In a previous post I quoted a speech of Fr Joseph Ratzinger in 1969. The following comes from a German programme aired on 17 September 2011 where Pope Benedict XVI addresses his fellow Germans in anticipation of his pilgrimage there the following week:
"Perhaps you will ask me: 'But, does God exist? And if he exists does he really concern Himself with us? Can we reach Him?' It is, indeed, true that we cannot place God on the table, we cannot touch Him or take Him in our hand. We can get some idea of the greatness of God from the Cosmos. We can use the world through technology because the world is built in a rational way; and in the great rationality of the world we get some idea of the beauty, the greatness and the goodness of God. In Holy Scripture we hear the words of eternal life; they do not simply come from men or women, they come from God and in them we hear His voice. Finally, we may also catch a glimpse of God through meeting people who have been touched by Him. I am not thinking of the great ones (of Paul, Francis of Assisi or Mother Teresa) . I am thinking of the many simple people about whom nobody speaks. Yet when we meet them they shine with goodness, sincerity and joy, and we know that God is there and that He touches us. Thus, over these days, let us commit ourselves to seeing God again, to becoming people who bring the light of hope into the world, a light that comes from God and that helps us to live."
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