CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 18, 2003 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address John Paul II gave on Sunday when praying the Angelus with 2,000 pilgrims gathered in the courtyard of the papal summer residence.
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1. The day before yesterday, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the liturgy exhorted us to lift our gaze to heaven to contemplate Mary in the new Jerusalem, the Holy City that comes down from God (see Revelation 21:2).
«Behold, I make all things new,» the Lord says (ibid., 21,5). In the Book of Revelation, the Gospel of hope resounds with vigor, which impels one to receive the «novelty of God,» an eschatological gift that goes beyond every human possibility, and which only he can bring about. This «novelty» will be fulfilled at the end of time, but it is already present in history. Already now, in fact, through the Church, God is renewing and transforming the world, and the reflections of his action are perceptible also «in every form of human coexistence inspired by the Gospel» (apostolic exhortation «Ecclesia in Europa,» No. 107).
2. The European Continent, which for 2,000 years «has heard the Gospel of the Kingdom inaugurated by Jesus» (ibid., 107), cannot but be understood by this «novelty.» The Christian faith has given it form, and some of its fundamental values have later inspired «the democratic ideal and human rights» of European modernity. In addition to being «a geographic place,» Europe is «predominantly a cultural and historical concept,» characterized as a Continent thanks also to the unifying force of Christianity, which has been a primary factor of unity among peoples and cultures and of the integral promotion of man and his rights (see ibid., No. 108).
It cannot be denied that, in these our times, Europe is going though a crisis of values, and it is important that it recover its true identity. The process of enlargement of the European Union to include other countries cannot refer only to geographical and economic aspects, but must be translated in a renewed agreement of values to be expressed in law and in life (see ibid., No. 110).
3. Let us pray to the Holy Virgin, venerated in so many European shrines, so that she will help the Continent to always be aware of its spiritual vocation and contribute to build solidarity and peace «within its borders and throughout the world» (No. 113).
[Translation by ZENIT]
[After the Angelus, the Pope greeted pilgrims in several languages. In English, he said:]
With affection I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present for this Angelus prayer. May God bless you and your families with his gifts of joy and peace.
