Advent is time to renew faith, bring God's love to others, pope says

Advent is time to renew faith, bring God's love to others, pope says


A man dressed as St. Nicholas attends Pope Benedict XVI's general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican Dec. 5. (CNS/Paul Haring)

By Cindy Wooden

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Advent's liturgical preparation for Christmas calls Christians to renew their faith in the reality of God's great love and to make a commitment to bringing his love to the world today, Pope Benedict XVI said.

Advent, he said, "places before us the bright mystery of the coming of God's son, the great plan of God's goodness through which he desires to draw us to himself to let us live in full communion, joy and peace with him."

Addressing an estimated 4,000 people at his weekly general audience Dec. 5, Pope Benedict also asked for prayers for peace in Congo, where continuing ethnic violence and civil strife have led to dozens of deaths and has forced thousands of people to flee their homes.

In response to the fighting and "the serious humanitarian crisis" it was causing, the pope called for "dialogue and reconciliation," and he asked the international community to take action to meet the needs of the Congolese people.

In his main audience talk, Pope Benedict continued his reflections on the Year of Faith, which he opened in October.

Accepting God's love and freely choosing to follow his ways "brings a fundamental change in how we relate to the entire created reality. Everything appears in a new light; it is a true conversion. Faith is a change of mentality because God, who has made himself known in Christ and has made his plan of salvation known, draws us to himself," the pope said.

"Faith is accepting God's vision of reality, allowing God to guide us with his word and sacraments in understanding what we must do, the path we must follow, how we must live," he said.

"In the midst of many difficulties, Advent invites us once again to renew our certainty that God is present, he entered into the world, becoming human like us, in order to bring to fullness his plan of love," the pope said.

In return, he said, "God asks that we, too, become signs of his action in the world. Through our faith, our hope and our charity, he wants to enter into the world once again and make his light shine in our darkness."

Among the pilgrims at the audience were representatives of an association of Italian bakers and pastry chefs; the pope thanked them for their gifts of "panettoni," Italian Christmas cakes, which he said would be distributed to the poor.

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Pope appeals for peace in Mideast, greets pilgrims from four continents

Pope appeals for peace in Mideast, greets pilgrims from four continents

Pilgrims from Lebanon cheer and wave their national flag before Pope Benedict XVI's audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican Nov. 26. Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai was among six new cardinals created by the pope at a Nov. 24 consistory. (CNS/Paul Haring)

By Carol Glatz

Catholic News Service



VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Greeting hundreds of Christians from Lebanon, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged their presence in the Middle East and launched a fresh appeal for peace in the region.



"The church encourages every effort aimed at bringing peace to the world and the Middle East," he said, adding that real peace must be "based on an authentic respect for each other."

"I wish to encourage the life and presence of Christians in the Middle East where they should be able to live their faith freely and to launch once again an urgent appeal for peace in the region," he said.

The pope made his remarks during an audience with six new cardinals and their family and friends in the Vatican's Paul VI hall Nov. 26.

The informal gathering came after a weekend of ceremonies that saw the creation of six new members of the College of Cardinals: U.S. Cardinal James M. Harvey, former prefect of the papal household; Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai; Indian Cardinal Baselio Cleemis Thottunkal, head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church; Nigerian Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja; Colombian Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogota; and Philippine Cardinal Luis Tagle of Manila.

A large contingent of Lebanese pilgrims at the audience cheered loudly and often, and waved their nation's flag each time the pope greeted Patriarch Rai.

"My heart is flying in the sky," said Rola Rai, daughter of one of the patriarch's cousins.

She and her family, who wore large buttons displaying the patriarch's photograph, told Catholic News Service that they were thrilled about his elevation to cardinal, as well as the chance to visit Rome and see the pope.

The pope's call for Christians to remain in the Middle East was "very important," she said.

Among the several hundred pilgrims in the audience were members of Cardinal Harvey's family, including his 87-year-old mother.

Bill Harvey of Brookfield, Wis., told CNS that "it was wonderful" to see his brother be made a cardinal.

During his brother's long service as prefect of the papal household, organizing the non-liturgical side of papal events and audiences, "we got to meet Pope John Paul II, which was a great honor," he said.

Each cardinal was allowed to bring four people with him to greet the pope during the audience. Cardinal Harvey brought his mother, his nephew and two of his nieces, who were both pregnant and asked the pope to bless their unborn babies, Bill Harvey said.

