June 2013
Pope's Intentions
Mutual Respect. That a culture of dialogue, listening, and mutual respect may prevail among peoples.
New Evangelization. That where secularization is strongest, Christian communities may effectively promote a new evangelization.
Christ as the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets
When I read the Gospels and there come across testimonies from the Law or the prophets, I think only of Christ. I have only considered Moses, I have only considered the prophets with the intention of understanding what they say about Christ. For, after all, when I come before Christ's splendor and there perceive a brilliant light of bright sunshine, so to speak, then I cannot look on the light of a lamp. If you light a lamp at noon, can it show things up? When the sun rises then lamplight is invisible. In the same way, when Christ is present then the Law and the prophets vanish utterly away. I'm not criticizing the Law and the prophets; to the contrary, I praise them since they foretell Christ. But when I read the Law and the prophets my aim is not to hold fast to the Law and the prophets but, by means of the Law and the prophets, to come to Christ.