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                                  VIS-Press releases   
      
   ADVENT: POPE COMMENDS PATIENCE AND CONSTANCY   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 12 DEC 2010 (VIS) - At midday today, having returned from his   
   pastoral visit to the Roman parish of St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Holy Father   
   appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to pray the   
   Angelus with faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square below.   
      
   Following a Roman tradition on this third Sunday of Advent, the Pope blessed   
   statuettes of the Baby Jesus which were brought to the square by some two   
   thousand local children and which are destined to be placed in nativity scenes   
   in homes, schools and parishes.   
      
   Quoting a passage from today's reading of the Letter of St. James - "Be patient   
   therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord" - the Holy Father said: "I   
   believe it is important, in our time, to underline the value of constancy and   
   patience, virtues which were part of the everyday baggage of our forebears, but   
   which seem less popular today in a world which exalts change and the capacity   
   to adapt to new and diverse situations. Without detracting from these aspects,   
   which are also human qualities, Advent calls us to strengthen that inner   
   tenacity, that resistance of heart which enables us not to lose hope as we wait   
   for a good that is late in coming, but to await it - indeed, to prepare for its   
   arrival - with confidence".   
      
   Continuing his commentary on the Letter, in which the Apostle proposes the   
   example of the patience of farmers as they await their crop, Benedict XVI said:   
   "Farmers are not fatalists but the model of a mentality which harmoniously   
   unites faith and reason. On the one hand they know the laws of nature and   
   skilfully carry out their work while, on the other, they trust in Providence   
   because certain fundamental things are not in their hands but in the hands of   
   God. Patience and constancy are, indeed, a blend of human commitment and trust   
   in God.   
      
   "'Strengthen your hearts' says the Scripture. How can we do this?" the Pope   
   asked. "How can we strengthen our hearts which, in themselves, are somewhat   
   fragile and become even more instable in the culture which surrounds us? Help   
   is not wanting: we have the Word of God. For indeed, while everything else   
   passes and changes, the Word of the Lord does not pass. If the events of life   
   make us feel lost and all our certainties seem to crumble, we have a compass to   
   find our way, we have an anchor so as not to drift with the current".   
      
   In this context, the Holy Father recalled "the model of the prophets; that is,   
   of the people whom God has call to speak in His name. The prophet finds his joy   
   and strength in the Word of the Lord and, while men and women often seek   
   happiness by following ways which turn out to be mistaken, he announces the   
   true hope, the hope that does not delude because it is founded on the   
   faithfulness of God. All Christians, by virtue of their Baptism, have received   
   prophetic dignity. May each of us rediscover this and nourish it by listening   
   assiduously to the divine Word".   
      
   After praying the Angelus the Pope addressed some words to the children of   
   Rome. "Dear young friends", he said, "when you place the statuette of the Baby   
   Jesus in the grotto or the manger, say a prayer for the Pope and for his   
   intentions. Thank you!"   
   ANG/VIS 20101213 (580)   
      
   SUMMARY   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS =Meridian, MS= bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)