Homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI for Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday of The Lord's Passion 

St Peter's Square

26th World Youth Day

Sunday, 17 April 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Dear young people!

It is a moving experience each year on Palm Sunday as we go up the mountain with Jesus, towards the Temple, accompanying him on his ascent. On this day, throughout the world and across the centuries, young people and people of every age acclaim him, crying out: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

But what are we really doing when we join this procession as part of the throng which went up with Jesus to Jerusalem and hailed him as King of Israel? Is this anything more than a ritual, a quaint custom? Does it have anything to do with the reality of our life and our world? To answer this, we must first be clear about what Jesus himself wished to do and actually did. After Peter’s confession of faith in Caesarea Philippi, in the northernmost part of the Holy Land, Jesus set out as a pilgrim towards Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. He was journeying towards the Temple in the Holy City, towards that place which for Israel ensured in a particular way God’s closeness to his people. He was making his way towards the common feast of Passover, the memorial of Israel’s liberation from Egypt and the sign of its hope of definitive liberation. He knew that what awaited him was a new Passover and that he himself would take the place of the sacrificial lambs by offering himself on the cross. He knew that in the mysterious gifts of bread and wine he would give himself for ever to his own, and that he would open to them the door to a new path of liberation, to fellowship with the living God. He was making his way to the heights of the Cross, to the moment of self-giving love. The ultimate goal of his pilgrimage was the heights of God himself; to those heights he wanted to lift every human being.

Our procession today is meant, then, to be an image of something deeper, to reflect the fact that, together with Jesus, we are setting out on pilgrimage along the high road that leads to the living God. This is the ascent that matters. This is the journey which Jesus invites us to make. But how can we keep pace with this ascent? Isn’t it beyond our ability? Certainly, it is beyond our own possibilities. From the beginning men and women have been filled – and this is as true today as ever – with a desire to “be like God”, to attain the heights of God by their own powers. All the inventions of the human spirit are ultimately an effort to gain wings so as to rise to the heights of Being and to become independent, completely free, as God is free. Mankind has managed to accomplish so many things: we can fly! We can see, hear and speak to one another from the farthest ends of the earth. And yet the force of gravity which draws us down is powerful. With the increase of our abilities there has been an increase not only of good. Our possibilities for evil have increased and appear like menacing storms above history. Our limitations have also remained: we need but think of the disasters which have caused so much suffering for humanity in recent months.

The Fathers of the Church maintained that human beings stand at the point of intersection between two gravitational fields. First, there is the force of gravity which pulls us down – towards selfishness, falsehood and evil; the gravity which diminishes us and distances us from the heights of God. On the other hand there is the gravitational force of God’s love: the fact that we are loved by God and respond in love attracts us upwards. Man finds himself betwixt this twofold gravitational force; everything depends on our escaping the gravitational field of evil and becoming free to be attracted completely by the gravitational force of God, which makes us authentic, elevates us and grants us true freedom.

Following the Liturgy of the Word, at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer where the Lord comes into our midst, the Church invites us to lift up our hearts: “Sursum corda!” In the language of the Bible and the thinking of the Fathers, the heart is the centre of man, where understanding, will and feeling, body and soul, all come together. The centre where spirit becomes body and body becomes spirit, where will, feeling and understanding become one in the knowledge and love of God. This is the “heart” which must be lifted up. But to repeat: of ourselves, we are too weak to lift up our hearts to the heights of God. We cannot do it. The very pride of thinking that we are able to do it on our own drags us down and estranges us from God. God himself must draw us up, and this is what Christ began to do on the cross. He descended to the depths of our human existence in order to draw us up to himself, to the living God. He humbled himself, as today’s second reading says. Only in this way could our pride be vanquished: God’s humility is the extreme form of his love, and this humble love draws us upwards.

Psalm 24, which the Church proposes as the “song of ascent” to accompany our procession in today’s liturgy, indicates some concrete elements which are part of our ascent and without which we cannot be lifted upwards: clean hands, a pure heart, the rejection of falsehood, the quest for God’s face. The great achievements of technology are liberating and contribute to the progress of mankind only if they are joined to these attitudes – if our hands become clean and our hearts pure, if we seek truth, if we seek God and let ourselves be touched and challenged by his love. All these means of “ascent” are effective only if we humbly acknowledge that we need to be lifted up; if we abandon the pride of wanting to become God. We need God: he draws us upwards; letting ourselves be upheld by his hands – by faith, in other words – sets us aright and gives us the inner strength that raises us on high. We need the humility of a faith which seeks the face of God and trusts in the truth of his love.

The question of how man can attain the heights, becoming completely himself and completely like God, has always engaged mankind. It was passionately disputed by the Platonic philosophers of the third and fourth centuries. For them, the central issue was finding the means of purification which could free man from the heavy load weighing him down and thus enable him to ascend to the heights of his true being, to the heights of divinity. Saint Augustine, in his search for the right path, long sought guidance from those philosophies. But in the end he had to acknowledge that their answers were insufficient, their methods would not truly lead him to God. To those philosophers he said: recognize that human power and all these purifications are not enough to bring man in truth to the heights of the divine, to his own heights. And he added that he should have despaired of himself and human existence had he not found the One who accomplishes what we of ourselves cannot accomplish; the One who raises us up to the heights of God in spite of our wretchedness: Jesus Christ who from God came down to us and, in his crucified love, takes us by the hand and lifts us on high.

We are on pilgrimage with the Lord to the heights. We are striving for pure hearts and clean hands, we are seeking truth, we are seeking the face of God. Let us show the Lord that we desire to be righteous, and let us ask him: Draw us upwards! Make us pure! Grant that the words which we sang in the processional psalm may also hold true for us; grant that we may be part of the generation which seeks God, “which seeks your face, O God of Jacob” (cf. Ps 24:6).   Amen.

