Words of The Holy Father Pope Benedict

Habemus Papam!!!!
Pope Benedict XVI

        With great joy and thanksgiving, the Bethesda community celebrated the election of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XIV.   When the bells rang out the jubilant announcement, our hearts soared with gratitude to the Holy Spirit.  In Pope Benedict, we have  a gentle and loving Papa who will strengthen our faith and commitment to Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Whatever the world may say, we must remember what Jesus said, "They look, but do not see, and hear, but do not listen or understand."   In Pope Benedict XVI, God has assured us of His constant protection, His everlasting love, His ardent longing for the human heart to know Him and to love Him.  .  Viva il Papa!
Long Live Pope Benedict XVI!!!!

"I ask (the Lord) to make up for the poverty of my strength, that I may be a courageous
and faithful pastor of His flock, always docile to the inspirations of His Spirit."
                                                                            
  Pope Benedict XVI

Upon accepting the role of Pope during his inauguration homily our humble shepherd shared these words:

And now, at  this moment, weak servant of God that I am, I must assume this enormous task,  which truly exceeds all human capacity. How can I do this? How will I  be able to do it? ...  I am not alone. I do not have to carry alone what in truth I could never carry alone. All the Saints of God are there to protect me, to sustain me  and to carry me. And your prayers, my dear friends, your indulgence, your love, your faith and your hope accompany me. Indeed, the communion of  Saints consists not only of the great men and women who went before us and whose  names we know. All of us belong to the communion of Saints, we who have  been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  we who draw life from the gift of Christ's Body and Blood, through which he  transforms us and makes us like himself.


- God does not have a fixed plan that he must carry out; on the contrary, he has many different ways of finding man and even of turning his wrong ways into right ways. . . This then, is God's kingship – a love that is impregnable and an inventiveness that finds man by ways that are always new. For us, consequently, God's kingship means that we must have an unshakeable confidence.  For this is still true and is applicable to every single life; no one has reason to fear or to capitulate.  God can always be found.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger- Our new Pope Benedict XVI


The human race – every one of us – is the sheep  lost in the desert which no longer knows the way. The Son of God will not  let this happen; he cannot abandon humanity in so wretched a condition. He  leaps to his feet and abandons the glory of heaven, in order to go in search of  the sheep and pursue it, all the way to the Cross. He takes it upon his  shoulders and carries our humanity; he carries us all – he is the good  shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.
Homily at inauguration as Pope, April 24, 2005



Where do I find standards to live by?... On whom can I rely?  To whom shall I entrust myself? Where is the One who can offer me the response capable of satisfying my heart's deepest desires?"  The fact that we ask questions like these means that we realize our journey is not over until we meet the One who has the power to establish that universal Kingdom of justice and peace to which all people aspire but which they are unable to build by themselves.  Asking such questions also means searching for Someone who can neither deceive nor be deceived, and who therefore can offer a certainty so solid that we can live for it and, if need be, even die for it.



Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If  we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him,  are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something  that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? [ ]  No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are  the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great  potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and  great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to  you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a  hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you  will find true life.



It is not power, but love that redeems us! This is God's sign: he himself is love. How often we wish that God would make show himself stronger, that he would strike decisively, defeating evil and creating a better world.  All ideologies of power justify themselves in exactly this way, they justify the  destruction of whatever would stand in the way of progress and the liberation of  humanity. We suffer on account of God's patience.  And yet, we need  his patience. God, who became a lamb, tells us that the world is saved by  the Crucified One, not by those who crucified him. The world is redeemed by  the patience of God. It is destroyed by the impatience of man.


God is not solitude, but perfect communion. For this reason the human person, the image of God, realizes himself or herself in love, which is a sincere gift of self.