Thursday, February 28, 2013

Pope Benedict XVI's Final General Audience


Pope Benedict XVI's Final General Audience (February 27, 2013)
By Scott P. Richert, About.com Guide

Pope Benedict XVI attends his final general audience in Saint Peter's Square on February 27, 2013.
(Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images



On February 27, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI held his final general audience in Saint Peter's Square. It was one of the largest of his pontificate—and, indeed, of any pontificate—as more than 200,000 people gathered to wish the Holy Father farewell, the day before hisresignation took effect at 8 P.M. on February 28, 2013.


While Pope Benedict's remarks at this final general audience were not his final public words—he is expected to offer a few words on February 28, when he arrives at the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, where he will remain in seclusion until the upcoming conclave chooses his successor—they are likely the final public address of any length to be offered by this remarkable man, whose entire live has been lived in service to Jesus Christ and the Church that He founded. From the first, Pope Benedict's Wednesday general audiences have featured meticulously prepared remarks on points of doctrine or the lives and writings of saints, especially the Fathers of the Church and thedoctors of the Church; but his words at his final general audience, while reflecting Pope Benedict's profound intellect, came even more from the heart than from the head. His deep gratitude to those gathered to wish him well was apparent; but so was his gratitude to Christ for having called him to a lifetime of service in the "vineyard of the Lord."


The text that follows is the official translation by the Vatican Information Service of Pope Benedict's remarks at his final general audience. (I have added the headings, based on the text.)


"My Heart Expands and Embraces the Whole Church":


Like the Apostle Paul in the Biblical text that we have heard, I feel in my heart that I have to especially thank God who guides and builds up the Church, who plants His Word and thus nourishes the faith in His People. At this moment my heart expands and embraces the whole Church throughout the world and I thank God for the 'news' that, in these years of my Petrine ministry, I have received about the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and for the love that truly circulates in the Body of the Church, making it to live in the love and the hope that opens us to and guides us towards the fullness of life, towards our heavenly homeland.


I feel that I am carrying everyone with me in prayer in this God-given moment when I am collecting every meeting, every trip, every pastoral visit. I am gathering everyone and everything in prayer to entrust it to the Lord: so that we may be filled with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding in order to live in a manner worthy of the Lord and His love, bearing fruit in every good work (cf. Col 1:9-10).
"I Have Felt His Presence Every Day":



At this moment I have great confidence because I know, we all know, that the Gospel's Word of truth is the strength of the Church; it is her life. The Gospel purifies and renews, bearing fruit, wherever the community of believers hears it and welcomes God's grace in truth and in love. This is my confidence, this is my joy.


When, on 19 April almost eight years ago I accepted to take on the Petrine ministry, I had the firm certainty that has always accompanied me: this certainty for the life of the Church from the Word of God. At that moment, as I have already expressed many times, the words that resounded in my heart were: Lord, what do You ask of me? It is a great weight that You are placing on my shoulders but, if You ask it of me, I will cast my nets at your command, confident that You will guide me, even with all my weaknesses. And eight years later I can say that the Lord has guided me. He has been close to me. I have felt His presence every day. It has been a stretch of the Church's path that has had moments of joy and light, but also difficult moments. I felt like St. Peter and the Apostles in the boat on the Sea of Galilee. The Lord has given us many days of sunshine and light breezes, days when the fishing was plentiful, but also times when the water was rough and the winds against us, just as throughout the whole history of the Church, when the Lord seemed to be sleeping. But I always knew that the Lord is in that boat and I always knew that the boat of the Church is not mine, not ours, but is His. And the Lord will not let it sink. He is the one who steers her, of course also through those He has chosen because that is how He wanted it. This was and is a certainty that nothing can tarnish. And that is why my heart today is filled with gratitude to God, because He never left—the whole Church or me—without His consolation, His light, or His love.
"God Loves Us, But Awaits Us to Also Love Him":



We are in the Year of Faith, which I desired precisely in order to strengthen our faith in God in a context that seems to relegate it more and more to the background. I would like to invite everyone to renew their firm trust in the Lord, to entrust ourselves like children to God's arms, certain that those arms always hold us up and are what allow us to walk forward each day, even when it is a struggle. I would like everyone to feel beloved of that God who gave His Son for us and who has shown us His boundless love. I would like everyone to feel the joy of being Christian. In a beautiful prayer, which can be recited every morning, say: 'I adore you, my God and I love you with all my heart. Thank you for having created me, for having made me Christian...' Yes, we are happy for the gift of faith. It is the most precious thing, which no one can take from us! Let us thank the Lord for this every day, with prayer and with a coherent Christian life. God loves us, but awaits us to also love Him!

