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Skriven 2006-01-04 21:03:46 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service - Press Release
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                The following press release is Copyrighted by the
                          Vatican Information Service.
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                               VIS-Press releases

AUDIENCE: PROGRESS BRINGS US CLOSER TO CHRIST

VATICAN CITY, JAN 4, 2006 (VIS) - The first general audience for 2006 was
divided into two separate moments: at 10:30 am, the Pope met with the various
groups of faithful in the Paul VI Hall, and after that, he returned to the
Vatican Basilica to welcome the persons who could not get into the Hall.

The theme for the catechesis for this Wednesday was the Christological hymn
from St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians, "Christ was created before any other
creature; He is the firstborn of He who resuscitates the dead". The Holy Father
said: "The text begins with an ample formula of thanks. This helps us to create
a spiritual atmosphere to live these first days of 2006 well, along with our
path during the entire new year".

"Praise rises to "God, the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ", the source of that
salvation that is described negatively as the "liberation from the power of the
darkness", (...) then re-proposed from the positive viewpoint as the
"participation in the destiny of the saints of light".

Benedict XVI stated that at the beginning of this hymn, "Christ is presented as
the firstborn of all of creation". He is the "image of the invisible God". He
continued, saying that in the second part of this hymn, "the figure of Christ
the Saviour within the history of salvation is dominant. (...) the head of the
body, that is to say, the Church: this is the privileged saving horizon where
the liberation and the redemption, the vital communion that runs between the
head and the parts of the body, that is between Christ and the Christians, is
fully manifested".

Improvising, the Pope stated that "St. Paul shows us something of great
importance, history has a goal, it has a direction, history moves towards a
humanity united in Christ. (...) In other words, St. Paul tells us yes, there
is progress in history, there is one if we strive for evolution in history,
progress is everything that allows us to come closer to Christ, thus bringing
us closer to a united humanity, to true humanism; and behind these indications
is also hidden an imperative for us, to work for progress, something we all
want: all of us can work towards the closeness of men towards Christ, we can
personally conform to Christ, going along the line of true progress".

He continued: "Christ is He who opens the doors to eternal life, tearing us
away from the limitation of death and evil. Here in fact, is that "fullness" of
life and grace that is in Christ Himself, and is given and communicated to us.
With this vital presence, which allows us to participate in divinity, we are
transformed internally, reconciled, pacified".

The Holy Father recalled some words from Saint Proclo of Constantinople: "Who
redeemed us was not merely man, (...) nor was He a God deprived of a human
nature: in fact, He had a body. Had He not transformed into man, He would not
have saved me. Appearing in the womb of the Virgin, He became the condemned
man. There lies the tremendous exchange, He gave the spirit and took on the
flesh".

The Pope concluded saying: "Therefore, we are faced with the work of God, who
achieved Redemption because He became man. He is at the same time the Son of
God, Saviour, but also our brother and because of this proximity He infuses the
Divine Gift in us".
AG/HYMN COLOSSIANS/...VIS 060104 (590)

SUMMARY

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