Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “Tomorrow there will open in Copenhagen the U.N. conference on climate change through which the international community intends to fight global warming. I hope that the work will help to identify actions respectful of creation and favorable to solidary development founded on the dignity of the human person and oriented toward the common good.” These were the words pronounced by the Holy Father Benedict XVI at the close of the Angelus recited with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, December 6. “The safeguarding of creation requires sober and responsible lifestyles that would benefit the poor and future generations. In this perspective, to guarantee the conferences complete success, I invite all persons of good will to respect the laws placed by God in nature and to rediscover the moral dimension of human life.”
In his address prior to the Marian prayer, the Pope reflected on the abundant references to the political and religious authority in Palestine in 27/28 AD in the beginning of that Sunday's Gospel: “Evidently the evangelist wants to point out to the reader or listener that the Gospel is not a myth, but the account of a true story, that Jesus of Nazareth is a historical personage inserted in that precise context. The second element worthy of note is that, after this ample historical introduction, the subject becomes 'the word of God,' presented as a force that descends from on high and comes to rest upon John the Baptist.”
The Pope then quoted a comment from Saint Ambrose on this Gospel passage: “The Word of God is the subject that moves history, inspires prophets, prepares the way for the Messiah, convokes the Church. Jesus himself is the divine Word that became flesh in Mary's virginal womb: In him God is fully revealed, he has spoken and given us everything, opening the treasuries of his truth and of his mercy to us.”
The Pope concluded saying: “The most beautiful flower that has sprung up from the word of God is the Virgin Mary. She is the first fruits of the Church, garden of God on earth. But, while Mary is the Immaculate One -- as we will celebrate her the day after tomorrow -- the Church has constant need of purifying herself, because sin infects all her members. In the Church there is always a struggle taking place between the desert and the garden, between the sin that parches the earth and the grace that waters it so that it produces abundant fruits of holiness. Let us therefore pray to the Mother of the Lord that she will help us, in this Advent season, to 'straighten' our ways, letting ourselves be guided by the word of God.” (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 7/12/2009)
