Pope: St. Paul teaches us that ‘spiritual worship’ involves reconciliation with God
Pope Benedict XVI
Vatican City, Jan 7, 2009 / 11:51 am (CNA).- Despite coping with a cold, Pope Benedict XVI pressed ahead with his series of audiences on St. Paul’s teachings, this time focusing on his understanding of worship in Christ. This “spiritual worship” involves the world being reunited to God through Jesus’ sacrifice, the Pope said.
Pope Benedict began his first general audience of 2009 by saying, "I hope I will be able to make myself clear despite my sore throat," which received applause from the faithful gathered in the Paul VI Hall. He also expressed his wish “that this year, in spite of the inevitable difficulties, may be a year of joy and peace. Only if we are united with Jesus will it be a good and happy year."
Launching into his examination of St. Paul’s teaching on “spiritual worship,” the Pope said that "In the past, people used to talk of an 'anti-worship' tendency in the Apostle, of his 'spiritualization' of the idea of worship.” “Today we are better able to understand how Paul saw in the Cross a historical watershed that radically transformed and renewed the reality of worship."
As he continued, the Holy Father turned to the third chapter of Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Having spoken of the redemption in Jesus, Paul continues with a mysterious formula, saying: “God set forth as an expiation, through faith, by (Jesus’) blood.”
This referred to the Jewish practice from the day of Yom Kippur when the “Mercy Seat” was “sprinkled with the blood of animals, blood which symbolically brought the sins of the last year in contact with God. The sins, thrown into the abyss of divine mercy, were absorbed by God, overcome, forgiven,” the Pope explained.
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 12:17 PM
2 Comments:
Sister Denice
My name is Chris Pham. I work at CatholicTV, a nationally broadcasted TV station headquartered near Boston, MA. I work as PR coordinator here and before I was a missionary to the poor in Juarez, Mexico. Like you, I am interested in spreading our faith through the media.
I thought you might be interested in the information below. You can embed the pope videos from our site into your blog for the benefit of your readers if you wish. Get the videos here http://www.catholictv.org/shows/default.aspx?seriesID=57
Cheers and Blessings
Chris
WEEKLY PAPAL AUDIENCE NOW AVAILABLE ON TELEVISION
CatholicTV now offers a same-day broadcast of Pope Benedict XVI’s weekly general audience from the Vatican on Wednesdays edited for English speakers. The show is 30 minutes long. CatholicTV is a nationally-broadcasted television station headquartered near Boston.
The Papal Audience typically starts with a loud applause and random shouts of “Papa!” and other terms of endearment. The address is usually given from St. Peter’s Square or Paul VI Audience Hall in Rome.
The Pope begins each address with the sign of the cross. Afterwards, there is a reading from the Bible which the Pope then comments on. He typically speaks in practical terms when commenting on the reading. Many Catholics consider the Papal Audience a great opportunity to become more familiar with the Pope’s spirituality.
After the commentary, the Pope greets English speakers, prays the Our Father prayer, and then prays a blessing over the audience.
The English version of the Papal Audience is viewable each week at 10:30PM. The full, multilingual version is televised each week on Thursday 8:00 -9:00AM & 10 -11PM,
Saturday 4:30-5:30AM, and Sunday 11:30AM-12:30PM.
The Papal Audience is viewable on CatholicTV where available and is also streamed live (simultaneously) at www.CatholicTV.com. CatholicTV is a non-profit corporation.
About CatholicTV:
CatholicTV provides family-friendly, religious, news, and educational programming 24 hours daily. Founded over 50 years ago, CatholicTV is available in selected areas on cable in the United States and Canada, via Sky Angel IPTV and online via a live stream anytime, everywhere at the station's web site www.CatholicTV.com. Father Robert Reed, a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston, is the Director of CatholicTV
Dear Chris,
Thanks most kindly for the information. Being able to air a weekly video of Pope Benedict's general audience would be a great addition to my blog.
In Christ,
Denice
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