By Junno Arocho
FRASCATI, Italy, JULY 16, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI on Sunday celebrated an outdoor Mass in the Diocese of Frascati, five miles away from his summer home in Castel Gandolfo.
The Diocese of Frascati is one of seven suburbicarian dioceses located in the vicinity of Rome. Each suburbicarian diocese has one of the cardinal bishops as a titular bishop and a diocesan bishop who handles all administrative functions within the diocese.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pope’s secretary of state and titular bishop of the suburbicarian see of Frascati, along with Bishop Raffaello Martinelli, bishop of the diocese, concelebrated with the Holy Father.
The Pontiff greeted all present and gave a warm greeting to Bishop Martinelli, who worked alongside him for more than 20 years when the Pope was head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. “He contributed to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and to the Compendium of the Catechism. In this great symphony of the faith his voice too was quite present,” the Holy Father said of Bishop Martinelli.
Speaking on the Sunday Gospel, the Bishop of Rome reflected on Christ’s sending of the disciples to preach the Good News, saying that from the beginning, Jesus gave them this “apprenticeship” to involve them in his action. That «Jesus calls some disciples to collaborate directly in his mission manifests an aspect of his love, that is, that he does not scorn the help that other men can bring to his work; he knows their limits, their weaknesses, but he does not disdain them, indeed, he confers on them the dignity of being his envoys,” he said.
The Pope also spoke of the courage to announce the truth despite being rejected by men, as was seen in the first reading from the prophet Amos, who preached against the abuses of the power of the king. “And this remains the mandate of the Church: do not preach what the powerful wish to hear. The criterion of prophets is the truth and justice even if this goes against human applause and human power,” he said.
The Holy Father encouraged the faithful of the Diocese of Frascati to follow the example of the apostles, who embraced this mission that Jesus called them to “so that they would be able to take on apostolic responsibility in the Church.”
“Here too, in the diocesan community of Frascati, the Lord sows his gifts generously, he calls people to follow him and to continue his mission today. Here too there is need of a new evangelization, and for this reason I propose that you live intensely the Year of Faith that will begin in October, 50 years after the close of the Second Vatican Council,” the Pope said.
The Pontiff invited the faithful to read the documents of Vatican II, saying that acquainting themselves with them would help them to “rediscover the beauty of being Christians, of being Church, of living the great ‘we’ that Jesus formed around himself to evangelize the world.”
Concluding his homily, Benedict XVI encouraged the faithful of Frascati to be united in faith and to continue the mission of spreading the Gospel in their community: “Remain firm in the faith, rooted in Christ thought the Word and the Eucharist; be people who pray, to be always connected to Christ, like branches on the vine, and at the same time go, bring his message to everyone, especially to the little ones, the poor, the suffering. In every community love each other, do not be divided but live as brothers, so that the world believe that Jesus is alive in his Church and the Kingdom of God is near.»
— — —
On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full text: www.zenit.org/article-35198?l=english