Pope Sees European 'Amnesia' about Christian Roots

From Catholic World News

"To declare that Europe does not have Christian roots is like claiming that a man may live without oxygen or nourishment ," said Pope Benedict XVI on April 11 as he welcomed a new ambassador from Croatia to the Holy See. 

Noting that Croatia will soon become a full member of the European Union, the Pope told the new envoy, Filip Vucak, that the move should not entail a step toward secularization. The people of Croatia, the Pontiff should, should be bring into the European community “their rich Croatian historical heritage and the Christian culture with which it is deeply permeated.” Pope Benedict added that Europe needs constant reminders of its own Christian heritage. He said:

Dour voices dispute Europe's religious roots with bewildering regularity. Amnesia and the denial of historical evidence have become customary.

Pope Benedict will be visiting Croatia in June. 

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Croatia: Defending Religious and Cultural Identity (VIS)
• Croatia, ‘Together in Christ’, even in the EU (Vatican Radio)

Pope's New Book Goes on Sale Today

The death of Jesus of Nazareth remains controversial, even after almost 2000 years. Pope Benedict XVI revisits the debate in his new book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week, the second volume of his work on the figure of Jesus.

Some interpreters have identified the Jewish people as a whole as responsible for Jesus’ death – a position often used to justify the persecution of Jews. Some modern scholars argue that the Roman authorities are to blame. Others claim that a group within the Jewish Temple establishment worked with the Roman authority to execute Jesus for insurrection, which is what the Gospel writers maintain. Benedict XVI directly confronts the arguments and the evidence.

“Many readers will find this section of the book particularly interesting as the Pope reviews the historical positions taken about this,” said Fr. Joseph Fessio, founder and publisher of Ignatius Press. “He discusses some very controversial claims that have been made, and draws on some contemporary scholarly resources to reach a conclusion that I am certain will generate a lot of discussion.”

Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week – From the Entrance Into Jerusalem to the Resurrection will be available March 10 from Ignatius Press. It is the follow-up to the Pope’s best-selling first volume,

Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration.

In Part Two, the Pope tackles many of history’s most volatile questions about the final week of Jesus’ earthly life :

• Was Jesus a political revolutionary?

• Was he the Messiah, the Son of God?

• What did Jesus teach about the end of the world?

• Did Jesus establish a community of disciples—the Church—to continue his work?

• How did Jesus interpret his death?

• What does the evidence tell us about Jesus’ ultimate fate? Did he really rise from the dead?

• Did the early Christians believe Jesus would return immediately?

Benedict answers those questions and more. The figure of Jesus that emerges from this study is of someone who is both divine and human; God’s self-disclosure in his Son, who tells us about God but also about ourselves. “It’s clear that what interests the Holy Father is helping people to know and love someone whom he knows and loves,” Fr. Fessio said. “But he does this as a scholar. This book,” he added, “is a bright star in the constellation of books about Jesus.”

Pope Benedict Opens Lenten Season

From Vatican Radio

Pope Benedict officially opens the Lenten season with a traditional Ash Wednesday afternoon procession and mass here in Rome. Each year on this day, the Pope crosses the Tiber river and goes to the Church of Saint Anselm on the Aventine hill where he joins the Benedictine friars and other religious for a moment of prayer. Afterwards, the Holy Father and his entourage of cardinals and bishops proceed just down the street to the basilica of Saint Sabina to celebrate mass and for the blessing and imposition of ashes on the faithful.

The Basilica of Santa Sabina as it’s known here is nestled amidst orange groves and gardens hidden behind old stone walls. It is one of the oldest churches in Rome, dating as far back as about the year 422. Santa Sabina became one of the so-called station churches where Rome’s early Christian community would gather for processions and liturgies in Lent and other periods holy to the Christian calendar.

The priory of the Dominican order is attached to Santa Sabina and most of the friars and religious there participate in the Ash Wednesday services with the Pope. Tracey McClure popped in and asked the order’s procurator general, Fr. Robert Ombres, to accompany her to the basilica for a peek inside... 

Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI for Lent 2011

"You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him." (cf. Col 2: 12) 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Lenten period, which leads us to the celebration of Holy Easter, is for the Church a most valuable and important liturgical time, in view of which I am pleased to offer a specific word in order that it may be lived with due diligence. As she awaits the definitive encounter with her Spouse in the eternal Easter, the Church community, assiduous in prayer and charitable works, intensifies her journey in purifying the spirit, so as to draw more abundantly from the Mystery of Redemption the new life in Christ the Lord (cf. Preface I of Lent).

1. This very life was already bestowed upon us on the day of our Baptism, when we "become sharers in Christ’s death and Resurrection", and there began for us "the joyful and exulting adventure of his disciples" (Homily on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, 10 January, 2010). In his Letters, St. Paul repeatedly insists on the singular communion with the Son of God that this washing brings about. The fact that, in most cases, Baptism is received in infancy highlights how it is a gift of God: no one earns eternal life through their own efforts. The mercy of God, which cancels sin and, at the same time, allows us to experience in our lives "the mind of Christ Jesus" (Phil 2: 5), is given to men and women freely.The Apostle to the Gentiles, in the Letter to the Philippians, expresses the meaning of the transformation that takes place through participation in the death and resurrection of Christ, pointing to its goal: that "I may come to know him and the power of his resurrection, and partake of his sufferings by being molded to the pattern of his death, striving towards the goal of resurrection from the dead" (Phil 3: 10-11). Hence, Baptism is not a rite from the past, but the encounter with Christ, which informs the entire existence of the baptized, imparting divine life and calling for sincere conversion; initiated and supported by Grace, it permits the baptized to reach the adult stature of Christ.

