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Pope Benedict XVI- Angelus |
Angelus Message
On Marriage and Virginity
"Intimately Connected and Mutually Illuminate Each Other"
H.H. Benedict XVI
August 30, 2009
www.zenit.org
Dear
Brothers and Sisters!
3 days ago, Aug. 27, we celebrated the liturgical memorial of St.
Monica, mother of St. Augustine. She is considered the model and
patroness of Christian mothers. Her son furnishes us with
information about her in his autobiographical book, "The
Confessions," a masterpiece and among the most read books of all
time. Here we see that Augustine drinks in the name of Jesus with
his mother's milk, and was educated by her in the Christian
religion, whose principles would remain with him even in the years
when he had hit bottom spiritually and morally.
Monica never ceases to pray for him and for his conversion, and had
the consolation of seeing him return to the faith and receive
baptism. God heard the prayers of this saintly mother, to whom the
Bishop of Tagaste had said: "It is impossible that the son of so
many tears will be lost." In fact, Augustine not only converted, but
decided to embrace the monastic life and, returning to Africa, found
a community of monks. The last conversations between him and his
mother at a house in Ostia, while he was waiting to embark for
Africa, are moving and edifying.
By this time St. Monica had become for this son of hers "more than a
mother, the source of his Christianity." For years her only desire
had been Augustine's conversion, whom she now indeed saw oriented
toward a life of consecration to the service of God. She could thus
die content, and in fact she passed away on Aug. 27, 387, at 56,
after having asked her children not to be too concerned about where
to bury her, but to remember her at the altar of the Lord wherever
they found themselves. St. Augustine repeated that his mother "gave
birth to him twice."
The history of Christianity is spangled with the countless examples
of saints and authentic Christian families, who accompanied the life
of generous priests and pastors of the Church. One thinks of St.
Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, both from families of
saints. We think -- much closer to us -- of Luigi Beltrame
Quattrocchi and Maria Corsini, a married couple, who lived between
the end of the 19th century and the middle of the 20th, and who were
beatified by my venerable predecessor John Paul II in October of
2001, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the apostolic
exhortation "Familiaris Consortio." This document, besides
illustrating the value of matrimony and the tasks of the family,
calls the spouses to a special commitment on the path to sanctity
that, drawing grace and strength from the sacrament of marriage,
accompanies them their whole life (cf. No. 56).
When the husband and wife generously dedicate themselves to the
education of their children, guiding and orienting them in the
discovery of God's design of life, they are preparing that fertile
spiritual soil from which vocations to the priesthood and the
consecrated life grow and mature. In this way one sees how matrimony
and virginity are intimately connected and mutually illuminate each
other, beginning with their common rootedness in Christ's spousal
love.
Dear brothers and sisters, in this Year for Priests, we pray that,
"through the intercession of the holy Curé d'Ars, Christian families
become little churches, in which all the Christian vocations and all
charisms, given by the Holy Spirit, can be welcomed and valued"
(from the Prayer for the Year for Priests). May the Holy Virgin,
whom we now invoke together, obtain this grace for us.
[After the Angelus, the Holy Father greeted the people in several
languages. In Italian, he said:]
On Tuesday, September 1, the Day for the Protection of Creation will
be celebrated in Italy. It is a significant event, even of
ecumenical importance, that has as its theme this year "air," an
indispensable element for life. As I did in last Wednesday’s general
audience, I call everyone to a greater commitment to the
safeguarding of creation, gift of God. In particular, I encourage
the industrialized countries to cooperate responsibly for the future
of the planet, and that the poorest populations not pay the greatest
price for climactic changes.
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
[In English, the Holy Father said:]
I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors at this
Angelus including the first year seminarians from the Pontifical
North American College. May your time here at Castel Gandolfo and in
Rome deepen your integral understanding of our faith and strengthen
in you the desire to be consistent in word and deed, following the
heart and mind of our Lord. Upon each of you present and your
families, I invoke God’s blessing of peace and joy!
© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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