2012-03-14 15:31:12

Pope's general audience of March 14


(March 14, 2012) Every week on Wednesday, the Pope holds a public meeting, called the general audience, during which pilgrims and tourists who come to Rome have a chance of seeing and hearing him speak in several languages. The general audience of March 14th was held in the open in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. It began with the reading of a passage from the Acts of the Apostles in several languages. An aide greeted the Pope on behalf of the English speaking pilgrims introducing the various groups to him. Pope Benedict then delivered a discourse in English.

Listen:RealAudioMP3
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our continuing catechesis on Christian prayer, we now begin a new chapter on prayer in the Acts of the Apostles and the Letters of Saint Paul. Today I wish to speak of the figure of Mary, who with the Apostles in the Upper Room prayerfully awaits the gift of the Holy Spirit. In all the events of her life, from the Annunciation through the Cross to Pentecost, Mary is presented by Saint Luke as a woman of recollected prayer and meditation on the mystery of God’s saving plan in Christ. In the Upper Room, we see Mary’s privileged place in the Church, of which she is the “exemplar and outstanding model in faith and charity” (Lumen Gentium, 53). As Mother of God and Mother of the Church, Mary prays in and with the Church at every decisive moment of salvation history. Let us entrust to her every moment of our own lives, and let her teach us the need for prayer, so that in loving union with her Son we may implore the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the spread of the Gospel to all the ends of the earth.
I offer a warm welcome to the students of the United States Naval Academy. My greeting also goes to the many parish and school groups present. I thank the choirs for their praise of God in song. Upon all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors, including those from Great Britain, Ireland, Norway, Indonesia, Japan, Canada and the United States, I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace.








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