A particular connection binds Baptism to Lent as the favorable time to experience this saving Grace. The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council exhorted all of the Church’s Pastors to make greater use "of the baptismal features proper to the Lenten liturgy" (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum concilium, n. 109). In fact, the Church has always associated the Easter Vigil with the celebration of Baptism: this Sacrament realizes the great mystery in which man dies to sin, is made a sharer in the new life of the Risen Christ and receives the same Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead (cf. Rm 8: 11). This free gift must always be rekindled in each one of us, and Lent offers us a path like that of the catechumenate, which, for the Christians of the early Church, just as for catechumens today, is an irreplaceable school of faith and Christian life. Truly, they live their Baptism as an act that shapes their entire existence.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev visits Pope at the Vatican

Analyst Notes New Era of Russia-Vatican Relations

By Jesús Colina

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 17, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI received in audience today Dmitry Medvedev, the president of Russia, during which the two spoke of a mutual desire to strengthen bilateral relations and collaborate in the promotion of human and Christian values.

A Vatican press statement released after the meeting stated that the "cordial" discussions also addressed "the positive contribution interreligious dialogue can make to society," as well as "the international situation, with particular reference to the Middle East."

Medvedev, accompanied by the minister for foreign affairs, Sergey Lavrov, also met with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who was accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for relations with states.

Robert Moynihan, the founder and editor of the monthly magazine "Inside the Vatican," told ZENIT that he considers the meeting to be a confirmation of a new era of collaboration between Russia and the Catholic Church.

"I find this meeting between the president of Russia and Benedict XVI a highly visible confirmation of a multi-year process of ever-improving relations between Russia and the Vatican," said Moynihan. "The two leaders are not talking about theological matters; they are talking about values, about how Russia and the Catholic Church can work together in the cultural and social field."

He continued: "I note that this meeting in Rome takes place just after a week-long visit of Russian orthodox metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, chairman of the Department of External Church Relations and a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow, to the United States, where he met with Protestant evangelical as well as U.S. government and Catholic leaders in New York, Washington and Dallas.

"Hilarion delivered precisely this same message everywhere he went in the United States: that Russia is ready to collaborate with the West on cultural and social matters such as support for marriage and the traditional family."

Clear message

"I see Medvedev's visit to the Pope in this context," added Moynihan, who is considered to be an expert in Russia-Vatican relations. "The message seems clear: Russian leaders are taking the initiative to reach out to the West with proposals of cultural and social collaboration. It seems to be a plan.

"In any case, it is one of the most interesting phenomena on the global cultural and political scene, and the pope's meeting with Medvedev is a punctuation mark in this process."

Moynihan said the next step "is still not clear, but I suspect it will be concrete cultural and social initiatives in which western Christians and others of good will will create structures to work with the Russians on some of the great moral challenges of our time."

"And I think," he added, "uniting the financial and spiritual strength of a resurgent Russia seeking its identity with the strength of the Catholics and evangelicals of the West could have dramatic consequences for the impact and success of what we may call those 'traditional values' initiatives in the years ahead."

"The next steps to watch for will be the launching of concrete common efforts, and then a meeting between the Pope and the Russian Orthodox Patriarch, Kirill, perhaps in two years time," Moynihan concluded. "But there are many forces opposed to this developing alliance, so there are likely to be many potholes and obstacles on the road toward truly effective and culture-changing Russian-Vatican collaboration."

The Fundamental Path to Peace

Pope Benedict XVI’s defense of religious freedom

Catholic World Report Editorial

By George Neumayr

The pagans of Rome cast the early Christians as bad citizens, a charge which reappears today in both the West and East: secularists in the Americas and Europe gradually move to marginalize a Christian presence in public life while Islamic extremists and totalitarian regimes use starker measures to purge Christians from society altogether.

Pope Benedict XVI drew attention to these violations of religious freedom in his January address to members of the world diplomatic corps stationed at the Vatican. He began his survey by remembering the plight of Christians in Iraq, the terrorism in Egypt that “brutally struck Christians as they prayed in church,” Pakistan’s anti-Christian blasphemy law, the attacks on Christians in Nigeria during Christmas, and the trials and difficulties Christians still face in Communist China.

Turning to the West, he noted that its violations of religious freedom assume a more subtle character, often appearing in countries “which accord great importance to pluralism and tolerance.” He said that Christian doctors, nurses, and legal professionals have seen their right to conscientious objection wither. He decried “the banning of religious feasts and symbols from civic life under the guise of respect for the members of other religions or those who are not believers.” And he expressed dismay at the tendency of Western societies to harass Christian social, educational, and charitable agencies even when they “contribute to society as a whole.”

Vatican: Pope May Approve John Paul II's Beatification This Week

From Adnkronos

Pope Benedict XVI only needs to sign a document authorising the beatification of his Polish predecessor, John Paul II. Beatification is a major step towards sainthood.

That document may be presented on Saturday to the pontiff after a miracle attributed to the late Pope John Paul II was approved by both the medical and theological consultants for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints earlier in January, the Vatican said on Wednesday.

The consultants confirmed that French nun Marie Simon-Pierre was miraculously cured of Parkinson's disease through the intercession of John Paul II, who also suffered from Parkinson's and died aged 84 on 2 April 2005. 

One miracle is required for beatification and two are needed for sainthood. 

Prefect of the Causes for Saints, Angelo Amato, is due to present the committee's findings to Benedict on Saturday. If he signs a decree acknowledging the miracle as expected, the pontiff then sets a date for the beatification ceremony, most likely to be held this year.

 

Popes, Atheists and Freedom

Secularists should recognize that the pope's fight is their fight.

From The Wall Street Journal

By Daniel Henninger

This being the season of hope, Islamic extremists of course have been engaged in their annual tradition of blowing up Christian churches. 

An attack by a radical Muslim sect on two churches in northern Nigeria killed six people on Christmas Eve. On the Philippines' Jolo Island, home to al Qaeda-linked terrorists, a chapel bombing during Christmas Mass injured 11. 

