Valletta, Malta, Apr 18, 2010 / 09:34 am
Our relationship with God provides “the key to our happiness and our human fulfillment," Pope Benedict XVI said at Mass on Sunday. Noting that nothing can take God's place, he urged the people of Malta not to be tempted by the influences of the world but to pass on their inheritance of faith to their children and all visitors.
The Granaries Square in Floriana was the scene for the Sunday morning Mass. The capacity of the square is 10,000 people, but some media reports estimated the crowd at 40,000.
Praising the Maltese for their ability throughout history to discern and accept the best things foreigners had to offer, he urged them to continue to exercise their great discernment as "not everything that today's world proposes is worthy of acceptance by the people of Malta."
"Many voices try to persuade us to put aside our faith in God and His Church, and to choose for ourselves the values and beliefs by which to live. They tell us we have no need of God or the Church," the Pope noted.