Angelus in St. Peter’s Square 10-29-2006
Benedict XVI
Angelus in St. Peter’s Square 10-29-2006
In today’s “Angelus”, Pope Benedict XVI, without directly naming the Neocatechumenal Way, spoke of catechesis experiences proposed to young people and adults who have walked a path of rediscovery of the faith in a mature and conscious manner, to then assume a coherent commitment of testimony and he claims that this work is very important today.
“Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In this Sunday’s Gospel (Mk 10: 46-52), we read that while
the Lord passed through the streets of Jericho a blind man called Bartimaeus cried
out loudly to him, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on
me!”. This prayer moved the heart of Jesus, who stopped, had him
called over and healed him. The decisive moment was the direct, personal encounter
between the Lord and that suffering man. They found each
other face to face: God with his desire to heal and the man with his desire
to be healed; two freedoms, two converging desires. “What
do you want me to do for you?” the Lord asks him. “Master, let me receive my sight”,
the blind man answers. “Go your way, your faith has saved you”. With these words, the miracle
was worked: God’s joy and the man’s joy.
And Bartimaeus, who had come into the light, as the Gospel narrates, “followed him on
the way”; that is, he became a disciple of the Lord and went up to Jerusalem with the Master to
take part with him in the great mystery of salvation.
This account, in the essentiality of its passages, recalls the catechumen’s
journey towards the Sacrament of Baptism, which in the ancient
Church was also known as “Illumination”.
Faith is a journey of illumination: it starts with the humility of recognizing
oneself as needy of salvation and arrives at the personal encounter with Christ, who
calls one to follow him on the way of love. On this model the Church has formulated
the itinerary of Christian initiation to prepare
for Baptism, Confirmation (or Chrism) and the Eucharist. In places
evangelized of old, where the Baptism of children is widespread,
young people and adults are offered catechetical and spiritual
experiences that enable them to follow the path of a mature and conscious rediscovery
of faith in order to then take on a consistent commitment
to witness to it.
How important is the work that
Pastors and catechists do in this field! The
rediscovery of the value of one’s own Baptism is at the root
of every Christian’s missionary commitment, because as we see in the Gospel,
those who allow themselves to be fascinated by Christ cannot fail to witness to the joy
of following in his footsteps. In this month of October, especially dedicated to
missions, we understand ever more that it is precisely in virtue of
Baptism that we possess a co-natural missionary vocation.
Let us invoke the intercession of the Virgin Mary so that missionaries
of the Gospel may multiply. May every baptized person, closely united to
the Lord, feel that he is called to proclaim God’s love to
everyone with the witness of his own life.”