Rome did not have a sandstorm today but that was all that seemed to be missing. It has rained all or part of each day since I returned from the States and the skies have been mostly gray. Last night, it poured throughout the night and came down in torrents during the morning in the vicinity of the Vatican as pilgrims lined up to go through security for today’s general audience in the Paul VI Hall.This morning I went on an errand in a neighborhood west of the Vatican and, while on the bus, we were pummeled with rain, then light hail and then, to my astonishment I saw snow on the streets and sidewalks and cars. I was told it started about 8 a.m. in that part of the city and lasted fairly briefly, though it did coat streets and cars.
I was also told to expect snow in coming days. We’ll see!
As has become his habit on general audience Wednesdays, Pope Benedict has been tweeting. His twitter for today: January 16: “If we have love for our neighbor, we will find the face of Christ in the poor, the weak, the sick and the suffering.”
Read on for the general audience catechesis.
First, a clarification. Due to email problems for most of the day yesterday at EWTN in Alabama, not all of the photos I sent to be posted along with my story on the street sweepers nativity scene made it to my colleague’s computer. We are remedying that today and I’ll bring you the photos tomorrow.
JESUS SHOWS US THE FACE OF GOD
The Wednesday general audience was held in the Paul VI Hall in the presence of 7,000 pilgrims, many of whom had become thoroughly soaked as they waited to go through security under a downpour.
The Pope, unscathed, greeted the pilgrims and focused his catechesis on “the face of God.” He said, “During the Christmas season we celebrated the mystery of the Incarnation as the culmination of God’s gradual self-revelation to Israel, a revelation mediated by those great figures such as Moses and the Prophets who kept alive the expectation of God’s fulfilment of his promises.
“Jesus, the Word made flesh, is truly God among us,” said the Holy Father, “the mediator and the fullness of all revelation”. In him, the ancient blessing is fulfilled: God has made his face to shine upon us. As the Incarnate Son, the one mediator between God and man, Jesus does not simply speak to us about God; he shows us the very face of God and enables us to call him our Father. As he says to the apostle Philip, “whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
He ended his English summary of the catechesis by saying, “May our desire to see the Lord’s face grow through our daily encounter with him in prayer, in meditation on his word and in the Eucharist, and thus prepare us to contemplate forever the light of his countenance in the fullness of his eternal Kingdom.”
U.S. defense secretary, Leon E. Panetta was one of the visitors sitting in reserved front row seats at today’s audience. A daily Mass attendant of Italian origin, Panetta was able to briefly greet Pope Benedict who told him, “Thank you for helping to protect the world.” Mr. Panetta said he replied, “Pray for me.” Panetta spoke for about a minute with the Pope.
He is in Rome as part of a farewell tour in Europe, bidding goodbye to allies after an 18-month tenure as defense secretary and talking about conflicts in Afghanistan and Mali.
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