SUMMARY:
- ADVENT
REMINDS US OF GOD'S PRESENCE IN THE WORLD
- THE
POPE ENTERS TWITTER WITH A BLESSING
- OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
ADVENT
REMINDS US OF GOD'S PRESENCE IN THE WORLD
Vatican
City, 12 December 2012 (VIS) - The phases of Revelation, conveyed in
the Scriptures and culminating in the Advent of Jesus Christ, were
the theme of Benedict XVI's catechesis during today's general
audience, which took place in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall. In view of
the Year of Faith, the Pope renewed his invitation to read the Bible
more frequently and to pay closer attention to the readings at Sunday
Mass, to provide "valuable nourishment for our faith".
The Pope
observed that "reading the Old Testament, we see how God's
interventions in the history of the chosen people with whom He
established an alliance were not passing events forgotten over time,
but rather become living 'memory', together constituting the 'story
of salvation' that resides in the consciousness of the people of
Israel through the celebration of salvific events", such as
Easter. "For all the people of Israel, to recall God's work
becomes a sort of constant imperative, in order that the passage of
time be marked by the living memory of past events which thus create
history anew, day by day, remaining ever present. ... Faith is
nurtured by the discovery and the memory of God who is always
faithful, who guides history and is the sound and stable foundation
upon which life should be built".
Benedict
XVI explained that for Israel, the Exodus "is the central
historical event in which God reveals the power of his action. God
frees the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt so that they may
return to the Promised Land and worship Him as the one true God.
Israel does not set out to become a nation like any other ... but
rather to serve God in worship and in life ... and to bear witness to
God amid other peoples. And the celebration of this event renders it
present and current, as the work of God does not cease. ... God
reveals Himself not only in the primordial act of creation, but by
entering into our history, into the history of a small population
that was neither the most numerous nor the strongest of its time.
This Revelation of God ... culminates in Jesus Christ: God, the
Logos, the creating Word at the origin of the world, is made flesh in
Jesus and thereby shows His true face. In Jesus every promise is
fulfilled; the story of God and humanity finds its culmination in
Him".
"The
Catechism of the Catholic Church summarises the phases of divine
Revelation", continued the Holy Father. "God has invited
mankind, since the very beginning, to engage in profound communion
with Him, and even when man, through his own disobedience, lost His
friendship, God did not abandon him to the force of death, but
renewed His offer of alliance with man many times. The Catechism
chronicles God's path with man from His covenant with Noah following
the flood, to the command to Abraham to leave his homeland and become
the patriarch of a multitude of peoples. God creates Israel as His
people, through the Exodus, the Sinai covenant and the giving of the
Law through Moses, so as to be recognised and served as the one true
and living God. By means of the prophets, God leads His people in the
hope of salvation ... In the end, they no longer await a king, David,
the Son of David, but rather the 'Son of Man, saviour of all peoples'
... In this we see how the path of God broadens and opens the way
towards the Mystery of Christ, the King of the universe. Revelation
finds its full realisation in Christ, in God's benevolent plan: He
becomes one of us. All these steps demonstrate "a single
salvific plan dedicated to all of humanity, progressively revealed
and realised through the power of God".
The Pope
then turned his attention to the liturgical time of Advent, which
prepares us for Christmas. "As we all know, the word 'Advent'
means 'coming' or 'presence', and historically indicated the arrival
of the king or the emperor in a province. For us as Christians it has
the wonderful and awe-inspiring meaning that God Himself has crossed
over from Heaven and inclined towards man; he has made a covenant
with man, entering into the history of His people. He is the king who
enters into the poor province of earth, offering us the gift of His
visit, taking on human flesh and becoming one of us. Advent invites
us to retrace this path and reminds us again the God has not left
this world, He is not absent and has not abandoned us to our own
devices, but instead draws towards us in various ways that we must
learn to recognise. And we too, with our faith, hope and charity, are
called upon every day to perceive and witness this presence, in a
world so often superficial and led astray, and to make the light that
illuminated the stable in Bethlehem shine anew in our lives".
THE
POPE ENTERS TWITTER WITH A BLESSING
Vatican
City, 12 December 2012 (VIS) - "Dear friends, I am pleased to
get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous
response. I bless all of you from my heart".
This was
Benedict XVI's first tweet, published after the blessing that
concluded today's general audience. The Pope used a tablet to send
his first tweet, which was transmitted in eight languages (English,
Italian, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Polish and Arabic), and
displayed on a screen installed in the Paul VI Hall.
Throughout
the day the Pope will respond to three questions - submitted from
three different continents - selected from those sent during recent
days.
The Holy
Father already has over one million followers on Twitter.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 12 December 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop
Sergio Eduardo Castriani C.S.Sp., bishop prelate of Tefe, Brazil, as
metropolitan archbishop of Manaus (area 64,079, population 1,551,000,
Catholics 1,331,000, priests 163, permanent deacons 16, religious
298), Brazil. He succeeds Archbishop Luiz Soares Vieira, whose
resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy
Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
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