Pope points to Moses as model of intercessory prayer

Pope Benedict XVI said at the June 1 general audience that intercessory prayer helps us to grow in deeper information of God and his mercy and makes us more competent of loving others in a self-sacrificial way.

Drawing upon the life of Moses, the Pope told pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square that the Old Testament prophet not only led his people out of slavery in Egypt but also gave them and us an example of how to offer prayers of intervention.

“Even when the people at Sinai, asked Aaron to make the golden calf, Moses prays, and this is very symbolic of his role as intercessor.”

The Pope recognized various aspects of the intercessory prayer of Moses we can learn from. The first he named was fasting, just as Moses did for 40 days on Mount Sinai.

“The act of eating, in fact, involves taking the food that sustains us, so fasting, giving up food is, in this case, of religious significance: it is a way to point out that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that profits from the mouth of the Lord.”

Pope reflects on how prayer can spark God’s mercy

Pope Benedict XVI sustained his series of reflections on Christian prayer today as he spoke about the relationship flanked by intercessory prayer and God’s mercy throughout history.

In his third installment on prayer, Pope Benedict looked at Abraham’s example of praying for mercy.

“We now turn to sacred Scripture and its witness to the dialogue between God and man in history, a dialogue culminating in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. We can begin with the prayer with which Abraham, the father of all believers, implores God not to obliterate the sinful city of Sodom.”

At Sodom, Abraham asked God not to take revenge upon the notoriously sinful city.

“Abraham’s prayer of intercession appeals to God’s justice, begging him not to obliterate the innocent with the guilty. But it also appeals to God’s mercy, which is able of transforming evil into good through forgiveness and reconciliation.”

This aspect of prayer, said the Pope, reflects God’s certain mercy for his creation.

“God does not desire the death of the sinner but his conversion and release from sin,” he explained.

“In reply to Abraham’s prayer, God is willing to spare Sodom if 10 virtuous men can be found there. Later, through the prophet Jeremiah, he promises to pardon Jerusalem if one just man can be found,” the pontiff recalled.

He completed by saying that God’s mercy was most spectacularly manifested over 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem.

“In the end, God himself becomes that just Man, in the mystery of the Incarnation. Christ’s prayer of intercession on the cross brings deliverance to the world. Through him, let us pray with dependable trust in God’s merciful love for all mankind, conscious that our prayers will be heard and answered.”

This is the third week Pope Benedict has used his Wednesday audience to teach pilgrims about Christian prayer. His preceding theme – the lives of the saints – took two years to complete.

Pope Benedict calls for prayer for victims of disaster in Japan

Saying he, too, was shocked by the images of the death and devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Pope Benedict XVI asked people to join him in praying for the dead.

"May the bereaved and injured be reassured and may the rescue workers be strengthened in their efforts to assist the courageous Japanese people," the pope said in English March 13 after reciting the Angelus prayer with visitors in St. Peter's Square.

Government officials predictable that perhaps 10,000 people lost their lives after the earthquake March 11 and the tsunami it triggered.

Speaking in Italian after the Angelus, the pope said, "The images of the disastrous earthquake and the resulting tsunami in Japan have left us deeply horrified.

"I want to renew my religious closeness to that country's dear people, who with self-respect and courage are dealing with the consequences of the calamity. I pray for the victims and their families and for all who are suffering because of these terrible events. I give confidence all those who, with laudable speed, are working to bring help. Let us remain united in prayer."

Bishop Marcellino Daiji Tani of Saitama, one of the dioceses hit hardest by the disaster, told the Catholic disciple news agency Fides that the catastrophe is a reminder that "life is in the hands of God and that life is a gift from God," and he described the disaster as a challenge for Christians during Lent "to practice and witness to the commandment of love and brotherly love."

However, he also told Fides, "Of exacting concern to us is the situation of the nuclear power plant in Fukushima. But we must take courage, with the help of the Holy Spirit."

Two reactors at the Fukushima plant were hit by explosions and another was behind its cooling system. Japanese officials were playing down the health risks posed by the emergency at the plant, but they did order evacuations for hundreds of thousands of people.

In a message March 13 to members of the Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople said the Japanese disaster demonstrates the threat posed by nuclear power plants and it calls for serious reflection.

