Pope Benedict XVI (L) gives a blessing while wearing an Italian civil protection department jacket, as Italian cabinet undersecretary Gianni Letta (2nd R) and Guido Bertolaso (R), head of the civil protection agency, applaud, during a special audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican March 6, 2010. (Daylife-Reuters) All pictures courtesy of Daylife
Vatican City, Mar 7, 2010 / 12:48 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Following his visit to the Roman parish of St. John of the Cross on Sunday, the Holy Father returned to the Apostolic Palace for the Angelus. In his remarks, the Pope underscored the need to look at life through the perspective of conversion.
As God appears to Moses in the form of the burning bush, said Benedict XVI reflecting on Sunday's Liturgy, he also reveals himself in different ways in the lives of each of us. "To be be able to recognize his presence, however, it's necessary that we bring ourselves to his side with knowledge of our misery and with profound respect."
Otherwise, the Pope said, "we render ourselves incapable of finding him and entering into communion with him."
In this light, he repeated St. Paul's observation that God does not reveal himself to those who are "pervaded by arrogance and thoughtlessness, but to those who are poor and humble before him."
The Holy Father then turned to the Gospel from Luke which took place following the deaths of some Galileans who were killed by Pontius Pilate, and others who died when the tower of Siloam collapsed.
Pope Benedict said that "Jesus proclaims the innocence of God, who is good and cannot want evil" as the people in the reading attribute the deaths in the community to divine punishment.
"Do you think that they also were greater transgressors than all the men living in Jerusalem?" asked Jesus in the Gospel. "No, I tell you. But if you do not repent, you will all perish similarly.”
In these words, taught the Pope, Jesus invites the perspective of conversion: "misfortunes (and) mournful events should not arouse curiosity or investigation for possible culprits in us, but they should represent occasions to reflect, to win over the illusion of being able to live without God, and to reinforce, with the help of the Lord, the commitment to changing (our) lives."
God, in his fullness of mercy, said Pope Benedict, never stops calling us to come back, to grow in his love, to "concretely" help our neighbors and to live in the joy of grace.
The possibility of conversion, “demands that we learn to read the facts of life in the perspective of the faith, encouraged also by the holy fear of God."
In the midst of sufferings and mourning, "true wisdom," concluded the Pope, is being able to realize "the precariousness of existence and reading the human story with the eyes of God, who, wishing always and only the good of his children, for an inscrutable design of his love, sometimes permits us to be tested by pain to guide them to a greater good.
The Holy Father prayed for the aid of Most Holy Mary to bring all Christians back to the Lord and to support us in "our decision to renounce evil and accept with faith the will of God in our lives."
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 7, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says that God is good and cannot will evil, though in his plan of love, he sometimes allows his children to be tried through suffering to lead them to a greater good.
The Pope reflected today on the mystery of suffering when he addressed those gathered in St. Peter's Square to pray the midday Angelus.
The Holy Father spoke of the passage from today's Gospel, which recounts Pontius Pilate's order to have some Galileans killed in the Temple, and the collapse of a tower on some passers-by.
Since people had concluded that these deaths were the "effect of divine punishment, Jesus restores the true image of God, who is good and cannot will evil," the Pontiff explained.
He continued: "Jesus invites us to interpret these facts differently, connecting them with conversion: misfortunes, sorrowful events, should not arouse curiosity in us or a seeking of people presumed to be guilty, but they must be occasions for reflecting, for overcoming the illusion of pretending to live without God, and for reinforcing, with the Lord’s help, the commitment to change our life.
"In the face of sin, God shows himself to be full of mercy and he does not fail to call sinners to avoid evil, to grow in his love and to concretely help our neighbor in need, to live the joy of grace and not risk eternal death."
The Holy Father added that the "possibility of conversion entails that we learn to read the events of life in the light of faith, animated by the holy fear of God."
He said that in the presence of suffering or grief, "true wisdom is to let oneself be called from the precariousness of existence and to read human history with God’s eyes, who, always and only wanting the good of his children, by an inscrutable plan of his love, sometimes allows them to be tried through suffering to lead them to a greater good."
