9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others: 10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, `God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.' 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, `God, be merciful to me a sinner!' 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Old Testament Reading: Hosea 6:1-6

4 What shall I do with you, O E'phraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. 5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. 6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:4-6)

Meditation: What kind of prayer is pleasing to God? The prophet Hosea, who spoke in God's name, said: "I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6). The prayers and sacrifices we make to God mean nothing to him if they do not spring from a heart of love for God and for one's neighbor. How can we expect God to hear our prayers if we do not approach him with humility and a contrite heart? We stand in constant need of his grace and mercy. That is why the Apostle James tells us that "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6; Proverbs 3:34).

Jesus reinforced this warning with a vivid story of two men at prayer. Why did the Lord accept one person’s prayer and reject the other’s prayer? Luke gives us a hint: despising one’s neighbor closes the door to God’s heart. Contempt is more than being mean-minded. It springs from the assumption that one is qualified to sit in the seat of judgment and to ascertain who is good and just. Jesus' story caused offense for those who regarded "tax collectors" as unworthy of God's grace and favor. How could Jesus put down a "religious leader" and raise up a "public sinner"? Jesus' parable speaks about the nature of prayer and our relationship with God. It does this by contrasting two very different attitudes towards prayer. The Pharisee, who represented those who take pride in their religious practices, exalted himself at the expense of others. Absorbed with his own sense of self-satisfaction and self-congratulation his prayer was centered on himself rather than on God. Rather than praising God and asking God for his mercy and help, this man praised himself while despising those he thought less worthy than himself. The Pharisee tried to justify himself before God and before those he despised; but only God can justify us. The tax collector, who represented those despised by religious-minded people, humbled himself before God and begged for mercy. His prayer was heard by God because he had true sorrow for his sins. He sought God with humility rather than with pride.

This parable presents both an opportunity and a warning. Pride leads to illusion and self-deception. Humility helps us to see ourselves as we really are and it inclines us to God's grace and mercy. God dwells with the humble of heart who recognize their own sinfulness and who acknowledge God's mercy and saving grace. I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit (Isaiah 57:15). God cannot hear us if we despise others. Do you humbly seek God's mercy and do you show mercy to others, especially those you find difficult to love and to forgive?

"Lord Jesus, may your love control my thoughts and actions that I may do what is pleasing to you. Show me where I lack charity, mercy, and forgiveness toward my neighbor. And help me to be generous in giving to others what you have so generously given to me."

Psalm 51:1-4, 18-19

1 have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love; according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in thy sight, so that thou art justified in thy sentence and blameless in thy judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Fill me with joy and gladness; let the bones which thou hast broken rejoice.
18 Do good to Zion in thy good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
19 then wilt thou delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on thy altar.

www.dailyscripture.net

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UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENTS

Pope's Farewell Address to Cameroon

"This Is a Moment of Great Hope for Africa"

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon, MARCH 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI gave today at the farewell ceremony at Nsimalen International Airport in Yaoundé. The Pope had arrived to the country Tuesday.

* * *

Mr President,
Distinguished Representatives of the Civil Authorities,
Cardinal Tumi,

My Brother Bishops,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As I prepare to leave Cameroon, having completed the first phase of my Apostolic Visit to Africa, I want to thank all of you for the generous reception you have given me during these days. The warmth of the African sun is reflected in the warmth of the hospitality that has been extended to me. I thank the President and the members of the Government for their courteous welcome. I thank my brother Bishops and all the Catholic faithful who have offered such an inspiring example of joyful and exuberant worship during the liturgies that we have experienced together. I am glad, too, that members of other Christian ecclesial communities were able to be present at some of our gatherings, and I renew my respectful greetings to them and their leaders. I would like to express my great appreciation for all the work undertaken by the civil authorities in order to ensure the smooth progress of my visit. But above all, I want to thank all those who have been praying so hard that this pastoral visit will bear fruit for the life of the Church in Africa. And I ask you to continue praying that the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops will prove to be a time of grace for the Church throughout the continent, a time of renewal and rededication to the mission to bring the healing message of the Gospel to a broken world.

