Following is the message from the Holy Father:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
On this Sunday, which coincides with the beginning of June, I am pleased to recall that this month is traditionally dedicated to the Heart of Christ, symbol of the Christian faith, particularly dear to the people, to mystics and theologians because it expresses in a simple and authentic way the "good news" of love, compendium of the mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption. Last Friday, after the Most Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi, we celebrated the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the third and last feast following Eastertide. This sequence calls to mind a movement toward the centre: a movement of the spirit which God himself guides. In fact, from the infinite horizon of his love, God wished to enter into the limits of human history and the human condition. He took on a body and a heart. Thus, we can contemplate and encounter the infinite in the finite, the invisible and ineffable Mystery in the human Heart of Jesus, the Nazarene. In my first Encyclical on the theme of love, the point of departure was exactly "contemplating the pierced side of Christ", which John speaks of in his Gospel (cf. 19: 37; Deus Caritas Est, n. 12). And this centre of faith is also the font of hope in which we have been saved, the hope that I made the object of my second Encyclical.
Every person needs a "centre" for his own life, a source of truth and goodness to draw from in the daily events, in the different situations and in the toil of daily life. Every one of us, when he/she pauses in silence, needs to feel not only his/her own heartbeat, but deeper still, the beating of a trustworthy presence, perceptible with faith's senses and yet much more real: the presence of Christ, the heart of the world. Therefore, I invite each one of you to renew in the month of June his/her own devotion to the Heart of Christ, also using the traditional prayer of the daily offering and keeping present the intentions I have proposed for the whole Church.
Next to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the liturgy invites us to venerate the Immaculate Heart of Mary. With great confidence let us entrust ourselves to her. Once again I would like to invoke the maternal intercession of the Virgin for the populations of China and Myanmar struck by natural calamities and for those who are going through the many situations of pain, sickness, material and spiritual poverty that mark humanity's path.
My thoughts:
The center of the Catholic faith, the source of truth and goodness, and the font of our hope is the Heart of Christ. Pausing in silence, we are to sense, at a level deeper than our own heartbeat, the heartbeat of Christ Who is always with us. Our life revolves around our awareness of and meditation upon the heart of Jesus beating within us. From His heart we have light, peace, joy and truth.
Mary, the one whose heart was most in union with the Heart of Jesus, shows us the way to give ourselves totally to Him. Entrusting ourselves to this most loving of God-given mothers, we have great confidence that she will be there for us and bring us more into conformity to her divine Son.
Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.
Showing posts with label Christ our hope. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christ our hope. Show all posts
6.07.2008
The School Year is Over: The Plan for the Summer
Now that the students have gone home for the summer and all the many tasks that I do doing the school year have for the most part come to completion, I have more time once again. I have a multitude of things I need to do this summer, but my primary task is to make significant progress in my writing once again. Actually, the most important task for me is to live out what I am saying, to put it into practice. That means I must pray and be very committed to my prayer life. That means that I must take my personal relationship with Jesus very seriously, as the most important relationship in my life. I must take a good chunk of time for prayer each day, and I must make all I do a prayer. God made me with enormous and seemingly insatiable desires; those desires are the consequence of making me to be a home, temple and spouse of Himself. I am made for God; I desire to be perfectly known and loved; I desire to be completely happy forever, and all this makes the joys of this world to be of little consequence. The joys of this world can't begin to fulfill me--they are too little. Only God can and does give me the life and joy that, in my deepest self, I desire. The Good News is that my enormous desires are made to be fulfilled and that there is hope. That hope and fulfillment is a person: Jesus Christ.
Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.
Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.
4.08.2008
Pope Benedict XVI's Preliminary Message to America
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the United States of America,
The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you! In just a few days from now, I shall begin my apostolic visit to your beloved country. Before setting off, I would like to offer you a heartfelt greeting and an invitation to prayer. As you know, I shall only be able to visit two cities: Washington and New York. The intention behind my visit, though, is to reach out spiritually to all Catholics in the United States. At the same time, I earnestly hope that my presence among you will be seen as a fraternal gesture towards every ecclesial community, and a sign of friendship for members of other religious traditions and all men and women of good will. The risen Lord entrusted the apostles and the Church with his Gospel of love and peace, and his intention in doing so was that the message should be passed on to all peoples.
