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On Meditation "Consistency in Giving Time to God Is a Fundamental Element for Spiritual Growth" CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 17, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, We are still in the light of the Feast of the Assumption, which -- as I said -- is a feast of hope. Mary has arrived in heaven, and this is our destination: We can all reach heaven. The question is: How? Mary has arrived there,...

On Monastic Silence "The Environmental Condition That Most Favors Contemplation" CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 13, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave during the Aug. 10 general audience at the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters! In every age, men and women who have consecrated their lives to God in prayer -- such as monks and nuns -- have established their communities in places of particular beauty: in the countryside, upon the hills, in mountain valleys, by the lakeside or on the seashore, or even on little islands....

Madrid - Pope Benedict XVI warned in a speech to more than one million pilgrims in Madrid that marriage is between a man and a woman and cannot be dissolved... "The Lord calls many people to marriage, in which a man and a woman, in becoming one flesh, find fulfilment in a profound life of communion," he told the young pilgrims. A Vatican spokesman said on Sunday as many as 1.5 million pilgrims had gathered to hear the pope. Marriage was a project for true love, deepened by sharing joys and sorrows, and marked by "complete self-giving", said the pope....

General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI, 3 August 2011 Dear Brothers and Sisters, I am very glad to see you here in the square at Castel Gandolfo and to resume the audiences after the interval in July. I would like to continue with the subject we have embarked on, that is, a “school of prayer”, and today, in a slightly different way and without straying from this theme, I would also like to mention certain spiritual and concrete aspects which seem to me useful, not only for those who — in one part of the world — are spending their...

Benedict XVI's Homily on Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul "It Is Only in the Unity Represented by Peter That We Truly Lead People to Christ" VATICAN CITY, JUNE 29, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the homily Benedict XVI delivered today at a Mass for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, which he presided over in St. Peter's Basilica. At the Mass, the Pope conferred the pallium upon 41 new archbishops, and recalled his 60th anniversary of priestly ordination. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, "Non iam dicam servos, sed amicos" -- "I no longer...

June 29, 2011, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, marks the 60th anniversary... ...  of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI's ordination to the priesthood. Here is a selection from his book, Milestones: Memoirs 1927-1977, about that joyful occasion. Before he was Benedict XVI, or Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Pope was a young Bavarian seminarian. In his autobiography, Milestones: Memoirs 1927-1977, Joseph Ratzinger recounts his ordination on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul in Freising, Germany, in 1951, and his first years as a parish priest and then completing his doctorate while teaching at the seminary. We were more...

On Learning to Pray With the Psalms Addressing Him "With the Words That He Himself Gives Us" VATICAN CITY, JUNE 22, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. The Pope continued with his series of catecheses on prayer, turning today to a consideration of the Book of Psalms. * * * Dear brothers and sisters, In the preceding catecheses, we paused to consider a number of Old Testament figures who are particularly significant for our reflection on prayer. I spoke about Abraham, who intercedes...

On Elijah's Lessons in Prayer "True Adoration of God Does Not Destroy, But Renews" VATICAN CITY, JUNE 15, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. The Pope continued with his new series of catecheses on prayer, reflecting today on prayer in sacred Scripture, in particular on the prayer of the Prophet Elijah. * * * Dear brothers and sisters, In the religious history of ancient Israel, great importance was given to the prophets, to their teaching and their preaching. Among them, there emerges the...

There has only been one official schism in the Roman Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council. That occurred in 1988, when Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre consecrated four bishops against the express instructions of Pope John Paul II. That led to the excommunication of Lefebvre and those four bishops, and the schism of Lefebvre and his followers from Rome. Now 23 years have passed. In the history of the Church, it is often the case that, once a schism endures for a certain time, it becomes less easy to restore full union. Separate ecclesial cultures evolve, positions harden. Reunion postponed is...