Pope Benedict XVI smiles as he leads his weekly audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican March 3, 2010. (Daylife-Reuters) All pictures courtesy of Daylife
VATICAN CITY, 3 MAR 2010 (VIS) - In his catechesis during this morning's general audience, Benedict XVI turned his attention to St. Bonaventure who, he said, "makes me feel a certain nostalgia because, as a young scholar, my research focused on this author, who is particularly dear to me".
Bonaventure, who was born around the year 1217 in the Italian town of Bagnoregio and died in 1274, was one of the great Christian figures who contributed to the "harmony between faith and culture" in thirteenth-century Europe. He was "a man of action and contemplation, of profound piety and prudent government".
Baptised with the name of Giovanni da Fidanza, he suffered an illness during childhood from which he nearly died, but his mother entrusted him to the recently-canonised St. Francis of Assisi and the young Giovanni recovered. This event marked his whole life. During his education in Paris, where he studied theology, he decided to enter a Franciscan convent and took the name of Bonaventure. In the first years of his religious life he stood out for his knowledge of Sacred Scripture, the 'Sentences' of Peter Lombard, and other great theologians of his age.
Bonaventure's book entitled "Evangelical Perfection" was his response to critics of the Minor Orders who questioned their right to teach in universities and even the authenticity of their consecrated life. In that work the saint showed "how the Minor Orders, and especially the Friars Minor, by practicing the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, were in fact following the counsels of the Gospel itself", the Pope explained.
"Over and above these historical circumstances, Bonaventure's teachings in this book and in his own life still retain all their validity", he said. "The Church is enlightened and beautified by the faithfulness to their vocation of these sons and daughters of hers, who not only put the evangelical precepts into practice but, by God's grace, are called to observe the evangelical counsels and thus bear witness - with their poor, chaste and obedient lifestyle - to the fact that the Gospel is a source of joy and perfection".
When in 1257 Bonaventure was elected minister general of his order, the Franciscans numbered more than 30,000; most of them were in Europe but they also had a presence in North Africa, the Middle East and China. "It was necessary", said the Holy Father, "to consolidate this growth and, especially, to give it a unity of action and spirit, in complete faithfulness to the charism of St. Francis. In fact, various ways of interpreting the saint of Assisi's message had arisen among his followers and there was a real risk of internal division".
In order to preserve the saint's authentic charism, his life and teachings, Bonaventure "zealously gathered documents concerning Francis and carefully listened to the recollections of those who had known him personally". Thus the "Legenda Maior" came into being, which is considered the most complete biography of St. Francis.
Bonaventure presents Francis as "a man who passionately sought Christ. With the love that leads to imitation, he entirely conformed himself to Him. Bonaventure indicated this as a living ideal for all the followers of St. Francis.
"Such an ideal, which remains valid for all Christians, yesterday, today and always, was also suggested as a programme for the Church in the third millennium by my venerable predecessor John Paul II", Pope Benedict added.
Almost at the end of his life, Bonaventure was consecrated a bishop and appointed a cardinal by Pope Gregory X, who entrusted him with the preparations for the Council of Lyons which sought to reunify the Latin and Greek Churches. However Bonaventure never saw the results of his labours because he died while the council was still underway.
The Pope concluded his reflections with a call to take up the heritage of this saint and doctor of the Church, who "reminds us of the meaning of our lives with the following words: 'On earth we can contemplate the immensity of divine things by reason and admiration; in the heavenly homeland, on the other hand, we can view them, when we will have been made similar to God and by ecstasy will enter into the joy of God'".
Pope Benedict XVI tries a pilot's hat as he leads an audience for Alitalia employee and traffic flight controllers at the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican February 20, 2010. (Daylife-Reuters)
Pope Benedict XVI has spoken out against the use of body scanners at airports insisting that "human dignity must be preserved".
The Pope made his comments during an audience with airport workers held at the Vatican.
Although the Pontiff did not mention the words body scanner it was clear what he meant as he told the 1,200 strong crowd: "Every action, it is above all essential to protect and value the human person in their integrity.
