Subject: VISnews130224
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VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXIII - N° 40
DATE 24-02-2013
Summary:
- BENEDICT XVI'S FINAL ANGELUS: THE LORD CALLS ME TO DEDICATE MYSELF MORE TO
PRAYER, BUT I DO NOT ABANDON THE CHURCH
___________________________________________________________
BENEDICT XVI'S FINAL ANGELUS: THE LORD CALLS ME TO DEDICATE MYSELF MORE TO
PRAYER, BUT I DO NOT ABANDON THE CHURCH
Vatican City, 24 February 2013 – More than 200,000 people attended the
final Angelus of Benedict XVI's pontificate. Maxiscreens were placed in the
areas around St. Peter's Square so that the faithful who could not enter the
square would be able to
see the Pope at the window of his study shortly before noon.
The Holy Father was received with much applause and, before beginning his
short meditation, responded saying, “Thank you, thank you very
much.” He then commented on the Gospel reading for this second Sunday of
Lent, which recounts the
Transfiguration of the Lord.
“Luke the Evangelist,” he said, “places particular attention
on the fact that Jesus was transfigured as He prayed. His is a profound
experience of relationship with the Father during a type of spiritual retreat
that Jesus undergoes on
a high mountain in the company of Peter, James, and John, the three disciples
who are always present at the moments of the Master's divine manifestation.
The Lord, who had foretold His death and resurrection shortly before, offers
His disciples an
anticipation of His glory. Again at the Transfiguration, as at His Baptism, we
hear the voice of the Heavenly Father: 'This is my chosen Son; listen to Him.'
The presence of Moses and Elijah, who represent the Law and the Prophets of
the Old Covenant,
is very important. The entire history of the Covenant is directed toward Him,
the Christ, who brings about a new 'exodus', not to the promised land, as in
the time of Moses, but to heaven. Peter's exclamation, 'Master, it is good
that we
are
here', represents the impossible attempt to stop this mystical experience. St.
Augustine comments: “Peter … on the mountain ... had Christ as
the Bread of his soul. Should he then depart from there to return to struggles
and sorrows, while
up above he was full of the holy love for God that inspired him to saintly
behaviour?”
“Meditating on this Gospel passage, we can draw a very important
teaching from it. First of all, the primacy of prayer, without which the
entire commitment of ministry and charity is reduced to activism. During Lent
we learn to give the proper
time to the prayer, both personal and communal, which gives breath to our
spiritual life. In addition, prayer is not an isolation from the world and its
contradictions, as Peter would have wanted on Mt. Tabor. Instead, prayer leads
to a path of action.
'The Christian life—I wrote in this year's Lenten Message—consists
in continuously scaling the mountain to meet God and then coming back down,
bearing the love and strength drawn from Him, so as to serve our brothers and
sisters with
God’s own love.'”
“I hear this Word of God addressed to me in a special way at this moment
of my life. The Lord has called me to 'scale the mountain', to dedicate myself
still more to prayer and meditation. But this does not mean abandoning the
Church. If God asks
me this it is precisely so that I might continue to serve her with the same
dedication and the same love with which I have tried to give up to now, but in
a way more suitable to my age and my strength. Let us call upon the
intercession of the Virgin
Mary: May she help all of us to always follow the Lord Jesus, in prayer and in
works of charity.”
After praying the Angelus, in his greetings in various languages, the Pope
thanked everyone for expressing their closeness and for keeping him in their
prayers in these days, saying: “We also give thanks to God for this sun
we have today”,
seeing that in Rome, contrary to the meteorological forecasts, it was not
raining.
In addressing the Polish pilgrims he reaffirmed that on Mt. Tabor, Christ
“revealed the splendour of His divinity to His disciples, giving them
the certainty that, through suffering and the cross we can gain resurrection.
We always have to
perceive His presence, His glory, and His divinity in the life of the Church,
in contemplation, and in everyday events.”
Finally, speaking to the many Italians from diverse dioceses throughout the
peninsula, he bade them farewell saying: “Thank you, again. We will
always be close in prayer.”
