THE RENUNCIATION OF THE POPE

THE POPE RENOUNCES HIS MINISTRY OF BISHOP OF ROME AND SHEPHERD OF THE WHOLE CHURCH:

“in order to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”

Below, you find the declaration of Pope Benedict XVI: 

Dear Brothers,

I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.  I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects.  And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.

From the Vatican, 10 February 2013

BENEDICTUS PP XVI

PETER'S FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS

V SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: Lk 5:1-11

God takes the initiative

In the Bible, we can find time and again God taking the initiative in his relationship with man. In the gospels, we find the same attitude from Jesus. He is the one who gives the first step, addressing us and making an encounter with him possible. In this sunday's gospel, we can find that with Simon Peter. Jesus went into his boat and asked for a favor, a favor that Simon could easily do.

Once he finished speaking to the crowd, Jesus gave Simon a command: Go into deep water and let down your nets to catch some fish. This command sounds more like an invitation, maybe a plea or even a promise of reward. Jesus had noticed the baskets empty and the nets dry. And Simon, tired and disappointed, complained saying: We worked all night in vain, having caught nothing. He would prefer to go home for a good rest, and then come back, waiting for better luck.

In obedience to his word

Jesus' words were not a promise, and Simon might have ignored them. However, he was the kind of person who never gives up, even when he finds himself in deep trouble. Even if one fails, he should try again. And so Simon concluded: "if you say so, I will let down the nets”; or, "At your word, I will let down the nets."

This obedience to Jesus' word - or this willingness to be guided by Jesus' word - was rewarded beyond any expectation. They caught so much fish that the nets were breaking. The Lord gives always far more that we deserve or expect. However, he never does that without our contribution and participation. Peter had to overcome his discouragement, tiredness and disappointment and had to do the physical work of paddling the boat into deep waters and of casting the nets. Then, he had to ask his friends for help. The same happens with salvation. It is a gift that we do not deserve, as Simon realised with his catch of fish. It is a gift which comes from God's mercy and love. However, we will not find salvation without our willingness to participate and our readiness to work for it. 

Simon becomes aware of his sinfulness

The super-abundance of the catch opened Simon's eyes, enabling him to understand the sign (the miracle). Realising that he was in God's presence, Simon became aware of his sinfulness. He knelt before Jesus, in an attitude of adoration, and, addressing Jesus as LORD, said: "Go away, for I am a sinful man".

In God's presence, we cannot fail to see our shortcomings, failures and sins. Isaiah had a similar attitude, when he said: "I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have looked at the King, the Lord of Hosts." (Is 6:5). To be cleansed, forgiven and accepted, we must have that same attitude of Simon, Isaiah and so many others.

Once we do that, we will hear like Simon, the reassuring word: "Do not be afraid". The encounter with Jesus brings peace and fulfilment. And it is at the same time a call: "From now on you will be catching people". Simon will become Peter and he will be entrusted with a mission.

WHO IS A PROPHET?

IV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME:Jr  1:4-5,17-19

May be we should ask: Who is a prophet? And what is a prophet?

Many people accept that prophets are special people who play an important role in the community. A generation without prophets is a generation content with itself, who lost the urge to look for better and higher. Prophets do not speak for themselves; they are the voice of someone else calling us to be true to ourselves and to God.

Are they seers of the future?

In the Bible, the time of the prophets was one of the greatest times in the history of salvation. Many people think of prophets as seers of the future, who announce in riddles what will come to be. However, the role of a prophet is not to announce the future, but to speak about the present. Called by God and guided by his Spirit, the prophet reads the present in order to discover in it God's presence and God's action. The prophet is a voice speaking God's words for today, guiding people to discover God's will and to obey it.

Called by God

This Sunday, we read about Jeremiah's vocation. God tells him: "I consecrated you, I appointed you as a prophet" (Jr 1:5). A true prophet is called by God, who consecrates him, entrusting him with a mission: "Now I have put my words in your mouth." (Jr 1:9)

If we look at the great prophets of Israel, they were called to denounce the evil behaviour of the people; they were reedy to provoke and to challenge, calling them to repent and to turn back to God. They were ready to denounce the social injustices and the prevalent exploitation of the poor by the rich and the powerful. They were able to analyze the political situation correctly, and most of the times they went against the status quo, calling for boldness to change.

