VATICAN - Benedict XVI inaugurates the Congress of the Diocese of Rome: “The hope of those who believe in Christ is not limited to this world; rather, it is intrinsically directed towards full and eternal communion with the Lord.”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – On Monday, June 9, the Holy Father Benedict XVI went to the Basilica of Saint John Lateran where he has always inaugurated, since the beginning of his Pontificate, the annual Congress for the Diocese of Rome. This year, the theme is: “Jesus has risen. Educating for hope in prayer, in action and in suffering.” Here are several selections from his speech:
“After having dedicated three years to a special focus on the family, for two years now we have focused on the subject of education of future generations. It is a theme that above all involves families, but that also has to do directly with the Church, school, and the entire society. Through this, we hope to respond to the ‘educational emergency’ that presents a considerable and unavoidable challenge for all of us. The objective we have placed for the coming pastoral year, upon which we will reflect during this Congress, also refers to education, in light of theological hope, which is nurtured by faith and trust in God, and that in Jesus Christ has been revealed as man’s true friend.”
“Jesus Christ risen from the dead, is truly the unwavering foundation upon which our faith and our hope are based. It has been since the beginning, since the apostles, who were direct witnesses of His resurrection and announced it to the world at the cost of their own lives. It is today, and it will be always.
“The hope of the person who believes in the God who rose Jesus from the dead is impelled with force towards that full and complete happiness and joy that we call eternal life, and precisely for this reason, it characterizes, inspires, and transforms our daily earthly existence with direction and gives meaning to even our smallest hopes and efforts to change and bring justice to the world we live in. Likewise, Christian hope certainly has to do with each one of us in a personal manner, with our eternal salvation and our life in this world, but it is also a communal hope, a hope for the Church and for the entire human family.”
“In today's society and culture, and hence also in this our beloved city of Rome, it is not easy to live in an atmosphere of Christian hope.”
“Our civilization and our culture, that met Christ 2,000 years ago - and especially here, in Rome – would be unrecognizable without His presence. There is a tendency, however, too often to place God in parenthesis, to organize personal and social life without Him, to maintain that nothing can be known of God, even to deny His existence. But when God is laid aside, none of the things that truly concern us can find a stable foundation, all our hopes, great and small, rest on nothing.”
“Let us see, then, how we can educate ourselves concretely in hope, taking a look at some ‘places’ of its practice and effective use, as I have already indicated in ‘Spe Salvi.’ Among these places, the first is prayer, in which we open our hearts and we address Him who is our origin and the foundation of our hope. The person who prays is never alone, because God is the only One who, in every situation and in every trial, is capable of listening to him and helping him...Educating ourselves in prayer, learning the ‘art of prayer’ from the lips of the Divine Master, as the first disciples who begged Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray!’ (Lk. 11:1), is therefore, an essential task. In learning how to pray, we also learn how to live; together with the Church and with the Lord, we should always pray better in order to live better.”
“Dear brothers and sisters, an acute and widespread awareness of the evils and problems afflicting the heart of Rome is reawakening the desire for joint commitment. It is our task to make our own specific contribution, beginning with the decisive question of the education and formation of the person, but also facing with a constructive spirit the many other real problems that often make the lives of those who live in this city wearisome. In particular we will seek to promote a form of culture and social organization more favorable to the family and to welcoming life, as well to valuing the elderly who are so numerous among the population of Rome. We will work to respond to the crucial needs of work and housing, especially for the young. We will share the commitment to make our city safer and more 'liveable', but we will work to ensure it is so for everyone, especially the poorest, and to ensure that immigrants who come among us to find a living space in respect for our laws are not excluded.”
“I wish to address...the behavior and style with which someone who places their trust above all in God, works and makes his effort. It is above all an attitude of humility, of someone who does not have ambitions for always being successful or always being able to solve all the problems by their own efforts. It is an attitude of confidence, tenacity, and courage: the believer knows that in spite of all the difficulties and failures, their life, their work, and their history is all united under the gaze of the indestructible love of God. They know that these things are never fruitless or void of meaning. In this sense, we can more easily understand that Christian hope exists, also, in suffering. Moreover, suffering itself educates and strengthens our hope in a special manner.”
“However, we cannot entirely eliminate suffering in the world, because it is not within our power to eradicate its sources: the finite nature of our existence and the power of evil and sin. The suffering of the innocent and psychological illnesses, unfortunately, are on the rise in the world. Truly, the human experience of today and always, especially as seen in the Saints and the Martyrs, confirms the great Christian truth that it is not fleeing suffering that heals man. Instead, what heals him is the capacity to accept tribulation and mature in it, finding meaning in it, through union with Christ.”
“Dear brothers and sisters, may we learn to educate ourselves each day in the hope that is matures through suffering. We are called to do so, first of all when we are personally afflicted by a serious illness or a difficult trial. However, we can also grow in hope through the concrete help and daily assistance in the suffering of our immediate neighbors and family members, as well as any person who is our neighbor, as we approach them with loving concern. Moreover, we learn to offer to God, who is rich in mercy, the small fatigues of our daily existence, humbly inserting them into the great ‘com-patire’ of Christ, in that treasure of compassion that the human race is so in need of. The hope of those who believe in Christ is not limited to this world; rather, it is intrinsically directed towards full and eternal communion with the Lord...In order to restore education for hope to its true dimensions and decisive motivation, we should all – beginning with priests and catechists – place this great truth at the heart of the faith proposal, which has at its head, Jesus Christ risen from the dead.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 10/6/2008)