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Pope Benedict XVI- General Audiences |
General
Audience
On the Mendicant Orders
"The Proposal of a 'Lay Sanctity' Won Many People"
H.H. Benedict XVI
January 13, 2010
www.zenit.org
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
At the beginning of the new year, we look at the history of
Christianity, to see how a history develops and how it can be renewed.
In it we can see that it is the saints, guided by the light of God, who
are the genuine reformers of the life of the Church and of society.
Teachers by their word and witnesses with their example, they know how
to promote a stable and profound ecclesial renewal, because they
themselves are profoundly renewed, they are in contact with the true
novelty: the presence of God in the world.
Such a consoling reality -- that in every generation saints are born and
bear the creativity of renewal -- constantly accompanies the history of
the Church in the midst of the sorrows and the negative aspects of her
journey. We also see come forth, century by century, the forces of
reform and of renewal, because the novelty of God is inexorable and
always gives new strength to go forward.
This was what happened in the 13th century, with the birth and the
extraordinary development of the Mendicant Orders: a model of great
renewal in a new historic period. They were called thus because of their
characteristic of "begging," namely, of going to the people humbly for
economic support to live the vow of poverty and to carry out their
evangelizing mission. Of the Mendicant Orders that arose in that period,
the most notable and most important are the Friars Minor and the
Preaching Friars, known as Franciscans and Dominicans. They have these
names because of their founders, Francis of Assisi and Dominic de Guzmán,
respectively. These two great saints had the capacity to wisely read
"the signs of the times," intuiting the challenges that the Church of
their time had to face.
A first challenge was represented by the spread of several groups and
movements of faithful that, although inspired in a legitimate desire for
authentic Christian life, often placed themselves outside of ecclesial
communion. They were in profound opposition to the rich and beautiful
Church that developed precisely with the flourishing of monasticism. In
recent catecheses I reflected on the monastic community of Cluny, which
had always attracted young men and, therefore, vital forces, as well as
goods and riches. Thus logically developed, initially, a Church rich in
property and also immobile. Opposed to this Church was the idea that
Christ came on earth poor and that the true Church should be, in fact,
the Church of the poor; a desire for true Christian authenticity was
thus opposed to the reality of the empirical Church.
This brought about the so-called pauper movements of the Medieval Age.
They harshly contested the lifestyles of priests and monks of the time,
accused of having betrayed the Gospel and of not practicing poverty as
the first Christians, and these movements counterpoised to the ministry
of the bishops their own "parallel hierarchy." Moreover, to justify
their choices, they spread doctrines that were incompatible with the
Catholic faith. For example, the movement of the Cathars or Albigensians
proposed again old heresies, such as depreciation and contempt of the
material world -- opposition to wealth quickly became opposition to
material reality as such -- the negation of free will, and then dualism,
the existence of a second principle of evil equated with God. These
movements had success, especially in France and Italy, not only because
of their solid organization, but also because they denounced a real
disorder in the Church, caused by the less than exemplary behavior of
several representatives of the clergy.
On the other hand, the Franciscans and Dominicans, in the footsteps of
their founders, showed that it was possible to live evangelical poverty,
the truth of the Gospel, without separating from the Church; they showed
that the Church continued to be the true, authentic place of the Gospel
and Scripture. Thus, Dominic and Francis drew, precisely from profound
communion with the Church and the papacy, the strength of their witness.
With an altogether original choice in the history of consecrated life,
the members of these orders not only gave up possession of personal
goods, as monks had since antiquity, but even wanted real estate and
goods put in the name of the community. In this way they intended to
give witness of an extremely sober life, to be in solidarity with the
poor and trust only in Providence, to live every day by Providence, in
trust, putting themselves in God's hands. This personal and community
style of the Mendicant Orders, joined to total adherence to the teaching
of the Church and her authority, was greatly appreciated by the Pontiffs
of the time, such as Innocent III and Honorius III, who gave their full
support to these new ecclesial experiences, recognizing in them the
voice of the Spirit.
