Benedict XVI: Faithful to God revealed by Christ

Pope calls for imitation of St. Thomas Aquinas' devotion to Eucharist

Vatican City, Jun 23, 2010 / (CNA/EWTN News).

- Basing his catechesis for a third and final time on the legacy of St. Thomas Aquinas, Pope Benedict highlighted Aquinas’ “masterpiece,” the “Summa Theologica.” He referred to the saint's devotion to the Eucharist, making the call for all people to "fall in love" with the Blessed Sacrament.

An estimated 7,000 pilgrims and faithful joined the Pope in the Paul VI Hall for Wednesday's general audience. Among those in attendance was a group from Malawi in tribal dress who performed a traditional dance for the Holy Father from their seats in the packed auditorium.

Referring to the "masterpiece" of the “Summa Theologica,” Benedict XVI noted the saint’s “serene confidence in the harmony of faith and reason, and in the ability of reason, enlightened by faith, to come to an understanding of God and his saving plan.”

Through the work, said the Pope, the saint “illustrates the working of divine grace, which perfects our natural gifts and enables us, through the practice of the virtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to attain the eternal happiness for which we were created.”

In the collection of articles from which the “Summa” is composed, explained the Holy Father, the 13th century saint offers an extensive series of questions and answers through which he assists in deepening the teachings provided in Scripture and those from the Fathers of the Church, especially St. Augustine. He examines three elements of the being and essence of God: that He exists in Himself as the beginning and end of all things, that He is present in life through His Grace and in Christian activity, and that he is present in a special way in the Person of Christ, still present in the sacraments.

Benedict XVI recalled the importance the saint gives to the sacraments, in particular to the Eucharist. Noting Aquinas' enormous devotion to the Eucharist, the Holy Father cited the saint's words from another work in which he spoke of the Blessed Sacrament as that of the "Passion of our Lord, (which) contains in it Jesus Christ who suffered for us.”

"Therefore," he went on, "all that is the effect of the Passion of our Lord, is also the effect of this sacrament, it not being but the application in us of the Passion of the Lord."

Through these words, said the Pope, we "understand well why St. Thomas and other saints celebrated Mass while shedding tears of compassion, tears of joy and of gratitude, for the Lord, who offers himself in sacrifice for us."

The Holy Father then exclaimed, "in the example of the saints, let us all fall in love with this Sacrament!

"Let us participate devotedly in Mass in order to obtain its spiritual fruits; let us feed from the Body and Blood of the Lord that we may be incessantly nourished by divine Grace; let us pause willingly and often in the company of the Blessed Sacrament."

Pope Benedict XVI concluded the English-language portion of the catechesis by imploring that, “with the Angelic Doctor, let us pray for the grace to love the Lord with all our heart and to love our neighbor, 'in God and for God.'”

Christ is 'the true and effective priest,' declares Pope at Corpus Christi Mass

Vatican City, Jun 4, 2010 / (CNA/EWTN News).

Christ “transformed extreme violence and extreme injustice into a supreme deed of love and justice,” said the Holy Father at Mass in the Basilica of St. John Lateran on Thursday evening. During the homily, he spoke of the relationship between the Eucharist and Christ’s priesthood.

The atmosphere of the celebration, already dampened because of the rain, was further sobered by the news of the murder of Bishop Luigi Padovese, the President of the Turkish Bishops Conference and Apostolic Delegate to the country, earlier in the afternoon.

The Holy Father spoke of transformation of Christ, through the suffering of his life, death and resurrection, into the “supreme priest.” The Passion was for Jesus “a sort of priestly consecration,” he explained.

“He gave Himself up in atonement and the Father, by exalting Him above every creature, made Him the universal mediator of salvation,” the Pope continued. Referring to the Eucharist and the consecration to take place during the celebration of the Mass, the Holy Father pointed out that, “in it Jesus anticipated His sacrifice, not a ritual one but a personal sacrifice.

