Pope Benedict XVI Prays Before the Remains of St. Augustine

On April 22, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI visited the northern Italian city of Pavia, where he prayed before the remains of St. Augustine. Below is a copy of his homily.

PASTORAL VISIT TO VIGEVANO AND PAVIA (ITALY)
CELEBRATION OF VESPERS
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Basilica of St Pietro in Ciel d'Oro, Pavia
Third Sunday of Easter, 22 April 2007

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

With this final event, my Visit to Pavia acquires the form of a pilgrimage. This is the form in which I had conceived of it from the outset, desiring to come here to venerate the mortal remains of St Augustine, to express both the homage of the whole Catholic Church to one of her greatest "fathers" and my personal devotion and gratitude to the one who played such an important part in my life as a theologian and a Pastor, but, I would say, even more as a man and a priest.

I renew with affection my greeting to Bishop Giovanni Giudici and I offer a special greeting to Fr Robert Francis Prevost, Prior General of the Augustinians, to the Father Provincial and to the entire Augustinian community. I greet you all with joy, dear priests, men and women religious, consecrated lay people and seminarians.

Providence has deigned that my journey acquire the character of a true and proper Pastoral Visit, and therefore, in this pause for prayer here at the tomb of the Doctor gratiae, I would like to identify a significant message for the Church's progress. This message comes to us from the encounter of the Word of God and the personal experience of the great Bishop of Hippo.

We have listened to the short biblical Reading for Second Vespers of the Third Sunday of Easter (Heb 10:12-14). The Letter to the Hebrews has set us before Christ, the eternal High Priest, exalted to the Father's glory after offering himself as the one perfect sacrifice of the New Covenant in which the work of Redemption was accomplished.

St Augustine fixed his gaze on this mystery and in it he found the Truth he was so ardently seeking. Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, the Sacrificed and Risen Lamb, is the Face of God-Love for every human being on his journey along the paths of time towards eternity.

The Apostle John writes in a passage that can be considered parallel to the one just proclaimed in the Letter to the Hebrews: "In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins" (I Jn 4:10). Here is the heart of the Gospel, the central nucleus of Christianity. The light of this love opened Augustine's eyes and led him to encounter the "beauty so old and so new" (Confessions, X, 27) in which alone the human heart finds peace.

Dear brothers and sisters, here, in front of St Augustine's tomb, I would like in spirit to present anew to the Church and to the world my first Encyclical, which contains precisely this central message of the Gospel: Deus caritas est, God is love (cf. I Jn 4:8,16). This Encyclical, especially Part One, is deeply indebted to the thought of St Augustine, who was in love with the Love of God and sang of it, meditated upon it, preached it in all his writings and above all witnessed to it in his pastoral ministry.

Following in the wake of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and of my venerable Predecessors John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II, I am convinced that humanity today stands in need of this essential message, incarnate in Jesus Christ: God is love. Everything must start from here and everything must lead to here, every pastoral action, every theological treatise.

As St Paul said, "If I ... have not love I gain nothing" (cf. I Cor 13:3). All charisms lose their meaning and value without love, thanks to which instead, all compete to build the Mystical Body of Christ.

Here then is the message that still today St Augustine repeats to the whole Church and in particular, to this diocesan Community which preserves his relics with such veneration. Love is the soul of the Church's life and of her pastoral action. We heard it this morning in the dialogue between Jesus and Simon Peter: "Do you love me?... Tend my sheep" (cf. Jn 21:5-17).

Only those who live a personal experience of the Lord's love are able to exercise the task of guiding and accompanying others on the way of following Christ. At the school of St Augustine, I repeat this truth for you as Bishop of Rome, while as a Christian I welcome it with you with ever new joy.

Serving Christ is first of all a question of love. Dear brothers and sisters, your membership in the Church and your apostolate always shine forth through freedom from any individual interest and through adherence without reserve to Christ's love.

The young, in particular, need to receive the proclamation of freedom and joy whose secret lies in Christ. He is the truest response to the expectations of their hearts, restless because of the many questions they bear within them.

