* Original message posted in: VATICAN.   
   * Crossposted in: IN_CATHOLIC.   
      
   VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
      
   TWENTY-FIRST YEAR - N. 4   
   ENGLISH   
   FRIDAY, 7 JANUARY 2011   
      
   SUMMARY: 5 - 7 JANUARY   
      
   - Benedict XVI Visits Sick Children in Rome's Gemelli Hospital   
   - The Word of God Is the True Star in Our Lives   
   - Mission of Christians Is to Reflect the Light of Christ   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
   BENEDICT XVI VISITS SICK CHILDREN IN ROME'S GEMELLI HOSPITAL   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 5 JAN 2011 (VIS) - This afternoon, to mark tomorrow's   
   Solemnity of the Epiphany, the Holy Father travelled to the Agostino Gemelli   
   hospital in Rome where he visited the department for children afflicted with   
   spina bifida.   
      
     Having greeted the young patients, he went on to visit the post-natal   
   intensive care unit and the Paul VI International Scientific Institute for   
   research, diagnosis and therapy of marital sterility.   
      
     Addressing the medical staff, the sick children and their parents the Holy   
   Father explained that he had cone to the Gemelli hospital to tell the young   
   ones "that I love you and remain at your side with my prayers and affection,   
   also to give you the strength to face your sickness. ... I bless the   
   personnel, their commitment and these places in which they give concrete   
   expression of love for the weakest and those most in need", he said.   
      
     "Dear children and young people, one reason I wanted to come here to visit   
   you was to be like the Magi, whom we celebrate on this Feast of the   
   Epiphany. They brought Jesus gifts of gold frankincense and myrrh as an   
   expression of their adoration and affection. Today I too have brought you   
   some gifts so that, through this small sign, you may feel the closeness and   
   affection of the Pope. Yet I would like everyone, adults and children alike,   
   at this Christmastime, to recall the greatest gift which God gave to each   
   one of us".   
      
     In conclusion Benedict XVI encouraged "the various charitable and   
   voluntary initiatives, as well as those institutions which bring their   
   expertise to the service of life. In this context I am thinking in   
   particular of the Paul VI International Scientific Institute, which aims to   
   promote responsible procreation. Once again, thank you all! The Pope loves   
   you!"   
   BXVI-VISIT/                                                             VIS   
   20110107 (310)   
      
   THE WORD OF GOD IS THE TRUE STAR IN OUR LIVES   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 6 JAN 2011 (VIS) - In the Vatican Basilica at 10 a.m. today,   
   the Pope presided at Mass for the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.   
      
     In his homily Benedict XVI explained that the Magi "were probably wise men   
   who studied the skies, but not in an attempt to read the future in the   
   stars; ... rather, they were men who sought something greater, who sought   
   the true light, the light capable of indicating the path to follow in life.   
   They were individuals who were certain that the creation contains what we   
   could describe as God's signature, a signature that man can and must seek to   
   discover and decipher".   
      
     Referring to King Herod, the Pope described him as a "a man of power", to   
   whom "even God appeared as a rival; indeed, a particularly dangerous rival   
   Who sought to deprive men of their living space, of their autonomy, of their   
   power. ... Herod is a unsympathetic figure to us, one we instinctively judge   
   negatively because of his brutality. Yet we should ask ourselves whether   
   there is not perhaps something of Herod in us too. Perhaps we too, at times,   
   see God as a kind of rival. Perhaps we too are blind to His signs, deaf to   
   His words, because we believe that He puts limitations on our lives and does   
   not allow us to dispose of our existence as we wish".   
      
     "When we see God in this way", the Holy Father continued, "we end up   
   feeling dissatisfied and discontented, because we do not allow ourselves to   
   be guided by the One Who is the foundation of all things, We must remove all   
   idea of rivalry from our minds and hearts, the idea that giving space to God   
   is a limit to the self. We must open ourselves to the certainty that God is   
   omnipotent love which takes away nothing, which threatens nothing. Quite the   
      
   contrary, He is the only One capable of offering us the chance to live a   
   full life and to experience true joy".   
      
     The Magi, the Pope went on, "being wise men, also knew that it is not with   
   a mere telescope but with the eyes of profound reason which searches for the   
   ultimate meaning of reality, with the desire for God moved by the faith,   
   that it is possible to meet Him. Or rather, this is what makes it possible   
   for God to approach us. The universe is not the result of chance, as some   
   people would have us believe, and contemplating it we are called to read   
   something more profound therein: the wisdom of the Creator, God's endless   
   imagination, His infinite love for us.   
      
