Those who live by grace are holy

Benedict XVI in Germany [© Afp/Getty Images]

The risen Lord: forgiveness and the opportunity to begin again

“In this present era, the risen Lord gives us a place of refuge, a place of light, hope and confidence, a place of rest and security. When drought and death loom over the branches, then in Christ we find future, life and joy. In him we always find forgiveness and the opportunity to begin again, to be transformed as we are drawn into his love”.

Holy Mass
Homily Olympic Stadium, Berlin Thursday, 22 September 2011

In the prayer of Jesus our unity

“‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through them’ (Jn 17, 20). These words Jesus addressed to the Father in the Upper Room. He intercedes for coming generations of believers. He looks beyond the Upper Room, towards the future. He also prayed for us. And he prays for our unity. This prayer of Jesus is not simply something from the past. He stands forever before the Father, making intercession for us. At this moment he also stands in our midst and he desires to draw us into his own prayer. In the prayer of Jesus we find the very heart of our unity. We will become one if we allow ourselves to be drawn into this prayer”.

Ecumenical Prayer Service
Church of the former Augustinian Convent of Erfurt Friday, 23 September 2011

The motherly love of Mary

“‘We know that in everything God works for good with those wholove him, who are called according to his purpose’ (Rom 8, 28), as we have just heard in the reading from the Letter to the Romans. With Mary, God has worked for good in everything, and he does not cease, through Mary, to cause good to spread further in the world. Looking down from the Cross, from the throne of grace and salvation, Jesus gave us his mother Mary to be our mother. At the moment of his self-offering for mankind, he makes Mary as it were the channel of the rivers of grace that flow from the Cross. At the foot of the Cross, Mary becomes our fellow traveller and protector on life’s journey. ‘By her motherly love she cares for her son’s sisters and brothers who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home’, as the Second Vatican Council expressed it (Lumen gentium, 62). Yes indeed, in life we pass through high-points and low-points, but Mary intercedes for us with her Son and helps us to discover the power of his divine love, and to open ourselves to that love”.

Vespers of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Chapel of the Shrine, Etzelsbach Friday, 23 September 2011

Benedict XVI in Germany [© Osservatore Romano]

“Dear friends, Saint Paul in many of his letters does not shrink from calling his contemporaries, members of the local communities, ‘saints’. Here it becomes clear that every baptized person – even before he or she can accomplish good works – is sanctified by God. In baptism the Lord, as it were, sets our life alight with what the Catechism calls sanctifying grace. Those who watch over this light, who live by grace, are holy”.

Prayer Vigil with young people
Fair, Freiburg im Breisgau Saturday, 24 September 2011

We are holy, if we allow His grace to work in us

“There is no saint, apart from the Blessed Virgin Mary, who has not also known sin, who has never fallen. Dear friends, Christ is not so interested in how often in our lives we stumble and fall, as in how often with his help we pick ourselves up again. He does not demand glittering achievements, but he wants his light to shine in you. He does not call you because you are good and perfect, but because he is good and he wants to make you his friends. Yes, you are the light of the world because Jesus is your light. You are Christians – not because you do special and extraordinary things, but because he, Christ, is your life, our life. You are holy, we are holy, if we allow His grace to work in us”.

Prayer Vigil with young people
Fair, Freiburg im Breisgau Saturday, 24 September 2011