Entry 0290: Reflections on the Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
by Pope Benedict XVI
On eight occasions during his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI delivered reflections on the Seventeenth Sunday of
Ordinary Time, on 24 July 2005,
30 July 2006, 29 July 2007, 27 July 2008, 26 July 2009, 25 July 2010, 24 July
2011, and 29 July 2012. Here are the
texts of eight reflections prior to the recitation of the Angelus that the Pope
delivered on these occasions.
Castel Gandolfo , Sunday, 30 July 2006
Castel Gandolfo , Sunday, 29 July 2012
BENEDICT XVI
ANGELUS
Les Combes (Aosta
Valley
Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
First of all, a word of cordial thanks to Bishop Giuseppe
Anfossi of Aosta for his words. He rightly spoke of the joy of this life, of
the beauty of creatures and of the Creator, but he also mentioned suffering: we
see violence, the power of hatred in the world, and suffer from it. Let us
entrust all our sufferings and the sufferings of the world to the goodness of
Our Lady. And let us also find strength in thinking of the great figures of the
Saints who lived their lives in similar circumstances and show us the path to take.
Let us start with tomorrow’s Saint, the Apostle St James,
John’s brother, who was the first martyr among the Apostles. He was one of the
three closest to the Lord and took part in both the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor
- with its beauty in which the splendor of the Lord’s divinity shone out - and
the anguish, the distress of the Lord on the Mount of
Olives . Thus, he also learned that to bear the burden of the world
the Son of God experienced all our suffering and is in solidarity with us. You
know that the relics [of St James] are venerated at the famous Shrine of
Compostela in Galicia , Spain , the destination of numerous pilgrimages
from every part of Europe . Yesterday, we
commemorated St Bridget of Sweden ,
a Patroness of Europe. Last 11 July we celebrated St Benedict, another great
Patron of the “Old Continent” and, as you know, my Patron since my election to
the Petrine ministry. In looking at these Saints, it comes to us spontaneously,
at this particular moment in history with all its problems, to reflect on the
contribution that Christianity has made and is continuing to make to building Europe .
I would like to do so by thinking back to the pilgrimage in
1982 of my beloved Predecessor, the Servant of God John Paul II, to Santiago de
Compostela, where he made a solemn “Declaration to Europe” (Address, Santiago
de Compostela, Spain, 9 November 1982, L’Osservatore Romano English
edition, 29 November, p. 6), in which he spoke these memorable words of
the greatest timeliness which I now repeat: “I, Bishop of Rome and Shepherd of
the universal Church, from Santiago, utter to you, Europe of the ages, a cry
full of love: Find yourself again. Be yourself. Discover your origins, revive
your roots. Return to those authentic values which made your history a glorious
one and your presence so beneficent in the other continents” (ibid., no.
4). John Paul II then introduced the project of a Europe
conscious of its own spiritual unity, founded on the Christian values.
He returned to this topic on the occasion of the World
Youth Day in 1989, which took place precisely in Santiago de Compostela. He
said that he hoped for a Europe without
borders that would renounce neither the Christian roots that gave it life nor
the authentic humanism of Christ’s Gospel! (see Mass at the Marian Basilica
of Covadonga, 21 August 1989, no. 6; L’Osservatore
Romano, English edition, 11 September, p. 5). How timely his appeal remains
in the light of recent events on the Continent of Europe!
In less than a month, I too will be going on pilgrimage to
a historic European cathedral, the Cathedral of Cologne, where young people
will be gathering for their 20th World Youth Day. Let us pray that by drawing
vitality from Christ the new generations will be the leaven of a renewed
humanism in European societies in which faith and reason cooperate in fruitful
dialogue for the advancement of human beings and the construction of true
peace. Let us ask this of God through the intercession of Mary Most Holy, who
watches as Mother and Queen over all the nations as they journey on.
BENEDICT XVI
ANGELUS
Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
Two days ago, at the end of my stay in the Aosta Valley, I
came directly here to Castel Gandolfo where I am planning to remain until the
end of the summer, with a brief interruption in September for the Apostolic
Journey to Bavaria.
I would first of all like to address my affectionate
greeting to the ecclesial and civil community of this beautiful little town,
which I am always very glad to visit.
I cordially thank the Bishop, the parish priest and the
priests of Albano , as well as the Mayor, the
Municipal Administration and the other civil Authorities. I address a special
thought to the management and staff of the Pontifical Villas as well as to the
police force, whom I thank for their valuable service.
