BENEDICT XVI GENERAL AUDIENCE
Paul VI Audience Hall Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Dear brothers and sisters,
"Dieu est le Dieu du coeur humain" [God is the God of the human heart] (Treaty of Love God, I, XV): in these seemingly simple words we take the mark of a great master of spirituality, of which I speak today, St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. Born in 1567 in a border region of France, was the son of Lord Boisy, an ancient and noble family of Savoy. Lived at the turn of two centuries, the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, picked up in himself the best lessons and cultural achievements of the century ended, reconciling the legacy of humanism with the push toward the absolute of its mystical currents. His training was very thorough, in Paris did high school, he also devoted himself to theology, and those of Law at the University of Padova, as he wished his father, concluded in a brilliant way, with a doctorate in utroque iure, canon law and the law civil. In his youth, harmonious, reflecting on the thought of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, had a deep crisis that led him to question his eternal salvation and predestination of God towards him, suffering as a true spiritual drama of the main issues theologians of his time. She prayed hard, but doubt tormented him so strong that for a few weeks almost completely failed to eat and sleep. At the height of the test, went to the Dominican church in Paris, opened his heart and prayed, "Whatever happens, Lord, you who keep it all in your hand, and whose ways are justice and truth, whatever you established about me ..., you're always just judge and merciful Father, I love you, Lord [...] I will love you here, oh my God, and always will I hope in your mercy, and always repeat the praise you O Lord Jesus ... , you'll always be my hope and my salvation in the land of the living "(The Canon Proc., vol I, Article 4). The twenty-year old Francis found peace in the radical and liberating reality of God's love: love without asking anything in return and trust in God's love, do not ask God what to do with me: I simply love him, no matter how much it gives me or does not give me. Thus, he found peace, and the question of predestination - on which we discussed at that time - it was resolved, because he did not seek any more than he could have from God just loved him, he abandoned his goodness. This will be the secret of his life, which trasparirà in his main work: the Treaty of love God
overcome the resistance of his father, Francis followed the call of the Lord, December 18, 1593, was ordained a priest. In 1602 he became Bishop of Geneva, at a time when the city was a stronghold of Calvinism, so that the bishop's seat was "in exile" at Annecy. Pastor of a poor and troubled diocese, in a landscape of mountains of which he knew so well as the hardness of the beauty, he writes: "[God] I met him full of tenderness and sweetness between our highest and most rugged mountains, where many simple souls loved and adored in all truth and sincerity, and roe deer and chamois were running here and there among the ice scary to announce his praises " (Letter to Mother de Chantal, in October 1606, in Oeuvres, ed. Mackey, t. XIII, p. 223). Yet the influence of his life and his teaching on Europe of the period and the following centuries is immense. E 'apostle, preacher, writer, man of action and prayer, committed to achieving the ideals of the Council of Trent; involved in the dispute and dialogue with Protestants, and experimenting more, beyond the necessary theological confrontation, the' effectiveness of the personal relationship and love, in charge of diplomatic missions in Europe, and social tasks of mediation and reconciliation. But above all, St. Francis de Sales is the guide of souls: encounter with a young woman, Madame Charmoisy, will draw inspiration to write one of the most widely read books in the modern age, the Introduction to the Devout Life, from his deep spiritual communion with an exceptional personality, St. Jane Frances Chantal, there emerged a new religious family, the Order of the Visitation, characterized - as would the Holy One - a total consecration to God, lived in simplicity and humility in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well: "... I want my daughters - he write - have no other ideal than to glorify [Our Lord] with their humility "(Letter Msgr. de Marquemond, June 1615). He died in 1622, fifty-five years after a life marked by hard times and apostolic work.
that of St. Francis de Sales was relatively short-lived, but lived with great intensity. From the figure of this Saint radiates a rare fullness, as demonstrated in the serenity of his intellectual pursuits, but also the wealth of his affections, the "sweetness" of his teachings have had a great influence on the Christian conscience. The word "humanity" that he has embodied different meanings, past and present, this term can take: culture reigns, freedom and tenderness, nobility and solidarity. Appearance had something of the majesty of the landscape in which he lived, preserving the simplicity and naturalness. The ancient words and images which expressed unexpectedly sound, the ears of people today, as a native language and family.