And fruits were not lacking: The poor groups that had separated from the
Church returned to ecclesial communion or, gradually, were
re-dimensioned until they disappeared. Also today, though living in a
society in which "having" often prevails over "being," there is great
sensitivity to examples of poverty and solidarity, which believers give
with courageous choices. Also today, similar initiatives are not
lacking: movements, which really begin from the novelty of the Gospel
and live it radically today, putting themselves in God's hands, to serve
their neighbor. The world, as Paul VI recalled in "Evangelii Nuntiandi,"
willingly listens to teachers when they are also witnesses. This is a
lesson that must never be forgotten in the endeavor of spreading the
Gospel: to live first of all what is proclaimed, to be a mirror of
divine charity.
Franciscans and Dominicans were witnesses, but also teachers. In fact,
another widespread need in their time was that of religious instruction.
Not a few lay faithful, who lived in greatly expanding cities, wished to
practice a spiritually intense Christian life. Hence they sought to
deepen their knowledge of the faith and to be guided in the arduous but
exciting path of holiness. Happily, the Mendicant Orders were also able
to meet this need: the proclamation of the Gospel in simplicity and in
its depth and greatness was one objective, perhaps the main objective of
this movement. In fact, with great zeal they dedicated themselves to
preaching. The faithful were very numerous, often real and veritable
crowds, which gathered to hear the preachers in the churches and in
places outdoors -- let us think of St. Anthony, for example. They dealt
with themes close to the life of the people, especially the practice of
the theological and moral virtues, with concrete examples, easily
understood. Moreover, they taught ways to nourish the life of prayer and
piety. For example, the Franciscans greatly spread devotion to the
humanity of Christ, with the commitment of imitating the Lord. Hence it
is not surprising that the faithful were numerous, women and men, who
chose to be supported in their Christian journey by the Franciscan and
Dominican friars, sought after and appreciated spiritual directors and
confessors.
Thus were born associations of lay faithful that were inspired by the
spirituality of Sts. Francis and Dominic, adapted to their state of
life. It was the Third Order, whether Franciscan or Dominican. In other
words, the proposal of a "lay sanctity" won many people. As the Second
Vatican Council recalled, the call to holiness is not reserved to some,
but is universal (cf. "Lumen Gentium," 40). In every state of life,
according to the needs of each, there is the possibility of living the
Gospel. Also today every Christian must tend to the "lofty measure of
Christian life," no matter what state of life he belongs to!
The importance of the Mendicant Orders grew so much in the Middle Ages
that lay institutions, such as labor organizations, ancient corporations
and even civil authorities, often took recourse to the spiritual
consultation of members of such orders for the writing of their
regulations and, at times, for the solution of internal and external
opposition. The Franciscans and Dominicans became the spiritual leaders
of the Medieval city. With great intuition, they put into practice a
pastoral strategy adapted to the transformation of society. Because many
people were moving from the countryside to the cities, they placed their
monasteries no longer in rural but in urban areas. Moreover, to carry
out their activity for the benefit of souls, it was necessary to move in
keeping with pastoral needs.
With another altogether innovative choice, the Mendicant Orders
abandoned the principle of stability, a classic of ancient monasticism,
to choose another way. Friars and Preachers traveled from one place to
another, with missionary zeal. As a consequence, they gave themselves an
organization that was different from that of the majority of monastic
orders. In place of the traditional autonomy that every monastery
enjoyed, they gave greater importance to the order as such and to the
superior-general, as well as to the structure of the provinces. Thus the
mendicants were in general available for the needs of the universal
Church. This flexibility made it possible to send friars more adapted to
specific missions and the Mendicant Orders reached North Africa, the
Middle East and Northern Europe. With this flexibility, missionary
dynamism was renewed.
Another great challenge was represented by the cultural transformations
taking place at that time. New questions made for lively discussions in
the universities, which arose at the end of the 12th century. Friars and
Preachers did not hesitate to assume this commitment as well and, as
students and professors, they entered the most famous universities of
the time, founded centers of study, produced texts of great value, gave
life to true and proper schools of thought, were protagonists of
scholastic theology in its greatest period, and significantly influenced
the development of thought.
