Castel Gandolfo (AsiaNews) – Recalling the victims of the 11 September attacks and others felled by terrorism. An expression of hope for a world of peace and solidarity as well as anticipation that an upcoming UN meeting of heads of state will allow for the realization of reform to strengthen the role of the United Nations. These were the themes touched upon by Benedict XVI today when he addressed the faithful who gathered in the courtyard of the apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo for the Angelus.

After reciting the Marian prayer, before which he described the sign of the cross as a "fundamental gesture of Christian prayer", Benedict XVI said that the Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano will take part in a meeting of heads of state and government on Wednesday at the UN. This meeting, he continued, will "tackle important themes concerning world peace, respect for human rights, the promotion of development and the strengthening of the Organisation of the United Nations".

"I pray fervently that the rulers united there will find suitable solutions to reach the great aims predicted, in a spirit of agreement and generous solidarity. I hope especially for success in putting in place effective and concrete measures to respond to the most urgent problems posed by extreme poverty, sicknesses and hunger, which afflict so many peoples".

The memory of 11 September was evoked in the greeting which Benedict XVI made in English. The Pope mentioned also "victims of terrorist violence in the world" and asked God to inspire "men and women of goodwill to renounce hatred and to build a world of justice, solidarity and peace".

Below we reproduce the words of the Pope before the Angelus:

Dear brothers and sisters!

Next Wednesday, 14 September, we will celebrate the liturgical feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. In this Year dedicated to the Eucharist, this recurring event acquires a particular significance: it invites us to meditate on the profound and indissoluble link which unites the Eucharistic celebration and the mystery of the Cross. Each and every holy Mass, in fact, makes present the redemptive sacrifice of Christ.

To Golgota and to the "hour" of death on the cross – writes the beloved John Paul II in the encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia – "returns every priest who celebrates holy Mass, together with the Christian community which participates" (no.4). The Eucharist is therefore the memorial of the entire paschal mystery: the passion, death, descent to hell, resurrection and ascension to heaven, and the Cross is the touching manifestation of the act of infinite love with which the Son of God saved man and the world from sin and death. For this, the sign of the Cross is a fundamental gesture of Christian prayer. Signing ourselves with the sign of the Cross is to pronounce a visible and public yes to He who died for us and who resurrected, to God who in the humility and weakness of his love is the Omnipotent, stronger than all the power and intelligence in the world.

After the consecration, the assembly of the faithful, aware that they are in the real presence of the crucified and resurrected Christ, acclaim thus: "We announce your death, Lord, we proclaim your resurrection, before you come again". With the eyes of faith, the Community recognizes the living Jesus with the signs of his passion, and together with Thomas, filled with wonder, it can repeat: "My Lord and my God!" (Jn 20:28) The Eucharist is a mystery of death and of glory like the Cross, which is not an incident of the past, but a path through which Christ entered into his glory (cfr Lk 24:26) and reconciled all mankind, defeating all rancour. For this reason, the liturgy invites us to pray with confident hope: Mane nobiscum Domine! Stay with us, Lord, who with your Holy Cross has redeemed the world!

Mary, present on Calvary at the foot of the Cross, is equally present with the Church and as Mother of the Church in each of our Eucharistic celebrations (cfr Enc. Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 57). Thus, none better than her can teach us to understand and live in faith and love the holy Mass, uniting us to the redemptive sacrifice of Christ. When we receive Holy Communion, we too, like Mary and together with her, cling to the wood which Jesus transformed into an instrument of salvation with his love, and we pronounce our "Amen", our "yes" to Love crucified and risen.