Friday, November 30, 2007

Pope Benedict's new encyclical on HOPE!

Vatican City, Nov 30, 2007 / 06:15 am (CNA).- Today at noon in Rome, the Holy See released Pope Benedict XVI’s second encyclical, “Spe Salvi”, which proclaims the need for hope in modern society and the necessity for Christians to recover its true meaning.

The Pope begins his 75 page encyclical by explaining that “the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey.”

“Spe Salvi” draws upon the rich treasure of Benedict XVI’s learning, with references from the lives of the saints and the Church Fathers. Armed with this wisdom and the virtue of hope, the Holy Father says, “The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life.”

Naturally, this leads to the question, what is hope? The pontiff relates that “to come to know God—the true God—means to receive hope.”

Yet Christian hope is different. Referring to... (Continued here.)

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