Cardinal Onaiyekan brought Mercy Sister Agatha Chikelue, who wore a colorful cotton wrapper decorated with the cardinal's portrait and his episcopal motto, "Thy will be done."

All of the women in her pilgrimage group "had these made as a souvenir for the election," the sister said.

"I never thought something like this would happen to me," she said of her chance to meet the pope.

The Nigerian cardinal also introduced the former director general of his country's National Broadcasting Commission, Tom Adaba, to the pope.

Speaking to CNS, Adaba praised the new cardinal as a "good communicator who has worked for the cause of peace" and a "bridge between religions and the different areas" of Nigeria.

A novelty during the Nov. 26 audience was no longer seeing Cardinal Harvey flanking the right side of the pope.

Instead of assisting dignitaries and the pope, as he had done as prefect of the papal household since 1998, the cardinal was seated facing the stage in the VIP section. The pope named Cardinal Harvey archpriest of Rome's Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls Nov. 23.

The pope has not named a new prefect, so the regent of the Prefecture of the Papal Household, Rogationist Father Leonardo Sapienza, fulfilled those duties at the audience. He accompanied the pope on the stage along with the pope's personal secretary, Msgr. Georg Ganswein.



END

Christianity isn't rules, escapism; it's encounter with love, pope says

Christianity isn't rules, escapism; it's encounter with love, pope says


By Carol Glatz

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Far from being just a moral or ethical code, Christianity is "an experience of love; it's welcoming the person of Jesus," Pope Benedict XVI said.

"Many people today have a limited concept of what the Christian faith is because they identify it with a mere system of beliefs and values and not with the truth of a God revealing himself in history, eager to communicate with humanity one-on-one in a relationship of love," he said.

Faith "isn't an illusion, escapism, a comfortable safe haven or sentimentalism," rather it is something that engages one's whole life and it proclaims the Gospel with courage, the pope said Nov. 14 during his weekly general audience.

United with God, people of faith are "not afraid of showing their beliefs in everyday life," and they are open to dialogue "that expresses deep friendship for the journey of every person," the pope told some 8,000 pilgrims gathered in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall. In addition, he said, people of faith know how to bring a sense of hope to people's quest for "redemption, happiness and a future."

The pope dedicated his general audience talk to the different ways people can encounter and come to know God.

Criticism of religion has intensified over the centuries, resulting in forms of atheism that have led to totalitarianism, relativism, a loss of values and ethical norms, and a skewed sense of freedom that ends up chaining people to idols, he said.

The most dangerous form of atheism is a "practical" atheism that doesn't deny God or the truth of faith, but brushes it all off as being insignificant, useless or irrelevant, the pope said.

Such dismissal "ends up being even more destructive because it leads to indifference to the faith and questions about God," he said.

The Christian faith is always being put to the test, but today, people of faith are increasingly expected to give good reasons for their beliefs, he said.

So what are people of faith to do? How are they called to "gently and respectfully" respond to today's atheism, skepticism and indifference toward the transcendent, the pope asked.

He said there are three pathways that can lead people to God: reflecting on the beauty of the world, the human hunger for meaning and the transformative power of faith.

"We have to recover and help today's men and women recover the ability to contemplate creation -- its beauty and structure," he said.

The world isn't some shapeless blob but shows signs of "an intelligent creator." The laws of nature show "wonderful mechanisms," patterns or designs, that, according to Albert Einstein, reveal a form of reason superior to mankind's, the pope said.

The other pathway to God is trying to understand oneself and one's deepest yearnings, he said.

Today's busy, noisy world makes it hard, but people need to learn to "stop and look deeply inside ourselves and interpret this thirst for the infinite that we carry inside of us, that pushes us to go beyond ourselves and refer to that someone who can quench it."

The last pathway to God is a proper understanding of faith, he said.

A person who believes is united to God, he said, which makes that person's life become a "witness not of himself but of the risen Christ."

"Faith, in fact, is an encounter with God who speaks and acts in history and which converts our daily life, transforming our mentality, system of values, choices and actions."

The living witness of a person of faith can lead people to God, the pope said, however that means "each one of us must render our witness of faith more transparent, purifying our life to conform it to Christ" more closely.

