{"id":412,"date":"2012-06-27T15:44:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-27T15:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/true-greatness-found-in-humble-service-pope-says\/"},"modified":"2012-06-27T15:44:00","modified_gmt":"2012-06-27T15:44:00","slug":"true-greatness-found-in-humble-service-pope-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/true-greatness-found-in-humble-service-pope-says\/","title":{"rendered":"True greatness found in humble service, Pope says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vatican City, Jun 27, 2012 \/ 09:44 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Pope Benedict XVI says that the path to real greatness in life is not found in self-promotion but in sacrificial love towards God and other people. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHuman logic,\u201d the Pope said June 27, \u201coften seeks self-realization in power, dominion, in powerful means.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tBut the \u201cincarnation and the cross,\u201d he added, \u201cremind us that full realization is found in conforming our human will to the Father, in the emptying of one\u2019s selfishness, to be filled with love, God\u2019s charity and thus truly become able to love others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tPope Benedict made his remarks during the weekly General Audience before a packed Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Continuing his exploration of prayer in the story of salvation, he turned his attention to St. Paul\u2019s Letter to the Philippians.<\/p>\n

\tHe explained to over 7,000 pilgrims that the letter is often viewed as St. Paul\u2019s \u201cspiritual testament\u201d as it was written while he was in prison, perhaps in Rome.<\/p>\n

\tThe Apostle \u201cfeels close to death, because he says that his life will be poured out as a libation,\u201d and yet, noted the Pope, throughout the text he \u201cexpresses the joy of being a disciple of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cBut how can one rejoice in the face of an imminent death sentence?\u201d Pope Benedict asked.
\n\tThe answer, he said, is found at the heart of St. Paul\u2019s letter where he pens his great \u201cChristological hymn.\u201d This hymn is centered on \u201cChrist\u2019s sentiment\u201d which he lists as love, generosity, humility, obedience to God and the gift of oneself.<\/p>\n

\tTherefore following Christ is not just a subscription to a moral code but involves \u201call of our existence in our way of thinking and acting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThis is achieved through prayer which should \u201clead to an ever deeper knowledge and union of love with the Lord\u201d so we are able \u201cto think, act and love like him, in him and for him,\u201d the Pope said. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\tAbove all, this will take us towards the humility of Christ which led him to death on the cross. This was the \u201chighest degree of humiliation\u201d in the Roman world where \u201ccrucifixion was the punishment reserved for slaves,\u201d a fact testified to by ancient writers such as Cicero.<\/p>\n

\tThe great writers of early Christianity, the \u201cChurch Fathers\u201d, often saw Christ\u2019s obedience as \u201crestoring to human nature, through his humanity\u201d in comparison to \u201cwhat had been lost through the disobedience of Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe lesson for all people, suggested the Pope, is that \u201cman will not find himself by remaining closed in on himself\u201d but only by \u201ccoming out of himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tTherefore, while Adam wanted to imitate God which \u201cin itself it was not a bad thing\u201d, said the Pope, unfortunately he \u201chad the wrong idea of God.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\u201cGod does not want only greatness, God is love that gives, already in the Trinity and then in creation\u201d such that \u201cimitating God means coming out of ourselves and gifting ourselves in love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tFinally, the Pope drew the attention of pilgrims to the fact that St. Paul recommends prayer that involves both invocation and prostration with the \u201cbending of every knee\u201d to Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

\tThis is why, said Pope Benedict, \u201cgenuflecting before the Blessed Sacrament or kneeling in prayer expresses an attitude of adoration before God, even with the body.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIt is important, therefore, not to make the gesture \u201cout of habit and not in a hurry, but with deep awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWhen we kneel before the Lord, we confess our faith in him, we recognize that he is the only Lord of our lives,\u201d said the Pontiff. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\tToday was the Pope\u2019s last General Audience of the summer at the Vatican. Later this week he will head to his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, 15 miles south-east of Rome.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vatican City, Jun 27, 2012 \/ 09:44 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI says that the path to real greatness in life is not found in self-promotion but in sacrificial love towards God and other people.  <\/p>\n

\t“Human logic,” the Pope sa…<\/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-412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nTrue greatness found in humble service, Pope says<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Jun 27, 2012 \/ 09:44 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI says that the path to real greatness in life is not found in self-promotion but in sacrificial love towards God and other people.   “Human logic,” the Pope sa...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/true-greatness-found-in-humble-service-pope-says\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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