Love is the ‘greatest gift,’ Pope Benedict declares at Angelus
Vatican City, Jan 31, 2010 / 11:03 am (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI in his address before the Angelus discussed St. Paul's "hymn of love" and the importance of love as the "badge of the Christian" and the “greatest” gift.
In First Corinthians, the Holy Father said, St. Paul shows us the “way of perfection" in the verses of his "hymn to love." Benedict XVI called the verses of Sunday’s reading "one of the most beautiful pages in the New Testament."
According to Paul, he continued, the way "does not consist of possessing exceptional qualities: speaking other languages, knowing all of the mysteries, having a prodigious faith or doing heroic acts. It consists, rather, of love - agape ... true love, that which God has revealed to us in Jesus Christ.
"Love is the 'greatest' gift, that gives value to all the others," taught the Holy Father.
After quoting excerpts regarding the nature of this love and its manifestation from St. Paul's letter, Pope Benedict added:
"In the end, when we find ourselves face-to-face with God, all of the other gifts will disappear; the only one that will remain eternally will be love, because God is love and we will be like Him, in perfect communion with Him."
"For now, while we are in this world, love is the badge of the Christian ... it is what he believes and that which he does."
Citing his first encyclical "Deus Caritas Est," the Holy Father recalled that love has two aspects: "its meaning and ... its practical realization."
"In Jesus Christ, these two aspects form a perfect unity," he explained. "He is the incarnate Love. This Love is fully revealed to us in Christ crucified."
Benedict XVI concluded by reflecting on the Saints, among whom are a “variety” of spiritual gifts and human characters, but each one’s life is “a 'hymn to love,' a living canticle to the love of God!"
He ended his address by remembering St. John Bosco, the founder of the Salesian Family and patron saint of young people, whose feast is celebrated on Sunday. The Holy Father asked for his intercession "so that priests are always educators and fathers of young people, and that, experiencing this pastoral love, many young people welcome the call to give their lives for Christ and the Gospel."
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Pope calls on business, government to save jobs
Deepa Babington
VATICAN CITY
Sun Jan 31, 2010 11:46am EST
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict Sunday called on businesses and officials to stem job losses and made an explicit reference to two Italian plants to be shut soon, in a surprise boost to union efforts to keep the factories open.
"The economic crisis is causing the loss of many jobs and this calls for a huge sense of responsibility by everyone: entrepreneurs, workers, governing officials," the pope said after his weekly Angelus blessing.
"I think of some difficult situations in Italy, like, for example, Termini Imerese and Portovesme ... Do everything possible to protect and spur job growth, assuring dignified and adequate work to sustain families."
U.S. aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. has said it will shut down its Portovesme and another Italian plant next month and carmaker Fiat has announced plans to shutter its Termini Imerese plant in Sicily.
Some Alcoa workers from the Portovesme plant who risk losing their jobs held up a banner in St. Peter's square during the pope's address to the faithful.
In strongly Catholic Italy, labor unions and the government -- which has asked Alcoa to reconsider its plans to shut the plants -- seized on the pope's words and urged companies to ensure his appeal did not fall on deaf ears.
"The pope's appeal must not fall by the wayside," said Luigi Angeletti, secretary-general of the UIL union.
Workers and union leaders at Termini Imerese told the Ansa news agency they were moved and overjoyed when they heard the pope's address on Italian television.
Opposition politicians also used the pope's words to step up pressure on the government for its response to the crisis, saying the pontiff's words showed the need for new measures.
But Labor Minister Maurizio Sacconi in a statement said it was up to businesses to respond to the crisis with a sense of "social responsibility" and heed the pope's words.
The pope in the past has said the financial crisis needs more than a quick fix and has called for solidarity to fight poverty that has been exacerbated by economic woes.
[Modificato da benefan 31/01/2010 20:05]