From the Pope

For six days, Pope Benedict XVI used the global stage provided by World Youth Day to speak to the world: evangelizing the Gospel, invoking the “power of the Spirit,” and inviting all the world to open our lives to Christ.

Over the next month, TLIC’s “From the Pope” column will provide, in the Pope’s own words, the wisdom, insights, and spiritual guidance he offered to the hundreds of thousands of young people who joined him in Sydney, Australia, along with countless millions — of all ages — throughout the world who “tuned in” to this extraordinary celebration of faith.

This week, we offer the Pope’s words to young people on the challenges they face today and will face in the future; their vital role in the Church and the world; and the hope and promise they will always find in Christ and His Church.

Challenges to youth
“Many young people today lack hope. They are perplexed by the questions that present themselves ever more urgently in a confusing world, and they are often uncertain which way to turn for answers. They see poverty and injustice and they long to find solutions. They are challenged by the arguments of those who deny the existence of God and they wonder how to respond. They see great damage done to the natural environment through human greed and they struggle to find ways to live in greater harmony with nature and with one another.”
Message to Australia and youth pilgrims prior to World Youth Day, released July 13

Answers
“Where can we look for answers? The Spirit points us towards the way that leads to life, to love and to truth. The Spirit points us towards Jesus Christ. There is a saying attributed to Saint Augustine: ‘If you wish to remain young, seek Christ.’ In Him we find the answers that we are seeking, we find the goals that are truly worth living for, we find the strength to pursue the path that will bring about a better world.”
Message to Australia and youth pilgrims prior to World Youth Day, released July 13

A question from the Pope
“Dear young people, let me now ask you a question. What will you leave to the next generation? Are you building your lives on firm foundations, building something that will endure? Are you living your lives in a way that opens up space for the Spirit in the midst of a world that wants to forget God, or even rejects Him in the name of a falsely-conceived freedom? How are you using the gifts you have been given, the ‘power’ which the Holy Spirit is even now prepared to release within you? What legacy will you leave to young people yet to come? What difference will you make?”
Homily at closing Mass, July 20

Called to be prophets
“Empowered by the Spirit, and drawing upon faith’s rich vision, a new generation of Christians is being called to help build a world in which God’s gift of life is welcomed, respected and cherished — not rejected, feared as a threat and destroyed. A new age in which love is not greedy or self-seeking, but pure, faithful and genuinely free, open to others, respectful of their dignity, seeking their good, radiating joy and beauty. A new age in which hope liberates us from the shallowness, apathy and self-absorption which deaden our souls and poison our relationships. Dear young friends, the Lord is asking you to be prophets of this new age, messengers of His love, drawing people to the Father and building a future of hope for all humanity.”
Homily at closing Mass, July 20

Church needs your gifts
“The Church … needs your faith, your idealism and your generosity, so that she can always be young in the Spirit (cf. Lumen Gentium, 4)!”

“The Church especially needs the gifts of young people, all young people. She needs to grow in the power of the Spirit who even now gives joy to your youth and inspires you to serve the Lord with gladness. Open your hearts to that power! I address this plea in a special way to those of you whom the Lord is calling to the priesthood and the consecrated life. Do not be afraid to say ‘yes’ to Jesus, to find your joy in doing His will, giving yourself completely to the pursuit of holiness, and using all your talents in the service of others!”
Homily at closing Mass, July 20

Filled with hope
“The principal actors on the stage over these last few days, of course, have been the young people themselves. World Youth Day is their day. It is they who have made this a global ecclesial event, a great celebration of youth and a great celebration of what it is to be the Church, the people of God throughout the world, united in faith and love and empowered by the Spirit to bear witness to the risen Christ to the ends of the earth.”

“World Youth Day has shown us that the Church can rejoice in the young people of today and be filled with hope for the world of tomorrow.”
Remarks at farewell ceremony, July 20

Bring the world to Christ
“May the fire of God’s love descend to fill your hearts, unite you ever more fully to the Lord and His Church, and send you forth, a new generation of apostles, to bring the world to Christ!”
Homily at closing Mass, July 20

 

Christ is only hope for future of mankind

Vatican City (Zenit) — The current situation of the world gives rise to “deep concerns regarding the very future of mankind,” Pope Benedict XVI said in his message for the 82nd World Mission Sunday, scheduled for Oct. 19.

