On Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the faithful gathered at St. Peter’s Square during his weekly Sunday Angelus address, reminding them of the day’s readings that touched upon announcing the truth without fear.
Recounting the Gospel of Luke, the Holy Father said that the continuation of last Sunday’s Gospel reading where Jesus’ fellow Nazarenes are bewildered by his words, thus fulfilling the proverb: «No prophet is accepted in his own land.
«At this point it is natural to ask: Why did Jesus wish to provoke this rupture?» the Pope said. «At the beginning the people admired him and perhaps they would have achieved a certain consensus… but this is exactly the point: Jesus did not come to seek consensus among men, but – as he will say in the end to Pilate – to ‘bear witness to truth’.»
Pope Benedict went on to say that a true prophet obeys no one but God in order to serve the truth, even if it means personal sacrifice. In regards to Jesus, the Holy Father referred to Him as the «prophet of love.»
«Indeed, love and truth are 2 names of the same reality, 2 names of God,» the Holy Father said.
«Believing in God means giving up our own prejudices and welcoming the concrete form in which he reveals himself: the man Jesus of Nazareth. And this path also leads to recognizing and serving him in others.»
The Supreme Pontiff cited the Blessed Virgin Mary as an enlightening model of one who carries «the mystery in her heart and knew how to welcome it continually more and more on the journey of faith to the night of the cross and the brilliance of the resurrection.»
Following the recitation of the Angelus, Pope Benedict recognized the observation of the first Sunday of February as the «Day for Life» and greeted representatives of the Movement for Life as well as representatives of the departments of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Rome. The Holy Father encouraged them to continue their work and to train healthcare workers «in the culture of life.»