At this point I should like to add some words of thanks, because I am conscious that many people have been working hard for a long time, both in Church circles and in the public services, to prepare for my journey. I am especially grateful to all who have been praying for the success of the visit, since prayer is the most important element of all. Dear friends, I say this because I am convinced that without the power of prayer, without that intimate union with the Lord, our human endeavors would achieve very little. Indeed this is what our faith teaches us. It is God who saves us, he saves the world, and all of history. He is the shepherd of his people. I am coming, sent by Jesus Christ, to bring you his word of life.
Together with your bishops, I have chosen as the theme of my journey three simple but essential words: "Christ our hope." Following in the footsteps of my venerable predecessors, Paul VI and John Paul II, I shall come to United States of America as Pope for the first time, to proclaim this great truth: Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture, and social condition. Yes, Christ is the face of God present among us. Through him, our lives reach fullness, and together, both as individuals and peoples, we can become a family united by fraternal love, according to the eternal plan of God the Father.
I know how deeply rooted this Gospel message is in your country. I am coming to share it with you, in a series of celebrations and gatherings. I shall also bring the message of Christian hope to the great assembly of the United Nations, to the representatives of all the peoples of the world. Indeed, the world has greater need of hope than ever: hope for peace, for justice, and for freedom; but this hope can never be fulfilled without obedience to the law of God, which Christ brought to fulfillment in the commandment to love one another. Do to others as you would have them do to you, and avoid doing what you would not want them to do. This "golden rule" is given in the Bible, but it is valid for all people, including non-believers. It is the law written on the human heart; on this we can all agree, so that when we come to address other matters we can do so in a positive and constructive manner for the entire human community.
[I removed the paragraph in Spanish]
Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends in the United States, I am very much looking forward to being with you. I want you to know that, even if my itinerary is short, with just a few engagements, my heart is close to all of you, especially to the sick, the weak, and the lonely. I thank you once again for your prayerful support of my mission. I reach out to every one of you with affection, and I invoke upon you the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
My thoughts:
First of all, the Holy Father asks us for our prayers for his upcoming visit; that I will surely do. He goes on to make a powerful statement: "without the power of prayer, without that intimate union with the Lord, our human endeavors would achieve very little [emphasis added]." The only way to achieve much of lasting value, to become holy, to be a saint, is a close, personal, intimate love relationship with Jesus our Lord. Apart from our union with Him, we are capable of very little. God made us for Himself, He made us to be holy, and the only way to be vessels of God and be holy is to have that union with Him that is only possible with a deep, daily prayer life.
The theme of his journey here to America is: "Christ our hope." Our deepest hope is to be completely and utterly happy forever and ever; this is not an impossible and unrealistic fantasy; it is the God-given hunger for Him. He is the fulfillment of our deepest hope, and, as such, Christ is our hope. He is the hope for every person individually and the hope for the entire human family; only in Him can we become a united family in fraternal love. The world has never had a greater need for hope, "but this hope can never be fulfilled without obedience to the law of God, which Christ brought to fulfillment in the commandment to love one another." There is no true hope apart from the truth and obedience to that truth given to us in the law of God. The Holy Father goes on to say that the golden rule is valid for everyone, regardless of their beliefs, for it is written on our hearts by God Himself. Hope is only possible if we obey that God-written law inscribed on our hearts. With this universal truth as our foundation, all peoples can work together for the benefit of the whole world.
As he stated the other day, the Holy Father again said, "I know how deeply rooted this Gospel message is in your country." We have much to be proud of in our founding and our history. He will remind us of the treasures we have been given. Lastly, he regrets that his stay is so short, but, he said, "my heart is close to all of you," and " I reach out to every one of you with affection." Let us reach out to him in return with our prayers and our loving affection.
Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.
