RADIO VATICANA REPORT: During the summer, when we have time to relax, we must rediscover how great it is to read the bible. In the first general audience since his July break, Pope Benedict XVI invited pilgrims at Castel Gandolfo, to use some of their vacation to re-familiarise themselves with the beauty of the bible, and meditate on its meaning.Thousands flooded the main square of the tiny hill top village which borders onto the main entrance to the Papal summer residence.
Appearing on the balcony overlooking the square, the Pope said "each of us needs time and space for meditation, reflection and calm ... Thank God it's so! In fact, this requirement tells us that we are not made only for work but also to think, reflect, or simply to follow a story with our minds and hearts, a story that we can connect with, in a sense 'get lost' in to then find ourselves enriched. “
Of course, the Pope observed, many books "are mostly for escapism." And yet, he added, many are also dedicated to a more challenging reading: "Why not discover some books of the Bible, which are normally unknown? Or of which we have maybe heard some passages during the liturgy, but we never read in its entirety? In fact, many Christians have never read the bible, and have a very limited and superficial knowledge of it. “
The bible, the Holy Father said, is like a collection of books, "a small library." Some of these books, he said, "remain almost unknown to most people, even good Christians." He mentioned some of these books, such as the "Book of Tobit," on family and marriage, the "Book of Esther "on the power of prayer and the "Book of Ruth", on Divine providence.
These little books can be read through in one hour, he said, before pointing to more challenging, and authentic masterpieces, such as “the Book of Job, which tackles the great problem of innocent suffering, Ecclesiastes for its disconcerting modernity which questions the meaning of life and the world, the Song of Songs, a beautiful poem symbolic of human love".
The Pope also spoke of the New Testament stressing "the beauty of reading one Gospel straight through" as well as the Acts of the Apostles, or Letters. He then reiterated his suggestion to "keep the Bible on hand during the summer or during breaks", " to enjoy it in a new way”.
After the catechesis, speaking in English, the Pope greeted, among others, a group of faithful from the Japanese city of Nagasaki who on August 9 next will commemorate the 66th anniversary of the atomic bombing during the Second War World. Then before taking his leave Pope Benedict went to personally greet the sick and the faithful in the front rows behind the barriers.
PRAISE FOR KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS AT CONVENTION
With more than 2,500 delegates and their families attending, the 129th Knights of Columbus Supreme Convention opened on Tuesday in Denver, Colorado, with the celebration of Holy Mass and a special message from Pope Benedict XVI.
Penned by Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the message expresses the Pope’s “deep gratitude to the Knights of Columbus for their continuing contribution to responsible public debate about the great ethical issues which will shape the future of our democratic societies”.
Founded by Father Michael J. McGivney in New Haven in 1882, the KOFC is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. There are more than 1.8 million members in 15,000 councils, with nearly 200 councils on college campuses.
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, the Archbishop-designate of Philadelphia and current diocesan administrator of Denver, presided over Mass. This was followed by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson’s presentation of the Annual Report. In the 2010 fraternal year, the Order gave over 154 million US dollars directly to charity and performed over 70 million man-hours of voluntary service.
Commenting on the theme of this year’s Supreme Convention –“So That The World May Know New Hope”– Cardinal Bertone writes that Pope Benedict “sees in this valued service to the common good an outstanding example of the lay apostolate”. “Such a clear and courageous moral witness is all the more necessary in the light of a proliferation of legislative initiatives which not only undermine such basic institutions of society as marriage and the family, but also threaten the fundamental human rights of conscientious objection and religious freedom. As part of its response to these increasingly serious challenges”.
Pope Benedict, thinks especially of the “impressive witness to hope given by the Knights of Columbus as they help so many young men to grow to Christian maturity, teaching them to let their lives be shaped by the things that really matter (cf. Phil 1:10) and offering countless quiet examples of the masculine virtues of fidelity, hard work, generosity and self-sacrifice”.
The message concludes “This commitment has always been shown first and foremost on the level of the local Councils, in the many quiet ways in which Knights have always sought to help one another, especially in difficult times such as the present economic downturn. It has also found privileged expression in your Order’s institutional programs of insurance and financial planning, which have brought stability and hope to so many individuals and families, and in your charitable outreach to the poor throughout the world, particularly in the wake of disasters such as those which recently struck Haiti and Japan. His Holiness is likewise grateful for the unswerving support which the Knights have given to the Successor of Peter in his ministry to the universal Church. He sees in this great symphony of charity a testimony to the catholicity of our faith and to the breadth and depth of our hope in Christ’s saving promises”.
Penned by Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the message expresses the Pope’s “deep gratitude to the Knights of Columbus for their continuing contribution to responsible public debate about the great ethical issues which will shape the future of our democratic societies”.
Founded by Father Michael J. McGivney in New Haven in 1882, the KOFC is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. There are more than 1.8 million members in 15,000 councils, with nearly 200 councils on college campuses.
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, the Archbishop-designate of Philadelphia and current diocesan administrator of Denver, presided over Mass. This was followed by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson’s presentation of the Annual Report. In the 2010 fraternal year, the Order gave over 154 million US dollars directly to charity and performed over 70 million man-hours of voluntary service.
Commenting on the theme of this year’s Supreme Convention –“So That The World May Know New Hope”– Cardinal Bertone writes that Pope Benedict “sees in this valued service to the common good an outstanding example of the lay apostolate”. “Such a clear and courageous moral witness is all the more necessary in the light of a proliferation of legislative initiatives which not only undermine such basic institutions of society as marriage and the family, but also threaten the fundamental human rights of conscientious objection and religious freedom. As part of its response to these increasingly serious challenges”.
Pope Benedict, thinks especially of the “impressive witness to hope given by the Knights of Columbus as they help so many young men to grow to Christian maturity, teaching them to let their lives be shaped by the things that really matter (cf. Phil 1:10) and offering countless quiet examples of the masculine virtues of fidelity, hard work, generosity and self-sacrifice”.
The message concludes “This commitment has always been shown first and foremost on the level of the local Councils, in the many quiet ways in which Knights have always sought to help one another, especially in difficult times such as the present economic downturn. It has also found privileged expression in your Order’s institutional programs of insurance and financial planning, which have brought stability and hope to so many individuals and families, and in your charitable outreach to the poor throughout the world, particularly in the wake of disasters such as those which recently struck Haiti and Japan. His Holiness is likewise grateful for the unswerving support which the Knights have given to the Successor of Peter in his ministry to the universal Church. He sees in this great symphony of charity a testimony to the catholicity of our faith and to the breadth and depth of our hope in Christ’s saving promises”.
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