Castel Gandolfo (AsiaNews) – The Transfiguration, the mystery of light that triumphs over "the shadow of evil", today provided the pope's starting point for yet another appeal for peace in the Middle East. In his reflection before the Angelus in Castel Gandolfo, addressing thousands of pilgrims in the courtyard of the pontifical palace, the pope called – as he has done many other times in recent weeks – for prayers to the "Blessed Virgin" to "obtain peace for the peoples of the Middle East overwhelmed by fratricidal conflict!" And he added: "We know well enough that peace is above all a gift of God, to be implored with insistence in prayer, but at this time, we also need to recall that is a commitment of all men of goodwill. Let none shrink from this duty!" The pope's appeal to "men of goodwill" was due to "bitter consternation that so far, voices calling for an immediate ceasefire in this martyred region have been ignored". In fact, after more than three weeks of war, of Israeli air raids and Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israeli cities in the north, the UN has not yet found a formula to put a stop to the violence, especially that targeting civilians. "I feel the urgency to renew my pressing appeal about this, asking everyone to make their active contribution to the construction of a just and lasting peace. I entrust this renewed appeal to the intercession of the most Blessed Virgin."

Benedict XVI had just explained the meaning of today's feast, the transfiguration of Jesus. The pontiff said: "On the transfigured face of Jesus shone a ray of the divine light that He guarded within. This very light radiates on the face of Christ on the day of the Resurrection. Thus, the Transfiguration is like an anticipation of the Paschal mystery... The... Resurrection overcame once and for all the power of the shadow of evil. With the risen Christ, truth and love triumph over deceit and sin. In Him, the light of God now illuminates the life of men and the path of history permanently. 'I am the light of the world,' He says in the Gospel. 'Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.' (Jn 8:12)."