Benedict XVI Recalls Chinese Catholics in Prayer

Calls for Peace at World War II Polish Cemetery

CASSINO, Italy, MAY 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is affirming his support for the Catholics in China and is calling them to renewed fidelity to Christ and communion with the Successor of Peter.

The Pope stated this today in an address before praying the midday Regina Caeli with the crowd gathered in the Miranda Plaza -- renamed the Benedict XVI Plaza -- in Cassino, the town east of the Monte Cassino Abbey.

The Pontiff spent the day visiting the monastery founded by his patron, St. Benedict, the cradle of the Benedictine order.

He spoke about the saint's example in living peace, "the paschal gift par excellence."

The Holy Father continued, "As you know, in my recent trip to the Holy Land, I went as a pilgrim of peace, and today -- in this land marked by the Benedictine charism -- I have the opportunity to emphasize, once again, that peace is in the first place a gift of God, and therefore its power is in prayer."

He affirmed that only by learning, "with the grace of Christ, to combat and defeat the evil within ourselves and in relationships with others, can we become authentic builders of peace and civil progress."

"May the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, help all Christians, in their different vocations and situations in life, to be witnesses of that peace that Christ gave us and left us as a demanding mission to realize everywhere," said Benedict XVI.

Unity and peace

He recalled the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, celebrated in the liturgy on this date, March 24, and venerated "with great devotion at the shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai"

The Pope added: "We celebrate the Day of Prayer for the Church in China. My thoughts turn to all the people of China.

"In particular I greet the Catholics of China with great affection and I exhort them to renew on this day their communion of faith in Christ and of fidelity to the Successor of Peter.

"May our common prayer obtain an effusion of gifts of the Holy Spirit, so that unity of all Christians, the catholicity and the universality of the Church always will be deeper and more visible."

The Pontiff greeted the Polish people, and spoke about his plan to visit the Polish cemetery of Monte Cassino commemorating the World War II battle later that afternoon.

"In this place," he said, "where so many lost their lives in the battles that were fought during the Second World War, we pray especially for the souls of the fallen, commending them to God's infinite mercy, and we pray for an end to the wars that continue to afflict our world."

"Through the intercession of St. Benedict," the Holy Father affirmed, "we ask God that, in prayer and work, we will discover the new dimensions of freedom, and that peace endures in Europe and in the whole world."

After praying the Regina Caeli, the Pope departed for the abbey of Monte Cassino, stopping en route to visit the "House of Charity" for homeless immigrants.

At the abbey, he met with abbots and abbesses from the Benedictine order around the world, as well as a large number of monks and nuns. He celebrated Vespers with the community, and addressed those present.

The Pontiff then left the monastery, and made a private visit to the Polish military cemetery. He read a prayer for the fallen of all wars and all nations, after which he left by helicopter for Rome.

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Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-25985?l=english

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St. Benedict: Father of Monasticism, Patron Saint of Europe

VATICAN CITY, 9 APR 2008 (VIS) - Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis during this morning's general audience to St. Benedict of Nursia, "the father of western monasticism, who with his life and work exercised a fundamental influence on the development of European civilisation and culture". The audience, held in St. Peter's Square, was attended by 20,000 people.

The most important source for the life of the saint, the Pope explained, is the second book of "Dialogues" written by St. Gregory the Great, in which Benedict features as the "shining star" who shows the way out of the "dark night of history", in other words, the crisis of values and institutions caused by the fall of the Roman empire.

St. Benedict's work and his Rule led to "a true spiritual ferment which over the course of the centuries - well beyond the confines of his homeland and his time - changed the face of Europe and created, with the collapse of political unity, a new spiritual and cultural unity, that of the Christian faith shared by the people of the continent".

St. Benedict was born to a wealthy family around the year 480. He went to school in Rome but before completing his studies retired to a monastic community in Enfide. Subsequently he spent three years in a cave at Subiaco where he "underwent the three fundamental temptations that all human beings face: self-affirmation and the desire to place oneself at the centre, ... sensuality, ... and anger and revenge". This, said the Holy Father, was because "St. Benedict was convinced that only by overcoming these temptations would he be able find the right words to give others in their situations of need".

In the year 529 the founder of the Benedictine Order moved to Monte Cassino, "a height that dominates the surrounding plains and is visible from a distance". This was a symbolic decision on the saint's part, said the Pope, because "monastic life has its raison d'etre in withdrawal and concealment, but a monastery also has a public role in the life of the Church and of society".

Throughout his life St. Benedict "was immersed in an atmosphere of prayer, the main foundation of his existence. Without prayer there is no experience of God, but Benedict's spirituality was not an interior life divorced from reality. In the disquiet and confusion of his time, he lived under the gaze of God and with his own gaze fixed upon God, though without losing sight of his daily duties and the concrete needs of mankind".

St. Benedict died in 547. His famous Rule "provides useful advice not only to monks but to everyone seeking guidance on their journey to God. For its precision, its humanity, and its sober discernment between what is essential and what is secondary in spiritual life, the Rule has maintained its illuminating power up to today".

In 1964, Paul VI named Benedict as patron saint of Europe. "Having just emerged from a century profoundly marked by two world wars and following the collapse of the great ideologies, ... Europe today is searching for its own identity", remarked Pope Benedict.

"In order to create a new and lasting unity", the Pope concluded, "political, economic and juridical measures are necessary, but it is also necessary to generate an ethical and spiritual renewal which draws on the continent's Christian roots. Without this vital lifeblood, man remains exposed to the danger of succumbing to the ancient temptation of seeking redemption alone, a utopia which in 20th century Europe ... caused a retrocession without precedent in human history".

• St. Benedict: Father of Monasticism, Patron Saint of Europe