"With all due admiration to the science and technology of nuclear energy and for the sake of the endurance of the human race, we counter-propose the safer green forms of energy," the patriarch said.

Pope prays for peaceful ending of Egyptian unrest

Pope Benedict XVI prayed for a peaceful ending of the political unrest in Egypt, and the Vatican spokesman said he hoped the changes in the area would lead to greater religious freedom.

"In these days I am following closely the fragile situation of the dear Egyptian nation," the pope told pilgrims at his noon blessing at the Vatican Feb. 6.

"I ask God that this land, blessed by the attendance of the Holy Family, may find again tranquility and peaceful coexistence, in a shared commitment to the common good," the pope said.

It was Pope Benedict's first remark on nearly two weeks of protest demonstrations that have shaken President Hosni Mubarak's nearly 30-year hold on power.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, reviewed the political turmoil in Egypt in a commentary Feb. 5 on Vatican Radio. He said it was not wrong to speak of a "revolution" in countries of North Africa and the Middle East, where extensive political opposition has emerged for the first time.

Father Lombardi said that along with economic causes of the unrest, many people of the region -- particularly young people -- want more freedom and a more responsive government. He noted that at the new Synod of Bishops for the Middle East, leaders of Christian minorities there made similar calls for religious freedom.

"Now there are whole populations that, in order to more fully realize their dignity, are asking to exercise more responsibly the right of citizenship that belongs to every person of whatever religion," the spokesman said.

"If these mostly Muslim nations succeed in the crucial undertaking of growth in dialogue, in the respect of the rights of everyone, in contribution and in freedom, then the world will be a safer place," Father Lombardi said.

Prayer is essential for grasping life's meaning, pope says at audience

People don't really know who they are or what their life's reason is unless they pray regularly, Pope Benedict XVI said. Each day people need " to offer the proper amount of time to prayer, to this honesty to God, to this journey to seek God in order to see him and find friendship with him so that we can experience true life," the pope said Feb. 2 at his weekly general audience.

The pope's audience talk was devoted to the life and teaching of St. Teresa of Avila, the 16th-century mystic and doctor of the church. "She teaches us to truly feel the thirst for God that exists in the depths of our hearts, this wish to see God, to seek God, to speak to God, to be God's friend," the pope said. "All of us need this friendship, which we must renew day by day," he said. The pope said that after a series of talks focusing on women who made important charity to the church in the Middle Ages, he would begin dedicating his audience talks to St. Teresa and other doctors of the church, saints who made important donations to understanding Christian doctrine. "St. Teresa is a true master of Christian life for the faithful in every age," Pope Benedict told the predictable 3,000 people who gathered for the general audience.

Christmas tells us Jesus is still present on earth, Pope says

The annual celebration of Christmas not only recalls Christ’s birth, it celebrates his continue presence in the world and in history, Pope Benedict XVI said. The Pope hosted his first general audience of the new year, Jan. 5, sheltered from the cold of Rome in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.

In his message to a crowd of thousands, many of whom are still on vacation from work and school, he focused on the meaning of the Christmas liturgies.

Christmas continues to fascinate people, he said, "because everyone in one way or another is intuitively aware that the birth of Jesus concerns man's most profound aspirations and hopes."

The world is again renewed in the light of Christ in a "mysterious, yet real way" during Christmas. And, "each (liturgical) celebration is the real presence of the mystery of Christ and a prolongation of the history of salvation," he said.

Pope urges Catholics to prepare their hearts for Jesus’ birth

Thousands of families gathered in the St. Peter’s Square this morning to hear Pope Benedict speak about preparing their hearts for “He who comes” and to see the Vatican’s Christmas tree.

As the crowd listened to Pope Benedict’s address, little children tried to peek through the barriers surrounding the Vatican’s unfinished Nativity scene for this year.

The Pope offered those present a reflection on today’s Gospel, Matthew 3:1-12, which features St. John the Baptist being called into the wilderness to urge the repentance to prepare for the coming of the Lord.

St. Gregory the Great, the Pope said, taught that “the Baptist preaches the true faith and good works ... so that … the pathways to God are straightened and honest thoughts are born in souls after listening to the Word that leads to all good.” 

