When life feels like a dark and silent tunnel, faith gives a Christian light and music, Pope Benedict XVI said at the end of his weeklong Lenten retreat.
Congolese Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa led the pope’s retreat Feb. 26-March 3 in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel of the Apostolic Palace, offering the pope and top Vatican officials three meditations each day on the theme “Christians’ Communion With God.”
Thanking the cardinal at the end of the retreat, Pope Benedict said Cardinal Monsengwo “seasoned these meditations with beautiful stories — taken mostly from your beloved African land — which gave us joy and helped us.”
The pope said he was particularly struck by the cardinal’s story about a friend of his who was in a coma and “had the impression of being in a dark tunnel, but at the end he saw a bit of light and heard beautiful music.” “This can be a parable of our lives,” the pope said. “Often we find ourselves in a dark tunnel in the middle of the night, but through faith we see a light at the end and hear beautiful music, perceiving the beauty of God.”
VATICAN CITY (CNS)