(August 23, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI has sent a message to the 31st Meeting for Friendship
among Peoples, in which he reflects on the ultimate goal of man's heart. The papal
message was sent by the Pope's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, for
the opening Mass of the weeklong conference, which began Monday, August 23rd in Rimini.
The theme of this year's meeting, which is sponsored annually by the Catholic lay
Communion and Liberation movement, is "That Nature Which Pushes Us to Desire Great
Things Is the Heart." The Pope explained that "man is often tempted to stop at the
little things, those that give a 'cheap' satisfaction and pleasure, those things that
instantly gratify, things that are as easy to obtain as they are ultimately illusory."
But, he continued, man "does not live by bread alone." Recalling the answer Jesus
gave when tempted by the devil, the Holy Father affirmed that only God "satiates man's
deep hunger. Finite things," he added, "can give glimmers of satisfaction or joy,
but only the infinite can completely fill man's heart." Pope Benedict XVI said,
"God came into the world to reawaken the thirst for great things in us." The Pope
then pointed out the meaning and importance of prayer. Citing St. Augustine, he explained
that we can ask everything of God, everything that is good. "In dialogue with him,"
he continued, "bringing our whole life before his eyes, we learn to desire the good
things, to desire, at bottom, God himself." Pope Benedict XVI then affirmed: "Learning
to pray is learning to desire, and thus, learning to live." The Holy Father remembered
Monsignor Luigi Giussani, the founder of Communion and Liberation, who died in 2005,
and pledged his spiritual unity "with the participants in the Communion and Liberation
movement."