Castel Gandolfo
(AsiaNews) - The commitment to peace and reconciliation in the Middle East a "region too long torn by incessant
conflicts", "must be a priority for all parties involved, and must be
supported by the international community." On
the eve of his departure for Lebanon,
scheduled for Friday, 14, this is the message that Benedict XVI addressed to
the Land of the Cedars "and by extension" to the "Middle East as a whole." After
the Angelus prayer, speaking to four thousand people in the courtyard of the
Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo, speaking in French - and the Vatican
released the translation in Arabic - the Pope said to those present: "Dear
pilgrims, those of you here, or who are taking part in the Angelus through
radio or television; in the coming days, I will make an apostolic visit to
Lebanon to sign the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, fruit of the Special
Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, held in October 2010. I
will have the happy opportunity to meet with the Lebanese people and
authorities, and the Christians of that beloved country and those from
neighboring countries.. "
"I
am aware of the often dramatic situation experienced by the people of this
region, too long torn apart by incessant conflicts. I understand the anguish of
many Middle Eastern people immersed in daily sufferings of all kinds, which
sadly, and at times mortally, plague their personal and family life. My
concerned thoughts go out to those who, in search of a place of peace, leave
their family and professional life, and experience the precariousness of being
exiles. Even though the search for solutions to the various problems affecting
the region seems difficult, we can not resign ourselves to the violence and
exasperation of tensions. A commitment to dialogue and reconciliation must be a
priority for all parties involved, and must be supported by the international
community, increasingly aware of the importance of a stable and lasting peace
in the region for the whole world. My apostolic visit to Lebanon, and by extension in the Middle East as a whole, is placed under the sign of
peace, referring to the words of Christ: "My peace I give to you"
(John 14:27). May God bless Lebanon
and the Middle East!"
Before
the Marian prayer, inspired by the Sunday Gospel, Benedict XVI reflected on the
meaning of the word Ephphatha which Jesus spoke to the deaf mute and which heals him. Ephphatha,
the Pope explained, "means, "Be opened." And immediately the man
began to hear and speak fluently (cf. Mk 7.35). This then is the historical,
literal, meaning of this word: this deaf and dumb man, thanks to Jesus'
intervention, "was opened", before he had been closed, insulated, it
was very difficult for him to communicate, and his recovery was
'"openness" to others and the world, an openness that, starting from
the organs of hearing and speech, involved all his person and his life: Finally
he was able to communicate and thus relate in a new way.. "
"But
we all know that closure of man, his isolation, does not solely depend on the
sense organs. There is an inner closing, which covers the deepest core of the
person, what the Bible calls the "heart". That is what Jesus came to
"open" to liberate, to enable us to fully live our relationship with
God and with others. That is why I said that this little word, "Ephphatha - Be opened," sums up
Christ's entire mission. He became man so that man, made inwardly deaf and dumb
by sin, would become able to hear the voice of God, the voice of love speaking
to his heart, and learn to speak in the language of love, to communicate with
God and with others. For this reason, the word and the gesture of '"Ephphatha" are included in the Rite
of Baptism, as one of the signs that explain its meaning: the priest touching
the mouth and ears of the newly baptized says: "Ephphatha" praying that they may soon hear the Word of God and
profess the faith. Through Baptism, the human person begins, so to speak, to
"breathe" the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus had invoked from Father with
that deep breath, to heal the deaf and dumb man".
Finally,
the Pope addressed "cordial greetings" "to Catholics and all
citizens of Kazakhstan,
where Cardinal Sodano, as my Legate, today celebrates the dedication of the new
Cathedral of Karaganda."