Pope Benedict’s Angelus

From the Papa Ratzinger Forum:

The heart of Christ is divine and human: in him God and man are perfectly joined, without separation and without confusion. He is the image – more, the incarnation – of the God who is love, mercy, maternal and paternal kindness, of the God who is life.

That is why he declared solemnly to Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Then he adds, “Do you believe this?” (Jn 11, 25-26).

That is a question that Jesus addresses to each of us. A question that is beyond us, really – it transcends our ability to understand, and asks us to trust in him, as he himself trusts the Father.

Martha’s response is exemplary: “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world” (Jn 11,27).

Yes, Lord! We too believe, despite our doubts and our being in darkness. We believe in you because you have the words of eternal life. We want to believe in you who gives us a reliable hope for life beyond life, the authentic and full life in your Kingdom of light and peace.

Let us entrust this prayer to the Most Blessed Mary. May her intercession reinforce our faith and our hope in Jesus, especially in the moments of greatest trial and difficulty.

5th Sunday of Lent: Remember Life

From Fr. J. C. Maximilian’s Homily:

In this book, Michael tells a story about a man named John who was a fixture at the school Michael was doing graduate studies at.  John had been a “big success,” at least in terms that the secular world measures success.  He had started a business that made him a lot of money.  He had the nice car, the nice big house, and all the gadgets of luxury.  Then things started to change for John.  First his wife left him for a younger man, then his partner embezzled money from their company and John lost everything.  The house, the car, and all the money was gone.  John was living in poverty, alone, and he turned to the bottle for help.  After a few years of alcoholism, John finally hit bottom, through the grace of God known as Alcoholic Anonymous, John started to put his life back together.

You did not need to know John for long to learn all about the woe of his life.  One day, John was sitting behind Michael at Mass, and the Sign of Peace Michael noticed that John wore a bracelet with the phrase “memento viva” — “remember life” — on it.  After Mass Michael asked John about the bracelet, and John told him that it was a gift from his brother who told him one, “All you think about is death.  You’ve got to think about life!” (Dubruiel,  The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to your life, Huntington, IN:  Our Sunday Visitor, Inc, 2004, pp. 163-164).