Pope Benedict XVI - Books and Quotes

From Pope Benedict XVI - Court of the Gentiles Fb page:

21 August | MEMORIAL OF SAINT PIUS X (1835 - 1914)

From a catechesis by Pope Benedict XVI, 'Saint Pope Pius the Tenth', 18 August 2010.

Pius X's Pontificate left an indelible mark on the Church's history and was distinguished by a considerable effort for reform that is summed up in his motto: Instaurare Omnia in Christo, "To renew all things in Christ". Indeed, his interventions involved various ecclesiastical contexts. From the outset he devoted himself to reorganizing the Roman Curia; he then began work on the Code of Canon Law which was promulgated by his Successor Benedict XV. He later promoted the revision of the studies and formation programme of future priests and founded various Regional Seminaries, equipped with good libraries and well-qualified teachers. Another important sector was that of the doctrinal formation of the People of God. Beginning in his years as parish priest, he himself had compiled a catechism and during his Episcopate in Mantua he worked to produce a single, if not universal catechism, at least in Italian. As an authentic Pastor he had understood that the situation in that period, due partly to the phenomenon of emigration, made necessary a catechism to which every member of the faithful might refer, independently of the place in which he lived and of his position. As Pontiff, he compiled a text of Christian doctrine for the Diocese of Rome that was later disseminated throughout Italy and the world. Because of its simple, clear, precise language and effective explanations, this "Pius X Catechism", as it was called, was a reliable guide to many in learning the truths of the faith.

Full text
http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100818.html

 

RECITATION OF THE HOLY ROSARY

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Basilica of Saint Mary Major
Saturday, 3 May 2008

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

At the conclusion of this moment of Marian prayer, I would like to address my cordial greeting to all of you and thank you for your participation. In particular I greet Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, Archpriest of this stupendous Basilica of St Mary Major. In Rome this is the Marian temple par excellence, in which the people of the City venerate the icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani with great affection. I gladly welcomed the invitation addressed to me to lead the Holy Rosary on the First Saturday of the month of May, according to the beautiful tradition that I have had since my childhood. In fact, in my generation's experience, the evenings of May evoke sweet memories linked to the vespertine gatherings to honour the Blessed Mother. Indeed, how is it possible to forget praying the Rosary in the parish or rather in the courtyards of the houses and in the country lanes?

Today, together we confirm that 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".

Dear brothers and sisters, let us thank God who has allowed us to live such a beautiful hour this evening, and in the following evenings of this Marian month, even if we will be far away, each in their own family and community, may we, just the same, feel close and united in prayer. Especially in these days that prepare us for the Solemnity of Pentecost, let us remain united with Mary, invoking for the Church a renewed effusion of the Holy Spirit. As at the origins, Mary Most Holy helps the faithful of every Christian community to form one heart and soul. I entrust to you the most urgent intentions of my ministry, the needs of the Church, the grave problems of humanity: peace in the world, unity among Christians, dialogue between all cultures. And thinking of Rome and Italy, I invite you to pray for the pastoral goals of the Diocese, and for the united development of this beloved Country. To the new Mayor of Rome, Honourable Gianni Alemanno, who I see present here, I address the wish of a fruitful service for the good of the city's entire community. To all of you gathered here and to those who are linked to us by radio and television, in particular the sick and the infirm, I gladly impart the Apostolic Blessing.



© Copyright 2008 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

 

“To be truly human means to be related in love, to be 'from' and 'for'. Sin, on the other hand, means the deranging or destruction of that relationship. When I destroy the relationship, then this event -sin - affects the other members of the relationship as well, the whole relationship. That is why sin is always an offense that involves other persons, that changes and damages the world.”

Joseph Ratzinger, Co-workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year (1992).

 

"How many winds of doctrine have we known in recent decades, how many ideological currents, how many ways of thinking. The small boat of the thought of many Christians has often been tossed about by these waves - flung from one extreme to another: from Marxism to liberalism, even to libertinism; from collectivism to radical individualism; from atheism to a vague religious mysticism; from agnosticism to syncretism and so forth. Every day new sects spring up, and what St Paul says about human deception and the trickery that strives to entice people into error (cf. Eph 4: 14) comes true.

Today, having a clear faith based on the Creed of the Church is often labeled as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, that is, letting oneself be "tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine", seems the only attitude that can cope with modern times. We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one's own ego and desires."

Joseph Card. Ratzinger, Homily,
Pro Eligendo Romano Pontefice,
18 April 2005.

 

TRUTH.

 

On this day in 1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani was elected Pope taking the name John Paul I

Pope Benedict XVI on Pope John Paul I [from 2006]

After watching a film on John Paul I on Sunday, Benedict XVI said that the secret of the Italian Pope's smile was his trust in the Virgin Mary, which gave him serenity and fostered his commitment to fraternity.

Addressing the directors of this public channel [RAI] as well as the film's director and the actor who plays the role of Albino Luciani, Benedict XVI recalled "the gentle figure full of meekness of a Pontiff strong in faith, firm in principles, but always ready to welcome and smile."

