HOLY FATHER VISITS SECRETARIAT OF STATE

Vatican City, 12 April 2013 (VIS) – At 10:00 this morning, the Holy Father Frances went to the library of the Secretariat of State to meet the entire staff of the two sections of the Secretariat, that is, nearly 300 people—not only priests but also religious and lay men and women.

The Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., greeted the Pope with a brief address of welcome and presentation, assuring the Pope of the dedicated and cordial service of all those present who work in the Secretariat of State, which is fully the “Pope's Secretariat”.

The Pope responded with a few brief words emphasizing his sincere and heartfelt gratitude for the welcome he has been given and for all the work carried out in this period, noting that tomorrow will already be a month from his election, as well as for the priceless commitment of service carried out by all the members of the Secretariat of State.

After imparting his blessing, the Pope personally greeted everyone present. The meeting lasted around 50 minutes.

POPE TO BIBLICAL COMMISSION: HEART OF OUR FAITH IS NOT JUST A BOOK BUT A SALVATION HISTORY

Vatican City, 12 April 2013 (VIS) – This morning, the Holy Father received the members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission with their president, Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, at the conclusion of their annual plenary assembly, which had the theme of “Inspiration and Truth in the Bible”.

In his address to them, the Pope emphasized that this theme “affects not only the individual believer but the whole Church, for the Church's life and mission are founded on the Word of God, which is the soul of theology as well as the inspiration of all of Christian existence.”

“Sacred Scripture,” he reaffirmed,“ is the written testimony of the divine Word, the canonical memory that attests to the event of Revelation. However, the Word of God precedes the Bible and surpasses it. That is why the centre of our faith isn't just a book, but a salvation history and above all a person, Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh. It is precisely because the Word of God embraces and extends beyond Scripture that, in order to properly understand it, the Holy Spirit's constant presence, who guides us “to all truth”, is necessary. It is necessary to place ourselves within the great Tradition that has, with the Holy Spirit's assistance and the Magisterium's guidance, recognized the canonical writings as the Word that God addresses to his people, who have never ceased meditating upon it and discovering inexhaustible riches from it.”

The pontiff recalled that Vatican Council II repeated this very clearly in the dogmatic constitution “Dei Verbum”: “All of what has been said about the way of interpreting Scripture is subject finally to the judgement of the Church, which carries out the divine commission and ministry of guarding and interpreting the word of God.” “In fact, Sacred Scripture is the Word of God in that it is written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Sacred Tradition, instead, transmits the Word of God in its entirety, entrusted by Christ the Lord and by the Holy spirit to the Apostles and their successors, so that these, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, might faithfully preserve it with their preaching, might expound and propound it.”

“The interpretation of Sacred Scriptures cannot be just an individual academic effort, but must always be compared to, inserted within, and authenticated by the living tradition of the Church. This norm is essential in identifying the proper and reciprocal relationship between the exegesis and the Magisterium of the Church. The texts that God inspired were entrusted to the Community of believers, the Church of Christ, to nourish the faith and to guide the life of charity.”

The Bishop of Rome bid the members of the Biblical Commission farewell, thanking them for their work and expressing the desire that this Year of Faith “may help to make the light of Sacred Scripture shine within the hearts of the faithful.”

REGINA COELI: BEATITUDE OF FAITH

Vatican City, 8 April 2013 (VIS) – On the Sunday that concludes the Easter Octave, which John Paul II named Divine Mercy Sunday, the Pope greeted the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square to pray the Regina Coeli with the words of the risen Christ: “Peace be with you”. He explained that it is a peace that goes beyond a simple greeting or wish: “It is a gift,” he said. “The precious gift that Christ gives to his disciples, after having passed through death and hell.” It is a peace that is “the fruit of the victory of God's love over evil … and of forgiveness. The true peace that comes from experiencing God's mercy.”

The Holy Father then spoke of Jesus' appearances to his disciples who were locked in the Cenacle. Thomas wasn't present at the first appearance and he didn't believe what the apostles told him of it. At the second, when he was there and Jesus invited him to touch his wounds, Jesus said to him “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

“And who are those who believe without having seen?” the pontiff asked. They are “other disciples, men and women of Jerusalem who, although not having met the risen Jesus, believed in the witness of the apostles and the women. This is a very important word about faith; we can call it the beatitude of faith. In every time and in every place there are the blessed who, through the Word of God proclaimed in the Church and witnessed to by Christians, believe that Jesus Christ is God's love incarnate, Mercy incarnate. And that goes for all of us!”

However, along with peace, Jesus gave his disciples the Holy Spirit, “so that they might bring the forgiveness of sins—the forgiveness that only God can give and that cost the blood of the Son—to the world. The Church is sent by the risen Christ to bring the remission of sins to humanity and thus to make the Kingdom of love grow; to sow peace in our hearts so that we might also affirm it in our relationships, in society, and in institutions. The Spirit of the risen Christ casts out the fear in the hearts of the Apostles and compels them to leave the Cenacle in order to bring forth the Gospel. Let us also have more courage to witness to our faith in the risen Christ! Let us not be afraid to be Christians or to live as Christians!”