Only the Presence of God provides a better world: Pope

August 15, 2012: ‘If and when this world is better, we do not know. But one thing is sure - a world that moves away from God does not become better, but worse. Only the presence of God can provide a good world’ said Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday during a solemn Eucharistic celebration of the Assumption, in the Parish of St. Thomas of Villanova in Castel Gandolfo, Pope’s summer residence.

Speaking about the proclamation of the Assumption of Mary as a dogma on 1^st November 1950 by Pope Pius XII, Pope Benedict said that ‘the act of proclamation of the Assumption is presented almost as a liturgy of the faith….. This solemnity is therefore an invitation to praise God.’

He said that Mary awaiting the birth of Jesus the Son is the Holy Ark, which carries God's presence, a presence that is a source of consolation and full of joy.

Reflecting on the importance of the celebration of the Assumption for us today, the pontiff said that
‘in the Assumption, we see that in God there is room for man, God himself is the home of many apartments of which Jesus speaks, God is man's house’. God is all around us and Mary, united to God, sharing in the presence of God is very close to each of us. By opening ourselves to God, we lose nothing. On the contrary, our life becomes great and rich.

In us there is room for God and this presence of God in us is so important to illuminate the world in its sadness and in its problems. This presence is realized in the faith that open the doors of our being so that God enters into us, so that God can be the force that gives life and journey to our being.

God is waiting, waiting for us. This is our great joy and great hope that is born from this celebration. The presence of God in the world, is the symphony of this solemnity. Mary is the consolation and hope for people still on the way. Let us entrust ourselves to her maternal intercession, so that we obtain from the Lord to strengthen our belief in eternal life, help us to live well as long as God gives us hope. A Christian hope, which is not just nostalgia for the Sky, but alive and active desire for God here in the world. Our desire for God makes us restless pilgrims, feeding in us the courage, strength of faith, and the power of love.

“1 November 1950, Pope Pius XII proclaimed as a dogma that the Virgin Mary "completed the course of earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory." This dogma is proclaimed "to honor the Son, the glorification of the Mother and joy of the whole Church."