Many of the scenes I have witnessed here will remain deeply etched on my memory. At the Cardinal Léger Centre, it was most moving to observe the care that is taken of the sick and the disabled, some of the most vulnerable members of our society. That Christ-like compassion is a sure sign of hope for the future of the Church and for the future of Africa.

My meeting with members of the Muslim community here in Cameroon was another highlight that will remain with me. As we continue on our journey towards greater mutual understanding, I pray that we will also grow in respect and esteem for one another, and strengthen our resolve to work together to proclaim the God-given dignity of the human person, a message that an increasingly secularized world needs to hear.

My principal reason for coming to Cameroon, of course, was to visit the Catholic community here. It gave me great joy to spend some fraternal moments with the Bishops, and to celebrate the Church’s liturgy with so many members of the faithful. I came here specifically in order to share with you the historic moment of the promulgation of the Instrumentum Laboris for the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. Truly this is a moment of great hope for Africa and for the whole world.

People of Cameroon, I urge you to seize the moment the Lord has given you! Answer his call to bring reconciliation, healing and peace to your communities and your society! Work to eliminate injustice, poverty and hunger wherever you encounter it! And may God bless this beautiful country, "Africa in miniature", a land of promise, a land of glory. God bless you all!

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Benedict XVI's Greetings at Angolan Airport

"Your Land Is Abundant and Your Nation Is Mighty"

LUANDA, Angola, MARCH 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI gave today upon arriving at the Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda on the second phase of his international trip to Africa.

* * *

Mr President,
Distinguished Civil and Military Authorities,

Dear Brother Bishops,
Dear Angolan Friends,

With sincere sentiments of respect and friendship, I set foot on the soil of this noble and young nation in the course of a pastoral visit in which I intend to reach out to the entire African continent, even if it has been necessary to restrict the itinerary to Yaoundé and to Luanda. I would like everyone to know, however, that I keep very much in my heart and in my prayers Africa in general and the people of Angola in particular, whom I warmly encourage to continue along the path of peace-building and reconstruction of the country and its institutions.

Mr President, I begin by thanking you for your kind invitation to visit Angola and for the warm words of welcome that you have just addressed to me. Please accept my respectful greetings and my very best wishes, which I also extend to the other Authorities who have kindly come here to receive me. I greet the whole of the Catholic Church in Angola in the persons of the Bishops here present, and I thank all my Angolan friends for the affectionate welcome they have given me. To those who are listening on radio and television, I offer a further cordial greeting, certain of Heaven’s blessing on the common mission that has been entrusted to us: that of building together a freer and more peaceful society, marked by greater solidarity.

How can I fail to recall the famous visitor who blessed Angola in June 1992: my beloved Predecessor John Paul II? A tireless missionary of Jesus Christ to the furthest ends of the earth, he pointed out the way towards God, inviting all people of good will to listen to their own rightly formed consciences and to build a society of justice, of peace and of solidarity, in mutual charity and forgiveness. For my part, I remind you that I come from a country where peace and fraternity are dear to the hearts of all its people, in particular those, like myself, who have known war and division between family members from the same nation as a result of inhuman and destructive ideologies, which, under the false appearance of dreams and illusions, caused the yoke of oppression to weigh down upon the people. You can therefore understand how keenly aware I am of dialogue as a way of overcoming every form of conflict and tension and making every nation -- including your own -- into a house of peace and fraternity. With this in view, you must take from your spiritual and cultural heritage the best values that Angola possesses, and go out to meet one another fearlessly, agreeing to share personal resources, both spiritual and material, for the good of all.

How can our thoughts not turn also to the people from the province of Kunene, who have been afflicted by torrential rains and floods, causing numerous deaths and leaving many families without shelter through the destruction of their homes? At this time I would like to offer those people the assurance of my solidarity, together with a particular encouragement to have the confidence to start again with the help of all.

Dear Angolans, your land is abundant and your nation is mighty. Make use of these advantages to build peace and understanding between peoples, based upon loyalty and equality that can promote for Africa the peaceful future in solidarity that everyone longs for and to which everyone is entitled. To this end, I ask you: do not yield to the law of the strongest! God has enabled human beings to fly, over and above their natural tendencies, on the wings of reason and faith. If you let these wings bear you aloft, you will easily recognize your neighbour as a brother or sister, born with the same fundamental human rights. Unfortunately, within the borders of Angola, there are still many poor people demanding that their rights be respected. The multitude of Angolans who live below the threshold of absolute poverty must not be forgotten. Do not disappoint their expectations!

