Subject: VISnews 111026   
   Organization: VIS - Ufficio Stampa della Santa Sede   
   From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt    
      
   VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
      
   TWENTY FIRST YEAR - N. 185   
   ENGLISH   
   WEDNESDAY, 26 OCTOBER 2011   
      
   SUMMARY:   
      
   - The Kingdom of Christ Cannot Be Built by Force   
   - Pope Asks for Prayers for Assisi Meeting   
   - Appeal for Victims of Earthquake in Turkey   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
   THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST CANNOT BE BUILT BY FORCE   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 26 OCT 2011 (VIS) - Because of the rain, the Holy Father   
   presided over this morning's celebration of the Word in the Paul VI Hall,   
   rather than in St. Peter's Square as had been scheduled. The celebration of   
   the Word took the place of the usual general audience, in view of the event   
   due to take place tomorrow in the Italian town of Assisi: "Day of   
   Reflection, Dialogue and Prayer for Peace and Justice in the World: Pilgrims   
   of Truth, Pilgrims of Peace". Before the celebration this morning, the Holy   
   Father greeted pilgrims gathered in the Vatican Basilica who had been unable   
   to find space in the Paul VI Hall.   
      
     Following a greeting from Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the Pope's vicar   
   general for the diocese of Rome, and the readings from the Bible, the Holy   
   Father pronounced his homily.   
      
     "As Christians", he said, "we are convinced that prayer is the most   
   precious contribution we can make to the cause of peace. For this reason we,   
   the Church of Rome and pilgrims from elsewhere, are gathered here today to   
   listen to the Word of God and to invoke the gift of peace".   
      
     The Pope then quoted from the reading from the Prophet Zechariah, in which   
   God promises salvation through a king. "But the announcement does not refer   
   to a king with human powers and force of arms", he explained. "It does not   
   refer to a king who dominates with political and military might. This is a   
   gentle king who reigns with humility and gentleness before God and man, a   
   king quite different from the great sovereigns of the earth".   
      
     The Apostles recalled the prophet's words particularly "following Christ's   
   passion, death and resurrection when, ... with the eyes of faith, they   
   reconsidered their Master's joyful entry into the Holy City. He rode a   
   donkey which had been lent to Him, ... not a horse as the powerful did. He   
   did not enter Jerusalem accompanied by a mighty army of chariots and   
   horsemen. He is a poor king, the king of the poor of God, ... of those who   
   have inner freedom enabling them to overcome the greed and selfishness of   
   the world, of those who know that God alone is their treasure. ... He is a   
   king who will make the chariots and steeds of battle disappear, who will   
   break the weapons of war, a king who brought peace on the Cross, uniting   
   heaven and earth and building a bridge between all mankind. The Cross is the   
   new arch of peace, the sign and instrument of reconciliation, ... the sign   
   that love is stronger that any form of violence or oppression, stronger than   
   death. Evil is overcome through goodness, through love".   
      
     "The kingdom that Christ inaugurates is universal. The horizon of this   
   poor and meek king is not the territorial horizon of a State, it is the   
   confines of the world. He creates communion, He creates unity. And where do   
   we see His announcement take concrete form today? In the great network of   
   Eucharistic communities covering the earth, wherein the prophecy of   
   Zechariah re-emerges in splendour. ... Everywhere, in all cultures, ... He   
   comes and is present; and by entering into communion with Him, mankind is   
   united into a single body, overcoming divisions, rivalry and rancour. The   
   Lord comes in the Eucharist to divest us of our selfishness, our fixations   
   which exclude others, to make us a single body, a single kingdom of peace in   
   a divided world.   
      
     "And yet", the Holy Father added, "how can we build this kingdom of peace   
   in which Christ is king? ... Like Jesus, the messengers of peace of His   
   kingdom must begin a journey. ...They must journey, but not with the might   
   of war or the force of power. ... It is not with power, force or violence   
   that Christ's kingdom of peace grows, but with the giving of self, with love   
   carried to its extreme consequences, even towards out enemies. Jesus does   
   not conquer the world by force of arms but by the power of the Cross, which   
   is the true guarantee of victory".   
      
