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Pope Benedict XVI- General Audiences |
General
Audience
On the Message of Lourdes
"There Is No True Love Without Suffering"
H.H. Benedict XVI
September 17, 2008
www.zenit.org
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today's meeting gives me the opportunity to review again the moments of
the pastoral visit that I made in recent days to France; a visit that
culminated with the pilgrimage to Lourdes on the occasion of the 150th
anniversary of the Virgin's apparitions to St. Bernadette. While giving
fervent thanks to the Lord, who granted me such a providential
possibility, I again express my sincere gratitude to the archbishop of
Paris, to the bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, to the respective
collaborators and to all those who in different ways cooperated in the
success of my pilgrimage. I also cordially thank the president of the
republic and the other authorities who welcomed me so courteously.
The visit began in Paris, where, ideally, I met with all the French
people, thus honoring a beloved nation in which the Church, since the
2nd century, has played a fundamental civilizing role. It is interesting
that, precisely in this context, the need matured of a healthy
distinction between the political and religious spheres, according to
Jesus' famous saying: "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and
to God the things that are God's" (Mark 12:17).
If the effigy of Caesar was imprinted on Roman coins, then imprinted on
the heart of man must be the mark of the Creator, only Lord of our life.
Genuine secularism, therefore, is not to do without the spiritual
dimension, but to acknowledge that precisely the latter is, radically,
the guarantor of our liberty and of the autonomy of earthly realities,
thanks to the dictates of creative Wisdom that the human conscience is
able to receive and fulfill.
Framed in this perspective is the extensive reflection on the topic "The
Origins of Western Theology and the Roots of European Culture," which I
developed in the meeting with the world of culture, in a place chosen
for its symbolic value. It was held at the Collège des Bernardins, which
deceased Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger wished to re-establish as a center
of cultural dialogue, a 12th century building built by the Cistercians,
where young people have studied. The monastic theology that gave origin
to our Western culture is present there.
The starting point of my address was a reflection on monasticism, whose
objective was to seek God, "quaerere Deum." In an age of profound crisis
of the ancient civilization, the monks, guided by the light of faith,
chose the "via maestra": the way of listening to the word of God. They
were, therefore, the great cultivators of sacred Scripture, and
monasteries became schools of wisdom and schools of "dominici servitii,"
"of the service of the Lord," as St. Benedict called them.
The search for God led the monks, by its nature, to a culture of the
word. "Quaerere Deum," to seek God, they searched in the furrow of the
word and they were to know, in ever greater depth, this word. It was
necessary to penetrate the secret of language, to understand its
structure. In seeking God, who has revealed himself in sacred Scripture,
of great importance were the profane sciences, in order to go deeper
into the secret of languages. As a consequence, that "eruditio" was
developed in monasteries that made possible the formation of culture.
Precisely because of this, "quaerere Deum" -- to seek God, to be on the
way to God -- continues to be today as yesterday the "via maestra" and
foundation of all true culture.
Architecture is also an artistic expression of the search for God, and
undoubtedly the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris is an example of
universal value. Inside this magnificent church, where I had the joy to
preside over the celebration of vespers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I
exhorted the priests, deacons, men and women religious and seminarians
who had come from all parts of France, to give priority to the religious
listening of the divine word, looking at the Virgin Mary as sublime
model.
Later, in the portico of Notre Dame, I greeted numerous and enthusiastic
young people. To them, who were about to begin a long vigil of prayer, I
gave two treasures of the Christian faith: the Holy Spirit and the
cross. The Spirit opens human intelligence to horizons that surpass it
and makes it understand the beauty and truth of God's love revealed, in
fact, on the cross. A love of which no one will be able to separate us,
and that is experienced by giving one's life as Christ did. After a
brief stopover at the Institut de France, headquarters of the five
national academies, my being a member of one of them, enabled me to see
with great joy my colleagues.
Afterward, my visit culminated with the Eucharistic celebration at the
Esplanade des Invalides. Echoing the words of the Apostle Paul to the
Corinthians, I invited the faithful of Paris and the whole of France to
seek the living God, who has shown us his true face in Jesus present in
the Eucharist, encouraging us to love our brothers as He has loved us.
Then I went to Lourdes, where I was able to join thousands of faithful
on the Jubilee Way, which includes the places of St. Bernadette's life:
the parish church with the baptismal font where she was baptized; the "cachot"
where she lived in great poverty as a girl; the Massabielle Grotto,
where the Virgin appeared to her 18 times. In the afternoon I took part
in the traditional torchlight procession, which is a wonderful
manifestation of faith in God and of devotion to his and our Mother.
