Paris, France, Sep 13, 2008 / 11:53 am
At 7.15 p.m. on Friday, at the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Pope Benedict presided at the celebration of Vespers with priests, religious, seminarians and deacons. During his homily, the Pope encouraged greater efforts to be made to enhance the beauty of the liturgy and exhorted clergy to let the Word of God transform them.
Speaking to Catholic priests, seminarians, deacons and representatives of other Christian communities, the Pope based offered his reflections on Psalm 126: "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain."
"Who is this Lord, if not our Lord Jesus Christ? asked Benedict.
“It is He Who founded His Church and built it on rock, on the faith of the Apostle Peter." St. Augustine asks "how we can know who these builders are, and his answer is this: 'All those who preach God's word in the Church, all who are ministers of God's divine Sacraments. All of us run, all of us work, all of us build,' yet it is God alone Who, within us, 'builds, exhorts, and inspires awe; Who opens our understanding and guides our minds to faith'."