In addition, I greet the numerous pilgrims who, with their
warm presence, also contribute in the familiar atmosphere of the Summer
Residence to highlighting the universal ecclesial horizon of our gathering for
the Marian prayer.
At this time, I cannot but think of the increasingly grave
and tragic situation which the Middle East is experiencing: hundreds of dead,
numerous injured, a huge number of homeless people and evacuees, houses, towns
and infrastructures destroyed, while in many hearts, hatred and the desire for
revenge seems to be growing. This clearly shows that it is impossible to
re-establish justice, create a new order and build authentic peace with
recourse to violent means.
We see more than ever how prophetic and at the same time
realistic the voice of the Church is when, in the face of wars and conflicts of
every kind, she points out the path of truth, justice, love and freedom, as was
said in Bl. Pope John XXIII’s immortal Encyclical, Pacem in Terris. Humanity
must also take this path today if it is to attain the desired good of true
peace.
In God’s Name, I appeal to all those responsible for this
spiral of violence on all sides to lay down their weapons immediately! I ask
Government Leaders and International Institutions to spare no efforts to obtain
this necessary cessation of hostilities and thus, through dialogue, be able to
begin building the lasting and stable coexistence of all the Middle Eastern
peoples.
I invite people of good will to continue to intensify the
shipment of humanitarian aid to those peoples, so sorely tried and in need.
Especially, however, may every heart continue to raise trusting prayers to our
good and merciful God so that he will grant his peace to that region and to the
entire world.
Let us entrust this heartfelt plea to the intercession of
Mary, Mother of the Prince of Peace and Queen of Peace, so widely venerated in
the Middle Eastern countries, where we hope we will soon see reigning that
reconciliation for which the Lord Jesus offered his precious Blood.
BENEDICT XVI
ANGELUS
Papal Summer Residence, Castel
Gandolfo , Sunday, 29 July 2007
Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
Having returned yesterday from Lorenzago, I am happy to be
here again at Castel Gandolfo in the familiar
atmosphere of this beautiful town, where I hope to pause, God willing, for a
period of summer rest.
I feel the ardent desire to thank the Lord yet again for
having been able to spend serene days in the Cadore mountains, and I am
thankful to all those who efficiently organized my stay and carefully watched
over it.
With equal affection I wish to greet and express my
gratitude to you, dear pilgrims, and above all to you, dear citizens of Castel Gandolfo , who have welcomed me with your typical
cordiality and have always discreetly accompanied me during the time I spend
with you.
Last Sunday, recalling the “Note” that Pope Benedict XV
addressed to the belligerent countries in the First World War on 1 August 90
years ago, I dwelled on the theme of peace.
Now a new occasion invites me to reflect on another
important subject connected with this theme. Precisely today, in fact, is the
50th anniversary of the establishment of the Charter of the IAEA, the International
Atomic Energy Agency, instituted with the mandate to “accelerate and
enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity
throughout the world” (art 2).
The Holy See, fully approving the goals of this
Organization, is a member of it since its founding and continues to support its
activity.
The epochal changes that have occurred in the last 50 years
demonstrate how, in the difficult crossroads in which humanity finds itself,
the commitment to encourage non-proliferation of nuclear arms, to promote a
progressive and agreed upon nuclear disarmament and to support the use of
peaceful and safe nuclear technology for authentic development, respecting the
environment and ever mindful of the most disadvantaged populations, is always
more present and urgent.
I therefore hope that the efforts of those who work with
determination to bring about these three objectives may be achieved, with the
goal that “[t]he resources which would be saved could then be employed in
projects of development capable of benefiting all their people, especially the
poor” (Message for the World Day of Peace 2006, L’Osservatore Romano, English
edition, 21/28 December 2005, nos. 51/52, p. 7).
It is also good on this occasion to repeat how: “In place
of... the arms race, there must be substituted a common effort to mobilize
resources toward objectives of moral, cultural and economic development, “redefining
the priorities and hierarchies of values’“ (Catechism of the Catholic Church,
no. 2438).
Again we entrust to the intercession of Mary Most Holy our
prayer for peace, in particular so that scientific knowledge and technology are
always applied with a sense of responsibility and for the common good, in full
respect for international rights.
Let us pray so that men live in peace and that they may be
as brothers, sons of one Father: God.