“Humanity is suffering, it awaits true liberty, it awaits a new and better world, it awaits ‘redemption,’” the pontiff wrote, as he called people “to reflect on the urgent need to announce the Gospel.” He called the Pauline Year “an opportunity to propagate the announcement of the Gospel unto the ends of the earth.”

Pope Benedict cited violence, poverty “that oppresses millions of people, discrimination and sometimes even persecution for racial, cultural and religious reasons,” as well as the “constant threat in the relationship between man and the environment” and “attacks on human life that take on various forms and methods.”

“Is there,” he asked, “hope for the future? Or rather, is there a future for humanity? … For we believers, the answer to these questions comes from the Gospel. Christ is our future ... St. Paul understood that only in Christ can humanity find redemption and hope.”

Despite such difficulties as a shortage of priests and a lack of vocations, “Christ’s mandate to evangelize all people remains a priority,” the Pope affirmed. “Let us cast out our nets without fear, trusting in his constant help.”

Bishops, “like the Apostle Paul, are called to reach out to those who are far off and who do not yet know Christ,” he said, noting that prelates have the duty of “willingly contributing, each according to his capacities, in sending priests and lay people to other Churches for the service of evangelization.”

The Holy Father encouraged priests “to be generous pastors and enthusiastic evangelizers,” expressing the hope that “this missionary commitment in local Churches does not diminish despite the lack of priests.”

He called on religious to carry “the announcement of the Gospel to everyone, especially to those farthest away, by a coherent witness in Christ and a radical adherence to the Gospel.”

“You too, dear laypeople,” he added, “are called to play an ever more important role in spreading the Gospel.”

Pope Benedict prayed that “the collection gathered in all parishes on World Mission Day be a sign of reciprocal communion and solicitude between Churches,” and urged Christians to “intensify their prayers, the indispensable spiritual means for spreading the light of Christ among all peoples.”

 

Whole Church should join in WYD’s ‘renewed Pentecost’

Castel Gandolfo, Italy (Zenit) — The Holy Spirit will make the upcoming World Youth Day “a renewed Pentecost” in which the whole Church should join, at least spiritually if not physically, Pope Benedict XVI told crowds gathered for the July 6 midday Angelus at the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.

“I invite the whole Church to share in this new stage of the great pilgrimage of young people across the world, begun in 1985 by the Servant of God John Paul II,” the pope exhorted. “I am certain that from all the corners of the earth Catholics will be united with me and with all the young people gathered — as in the Cenacle — in Sydney, intensely invoking the Holy Spirit so that He will flood hearts with the inner light of love of God and of brothers, and of courageous initiative to introduce Jesus’ eternal message in the diversity of languages and cultures.”

Greeting pilgrims in various languages after the Angelus, the Holy Father again stressed the importance of this “spiritual participation” of the whole Church in World Youth Day, to be held in Sydney, Australia July 15-20.
Pope Benedict referred to the theme of his message for the meeting, which Christian communities have been using over the past year in preparing for the event: “You Will Receive Power When the Holy Spirit Has Come Upon You; and You Will Be My Witnesses.”

This, the pope said, “is the promise Jesus made to His disciples after the resurrection, and which remains always valid and actual in the Church: the Holy Spirit, awaited and received in prayer, infuses in believers the capacity to be witnesses of Jesus and His Gospel.

“Blowing on the Church’s sail, the divine Spirit pushes her to ‘go into the deep,’ always anew, from generation to generation, to take to everyone the Good News of the love of God, revealed fully in Jesus Christ, dead and resurrected for us.”

Pope Benedict said he was “already in Australia” in thought. He thanked all those who are contributing to the preparations, especially the Australian episcopal conference and the civil authorities.

Finally, he reflected briefly on the two symbols of WYD, which are always present in these events: the young people’s cross and an icon of the Virgin Mary.

“In past months, the ‘young people’s cross’ has been taken all over Oceania and in Sydney it will be once again a silent witness of the pact of alliance between the Lord Jesus Christ and the new generations,” he said. Along with the Cross, the “icon of the Virgin Mary accompanies the World Youth Days. We entrust to her maternal protection this trip to Australia and the meeting with young people in Sydney.”