Pope and Nobel Prize-winning Israeli president hope for peace in Holy Land

As the Palestinian and Israeli governments seek an agreement in the Washington, the Israeli president and Pope Benedict XVI hoped for "lasting peace" on Thursday. The Pope was recognized by the Nobel Prize-winning Israeli leader during the encounter as the "Shepherd" leading to the "the fields of peace."

President Shimon Peres was accompanied by five others for the visit to the papal villa at Castel Gandolfo including the director of his office, Ms. Yona Bartal. They spent the morning visiting on-site gardens and met with leaders of the Vatican secretariat of state before the 11am audience with the Pope Benedict.

According to a statement released by the Holy See following the 40-minute encounter, the resumption of direct talks between Israel and Palestine was primary among the themes of discussion in the private meeting.

On Thursday in Washington D.C., through U.S. government mediation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are returning to the negotiation table after a nearly two-year absence of talks.

According to a Reuters report, President Barack Obama hopes that the two sides can reach an agreement that, within a year, would establish the parameters of the Palestinian state and ensure the security for Israel.

President Obama said Wednesday, "This moment of opportunity may not soon come again. They cannot afford to let it slip away."

For their part, president Peres and the Holy Father hoped that the return to speaking terms might "assist in reaching an agreement that is respectful of the legitimate aspirations of the two Peoples and capable of bringing lasting peace to the Holy Land and to the entire region."

Peres received the Nobel Prize in Peace 1994, jointly with Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin, for his work towards the creation of peace in the Middle East.

Among other subjects of discussion during their meeting was the contribution of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, the state of inter-religious dialogue in the world and possibility of a "rapid conclusion" to Holy See-Israel Joint Working Commission negotiations. The joint talks have been working to establish the legal and economic status of the Catholic Church, its properties and representatives in the Holy Land since 1993.

At the conclusion of the audience, president Peres gave the Holy Father a one-foot tall silver Menorah on which is inscribed: "To his holiness Pope Benedict XVI, the Shepherd who seeks to lead us to the fields of blessings and the fields of peace."

Holy Father's Missionary Intention for September

“That by opening our hearts to love we may put an end to the numerous wars and conflicts which continue to bloody our world.”

Vatican City – Created in harmony with God and with the rest of humanity, man has abused the freedom that he had received from God. This disobedience to God the Creator has caused an interior division within man that is the cause and origin of all clashes between peoples. Carried away by selfishness and a lack of respect for the rights and needs of others, man has built a world full of conflicts and wars, at times among children of the same nation.

In the Old Testament, the Messiah is presented as the "Prince of Peace" (cf. Is 9:5), and peace is regarded as one of the messianic gifts, one of the fruits that shows the world the presence of God in history. Unifying is part of Christ's mission “to gather the lost sheep of Israel,” breaking the wall of hatred that has been cause for separation. Paul assures us that "Christ is our peace" (Eph 2:14). This peace starts with one's own reconciliation with God in the depths of our conscience, listening to the words of Christ spoken by his ministers: "Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace."

This interior reconstruction of each man is what will bring peace to everyone. Pope Benedict XVI asks us to open our heart to stop conflicts and wars. We must be open above all to the love God has for us, in order to love others. We must receive the gift of the grace of the Holy Spirit - “the love of God has been poured into our hearts” (Rom 5:5) - to be able to love our brothers. The Holy Father, in his encyclical on love (Deus Caritas Est), reminds us that God can request mutual love, for he himself first "so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son" (Jn 3:15).

Only the love of God allows us to discover others as our neighbors, not as enemies or adversaries. Each one of us, Benedict XVI says, should not ask who is his neighbor, but should himself become a “neighbor” to others. Certainly, the fact that the fatherhood of God is ignored in a world that is increasingly indifferent to religion impedes the awareness of a true brotherhood and common destiny among men.

Mary, the Mother of all mankind, intercedes for us to obtain from God the gift of peace. May we unite ourselves to the words of the Pope at the Angelus on Sunday, August 22, 2010: “Today, however, let us as children of the Church above all renew our devotion to the One whom Jesus bequeathed to us as Mother and Queen. Let us entrust to her intercession the daily prayer for peace, especially in places where the senseless logic of violence is most ferocious; so that all people may be convinced that in this world we must help each other, as brothers and sisters, to build the civilization of love. Maria, Regina pacis, ora pro nobis!”

