On St. Matilda, God's Nightingale

On St. Matilda, God's Nightingale


"The Liturgy Is a Great School of Spirituality"

VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 29, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience in St. Peter's Square.

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Dear brothers and sisters,

Today I would like to speak to you about St. Matilda of Hackeborn, one of the great figures of the monastery of Helfta, who lived in the 13th century.

Her religious sister, St. Gertrude the Great, in Book VI of the work "Liber specialis gratiae" (Book of Special Grace), in which are narrated the special graces that God granted St. Matilda, says thus: "What we have written is very little compared with what we have omitted. Only for the glory of God and usefulness of our neighbor do we publish these things, because it would seem unjust to us to maintain silence about the many graces that Matilda received from God not so much for herself, it seems to us, but for us and for those who will come after us" (Matilda von Hackeborn, Liber specialis gratiae, VI, 1).

This work was written by St. Gertrude and by another sister of Helfta and it has a singular history. At the age of 50, Matilda was going through a grave spiritual crisis, together with physical sufferings. In these conditions she confided to two sister-friends the singular graces with which God had guided her since her childhood, but she did not know that they were writing it all down. When she found this out, she felt profoundly anguished and troubled. But the Lord consoled her, making her understand that what had been written was for the glory of God and the good of her neighbor (cf. Ibid., II,25; V,20). Therefore, this work is the main source from which to obtain information on the life and spirituality of our saint.

With her we introduce ourselves to the family of the Baron of Hackeborn, one of the most noble, rich and powerful families of Thuringia, related to emperor Frederick II, and we enter the monastery of Helfta in the most glorious period of its history. The baron had already given one daughter to the monastery, Gertrude of Hackeborn (1231/1232 - 1291/1292), gifted with an outstanding personality. [She was] abbess for 40 years, able to give a peculiar stamp to the monastery's spirituality, leading it to an extraordinary flowering as center of mysticism and culture, and a school of scientific and theological formation. Gertrude offered the nuns high intellectual instruction, which enabled them to cultivate a spirituality founded on sacred Scripture, on the liturgy, on the patristic tradition, on the Cistercian Rule and spirituality, with particular predilection for St. Bernard of Clairvaux and William of St. Thierry. She was a true teacher, exemplary in everything, in evangelical radicalism and apostolic zeal. Matilda, from her youth, received and enjoyed the spiritual and cultural climate created by her sister, adding later her personal stamp.

Matilda was born in 1241 or 1242 in the castle of Helfta; she was the baron's third daughter. When she was seven years old, she and her mother visited her sister Gertrude in the monastery of Rodersdorf. She was so fascinated by the environment that she ardently desired to be a part of it. She entered as a pupil and in 1258 she became a nun of the convent, which in the meantime had been moved to Helfta, on the property of the Hackeborn. She was outstanding for her humility, fervor, kindness, purity and innocence of life, the familiarity and intensity with which she lived her relationship with God, the Virgin and the saints. She was gifted with lofty natural and spiritual qualities, such as "science, intelligence, knowledge of human letters, a wonderfully soft voice: Everything made her adequate to be a real treasure for the monastery in all aspects" (Ibid., Proemio).

Thus, "God's nightingale" -- as she was called -- though very young, became the director of the monastery's school, director of the choir, and mistress of novices, services which she carried out with talent and tireless zeal, not only for the benefit of the nuns, but for all those who wished to appeal to her wisdom and goodness.

Enlightened by the divine gift of mystical contemplation, Matilda composed numerous prayers. She was a faithful teacher of doctrine and had great humility; she was a counselor, consoler, a guide in discernment: "She, one reads, "distributed doctrine with so much abundance as had ever been seen in the monastery and oh! we fear greatly that something similar will never be seen again. The nuns met with her to listen to the word of God, as they would a preacher. She was the refuge and consoler of all and she had, as a singular gift of God, the grace of revealing freely the secrets of each one's heart. Many people, not only in the monastery, but also strangers, religious and laymen, arriving from afar, attested that this holy virgin had freed them from their sorrows and that they had never experienced so much consolation as they did by her side. She also composed and taught so many prayers that if they were all collected they would surpass the volume of a psalter" (Ibid., VI, 1).

In 1261 a five-year-old girl named Gertrude arrived at the convent: She was entrusted to the care of Matilda, who was only 20, who educated and guided her in the spiritual life until she made of her not only her excellent disciple, but her confidant. In 1271 or 1272 Matilda of Magdeburg also entered the monastery. Hence the place received four great women -- two Gertrudes and two Matildas -- a glory of German monasticism.

In her long life spent in the monastery, Matilda endured constant and intense sufferings, to which she added the very harsh penances chosen for the conversion of sinners. In this way she took part in the Lord's passion until the end of her life (cf. Ibid., VI, 2). Prayer and contemplation were the vital soil of her existence: the revelations, her teachings, her service to her neighbor, her journey in faith and in love have their root and context here. In the first book of the work "Liber specialis gratiae," the writers gather Matilda's confidences indicated on the feasts of the Lord, of the saints and, especially, of the Blessed Virgin. Impressive is this saint's capacity to live the liturgy in its various components, including the simplest, bringing it into daily monastic life. Some images, expressions and applications perhaps are distant from our sensibility but, if one considers monastic life and her task of teacher and choir director, one notes her singular capacity as educator and formator, who helped the sisters to live intensely, from the liturgy, each moment of monastic life.

