‘We must not remain silent before evil’, says His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in message for Lent – 2012
The Pope has alerted the Catholics to recover the fraternal correction because before evil we must not remain silent. Seeing the title of the message: ‘Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works’ (Heb 10:24), we can feel how deep is the message for this Lent. We ought to make a reflection of our lives, as Christians, so during this period we can live an experience, as the Holy Father says, of fraternal love e fulltime service to our Church.
The Holy Father makes a huge reference to the key focus of our mission within the Church, which is: a spiritual responsibility for our brothers. The fraternity (brotherhood) and love for our brother, whoever he is, is the task we must accomplish. However, we all have difficulty in loving each other, when it refers to ‘love’ in the broadest sense of the word, meaning help(air/assistance), compassion, mercy, charity, and other senses. Moreover, inside the meaning of the word ‘love’, is notion of charity, reflecting the good works as an objective of every Christian. Our good works have to impulsionate us to love our neighbor. This dynamic prospect of growth, which the Holy Father encourages us to live during this 40 days of Lent, is to not be alone during this time, but to persist with the plenitude of God’s Love in our hearts.
Still in his message for Lent, the Pope invites us to live great purposes during the year of 2012, not in a simply objective way, but doing full reflection of our lives. Thus says His Holiness:
‘In a world which demands of Christians a renewed witness of love and fidelity to the Lord, may all of us feel the urgent need to anticipate one another in charity, service and good works (cf. Heb 6:10)’, ensured the Pope.
‘Today too, the Lord’s voice summons all of us to be concerned for one another. Even today God asks us to be “guardians” of our brothers and sisters (Gen 4:9), to establish relationships based on mutual consideration and attentiveness to the well-being, the integral well-being of others’.
The Pontiff also mentioned the personal call to Holiness that every Christian has, through the experience of love shaped in good works for the Church to grow and develop to reach the ‘full maturity of Christ’.
The Pope Benedict XVI warns of the danger of becoming lukewarm, which must be overcome to put into practice the ‘spiritual or material riches meant to be used for the fulfilment of God’s plan, for the good of the Church and for our personal salvation’.
The message of Benedict XVI in its entirety can be read in the Vatican website in English at:
0 Sorrisos:
Postar um comentário