The Pope Benedict XVI Fan Club: Homepage
I guess I should have known there would be a diferent URL...
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Pope's Homily
I especially liked this part of the homily...
From the Vatican Information Service:
The symbol of the lamb also has a deeper meaning. In the ancient Near East, it was customary for kings to style themselves shepherds of their people. This was an image of their power, a cynical image: to them their subjects were like sheep, which the shepherd could dispose of as he wished. When the shepherd of all humanity, the living God, Himself became a lamb, He stood on the side of the lambs, with those who are downtrodden and killed. This is how He reveals Himself to be the true shepherd: 'I am the Good Shepherd . . . I lay down my life for the sheep,' Jesus says of Himself (Jn 10:14ff). It is not power, but love that redeems us! This is God's sign: He Himself is love. How often we wish that God would make show Himself stronger, that He would strike decisively, defeating evil and creating a better world. All ideologies of power justify themselves in exactly this way, they justify the destruction of whatever would stand in the way of progress and the liberation of humanity. We suffer on account of God's patience. And yet, we need His patience. God, Who became a lamb, tells us that the world is saved by the Crucified One, not by those who crucified Him. The world is redeemed by the patience of God. It is destroyed by the impatience of man.
From the Vatican Information Service:
The symbol of the lamb also has a deeper meaning. In the ancient Near East, it was customary for kings to style themselves shepherds of their people. This was an image of their power, a cynical image: to them their subjects were like sheep, which the shepherd could dispose of as he wished. When the shepherd of all humanity, the living God, Himself became a lamb, He stood on the side of the lambs, with those who are downtrodden and killed. This is how He reveals Himself to be the true shepherd: 'I am the Good Shepherd . . . I lay down my life for the sheep,' Jesus says of Himself (Jn 10:14ff). It is not power, but love that redeems us! This is God's sign: He Himself is love. How often we wish that God would make show Himself stronger, that He would strike decisively, defeating evil and creating a better world. All ideologies of power justify themselves in exactly this way, they justify the destruction of whatever would stand in the way of progress and the liberation of humanity. We suffer on account of God's patience. And yet, we need His patience. God, Who became a lamb, tells us that the world is saved by the Crucified One, not by those who crucified Him. The world is redeemed by the patience of God. It is destroyed by the impatience of man.
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Message to Chief Rabbi of Rome
From Zenit News Agency - The World Seen From Rome:
"'May the Lord have mercy and bless us; may his light shine upon us. On April 19, 2005, the cardinals of the Holy Roman Church elected me Bishop of Rome and Pastor of the universal Catholic Church. In announcing my election and the solemn inauguration of my pontificate, on Sunday, April 24, at 10 o'clock, I trust in the help of the Almighty to continue with the dialogue and to reinforce collaboration with the sons and daughters of the Jewish people. Vatican, April 20, 2005, Benedictus XVI.'"
"'May the Lord have mercy and bless us; may his light shine upon us. On April 19, 2005, the cardinals of the Holy Roman Church elected me Bishop of Rome and Pastor of the universal Catholic Church. In announcing my election and the solemn inauguration of my pontificate, on Sunday, April 24, at 10 o'clock, I trust in the help of the Almighty to continue with the dialogue and to reinforce collaboration with the sons and daughters of the Jewish people. Vatican, April 20, 2005, Benedictus XVI.'"
Message to Chief Rabbi of Rome
From Zenit News Agency - The World Seen From Rome:
"'May the Lord have mercy and bless us; may his light shine upon us. On April 19, 2005, the cardinals of the Holy Roman Church elected me Bishop of Rome and Pastor of the universal Catholic Church. In announcing my election and the solemn inauguration of my pontificate, on Sunday, April 24, at 10 o'clock, I trust in the help of the Almighty to continue with the dialogue and to reinforce collaboration with the sons and daughters of the Jewish people. Vatican, April 20, 2005, Benedictus XVI.'"
"'May the Lord have mercy and bless us; may his light shine upon us. On April 19, 2005, the cardinals of the Holy Roman Church elected me Bishop of Rome and Pastor of the universal Catholic Church. In announcing my election and the solemn inauguration of my pontificate, on Sunday, April 24, at 10 o'clock, I trust in the help of the Almighty to continue with the dialogue and to reinforce collaboration with the sons and daughters of the Jewish people. Vatican, April 20, 2005, Benedictus XVI.'"
A Hint of this Pontificate's Direction?
To provide answers to a world thirsty for them...
From Zenit News Agency - The World Seen From Rome:
"Q: Do you think that the Church, especially in the Western world, is prepared to address de-Christianization and the great void that is left? Or is there still among the men of the Church a vision of Christianity, and not of a missionary Church?
Cardinal Ratzinger: I think that in this connection, we have much to learn. We are too concerned with ourselves, with structural questions, with celibacy, the ordination of women, pastoral councils, the rights of these councils [and] of synods ...
We always work on our internal problems and we do not realize that the world is in need of answers; it does not know how to live. The world's inability to live properly is seen in drugs, terrorism, etc. Therefore, the world is thirsty for answers -- and we remain with our problems.
I am convinced that if we go out to meet others, and we present the Gospel to them in an appropriate way, even our internal problems will be relativized and resolved. This is a fundamental point: We must make the Gospel accessible to today's secularized world. "
From Zenit News Agency - The World Seen From Rome:
"Q: Do you think that the Church, especially in the Western world, is prepared to address de-Christianization and the great void that is left? Or is there still among the men of the Church a vision of Christianity, and not of a missionary Church?
Cardinal Ratzinger: I think that in this connection, we have much to learn. We are too concerned with ourselves, with structural questions, with celibacy, the ordination of women, pastoral councils, the rights of these councils [and] of synods ...
We always work on our internal problems and we do not realize that the world is in need of answers; it does not know how to live. The world's inability to live properly is seen in drugs, terrorism, etc. Therefore, the world is thirsty for answers -- and we remain with our problems.
I am convinced that if we go out to meet others, and we present the Gospel to them in an appropriate way, even our internal problems will be relativized and resolved. This is a fundamental point: We must make the Gospel accessible to today's secularized world. "
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