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Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The Gospel reading that tells of the Jesus' words in the first preaching in Galillea - “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15) – and the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, which the Church celebrates on January 25, is a “happy coincidence -- especially in this Pauline year -- which allows us, as we contemplate the experience of the Apostle, to understand the true meaning of evangelical conversion – 'metanoia,'”said the Holy Father Benedict XVI prior to the recitation of the Angelus with the faithful gathered in Saint Peter's Square on Sunday, January 25.
“The Apostle's experience can be a model of every authentic Christian conversion. Paul's conversion matured in the encounter with the Risen Christ; it was this encounter that radically changed his existence,” the Pope said. “That which Jesus asks in the Gospel today happened to him on the road to Damascus: Saul converted because, thanks to the divine light, 'he believed in the Gospel.' His conversion and ours consists in this: in believing in Jesus dead and risen and in opening up to the illumination of his divine grace...Converting means, for each one of us also, believing that Jesus 'gave himself up for me,' dying on the cross (cf. Galatians 2:20) and, risen, lives with me and in me. Entrusting myself to the power of his forgiveness, letting myself be led by the hand by him, I can get out of the quicksand of pride and sin, of lies and sadness, of selfishness and every false certainty, to know and live the richness of his love.”
The Holy Father then mentioned that “the invitation to conversion, confirmed by the witness of St. Paul, is particularly urgent today, at the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, even at the ecumenical level. The Apostle shows us the right spiritual attitude for progress toward communion.” And he also observed that “we Christians have not yet achieved the goal of full unity, but if we let ourselves be continually converted by the Lord Jesus, we will certainly arrive there.”
After the Angelus, Benedict XVI recalled World Leprosy Day, which was begun 55 years ago by Raoul Follereau. He expressed his joy at the fact that the United Nations recently “asked countries to protect those suffering from leprosy and their families. For my part, I assure them of my prayers and I renew my encouragement of those who struggle with them for complete healing and good social integration.” Then, addressing the people of various countries in Eastern Asia celebrating the lunar new year, the Pope said: “I wish them joy in their celebrations. Joy is an expression of being in harmony with oneself: and that can only come from being in harmony with God and with his creation. May joy always live in the hearts of the citizens of those nations, which are so dear to me, and spread throughout the world!”
Lastly, he gave a special greeting to the youth of Catholic Action in Rome, who did a “Caravan of Peace” through the streets of Rome, which ended at Saint Peter's, after a month of peace initiatives. “Dear boys and girls, I thank you for your fidelity in the commitment to peace, a commitment not only in word but in decisions and actions,” the Pope said. Then, one of the two young people next to the Holy Father, from the window of his office, read a brief message on the theme of peace. At the end of the greetings in various languages, the Pope released two doves. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 26/1/2009)
