Pope's Sunday 'Angelus' message of Feb. 14

(February 15, 2010) According to Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus satisfies man's "thirst for justice," through his Divine love rather than political revolution. Speaking prior to his weekly Sunday ‘Angelus’ prayer at midday, the Pope reflected with a large crowd in St. Peter’s Square on the day’s Gospel reading on the Beatitudes. The Pope stressed, "The beatitudes are based on the existence of a divine justice which raises up those who have been wrongly humiliated and casts down those who have been exalted." "This justice and this beatitude are realized in the 'Kingdom of Heaven,' or the 'Kingdom of God,' which will be fulfilled at the end of time but is already present in history," the Pope said. "Where the poor are consoled and admitted to the banquet of life, there God's justice is manifested," the Holy Father said. "This,” he said, “is the task that the Lord's disciples are called to undertake even now in the present society."
Pope Benedict also reminded all of the start of Lent this week on Ash Wednesday, recalling the theme of justice of his Lenten message this year. He offered the message to all inviting them to read and meditate on it. “The Gospel of Christ responds positively to the thirst for justice in man," he said, "but in an unexpected and surprising way." "Jesus does not propose a revolution of a social or political type, but one of love, which he has already realized with his cross and his resurrection," the Pope pointed out. He added, "On these are founded the beatitudes, which propose a new horizon of justice, initiated by Easter, by which we can become just and build a better world." The Holy Father exhorted all to allow themselves to be led by the Virgin through the journey of Lent, to be liberated from the illusion of self-sufficiency, and recognize that we need God, his mercy, and thus enter into his kingdom of justice, of love and of peace.
After reciting the “Angelus” prayer, Pope Benedict sent greetings to all those who celebrated the Lunar New Year on Sunday in many Asian countries and the world around, especially in China and Vietnam. "These are festive days that these people celebrate as privileged occasions to re-solidify family and generational bonds," the Pontiff noted. He hoped that everyone will “maintain and foster the growth of the rich heritage of the spiritual and moral values that are solidly rooted in the culture of these peoples."