"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? All of you, my dear friends, have
just invoked the entire host of Saints, represented by some of the great
names in the history of God’s dealings with mankind. In this way, I too
can say with renewed conviction: 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.
...
The
purpose of our lives is to reveal God to men. And only where God is
seen does life truly begin. Only when we meet the living God in Christ
do we know what life is. We are not some casual and meaningless product
of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us
is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary. There is
nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the
encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him
and to speak to others of our friendship with Him. The task of the
shepherd, the task of the fisher of men, can often seem wearisome. But
it is beautiful and wonderful, because it is truly a service to joy, to
God’s joy which longs to break into the world.
...
...
My
dear friends – at this moment I can only say: pray for me, that I may
learn to love the Lord more and more. Pray for me, that I may learn to
love his flock more and more – in other words, you, the holy Church,
each one of you and all of you together. Pray for me, that I may not
flee for fear of the wolves."
Pope
Benedict XVI, Homily at the Mass for the Imposition of the Pallium and
Conferral of the Fisherman's Ring for the Beginning of the Petrine
Ministry of the Bishop of Rome, St. Peter's Square, 24 April 2005
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