Posted on 08/25/2010 9:03:50 PM PDT by ELS
On the Saints, Companions on the Journey
"Each One Should Have a Saint That Is Familiar to Him"
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 25, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience.
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In the life of each one of us there are very dear persons, to whom we feel particularly close; some are already in God's arms, others still share with us the journey of life: they are our parents, relatives, educators. They are persons to whom we have done good or from whom we have received good. They are persons we know we can count on. However, it is also important to have "travel companions" on the journey of our Christian life: I am thinking of a spiritual director, a confessor, persons with whom we can share the experience of faith, but I am also thinking of the Virgin Mary and of the saints. Each one should have a saint that is familiar to him, to whom he feels close with prayer and intercession, but also to imitate him or her. Hence, I would like to invite you to know the saints better, beginning with the one whose name you bear, by reading his life, his writings. You can be certain that they will become good guides to love the Lord ever more and valid aids for your human and Christian growth.
As you know, I am also united in a special way to some saints: among these, in addition to St. Joseph and St. Benedict, whose names I bear, and of others, is St. Augustine, whom I had the great gift of knowing, so to speak, up close through study and prayer, and who has become a good "travel companion" in my life and my ministry. I would like to stress once again an important aspect of his human and Christian experience, timely also in our age, in which it seems that relativism is, paradoxically, the "truth" that must guide thought, decisions and behavior.
St. Augustine was a man who never lived superficially. Thirst [for Truth], an anxious and constant search for Truth, is one of the underlying characteristics of his existence; however, [he didn't seek] "pseudo-truths" incapable of giving lasting peace of heart, but that Truth that gives meaning to existence and that is the "dwelling" in which the heart finds serenity and joy. His, we know, was not an easy journey: He thought he found Truth in prestige, in his career, in the possession of things, in the voices that promised him immediate happiness. He committed errors, went through sadness, faced failures, but he never paused, he was never satisfied with what gave him only a ray of light.
He was able to look into the depth of himself and he realized, as he writes in his Confessions, that that Truth, that God that he was looking for with his efforts was more intimate to him than he was to himself. He had always been by his side, had never abandoned him, was waiting to be able to enter into his life definitively (cf. III, 6, 11; X, 27, 38).
As I said commenting recently on a film on his life, in his anxious search, St. Augustine understood that it was not he who had found Truth, but that Truth itself, which is God, pursued and found him (cf. L'Osservatore Romano, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2009, p. 8). Commenting on a passage of the third chapter of the Confessions, Romano Guardini affirms: St. Augustine understood that God is glory that puts us on our knees, drink that extinguishes thirst, treasure that makes us happy, [...he had] the pacifying certainty of one who has finally understood, but also the blessedness of the love that knows: this is everything and it is enough for me" (Pensatori religiosi, Brescia, 2001, p. 177).
Again in the Confessions, in the ninth book, our saint gives us a conversation with his mother, St. Monica -- whose memorial is celebrated Friday, day after tomorrow. It is a very beautiful scene: he and his mother are in Ostia, in an inn, and from the window they see the sky and the sea, and they transcend sky and sea, and for a moment touch the heart of God in the silence of creatures. And here a fundamental idea appears in the journey toward Truth: creatures must be silent so that there will be a silence in which God can speak. This is also true in our time: Sometimes there is a sort of fear of silence, of recollection, of reflecting on one's acts, on the profound meaning of one's life. Often preferred is living the fleeting moment, hoping that it will bring lasting happiness. One prefers to live, because it seems easier, with superficiality, without thinking; there is fear of seeking the Truth, or perhaps there is fear that the Truth will find us, will grip us and change our life, as happened to St. Augustine.
Dear brothers and sisters, I would like to say to all, also to those in a difficult moment in their faith journey, those who do not participate much in the life of the Church, or those who live "as if God did not exist" that they not be afraid of the Truth, that they never interrupt their journey toward it, that they never cease to seek the profound truth about themselves and about things with the internal eyes of the heart.
God will not fail to give Light so that one can see, and Warmth to feel the heart that loves us and that wants to be loved.
May the intercession of the Virgin Mary, of St. Augustine and of St. Monica accompany us on this journey.
[Translation by ZENIT]
[The Holy Father then greeted the pilgrims in several languages. In English, he said:]
I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims, especially the young altar servers from Malta and their families, and the pilgrimage group from Japan. This Saturday the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Augustine, who found in Christ the fullness of that truth which brings authentic freedom and joy. May Saint Augustine and his mother, Saint Monica, accompany us by their prayers and draw us ever closer to the Lord.
© Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[In Italian, he added:]
My thoughts go finally to young people, the sick and newlyweds: I invite all to find in Christ the reason for their hope.
