VATICAN - Benedict XVI in the Holy Land (3) - Visit to the Basilica of the Memorial of Moses: “Like Moses, we too have been called by name, invited to undertake a daily exodus from sin and slavery towards life and freedom.”

Mount Nebo (Agenzia Fides) – The first event of the Holy Father on May 9 was his visit to the ancient Basilica of the Memorial of Moses on Mount Nebo. “It is appropriate that my pilgrimage should begin on this mountain, where Moses contemplated the Promised Land from afar,” said Benedict XVI in his address. “Here, on the heights of Mount Nebo, the memory of Moses invites us to 'lift up our eyes' to embrace with gratitude not only God’s mighty works in the past, but also to look with faith and hope to the future which he holds out to us and to our world. Like Moses, we too have been called by name, invited to undertake a daily exodus from sin and slavery towards life and freedom, and given an unshakeable promise to guide our journey...From this holy mountain Moses directs our gaze on high, to the fulfilment of all God’s promises in Christ.”
Making reference to the example of Moses, who “gazed upon the Promised Land from afar, at the end of his earthly pilgrimage,” the Holy Father mentioned that “we too are part of the ageless pilgrimage of God’s people through history. In the footsteps of the prophets, the apostles and the saints, we are called to walk with the Lord, to carry on his mission, to bear witness to the Gospel of God’s universal love and mercy...We know that, like Moses, we may not see the complete fulfilment of God’s plan in our lifetime. Yet we trust that, by doing our small part, in fidelity to the vocation each of us has received, we will help to make straight the paths of the Lord and welcome the dawn of his Kingdom. And we know that the God who revealed his name to Moses as a pledge that he would always be at our side (cf. Ex 3:14) will give us the strength to persevere in joyful hope even amid suffering, trial and tribulation.”
Benedict XVI then affirmed that with his presence, he wished to continue and confirm the tradition of the pilgrimage, “grounded in the desire to see, to touch, and to savor in prayer and contemplation the places blessed by the physical presence of our Savior, his Blessed Mother, the apostles and the first disciples who saw him risen from the dead.” In addition to leading us “to appreciate more fully the gift of our faith and to grow in that communion which transcends every limit of language, race and culture,” the pilgrimage to the holy places “also reminds us of the inseparable bond between the Church and the Jewish people.” The Pope then expressed his hope that the encounter may inspire “renewed love for the canon of Sacred Scripture and a desire to overcome all obstacles to the reconciliation of Christians and Jews in mutual respect and cooperation in the service of that peace to which the word of God calls us!” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 12/5/2009)