Liturgy teaches us to hear God's voice, Pope reflects
Pope Benedict XVI told thousands gathered in St. Peter's square Jan. 27 that marking Sunday as a day of rest and engaging in the liturgy can teach us to listen to the voice of God.
“Before we can speak of God and with God, we need to listen, and the liturgy of the Church is the 'school' of this listening to the Lord who speaks to us,” he said during his weekly Angelus address.
Exploring the day's reading from the Gospel of Luke, the Pope recounted how Jesus went to the synagogue in Nazareth on the Sabbath.
“As a true believer, the Lord does not avoid the weekly liturgical rhythm and joins the assembly of his fellow citizens in prayer and in listening to the Scriptures.”
This passage from scripture, Pope Benedict said, “makes us think about our way of life on Sunday as a day of rest and for the family.”
Sunday, he noted, is the “first day to devote to the Lord by participating in the Eucharist in which we're nourished by the Body and Blood of Chirst and his Word of life.”
“In our scattered and distracted era, this Gospel invites us to ask ourselves about our ability to listen", he emphasized.
“Every moment can be a 'today' moment for our conversion and become a day of salvation because salvation is a story that continues for the Church and for every disciple of Christ,” he said, adding that the “the Christian meaning of 'carpe diem' is to seize the day in which God is calling you to give you salvation.”