to suffer with human beings, to be penitent along with us. This is God's plan
that Jesus wants to
accomplish: the divine mission of healing the wounded and tending the sick, of
taking upon himself the sin of the world."
Afterwards he explained that, at the moment that Jesus lets himself be
baptised by John, "the heavens open and the Holy Spirit is visibly manifest in
the form of a dove while a voice from above expresses the Father's pleasure,
recognizing His Son,
the Only Begotten, the Beloved. … Thus the prophecy of Isaiah is
fulfilled … the Lord God comes with power to destroy the works of sin
and his arm exercises dominion to disarm the Evil One. However, we realize
that this arm is the arm
extended on the cross and that the power of Christ is the power of He who
suffers for us. This is the power of God, which is different from the world's
power. This is how God comes, with the power to destroy sin."
Through Baptism, the children baptised today "will be united profoundly and
for all time with Jesus, immersed in the mystery of His power … in the
mystery of his death, which is the source of life, in order to participate in
His resurrection,
to be reborn to new life … The heavens have also opened over your
children and God says: these are my children with whom I am well pleased.
Included in this relationship and freed from original sin they become living
members of the one body that
is the Church and become capable of fully living their call to holiness so
that they might inherit the eternal life obtained for us through Jesus'
resurrection."
Addressing the parents who had asked for Baptism for their children, the
Holy Father highlighted that they show their "faith, the joy of being
Christians and of belonging to the Church. It is a joy that springs from the
awareness of having received a
great gift from God: faith, a gift that none of us could have merited but
which has been freely given to us and to which we have responded with our
'yes'. ... The path of faith that begins today for these children is based,
therefore, on a certainty, on
the experience that there is nothing greater than knowing Christ and
communicating friendship with Him to others. Only in this friendship are the
great potentialities of the human condition truly revealed and what is
beautiful and liberating can be
experienced."
He reminded the godparents that to them falls "the important duty of
sustaining and helping the parents in their task of educating. … May
you always know how to set a good example for them through exercising the
Christian virtues. It is not
easy to openly and uncompromisingly express that which you believe in,
especially in the climate we are living in, faced with a society that often
considers those who live their faith in Jesus as old-fashioned and out of
date. In the wake of this
mentality, even Christians run the risk of seeing their relationship with
Jesus as limiting, as something that inhibits self-realization. … But
that is not so! It is precisely through proceeding along the path of faith
that we come to understand
how Jesus exercises the liberating activity of God's love in us, which allows
us to overcome our selfishness …. in order to lead us to a full life in
communion with God and openness to others. 'God is love, and
whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.' These words from the
First Letter of John express with remarkable clarity the heart of the
Christian faith: the Christian image of God as well as the resulting image of
mankind and its path."
"The water with which these children will be baptised in the name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, will immerse them in the 'source' of
life that is God himself and will make them into His children. The seed of the
theological virtues,
inspired by God?faith, hope, and love?the seed that is today planted in their
hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit, must always be nourished with the Word
of God and the Sacraments, so that these Christian virtues might grow and
arrive at their full
maturity, until they make of each one of these a true witness of the Lord," he
concluded.
___________________________________________________________
BEING A CHRISTIAN MEANS CHOOSING PATH OF RESPONSIBILITY
Vatican City, 13 January 2013 (VIS) – At noon today, the first Sunday
after Epiphany, which concludes the liturgical season of Christmas, Benedict
XVI appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with the faithful
gathered in St.
Peter's Square.
"Today we celebrate," the Pope said, "the feast of the Baptism of Jesus.
That child?born of the Virgin, whom we contemplated in the mystery of his
birth?we see as an adult, immersing himself in the waters of the River Jordan
and thus sanctifying all
waters and the entire world, as an Eastern tradition affirms. But why did
Jesus, who had not the shadow of sin, go to be baptised by the prophet John?
Why did he want to undertake this gesture of penitence and conversion together
with so many others who
wanted to prepare for the coming of the Messiah? This gesture that marks the
beginning of Christ's public life, as all the evangelists testify, is part of
the same line of the Incarnation, of God's descent from the highest heaven to
the abyss of hell.
The meaning of this divine abasement is summed up in a single word: love,
which is the very name of God."
