Pope calls Catholics to daily meditation on the Bible

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Pope Benedict XVI

Vatican City, Oct 28, 2009 / 10:37 am (CNA).- At today's General Audience in St. Peter's Square, Pope Benedict provided a lesson on the theological renaissance of the 12th century, advising Christians to learn from the monks and set aside time every day to meditate on the Bible, “so that the Word of God will be the lamp that illuminates our daily path on earth."

Benedict XVI began his address to the 15,000 faithful by recalling how the 12th century was a time of a spiritual, cultural and political rebirth in the West. In that time, theology “flourished, refining methods, advancing towards new problems, in contemplation of the mystery of God,” he said.

As fruits of this development, figures such as St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure would appear in the thirteenth century. The two different environments in which this theological activity flourished were monasteries and schools, which would soon gave birth to universities, an invention of medieval Christianity.

Monastic theology, the Pope added, was due to abbots gifted with evangelical fervor and dedicated to inspire and nurture the desire for God. The method was primarily linked to the prayerful contemplation of Holy Scripture and the texts of the Church Fathers. The monks, he expounded, "were devoted to the Sacred Scriptures and one of their main activities consisted in lectio divina, that is, a meditative reading of the Bible." The Holy Father noted the Synod on the Word of God last year recalled the importance of reading Scripture and said it must be built on monastic theology.

"As monastic theology is listening to the Word of God," the Pontiff said, "it is necessary to purify one's heart to welcome it and, above all, one must be full of fervor to encounter the Lord. Theology therefore becomes meditation, prayer, a song of praise, and the impetus for sincere conversion."

The Holy Father emphasized "it is important to reserve a certain time each day for meditation on the Bible so that the Word of God will be the lamp that illuminates our daily path on earth."

Scholastic theology, the Pontiff explained, was formed "around a master and his disciples, to train professionals of culture in an era in which knowledge was increasingly appreciated." The method involves the placement of a "quaestio," a question around which "the discussion between teacher and students revolved."

"The organization of the ‘quaestiones’ led to the compilation of evermore extensive syntheses, the so-called ‘summae’ that were vast dogmatic-theological treatises,” Pope Benedict said. “Scholastic theology sought to present the unity and harmony of Christian Revelation with a method, called precisely 'scholastic,' that grants faith in human reason."

"Echoing the invitation of the First Epistle of Peter scholastic theology invites us to be always ready to answer whoever asks the reason for the hope that is in us," he noted. It "reminds us that between faith and reason there is a natural friendship, founded in creation itself." Faith liberates reason, enabling the human spirit to rise to the loving contemplation of that fullness of truth which is God himself.

Let us pray, Benedict XVI concluded, "so that the path of knowledge and exploration of the mystery of God is always enlightened by divine love."

In his Italian-language greeting to young people, the sick and newlyweds, Pope Benedict XVI said, “Today the liturgy remembers the Holy Apostles Simon and Jude Thaddeus. Let their evangelical testimony sustain you, dear young people, in the commitment of daily faithfulness to Christ. Let it encourage you, dear sick, to always follow Jesus along the road of trial and suffering. Let it help you, dear newlyweds, to make your family a place of constant encounter with the Love of God.”

Back and pretty exhausted . . . just got finished putting the Tandoori chicken in to marinate because the Parochial Vicar #2 is coming to dinner tomorrow night and he likes Indian food . . . Tandoor chicken plus lamb korma, sweet saffron rice, naan bread, Gujarati green beans, and sherbet with fruit for dessert. I do pretty well with it for a Scots/Irish girl (thanks to Madhur Jaffrey's outstanding cookbook).

I arrived early (3:30 for a 4:30 rehearsal, 5:30 service) because Atlanta traffic can be treacherous but it wasn't this time. Haven't been to the Orthodox Cathedral in years, when I was a preteen and young teenager we had several good family friends who were pillars of this church (more on that later!) It is not a large sanctuary, but the associated buildings ramble down a hill and cover several acres of ground on the north side of Decatur, on Clairmont Road. Wandered in through the main entrance, past several barricades manned by DeKalb County sheriffs (His All Holiness is the equivalent of a head of state). Asked directions of a young man with a name tag, who pointed me to the choir loft (which I never would have found as it is reached by an obscure winding staircase behind two doors off to one side). The Orthodox choir was already assembling, they have two sections, a more conventional SATB group with an organist, and an a capella male schola which they call a 'chant choir'. Our folks started trickling in around 4:30, and while the Orthodox choir was warming up we dashed downstairs to a small courtyard outside. Albert gave us the pitch and we ran the chant, the Victoria, and part of the Litany of the Saints very quickly, and it all sounded quite well even though our tenor had not showed up yet . . . he's always late and we're almost used to it . . . . Back upstairs to sit and wait for things to begin. Then of course our tenor showed up.

The sanctuary is simply magnificent. It is round in form, with many tall narrow windows and a huge dome. Beautiful full length mosaics on all the walls, depicting iconic scenes from the Life of Christ -- the Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost, the Harrowing of Hell -- the Dormition of the Virgin on the wall above the choir loft, and in the top of the great dome Christ Pantocrator. The iconostasis (in the position of a roodscreen, but made of brass or some other gold-colored metal, with beautiful full-length icons of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and saints and angels) is very modern in form, with elaborate doors leading to the high altar, which were open for the service.

