Pope concludes annual retreat

(March 03.2012) Pope Benedict XVI concluded his annual spiritual retreat on Saturday and thanked Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, Archbishop of Kinshasa, Congo, whom he had chosen to preach this year’s retreat or spiritual exercises. Joining Pope Benedict in the week-long retreat that began last Sunday, were also officials of the various Vatican departments. Cardinal Pasinya had based his meditations on the verse from the First Letter of St. John: “For our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” Pope Benedict particularly appreciated the cardinal for flavouring his talks with several African anecdotes. He referred in particular to the story of a man in coma passing through a dark tunnel but finally seeing a streak of light and hearing strains of music. “It was a parable for our times where we often find ourselves in darkness, but by faith we see light and hear music,” the Pope remarked. Traditionally, the Pope begins his week-long annual retreat on the Sunday after Ash Wednesday that marks the start of the 40-day Lenten period when Christians engage themselves in prayer, penance and good works, in preparation for the passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus, the most solemn feast in Christendom.