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Skriven 2007-04-17 23:20:06 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service (Press Release)
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                               VIS-Press releases

DAY AFTER DAY, BECOME MEN AND WOMEN OF GOD'S MERCY!

VATICAN CITY, APR 15, 2007 (VIS) - Today, the second Sunday of Easter, Divine
Mercy Sunday, the Pope presided at a Eucharistic concelebration in St. Peter's
Square to mark his own 80th birthday which falls tomorrow, April 16. The event
was attended by 50,000 people.

Concelebrating with the Pope were 60 cardinals, archbishops and bishops of the
Roman Curia, as well as auxiliary bishops and a representative of the priests
of the diocese of Rome. Also present at the Mass was Metropolitan Ioannis
(Zizioulas) of Pergamo, the envoy of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of
Constantinople.

Opening his homily, Benedict XVI recalled how Servant of God John Paul II had
wished this Sunday to be dedicated to Divine Mercy. In the word "mercy" said
Pope Benedict, John Paul II "saw the entire mystery of the Redemption
summarized and newly interpreted for our times. ... He had a profound
experience of the shadows that threaten the world even in our own time. But he
also experienced, and no less strongly, the presence of God Who opposes all
these forces with His power that is completely different and divine: with the
power of mercy."

"It is mercy that places a limit to evil. In mercy, all God's utterly unique
power is expressed: His sanctity, the power of truth and of love."

At his death John Paul II "entered into the light of Divine Mercy, from where
... he new speaks to us in a completely new way. 'Have faith,' he tells us, 'in
divine Mercy! Day after day, become men and women of God's mercy!'."

Pope Benedict then recalled how "precisely during these days particularly
illuminated by Divine Mercy," he was celebrating his own 80th birthday.

"I have always considered it a great gift that birth and rebirth were granted
me, so to say, together, on the same day," said the Holy Father referring to
the fact that he had been baptized on the day he was born. "Thus, in the course
of one single day, I was born as a member of my own family and of the great
family of God."

The Pope gave thanks to God for having had the chance to experience "the
meaning of 'family,' ... the meaning of paternity, ... and for having been able
to enjoy a profound experience of the significance of maternal goodness."

And the Holy Father expressed particular thanks "because, from my first day, I
was able to enter and grow in the great community of believers."

"Birth and rebirth; earthly family and the great family of God," he said, "this
is the great gift of God's multiple mercies, the foundation upon which we
rest."

Ordained a priest on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul in 1951, Benedict XVI
recalled his vocation as "a new and demanding gift," that gave him the
opportunity to experience how "the Lord is not only the Lord, but also a
friend. He has placed His hand over me and will not abandon me."

Having become Pope, "with the increased burden of responsibility the Lord has
also brought new help to my life. I often note with joy how many are the people
who support me with their prayer; who with their faith and love help me to
undertake my ministry; who are indulgent with my weakness."

The Pope concluded by noting how "God's mercies accompany us each day. All we
must do is remain alert to perceive them. We are too inclined to note only the
daily struggle, ... but if we open our hearts, then we can, though immersed in
that struggle, continually note how good God is to us; how He thinks of us in
small things thus helping us to achieve great ones."
HML/DIVINE MERCY:BIRTHDAY/...VIS 070417 (640)

SUMMARY

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