Pope At Angelus: Christ Took Lowest Place 'In The World'

CASTEL GANDOLFO - Christ did not limit himself to taking just the lowest place at the table, explained Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday. Jesus, taught the Pope, repeatedly offers humanity "a model of the humility and of free giving" and showed the world "radical humility" by accepting the Cross.

Joining the many pilgrims and faithful in the attendance in the courtyard at the Castel Gandolfo for the Angelus were participants in the annual conference being held for members of the association of the Pope's ex-students. There was also a group from the Pontifical North American College, who were greeted specially by the Holy Father after the Angelus.

In his catechesis prior to the Marian prayer, the Pope reflected on the passage from St. Luke's Gospel read in Sunday's Liturgy. In the reading, Jesus is invited to the house of a leader of the Pharisees for a meal where, based on what he witnesses, he is inspired to tell the parable which teaches of humbling onesself and taking "the lowest place" at the table.

The Lord's words were not meant to be a lesson in the etiquette or on the hierarchy of authorities, said Benedict XVI, "He insists rather on a decisive point, which is that of humility: 'everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted'."

The parable can also be read as a perspective of the man's position in relation to God, explained the Pope, the "lowest place" representing "the condition of humanity degraded by sin, a condition which can only (be) liberated by the incarnation of the Only-begotten Son."

Citing his encyclical Deus Caritas Est, the Pope taught that "For this, Christ himself 'took the lowest place in the world - the Cross - and by this radical humility he redeemed us and constantly comes to our aid'."

Turning to Jesus' suggestion at the end of the parable that it should be the poorest and most excluded, those who have no way of repayment, who are invited as guests, Pope Benedict stated that the "true recompense, in fact, in the end, will be given by God, 'who governs the world ... We offer him our service only to the extent that we can, and for as long as he grants us the strength'.

"Once again, then, we look to Christ as a model of the humility and of free giving: from him we learn patience in the midst of the temptations, meekness amidst offenses, obedience to God in sorrow in the hope that He who invited us might say: "Friend, move up to a higher position.' the true good, in fact, is being close to Him."

Remembering Sunday's feast of the "greatest among the prophets of Christ," St. John the Baptist, the Pope closed by praying for his intercession and that of Mary "to guide us on the way of humility, to become worthy of the divine recompense."

Pope and his former students to gather at Castel Gandolfo

VATICAN CITY — The Swiss archbishop chosen by the Pope Benedict XVI to be the new head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the Christian Unity will be the featured speaker at a gathering with the pope and about three dozen of his former students.

The annual meeting of the “Ratzinger Schulerkreis” (Ratzinger student circle) begins tomorrow at the Castel Gandolfo and will bring together about three dozen scholars who did their doctoral dissertations under the direction of the former Professor Father Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict. The “schulerkreis” has met regularly since the late 1970s and the practice continued even after the former professor became the pope.

L’Osservatore Romano reported that discussions at this year’s meeting will focus on understanding the teaching of the Second Vatican Council and the balance it tried to strike between the reform and maintaining tradition.

The Vatican newspaper said the “schulerkreis” presented Pope Benedict with a list of possible speakers and the pope chose Archbishop Kurt Koch, the former bishop of Basel, Switzerland. The archbishop is the new head of the Vatican’s ecumenism office. Archbishop Koch will give one lecture on “The Second Vatican Council Between Tradition and the Innovation,” and another on the council’s document on the liturgy and on the liturgical reforms it launched.

Archbishop Koch’s talks will be followed by the discussion among the participants, including the pope, the Vatican newspaper said. The pope will celebrate Mass for his former students Sunday morning and have breakfast with them. Then the group will participate in the pope’s recitation of the Angelus.

The pope’s annual meetings with his former students are held behind the closed doors, although participants have begun organizing the publication of each session’s papers. They will present the pope with the book containing the 2008 presentations by two Protestant theologians from the Germany who were asked to offer their reflections on the historicity of the New Testament and on Christ’s own understanding of his passion and death.

