Subject: VISnews130109
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VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXIII - N° 6
DATE 09-01-2013
Summary:
- INCARNATION: GOD ASSUMES HUMAN CONDITION TO HEAL IT
___________________________________________________________
INCARNATION: GOD ASSUMES HUMAN CONDITION TO HEAL IT
Vatican City, 9 January 2013 (VIS) - Benedict XVI dedicated his Wednesday
catechesis during today's general audience to the meaning of the word
Incarnation, "a term," the Pope said, "that has resounded many times in our
Churches over these past days,
expressing the reality that we celebrate at Christmas: the Son of God become
man, as we say in the Creed."
The Holy Father began by explaining the meaning of this word, which is central
to the Christian faith, starting from the Church Fathers, especially St.
Ignatius of Antioch and St. Irenaeus, who used it when "reflecting on the
Prologue of St. John's
Gospel, particularly in the expression, 'the Word became flesh'. Here the word
'flesh'," the Pope emphasized, "refers to the person in their entirety,
precisely in light of their transcience and temporality, their poverty and
contingency. This tells us
that the salvation wrought by God made flesh in Jesus of Nazareth reaches the
human person in their concrete reality and in whatever situation they may find
themselves. God took on the human condition in order to heal it of everything
that separates it
from Him, in order to allow us to call Him, in his Only Begotten Son, by the
name of 'Abba, Father', and to truly be children of God."
Then the Pope recalled the Christmas tradition of exchanging gifts with those
closest to us. Sometimes this may be a gesture undertaken out of convention
but, generally, it "expresses affection. It is a sign of love and esteem."
This same idea of giving
is at the heart of the liturgy of these feastdays and "it reminds us of the
original gift of Christmas. On that holy night, God, becoming man, wanted to
make himself a gift for humanity ... he took on our humanity in order to give
us His divinity. This
is the great gift. ... In this we find the model of our giving because our
relationships, especially those which are most important, are guided by
generosity and love."
The fact of the Incarnation, of God who makes himself man like us, shows us
"the unprecedented reality of divine love. God's action, in fact, is not
limited to words. Rather, we can say that He is not satisfied with speaking
but immerses himself in our
history and takes upon himself the worry and the weight of human life. ...
God's way of acting is a strong stimulus for us to ask ourselves about the
reality of our faith, which should not be limited to the arena of feeling, of
the emotions, but must
enter into the concrete reality of our existence, must touch, that is, our
everyday life and orient it in a practical way. ... Faith has a fundamental
aspect that affects not only our mind and our heart but all of our life."
Citing the Church Fathers again, the Pope observed that on numerous occasions
Jesus was compared with Adam, even to the point of calling Him the "second
Adam", or the definitive Adam, the perfect image of God. With the Incarnation
of the Son of God a
new creation occurs, which gives a complete answer to the question 'who is
man?' ... Only in Jesus is God's plan for human being fully revealed: He is
the definitive man according to God."
"It is important, therefore, that we rediscover our wonder at this mystery,
that we let ourselves be enveloped by the grandeur of this event: God walked
our paths as man. He entered into human history to give us His very life. And
he did this not with
the splendour of a sovereign, subjugating the world with his power, but with
the humility of a child."
"In that child, the Son of God whom we contemplate at Christmastime," Benedict
XVI concluded, "we can recognize the true face of the human being, and only in
opening ourselves to the action of His grace and seeking every day to follow
Him do we carry
out God's plan for us."
___________________________________________________________
Per ulteriori informazioni e per la ricerca di documenti consultare il
sito: www.wisnews.org e www.vatican.va
Il servizio del VIS viene inviato soltanto agli indirizzi di posta
elettronica che ne hanno fatto richiesta. Se per qualunque motivo
non si desidera continuare a riceverlo, si prega di visitare nostra pagina
dinizio:
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/italinde.php
Copyright (VIS): Le notizie contenute nei servizi del Vatican
Information Service possono essere riprodotte parzialmente o totalmente
citando la fonte: V.I.S. - Vatican Information Service.