"See How the Church Is Alive Today":

It is not only God who I wish to thank at this time. A pope is not alone in guiding Peter's barque, even if it is his primary responsibility. I have never felt alone in bearing the joy and the weight of the Petrine ministry. The Lord has placed at my side so many people who, with generosity and love for God and the Church, have helped me and been close to me. First of all, you, dear Brother Cardinals: your wisdom, your advice, and your friendship have been precious to me. My collaborators, starting with my secretary of state who has accompanied me faithfully over the years; the Secretariat of State and the whole of the Roman Curia, as well as all those who, in their various areas, serve the Holy See. There are many faces that are never seen, remaining in obscurity, but precisely in their silence, in their daily dedication in a spirit of faith and humility, they were a sure and reliable support to me. A special thought goes to the Church of Rome, my diocese! I cannot forget my Brothers in the episcopate and in the priesthood, consecrated persons, and the entire People of God. In my pastoral visits, meetings, audiences, and trips I always felt great care and deep affection, but I have also loved each and every one of you, without exception, with that pastoral love that is the heart of every pastor, especially the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of the Apostle Peter. Every day I held each of you in prayer, with a father's heart.


I wish to send my greetings and my thanks to all: a pope's heart extends to the whole world. And I would like to express my gratitude to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, which makes the great family of Nations present here. Here I am also thinking of all those who work for good communication and I thank them for their important service.


At this point I would also like to wholeheartedly thank all of the many people around the world who, in recent weeks, have sent me touching tokens of concern, friendship, and prayer. Yes, the Pope is never alone. I feel this again now in such a great way that it touches my heart. The Pope belongs to everyone and many people feel very close to him. It's true that I receive letters from the world's notables—from heads of states, from religious leaders, from representatives of the world of culture, etc. But I also receive many letters from ordinary people who write to me simply from their hearts and make me feel their affection, which is born of our being together with Christ Jesus, in the Church. These people do not write to me the way one would write, for example, to a prince or a dignitary that they don't know. They write to me as brothers and sisters or as sons and daughters, with the sense of a very affectionate family tie. In this you can touch what the Church is—not an organization, not an association for religious or humanitarian ends, but a living body, a communion of brothers and sisters in the Body of Jesus Christ who unites us all. Experiencing the Church in this way and being able to almost touch with our hands the strength of His truth and His love is a reason for joy at a time when many are speaking of its decline. See how the Church is alive today!
"For the Good of the Church":



In these last months I have felt that my strength had diminished and I asked God earnestly in prayer to enlighten me with His light to make me make the right decision, not for my own good, but for the good of the Church. I have taken this step in full awareness of its seriousness and also its newness, but with a profound peace of mind. Loving the Church also means having the courage to make difficult, agonized choices, always keeping in mind the good of the Church, not of oneself.


Allow me here to return once again to 19 April, 2005. The gravity of the decision lay precisely in the fact that, from that moment on, I was always and for always engaged by the Lord. Always—whoever assumes the Petrine ministry no longer has any privacy. He belongs always and entirely to everyone, to the whole Church. His life, so to speak, is totally deprived of its private dimension. I experienced, and I am experiencing it precisely now, that one receives life precisely when they give it. Before I said that many people who love the Lord also love St. Peter's Successor and are fond of him; that the Pope truly has brothers and sisters, sons and daughters all over the world and that he feels safe in the embrace of their communion; because he no longer belongs to himself but he belongs to all and all belong to him.


'Always' is also 'forever'--there is no return to private life. My decision to renounce the active exercise of the ministry does not revoke this. I am not returning to private life, to a life of trips, meetings, receptions, conferences,etc. I am not abandoning the cross, but am remaining beside the Crucified Lord in a new way. I no longer bear the power of the office for the governance of the Church, but I remain in the service of prayer, within St. Peter's paddock, so to speak. St. Benedict, whose name I bear as Pope, will be a great example to me in this. He has shown us the way for a life that, active or passive, belongs wholly to God's work.


"The Lord Is Near and Embraces Us With His Love":



I also thank each and every one of you for the respect and understanding with which you have received this important decision. I will continue to accompany the Church's journey through prayer and reflection, with the dedication to the Lord and His Bride that I have tried to live every day up to now and that I want to always live. I ask you to remember me to God, and above all to pray for the Cardinals who are called to such an important task, and for the new Successor of the Apostle Peter. Many the Lord accompany him with the light and strength of His Spirit.


We call upon the maternal intercession of Mary, the Mother of God and of the Church, that she might accompany each of us and the entire ecclesial community. We entrust ourselves to her with deep confidence.


Dear friends! God guides His Church, always sustaining her even and especially in difficult times. Let us never lose this vision of faith, which is the only true vision of the path of the Church and of the world. In our hearts, in the heart of each one of you, may there always be the joyous certainty that the Lord is beside us, that He does not abandon us, that He is near and embraces us with His love. Thank you.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Shocking news from Ground Zero (1).... by sakmongkol AK47


Shocking news from Ground Zero(1)

by sakmongkol AK47

Saturday, 2 February 2013

My Photo


As I promised, here is how the cookie may crumble. These figures were handed to me by moles burrowed deep in Bukit Aman, at MINDEF, from UMNO politicians and the boys and girls from Putrajaya whose tongues were made light and easy after nights out in town. I am surprised to hear of the extensive rejection of people in the Forces towards UMNO and BN. Pleasantly surprised that is.

