Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
The liturgical commemorations of several Saints occurs in
these days. Yesterday we commemorated St Ignatius of Loyola,
the Founder of the Society of Jesus. He lived in the 16th
century and was converted after reading the life of Jesus
and the Saints, during a long convalescence, while
recovering from a wound received in battle. He was so
impressed by one of the passages he read that he decided to
follow the Lord. Today we are commemorating St Alphonsus
Mary Liguori, the Founder of the Redemptorists, who lived in
the 17th century and was proclaimed Patron of confessors by
Venerable Pius XII. He was aware that God wants everyone to
be holy, each one in accordance with his own state, of
course.
Then this week the liturgy proposes St Eusebius, the first
Bishop of Piedmont, a strenuous defender of Christ's
divinity, and, lastly, the figure of St John Mary Vianney,
the Curé d'Ars, who guided the Year for Priests that has
just ended with his example and to whose intercession I once
again entrust all the Pastors of the Church. A common
commitment of these Saints was to save souls and to serve
the Church with their respective charisms, contributing to
renew and enrich her. These men acquired "a heart of wisdom"
(Ps 90 [89]: 12), setting store by what is incorruptible and
discarding what is irremediably changeable in time: power,
riches and transient pleasures. By choosing God they
possessed everything they needed, with a foretaste of
eternity even in life on earth (cf. Eccles 1-5).
In this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus' teaching concerns,
precisely, true wisdom and is introduced by one of the
crowd: "Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with
me" (Lk 12: 13). In answering, Jesus puts him on guard
against those who are influenced by the desire for earthly
goods with the Parable of the Rich Fool who having put away
for himself an abundant harvest stops working, uses up all
he possesses, enjoying himself and even deceives himself
into thinking he can keep death at an arm's length. However
God says to him "Fool! This night your soul is required of
you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?"
(Lk 12: 20). The fool in the Bible, the one who does not
want to learn from the experience of visible things, that
nothing lasts for ever but that all things pass away, youth
and physical strength, amenities and important roles. Making
one's life depend on such an ephemeral reality is therefore
foolishness. The person who trusts in the Lord, on the other
hand, does not fear the adversities of life, nor the
inevitable reality of death: he is the person who has
acquired a wise heart, like the Saints.
In addressing our prayer to Mary Most Holy, I would like to
remember other important occasions: tomorrow it will be
possible to profit from the Indulgence known as the
Portiuncola Indulgence or the "Pardon of Assisi" that St
Francis obtained in 1216 from Pope Honorius III; Thursday, 5
August, in commemorating the Dedication of the Basilica of
St Mary Major, we will honour the Mother of God, acclaimed
with this title at the Council of Ephesus in 431, and next
Friday, the anniversary of Pope Paul VI's death, we will
celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration. The date of 6
August, seen as crowned by summer light, was chosen to mean
that the splendour of Christ's Face illuminates the whole
world.
After the Angelus:
I would like to express my deep pleasure at the entry into
force, on this very day, of the Convention on cluster bombs
that cause unacceptable damage to civilians. My first
thought goes to the many victims who have suffered and
continue to suffer serious physical and moral damage, even
to the point of losing their lives, because of these
insidious explosive devices whose presence on earth often
causes long delays in the resumption of their daily
activities by entire communities. With the entry into force
of the new Convention to which I urge all States to adhere,
the International Community has been proof of wisdom,
farsightedness and skill in pursuing an important result in
the field of disarmament and international human rights. My
hope and encouragement is that we may continue with ever
greater vigour on this path, for the defence of dignity and
human life, for the promotion of integral human development,
for the establishment of a peaceful international order and
for the realization of the common good of all people and all
peoples.
* * *
I am very pleased to greet all the English-speaking pilgrims
present, especially those of you who have come from Canada
and Australia. In the Gospel of today's Mass, our Lord
teaches us to store up treasure for ourselves, not on earth,
but in heaven. By God's grace, then, let us seek to grow in
faith and good works. In this sense, I willingly invoke upon
all of you God's abundant blessings!
Thank you for coming. I wish you all a good Sunday!
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