This is a huge task, requiring greater civic participation on everyone’s part. It is necessary to involve the whole of Angolan civil society in this effort; but society needs to grow stronger and more articulated, both among its constitutive elements and in its dialogue with the Government, before it can take up the challenge. Before there can be a society that is truly solicitous for the common good, there have to be common values, shared by all. I am convinced that modern Angola will be able to find such values in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as happened long ago, at the time of your illustrious forebear, Dom Alphonsus I Mbemba-a-Nzinga. Through his efforts, five hundred years ago, a Christian kingdom emerged in Mbanza Congo which survived until the eighteenth century. From its ashes, at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a renewed Church could arise which has continued to grow right up to our own days; may God be thanked for it! This is the immediate occasion for my visit to Angola: to be together with one of the oldest Catholic communities in sub-equatorial Africa, to strengthen it in its faith in the risen Jesus and to join its sons and daughters in praying that this time of peace in Angola, in justice and fraternity, may prove lasting, allowing the community to carry out the mission that God has entrusted to it for the good of its people within the family of Nations. May God bless Angola!

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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DAILY LITURGICAL SAINT

March 21, 2009

Blessed John of Parma

(1209-1289)

The seventh general minister of the Franciscan Order, John was known for his attempts to bring back the earlier spirit of the Order after the death of St. Francis of Assisi.

He was born in Parma, Italy, in 1209. It was when he was a young philosophy professor known for his piety and learning that God called him to bid good-bye to the world he was used to and enter the new world of the Franciscan Order. After his profession John was sent to Paris to complete his theological studies. Ordained to the priesthood, he was appointed to teach theology at Bologna, then Naples and finally Rome.

In 1245, Pope Innocent IV called a general council in the city of Lyons, France. Crescentius, the Franciscan minister general at the time, was ailing and unable to attend. In his place he sent Father John, who made a deep impression on the Church leaders gathered there. Two years later, when the same pope presided at the election of a minister general of the Franciscans, he remembered Father John well and held him up as the man best qualified for the office.

And so, in 1247, John of Parma was elected to be minister general. The surviving disciples of St. Francis rejoiced in his election, expecting a return to the spirit of poverty and humility of the early days of the Order. And they were not disappointed. As general of the Order John traveled on foot, accompanied by one or two companions, to practically all of the Franciscan convents in existence. Sometimes he would arrive and not be recognized, remaining there for a number of days to test the true spirit of the brothers.

The pope called on John to serve as legate to Constantinople, where he was most successful in winning back the schismatic Greeks. Upon his return he asked that someone else take his place to govern the Order. St. Bonaventure, at John's urging, was chosen to succeed him. John took up a life of prayer in the hermitage at Greccio.

Many years later, John learned that the Greeks, who had been reconciled with the Church for a time, had relapsed into schism. Though 80 years old by then, John received permission from Pope Nicholas IV to return to the East in an effort to restore unity once again. On his way, John fell sick and died.

He was beatified in 1781.

Comment:

In the 13th century, people in their 30s were middle-aged; hardly anyone lived to the ripe old age of 80. John did, but he didn’t ease into retirement. Instead he was on his way to try to heal a schism in the Church when he died. Our society today boasts a lot of folks in their later decades. Like John, many of them lead active lives. But some aren’t so fortunate. Weakness or ill health keeps them confined and lonely—waiting to hear from us.

http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintofDay

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GENERAL MARIOLOGY

Our Lady of Mount Carmel: History, the Scapular, and Marian Mediation

By Amy Farrell

Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Maternal Mediation

In Our Lady’s words given to St. Simon Stock in the Scapular promise, "Whoever dies clothed with this habit [scapular > shall not suffer eternal flames," she conveys to her children that she is directly involved in the work of salvation. One author describes the meaning of this immense promise of Our Lady, "This is the sweet yoke of your obedience to the law of God; this is the sign of your good will – it represents to you the light burden of the Cross of my Son that you must carry after Him; while you wear it you are my most dear children, I will be to you a mother, and I shall plead for you so earnestly that the grace of my Son shall not fail you in the hour of death" (45). These words describe the sweet, motherly tender love of Mary our Mother. The Gospel in the Liturgy on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, is the Gospel of Calvary, "‘Woman, behold, your Son!’...Then he said the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’" (Jn 19:26-27). This Gospel reveals Mary’s participation in the offering of her Son, and her spiritual motherhood of all mankind. Carmelite Priest Emanuele Boaga, speaks of Mary’s maternal mediation and the scapular:

Mary’s action in favor of those who wear the Scapular is substantially, from the theological point of view, the concrete application of the doctrine of the spiritual maternity and of Marian Mediation …. Mary works in us and we must be disposed to welcome her action and to respond with all of our strength, adhering to Christ offered to us by Mary. Therefore, this requires on our part the practical recognition of our dependence on Mary and on her role in the supernatural order of grace (46).

While the Scapular was not a specific subject at the Second Vatican Council, the reality and meaning of the promise offered to the faithful through the Scapular, is explicitly discussed in the Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium. Our Lady restores supernatural life to the souls of her children, "…in suffering with Him as He died on the cross, she cooperated in the work of the Savior, in an altogether singular way, by obedience, faith, hope and burning love, to restore supernatural life to souls" (emphasis added, n. 61). While Jesus Christ is the "one Mediator" (1 Tim 2:5-6), the Blessed Virgin Mary has a unique role in mediation which, "flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on His mediation, depends entirely on it and draws all its power from it" (47). She cooperated in the Calvary event itself, enduring and suffering with her Son. Lumen Gentium again instructs that Mary, "associated herself with his sacrifice in her mother’s heart, and lovingly consented to the immolation of this victim which was born of her" (n. 58). Italian Carmelite Antonio Sicari suggests that the text of Lumen Gentium (n. 62) is reflective of the Scapular promise, as he reiterates the Council teaching, "by her repeated intercession she continues to obtain for us the gifts which assure our eternal salvation" (48). The words of St. Irenaeus in the second century parallel this teaching, that Mary, "…became the cause of salvation for herself and the whole human race" (see also Lumen Gentium, 56). It is clear to see that the teaching of the Church is consistent with the words of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, who promises that those who are clothed in the little habit of Carmel, the Scapular, shall not suffer eternal fire.

The papal teaching of Pope John Paul II frequently speaks of Mary’s role and participation in the work of redemption. In Redemptoris Mater, he explains that in His death on the cross, Jesus emptied Himself, becoming obedient even to death. Mary, as His Mother, shared in this self-emptying, kenosis, as she offered her divine Son in obedience to the Father’s will (49). This act of love, this kenosis of the Mother, reveals her sharing in the work of redemption. Pope Pius XI speaks of the power of the Scapular promise in Explorata res, in 1923, "…nor would he incur eternal death whom the Most Blessed Virgin assists, especially at his last hour. This opinion of the doctors of the Church, in harmony with the sentiments of the Christian people,…depends especially on this reason, the fact that the Sorrowful Virgin shared in the work of redemption with Jesus Christ" (50). In this statement, Pope Pius XI is saying that a person wearing the scapular, who is devoted to Our Lady, will not reject the grace of final perseverance at the hour of death. In the words of Pope Benedict XV, she is the "suppliant omnipotence" meaning that what God does through His own inherent power (salvation), Our Lady can obtain by her intercession (51).

Pope John Paul II’s esteem for the Brown Scapular was so great that he called it a "synthesis of Marian Spirituality" (52). The pope explains that the Scapular is a "habit" which signifies that one belongs to the Order of Carmel and is dedicated to the service of Our Lady for the good of the Church:

Those who wear the Scapular are thus brought into the land of Carmel, so that they may "eat of its fruits and its good things" (cf. Jer 2:7), and experience the loving, motherly presence of Mary in their daily commitment to be clothed in Jesus Christ to manifest him in their life for the good of the Church and the whole of humanity (53).