The bells began to ring, and the various priests, bishops, archbishops and metropolitans, from all over the world, began to process. There must have been nearly 100 various clerics, all dressed in deepest black. Our Archbishop Emeritus relieved the general gloom in his purple choir vestments (ok, that's the Episcopalian term for vestments worn when not celebrating, is there a separate Catholic term?), attended by two priests in cassocks and their best surplices (one of whom is our 1st Parochial Vicar who has been instrumental in getting the local ecumenical effort started).

Then His All Holiness Bartholomew I appeared upon the scene, a very handsome man with a beautiful long white beard, very dignified, in brilliant red vestments with gold embroidery and a long train, which was carried by two deacons. The cameras in the nave were going off continuously (and no wonder). As he processed, the Orthodox Choir began to sing a series of anthems in Greek - very close harmony and very beautiful. He took his seat on the episcopal throne to the right of the area before the iconostasis.

The master of ceremonies (a local Greek politician!) greeted all the various guests, and then our Archbishop gave the first reading from the Church Fathers. Then we sang . . . and really it went quite well. The acoustics were excellent, there were about 10 of us because most folks couldn't get off work, but it sounded very nice. Then there was a second Patristic Reading by the local metropolitan (who looks exactly like Santa Claus, only in black). Then the Baptist Choir, who were positioned down on the floor to the left front with their own electronic keyboard (there were too many of them to sit in the small choir loft - probably 50 I would say). They sang a roof-raising unison hymn in perfect blend, then a second hymn where the verses were sung in unison but the chorus went into parts, then a call and response form with the female soloist ad libbing over and above the response . . . you could see from the expressions of some of the primates on the dais in front that they had never heard anything quite like THAT before - some of them actually turned around and stared!

There was a long address in Greek from His All Holiness, of which I could catch about every 10th word, then he was kind enough to read a prepared statement in English regarding the ecumenical effort and the theme of his pastoral visit to the U.S.: stewardship of the environment. He thanked all the dignitaries and visitors (including us!) and then the Greek choir sang the Small Doxology in honor of the Theotokos . . . and one of the ladies who was sitting beside us shoved some music at those of us who could reach, so we just joined in. It wasn't hard, except trying to read the Greek and the alto part at the same time! The pronunciation was close enough for us to fake it though.

Then we adjourned downstairs for Great. Greek. Food.

The tale I mentioned above is this -- I was just chatting beforehand with the lady who was sort of a coordinator for the choirs (not the musical director, but in some sort of management position). Turns out she is the daughter of a (sadly deceased) local judge here who was very popular and well thought of by the bar, a pillar of this cathedral and a very close friend of my dad's. In fact, dad was his campaign manager. So we fell on each other's necks (we hadn't seen each other since we were little bratty kids). You meet people you know in the STRANGEST places . . . .

That's all from the front lines of the Ecumenical Prayer Service!

41 posted on 10/29/2009 8:58:43 PM PDT by AnAmericanMother (Ministrix of ye Chasse, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary - (recess appointment))

Wow! I JUST got my iPhone (I have been living with a clunky cellphone that was about the size of an old walkie-talkie and just made phone calls, that's all. But it died last week) and have been making do with free apps, but it sounds like this one is well worth the price!!!!!

Thanks! (I wanted to properly receive the Brown Scapular but wasn't able to obtain a copy of the Little Office locally).

42 posted on 10/29/2009 9:01:07 PM PDT by AnAmericanMother (Ministrix of ye Chasse, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary - (recess appointment))

"Have you considered an iPhone? "

No I haven't. Can you read it in the dark? How many Bibles fit in it?

43 posted on 10/30/2009 5:44:58 AM PDT by GonzoII ("That they may be one...Father")

Yes you can read it in the dark! And you can fit an astounding number of Bibles in it, not to mention that you can access the internet from anywhere, so you can waste more time on FR (if you don’t mind typing s...l...o...w...l...y . . . .

44 posted on 10/30/2009 7:03:29 AM PDT by AnAmericanMother (Ministrix of ye Chasse, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary - (recess appointment))

To: AnAmericanMother

Thanks for the info!

45 posted on 10/30/2009 8:15:45 AM PDT by GonzoII ("That they may be one...Father")

one-third of Americans continue to believe that it is literally true, something organizers of the Synod on the Word of God called a dangerous form of fundamentalism that is “winning more and more adherents…even among Catholics.” Such literalism, the synod’s preparatory document said, “demands an unshakable adherence to rigid doctrinal points of view and imposes, as the only source of teaching for Christian life and salvation, a reading of the Bible which rejects all questioning and any kind of critical research”....

So, the Pope wants Catholics to read it, but not believe it.

Where would Catholics and Orthodox be without the nineteenth century liberal Lutherans who invented "critical research" on the Bible?