"Respecting these principles can seem particularly complex and difficult in the present context.
"The economic crisis has had problematic effects on the civil aviation sector, the international terrorist threat which, precisely, has in its line of fire airports and aircraft to realise its destructive schemes.
"Even in this situation, one must never forget that respecting the primacy of the human person and attention to his or her needs does not make the service less efficient nor penalise economic management." (emphasis added)
The use of scanners at airports to fight terrorism has caused controversy because the high tech equipment makes people who pass through it appear naked.
As a result there are concerns that scanners break discrimination law and breach privacy – with Italy's society of plastic surgeons claiming that the scanners will reveal if a woman has had breast enhancement surgery.
The use of the reveal all equipment has been of issue ever since Christmas Day terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to blow up a plane with explosives smuggled on-board in his underpants.
Airport officials say the use of scanners would have prevented the Nigerian even boarding the plane as he would have been detected at security but some critics say it is not entirely foolproof.
Scanners have been introduced at Heathrow and in Manchester and they will also be phased in gradually at Rome and Milan airports in Italy.
The introduction of full body scanners at Heathrow and Manchester airports has outraged civil liberty campaigners who say that they are an invasion of privacy and they will no doubt pick up on the Pope's objections.
In his speech Pope Benedict, who travels exclusively on Italian carrier Alitalia using a special plane dubbed Shepherd One, added: "The skies represent a motorway of modern travel and as a consequence airports have become crossroads of a global village.
"For you this reality represents an ever more task of complex organisation and it is a labour that if often discreet and barely known, not always noted but which does not escape the eyes of God, who sees all of Man's works even those that are hidden."
Today, Italy announced that scanners would be up and running, operational, quite soon.
The time has now come in the Church year for the solemn observance of the great central act of history, the redemption of the human race by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In the Roman Rite, the beginning of the forty days of penance is marked with the austere symbol of ashes which is used in today's liturgy. The use of ashes is a survival from an ancient rite according to which converted sinners submitted themselves to canonical penance. The Alleluia and the Gloria are suppressed until Easter.
Fasting and Abstinence: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of universal fast and abstinence. Fasting is obligatory for all who have completed their 18th year and have not yet reached their 60th year. Fasting allows a person to eat one full meal. Two smaller meals may be taken, not to equal one full meal. Abstinence (from meat) is obligatory for all who have reached their 14th year.
If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the "paschal fast" to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily his Resurrection.
Fridays in Lent are obligatory days of complete abstinence (from meat) for all who have completed their 14th year.
At the beginning of Lent, on Ash Wednesday, ashes are blessed during Mass, after the homily. The blessed ashes are then "imposed" on the faithful as a sign of conversion, penance, fasting and human mortality. The ashes are blessed at least during the first Mass of the day, but they may also be imposed during all the Masses of the day, after the homily, and even outside the time of Mass to meet the needs of the faithful. Priests or deacons normally impart this sacramental, but instituted acolytes, other extraordinary ministers or designated lay people may be delegated to impart ashes, if the bishop judges that this is necessary. The ashes are made from the palms used at the previous Passion Sunday ceremonies. — Ceremonies of the Liturgical Year, Msgr. Peter J. Elliott
The act of putting on ashes symbolizes fragility and mortality, and the need to be redeemed by the mercy of God. Far from being a merely external act, the Church has retained the use of ashes to symbolize that attitude of internal penance to which all the baptized are called during Lent. — Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy
From the very early times the commemoration of the approach of Christ's passion and death was observed by a period of self-denial. St. Athanasius in the year 339 enjoined upon the people of Alexandria the 40 days' fast he saw practiced in Rome and elsewhere, "to the end that while all the world is fasting, we who are in Egypt should not become a laughing stock as the only people who do not fast but take our pleasure in those days." On Ash Wednesday in the early days, the Pope went barefoot to St. Sabina's in Rome "to begin with holy fasts the exercises of Christian warfare, that as we do battle with the spirits of evil, we may be protected by the help of self-denial."