He further describes how the Scapular is a sign of the "covenant" and communion between Mary her children. Through this covenant, the faithful are offered the protection of the Blessed Virgin on their life’s journey and at the moment of death. This covenant likewise entails tributes in her honor, and an orientation of one’s life as a child of Mary through prayer, nourishment of the interior life, frequent reception of the sacraments, and spiritual and corporal works of mercy. The sign of the covenant, reveals the gift of His Mother, which Jesus bestowed on all of humanity at the foot of the cross, "Woman, behold thy son!...Son behold, thy mother!" (Jn 19:25) (54).

Pope Pius XII speaks of the Scapular as the "manner of achieving safely" our eternal salvation, and that, "the Holy Scapular, which may be called the Habit or Garment of Mary, is a sign and a pledge of the protection of the Mother of God." He added that, "But nor for this reason, however, may they who wear the scapular think that they can gain eternal salvation while remaining sinful and negligent of spirit" (55). Killian Lynch, Prior General of the Carmelites of the Ancient Observance, in response to the inquiry of the degree of good will which is required to obtain salvation, states, "Eternity alone will answer the question, for we should be careful not to place limits on mercy of her who is the refuge of sinners and the mother of mercy" (56). Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a Mother who mediates the grace of God, and is an advocate for her children before the throne of God.

The biblical story of Rebecca and Jacob (Gen 27) is pertinent in this consideration on the power and promise of the Scapular, related to Our Lady’s maternal mediation. Jacob lived his life in righteousness and he sought the blessing of his father. Yet Esau was the firstborn who was supposed to receive his father’s blessing, yet didn’t care and sold his birthright. Rebecca knowing Jacob’s desire and good will, out of love clothed him his brother’s clothes so that he would receive the blessing of his father (whose eyesight was failing). Jacob asking his mother about this, says to her "perhaps I will bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing" (Gen 27:12) and she responds, "Upon me be your curse, my son, only obey my word …" (Gen 27:13). Can we perhaps look upon Rebecca as prefiguring Mary our Mother, who does not clothes us in our brother’s clothes, but rather in her own clothing, "the habit or garment of Mary" (as Pope Pius XII calls the Scapular). In this way, does she not present her children, who are unworthy, before God the Father to receive His blessing? Mary’s love for her children is so great that she will go to all lengths to clothe us to be presentable to the Lord, so that we may receive His Fatherly blessing. This does not mean that those who wear the Scapular can do so with presumption, but rather, that in striving to live a holy life, one must trust the mercies of God the Father and the tender love of Our Mother who intercedes for her children.

A close look at the Prayer of Enrollment in the Scapular points to the Mary’s maternal mediation in the lives of her children. The words of the prayer read:

…through the intercession of the same Blessed Mother, they may be defended from the evil one and may persevere in your grace until death …. May Almighty God, the Creator of Heaven and earth, bless you, he who has chosen to enroll you in the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. We implore her to crush the head of the old serpent in the hour of your death and help you to attain at last unto the palm and crown of the everlasting inheritance. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen (57).

These prayers hearken to Genesis 3:15 in which the "woman," the Blessed Virgin Mary, crushes the head of Satan. In this verse, the role of Our Lady mediating God’s grace is explicit: she is implored to crush the head of Satan, and likewise to help her children attain eternal salvation with God in heaven.

http://www.motherofallpeoples.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1617&Itemid=40

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DIVINE MERCY

Dairy from St. Faustina

On God's Will

In A Mysterious Manner

The Lord acts toward me in a mysterious manner. There are times when He Himself allows terrible sufferings, and then again there are times when He does not let me suffer and removes everything that might afflict my soul. These are His ways, unfathomable and incomprehensible to us (Diary, 1656).

It is for us to submit ourselves completely to His holy will. There are mysteries that the human mind will never fathom here on earth; eternity will reveal them (Diary, 1656).

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CATHOLIC TEACHING/CONVICTION/TESTIMONY

Benedict XVI's Homily at Amadou Ahidjo Stadium

"Do Not Be Afraid to Believe, to Hope, and to Love"

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon, MARCH 19, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI gave today during the Mass he presided over at Yaoundé's Amadou Ahidjo stadium, which marked the publication of the "instrumentum laboris" of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops.

* * *

Dear Brother Bishops,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Praised be Jesus Christ who has gathered us in this stadium today that we may enter more deeply into his life!