In liturgical prayer Matilda highlighted particularly the canonical hours, the celebration of holy Mass, above all holy Communion. At that moment she was often raised in ecstasy in profound intimacy with the Lord in his most ardent and gentle heart, in a stupendous dialogue, in which she prayed for interior illumination, while she interceded in a special way for her community and her sisters. At the center were the mysteries of Christ to which the Virgin Mary referred constantly in order to walk on the path of sanctity: "If you desire true sanctity, stay close to my Son; he is sanctity itself who sanctifies everything" (Ibid., I, 40). In her intimacy with God the whole world was present, the Church, benefactors, sinners. For her, heaven and earth were united.

Her visions, her teachings, the circumstances of her existence are described with expressions that evoke liturgical and biblical language. Hence one understands her profound knowledge of sacred Scripture, her daily bread. She takes recourse to it constantly, either savoring the biblical texts proclaimed in the liturgy, or using symbols, terms, landscapes, images and personages. Her predilection was for the Gospel: "The words of the Gospel were for her a wonderful nourishment and aroused in her heart feelings of such sweetness that often because of her enthusiasm she could not finish the reading. ... The way in which she read those words was so fervent that it aroused devotion in everyone. Likewise, when she sang in the choir, she was completely absorbed in God, transported by such ardor that at times she manifested her feelings with gestures. ... At others, raised in ecstasy, she did not hear those who called her or moved her and it was hard for her to recover the sense of exterior things" (Ibid., VI, 1).

In one of her visions, Jesus himself recommended the Gospel; opening to her the wound of his most gentle heart, he said to her: "Consider how great is my love: If you want to know it well, you will not find it expressed more clearly anywhere than in the Gospel. No one has ever expressed stronger or more tender feelings than these: As my Father has loved me, so have I loved you (John 15:9)" (Ibid., I, 22).

Dear friends, personal and liturgical prayer, especially the liturgy of the hours and holy Mass, are the root of the spiritual experience of St. Matilda of Hackeborn. Allowing herself to be guided by sacred Scripture and to be nourished by the Eucharistic Bread, she followed a path of intimate union with the Lord, always in full fidelity to the Church. This is for us also a strong invitation to intensify our friendship with the Lord, above all through daily prayer and attentive, faithful and active participation in the holy Mass. The liturgy is a great school of spirituality.

Her disciple Gertrude describes with intense expressions the last moments of the life of St. Matilda of Hackeborn, very harsh, but illumined by the presence of the most Blessed Trinity, of the Lord, of the Virgin, of all the saints, and also of her blood sister Gertrude. When the hour arrived in which the Lord wanted to take her with him, she asked him to be able to live a bit longer in suffering for the salvation of souls, and Jesus was pleased with this further sign of love.

Matilda was 58 years old. She lived the last stretch of her journey characterized by eight years of grave illnesses. Her work and her reputation for holiness spread widely. When her hour arrived, "the God of Majesty ... only sweetness of the soul that loves him ... sang to her: 'Venite vos, benedicti Patris mei' ... Come you blessed of my Father, come to receive the kingdom ... and he associated her to his glory" (Ibid., VI, 8).

St. Matilda of Hackeborn entrusts us to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Virgin Mary. She invites us to praise the Son with the heart of the Mother and to praise Mary with the heart of the Son. "I greet you, O most venerated Virgin, in that most gentle dew, which from the heart of the Most Blessed Trinity was diffused in you; I greet you in the glory and the joy with which you now rejoice eternally, you who, preferred to all the creatures of earth and heaven, were chosen even before the creation of the world! Amen" (Ibid., I, 45).

[Translation by ZENIT]

[At the end of the audience, the Pope greeted the people in several languages. In English, he said:]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In our catechesis today, we focus on the life of Saint Matilda of Hackeborn, one of several important thirteenth-century figures of the convent of Helfta in Saxony. Entering there at an early age, Matilda was formed in an intensely spiritual and intellectual atmosphere founded upon Sacred Scripture, the liturgy, and the patristic tradition. This climate, along with the gift of divine illumination that she received through her mystical contemplation, enabled her to compose numerous prayers and be of counsel and consolation to many. Distinguished by her humility and intelligence, and by the intensity with which she lived her relationship with God and the saints, Matilda became the director of the convent’s novices, its choir, and its school. In this way she also became the spiritual guide of Saint Gertrude the Great, another important figure of Germanic monasticism. Dear friends, Saint Matilda’s life of prayer, guided by Sacred Scripture and nourished by the Holy Eucharist, led her to an intimate union with Christ, expressed in her devotion to his Sacred Heart. May we too grow in that devotion, through the power of her intercession.

I am pleased to greet the seminarians and staff from the Venerable English College and the new students and staff from the Pontifical Irish College, and I offer prayerful good wishes for their studies. I also welcome the members of the Christ Child Society from the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio, accompanied by Bishop Leonard Blair. Upon all the English-speaking visitors present at today’s audience, especially the pilgrim groups from Britain, Ireland, Denmark, Nigeria, Oceania, the Philippines, and North America, I invoke God’s abundant blessings.

© Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

[He added the following comments in Italian:]

I address a cordial thought to Italian-speaking pilgrims. In particular, I greet affectionately the faithful of the Diocese of Belluno-Feltre, accompanied by their pastor, Bishop Giuseppe Andrich, and gathered in Rome to pray at the tomb of the Servant of God John Paul II for the occasion of the anniversary of his death.

I greet the students of the "Maria Mater Ecclesiae" International Pontifical College of Rome, assuring each one of my remembrance in prayer, so that the Lord will always fill them with his gifts of grace.

In addition, I greet the participants in the pilgrimage of youth of the Focolare Movement, promoted on the occasion of the beatification of Chiara Badano and I invite them, following the example of the new blessed, to continue in their commitment of adherence to Christ and to evangelical witness.