My own feeling is there will be reversal of positions. In this coming elections, PR will get what BN got in 2008- 140 seats or thereabouts and the balance going to BN. when that happens, more will abandon the BN ship especially from the UMNO camp.As for now, what these shadows tell me are as follows:-


Table 1: The possible outcome in GE13.
no
STATE
PR
BN
1
PERLIS
1
2
2
KEDAH
13
2
3
KELANTAN
13
1
4
TERENGGANU
4
4
5
PENANG
12
1
6
PERAK
18
6
7
PAHANG
5
9
8
SELANGOR
20
2
9
WILAYAH PERSEKUTUAN
10
1
10
PUTRAJAYA
0
1
11
NEGRI SEMBILAN
6
2
12
MELAKA
2
4
13
JOHOR
12
14
14
LABUAN
1
0
15
SABAH
12
13
16
SARAWAK
16
15


145
77


The table above is even more bullish than the analyses which I have made on several occasions. Having examined the data given to me, here is my take.

In Perlis, the seat that is most likely to fall is Arau. In 2008, PR obtained almost 49% of the votes casted. A swing of 5% of the votes this time to PR, will result in BN losing the seat.
In Kedah, the 2 seats that appear safe for BN are Langkawi and KUbang Pasu. BN’s most comfortable seat is Langkawi. In Langkawi although the opposition increased its share of the votes, BN starts with a strong existing vote bank. Similarly, in KUbang Pasu, in 2008, the opposition obtained 40% of the votes and increased its share of the votes by 9%. So perhaps, it’s time for Najib to move MUkhriz Mahathir to Langkawi so that he can continue to be an MP on the opposition bench in the next parliament.

In Kelantan, besides Tengku Razaleigh , I would have thought the bland and colourless Mustafa Mohamad would be able to retain his seat. It appears the tide is turning against him principally because of his stand on the oil royalty issue of Kelantan. Here is a son of Kelantan who's opposed to giving Kelantan people their oil royalty unless its managed by UMNO. UMNO people are thieves who will not lose a second in getting their hands in the till. The people handing me the numbers insist that Mustafa Mohamad will get the boot this time.
What about those PR MPs who are seen to be under-performing? These will be replaced by determined and dedicated candidates who will continue to benefit from the overall support for PAS’s spiritual leader.

I have already touched on Terengganu in my earlier article. I predicted that PR will get 5 seats. According to the intelligence sources, PR would probably get 4 seats. Which is what PAS's secgen, Dato Mustafa Ali maintained. Earlier I thought, BN may lose Besut if it retains Abdullah Mat Zain , the incumbent. The man is hardly there. Will Mat Said be willing to select his arch enemy Idris Jusoh to contest in Besut? Otherwise according to these sources, BN will likely retain Besut, Setiu, Kemaman and Hulu Terengganu. That makes it 4-4.

In Penang, the only seat safe for BN is Tasek Gelugor. If Pak Lah stands again in Kepala Batas, he will lose. His replacement, whether its Reezal Merican or even son in law Khairy, will also be defeated. What else is left for Pak Lah to prove?

In Perak the relative safer seats for BN are to be found in (1) Gerik (2) Lenggong (3) Parit (4) Tapah (5) Bagan Datoh and (6) Tanjung Malim. Out of these 6, the weakest links are found in Bagan Datoh and Parit. So, people out there if you want to kick out Zahid Hamidi from Bagan Datoh, come out in full force to vote in PR13.

Please wait for the next installment of the forecast.In the meantime, see how the BN leaders are squirming. Some of them insist that BN will get a 2/3 majority. Meanwhile, Najib goes to Mahathir and says- please save me. He tweets to all and sundry, save Kedah. Why the plaintiff cries when you are confident of winning 2/3 majority? 

To the rest of us, it should and must be- save the rakyat from the clutches of the evil BN government.

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Posted by sakmongkol AK47 at 7:46 am 
 
Sakmongkol AK47 is the nom de guerre of this blogger. His name is Dato' Mohd.Ariff Sabri bin Hj. Abdul Aziz. He was ADUN of Pulau Manis, Pekan.( 2004-2008) From 2000-2004, he was Ketua Penerangan UMNO Bahagian Pekan, under Dato Sri Najib. Studied Economics at University Malaya and University of Manchester(Owens). Sakmongkol was a legendary Muay Thai fighter. AK 47 is the Russian made firearm. He can be reached at the following e mail: ariff.sabri@gmail.com