Rome, Italy, Feb 17, 2010 / 03:50 am (CNA).- Following a multitude of carnival celebrations in recent days in Rome, the city now begins the Lenten season. Among the many liturgies to be offered on Ash Wednesday in the Eternal City, the Holy Father will be leaving the Vatican borders to preside over an afternoon celebration.
"Carnevale" events in the Italian capital included parades, theater and equestrian performances, concerts and fireworks. For the first time ever, a Latin American contingent hosted a party in the streets of Rome in which participants danced past the Imperial Forums to the Colosseum.
Costumed children and masked men and women on horseback took part in events over the course of the extended Roman carnival celebrations which started Feb. 6.
With those days past now, Ash Wednesday ushers in the more solemn days of Lent.
Pope Benedict plans to host the general audience at Paul VI Hall in the Vatican as is usual on Wednesdays, then in the evening he will make his way to the Church of St. Anselm on Rome's Aventine Hill to preside over a series of acts.
He will lead a moment of prayer at the Church of St. Anselm, after which a penitential procession will take place in which he and fellow participants will direct themselves to the nearby Basilica of Saint Sabina. There, Benedict XVI will celebrate the Holy Mass with the rite of benediction and imposition of the ashes.
Cardinals, bishops, members of the Roman Curia, the Benedict Brothers of St. Anselm's and Dominican Fathers of St. Sabina will be participating along with the lay faithful.
Meanwhile, at the Basilica of St. Peter's in the Vatican, the archpriest of the basilica, Cardinal Angelo Comastri presided over a Eucharistic Celebration and imposition of the ashes early on Wednesday to mark the start of Lent for workers in the Vatican.
In his 2010 Lenten message, Pope Benedict XVI emphasizes the need for 'divine justice,' giving up our thoughts of self-sufficiency and realizing our dependence on God to celebrate the fulness of charity, gift and salvation.
The Holy Father also expresses his hope that this penitential season will be "for every Christian a time of authentic conversion and intense knowledge of the mystery of Christ, who came to fulfill every justice."
VATICAN CITY, 17 FEB 2010 (VIS) - "Today, Ash Wednesday, we begin the Lenten path that lasts forty days and which leads us to the joy of the Lord's Easter", the Pope said at the beginning of his catechesis during today's general audience, celebrated in the Paul VI Audience Hall.
Recalling the formula, "Convert and Believe in the Gospel", the Holy Father affirmed that "conversion means changing the direction of the path of our lives. (...) It is going against the current when the "current" is a superficial, incoherent, and illusory way of life that often drag us down, making us slaves of evil or prisoners of moral mediocrity. Nevertheless, through conversion we tend to the highest measure of Christian life, we trust in the living and personal Gospel who is Jesus Christ. He is the final goal and the profound path of conversion, the path that we are all called to travel in our lives, allowing ourselves to be illuminated with his light and sustained by his strength, which moves our steps".
"'Convert and believe in the Gospel' is not just the beginning of the Christian life, but the accompaniment of all our steps, renewing and penetrating all aspects of our lives. Each day is a moment of favour and grace, (...) even when there is no lack of difficulties, weariness, and missteps, when we are tempted to abandon the path that follows Christ and retreat into ourselves and our selfishness without paying attention to the need to keep ourselves open to the love of God in Christ in order to live the very logic of justice and love".
Benedict XVI emphasized that "faced with the innate fear of our end, and most of all in the context of a culture that tends in many ways to censure reality and the human experience of death, the Lenten liturgy reminds us of, on the one hand, death, inviting us to reality and wisdom, but on the other hand encourages us especially to grasp and live the unexpected newness that the Christian faith reveals in the reality of death itself".
"The human being", he continued, "is dust and to dust it will return, but it is dust that is precious in God's eyes because He created humanity, destining us to immortality. (...) Jesus the Lord also wanted to freely share in human frailty with each person, above all through his death on the cross. But it was precisely this death, full of his love for the Father and for humanity, that was the way of glorious resurrection, the means by which Christ became the source of grace given to all who believe in Him and participate in the same divine life".