BENEDICT XVI
ANGELUS
Papal Summer Residence, Castel
Gandolfo , Sunday, 27 July 2008
Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
I returned last Monday from Sydney , Australia
A characteristic of the Sydney meeting was the awareness of the
centrality of the Holy Spirit, the protagonist of the life of the Church and
the Christian. The long process of preparation in the particular Churches
followed the theme of the promise that the Risen Christ made to the Apostles: “You
will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my
witnesses” (Acts 1: 8). On 16, 17 and 18 July, the numerous Bishops present
exercised their ministry in Sydney ’s
churches, offering catecheses in the various languages: these catecheses are
moments of reflection and recollection, indispensable so that the event does
not remain merely an external expression but leaves a deep mark on consciences.
The evening Vigil, in the heart of the city under the Southern Cross, was a
unanimous invocation of the Holy Spirit; and at the end, during the great
Eucharistic celebration last Sunday, I administered the Sacrament of
Confirmation to 24 young people from various continents, 14 of whom were
Australian, inviting everyone present to renew their baptismal promises. This
World Youth Day was thus transformed into a new Pentecost, from which began the
mission of the youth, called to be apostles of their peers, as were so many
Saints and Blesseds - and in particular, Bl. Piergiorgio Frassati - whose
relics, which had been brought to Sydney Cathedral, were venerated by an
uninterrupted stream of young pilgrims. Every young man and woman was invited
to follow their example, to share their personal experience of Jesus, who
changes the life of his “friends” with the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit
of God’s love.
Today I want to thank once again the Bishops of Australia
and, in particular, the Archbishop of Sydney, for their hard work of
preparation and for the warm welcome they gave me and all the other pilgrims. I
thank the Australian civil authorities for their precious collaboration. I
extend my special thanks to all of those who, in every part of the world,
prayed for this event, assuring its success. May the Virgin Mary repay each one
with the most beautiful graces. I also entrust to Mary the period of rest that,
I shall, from tomorrow, be spending in Bressanone, in the mountains of the Alto
Adige. Let us remain united in prayer!
BENEDICT XVI
ANGELUS
Les Combes (Val D’Aosta), Sunday, 26 July 2009
Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
I wish you all a good Sunday! We are meeting here in Les
Combes near the hospitable house, which the Salesians have put at the Pope’s
disposal, where I am coming to the end of a period of rest among the beautiful
mountains of Val D’Aosta. I thank God who has given me the joy of these days
marked by true relaxation despite the small accident which is well-known to you
and also visible! I take this opportunity to thank affectionately all those who
have attended to me with discretion and great dedication. I greet Cardinal
Poletto and the other Bishops present, in particular Bishop Giuseppe Anfossi of
Aosta, whom I thank for the kind words he addressed to me. I cordially greet
the parish priest of Les Combes, the civil and military Authorities, the forces
of law and order, and all of you, dear friends, along with those who are
following us via radio and television.
Today, on this splendid Sunday, as the Lord shows us all
the beauty of his Creation, the liturgy provides us with the Gospel passage at
the beginning of Chapter Six of John’s Gospel. It contains, first of all, the
miracle of the loaves - when Jesus fed thousands of people with only five
loaves of bread and two fish; then, the Lord’s miracle when he walks on the
waters of the lake during a storm; and finally, the discourse in which he
reveals himself as “the Bread of Life”. In recounting the “sign” of bread, the
Evangelist emphasizes that Christ, before distributing the food, blessed it
with a prayer of thanksgiving (see v. 11). The Greek term used is eucharistein
and it refers directly to the Last Supper, though, in fact, John refers here
not to the institution of the Eucharist but to the washing of the feet. The
Eucharist is mentioned here in anticipation of the great symbol of the Bread of
Life. In this Year for Priests, how can we fail to recall that we priests,
especially, may see ourselves reflected in this Johannine text, identifying
ourselves with the Apostles when they say: Where can we find bread for all
these people? Reading
about that unknown boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, we too
spontaneously say: But what are they for such a multitude? In other words: Who
am I? How can I, with my limitations, help Jesus in his mission? And the Lord
gives the answer: By taking in his “holy and venerable” hands the little that
they are, priests, we priests, become instruments of salvation for many, for
everyone!
