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                                  VIS-Press releases   
      
   IT IS GOD, NOT GRAND PROMISES, WHO CHANGES THE WORLD   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 12 DEC 2010 (VIS) - This morning the Pope made a pastoral visit   
   to the parish of St. Maximilian Kolbe on the outskirts of Rome, where he   
   celebrated Mass. As of the year 2009, the parish community has a new church,   
   dedicated to that Polish Franciscan saint and martyr.   
      
   In his homily, the Pope highlighted how "Advent is a pressing invitation to us   
   all to allow God to enter ever more deeply into our lives, our homes, our   
   neighbourhoods, our communities, that we may have light amidst so much darkness   
   and so much daily fatigue".   
      
   Noting how "with the passage of time the parish community has grown and become   
   partly transformed, with the arrival of many people from the countries of   
   Eastern Europe and other States", the Pope underlined the importance "of   
   creating opportunities for dialogue and favouring mutual understanding between   
   people from different cultures, backgrounds and social conditions".   
      
   "Here, as in all parishes", he said, "it is necessary to begin with those   
   'close by' then reach those 'far away', in order to bring an evangelical   
   presence into the places in which we live and work. In parishes, everyone   
   should be able to enjoy an adequate formation and to experience the community   
   dimension which is a fundamental characteristic of Christian life", a community   
   "that involves everyone, united in listening to the Word of God and in   
   celebrating the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist".   
      
   Commenting then on today's Gospel reading in which John the Baptist asks   
   whether Jesus is the Judge Who will change the world, or whether we must wait   
   for another, Benedict XVI affirmed that "many prophets, ideologues and   
   dictators have come and said: 'No, not him! He has not changed the world! We   
   have!' And they created their empires, their dictatorships, their totalitarian   
   regimes which were meant to change the world. And they did change it, but   
   destructively. Today we know that all that is left of these grand promises is   
   great emptiness and great destruction".   
      
   "The Lord, in the silent way characteristic of Him, replies: 'See what I have   
   done. I have not brought a bloody revolution, I have not changed the world by   
   force; but I have lit many lights which together form a great path of light   
   over the millennia".   
      
   The Pope then turned his attention to St. Maximilian Kolbe "who volunteered to   
   die of hunger in order to save the life of a married man", to St. Damian de   
   Veuster "who lived and died with and for lepers", and to Mother Teresa of   
   Calcutta "who brought light to so many people who, after a life spent without   
   light, died with a smile because they were touched by the light of God's love.   
      
   "And so we could go on", he added, "and we would see, as the Lord said in His   
   reply to John, that it is not violent revolution or great promises that change   
   the world, but the silent light of truth, of God's goodness, which is the sign   
   of His presence and gives us the certainty that we are fully loved, that we are   
   not forgotten, that we are not the result of chance but of a will to love".   
      
   The Pope concluded his homily by highlighting how "God is close, ... but we are   
   often far away. Let us, then draw close, let us come into the presence of His   
   light, let us pray to the Lord and, in the contact of prayer, let us become a   
   light for others".   
   HML/VIS 20101213 (590)   
      
   SUMMARY   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS =Meridian, MS= bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)