Pope: present anew to the world that God who has become for many the Great Unknown
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "At a time in which for many God has become the Great Unknown and Jesus reduced to a great historical figure," the Pope indicates " to introduce the men and women of our time to a relationship with God, helping them to open their minds and hearts to the God who seeks them out and wants to get close to them, guide them to understanding that accomplishing his will is not a limit to freedom, but to be truly free, to realize the true good of life. "
The upcoming Year of Faith and 50 years since Vatican II were the focus of reflections made by Benedict XVI during his meeting with the Italian bishops, on the occasion of their 64th general assembly, held in the Vatican.
A discourse that not only regards Italy, but which extends to the horizon of the Church of our time. A time when " Scientific rationale and technical culture, in fact, not only tend to make the world more uniform, but often they go beyond their specific areas, and claim to delineate the perimeter of the certainties of reason by the single empirical criterion of their conquests. Thus the power of human ability is ultimately the measure of action, free from all moral norms. Precisely in this context, a unique and growing demand for spirituality and the supernatural re-emerges, sometimes in a confused way, as a sign of restlessness that dwells in the heart of man who is not open the horizon of the transcendent God. This situation of secularism above all characterizes traditionally Christian societies and erodes the cultural fabric that until the recent past, was a unifying reference, capable of embracing the whole of human existence and articulating its most significant moments, from birth to our passing to eternal life. The spiritual and moral patrimony which is the roots and lifeblood of the West is no longer understood in its profound value, to the point that it is no longer the arbiter of truth. Even a fertile land thus risks becoming barren desert and the good seed of being suffocated, trampled on and lost. "
"This is reflected in the decline of religious practice, visible in participation in the Liturgy of the Eucharist and, more importantly, the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Many of the baptized have lost their identity and affiliation: they do not know the essential content of faith, or they think they can nourish it independently of the Church's mediation. And while many look doubtfully at the truths taught by the Church, others reduce the Kingdom of God to a few great values, which certainly have something to do with the Gospel, but which still do not regard the core of Christian faith. The Kingdom of God is a gift that transcends us. As stated by the Blessed John Paul II, " The kingdom of God is not a concept, a doctrine, or a program subject to free interpretation, but it is before all else a person with the face and name of Jesus of Nazareth, the image of the invisible God " ( Redemptoris Missio, 18)".
"Unfortunately, God Himself is excluded from the horizon by many people, and when he does not meet with indifference, closure or refusal, talk of God is still relegated to the subjective sphere, reduced to a private and intimate fact, marginalized from public consciousness. The very heart of the spiritual and moral crisis that is wounding Europe passes through this abandonment, this lack of openness to the Transcendent: man claims to have an identity that is simply finite in itself. "
In this context, the Pope proposes the question that was first posed by the Council: " Church, what do you say about yourself? '. Deepening this question, the Council Fathers were, so to speak, brought back to the heart of the answer: it meant starting again from God, celebrated, professed and witnessed. Not by chance, in fact, the first constitution to be approved was the one on the Sacred Liturgy: divine worship directs man towards the future City and restores primacy to God; it forms the Church, constantly called by the Word, and shows the world the fruitfulness of our encounter with God. In turn, while we must cultivate gratefulness for the growth of good grain in often arid land, we feel that our situation calls for a renewed impetus, which points to what is essential in Christian faith and life. In a time in which for many God has become the Great Unknown and Jesus reduced to a great historical figure, there will be no revival of missionary action without the renewal of the quality of our faith and our prayer; we will not be able to offer adequate answers without a new welcome of the gift of Grace; we will not know how to win souls for the Gospel if not by returning ourselves first to a deep experience of God. "
"Our first, true and only task - concluded Benedict XVI - is to commit our lives to what is true and permanent, to what is really trustworthy, necessary and ultimate. Man lives for God, for whom he often unconsciously or tentatively searches to give full meaning to life: we have the task of proclaiming Him, showing Him, of leading people to an encounter with Him. But it is always important to remember that the first condition to speak about God is to speak with God, becoming more and more men of God nourished by an intense life of prayer and shaped by his Grace. St. Augustine, after an exhausting but sincere journey in search of the Truth, had finally come to find it in God. He then realized that a unique aspect of wonder and joy filled his heart: he understood that throughout his journey it was the Truth that was looking for him and that found him. I would like to say to each one of you: Let us allow ourselves to be found and grasped by God, to help everyone we meet be reached by the Truth. It is through our relationship with Him that our communion is born and our ecclesial community generated which embraces all times and places to build the one People of God ".
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