A second point for reflection comes from today’s liturgical
commemoration of Saints Joachim and Anne, parents of Our Lady, and therefore,
grandparents of Jesus. This occasion makes us think of the subject of education
which has an important place in the pastoral work of the Church. In particular,
it invites us to pray for grandparents, who, in the family, are the
depositories and often witnesses of the fundamental values of life. The
educational task of grandparents is always very important, and it becomes even
more so when, for various reasons, the parents are unable to provide their
children with an adequate presence while they are growing up. I entrust to the
protection of St Anne and St Joachim all the grandparents of the world and
bestow on them a special blessing. May the Virgin Mary who according to a
beautiful iconography - learned to read the Sacred Scriptures at her mother
Anne’s knee, help them always to nourish their faith and hope at the sources of
the Word of God.
BENEDICT XVI
ANGELUS
Courtyard of the Papal Residence, Castel
Gandolfo , Sunday, 25 July 2010
Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
This Sunday’s Gospel presents Jesus to us absorbed in
prayer, a little apart from his disciples. When he had finished, one of them
said to him: “Lord, teach us to pray” (Lk 11: 1). Jesus had no objection, he
did not speak of strange or esoteric formulas but very simply said: “When you
pray, say: “Father’ “, and he taught the Our Father (see Lk 11: 2-4),
taking it from his own prayer in which he himself spoke to God, his Father. St
Luke passes the Our Father on to us in a shorter form than that found in
the Gospel according to St Matthew, which has entered into common usage. We
have before us the first words of Sacred Scripture that we learn in childhood.
They are impressed in our memory, mould our life and accompany us to our last
breath. They reveal that “we are not ready-made children of God from the start,
but that we are meant to become so increasingly by growing more and more deeply
in communion with Jesus. Our sonship turns out to be identical with following
Christ” (Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth [English translation],
Doubleday, 2007, p. 138).
This prayer also accepts and expresses human material and
spiritual needs: “Give us each day our daily bread; and forgive us our sins”
(Lk 11: 3-4). It is precisely because of the needs and difficulties of every
day that Jesus exhorts us forcefully: “I tell you, ask, and it will be given
you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every
one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be
opened” (Lk 11: 9-10). It is not so much asking in order to satisfy our own
desires as, rather, to keep a lively friendship with God who, the Gospel
continues, “will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Lk 11: 13). The
ancient “Desert Fathers” experienced this, as did contemplatives of all epochs
who became, through prayer, friends of God, like Abraham who begged the Lord to
spare the few righteous from the destruction of the city of Sodom (see Gen 18:
21-32). St Teresa of Avila
addressed an invitation to her sisters with the words: we must “beseech God to
deliver us from these perils for ever and to keep us from all evil! And
although our desire for this may not be perfect, let us strive to make the
petition. What does it cost us to ask it, since we ask it of One who is so
powerful?” (Cammino, 60 (34), 4, in Opere complete, Milan 1998,
p. 846) [title in English: The Way of Perfection]. Every time we say the
Our Father our voices mingle with the voice of the Church, for those who
pray are never alone. “From the rich variety of Christian prayer as proposed by
the Church, each member of the faithful should seek and find his own way, his
own form of prayer... each person will, therefore, let himself be led... by the
Holy Spirit, who guides him, through Christ, to the Father” (Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on
some aspects of Christian meditation, 15 October 1989, no. 29; L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 2
January 1990, p. 10).
Today is the Feast of the Apostle St James, known as “the
Greater”, who left his father and his work as a fisherman to follow Jesus and
to give his life for him he was the first of the Apostles to do so. I warmly
extend a special thought to the large numbers of pilgrims who have gone to
Santiago de Compostela! May the Virgin Mary help us to rediscover the beauty
and depth of Christian prayer.
BENEDICT XVI
ANGELUS
Courtyard of the Papal Summer Residence, Castel
Gandolfo , Sunday, 24 July 2011
Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
Today, in the liturgy, the Old Testament Reading presents
to us the figure of King Solomon, the son and successor of David. It presents
him at the beginning of his reign, when he was still very young. Solomon
inherited a very demanding task and the responsibility that lay heavily on his
shoulders was great for a young king. He first of all offered God a solemn
sacrifice, “a thousand burnt offerings”, as the Bible says. Then the Lord
appeared to Solomon in a dream by night and promised to grant him what he asked
in prayer. And here we see the greatness of Solomon’s soul. He did not ask for
a long life, nor wealth, nor the elimination of his enemies; instead he said to
the Lord: “Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your
people and to distinguish right from wrong” (1 Kings 3:9). And the Lord heard
him, so that Solomon became famous throughout the world for his wisdom and his
right judgments.
