Pope's general audience of June 27
June 27, 2012: Welcome to our Wednesday programme. We bring you Pope Benedict XVI’s
General Audience of Wednesday. Every Wednesday, the Pope holds a public meeting, called the General Audience, during which pilgrims and tourists who come to Rome have a chance to see the Pope and hear him speak. During the General Audience the Pontiff delivers a spiritual reflection and greets various groups in their languages.
The General Audience of June 27 was held at Paul VIth auditorium in the Vatican. Large number of people was present at the auditorium coming from different sections of the Society and Religious Orders. Particularly present in the audience were the ecumenical delegation of Christian leaders from Korea, pilgrims from Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Norway, Australia, the Bahamas and the United States of America. Pope Benedict XVI welcomed them, and exhorted them to open their hearts to be ever more faithful witnesses of God’s sovereignty in their every thought, word and deed.
At the outset an aide greeted the English speaking pilgrims and welcomed the various groups present there.
Pope Benedict greeted them:
I offer a warm welcome to the ecumenical delegation of Christian leaders from Korea. I greet the pilgrimage groups from Nigeria, South Africa and Swaziland. My greeting also goes to the many student groups present. Upon all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors, including those from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Norway, Australia, the Bahamas and the United States of America, I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace!
The Pontiff then delivered his discourse in English:
Brothers and Sisters,
As part of our continuing reflection on prayer in the letters of Saint Paul, we now turn to the great “Christological hymn” found in the Letter to the Philippians (2:6-11). Paul, a prisoner for the Gospel, exhorts his hearers to that deep joy which is the fruit of our imitation of God’s Son, who humbled himself and took on our human nature. Christ’s complete obedience to the will of the Father, even to death on the cross, reverses the sin of Adam and restores our original dignity. Therefore God highly exalted him and gave him the name of “Lord”. At the name of Jesus, then, every knee must bend in heaven, on earth and under the earth (vv. 9-11). As Jesus’ exaltation took place through his abasement, so in our lives and in our prayer we discover that, by lowering ourselves in humility and love, we are lifted up to God. May we more frequently bend the knee in praise and worship of Christ’s divinity and his Lordship over all creation. In our prayer, may we be ever more faithful witnesses of his sovereignty in our every thought, word and deed.Pope Benedict XVI concluded his weekly audience with his apostolic blessing.
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