Jesus Christ brings us together on this day when the Church, here in Cameroon and throughout the world, celebrates the Feast of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Virgin Mary. I begin by wishing a very happy feast day to all those who, like myself, have received the grace of bearing this beautiful name, and I ask Saint Joseph to grant them his special protection in guiding them towards the Lord Jesus Christ all the days of their life. I also extend cordial best wishes to all the parishes, schools, colleges, and institutions named after Saint Joseph. I thank Archbishop Tonyé-Bakot of Yaoundé for his kind words, and I warmly greet the representatives of the African Episcopal Conferences who have come to Yaoundé for the promulgation of the Instrumentum Laboris of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops.

How can we enter into the specific grace of this day? In a little while, at the end of Mass, the liturgy will remind us of the focal point of our meditation when it has us pray: "Lord, today you nourish us at this altar as we celebrate the feast of Saint Joseph. Protect your Church always, and in your love watch over the gifts you have given us." We are asking the Lord to protect the Church always -- and he does! -- just as Joseph protected his family and kept watch over the child Jesus during his early years.

Our Gospel reading recalls this for us. The angel said to Joseph: "Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home," (Mt 1:20) and that is precisely what he did: "he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him" (Mt 1:24). Why was Saint Matthew so keen to note Joseph’s trust in the words received from the messenger of God, if not to invite us to imitate this same loving trust?

Although the first reading which we have just heard does not speak explicitly of Saint Joseph, it does teach us a good deal about him. The prophet Nathan, in obedience to God’s command, tells David: "I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins" (2 Sam 7:12). David must accept that he will die before seeing the fulfilment of this promise, which will come to pass "when (his) time comes" and he will rest "with (his) ancestors". We thus come to realize that one of mankind’s most cherished desires -- seeing the fruits of one’s labours -- is not always granted by God. I think of those among you who are mothers and fathers of families. Parents quite rightly desire to give the best of themselves to their children, and they want to see them achieve success. Yet make no mistake about what this "success" entails: what God asks David to do is to place his trust in him. David himself will not see his heir who will have a throne "firm for ever" (2 Sam 7:16), for this heir, announced under the veil of prophecy, is Jesus. David puts his trust in God. In the same way, Joseph trusts God when he hears his messenger, the Angel, say to him: "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her" (Mt 1:20). Throughout all of history, Joseph is the man who gives God the greatest display of trust, even in the face of such astonishing news.

Dear fathers and mothers here today, do you have trust in God who has called you to be the fathers and mothers of his adopted children? Do you accept that he is counting on you to pass on to your children the human and spiritual values that you yourselves have received and which will prepare them to live with love and respect for his holy name? At a time when so many people have no qualms about trying to impose the tyranny of materialism, with scant concern for the most deprived, you must be very careful. Africa in general, and Cameroon in particular, place themselves at risk if they do not recognize the True Author of Life! Brothers and sisters in Cameroon and throughout Africa, you who have received from God so many human virtues, take care of your souls! Do not let yourselves be captivated by selfish illusions and false ideals! Believe -- yes! -- continue to believe in God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- he alone truly loves you in the way you yearn to be loved, he alone can satisfy you, can bring stability to your lives. Only Christ is the way of Life.

God alone could grant Joseph the strength to trust the Angel. God alone will give you, dear married couples, the strength to raise your family as he wants. Ask it of him! God loves to be asked for what he wishes to give. Ask him for the grace of a true and ever more faithful love patterned after his own. As the Psalm magnificently puts it: his "love is established for ever, his loyalty will stand as long as the heavens" (Ps 88:3).

Just as on other continents, the family today -- in your country and across Africa -- is experiencing a difficult time; but fidelity to God will help see it through. Certain values of the traditional life have been overturned. Relationships between different generations have evolved in a way that no longer favours the transmission of accumulated knowledge and inherited wisdom. Too often we witness a rural exodus not unlike that known in many other periods of human history. The quality of family ties is deeply affected by this. Uprooted and fragile members of the younger generation who often -- sadly -- are without gainful employment, seek to cure their pain by living in ephemeral and man-made paradises which we know will never guarantee the human being a deep, abiding happiness. Sometimes the African people too are constrained to flee from themselves and abandon everything that once made up their interior richness. Confronted with the phenomenon of rapid urbanization, they leave the land, physically and morally: not as Abraham had done in response to the Lord’s call, but as a kind of interior exile which alienates them from their very being, from their brothers and sisters, and from God himself.

