Pope emphasized one last element of the creation stories. “Sin
begets sin and all the sins of history are related. This aspect leads us to
speak of what is called 'original sin'. What is the meaning of this reality,
which is so difficult to
understand? … First, we must keep in mind that no person is closed in
upon themselves. … We receive life from others, not only at birth, but
every day. The human being is relational: I am only myself in you and through
you, in the loving
relationship with the You of God and the you of the other. Sin alters or
destroys our relationship with God … taking the place of God …
Once that fundamental relationship is altered, our other relationships are
also compromised or
destroyed. Sin ruins everything. Now, if the relational structure of humanity
is altered from the beginning, all humans enter the world characterized by the
alteration of that relationship; we enter into the world changed by sin,
which marks us personally. The initial sin disrupts and damages human nature.
… And humanity cannot get out of this situation alone, cannot redeem
itself. Only the creator can restore the correct relationships. … This
takes place in Jesus
Christ follows the exact opposite path of Adam. … While Adam does not
recognize his being as a creature and wants to supplant the place of God,
Jesus, the Son of God is in perfect filial relation to the Father. He lowers
himself, becomes a
servant, walks the path of love, humbling himself even to death on the cross
in order to restore the relationship with God. Christ's Cross becomes the new
Tree of Life.”
“Living by faith,” Benedict XVI concluded, “means
acknowledging God's greatness and accepting our smallness, our creatureliness,
letting God fill us with His love. Evil, with its burden of pain and
suffering, is a mystery that is
illuminated by the light of faith, giving us the certainty of being able to be
freed from it.”
Vatican City, 6 February 2013 (VIS) - Pope Benedict's general prayer
intention for February is: "That migrant families, especially the mothers, may
be supported and accompanied in their difficulties".
His mission intention is: "That the peoples at war and in conflict may lead
the way in building a peaceful future"..
Vatican City, 6 February 2013 (VIS) – After today’s General
Audience, the Holy Father met with participants in the general assembly of the
Priestly Fraternity of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo.
Vatican City, 6 February 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father:
- elevated the territorial prelature of Cameta, Brazil, to the rank of
diocese. He appointed Bishop Jesus Maria Cizaurre Berdonces, O.A.R., prelate
of Cameta, as first bishop of the new diocese.
- appointed Fr. Valdir Mamede as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of
Brasilia (area 5,814, population 2,246,000, Catholics 1,541,000, priests 320,
permanent deacons 69, religious 674), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in
Silvianopolis, Brazil and
was ordained to the priesthood in 1988. He has served as pastor in several
Brazilian parishes, most recently Imaculado Coracao de Maria, and was also
judicial vicar of the archdiocese.
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.
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