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Pope Benedict XVI- Angelus |
Angelus Message
On St. Paul, Model of Love for Christ
"A Priest Who Was Completely Identified With His Ministry"
H.H. Benedict XVI
June 28, 2009
www.zenit.org
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
With the celebration of First Vespers for the solemnity of Sts.
Peter and Paul, over which I will preside this evening at the
Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the Pauline Year --
proclaimed for the bimillennium of the Apostle of the Gentiles'
birth -- comes to a close. It has truly been a time of grace in
which, through many pilgrimages, catecheses, numerous publications
and other initiatives, the figure of St. Paul was put forward again
in the whole Church, and his vibrant message has revived everywhere,
in Christian communities, a passion for Christ and the Gospel. For
this we give thanks to God for the Pauline Year and for all the
spiritual gifts that it has brought to us.
Divine Providence has arranged that a few days ago another special
year -- the Year for Priests -- was inaugurated on June 19, the
solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, marking the 150th
anniversary of the death -- "dies natalis" [heavenly day of birth]
-- of John Mary Vianney, the holy Curé d'Ars. It is a further
spiritual and pastoral impulse that -- I am certain -- will not fail
to bring many benefits to the Christian people, and especially to
the clergy.
What is the purpose of The Year of Priests? As I wrote in the
related letter that I sent to priests, it is meant to contribute to
the promotion of an interior commitment on the part of all priests
to a more powerful and incisive evangelical witness in the world
today. In this regard, the Apostle Paul constitutes a splendid model
to imitate, not so much in the specifics of his life -- his life
was, in fact, truly unique -- but in his love of Christ, in his zeal
for the proclamation of the Gospel, in his dedication to the
communities, in his elaboration of an effective synthesis of
pastoral theology.
St. Paul is an example of a priest who was completely identified
with his ministry -- just as the holy Curé d'Ars would also be --
conscious of possessing a priceless treasure, that is, the message
of salvation, but in an "earthen vessel" (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:7);
thus he is at the same time strong and humble, intimately persuaded
that everything is God’s doing, everything is grace.
"The love of Christ possesses us," the Apostle writes. This could
well be the motto of every priest -- that the Spirit compels (cf.
Acts 20:22) him to be a faithful steward of the mysteries of God
(cf. 1 Corinthians 4:1-2). The priest must belong totally to Christ
and totally to the Church; to the latter he is called to dedicate
himself with an undivided love, like a faithful husband to his
bride.
Dear friends, together with that of the holy Apostles Peter and
Paul, we call upon the intercession of the Virgin Mary, that she
obtain from the Lord abundant blessings for priests during this Year
for Priests, which has just begun.
May the Madonna, whom St. John Mary Vianney loved and made his
parishioners love, help every priest to revive the gift of God that
is in him by virtue of his holy Ordination, so that he grow in
sanctity and be ready to bear witness, even to the point of
martyrdom, to the beauty of his total and definitive consecration to
Christ and the Church.
© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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