Philothea A, the ideal object of his Introduction to the Devout Life (1607), Francis de Sales makes an invitation that could appear at the time revolutionary. E 'invitation to be fully God, fully living presence in the world and the tasks of the state. "My intention is to educate those who live in cities, in stato coniugale, a corte […]” (Prefazione alla Introduzione alla vita devota). Il Documento con cui Papa Pio IX, più di due secoli dopo, lo proclamerà Dottore della Chiesa insisterà su questo allargamento della chiamata alla perfezione, alla santità. Vi è scritto:“[la vera pietà] è penetrata fino al trono dei re, nella tenda dei capi degli eserciti, nel pretorio dei giudici, negli uffici, nelle botteghe e addirittura nelle capanne dei pastori […]” (Breve Dives in misericordia, 16 novembre 1877). Nasceva così quell’appello ai laici, quella cura per la consacrazione delle cose temporali e per la santificazione del quotidiano su cui insisteranno il Concilio Vaticano II and the spirituality of our time. He expressed the ideal of a reconciled humanity, in harmony between prayer and action in the world, including secular condition and search for perfection, with the help of the Grace of God that permeates the human being, without destroying it, purifies it, raising to divine heights. A Theotimus, the Christian adult, spiritually mature, who directs a few years after his Treatise on the Love of God (1616), St. Francis de Sales offers a lesson more complex. It supposes the beginning, a clear vision of the human anthropology: the "reason" of man, or rather the 'rational soul', there is vista come un’architettura armonica, un tempio, articolato in più spazi, intorno ad un centro, che egli chiama, insieme con i grandi mistici, “cima”, “punta” dello spirito, o “fondo” dell’anima. E’ il punto in cui la ragione, percorsi tutti i suoi gradi, “chiude gli occhi” e la conoscenza diventa tutt’uno con l’amore (cfr libro I, cap. XII). Che l’amore, nella sua dimensione teologale, divina, sia la ragion d’essere di tutte le cose, in una scala ascendente che non sembra conoscere fratture e abissi, san Francesco di Sales lo ha riassunto in una celebre frase: “L’uomo è la perfezione dell’universo; the spirit is the perfection of human love is that of the spirit, that of love and charity "(ibid., Book X, chap. I).
In a season of intense mystical flowering, the Treaty of God's love is a real sum, and with a fascinating literary work. His description of the route starts from the recognition of God's "natural inclination" (ibid., Book I, chap. XVI), inscribed on human hearts but sinners to love God above all things. According to the model of the Holy Scripture, St. Francis de Sales speaks of the union between God and man developing a whole series of images of interpersonal relationship. Il suo Dio è padre e signore, sposo e amico, ha caratteristiche materne e di nutrice, è il sole di cui persino la notte è misteriosa rivelazione. Un tale Dio trae a sé l’uomo con vincoli di amore, cioè di vera libertà: “poiché l’amore non ha forzati né schiavi, ma riduce ogni cosa sotto la propria obbedienza con una forza così deliziosa che, se nulla è forte come l’amore, nulla è amabile come la sua forza” (ibid., libro I, cap. VI). Troviamo nel trattato del nostro Santo una meditazione profonda sulla volontà umana e la descrizione del suo fluire, passare, morire, per vivere (cfr ibid., libro IX, cap. XIII) nel completo abbandono non solo alla volontà of God, but what pleases Him, to his "bon plaisir" to his good pleasure (cf. ibid., book IX, chap. I). At the peak of union with God, as well as the kidnappings of the ecstasy of contemplation, places that reflux of practical charity, which is attentive to all needs of others and what he calls "the ecstasy of life and work" (ibid. , Book VII, chap. VI).
There is good, reading a book about the love of God and even more the many letters of direction and spiritual friendship, which knows the human heart was St. Francis de Sales. A St. Jeanne de Chantal, who writes: "[...] Here is the rule of our obedience that I am writing to large print: DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE, ANYTHING UNDER - love more than fear OBEDIENCE disobedience. I leave you the spirit of liberty, not one that excludes obedience, this is the freedom of the world, but one that excludes violence, anxiety and scruples "(Letter of 14 October 1604). Not surprisingly, the source of many ways of teaching and spirituality of our own time we find the trace of this teacher, without which there would be no St. John Bosco nor the heroic "little way" of St. Therese of Lisieux.
Dear brothers and sisters, in a season like ours, which seeks freedom, even with violence and unrest, should not miss the significance of this great master of spirituality and peace, which he gives to his disciples the "spirit of freedom," the real one, the culmination of a fascinating and comprehensive instruction on the reality of love. St. Francis de Sales is an exemplary witness of Christian humanism, with its family-style, with dishes that have sometimes hit the wing of the poem, remember that man has placed himself in the deep longing for God and that only in Him is the true joy and its fuller realization.
[various languages \u200b\u200bGreetings: Je salue les cordialement Pèlerins de langue française! À l'école St. Francis de Sales, may you learn that true freedom includes obedience and culminates in the reality of love. Do not be afraid to love God above all! You will find in Him alone true joy and fulfillment in your life! With my blessing! I am happy
to greet The Pilgrims from Saint Mary's University College, Twickenham, I vividly recall my Düring Their warm welcome recent Apostolic Visit to England. I greet aussi The group from St. Norbert's Catholic School in Denmark. To the choirs I express my gratitude for Their praise of God in song. Upon All the Français-speaking Visitors present at today's hearing, Especially Those from Ireland, Finland, Singapore and the United States, I cordially invoke God's abundant blessings.
a cordial greeting to all guests and now the German language course, especially to the pilgrims Pentling. In particular, I thank the South Tyrol for the beautiful music. As St. Francis de Sales, we want to confide in God's hands and let us mark of his love more and more. The Lord bless you all.