The Pope highlighted that the distribution of ashes "is an invitation to spend the time during Lent as a more aware and more intense immersion in the paschal mystery of Christ, in his death and resurrection, through participation in the Eucharist and a life of charity that is born of the Eucharist and which finds its fulfilment in it. "With the distribution of ashes", he concluded, "we renew our commitment to follow Jesus, letting ourselves be transformed by his paschal mystery so that we may conquer evil and do good, so that we can let our 'old selves', tied to sin, die and let the 'new person' be born, transformed by the grace of God".
VATICAN CITY, 10 FEB 2010 (VIS) - Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis during this morning's general audience to St. Anthony of Padua, "one of the most popular saints of the Catholic Church".
St. Anthony was born to a noble family in Lisbon around the year 1195. Following a period spent with the Augustinian Canons, he entered the Friars Minor in the hope of travelling to Morocco to work as a missionary. However he fell sick and returned to Italy where he dedicated himself to intense and effective apostolic labours. He died in Padua in 1231 and was canonised by Pope Gregory IX in 1232.
"Anthony", the Pope explained, "made a significant contribution to the development of Franciscan spirituality with his outstanding gifts of intelligence, balance, apostolic zeal and, especially, mystic fervour. ... He was also one of the first, if not the first, master of theology among the Friars Minor".
The saint wrote two cycles of sermons, one entitled "Sunday Sermons" the other "Sermons on the Saints", in which he presented "a true itinerary of Christian life. Such is the wealth of spiritual teachings contained in the 'Sermons' that in 1946 Venerable Pope Pius XII proclaimed Anthony a Doctor of the Church, giving him the title of 'Doctor Evangelicus' because all the freshness and beauty of the Gospel emerges in his writings", said the Holy Father.
Anthony of Padua, or of Lisbon as he is also known, defined prayer "as a relationship of love, which leads man to a dialogue with the Lord", and he described four "attitudes" which must characterise it: "trustingly opening our hearts to God, affectionately conversing with Him, presenting Him our needs, and giving Him praise and thanks. In this teaching of St. Anthony", the Pope explained, "we see one of the specific traits of Franciscan theology; ... that is, the central role of divine love which enters the sphere of the affections, of the will, of the heart, and which is the source of a spiritual knowledge that surpasses all other knowledge".
But the "Doctor Evangelicus" also knew the defects of human nature, such as "the tendency to fall into sin, and so he continually exhorted people to combat the inclination to avarice, pride and impurity. ... At the beginning of the thirteenth century, in a context of expanding cities and flourishing trade, a growing number of people were insensitive to the needs of the poor. For this reason, Anthony frequently invited the faithful to turn their thoughts to true wealth, that of the heart" and to seek the friendship of those most in need.
"Is this not", the Pope asked, "also an important lesson for us today, as the financial crisis and serious economic imbalances impoverish many people, and create situations of distresss?" He then went on to comment on one another aspect of Franciscan theology, Christocentrism, which "invites us to contemplate the mysteries of the Lord's humanity", especially His Nativity and Crucifixion.
"The vision of the crucified Lord", said the Holy Father, inspired in Anthony "feelings of recognition towards God and of respect for the dignity of the human person". In that vision "everyone, believers and non-believers, may find a meaning that enriches life". This, he explained, "is the importance of the crucifixion in our culture and our humanity, which are born of the Christian faith, ... because God considers us so important as to be worthy of His suffering".
The Pope concluded his catechesis by calling on St. Anthony to intercede for the whole Church, and in particular for "those who dedicate their lives to preaching. Drawing inspiration from his example, may they unite sound and healthy doctrine, sincere and fervent piety, and incisive communication. In this Year for Priests, let us pray that priests and deacons eagerly carry out their ministry of announcing and contextualising the Word of God for the faithful, especially in liturgical homilies".
In this photo made available by the Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI, right, greets Haiti's Bishop Pierre Dumas, left, during the weekly general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010. (Daylife-AP)
Pictures courtesy of Daylife
Vatican City, Feb 3, 2010 / 01:56 pm (CNA).- At the general audience this morning, the Holy Father was treated to a circus spectacular. Artists from the group "Circo Americano" pleasantly surprised everyone with a choreographed performance, which Pope Benedict happily applauded.