The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you! In just a few days from now, I shall begin my apostolic visit to your beloved country. Before setting off, I would like to offer you a heartfelt greeting and an invitation to prayer. As you know, I shall only be able to visit two cities: Washington and New York. The intention behind my visit, though, is to reach out spiritually to all Catholics in the United States. At the same time, I earnestly hope that my presence among you will be seen as a fraternal gesture towards every ecclesial community, and a sign of friendship for members of other religious traditions and all men and women of good will. The risen Lord entrusted the apostles and the Church with his Gospel of love and peace, and his intention in doing so was that the message should be passed on to all peoples.
At this point I should like to add some words of thanks, because I am conscious that many people have been working hard for a long time, both in Church circles and in the public services, to prepare for my journey. I am especially grateful to all who have been praying for the success of the visit, since prayer is the most important element of all. Dear friends, I say this because I am convinced that without the power of prayer, without that intimate union with the Lord, our human endeavors would achieve very little. Indeed this is what our faith teaches us. It is God who saves us, he saves the world, and all of history. He is the shepherd of his people. I am coming, sent by Jesus Christ, to bring you his word of life.
Together with your bishops, I have chosen as the theme of my journey three simple but essential words: "Christ our hope." Following in the footsteps of my venerable predecessors, Paul VI and John Paul II, I shall come to United States of America as Pope for the first time, to proclaim this great truth: Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture, and social condition. Yes, Christ is the face of God present among us. Through him, our lives reach fullness, and together, both as individuals and peoples, we can become a family united by fraternal love, according to the eternal plan of God the Father.
I know how deeply rooted this Gospel message is in your country. I am coming to share it with you, in a series of celebrations and gatherings. I shall also bring the message of Christian hope to the great assembly of the United Nations, to the representatives of all the peoples of the world. Indeed, the world has greater need of hope than ever: hope for peace, for justice, and for freedom; but this hope can never be fulfilled without obedience to the law of God, which Christ brought to fulfillment in the commandment to love one another. Do to others as you would have them do to you, and avoid doing what you would not want them to do. This "golden rule" is given in the Bible, but it is valid for all people, including non-believers. It is the law written on the human heart; on this we can all agree, so that when we come to address other matters we can do so in a positive and constructive manner for the entire human community.
[I removed the paragraph in Spanish]
Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends in the United States, I am very much looking forward to being with you. I want you to know that, even if my itinerary is short, with just a few engagements, my heart is close to all of you, especially to the sick, the weak, and the lonely. I thank you once again for your prayerful support of my mission. I reach out to every one of you with affection, and I invoke upon you the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
My thoughts:
First of all, the Holy Father asks us for our prayers for his upcoming visit; that I will surely do. He goes on to make a powerful statement: "without the power of prayer, without that intimate union with the Lord, our human endeavors would achieve very little [emphasis added]." The only way to achieve much of lasting value, to become holy, to be a saint, is a close, personal, intimate love relationship with Jesus our Lord. Apart from our union with Him, we are capable of very little. God made us for Himself, He made us to be holy, and the only way to be vessels of God and be holy is to have that union with Him that is only possible with a deep, daily prayer life.
The theme of his journey here to America is: "Christ our hope." Our deepest hope is to be completely and utterly happy forever and ever; this is not an impossible and unrealistic fantasy; it is the God-given hunger for Him. He is the fulfillment of our deepest hope, and, as such, Christ is our hope. He is the hope for every person individually and the hope for the entire human family; only in Him can we become a united family in fraternal love. The world has never had a greater need for hope, "but this hope can never be fulfilled without obedience to the law of God, which Christ brought to fulfillment in the commandment to love one another." There is no true hope apart from the truth and obedience to that truth given to us in the law of God. The Holy Father goes on to say that the golden rule is valid for everyone, regardless of their beliefs, for it is written on our hearts by God Himself. Hope is only possible if we obey that God-written law inscribed on our hearts. With this universal truth as our foundation, all peoples can work together for the benefit of the whole world.
As he stated the other day, the Holy Father again said, "I know how deeply rooted this Gospel message is in your country." We have much to be proud of in our founding and our history. He will remind us of the treasures we have been given. Lastly, he regrets that his stay is so short, but, he said, "my heart is close to all of you," and " I reach out to every one of you with affection." Let us reach out to him in return with our prayers and our loving affection.
Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
