Pope’s ‘Angelus’ of Sunday, Jan. 29

(January 30, 2012) Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged all to join in the prayer campaign for peace in the Holy Land. Observed that day. “In profound communion with the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Custos of the Holy Land, we invoke the gift of peace for this land blessed by God,” the Pope told thousands of pilgrims, who recited with him the weekly midday ‘Angelus’ prayer in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square. Sunday marked the 4^th International Day of Prayer for Peace in the Holy Land in which numerous cities around the world participated. The initiative was born of the desire of some Catholic youth associations, in communion with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and involves Churches in all the continents.
Speaking from his studio window overlooking the square, the Pope also greeted numerous children belonging to the Catholic Action movement of Rome who come to meet him every year at the end of their January campaign called “Caravan of Peace” that includes meetings, reflections, and activities to promote peace and understanding in the world. The Pope encouraged the youngsters in their efforts, and two children of Catholic Action flanking him at his studio window released two doves as a symbol of peace.
Pope Benedict also recalled World Leprosy Day which is marked every year on the Sunday nearest to January 30. Among the crowd were numerous members of the Italian Association of Friends of Raoul Follereau, a group that supports leprosy affected persons and persons with disabilities. The Pope said that in greeting the group he would like to extend his encouragement to all those affected by this disease, as well as their caregivers who, in many ways, were committed to eradicating poverty and marginalization, which he said were the real causes of the persistence of the infection. World Leprosy Day, started in 1954 by French writer and philosopher, Raoul Follereau, is recognized by the United Nations.
Earlier, before the ‘Angelus’ prayer, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on Sunday’s Gospel reading on Jesus freeing a man from "an unclean spirit" in the synagogue of Capernaum. The Holy Father pointed out that in order to prove the effectiveness of his word, Jesus adds signs of deliverance from evil, inviting everyone to reflect on the power of God. The Pope explained that divine authority is the power of the love of God who created the Universe and, in becoming incarnate in His only begotten Son, in coming down to our humanity, heals the world corrupted by sin. For man, he said, authority often means possession, power, control, success. For God, however, authority means service, humility, love; the whole life of Jesus is a translation of power in humility. He urged all to invoke Mary Most Holy that she may guide hearts to always draw from divine mercy, which frees and heals humanity, filling it with every grace and benevolence, through the power of love. Later in remarks in English, the Pope urged all to pray that “despite the distractions of life and the apparent progress of evil, we may continue to put our faith in the Lord Jesus who is “the way, the truth and the life”.
The Holy Father then reminded all of the feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, on Thursday, February 2, the day the Catholic Church marks the annual World Day for Consecrated Life. “"Grateful to the religious for their ministry of prayer, for their apostolic and charitable activity in the Church,” the Pope said, “we pray for new vocations." "May the Holy Spirit arouse in many hearts the desire for complete dedication to Christ," the Pope added.