Introducing the liturgical period that precedes Christmas, Benedict XVI dedicated most of the Angelus to thanking believers around the world, the authorities and Christians of Turkey for the positive outcome of his pilgrimage. There was a special greeting for young women of the Focolare movement.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The experience of his trip to Turkey, which ended three days ago, is still vivid in the heart and mind of Benedict XVI. It is a journey that promised to be problematic and hostile but turned out to be a voyage full of promise for ecumenism and dialogue with Muslims. And so today’s Angelus, for the first Sunday of Advent, was largely dedicated to memories of and thanksgiving for the Turkey trip. The pope has promised from now that “next Wednesday, during the general audience, I will be able to speak more at length about this unforgettable spiritual and pastoral experience, which I hope will bear good fruit for ever more sincere cooperation between all the disciples of Christ and for profitable dialogue with Muslim believers.” Today, he felt compelled to express “all my cordial thanks” to those who “accompanied and sustained” him in prayer. He then went on to thank “those who organized the trip, and who contributed in various ways to its peaceful and fruitful realization. I mention especially the Authorities of Turkey and the friendly Turkish people, who extended to me a welcome worthy of their traditional spirit of hospitality.”
But above all, the pope desired to recall “with grateful affection, the dear Catholic community that lives in Turkish territory... I was able to meet and celebrate Holy Mass together with these brothers and sisters of ours, who are in conditions that are often not easy. It is truly a small flock, varied, rich in enthusiasm and faith, which we may say lives constantly and in an intense fashion the experience of Advent sustained by hope.”
At the heart of Advent, continued the pontiff, lies precisely the certainty of hope. “In Advent, the liturgy repeatedly tells us and assures us, almost as if to win over our natural diffidence, that God ‘comes’: he comes to stay with us, in every situation we face; he comes to live among us, to live with us and in us; he comes to fill the distances that divide and separate us; he comes to reconcile us with Him and among ourselves. He comes into the history of mankind, to knock on the door of every man and woman of goodwill, to bring to individuals, families and people the gift of brotherhood, harmony and peace. For this reason, Advent is, par excellence, a time of hope, during which those who believe in Christ are invited to remain in vigilant and diligent anticipation, fed by prayer and by proactive commitment to love. May the drawing near of the Christmas of Christ fill the hearts of all Christians with joy, serenity and peace!”
During his journey to Turkey, the pope went to Ephesus, to the home of Mary, where he met Catholics from all over Turkey. And Benedict XVI reminded everyone that to live Advent, “the liturgy exhorts us to look at the most holy Mary, and ideally to walk together with Her towards the Grotto of Bethlehem. When God knocked on the door of her young life, She welcomed Him with faith and love. In a few days, we will contemplate her in the shining mystery of her Immaculate Conception. Let us allow ourselves to be drawn by her beauty, a reflection of divine glory, so that ‘the God who comes’ may find in each one of us a good and open heart, which He may fill with his gifts.”
After the Angelus prayer, the pope greeted thousands of pilgrims present in St Peter’s Square in different languages. There was a special greeting for young women from the Focolare Movement, who came to Rome from European and Latin American countries for a formation meeting. “Dear young women,” the pope told them, “learn from the Virgin Mary to become authentic disciples of Jesus. May the Lord bless you!” The group of hundreds of girls responded to the pope’s greeting by waving coloured kerchiefs and singing.
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