Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The sacraments change our bodies and souls, Pope Benedict explains

Vatican City, Dec 10, 2008 / 11:37 am (CNA).- The Paul VI Hall held around 5,000 faithful this morning, who listened to Pope Benedict unfold St. Paul’s teaching on the sacraments. When people receive the sacraments, he explained, they encounter the Spirit of Jesus in a way that changes their spirit and their body.

The Holy Father began his catechesis by indicating how "from St. Paul we have learned that there is a new beginning of history in Jesus Christ ... formed by the 'yes' He pronounced to the Father ... out of love and truth."

"How can we enter," the Pope asked, "into this new beginning, this new history? ... How can Jesus reach my own life, my own being? The fundamental response of St. Paul, of all the New Testament, is: by the Holy Spirit."

Benedict XVI then pointed out that the Holy Spirit "at the Pentecost created the beginning of a new humanity, a new community: the Church, the body of Christ."

The spirit of Christ "touches me within ... using two visible elements: the Word of announcement and the Sacraments, in particular Baptism and the Eucharist. ... Faith comes not from reading but from listening. It is not only an interior experience but a relationship," the Pope said.
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