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Pope Benedict XVI- Angelus |
Angelus Message
On the Angelus
"Allows Us to Relive the Decisive Moment When God Knocked at Mary's
Heart"
H.H. Benedict XVI
December 21, 2008
www.zenit.org
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This Sunday's Gospel presents to us once again the account of the
Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38), the mystery to which we return every
day in reciting the Angelus. This prayer allows us to relive the
decisive moment when God knocked at Mary's heart and, having
received her "yes," began to take flesh in her and from her. The
collect prayer of today's Mass is the same prayer that is recited at
the end of the Angelus: "Lord, fill our hearts with your love, and
as you revealed to us by an angel the coming of your Son as man, so
lead through his suffering and death to the glory of his
resurrection." With the feast of Christmas just a few days away, we
are invited to fix our gaze upon the ineffable mystery that Mary
carried for nine months in her virginal womb: the mystery of God who
becomes man. This is the first hinge of Redemption. The second is
Jesus' death and resurrection, and these two inseparable hinges
manifest a single divine plan: to save humanity and its history,
assuming it to the very end by completely taking on all the evil
that oppresses it.
Beyond the historical dimension of this mystery of salvation, there
is a cosmic dimension: Christ is the sun of grace who, with his
light, "transfigures and inflames the universe with expectation"
(Liturgy). The time of the Christmas feast is linked with the winter
solstice, when the days of the northern hemisphere begin to get
longer again. In this connection, perhaps not many people know that
St. Peter's Square is a meridian: the great obelisk, in fact, casts
its shadow upon a line that runs along the pavement toward the
fountain below this window, and in these days the shadow is the
longest of the year. This reminds us of the function of astronomy in
marking the times of prayer. The Angelus, for example, is recited in
the morning, at noon and in the evening. The meridian, which in the
past served for helping one to know " true noon," was the standard
for clocks.
The fact that the winter solstice occurs precisely today, Dec. 21,
at this exact hour, gives me the opportunity to greet all those who
are participating in various ways in the events of the International
Year of Astronomy, 2009, marking the 4th centenary of Galileo
Galilee's first observations with his telescope. There have been
practitioners of this science among my predecessors of venerable
memory, such as Sylvester II, who taught it, Gregory XIII, to whom
we owe our calendar, and St. Pius X, who knew how to build solar
clocks. If the heavens, according to the beautiful words of the
psalmist, " narrate the glory of God" (Psalm 19 [18], 2), even the
laws of nature, which in the course of centuries many men and women
of science have helped us to understand better, are a great stimulus
to contemplating the works of the Lord with gratitude.
Let us return now to contemplating of Mary and Jesus, who await the
birth of Jesus, and learn from them the secret of recollection for
tasting the joy of Christmas. Let us prepare to welcome with faith
the Redeemer who comes to be with us, the Word of God's love for
humanity of every age.
[After praying the Angelus, the Holy Father greeted the crowds in
several languages. In Italian, he said:]
I am happy to greet the [49] new priests of the Legionaries of
Christ, who received ordination at the hands of Cardinal Angelo
Sodano yesterday at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. Dear
friends, may the love of Christ that moved St. Paul in his mission
always animate your ministry. I bless you and your loved ones from
my heart!
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
[In Italian, he said:]
I am pleased to greet all the English-speaking pilgrims gathered for
this Angelus. In today's liturgy, we recall how the Virgin Mary was
invited by the Angel to conceive the one in whom the fullness of
divinity would dwell: Jesus, the " Son of the Most High". As we
prepare to celebrate his birth, let us not be afraid to say " Yes"
to the Lord, so that we may join Our Lady in singing his goodness
forever. May God bless all of you!
© Copyright 2008 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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