Catholic Church bans barbecues but approves flags for Pope's visit

The Catholic Church has issued a list of the dos and don'ts to pilgrims hoping to attend public events during the Pope's visit to the Britain next month.

Catholics hoping to see Pope Benedict XVI at the gatherings in London and Birmingham may bring sunblock, banners and torches - but not animals, candles or vuvuzelas.

Other unwelcome items includes alcohol, gazebos, canopies and barbecues which are considered to be "things that...could pose a threat to yourself or others".

Flags, cushions and small folding chairs have been approved.

The instructions - on the official papal visit website - even detail that hampers and cool boxes should "not exceed 20in x 13in x8in (51cm x 33cm x 20cm)".

They advise people to bring "provision for all weather conditions", "medication as needed for the duration of your time away from home" as well as emergency contact numbers.

Also suggested is wet weather gear (rainwear) and "provision for sunny conditions (hats/caps, clothes to cover-up, sun cream)".

The advice includes: "Please be aware that the sun can burn even on a cloudy day. Please remember that overnight temperatures may drop significantly at this time of year."

Around 80,000 people are expected in Hyde Park, London, on September 18, with 65,000 in Birmingham's Cofton Park the following day.

They can expect sound levels of up to 96 decibels, according to the website, marginally louder than a lawnmower.

The beatification of Cardinal Henry Newman, a convert from the Church of England, at Cofton Park will be the "culmination" of the pope's four-day visit, said a papal spokesman.

The Pope will also meet with politicians including Nick Clegg and Harriet Harman, both of whom are married to Roman Catholics.

Pope Benedict XVI is also visiting Edinburgh and Glasgow during his four-day visit to the UK.

Benedict XVI's monastic characteristics may be helping ties with Orthodox Church

Speaking to the Italian magazine 30 Giorni (30 Days), Dominican Fr. Charles Morerod said that Pope Benedict's way of carrying out his ministry leads to his being liked by the Orthodox Church. It is a question of his being similar in the nature to the Orthodox bishops, he observed.

Fr. Charles Morerod is the general secretary of the International Theological Commission and rector of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, known as the Angelicum, as well as a member of the joint commission for the theological dialogue with the Orthodox Church for the last five years.

His commentary on the Pope's relations with the Orthodox Church came at end of an interview with 30 Giorni in which he spoke extensively about the positions of the Orthodox and the Catholic Churches as they approach the next round of talks about the primacy of Rome in meetings this September.

Asked if he had noticed that there was a "particular sympathy and attention" towards Pope Benedict XVI from the Orthodox Church, Fr. Morerod said it is something he has seen as he visits with the representatives from different Orthodox Churches.

"They have a great esteem for him, maybe also because they see in him a monastic type of figure, and all the Orthodox bishops are monks."

Contrary to the common erroneous vision other Christian faiths have of the Pope as "everything" to Catholics, Fr. Morerod said, actually, "if the Pope does not put himself forward, if he repeats only that which he has received, if he remains a little hidden behind his ministry, this on its own helps ecumenism.

"A Pope who, in exercising his ministry, puts 'as little as possible' of his (personal considerations) into it and concentrates on the essential is destined to be liked more by the Orthodox," the Dominican priest commented.

Relations with the Russian Orthodox Church are considered to have reached a high point this year with the Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev's visit to the Vatican last May. The metropolitan, Patriarch Kirill's "minister of the exterior," batted around the possibility at the time of a landmark visit between the the Patriarch and the Pope.

UK ambassador highlights significance of events during papal visit

The Holy Father's September visit "speaks of rapprochement" - that is, cordial relations - between the Vatican and the United Kingdom, explained that the nation's ambassador to Holy See. Speaking to CNA, he said that the "principal symbolic moment" on the schedule of the events, even for the state, is the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman in the Birmingham.

U.K. ambassador to the Holy See, Mr. Francis Campbell, is employed by the Foreign Office, which, he explained, "acts as a bridge" between the British prime minister's office at the Whitehall, the Holy See and its nunciature. Campbell's office ensures that the government is up-to-date on the Holy See's positions on the important issues, which at the moment includes providing advice for drafting the speeches and developing themes for the pending trip.

