Benedict XVI has echoed the message of the Italian bishops who today celebrate the national Day for Life. After praying the Angelus, speaking to 30 thousand people present in St Peter's Square he added his best wishes for the outcome of an "initiative called 'One of us', so that Europe will always be a place where every human being is protected in dignity".
And greeting the representatives of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Rome, he encouraged them to "form health workers to the culture of life."
In a way, the reference to the defense of life is also related to the episode of today's Gospel, which tells of how Jesus, on returning to Nazareth, "provokes" his fellow villagers, when he suggests in the synagogue, "during the Sabbath liturgy on Isaiah's prophecy about the Messiah, he announces its completion, suggesting that the word refers to him. " This causes the reaction of those present, who drive him out.
"At this point - said the Pope - the question arises: why did Jesus want to provoke this break? Before the people had admired him, and perhaps he could have even garnered a certain consensus ... But this is precisely the point: Jesus did not come to seek the consent of men, but - as he will state to Pilate before the end - to "give witness to the truth" (Jn 18:37).
The true prophet does not obey anyone other than God and places himself at the service of truth, ready to pay in first person. It is true that Jesus is the prophet of love, but love has its own truth. Indeed, love and truth are two names for the same reality, two names for God. Today's liturgy echoes this in the words of St. Paul: "Love ... is not pompous, It is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth"(1 Cor 13.4-6). Believing in God means giving up prejudices and accepting the concrete face in which He is revealed, the man Jesus of Nazareth. And this way also leads to recognizing and serving Him in others. "
"Let us ask the Lord - he said finally in the greeting in English - to give each of us a spirit of courage and wisdom, so that in our words and actions, we may proclaim the saving truth of God's love with boldness, humility and coherence. "