Only in him, the Word spoken for us by the Father, is found that combination of truth and love which contains the full meaning of life. Augustine lived in the first person and explored to their depths the questions that man carries in his heart, and investigated his capacity to open himself to the infinity of God.

In Augustine's footsteps, may you also be a Church that candidly proclaims the "glad tidings" of Christ, his proposal of life, his message of reconciliation and forgiveness.

I have seen that your first pastoral goal is to lead people to Christian maturity. I appreciate this priority given to personal formation because the Church is not a mere organization of group events or, on the contrary, the sum of individuals who live a private religiosity. The Church is a community of people who believe in the God of Jesus Christ and commit themselves to live in the world the commandment of love that he bequeathed to us.

Thus, she is a community where one is taught to love, and this education happens not despite but through the events of life. This is how it was for Peter, for Augustine and for all the saints. So it is for us.

Personal maturation, enlivened by ecclesial charity, also makes it possible to grow in community discernment, that is, in the ability to read and interpret the present time in the light of the Gospel in order to respond to the Lord's call. I encourage you to progress in your personal and communal witness to active love.

The service of charity, which you correctly conceive of as always linked to the proclamation of the Word and the celebration of the Sacraments, calls you and at the same time drives you to be attentive to the material and spiritual needs of your brothers and sisters.

I encourage you to pursue the "high standard" of Christian living which finds in charity the bond of perfection and which must also be expressed in a lifestyle inspired by the Gospel, inevitably against the tide by the world's standards but which must always be witnessed to with humility, respect and cordiality.

Dear brothers and sisters, it was a gift to me, truly a gift, to share with you this time at St Augustine's tomb. Your presence has given my pilgrimage a more concrete sense of Church. Let us start out from here bearing in our hearts the joy of being disciples of Love.

May the Virgin Mary, to whose motherly protection I entrust each one of you and your loved ones, accompany us always, while with deep affection I impart my Apostolic Blessing to you all.

* * *

As he left the Basilica, the Pope greeted the faithful of Pavia, including a large number of children who were waiting for him outside:

Dear Children,

In taking leave of this marvellous City of Pavia, it is a great joy for me to be able to see the children, boys and girls and young people. You are especially close to the Lord. His love is especially for you.

Let us move forward in love for the Lord! Pray for me, and I will pray for you. Good-bye!

© Copyright 2007 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Image Source: REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini (ITALY)

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The Limbo of the Infants

There is a great controversy over the news release yesterday, which stated the Pope had "buried" the concept of the Limbo of the infants (limbus infantium). Let me start by clarifying that the Limbo of the Fathers (limbus patrum) - the place where the holy people who died before Christ was resurrected - still is part of Catholic Theology. The Limbo of the infants, called Limbo for short, was the only idea addressed yesterday.

Here is part of an article by Reuters:

The Roman Catholic Church has effectively buried the concept of limbo, the place where centuries of tradition and teaching held that babies who die without baptism went. In a long-awaited document, the Church's International Theological Commission said limbo reflected an "unduly restrictive view of salvation," according to the U.S.-based Catholic News Service, which obtained a copy on Friday.

The thumbs-down verdict on limbo had been expected for years and the document, called "The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptised," was seen as most likely to be final since limbo was never formally part of Church doctrine. Pope Benedict authorized the publication of the document. According to the CNS report, the 41-page document says the theologians advising the Pope concluded that since God is merciful he "wants all human beings to be saved."

Yet, as we have grown to expect, the secular media is vastly ignorant of Catholicism.  The Roman Catholic Church has not by this document changed anything - it has only muddied the waters due to their modernistic tendencies. The International Theological Commission is not infallible, and the findings of the Commission are not binding on anyone.

To restate Catholic doctrine: Baptism is necessary for salvation, but the children who have died in the womb or after birth but before the age of reason without Baptism died without the Sacrament through no fault of their own. Original sin still remains on their soul but they could not have committed any actual sins.  So, is it just that they should suffer in Hell? St. Augustine believed that children who die without Baptism would unfortunately have to go to Hell. Yet, as the Church has further understood this reality, this is not the case. Pope St. Pius X and other saints have disagreed and claimed that such children go to an special place called the Limbo of the Infants. The Catechism of St. Pius X states, "There should be the greatest anxiety to have infants baptised because, on account of their tender age, they are exposed to many dangers of death, and cannot be saved without Baptism."