"This love," he explained, "is none other than the Holy Spirit … that consecrates the bread and wine and changes their substance into the Body and blood of the Lord, making present in the Sacrament the same Sacrifice that is brought about in a vicious way on the Cross.

It can be seen that Christ is "the true and effective priest," said Benedict XVI, because in spite of the betrayal in "his darkest hour," he was full of the Spirit, the height and fullness of God's love.

“It is this divine strength … that transformed the extreme violence and the extreme injustice into a supreme deed of love and justice. This is the work of the priesthood of Christ, which the Church has inherited and extends through history, in the dual form of the common priesthood of the baptised and the ordained priesthood of ministers, so as to transform the world with the love of God.”

He added that “all of us, priests and faithful, are nourished in the same Eucharist, we all prostrate ourselves to adore It, because in It is present our Master and Lord, is present the true Body of Jesus, Victim and Priest, salvation of the world.”

Rain kept the Mass for the Solemnity of Corpus Domini from being held in the square outside the basilica and also prevented the Eucharistic procession to the nearby Basilica of St. Mary Major afterwards for the first time since John Paul II started the event in the 1980s.

Christ assures us nothing will destroy the Church, Pope states

Lisbon, Portugal, May 11, 2010 / 02:11 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- During his apostolic visit to Portugal, the Holy Father presided over Mass in Lisbon's Palace Square on Tuesday evening. Despite negative media attention over sexual abuse that has dogged the Catholic Church in recent weeks, the Pope assured the crowd of 160,000 people that the “resurrection of Christ assures us that no adverse power will ever be able to destroy the Church.”

At the sun-filled open air Mass, a cheering throng welcomed Pope Benedict and the hundreds of clergy who led the procession to the altar. With Lisbon's Tagus River serving as a backdrop, local Cardinal Jose de la Cruz Policarpo presented the Holy Father with the gift of a crucifix featuring seafaring imagery and representing the identity of the country.

In his homily, the Pope centered his message on the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, where Christ told his disciples, “I am with you always to the close of the age.”

“These words of the risen Christ take on a particular significance in this city of Lisbon, the Pope noted, recalling that from the city “generations upon generations of Christians – bishops, priests, consecrated and lay persons, men and women, young and not so young – have journeyed forth in great numbers in obedience to the Lord’s call.”

The Holy Father praised the country for its missionary commitment, saying that Portugal “has gained a glorious place among the nations for the service rendered to the spreading of the faith: in all five continents there are local churches that owe their origin to Portuguese missionary activity.”

“Today, as you play your part in building up the European Community, you offer the contribution of your cultural and religious identity,” he said. “Indeed, just as Jesus Christ joined the disciples on the road to Emmaus, so today he walks with us in accordance with his promise: 'I am with you always, to the close of the age.'”

“We too have a real and personal experience of the risen Lord, even if it differs from that of the Apostles,” the Pope observed.

“In the living river of ecclesial Tradition, Christ is not two thousand years distant from us, but is really present among us: he gives us the Truth and he gives us the light which is our life and helps us find the path towards the future.”

But Christ's presence in the Church can be taken for granted, Pope Benedict warned. “Often we are anxiously preoccupied with the social, cultural and political consequences of the faith, taking for granted that faith is present, which unfortunately is less and less realistic,” he said. “Perhaps we have placed an excessive trust in ecclesial structures and programmes, in the distribution of powers and functions; but what will happen if salt loses its flavor?”

“In order for this not to happen,” the Pope said, “it is necessary to proclaim anew with vigor and joy the event of the death and resurrection of Christ, the heart of Christianity, the fulcrum and mainstay of our faith, the firm lever of our certainties, the strong wind that sweeps away all fear and indecision, all doubt and human calculation.”

“The resurrection of Christ assures us that no adverse power will ever be able to destroy the Church,” Pope Benedict underscored.