On the Trip to Croatia "Fidelity of Spouses Has Itself Become a Meaningful Witness to the Love of Christ" VATICAN CITY, JUNE 8, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. The Pope reviewed the trip he made last weekend to Croatia. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters! Today I would like to speak with you about the pastoral visit to Croatia that I made last Saturday and Sunday. It was a brief apostolic journey that took place entirely within the capital Zagreb, and...

On Moses' Intercessory Prayer "A Man Stretched Between Two Loves" VATICAN CITY, JUNE 1, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. The Pope continued with his new series of catecheses on prayer, reflecting today on prayer in sacred Scripture, in particular on the prayer of Moses. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, In reading the Old Testament, one figure stands out among others: that of Moses, the man of prayer. Moses, the great prophet and leader during the time of the Exodus, carried...

On Jacob's Wrestling With God "He Who Allows Himself to Be Blessed by God ... Renders the World Blessed" VATICAN CITY, MAY 25, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. The Pope continued with his new series of catecheses on prayer, reflecting today on prayer in the Patriarch Jacob's life. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today I would like to reflect with you upon a text from the Book of Genesis that narrates a rather particular episode in the history of the...

On Abraham's Prayer "It Is Forgiveness That Interrupts the Spiral of Sin" VATICAN CITY, MAY 18, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. The Pope continued with his new series of catecheses on prayer, reflecting today on prayer in sacred Scripture, in particular in Abraham's life. * * * Dear brothers and sisters, In the two last catecheses we reflected on prayer as a universal phenomenon, which -- although in different forms -- is present in the cultures of all times. Today, instead, I...

On the Universal Religious Sense "Man Bears Within Himself the Desire for God" VATICAN CITY, MAY 11, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. With his address the Pope continued the new series of catechesis on the subject of prayer. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today I would like to continue reflecting on how prayer and the religious sense have been a part of mankind throughout history. We live in an age in which the signs of secularism are evident. It seems...

On Prayer: 1st Audience in New Series "Virtually Always and Everywhere, People Have Turned to God" VATICAN CITY, MAY 4, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. With his address the Pope began a new series of catecheses on the subject of prayer. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today I would like to begin a new series of catecheses. After the catecheses on Fathers of the Church, on great theologians of the Middle Ages, on great women, I would now like to...

On the Heart of the Christian Mystery "Be Luminous Witnesses of This New Life That Easter Has Brought" VATICAN CITY, APRIL 29, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis that Benedict XVI gave on Wednesday during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. The Pope, who arrived by helicopter from the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, focused his meditation on the meaning of Christ's resurrection. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, In these first days of Eastertide, which is prolonged until Pentecost, we are still full of the freshness and new joy that the...

On the Triduum "I Invite You to Seek in These Days Recollection and Prayer" VATICAN CITY, APRIL 20, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. The Pope focused his address on the meaning of the Easter Triduum, the culmination of the Lenten journey. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, We have already arrived at the heart of Holy Week, the fulfillment of the Lenten journey. Tomorrow we will enter the Easter Triduum, the three holy days in which the Church commemorates the mystery...

On Everyone's Call to Be a Saint Holiness Consists in "Making Our Own His Attitudes, His Thoughts, His Conduct" VATICAN CITY, APRIL 13, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. The Pope centered his reflection on the holiness to which every Christian is called, thus concluding a series of catecheses on the lives of saints. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, In the general audiences of the last two years, we have been accompanied by the figures of many men and women saints:...

On St. Thérèse of Lisieux "This Love Has a Face, It Has a Name, It Is Jesus" VATICAN CITY, APRIL 6, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. Continuing with the cycle of catecheses on Doctors of the Church, the Pope centered his meditation on the figure of St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897). * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today I would like to speak to you about St. Thérèse of Lisieux, [also known as] Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy...

On St. Alphonsus Liguori "Priests Are a Visible Sign of the Infinite Mercy of God" VATICAN CITY, MARCH 30, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. Continuing the cycle of catecheses on the doctors of the Church, he focused his meditation on St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787). Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today I would like to present to you the figure of a holy Doctor of the Church to whom we are very indebted, since he was an outstanding moral theologian and a teacher of...