Recently in Pope Benedict XVI Category

As you are aware, the Pope is assisted by various departments as pastor of the Church. Without naming all of them, the significant ones are Faith, Worship, Saints, Clergy and Evangelization. The latter department is headed by the Indian cardinal, Ivan Dias. As "Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples" he works with the world's bishops and other competent folk in sharing the Good News. Each year all the departments meet with the full body of members and experts to deal with the significant issues identified by the Pope and the Cardinal. In the case of this address, one can't help thinking of the work of the of new lay movements in the Church and some of the new religious orders doing the hard work of being in the marketplace. I for one, can't help remember the Pope's address to the Benedictine Oblates of St Frances of Rome where he praised them for keeping a religious life with a particular focus of being in the center of the city as a witness to Christ while helping the poor. 

What follows is the Pope's address to the plenary session of Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Note the points emphasized.

 

On the occasion of the plenary assembly of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, I wish to express to you, Lord Cardinal, my cordial greeting, which I happily extend to the archbishops, bishops and all those taking part in this assembly. I also greet the secretary, the assistant secretary, the under-secretary and all the collaborators of this dicastery. I add the expression of my sentiments of appreciation and gratitude for the service you render the Church in the area of the mission ad gentes [to the peoples].

The topic you are addressing in this meeting, "St. Paul and the New Areopagi" -- also in light of the Pauline Year concluded a short while ago -- assists in reliving an experience of the Apostle to the Gentiles while in Athens. After having preached in many places, he addressed the Areopagus and there proclaimed the Gospel using a language that today we could describe as "inculturated" (cf. Acts 17:22-31).

That Areopagus, which at the time represented the center of culture for the refined Athenian people, today -- as my venerated predecessor John Paul II would say -- "can be taken as a symbol of the new sectors in which the Gospel must be proclaimed" (Redemptoris Missio, 37). In fact, the reference to that event is an urgent invitation to know how to value the "Areopagi" of today, where the great challenges of evangelization are addressed.

You wish to analyze this topic with realism, taking into account the many social changes that have occurred: a realism supported by the spirit of faith, which sees history in the light of the Gospel, and with the certainty that Paul had of the presence of the Risen Christ. Resonating and comforting for us also are the words that Jesus addressed to him in Corinth: "Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you. No one will attack and harm you," (Acts 18:9-10).

In an effective way, the Servant of God Paul VI said that it is not just a question of preaching the Gospel, but of "affecting and as it were upsetting, through the power of the Gospel, mankind's criteria of judgment, determining values, points of interest, lines of thought, sources of inspiration and models of life, which are in contrast with the Word of God and the plan of salvation" (Insegnamenti XIII, [1975], 1448).

It is necessary to look at the "new Areopagi" with this spirit; some of these [areas], with present globalization, have become common, whereas others continue to be specific to certain continents, as was seen recently in the special assembly for Africa of the synod of bishops. Therefore, the missionary activity of the Church must be directed to the vital centers of the society of the third millennium.

Not to be underestimated is the influence of a widespread relativistic culture, more often than not lacking in values, which enters the sanctuary of the family, infiltrates the realm of education and other realms of society and contaminates them, manipulating consciences, especially those of the young. At the same time, however, despite these snares, the Church knows that the Holy Spirit is always acting. New doors, in fact, are opened to the Gospel, and spreading in the world is the longing for authentic spiritual and apostolic renewal. As in other periods of change, the pastoral priority is to show the true face of Christ, lord of history and sole redeemer of man.

This demands that every Christian community and the Church as a whole offer a testimony of fidelity to Christ, patiently building that unity desired by him and invoked by all his disciples. The unity of Christians will, in fact, facilitate evangelization and confrontation with the cultural, social and religious challenges of our time.

In this missionary enterprise we can look to the Apostle Paul, imitate his "style" of life and his apostolic "spirit" itself, centered totally on Christ. With this complete adherence to the Lord, Christians will more easily be able to transmit to future generations the heritage of faith, capable of transforming difficulties into possibilities of evangelization.

In the recent encyclical Caritas in Veritate, I wished to emphasize that the economic and social development of contemporary society needs to renew attention to the spiritual life and "a serious consideration of the experiences of trust in God, spiritual fellowship in Christ, reliance upon God's providence and mercy, love and forgiveness, self-denial, acceptance of others, justice and peace. Christians long for the entire human family to call upon God as 'Our Father!'" (No. 79).

Lord Cardinal, while thanking you for the service that this dicastery renders to the cause of the Gospel, I invoke upon you and upon all those taking part in the present plenary assembly the help of God and the protection of the Virgin Mary, star of evangelization, while I send my heartfelt apostolic blessing to all.

From the Vatican, November 13, 2009

BENEDICTUS XVI PP

As Catholics, we are united with the Pope and his ministry of sanctifying the Church through the sacrifice of prayer and good works. One key to this sacrifice is remembering his intentions in our daily prayer and at Mass. This is a concrete way of encountering Jesus is being united with the Pope and the Church praying for the monthly general and missionary intentions listed on this blog on the first day of each month.

I frequently stand in awe of people who, like Pope Benedict, can draw my attention to the essentials of faith, reason and culture. His audience on Wednesday where he speaks about St. Bernard is one of these instances because he shows me the beauty of St. Bernard, the purpose of theology study, life with the saints, and why we have to suffer some things for the Kingdom. For example, the Pope offers a corrective in my work as a seminarian.

