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Pope Benedict XVI- Angelus |
Angelus Message
On the Economic Crisis and Cultural Values
"Providence Always Helps Those Who Do Good"
H.H. Benedict XVI
July 19, 2009
www.zenit.org
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
I have come with great joy to your beautiful city, to your beautiful
church, the native city of my chief colleague, Cardinal Tarcisio
Bertone, secretary of state, with whom I had already worked for many
years in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
As you see, because of my accident, I am a bit limited in my
movements, but my heart is fully present, and I am here with you
with great joy!
At this moment I would like to say thank you with my whole heart to
everyone: many have shown me, at this time, their closeness, their
warmth, their affection and have prayed for me, and in this way they
have reinforced the network of prayer that unites us in every part
of the world.
First of all, I would like to say thank you to the doctors and the
medical personnel of Aosta who have treated me with such diligence,
with such competence and friendship and -- as you see -- with
success -- we hope!
I would also like to say thank you to all the government and Church
officials and to all the simple people who wrote me or showed me
their affection and their closeness.
I would then like above all to greet your bishop, Bishop Arrigo
Miglio, and thank him for the kind words, full of friendship, that
also taught me a little about the historical and present situation
of this city of yours. And I would also like to thank his Excellency
Luigi Betazzi for his presence. I greet the mayor, who gave me a
beautiful gift, [and] the civil and military authorities; I greet
the pastor and the other priests, the men and women religious, the
heads of the ecclesiastical associations and movements and all of
the citizenry, with a special thought for the children, the young
people, the families, the sick, the persons in need. To all and to
each my most lively gratitude goes out for the welcome that you have
reserved for me in this brief sojourn with you.
This morning you celebrated the Eucharist and Cardinal Tarcisio
Bertone has certainly already explained the Word of God to you,
which the liturgy offers for our meditation on this 16th Sunday of
Ordinary Time. As the Lord invites the disciples to come away to
listen to him in a more intimate setting, I also would like to be
engaged with you, recalling that precisely listening to and
welcoming the Gospel is what brought your local community about,
whose name recalls the relationship of two millennia that the
Canavese have with Rome. As his Excellency said, your land was
bathed in the blood of martyrs at an early date. Among them was St.
Solutore -- I must confess that until now I did not know his name
but I am always grateful to discover new saint intercessors! -- and
together with St. Peter the Apostle, he is the patron of your
church.
Your imposing parish church is an eloquent witness to a long history
of faith. This church dominates a large part of the Canavese
landscape, whose inhabitants are known for their love and attachment
to work. Presently, however, I know that here too, in Ivrea, many
families are experiencing a difficult economic situation because of
the scarcity of jobs. In regard to this problem -- as his Excellency
also recalled -- I have spoken many times and I wanted to treat it
more deeply in my recent encyclical "Caritas in Veritate." I hope
that it will be able to mobilize forces to renew the world!
Dear friends, do not be discouraged! Providence always helps those
who do good and dedicate themselves to justice; it helps those who
do not think only of themselves but of those who are worse off. And
you know this well, because your grandparents had to emigrate
because there was a lack of work, but then economic development
brought well-being and others immigrated here from [other parts of]
Italy and from foreign countries. The fundamental values of the
family and respect for human life, sensibility for social justice,
the capacity to endure toil and sacrifice, the strong link to
Christian faith through parish life and especially through
participation at Holy Mass, have been your strength over the
centuries. These same values will permit today's generations to
build their future with hope, giving life to a true solidarity and a
fraternal society, in which all the various spheres, institutions
and economy are permeated by an evangelical spirit.
I address the young people in a special way, who must think about
education. Here, as everywhere, you must ask what sort of culture is
emerging around you; what examples and models are proposed to you,
and you must determine whether they are such as to encourage you to
follow the ways of the Gospel and authentic freedom. Youth is full
of resources, but it must be helped to overcome the temptation of
easy and illusory ways, to find the road of true and abundant life.
Dear brothers and sisters! In this land of yours, rich in Christian
traditions and human values, numerous vocations have flourished
among men and women, especially for the Salesian family, like that
of Cardinal Bertone, who was born in this very parish of yours, was
baptized in this church, and grew up in a family where he
assimilated a genuine faith. Your diocese owes much to the sons and
daughters of Don Bosco, to their widespread and fruitful presence in
this whole area from the time when the holy founder was still alive.
May this be a further encouragement to your diocesan community to
commit itself more and more to the field of education and vocational
accompaniment. For this let us invoke the protection of Mary, the
Virgin Assumed, Patroness of the Diocese, Help of Christians, a
mother loved and venerated in a special way in numerous shrines
dedicated to her among the mountains of the Gran Paradiso and on the
plain of the Po. May her maternal presence show the way of hope to
all and lead them along it as the star led the Magi. May the Madonna
of the Star watch over all you from the hill that dominates Ivrea,
Monte Stella, which is dedicated to her and to the Magi Kings. Let
us now entrust ourselves to the Madonna with filial confidence,
invoking her with the prayer of the Angelus.
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
Look
at the One they Pierced!
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary