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VISnews130109
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE YEAR XXIII - N° 6DATE 09-01-2013
Summary: - INCARNATION: GOD ASSUMES HUMAN
CONDITION TO HEAL IT ___________________________________________________________
INCARNATION: GOD ASSUMES HUMAN CONDITION TO HEAL IT
Vatican City, 9 January 2013 (VIS) - Benedict XVI dedicated his Wednesday
catechesis during today's general audience to the meaning of the word
Incarnation, "a term," the Pope said, "that has resounded many times in our
Churches over these past days,
expressing the reality that we celebrate at Christmas: the Son of God become
man, as we say in the Creed."
The Holy Father began by explaining the meaning of this word, which is
central to the Christian faith, starting from the Church Fathers, especially
St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. Irenaeus, who used it when "reflecting on the
Prologue of St. John's
Gospel, particularly in the expression, 'the Word became flesh'. Here the word
'flesh'," the Pope emphasized, "refers to the person in their entirety,
precisely in light of their transcience and temporality, their poverty and
contingency. This tells us
that the salvation wrought by God made flesh in Jesus of Nazareth reaches the
human person in their concrete reality and in whatever situation they may find
themselves. God took on the human condition in order to heal it of everything
that separates it
from Him, in order to allow us to call Him, in his Only Begotten Son, by the
name of 'Abba, Father', and to truly be children of God."
Then the Pope recalled the Christmas tradition of exchanging gifts with
those closest to us. Sometimes this may be a gesture undertaken out of
convention but, generally, it "expresses affection. It is a sign of love and
esteem." This same idea of
giving is at the heart of the liturgy of these feastdays and "it reminds us of
the original gift of Christmas. On that holy night, God, becoming man, wanted
to make himself a gift for humanity ... he took on our humanity in order to
give us His
divinity. This is the great gift. ... In this we find the model of our giving
because our relationships, especially those which are most important, are
guided by generosity and love."
The fact of the Incarnation, of God who makes himself man like us, shows us
"the unprecedented reality of divine love. God's action, in fact, is not
limited to words. Rather, we can say that He is not satisfied with speaking
but immerses himself in
our history and takes upon himself the worry and the weight of human life. ...
God's way of acting is a strong stimulus for us to ask ourselves about the
reality of our faith, which should not be limited to the arena of feeling, of
the emotions, but
must enter into the concrete reality of our existence, must touch, that is,
our everyday life and orient it in a practical way. ... Faith has a
fundamental aspect that affects not only our mind and our heart but all of our
life."
Citing the Church Fathers again, the Pope observed that on numerous
occasions Jesus was compared with Adam, even to the point of calling Him the
"second Adam", or the definitive Adam, the perfect image of God. With the
Incarnation of the Son of God a
new creation occurs, which gives a complete answer to the question 'who is
man?' ... Only in Jesus is God's plan for human being fully revealed: He is
the definitive man according to God."
"It is important, therefore, that we rediscover our wonder at this mystery,
that we let ourselves be enveloped by the grandeur of this event: God walked
our paths as man. He entered into human history to give us His very life. And
he did this not
with the splendour of a sovereign, subjugating the world with his power, but
with the humility of a child."
"In that child, the Son of God whom we contemplate at Christmastime,"
Benedict XVI concluded, "we can recognize the true face of the human being,
and only in opening ourselves to the action of His grace and seeking every day
to follow Him do we carry
out God's plan for us."
Per ulteriori informazioni e per la ricerca di documenti consultare il
sito: www.wisnews.org e www.vatican.va Il servizio del
VIS viene inviato soltanto agli indirizzi di posta elettronica che ne
hanno
fatto richiesta. Se per qualunque motivo non si desidera continuare a
riceverlo, si prega di visitare nostra pagina dinizio: http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vi
/italinde.php
Copyright (VIS): Le notizie contenute nei servizi del Vatican
Information Service possono essere riprodotte parzialmente o totalmente
citando la fonte: V.I.S. - Vatican Information Service.
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