"A teacher of truth and passionate catechist, he reminded all believers, with the fascinating simplicity that characterized him, of the commitment and joy of evangelization, underlining the beauty of Christian love, the only force able to defeat violence and to build a more fraternal humanity," the Holy Father said.

Finally, Benedict XVI added that in love and trust in the Blessed Virgin is found the secret of the "daily serenity and concrete commitment to peace in the world," which characterized John Paul I.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger met Cardinal Luciani a year before the August 1978 conclave in which he was elected Pope. The then archbishop of Munich received the visit of the patriarch of Venice when he was spending his summer vacation in 1977 in Bressanone, Italy.

From Zenit.org

 

Also from Pope Benedict XVI - The Court
Of The Gentiles fb page:

"A Jesus who agrees with everyone and everything, a Jesus without his holy anger, without the hardness of truth and genuine love, is not the real Jesus as he is depicted in the Scriptures, but a pitiable caricature. A concept of "Gospel" that fails to convey the reality of God's anger has nothing to do with the Gospel of the Bible. True forgiveness is something quite different than weak indulgence. Forgiveness is demanding and requires both parties, the one who forgives and the one who is forgiven, to do so with all their minds and hearts.
A Jesus who sanctions everything is a Jesus without the Cross, for such a Jesus would not need the torment of the Cross to save mankind. As a matter of fact, the Cross is being increasingly banished from theology and reinterpreted as just a vexatious mischance or a purely political event. The Cross as reconciliation, as a means of forgiving and saving, is incompatible with a certain modern mode of thought.
Only when the relationship between truth and love is rightly comprehended can the Cross be comprehensible in its true theological depth.
Forgiveness has to do with the truth. That is why it requires the Son's Cross and our conversion. Forgiveness is, in fact, the restoration of truth, the renewal of being, and the vanquishment of the lies that lurk in every sin; sin is by nature a departure from the truth of one's own nature and, by consequence, from the truth of the Creator God."

Joseph Ratzinger, Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations For Every Day of the Year.
(Entry for April 27; page 139).

 

How i miss his brilliance and his goodness.

 

Likewise AED. He's sadly missed.

 

“Yet, if the world grows old, Christ is perpetually young; hence the invitation: “Do not refuse to be rejuvenated united to Christ, even in the old world. He tells you: Do not fear, your youth will be renewed like that of the eagle” (cf. Serm. 81,8). Thus, the Christian must not lose heart, even in difficult situations, but rather he must spare no effort to help those in need.”

Pope Benedict XVI, Augustine of Hippo (2), 16 January 2008

Photo: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger with the mortal remains of the great Saint. As Dean of the College of Cardinals, Joseph Ratzinger was appointed titular Bishop of Ostia on 30 Nov 2002. St Aurea was his church and he took possession of it on 16 March 2003. It was in his role as Bishop that Cardinal Ratzinger came to Ostia-Lido on 13 November 2004, only five months before his election. Accompanied by Georg Ganswein, he came to inaugurate a bronze statue of St Augustine. The inauguration was part of four days of celebrations in Ostia to mark the 1650th anniversary of St Augustine's birth on 14th November 354.

 

29 August | The Martyrdom of St John the Baptist

"Celebrating the martyrdom of St John the Baptist reminds us too, Christians of this time, that with love for Christ, for his words and for the Truth, we cannot stoop to compromises. The Truth is Truth; there are no compromises. Christian life demands, so to speak, the “martyrdom” of daily fidelity to the Gospel, the courage, that is, to let Christ grow within us and let him be the One who guides our thought and our actions."

Pope Benedict XVI, 29 August 2012.

 

"Faith is not an illusion, a flight of fancy, a refuge or sentimentalism; rather it is total involvement in the whole of life and is the proclamation of the Gospel, the Good News that can set the whole of the person free. Faith, in fact, is an encounter with God who speaks and works in history and converts our daily life, transforming within us mentalities, value judgements, decisions and practical actions. A Christian and a community that are active and faithful to the plan of God who loved us first, are privileged paths for those immersed in indifference or in doubt about their life and action. However, this asks each and every one to make their testimony of faith ever more transparent, purifying their life so that it may be in conformity with Christ. Many people today have a limited idea of the Christian faith, because they identify it with a mere system of beliefs and values rather than with the truth of a God who revealed himself in history, anxious to communicate with human beings in a tête-à-tête, in a relationship of love with them. In fact, at the root of every doctrine or value is the event of the encounter between man and God in Jesus Christ. Christianity, before being a moral or an ethic, is the event of love, it is the acceptance of the Person of Jesus. For this reason the Christian and Christian communities must first look and make others look to Christ, the true Way that leads to God."

Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 14 November 2012.

 

The above quote, plus his statement shortly after the day of his election are two of the most meaningful of his words for me. I will now carry a copy of both in my Bible ready to hand out to a receptive Protestant or fellow Catholic when prompted! Thank you!

“Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves.” (April 24, 2012)

Thank you, Dave.