He then exhorted the faithful, saying “Never doubt his presence! Always seek the Lord Jesus, grow in friendship with him, receive him in Communion.”

“Learn to listen to his word and also to recognize him in the poor. Live your lives with joy and enthusiasm, sure of his presence and of his unconditional, generous friendship, faithful even to death on the cross,” the Pope urged.

“Bear witness to all of the joy that his strong yet gentle presence evokes, starting with your contemporaries,” he added.

“Tell them that it is beautiful to be a friend of Jesus and that it is well worth following him. With your enthusiasm, demonstrate that, among all the different ways of life that the world today seems to offer us – apparently all on the same level – the only way in which we find the true meaning of life and hence true and lasting joy, is by following Jesus.”

To read Pope Benedict's full homily, click here.

Fatima message shows Catholic Church is attacked by internal sins, Pope declares

Aboard the papal plane, May 11, 2010 / (CNA/EWTN News).-

Speaking aboard the papal plane on the way to Portugal, Pope Benedict XVI said the message of Fatima shows that attacks on the Pope and the Church also come from sins inside the Church. These internal attacks are seen in “a really terrifying way” in sexual abuse, he remarked while calling for penance and purification.

He made his comments to reporters while traveling to Portugal, the site of a 1917 Marian apparition near the town of Fatima. He was asked if the Fatima apparition’s predictions of times of trial for the Church could be applied to the sexual abuse crisis.

In the message of Fatima, Pope Benedict answered, we can discover that attacks on the Pope and the Church “come not only from the outside, but the suffering of the Church comes from inside the Church, from sins that exist inside the Church.”

“This we have always known, but today we see it in a really terrifying way. The biggest weight on the Church doesn’t come from the enemies outside but is born from sin inside the Church.

“And so the Church has a profound need to relearn penance, to accept purification, to learn on the one hand forgiveness but also the necessity of justice. And forgiveness does not substitute justice,” he said.

Pope Benedict added that Catholics need to relearn the “essentials” of conversion, prayer and penance.

During his visit to Portugal, the Pope will visit the shrine at the small village of Fatima.

When the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children at Fatima in 1917, she imparted to the seers messages about the violent trials that would afflict the world: war, starvation, and persecution of the Church and the Pope.

The first two prophetic “secrets” revealed at Fatima included a vision of hell, the request for an ardent devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the prediction of the immense damage that Russia would do to humanity by abandoning the Christian faith.

The third “secret,” not revealed to the public until the year 2000, referred to the persecutions that humanity would undergo.

“The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated,” the Virgin Mary said, according to the seers.

As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Benedict authored a theological commentary on the message of Fatima in 2000.

He wrote that the message of the apparition is “the exhortation to prayer as the path of ‘salvation for souls’ and, likewise, the summons to penance and conversion.”

Pope says he brings wisdom and mission to Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal, May 11, 2010 / (CNA/EWTN News).-

Pope Benedict XVI departed from Rome this morning and arrived at the Portela International Airport in Lisbon, Portugal, commencing the 15th foreign visit of his pontificate. Speaking at the airport, the Holy Father announced that the goal of his visit is to share wisdom and remind Christians of their mission.

The Holy Father was greeted when he arrived at the airport by president of the Republic of Portugal Anibal Cavaco Silva and by the Patriarch of Portugal, Cardinal Jose de la Cruz Policarpo, as well as other civil authorities and members of the Portuguese episcopate.

In an address following his arrival, the Pope stated that he comes “as a pilgrim to Our Lady of Fatima, invested from on high with the mission of confirming my brothers and sisters as they advance on their own pilgrimage towards heaven.”

Referring to the apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Fatima, Pope Benedict said, “As for the event that took place 93 years ago, when heaven itself was opened over Portugal – like a window of hope that God opens when man closes the door to him – in order to refashion, within the human family, the bonds of fraternal solidarity based on the mutual recognition of the one Father, this was a loving design from God; it does not depend on the Pope, nor on any other ecclesial authority: 'It was not the Church that imposed Fatima,' as Cardinal Manuel Cerejeira of blessed memory used to say, 'but it was Fatima that imposed itself on the Church'.”

