ANGELUS TODAY
Here is a translation of the Holy Father's words at the noontime Angelus today:
Dear brothers and sisters,
The Gospel on this fourth Sunday of Advent offers us once more the story of the Annunciation (Lk 1,26-38), the mystery that we return to daily when we pray the Angelus.
This prayer makes us relive that decisive moment when God knocked on the heart of Mary, and having received her Yes, started to become flesh in her and from her.
The Collect prayer in today's Mass is the same that we recite at the end of the Angelus which says:
"Pour forth we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen."
In these few days before the feast of the Nativity, we are invited to fix our attention on the ineffable mystery that Mary guarded for nine months in her virginal womb - the mystery of God made man.
This is the first cardinal point of redemption. The second is the death and resurrection of Jesus. And these two inseparable events manifest the one divine design: to save mankind and history, by taking them all on himself in order to take charge of all the evils that oppress man.
This mystery of salvation, beyond the historic, has a cosmic dimension: Christ is the Sun of grace who, with his light, "transfigures and lights up the universe in waiting" (Liturgy).
The occurrence of the feast of the Nativity itself is linked to the winter solstice, when in the northern hemisphere, the days start to lengthen.
In this respect, perhaps not everyone knows that there is a great meridian on St. Peter's Square. In fact, the Obelisk casts its shadow along a line that follows the pavement towards the fountain beneath this window, and these days, is the longest that it casts during the year.
This reminds us of the function of astronomy in marking the times of prayer. For instance, the Angelus is recited in the morning, at midday and in the evening, and clocks and watches are timed to the meridian which in the past served precisely to determine the 'true midday'.
The fact that the winter solstice falls today, December 21, at this hour, gives me the occasion to greet all those who will take part in various ways in the initiatives for the World Astronomy Year in 2009, proclaimed to mark the fourth centenary of Galileo Galilei's first observations through the telescope.
Among my predecessors of venerated memory, there have been those who were dedicated to this science, like Sylvester II who taught it; Gregory XIII to whom we owe our calendar; and St. Pius X who constructed sundials.
If the heavens, according to the beautiful words of the Psalmist, 'narrate the glory of God' (Ps 19[18],2), even the laws of nature, which through the centuries, the men and women of science have made us understand increasingly more, are a great stimulus to contemplate with gratitude the works of the Lord.
Let us now turn our attention to Mary and Joseph, who await the birth of Jesus, and let us learn from them the secret of recollection in order to taste the joy of Christmas.
Let us prepare ourselves to receive with faith the Redeemer who comes to be among us, the Word of God's love for man in every age.
In English, he said:
I am pleased to greet all the English-speaking pilgrims gathered for this Angelus.
In today’s liturgy, we recall how the Virgin Mary was invited by the Angel to conceive the one in whom the fullness of divinity would dwell: Jesus, the "Son of the Most High".
As we prepare to celebrate his birth, let us not be afraid to say "Yes" to the Lord, so that we may join Our Lady in singing his goodness for ever.
May God bless all of you!
In Italian later, he had this special message:
I am most pleased to greet the 50 new priests of the Legionaries of Christ who yesterday received Holy Orders from the hands of Cardinal Angelo Sodano at the Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls.
Dearest ones, may the love of Christ, which impelled St. Paul in his mission, always inspire your ministry. I bless you from the heart, along with your loved ones.
This is what AP took from the Pope's messages today. Not only does it selectively isolate just one of the many things the spoke about today - it also fails to mention the occasion during which it was said:
Pope marks Galileo anniversary,
praises astronomy
VATICAN CITY, Dec. 21 (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI is marking the 400th anniversary of Galileo's use of a telescope.
Benedict said Sunday he wanted to salute all who are marking the 2009 anniversary and UNESCO's World Year of Astronomy.
Speaking on the winter solstice, Benedict said understanding the laws of nature can stimulate understanding and appreciation of the Lord's works.
The Catholic Church condemned Galileo in the 17th century for supporting Nicholas Copernicus's discovery that the Earth revolved around the sun; church teaching at the time placed Earth at the center of the universe.
In 1992, Pope John Paul II apologized, saying that the denunciation was a tragic error.
Who would ever think, just reading the AP report, that what he said came during one of the most beautiful, polished and informative gems among his mini-homilies? It is worthy of any anthology.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 21/12/2008 14:56]