Finally I greet young people, the sick and newlyweds. Today's feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael and the upcoming feast of the holy guardian angels, moves us to think of the provident care with which God looks after each human person.

Feel the presence of the angels beside you, dear young people, and let yourselves be guided by them, so that your whole life is enlightened by the Word of God.

You, dear sick, helped by your guardian angels, unite your sufferings to those of Christ for the spiritual renewal of human society. And you, dear newlyweds, often take recourse to your guardian angels, so that you can grow in the constant witness of an authentic love.

[He concluded the audience with this appeal in English:]

My thoughts also turn to the grave humanitarian crisis which has recently struck Northern Nigeria, where some two million people have been forced to flee their homes because of severe flooding. To all those affected I express my spiritual closeness and I assure them of my prayers.

© Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

On Love With a Capital "L"

On Love With a Capital "L"


"Our Eternal Destiny Is Conditioned by Our Attitude"

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, SEPT. 26, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today before and after praying the midday Angelus with crowds gathered at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.

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Dear brothers and sisters!

In this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 16:19-31), Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and the poor man named Lazarus. The first one lives in luxury and self-concern, and when he dies, ends up in hell. But the poor man, who ate the scraps from the rich man’s table, is carried by the angels to the eternal dwelling of God and the saints. “Blessed are you poor,” the Lord proclaimed to his disciples, “because yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20).

But the message of the parable goes further: It points out that while we are in this world we must listen to the Lord who speaks to us through the Scriptures and live according to his will, because, after death, it will be too late to make amends. So, this parable tells us two things: The first is that he loves the poor and lifts them up from their humiliation; the second is that our eternal destiny is conditioned by our attitude; it is up to us to follow the road to life that God has shown us, and this is the road of love, not understood as sentiment but as service to others in the charity of Christ.

By a happy coincidence, tomorrow we celebrate the liturgical memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, the patron of Catholic charitable organizations; the 300th anniversary of his death will be celebrated. In the France of the 1600s, he touched with his own hand the great contrast between the richest and the poorest. In fact, as a priest, he was in the habit of frequenting not only the aristocratic circles, but also the countryside and the Paris slums.

Driven by the love of Christ, Vincent de Paul knew how to organize stable forms of service to marginalized persons, creating the so-called Charitées (charities), that is, groups of women who placed their time and goods at the service of the most marginalized. Among these volunteers, some chose to consecrate themselves totally to God, and thus, together with St. Luise de Marillac, St. Vincent founded the Daughters of Charity, the first women’s congregation to live their consecration “in the world,” in the midst of the people, with the sick and the needy.

Dear friends, only Love with a capital “L” makes for true happiness! This is also demonstrated by another witness, a young woman, who was proclaimed blessed here in Rome. I am speaking of Chiara Badano, an Italian girl born in 1971, who was led to death by an illness when she was a little less than 19 years old, but who was a ray of light for everyone, as her nickname, “Chiara Luce” (clear light), tells us. Her parish, the Diocese of Acqui Terme and the Focolare Movement, which she belonged to, are celebrating today -- and it is a festive day for all young people who can find in her an example of consistent Christianity.

Her last words, of complete adherence to the will of God, were: “Bye-bye Mamma. Be happy because I am.” Let us praise God because his love is stronger than evil and death; and let us thank the Virgin Mary, who guides young people, through difficulties and sufferings too, to fall in love with Jesus and discover the beauty of life.

[Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father greeted the pilgrims in several languages. Here are some of the remarks he made in Italian:]

I am happy to welcome, from various countries, the large group of Daughters of Charity, priests of the mission and laypeople of the Vincentian associations as well as the Brothers of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallottines).

Dear friends, if it pleases God, on Thursday I will return to Rome; so, as I wish you all a good Sunday I also address a cordial “till we meet again” to the community of Castel Gandolfo.

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

[In English the Holy Father said:]

I am very pleased to welcome all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present here this morning! In today’s Gospel, the story of the rich man and Lazarus is held up to us as a warning to have a special care for the poor in all circumstances. As followers of our blessed Lord, let us always look to others first, before we look to our own comfort. God’s abundant blessings upon you all!

© Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

On Blessed John Henry Newman's Love of Mary

On Blessed John Henry Newman's Love of Mary




"He Lived His Priestly Ministry in a Spirit of Filial Devotion"



BIRMINGHAM, England, SEPT. 19, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address given by Benedict XVI today before praying the midday Angelus with the pilgrims gathered in Cofton Park of Rednal, Birmingham, for the beatification ceremony of Cardinal John Henry Newman.

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Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

I am pleased to send my greetings to the people of Seville where, just yesterday, Madre María de la Purísima de la Cruz was beatified. May Blessed María be an inspiration to young women to follow her example of single-minded love of God and neighbour.


When Blessed John Henry Newman came to live in Birmingham, he gave the name "Maryvale" to his first home here. The Oratory that he founded is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin. And the Catholic University of Ireland he placed under the patronage of Mary, Sedes Sapientiae. In so many ways, he lived his priestly ministry in a spirit of filial devotion to the Mother of God. Meditating upon her role in the unfolding of God's plan for our salvation, he was moved to exclaim: "Who can estimate the holiness and perfection of her, who was chosen to be the Mother of Christ? What must have been her gifts, who was chosen to be the only near earthly relative of the Son of God, the only one whom He was bound by nature to revere and look up to; the one appointed to train and educate Him, to instruct Him day by day, as He grew in wisdom and in stature?" (Parochial and Plain Sermons, ii, 131-2). It is on account of those abundant gifts of grace that we honour her, and it is on account of that intimacy with her divine Son that we naturally seek her intercession for our own needs and the needs of the whole world. In the words of the Angelus, we turn now to our Blessed Mother and commend to her the intentions that we hold in our hearts.

© Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Papal Homily at Beatification of Cardinal Newman

Papal Homily at Beatification of Cardinal Newman




"He Lived Out a Profoundly Human Vision of Priestly Ministry"



BIRMINGHAM, England, SEPT. 19, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is the homily Benedict XVI delivered at the beatification ceremony of Cardinal John Henry Newman, which took place today in Birmingham on the fourth and last day of the Pope's visit to the United Kingdom.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This day that has brought us together here in Birmingham is a most auspicious one. In the first place, it is the Lord’s day, Sunday, the day when our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead and changed the course of human history for ever, offering new life and hope to all who live in darkness and in the shadow of death. That is why Christians all over the world come together on this day to give praise and thanks to God for the great marvels he has worked for us. This particular Sunday also marks a significant moment in the life of the British nation, as it is the day chosen to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the Battle of Britain. For me as one who lived and suffered through the dark days of the Nazi regime in Germany, it is deeply moving to be here with you on this occasion, and to recall how many of your fellow citizens sacrificed their lives, courageously resisting the forces of that evil ideology. My thoughts go in particular to nearby Coventry, which suffered such heavy bombardment and massive loss of life in November 1940. Seventy years later, we recall with shame and horror the dreadful toll of death and destruction that war brings in its wake, and we renew our resolve to work for peace and reconciliation wherever the threat of conflict looms. Yet there is another, more joyful reason why this is an auspicious day for Great Britain, for the Midlands, for Birmingham. It is the day that sees Cardinal John Henry Newman formally raised to the altars and declared Blessed.

I thank Archbishop Bernard Longley for his gracious welcome at the start of Mass this morning. I pay tribute to all who have worked so hard over many years to promote the cause of Cardinal Newman, including the Fathers of the Birmingham Oratory and the members of the Spiritual Family Das Werk. And I greet everyone here from Great Britain, Ireland, and further afield; I thank you for your presence at this celebration, in which we give glory and praise to God for the heroic virtue of a saintly Englishman.
England has a long tradition of martyr saints, whose courageous witness has sustained and inspired the Catholic community here for centuries. Yet it is right and fitting that we should recognize today the holiness of a confessor, a son of this nation who, while not called to shed his blood for the Lord, nevertheless bore eloquent witness to him in the course of a long life devoted to the priestly ministry, and especially to preaching, teaching, and writing. He is worthy to take his place in a long line of saints and scholars from these islands, Saint Bede, Saint Hilda, Saint Aelred, Blessed Duns Scotus, to name but a few. In Blessed John Henry, that tradition of gentle scholarship, deep human wisdom and profound love for the Lord has borne rich fruit, as a sign of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit deep within the heart of God’s people, bringing forth abundant gifts of holiness.

Cardinal Newman’s motto, Cor ad cor loquitur, or "Heart speaks unto heart", gives us an insight into his understanding of the Christian life as a call to holiness, experienced as the profound desire of the human heart to enter into intimate communion with the Heart of God. He reminds us that faithfulness to prayer gradually transforms us into the divine likeness. As he wrote in one of his many fine sermons, "a habit of prayer, the practice of turning to God and the unseen world in every season, in every place, in every emergency – prayer, I say, has what may be called a natural effect in spiritualizing and elevating the soul. A man is no longer what he was before; gradually … he has imbibed a new set of ideas, and become imbued with fresh principles" (Parochial and Plain Sermons, iv, 230-231).

Today’s Gospel tells us that no one can be the servant of two masters (cf. Lk 16:13), and Blessed John Henry’s teaching on prayer explains how the faithful Christian is definitively taken into the service of the one true Master, who alone has a claim to our unconditional devotion (cf. Mt 23:10). Newman helps us to understand what this means for our daily lives: he tells us that our divine Master has assigned a specific task to each one of us, a "definite service", committed uniquely to every single person: "I have my mission", he wrote, "I am a link in a chain, a bond of connexion between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do his work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place … if I do but keep his commandments and serve him in my calling" (Meditations and Devotions, 301-2).

The definite service to which Blessed John Henry was called involved applying his keen intellect and his prolific pen to many of the most pressing "subjects of the day". His insights into the relationship between faith and reason, into the vital place of revealed religion in civilized society, and into the need for a broadly-based and wide-ranging approach to education were not only of profound importance for Victorian England, but continue today to inspire and enlighten many all over the world. I would like to pay particular tribute to his vision for education, which has done so much to shape the ethos that is the driving force behind Catholic schools and colleges today. Firmly opposed to any reductive or utilitarian approach, he sought to achieve an educational environment in which intellectual training, moral discipline and religious commitment would come together. The project to found a Catholic University in Ireland provided him with an opportunity to develop his ideas on the subject, and the collection of discourses that he published as The Idea of a University holds up an ideal from which all those engaged in academic formation can continue to learn. And indeed, what better goal could teachers of religion set themselves than Blessed John Henry’s famous appeal for an intelligent, well-instructed laity: "I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold and what they do not, who know their creed so well that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it" (The Present Position of Catholics in England, ix, 390). On this day when the author of those words is raised to the altars, I pray that, through his intercession and example, all who are engaged in the task of teaching and catechesis will be inspired to greater effort by the vision he so clearly sets before us.