___________________________________________________________
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.
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VISnews130224
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE YEAR XXIII - N° 40DATE 24-02-2013
Summary: - BENEDICT XVI'S FINAL ANGELUS:
THE LORD CALLS ME TO DEDICATE
MYSELF MORE TO PRAYER, BUT I DO NOT ABANDON THE CHURCH
BENEDICT XVI'S FINAL ANGELUS: THE LORD CALLS ME TO DEDICATE MYSELF MORE TO
PRAYER, BUT I DO NOT ABANDON THE CHURCH
Vatican City, 24 February 2013 – More than 200,000 people attended
the final Angelus of Benedict XVI's pontificate. Maxiscreens were placed in
the areas around St. Peter's Square so that the faithful who could not enter
the square would be able
to see the Pope at the window of his study shortly before noon.
The Holy Father was received with much applause and, before beginning his
short meditation, responded saying, “Thank you, thank you very
much.” He then commented on the Gospel reading for this second Sunday of
Lent, which recounts the
Transfiguration of the Lord.
“Luke the Evangelist,” he said, “places particular
attention on the fact that Jesus was transfigured as He prayed. His is a
profound experience of relationship with the Father during a type of spiritual
retreat that Jesus undergoes
on a high mountain in the company of Peter, James, and John, the three
disciples who are always present at the moments of the Master's divine
manifestation. The Lord, who had foretold His death and resurrection shortly
before, offers His disciples an
anticipation of His glory. Again at the Transfiguration, as at His Baptism, we
hear the voice of the Heavenly Father: 'This is my chosen Son; listen to Him.'
The presence of Moses and Elijah, who represent the Law and the Prophets of
the Old Covenant,
is very important. The entire history of the Covenant is directed toward Him,
the Christ, who brings about a new 'exodus', not to the promised land, as in
the time of Moses, but to heaven. Peter's
exclamation, 'Master, it is good that we are here', represents the impossible
attempt to stop this mystical experience. St. Augustine comments: “Peter
… on the mountain ... had Christ as the Bread of his soul. Should he
then depart from
there to return to struggles and sorrows, while up above he was full of the
holy love for God that inspired him to saintly behaviour?”
“Meditating on this Gospel passage, we can draw a very important
teaching from it. First of all, the primacy of prayer, without which the
entire commitment of ministry and charity is reduced to activism. During Lent
we learn to give the proper
time to the prayer, both personal and communal, which gives breath to our
spiritual life. In addition, prayer is not an isolation from the world and its
contradictions, as Peter would have wanted on Mt. Tabor. Instead, prayer leads
to a path of action.
'The Christian life—I wrote in this year's Lenten Message—consists
in continuously scaling the mountain to meet God and then coming back down,
bearing the love and strength drawn from Him, so as to serve our brothers and
sisters with
God’s own love.'”
“I hear this Word of God addressed to me in a special way at this
moment of my life. The Lord has called me to 'scale the mountain', to dedicate
myself still more to prayer and meditation. But this does not mean abandoning
the Church. If God
asks me this it is precisely so that I might continue to serve her with the
same dedication and the same love with which I have tried to give up to now,
but in a way more suitable to my age and my strength. Let us call upon the
intercession of the
Virgin Mary: May she help all of us to always follow the Lord Jesus, in prayer
and in works of charity.”
After praying the Angelus, in his greetings in various languages, the Pope
thanked everyone for expressing their closeness and for keeping him in their
prayers in these days, saying: “We also give thanks to God for this sun
we have
today”, seeing that in Rome, contrary to the meteorological forecasts,
it was not raining.
In addressing the Polish pilgrims he reaffirmed that on Mt. Tabor, Christ
“revealed the splendour of His divinity to His disciples, giving them
the certainty that, through suffering and the cross we can gain resurrection.
We always have to
perceive His presence, His glory, and His divinity in the life of the Church,
in contemplation, and in everyday events.”
Finally, speaking to the many Italians from diverse dioceses throughout the
peninsula, he bade them farewell saying: “Thank you, again. We will
always be close in prayer.”
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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