(14 Dec 2006 RV) Thursday afternoon, the Holy Father met with Roman university students
after their traditional mass at St. Peter's Basilica in preparation for Christmas,
which was celebrated by Cardinal Camillo Ruini. Pope Benedict XVI stated that "Christmas
gifts remind us of the most perfect gift that the Son of God gave us of himself in
the Incarnation. (...) Christmas is the day in which God has given himself to human
persons and this gift is made perfect, so to speak, in the Eucharist." "The Eucharistic
mystery," he continued "constitutes the privileged point of convergence between the
various spheres of Christian existence, including that of intellectual pursuit. (...)
The Eucharist nourishes a fruitful unity between contemplation and action in us so
that we are regularly sustained with faith." Making reference to the immanent arrival
of Christmas, the Pope indicated that "in the grotto of Bethlehem we adore the same
Lord who wanted to make himself our spiritual nourishment in the Eucharistic sacrament,
in order to transform the world from within beginning from the human heart." The
Virgin Mary was the "first to contemplate the incarnate Word, Divine Wisdom, made
human. In the Christ Child (...) she recognized God's human face in such a way that
the mysterious Wisdom of the Son was impressed on the Mother's mind and heart." "This
is why," he concluded, "Mary was transformed in the "Seat of Wisdom" and is particularly
venerated with this title by the Roman academic community. There is a special icon
dedicated to the "Sedes Sapientiae" that, starting from Rome, has already visited
various countries, making a pilgrimage through the universities. It is present here
today in order to be given to the delegation from Bulgaria and Albania." Emer Mccarthy
reports..