The Togni Family and their "Circo Americano" entertained Benedict XVI and the thousands of pilgrims on hand for the audience on Wednesday at St. Paul VI Hall. They took over the stage with their juggling and acrobatics routine set to disco music.
Upon reaching the end of the show, Pope Benedict thanked the more than 50 artists with kind words and a smile, encouraging them, along with a soccer club in attendance, "to work with generous commitment in your respective fields to contribute to building a better future for all."
Concluding the audience, the Holy Father also recalled the several martyrs' feast days will be celebrated this week and expressed his wish that "the courage of these heroic witnesses of Christ help you, dear young people, to open your hearts to the heroism of holiness; supports you, dear sick, to offer the precious gift of prayer and suffering for the Church; and that it gives to you, dear newlyweds, the strength to impress Christian values upon your families."
VATICAN CITY, 3 FEB 2010 (VIS) - In today's general audience, held in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, the Pope spoke about the life and work of St. Dominic de Guzman, founder of the Order of Preachers, or Dominican Order.
St. Dominic was born in Caleruega, near the Spanish city of Burgos, in the year 1170. While still a student he "distinguished himself for his interest in the study of Sacred Scriptures and his love for the poor". Having been ordained a priest he was elected as canon of the cathedral of Osma, however "he did not consider this as a personal privilege, nor as the first step in a brilliant ecclesiastical career; rather, as a service to be rendered with dedication and humility. Do not career and power represent a temptation to which even those who have roles of leadership and government in the Church are not immune?" the Pope asked.
He then explained how the bishop of Osma "soon noted Dominic's spiritual qualities and sought his collaboration. Together they travelled to northern Europe on diplomatic missions. ... On his journeys Dominic became aware of ... the existence of peoples still un-evangelised, ... and of the religious divides that weakened Christian life in the south of France, where the activity of certain heretical groups created disturbance and distanced people from the truth of the faith".
Pope Honorius III asked Dominic "to dedicate himself to preaching to the Albigensians" and he "enthusiastically accepted this mission, which he undertook through the example of his own life of poverty and austerity, through preaching the Gospel and through public discussions".
"Christ", the Pope went on, "is the most precious treasure that men and women of all times and places have the right to know and love! It is consoling to see how also in today's Church there are many people (pastors and lay faithful, members of ancient religious orders and of new ecclesial movements) who joyfully give their lives for the supreme ideal of announcing and bearing witness to the Gospel".
As more and more companions joined him, Dominic established his first house in the French city of Toulouse, from which the Order of Preachers came into being. "He adopted the ancient Rule of St. Augustine, adapting it to the requirements of an itinerant apostolic life in which he and his confreres would move from one place to another preaching, but always returning to their convents, places of study, prayer and community life".
St. Dominic, the Holy Father continued, "was keen that his followers should have a solid theological formation, and did not hesitate to send them to the universities of the time". There they dedicated themselves to the study of theology, "founded on Holy Scripture but respectful of the questions raised by reason".
The Pope encouraged everyone, "pastors and lay people, to cultivate this 'cultural dimension' of the faith, that the beauty of Christian truth may be better understood and the faith truly nourished, strengthened and defended. In this Year for Priests, I invite seminarians and priests to respect the spiritual value of study. The quality of priestly ministry also depends on the generosity with which we apply ourselves to studying revealed truths".
Dominic died in Bologna in 1221 and was canonised in 1234. "With his sanctity, he shows us two indispensable means for making apostolic activity more incisive", the Pope concluded; "firstly, Marian devotion", especially the praying of the Rosary "which his spiritual children had the great merit of popularising", and secondly, "the value of prayers of intercession for the success of apostolic work".
VATICAN CITY, 27 JAN 2010 (VIS) - At the end of today's general audience, the Pope recalled how "sixty-five years ago, on 27 January 1945, the gates of the Nazi concentration campo near the Polish city of Oswiecim, better known by its German name of Auschwitz, were opened and the few survivors freed.
