Pope’s ‘Angelus’ of July 18

(July 19, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday stressed the importance of using summer vacation and times of rest from work to grow closer to God and reflect on his Word. He was speaking to pilgrims and visitors gathered in the courtyard of the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, just outside Rome, to pray the midday ‘Angelus’ with him. The Holy Father who is on vacation at Castel Gandolfo, noted that during the hot summer in the northern hemisphere, schools close for vacations, pastoral activities of parishes are reduced, and even his own audiences are suspended for a period. "It is therefore a favourable moment to give first place to what is effectively the most important thing in life, that is to say, listening to the Word of God." Reflecting on Sunday’s Gospel episode of Jesus visiting Martha and Mary, the Pope said that Jesus reminds Martha of "the one thing that is truly necessary," that is, "listening to the Word of the Lord." "Everything else will pass and will be taken away from us, but the Word of God is eternal and gives meaning to our daily activity," the Pope affirmed. He noted that "this Gospel passage is very important at vacation time, because it recalls the fact that the human person must work, must involve himself in domestic and professional concerns, to be sure, but he has need of God before all else, who is the interior light of love and truth." "Without love, even the most important activities lose value and do not bring joy,” the Pope said, adding, “Without a profound meaning, everything we do is reduced to sterile and disordered activism."