     "We must not", Benedict XVI added, "allow our minds to be constrained by   
   theories which are always limited and which - if we study them well - are   
   not in any way in competition with the faith as they cannot explain the   
   ultimate meaning of reality. In the beauty of the world, in its mystery, its   
   greatness and its rationality we cannot fail to read the eternal   
   rationality. And we cannot but allow ourselves to be guided by the world to   
   the One God, Creator of heaven and earth. If we see things in this way, we   
   will see that the One Who created the world, and the One Who was born in a   
   grotto in Bethlehem and continues to live among us in the Eucharist, are the   
   same living God Who calls us, Who invites us, Who wants to lead us to   
   eternal life".   
      
     For the Magi "it seemed logical to seek the new king in the royal palace".   
   Yet "the star guided them to Bethlehem, a small town; it guided them among   
   the poor, among the humble, to find the King of the world. God's criteria   
   are different to those of mankind. God does not show Himself among the   
   powerful of this world, but in the humility of His love, the love which asks   
   us to welcome it in our freedom, in order to transform us and enable us to   
   reach the One Who is Love".   
      
     "In the end, for the Magi, it was vital to listen to the voice of Holy   
   Scripture; only that could show them the way. The Word of God is the true   
   star which, in the uncertainty of human discourse, offers us the immense   
   splendour of divine truth", said the Pope.   
      
     And he concluded: "Let us allow ourselves to be guided by the star, which   
   is the Word of God, let us follow it in our lives, walking with the Church   
   where the Word has pitched its tent. Our path will always be illuminated by   
   a light which no other sign can give us. And we too will be able to act as   
   stars for other people, a reflection of that light which Christ caused to   
   shine upon us".   
   HML/                                                                    VIS   
   20110107 (820)   
      
   MISSION OF CHRISTIANS IS TO REFLECT THE LIGHT OF CHRIST   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 6 JAN 2011 (VIS) - Following this morning's Mass in the   
   Vatican Basilica, at midday the Pope appeared at the window of his study   
   overlooking St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus with thousands of   
   faithful gathered below.   
      
     On the subject of today's feast, the Holy Father explained how "Epiphany   
   means the manifestation of Jesus to all people, today represented by the   
   Magi who came to Bethlehem from the East to pay homage to the King of the   
   Jews, of Whose birth they had learned by the appearance of a star in the   
   sky".   
      
     "Epiphany", he went on, "announced the universal openness of the Church,   
   her call to evangelise all people. But the Epiphany also tells us how the   
   Church accomplishes this mission: by reflecting the light of Christ and   
   announcing His Word. Christians are called to imitate the service the star   
   offered to the Magi. We must shine like children of light to attract   
   everyone to the beauty of the Kingdom of God".   
      
     After the Angelus Benedict XVI expressed his congratulations "to our   
   brothers and sisters of the Eastern Churches who will celebrate Christmas   
   tomorrow. May the goodness of God, Who appeared in Jesus Christ, the Word   
   incarnate, strengthen everyone in faith, hope and charity, and bring comfort   
   to communities suffering trials".   
      
     The Pope also recalled how "the Epiphany is the Day of Missionary   
   Children, promulgated by the Pont   
   ifical Work of the Holy Childhood. Children   
   and young people, organised in their parishes and schools, form a network of   
   spirituality and solidarity to help their peers in difficulties. It is very   
   beautiful and important that children should grow up with their minds open   
   to the world, with feelings of love and fraternity, overcoming selfishness   
   and consumerism, Dear children and young people, with your prayers and your   
   commitment you help in the Church's mission. For this I thank you and bless   
   you!"   
   ANG/                                                                    VIS   
   20110107 (330)   
      
   OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 7 JAN 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father:   
      
    - Appointed Msgr. Leonardo Bonanno of the clergy of the archdiocese of   
   Cosenza-Bisignano, Italy, vicar general, moderator of the archdiocesan Curia   
   and judge of the regional ecclesiastical tribunal, as bishop of San Marco   
   Argentano-Scalea (area 1,142, population 113,672, Catholics 111,000, priests   
   88, permanent deacons 3, religious 91), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in   
   San Giovanni in Fiore, Italy in 1947 and ordained a priest in 1971. He   
   succeeds Bishop Domenico Crusco, whose resignation from the pastoral care of   
   the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age   
   limit.   
      
    - Appointed Bishop Hector Luis Morales Sanchez, prelate of Huautla, Mexico,   
   as bishop of Netzahualcoyotl (area 513, population 3,637,000, Catholics   
   3,314,000, priests 136, religious 133), Mexico.   
   NER:RE/                                                         VIS 20110107   
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    - Origin: VIS - Ufficio Stampa della Santa Sede (1:396/3)    
   --- timEd/2 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS-Meridian, MS-bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)