Jesus who is baptised in the River Jordan is 'the new man who wants to live
as a child of God, that is, in love; he is the one who, faced with the evils
of the world, chooses the path of humility and responsibility, chooses not to
save himself, but
instead to offer his life for truth and justice. Being a Christian means
living this way, but this way of life bears with it a rebirth: being reborn
from above, from God, from Grace. This rebirth is the Baptism that Christ gave
the Church to renew
persons to new life."
The Holy Father, recalling that this morning he had baptised several
children in the Sistine Chapel, wanted to extend his blessing and prayers "to
all newborns. Above all I would like to invite us all to recall our own
Baptism, that spiritual rebirth
that opened the path of eternal life to us. May every Christians, in this Year
of Faith, discover anew the beauty of being reborn from above, from the love
of God, and live as a true child of God."
___________________________________________________________
IMMIGRANTS ARE BEARERS OF FAITH AND HOPE
Vatican City, 14 January 2013 (VIS) – After praying the Angelus, the
Pope recalled that today marks the World Day of Migrants and Refugees and, in
his annual message for the occasion, compared immigration to "a pilgrimage of
faith and hope".
"Those who leave their lands," he emphasized, "do so because they hope for
a better future, but also because they trust in God who guides the steps of
the human being, as He did with Abraham. In this way immigrants are bearers of
faith and hope to
the world. Today I greet each one of them with a special prayer and
blessing."
In his greetings in French, the Pope repeated this theme, expressing the
desire that immigrants and their families, wherever they gather, "be welcomed
and assisted so that they might have a dignified existence. Like Jesus," he
urged, "we must be near
to those who suffer and who have no voice of their own to make themselves
heard."
___________________________________________________________
POPE RECEIVES PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF MONACO
Vatican City, 12 January 2013 (VIS) - This morning in the Apostolic Palace
of the Vatican, the Holy Father received in audience His Serene Highness
Prince Albert II of Monaco along with his wife, Princess Charlene, and
entourage. Following the
audience with the Pope, the prince met with Cardinal Secretary of State
Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for
Relations with States.
During the course of cordial discussions several topics were covered
including the meaningful contribution of the Catholic Church to the
principality’s social life and international interests such as the
integral development of peoples and the
protection of natural resources and the environment.
___________________________________________________________
CARDINAL BERTONE: DIVINE WISDOM FOR THE DELICATE AND SERIOUS TASK OF
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
Vatican City, 12 January 2013 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio
Bertone, S.D.B., celebrated Mass this morning in the Chapel of Mary Mother of
the Family in the Governorate Palace of the Vatican to inaugurate the 84th
judicial year of the
Tribunal of the Vatican City State.
"We would like to invoke Divine Wisdom," the cardinal said, "for the
delicate and serious task of administrating justice." He then greeted, among
others, the President of the Tribunal, Giuseppe Dalla Torre, the judges, the
promoter of justice, and
the various workers in the administrative office, relaying to them "blessed
greetings from the Holy Father who follows your appreciated labour with
attentive interest."
Commenting on the Gospel reading that focused on St. John the Baptist, the
Secretary of State emphasized that the prophet's example and witness are "a
summons to believers so that they may set aside attention-seeking, their
wanting to be seen, thus
reducing their own ego so that the love for Jesus might grow in each of us and
in others. He is the Way the, Truth, and the Life. This attitude requires
humility of heart, which is a gift from God that we must unceasingly ask for
in prayer. This is why
the John the Apostle, whom we listened to in the First Reading, …
recommends confident prayer to the Father who, if the one who asks is ready to
do His will, will grant their request. We also ask and pray for our brothers
and sisters, so that
they might not remain obstinately in evil and thus refuse conversion. Mutual
prayer acquires the value of an exquisite act of charity. St. Paul also
recommends several times that we pray for one other and Jesus prays that
Peter, after repenting, might confirm the faith of the other apostles."
"In this Mass our prayer community turns to the Lord so that each of us
might carry out our service in the administration of justice toward our unique
community of the Vatican City State with humility and in truth. I wish all of
you who are
participating in the inauguration of the judicial year in various ways, to be
able to grow in the awareness that harmony, justice, and peace are not fully
achievable without dedication to God and acceptance of His grace. Each of us
is also invited to an
informed openness to the Transcendent, which the Holy Father recommended to
the members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See a few days ago.
