ANGELUS OF 6/22/08
Here is a translation of the Holy Father's words at the noonday Angelus today.
Dear brothers and sisters,
In the Gospel for this Sunday we find two invitations from Christ: on the one hand, "do not fear men", and on the other, "fear" God (cfr Mt 10, 26.28). We are thus urged to reflect on the difference between human fear and fear of God.
Fear is a natural dimension of life. From the time we are small children, we experience forms of fear which turn out to be imaginary and disappear; others emerge successively, which have specific bases in reality: these should be faced and overcome with human effort and with trust in God.
But then, there is a form of fear which is more profound, an existential fear which often becomes anguish. It is born out of a sense of emptiness, linked to a culture which is permeated by widespread nihilism that is both theoretical and practical.
Before the wide and diverse panorama of human fears, the Word of God is clear: whoever 'fears' God 'will not be afraid'. Fear of God, which Scriptures define as "the principle of true wisdom", coincides with faith in him, with sacred respect for his authority over life and the world.
To be 'without fear of God' is equivalent to placing oneself in his place, to feel ourselves masters of good and evil, of life and death. On the contrary, he who fears God feels the security that a baby has in his mother's arms (cf Ps 130,2),
He who fears God is tranquil even in the midst of tempests, because God, as Jesus has revealed to us, is the Father full of mercy and goodness. He who loves him has no fear: "There is no fear in love," writes the Apostle John, "but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love" (1 Jn 4,18).
Therefore the believer does not get terrified of anything, because he knows he is in the hands of God, he knows that the evil and the irrational do not have the last word, but that the only Lord of the world and of life is Christ, the Word of God incarnate, who loved us to the point of sacrificing himself, dying on the Cross for our salvation.
The more we grow in this intimacy with God, impregnated with love, the more easily we can conquer every form of fear.
In the Gospel passage today, Jesus repeats several times the exhortation not to be afraid. He reassures us, as he did with the Apostles, as he did with St. Paul appearing to him in a vision at night, at a moment that was particularly difficult in his preaching: " Do not be afraid," he said, "because I am with you" (Acts 18,9).
Strong in the presence of Christ, and comforted by his love, not even martyrdom daunted the Apostle of the Gentiles, whose bimillennial birth anniversary we shall soon celebrate with a special jubilee year.
May this great spiritual and pastoral event inspire in us a renewed confidence in Jesus Christ who calls us to announce and testify to his Gospel without fearing anything.
I invite you then, dear brothers and sisters, to prepare to celebrate with faith the Pauline Year which, God willing, I will solemnly open this coming Saturday, at 6 p.m. at the Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls, with the liturgy of the First Vespers for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.
Let us now entrust this great ecclesial ibnitative to the intercession of St. Paul and the Most Blessed Mary, Queen of the Apostles and Mother of Christ, spring of our joy and our peace.
After the Angelus prayers, the Holy Father had the following special messages:
With great emotion I learned today of the sinking of a ferryboat in the Philippines due to typhoon Fenchen which has afflicted that zone.
[Hundreds are believed to have drowned.]
As I assure the people hit by the typhoon of my spiritual nearness, I raise a special prayer to the Lord for the victims of this new sea tragedy among which were many children.
Today in Beirut, capital of Lebanon, Yaaqub (Jacob) da Ghazir Haddad nee Khalil, a priest of the Order of the Capuchin Order of Friars Minor and founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Cross of Lebanon, was proclaimed Blessed.
In expressing my felicitations to his spiritual children, I hope with all my heart that the intercession of Blessed Abuna Yaaqub, united with those of the Lebanese saints, may obtain that this beloved and
tormented nation, which has suffered so much, may finally progress towards a stable peace.
In English, he said:
Today’s Gospel reminds us that we are personally loved by our heavenly Father, whose providence watches over us and frees us from all fear.
May these consoling words strengthen us in our witness to the joy and hope proclaimed by the Gospel!
Upon you and your families I cordially invoke the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 22/06/2008 19:01]