 |
| Pope Benedict XVI and St. Bede |
St. Bede has something to say to
modern Christians,
Pope says
Vatican City,
Feb 18, 2009 / 11:31 am (CNA).- This morning in St. Peter's Square Pope
Benedict reflected on the teachings of Saint Bede the Venerable, which provide
modern Christians in every state of life with a way to holiness.
In the presence
of 15,000 people, Benedict XVI explained that St. Bede was born in England in
the year 672 and was entrusted by his parents at the age of seven to the care
of the abbot at the nearby Benedictine monastery.
The Englishman went on to become a scholar and
earn a reputation as a saint.
"Sacred
Scripture was the constant source of Bede's theological reflections."
"He commented on the Bible, interpreting it in the light of
Christology," the Holy Father said. "He listened attentively to what
the text says, but he was convinced that in order to understand Sacred
Scripture precisely, the key is Christ."
Among St. Bede’s contributions highlighted by
the Pope were: his detailed account of the first six ecumenical councils and
their developments, his presentations of Christological and Mariological
doctrines and his works denouncing the heresies of the Monophysites, the
iconoclasts, and the neo-Pelagians.
St. Bede also
made significant contributions in the scholastic field. He is called "the
father of English historiography" for authoring the book "The
Ecclesiastical History of the English People," and is the creator of the
B.C. / A.D. calendar that sees history 'ab incarnatione Domini'," Pope
Benedict added.
"Bede was also a great master of
liturgical theology," the Holy Father exclaimed. Bede educated the
faithful "to celebrate the mysteries of the faith with joy, and to reflect
those mysteries coherently in their lives while awaiting their full
manifestation in the return of Christ."
"Thanks to his approach to theology,
which involved a combination of the Bible, liturgy and history, Bede has a
modern message for the various 'states' of Christian life," the Pope said.
"He reminds
scholars of two essential tasks: scrutinizing the marvels of the Word of God so
as to present them in a manner attractive to the faithful, and explaining
dogmatic truths while avoiding heretical complications and keeping to 'Catholic
simplicity,' with the attitude of the meek and humble to whom it pleases God to
reveal the mysteries of the Kingdom."
Pastors, Bede indicates, "must give
priority to preaching, not only through sermons and hagiographies, but also by
using icons, processions and pilgrimages."
Concerning
consecrated people, "Bede recommends focus on the apostolate, both by
collaborating with bishops in various kinds of pastoral activities in support
of young Christian communities, and by offering themselves for evangelizing
missions."
Additionally, Bede the Venerable instructs the
laity that "Christ wants an industrious Church, tanned from the efforts of
evangelization," "which must be supplemented by being "assiduous
in their religious education."
"It is a fact," Pope Benedict
continued, "that with his works he made an effective contribution to the
construction of a Christian Europe."
"Let us
pray," the Pope concluded, "that today as well there may be figures
like the Venerable Bede, and that we ourselves may be willing to rediscover our
Christian roots, and thus be builders of a Christian, and therefore profoundly
human, Europe."
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/st._bede_has_something_to_say_to_modern_christians_pope_says/
No comments:
Post a Comment