Pope calls on Christian Laity to reawaken "question of God" in today’s world
In Asia, the proclamation of the Gospel has reached only a small minority, "who often live the faith in difficulty, sometimes even persecution." Speaking to the Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Benedict XVI says faith- once acquired - should not be taken for granted but has to be constantly re-introduced even with the reality of the Church.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Christians are called to give "a clear testimony to the relevance of the question of God in every field of thought and action," but the "God question" also has to be proposed again within ecclesial realities because "Christians do not live on a distant planet, immune from the" disease "of the world, but share the anxiety, disorientation and difficulties of their time." This was the mandate that Benedict XVI has entrusted to lay Christians today, in his address to participants at the twenty-fifth plenary meeting of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, held in Rome November 24 to 26 on the topic: The question of God today . " 'Should we not start all over again from God?".
The Pope's speech began with a review of the main events involving Catholic laity in the past year. Among these, the Congress for the lay faithful of Asia, held in Seoul. "The vast continent of Asia - he said - is home to different people, cultures and religions of ancient origin, but the Christian message has so far reached only a small minority, who often live the faith difficult circumstances, sometimes even persecution. The conference provided an opportunity for the laity, associations, movements and new communities operating in Asia, to strengthen their missionary commitment and courage. These brethren testify to their admirable fidelity to Christ, revealing how in Asia, thanks to their faith, they are opening vast scenarios of evangelization for the Church of the third millennium. "
Then came World Youth Day. "An extraordinary cascade of light, joy and hope that has illuminated the city but also old Europe and the world, clearly presenting the relevance of the search for God No one could remain indifferent, nobody could think that question of God is irrelevant to today's man. "
"We should never tire of asking that question again and again, of 'starting from God', to restore man to his true dimensions, his full dignity. In our time, in fact, the spreading mentality that denies any reference to the transcendent, has proved unable to understand and preserve the human race. The spread of this mentality has led to the crisis that we are experiencing today, which is a crisis of meaning and values, well before it being an economic and social crisis. Man who tries to exist on positivism alone, according to all that is calculated and measured, in the end is suffocated. In this context, the question of God is, in a sense, "the question of questions." It brings us back to the fundamental questions of man's aspirations to truth, happiness and freedom inherent in his heart, searching for realization. The man in whom the question of God is reawakened is open to hope, to a trustworthy hope, one that’s worth the effort of facing the daily trials of the present. "
Reawakening the question of God, which is the fundamental question, means an "encounter with someone who has the gift of faith, with those who have a vital relationship with the Lord. God is made known by those men and women who know Him: the path towards Him passes, in a concrete way, through those who have already met Him. " Here the laity play a "very important" role by offering testimony of the "God question" in the spheres of the family, work, politics and economy.
"But the challenge of a mind closed to the transcendent also forces Christians to return more determined to the centrality of God. At times, emphasis has been placed on the need for a stronger presence of Christians in society, in politics or the economy, and perhaps there was little concern about the soundness of their faith, as if it were acquired once and for all”. Thus, "the first response to the great challenge of our time is a deep conversion of our heart, so that our Baptism which made us the light of the world and salt of the earth can truly transform us."
The Pope's speech began with a review of the main events involving Catholic laity in the past year. Among these, the Congress for the lay faithful of Asia, held in Seoul. "The vast continent of Asia - he said - is home to different people, cultures and religions of ancient origin, but the Christian message has so far reached only a small minority, who often live the faith difficult circumstances, sometimes even persecution. The conference provided an opportunity for the laity, associations, movements and new communities operating in Asia, to strengthen their missionary commitment and courage. These brethren testify to their admirable fidelity to Christ, revealing how in Asia, thanks to their faith, they are opening vast scenarios of evangelization for the Church of the third millennium. "
Then came World Youth Day. "An extraordinary cascade of light, joy and hope that has illuminated the city but also old Europe and the world, clearly presenting the relevance of the search for God No one could remain indifferent, nobody could think that question of God is irrelevant to today's man. "
"We should never tire of asking that question again and again, of 'starting from God', to restore man to his true dimensions, his full dignity. In our time, in fact, the spreading mentality that denies any reference to the transcendent, has proved unable to understand and preserve the human race. The spread of this mentality has led to the crisis that we are experiencing today, which is a crisis of meaning and values, well before it being an economic and social crisis. Man who tries to exist on positivism alone, according to all that is calculated and measured, in the end is suffocated. In this context, the question of God is, in a sense, "the question of questions." It brings us back to the fundamental questions of man's aspirations to truth, happiness and freedom inherent in his heart, searching for realization. The man in whom the question of God is reawakened is open to hope, to a trustworthy hope, one that’s worth the effort of facing the daily trials of the present. "
Reawakening the question of God, which is the fundamental question, means an "encounter with someone who has the gift of faith, with those who have a vital relationship with the Lord. God is made known by those men and women who know Him: the path towards Him passes, in a concrete way, through those who have already met Him. " Here the laity play a "very important" role by offering testimony of the "God question" in the spheres of the family, work, politics and economy.
"But the challenge of a mind closed to the transcendent also forces Christians to return more determined to the centrality of God. At times, emphasis has been placed on the need for a stronger presence of Christians in society, in politics or the economy, and perhaps there was little concern about the soundness of their faith, as if it were acquired once and for all”. Thus, "the first response to the great challenge of our time is a deep conversion of our heart, so that our Baptism which made us the light of the world and salt of the earth can truly transform us."
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