SUMMARY:
- THREE
WAYS TO KNOW GOD: THE WORLD, MAN AND FAITH
-
COMMEMORATION OF BLESSED JOHN PAUL II'S ITALIAN PARLIAMENT VISIT
-
BENEDICT XVI'S “THE INFANCY NARRATIVES” TO BE PRESENTED ON 20
NOVEMBER
- OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
THREE
WAYS TO KNOW GOD: THE WORLD, MAN AND FAITH
Vatican
City, 14 November 2012 (VIS) - Three ways to knowing God (the world,
the human being and the faith) provided the theme for Benedict XVI's
catechesis during his general audience, held this morning in the Paul
VI Hall.
The Holy
Father began by explaining that "God's initiative always
precedes any initiative on the part of man, and, even on our journey
towards Him, it is He Who first illuminates and guides us, while
always respecting our freedom. ... God never tires of seeking us, He
is faithful to the man He created and redeemed, and He remains close
to us because He loves us. This is a certainty which must accompany
us every day".
"We
know that today the faith faces no lack of difficulties and trials,
and its often poorly understood, contested and rejected. ... In the
past, in the West, in a society held to be Christian, the faith was
the environment in which people moved. Reference and adherence to God
were, for most people, part of their daily lives, and it was those
who did not believe who felt the need to justify their incredulity.
In our world the situation had changed, and believers have to be
increasingly able to give reasons for their faith. ... Our own times
have seen the emergence of a phenomenon which is particularly
dangerous for the faith. There exists, in fact, a form of atheism,
which we define as 'practical', in which the truths of faith and
religious ritual are not denied but are simply held to be irrelevant
to daily existence, detached from life, useless. Often, then, people
believe in God superficially but live as if He did not exist. In the
final analysis, however, such a lifestyle turns out to be even more
destructive, because it leads to indifference towards the faith and
towards the question of God.
"The
fact is", the Holy Father added, "that separation from God
reduces man to a single horizontal dimension. This reduction was one
of the fundamental causes of the totalitarian systems which had such
tragic consequences last century, and of the crisis of values we are
currently witnessing. Obscuring the reference to God has also
obscured the ethical horizon".
Faced
with this situation the Church, "faithful to Christ's mandate,
never ceases to affirm the truth about man and his destiny",
said the Pope. Yet, he asked, "what responses is the faith
called to give - with 'mildness and respect' - to atheism, scepticism
and indifference to the vertical dimension, so that the men and women
of our time may continue to question themselves about the existence
of God, and follow the paths that lead to Him? I would", he
said, "like to mention some of these paths, which derive both
from a natural process of reflection and from the power of the faith
itself. They are: the world, man, and faith".
Referring
to the first of these paths - the world - the Pope expressed the view
that "we must recover and restore to modern man the chance to
contemplate the creation, its beauty and structure. The world is not
some shapeless mass; rather, the more we know it, the more we
discover its wonderful mechanisms, the more we see a design, a
creative intelligence. Albert Einstein said that the laws of nature
reveal 'an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it,
all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly
insignificant reflection'".
To
explain the second path - the human being - Benedict XVI quoted from
the Catechism of the Catholic Church, saying: 'With his openness to
truth and beauty, his sense of moral goodness, his freedom and the
voice of his conscience, with his longings for the infinite and for
happiness, man questions himself about God's existence'".
Turning
finally to consider the faith, the Pope noted how "believers are
united to God, open to His grace and to the force of charity. ...
Their faith is not afraid to show itself in daily life, it is open to
a dialogue which expresses profound friendship for all men and women,
and is able to bring the light of hope to our need for redemption,
happiness and future life. Faith means meeting God Who speaks and
works in history. ... A single Christian or a community who are
diligent and faithful to the project of the God Who first loved us,
are a great help to people experiencing indifference or doubt about
His existence and action".
Nowadays,
"many people have a limited concept of Christian faith, which
they identify as a mere system of beliefs and values, and not as the
truth of God revealed throughout history in order to communicate
directly with mankind. … In reality, at the basis of all doctrine
and values is the encounter between man and God in Jesus Christ.
Christianity, rather than a moral or ethical code, is first and
foremost the experience of love in welcoming Christ", Benedict
XVI concluded.
COMMEMORATION
OF BLESSED JOHN PAUL II'S ITALIAN PARLIAMENT VISIT
Vatican
City, 14 November 2012 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio
Bertone S.D.B. has sent a message in the name of the Holy Father to
the presidents of the Italian Senate and Chamber of Deputies, Renato
Schifani and Gianfranco Fini, to commemorate ten years since Blessed
John Paul II's visit to the parliament.
"The
public session of 14 November 2002 in the Hall of Montecitorio
constitutes a memorable page in the history of relations between
Italy and the Holy See, an event enriched by the authoritative
presence of the venerable figure of the Blessed Pontiff, who greatly
desired the meeting in spite of his precarious health".
"Ten
years on, in a social context rendered more difficult by the
consequences of the economic crisis already predicted at the time, it
is necessary to recall his invitation to seek nourishment in the
vital lymph of Christianity which inspires the social and cultural
identity of Italy, and its mission in Europe and the world. Even in
the most difficult times, this spiritual and ethical heritage
continues to provide sufficient resources to renew people's
consciences and lead them towards the common good, especially those
called to sit in parliament.
"The
Supreme Pontiff therefore hopes that constant collaboration between
Italy and the Holy See, and between the State and the Church, will
continue to support the progress of Italy, in particular families in
their their primary educational and social role, and all citizens,
especially in matters of civil responsibility".
BENEDICT
XVI'S “THE INFANCY NARRATIVES” TO BE PRESENTED ON 20 NOVEMBER
Vatican
City, 14 November 2012 (VIS) - The Vatican Publishing House and
Rizzoli Publications today announced that the book "L'Infanzia
di Gesu", the third volume of Joseph Ratzinger - Benedict XVI's
trilogy on Jesus of Nazareth, will be presented to the press on 20
November. The book is due to appear in English with the title "Jesus
of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives".
The book
will be presented at 11 a.m. in the Pius X Room (Via dell'Ospedale 1,
Rome), and the speakers will include Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi,
president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Maria Clara
Bingemer, professor of theology at the Pontifical Catholic University
of Rio de Janeiro, Fr. Giuseppe Costa S.D.B., director of the Vatican
Publishing House, and Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J., director of the
Holy See Press Office, who will act as moderator.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 14 November 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:
- Fr.
Darci Jose Nicioli, C.SS.R., rector of the National Sanctuary of
Aparecida, Brazil, as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of
Aparecida (area 1,300, population 198,000, Catholics 167,800, priests
102, permanent deacons 2, religious 363). The bishop-elect was born
in Jacutinga, Brazil in 1959 and ordained a priest in 1986. He
studied in Campinas, Sao Paulo and Rome, and has held a number of
academic and pastoral posts.
- Msgr.
Jose Avelino Bettencourt, nunciature councillor, as chief of protocol
of the Secretariat of State. He was born in the Azores, Portugal, in
1962 and ordained a priest in 1993. He entered the diplomatic service
of the Holy See in 1999, and has served in the apostolic nunciature
of the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the Section for Relations
with States of the Secretariat of State.
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