The greatest thinkers, Sts. Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure, were
mendicants, operating in fact with this dynamism of the new
evangelization, which also renewed the courage of thought, of dialogue
between reason and faith. Today also there is a "charity of and in
truth," an "intellectual charity" to exercise, to enlighten
intelligences and combine faith with culture. The widespread commitment
of the Franciscans and Dominicans in the Medieval universities is an
invitation, dear faithful, to make oneself present in places of the
elaboration of learning, to propose, with respect and conviction, the
light of the Gospel on the fundamental questions that concern man, his
dignity, and his eternal destiny. Thinking of the role of the
Franciscans and Dominicans in the Middle Ages, of the spiritual renewal
they aroused, of the breath of new life that they communicated in the
world, a monk says: "At that time the world was growing old. Two orders
arose in the Church, from which it renewed its youth, like that of an
eagle" (Burchard d'Ursperg, Chronicon).
Dear brothers and sisters, let us indeed invoke at the beginning of this
year the Holy Spirit, eternal youth of the Church: May he make each one
of us feel the urgency of giving a consistent and courageous witness of
the Gospel, so that saints will never be lacking, who make the Church
shine as a Bride always pure and beautiful, without stain and without
wrinkle, able to attract the world irresistibly to Christ, to his
salvation.
[Translation by ZENIT]
[At the end of the audience, the Holy Father greeted the people in
several languages. In English, he said:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our catechesis on medieval Christian culture, we now consider the
movement of ecclesial reform promoted by the two great Mendicant Orders.
In every age the saints are the true reformers of the Church's life. In
the thirteenth century Saints Francis and Dominic inspired a vast
evangelical renewal which met three significant needs of the Church of
that time. The Franciscans and the Dominicans adopted a lifestyle of
evangelical poverty which, unlike that of the Cathars, was grounded in
communion with the visible Church and a sound Christian understanding of
the goodness of creation. As zealous preachers, especially in urban
environments, the Friars provided religious instruction and spiritual
guidance to the lay faithful, many of whom became members of their
"Third Orders." Traveling freely from place to place, they also
contributed to the overall renewal of Church life and the spiritual
transformation of society. By their presence in the universities, the
Friars worked for the evangelization of culture, affirming the harmony
of faith and reason, and creating the great synthesis of scholastic
theology. May their example of holiness and evangelical lifestyle
inspire our own witness to the Gospel and our efforts to draw the world
to Christ and his Church.
I offer a warm welcome to the English-speaking visitors present at
today's Audience, especially those from Denmark, Australia and the
United States of America. My particular greeting goes to the many
student groups present and to the faculty members. Upon all of you I
invoke God's blessings of joy and peace!
Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[In Italian, he added]
Finally, as usual, I turn to the young people, the sick and the
newlyweds present. Today's liturgy remembers St. Hilary, bishop of
Poitiers, who lived in France in the 4th century, who "was a tenacious
champion of the divinity of Christ" (Liturgy), defender of the faith and
teacher of truth. May his example sustain you, dear young people, in
your constant and courageous search for Christ: Especially you students
of the Diocese of Caserta, thank you for your presence and thank you for
your commitment in the faith. I see and feel the strength of your faith;
I encourage you, dear sick people, to offer your sufferings so that the
Kingdom of God is spread in the whole world; and help you, dear
newlyweds, to be witnesses of the love of Christ in family life.
I now wish to address an appeal for the tragic situation currently being
experienced in Haiti. My thoughts go in particular to the population hit
just a few hours ago by a devastating earthquake which has caused
serious loss of human life, large numbers of homeless and missing
people, and vast material damage. I invite everyone to join my prayers
to the Lord for the victims of this catastrophe and for those who mourn
their loss. I give assurances of my spiritual closeness to people who
have lost their homes and to everyone who, in various ways, has been
affected by this terrible calamity, imploring God to bring them
consolation and relief in their suffering.
I appeal to the generosity of all people so that these our brothers and
sisters who are experiencing a moment of need and suffering may not lack
our concrete solidarity and the effective support of the international
community. The Catholic Church will not fail to move immediately,
through her charitable institutions, to meet the most immediate needs of
the population.
[Translation by ZENIT]
©Copyright 2009 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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