One of the central public events during these days at year's end is the Pope's midnight Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. In his homily the pope invariably pleads for peace, but on Friday evening a viewer could not have missed the meaning when Benedict XVI twice mentioned "garments rolled in blood," from Isaiah 9:5.

The image, as befits Isaiah, is poetic and disturbing. Benedict surely intended it so: "It is true," he said, "that the 'rod of his oppressor' is not yet broken, the boots of warriors continue to tramp and the 'garment rolled in blood' still remains." He was of course referring to the sustained violence against Christian minorities by Islamic fundamentalists.

Homily of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for Christmas Midnight Mass

SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI 

Saint Peter's Basilica
Friday, 24 December 2010

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

“You are my son, this day I have begotten you” – with this passage from Psalm 2 the Church begins the liturgy of this holy night. She knows that this passage originally formed part of the coronation rite of the kings of Israel. The king, who in himself is a man like others, becomes the “Son of God” through being called and installed in his office. It is a kind of adoption by God, a decisive act by which he grants a new existence to this man, drawing him into his own being. The reading from the prophet Isaiah that we have just heard presents the same process even more clearly in a situation of hardship and danger for Israel: “To us a child is born, to us a son is given. The government will be upon his shoulder” (Is 9:6). Installation in the office of king is like a second birth. As one newly born through God’s personal choice, as a child born of God, the king embodies hope. On his shoulders the future rests. He is the bearer of the promise of peace. On that night in Bethlehem this prophetic saying came true in a way that would still have been unimaginable at the time of Isaiah. Yes indeed, now it really is a child on whose shoulders government is laid. In him the new kingship appears that God establishes in the world. This child is truly born of God. It is God’s eternal Word that unites humanity with divinity. To this child belong those titles of honour which Isaiah’s coronation song attributes to him: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Is 9:6). Yes, this king does not need counsellors drawn from the wise of this world. He bears in himself God’s wisdom and God’s counsel. In the weakness of infancy, he is the mighty God and he shows us God’s own might in contrast to the self-asserting powers of this world.

Truly, the words of Israel’s coronation rite were only ever rites of hope which looked ahead to a distant future that God would bestow. None of the kings who were greeted in this way lived up to the sublime content of these words. In all of them, those words about divine sonship, about installation into the heritage of the peoples, about making the ends of the earth their possession (Ps 2:8) were only pointers towards what was to come – as it were signposts of hope indicating a future that at that moment was still beyond comprehension. Thus the fulfilment of the prophecy, which began that night in Bethlehem, is both infinitely greater and in worldly terms smaller than the prophecy itself might lead one to imagine. It is greater in the sense that this child is truly the Son of God, truly “God from God, light from light, begotten not made, of one being with the Father”. The infinite distance between God and man is overcome. God has not only bent down, as we read in the Psalms; he has truly “come down”, he has come into the world, he has become one of us, in order to draw all of us to himself. This child is truly Emmanuel – God-with-us. His kingdom truly stretches to the ends of the earth. He has truly built islands of peace in the world-encompassing breadth of the holy Eucharist. Wherever it is celebrated, an island of peace arises, of God’s own peace. This child has ignited the light of goodness in men and has given them strength to overcome the tyranny of might. This child builds his kingdom in every generation from within, from the heart. But at the same time it is true that the “rod of his oppressor” is not yet broken, the boots of warriors continue to tramp and the “garment rolled in blood” (Is 9:4f) still remains. So part of this night is simply joy at God’s closeness. We are grateful that God gives himself into our hands as a child, begging as it were for our love, implanting his peace in our hearts. But this joy is also a prayer: Lord, make your promise come fully true. Break the rods of the oppressors. Burn the tramping boots. Let the time of the garments rolled in blood come to an end. Fulfil the prophecy that “of peace there will be no end” (Is 9:7). We thank you for your goodness, but we also ask you to show forth your power.  Establish the dominion of your truth and your love in the world – the “kingdom of righteousness, love and peace”.

Pope Benedict Issues Major Document on Sacred Scripture (link to full text)

From Catholic World News

Pope Benedict has issued the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Verbum Domini [The Word of the Lord], the most important Church document devoted to Sacred Scripture since the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum), which was promulgated in 1965.

The publication of Verbum Domini follows the twelfth ordinary general assembly of the Synod Of Bishops, which took place in 2008 and was devoted to “The Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church.”

The document, though released on November 11, is dated September 30, the memorial of St. Jerome. The full text was made public in Latin, Italian, English, French., Spanish, German, Portuguese and Polish.

Verbum Domini is divided into three major sections. The first section, entitled Verbum Dei, explains “the Trinitarian dimension of revelation,” in which “God the Father, source and origin of the Word,” reveals Himself to mankind. This revelation is completed in Christ, and the first chapter explores the relationship between the Eucharist and revelation. The Pope goes on to explore man’s response to God’s revelation, appropriately through prayer. Next the Pontiff writs about the interpretation of Scripture, the role of Church authority in guiding that interpretation, and the need to avoid the twin dangers of fundamentalist or secularist approaches.

The second section, Verbum in Ecclesia, explains how the Word of God remains alive and active in the ministry of the Church. This section points out the heavy reliance on Scripture in the Eucharistic liturgy and the importance of regular Bible reading. The Pope notes that Christians and Jews are bound together in part because of their shared devotion to the use of the Scriptures in worship.

The third section, Verbum Mundo, reminds readers of "the duty of Christians to announce the Word of God in the world in which they live and work." Pope Benedict writes on the universal mission of the Church to spread the Word of God, and the importance of bringing Gospel principles into the secular world.

(A Reuters report on the papal document concentrated almost exclusively on a short passage within the 200-page text, in which the Pope called for respect for religious freedom. As the Reuters story pointed out, when the Pontiff spoke on the need for “reciprocity in all spheres,” he was clearly making a plea for Islamic states to recognize the rights of Christians. That plea, however, is only a minor point in the context of the full apostolic exhortation.)

