God will guide, protect those who follow him, pope says at audience

God will guide, protect those who follow him, pope says at audience
By Cindy WoodenCatholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God will always guide, protect and nourish those intent on following him, Pope Benedict XVI said.

"Following Jesus, the good shepherd, we will be certain we are on the right path and that the Lord will always guide us, be with us and we will lack nothing," the pope said Oct. 5 during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

With an estimated 20,000 people gathered in the square, the pope continued a series of talks about praying with the Psalms, focusing on Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I lack."

Looking at psalm -- "a text familiar to and loved by all" -- the pope said, "If we walk behind the good shepherd, no matter how difficult, twisting or long the path of our lives may seem, even if often it seems we are in a spiritual desert without water," we can be sure God will protect and provide for us.

The psalm is an expression of "radical trust in God's loving care," which reaches its highest expression in the death and resurrection of Jesus, who gave his life to save his flock, the pope said.

Greeting English speakers at the audience, the pope offered his "prayerful good wishes" to the 35 men scheduled to be ordained transitional deacons Oct. 6 by U.S. Cardinal William J. Levada, prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. The new deacons are preparing for the priesthood at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

Pope Benedict also greeted a delegation of Orthodox scholars from the theology faculty of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. The faculty awarded Pope Benedict its "Apostle Jason of Thessaloniki Gold Medal," which the pope said was "an eloquent sign of the growing understanding and dialogue between Catholic and Orthodox Christians."

Addressing the Orthodox in English, the pope said he hoped the improved relations would be "a harbinger of ever greater progress in our efforts to respond in fidelity, truth and charity to the Lord's summons to unity."

At the end of the audience, Bishop Anthony B. Taylor of Little Rock, Ark., personally handed Pope Benedict a copy of the "Catholic Study Bible," an edition released in June as part of the Little Rock Scripture Study program.

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Editor's Note: The text of the pope's audience remarks in English will be posted online at: www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20111005_en.html.

The text of the pope's audience remarks in Spanish will be posted online at: www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20111005_sp.html.
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1103928.htm 

Defend doctrine, but don't attack others, pope says at audience

Defend doctrine, but don't attack others, pope says at audience



By Cindy Wooden

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even in the midst of the upheaval of the Protestant Reformation in Germany, St. Peter Canisius knew how to defend Catholic doctrine without launching personal attacks on those who disagreed, Pope Benedict XVI said.

St. Peter, a 15th-century Jesuit sent on mission to Germany, knew how to "harmoniously combine fidelity to dogmatic principles with the respect due to each person," the pope said Feb. 9 at his weekly general audience.

The pope was beginning a series of audience talks about "doctors of the church," who are theologians and saints who made important contributions to Catholic understanding of theology.

In St. Peter Canisius' own time, more than 200 editions of his catechisms were published, the pope said, and they were so popular in Germany for so long that up until "my father's generation people called a catechism simply a 'Canisius.'"

The saint, who was born in Holland, insisted there was a difference between willfully turning away from the faith and "the loss of faith that was not a person's fault under the circumstances, and he declared to Rome that the majority of Germans who passed to Protestantism were without fault," Pope Benedict said.

"In a historical period marked by strong confessional tensions, he avoided -- and this is something extraordinary -- he avoided giving into disrespect and angry rhetoric. This was rare at that time of disputes between Christians," the pope said.

In fact, he said, St. Peter Canisius recognized that the Catholic Church needed to be renewed and revitalized, and that such a process had to be built on solid education in the faith and in understanding the Scriptures, which is why his catechisms relied so heavily on the Bible.

His theological achievements, which earned him the title "doctor of the church" in 1925, were effective because his study, preaching and writing all flowed from a personal friendship with Christ, long periods of prayer and unity with the church under the leadership of the pope, he said.

With "peace, love and perseverance" he accomplished his task of renewing the Catholic Church in Germany even as Protestantism grew, the pope said.

The saint's life teaches Catholics today that "the Christian life does not grow except with participation in the liturgy, particularly the holy Mass on Sundays, and with daily personal prayer," the pope said. "In the midst of the thousands of activities and multiple stimuli that surround us, it is necessary each day to find moments for reflection to listen to and speak to the Lord."

St. Peter Canisius is a reminder that preaching the Gospel is effective only if the preacher has a personal relationship with Christ, is united with the church and "lives a morally coherent life," the pope said.
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1100529.htm

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