Text 1912, 52 rader
Skriven 2006-11-27 22:31:04 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service - Press Release
===================================================
Hello All!
                This Area is READ ONLY.  Do not post to this area.
                The following press release is Copyrighted by the
                          Vatican Information Service.
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                               VIS-Press releases

LOVE AND TRUTH NEVER IMPOSE THEMSELVES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 26, 2006 (VIS) - Before praying the Angelus today, Solemnity
of Christ the King and the last Sunday of the liturgical year, Benedict XVI
recalled how today's Gospel reading recounts the meeting between Jesus and
Pontius Pilate.

"Answering the Roman governor's questions, Jesus affirms His kingship but says
it is not of this world. He did not come to dominate peoples and lands, but to
free mankind from the slavery of sin, and to reconcile him with God. And He
added: 'For this ... I have come into the world, to bear witness to the
truth'."

"But what is this 'truth'," the Holy Father asked, "to which Christ has come to
bear witness in the world?" And he answered: "His entire existence reveals that
God is love. This is, then, the truth to which He bore full witness with the
sacrifice of His life at Calvary. The Cross is the 'throne' from which he
demonstrated the sublime regality of God-Love. Offering Himself in atonement
for the sin of the world, He defeated the dominion of 'the ruler of this world'
and definitively established the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom that will be fully
realized at the end of time, after all the enemies - and in the last instance,
death - will have been defeated. Then the Son will consign the Kingdom to the
Father and, finally, God will 'be everything to everyone.'

"The road to reach this goal," the Pope added, "is long and no shortcuts are
allowed. Indeed, it is necessary for each individual to freely accept the truth
of God's love. He is Love and Truth, and neither love nor truth ever impose
themselves; they knock at the door of the heart and the mind and, where they
are allowed in, they bring peace and joy. This is the way God reigns, this is
His process of salvation, a 'mystery' in the biblical sense of the word, in
other words a plan that is revealed little by little over history."

Benedict XVI concluded his remarks by pointing out how "the Virgin Mary is
associated with Jesus' regality. ... God asked that humble girl from Nazareth
to become the mother of the Messiah, and Mary answered this call with all of
herself, uniting her unconditional 'yes' to that of the Son Jesus and making
herself, with Him, obedient even unto sacrifice. For this reason, God exalted
her over all other creatures, and Christ crowned her Queen of heaven and
earth."
ANG/CHRIST THE KING/... VIS 061127 (430)

SUMMARY

--- MPost/386 v1.21
 * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS =Meridian, MS= bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)