Pope Pius VI in Auctorem Fidei on August 28, 1794, particularly countered those who sought to deny the Limbo of the Infants when he wrote:

[Errors of the Synod of Pistoia.] The doctrine which rejects as a Pelagian fable that place of the lower regions (which the faithful generally designate by the name of limbo of the children) in which the souls of those departing with the sole guilt of original sin are punished with the punishment of the condemned, exclusive of the punishment of fire [...] is false, rash, injurious to Catholic schools.

Yet even better-than-average news sources like Catholic World News, in an article yesterday claimed, "Limbo has never been defined as church dogma and is not mentioned in the current Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states simply that unbaptized infants are entrusted to God's mercy." However, this downplays the fact that it has been long believed without being officially defined dogmatically.

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Quotations: Pope Pius XII

"Bodily pain affects man as a whole down to the deepest layers of his moral being. It forces him to face again the fundamental questions of his fate, of his attitude toward God and fellow man, of his individual and collective responsibility and of the sense of his pilgrimage on earth."

"Labor is not merely the fatigue of body without sense or value; nor is it merely a humiliating servitude. It is a service of God, a gift of God, the vigor and fullness of human life, the gauge of eternal rest" (Message for Labor Day, Guideposts Sep 1955)

People continue to criticize Pope Pius XII claiming that he supported Nazism and did nothing to stop the Holocaust. That is completely false.

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Video: Tridentine Mass on the Feast of the Sacred Heart

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Students Killed at Virginia Tech

I am asking all of my readers to pray for the souls of those students murdered at Virginia Tech today. Pray also for their families and all affected by this tragedy.

Kyrie Eleison!

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Divine Mercy Sunday

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday and also Low Sunday, the Octave Day of Easter.

Our Lord revealed special messages concerning His Divine and Endless Mercy to St. Faustina. He appeared to her between 1930 and 1938, and on Good Friday of 1937 He asked for a special a Novena to precede this Sunday. Today we especially thank God for the merciful institution of the Sacrament of Confession. The title of "Divine Mercy Sunday" began on May 23, 2000. Today is the perfect day to pray for mercy, go to Confession, and pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Our Lord said to St. Faustina:

"My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened.
Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the fount of My Mercy." (699 - Diary of St. Faustina)

You may read more excerpts from the Diary of St. Faustina by clicking here.

Today is the day to turn to God again and live again the joy of Easter - Jesus Christ is Risen from the dead!  Concerning the image at the top of this post, Our Lord told St. Faustina: "I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over its enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory." (48)

St. Faustina, ora pro nobis!

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Text Of The New Icel Translation

Yes, an unofficial version of the New Translation of the Roman Missal is available in English. It appeared over on the blog of Fr. Finigan. Unfortunately, it seems to still be flawed in numerous areas, but it is certainly at least a step in the right direction. See The Hermeneutic of Continuity by Fr. Finigan for more information. There are some good improvements from the current English version. Here is one below:

For information please see The New Translation of the Roman Missal: A Guide and Explanation

Latin text
Supra quae propitio ac sereno vultu respicere digneris; et accepta habere, sicuti accepta habere dignatus es munera pueri tui justi Abel, et sacrificium patriarchae nostri Abrahae, et quod tibi obtulit summus sacerdos tuus Melchisedech, sanctum sacrificium, immaculatam hostiam.

Old ICEL
Look with favor on these offerings and accept them as once you accepted the gifts of your servant Abel, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the bread and wine offered by your priest Melchizedek.

New ICEL
Be pleased to look upon them, with a serene and kindly gaze, and to accept them as you were pleased to accept the gifts of your just servant Abel, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the offering of your high priest Melchizedek, a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim.