While it is John Henry Newman’s intellectual legacy that has understandably received most attention in the vast literature devoted to his life and work, I prefer on this occasion to conclude with a brief reflection on his life as a priest, a pastor of souls. The warmth and humanity underlying his appreciation of the pastoral ministry is beautifully expressed in another of his famous sermons: "Had Angels been your priests, my brethren, they could not have condoled with you, sympathized with you, have had compassion on you, felt tenderly for you, and made allowances for you, as we can; they could not have been your patterns and guides, and have led you on from your old selves into a new life, as they can who come from the midst of you" ("Men, not Angels: the Priests of the Gospel", Discourses to Mixed Congregations, 3). He lived out that profoundly human vision of priestly ministry in his devoted care for the people of Birmingham during the years that he spent at the Oratory he founded, visiting the sick and the poor, comforting the bereaved, caring for those in prison. No wonder that on his death so many thousands of people lined the local streets as his body was taken to its place of burial not half a mile from here. One hundred and twenty years later, great crowds have assembled once again to rejoice in the Church’s solemn recognition of the outstanding holiness of this much-loved father of souls. What better way to express the joy of this moment than by turning to our heavenly Father in heartfelt thanksgiving, praying in the words that Blessed John Henry Newman placed on the lips of the choirs of angels in heaven:

Praise to the Holiest in the height
And in the depth be praise;
In all his words most wonderful,
Most sure in all his ways!
(The Dream of Gerontius).

© Copyright 2010 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

On the Parables of Mercy

On the Parables of Mercy

"Although Being Sinners, We Are Loved by God"

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, SEPT. 12, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today before praying the midday Angelus with crowds gathered at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.

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Dear brothers and sisters!

In this Sunday's Gospel -- Chapter 15 of St. Luke -- Jesus tells the three "parables of mercy." When he "speaks of the shepherd who goes after the lost sheep, of the woman who looks for the lost coin, of the father who goes to meet and embrace his prodigal son, these are no mere words: They constitute an explanation of his very being and activity" ("Deus Caritas Est," No. 12). In fact, the shepherd who finds the lost sheep is the Lord himself who takes sinful humanity upon himself, with the cross, to redeem it. The prodigal son, then, in the third parable, is a young man who, having obtained his inheritance from his father, "travels to a distant country and squanders it living a dissolute life" (Luke 15:13).

Reduced to poverty, he is forced to work as a slave, even feeding himself with the food for the animals. "Then," the Gospel says, "he came to his senses" (Luke 15:17). "The speech he prepares for his homecoming reveals the full extent of the inner pilgrimage he is now making … he returns 'home,' to himself and to the father" (Benedict XVI, "Jesus of Nazareth," San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2008. Translation slightly modified). "I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.'" St. Augustine writes: "It is the Word himself who calls to you to return; the place of imperturbable quiet is where love does not know abandonment" ("Confessions," IV, 11). "When he was still a long way off his father saw him and had compassion, and he ran to meet him, he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him" (Luke 15:20), and filled with joy he had a feast prepared.

Dear friends, how can we not open our heart to the certainty that, although being sinners, we are loved by God? He never tires to come to meet us, he is the first to take to the road that separates us from him. The book of Exodus shows us how Moses, with confident and audacious supplication, succeeded in moving God, so to say, from the throne of judgment to the throne of mercy (cf. 32:7-11, 13-14). Repentance is the measure of faith and thanks to it one returns to the Truth. St. Paul writes: "I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance, far from the faith" (1 Timothy 1:13). Returning to the parable of the son who returns "home," we note that when the older brother appears indignant over the festive welcome given his brother, it is always the father who goes to meet him and plead with him: "Son, you are always with me and everything I have is yours" (Luke 15:31). Only faith can transform egotism into joy and restore right relations with our neighbor and with God. "We must celebrate and rejoice," the father says, "for this brother of yours … was lost and has been found" (Luke 15:32).

Dear brothers, on Thursday I will travel to the United Kingdom, where I will proclaim Cardinal John Henry Newman blessed. I ask everyone to accompany me with prayer on this apostolic voyage. To the Virgin Mary, whose most holy name is celebrated today by the Church, I entrust our path of conversion to God.

[Following the Angelus the Holy Father greeted the faithful in several languages. In Italian. he said:]

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today in Granada, Spain the Capuchin brother Leopoldo de Alpandeire, whose original name was Francisco Sánchez Márquez, is being proclaimed blessed. I rejoice with the Franciscan family who is seeing this brother of theirs added to the numerous ranks of their saints and blessed.

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

[In English he said:]

I welcome all the English-speaking pilgrims, especially the Bishops taking part in the ecumenical meeting sponsored by the Focolare Movement. I also greet the young people of the Don Bosco Oratory from Victoria, Gozo, Malta, and the Friends of the John Paul II Foundation from Saudi Arabia. I thank the members of the parish choir from Slovenia for their praise of God in song. In today's Gospel Jesus speaks of the rejoicing in heaven which accompanies the return of sinners to the house of the Father. May his words encourage us to trust always in God's merciful love and forgiveness. Upon all of you I invoke the Lord's abundant blessings!

© Copyright 2010 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

A Continuing Reflection on St. Hildegard

A Continuing Reflection on St. Hildegard


"Theology As Well Can Receive a Particular Contribution From Women"

VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 8, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today at the general audience in Paul VI Hall.

