Pope’s ‘Angelus’ of July 11

(July 12, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI drew lessons from Sunday’s Gospel saying that anyone in need, especially the most marginalized, is our neighbour. He was speaking on the first Sunday of his vacation that he began on Wednesday at the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, just south east of Rome. A crowd of pilgrims and visitors had gathered in the courtyard of his summer residence to recite the weekly Sunday midday “Angelus” prayer with him. Reflecting on the parable of the Good Samaritan, the Pope explained that the Samaritan, in fact, bears the status of a foreigner, whom the robbers have left half dead along the roadside, while a priest and a Levite had him passed by, perhaps thinking that contact with blood, would contaminate them as according to a precept. The Holy Father said that the parable must inspire us to transform our thinking according to the logic of Christ, which is the logic of love: God is love, and worship means serving our brethren with sincere love and generosity. "This Gospel story,” the Pope said, “offers us the standard which imposes universal love towards the needy whom we encounter “by chance”, whoever they may be. The German pope also recalled the day’s feast of Saint Benedict of Nursia, father and legislator of Western monasticism, the patron of his pontificate. He recalled that Pope Paul VI proclaimed St. Benedict Patron of Europe on October 24, 1964, recognizing the wonderful work carried out for the formation of European civilization. Also reminding his listeners of the current holiday season, Pope Benedict advised his listeners to “take advantage of this period for rest and to strengthen the forces of body and spirit".