January 2, 2013
(Romereports.com) For the first general
audience of the year, Benedict XVI posed the same question that Pontius
Pilate asked Jesus: “Who are you?”
The
Pope reflected on why God became incarnated, chose to be born into a
poor family, and in a small and unknown town. For Benedict XVI, it
becomes a decisive question because he remembers recalls that Christmas
“leads us to reflect anew on Jesus’ identity as the only-begotten Son of
God, who became man for our salvation.”
FULL TEXT OF THE CATECHESIS IN ENGLISH
“Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In
this Christmas season, we rejoice in the light which surrounds Christ’s
birth, bringing a hope which transforms our life in this world. Each
year our celebration leads us to reflect anew on Jesus’ identity as the
only-begotten Son of God, who became man for our salvation.
Jesus
is truly Emmanuel: “God among us”, born of the Virgin Mary. When we
profess the mystery of the incarnation in the Creed, we bow our heads in
awe and adoration. We acknowledge that the incarnation is the work of
the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity, brought about through Mary’s
free cooperation. The incarnation is the beginning of the new creation.
Conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ is the new Adam who
offers humanity rebirth in the waters of Baptism, by which we become
sons and daughters of our heavenly Father. During this holy season, may
we welcome the Saviour into our hearts, allow God’s power to strengthen
and transform our weakness, and bear joyful witness to the dawning of
the new creation.
I am pleased to greet all the English-speaking
visitors present, including pilgrims from Norway, Japan, Vietnam and the
United States. Upon you and your families I invoke the Lord’s blessings
of joy, peace and prosperity for the year which has just begun. Happy
New Year!”
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