Speaking to Vatican Radio, Cardinal Marc Ouellet—who was the relator general for the 2008 Synod—observed that Pope Benedict had been actively involved in discussions throughout the Synod session, and “se see that in the document.” The Pope’s apostolic exhortation, he said, reflects “the great unity among the Synod fathers.” He remarked that the Pope, in Verbum Domini, accurately conveys the shared sense of the Synod participants: strongly encouraging Christians to read and reflect on the Bible, emphasizing the value of the Scriptures as the basis for ecumenical discussion, and being keenly aware of the strong connections between the Old and New Testaments.

Verbum Domini joins Dei Verbum and three papal encyclicals-- Pope Leo XIII's Providentissimus Deus (1893), Pope Benedict XV's Spiritus Paraclitus (1920), and Venerable Pius XII's Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943)-- as a milestone in the development of Catholic teaching on Sacred Scripture, which is summarized in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (nos. 101-141).

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Verbum Domini: Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church (September 30, 2010)
• Synod of Bishops
• Apostolic Exhortation "Verbum Domini" (VIS)
• Card. Oullet on importance of Verbum Domini (Vatican Radio)
• Pope calls for religious freedom in Muslim states (Reuters)
• Second Vatican Council: Dei Verbum (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, 1965)
• Pope Leo XIII: Providentissimus Deus (1893)
• Pope Benedict XV: Spiritus Paraclitus (1920)
• Venerable Pius XII: Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943)
• Catechism of the Catholic Church

Homily of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the Dedication of the Church of the Sagrada Familia

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Barcelona, Spain

Sunday, 7 November 2010

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, [In Catalan:]

“This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep. … The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:9-11). With these words from the first reading that we have proclaimed, I wish to greet all of you taking part in this celebration. I extend an affectionate greeting to their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain who have graciously wished to be with us. I extend a thankful greeting to Cardinal Lluís Martínez Sistach, Archbishop of Barcelona, for his words of welcome and for his invitation to me to dedicate this Church of the Sagrada Familia, a magnificent achievement of engineering, art and faith. I also greet Cardinal Ricardo María Carles Gordó, Archbishop Emeritus of Barcelona, the other Cardinals present and my brother bishops, especially the auxiliary bishop of this local church, and the many priests, deacons, seminarians, religious men and women, and lay faithful taking part in this solemn ceremony. I also extend a respectful greeting to the national, regional and local authorities present, as well as to the members of other Christian communities, who share in our joy and our grateful praise of God.

Today marks an important step in a long history of hope, work and generosity that has gone on for more than a century. At this time I would like to mention each and every one of those who have made possible the joy that fills us today, from the promoters to the executors of this work, the architects and the workers, all who in one way or another have given their priceless contribution to the building of this edifice. We remember of course the man who was the soul and the artisan of this project, Antoni Gaudí, a creative architect and a practising Christian who kept the torch of his faith alight to the end of his life, a life lived in dignity and absolute austerity. This event is also in a certain sense the high point of the history of this land of Catalonia which, especially since the end of the nineteenth century, has given an abundance of saints and founders, martyrs and Christian poets. It is a history of holiness, artistic and poetic creation, born from the faith, which we gather and present to God today as an offering in this Eucharist.

The joy which I feel at presiding at this ceremony became all the greater when I learned that this shrine, since its beginnings, has had a special relationship with Saint Joseph. I have been moved above all by Gaudí’s confidence when, in the face of many difficulties, filled with trust in divine Providence, he would exclaim, “Saint Joseph will finish this church”. So it is significant that it is also being dedicated by a Pope whose baptismal name is Joseph.

What do we do when we dedicate this church? In the heart of the world, placed before God and mankind, with a humble and joyful act of faith, we raise up this massive material structure, fruit of nature and an immense achievement of human intelligence which gave birth to this work of art. It stands as a visible sign of the invisible God, to whose glory these spires rise like arrows pointing towards absolute light and to the One who is Light, Height and Beauty itself.

In this place, Gaudí desired to unify that inspiration which came to him from the three books which nourished him as a man, as a believer and as an architect: the book of nature, the book of sacred Scripture and the book of the liturgy. In this way he brought together the reality of the world and the history of salvation, as recounted in the Bible and made present in the liturgy. He made stones, trees and human life part of the church so that all creation might come together in praise of God, but at the same time he brought the sacred images outside so as to place before people the mystery of God revealed in the birth, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In this way, he brilliantly helped to build our human consciousness, anchored in the world yet open to God, enlightened and sanctified by Christ. In this he accomplished one of the most important tasks of our times: overcoming the division between human consciousness and Christian consciousness, between living in this temporal world and being open to eternal life, between the beauty of things and God as beauty. Antoni Gaudí did this not with words but with stones, lines, planes, and points. Indeed, beauty is one of mankind’s greatest needs; it is the root from which the branches of our peace and the fruits of our hope come forth. Beauty also reveals God because, like him, a work of beauty is pure gratuity; it calls us to freedom and draws us away from selfishness.

