ANGELUS TODAY
The Holy Father started out his Angelus message today by reflecting on today's Gospel, saying, among other things,
The devil sought to lead Jesus towards the human logic of a powerful Messiah full of worldly success. The Cross
of Christ is the devil's ruin, and so Jesus did not cease telling his disciples that in order to enter into his glory,
he must suffer a lot, be rejected, condemned and crucified (cfr Lk 24,26), suffering itself being an integral part
of his mission.
Indeed, the theme chosen by the Italian bishops for this year's celebration of the Day for Life today is "the power of life
in suffering". Therefore, he said, euthanasia, for instance, is a false solution to the tragedy of suffering and is unworthy
of man.
This is what he said in English:
I offer a warm welcome to the English-speaking visitors gathered for this Angelus prayer.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals his divine authority in his teaching and his work of healing. Let us ask the Lord to open
our minds ever more fully to his saving truth, and our hearts to his merciful and gracious love.
Upon you and your families I cordially invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace!
Here is a full translation of the Holy Father's words at the Angelus today:
Dear brothers and sisters!
This year, on this Sunday, the liturgy offers for our meditation the Gospel of St. Mark, of which a singular characteristic
is the so-called 'messianic secret' - the fact that for the moment, Jesus did not wish it known to others, outside of
the tight group of disciples, that He was the Christ, the Son of God.
That is why he repeatedly admonished the apostles, as well as the sick whom he cured, not to reveal his identity to anyone.
For example, the Gospel passage today (Mk 1,21-28) tells of a man who was possessed by the devil, who suddenly cries out:
"What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"
Jesus rebukes him and says, "Quiet! Come out of him!" And immediately, notes the evangelist, the evil spirit with a piercing cry
came out of the man.
Jesus not only chased out the demons from persons, freeing them of their worst slavery, but forbade the devil himself
from revealing his identity.
He insisted on this 'secret' because the success of his very mission was in play, a mission on which our salvation depended.
He knew that to free mankind from the dominion of sin, He had to be sacrificed on the Cross as the Paschal Lamb.
For his part, the devil sought to dissuade him and turn him to the human logic of a powerful Messiah filled with worldly
success. The Cross of Christ is the ruin of the devil, and that is why Jesus did not cease to teach his disciples that
in order to enter into his glory, he had to suffer much, be rejected, condemned and crucified (cfr Lk 24,25), suffering
being an integral part of his mission.
Jesus suffered and died on the Cross for love. In this way, we can see, he gives sense to our suffering, a sense that
many men and women today have understood and made their own, experiencing profound serenity even in the bitterness
of harsh physical and moral trials.
It is precisely "the strength of life in suffering' that the Italian bishops have chosen as the theme for their message on
the Day for Life today. I join with all my heart in their words which express the love of Pastors for their people, and
the courage to announce the truth, the courage to say clearly, for instance, that euthanasia is a false solution to
the tragedy of suffering, a solution that is unworthy of man.
In fact, the true response cannot be to grant death, no matter how 'gentle', but to bear witness to love which helps
to face pain and agony in a human way. We can be sure of this: no tear - neither of those who suffer or those who
are near them - is lost before God.
The Virgin Mary kept in her heart the secret of her Son and shared the sorrowful hours of his Passion and Crucifixion,
sustained by the hope of the resurrection.
Let us entrust to her the persons who are suffering and those who try to sustain them every day, serving life in its every
stage - parents, health care givers, priests, religious, researchers, volunteers, and many others. Let us pray for all.
After the Angelus, he said this:
Tomorrow we will celebrate the liturgical Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Forty days after the birth
of Jesus, Mary and Joseph took him to Jerusalem, following the prescription of the Mosaic Law.
Every firstborn, according to Scriptures, belongs to the Lord, and should therefore be ransomed with a sacrifice.
In this event, Jesus was consecrated to God the Father, and linked to that consecration, was that of the Virgin Mary.
That is why my beloved predecessor John Paul II wished that this occasion, on which many consecrated persons make
or renew their vows, also become the Day for Consecrated Life.
Tomorrow afternoon, therefore, after the Holy Mass at St. Peter's Basilica presided by the Prefect of the Congregation
for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life, I will meet with consecrated persons present
in Rome.
I invite everyone to thank the Lord for the precious gift of these brothers and sisters and to ask him, through
the intercession of Our Lady, for many more new vocations in the variety of charisms of which the Church is rich.
And in his concluding greeting in Italian, he said:
I greet the Italian-speaking pilgrims, particularly the Movement for Life, the delegations of the faculties of medicine
and surgery from the various universities of Rome, and all those who are committed to the defense and promotion of
the fundamental good which is life.
I appreciate and encourage the commitment of the Diocese of Rome in this field, and I extend my most heartfelt wishes
as well for Family Week which begins today.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 03/02/2009 01:03]