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God Desires Best for Mankind, Says Pontiff |
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Published by InvestCatholic.com
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Tuesday, 26 February 2008 |
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 24, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Like a good father, God desires the best for mankind, which happens to be God himself, says Benedict XVI.
The
Pope said this today before reciting the midday Angelus with several
thousand people gathered in St. Peter's Square, commenting on the
passage in the Gospel of John that recounts the meeting between Jesus
and the woman at the well, which he called "one of the most beautiful
and profound texts of the Bible."
"It is impossible," the
Pontiff said, "for a brief explanation of this passage of the Gospel to
bring out its richness: It is necessary to read and meditate on it
personally, identifying oneself with that woman, who, one day, like
many others, went to draw water from the well, and found Jesus there,
seated by it, 'tired from the trip,' in the noonday heat."
The encounter with the Samaritan woman, he said, began with "the real and sensible experience of thirst."
"The
thirst of Christ is an entranceway into the mystery of God, who made
himself thirsty to refresh us, as he made himself poor to enrich us,"
the Holy Father continued. "Yes, God thirsts for our faith and our
love. Like a good and merciful father he desires for us all possible
good and this good is God himself."
"For her part the Samaritan
woman represents the existential unhappiness of those who have not
found what they are looking for," said Benedict XVI. "She had 'five
husbands' and is now living with a man; her coming and going to the
well represents a repetitive and resigned life."
"But everything
changes for her that day," he said, "on account of her conversation
with the Lord Jesus, who shakes her up so much that she leaves the
water jar and runs to tell the people of the village: 'Come and see a
man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?'"
The
Pope concluded, "Let us too open our hearts to the confident hearing of
the word of God to meet, like the Samaritan woman, Jesus, who reveals
his love to us."
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 27 February 2008 )
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