In our continuing catechesis during this Year of Faith, we now reflect on the Creed’s description of God as “the Father Almighty”. Despite the crisis of fatherhood in many societies, the Scriptures show us clearly what it means to call God “Father”. God is infinitely generous, faithful, and forgiving; he so loves the world that he has given us his only Son for our salvation. As “the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15), Jesus reveals God as a merciful Father who never abandons his children and whose loving concern for us embraces even the Cross. In Christ, God has made us his adopted sons and daughters. The Cross shows also us how God our Father is “almighty”. His omnipotence transcends our limited human concepts of power; his might is that of a patient love expressed in the ultimate victory of goodness over evil, life over death, and freedom over the bondage of sin. As we contemplate the Cross of Christ, let us turn to God the almighty Father and implore the grace to abandon ourselves with confidence and trust to his merciful love and his saving power. Benedict XVI

forgotten

Benedict XVI ‏@Pontifex Every human being is loved by God the Father. No one need feel forgotten, for every name is written in the Lord's loving Heart.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI told thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square Jan. 27 that marking Sunday as a day of rest and engaging in the liturgy can teach us to listen to the voice of God. “Before we can speak of God and with God, we need to listen, and the liturgy of the Church is the ‘school’ of this listening to the Lord who speaks to us,” he said during his weekly Angelus address. Exploring the day’s reading from the Gospel of Luke, the Pope recounted how Jesus went to the synagogue in Nazareth on the Sabbath. “As a true believer, the Lord does not avoid the weekly liturgical rhythm and joins the assembly of his fellow citizens in prayer and in listening to the Scriptures.” This passage from scripture, Pope Benedict said, “makes us think about our way of life on Sunday as a day of rest and for the family.” Sunday, he noted, is the “first day to devote to the Lord by participating in the Eucharist in which we’re nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ and his Word of life.” “In our scattered and distracted era, this Gospel invites us to ask ourselves about our ability to listen, ” he emphasized. “Every moment can be a ‘today’ moment for our conversion and become a day of salvation because salvation is a story that continues for the Church and for every disciple of Christ,” he said, adding that the “the Christian meaning of ‘carpe diem’ is to seize the day in which God is calling you to give you salvation.” Other Remarks During his remarks on Sunday, the Holy Father also recognized International Holocaust Remembrance Day, created by the United Nations in memory of the Holocaust victims of Nazism. “It must be a constant reminder to all so that the horrors of the past, which exceeds all forms of hatred and racism, are not repeated,” he said, as well as a reminder “to promote respect and dignity of the human person.” Pope Benedict also noted that this Sunday “marks a special day of intercession” for peace in Holy Land. “I thank those who promote it in many parts of the world and I greet in particular those present here,” he said. During the angelus a young boy and girl freed two doves, as symbols of peace, from the window of his Apostolic Palace after reading a message of ACR di Roma, an Italian lay association with over half a million members. On Jan. 27 this year, the Church also celebrates the 60th World Day of Leprosy. “I express my closeness to those who suffer from this disease and encourage researchers, health professionals and volunteers, particularly those who are part of Catholic organizations and the Association of Friends of Raoul Follereau,” the Pope said. He also invoked the intercession of St. Damien de Veuster, “who gave his life” for those afflicted with the disease, as well as St. Marianne Cope, who was canonized in Rome in October of last year. Both worked with leprosy sufferers in a colony in Hawaii in the 19th century. Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/liturgy-teaches-us-to-hear-gods-voice-pope-reflects?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NCRegisterDailyBlog+National+Catholic+Register#When:2013-01-28 11:07:01#ixzz2JHWfrAbi

Sunday

Benedict XVI ‏@Pontifex What does Sunday, the day of the Lord, mean for us? It is a day for rest and for family, but first of all a day for Him.

culture of life

Benedict XVI ‏@Pontifex I join all those marching for life from afar, and pray that political leaders will protect the unborn and promote a culture of life.

reason

Pope says “At times, the gentle voice of reason can be overwhelmed by the din of excessive information.”

I believe

"Dear Brothers and Sisters, In our catechesis for this Year of Faith, we now turn to the Creed, the solemn profession of our faith as Christians. At the beginning of the Creed, we say “I believe in God”. Faith is our response to the God who first speaks to us, makes himself known and calls us to enter into communion with him. We hear God speaking to us in the Scriptures, which recount the history of his revelation, culminating in the coming of his Son, Jesus Christ. A central figure in this history of revelation is Abraham, the father and model of all believers (cf. Rom 4:11-12). Sustained by God’s blessing and trusting in his promises, Abraham set off into the unknown. Like Abraham, we too are called to let faith shape our thoughts and actions in accordance with God’s saving word, even when this runs contrary to the thinking and ways of this world. With the eyes of faith, we discern God’s presence and his promise of eternal life beyond the realities of this present existence. In opening ourselves to God’s blessing, we become in turn a blessing for others.Benedict XVI

against the current

Benedict XVI ‏@Pontifex Many false idols are held up today. For Christians to be faithful, they can’t be afraid to go against the current.

walk humbly

Benedict XVI ‏@Pontifex What does the Lord ask of us as we work for Christian unity? To pray constantly, do justice, love goodness, and walk humbly with Him.

united

BENEDICT XVI “To advance in the ways of ecumenical communion, thus demands that we become ever more united in prayer, ever more committed to the pursuit of holiness, and ever more engaged in the areas of theological research and cooperation in the service of a just and fraternal society”.

unity

BENEDICT XVI “I invite everyone to pray, persistently asking God for the great gift of unity between all of the Lord's disciples. The inexhaustible force of the Holy Spirit encourages us to a sincere commitment in search of unity. Because we can all profess together that Jesus is the Savior of the world.”

contemplate

During the Christmas season we celebrated the mystery of the Incarnation as the culmination of God’s gradual self-revelation to Israel, a revelation mediated by those great figures such as Moses and the Prophets who kept alive the expectation of God’s fulfillment of his promises. Jesus, the Word made flesh, is truly God among us, “the mediator and the fullness of all revelation” (Dei Verbum, 2). 