 

Eucharist is ‘Church’s treasure,’ pope tells Quebec gathering

Quebec City (Zenit) — Calling the Eucharistic liturgy “the Church’s treasure,” Pope Benedict XVI urged Catholics to study the Second Vatican Council’s constitution on the liturgy in order to better understand “every aspect of the Eucharist” and to live it “with greater intensity.”

Delivering via satellite the homily for the closing Mass of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress June 22 in Quebec, the Holy Father, speaking in French and English, urged “everyone to make a commitment to study this great mystery, especially by revisiting and exploring, individually and in groups, the Council’s text on the liturgy, ‘Sacrosanctum Concil-ium.’”

“Every sentence, every gesture has its own meaning and conceals a mystery,” he said. “I sincerely hope that this Congress will serve as an appeal to all the faithful to make a similar commitment to a re-newal of eucharistic catechesis, so that they themselves will gain a genuine eucharistic awareness and will in turn teach children and young people to recognize the central mystery of faith and build their lives around it.

“I urge priests especially to give due honor to the eucharistic rite, and I ask all the faithful to respect the role of each individual, both priest and lay, in the eucharistic action,” he said. “The liturgy does not belong to us: It is the Church’s treasure.”

Seeking union

The pope noted the unifying effects of the Eucharist.

“Reception of the Eucharist, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament — by this we mean deepening our communion, preparing for it and prolonging it — is also about allowing ourselves to enter into communion with Christ, and through him with the whole of the Trinity, so as to become what we receive and to live in communion with the Church,” the Holy Father said.

“We must never forget that the Church is built around Christ,” he added. “As SS. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and Albert the Great have all said, following St. Paul, the Eucharist is the sacrament of the Church’s unity, because we all form one single body of which the Lord is the head.

“We must go back again and again to the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, where we were given a pledge of the mystery of our redemption on the cross. The Last Supper is the locus of the nascent Church, the womb containing the Church of every age. In the Eucharist, Christ’s sacrifice is constantly renewed, Pentecost is constantly renewed.”

The pontiff also expressed his desire that Christians would come to value Sunday more and more.

“May all of you become ever more deeply aware of the importance of the Sunday Eucharist,” he said, “because Sunday, the first day of the week, is the day when we honor Christ, the day when we receive the strength to live each day the gift of God.”

The pope also announced that the next International Eucharistic Congress, scheduled for 2012, will be held in Dublin, Ireland.

Pope: Philosophy should contribute to intense dialogue between faith and reason

Vatican City (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI called for a re-emphasis on the study of philosophy in universities, as part of a more intense dialogue between faith and reason.

At the same time, philosophy must accept the contribution of religion — not just in the private realm of belief, but as part of the total human experience that gives meaning to life, he said.

The pope made the comments June 7 in a speech to university professors from 26 European countries who were meeting in Rome to discuss the theme “Widening the Horizons of Rationality.”

The pope said he was encouraged that modern philosophy has seen some openness to the contributions of theology and religions, in particular, Christianity.

“The new dialogue between faith and reason that is required today cannot happen in the terminology and the ways in which it was done in the past. In order to avoid being reduced to a sterile intellectual exercise, it must begin with the real, concrete human situation,” he said.

He quoted his own book, “Introduction to Christianity,” which he wrote as a cardinal, to underline that Christianity has at its roots a deep connection with philosophy and the search for truth. That is important in the modern age, when religions are sometimes manipulated for other aims, he said.

But the Christian message, he stressed, “is not only informative, but also performative.”

“That means that from the beginning the Christian faith cannot be closed into the abstract world of theory, but must be brought down into historic, concrete experience that reaches man in the deepest part of his being.”

This is the area where a renewed dialogue between theology and philosophy can bear fruit, he said.

In that regard, he asked the professors to promote high-profile academic centers which focus on theological-philosophical dialogue.

Everyone has right to food, unborn have right to life

Vatican City (CNS) —Everyone, especially the youngest and poorest of the world, has a right to food, and the unborn have a right to life, Pope Benedict XVI said in a May 31 audience with Guatemala’s new ambassador to the Vatican.

