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Pope Benedict XVI- Angelus |
Angelus Message
On the Primacy of the Chair of Peter
"Called to Perform a Special Service"
H.H. Benedict XVI
February 22, 2009
www.zenit.org
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
The Gospel passage that today's Sunday liturgy offers for our
meditation is the one in which the paralytic is forgiven and healed
(Mark 2:1-12). While Jesus was preaching, among the many sick people
who were brought to him, a paralytic was brought to him on a mat.
Seeing him, the Lord said: "Son, your sins are forgiven you" (Mark
2:5). And because some of those present were scandalized on hearing
these words, he added: "'So that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority to forgive sins on earth' -- he said to the paralytic,
'I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home'" (Mark 2:10-11).
And the paralytic went away healed. This Gospel episode shows that
Jesus has the power not only to heal the sick body but also to
forgive sins; and indeed, the physical healing is a sign of the
spiritual healing that his forgiveness produces. In effect, sin is a
kind of paralysis of the spirit, from which only the power of the
merciful love of God can liberate us, allowing us to pick ourselves
up and set out again along the path of goodness.
This Sunday is also the feast of the Chair of Peter, an important
liturgical feast that highlights the office of the successor of the
Prince of the Apostles. The chair of Peter symbolizes the authority
of the Bishop of Rome, who is called to perform a special service
for the whole People of God. Immediately after the martyrdom of St.
Peter and St. Paul, the primacy of the Church of Rome in the
Catholic community was recognized. This role was already attested to
in the 2nd century by St. Ignatius of Antioch (Letter to the Romans,
Pref.: Funk, I, 252) and by St. Irenaeus of Lyons (Contra Haereses,
III, 3, 2-3). This singular and specific ministry of the Bishop of
Rome was stressed again by the Second Vatican Council. "Moreover,
within the Church," we read in the Dogmatic Constitution on the
Church, "particular Churches hold a rightful place; these Churches
retain their own traditions, without in any way opposing the primacy
of the Chair of Peter, which presides over the whole assembly of
charity (cf. St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Romans, Pref.)
and protects legitimate differences, while at the same time assuring
that such differences do not hinder unity but rather contribute
toward it" (Lumen Gentium, 13).
Dear brothers and sister, this feast provides me with the occasion
to ask you to accompany me with your prayers, so that I may
faithfully carry out this great task, entrusted to me by Providence,
as successor to the Apostle Peter. We invoke the Virgin Mary, whom
we celebrated yesterday, here in Rome, under the title of Our Lady
of Confidence. We ask her to help us to enter into the Lenten season
-- which will begin on Wednesday with the evocative Rite of Ashes --
with devout dispositions of soul. May Mary open our hearts to
conversion and to a docile listening to the Word of God.
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
[The Pope then greeted the people in several languages. In English,
he said:]
I am pleased to greet all the English-speaking pilgrims gathered for
this Angelus. In today's liturgy, we witness Jesus healing the
paralytic lowered to him through the roof because of a large crowd.
This passage reminds us that the Lord has power to forgive sins, and
that nothing stands in the way of his mercy when we seek him with
pure and contrite hearts! Let us never hesitate to ask his pardon -
especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation - so that we may
become better instruments of his love for others. God bless you all!
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