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Pope Benedict XVI- Angelus |
Angelus Message
On Giving and Receiving
"We Must be People Who Give, Because We are People Who Receive"
H.H. Benedict XVI
August 3, 2008
www.zenit.org
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
A cordial welcome to you all! I would first like to say a word of
profound thanks to you, dear Bishop Egger: you have made possible
here this celebration of faith. You have ensured that once again I
could, as it were, return to my past and at the same time advance
into my future; and once again spend my vacation in beautiful
Bressanone, this land where art and culture and the goodness of the
people are interconnected: a heartfelt "thank you" for all of this!
And of course, I thank all who, together with you, have contributed
to ensuring that I could spend peaceful and serene days here: my
thanks to all those who shared in the organization of this
celebration! I cordially thank all the Authorities of the City, of
the Region and of the State, for all they have done by way of
organization, the volunteers who are offering their help, the
doctors, so many people who have been necessary, especially the
Police Force; I am grateful for everyone's collaboration... I am
sure I have left out many people! May the Lord reward you all for
it: you are all in my prayers. This is the only way in which I can
thank you. And, naturally, above all let us thank the good Lord who
has given us this earth and has also given us this Sunday bathed in
sunshine. Thus we arrive at the Liturgy of the day. The first
Reading reminds us that the greatest things in this life of ours can
neither be purchased nor paid for because the most important and
elementary things in our life can only be given: the sun and its
light, the air that we breathe, water, the earth's beauty, love,
friendship, life itself. We cannot buy any of these essential and
central goods but they are given to us. The Second Reading then adds
that this means they are also things that no one can take from us,
of which no dictatorship, no destructive force can rob us. Being
loved by God who knows and loves each one of us in Christ; no one
can take this away and, while we have this, we are not poor but
rich. The Gospel adds a third consideration. If we receive such
great gifts from God, we in turn must give them: in a spiritual
context giving kindness, friendship and love, but also in a material
context - the Gospel speaks of the multiplication of the loaves.
These two things must penetrate our souls today: we must be people
who give, because we are people who receive; we must pass on to
others the gifts of goodness and love and friendship, but at the
same time we must also give material gifts to all who have need of
us, whom we can help, and thus seek to make the earth more human,
that is, closer to God.
Now, dear friends, I ask you to join me in a devout and filial
commemoration of the Servant of God, Pope Paul VI, the 30th
anniversary of whose death we shall be celebrating in a few days.
Indeed, he gave up his spirit to God on the evening of 6 August
1978, the evening of the Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus, a
mystery of divine light that always exercised a remarkable
fascination upon his soul. As Supreme Pastor of the Church, Paul VI
guided the People of God to contemplation of the Face of Christ, the
Redeemer of man and Lord of history. And it was precisely this
loving orientation of his mind and heart toward Christ that served
as a cornerstone of the Second Vatican Council, a fundamental
attitude that my venerable Predecessor John Paul II inherited and
relaunched during the great Jubilee of the Year 2000. At the centre
of everything, always and only Christ: at the centre of the Sacred
Scriptures and of Tradition, in the heart of the Church, of the
world and of the entire universe. Divine Providence summoned
Giovanni Battista Montini from the See of Milan to that of Rome
during the most sensitive moment of the Council - when there was a
risk that Blessed John XXIII's intuition might not materialize. How
can we fail to thank the Lord for his fruitful and courageous
pastoral action? As our gaze on the past grows gradually broader and
more aware, Paul VI's merit in presiding over the Council Sessions,
in bringing it successfully to conclusion and in governing the
eventful post-conciliar period appears ever greater, I should say
almost superhuman. We can truly say, with the Apostle Paul, that the
grace of God in him "was not in vain" (cf. 1 Cor 15: 10): it made
the most of his outstanding gifts of intelligence and passionate
love for the Church and for humankind. As we thank God for the gift
of this great Pope, let us commit ourselves to treasure his
teachings.
In the last period of the Council, Paul VI wanted to pay a special
tribute to the Mother of God and solemnly proclaimed her "Mother of
the Church". Let us now address the prayer of the Angelus to her,
the Mother of Christ, the Mother of the Church, our Mother.
After the Angelus:
Dear Friends,
Next Friday, 8 August, the 29th Olympic Games will begin in Beijing.
I am pleased to address to the host Country, to the organizers and
to the participants, and first of all to the athletes, my cordial
greeting and the hope that each one may give of his or her best in
the genuine Olympic spirit. I am following with deep interest this
great sports event - the most important and anticipated in the world
- and I warmly hope that it will offer the international community
an effective example of coexistence among people of the most
different provenances, with respect for their common dignity. May
sports once again be a pledge of brotherhood and peace among
peoples!
I offer a warm welcome to the English-speaking visitors united with
us here in Bressanone for this Angelus prayer. Wednesday, the feast
of the Lord’s Transfiguration, marks the thirtieth anniversary of
the death of Pope Paul VI. As we recall this great Pontiff who
concluded the Second Vatican Council and guided the first phase of
the post-conciliar renewal, let us give thanks for his wise
teaching, his passionate love of the Church, and his desire to draw
all people to the contemplation of Christ’s glory. Dear friends,
during these summer holidays, may you grow closer to the Lord in
prayer, and may he shed the light of his face upon you and your
families!
I wish you all a good Sunday, a good week and good holidays - please
God! My thanks again to you all!
© Copyright 2008 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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