Here are a few germane sentences with emphasis added: In one place in the talk Pope says: "Faith is above all an individual and intimate encounter with Jesus; it means experiencing His closeness, His friendship and His love." He continues "St. Bernard, solidly based on the Bible and on the Fathers of the Church, reminds us that without a profound faith in God, nourished by prayer and contemplation, by a profound relationship with the Lord, our reflections on the divine mysteries risk becoming a futile intellectual exercise, and lose their credibility. Theology takes us back to the "science of the saints," to their intuitions of the mysteries of the living God, to their wisdom, gift of the Holy Spirit, which become the point of reference for theological thought."

And given that I think there's much discussion in a seminary work, sometimes too much discussion, I am leaning St. Bernard as he says, "but perhaps He can be sought better and found more easily with prayer than with discussion. We put an end here to the book, but not to the search." 

(Pope Benedict XVI, Wednesday General Audience, October 21, 2009) 

In the mid-1990s when I was in formation at Bellarmine House and a student in St Louis, Missouri, I made the acquaintance of Conventual Franciscan Father Wayne Hellman. Father Wayne was a professor of Theology at Saint Louis University, St Louis, MO. I think he was also the Friar Guardian of the local Conventual Franciscan House (St Bonaventure's Friary) and one of the nation's experts in Saint Bonaventure's theology. 

The general intention

That Sundays may be lived as the day on which Christians gather to celebrate the Risen Lord in the table of the Eucharist

The missionary intention

That all the people of God, whom Christ has commanded to go and preach the Gospel to every creature, may diligently fulfill their missionary responsibility.

The following is the text Benedict XVI sent to Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, on the occasion of the 11th Inter-Christian Symposium, which began today in Rome.

Through you, venerable brother, in your capacity as president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, I have the pleasure and joy of sending a warm and auspicious greeting to the organizers and participants of the 11th Inter-Christian Symposium, promoted by the Franciscan Institute of Spirituality of the Pontifical University Antonianum and by the Aristotle Orthodox Theological Faculty of Thessalonica, planned in Rome from Sept. 3-5.

I am happy first of all for this initiative of fraternal encounter and exchange on the common aspects of spirituality, which is beneficial for a closer relationship between Catholics and Orthodox. In fact, these Symposiums, which began in 1992, address important and constructive topics for reciprocal understanding and unity of intention. The fact that it takes place alternatively in a territory of Catholic or Orthodox majority also allows for real contact with the concrete, historical, cultural and religious life of our Churches.

In particular, this year you wished to organize the Symposium in Rome, city that offers all Christians indelible testimonies of history, archaeology, iconography, hagiography and spirituality, strong stimulus to advance toward full communion and above all, the memory of the Apostles Peter and Paul, Protothroni, and of so many martyrs, ancient witnesses of the faith. Of them, St. Clement of Rome wrote that "suffering ... many insults and torments, they became a most beautiful example for us" (Cf. Letter to the Corinthians, VI,1).

The topic chosen for the next meeting: "St. Augustine in the Western and Eastern Tradition" -- argument intended to be developed in collaboration with the Patristic Institute Augustinanum -- is most interesting to reflect further on Christian theology and spirituality in the West and in the East, and its development. The Saint of Hippo, a great Father of the Latin Church, is, in fact, of fundamental importance for theology and for the West's very culture, whereas the reception of his thought in Orthodox theology has revealed itself to be rather problematic.

Hence, to know with historical objectivity and fraternal cordiality the doctrinal and spiritual riches that make up the patrimony of the Christian East and West, is indispensable not only to appreciate them, but also to promote better reciprocal appreciation among all Christians.

Therefore, I express cordial wishes that your Symposium is fruitful in that it discovers doctrinal and spiritual convergences that are useful to build together the City of God, where his children can live in peace and in fraternal charity, based on the truth of the common faith. I assure you of my prayer for this end, asking the Lord to bless the organizers and the institutions they represent, the Catholic and Orthodox speakers and all the participants. May the Grace and peace of the Lord be in your collaborators and in your minds!

In Castel Gandolfo,

August 28, 2009

Benedictus PP. XVI

The general intention

Have you ever considered what a 21st century theology of creation would look like? What experts would you follow? Would you ever think of Pope Benedict as a green pope? Could the leader of the 1 billion plus Catholics lead the charge in standing on the side the culture of life AND the environment? As Benedict's ministry as the Supreme Pontiff unfolds so is his vision of what humanity is as gift of God and our responsibility to care for it. Pope Benedict is offering us a way of being environmentally conscious that is coherent with faith and reason. As he said in July 2007,  "Our earth speaks to us, and we must listen if we want to survive."  In his recent letter to the world, Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict wrote: "When nature, including the human being, is viewed as the result of mere chance or evolutionary determinism, our sense of responsibility wanes. In nature, the believer recognizes the wonderful result of God's creative activity, which we may use responsibly to satisfy our legitimate needs, material or otherwise, while respecting the intrinsic balance of creation. If this vision is lost, we end up either considering nature an untouchable taboo or, on the contrary, abusing it." Read John Allen's analysis.