Pontiff: Retreatants Learned Again What Priesthood Is
Pope Thanks Cardinal Vanhoye for Spiritual Exercises
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 17, 2008 (Zenit.org).- It is necessary to rediscover the humility and the solidarity of the priesthood of Jesus so as to participate deeply in it, Benedict XVI says. The Pope made these remarks at the end of the Lenten spiritual exercises in which he and the Roman Curia participated. The retreat was preached by Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, former secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. In his address Saturday, the Pope thanked the Jesuit cardinal, who had just offered the retreat's last meditation on the relationship between the ministerial priesthood and the priestly heart of Christ. At the beginning of his remarks, the Bishop of Rome used the image of Christ's washing of the feet to condense in a visual way Cardinal Vanhoye's reflections on the new elements of Christ's priesthood. "Through his meditations, this image spoke to me," the Pope said. "I saw that precisely here, in this conduct, in this act of extreme humility, the new priesthood of Jesus is realized." And it is realized precisely in the act of solidarity with us, with our weaknesses, our sufferings, our trials, even death. "Thus I also saw with new eyes Jesus' red garments, which speak to us of his blood."
Pope Thanks Cardinal Vanhoye for Spiritual Exercises
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 17, 2008 (Zenit.org).- It is necessary to rediscover the humility and the solidarity of the priesthood of Jesus so as to participate deeply in it, Benedict XVI says. The Pope made these remarks at the end of the Lenten spiritual exercises in which he and the Roman Curia participated. The retreat was preached by Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, former secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. In his address Saturday, the Pope thanked the Jesuit cardinal, who had just offered the retreat's last meditation on the relationship between the ministerial priesthood and the priestly heart of Christ. At the beginning of his remarks, the Bishop of Rome used the image of Christ's washing of the feet to condense in a visual way Cardinal Vanhoye's reflections on the new elements of Christ's priesthood. "Through his meditations, this image spoke to me," the Pope said. "I saw that precisely here, in this conduct, in this act of extreme humility, the new priesthood of Jesus is realized." And it is realized precisely in the act of solidarity with us, with our weaknesses, our sufferings, our trials, even death. "Thus I also saw with new eyes Jesus' red garments, which speak to us of his blood."
The Holy Father added: "You, Lord Cardinal, have taught us how the blood of Christ was, because of his prayer, 'oxygenated' by the Holy Spirit. And in this way it became the power of the resurrection and font of life for us."
Benedict XVI then praised the "theological competence" and the "spiritual profundity" that animated Cardinal Vanhoye's reflections, and which permitted "the voice of the Lord to be heard" and "in this way helped us to learn again what his and our priesthood is." "You helped us to enter into participation in the priesthood of Christ," the Pope affirmed, "and thereby also to receive the new heart, the heart of Christ, as the center of the mystery of the New Covenant."
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2 comments:
Hi, its now been published as a book:
LET US CONFIDENTLY WELCOME
CHRIST OUR HIGH PRIEST
Spiritual Exercises with Pope Benedict XVI.
Preached in the Vatican February 10-16, 2008
CARDINAL ALBERT VANHOYE
TRANSLATED BY JOEL WALLACE
Paperback, 170 pages, $29.95, ISBN 9781921421532
“At the end of these days of Spiritual Exercises, I would like to give a heartfelt thanks to you, your Eminence, for your spiritual guidance, which has been offered with such theological competence and spiritual depth. From my angle of vision, I have been able to see, on the wall of the Chapel, the image of Jesus kneeling before St Peter in order to wash his feet. Through your meditations, this image has spoken to me. I have recognized that precisely here, in this attitude, in this act of extreme humility, the new priesthood of Jesus is realized. It is realized in his act of solidarity with us, with our weaknesses, our suffering, and our temptations, even to the point of death. I have also seen the red vestments of Jesus with new eyes that speak to me of his blood. You, worthy Cardinal, have taught us that the blood of Jesus was, on account of his prayer, “oxygenated” by the Holy Spirit. In this way, it has become the power of resurrection and the source of life for us”. POPE BENEDICT XVI
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