He affirmed that without such an openness, 'humans easily fall pray to
relativism and thus find it
difficult to act justly or to commit themselves to peace'," the cardinal
concluded.
___________________________________________________________
POPE RECEIVES CORPS OF VATICAN GENDARMERIE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT
Vatican City, 11 January 2013 (VIS) - This afternoon, the Holy Father
received the Corps of the Gendarmerie and the Fire Department of the Vatican
City Sate in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican palace. After a greeting
offered by Commander Domenico
Giani, director of Security Services and Civil Protection, Benedict XVI
addressed those gathered.
“This occasion,” said the Pope, “gives me the opportunity
to express to you … my appreciation, my heartfelt encouragement, and
mostly my deep gratitude for the generous work you carry out discretely,
competently, efficiently,
and not without sacrifice. Almost every day I have the opportunity to meet
some of you in your various places of work and to personally witness your
professionalism in collaborating on and guaranteeing the Pope’s
surveillance as well as the
necessary safety and order of those who reside in the state and those who take
part in the celebrations and events that take place in the Vatican.”
“The Corps of the Gendarmerie is called to carry out, among other
tasks, that of courteously and kindly greeting the Vatican’s pilgrims
and visitors who come from Rome, Italy, and every part of the world. This
labour of vigilance and
control, which you conduct with diligence and care, is certainly substantial
and delicate. At times it requires more than a little patience, perseverance,
and willingness to listen. It is a very useful service to the tranquil and
safe conduct of daily
life and of the religious events of Vatican City.”
The Pope urged the gendarmes and firefighters to see on each pilgrim and
visitor “the face of a brother or sister whom God has placed on your
path” and to therefore “to welcome them with courtesy and assist
them knowing that they
are part of the great human family. Your task,” he emphasized,
“will be more efficient for the Holy See and more enriching for you the
more that it is undertaken with serenity and harmony. To that end it is
necessary that the gendarmes, who
for a long time have guaranteed their service within the Corps, and those
responsible for their mandate establish, ever more fully, trusting
relationships that can sustain and nourish all the members of the Vatican's
Gendarmerie, even in difficult
moments."
"May your unique presence at the heart of Christianity, where crowds and
faithful constantly gather to meet the successor of Peter and to visit the
tombs of the Apostles, always arouse in each of you the task of intensifying
the spiritual dimension
of life as well as the commitment to deepen your Christian faith, bearing
courageous witness to it in each area of life with coherent conduct," the Holy
Father concluded.
___________________________________________________________
AUDIENCES
Vatican City, 14 January 2013 (VIS) – On Saturday, the Holy Father
received in audience Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the
Congregation for Bishops.
This morning, the Holy Father received in separate audiences:
Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the
Evangelisation of Peoples,
six prelates from the Abruzzo-Molise region of the Italian Episcopal
Conference, on their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop Giancarlo Maria Bregantini, C.S.S., of Campobasso-Boiano;
- Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto;
- Archbishop Emidio Cipollone of Lanciano-Ortona;
- Bishop Domenico Angelo Scotti of Trivento;
- Bishop Gianfranco De Luca of Termoli-Larino; and
- Bishop Salvatore Visco of Isernia-Venafro.
___________________________________________________________
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 12 January 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father:
- appointed Bishop Julio Parrilla Diaz as bishop of Riobamba (area 7,014,
population 517,000, Catholics 405,000, priests 79, permanent deacons 7,
religious 218), Ecuador. Bishop Parrilla Diaz, previously bishop of Loja,
Ecuador, was born in Orense,
Spain in 1946, ordained a priest in 1975, and received episcopal ordination in
2008. In the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference he currently serves as president
of the Caritas Pastoral Social Commission.
- appointed Bishop Daniel Kozelinski Netto as apostolic visitor to the
faithful Byzantine Rite Ukrainians resident in Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, and
Venezuela. Bishop Kozelinski Netto is also titular of Eminentiana, apostolic
administrator of Santa
María del Patrocinio en Buenos Aires of the Ukrainians, Argentina, and
auxiliary of the eparchy of Sao Joao Batista em Curitiba of the Ukrainians,
Brazil.
___________________________________________________________
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