SUMMARY:
-
BENEDICT XVI TO THE YOUNG "IN SEARCH OF A MAKER"
- THE
POPE IN THE FINANCIAL TIMES: CHRISTMAS IS A TIME FOR CHRISTIANS TO
ENGAGE WITH THE WORLD
- DECREES
OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS
-
AUDIENCES
______________________________________
BENEDICT
XVI TO THE YOUNG "IN SEARCH OF A MAKER"
Vatican
City, 20 December 2012 (VIS) - This morning Benedict XVI addressed a
group of young people from Catholic Action Italy who
"We
know who this maker is: He is God, who has shown His face to us. God
created us, He made us in His image, and above all He gave us the
gift of His son, Jesus Christ, as a child - we will soon worship him
on the feast of the Nativity - who grew up, as you have, and followed
the paths of our world so as to communicate to us the love of God,
which brings beauty and happiness to our lives, rendering them full
of goodness and generosity.
"Certainly,
you also search the creator of your joy", the Pope continued.
"There are many people who bring you happiness, but there is
also a great friend who is the creator of the joy of all, and with
Whom our hearts are filled with a joy that surpasses all other, and
which lasts throughout our lives: this friend is Jesus. ... The more
you get to know Him and to enter into dialogue with Him, the greater
the happiness you will feel in your hearts, and the more able you
will be to overcome the minor disappointments you sometimes feel
within.
"You
are also in search of a guide in love. ... We all need to love others
and to feel that someone accepts and loves us in return. To feel
loved is necessary for life, but it is equally important to be able
to love others, to bring beauty to the lives of all, including our
peers who find themselves in difficult situations. Jesus showed us
through the example of His life that God loves all without
discrimination, and wants all of us to live in happiness".
"Finally,
you are without doubt in search of a bringer of peace, the need for
whom the world so keenly feels. Often men believe they are able to
build peace by themselves, but it is important to understand that it
is only God who can bring us true and durable peace. If we learn how
to listen to Him, if we make space for Him in our lives, God clears
away the selfishness that often pollutes the relationships between
people and nations, and gives rise to the desire for reconciliation,
forgiveness and peace, even in those with the most hardened of
hearts".
"If
you wish to help each other to find the great Creator of life, joy,
love and peace, you will discover that He is never far from you, but
rather, is very close to us: He is the God who came to us as the
child Jesus Christ!" concluded the Holy Father.
THE
POPE IN THE FINANCIAL TIMES: CHRISTMAS IS A TIME FOR CHRISTIANS TO
ENGAGE WITH THE WORLD
Vatican
City, 20 December 2012 (VIS) - The "Financial Times" daily
newspaper has today published an article by Benedict XVI entitled "A
time for Christians to engage with the world". According to an
introductory note from the Holy See Press Office, "The Pope's
article for the Financial Times originates from a request from the
editorial office of the Financial Times itself which, taking as a cue
the recent publication of the Pope's book on Jesus' infancy, asked
for his comments on the occasion of Christmas. Despite the unusual
nature of the request, the Holy Father accepted willingly.
"It
is perhaps appropriate to recall the Pope's willingness to respond to
other unusual requests in the past, such as the interview given for
the BBC, again at Christmas a few months after his visit to the
United Kingdom, or the television interview for the programme 'A sua
immagine' produced by the RAI, the Italian state broadcasting
company, to mark the occasion of Good Friday. These too have been
opportunities to speak about Jesus Christ and to bring his message to
a wide forum at salient moments during the Christian liturgical
year".
Below is
the full text of the Pope's article:
A time
for Christians to engage with the world
"'Render
unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God,'
was the response of Jesus when asked about paying taxes. His
questioners, of course, were laying a trap for him. They wanted to
force Him to take sides in the highly-charged political debate about
Roman rule in the land of Israel. Yet there was more at stake here:
if Jesus really was the long-awaited Messiah, then surely He would
oppose the Roman overlords. So the question was calculated to expose
Him either as a threat to the regime, or a fraud.
"Jesus’
answer deftly moves the argument to a higher plane, gently cautioning
against both the politicisation of religion and the deification of
temporal power, along with the relentless pursuit of wealth. His
audience needed to be reminded that the Messiah was not Caesar, and
Caesar was not God. The kingdom that Jesus came to establish was of
an altogether higher order. As He told Pontius Pilate, 'My kingship
is not of this world.'
"The
Christmas stories in the New Testament are intended to convey a
similar message. Jesus was born during a “census of the whole
world” taken by Caesar Augustus, the Emperor renowned for bringing
the Pax Romana to all the lands under Roman rule. Yet this infant,
born in an obscure and far-flung corner of the Empire, was to offer
the world a far greater peace, truly universal in scope and
transcending all limitations of space and time.
"Jesus
is presented to us as King David’s heir, but the liberation He
brought to His people was not about holding hostile armies at bay; it
was about conquering sin and death forever.
"The
birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values,
our very way of life. While Christmas is undoubtedly a time of great
joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination
of conscience. At the end of a year that has meant economic hardship
for many, what can we learn from the humility, the poverty, the
simplicity of the crib scene?
"Christmas
can be the time in which we learn to read the Gospel, to get to know
Jesus not only as the Child in the manger, but as the one in Whom we
recognize God made Man.
"It
is in the Gospel that Christians find inspiration for their daily
lives and their involvement in worldly affairs – be it in the
Houses of Parliament or the Stock Exchange. Christians shouldn’t
shun the world; they should engage with it. But their involvement in
politics and economics should transcend every form of ideology.
