Preparing for Easter

3/7/2005 - 6:00 AM PST

Advertisment

Lent: "A Time to 'Come to the Light'"

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 7, 2005 (Zenit) - Here is the address read on behalf of John Paul II Sunday before the midday Angelus at St. Peter's Square. Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, substitute of the Vatican Secretariat of State, read the text.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

1. Again today I wish, first of all, to renew my gratitude for the many signs of affection I am receiving. In particular, I am thinking of the numerous cardinals, bishops, priests and groups of faithful, of ambassadors and ecumenical delegations that have come during these days to the Gemelli Polyclinic.

I wish to express my special gratitude for the closeness of believers of other religions, in particular Jews and Muslims. Some of them have wished to come here to the hospital to pray. For me, it is a comforting sign for which I thank God.

2. We continue together to prepare for Easter, offering also to God our suffering for the good of humanity and our own purification. In today's Gospel, Christ, healing the man born blind, appears as "the light of the world" (John 9:5). He came to open man's eyes to the light of faith. Yes, beloved, faith is the light that guides on the path of life; it is the flame that comforts in difficult moments.

3. When a child is born, one says that "he comes to the light." For believers, born to supernatural life with baptism, Lent is a favorable time to "come to the light," namely to be reborn in the Spirit, renewing baptismal grace and commitment.

May Mary Most Holy help us to obtain from Christ the gift of an ever clearer and stronger faith, so that we may be consistent and courageous witnesses of his Gospel.

Contact

The Vatican
http://www.catholic.org , VA
Pope John Paul II - Bishop of Rome, 661 869-1000

Email

info@yourcatholicvoice.org

Keywords

Easter, Lent, Pope, Christ, Mary

Rate This Article

Was this helpful to you? Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All

Would you be interested in more articles like this? Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested

Rate Article

0 Comments

Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.

Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.

This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.

We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.

We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample

Post Comment