We have dedicated this sacred space to God, who revealed and gave himself to us in Christ so as to be definitively God among men. The revealed Word, the humanity of Christ and his Church are the three supreme expressions of his self-manifestation and self-giving to mankind. As says Saint Paul in the second reading: “Let each man take care how he builds. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:10-11). The Lord Jesus is the stone which supports the weight of the world, which maintains the cohesion of the Church and brings together in ultimate unity all the achievements of mankind. In him, we have God’s word and presence and from him the Church receives her life, her teaching and her mission. The Church of herself is nothing; she is called to be the sign and instrument of Christ, in pure docility to his authority and in total service to his mandate. The one Christ is the foundation of the one Church. He is the rock on which our faith is built. Building on this faith, let us strive together to show the world the face of God who is love and the only one who can respond to our yearning for fulfillment. This is the great task before us: to show everyone that God is a God of peace not of violence, of freedom not of coercion, of harmony not of discord. In this sense, I consider that the dedication of this church of the Sagrada Familia is an event of great importance, at a time in which man claims to be able to build his life without God, as if God had nothing to say to him. In this masterpiece, Gaudí shows us that God is the true measure of man; that the secret of authentic originality consists, as he himself said, in returning to one’s origin which is God. Gaudí, by opening his spirit to God, was capable of creating in this city a space of beauty, faith and hope which leads man to an encounter with him who is truth and beauty itself. The architect expressed his sentiments in the following words: “A church [is] the only thing worthy of representing the soul of a people, for religion is the most elevated reality in man”.

This affirmation of God brings with it the supreme affirmation and protection of the dignity of each and every man and woman: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple? … God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Cor 3:16-17). Here we find joined together the truth and dignity of God and the truth and dignity of man. As we consecrate the altar of this church, which has Christ as its foundation, we are presenting to the world a God who is the friend of man and we invite men and women to become friends of God. This is what we are taught in the case of Zacchaeus, of whom today’s gospel speaks (Lk 19:1-10), if we allow God into our hearts and into our world, if we allow Christ to live in our hearts, we will not regret it: we will experience the joy of sharing his very life, as the object of his infinite love.

This church began as an initiative of the Association of the Friends of Saint Joseph, who wanted to dedicate it to the Holy Family of Nazareth. The home formed by Jesus, Mary and Joseph has always been regarded as a school of love, prayer and work. The promoters of this church wanted to set before the world love, work and service lived in the presence of God, as the Holy Family lived them. Life has changed greatly and with it enormous progress has been made in the technical, social and cultural spheres. We cannot simply remain content with these advances. Alongside them, there also need to be moral advances, such as in care, protection and assistance to families, inasmuch as the generous and indissoluble love of a man and a woman is the effective context and foundation of human life in its gestation, birth, growth and natural end. Only where love and faithfulness are present can true freedom come to birth and endure. For this reason the Church advocates adequate economic and social means so that women may find in the home and at work their full development, that men and women who contract marriage and form a family receive decisive support from the state, that life of children may be defended as sacred and inviolable from the moment of their conception, that the reality of birth be given due respect and receive juridical, social and legislative support. For this reason the Church resists every form of denial of human life and gives its support to everything that would promote the natural order in the sphere of the institution of the family.

As I contemplate with admiration this sacred space of marvellous beauty, of so much faith-filled history, I ask God that in the land of Catalonia new witnesses of holiness may rise up and flourish, and present to the world the great service that the Church can and must offer to humanity: to be an icon of divine beauty, a burning flame of charity, a path so that the world may believe in the One whom God has sent (cf. Jn 6:29).

Dear brothers and sisters, as I dedicate this splendid church, I implore the Lord of our lives that, from this altar, which will now be anointed with holy oil and upon which the sacrifice of the love of Christ will be consumed, there may be a flood of grace and charity upon the city of Barcelona and its people, and upon the whole world. May these fruitful waters fill with faith and apostolic vitality this archdiocesan Church, its pastors and its faithful.

[In Catalan:] Finally, I wish to commend to the loving protection of the Mother of God, Mary Most Holy, April Rose, Mother of Mercy, all who enter here and all who in word or deed, in silence and prayer, have made this possible this marvel of architecture. May Our Lady present to her divine Son the joys and tribulations of all who come in the future to this sacred place so that here, as the Church prays when dedicating religious buildings, the poor may find mercy, the oppressed true freedom and all men may take on the dignity of the children of God. Amen.

Pope Names 24 New Cardinals

From Catholic World News

At his regular weekly public audience on October 20, Pope Benedict XVI announced his plan to elevate 24 new members to the College of Cardinals.

Confirming the expectations of Vatican journalists, the Holy Father announced that a consistory will be held on November 20. He named 20 prelates who will become voting members of the College of Cardinals. Four others who will receive a red hat in recognition of their long service to the Church, but because they are over the age of 80 they will not be eligible to participate in papal election.

The 20 new cardinal-electors will bring the total number of voting cardinals to 121—one above the normative maximum of 120. However the Pope has the authority to waive that maximum—as Pope John Paul II did in the past. The number will drop back down to 120 by January 2011, when the French Cardinal Bernard Panafieu, the retired Archbishop of Marseilles, turns 80.

The twenty new cardinal-electors will be:

1. Archbishop Angelo Amato, the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints;
2. Archbishop Fortunato Baldelli, the Major Penitentiary;
3. Archbishop Raymond Burke, the American-born prefect of the Apostolic Signatura;
4. Archbishop Raymundo Damasceno Assis of Aparecida, Brazil;
5. Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, the president of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs of the Holy See;
6. Archbishop Kurt Koch, the president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity;
7. Archbishop Reinhard Marx of Munich;
8. Archbishop Medardo Mazombwe, the retired Archbishop of Lusaka, Zaire;
9. Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, Congo;
10. Archbishop Francesco Monterisi, the archpriest of the Roman basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls;
11. Coptic Catholic Patriarch Antonios Naguib of Alexandria, Egypt—the relator general for the current Synod of Bishops for the Middle East;
12. Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz of Warsaw;
13. Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, the new prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy;
14. Archbishop Paolo Romeo of Palermo, Italy;
15. Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don of Colombo, Sri Lanka;
16. Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, the president of the Pontifical Council for Culture;
17. Archbishop Robert Sarah, the new president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum—the charitable arm of the papacy;
18. Archbishop Paolo Sardi, the pro-patron of the Knights of Malta;
19. Archbishop Raul Vela Chiriboga, the retired Archbishop of Quito, Ecuador; and
20. Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, DC.