In the state's perspective, the Sept. 16-19 appointment is "a visit to the Church and to wider society," observed the ambassador. "This is our oldest diplomatic relationship," he said, recalling that state-to-state relations go back to the year 1479 when the papal envoy was sent by the British monarchy.

"It hasn't always been an easy relationship," he said, "and here is the Pope coming on a state visit as a guest of the Queen and there are some of the very poignant moments in that visit that speak of rapprochement, that don't say anything, but speak to it."

Ambassador Campbell cited an example of this in Pope Benedict's speech to 1,800 members of civil society in Westminster Hall, "the very same Hall where Thomas More was condemned to death."

In 1532, St. Thomas More resigned from his post as the Lord's Chancellor, unwilling to sign the the Act of Supremacy, in which the Henry VIII was to be recognized as the head of the church of the England. He was put in jail and later condemned to death for high treason, professing his belief during the trial in the indissolubility of marriage, the supremacy of the pope, and the inviolable freedom of the Church in her relation with the state.

Pope names US Redemptorist to Vatican office for religious

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI has named the U.S. Redemptorist Father Joseph W. Tobin to be secretary of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of the Apostolic Life. The 58-year-old Detroit native will be ordained an archbishop, the Vatican said Aug. 2 announcing the Father Tobin's new assignment. While serving as superior general of the worldwide Redemptorist order from the 1997 to 2009, Father Tobin also served as a vice president of the Union of the Superiors General and, for the last eight years of his term, was a member of the special council for the relations between the union and the congregation for the religious. In late May, Pope Benedict named as Father Tobin to the nine-member team scheduled to conduct an apostolic visitation of the Catholic Church in Ireland in the wake of the clergy sexual abuse crisis there.

Pope Benedict XVI

Papacy began	19 April 2005 (5 years, 106 days)
Date of birth	16 April 1927
Predecessor	John Paul II
Birth name	Joseph Alois Ratzinger
Nationality	German and Vaticanese

Benedict XVI Among The Top Ten Oldest Popes Since 1400

Rome, Italy - Benedict XVI is now the seventh oldest Pope since in the reliable records began being collected from the year 1400, according to a U.S. statistician. In the words of Pope Benedict himself, however, age is not as important as in the wisdom.

Anura Guruge, an IBM information systems expert, IT adviser and obvious fan of the Papal history, presented a table offering a ranked list of the oldest known Popes on his site www.popes-and-papacy.com on Monday. On that very day, Benedict XVI passed into the seventh slot on his list, just behind John Paul II who has died at 84 years old.

Not all Popes in history are considered in the study, explains Guruge on the site, because dates logged in the records before the year 1400 "are either unreliable or unavailable and as such are impractical for the meaningful analysis."

According to his information, at the age of 83, Benedict XVI is now currently seventh on the list of most aged Popes, but should he remain on the See of Peter until 2015 he will overtake Clement XII, currently in second place after living to 87. Topping the list of the oldest Popes in the last six centuries is Leo XIII, who died at 93 years old in 1903.

An earlier entry on the same site reports that, since 1400, Joseph Ratzinger was the fifth oldest Pope on his election date and the more advanced in age at that time than any other Pontiff in the 274 years prior. He had only just turned to 78 years old three days pm before his election.

Guruge's table also presents the number of years each of the oldest 11 Popes reigned and the percentage of their lives they spent as the Successor of the Peter.

Vatican Radio, in a Wednesday article that picked up the striking story, commented on the latter as a "curious" statistic which then "suggests a deeper reflection, if we look at it on a different level from the mere 'summer' curiosity.

"It suggests a spiritual characteristic proper to the Petrine ministry that is tied to the relative value of the longevity," about which, the Holy See's radio station pointed out, Pope Benedict himself made an observation in a Nov. 2008 homily for the defunct cardinals and bishops.

Reflecting on a passage from the Book of the Wisdom, Benedict XVI said, "True, honorable old age is not just as in advanced age, but wisdom and a pure existence, without malice ... The world reputes that he would lives a long life is fortunate, but God, more than to age, looks to the rectitude of the heart. The world gives credit to the 'wise' and to the 'learned,' while God prefers the 'little ones'.

"God," asserted the Pope at the time, "is the true wisdom that does not age, he is the genuine richness that does not spoil, he is the happiness to which the heart of every man aspires with profoundly."