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Dear brothers and sisters,

Today I would like to take up again and continue the reflection on St. Hildegard of Bingen, an important woman of the Middle Ages, who is distinguished for her spiritual wisdom and holiness. Hildegard's mystical visions are like those of the prophets of the Old Testament: Expressing herself with the cultural and religious categories of her time, she interpreted sacred Scripture in the light of God, applying it to the various circumstances of life. Thus, all those who listened to her felt exhorted to practice a coherent and committed style of Christian living. In a letter to St. Bernard, the Rhenish mystic says: "The vision enthralled my whole being: I do not see merely with the eyes of the body, but mysteries appear to me in the spirit ... I know the profound meaning of what is expressed in the Psalter, in the Gospels and in other books, which were shown to me in the vision. This burns like a flame in my breast and in my soul, and teaches me how to understand the text profoundly" (Epistolarium pars prima I-XC: CCCM 91).

Hildegard's mystical visions are rich in theological content. They make reference to the main events of the history of salvation, and adopt a primarily poetic and symbolic language. For example, in her best known work, titled "Scivias," that is, "Know the Ways," she summarizes in 35 visions the events of the history of salvation, from the creation of the world to the end times. With the characteristic traits of feminine sensitivity, Hildegard, specifically in the central section of her work, develops the subject of the mystical marriage between God and humanity accomplished in the Incarnation. Carried out on the tree of the cross was the marriage of the Son of God with the Church, his Bride, filled with the grace of being capable of giving God new children, in the love of the Holy Spirit (cf. Visio tertia: PL 197, 453c.).

Already from these brief citations we see how theology as well can receive a particular contribution from women, because they are capable of speaking of God and of the mysteries of the faith with their specific intelligence and sensitivity. Hence, I encourage all those [women] who carry out this service to do so with a profound ecclesial spirit, nourishing their own reflection with prayer and looking to the great wealth, in part yet unexplored, of the Medieval mystical tradition, above all that represented by luminous models, such as, specifically, Hildegard of Bingen.

The Rhenish mystic is also author of other writings, two of which are particularly important because they report, as does "Scivias," her mystical visions: They are the "Liber vitae meritorum" (Books of Merits of Life) and the "Liber divinorum operum" (Book of Divine Works), also called "De operatione Dei." Described in the first is the unique and powerful vision of God who vivifies the cosmos with his strength and his light. Hildegard stresses the profound relationship between man and God and reminds us that the whole of creation, of which man is the summit, receives life from the Trinity. The writing is centered on the relationship between virtues and vices, in which the human being must daily face the challenge of vices, which distance him from the way to God, and the virtues, which favor him. It is an invitation to move away from evil to glorify God and to enter, after a virtuous existence, in the life "full of joy."

In the second work, considered by many her masterpiece, she again describes creation in its relationship with God and the centrality of man, manifesting a strong Christo-centrism of a biblical-patristic hue. The saint, who presents five visions inspired by the Prologue of St. John's Gospel, reports the words that the Son addresses to the Father: "All the work that you willed and that you entrusted to me, I have brought to a good end, and behold that I am in you, and you in me, and that we are but one thing" (Pars III, Visio X: PL 197, 1025a).

Finally, in other writings Hildegard manifests a variety of interests and the cultural vivacity of women's monasteries in the Middle Ages, contrary to the prejudices that still today are leveled upon that epoch. Hildegard was involved with medicine and the natural sciences, as well as with music, being gifted with artistic talent. She even composed hymns, antiphons and songs, collected under the title "Symphonia Harmoniae Caelestium Revelationum" (Symphony of the Harmony of the Celestial Revelations), which were joyfully performed in her monasteries, spreading an atmosphere of serenity, and which have come down to us. For her, the whole of creation is a symphony of the Holy Spirit, who in himself is joy and jubilation.

The popularity with which Hildegard was surrounded moved many persons to seek her counsel. Because of this, we have available to us many of her letters. Masculine and feminine monastic communities, bishops and abbots turned to her. Many of her answers are valid also for us. For example, to a women's religious community, Hildegard wrote thus: "The spiritual life must be taken care of with much dedication. In the beginning the effort is bitter. Because it calls for the renunciation of fancies, the pleasure of the flesh and other similar things. But if it allows itself to be fascinated by holiness, a holy soul will find sweet and lovable its very contempt for the world. It is only necessary to intelligently pay attention so that the soul does not shrivel" (E. Gronau, Hildegard. Vita di una donna profetica alle origini dell'eta moderna, Milan, 1996, p. 402).

And when the emperor Frederick Barbarossa caused an ecclesial schism by opposing three anti-popes to the legitimate Pope Alexander III, Hildegard, inspired by her visions, did not hesitate to remind him that he also, the emperor, was subject to the judgment of God. With the audacity that characterizes every prophet, she wrote these words to the emperor as God speaking: "Woe, woe to this wicked behavior of evil-doers who scorn me! Listen, O king, if you wish to live! Otherwise my sword will run you through!" (Ibid., p. 412).

With the spiritual authority with which she was gifted, in the last years of her life Hildegard began to travel, despite her advanced age and the difficult conditions of the journeys, to talk of God to the people. All listened to her eagerly, even when she took a severe tone: They considered her a messenger sent by God. Above all she called monastic communities and the clergy to a life in keeping with their vocation. In a particular way, Hildegard opposed the movement of German Cathars. They -- Cathar literally means "pure" -- advocated a radical reform of the Church, above all to combat the abuses of the clergy. She reproved them harshly for wishing to subvert the very nature of the Church, reminding them that a true renewal of the ecclesial community is not achieved so much with a change of structures, but by a sincere spirit of penance and an active path of conversion. This is a message that we must never forget.

Let us always invoke the Holy Spirit, so that he will raise up in the Church holy and courageous women, like St. Hildegard of Bingen, who, valuing the gifts received from God, will make their precious and specific contribution to the spiritual growth of our communities and of the Church in our time.

