Christ's humanity a help to human weakness, Pope says

Vatican City, Aug 3, 2004 / 22:00 pm

Quoting St. Augustine during the first general audience held at Castelgandolfo this summer, Pope John Paul II said today that Christ's humanity is help for human weakness.

Commenting on the canticle of St Paul's letter to the Philippians "Christ Servant of God," which the Church recites every Sunday at Vespers, the Pontiff said "in these verses shines the original Christian faith, centered on the figure of Christ, recognized and proclaimed as our brother in humanity, but also as the Lord of the universe.” 

“Christ chooses to lower Himself from glory to His death on the cross,” said the Pope. “This is the first movement of the canticle, to which we can return time and again to reveal other nuances.

“The second movement continues in the inverted sense: from the depths He is raised to the heavens, from humiliation He is raised and exalted,” he continued.

“Before the grandiose figure of Christ, glorified and enthroned, all prostrate themselves in adoration,” he said.

Quoting St. Augustine, the Pope concluded: "Could we have been abandoned to ourselves? Absolutely not.” The Lord "annihilated himself, taking on the form of a servant,” without ever abandoning the form of God.

“He, who was God, became man, assuming what he was not, without losing what he was; in this way, God became man,” said the Pope.  “On the one hand here, you find help for your weakness. On the other hand, you find how much is needed for you to reach perfection.

“Christ raises you by virtue of his humanity; he guides you by virtue of his human divinity; he directs you to his divinity,” he said.