{"id":4011,"date":"2006-12-13T11:02:32","date_gmt":"2006-12-13T11:02:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/viamedia\/2006\/12\/how-could-i-forget.html"},"modified":"2006-12-13T11:02:32","modified_gmt":"2006-12-13T11:02:32","slug":"how-could-i-forget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2006\/12\/how-could-i-forget.html","title":{"rendered":"How could I forget?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Wednesday – <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

General Audience day:<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

\u201cThose who believe in God should be careful to devote themselves to good works; these things are excellent and profitable to everyone.\u201d This declaration of Paul is especially linked to the time of Advent, Benedict XVI said during today\u2019s general audience. <\/p>\n

He explained how \u201cthrough our concrete commitment we could and should discover the truth of these words precisely during this time of Advent: to be rich ourselves too in good works and thus to open the doors of the world for Christ, our only Saviour.\u201d <\/p>\n

The audience took place under cover, first in St Peter\u2019s and then in the Audience Hall, to welcome 15,000 pilgrims who participated in the encounter marked by today\u2019s arrival of the Christmas tree in the Vatican<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

The pope, greeting people from Calabria in the Basilica and thanked them for the Christmas tree \u2013 a gigantic white fir from the Sila Mountains, the highest ever to grace St Peter\u2019s Square at 33m, 95cm. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI saw it from my window,\u201d said the pope. <\/span><\/p>\n

The reflection of Benedict XVI was dedicated to the depiction of two of the closest collaborators of <\/span>St Paul<\/span>: Timothy and Titus. The two personalities, \u201cconsidered together\u201d, said the pope, offer \u201cvery significant information, the most important being that Paul made use of collaborators in the implementation of his mission. Paul remains the apostle par excellence, but it is clear that he leaned on trusted people who shared his efforts and responsibilities.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The second aspect highlighted by Benedict XVI was the \u201cavailability of the collaborators\u201d. The sources \u201cdraw attention to their readiness. They teach us to serve the Gospel with generosity, knowing that this leads to service to the Church itself.\u201d The pope said Timothy was practically an \u2018alter ego\u2019 for Paul, as may be inferred from the times he recalls him in his Letters, especially the one to the Philippians. <\/span><\/p>\n

The son of a Jewish mother and Greek father, he probably \u201cgrew up in a family that was not strictly practicing, although it said that he knew the Scriptures\u201d, and he was chosen by Paul in his second voyage when the latter passed through Listra, his birthplace. Recalling moments and missionary trips of Timothy undertaken with Paul himself, Benedict XVI defined him as a \u201cfigure that stands out, like a shepherd of great distinction\u201d, recalling that he was the first bishop of Ephesus and that some of his relics are in Italy, in the cathedral of Termoli in Molise. <\/span><\/p>\n

As for Titus, of Greek birth, that is, pagan, he was led by Paul to <\/span>Jerusalem<\/span> in the so-called first council when preaching to non-Jews was accepted. Sent to <\/span>Corinth<\/span> to bring peace to its undisciplined community, he secured reconciliation between this community and Paul. He is also remembered as bishop of <\/span>Crete<\/span> and as envoy to <\/span>Dalmatia<\/span>. It was to Titus that Paul said: \u201cI <\/span>desire that you insist on these things, so that those who have come to believe in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works<\/span>…\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Pope also met with Ehud Olmert, prime minister of Israel<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

"In the course of the discussions, attention turned to the matter of peace in the Middle East, and to questions regarding the position of the Catholic community in Israel, also in view of the forthcoming Christmas celebrations." <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

..and issued his message for World Day of the Sick.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\n