[Translation by ZENIT]

[The Pope then greeted the people in several languages. In English, he said:]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In our catechesis on medieval Christian culture, we turn again to Saint Hildegard of Bingen, the great nun and mystic of the twelfth century. Hildegard's celebrated visions vividly interpreted the word of God for her contemporaries, calling them to a committed Christian life. She brought a woman's insight to the mysteries of the faith. In her many works she contemplated the mystic marriage between God and humanity accomplished in the Incarnation, as well as the spousal union of Christ and the Church. She also explored the vital relationship between God and creation, and our human calling to give glory to God by a life of holiness and virtue. Hildegard's musical compositions reflect her conviction that all creation is a symphony of the Holy Spirit, who is himself joy and jubilation. Her vast learning and spiritual authority also led her to work for the renewal of the Church in her day. Through Saint Hildegard's intercession, let us ask the Spirit to raise up wise, holy and courageous women whose God-given gifts will enrich the life of the Church in our own time!

I am pleased to greet the participants in the Communications Seminar sponsored by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and I offer prayerful good wishes for their work. Upon all the English-speaking visitors present at today's Audience, especially the pilgrim groups from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, Nigeria, Indonesia, Canada and the United States of America, I invoke God's abundant blessings.

© Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

[He concluded the audience with a greeting in Italian:]

I turn finally to young people, the sick and newlyweds present here. Today we celebrate the liturgical memorial of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Second Vatican Council says that Mary precedes us in the way of faith because she "believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled" (Luke 1:45).

For you, young people, I ask the Holy Virgin the gift of an ever more mature faith; for you the sick, an ever stronger faith; and for you, dear newlyweds, an ever deeper faith.

[Translation by ZENIT]

Papal Homily for Visit to Leo XIII's Birthplace

Papal Homily for Visit to Leo XIII's Birthplace


"Represented a Church Capable of Dealing With the Great Contemporary Questions"

CARPINETO ROMANO, Italy, SEPT. 5, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave today when he visited the birthplace of Pope Leo XIII, Carpineto Romano, to mark the 200th anniversary of that Pontiff's birth.

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Dear brothers and sisters!

First of all, permit me to express my joy in finding myself with you in Carpineto Romano, in the footsteps of my beloved predecessors Paul VI and John Paul II! And it is also a happy circumstance that has called me here: the bicentennial of the birth of Pope Leo XIII, Vincenzo Gioacchino Pecci, which took place March 2, 1810, in this beautiful town. I thank you all for your welcome! In particular I greet with gratitude the bishop of Anagni-Alatri, Lorenzo Loppa, and the mayor of Carpineto, who welcomed me at the beginning of the celebration, along with the other authorities present. I offer a special greeting to the young people, in particular those who took part in the diocesan pilgrimage.

My visit, unfortunately, is very brief and is restricted to this Eucharistic celebration; but here we have everything: the Word and the Bread of Life that nourish faith, hope and charity; and we renew the bond of communion that makes of us the one Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We have heard the Word of God and it is natural to receive it in this circumstance thinking again of the figure of Pope Leo XIII and the legacy that he has left us. The principal theme that emerges from the biblical readings is that of the primacy of God and of Christ. In the Gospel passage, taken from St. Luke, Jesus himself declares with frankness the three conditions necessary to be his disciples: to love him more than any other person and life itself; to carry one’s own cross and follow him; to give up all one’s belongings. Jesus sees a great crowd that is following him together with his disciples, and he wants to be clear with everyone: following him is demanding, it cannot depend on enthusiasm and opportunism; it must be a reflective decision made after asking one’s conscience: Who is Jesus for me? Is he truly “the Lord,” does he take first place, like the sun about which all the planets turn?

And the first reading, from the Book of Wisdom, indirectly suggests the reason behind this absolute primacy of Jesus Christ: In him are the answers to the questions that man asks in every age about the truth of God and himself. God is beyond our reach, and his designs are inscrutable. But he wanted to reveal himself in creation and above all in the history of salvation, until in Christ he fully revealed himself and his will. While it remains true that “No one has seen God” (John 1:18), now we know his “name,” his “face,” and also his will, because they have been revealed to us by Jesus, who is the Wisdom of God made man. “Thus,” the sacred author of the first reading writes, “men were instructed in what is pleasing to you and were saved through wisdom” (Wisdom 9:18).

This fundamental call of the Word of God makes one think of two aspects of the life and ministry of your venerable fellow citizen who we commemorate today, the Supreme Pontiff Leo XIII. Before all else it must be stressed that he was a man of great faith and profound devotion. This always remains the basis of everything, for every Christian, including the Pope. Without prayer, that is, without interior union with God, we can do nothing, as Jesus clearly tells his disciples during the Last Supper (cf. John 15:5).

The words and deeds of Pope Pecci revealed his deep religiosity; and this had a correspondence in his magisterium: Among his many encyclicals and apostolic letters, like the string of a necklace, there are those of a specifically spiritual character, dedicated above all to the growth of Marian devotion, especially through the rosary. It is a real “catechesis” that stretches from the beginning to the end of the 25 years of his pontificate.

But we also have the documents on Christ the Redeemer, on the Holy Spirit, on consecration to the Sacred Heart, on devotion to St. Joseph, on St. Francis of Assisi. Leo XIII was especially close to the Franciscan family and he himself belonged to the Third Order. I like to consider all of these different elements as various facets of a single reality: the love of God and of Christ, which absolutely nothing must come before. And this his first and principal quality, Vincenzo Gioacchino Pecci learned here, in his native town, from his parents, from his parish.

