Jesus Christ is the foundation of rock upon which to build one’s life, yet too many prefer to build their lives on the “sand of ideologies, power, success and money,” says Benedict XVI.
The Pope said this Sunday in his weekly Angelus address, which he delivered today before praying the midday Angelus together with those gathered in St. Peter’s Square. He reflected on the Gospel of Sunday’s liturgy, in which Christ presented the parable of the two houses: “one built on rock and the other on sand.”
“Jesus is the living Word of God,” the Pope stated. “When he taught, the people recognized in his words divine authority itself, they felt the nearness of the Lord, his merciful love, and gave praise to God.
“In every age and in every place, those who have the grace to know Jesus — especially through the reading of the holy Gospel — are fascinated, recognizing in his preaching, in his gestures, in his Person, the One who reveals God’s true face to us, and at the same time, he reveals us to ourselves; he makes us feel the joy of being the children of the Father in heaven, indicating to us the solid basis on which to build our life.”
“But often,” the Holy Father lamented, “man does not base his actions, his existence, on this identity, and prefers the sand of ideologies, power, success and money, thinking that in these he will find stability and the answer to the irrepressible question about happiness and fullness that he carries in his own soul.”
Benedict XVI affirmed that “Christ is the rock of our life,” and that only he “can really answer the restlessness of our heart.”
“He is the eternal and definitive Word,” he added, “who keeps us from fearing any adversity, difficulty, hardship.”
“Dear brothers,” the Pope concluded, “I exhort you to find space every day for the Word of God, to nourish yourselves from it, to meditate on it continually. It is a precious help for distancing yourself from a superficial activism too, which might satisfy our pride for a moment, but that, in the end, leaves one empty and unsatisfied.”
After praying the Angelus today, the Pope stated that he is “following with great concern the tensions which are currently being manifested in various countries of Africa and Asia.
“I ask the Lord Jesus that the moving sacrifice of the life of the Pakistani minister Shahbaz Bhatti may arouse in people’s consciences the courage and commitment to defend the religious freedom of all men and, in this way, to promote their equal dignity.
“My thoughts also turn to Libya where recent clashes have left many dead and created a growing humanitarian crisis. To all the victims, and to all those who find themselves in harrowing situations, I give assurances of my closeness and prayers, while at the same time invoking aid and assistance for everyone affected”.
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 6, 2011 (Zenit.org)