Pope Benedict XVI - Books and Quotes

Likewise Agnes, that's why I started posting these pieces...to remember the clarity and sound teaching we had in the recent past but which now seems like a distant memory from a time long gone.

 

Yes, no Pope is perfect, but his wisdom and Liturgical sensitivities proved a great blessing and deepened over time. Such proved to be a contrast compared with his own outlook at the Vatican II Council. His attentiveness during Adoration in the last 10 years of life mirrored that of John Paul II.

 

Yes I needed that reminder.its feels like forever.

 

Yes!!

 

"Be vigilant! Know how to listen! Through the dissonances and divisions of the world, can you hear the concordant voice of humanity? From the orphaned child in a field in Darfur to a troubled teenager, to a anxious parent in any periphery, or perhaps even now from the depths of your heart, emerges the same human cry that yearns for recognition, for belonging, for unity. Who fulfills this essential human desire to be one, to be immersed in communion, to be built, to be guided to the truth? The Holy Spirit! This is his role: to bring to completion the work of Christ. Enriched with the gifts of the Spirit, you will have the strength to go beyond partial visions, the empty utopia, the fleeting precariousness, to offer the coherence and certainty of Christian testimony!"

Pope Benedict XVI - from the Speech
given on the occasion of the Vigil
with young people at the Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, July 19, 2008.

 

Thanks, Dave!

Over the last couple years, the wisdom of Benedict continues to impact my heart (I've read at least 3 of his works); you've been a help in this regard. His prayerfulness during times of Adoration was visible. I am thankful that he opened the door to the TLM, but his forceful reflection at the beginning of the conclave which elected him (which can be found on MOG) was truly remarkable. I'm sure Traditionalists can better point to his shortcomings, still...The fact that "the wolves" were against him speaks volumes (see below).

However, his choice to try to partially retain his office is a decision hard for me to understand and the question of why remains unanswered in my mind.

 

https://www.natcath.org/mainpage/specialdocuments/ratzinger_conclavehomily.htm

Conclave homily from opening Holy Mass:

Keep in mind that even though we can glean much, this homily was addressed to cardinals.

 

From Benedict XVI - The Court of the Gentiles:

October begins with an invitation to take up the Rosary again: to bring our distracted minds, our worries and the people we love into prayer.

Pope Benedict XVI described it with characteristic clarity: “The Rosary is a contemplative and Christocentric prayer, inseparable from meditation on Holy Scripture.” Mary accompanies us into the life of her Son. The mysteries ask us to stay with Him: in joy, in suffering, in the giving of Himself, and in the hope of resurrection.

At Pompei, Benedict said: “The Rosary is a school of contemplation and silence.” He understood something that anyone who struggles with prayer might recognise: the repetition can help us become still. We do not always have to find new words. Sometimes we need familiar words that help us remain present when we are tired, anxious or unable to express what weighs on us.

But that stillness asks something of us. Benedict cautioned that “we must be careful that our voices do not ‘cover’ the voice of God”. We need to listen, too. To allow the Gospel we contemplate to question our impatience, our indifference and the resentments we find so difficult to surrender.

This October, we can bring to the Rosary those who are grieving, those living through war, those who are ill, and those whose suffering goes unseen. We can also bring ourselves, with all our unfinished work of faith.

And then carry that prayer into the way we live: with greater patience, the courage to forgive, and a more attentive love for the people God places in our path.

 

Before I can enter into the concerns of worldly endeavors, in order to live out the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, a life of daily prayer is essential. Then as Pope Benedict says above:

"...carry that prayer into the way we live: with greater patience, the courage to forgive, and a more attentive love for the people God places in our path."

 

"The Holy Rosary is not a pious practice banished to the past, like prayers of other times thought of with nostalgia. Instead, the Rosary is experiencing a new Springtime. Without a doubt, this is one of the most eloquent signs of love that the young generation nourish for Jesus and his Mother, Mary. In the current world, so dispersive, this prayer helps to put Christ at the centre, as the Virgin did, who meditated within all that was said about her Son, and also what he did and said. When reciting the Rosary, the important and meaningful moments of salvation history are relived. The various steps of Christ's mission are traced. With Mary the heart is oriented toward the mystery of Jesus. Christ is put at the centre of our life, of our time, of our city, through the contemplation and meditation of his holy mysteries of joy, light, sorrow and glory. May Mary help us to welcome within ourselves the grace emanating from these mysteries, so that through us we can "water" society, beginning with our daily relationships, and purifying them from so many negative forces, thus opening them to the newness of God. The Rosary, when it is prayed in an authentic way, not mechanical and superficial but profoundly, it brings, in fact, peace and reconciliation. It contains within itself the healing power of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, invoked with faith and love at the centre of each "Hail Mary".

Pope Benedict XVI, Basilica of Saint Mary Major, 3 May 2008.

 

“When reciting the Rosary, the important and meaningful moments of salvation history are relived. The various steps of Christ’s mission are traced. With Mary the heart is oriented toward the mystery of Jesus. Christ is put at the centre of our life, of our time, of our city, through the contemplation and meditation of his holy mysteries of joy, light, sorrow and glory.”