The four prelates who will be raised to the College of Cardinals, but ineligible to vote in a papal election because of age, are:

1. Msgr. Domenico Bartolucci, the longtime director (now retired) of the Sistine Chapel choir;
2. Msgr. Walter Brandmuller, the former president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences;
3. Archbishop José Manuel Estepa Llaurens, the former ordinary for the Spanish military forces; and
4. Archbishop Elio Sgreccia, the former president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Most of the Pope’s choices were expected, although the names of Archbishops Mazombwe and Vela were not often heard in the speculation prior to the papal announcement. Interestingly, both of these archbishops are already retired—although they remain eligible to take part in a conclave. Cardinal-elect Mazombwe, who is 79, will lose that eligibility next September.

Archbishop Marx will be the youngest of the new cardinals, and the youngest member of the College as a whole. Msgr. Bartolucci, who is 93, will become the 4th-oldest member of the College.

Among the prelates whose names are conspicuously absent from the list of new cardinals are two leading archbishops of the English-speaking world: Archbishops Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Timothy Dolan of New York. Both archbishops have succeeded cardinals who remain under the age of 80: Cardinals Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of Westminster and Edward Egan of New York. Vatican tradition weighs against the appointment of a new cardinal from any archdiocese whose former leader remains a cardinal-elector.

A New Idea of the Ordinariate is Emerging

It should no longer be seen as a halfway house for disaffected Anglo-Catholics ‘defecting’ from the Church of England

From The Catholic Herald

The plans for the Ordinariate for ex-Anglicans are gathering pace. One of the last things Pope Benedict XVI said before leaving Britain, and one of the most important, was to emphasise that the Ordinariate is the next step towards Church unity. It was not the step that we were led to expect during the years of negotiation with Anglicans about corporate unity. But it is prophetic – and the prophet in question is our present Holy Father, who believes that Anglicans who already accept the Magisterium of the Church should be given freedom to worship and evangelise in communion with Rome as a matter of urgency.

A new image of the Ordinariate is emerging. When Anglicanorum coetibus was first published, the media and some religious commentators depicted it as a halfway house for “disaffected” Anglo-Catholics who were “defecting” from the Church of England and other Anglican churches around the world. That language is increasingly redundant. The leaders of the Ordinariate project have passed through their stage of disaffection. As the Rt Rev Andrew Burnham, the Anglican Bishop of Ebbsfleet and one of the architects of the scheme, made clear at an Anglo-Catholic synod held immediately after the Pope’s visit, we will soon see the formation of “small congregations, energetically committed to mission and evangelism and serving the neighbourhood in which they are set”. Similar plans are being drawn up in other countries with a strong Anglican presence: last week, Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington was chosen to oversee the formation of Ordinariate parishes in America.

It is time to set aside, for the time being, the much-debated question of how many Anglicans will take advantage of the Apostolic Constitution. Let us focus instead on the core words of Bishop Burnham’s message: his flock is “energetically committed to mission and [local] evangelisation”. Future members of the Ordinariate are offering to help revitalise the Christian mission of the Catholic Church in England and several other countries. It is a wonderful prospect, made possible by their faithful witness to the Gospel over many years and the vision of the Holy Father. Ignore the cynics and hand-wringers who see only difficulties in this historic development: we live in exciting times.

The Catholic Herald is a Catholic newspaper based in London. It was founded in 1888.

Pope Benedict's Farewell Message to Great Britain

FAREWELL CEREMONY

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

International Airport of Birmingham

Sunday, 19 September 2010

Prime Minister,

Thank you for your kind words of farewell on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government and the people of the United Kingdom. I am very grateful for all the hard work of preparation, on the part of both the present and the previous Government, the civil service, local authorities and police, and the many volunteers who patiently helped to prepare for the events of these four days. Thank you for the warmth of your welcome and for the hospitality that I have enjoyed.

During my time with you, I have been able to meet representatives of the many communities, cultures, languages and religions that make up British society. The very diversity of modern Britain is a challenge to its Government and people, but it also represents a great opportunity to further intercultural and interreligious dialogue for the enrichment of the entire community.

In these days, I was grateful for the opportunity to meet Her Majesty The Queen, as well as yourself and other political leaders, and to be able to discuss matters of common interest, both at home and abroad. I was particularly honoured to be invited to address both Houses of Parliament in the historic precincts of Westminster Hall.

I sincerely hope that these occasions will contribute to confirming and strengthening the excellent relations between the Holy See and the United Kingdom, especially in cooperation for international development, in care for the natural environment, and in the building of a civil society with a renewed sense of shared values and common purpose.

It was also my pleasure to visit His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishops of the Church of England, and later to pray with them and our fellow Christians in the evocative surroundings of Westminster Abbey, a place which speaks so eloquently of our shared traditions and culture. As Britain is home to so many religious traditions, I was grateful to have the opportunity to meet their representatives and to share some thoughts with them about the contribution that the religions can offer to the development of a healthy pluralistic society.

Naturally, my visit was directed in a special way to the Catholics of the United Kingdom. I treasure the time spent with the bishops, clergy, religious and laity, and with teachers, pupils and older people. It was especially moving to celebrate with them, here in Birmingham, the beatification of a great son of England, Cardinal John Henry Newman. With his vast legacy of scholarly and spiritual writings, I am certain that he still has much to teach us about Christian living and witness amid the challenges of today’s world, challenges which he foresaw with such remarkable clarity.

As I take my leave of you, let me assure you once again of my good wishes and prayers for the peace and prosperity of Great Britain.

Thank you very much and God bless you all!

