Focusing on the theme of the plenary, Pope Benedict said: "We must never cease to raise this question, to 'begin again from God' so as to recognise man in all his dimensions and dignity. Indeed the mentality, so widespread in our time, which rejects any reference to the transcendent has proved incapable of comprehending and preserving what is human. The spread of such a mentality has generated the crisis we are experiencing today which, more than an economic and social crisis, is a crisis of meaning and values. ... In this context, the question of God is, in a certain sense, 'the main question'. It brings us back to the basic query about man, to the aspirations for truth, happiness and freedom which are inherent to the human heart and which seek realisation".
"If it is true that 'being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person', then the question of God is reawakened by meeting people who have the gift of faith, who have a living relationship with the Lord. ... Here your role as lay faithful is particularly important. ... You are called to show luminous witness of the relevance of God in all fields of thought and action. In the family and the workplace, in politics and in economics, modern man needs to see and feel how the presence or absence of God changes everything.
"But the challenge of a mentality closed to the transcendent obliges even Christians to focus more specifically on the central place of God", the Holy Father added. "Efforts have been made in the past to ensure that the presence of Christians in social, political and economic life was more incisive, and perhaps less attention was given to the solidity of their faith, almost as if it was taken for granted. The truth is that Christians do not live on some distant planet, immune to the 'sicknesses' of the world; they are affected by the turmoil, disorientation and difficulties of their time. Therefore it is equally important to raise the question of God within the Church. ... The first response to the great challenge of our time lies, then, in a profound conversion of heart, so that the Baptism which made us light of the world and salt of the earth, can truly transform us", he concluded.
+
+
As we enter the season of Advent, how are we being “called to show luminous witness of the relevance of God in all fields of thought and action”? In the family and the workplace? In politics and in economics? How does the presence or absence of God change everything?
+
Is the Lord calling you to the land of His birth, where he lived among us?
Please prayerfully consider joining me on a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land from March 17 – 27, 2012. The scriptures will come alive as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Tour includes: Daily Mass at holy sites, guide, accommodation in First Class hotels (five nights in Jerusalem , three nights in Tiberias, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee), land transportation by deluxe motorcoach, roundtrip airfare from Philadelphia
please contact: George’s International Tours, (800) 566-7499 or http://www.georgesintl.com/.
+
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments will be reviewed and may be edited before publication.