“The Virgin Mary,” the Holy Father explained, “came from heaven to remind us of Gospel truths that constitute for humanity – so lacking in love and without hope for salvation – the source of hope.”

“The aim of this visit,” he announced, “which I am now beginning under the sign of hope, is to be a proposal of wisdom and of mission.” This wisdom and mission, he said, finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

“An insightful vision of life and of the world leads to a just ordering of society,” the Pontiff said, extending his reflection to the societal level. “Situated within history, the Church is open to collaborate with those who do not marginalize essential consideration for the human significance of life, or reduce it to the private sphere.”

“This does not mean an ethical confrontation between a secular system and a religious system,” he noted, “rather it concerns the question about the meaning that we give to our freedom. The distinguishing feature is the value attributed to the problem of meaning and its implication in public life.”

The Pope then spoke the of the foundation of a republic in Portugal 100 years ago, saying that “distinguishing between Church and State opened a new space of freedom for the Church,” within “a cultural and ecclesial context deeply marked by rapid changes.”

“Living in a plurality of value systems and ethical structures makes it necessary to journey to the core of one's own self and to the nucleus of Christianity in order to reinforce the quality of our witness unto sanctity, and to discover the paths of the mission that lead even to the radical choice of martyrdom.”

After his address, the Holy Father went to the apostolic nunciature, where he traveled to the “Mosterio dos Jeronimo,” a 16th century monastery which was the site for the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon.

The Pontiff then made a brief visit to the ancient church of “Santa Maria de Belem,” where he prayed before the Blessed Sacrament and visited the cloister of the monastery.

Later, the Holy Father was taken, via the popemobile, to the “Palacio de Belem,” also built in the 16th century, where the president currently resides. After paying a courtesy visit to the President Cavaco Silva and meeting with him privately, the Pope signed the visitors' book and greeted member's of the president's family. Before having lunch at the apostolic nunciature, the Holy Father spoke to staff members of the presidential palace.

To read the address of Pope Benedict XVI at the Lisbon International Airport, click here.

Celibacy source of grace, not abuse, says head of Belgian Church

Rome, Italy, May 7, 2010 / (CNA/EWTN News).-

Speaking about the current climate within the Catholic Church of Belgium to the Vatican’s L’Osservatore Romano newspaper, Archbishop Andre-Mutien Joseph Leonard highlighted the importance of formation for the priesthood. Celibacy, he underlined, is not the cause of sexual abuses and greater focus needs to be put on priestly formation to avoid future tragedy.

The primate of the Belgian Church spoke to the Vatican’s semi-official newspaper while in Rome for the Belgian bishops’ “ad Limina” visit to the Holy See.

In response to a question about whether the cases of sexual abuse that have come to light in the Church are due to faults in the process of forming priests, the archbishop said “investigating the causes is always difficult.” “However,” he added, “I’m convinced that it is not correct to trace certain deviant attitudes back to the celibacy of priests.”

Archbishop Leonard pointed out that no one calls marriage a “source of mental imbalance” although the majority of cases of sexual abuse of minors take place in the home.

The personal development of the individual is the problem, he said, and it’s an additional reason to put more focus on the formation of priests, placing importance on the “affective equilibrium” of candidates.

Proposing specific actions to be taken to avoid such tragedies in the future, Archbishop Leonard said more attention must be given to potential priests during their time of discernment and in the first few years of formation. The Belgian Church intends “to reinforce” the personnel that accompany seminarians “to understand their nature, personality and balance more deeply,” he added.

“But, I repeat, celibacy is not a source of imbalance for the priest; rather it’s a source of grace.”

The Bishops of Belgium will all meet in audience with Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday to conclude their “ad Limina” visit to the Holy See.