Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Regensberg homily


The Pope gave another of his brilliant homilies this morning at Regensburg on faith and the Apostle's Creed click here , the last few paragraphs, especially I found inspirational.

"The second section of the Creed ends by speaking of the last judgement. ... Judgement - doesn't this word also make us afraid? On the other hand, doesn't everyone want to see justice eventually rendered to all those who were unjustly condemned, to all those who suffered in life, who died after lives full of pain? Don't we want the outrageous injustice and suffering which we see in human history to be finally undone, so that in the end everyone will find happiness, and everything will be shown to have meaning?
"This triumph of justice, this joining together of the many fragments of history which seem meaningless and giving them their place in a bigger picture in which truth and love prevail: this is what is meant by the concept of universal judgement.
"Faith is not meant to instill fear; rather it is meant ... to call us to accountability," the Holy Father concluded. "We are not meant to waste our lives, misuse them, or spend them selfishly. In the face of injustice we must not remain indifferent and thus end up as silent collaborators or outright accomplices. We need to recognize our mission in history and to strive to carry it out."
"But when responsibility and concern tend to bring on fear, then we should remember the words of Saint John: ... 'No matter what our hearts may charge us with - God is greater than our hearts and all is known to Him."

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