The Pope's homily to the Schuelerkreis:
'We do not possess the truth -
it is we who belong to the truth'
Translated from the Italian service of
Sept. 2, 2012
The traditional annual seminar of the Ratzinger Schuelerkreis ended this morning with a Mass celebrated by the Pope at the Centro Mariopoli of Castel Gandolfo, where, except for the Saturday sessions attended by the Pope, the seminar was held from August 30-Sept. 1.
This year, the ex-doctoral students of Prof. Joseph Ratzinger from various German universities considered the subject, "Results and ecumenical questions in the dialog with Lutheranism and Anglicanism".
Sergio Centofanti reports on the Pope's homily:
The Pope began by reflecting on a passage in Deuteronomy, where it says that Israel, alone among all peoples, had received the Law from God himself, a law, he said that gives true wisdom, a gift to rejoice about, and not the product of man's genius that can be cause for triumphalism.
The Church, which he described as "Israel that bas become universal", can only rejoice in the gift of Christ, who is the essential nucleus of the Law - the Law made flesh - as God's love for men.
"We have received the wisdom that is Truth, we know how to live and how to die, because Christ is life and truth. There is no room for triumphalism, but only for joy and gratitude over the gift we have received, something we did not create".
He decried that over time, human practices were added on to God's gift, masking the wisdom of God. And that these addenda could lead the Church to triumphalism, to praising herself. That at such a stage, we can only see what man himself has created, we no longer find joy in the faith, and we no longer dare to say that God taught us the truth, he has taught us what it means to be a man.
He observed that today, the concepts of truth and intolerance are almost fused together - when to say that one has the truth has become synonymous to intolerance. And that Christians no longer dare to believe or even speak the truth.
In fact, he said, "it is true that no one can say, 'I possess the truth', because it is we who belong to the Truth which is a living entity. But we don't own it, because it is Truth that gets hold of us. And we stay with the Truth only if we allow ourselves to be led and urged on by it"
"I believe we ought to learn anew this idea of 'not possessing the truth', just as one cannot really claim 'I have children', because they are a gift of God as well as a responsibility. And we cannot say, 'I possess the truth', which is Christ himself, who came to us, and in the Eucharist, comes within us to cleanse us of our misery, of our selfishness which has made Christianity seem like nothing more than a system of practices... We must learn anew to let ourselves be led by the truth, so that through us, Truth can shine once more for the salvation of the world".
The Pope also reflected on a passage from the Letter of St. James, in which the Apostle calls on Christians to put the Word into practice and not merely listen to it. "This is an exhortation not to over-emphasize the intellectual dimension of faith and of theology. I often fear when I read so many intelligent things written these days that theology has become just an intellectual game that does not compenetrate our lives, and therefore, does not introduce us to the truth. And so this is an invitation to us who are theologians - not just to listen to the truth but to let ourselves be forged by the truth and guided by it".
Earlier, some Schuelerkreis members had said that one of the moments they most anticipated in their annual reunion with their former Professor was the overview of the Church that he would give them before the seminar began, initially from his vantage as Prefect of the CDF, and now as Pope....
Schuelerkreis president:
In his overview of the Church,
the Pope spoke to us even about Vatileaks
by Salvatore Izzo
Castel Gandolfo, Sept, 2 (Translated from AGI)- Speaking to his former students about the situation of the Church today, "Benedict XVI spoke to us frankly about Vatileaks, with great serenity. He remains firm in his ministry - he is not fragile, by any means, and he says he continues to work normally".
Fr. Stephan Horn, the Salvatorian priest who has been president of the Schuelerkreis and organizes the annual seminars, said this in an interview with Vatican Radio's German service.
He also said that Benedict XVI was particularly struck by the joy in the faith that he found in Benin and in Mexico, while observing that in Cuba, "perhaps society is unable to freely express the sentiments in their heart".
Horn said Benedict XVI derives the greatest joy from the joy of the faithful themselves, as he did from the World Meeting of Families in Milan.
About the just-concluded 35th annual reunion-seminar, Horn said, "We all had the impression that this was one of the best ever".
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 03/09/2012 01:17]