Pope Benedict XVI, On the recitation of the Rosary, Basilica of Saint Mary Major, 3 May 2008.

 

Your quotes from Benedict are reassuring. Thank you!

 

"Know that God will never abandon you. Turn your eyes to him often. He gave his life for you on the cross because he loves you. Contemplation of this great love brings a hope and joy to our hearts that nothing can destroy. Christians can never be sad, for they have met Christ, who gave his life for them."

Pope Benedict XVI, World Youth Day Message 2012.

 

I saw this online and take it to be true.
George Ryan writes for uCatholic but I saw this posted elsewhere.


The Little Known Exorcisms Performed by Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI at the Vatican

By George Ryan
April 20, 2018

The sacramental practice in the Catholic Church of expelling demons from the body of a person who is possessed is termed exorcism. While some may think of the 1973 critically acclaimed film The Exorcist when they hear about exorcisms, the practice is, in fact, a well-defined and procedural process through which clergy members must take specific steps to successfully perform the ritual.
However, the Church regards genuine demonic possession as an extremely rare phenomenon and requires extensive testing to rule out the possibility of mental or physical illness.

Most don’t know that both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI performed exorcisms inside the Vatican. “When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism” – Catechism of the Catholic Church.

According to the late Father Gabriele Amorth, who was the exorcist for the Diocese of Rome, Pope Saint John Paul II performed his first exorcism as Pope in the Vatican on March 27, 1982. Bishop Ottorino Alberti of the town of Spoleto, Italy brought a young woman by the name of Francesca Fabrizi to the pope asking for his aid.

Immediately after he met the young woman, she starting writhing uncontrollably on the ground, sobbing, despite John Paul II’s interventions. She only calmed when he said “Tomorrow I will say mass for you.”

A few years later after the successful exorcism, a happy and peaceful Francesca Fabrizi visited with her husband and children to meet once again with the pope. In the private memoirs of Jacques-Paul Martin, the Prefect of the Papal Household during John Paul II’s papacy, he wrote that the pope said that “I’ve never seen anything like this before. It was a biblical scene.”

Pope John Paul II performed another exorcism in Saint Peter’s Square during a weekly audience in 2000. A woman by the name of Sabrina was brought to the Vatican, and as soon as she entered the square she immediately began to yell and tried to lunge at the pope, requiring ten people to hold her down. She started drooling and yelling blasphemies. After finishing his weekly address, John Paul II asked to meet with Sabrina. According to Father Amorth, as soon as she got close to the pope her eyes glazed over and her head was thrown back and she yelled “No, leave me alone!” John Paul II performed an exorcism on the spot, blessing her several times. The initial attempt, however, failed to completely exorcise her and Father Amorth was required to perform several more exorcisms with Sabrina to completely rid her of demons.

While Father Amorth considered Pope John Paul II to be one of the most powerful exorcists in his time, he considered Pope Benedict XVI to be even more feared by the Devil.

In May of 2009, Father Amorth brought two men to Saint Peter’s Square during one of Benedict XVI’s weekly audiences. The two men, Giovanni and Marco, began to tremble and chatter their teeth as the pope approached them. When he exited the popemobile, both men flung themselves to the ground and began to bang their heads on the ground and howl. From a distance, Benedict XVI raised his arm and blessed the two men.

Father Amorth says the two were thrown ten feet backwards and began to sob from being rid of their demons.

Today, Pope Francis has emphasized the presence of the Devil in our world and the need to stay vigilant and not stray or be led into temptation. In March, he urged confessors to be open to referring penitents to exorcists, while saying discernment is needed to differentiate between true spiritual disturbances and possible health disorders.

 

“Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? . . . No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life. Amen.”

Pope Benedict XVI echoing the words of St. John Paul II pronounced on this day in 1978.

 

Thank you for posting this! I have been on a long journey spanning many years towards truly believing this. I need to read this every day.

 

Thanks Heidi, I need to read and re-read it too.

 

Beautiful. Thank you.

 

"Overcoming the temptation to subject God to oneself and one’s own interests, or to put him in a corner and be converted to the correct order of priorities, giving God first place, is a journey that each and every Christian must make over and over again. “Repent” is an invitation we shall often hear... it means following Jesus in such a way that his Gospel is a practical guide for life; it means letting God transform us, in order to stop thinking that we are the only ones to build our existence. It means recognizing that we are creatures, that we depend on God, on his love, and that only by “losing” our life in him can we gain it.

This requires us to make our decisions in the light of the Word of God. Today it is no longer possible to be Christian as a mere consequence of living in a society that has Christian roots: even those who are born into a Christian family and receive a religious education must every day renew their decision to be Christian, that is, to give God first place in the face of the temptations that a secularized culture constantly suggests to them and in the face of the critical opinion of many of their contemporaries."

Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience,
13 February 2013

 

"Hope will always remain stronger than all else! The Church, built upon the rock of Christ, possesses the promises of eternal life, not because her members are holier than others, but because Christ made this promise to Peter: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18). In this unfailing hope in God’s eternal presence to the souls of each of us, in this joy of knowing that Christ is with us until the end of time, in this power that the Spirit gives to all those who let themselves be filled with him."

Pope Benedict XVI, Paris,
13 September 2008.