The Holy Father met today with
- H.E. Faure Essozimna Gnassinbé, President of the Republic of Togo, his wife, and his entourage
- Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani, President of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs of the Holy See
- The Apostolic Nuncios to Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates on ad limina visit
- Community of the Almo Collegio Capranica of Rome. Address in Italian.
The Vatican released the text of the Pope's Message for the 16th World Day for the Sick, and
The Vatican Office for Liturgical Celebrations formally announced the Pope's Vespers Service at St. Paul's
Basilica on Jan. 25.
MEETING WITH THE PRESIDENT OF TOGO
VATICAN CITY, 19 JAN 2008 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office announced this morning that "the Holy Father Benedict XVI today received in audience Faure Gnassingbe, president of the Republic of Togo, who subsequently went on to meet Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
"In the course of the cordial discussions satisfaction was expressed at the good relations that exist between the Holy See and Togo, with particular emphasis on the contribution Catholics make to the integral progress of the Togolese people. The need to achieve complete national reconciliation was underlined as was the urgent importance of bringing aid to the numerous refugees and victims of last October's floods".
BENEDICT XVI RECALLS
CARDINAL DOMENICO CAPRANICA
VATICAN CITY, 19 JAN 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received professors and students of the diocesan seminary of Rome, the "Almo Collegio Capranica", for the feast day of their patroness, St Agnes, which falls on 21 January.
In his talk to them, them Benedict XVI gave particular emphasis to the figure of Cardinal Domenico Capranica, who founded the institution 550 years ago and who, a century before the Council of Trent, was able to see "that the desired reform would not only have to involve ecclesiastical structures but, principally, the lives and choices of those people within the Church who were called to be ... guides and pastors of the People of God".
The same cardinal also drew up the "Constitutiones" of the "Almo Collegio" which regulate "the various aspects of the formation of the young students", said the Pope. With those "Constitutiones", the cardinal "demonstrated his concern for the primacy of the spiritual dimension, and his awareness that the profundity of a solid priestly formation - and its consequent durability - depend to a decisive degree on the completeness and overall structure of the educational syllabus.
"These aspects have even greater importance today", the Pope added, "considering the multiple challenges priests and evangelisers must face on their mission. In this context I have, on a number of occasions, reminded seminarians and priests of the urgent need to cultivate a profound interior life, a personal and constant contact with Christ in prayer and contemplation, a sincere longing for sanctity.
"In fact, without a true friendship with Jesus, it is impossible for Christians, and especially for priests, to carry out the mission with which the Lord entrusts them. For priests, it is clear that this also entails serious cultural and theological preparation".
The Holy Father stressed "the decisive impulse" a period spent in Rome can give to priests' educational itinerary, because of "the presence of the Cathedra of Peter, the work of the people and the institutions that assist the Bishop of Rome", and "a more direct knowledge of certain particular Churches".
"Your pastors", the Pope told his audience, "have sent you to the city of Peter's Successor in the hope that you return enriched by a markedly Catholic spirit, and a fuller and more universal awareness of ecclesial matters".
Life in the "Almo Collegio" enables its students, who come from all over the world, "to gain an intimate knowledge of that mix of cultures and mentalities which is so typical of modern life", the Pope concluded. "Furthermore, the presence of students from the Russian Orthodox Church represents a further encouragement to dialogue and fraternity, and gives nourishment to ecumenical hopes".
POPE'S MESSAGE FOR THE
WORLD DAY FOR THE SICK
VATICAN CITY, 19 JAN 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father's Message for the World Day of the Sick 2008, was made public today. Its theme is: "The Eucharist, Lourdes and Pastoral Care of the Sick". The World Day of the Sick is due to be celebrated on February 11, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
In the Message, which has been published in Italian and English, the Pope explains how this year's World Day is associated with "two important events in the life of the Church: ... The 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Mary Immaculate at Lourdes, and the celebration of the International Eucharistic Congress at Quebec, Canada, in June". This, he writes, "is a remarkable opportunity to consider the close connection that exists between the Mystery of the Eucharist, the role of Mary in the project of salvation, and the reality of human pain and suffering".
"There is an indissoluble bond", the Pope states, "between the mother and the Son generated in her womb by work of the Holy Spirit, and this bond we perceive, in a mysterious way, in the Sacrament of the Eucharist".
Benedict XVI highlights how "Mary 'Mater Dolorosa' is associated with the sacrifice of Christ, suffering with her divine Son at the foot of the cross. The Christian community feels her to be especially close as it gathers around its suffering members who bear the signs of the Lord's passion. Mary suffers with those who are afflicted, with them she hopes, and she is their comfort, supporting them with her maternal help".
The Pope mentions the theme of the Eucharistic Congress of Quebec, "The Eucharist, Gift of God for the Life of the World", then proceeds: "It is He who gathers us around the Eucharistic table, arousing in His disciples loving care for the suffering and the sick, in whom the Christian community recognises the face of its Lord".
"It thus appears clear that it is specifically from the Eucharist that health pastoral care must draw the necessary spiritual strength to come effectively to man's aid and to help him understand the salvific value of his own suffering. ... Mysteriously united to Christ, the man who suffers with love and meek self-abandonment to the will of God becomes a living offering for the salvation of the world".
The Pope invites diocesan and parish communities to celebrate the World Day of the Sick "with full appreciation for the happy concurrence of the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady at Lourdes with the International Eucharistic Congress. May it be an occasion to emphasise the importance of Mass, and of the adoration and celebration of the Eucharist, so that chapels in our healthcare centres become beating hearts in which Jesus offers Himself unceasingly to the Father for the life of humanity! The distribution of the Eucharist to the sick, if performed decorously and in a spirit of prayer, is a true comfort to those who suffer".
Benedict XVI concludes his Message by inviting people to consider the World Day of the Sick as "a propitious circumstance to invoke in a special way the maternal protection of Mary over those who are weighed down by illness, over healthcare providers, and workers in health pastoral care. I think in particular of priests involved in this field, religious, volunteers, and all those who with active dedication are concerned to serve, in body and soul, the sick and those in need".
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 22/01/2008 02:59]