for our future work. ... Seek beauty and strive for goodness! ... Open the
doors of your minds and hearts to Christ! ... Christ says to you: My peace I
give to you! This is the true revolution brought by Christ: that of love.
"The frustrations of the present moment must not lead you to take refuge in
parallel worlds like those, for example, of the various narcotics or the bleak
world of pornography. As for social networks, they are interesting but they
can quite easily
lead to addiction and confusion between the real and the virtual. Look for
relationships of genuine, uplifting friendship.
Subject: VISnews120916
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
Find ways to give meaning and depth to your lives; fight superficiality and
mindless consumption! ... Seek out good teachers,
spiritual masters, who will be able to guide you along the path to maturity,
leaving behind all that is illusory, garish and deceptive".
"Meditate on God’s word! Discover how relevant and real the Gospel
can be. Pray! Prayer and the Sacraments are the sure and effective means to be
a Christian and to live rooted and built up in Christ. ... In Him, all men and
women are our
brothers and sisters. The universal brotherhood which He inaugurated on the
cross lights up in a resplendent and challenging way the revolution of love.
“Love one another as I have loved you”. This is the legacy of
Jesus and the sign of the
Christian".
"Christ asks you, then, to do as He did: to be completely open to others,
even if they belong to a different cultural, religious or national group.
Making space for them, respecting them, being good to them, making them ever
more rich in humanity and
firm in the peace of the Lord. ... Experiencing together moments of friendship
and joy enables us to resist the onset of division, which must always be
rejected! ... Be heralds of the Gospel of life and life’s authentic
values. Courageously resist
everything opposed to life: abortion, violence, rejection of and contempt for
others, injustice and war. In this way you will spread peace all around you.
Are not “peacemakers” those whom in the end we admire the most? Is
it not a world of
peace that, deep down, we want for ourselves and for others? ... Truly
discovering God’s forgiveness and mercy always enables us to begin a new
life. It is not easy to forgive. But God’s forgiveness grants the
power of conversion, and the joy of being able to forgive in turn. Forgiveness
and reconciliation are the paths of peace; they open up a future".
"Young people of Lebanon, you are the hope and the future of your country.
You are Lebanon, a land of welcome, of openness, with a remarkable power of
adaptation. At this moment, we cannot forget those millions of individuals who
make up the Lebanese
diaspora and maintain solid bonds with their land of origin. Young people of
Lebanon, be welcoming and open, as Christ asks you and as your country teaches
you.
"I should like now to greet the young Muslims who are with us this evening.
I thank you for your presence, which is so important. Together with the young
Christians, you are the future of this fine country and of the Middle East in
general. Seek to
build it up together! And when you are older, continue to live in unity and
harmony with Christians. For the beauty of Lebanon is found in this fine
symbiosis.
It is vital that the Middle East in general, looking at you, should
understand that Muslims and Christians, Islam and Christianity, can live side
by side without hatred, with respect for the beliefs of each person, so as to
build together a free and
humane society.
"I understand, too, that present among us there are some young people from
Syria. I want to say how much I admire your courage. Tell your families and
friends back home that the Pope has not forgotten you. Tell those around you
that the Pope is
saddened by your sufferings and your griefs. He does not forget Syria in his
prayers and concerns, he does not forget those in the Middle East who are
suffering. It is time for Muslims and Christians to come together so as to put
an end to violence and
war".
At the conclusion of his meeting with the young people, the Pope greeted
Catholic patriarchs of Lebanon in chapel of the Assumption inside the
Patriarchal Palace.
___________________________________________________________
SERVING JUSTICE AND PEACE IS AN IMPERATIVE TASK OF THE CHURCH
Vatican City, 16 September 2012 (VIS) - This morning in Beirut, Lebanon,
Benedict XVI celebrated Mass at the City Centre Waterfront, a coastal area
reclaimed from the sea using the debris of buildings in the old centre of
Beirut, which were
demolished at the end of the Civil War prior to the reconstruction.
The Holy Father travelled by car from the apostolic nunciature in Harissa,
then covered the final stretch along the seafront from Jounieh in popemobile.
He was greeted on arrival by the mayor of Beirut who presented him with the
keys to the city. The
Mass was attended by many thousands of faithful, the Lebanese authorities and
300 bishops from all over the Middle East. The liturgy was celebrated in
Arabic, French and Latin.
In his homily the Pope commented on today's reading from the Gospel of St.
Mark in which the true identity of Jesus is revealed. In Mark's narrative,
Jesus is walking with His disciples along the road leading to the villages in
the region of Caesarea
Philippi when He asks them: "Who do people say that I am?"
"The moment He chose to ask this question is not insignificant", the Holy
Father explained. "Jesus was facing a decisive turning-point in His life. He
was going up to Jerusalem, to the place where the central events of our
salvation would take place:
His crucifixion and resurrection. In Jerusalem too, following these events,
the Church would be born".
In the episode, after Peter has proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, Christ
tells the disciples that He must suffer and be put to death before rising
again. "He realises that people could use this answer to advance agendas which
are not His, to raise
false temporal hopes in His regard. He does not let Himself be confined to the
attributes of the human saviour which many were expecting", the Pope said.
"Jesus wants to make them understand His true identity. He is a Messiah Who
suffers, a Messiah Who serves, and not some triumphant political saviour. He
is the Servant Who obeys His Father’s will, even to giving up His life.
... Jesus thus
contradicts the expectations of many. What He says is shocking and disturbing.
We can understand the reaction of Peter who rebukes Him, refusing to accept
that his Master should suffer and die! Jesus is stern with Peter; He makes him
realise that anyone
who would be His disciple must become a servant, just as He became
Servant".
