Pope Benedict XVI: January 2012 Archives

The homilies and brief Angelus talks of the Pope really set the stage for what we ought to pay attention to in our spiritual life. His thinking is clear, and germane. Today is no different. How is it that we recognize and live within the authority of Jesus?

Healing of the blind man Duccio.jpg
This Sunday's Gospel (Mk 1.21 to 28) presents us with Jesus, on the Sabbath day, as he preached at the synagogue at Capernaum, the small town where Peter and his brother Andrew lived on the lake of Galilee. In his teaching, which arouses the wonder of the people, following the liberation of "a man with an unclean spirit" (v. 23), who recognizes in Jesus as the "saint of God," that is, the Messiah. In a short time, his fame spread throughout the region, which he travels announcing the Kingdom of God and healing the sick of all kinds: word and deed. St. John Chrysostom observes how the Lord "alternates the speech for the benefit of those who listen, moving on from wonders to words and again passing from the teaching of his doctrine to miracles" (Hom. on Matthew 25, 1: PG 57, 328).

The full body of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith met with the Pope on Friday, 27 January, to discuss his conviction that no other work of the Church, particularly this congregation, takes precedence to the work of evangelization. Everyone ought to be committed "to bringing God back into this world and to opening to all men access to the faith."


Benedict see now as the opportune moment "to point out to all the gift of faith in the Risen Christ, the clear teaching of the Second Vatican Council and the invaluable doctrinal synthesis offered by the Catechism of the Catholic Church." Recently, the Pope said that "we are facing a profound crisis of faith, a loss of religious meaning which constitutes the greatest challenge to the Church" (Message for World Mission Day).


Other things that concern us, the Pope noted were:


1. the unity among Christians:  maintaining "coherence in the ecumenical task with the Second Vatican Council and the whole of Tradition";

2. warned of the dangers of "a shallow moralism";

3. to promote "the logic" contained in the conciliar teaching: "the sincere search for the full unity of all Christians is a dynamism animated by the Word of God";

4. a need for a "discernment between Tradition with a capital letter and the traditions": "There exists," he said, "a spiritual wealth in the different Christian confessions, which is an expression of the one faith and gift to share" (reflecting the recent work done for the full communion of Anglicans).


The last concern of Benedict was that the entire Church speak with one voice with Peter.

Pope Benedictus XVI

Image via Wikipedia

One of the ministries of this blog is to pray with the Pope for the Church. Benedict XVI's prayer intentions that are published through the Apostles of Prayer focus our attention. In 2012, pray with me for ...


The general intention

That the victims of natural disasters may receive the spiritual and material comfort they need to rebuild their lives.

The missionary intention

That the dedication of Christians to peace may bear witness to the name of Christ before all men and women of good will.
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About the author

Paul A. Zalonski is from New Haven, CT. He is a member of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, a Catholic ecclesial movement and an Oblate of Saint Benedict. Contact Paul at paulzalonski[at]yahoo.com.

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This page is a archive of entries in the Pope Benedict XVI category from January 2012.

Pope Benedict XVI: December 2011 is the previous archive.

Pope Benedict XVI: February 2012 is the next archive.

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