46 posted on 10/30/2009 8:24:32 AM PDT by Zionist Conspirator (Va'avarekhah mevarekheykha umeqallelkha 'a'or; venivrekhu vekha kol mishpechot ha'adamah.)

47 posted on 10/30/2009 8:30:40 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

No the genealogies are in the three year cycle.

48 posted on 10/30/2009 8:35:48 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

To: AnAmericanMother

Our Adoration Room has about six Bibles in it — all with pieces of paper in them where people have marked their place!

49 posted on 10/30/2009 8:36:56 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

Yes, the screen is bright and you can read it in the dark. It has at least two versions of the Bible and one is the DR. The other is the Latin Vulgate. See my posts to American Mother in this thread to learn more about what the iPieta iPhone application offers.

It’s great and it only costs $2.99 (’course, you have to buy an iPhone). But that’s just one app. I also have several books, the complete works of Shakespeare, and many hundreds of songs on my iPhone.

It’s a wonderful tool!

50 posted on 10/30/2009 4:29:32 PM PDT by Melian ("frequently in error, rarely in doubt")

To: AnAmericanMother; GonzoII

AmericanMother, I’m so glad you just got an iPhone. I must have been meant o mention it to you! :o]

Another great use of the iPhone in adoration is that you can load in a playlist of liturgical music. As you read the Scripture and pray, you can also insert a song or moving music into your own meditation.

I have some classical music that isn’t necessarily liturgical, but affects me in a very spiritual way and I have it in a playlist. Just bring the ear buds!

51 posted on 10/30/2009 4:44:24 PM PDT by Melian ("frequently in error, rarely in doubt")

I guess it WAS meant -- I actually went on line last night and downloaded the app.

It works great, at least for starters, I've only been exploring it for one day - I haven't quite figured out the audio yet, but I took it to Mass and used it for the readings -- good thing, 'cause the reader was inaudible this morning!

Does it not have the Psalms for the daily lectionary? I can't seem to find them.

Our parochial vicar came to dinner tonight, and he was AMAZED at the iPieta . . . said he'd been tempted to get an iPhone and I had just ratcheted up the temptation a few notches . . . . of course on a slow Saturday afternoon I approached the confessional and found our rector tap-tapping busily away on his Blackberry . . . .

amazing thing is you can also make a phone call on the thing (if you can find the phone app!)

52 posted on 10/30/2009 7:47:36 PM PDT by AnAmericanMother (Ministrix of ye Chasse, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary - (recess appointment))

To: AnAmericanMother

I haven’t discovered any Psalms other than in the Bible section. It does seem a glaring hole. Let’s email them and see if they fix it in an update.

You are a brave lady, using it at Mass. I get embarrassed because people will think I’m not paying attention and I’m checking my messages! I was toying with asking the parish to put a little blurb in the bulletin telling iPhone users to look at iPieta. If more of us were following along on our phones, I would feel more comfortable.

Glad you are enjoying it so far. It’s incredible to carry around the beautiful Catholic library of teachings in your pocket.

53 posted on 10/30/2009 11:39:50 PM PDT by Melian ("frequently in error, rarely in doubt")

Well, it's very helpful to have everything at my fingertips!

I figured out how to get the audio to work - it's an involved process, I'll have to go download the files to iTune from the iPieta website, then enable the audio.

In more good news, I will be able to get rid of my paper DayTimer AND my clunky calculator. At this rate, I'll be able to get a smaller pocketbook. The one I have now is made of parachute nylon and is just about the size of an Alice pack.

54 posted on 10/31/2009 5:25:59 AM PDT by AnAmericanMother (Ministrix of ye Chasse, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary - (recess appointment))

I'm not brave, by the way . . . I'm just so old I don't care what people think. (I WAS embarrassed one time when I forgot to turn my old phone off and it rang during Mass . . . unfortunately it had gotten into the bottom of my big old ugly pocketbook and I couldn't FIND it, and even MORE unfortunately I usually use a duck quack for my ringtone . . . eeeekkkk! I'm going to download a Gregorian Chant ringtone, that at least will not be tooooo disturbing if I forget to turn it off).

Besides, who on earth would come to DAILY Mass and then use their phone during the service??

55 posted on 10/31/2009 5:29:26 AM PDT by AnAmericanMother (Ministrix of ye Chasse, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary - (recess appointment))

To: AnAmericanMother

I usually only do free apps. On my phone I have these apps:

A language translator, MyLite, shazam, Pandora, stanza, webMD, a compass, a level, the Way of the Cross, the Holy Rosary Deluxe, Easy Relax, Sportacular, DoodleBuddy, the complete works of Shakespeare, the Declaration and the Constitution.

I now use my phone as a flashlight, translator, electronic book, first aid resource, GPS hiking guide, prayer tool, relaxation tape, sportscaster, and Constitutional resource! Throw in everything else we’ve already discussed and I’d be hauling a suitcase around to hold it all!

Lighter pocketbooks for all! I think Apple should market the phone to women this way and relieve all those aching shoulders!

56 posted on 10/31/2009 7:39:39 AM PDT by Melian ("frequently in error, rarely in doubt")

57 posted on 02/23/2011 8:11:12 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

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