"That event, and the testimony of those who survived, revealed to the world the horror of the crimes of unprecedented cruelty committed in the extermination camps created by Nazi Germany", he added.
"Today we celebrate 'Holocaust Remembrance Day', to recall all the victims of those crimes, and especially the planned annihilation of the Jews, and to honour those who, at the risk of their own lives, protected the persecuted and sought to oppose the murderous insanity. Deeply moved, our thoughts go to the countless victims of that blind racial and religious hatred, who suffered deportation, imprisonment and death in those abhorrent and inhuman places.
"May the memory of those events", he concluded, "and in particular the drama of the Shoah which struck the Jewish people, arouse ever greater respect for the dignity of each person, so that all mankind may feel itself to be one large family. May omnipotent God illuminate hearts and minds, that such tragedies never happen again".
Remarks regarding St. Francis of Assisi can be found here.
Video of January 25th, Monday mass for Christian Unity & Vespers of St. Paul's Conversion:
VATICAN CITY, 20 JAN 2010 (VIS) - Before his general audience, held this morning in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, Benedict XVI blessed a marble state of St. Rafaela Maria Porras y Ayllon, foundress of the Sisters Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which has been positioned in a niche in the external wall of the Vatican Basilica.
The theme of the papal catechesis in today's audience was the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which is currently being celebrated and which, the Holy Father noted, invites us to pray to the Lord for "the visible unity of all Christians", because unity is "first and foremost a gift of God".
He then remarked how the theme chosen for this year's Week - "you are witnesses of these things" - raises two questions: "what are these things?" and: "how can we be witnesses of these things?". The answer to the first question is "the mystery of the Passion and the gift of the Resurrection", said the Pope. "By knowing Christ we know the face of God. ... In Christ, the distant God becomes close". As for the second question, he explained that "we can only be witnesses of Christ, ... by knowing Him personally, ... and truly meeting Him in our life of faith, and thus we can contribute to the novelty of the world, to eternal life".
"The modern ecumenical movement has undergone such considerable development in the last century as to become an important element in the life of the Church. ... It not only favours fraternal relations between Churches and ecclesial communities, in response to the commandment to love, ... but also stimulates theological research. Furthermore, it involves the real life of Churches and ecclesial communities, with themes that concern pastoral care and sacramental life".
"Since Vatican Council II the Catholic Church has forged fraternal relations with all the Churches of the East and ecclesial communities of the West. In particular, with most of them, she has established bilateral theological dialogue that has been able to find points of convergence, even consensus, on various matters, thus strengthening our bonds of communion. Over the last twelvemonth, the various dialogues have made important progress".
Turning then to refer specifically to "the study of a crucial theme in dialogue between Catholic and Orthodox: 'the role of the Bishop of Rome in the communion of the Church in the first millennium'", a study which will subsequently "also extend to the second millennium", the Holy Father recalled how he had asked Catholics to pray "for this delicate dialogue which is so essential for the entire ecumenical movement".
The Holy Father likewise referred to such events as "the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, which Catholics and Lutherans celebrated together on 31 October 2009", and "the visit to Rome of Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, ... who held discussions on the situation currently facing the Anglican Communion. The joint commitment to continue dialogue is a positive sign, an expression of how intense the desire for unity is, despite the obstacles that stand in its way", said the Pope.
And he went on: "Ecumenical work is not a linear process, the old problems that arose in another age lose their importance, giving way to problems and difficulties of our own time. For this reason we must always be willing to accept a process of purificationm, through which the Lord makes us capable of unity".
The Holy Father concluded by asking people "to pray for the complex question of ecumenism, for the promotion of dialogue, and that the Christians of our time may show the world a shared witness of faithfulness to Christ".
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - NOVEMBER 25: Pope Benedict XVI holds his weekly audience at the Paul VI hall on November 25, 2009 in Vatican City, Vatican. During the general audience, Benedict XVI reflected on the relationship between faith and reason. (Pictures courtesy of Daylife)
In our continuing catechesis on the Christian culture of the Middle Ages, we now turn to two outstanding twelfth-century theologians associated with the monastery of Saint Victor in Paris. Hugh of Saint Victor stressed the importance of the literal or historical sense of sacred Scripture as the basis of theology’s effort to unite faith and reason in understanding God’s saving plan.
