BELIEVERS INVITED TO REAP THE FRUITS OF REDEMPTION
VATICAN CITY, OCT 26, 2005 (VIS) - Today's general audience, held in St. Peter's Square, was attended by 50,000 people who heard the Pope speak on the subject of the Canticle from the Letter to the Philippians, "Christ, Servant of God."
Benedict XVI explained how the text contains "a double movement." The first highlights Christ's sacrifice "even to the humiliation of death on the Cross," the second "reveals Christ's paschal glory which, following death, reappears in the splendor of His divine majesty."
The Father "exalts" the Son, said the Pope, and such exaltation "is expressed not only by His enthronement at the right hand of God, but also by bestowing on Christ 'the name which is above every name,' ... the most exalted 'name,' that of 'Lord,' which belongs to God Himself."
"On the one hand, then, is the recognition of the universal lordship of Jesus Christ, Who receives homage from all creation, ... While on the other, is the acclamation of the faith, which declares Christ to exist in divine form, presenting Him as worthy of adoration."
"In this hymn," the Holy Father went on, "the reference to the scandal of the cross ... culminates with the event of the resurrection. The Son's sacrificial obedience is followed by the Father's glorifying response, echoed by the adoration of humanity and creation. ... The plan of salvation is totally fulfilled in the Son, and the faithful are invited - especially in the liturgy - to proclaim it and to reap its fruits."
"Let us seek to ensure that our thoughts and actions conform to Jesus' sentiments," the Pope then added in off-the-cuff remarks. "If we follow this path, if our thoughts and actions conform to the Lord, we live well and follow the correct path. The tenderness of God is a great consolation to us, but also a great daily responsibility."
At the end of the general audience, the Holy Father addressed a special greeting to a group of children from the "Citta di Speranza" (City of Hope) hospital in Padua, Italy. The structure came into being in 1994 with the dual aim of building a new department of pediatric onco-hematology, which was inaugurated two years later, and to support research into childhood cancer.
"As we heard during the catechesis," the Holy Father told the children, "the cross of Christ brings us to understand the true meaning of suffering and pain. Unite yourselves spiritually to the Crucified Christ, and abandon yourselves in the hands of Mary, constantly invoking her in the Rosary."
Benedict XVI concluded by recalling that October, the month dedicated to the Rosary, is drawing to a close. "I invite you to recite with devotion this prayer, so dear to Christian people. Let us pray for the many needs of the Church and the world, especially for people hit by earthquakes and by physical and environmental calamities."
Benedict XVI explained how the text contains "a double movement." The first highlights Christ's sacrifice "even to the humiliation of death on the Cross," the second "reveals Christ's paschal glory which, following death, reappears in the splendor of His divine majesty."
The Father "exalts" the Son, said the Pope, and such exaltation "is expressed not only by His enthronement at the right hand of God, but also by bestowing on Christ 'the name which is above every name,' ... the most exalted 'name,' that of 'Lord,' which belongs to God Himself."
"On the one hand, then, is the recognition of the universal lordship of Jesus Christ, Who receives homage from all creation, ... While on the other, is the acclamation of the faith, which declares Christ to exist in divine form, presenting Him as worthy of adoration."
"In this hymn," the Holy Father went on, "the reference to the scandal of the cross ... culminates with the event of the resurrection. The Son's sacrificial obedience is followed by the Father's glorifying response, echoed by the adoration of humanity and creation. ... The plan of salvation is totally fulfilled in the Son, and the faithful are invited - especially in the liturgy - to proclaim it and to reap its fruits."
"Let us seek to ensure that our thoughts and actions conform to Jesus' sentiments," the Pope then added in off-the-cuff remarks. "If we follow this path, if our thoughts and actions conform to the Lord, we live well and follow the correct path. The tenderness of God is a great consolation to us, but also a great daily responsibility."
At the end of the general audience, the Holy Father addressed a special greeting to a group of children from the "Citta di Speranza" (City of Hope) hospital in Padua, Italy. The structure came into being in 1994 with the dual aim of building a new department of pediatric onco-hematology, which was inaugurated two years later, and to support research into childhood cancer.
"As we heard during the catechesis," the Holy Father told the children, "the cross of Christ brings us to understand the true meaning of suffering and pain. Unite yourselves spiritually to the Crucified Christ, and abandon yourselves in the hands of Mary, constantly invoking her in the Rosary."
Benedict XVI concluded by recalling that October, the month dedicated to the Rosary, is drawing to a close. "I invite you to recite with devotion this prayer, so dear to Christian people. Let us pray for the many needs of the Church and the world, especially for people hit by earthquakes and by physical and environmental calamities."
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