VATICAN CITY, APRIL 3, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The threats to complete fulfillment can be eliminated if we allow Christ to illuminate our lives, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope affirmed this today in his traditional address before praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
He noted today’s celebration of «Laetare Sunday,» with the entrance antiphon “Rejoice, Jerusalem! Be glad for her, you who love her …»
«What is the profound reason for this joy?» the Holy Father asked. «Today’s Gospel, in which Jesus heals a man blind from birth, tells us. […] It is to be noted how a simple and sincere person, in a gradual way, sets out on the journey of faith: In a first moment he meets Jesus as a ‘man’ among others, then he considers him a ‘prophet,’ and in the end his eyes open and he proclaims him ‘Lord.'»
The Pontiff highlighted the opposition to this faith seen in the Pharisees, the crowd and even the blind man’s parents.
«And we, what attitude do we assume toward Jesus?,» Benedict XVI asked.
He went on to consider our blindness from birth because of the sin of Adam, as well as our enlightening in baptism.
«Sin wounded humanity, destining it to the obscurity of death, but in Christ there shines the newness of life and the goal to which we are called,» he said. «[…] In the rite of baptism, the candle that is presented, lit from the great paschal candle, which is the symbol of the risen Christ, is a sign that helps us grasp what happens in the sacrament.
«When we let our life be illumined by the light of Christ, we experience the joy of being liberated from all that threatens our life’s complete fulfillment.»
The Pope concluded with an invitation to «revive in ourselves the gift received in baptism, that flame that is sometimes in danger of being extinguished. We must make it burn brighter with prayer and charity toward our neighbor.»
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On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-32207?l=english