Pope Benedict's Address to British Bishops

MEETING WITH THE BISHOPS OF ENGLAND,
SCOTLAND AND WALES

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Chapel of the Francis Martin House, Oscott College - Birmingham

Sunday, 19 September 2010

My dear Brother Bishops,

This has been a day of great joy for the Catholic community in these islands. Blessed John Henry Newman, as we may now call him, has been raised to the altars as an example of heroic faithfulness to the Gospel and an intercessor for the Church in this land that he loved and served so well. Here in this very chapel in 1852, he gave voice to the new confidence and vitality of the Catholic community in England and Wales after the restoration of the hierarchy, and his words could be applied equally to Scotland a quarter of a century later. His beatification today is a reminder of the Holy Spirit’s continuing action in calling forth gifts of holiness from among the people of Great Britain, so that from east to west and from north to south, a perfect offering of praise and thanksgiving may be made to the glory of God’s name.

I thank Cardinal O’Brien and Archbishop Nichols for their words, and in so doing, I am reminded how recently I was able to welcome all of you to Rome for the Ad Limina visits of your respective Episcopal Conferences. We spoke then about some of the challenges you face as you lead your people in faith, particularly regarding the urgent need to proclaim the Gospel afresh in a highly secularized environment. In the course of my visit it has become clear to me how deep a thirst there is among the British people for the Good News of Jesus Christ. You have been chosen by God to offer them the living water of the Gospel, encouraging them to place their hopes, not in the vain enticements of this world, but in the firm assurances of the next. As you proclaim the coming of the Kingdom, with its promise of hope for the poor and the needy, the sick and the elderly, the unborn and the neglected, be sure to present in its fulness the life-giving message of the Gospel, including those elements which call into question the widespread assumptions of today’s culture. As you know, a Pontifical Council has recently been established for the New Evangelization of countries of long-standing Christian tradition, and I would encourage you to avail yourselves of its services in addressing the task before you. Moreover, many of the new ecclesial movements have a particular charism for evangelization, and I know that you will continue to explore appropriate and effective ways of involving them in the mission of the Church.

Since your visit to Rome, political changes in the United Kingdom have focused attention on the consequences of the financial crisis, which has caused so much hardship to countless individuals and families. The spectre of unemployment is casting its shadow over many people’s lives, and the long-term cost of the ill-advised investment practices of recent times is becoming all too evident. In these circumstances, there will be additional calls on the characteristic generosity of British Catholics, and I know that you will take a lead in calling for solidarity with those in need. The prophetic voice of Christians has an important role in highlighting the needs of the poor and disadvantaged, who can so easily be overlooked in the allocation of limited resources. In their teaching document Choosing the Common Good, the Bishops of England and Wales underlined the importance of the practice of virtue in public life. Today’s circumstances provide a good opportunity to reinforce that message, and indeed to encourage people to aspire to higher moral values in every area of their lives, against a background of growing cynicism regarding even the possibility of virtuous living.

Another matter which has received much attention in recent months, and which seriously undermines the moral credibility of Church leaders, is the shameful abuse of children and young people by priests and religious. I have spoken on many occasions of the deep wounds that such behaviour causes, in the victims first and foremost, but also in the relationships of trust that should exist between priests and people, between priests and their bishops, and between the Church authorities and the public. I know that you have taken serious steps to remedy this situation, to ensure that children are effectively protected from harm and to deal properly and transparently with allegations as they arise. You have publicly acknowledged your deep regret over what has happened, and the often inadequate ways it was addressed in the past. Your growing awareness of the extent of child abuse in society, its devastating effects, and the need to provide proper victim support should serve as an incentive to share the lessons you have learned with the wider community. Indeed, what better way could there be of making reparation for these sins than by reaching out, in a humble spirit of compassion, towards children who continue to suffer abuse elsewhere? Our duty of care towards the young demands nothing less.

As we reflect on the human frailty that these tragic events so starkly reveal, we are reminded that, if we are to be effective Christian leaders, we must live lives of the utmost integrity, humility and holiness. As Blessed John Henry Newman once wrote, “O that God would grant the clergy to feel their weakness as sinful men, and the people to sympathize with them and love them and pray for their increase in all good gifts of grace” (Sermon, 22 March 1829). I pray that among the graces of this visit will be a renewed dedication on the part of Christian leaders to the prophetic vocation they have received, and a new appreciation on the part of the people for the great gift of the ordained ministry. Prayer for vocations will then arise spontaneously, and we may be confident that the Lord will respond by sending labourers to bring in the plentiful harvest that he has prepared throughout the United Kingdom (cf. Mt 9:37-38). In this regard, I am glad that I will shortly have the opportunity to meet the seminarians of England, Scotland and Wales, and to assure them of my prayers as they prepare to play their part in bringing in that harvest.

Finally, I should like to speak to you about two specific matters that affect your episcopal ministry at this time. One is the imminent publication of the new translation of the Roman Missal. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the contribution you have made, with such painstaking care, to the collegial exercise of reviewing and approving the texts. This has provided an immense service to Catholics throughout the English-speaking world. I encourage you now to seize the opportunity that the new translation offers for in-depth catechesis on the Eucharist and renewed devotion in the manner of its celebration. “The more lively the eucharistic faith of the people of God, the deeper is its sharing in ecclesial life in steadfast commitment to the mission entrusted by Christ to his disciples” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 6). The other matter I touched upon in February with the Bishops of England and Wales, when I asked you to be generous in implementing the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus. This should be seen as a prophetic gesture that can contribute positively to the developing relations between Anglicans and Catholics. It helps us to set our sights on the ultimate goal of all ecumenical activity: the restoration of full ecclesial communion in the context of which the mutual exchange of gifts from our respective spiritual patrimonies serves as an enrichment to us all. Let us continue to pray and work unceasingly in order to hasten the joyful day when that goal can be accomplished.

With these sentiments, I thank you warmly for your hospitality over the past four days. Commending all of you and the people you serve to the intercession of Saint Andrew, Saint David and Saint George, I am pleased to impart my Apostolic Blessing to you and to all the clergy, religious and lay faithful of England, Scotland and Wales.