The protection of human life is the “rock solid and inviolable” foundation upon which all other human rights are based, the Holy Father said during a ceremony in which Acisclo Valladares Molina presented his credentials.

There will always be more work to do, the pope said, in helping guarantee that pregnant women, even those who are in “severe difficulty,” will be able to raise their children “with dignity, that way avoiding the unjustifiable recourse to abortion.” Protecting all human life, especially the life of the unborn, is an ever pressing task, he added.

Pope Benedict lamented the ongoing problems of poverty and emigration in Guatemala. He said another challenge the country faces is finding a solution to the malnutrition suffered by “numerous children.”

The right to food is based on an ethical mandate to “feed the hungry,” which reminds people to share their abundance with others out of love, the pope emphasized.

He noted that “the scourge of violence” in Guatemala is made worse by a “lack of dialogue,” broken homes, severe economic inequality, insufficient health care, “the use and trafficking of drugs and the curse of corruption.”

He praised progress made in fighting these social ills, but urged that cooper-ative efforts con-tinue.

 

Humanae Vitae ‘constitutes a significant show of courage’

Vatican City (Zenit) — In a society that treats the practice of sexuality like a drug, not just the concept of love needs defending, but also the dignity of the person.

That was Pope Benedict XVI’s message on May 10 as he received in audience participants in an international congress promoted by the Pontifical Lateran University to mark the 40th anniversary of the encyclical “Humanae Vitae.”

Published by Pope Paul VI on July 25, 1968, Pope Benedict said, “the document soon became a sign of contradiction,” one that “constitutes a significant show of courage in reiterating the continuity of the Church’s doctrine and tradition.”

“The truth expressed in ‘Humanae Vitae’ does not change,” the Holy Father stressed. “Quite the contrary, in the light of new scientific discoveries its teaching becomes more relevant and stimulates reflection on the intrinsic values it possesses.”

The pontiff affirmed that “in a culture suffering from the prevalence of having over being, human life risks losing its value. If the practice of sexuality becomes a drug that seeks to enslave the partner to one’s own desires and interests, without respecting the desires of the beloved, then what must be defended is no longer just the concept of love but, primarily, the dignity of the person. As believers we could never allow the power of technology to invalidate the quality of love and the sacredness of life.”

Natural law, he said, “deserves to be recognized as the source inspiring the relationship between a married couple in their responsibility to generate children. The transmission of life is inscribed in nature and its laws stand as an unwritten norm to which everyone must refer.”

Nascent life, the pope continued, “is the fruit of a love capable of thinking and choosing in complete freedom, without allowing itself to be overly conditioned by the sacrifice this may require. From here emerges the miracle of life which parents experience in themselves as they sense the extraordinary nature of what is achieved in them and through them. No mechanical technique can substitute the act of love that husband and wife exchange as a sign of the greater mystery, in which they are protagonists and co-participants of creation.”

Voicing concerns about adolescents who sometimes fail to appreciate “the mystery of life” and “the dangerous implications of their actions,” the Holy Father expressed his hope that young people “may learn the true meaning of love and prepare for it with appropriate sexual education, not allowing themselves to be distracted by superficial messages that prevent them from appreciating the essence of the truth at stake.”

“Freedom must join with truth, and responsibility with strength of dedication to others, also through sacrifice,” he said. “Without these principles the community of man does not develop and there is a risk of being trapped in oppressive selfishness.”

‘So that the smile of life may triumph’

Vatican City (Zenit) — Benedict XVI thanked Italy’s Movement for Life for the countless unborn children whose lives they have saved, urging the group to fearlessly continue in its work.

The pope said this last Monday when he received in audience members of the Italian organization, led by their president Carlo Casini. This year, Italy marks the 30th anniversary of legalized abortion.

“It is your intention to suggest profound reflections on the human and social effects the law has produced in the civil and Christian community during that period,” the Holy Father told the movement members.

“We cannot but recognize,” he said, “that, in practical terms, defending human life has become more difficult today, because a mentality has been developed that progressively devalues human life and entrusts it to the judgment of individuals.” This results, he added, in “lessened respect for the human person, a value that lies at the foundation of any form of civil coexistence, over and above the faith a person may profess.”

