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Pope Benedict XVI- Angelus |
Angelus Message
On The Expression of Faith Through Works
"The Word of God Puts Two Crucial Questions to Us"
H.H. Benedict XVI
September 13, 2009
www.zenit.org
Dear
Brothers and Sisters!
On this Sunday, the 24th in Ordinary Time, the Word of God puts two
crucial questions to us that I would summarize as: "Who is Jesus of
Nazareth for you?" and "Does your faith translate into works or
not?" The first question we find in today's Gospel, there where
Jesus asks his disciples: "Who do you say that I am?" (Mark 8:29).
Peter's answer is clear and immediate: "You are the Christ," that
is, the Messiah, the consecrated one of God, sent to save his
people.
Peter and the other disciples, then, unlike the majority of the
people, believe that Jesus is not only a great teacher, or a
prophet, but much more. They have faith: they believe that God is
present in him and works in him. Immediately after this profession
of faith, however, when Jesus for the first time openly announces
that he must suffer and be killed, the same Peter opposes himself to
the perspective of suffering and death. So Jesus must strongly
reproach him, to make him understand that it is not enough to
believe that he is God, but that, moved by charity, he must follow
him along the same road, that of the cross (cf. Mark 8:31-33). Jesus
did not come to teach us a philosophy, but to show us a way, indeed,
"the" way that leads to life.
This way is love, which is the expression of true faith. If a person
loves his neighbor with a pure and generous heart, it means that he
truly knows God. If instead a person says that he has faith, but
does not love his brothers, he is not a true believer. God does not
live in him. St. James clearly affirms this in the second reading of
this Sunday's Mass: "If [faith] is not followed by works, it is
dead" (James 2:17). In this regard I would like to quote from the
writings of St. John Chrysostom, one of the great Fathers of the
Church, which the liturgical calendar invites us to remember today.
Commenting on the exact passage from St. James' Letter, he writes:
"One may have a right faith in the Father and the Son, and in the
Holy Spirit as well, but if he does not live in the right way, his
faith will be useless for salvation. So, when you read in the
Gospel: 'This is eternal life: that they know you, the one true God'
(John 17:3), do not think that this verse is enough to save us: a
most pure life and a most pure conduct" (Cited in J.A. Cramer,
"Catenae graecorum Patrum in N.T., vol. VIII: In Epist. Cath. et
Apoc.," Oxford 1844).
Dear Friends, tomorrow we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of
the Holy Cross, and the following day Our Lady of Sorrows. The
Virgin Mary, who believed in the Lord's Word, did not lose her faith
in God when she saw her Son rejected, offended and put on a cross.
Rather she stayed with Jesus, suffering and praying, to the end. And
she saw the radiant sunrise of his resurrection. Let us learn from
her to bear witness to our faith with a life of humble service,
ready to suffer personally to remain faithful to the Gospel of
charity and truth, certain that nothing of what we do will be lost.
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
[The Pope greeted the pilgrims in various languages. In English, he
said:]
I extend heartfelt greetings to the English-speaking visitors here
today. In the Gospel this Sunday, Jesus puts a question to his
disciples: Who do you say I am? On behalf of the others, it is Peter
who answers: You are the Christ. Throughout history, it has been the
task of Peter's successors to continue to make that proclamation of
faith in Jesus Christ. And all of us are called to join Peter as we
resolve to place the Lord at the centre of our lives. I pray that
all of you may grow in your faith and love for the Lord and I invoke
his blessings upon you and upon your loved ones at home.
© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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