     Continuing his homily, Benedict XVI mentioned the statues of Sts. Peter   
   and Paul which stand in front of the Vatican Basilica. St. Peter holds the   
   keys and St. Paul a sword, "the weapon with which he suffered martyrdom,   
   with which his blood was spilt", said the Pope. St. Paul "dedicated his life   
   to transmitting the Gospel's message of reconciliation and peace, using his   
   every energy to ensure it reached the ends of the earth. His strength lay in   
   the fact that he did not seek a quiet life, ... free from difficulties and   
   setbacks. Rather, he was consumed by the Gospel, he gave all of himself   
   without reserve, and thus became the great messenger of peace and   
   reconciliation in Christ. The sword St. Paul holds in his hand also recalls   
   the power of truth, which can sometimes wound and inflict pain, The Apostle   
   remained faithful to this truth unto the end, ... he gave his life for it.   
   The same logic holds true for us, if we wish to bring the kingdom of peace   
   announced by the Prophet Zechariah and achieved by Christ: we must be ready   
   to pay in person, to suffer ... misunderstanding, rejection and persecution.   
   It is not the sword of the conqueror that builds peace, but the sword of   
   those who suffer and give up their own lives".   
      
     The Holy Father concluded: "As Christians, we wish to invoke the gift of   
   peace from God, we wish to pray that He might make us instruments of His   
   peace in a world still torn apart by hatred, division, selfishness and wars,   
   we wish to ask him that tomorrow's meeting in Assisi might favour dialogue   
   between people from different religions, and bring a ray of light to   
   illuminate the minds and hearts of all men and women; that rancour may give   
   way to forgiveness, division to reconciliation, hatred to love, violence to   
   humility, and that peace may reign in the world".   
   AG/                                                                     VIS   
   20111026 (1020)   
      
   POPE ASKS FOR PRAYERS FOR ASSISI MEETING   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 26 OCT 2011 (VIS) - This morning's general audience in the   
   form of a celebration of the Word, which was to have taken place in St.   
   Peter's Square, was moved to the Paul VI Hall because of rain. One group of   
   pilgrims, unable to find space in the Paul VI Hall, gathered in the Vatican   
   Basilica where the Holy Father went to greet them before the audience began.   
   "I ask you to accompany me in prayer as I journey tomorrow to Assisi for the   
   celebration of the Day of Reflection, Dialogue and Prayer for Peace and   
   Justice in the World, together with representatives of different religions",   
   he said speaking English. Switching to French he expressed the hope that   
   "this pilgrimage for truth and peace may help us to march towards God   
   together, and to reinforce our commitment to serve peace".   
      
     At the end of the celebration of the Word in the Paul VI Hall, Benedict   
   XVI addressed the young, the sick and newlyweds. "May the example of St,.   
   Francis of Assisi, over whose tomb I will pray tomorrow, support you, dear   
   young people, in your daily commitment to Christ", he said. "May it   
   encourage you, dear sick people, always to follow the example of Jesus in   
   your trials and suffering; and may it help you, dear newlyweds, to make your   
   family a place of constant encounter with the love of God and of our   
   fellows".   
   AC/                                                                     VIS   
   20111026 (250)   
      
   APPEAL FOR VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE IN TURKEY   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 26 OCT 2011 (VIS) - Having greeted the pilgrims who attended   
   this morning's celebration of the Word, Benedict XVI launched an appeal for   
   victims of the recent earthquake in Turkey. "At this time", he said, "our   
   thoughts go out to the people of Turkey, who have been so severely affected   
   by the earthquake which caused grave loss of human life, leaving many   
   missing and causing great damage. I invite you to join me in prayer for the   
   people who have lost their lives, and to remain spiritually close to those   
   who have been so sorely tried. May Almighty God support everyone involved in   
   rescue efforts".   
   AC/                                                                     VIS   
   20111026 (120)   
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