In him, the ancient blessing is fulfilled: God has made his face to shine upon us (cf. Num 6:25). As the Incarnate Son, the one mediator between God and man (cf. 1 Tim 2:5), Jesus does not simply speak to us about God; he shows us the very face of God and enables us to call him our Father. As he says to the apostle Philip, “whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9). May our desire to see the Lord’s face grow through our daily encounter with him in prayer, in meditation on his word and in the Eucharist, and thus prepare us to contemplate for ever the light of his countenance in the fullness of his eternal Kingdom. Benedict XVI

face

Benedict XVI ‏@Pontifex

If we have love for our neighbor, we will find the face of Christ in the poor, the weak, the sick and the suffering

Abba

BENEDICT XVI
“By receiving their Baptism, they are reborn as children of God, taking part in the filial relationship that Jesus has with the Father. This enables them to address God as 'Abba, meaning Father'.”

But the attention wasn't just on the newborns. The Pope also called on their parents, reminding them that by choosing to have their children baptized, they too become witnesses of their faith. 

BENEDICT XVI
“It's the joy of knowing that they have received a great gift of God: faith. A gift that none of us truly merit. It's a free gift to which we have responded to with a 'yes'.

reborn

1. Benedict XVI ‏@Pontifex

   What happens in Baptism? We become united forever with Jesus, to be born again to a new life.

   Expand
   

   •  Reply 
   •  Retweeted 
   •  Favorite
2. 13 JanBenedict XVI ‏@Pontifex

   In this Year of Faith, may every Christian rediscover the beauty of being reborn in the love of God and living as his true children.

   
   
   

completely

Benedict XVI ‏@Pontifex

Following Christ’s example, we have to learn to give ourselves completely. Anything else is not enough.

Incarnation

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

In this Christmas season, we celebrate the “Incarnation” –the mystery of the Son of God who “became flesh” (cf. Jn 1:14) for our salvation, so that we might become, in him, adoptive sons and daughters of our heavenly Father. 

In the Child of Bethlehem, God gives us the greatest gift possible, the gift of himself. For our sake, God became one of us, sharing our human existence to the fullest and giving us in exchange a share in his own divine life. This great mystery reveals the reality and depth of God’s love for us. It also invites us to respond to him in a faith which accepts the truth of his word and shapes our daily lives. In contemplating the mystery of the Incarnation, we see in Christ the new Adam, the perfect man who inaugurates the new creation, restores our likeness to God and reveals our sublime human dignity and vocation (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 22). As we continue to reflect on this great mystery in these final days of Christmastide, may we rejoice ever more fully in the light of the Lord’s glory and be ever better conformed to the image of the Son of God made man. 

violence

Benedict XVI ‏@Pontifex

May we defend the right of conscientious objection of individuals and institutions, promoting freedom and respect for all.

Benedict XVI ‏@Pontifex

Nigerians have a special place in my heart, as so many have been victims of senseless violence in recent months.

Benedict XVI ‏@Pontifex

Please join me in praying for Syria, so that constructive dialogue will replace the horrendous violence.

Epiphany

January 7, 2013. (Romereports.com) During his speech of the Angelus on theFeast of the Epiphany, Benedict XVI asked pilgrims gathered at St. Peter's Square to spread their faith in Jesus Christ, who he described as the light of the world for all of the people on Earth.

He described the faith the Three Wise Men had in Jesus as the reason for celebration on the Feast of the Epiphany.

BENEDICT XVI
“The Magi represent the people – we can even say the civilizations, the cultures, the religions – that are, so to speak, on the path to God, in search of his reign of peace, of justice, of truth, and of liberty.” 

Like the Magi, the Three Wise Men, the Pope encouraged all the people to search for and show their faith in Jesus, but more importantly, to help spread that faith throughout the world.

BENEDICT XVI
“The light of Christ is so clear and strong that it makes the language of the cosmos and of the Scriptures intelligible, so that all those who, like the Magi, are open to the truth can recognize it and join in contemplating the Saviour of the world.”

magi

Benedict XVI ‏@Pontifex

The Wise Men followed the star and reached Jesus, the great light that illuminates all of humanity

dignity

When you deny God, you deny human dignity Benedict XVI

our story

BENEDICT XVI
“Always, even amidst the most arduous difficulties to be faced, we must have faith in God, renewing our faith in His presence and in His action in our story as in that of Mary.”

peacemakers

BENEDICT XVI
“They are those that, day by day, seek to overcome evil by doing good, with the force of truth, armed with prayers and forgiveness, by honest and well done work, with scientific research in support of life, and with corporate and spiritual works of mercy.”

children

Benedict XVI ‏@Pontifex

When we entrust ourselves to the Lord completely, everything changes. We are children of a Father who loves us, and never leaves us.