VATICAN.VA REPORT: The GENERAL AUDIENCE
At 10.30 am today, in the inner courtyard of the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo, the Holy Father Benedict XVI met with the faithful and pilgrims gathered for the General Audience on Wednesday. (IMAGE SOURCE: RADIO VATICANA)
In his speech in Italian the Pope continued his catechesis on prayer, has focused his attention on meditation.
The Holy Father addressed a greeting in several languages to groups of pilgrims.
The audience concluded with the singing of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters,
we are still in the light of the Feast of the Assumption, which - as I said - is a festival of hope. Mary has come to Paradise and this is our target: we can all get to heaven. The question is how. Mary is reached; Ella - says the Gospel - is "she who believed in what the Lord has said" ( Luke 1.45). So Mary, he believed, was entrusted to God, joined with her in the will of the Lord, and so it was just in the way direct route, the road to Paradise. Believe, trust the Lord, will enter her: this is essential to address.
Today I would not speak on this journey of faith, but only on one small aspect of the life of prayer is the life of the contact with God, that is meditation. And what is meditation? It means "remember" what God has done and do not forget all his benefits (cf. Ps 103, 2b). Often we see only the negative things, we must keep in our memory, even the good things, the gifts that God has given us, to be attentive to positive signs coming from God and to remember these. So, we are talking about a type of prayer in the Christian tradition is called "mental prayer". We usually know the prayer with words, of course, the mind and heart must be present in this prayer, but today we speak of a meditation that is not of words, but it is a contact of mind with the heart of God and Mary here a model is very real. The Evangelist Luke repeats several times, that Mary "on his part, kept all these things and pondered them in her heart" (2.19 cf 2.51 b). Guardian does not forget, she is attentive to all that the Lord has said and done, and meditate, that makes contact with different things, explores in his heart.
She, therefore, that "believed" the Angel, and has made instrument for the Eternal Word incarnate of the Most could, he also received in his heart the wondrous miracle of the human-divine birth, he has meditated, has focused on reflection on what God was doing in her, to accept the will of God in his life and respond. The mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God and of Mary's motherhood is so great as to require a process of internalization is not just a physical thing that God works in you, but it is something that requires internalization by Mary, who seeks to deepen the understanding, to interpret their meaning, to understand the implications and implications. So, day after day, in the silence of ordinary life, Mary continued to treasure in his heart the next wonderful event that has been witness to the ultimate test of the Cross and the glory of the Resurrection. Mary lived her life fully, his daily duties, his mission as a mother, but was able to maintain itself an inner space to reflect on the word and the will of God, of what was happening in her, on the mysteries of his life Son.
In our time we are preoccupied with many activities and commitments, concerns, problems, often we tend to fill all the spaces of the day, without a moment to stop and reflect and nourish the spiritual life, contact with God teaches us how Mary need to find in our days, with all activities, to recollect moments in silence and meditate on what the Lord wants to teach, how is present and acts in the world and in our lives: being able to pause for a moment and meditate. St. Augustine likens meditation on the mysteries of God to the assimilation of food and uses a verb that occurs throughout the Christian tradition: "chewing" the mysteries of God that should be continually made to resound in ourselves because we become family, guide the our lives, as it is nourished with the food they need to support us. And St. Bonaventure, referring to the words of Sacred Scripture says that "always go to them to fix ruminated application with ardent soul" ( Coll. Hex In , ed. Quaracchi 1934, p. 218). Meditation then is creating in us a state of meditation, inner silence, to reflect, absorb the mysteries of our faith and what God does in us, and not just the things that come and go. We can do this "rumination" in various ways, taking, for example, a short passage of Scripture, especially the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles of the Apostles, or a page of an author of spirituality that brings us closer and makes it more mind the reality of God in our day, perhaps taking advice from her confessor or spiritual director, read and reflect on what we have read, focusing on it, trying to understand, to understand what he tells me what to say today , to open our hearts to what the Lord wants to tell us and teach us. The Holy Rosary is a prayer of meditation: repeating the Hail Mary we are invited to rethink and reflect on the mystery that we proclaimed. But we also dwell on some intense spiritual experience, of words that have remained in taking part in Sunday. So you see, there are many ways to meditate, and so to make contact with God and get closer to God and, thus, to go to Paradise.
Dear friends, the endurance to give time to God is a key element in spiritual growth, the Lord Himself will give us a taste of his mysteries, his words, his presence and action, to hear how good it is when God talks to us and we will understand more deeply what we want from me. In the end this is the purpose of meditation, relying increasingly in the hands of God, with faith and love, in making sure that only his will in the end we are really happy.
[01168-01.01] [Original text: Italian]
Chers amis francophones, je vous accueille avec joie. Je salue particulièrement les Pèlerins venus du Burkina Faso. Bienvenue! Je vous invite à votre confier pèlerinage à la Vierge Marie de venons dont nous celebrate the Assumption auprès de son Fils. Que Dieu vous tous benissa!
I offer a cordial welcome to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors here today, Especially Those from Malta, South Korea, Nigeria and Canada. Through the intercession of Our Lady, Whose we Assumption Celebrated on Wednesday, May You and Your loved ones draw ever closer to her Son Jesus. Upon all of you I invoke God's abundant blessings!
Ganz herzlich Grüße ich die Pilger und Besucher aus den Ländern deutscher Sprache. Freu ich mich, dass ihr gekommen seid hierher nach Castel Gandolfo, und Wünsche euch einen Aufenthalt frohen. Gottes Segen euch auf allen beautiful Euren Wegen.
Cordial saludo a los de lengua española Peregrinos, venidos de España y otros países Latinoamericanos Mexico City. I support que vuestra oración y en el Viaje acompanied Apostólico que mañana a España emprendo. Muchas gracias y que Dios os Bendigo.
Amados Peregrinos de Língua portuguesa, bem-vindos home! Com Saúde e Alegria todos os great Afet vieram que desejo de Encontro com or successors, or de Pedro. Desco sobre a minha Bencao Vos, vossas familias and comunidades. Obrigado!
Witam pielgrzymów Serdecznie Polskich. Prosze was modlitwę or w mojej podróży na intencji spotkanie z w młodzieżą Madrycie. Niece Bedz pochwalony Chrystus Jezus!
[I greet the pilgrims from Poland. Please pray for my trip to Madrid on the occasion of World Youth Day. Praised be Jesus Christ!]
Nuoširdžiai sveikinu lietuvius maldininkus, Vilniaus ypač katalikiškosios mokyklos "Versme" mokytojus, ir linkiu jiems sėkmingai vykdyti svarbų jaunimo ugdymo darbo.
[I address a cordial greeting to the pilgrims from Lithuania, in particular the teachers of the Catholic school "Versme" Vilnius, appreciated and encourage them in their formative action.]
I cordially greet the Italian-speaking pilgrims, especially the Poor Sisters of Mary the Crowned SS.ma, who are celebrating their Chapter. We thank you all for your presence, I encourage you to continue your faithful Christian witness in society.
Tomorrow, as you know, I will go to Madrid, where I will have the joy of meeting many young people gathered there for the XXVI World Youth Day. We ask you to join spiritually with prayer in this important ecclesial event. Thank you for your prayers. Thanks!
After the Blessing
Thanks to you all, good day!
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