Pope: thanking God for earth's fruits should prompt justice, solidarity against hunger
Before tens of thousands of pilgrims who braved the stormy rain, Benedict XVI recalled Thanksgiving Day, which should encourage initiatives to fight world hunger. He delivered a special greeting to the Salesian Cooperators on the 150th anniversary of the death of "Mamma Margherita", the mother of St John Bosco.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) "Jesus taught his disciples to pray by asking the heavenly Father not for 'my' but for 'our' daily bread. Thus he wanted every man to feel co-responsibility for his brothers, so that no one would lack what is necessary to live." In the reflection given by Benedict XVI before the Angelus, as rain poured down on St Peter's square, these words linked a liturgical celebration and a problem of social justice, thanksgiving to God for the end-of-season harvest and the tragedy of world hunger. The liturgical occasion was due to Thanksgiving Day, celebrated today in Italy to thank God for the harvest. This year's theme is "The earth: a gift for the entire human family". Benedict VI stressed the educational value of praying and thanking God before meals. "This custom should be preserved or rediscovered, because it teaches one not to take the 'daily bread' for granted, but to recognise it as a gift of Providence," he said. "We should get used to blessing the Creator for everything: for air and water, precious elements that are the basis of life on our planet, as well as for the food that God offers us for our sustenance through the fecundity of the earth."
Turning to the theme of Thanksgiving Day, he said: "The produce of the earth is a gift intended by God 'for the entire human family'." Thus, the "tragedy of hunger" that remains "very serious" should be of interest to all mankind. The pope drew attention to the latest report of FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN organization dedicated to this sector), which confirms "what the Church knows very well from its direct experience with communities and missionaries", namely that "800 million people are malnourished and too many people, especially children, die of hunger". Benedict XVI asked: "How to tackle this situation? Despite being repeatedly denounced, it shows no signs of being resolved and in some cases, it is even getting worse." Recalling his predecessors Paul VI and John Paul II the pope drew attention to the Church's condemnation of the imbalanced distribution of goods and the ill-considered use of natural resources. "Structural causes linked to the system of government of the world economy, which allocates most resources of the planet to a minority of the population, must be eliminated. This injustice has been denounced on several occasions by my venerated Predecessors, the Servants of God, Paul VI and John Paul II. To make a large-scale impact, it is necessary to 'convert' the global development model; it is not only the scandal of hunger that demands this, but also environmental and energy emergencies." But Benedict XVI did not limit himself to denunciation or to highlighting ecology: both should be rooted in a "new culture": "Each person and family can and should do something to alleviate hunger in the world by adopting a lifestyle and consumption patterns that are compatible with safeguarding creation and with criteria of justice that cultivate the land in every country."
The pope ended his reflection before the Angelus by exhorting all to integrate "worship" and "culture", thanksgiving to God with solidarity: "Dear brothers and sisters, today's Thanksgiving Day invites us, on the one hand, to give thanks to God for the fruits of agricultural labour and on the other, it encourages us to commit ourselves concretely to defeating the scourge of hunger. May the Virgin Mary help us to be grateful for the benefits of Providence and to promote justice and solidarity in every part of the globe."
After the Angelus prayer, before tens of thousands of pilgrims who braved the bad weather, and long, heavy downpours, Benedict XVI delivered greetings in several languages. He greeted especially the Salesian Cooperators, who are in Rome for their world Congress on occasion of the 150th anniversary of the death of the Servant of God, Margherita Occhiena, mother of St John Bosco. The pope said: "From heaven, may 'Mother Margherita' always protect you all, dear friends, and the big Salesian family."
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