2006-08-21 15:08:51

Pope’s Sunday Angelus message


(21 Aug.2006): -Pope Benedict XVI warned of the danger of falling into “hardness of heart “as a result of excessive daily occupations. Addressing several thousand people gathered for Sunday’s Angelus prayer in the courtyard of the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, the Pope suggested that prayer and contemplation take precedence in the activities of daily life. Sunday, Aug. 20, being the Feast day of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, a doctor of the Church, who lived between the 11th and 12 centuries, the Pope urged them to follow the saint’s example, saying he knew how to balance prayer with activity.The saint wrote in a letter to Pope Eugene III: "See, where these accursed occupations can lead you,if you continue to lose yourself in them without leaving anything of yourself for yourself ". Pope Benedict said: "It is necessary to pay attention to the dangers of excessive activity, regardless of one's condition and occupation, because as St. Bernard said to the Pope of that time, and to all Popes, and to all of us -- numerous occupations often lead to hardness of heart. They are no more than suffering for the spirit, loss of intelligence and dispersion of grace This admonition is valid for all kinds of occupations, including those inherent to the governance of the Church," the Pope added in his address, which elicited much applause among those present. The Holy Father prayed saying, “May St. Bernard, who was able to harmonize the monk's aspiration for solitude and the tranquility of the cloister, with the urgency of the important and complex missions in the service of the Church, help us in our daily life”. Pope Benedict also presented one of the most famous Marian counsels of St. Bernard: "Look at Mary the guiding star. Call upon Mary. With her for guide, you shall not go astray. Let us invoke Mary that she obtain lasting peace for the whole world” the Pope concluded.











All the contents on this site are copyrighted ©.