Moved by a deep experience of God

All the prophets were moved by a deep experience of God, with their hearts full of jealousy for God's glory. Their words move always on two directions: looking at the present and the near past, they castigate the people's unwillingness to listen to God; looking at the future, they present God's promise of salvation, a promise coming out of a heart full of love and compassion. At the same time, they announce the terrible consequences of a continuous refusal to change and to obey God's commands.

The prophets were rejected

The prophets had not an easy life. They were rejected and even punished for their courage to tell the truth. Jeremiah was rejected. Christ was rejected in his own village and in his own country. Rejection is always painful, and may lead the prophet to question himself it is worthwhile going on with their mission. However, being faithful to God's call, they go on, because they cannot stop speaking God's word.

We are in need of prophets who speak out fearlessly, proclaiming God's word, witnessing God's love and announcing his promise of salvation. 

JESUS' MANIFESTO

III SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: Lk 4:14-21

In the Catholic Church, during the common sundays of this year's liturgical calendar, we are going to read the Gospel of Luke. And Luke reports that Jesus went to Nazareth, at the beginning of his public ministry, and that he presented his manifesto there. 

Anointed with the Spirit for the proclamation of the Good News

In the Sabbath liturgy of the Synagogue, Jesus was called to read, and he read a passage taken from the prophet Isaiah:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour." (Is 4:18-19)

Finishing the reading, Jesus proclaimed: "This has been fulfilled today!", assuming the words of Isaiah as his programme. The importance of this passage for the understanding of Jesus and of his work can be recognised by the answer that Jesus gave to John’s messengers who asked him if he was the Messiah or if they should wait for somebody else:

"Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me." (Mt 11:4-6)

Jesus brings wholeness to our lives

Jesus came to bring total salvation, which includes the end of oppression and exploitation, the end of suffering and of any kind of handicap, be it physical, mental or social. He came to bring wholeness, establishing a time of grace, reconciliation and peace. By proclaiming "the year of the Lord's favour", Jesus was proclaiming the year of the Jubilee (Lev 25:10), which should be a year of liberation: a year of recognising and affirming one's dignity. God's people must be a free people, and in their midst there should be no oppression and injustice of any kind.

Guided - in his words and actions - by this manifesto, Jesus could truly say: 

"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Mt 11:28-29).

JESUS AT THE WEDDING OF CANA

II SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: Jn 2:1-11

A wedding is always a time for rejoicing in the family and in the community. And a wedding is always a celebration of love, the love that makes life possible and meaningful.

The Kingdom of God is like a wedding feast

In his preaching, Jesus compared the Kingdom of God  to a wedding feast, the wedding of the king's son, which the invited guests refused to attend (Mt 22:2). Already in the Old Testament, the prophets spoke of the covenant relationship of God with his people in terms of marriage. God sees himself as the groom and the people are the bride he felt in love with.

The prophets speak of God’s love in terms of a marriage covenant of love

• "On that day, says the Lord, you will call me, "My husband"… And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the Lord." (Ho 2:16-20)
• "For the Lord has called you like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, like the wife of a mans youth when she is cast off, says your God.

For a brief moment I abandoned you,

but with great compassion I will gather you.

In overflowing wrath for a moment

I hid my face from you,

but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord,   your Redeemer." (Is 54:5-8)

• "For as a young man marries a young woman,

so shall your builder marry you,

and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,

so shall your God rejoice over you." (Is 62:5)

Jesus brings to fulfilment God’s promise of eternal love

Jesus' presence at the wedding was not a casual presence. John wanted to show that Jesus came to fulfil those promises of love and happiness, and that's why he put the wedding at the beginning of Jesus' public ministry.

When we read the gospel of John, we must remember that his writing is always full of words pregnant with meaning and hidden references.

John tells us that the wedding took place on the "their day" - a reference to the resurrection, the final victory over the enemy that has kept us enslaved. Looking at it from another angle, we can discover that, adding the days since John's testimony (Jn 1:19), we have a week, with the wedding taking place on the seventh day, which is the day of God's rest - the day of celebration, rejoicing in God's love and God's salvation.

Jesus occupies the centre: he is the groom, and we are invited to his wedding feast

In John's narrative, very little attention is given to the groom and the bride. Everything is centred around Jesus, Mary, his mother, the wine and the disciples. Jesus is the true groom, the King's son; and he took the disciples with him to the wedding feast. They recognised his glory and believed. Jesus brings the joy of the Kingdom of God, transforming the water of our weaknesses and sins into the wine of celebration and rejoicing. 