Therefore he prayed God to grant him “an understanding
heart”. What do these words mean? We know that the “heart” in the Bible does
not only indicate a part of the body, but also the centre of the person, the
seat of his intentions and opinions. We might say: the conscience. Thus an “understanding
heart” means a conscience that knows how to listen, that is sensitive to the
voice of truth and for this reason can discern right from wrong.
In Solomon’s case, the request was motivated by the
responsibility of leading a nation, Israel , the people whom God chose
to show the world his plan of salvation. The King of Israel, therefore, had to
try always to be in tune with God, listening to his word, in order to guide the
people on the paths of the Lord, the path of justice and of peace.
However, Solomon’s example is valid for every person. Each
one of us has a conscience so as to be, in a certain way, “king”, that is, to
exercise the great human dignity of acting in accordance with an upright
conscience, doing what is right and avoiding wrong.
The moral conscience presupposes the ability to hear the
voice of truth and to be docile to its indications. People who are called to
the task of government naturally have a further responsibility and, therefore —
as Solomon teaches — are in even greater need of God’s help. Yet each one has
his own part to play, in the concrete situation in which he finds himself. An
erroneous mentality suggests to us that we ask God for favorable things or
conditions; in fact, the true quality of our life and of social life depends on
the upright conscience of each one, on the capacity of one and all to recognize
right, separating it from wrong and seeking patiently to put it into practice,
thereby contributing to justice and to peace.
Let us ask the Virgin Mary, Seat of Wisdom, for help in
this. Her “heart” was perfectly docile to the Lord’s will. Even though she was
a humble and simple person, Mary was a queen in God’s eyes, and we venerate her
as such. May the Blessed Virgin help us to form in ourselves, with God’s grace,
a conscience ever open to the truth and sensitive to justice, to serve the Kingdom of God
BENEDICT XVI
ANGELUS
Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
This Sunday we began by reading Chapter six of John’s
Gospel. The chapter opens with the scene of the multiplication of the loaves,
which Jesus later comments on in the Synagogue of Capernaum, pointing to
himself as the “bread” which gives life. Jesus’ actions are on a par with those
of the Last Supper. He “took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he
distributed them to those who were seated”, the Gospel says (Jn 6:11). The insistence
on the topic of “bread”, which is shared out, and on thanksgiving (v. 11, in
Greek eucharistesas), recall the Eucharist, Christ’s sacrifice for the
world’s salvation.
The Evangelist observes that the Feast of the Passover is
already at hand (see v. 4). His gaze is turned to the Cross, the gift of love,
and to the Eucharist, the perpetuation of this gift: Christ makes himself the
Bread of Life for humankind. St
Augustine comments: “Who is the Bread of heaven, but
Christ? But in order that man might eat Angels’ Bread, the Lord of Angels was
made Man. For
if he had not been made Man, we should not have his Flesh; if we had not his
Flesh, we should not eat the Bread of the Altar” (Sermon 130, 2). The
Eucharist is the human being’s ongoing, important encounter with God in which
the Lord makes himself our food and gives himself to transform us into him.
A boy’s presence is also mentioned in the scene of the
multiplication. On perceiving the problem of feeding so many hungry people, he
shared the little he had brought with him: five loaves and two fish (see Jn
6:9). The miracle was not worked from nothing, but from a first modest sharing
of what a simple lad had brought with him. Jesus does not ask us for what we do
not have. Rather, he makes us see that if each person offers the little he has
the miracle can always be repeated: God is capable of multiplying our small
acts of love and making us share in his gift.
The crowd was impressed by the miracle: it sees in Jesus
the new Moses, worthy of power, and in the new manna, the future guaranteed.
However the people stopped at the material element, which they had eaten, and
the Lord “perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to
make him king... withdrew again to the hills by himself” (Jn 6:15). Jesus is
not an earthly king who exercises dominion but a king who serves, who stoops
down to human beings not only to satisfy their physical hunger, but above all
their deeper hunger, the hunger for guidance, meaning and truth, the hunger for
God.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us ask the Lord to enable us
to rediscover the importance of feeding ourselves not only on bread but also on
truth, on love, on Christ, on Christ’s Body, taking part faithfully and with
profound awareness in the Eucharist so as to be ever more closely united with
him. Indeed, “It is not the Eucharistic food that is changed into us, but
rather we who are mysteriously transformed by it. Christ nourishes us by
uniting us to himself; “he draws us into himself” (Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum
Caritatis, no. 70).
Let us pray at the same time that the bread necessary for a
dignified life may never be lacking and that inequalities may be demolished,
not with the weapons of violence but rather with sharing and with love.
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