I now turn to you, my dear brothers and sisters suffering from incurable and terminal diseases. I encourage you to contemplate the sufferings of Christ crucified, and, in union with him, to turn to the Father with complete trust that all life, and your lives in particular, are in his hands. Trust that your sufferings, united to those of Christ, will prove fruitful for the needs of the Church and the world. I ask the Lord to strengthen your faith in his love, especially during these trials that you are experiencing. It is my hope that, wherever you are, you will always find the spiritual encouragement and strength needed to nourish your faith and bring you closer to the Father of Life. Through her priests and pastoral workers, the Church wishes to assist you and stand at your side, helping you in your hour of need, and thus making present Christ\u2019s own loving mercy towards those who suffer.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s Wednesday – General Audience day: \u201cThose who believe in God should be careful to devote themselves to good works; these things are excellent and profitable to everyone.\u201d This declaration of Paul is especially linked to the time of Advent, Benedict XVI said during today\u2019s general audience. He explained how \u201cthrough our concrete commitment we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":180,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nHow could I forget? - Via Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2006\/12\/how-could-i-forget.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How could I forget? - Via Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s Wednesday – General Audience day: \u201cThose who believe in God should be careful to devote themselves to good works; these things are excellent and profitable to everyone.\u201d This declaration of Paul is especially linked to the time of Advent, Benedict XVI said during today\u2019s general audience. He explained how \u201cthrough our concrete commitment we…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2006\/12\/how-could-i-forget.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Via Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-12-13T11:02:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/d.yimg.com\/us.yimg.com\/p\/rids\/20061213\/i\/r2124472422.jpg?x=265&y=345&sig=c_nQhfGrV616xje2p87ExA--\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"awelborn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How could I forget? - Via Media","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2006\/12\/how-could-i-forget.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How could I forget? - Via Media","og_description":"It’s Wednesday – General Audience day: \u201cThose who believe in God should be careful to devote themselves to good works; these things are excellent and profitable to everyone.\u201d This declaration of Paul is especially linked to the time of Advent, Benedict XVI said during today\u2019s general audience. He explained how \u201cthrough our concrete commitment we…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2006\/12\/how-could-i-forget.html","og_site_name":"Via Media","article_published_time":"2006-12-13T11:02:32+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/d.yimg.com\/us.yimg.com\/p\/rids\/20061213\/i\/r2124472422.jpg?x=265&y=345&sig=c_nQhfGrV616xje2p87ExA--"}],"author":"awelborn","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2006\/12\/how-could-i-forget.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2006\/12\/how-could-i-forget.html","name":"How could I forget? - Via Media","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2006\/12\/how-could-i-forget.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2006\/12\/how-could-i-forget.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/d.yimg.com\/us.yimg.com\/p\/rids\/20061213\/i\/r2124472422.jpg?x=265&y=345&sig=c_nQhfGrV616xje2p87ExA--","datePublished":"2006-12-13T11:02:32+00:00","dateModified":"2006-12-13T11:02:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/#\/schema\/person\/aea2dcda1635c9c2d6030d9c7595725a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2006\/12\/how-could-i-forget.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2006\/12\/how-could-i-forget.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2006\/12\/how-could-i-forget.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/d.yimg.com\/us.yimg.com\/p\/rids\/20061213\/i\/r2124472422.jpg?x=265&y=345&sig=c_nQhfGrV616xje2p87ExA--","contentUrl":"http:\/\/d.yimg.com\/us.yimg.com\/p\/rids\/20061213\/i\/r2124472422.jpg?x=265&y=345&sig=c_nQhfGrV616xje2p87ExA--"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2006\/12\/how-could-i-forget.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How could I forget?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/","name":"Via Media","description":"Amy Welborn","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/#\/schema\/person\/aea2dcda1635c9c2d6030d9c7595725a","name":"awelborn","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/9f2\/9f2100183464289fedc5b8a621c15110x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/9f2\/9f2100183464289fedc5b8a621c15110x96.jpg","caption":"awelborn"},"description":"Amy Welborn was born in 1960, the only child of a now-retired professor of political science, a teacher-librarian-artist mother,deceased since 2001, was a teacher, librarian and artist. The Catholicism comes from her side. Amy grew up in a number of places - Indiana - Washington, DC - Lubbock Texas - Arlington, Virginia - DeKalb, Illinois - Lawrence, Kansas - and Knoxville, Tennessee, where the family settled in 1973. She attended Knoxville Catholic High School, then the University of Tennessee where she majored in history. She received an MA in Church History from Vanderbilt University, where she wrote a thesis on the changing role of women in 19th century American Protestantism, and the ways Scripture was used to justify those changes. She worked as as a teacher in Catholic high schools and a Parish Director of Religious Education and started writing for the diocesan press - the Florida Catholic - in 1988. Amy has written columns for Our Sunday Visitor and Catholic News Service at times over the past twenty years. Her articles have been published in venues ranging from Our Sunday Visitor to the New York Times to Commonweal. She has written 17 books. 18, if you included the as yet tragically unpublished novel. Amy has five children, ranging in age from 26 to 4 and was married to Michael Dubruiel, who died unexpectedly in February 2009. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/author\/awelborn"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4011\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}