Lourdes is truly a place of light, prayer, hope and conversion, founded
on the rock of the love of God, which had its culminating revelation in
the glorious cross of Christ.
By a happy coincidence, last Sunday the liturgy celebrated the
Exaltation of the Holy Cross, sign of hope par excellence, because it is
the highest testimony of love. In Lourdes, in the school of Mary, first
and perfect disciple of Christ, pilgrims learn to regard the crosses of
their lives in the light of the glorious cross of Christ. Appearing to
Bernadette, in the Grotto of Massabielle, Mary's first gesture was, in
fact, the Sign of the Cross, in silence and without words. And
Bernadette imitated her in turn making the Sign of the Cross though her
hand was trembling.
And so the Virgin gave a first initiation on the essence of
Christianity: The Sign of the Cross is the height of our faith, and
doing it with an attentive heart we enter into the full mystery of our
salvation. The whole message of Lourdes is contained in this gesture of
the Virgin! God has so loved us that he gave himself up for us: This is
the message of the Cross, "mystery of death and of glory."
The cross reminds us that there is no true love without suffering, there
is no gift of life without pain. Many learn this truth in Lourdes, which
is a school of faith and hope, because it is also a school of charity
and of service to brothers. It is in this context of faith and prayer
where the important meeting with the French episcopate took place: It
was a moment of intense spiritual communion, in which together we
entrusted to the Virgin our common hopes and pastoral concerns.
The next stage was the Eucharistic procession with thousands of
faithful, among whom, as usual, were many sick people. Before the most
Blessed Sacrament, our spiritual communion with Mary was made even more
intense and profound because God gives us eyes and hearts capable of
contemplating his Divine Son in the Holy Eucharist. Very moving was the
silence of these thousands of people before the Lord, not an empty
silence, but one full of prayer and awareness of the Lord's presence,
who loved us to the point of being lifted up on the cross for us.
Monday, Sept. 15, liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, was
dedicated especially to the sick. After a brief visit to the hospital
oratory, where Bernadette received her first Communion, I presided over
the celebration of Holy Mass in the portico of the Basilica of the
rosary, during which I administered the sacrament of anointing of the
sick. With the sick and with those taking care of them, I meditated on
the tears Mary shed under the cross, and on her smile that illuminates
Easter morning.
Dear brothers and sisters, together we thank the Lord for this apostolic
journey enriched by so many spiritual gifts. We praise him especially
because Mary, by appearing to St. Bernadette, has opened to the world a
privileged place to find divine love that heals and saves. In Lourdes,
the Holy Virgin invites all to regard earth as a place of pilgrimage
toward our final homeland, which is heaven. In reality, we are all
pilgrims, we need Mary to guide us; and in Lourdes, her smile invites us
to go forward with great confidence in the awareness that God is good,
God is love.
[Translation by ZENIT]
[At the end of the Audience, the Pope greeted pilgrims in several
languages. In English, he said:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our encounter today gives me the opportunity to retrace the steps of my
recent Pastoral Visit to France. After a warm welcome in Paris, I met
with men and women from the world of culture, with whom I reflected on
the monastic ideal of seeking God -- "quaerere Deum" -- as the bedrock
of European culture. I wished to emphasize that meditation on the
Scriptures opens our minds and hearts to the Logos, God’s Creative
Reason in the flesh. In the magnificent Cathedral of Notre-Dame, I
gathered with bishops, priests, religious and seminarians, sharing with
them the treasures of the Holy Spirit and the Cross. My brief stop at
the Institut de France was followed by the joyful Eucharistic
celebration on the Esplanade des Invalides. I then made my way to
Lourdes to join thousands of pilgrims in this Jubilee year commemorating
the apparitions of Our Lady to Saint Bernadette. The Holy Mass near the
Grotto of Massabielle providentially coincided with the Feast of the
Exaltation of the Cross, the perennial sign of the "mystery of death and
of glory". The Cross demonstrates that God so loved the world that he
gave us his only Son. It teaches us that there is no genuine love
without suffering, and no gift of life without pain. Lourdes is thus a
school of faith and hope because it is a school of charity and service.
I am deeply grateful to God and to all who made this trip a blessed,
memorable success. Thank you!
I happily greet the English-speaking visitors present at today’s
Audience, including pilgrims from England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark,
Australia, Burma, Japan, and the United States of America. God bless you
all!
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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