Pope urges prayer and solidarity for tsunami victims
God's love embraces man from the moment he is in his mother's womb. During the nine months of his pontificate, Benedict XVI met nearly three million people.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) An invitation by the Pope to prayer and to solidarity for victims of the tsunami which struck Asian peoples a year ago and for all those across the world who are victims of natural disasters, ended today's general audience. This was the last audience of 2005, a year during which Benedict XVI met nearly three million people in Rome.
"The transcendent greatness of divine knowledge which embraces not only the past and present of humanity but also the as-yet hidden arch of the future of history and of each man, from the moment he is in the maternal womb. This was the theme tackled by Benedict XVI in a reflection on Psalm 138. "Extremely powerful in this Psalm is the idea that from our still 'shapeless' embryo, God already sees the future: in the Lord's book of life the days each creature will live and the works he will achieve in his earthly existence are already written. Thus the transcendent greatness of divine knowledge emerges again, embracing not only the past and present of humanity, but also the as-yet hidden arch of the future". And he added off the cuff: "The greatness of this small, as yet unborn creature is also apparent, formed by the hands of God and surrounded by his love".
The Pope then cited a reflection by St Gregory the Great, regarding "those of the Christian community who struggle on the spiritual journey. These, although they do not make up the most perfect part of the spiritual edifice of the Church, are 'anyhow included in the virtue of goodwill. It is true, they are imperfect and small, all the same, in so far as they can, they love God and neighbour and do not neglect to do the good they can do. Even if they have not yet obtained the spiritual gifts that would open their hearts to perfect action and ardent contemplation, they need not hesitate to aspire to the love of God and neighbour, in so far as they are able to understand this. And so it happens that they also contribute, although they occupy a less important place, to the building of the Church, since, even if they are inferior in doctrine, prophecy, grace to perform miracles and complete scorn of the world, all the same, they are resting upon the foundation of fear and of love, in which they find their solidity." (2,3,12-13, Works of Gregory the Great, III/2, Rome 1993, pp. 79.81)".
The recollection of victims of natural disasters came at the end of the meeting, when Benedict XVI expressed his wish to join "in the memory which in these days binds the dear populations stricken a year ago by the tsunami, which claimed countless human victims and caused enormous environmental damage. Let us pray to the Lord for them and for all those, also in other regions of the world, who have been struck by natural disasters and who wait for our concrete and proactive solidarity."
As happens each year, during the last general audience, the Prefecture of the
Pontifical House gave a report of information related to the Roman meetings of the Pope. It turned out that Benedict XVI, in the first nine months of his pontificate, met 2,855,500 people in general audiences (32), specific audiences, liturgical celebrations and the Angelus. Specifically, 810,000 people attended general audiences, 251,000 attended particular audiences, 394,000 took part in liturgical celebrations and 1,400,000 were present for the Angelus.
.png)
08/01/2005
