MAN'S EXPECTATION AND AWE IN MEETING THE LORD

VATICAN CITY, JUL 26, 2000 (VIS) - Pope John Paul arrived from Castelgandolfo by helicopter today for the weekly general audience, his first since July 5 and his vacation period in the Italian Alps. The audience began at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Square in the presence of an estimated 20,000 pilgrims.

He said that he wished today "to focus on two basic demeanors" that man must assume as he prepares to meet the Lord. "The first demeanor is that of expectation. ... In the original Greek we found three imperatives which underscore this expectation: The first is 'be alert', literally, 'look out!' ... It is the opposite of distraction which is, unfortunately, our almost habitual state, above all in a frenetic and superficial society such as today's. It is difficult to be able to fix on one objective, on one value, and to pursue it with fidelity and coherence."

The Holy Father pointed out that the second imperative is "'keep watch', which in the original Greek is equivalent to 'stay awake'. The temptation is strong to fall asleep, wrapped in the coils of darkness, which in the Bible is a symbol of blame, inertia, of refusal of the light." The third imperative, he went on, is "'Be vigilant!' It is the word of the guard who must stay alert as he patiently awaits the passing of nighttime to be able to see the light of dawn as it begins to appear on the horizon."

"Christ's three appeals: 'look out', 'keep watch' and 'be vigilant' summarize very clearly the Christian expectation of the meeting with the Lord. ... For the meeting with mystery one needs patience, inner purification silence, expectation."

John Paul II concluded by highlighting man's second demeanor vis-a-vis meeting the Lord, "that of astonishment, wonder. One must open one's eyes to admire God Who both hides and reveals Himself in things and who introduces us to the spaces of mystery. ... In reality, every thing, every event, for those who know how to read them in depth, bears a message which, in the last analysis, leads to God."

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