Posted on 05/25/2008 7:40:40 PM PDT by markomalley
VATICAN CITY, MAY 25, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the greeting Benedict XVI gave today before praying the Angelus with several thousand people gathered in St. Peter's Square.
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Dear Brothers and Sisters!
The solemnity of Corpus Domini is celebrated in Italy and in various countries today. It was observed in the Vatican and in other countries Thursday. It is the feast of the Eucharist, the wondrous gift of Christ, who in the Last Supper wanted to leave us a memorial of his Passover, the sacrament of his Body and his Blood, pledge of his immense love for us.
Last week our gaze was attracted by the mystery of the most holy Trinity; today we are invited to look upon the consecrated Host: It is the same God! The same Love! This is the beauty of Christian truth: The Creator and Lord of all things became "a grain of wheat" to be sown in our earth, in the furrow of our history; he became bread to be broken, shared, eaten; he became our food to give us life, his own divine life. He was born in Bethlehem, which in Hebrew means "House of Bread," and when he began to preach to the crowds he revealed that the Father sent him into the world as "living bread come down from heaven," as "bread of life."
The Eucharist is the school of charity and solidarity. Those who eat the Bread of Christ cannot remain indifferent before those who, even in our days, lack daily bread. Many parents are barely able to provide for themselves and their children. It is a grave and growing problem that the international community finds hard to solve. The Church does not only pray "give us this day our daily bread," but, following the Lord's example, works in every way "to multiply the five loaves and two fish" with countless humanitarian efforts and sharing so that no one remains without the necessities of life.
Dear brothers and sisters, may the feast of Corpus Domini be an occasion to grow in this concrete attention to our brothers, especially the poor. May the Virgin Mary obtain this grace for us. From her, the Son of God took his flesh and blood, as we say in a celebrated Eucharistic hymn, set to music by great composers: "Ave verum corpus natum de Maria Virgine," and which concludes with the invocation: "O Jesu dulcis, o Jesu pie, o Jesu fili Mariae!"
May Mary, who, carrying Jesus in her womb, was the living "tabernacle" of the Eucharist, communicate to us her faith in the holy mystery of the Body and Blood of her divine Son, that he may truly be the center of our life. We will be gathered around her next Saturday, May 31, at 8 in the evening in St. Peter's Square for a special celebration and conclusion of the month of Mary.
[After the Angelus the Holy Father made the following remarks:]
I greet the Chinese-speaking pilgrims who have come to Rome from all over Italy on the occasion of the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China. I entrust to God's mercy all of your countrymen who died in the earthquake that recently struck a vast area of your homeland. I renew my personal nearness to those who are experiencing hours of anxiety and tribulation. Thanks to the fraternal solidarity of all, the populations of these zones can soon return to the normality of daily life.
Together with you I ask Mary, Help of Christians, Our Lady of Sheshan, to support "the efforts of those who, among their daily toil, continue to believe, to hope, to love so that they never fear to speak of Jesus to the world and of the world to Jesus," ever remaining "credible witnesses" of his love and "keeping themselves united with the rock of Peter on which the Church is built."
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
[The Holy Father then greeted the people in several languages. In English, he said:]
I am happy to greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present for this Angelus. Today the Church celebrates in different places the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. On Thursday with many of the faithful, I had the joy of taking part in the Corpus Christi procession and venerating this Holy Sacrament in prayer and adoration. Our faith invites us to receive the Body and Blood of Christ with pure hearts so as to enter into communion with him. May his presence always renew our Christian love as we journey with him to Eternal Life. I wish you all a pleasant stay in Rome, and a blessed Sunday!
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