"Christians
fight poverty out of a recognition of the supreme dignity of every
human being, created in God’s image and destined for eternal life.
Christians work for more equitable sharing of the earth’s resources
out of a belief that, as stewards of God’s creation, we have a duty
to care for the weakest and most vulnerable. Christians oppose greed
and exploitation out of a conviction that generosity and selfless
love, as taught and lived by Jesus of Nazareth, are the way that
leads to fullness of life. Christian belief in the transcendent
destiny of every human being gives urgency to the task of promoting
peace and justice for all.
"Because
these goals are shared by so many, much fruitful cooperation is
possible between Christians and others. Yet Christians render to
Caesar only what belongs to Caesar, not what belongs to God.
Christians have at times throughout history been unable to comply
with demands made by Caesar. From the Emperor cult of ancient Rome to
the totalitarian regimes of the last century, Caesar has tried to
take the place of God. When Christians refuse to bow down before the
false gods proposed today, it is not because of an antiquated
world-view. Rather, it is because they are free from the constraints
of ideology and inspired by such a noble vision of human destiny that
they cannot collude with anything that undermines it.
"In
Italy, many crib scenes feature the ruins of ancient Roman buildings
in the background. This shows that the birth of the child Jesus marks
the end of the old order, the pagan world, in which Caesar’s claims
went virtually unchallenged. Now there is a new king, who relies not
on the force of arms, but on the power of love. He brings hope to all
those who, like himself, live on the margins of society. He brings
hope to all who are vulnerable to the changing fortunes of a
precarious world. From the manger, Christ calls us to live as
citizens of his heavenly kingdom, a kingdom that all people of good
will can help to build here on earth".
DECREES
OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS
Vatican
City, Vatican City, 20 December 2012 (VIS) - Today, during a private
audience with Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the
Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Pope authorised the
Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
MIRACLES
- Blessed
Antonio Primaldo e Compagni, killed in 1480 in Otranto, Italy.
- Blessed
Laura Montoya, Colombian foundress of the Congregation of the
Missionary Sisters of Mary Immaculate and of St. Catherine of Siena
(1874-1949).
- Blessed
Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala, Mexican co-foundress of the Handmaids
of St. Margaret Mary and of the Poor (1878-1963).
-
Venerable Servant of God Antonio Franco, Italian bishop of Santa
Lucia del Mela (1585-1626).
-
Venerable Servant of God Jose Gabriele del Rosario Brochero,
Argentinian priest (1840-1914).
-
Venerable Servant of God Cristobal of St. Catherine (ne: Cristobal
Fernando Valladolid), Spanish priest and founder of the Congregation
and the Hospital of Jesus of Nazareth in Cordoba (1638-1690).
-
Venerable Servant of God Sofia Czeska-Maciejowska, Polish foundress
of the Congregation of the Virgins of the Presentation of the Blessed
Virgin Mary (1584-1650).
-
Venerable Servant of God Margherita Lucia Szewczyk, Polish foundress
of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Sorrowful Mother of God -
Seraphic Sisters (1584-1650).
MARTYRDOM
- Servant
of God Miroslav Bulesic, Croatian priest, killed in hatred of the
faith in 1947.
- Servant
of God José Javier Gorosterratzu, Spanish, and five companions of
the Congregation of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer,
killed in hatred of the faith in Spain between 1936 and 1938.
-
Servants of God Fr. Riccardo Gil Barcelon and Antonio Arrue Peiro,
Postulant, of the Congregation of the of killed in hatred of the
faith in Spain in 1936.
- Servant
of God Manuel de la Sagrada Familia, (ne Manuel Sanz Dominguez),
Spanish professed monk and Reformer of the Order of San Girolamo,
killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in 1936.
- Servant
of God Maria di Monserrat (nee Giuseppa Pilar Garcia y Solanas) and
eight companions, Spanish professed nun, along with Lucrezia Garcia y
Solanas, laywoman, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in 1936.
- Servant
of God Melchora de la Adoración Cortés Bueno, Spanish, and fourteen
companions of the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity of St.
Vincent de Paul, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain between 1936
and 1937.
HEROIC
VIRTUES
- Servant
of God Paul VI, Giovanni Battista Montini, Italian, Supreme Pontiff
(1897-1978).
- Servant
of God Francesco Saverio Petagna, bishop of Castellamare di Stabia,
founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts
(1812-1878).
- Servant
of God Juan José Santiago Bonal Cortada, Spanish founder of the
Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of St. Anne (1769-1829).
- Servant
of God Fr. Louis-Marie Baudouin, French priest, (1765-1835).
- Servant
of God Marcelina de San José (nee Luisa Aveledo), foundress of the
Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of St. Peter Claver,
Venezualan (1874-1959).
- Servant
of God Claudia Russo, Italian foundress of the Congregation of the
Poor Sisters of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(1889-1964).
- Servant
of God Maria Francisca de las Llagas (nee Rosa Elena Cornejo),
Ecuadorean foundress of the Congregation of Franciscan Missionary
Sisters of Mary Immaculate (1874 -1964).
- Servant
of God Clara Ludmilla Szczesna, Polish cofoundress of the
Congregation of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
(1863-1916).
- Servant
of God Consuelo (nee Joaquina Maria Mercedes Barceló y Pagés),
Spanish cofoundress of the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of
Consolation (1857-1940).
AUDIENCES
Vatican
City, 20 December 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in
audience Bishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council
for the Family.
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