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Pope Benedict XVI- Angelus |
Regina Caeli Message
On St. Benedict's Example and the Church in China
H.H. Benedict XVI
May 24, 2009
www.zenit.org
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Every time we celebrate Holy Mass, we hear echo in our heart the
words that Jesus left with his disciples at the Last Supper as a
precious gift: "Peace I leave you, my peace I give you" (John
14:27). How much the Christian community and the whole of humanity
need to taste completely the riches and the power of Christ's peace!
St. Benedict was a great witness, because he welcomed it in his
existence and fructified it in works of authentic cultural and
spiritual renewal. "Pax" ("Peace") is posted as a motto at the
entrance to the Abbey of Monte Cassino and every other Benedictine
monastery: the monastic community in fact is called to live
according to this peace, which is the paschal gift par excellence.
As you know, in my recent trip to the Holy Land, I went as a pilgrim
of peace, and today -- in this land marked by the Benedictine
charism -- I have the opportunity to emphasize, once again, that
peace is in the first place a gift of God, and therefore its power
is in prayer.
It is a gift given, however, to human care. Even the energy that is
needed to actualize it is drawn from prayer. So, it is essential to
cultivate an authentic prayer life to assure the social progress of
peace. Once again the history of monasticism teaches us that a great
growth in civilization is prepared by daily listening to the Word of
God, which moves believers to a personal and communal effort in the
struggle against egoism and injustice. Only in learning, with the
grace of Christ, to combat and defeat the evil within ourselves and
in relationships with others, can we become authentic builders of
peace and civil progress. May the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, help
all Christians, in their different vocations and situations in life,
to be witnesses of that peace that Christ gave us and left us as a
demanding mission to realize everywhere.
Today, March 24, liturgical memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Help of Christians -- who is venerated with great devotion at the
shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai -- we celebrate the Day of Prayer for
the Church in China. My thoughts turn to all the people of China. In
particular I greet the Catholics of China with great affection and I
exhort them to renew on this day their communion of faith in Christ
and of fidelity to the Successor of Peter. May our common prayer
obtain an effusion of gifts of the Holy Spirit, so that unity of all
Christians, the catholicity and the universality of the Church
always will be deeper and more visible.
[The Pope greeted the pilgrims in various languages. In English, he
said:]
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims who have come here today to
Monte Cassino. From the heights of this mountain we contemplate with
joy our risen and ascended Lord, who has taken his seat in heaven at
the right hand of the Father. Where he has gone, we hope to follow.
In this place, where so many lost their lives in the battles that
were fought during the Second World War, we pray especially for the
souls of the fallen, commending them to God's infinite mercy, and we
pray for an end to the wars that continue to afflict our world. May
God pour out his blessings upon all of you and upon your loved ones
at home.
[In Polish, he said:]
A cordial greeting to the Polish people. This afternoon I will go to
the Polish cemetery to honor the memory of all the soldiers and of
different nations that gave valorous testimony and lost their life
here. Through the intercession of St. Benedict we ask God that, in
prayer and work, we will discover the new dimensions of freedom, and
that peace endures in Europe and in the whole world. May God bless
you!
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
© Copyright 2009 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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