[And he made this appeal in Italian:]
My thoughts go to Mogadishu, from where news continues to arrive of cruel violence and which yesterday became the scene of a new massacre. I am [united] with the families of the victims and of all those who, in Somalia, are suffering because of hatred and instability. I hope that, with the help of the international community, no efforts will be spared to re-establish respect for life and for human rights.
[The Pope also greeted the pilgrims who were unable to enter the courtyard of the apostolic palace:]
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your presence and your enthusiasm. I wish you a good day, good vacations and much joy in these warm days. May the Lord help you and accompany you always. I give you my blessing.
[Translation by ZENIT]
Please let me know if you want to be on or off this ping list.
St. Augustine is one of the brilliant intellects of the Christian Faith, thanks for the ping ELS.
I do find it out that both Augustine and St Monica did “live in the moment” upon looking at the Sky and Sea, yet such a concept is not supported in the weekly message.
I would say such a philosophy can lead astray, however the possibility exists that in a spontaneous moment Man can have a sense of the Divine.
Good Papal message.
Right now, as a Catholic who is struggling, I wonder, do I have any companions. I do ask others to pray for me. On the Saints, though, I just do not have any campanions with any one Saint.
Any Catholic who posts responses, it will be appriciated. Need good advice. Thank-you and God Bless.
A profound commentary on contemporary society where our senses are attacked by the daily din of devices. Silence can be very liberating, allowing us to reflect on our life and pray for guidance and direction.
Augustine and the members of his family now set out for their return to Tagaste. At the port of Ostia, Monica fell ill. She knew that her work had been accomplished and that life would soon be over. Her exaltation of spirit was such that her sons were unaware of the approach of death. As Monica's strength failed, she said to Augustine: "I do not know what there is left for me to do or why I am still here, all my hopes in this world being now fulfilled. All I wished for was that I might see you a Catholic and a child of Heaven. God granted me even more than this in making you despise earthly felicity and consecrate yourself to His service." Shortly afterwards they asked her if she did not fear to die so far from home, for she had earlier expressed a desire to be buried beside her husband in Tagaste. Now, with beautiful simplicity, she replied, "Nothing is far from God," and indicated that she was content to be buried where she died. Monica's death plunged her children into the deepest grief, and Augustine, "the son of so many tears," in the implores his readers' prayers for his parents. It is the prayers of Monica herself that have been invoked by generations of the faithful who honor her as a special patroness of married women and as an example for Christian motherhood. Her relics are alleged to have been transferred from Ostia to Rome, to rest in the church of San Agostino. Her emblems are a girdle and tears.
I never felt a close connection to any of the saints until I began watching "Super Saints" on EWTN. Each week, Bob and Penny Lord would take the viewers to some small village that once was home to a particular saint. One of those programs was devoted to Blessed Margaret of Castello, with whom I could identify. The best way to begin is to meet the saints. Pick up a copy of the Lives of the Saints. As you read through the their biographies, you will find yourself drawn into someone's life, recognizing your personal struggles in theirs.
My companion saints are: St. Francis of Assisi (my daughter was born through his intercession), St. Padre Pio, Blessed Margaret of Castello, St. Monica and St. Faustina.
Thank-you. :)=^..^=
For some reason I feel drawn to St. Elizabeth and St. Monica. You can’t go wrong studying St. Monica, especially if you are experiencing any marital or family problems.
Amen to that.
Right now, with a mother in rehab due to a broken left arm and broken big toe area, the later the only one x-rayed, my mother is scared to come home, she has made progress in rehab. Her name is Edna. Please keep her in prayer. Will look into St. Monica.
I'm not sure I know what you mean. The posted text says that Ss. Augustine and Monica "transcend sky and sea". I see that as transcending time as well. Benedict XVI then goes on to say that they "for a moment touch the heart of God". Benedict XVI differentiates that from "living [in] the fleeting moment" and a fear of silence.
It is a very beautiful scene: he and his mother are in Ostia, in an inn, and from the window they see the sky and the sea, and they transcend sky and sea, and for a moment touch the heart of God in the silence of creatures. And here a fundamental idea appears in the journey toward Truth: creatures must be silent so that there will be a silence in which God can speak. This is also true in our time: Sometimes there is a sort of fear of silence, of recollection, of reflecting on one's acts, on the profound meaning of one's life. Often preferred is living the fleeting moment, hoping that it will bring lasting happiness. One prefers to live, because it seems easier, with superficiality, without thinking; there is fear of seeking the Truth, or perhaps there is fear that the Truth will find us, will grip us and change our life, as happened to St. Augustine.
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