The pontiff affirmed that abortion “not only has not resolved the problems afflicting many women and no small number of families, but it has opened another wound in our societies.”

Helping families

Benedict XVI called for combined efforts to ensure that “institutions once again focus their activities on the defense of human life and the priority concern for families.”

“Families must be helped,” he said, “using all legislative means to facilitate their formation and their educational work in the difficult social context of today.”

“It is necessary to bear concrete witness to the fact that respect for life is the first form of justice that must be applied,” he continued. “For those who have the gift of faith this becomes an imperative that cannot be deferred. ... Only God is the Lord of life. Each human being is known, loved, wanted and guided by Him,” and “each has his origins in God’s creative plan.”

Noting that this year also marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the pope praised the pro-life movement’s commitment “in the political sphere, assisting and encouraging the institutions to ensure that correct recognition is given to the words ‘human dignity.’”

“Your initiative in the European Parliament’s Commission for Petitions, in which you affirm the fundamental values of the right to life from the moment of conception, of the family founded on the marriage of a man and a woman, of the right of all conceived human beings to be born and educated in a family of parents,” he said, “is further confirmation of the solidity of your commitment and your full communion with the Church’s magisterium, which has always proclaimed and defended such values as ‘non negotiable.’”

The Holy Father concluded by thanking his audience for their service “to the Church and to society.

“How many human lives have you saved from death! Continue along this path and do not be afraid,” he urged, “so that the smile of life may triumph on the lips of all children and their mothers.”

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A ‘new springtime’ for the rosary

Rome (CNS and Zenit) — Praying the rosary is enjoying a revival among Catholics and can be a profound way to relive the events of Christ’s life, Pope Benedict XVI said May 3 after leading recital of the rosary with hundreds of Catholics in Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major.

“In the experience of my generation, May evenings evoke pleasant memories of evening appointments to pay homage to the Virgin Mary,” the Holy Father recalled.

However, he stressed that the rosary is “not a pious practice relegated to the past, like a prayer of former times to be remembered with nostalgia.”

“The rosary, on the contrary, is experiencing almost a new springtime. This is undoubtedly one of the most eloquent signs of the love that younger generations have for Jesus and for his mother, Mary,” he said.

The papal event took place on the first Saturday of May, the month the church dedicates to Mary, at Rome’s pre-eminent Marian basilica.

“In the modern world that is so dispersive,” the pope said, the rosary always helps us to place Christ at the center of our lives, “as did the Virgin who meditated upon everything that was said about her Son and upon what He Himself did and said. When we recite the rosary, we relive important monuments of the history of salvation; we again go over the various stages of Christ’s mission. With Mary,” he said, “we turn our hearts to the mystery of Jesus.”

Nor should praying the rosary be considered a merely private practice, with no relationship to others, the Holy Father added.

“The rosary, when it is prayed in an authentic manner — not mechanically and superficially, but profoundly — brings peace and reconciliation,” he said. “It contains the healing power of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, invoked with faith and love at the heart of each Hail Mary.”

The pope called on those present to ensure they remain united to Mary during these days leading up to Pentecost, “invoking a renewed effusion of the Holy Spirit for the Church.”

 

Holy Father ‘confirmed in hope’ by U.S. Catholics

VATICAN CITY (Zenit.org) — Benedict XVI said he wasn’t the only one communicating a message of hope when he visited the United States two weeks ago.

“I too was confirmed in hope by American Catholics,” the pope said April 27 before praying the “Regina Coeli” with several thousand people gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

“I give thanks to God for abundantly blessing this singular missionary experience of mine and deigning to make me an instrument of the hope of Christ for that Church and that country,” the Holy Father said of his April 15 – 20 visit to Washington, D.C. and New York.

“I discovered a tremendous vitality,” he said, “and a decisive will to live and to witness to the faith in Jesus.”

Spread joy and hope of Gospel, Pope tells newly ordained priests

VATICAN CITY (Zenit.org) — Ordaining 29 new priests at an April 27 ordination Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Benedict XVI sent them forth to spread the “joy of Christ” in a world that is “often sad and negative.”
All of the men studied for the priesthood in Rome, although seven are from outside of Italy – one each from Iraq, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, France, Haiti and India.