Therefore, the Pope went on, "following Jesus means taking up one’s
cross and walking in His footsteps, along a difficult path which leads not to
earthly power or glory but, if necessary, to self-abandonment, to losing
one’s life for
Christ and the Gospel in order to save it. We are assured that this is the way
to the resurrection, to true and definitive life with God". In this context,
Benedict pointed out that the Year of Faith, due to begin on 11 October is an
invitation to "each
member of the faithful to renew his or her commitment to undertaking this path
of sincere conversion. Throughout this Year, then, I strongly encourage you to
reflect more deeply on the faith, to appropriate it ever more consciously and
to grow in
fidelity to Christ Jesus and His Gospel.
"Brothers and sisters, the path on which Jesus wishes to guide us is a path
of hope for all. Jesus’ glory was revealed at the very time when, in His
humanity, He seemed weakest, particularly through the incarnation and on the
cross. This is how
God shows His love; He becomes our servant and gives Himself to us".
Benedict XVI then turned his attention to the second reading, in which St.
James states that, if our adherence to Jesus is to be authentic, it requires
"concrete actions. ... It is an imperative task of the Church to serve and of
Christians to be
true servants in the image of Jesus", he said. "Consequently, in a world where
violence constantly leaves behind its grim trail of death and destruction, to
serve justice and peace is urgently necessary for building a fraternal
society, for building
fellowship! ... I pray in particular that the Lord will grant to this region
of the Middle East servants of peace and reconciliation, so that all people
can live in peace and with dignity. This is an essential testimony which
Christians must render
here, in cooperation with all people of good will. I appeal to all of you to
be peacemakers, wherever you find yourselves".
Likewise, the Pope went on, "service must also be at the heart of the life
of the Christian community itself. Every ministry, every position of
responsibility in the Church, is first and foremost a service to God and to
our brothers and sisters. This
is the spirit which should guide the baptised among themselves, and find
particular expression in an effective commitment to serving the poor, the
outcast and the suffering, so that the inalienable dignity of each person may
be safeguarded.
"Dear brothers and sisters who are suffering physically or spiritually",
the Holy Father added concluding his homily, "your sufferings are not in vain!
Christ the Servant wished to be close to the suffering. ... Along your own
path, may you always
find brothers and sisters who are concrete signs of His loving presence which
will never forsake you! Remain ever hopeful because of Christ!".
"May God bless Lebanon; may He bless all the peoples of this beloved region
of the Middle East, and may He grant them the gift of His peace".
___________________________________________________________
MAY THE GOSPEL CONTINUE TO RESONATE IN THE REGION WHICH SAW JESUS' ACTIONS
AND HEARD HIS WORDS
Vatican City, 16 September 2012 (VIS) - At the end of today's Eucharistic
celebration, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary general of the Synod of
Bishops, arose and invited the Holy Father to consign the Post-Synodal
Apostolic Exhortation
"Ecclesia in Medio Oriente" to Catholic patriarchs of the Middle East,
presidents of the episcopal conferences of Turkey and Iran, and a number of
lay faithful. The Exhortation is the final document of the Special Assembly
for the Middle East of the
Synod of Bishops, which was held in October 2010 on the theme: "The Catholic
Church in the Middle East: Communion and witness. 'The company of those who
believed were of one heart and soul'".
Benedict XVI expressed his hope that the Exhortation would be "be a guide
to follow the various and complex paths where Christ goes before you. May
communion in faith, hope and charity be strengthened in your countries and in
every community so as to
make credible your witness to the Triune God, Who has drawn close to each one
of us", he said.
"Dear Church in the Middle East, draw from the source of salvation which
became a reality in this unique and beloved land! Follow in the footsteps of
your fathers in faith, who by tenacity and fidelity opened up the way for
humanity to respond to the
revelation of God! Among the wonderful diversity of saints who flourished in
your land, look for examples and intercessors who will inspire your response
to the Lord's call to walk towards the heavenly Jerusalem, where God will wipe
away every one of
our tears! May fraternal communion be a support for you in your daily life and
the sign of the universal brotherhood which Jesus, the first born of many,
came to bring! Thus, in this region which saw His actions and heard His words,
may the Gospel
continue to resonate as it did 2000 years ago, and may it be lived today and
forever!"
___________________________________________________________
ANGELUS: WHY SO MUCH HORROR? WHY SO MANY DEAD?
Vatican City, 16 September 2012 (VIS) - Having consigned the Post-Synodal
Apostolic Exhortation, and before praying the Angelus, the Holy Father
pronounced some words in which he called on "Mary, Our Lady of Lebanon, around
whom both Christians and
Muslims gather", to intercede "for the people of Syria and the neighbouring
countries, imploring the gift of peace".
Benedict XVI went on: "You know all too well the tragedy of the conflicts
and the violence which generates so much suffering. Sadly, the din of weapons
continues to make itself heard, along with the cry of the widow and the
orphan. Violence and
hatred invade people’s lives, and the first victims are women and
children. Why so much horror? Why so many dead? I appeal to the international
community! I appeal to the Arab countries that, as brothers, they might
propose workable solutions
respecting the dignity, the rights and the religion of every human person!
Those who wish to build peace must cease to see in the other an evil to be
eliminated. It is not easy to see in the other a person to be respected and
loved, and yet this is
necessary if peace is to be built, if fraternity is desired.
"May God grant to your country, to Syria and to the Middle East the gift of
peaceful hearts, the silencing of weapons and the cessation of all violence!
May men understand that they are all brothers! Mary, our Mother, understands
our concern and our
needs. Together with the patriarchs and bishops present, I place the Middle
East under her maternal protection. May we, with God’s help, be
converted so as to work ardently to establish the peace that is necessary for
harmonious coexistence among
brothers, whatever their origins and religious convictions".
___________________________________________________________
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