CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- In his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Benedict pointed to the legacy of Abraham as an example of the Christian\u2019s longing for the \u201ctrue homeland\u201d of heaven and as the \u201cfirst great role model\u201d of having faith in God.<\/p>\n\t\u201cAbraham, the believer, teaches us faith and, like a stranger on earth, points out our true homeland. Faith makes us pilgrims on earth, situated in the world and in history, but on the path toward our heavenly homeland,\u201d the Pope said Jan. 23 at the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cBelieving in God thus makes us heralds of values that often do not coincide with fashion or the opinion of the moment. The Christian should not be afraid to go 'against the grain' to live their faith, resisting the temptation to 'conform'.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tPope Benedict discussed Abraham in the context of the Year of Faith and the opening line of the Creed, \u201cI believe in God.\u201d The Creed, he said, is \u201cdeceptively simple,\u201d yet \u201copens us to the infinite world of a relationship with the Lord and with his mystery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tFaith, the Pontiff told his listeners, is both a gift from God and a human responsibility, an \u201cexperience of dialogue with God.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAbraham, who is our model for faith, obeyed God and went to a place unknown to him, Scripture says.<\/p>\n
\tThe invitation of faith \u201cis, in fact, a departure in the dark, not knowing where God will lead; it is a journey that calls for obedience and a radical fidelity, which only faith can access,\u201d the Pontiff noted.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cBut the darkness of the unknown \u2014 where Abraham must go \u2014 is illuminated by the light of a promise; God adds a reassuring word that opens to Abraham a future of life in its fullness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tPope Benedict said Abraham's life of faith made him \u201csee everything as a gift,\u201d always feeling his dependence upon God. This is the spiritual condition of all those \u201cwho agree to follow the Lord,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cFaith,\u201d continued the Pope, \u201cleads Abraham along a paradoxical path.\u201d The blessings promised him were not visible to him, yet he was blessed because \u201cwith faith, he is able to discern the divine blessing, going beyond appearance, trusting in God's presence even when his paths seem mysterious.\"<\/p>\n
\tFor us, \u201cwhen we profess 'I believe in God', we are saying, like Abraham, 'I trust in you. I entrust myself to you, Lord',\u201d Pope Benedict exhorted. \u201cSaying 'I believe in God' means basing my life on him, letting his Word orient me in my choices each day, without the fear of losing something of myself.\u201d
\n\tIn our time, the Pope said, there are many challenges to the Christian seeking to live their life by faith.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIn many societies, God has become the 'great absentee' and many idols have taken his place, above all the desire for possessions and the autonomous 'I'.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAlso, the significant and positive progress in science and technology has given humanity the illusion of omnipotence and self-sufficiency and a growing selfishness has created many imbalances in personal relationships and in social behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tDespite these challenges, he said, \u201cthe thirst for God is not quenched and the Gospel message continues to resonate through the words and deeds of many men and women of faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tEven today, he said, Abraham is the father of those who are \u201cwilling to walk in his footsteps and who make their way in obedience to the divine call\u2026It is the blessed world of faith to which we are all called, to walk without fear following the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAffirming that 'I believe in God', then, compels us to leave, to continuously go out of ourselves just as Abraham did, in order to bring the certainty that comes to us from faith into our daily realities: the certainty of God's presence in history, even today; a presence that brings life and salvation, and which opens us to a future with him of a fullness of life that will know no end,\u201d Pope Benedict concluded.<\/p>\n
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Vatican City, Jan 23, 2013 \/ 09:58 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- In his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Benedict pointed to the legacy of Abraham as an example of the Christian’s longing for the “true homeland” of heaven and as the “fir…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\n
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