Hello All!
                This Area is READ ONLY.  Do not post to this area.
                The following press release is Copyrighted by the
                          Vatican Information Service.
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                               VIS-Press releases

FAITH STRENGTHENED WHEN ILLUMINATED BY THE DIVINE WORD

VATICAN CITY, 5 DEC 2010 (VIS) - At noon today, the second Sunday of Advent,
the Holy Father stood at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with the
faithful present in St. Peter's Square.

"This Sunday's Gospel," the Pope said, "presents St. John
the Baptist who,
following a noted prophecy by Isaiah, went into the Judean desert and with his
preaching called the people to conversion in order to prepare for the imminent
arrival of the Messiah [...] The precursor of Christ, situated between the Old
and New Covenants, is like a star who precedes the rising of the Sun, of
Christ".

During the Advent season "we are also called to listen to the voice of God
crying out in the wilderness of the world through Sacred Scripture, especially
when it is preached with the strength of the Holy Spirit. In fact, faith is
fortified when it is most illuminated by the divine Word", the pontiff added.

"The Virgin Mary is the model of listening ", Benedict XVI
concluded, citing
the Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini: "As we contemplate in the Mother of
God a life totally shaped by the word, we realize that we too are called to
enter into the mystery of faith, whereby Christ comes to dwell in our lives".
ANG/ VIS 20101206 (210)

SUMMARY

--- MPost/386 v1.21