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Don't be satisfied with achievements; pursue greater good, pope says

POPE-AUDIENCE Nov-7-2012 (670 words) With photos. xxxi


Don't be satisfied with achievements; pursue greater good, pope says

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI called on people to never be satisfied with their earthly achievements because true happiness entails seeking out the greater good.

He said people should "not be discouraged by fatigue or by obstacles born of our sins," because striving for the greater good is demanding and cannot be built or provided by mere human effort.

During his general audience talk to some 20,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter' s Square Nov. 7, the pope spoke about "the mysterious desire for God," which lies deep in every human heart.

Despite rampant secularization and people's claims of being indifferent to God, an innate yearning for God "has not completely disappeared and still today, in many ways, appears in the heart of mankind."

People always strive for happiness and a well-being that is "often far from spiritual," and yet they are also aware there still remains a deeper yearning for something that could truly satisfy their "restless heart," he said.

"Every wish that arises in the human heart is echoed by a fundamental desire that is never fully satisfied," he said.

True love pushes people to think beyond themselves, to be at the service of the other up to the point of self-sacrifice, he said.

Pope Benedict said the church should create a "pedagogy of desire" for people of faith and for those who do not believe in God and as a way to open them up to the transcendent.

This "pedagogy" would teach or remind people to enjoy "the authentic joys of life," such as family, friendship, helping others, solidarity with those in need and the love for learning, art and the beauty of nature, the pope said.

Not all pleasures are equal; some things eventually leave behind disappointment, bitterness, dissatisfaction or emptiness, he said. People should appreciate those things that leave behind "a positive mark, ease the soul and make us more active and generous." Such authentic enjoyments also create "effective antibodies against the trivialization and banality so present today," he said.
Learning to rediscover authentic pleasures can rescue people from "the mediocrity in which they may find themselves ensnared" and it can help people ignore or reject all the things that seem attractive on the surface, but underneath "are dull or bring about addiction and not freedom," the pope said.

Nothing can extinguish the innate desire for and ability to recognize the true good, not even after following the wrong path in life or when trapped in an "artificial paradise" or in the darkest depths of sin, he said.
God has made that ability innate in everyone and it is always open to redemption and the gift of his grace, the pope said.

The pope asked people to pray for everyone "who seeks the truth with a sincere heart, that they may come to know the joy and freedom born of faith."

Editor's Note: The text of the pope's audience remarks in English is posted online at www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20121107_en.html.
The text of the pope's audience remarks in Spanish is posted online at www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20121107_sp.html.

Cardinal Dolan congratulates the President

Cardinal Dolan Congratulates President Obama On Re-Election

November 7, 2012

Promises bishops will continue to work to defend life, marriage, religious freedom

Urges President to work for most vulnerable, including unborn, poor, immigrants

Asks for restoration of civility to the public order

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, congratulated President Barack Obama, November 7, the day after his re-election as President of the United States.
Cardinal Dolan promised the prayers of the bishops saying that "The Catholic Bishops of the United States offer our prayers that God will give you strength and wisdom to meet the difficult challenges that face America."
He added that "In particular, we pray that you will exercise your office to pursue the common good, especially in care of the most vulnerable among us, including the unborn, the poor, and the immigrant. We will continue to stand in defense of life, marriage, and our first, most cherished liberty, religious freedom. We pray, too, that you will help restore a sense of civility to the public order, so our public conversations may be imbued with respect and charity toward everyone."
His letter follows.

Dear President Obama,
In my capacity as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, I write to express my congratulations on your re-election as President of the United States.The people of our country have again entrusted you with a great responsibility.The Catholic Bishops of the United States offer our prayers that God will give you strength and wisdom to meet the difficult challenges that face America.

In particular, we pray that you will exercise your office to pursue the common good, especially in care of the most vulnerable among us, including the unborn, the poor, and the immigrant.We will continue to stand in defense of life, marriage, and our first, most cherished liberty, religious freedom.We pray, too, that you will help restore a sense of civility to the public order, so our public conversations may be imbued with respect and charity toward everyone.
May God bless you and Vice President Biden as you prepare for your second term in service to our country and its citizens.
Sincerely yours,
Timothy Cardinal Dolan
Archbishop of New York
President
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

---Keywords: President Barack Obama, Vice President Joseph Biden, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, election , religious liberty, religious freedom, immigrants, common good, unborn, defense of marriage