On September 16th, the final day of his three day Apostolic visit to Lebanon, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI presided over Holy Mass at Beirut's waterfront. The Mass was attended by many thousands of faithful, the Lebanese authorities and 300 bishops from all over the Middle East. The liturgy was celebrated in Arabic, French and Latin.
In his homily the Pope commented on today's reading from the Gospel of St. Mark in which the true identity of Jesus is revealed. In Mark's narrative, Jesus is walking with His disciples along the road leading to the villages in the region of Caesarea Philippi when He asks them: "Who do people say that I am?"
"The moment He chose to ask this question is not insignificant", the Holy Father explained. "Jesus was facing a decisive turning-point in His life. He was going up to Jerusalem, to the place where the central events of our salvation would take place: His crucifixion and resurrection. In Jerusalem too, following these events, the Church would be born".
The Pope went on, "following Jesus means taking up one’s cross and walking in His footsteps, along a difficult path which leads not to earthly power or glory but, if necessary, to self-abandonment, to losing one’s life for Christ and the Gospel in order to save it. We are assured that this is the way to the resurrection, to true and definitive life with God". In this context, Pope Benedict pointed out that the Year of Faith, due to begin on 11 October, is an invitation to "each member of the faithful to renew his or her commitment to undertaking this path of sincere conversion. Throughout this Year, then, I strongly encourage you to reflect more deeply on the faith, to appropriate it ever more consciously and to grow in fidelity to Christ Jesus and His Gospel.
"Brothers and sisters, the path on which Jesus wishes to guide us is a path of hope for all. Jesus’ glory was revealed at the very time when, in His humanity, He seemed weakest, particularly through the incarnation and on the cross. This is how God shows His love; He becomes our servant and gives Himself to us"....
For the full text of the homily, please visit:
http://www.news.va/en/news/lebanon-full-text-of-the-popes-homily-during-holy+
Is the Lord calling you on a path that includes a pilgrimage to the Holy Land during the Year of Faith?
Join Fr. Joseph Gotwalt as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus from March 9 – 19, 2013. The scriptures will come alive on this journey to the roots of our faith. Tour includes: Daily Mass at holy sites, licensed Christian guide, accommodation in First Class hotels (five nights in Jerusalem, three nights in Tiberias, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee), breakfast and dinner daily, land transportation by deluxe motorcoach, roundtrip motorcoach transportation from Harrisburg, PA to New York JFK, roundtrip airfare from JFK on nonstop flights with Delta Airlines, and more, for $3,150 per person/double occupancy. Airfares from other departure cities throughout the USA are available upon request.
For complete details on this pilgrimage, please contact: George’s International Tours, (800) 566-7499, sales@georgesintl.com, or Karen Hurley, k.m.hurley1@gmail.com.
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| At Caesarea Philippi |
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