Also below:

Latin text
accipens et hunc praeclarum calicem in sanctas ac venerabiles manus suas

Old ICEL
he took the cup

New ICEL
he took this precious chalice into his holy and venerable hands,

For information please see The New Translation of the Roman Missal: A Guide and Explanation

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Saturday in the Octave of Easter

"Proclaim the Good News to all creation." (Mark 16:14-15)
Scripture Readings for Today (1962 Propers of the Mass):

EPISTLE I Peter 2:1-10.

Beloved: Wherefore laying away all malice and all guile and dissimulations and envies and all detractions, As newborn babes, desire the rational milk without guile, that thereby you may grow unto salvation: If so be you have tasted that the Lord is sweet. Unto whom coming, as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men but chosen and made honourable by God: Be you also as living stones built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore it is said in the scripture: "Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious. And he that shall believe in him shall not be confounded." To you therefore that believe, he is honour: but to them that believe not, "the stone which the builders rejected, the same is made the head of the corner:" And, "a stone of stumbling and a rock of scandal," to them who stumble at the word, neither do believe, whereunto also they are set. But you are a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people: that you may declare his virtues, who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Who in times past were not a people: but are now the people of God. Who had not obtained mercy: but now have obtained mercy.

Alleluia, alleluia. V. Ps. 117:24
This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it. Alleluia!
V. Ps. 112:1. Praise the Lord, you His servants, praise the name of the Lord.

SEQUENCE
May you praise the Paschal Victim,
immolated for Christians.
The Lamb redeemed the sheep:
Christ, the innocent one,
has reconciled sinners to the Father.

A wonderful duel to behold,
as death and life struggle:
The Prince of life dead,
now reigns alive.
Tell us, Mary Magdalen,
what did you see in the way?

"I saw the sepulchre of the living Christ,
and I saw the glory of the Resurrected one:
The Angelic witnesses,
the winding cloth, and His garments.
The risen Christ is my hope:
He will go before His own into Galilee."
We know Christ to have risen
truly from the dead:
And thou, victorious King,
have mercy on us.
Amen. Alleluia.

GOSPEL John 20:1-9.

At that time, on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalen cometh early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre: and she saw the stone taken away from the sepulchre. She ran therefore and cometh to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and saith to them: "They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre: and we know not where they have laid him." Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple: and they came to the sepulchre. And they both ran together: and that other disciple did outrun Peter and came first to the sepulchre. And when he stooped down, he saw the linen cloths lying: but yet he went not in. Then cometh Simon Peter, following him, and went into the sepulchre: and saw the linen cloths lying, And the napkin that had been about his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but apart, wrapped up into one place. Then that other disciple also went in, who came first to the sepulchre: and he saw and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

Reflection:

Today is the final day in the Octave of Easter. This 8-day long celebration of Easter is coming to an end today on "Low Saturday". Typically, those baptized at the Easter Vigil would wear their baptismal garments through all of the Easter Octave. Today those garments were laid aside today.

Dom Gueranger writes of this day:

In Rome, the Station is in the Lateran basilica, the mother and mistress of all churches. It is close to the baptistery of Constantine, where, eight days back, the neophytes received the grace of regeneration. The basilica, wherein they are now assembled, is that from which they set out, during the still and dark night, to the font of salvation, led on by the mysterious light of the Paschal torch. It was to this same church that they returned after their Baptism, clad in their white robes, and assisted, for the first time, at the entire celebration of the Christian Sacrifice, and received the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus. No other place could have been more appropriate for the Station of this day, whereon they were to return to the ordinary duties of life. Holy Church sees assembled around her these her new-born children. It is the last time that she will see them in their white garments, and she looks at them with all the affection of a joyful mother. They are most dear to her, as the fruit of heaven’s own giving; and during the week she has frequently given expression to her maternal pride, in canticles such as she alone can sing.

Let us never forget that Our Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son, died on the Cross for our salvation. It is through the royal road of the Cross, that we reach the Resurrection. Our Lord has said, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). In Baptism we were spiritually buried with Christ and lain in the tomb in the hopes of rising again. Only through the Cross is there the Resurrection. For this reason, I am always saddened to see churches removing Crucifixes and putting images of the Risen Christ in there. Let us never forget Our Lord's suffering, which leads to the Resurrection. Without the Cross, there is no Resurrection.

