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Pope Benedict XVI- General Audiences |
General
Audience
On Rupert of Deutz
"We Can Also, Each One in His Own Way, Find the Lord Jesus"
H.H. Benedict XVI
December 9, 2009
www.zenit.org
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today we come to know another Benedictine monk of the 12th century. His
name is Rupert of Deutz, a city near Cologne, headquarters of a famous
monastery. Rupert himself speaks of his life in one of his most
important works, "The Glory and Honor of the Son of Man," which is a
partial commentary on the Gospel of Mark. While still a child, he was
received as an "oblate" in the Benedictine monastery of St. Lawrence of
Liege, according to the custom of the age to entrust one of the children
to the education of monks, intending to make of him a gift to God.
Rupert always loved the monastic life. He very soon learned the Latin
language to study the Bible and to enjoy the liturgical celebrations. He
was distinguished for his absolutely upright moral rectitude and for his
strong attachment to the See of St. Peter.
His times were marked by opposition between the papacy and the empire,
due to the so-called investiture conflict, with which -- as I have
pointed out in other catecheses -- the papacy wished to prevent the
appointment of bishops and the exercise of their jurisdiction from
depending on the civil authority, which was guided in the main by
political and economic motivations, and certainly not pastoral ones.
Otbert, the bishop of Liege, resisted the Pope's directives and sent
Berengarius, abbot of the monastery of St. Lawrence, into exile,
precisely for his fidelity to the Pontiff. Rupert lived in that
monastery, and he did not hesitate to follow his abbot into exile. Only
when Bishop Otbert re-entered into communion with the Pope did Rupert
return to Liege and accept priestly ordination. Up to that moment, in
fact, he had avoided receiving ordination from a bishop in disagreement
with the Pope. Rupert teaches us that when controversies arise in the
Church, reference to the Petrine ministry guarantees fidelity to sound
doctrine and gives interior serenity and liberty. After the dispute with
Otbert, he still had to leave his monastery two more times. In 1116 the
adversaries in fact wanted to prosecute him. Although acquitted from
every accusation, Rupert preferred to go for a time to Siegbur, but
because the controversies had not yet ceased when he returned to the
monastery in Liege, he decided to establish himself definitively in
Germany. Appointed abbot of Deutz in 1120, he remained there until 1129,
the year of his death. He left only for a pilgrimage to Rome in 1124.
A prodigious writer, Rupert left very numerous works, still of great
interest today, in part because he was active in several important
theological discussions of the time. For example, he intervened with
determination in the Eucharistic controversy that in 1077 led to the
condemnation of Berengarius of Tours. The latter had given a reductive
interpretation of the presence of Christ in the sacrament of the
Eucharist, describing it as only symbolic. The term "transubstantiation"
had still not entered the language of the Church, but Rupert, using at
times audacious expressions, made himself a determined supporter of the
reality of the Eucharist. Above all in a work titled "De divinis
officiis" (The Divine Offices), he affirmed with determination the
continuity between the Body of the Word Incarnate of Christ and that
present in the Eucharistic species of bread and wine. Dear brothers and
sisters, it seems to me that at this point we must also think of our
time; the danger exists also today of re-appraising the Eucharistic
realism, to consider, that is, the Eucharist almost as just a rite of
communion, of socialization, forgetting too easily that the risen Christ
is really present -- with his risen body -- which is placed in our hands
to draw us out of ourselves, to be incorporated in his immortal body and
thus lead us to new life. This great mystery that the Lord is present in
all his reality in the Eucharistic species is a mystery to be adored and
loved always anew!
I would like to quote here the words of the Catechism of the Catholic
Church which bear in themselves the fruit of the meditation of the faith
and of the theological reflection of 2,000 years: "The mode of Christ's
presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the
Eucharist above all the sacraments as 'the perfection of the spiritual
life and the end to which all the sacraments tend.' In the most blessed
sacrament of the Eucharist 'the body and blood, together with the soul
and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ
is truly, really, and substantially contained'" (CCC, 1374). With his
reflection, Rupert was a contributor to this precise formulation.
Another controversy in which the abbot of Deutz was involved refers to
the problem of the reconciliation of the goodness and omnipotence of God
and the existence of evil. If God is omnipotent and good, how does one
explain the reality of evil? Rupert in fact reacted to the positions
assumed by the teachers of the theological school of Laon, who with a
series of philosophical reasonings distinguished in God's will
"approval" and "permission," concluding that God permits evil without
approving it and, hence, without willing it. Rupert, instead, gave up
the use of philosophy, which he considered inadequate in the face of
such a great problem, and remained simply faithful to the biblical
account. He begins from the goodness of God, from the truth that God is
most good and cannot but desire goodness. Thus he singles out the origin
of evil in man himself and in the mistaken use of human liberty. When
Rupert addresses this argument, he writes pages full of religious
inspiration to praise the Father's infinite mercy and the patience and
benevolence of God toward sinful man.
