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| Agnus Dei, Basilica dei Santi Cosma e Damiano, Rome |
"Christ, the Lamb, Who was immolated in the sacrifice of the
cross but stands in sign of His resurrection. The Lamb, Christ, Who died
and rose again, will progressively open the seals so as to reveal the
plan of God, the profound meaning of history.
Raising our gaze to God's heaven in an
unbroken relationship with Christ, ... in individual and community
prayer, we learn to see things in a new way and to grasp their most
authentic significance. ...
The
Lamb then opens the first four seals of the scroll and the Church sees
the world of which she is part; a world containing ... the evils
accomplished by man, such as violence ... and injustice, ... to which
must be added the evils man suffers such as death, hunger, and
sickness.
In the face of these often
dramatic issues the ecclesial community is invited never to lose hope,
but to remain firm in the belief that the apparent omnipotence of the
Evil One in fact comes up against true omnipotence, that of God.
...
(T)he power of God
has entered man's history, a power capable not only of counterbalancing
evil, but also of overcoming it. ... God became so close as to descend
into the darkness of death and illuminate it with the splendour of
divine life. He took the evil of the world upon Himself to purify it
with the fire of His love.
...
How can
we progress in this Christian interpretation of reality? The Book of
Revelation tells us that prayer nourishes this vision of light and
profound hope in each one of us and in our communities. ... The Church
lives in history, she is not closed in herself but courageously faces
her journey amidst difficulties and sufferings, forcefully affirming
that evil does not defeat good, that darkness does not shade God's
splendour. This is an important point for us too: as Christians we can
never be pessimists. ... Prayer, above all, educates us to see the signs
of God, His presence and His action; or rather, it educates us to
become lights of goodness, spreading hope and indicating that the
victory is God's.
...
At the end of the vision an angel
places grains of incense in a censer then throws it upon the earth.
Those grains represent our prayers and we can be sure
that there is no such thing as a superfluous or useless prayer. No
prayer is lost. ... God is not oblivious to our prayers. ... When faced
with evil we often have the sensation that we can do nothing, but our
prayers are in fact the first and most effective response we can give,
they strengthen our daily commitment to goodness. The power of God makes
our weakness strong".
Benedict XVI, General Audience, Paul VI Hall, 12 September 2012.