His treatise On the Sacraments of the Christian Faith offered an influential definition of a sacrament, stressing not only its institution by Christ and its communication of grace, but also its value as an outward sign. Richard of Saint Victor, a disciple of Hugh, stressed the allegorical sense of the Scriptures in order to present a spiritual paedagogy aimed at human maturity and contemplative wisdom.
Richard’s work On the Trinity sought to understand the mystery of the triune God by analyzing the mystery of love, which entails a giving and receiving between two persons and finds its perfection in being bestowed upon a third person. These great Victorines, Hugh and Richard, remind us that theology is grounded in the contemplation born of faith and the pursuit of understanding, and brings with it the immense joy of experiencing the eternal love of the Blessed Trinity.
I offer a warm welcome to the pilgrimage of Bishops and faithful from Japan celebrating the first anniversary of the Beatification of Blessed Peter Kibe and Companions. My cordial greeting also goes to the groups from Denmark and the United States of America. Upon all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace!
Jenny Mendieta daughter of Colombian police General Luis Mendieta, who was kidnapped and held by FARC guerrillas for more than a decade, looks on during Pope Benedict XVI's Wednesday general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican November 18, 2009. (Photos-Daylife)
Vatican City, Nov 11, 2009 / 12:11 pm (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI focused his remarks at today's General Audience on the monastic reform linked to the monastery of Cluny. The rich cultural and religious heritage of those centuries, he said, should be rediscovered, appreciated and defended by all those who are concerned about the future of Europe.
The Order of Cluny was born in 910, thanks to a donation from William the Pious, the Pope explained to the 9,000 pilgrims in the Paul VI Hall. This monastic revival began in Cluny, "which at the beginning of the twelfth century came to include almost 1,200 monasteries.”
In particular, the revival consisted of the Benedictine rule being restored, “with some adaptations and above all the central role of the liturgy in Christian life with great care to chants, psalms, liturgy of the hours, the celebration of Holy Mass, enriching the worship of God with displays of art and music and introducing new festivals in early November as a celebration for the dead," said the Holy Father.
Another key component of the reform identified by Pope Benedict was that the monastery of Cluny and its dependent communities were placed directly under the jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff. “This begot a special bond with the See of Peter and, thanks precisely to the protection and encouragement of the Popes, the ideals of purity and faithfulness, which the Cluniac reform set itself to pursue, were able to spread rapidly.”
Benedict XVI highlighted how "the Cluniac reform had positive effects not only on the purification and revitalization of monastic life, but also on the life of the universal Church."
The Church at the time was afflicted with two serious problems, simony, that is, the selling of clerical positions, and the immorality of the secular clergy. Thanks to the service of Cluniac monks who became bishops and popes, renewal began to spread through the Church.
The Pope explained, “The celibacy of priests again became respected and practiced, and more transparent procedures were introduced into the process of assigning ecclesiastical office." In an era when only ecclesiastical institutions provided for the needy, charitable actions were promoted.
He also explained how the monks of Cluny promoted the so-called “truces of God” and the “peace of God.” “In a period deeply marked by violence and the spirit of vendetta, the 'truces of God' ensured long periods of non-belligerence on specific religious feasts and on certain days of the week. The 'peace of God' called, under pain of canonical censure, for innocent people at holy sites to be respected," the Pope recalled.
The reform of Cluny, the Holy Father said, “kept alive attention to the primacy of God, it encouraged institutions to promote human values, it educated people to a spirit of peace."
“Let us pray,” the Pontiff concluded, “that all those people who have true humanism and the future of Europe at heart may know how to rediscover, appreciate and defend the rich cultural and religious heritage of those centuries."
Pope Benedict XVI looks on during a general audience in Aula Paolo VI at the Vatican on June 23, 2010. (Daylife Photos-Getty Images)
