This is the full text of Benedict XVI's Angelus address at Piazza Duomo, Bressanone, on Sunday, August 10:

Dear Brothers and Sisters, There is a point in Mark's Gospel where he recounts that, after days of stress the Lord said to the disciples:
"Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while." And since the Word of Christ is never connected solely to the moment in which it was spoken ,I have applied this invitation to the disciples also to myself, and I came to this beautiful, tranquil place to rest for a while. I must thank Bishop Egger and all his collaborators, the whole City and Region of Bressanone, for preparing this beautiful quiet place for me in which, during the past two weeks, I have been able to relax, to think of God and of humanity, and thus to recover fresh energy. May God reward you!
This Sunday's Gospel brings us back from this place of rest to daily life. It tells how, after the multiplication of the           

loaves, the Lord withdraws to the mountain to be alone with the Father. In the meantime, the disciples are on the lake and with their poor little boat are endeavouring in vain to stand up to a contrary wind. To the Evangelist this episode may have seemed an image of the Church of his time: like the small barque which was the Church of that period, he found himself buffeted by the contrary wind of history, and it may have seemed that the Lord had forgotten him. We too can see this as an image of the Church of our time, which, in many parts of the Earth, finds herself struggling to make headway in spite of the contrary wind, and it seems the Lord is very remote. But the Gospel gives us an answer, consolation and encouragement and at the same time points out a path to us. It tells us, in fact: yes, it is true, the Lord is with the Father, but for this very reason he is not distant but sees everyone, for whoever is with God, does not go away but is close to his neighbour.  >>>