Quotes and news

The following are quotations from some of the speeches delivered by Pope Benedict during his pastoral visits to Mexico and Cuba last week.

Overcome faith fatigue by knowing Christ

During a Mass at Bicentennial Park , León, Mexico, last Sunday the Pope said: “We need to overcome fatigue related to faith and rediscover the joy of being Christians, of being sustained by the inner happiness of knowing Christ and belonging to his Church.

“From this joy spring the energies that are needed to serve Christ in distressing situations of human suffering, placing oneself at his disposition and not falling back on one’s own comfort...

“This can be seen clearly in the saints who dedicated themselves fully to the cause of the Gospel with enthusiasm and joy without counting the cost, even of life itself. Their heart was centred entirely on Christ from whom they had learned what it means to love until the end.”

‘Stand beside those who are emarginated’

Addressing bishops in Señora de la Luz cathedral, León, Mexico, on Sunday he said: “Stand beside those who are marginalised as the result of force, power or a prosperity which is blind to the poorest of the poor. The Church cannot separate the praise of God from service to others.

“The one God, our Father and Creator, has made us brothers and sisters: to be human is to be a brother and guardian to our neighbour. The Church must relive and make present what Jesus was: the Good Samaritan who came from afar, entered our human history, lifted us up and sought to heal us.”

Reciprocal respect between lay, clergy

In the same address to bishops, he said: “Greater attention is due to the members of the lay faithful most engaged in the fields of catechesis, liturgical animation, charitable activity and social commitment. Their faith formation is critical if the Gospel is to become present and fruitful in contemporary society.

“It is not right for them to feel treated like second-class citizens in the Church, despite the committed work they carry out in accordance with their proper vocation and the great sacrifice this dedication at times demands of them.

“In all of this, it is particularly important for pastors to ensure that a spirit of communion reigns among priests, religious and the lay faithful, and that sterile divisions, criticism and unhealthy mistrust are avoided.”

‘God respects, requires human freedom’

Speaking in Santiago de Cuba, last Monday the Pope said: “From the moment the Virgin responded to the angel did the eternal Word of the Father begin His human existence in time. The beginning of the earthly life of the Son of God was marked by a double ‘Yes’ to the saving plan of the Father – that of Christ and that of Mary. This obedience to God is what opens the doors of the world to the truth, to salvation.

“God has created us as the fruit of His infinite love, and so to live in accordance with His will is the way to encounter our genuine identity, the truth of our being, while apart from God we are alienated from ourselves and are hurled into the void.

“The obedience of faith is true liberty, authentic redemption, which allows us to unite ourselves to the love of Jesus in His determination to conform Himself to the will of the Father. Redemption is always this process of the lifting up of the human will to full communion with the divine will.”

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)