This wedding at the beginning is a preparation and an announcement of a better banquet - the banquet of the Eucharist, which is the food from heaven served to us at the table of the Lord. And the Eucharistic banquet prepares us for the even greater wedding feast of the Lamb. Indeed, "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." (Rev 19:9; 21:9).

WE WERE BAPTISED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD: Luke 3:15-16,21-22

John baptised with water, as a sign of repentance; and people recognised their sinfulness, by confessing their sins (Mt 3:6). The Christians are baptised with a different baptism - the baptism given us by Christ, in which we are baptised with the Holy Spirit.

According to the letter to Titus, out of his own compassion, God saved us "by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit which he has so generously poured over us through Jesus Christ our saviour." (Tit 3:5-6). 

Remembering our baptism

We were baptised with the baptism of Jesus Christ, not with the baptism of John. In our baptism, the water and the Spirit worked together to transform us, so that we were born as children of God. The water is indeed a sign of purification, and is at the same time a symbol of the Holy Spirit that was "poured over us through Jesus Christ our saviour". The Holy Spirit works in us from within, recreating us in the image of Jesus Christ.

As we remember and celebrate Jesus' baptism, we must renew our awareness of the great gift received at baptism, when  we were made "citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God" (Eph 2:19).

Jesus chose to share our human situtation

Jesus' own baptism was a special baptism, which played an important role in the fulfilment of his mission. In it, we can see the manifestation of the Holy Trinity, the proclamation of Jesus' sonship by the Father, and the anointing with the Holy Spirit for the mission that he would carry out. And we cannot ignore that by choosing to be baptised by John, Jesus decided to share our human situation, with its pain and anguish which come out of the slavery of sin. Jesus' baptism is an announcement of his own death and a preparation for it. Jesus shared in our human condition, so that we may also share in his baptism, in which God revealed his love and his decision to grant us his Sprit through Jesus Christ.

SEARCHING FOR THE TRUTH

THE FEAST OF EPIPHANY: Mt 2:1-12

This Sunday, we remember the Magi, who came from the East, guided by a star. This is an interesting story, which has been embellished throughout many generations. In people' imagination, the Magi became kings, being given names and countries of origin, going beyond the biblical story, where they were not kings, and nothing is said about their number; the only evident fact is that they were foreigner dignitaries who came to pay homage to Jesus. In his narrative, Matthew did not pay attention to details, concentrating on what is essential and meaningful. And so we must do the same.

They were Gentiles

They were foreigners, followers of other religion and worshippers of other god. Their story makes it very clear that God did not forget the Gentiles (all the nations who did not belong to the people of Israel) and that they are part of God's plan, having a place in his heart. In fact, they did much better than those who considered themselves privileged, because of being the chosen of God. God does not discriminate people because of their tribe, country or nation; he wants all people to be saved.

On a journey, searching for the truth

The Magi were a group of people on the move, searching for the truth, in order to find the king of peace and then rest at his feet. They were not happy with what they had and what they knew; the “status quo” did not satisfy them. They need to reach out in search of meaning for their lives and for the world we live in. In the book of Proverbs, we are told that if we "search for wisdom as for hidden treasurers", then we will "find the knowledge of God" (Prov 2:4-5). And, in Jeremiah, God says: "When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord" (Jer 29:13-14).

Nowadays, we drown ourselves in noise and dissipation, not keeping time to search deep into our hearts and find the loving presence of God or to search the world around us to discover how it sings the glory of its maker. We do economic, historical, political and scientific research, but avoid the search of the soul that puts us in front of the mystery of God, which is a mystery of life and love. The Magi may teach us that continuous search which leads to the Saviour.

Strengthened by hope

They were guided by a star. It does not matter much if it was a physical star or just the star of their ideals and longings. The fact is that there was a guiding force that pulled them out of their homes and pushed them into the unknown. In their journey, we discover a sense of purpose, the inner assurance that there is something (better someone) out there that gives meaning and sense to our lives and to human history. In the long journey, they were not deterred by difficulties and hardships, but kept moving forward, strengthened by hope.

A society without hope is a lost society, without future, quickly moving to self-destruction. Jesus is the hope of the nations; he is the guiding star, because he is the fulfillment of the Promise, and in him we find life, joy and peace.