Pope Benedict Talks About Sunday Gospel and Prays For Texas ( Angleus of ( 9 / 21 / 08 ) Full Text

As I just posted earlier we had a Pope Benedict Holy Twofer. Not only did he give his regular Angelus but he gave a wonderful homily(Pope Benedict often gives great Homilies but he doesn't give a Homily every Sunday). For that with pics see Pope Benedict Dedicates Altar And Gives Homily on Liturgy, Real Presence, And the Proper Reconciliation With Neighbor ( 9 / 21 /08)

He also gave a Angelus and yes even the Texans got a mention because of the Hurricane. The Pope seems to not have been informed Hurricane Ike also hurt Louisiana but we shall give him a pass. God knows if the Pope is relying on CNN our troubles from the Hurricane were a non story.

Strangely we have a ton of pics from the great Mass but I could find none from the Angelus which was done at the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo. Well those pics when the Angelus is done there all start too look the same anyway. Soon Pope Benedict will be back at St Peters full time.

Anyway thanks again to the Ratzinger Forum for the quick English translation.

ANGELUS OF 9/21/08 Returning from the adjoining town of Albano Laziale where he celebrated Mass and dedicated the new main altar of the Cathedral of San Pancrazio, the Holy Father led the noontime Angelus from the balcony overlooking the inner courtyard of the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo. Here is a translation of his words before and after the prayers.

Dear brothers and sisters: Perhaps you may recall that on the day of my election, when I addressed the crowd in St. Peter's Square, it came spontaneously to me to present myself as a worker in the vineyard of the Lord. In today's Gospel (cfr Mt 20,1-16a), Jesus narrates the parable of the vineyard owner who, at different times of the day, called laborers to work in his vineyard.
And at the end of the day, he gave them all the same pay - a denarium - raising protest from those who had worked from the first hour. It is clear that the pay represents eternal life, a gift that God reserves for everyone. And those who are considered "the last", if they accept it, can become 'the first', while the 'first' risk ending up 'the last'.

A first message in this parable is the fact itself that the owner does not tolerate, so to speak, unemployment - he wants everyone to be employed working on his vineyard. In truth, to be called is already the first compensation: to be able to work in the vineyard of the Lord, to place oneself in his service, constitutes in itself an inestimable gift which repays every effort. But this can be understood only by those who love the Lord and his Kingdom.

He who works only for the pay will never be aware of the value of this inestimable treasure. Narrating the parable is St. Matthew, apostle and evangelist, whose liturgical feast comes today. I am happy to underscore that Matthew himself, lived firsthand the experience of this parable (cfr Mt 9,9). In fact, before Jesus called him, he was a publican [tax collector for the Romans] and so he was considered a public sinner [by the Jews], excluded from 'the vineyard of the Lord'. But everything changed when Jesus, passing by his tax collector's post, looked at him and said, "Follow me". Matthew got up and followed him.

From being a publican, he immediately became a disciple of Christ. From being 'last', he found himself 'first', thanks to the logic of God which, fortunately for us, is different from that of the world. "My thoughts are not your thoughts," says the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, "nor are your ways my ways" (Is 55,8). Even St. Paul, of whom we are celebrating a special Jubilee Year, experienced the joy of being called by the Lord to work in his vineyard. And how much work he did! But, as he himself confesses, it was the grace of God working in him, that grace which transformed him from a persecutor of the Church into the Apostle of the Gentiles.

So much as to make him say: "For to me, life is Christ, and death is gain." And he adds right after, "If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which I shall choose" (Phil 1,21-22). Paul understood well that to work for the Lord is already reward on this earth. The Virgin Mary, whom I had the joy of venerating in Lourdes one week ago, is a perfect shoot of the Lord's vine. In her was germinated the blessed fruit of divine love - Jesus, our Savior. May she help us to always answer with joy to the Lord's call, and to find our happiness in being able to labor for the Kingdom of heaven.

After the Angelus prayers, he made the following special appeal:

In recent weeks, the Caribbean nations - particularly Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic - and southern United States, especially Texas, were severely struck by violent hurricanes. I wish to renew my assurances to all those beloved people that I remember them specially in prayer. I also hope that all the assistance needed will reach the most affected areas promptly. God grant that, at least in these circumstances, solidarity and brotherhood may prevail over every other motive.

On Thursday, September 25, in the context of the coming 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, a high-level meeting will take place to verify fulfillment of objectives established by the Millennium Declaration of September 8, 2000. On the occasion of this important meeting, which will gather together the leaders of all the nations of the world, I wish to call on them anew to take and apply with courage the measures that are necessary to eradicate extreme poverty, hunger, ignorance and the scourge of pandemics, which strike the most vulnerable.

Such a commitment, although it will involve particular sacrifices in this time of worldwide economic difficulties, will not fail to produce important benefits bot for the development of nations which need foreign assistance and for the peace and well0being of the entire planet.

In English, he said:

I am happy to greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present for this Angelus prayer. In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches that God is always generous in his dealings with us. The Kingdom of Heaven will come to us not as a reward for our good deeds, based on strict justice, but as a grace, a gift of God’s mercy and abounding love. Let us ask the Lord to keep us always in his love! I wish you all a pleasant stay in Castel Gandolfo and Rome, and a blessed Sunday!