Picture from Yesterday' Angelus.
Thanks again to the Ratzinger Forum that again translated the Pope's Angelus for us from yesterday. I do wish we could put these in Church bulletins here in the United States and the various other Countries in these time Zones. They generally come out in time to do it. Anyway this is a very good Angelus. He hits on the parable of the Prodigal Son which the Holy Father devoted an entire chapter in his latest book. HE talks about Mercy and new Saints that have just been beatified. From the ozone layer to 9/11, to Christian living the Pope has a lot to say to us.
Dear brothers and sisters!
Today, the liturgy proposes for our reflection Chapter 15 of the Gospel of Luke, one of the most elevated and moving in all of Sacred Scriptures.
It is good to know that in the whole world, wherever the Christian community is united to celebrate the Sunday Eucharist, that the Good News of truth and salvation resounds today in this way: God is merciful love. The evangelist Luke recounts in this chapter three parables on divine mercy: the two shorter ones, as in Matthew and Mark, are about the lost lamb and the lost coin. The third - long, detailed and found only in Luke - is the famous parable of the Merciful Father, commonly called the parable of the Prodigal Son. I
In this page of the Gospel, one can almost here the voice of Jesus who shows us the face of His Father and ours. He came to this world for this: to talk to us of the Father; to make him known to us, lost children, and resurrect in our hearts the joy of belonging to him, the hope of being forgiven and restored to our full dignity, the desire to dwell always in his home, which is also our home. Jesus narrated the three parables of mercy because the Pharisees and the scribes spoke ill of him, because he allowed sinners to come to him and he even ate with them (cfr Lk 15,1-3).
He explained, in language typical of him, that God does not wish even one of his children to be lost and that his heart overflows with joy when a sinner converts. True religion consists, therefore, in being in tune with this heart 'rich with mercy' who asks us to love everyone, even our enemies and those who are distant from us, imitating the heavenly Father who respects the freedom of everyone and draws everyone to him with the invincible force of his faithfulness. This is the way Jesus indicates to those who wish to be his disciples: "Do not judge...Do not condemn...Forgive and you will be forgiven...Give and you shall receive...Be merciful as your FAther is" (Lk 6,36-38).
In these words, we find concrete instructions for our daily behavior as believers. In our time, mankind has a need that the mercy of God is proclaimed and powerfully borne witness to. The beloved John Paul II, who was a great apostle of Divine Mercy, intuited this pastoral urgency in a prophetic manner. He dedicated his second encyclical to the Merciful Father, and throughout his Pontificate, he made himself a missionary of God's love to all the peoples of the world.
After the tragic events of September 11, 2001, which dimmed the dawn of the third millennium, he invited Christians and all men of good will to believe that the mercy of God is stronger than every evil, and that the salvation of the world can be found only in the Cross of Christ. May the Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercies, whom we commemorated yesterday as the Sorrowful Mother at the foot of the Cross, obtain for us the gift of confiding always in the love of God, and may she help us to be merciful lie our Father who is in heaven.
After the Angelus prayer, the Pope said the following words:
This morning in Poland, in the Sanctuary of Lichen, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, my Secretary of State, beatified in my behalf Father Stanislaw Papczyński, founder of the Congregation of Marian Clergy. I address a cordial greeting to the faithful assembled for this happy occasion and to the numerous devotees of the new Blessed One, who venerate in him a priest who was exemplary in his preaching, in the training of laymen, father of the poor, and apostle of praying for the souls of the departed.
Similarly, in Bordeaux today, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, Prefect of the Congregation for the CAuse of Sainthood, beatified Sister Maria Celina of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, a professed nun of the Second Franciscan Order. She wanted her life, marked by the Cross, to be a sign of Christ's love, as she herself expressed: "I thirst to be a rose of charity." I similarly honor Fr. Basilio Antonio Maria Moreau, founder of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, who was beatified yesterday in Le Mans by Cardinal Saraiva. To the intercession of these new Blessed Ones, I entrust particularly their spiritual children that they may follow ardently their luminous testimony as prophets of God, Lord of every life.
Today is the 2oth anniversary of the Protocol of Montreal on substances that weaken the ozone layer, which leads to serious damages to the human being and the ecosystem. In the past two decades, thanks to exemplary collaboration of politics, science and economics in the international community, important results have been obtained, with positive repercussions on present and future generations. I hope that, on the part of all, cooperation may intensify to promote the common good, development and the protection of creation, consolidating the alliance between man and the environment, which should be a reflection of the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are headed.
In English, he said: I extend heartfelt greetings to the English-speaking visitors here today. In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear of God’s infinite merciful love for all those who stray from the right path. With great confidence we turn to him and ask his forgiveness for the times we may have offended him. Upon all of you, and upon your families and loved ones at home, I invoke God’s abundant blessings.
To Italian-speaking pilgrims, he said: I am happy to welcome the Prior-General and members of the Order of St. Augustine who are celebrating their Chapter General. I assure them of remembrance in my prayers, so that the Lord may grant abundant grace to their work and to the life of the entire order in the various places around the world where it is found. I wish everyone a good Sunday.
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