Vatican City, Feb 11, 2008 / 09:02 am
On Monday morning, Pope Benedict began his Lenten retreat along with members of the Roman Curia. The opening reflection for the prelates was on the topic of how God has always reached out to men through personal relationships as opposed to being a God of silence.
The theme for the weeklong retreat, which is being led by the French Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, is “We welcome Christ, Our High Priest.”
Cardinal Vanhoye, who is the former Secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, began his reflection by saying, “It is very interesting how the God of the Bible is not a silent God.”
According to Vatican Radio, the retreat master continued saying, “It’s interesting how God defines himself. He told Moses that he is the God of your fathers; the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He did not define himself by his omnipotence or his omniscience but by his personal relationships with these common men.”
“This is how God wishes to communicate—through people. First God spoke through the prophets and then through his son, the perfect mediator,” the cardinal offered.