Confidence in Divine Providence is realism, Pope tells Sunday audience

CWN - February 28, 2011

Christians should learn to “trust in the indefectible love of God,” Pope Benedict XVI told his public audience on Sunday, February 27.

Commenting on the day’s Gospel reading, the Pope admitted that it may seem hopelessly naive to “trust in the providence of the heavenly Father, Who nourishes the birds of the air, clothes the lilies of the field and knows our every need.” Especially in light of the poverty that afflicts so many people, the Holy Father said, “these words of Jesus may seem unrealistic, even evasive.”

But in fact, the Pope continued, Christ’s real message is “the exact opposite of fatalism.” The point of the Gospel, he explained, is that Christians should concentrate first on doing God’s will, confident that it is the route to genuine happiness.

“Faith in Providence, does not, in fact, dispense us from the arduous struggle of living a dignified life,” the Pope said, “but frees us from our attachment to things and our fear of the morrow.”

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