Nuova Discussione
Rispondi
 
Pagina precedente | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 » | Pagina successiva
Stampa | Notifica email    
Autore

HOMILIES, ANGELUS, AND OTHER SPIRITUAL TEXTS

Ultimo Aggiornamento: 26/04/2009 19:14
03/11/2008 08:32
 
Email
 
Scheda Utente
 
Modifica
 
Cancella
 
Quota
OFFLINE
Post: 15.558
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Utente Gold
ANGELUS OF 11/2/08
ALL SOULS DAY



Here is a translation of the Holy Father's Angelus message for All Souls' Day.


Dear brothers and sisters,

Yesterday, the Feast of All Saints allowed us to contemplate "the city of heaven, the celestial Jerusalem which is our mother" (Preface for All Saints' Day).

Today, with our spirit still focused on this ultimate reality, we commemorate all the faithful departed, who "have preceded us in the sign of faith and sleep the sleep of peace" (Eucharistic Prayer I).

it is very important that we Christians live a relationship with the departed in the truth of the faith, and that we look at death and the afterlife in the light of Revelation.

The Apostle Paul, writing to the first Christian communities, exhorted the faithful "not to grieve like those who have no hope".

"For if we believe," he wrote, "that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep" (1 Thess 4,13-14).

It is necessary even today to evangelize on the reality of death and eternal life, a reality that is particularly subject to superstitious beliefs and syncretisms, so that Christian truth does not risk being mixed up with all sorts of mythologies.

In my encyclical on Christian hope, I asked myself about the mystery of eternal life (cfr Spe salvi, 10-12): Is Christian faith still a hope that transforms and sustains the life of men today? (cfr, ivi 10).

More radically, do the men and women of our time still desire eternal life? Or has earthly existence perhaps become their only horizon?

In fact, as St. Augustine has observed, we all want a 'blessed life', happiness. We don't know exactly what it is and how it is, but we are attracted towards it.

And this is a universal hope, common to men of all times and in all places. The expression 'eternal life' is meant to give a name to this irrepressible expectation: which is not of an endless succession, but an immersion into the ocean of infinite love, in which time - before and after - no longer is.

A fullness of life and of joy - this is what we hope for and await from being with Christ (cfr, ivi, 12).

Today let us renew this hope of eternal life which is founded on the death and resurrection of Christ. "I have resurrected and now, I am always with you", the Lord tells us, "and my hand will hold you up."

(He is saying): Wherever you fall, you will fall into my hands, and I will be with you even at the gate of death. Where no one else can accompany you farther and where you cannot bring anyone or anything, there I will await you to transform shadows into light.

But Christian hope is never simply individual - it is always hope also for others. Our lives are so profoundly linked to each other, that the good and evil that each person does always touches others as well. Thus the prayer of a soul still on its earthly pilgrimage can help another soul which is purifying itself after death.

That is why the Church asks us to pray for our dear departed and to pay a visit to their graves.

May Mary, Star of Hope, make our faith in eternal life stronger and more authentic, and sustain our prayer of suffrage for our departed brothers.
Amministra Discussione: | Chiudi | Sposta | Cancella | Modifica | Notifica email Pagina precedente | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 » | Pagina successiva
Nuova Discussione
Rispondi
Cerca nel forum
Tag cloud   [vedi tutti]

Feed | Forum | Bacheca | Album | Utenti | Cerca | Login | Registrati | Amministra
Crea forum gratis, gestisci la tua comunità! Iscriviti a FreeForumZone
FreeForumZone [v.6.1] - Leggendo la pagina si accettano regolamento e privacy
Tutti gli orari sono GMT+01:00. Adesso sono le 11:57. Versione: Stampabile | Mobile
Copyright © 2000-2024 FFZ srl - www.freeforumzone.com