As other theologians of the Middle Ages, Rupert also asked himself: Why
did the Word of God, the Son of God, become man? Some, many, responded
explaining the incarnation of the Word with the urgency of repairing
man's sin. Rupert, instead, with a Christocentric vision of the history
of salvation, widens this perspective, and in one of his works titled
"The Glorification of the Trinity," holds the position that the
Incarnation, the central event of history, was foreseen from all
eternity, even independently of man's sin, so that all creation could
give praise to God the Father and love him as in one family gathered
around Christ, the Son of God. He sees then in the pregnant woman of
Revelation the whole history of humanity, which is oriented to Christ,
just as conception is oriented to birth, a perspective that will be
developed by other thinkers and put to good use also by contemporary
theology, which affirms that the whole history of the world and of
humanity is conception oriented to the birth of Christ.
Christ is always at the center of exegetical explanations furnished by
Rupert in his comments on the books of the Bible, to which he dedicated
himself with great diligence and passion. He thus rediscovers a
wonderful unity in all the events of the history of salvation, from the
creation to the final consummation of time: "The whole of Scripture," he
affirms, "is just one book, which tends to the same end [the divine
Word]; which comes from one God and which was written by only one
Spirit" (De glorificatione Trinitatis et processione Sancti Spiritus I,
V, PL 169, 18).
In the interpretation of the Bible, Rupert does not limit himself to
repeat the teaching of the Fathers, but shows his originality. For
example, he is the first writer who identified the bride of the Canticle
of Canticles with Mary Most Holy. Thus his commentary on this book of
Scripture is a sort of Mariological summa, in which are presented the
privileges and the excellent virtues of Mary. In one of the most
inspired passages of his commentary, Rupert writes: "O most beloved
among the beloved, Virgin of virgins, what in you is praised by your
beloved Son, whom the entire choir of angels exalts? Praised are
simplicity, purity, innocence, doctrine, modesty, humility, the
integrity of mind and flesh, in other words, the untainted virginity"
(In Canticum Canticorum 4, 1-6, CCL 26, pp. 69-70). Rupert's Marian
interpretation of the Canticle is a good example of the harmony between
liturgy and theology. In fact, several passages of this biblical Book
were already used in the liturgical celebrations of Marian feasts.
Moreover, Rupert took care to insert his Mariological doctrine in
ecclesiological doctrine. In other words, he saw in Mary Most Holy the
most holy part of the whole Church. See why my venerated predecessor,
Pope Paul VI, in the closing address of the third session of the Second
Vatican Council, solemnly proclaiming Mary Mother of the Church, quoted
in fact a proposal treated in Rupert's works, who describes Mary as
portio maxima, portio optima -- the loftiest part, the best part of the
Church (cf. In Apocalypsem 1.7, PL 169, 1043).
Dear friends, from this hasty sketch we recall that Rupert was a fervent
theologian, gifted with great depth. As all the representatives of
monastic theology, he was able to combine the rational study of the
mysteries of the faith with prayer and contemplation, considered the
summit of all knowledge of God. He himself speaks sometimes of his
mystical experiences, as when he confides about the ineffable joy of
having perceived the presence of the Lord: "In that brief moment," he
affirms, "I experienced how true that is which he himself says: Learn
from me, for I am meek and humble of heart" (De gloria et honore Filii
hominis. Super Matthaeum 12, PL 168, 1601). We can also, each one in his
own way, find the Lord Jesus who endlessly accompanies us on our way,
makes himself present in the Eucharistic bread and in his Word for our
salvation.
[Translation by ZENIT]
[The Holy Father then addressed the people in various languages. In
English, he said:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our catechesis on the Christian culture of the Middle Ages, we now
turn to Rupert of Deutz, an outstanding theologian of the twelfth
century. Rupert experienced at first hand the conflict between the
Empire and the Church linked to the investiture crisis, and he played a
significant role in the principal theological debates of his day. He
forcefully defended the reality of Christ's real presence in the
Eucharist, and insisted that the origin of evil is to be found in man's
mistaken use of freedom, not in the positive will of God. Rupert also
contributed to the medieval discussion of the purpose of the
Incarnation, which he set within the vast vision of history centred on
Christ. His teaching on the dignity and privileges of the Virgin Mary,
presented with a broad ecclesiological context, would prove influential
for later theology and find an echo in the doctrine of the Second
Vatican Council. Rupert's ability to harmonize the rational study of the
mysteries of faith with prayer and contemplation makes him a typical
representative of the monastic theology of his time. His example
inspires us to draw near to Christ, present among us in his Word and in
the Eucharist, and to rejoice in the knowledge that he remains with us
at every moment of our lives and throughout history.
I offer a warm welcome to the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors
present at today's Audience. I greet especially the groups from South
Korea, South Africa and the United States of America. As we prepare with
joy to celebrate our Saviour's birth this Christmas, let us renew our
commitment to bring the light of Christ to those we meet. May God bless
you all!
© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[In Italian, he said:]
Finally, I greet young people, the sick and newlyweds. The solemnity of
the Immaculate Conception, which we celebrated yesterday, reminds us of
Mary's singular adherence to God's salvific plan. Dear young people,
make an effort to imitate her with a pure and transparent heart, letting
yourselves be molded by God who also in you wills to "do great things"
(cf. Luke 1:49). Dear sick people, with the help of Mary always trust
the Lord, who knows your sufferings and, uniting them to his, offers
them for the salvation of the world. And you, dear newlyweds, make your
home in imitation of that of Nazareth, welcoming and open to life.
[Translation by ZENIT]
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