sexta-feira, 18 de novembro de 2011

APOSTOLIC JOURNEY TO BENIN 18-20 NOVEMBER 2011 VISIT AT THE CATHEDRAL OF COTONOU ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

 
Pope Benedict XVI waves from his pope-mobile as he leaves the Cathedral in Cotonou during his pastoral visit in Benin November 18, 2011. Pope Benedict, arriving on his second trip to Africa as Roman Catholic leader, on Friday urged African nations to resist the temptation to surrender to market forces as they grow and modernise.

Cotonou
Friday, 18 November 2011

As we praise God for the marvels which he never ceases to bestow upon humanity, I invite you to meditate for a moment on his infinite mercy. The history of salvation, which culminates in the incarnation of Jesus and finds its fulfilment in the Paschal Mystery, is a radiant revelation of the mercy of God. In the Son, the “Father of mercies” (2 Cor 1:3) is made visible; ever faithful to his fatherhood, he “leans down to each prodigal child, to each human misery, and above all to their moral misery, to their sins” (John Paul II, Dives in Misericordia, 6). Divine mercy consists not only in the remission of our sins; it also consists in the fact that God, our Father, redirects us, sometimes not without pain, affliction or fear on our part, to the path of truth and light, for he does not wish us to be lost (cf. Mt 18:14; Jn 3:16). This double expression of divine mercy shows how faithful God is to the covenant sealed with each Christian in his or her baptism. Looking back upon the personal history of each individual and of the evangelization of our countries, we can say together with the Psalmist, “I will sing of thy steadfast love, O Lord, for ever” (Ps 88:1).