There is much evangelization needed over the Internet and in the world. At times I am easily discouraged by the lack of Faith, hatred, and ignorance. But, let us remember Our Lord's words, "In the world, you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world" (John 16:33). Let us go forth each and everyday living by living the teachings of Jesus and preaching the Truth of the Catholic Church and Jesus. Jesus told His disciples to "Proclaim the Good News to all creation" (Mark 16:14-15). We also must help spread the Truth. In the words of St. Francis of Assisi, "Preach always, when necessary use words."

Tomorrow is Low Sunday. Keep in mind though that the Easter Season is a full 40 days but when we also add in Ascentiontide and the Octave of Pentecost, Pascaltide as a whole is a full 56 days.

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Transfiguration by Fr. John Dear

Two days ago I started reading "Transfiguration" by Fr. John Dear, published by Double Day in 2007. After completing 20% of the book, I had to put it down. I was excited to read the book because in the first few pages, Fr. Dear describes the Transfiguration of Jesus and his experience with visiting Mt. Tabor, the place where the Transfiguration took place. Unfortunately, the book hit rock bottom after this point.

After reading 55 pages and scanning the remaining parts of the book, Fr. Dear is concerned only about anti-war messages and social work. The entire book is meant to the peace movement, elimination of nuclear weapons, end of the death penalty, protection of the environment, etc. He wants the Just War Theory removed from Church teaching. Fr. Dear makes no mention of the need to receive the Sacraments. He seems so concerned with the world that he is neglecting the purpose of the priesthood - saving immortal souls!

I decided to find more information, so I visited Fr. John Dear's website. And what did I find? I found pictures of a man dressed in laypeople's clothing. Yes, Fr. John Dear is one of the Catholic priests that doesn't teach the Catechism well or dress like a priest with a Roman Collar. I was even more disappointed. In fact, anti-war was the only message I saw on his website. I saw nothing about the need for Confession, Eucharist, Mass, etc. While Jesus certainly did preach peace (Matthew 26:52), Our Lord still used the rope to drive thieves from the Temple (Matthew 21:12-17). I politely suggest that Fr. John Dear needs to read that part of the Gospel again.

Concerning the book, I did enjoy some parts like his inclusion of Mother Teresa and her total dependence on God. Unfortunately, there were some parts that I did not like at all. For example, on page 11 it states, "Through contemplative prayer, Gospel study, and shared community, we can learn to walk with [Jesus]..." There is no mention of the Sacraments, the Mass, the Rosary, or anything genuinely Catholic. Furthermore, page 19 states, "Jesus was determined not to play God, but to be as human, as real, as possible". Jesus Christ is God! Fr. Dear is very wrong and appears close to blasphemy with that statement. And finally, Fr. Dear writes, "Jesus would dedicate His life to justice for the poor, the imprisoned, the blind, the oppressed and the homeless..." (Page 21). Again, wrong - Jesus dedicated His life to saving our immortal souls by dying on the Cross. While He did heal and preach, His mission was to die for our salvation.

If you want a book on the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mt. Tabor, this is not your book. If you want a book about the Transfiguration and how it promotes a radical message on total pacifism from a priest that can't even wear a Roman collar, this is the book.

I do not recommend this book.

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Pope Benedict XVI writes on Evolution

I originally posted about evolution back in May 2006 with the post Catholics and the Theory of Evolution. Today there is an update to subject. The following is from USA Today:

Benedict XVI, in his first extended reflections on evolution published as pope, says that Darwin's theory cannot be finally proven and that science has unnecessarily narrowed humanity's view of creation. 

In a new book, Creation and Evolution, published Wednesday in German, the pope praised progress gained by science, but cautioned that evolution raises philosophical questions science alone cannot answer.

"The question is not to either make a decision for a creationism that fundamentally excludes science, or for an evolutionary theory that covers over its own gaps and does not want to see the questions that reach beyond the methodological possibilities of natural science," the pope said.

Photo Source: Gregorio Borgia, AP

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