Friday, May 29, 2009

ST. BENEDICT: A MODEL OF PEACE






Pope Benedict XVI, excerpt from an address delivered after vespers at Montecassino.

"Yes, Benedict was a shining example of holiness and pointed the monks to Christ as their only great ideal; he was a master of civility, who proposed a balanced and adequate vision of the demands of God and of the final ends of man; he also always kept well in mind the needs and the reasons of the heart, in order to teach and inspire a genuine and constant brotherhood, so that in the complexity of social relationships the unity of spirit capable of always building and maintaining peace was never lost sight of. It is not by chance that the word Pax [peace] is the word that welcomes pilgrims and visitors at the gates of the abbey, rebuilt after the terrible disaster of the Second World War, which stands as a silent reminder to reject all forms of violence in order to build peace: in families, within communities, between peoples and all of humanity. St. Benedict invites every person that climbs this mount to seek peace and follow it: "inquire pacem et sequere eam" [seek peace and follow it.] (Ps. 33,14-15) (Rule, Prologue, 17)."



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What a refreshing words from the universal pastor of the Catholic Church whose namesake promoted peace. Christ indeed is our model of peace. One only need to read the gospels and see how St. Benedict of Nursia lived in practicality the principles and words of the gospel of Christ - the Prince of Peace.

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The Word Made Flesh