Saludo Cordialement a los de lengua española peregrinos, en particular a los grupos provenientes de España, Argentina, México y otros países Latinoamericanos. Os invito a que, Siguiendo el ejemplo de San Francisco de Sales, sepáis encontrar la verdadera libertad en el unconditional love a Dios, nuestra verdadera alegría y nuestra realización full.
Dear friends from the Portuguese-speaking countries, be welcome! St. Francis de Sales reminds us that every human being bears inscribed deep within himself a longing for God. May you all to tell you about her and her guide your lives, because only in God you will find true joy and fulfillment. To this end, I give you my blessing. Go in peace!
Salute polacca in lingua: Witam serdecznie
obecnych you Polakow. Franciszek Swiety Salezy nauczał, że każdy odczuwa Człowiek w swojej za duszy tęsknotę Bogie. Only in Him can find true joy and fulfillment of self. He urged everyone to unite with God, persevere in prayer, even among the most numerous responsibilities. Let this be an encouragement for us an important reminder. Praised be Jesus Christ. Traduzione italiana
:
Saluto cordialmente and Polacchi qui presenti. San Francesco di Sales affermava essere umano che fireworks nella sua anima Sente la nostalgia di Dio. Solo in Lui può trovare le vera gioia e la propria realizzazione. Esortava all'unione tutti con Dio e ad essere nella perseveranti Preghiera perfino tra molteplici impegni. Questo sia anche per noi un importante richiamo. Sia lodato Gesù Cristo.
Saluto lingua in Italiano:
joyful greetings to the Croatian pilgrims, and especially those from the parish of St. Leopold Mandic from Orehovica and the Parish of the Resurrection of Christ from Sesvetski Kraljevac.
praying at the tomb of the Apostle Peter, Imitate his testimony of faith, recognizing in Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God and Savior. May God bless you!
Traduzione italiana:
Saluto con gioia tuttiipellegriniCroati and federal particolarmente della Parrocchia di San Leopoldo Mandićin Orehovica e della della Parrocchia Risurrezione di Cristo in Keting. Pregando presso la tomba dell'apostolo Pietro, segue la sua witness of faith, and recognize Jesus of Nazareth the Son of God and your Savior. Praised be Jesus and Mary!
greet in czech language:
Srdečně vitam in upřímně zdravím z České poutníky farností Mladá Vožice, Pacov to Pelhřimov.
Rad žehnám Vám the Vasim nejdražším! Chvála Kristu!
Italian translation:
A warm welcome and a warm greeting to the pilgrims of the Czech Mlada Vožice parishes, Pacov to Pelhřimov.
gladly bless you and all your loved ones. Praised be Jesus Christ!
greet in Slovakian:
warmly welcome the Slovak faithful pilgrimage especially teachers of Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Košice, led by Mr. Bishop Stanislav Stolarik, pilgrims from Sabin, Stropkova the group of Greek Catholics Saris hawk.
brothers and sisters, that our meeting today at the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle may strengthen each of you in the spirit of communion with the universal Church. With these sentiments of the heart I bless you all and your loved ones.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Traduzione italiana:
I greet with affection the Slovak faithful, particularly the pilgrimage of Teachers of Catholic Schools Archdiocese of Košice, led by Bishop Stanislav Stolarik, pilgrims from Sabinov, Stropkov as well as the group of greek-Catholics Šarišské Jastrabie.
brothers and sisters, our meeting today at the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle confirms each of you in the spirit of communion with the universal Church. With these sentiments I cordially bless you all and your loved ones. Praised be Jesus Christ!]
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extend a cordial welcome to the Italian-speaking pilgrims. In particular, I greet the Sisters of Daughters San Camillo, che in questo anno ricordano il centenario di morte della loro fondatrice, la Beata Giuseppina Vannini, e le esorto a servire con rinnovata generosità il Vangelo della vita, seguendo Cristo Buon Samaritano. Saluto i fedeli della parrocchia di Maria Ausiliatrice, in Massa Quercioli, e il gruppo delle Fraternità Francescane Secolari, di Scandiano e Pavullo nel Frignano. Saluto altresì il Movimento Pastori Sardi, con l’Arcivescovo di Sassari, Mons. Paolo Atzei. A tutti assicuro la mia preghiera perché si rafforzi in ciascuno il desiderio di testimoniare Gesù Cristo, unico Salvatore del mondo.
Saluto, infine, i giovani, i malati e gli sposi novelli. Cari giovani, preparatevi ad affrontare le importanti tappe spiritual life with commitment, and build your project on the strong foundation of loyalty to God Dear sick, always be aware that in some mysterious way contribute to building the Kingdom of God, offering your sufferings to the heavenly Father in union with Christ. And you, dear newlyweds, daily build your family know in listening to God, faithful in their mutual love and acceptance of the neediest.
© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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