Priests are called to bring the Gospel to all “so that all experience the joy of Christ and there be joy in every city,” the Holy Father observed in his homily. They are called to be “messengers of this joy,” to multiply and transmit it, especially to those who are sad and disheartened.

“What can be more beautiful to us than this?” he asked. “What can be greater, more exciting, than working together to spread the Word of life in the world, than communicating the living water of the Spirit?”

However, the pope told the newly ordained priests, “If you are to be co-workers of the joy of others, of people who are often sad and negative, the fire of the Gospel must burn in you, the joy of the Lord must live in you.”
Pope Benedict returned to the theme of joy and the priesthood after the Mass, in his address before reciting the “Regina Coeli” with the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

“Where Christ is preached with the power of the Holy Spirit and he is accepted with an open soul, society, though it be full of problems, becomes a ‘city of joy’” he said, using words that are also the title of a book about the work of Mother Teresa in Calcutta.

“This then is the wish I have for the newly ordained priests, for whom I invite all to pray: that where they are sent they may spread the joy and hope that flow from the Gospel.”

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A "new humanism" is vital to achieve peace

Vatican City (VIS) — A “new humanism” is essential in achieving “the human right to peace,” Pope Benedict XVI said in a message to Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and to participants in a seminar entitled “Disarmament, development and peace, prospects for integral disarmament,” held in Rome April 11 and 12.

“Tension and war exist in various parts of the world,” the Holy Father noted, “and even where the tragedy of war is not present, feelings of fear and insecurity are nonetheless widespread. Furthermore, such phenomena as global terrorism blur the distinction between peace and war, seriously compromising the future hopes of humankind.

“Certainly, joint action on a political, economic and juridical level is needed” in responding to these challenges, the pope said, “but, even before that, it is necessary to reflect together on a moral and spiritual level. What is ever more vital is to promote a ‘new humanism.’”

“Development cannot be reduced to simple economic growth,” he said; “it must include the moral and spiritual dimension. A truly integral humanism must, at the same time, also express solidarity.

“True and lasting peace is unimaginable without the development of each person and of all peoples,” Pope Benedict said. “Nor is it conceivable to think of reducing arms if first we do not eliminate violence at its roots, if man does not first turn decisively to searching for peace and for what is good and just.

“As long as a risk of hostility exists, the arming of states will remain necessary for reasons of legitimate defense,” the Holy Father stated. “Nonetheless,” he stressed, “not all levels of armament are permissible. ... The vast material and human resources used for military expenditure and armaments are, in fact, taken from projects for the development of peoples, especially the poorest and those most in need of help.” The pope appealed to states “to reduce military expenditure on arms and to give serious consideration to the idea of creating a global fund for peaceful development projects.”

Pope Benedict affirmed the need to do everything possible to ensure that “the economy is directed to serving human beings and solidarity, and not just to profit. On a legal plane, states are called to a renewed commitment, especially as regards international agreements on disarmament and arms-control, as well as the ratification and subsequent implementation of previously-adopted instruments such as the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty ... Finally, every effort must also be made to combat the proliferation of small-caliber arms.

“Nonetheless,” the pope emphasized, “it will be difficult to find a solution to the various technical problems without man’s conversion to good on a cultural, moral and spiritual level.”

The Holy Father highlighted the “ever greater need for a choral invocation of the culture of peace and for a joint education in peace, especially among the new generations ... The human right to peace,” he wrote, “is fundamental and inalienable,” and upon it “the exercise of all other rights depends.”

Although the current situation in the world could give rise “to a justified sense of discomfort and resignation,” the Holy Father pointed out that “war is never inevitable and peace is always possible. Even more so, it is a duty! The time has come to change the course of history, to rediscover trust, to cultivate dialogue and to nourish solidarity.

“The future of humanity,” he concluded, “depends upon a commitment on everyone’s part. Only by pursuing an integral and solidary humanism, in which disarmament assumes an ethical and spiritual dimension, can humanity progress towards the true and lasting peace for which it longs.”

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