Is this an irreversible, inevitable development? By no means! More than ever, we must "hope against all hope" (Rom 4:18). Here I wish to acknowledge with appreciation and gratitude the remarkable work done by countless associations that promote the life of faith and the practice of charity. May they be warmly thanked! May they find in the word of God renewed strength to carry out their projects for the integral development of the human person in Africa, especially in Cameroon!

The first priority will consist in restoring a sense of the acceptance of life as a gift from God. According to both Sacred Scripture and the wisest traditions of your continent, the arrival of a child is always a gift, a blessing from God. Today it is high time to place greater emphasis on this: every human being, every tiny human person, however weak, is created "in the image and likeness of God" (Gen 1:27). Every person must live! Death must not prevail over life! Death will never have the last word!

Sons and daughters of Africa, do not be afraid to believe, to hope, and to love; do not be afraid to say that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that we can be saved by him alone. Saint Paul is indeed an inspired author given to the Church by the Holy Spirit as a "teacher of nations" (1 Tim 2:7) when he tells us that Abraham, "hoping against hope, believed that he should become the father of many nations; as he had been told, ‘So shall your descendants be’" (Rom 4:18).

"Hoping against hope": is this not a magnificent description of a Christian? Africa is called to hope through you and in you! With Jesus Christ, who trod the African soil, Africa can become the continent of hope! We are all members of the peoples that God gave to Abraham as his descendants. Each and every one of us was thought, willed and loved by God. Each and every one of us has a role to play in the plan of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If discouragement overwhelms you, think of the faith of Joseph; if anxiety has its grip on you, think of the hope of Joseph, that descendant of Abraham who hoped against hope; if exasperation or hatred seizes you, think of the love of Joseph, who was the first man to set eyes on the human face of God in the person of the Infant conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Let us praise and thank Christ for having drawn so close to us, and for giving us Joseph as an example and model of love for him.

Dear brothers and sisters, I want to say to you once more from the bottom of my heart: like Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary into your home, that is to say do not be afraid to love the Church. Mary, Mother of the Church, will teach you to follow your pastors, to love your bishops, your priests, your deacons and your catechists; to heed what they teach you and to pray for their intentions. Husbands, look upon the love of Joseph for Mary and Jesus; those preparing for marriage, treat your future spouse as Joseph did; those of you who have given yourselves to God in celibacy, reflect upon the teaching of the Church, our Mother: "Virginity or celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of God not only does not contradict the dignity of marriage but presupposes and confirms it. Marriage and virginity are two ways of expressing and living the one mystery of the Covenant of God with his people" (Redemptoris Custos, 20).

Once more, I wish to extend a particular word of encouragement to fathers so that they may take Saint Joseph as their model. He who kept watch over the Son of Man is able to teach them the deepest meaning of their own fatherhood. In the same way, each father receives his children from God, and they are created in God’s own image and likeness. Saint Joseph was the spouse of Mary. In the same way, each father sees himself entrusted with the mystery of womanhood through his own wife. Dear fathers, like Saint Joseph, respect and love your spouse; and by your love and your wise presence, lead your children to God where they must be (cf. Lk 2:49).

Finally, to all the young people present, I offer words of friendship and encouragement: as you face the challenges of life, take courage! Your life is priceless in the eyes of God! Let Christ take hold of you, agree to pledge your love to him, and – why not? – maybe even do so in the priesthood or in the consecrated life! This is the supreme service. To the children who no longer have a father, or who live abandoned in the poverty of the streets, to those forcibly separated from their parents, to the maltreated and abused, to those constrained to join paramilitary forces that are terrorizing some countries, I would like to say: God loves you, he has not forgotten you, and Saint Joseph protects you! Invoke him with confidence.

May God bless you and watch over you! May he give you the grace to keep advancing towards him with fidelity! May he give stability to your lives so that you may reap the fruits he awaits from you! May he make you witnesses of his love here in Cameroon and to the ends of the earth! I fervently beg him to give you a taste of the joy of belonging to him, now and for ever. Amen.

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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