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Skriven 2006-11-06 22:13:16 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service - Press Release
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                               VIS-Press releases

HUMAN BEINGS ASPIRE TO TRANSCENDENCE

VATICAN CITY, NOV 1, 2006 (VIS) - Before praying the Angelus today with
pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, Benedict XVI made some brief remarks
dedicated to the Solemnity of All Saints, which falls today, and to tomorrow's
commemoration of All Souls. Two celebrations, he said, "that give us a unique
opportunity to meditate upon eternal life."

The Pope went on to ask: "Does modern man still expect this eternal life, or
does he feel it to be part of a mythology that has now been left behind? In our
times, more than in the past, people are so absorbed by the things of the world
that sometimes it is difficult to think of God as a protagonist of history and
of our own lives. Yet human existence, by its very nature, tends towards
something greater, something that transcends it. The human thirst for justice,
for truth, and for complete happiness cannot be suppressed.

"Faced with the enigma of death," he added, "many people have the desire and
hope of seeing their loved ones in the hereafter," and believe in "a final
judgement that re-establishes justice, hoping for a definitive encounter in
which each is given his due."

For Christians, Pope Benedict explained, "eternal life" does not just indicate
a life that lasts forever, "but a new quality of existence, fully immersed in
the love of God, that frees us from evil and death and places us in endless
communion with all our brothers and sisters who participate in the same Love.
Thus, eternity can already be present at the center of earthly and temporal
life when the soul, through grace, is joined to God, its ultimate foundation."

"Let us meditate upon these truths with our souls turned towards our ultimate
and definitive destination, which gives meaning to daily life," he concluded.
"Let us revive the saints' joyous sensation of communion, and allow ourselves
to be attracted by them towards the goal of our existence: the meeting face to
face with God."
ANG/ALL SAINTS:ALL SOULS/... VIS 061103 (340)

SUMMARY

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