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                               VIS-Press releases

HOLY FATHER'S MESSAGE FOR LENT 2007

VATICAN CITY, FEB 13, 2007 (VIS) - Made public today was The Message of
Benedict XVI for Lent 2007. The text, dated November 21, 2006, has as its title
a verse taken from the Gospel of St. John: "They shall look on Him whom they
have pierced." The full English-language version of the document is given
below:

"'They shall look on Him whom they have pierced.' This is the biblical theme
that this year guides our Lenten reflection. Lent is a favorable time to learn
to stay with Mary and John, the beloved disciple, close to Him Who on the
Cross, consummated for all mankind the sacrifice of His life. With a more
fervent participation let us direct our gaze, therefore, in this time of
penance and prayer, at Christ crucified Who, dying on Calvary, revealed fully
for us the love of God. In the Encyclical 'Deus caritas est,' I dwelt upon this
theme of love, highlighting its two fundamental forms: 'agape' and 'eros.'

"The term 'agape', which appears many times in the New Testament, indicates the
self-giving love of one who looks exclusively for the good of the other. The
word 'eros,' on the other hand, denotes the love of one who desires to possess
what one lacks and yearns for union with the beloved. The love with which God
surrounds us is undoubtedly 'agape.' Indeed, can man give to God some good that
He does not already possess? All that the human creature is and has is divine
gift. It is the creature then, who is in need of God in everything. But God's
love is also 'eros.' In the Old Testament, the Creator of the universe
manifests toward the people whom He has chosen as His own a predilection that
transcends every human motivation. The prophet Hosea expresses this divine
passion with daring images such as the love of a man for an adulterous woman.
For his part, Ezekiel, speaking of God's relationship with the people of
Israel, is not afraid to use strong and passionate language. These biblical
texts indicate that 'eros' is part of God's very heart: the Almighty awaits the
'yes' of His creatures as a young bridegroom that of his bride. Unfortunately,
from its very origins, mankind, seduced by the lies of the Evil One, rejected
God's love in the illusion of a self- sufficiency that is impossible. Turning
in on himself, Adam withdrew from that source of life Who is God Himself, and
became the first of 'those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong
bondage.' God, however, did not give up. On the contrary, man's 'no' was the
decisive impulse that moved Him to manifest His love in all of its redeeming
strength.

"It is in the mystery of the Cross that the uncontainable power of the heavenly
Father's mercy is revealed in all of its fullness. In order to win back the
love of His creature, He accepted to pay a very high price: the blood of His
only begotten Son. Death, which for the first Adam was an extreme sign of
loneliness and powerlessness, was thus transformed in the supreme act of love
and freedom of the new Adam. One could very well assert, therefore, together
with Saint Maximus the Confessor, that Christ 'died, if one could say so,
divinely, because He died freely.' On the Cross, God's 'eros' for us is made
manifest. 'Eros' is indeed - as Pseudo-Dionysius expresses it - that force
'that does not allow the lover to remain in himself but moves him to become one
with the beloved'. Is there a more 'mad eros' than that which led the Son of
God to make Himself one with us even to the point of suffering as His own the
consequences of our offences?

"Dear brothers and sisters, let us look at Christ pierced in the Cross! He is
the unsurpassing revelation of God's love, a love in which 'eros' and 'agape,'
far from being opposed, enlighten each other. On the Cross, it is God Himself
Who begs the love of His creature: He is thirsty for the love of every one of
us. The Apostle Thomas recognized Jesus as 'Lord and God' when he put his hand
into the wound of His side. Not surprisingly, many of the saints found in the
Heart of Jesus the deepest expression of this mystery of love. One could
rightly say that the revelation of God's 'eros' toward man is, in reality, the
supreme expression of His 'agape.' In all truth, only the love that unites the
free gift of oneself with the impassioned desire for reciprocity instills a
joy, which eases the greatest of sacrifices. Jesus said: 'When I am lifted up
from the earth, I will draw all men to myself.' The response the Lord ardently
desires of us is above all that we welcome His love and allow ourselves to be
drawn to Him. Accepting His love, however, is not enough. We need to respond to
such love and dedicate ourselves to communicating it to others. Christ 'draws
me to Himself' in order to unite Himself to me, so that I learn to love the
brothers with His own love.

"'They shall look on Him whom they have pierced.' Let us look with trust at the
pierced side of Jesus from which flow 'blood and water'! The Fathers of the
Church considered these elements as symbols of the sacraments of Baptism and
the Eucharist. Through the water of Baptism, thanks to the action of the Holy
Spirit, we are given access to the intimacy of Trinitarian love. In the Lenten
journey, memorial of our Baptism, we are exhorted to come out of ourselves in
order to open ourselves, in trustful abandonment, to the merciful embrace of
the Father. Blood, symbol of the love of the Good Shepherd, flows into us
especially in the Eucharistic mystery: 'The Eucharist draws us into Jesus' act
of self-oblation . we enter into the very dynamic of His self- giving.' Let us
live Lent then, as a 'Eucharistic' time in which, welcoming the love of Jesus,
we learn to spread it around us with every word and deed. Contemplating 'Him
whom they have pierced' will move us in this way to open our hearts to others,
recognizing the wounds inflicted upon the dignity of the human person; it will
move us, in particular, to fight every form of contempt for life and human
exploitation and to alleviate the tragedies of loneliness and abandonment of so
many people. May Lent be for every Christian a renewed experience of God's love
given to us in Christ, a love that each day we, in turn, must 'regive' to our
neighbor, especially to the one who suffers most and is in need. Only in this
way shall we be able to participate fully in the joy of Easter. May Mary,
Mother of Beautiful Love, guide us in this Lenten journey, a journey of
authentic conversion to the love of Christ. I wish you, dear brothers and
sisters, a fruitful Lenten journey, imparting with affection to all of you, a
special Apostolic Blessing."
MESS/LENT 2007/...VIS 070213 (1200)

SUMMARY

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