Vatican Rewind

Another wonderful rewind of Vatican News from TeresaBenedetta Forum Here, she recalls the October 11 candle lit procession with Pope John XXIII with his moonlight discourse. Then, she presents the candle lit procession with Benedict XVI, October 11, 2012 and his moving discourse. There are also beautiful photographs of the said events in the forum.

Benedict XVI's address

Dear brothers and sisters,

Good evening to all of you, and thank you for coming here. Thank you to Catholic Action for organizing this candlelight procession.

Fifty years ago, on this day, I too was in St. Peter's Square, looking towards the window where the 'good Pope' had appeared and spoke to us with unforgettable words, full of poetry and and of goodness, words from the heart. We were all happy and, I would say, full of enthusiasm.

The great Ecumenical Council had been inaugurated and we were sure that a new springtime for the Church would come, a new Pentecost, a new strong presence of the liberating power of the Gospel.

Even today we are happy, we carry joy in our heart, but I would say it is a more moderate joy, a humble joy. In these fifty years, we have learned and experienced that original sin does exist and is always translated anew into personal sins that can grow into structures of sin.

We have seen that in the field of the Lord, there are always weeds. We have seen that Peter's net also includes bad fish. We have seen how human frailty is present even in the Church, but that the ship of the Church continues to navigate through contrary winds, despite tempests that threaten the ship. Sometimes we may have thought - Where is the Lord? Has he forgotten us? But this is just one part of the experiences we have had in the past 50 years.

We have also had a new experience of the presence of the Lord, of his goodness, of his strength. The fire of the Holy Spirit, the flame of Christ, is not a devouring and destructive fire - it is a silent fire, a flame of goodness and of truth that transforms, of light and warmth.

So we have seen that the Lord has not forgotten us. Even today, in his humble way, the Lord is present among us and warms our hearts, our lives - he creates charisms of goodness and charity that illuminate the world. and are, for us, a guarantee of the goodness of God.

Christ lives, and is with us, so we can be happy today because his goodness can never be extinguished and will always be powerful.

Finally, I dare to make mine the unforgettable words of Pope John: Go home and kiss the children, and say it is a kiss from the Pope. And with all my heart, I impart to you my blessing.