But there is a second aspect, which derives from the primacy of God and of Christ and that one meets in the public action of every pastor of the Church, especially of every Supreme Pontiff, with the characteristics proper to each one. I would say that precisely the concept of “Christian wisdom,” which already emerged from the first reading and the Gospel, offers us the synthesis of this position of Leo XIII -- it is not by chance that it is also the “incipit” of one of his encyclicals. Every pastor is called to transmit to the People of God, not abstract truths, but a “wisdom,” that is, a message that joins faith and reason, truth and concrete reality. Pope Leo XIII, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, was able to do this in one of the most difficult historical periods of the Church, remaining faithful to tradition and, at the same time, measuring it with the great open questions. And he succeeded in his efforts precisely on the basis of the “Christian wisdom,” founded on sacred Scriptures, on the immense theological and spiritual patrimony of the Catholic Church and also on the solid and limpid philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, which he appreciated in the highest way and promoted in the whole Church.

At this point, after having considered the foundation, that is, faith and the spiritual life, and therefore the general framework of the message of Leo XIII, I can turn to his social teaching, made famous and timeless in his encyclical “Rerum novarum,” but also richly expressed in multiple interventions that constitute an organic body, the first nucleus of the Church’s social doctrine. We take our cue from St. Paul’s Letter to Philemon, which happily the liturgy has us read precisely today. It is the shortest of all the Pauline epistles. During a period of imprisonment the Apostle transmitted the faith to Onesimus, a slave from Colossae, who had fled from his owner Philemon, a wealthy inhabitant of that city, who, along with his family, had become Christian through the preaching of Paul. Now the Apostle writes to Philemon, inviting him to welcome Onesimus no longer as a slave but as a brother in Christ. The new Christian brotherhood overcomes the separation between slaves and freemen, and it triggers in history a promotion of the person that will lead to the abolition of slavery, but also to the overcoming of the barriers that had existed up until then. Pope Leo XIII dedicated his 1890 encyclical “Catholicae Ecclesiae” precisely to the theme of slavery.

From this particular experience of St. Paul with Onesimus there can develop a broad reflection on the movement of human promotion brought by Christianity to the path of civilization, and also on the method and style of this contribution, conformed to the evangelical images of the seed and the leaven: Christians, acting as individual citizens or groups within the reality of history, constitute a beneficent and peaceful force for profound change, actualizing the development of the potentialities within reality itself. This is the form of presence and action in the world proposed by the Church’s social doctrine, which always points to the maturation of consciences as the valid and lasting condition for transformations.

We must now ask ourselves: What was the context in which the man who would become Pope Leo XIII 68 years later was born? Europe was feeling the effects of the great Napoleonic storm, which followed the French Revolution. The Church and many expressions of Christian culture were radically called into question (one thinks, for example, of the efforts to count the years no longer from Christ’s birth but from the beginning of the new revolutionary age, or to remove the names of the saints from the calendar, the roads, the villages…). The people of the countryside certainly were not favorable to these changes, and remained attached to religious traditions. Daily life was hard and difficult: the sanitary and dietary conditions were very poor. Meanwhile, industry developed and the workers’ movement along with it, which became more and more politically organized. The Church’s magisterium, at its highest level, was moved and helped by reflections and local experiences to elaborate a comprehensive and prospective reading of the new society and its common good. Thus, when he was elected to the pontifical office in 1878, Leo XIII felt called to bring this reading to completion in light of his ample knowledge of international breadth, but also of many initiatives launched “in the field” by Christian communities and men and women of the Church.

There were in fact dozens and dozens of saints and blessed since the end of the 1700s to the beginning of the 1900s who sought out and took -- with the imagination of charity -- many roads to actualize the evangelical message within the new social realities. Without a doubt these initiatives, with the sacrifices and reflections of these men and women, prepared the soil of “Rerum novarum” and of the other social documents of Pope Pecci. Already at the time that he was apostolic nuncio in Belgium, he had understood that the social question could be dealt with positively and effectively with dialogue and mediation. In an age of bitter anti-clericalism and of volatile demonstrations against the Pope, Leo XIII knew how to guide and support Catholics along the path of constructive participation, rich in contents, firm about principles and capable of openness.

Immediately after “Rerum novarum” there was a real explosion of initiatives in Italy and other countries: associations, rural and artisan banks, newspapers … a vast “movement,” which had an enlightened guide in the Servant of God Giuseppe Toniolo. Thus a very old but wise and farseeing Pope was able to introduce into the 20th century a rejuvenated Church, with the right attitude to face the new challenges. He was a Pope still politically and physically a “prisoner” in the Vatican, but in reality, with his magisterium, he represented a Church capable of dealing with the great contemporary questions without complexes.

Dear friends of Carpineto Romano, we do not have time to go deeply into these matters. The Eucharist that we are celebrating, the Sacrament of Love, recalls us to the essential: charity, the love of Christ that renews men and the world; this is the essential thing, and we see it well, we almost perceive it in St. Paul’s expressions in the Letter to Philemon. In that brief missive, in fact, one feels all the meekness and at the same time all the revolutionary power of the Gospel; one grasps the discreet and irresistible style of charity, which, as I wrote in my social encyclical, “Caritas in veritate,” is the “principal driving force behind the authentic development of every person and of all humanity” (1).

With joy and with affection, I leave you with the old and ever new commandment: love each other as Christ has loved us, and with this love be the salt and light of the world. In this way you will be faithful to the legacy of your great and venerable fellow citizen, Pope Leo XIII. And let it be thus in the whole Church! Amen, dear brothers and sisters!

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]