Nunraw and "Fools For God", Richard North

Nunraw Abbey Aug 2011

Hi, William,
Thank you for the exchange regarding the  book almost out of print.
A Review at the time on the 1987 book "Fools for God" raises interesting comments.
The writing was published for the market as much for tourism as for the interest of monastic life.
The lay man's reading and interviewing monk's acquired a gentleman's knowledge of the heart of the monk in following Christ.
During the conversations, one monk said, "People have real roots in Christ, even if they don't suspect or appreciate it.  It gives people a dimension.

            'If I ask myself why I must be gentle, or live in a moral framework, I believe it is simply that we belong to Jesus Christ.  My love of Christ has deepened over the years: my own suffering, people's troubles, or brothers who've been sick - they've all shown me that we either open our hearts more and more or we close them little by little.  And I've learned from all sorts of people that the intellect by itself is a cold instrument.  To be a lover, the heart is needed.  For me at this moment, my problem is the question of getting the heart on fire in prayer.'

This monastic experience of Richard North remains a marker to an extended life of journalism searching and writing.


Maybe, if the book, "Fools For God", is a now rare edition, it's age may  live again in the digital eBook, Kindle books ....


Yours ..
Donald

The Catholic Herald - REVIEW by Br. Jonathan

"Fools for God" by Richard North (Collins, £10.95)

30th October 1987, Page 6 

THIS is an important book

East Lothian and Fife

Important because it will introduce monasticism to many well-disposed people and introduce them to it in a very pleasant manner. It is very well written and extensively covers the subject. Clearly it entailed the author in a great amount of reading, work and travel. The book list given at the end for further reading gives enormous scope for serious investigation. It is noticeable that the author's acquaintance with monks progresses as his work goes on.  

He has a fascination with monks at the beginning which steadily develops into a more assured knowledge. He listens to the Nunraw Cistercians singing "Keep us Lord as the Apple of your eye: Hide us in the shelter of your wings". I think by the end of the book Richard North may have realised that monks are favoured and protected by the Lord. And certainly his more recent series of articles in The Independent which are very fine show the favoured position of monks and also nuns — the latter are left out in the book.

The great lacuna in the book is that the author fails to deal with Christ. I think he fears to meet Christ in a way that he does not fear to meet monks, which is a pity because every monk he met would say that Christ was a kinder person than himself.

The result is that there is no examination of Christ's invitation to follow Him more closely. There is no examination of Christ's or St Paul's example of celibacy nor of their advice to accept the call if it can be managed. And this call was heeded by many of the early Christians. So monasticism, living alone for God, started long before Richard North takes up the story in Egypt. St Anthony, of course, like so many others took up the monastic calling at the Word of Christ, "If you would be perfect, go sell what you have, give to the poor and come follow Me".

After starting in Egypt the chapters of the book alternate history with travel to a presentday monastery illustrating the historical period being dealt with. , This results in the anachronism of attributing present-day Christians divisions to past ages.

There is no realisation of the undivided universal Christian church that existed for nearly a thousand years before Rome and Constantinople finally parted ways. Clement of Alexandria was in communion with the rest of the Church: he was not a Coptic non-conformist. St Basil was in communion with the universal Church as were the early monks of Athos. St Patrick and the Celtic monks too, though they wanted their Easter date, were in communion with the universal Church. Clement of Alexandria, St Basil and St Patrick, all were in communion with the Bishop of Rome. The divisions of today came later.

But the travel chapters are entertaining and give scope to the author's fine descriptive writing and to his acumen in perceiving at least the humanity of monks. His final chapters go further and deal perceptively with modern monastic problems. His appreciation of Vatican II is sound and his special chapter on Merton and Knowles is dis..._rning both in their influence and their personal limitations.

His final attempt to come to terms with "Prayer and Purpose" is sweet e and genuine. In all humility he admits that he feels that he does not pray (consciously?), nor believe in the existence of Him who might inspire him to do so; and so, several monks have told him that he would not understand monasticism and that he would have nothing useful to say on the subject. I think in fact he has said some useful things about both monasteries and monks.

He says for one thing that the Opus Dei (the work of God) means the business of praying, or fitting oneself for prayer.

Perhaps in all his travels and attendances at night vigils the author has been fitting himself for prayer. His two chapters on the Cistercians at Nunraw show that he has some kind friends.

His repetition of Pope John Paul's injunction to contemplatives that they should make themselves educate their guests and retreatants to the virtue of silence, and that monks should keep the rigorous observances of monastic enclosure, shows he was serious about his travels.

Monks often sing (it occurs twice in the Psalms) "The fool has said in his heart there is no God". I think Richard North has not said this in his own heart, and monks have the traditional title of being Fools for God because they dare to pray.

Br Jonathan Gell

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----- Forwarded Message -----
From: WILLIAM . . .
To: Donald Nunraw
Sent: Sunday, 28 August 2011, 11:31
Subject: Re: [Blog] Br. Jonathan's review of "Fools for God"

Dear Father Donald,

Thank you for sending me the review of Richard North's book by Br. Jonathan Gell.

Very perceptive: for whilst the review is appreciative of the writer's delight in and familiarity, through experience and research, with the profession of monk, it is also a critique of the writer's failure to justify the profession, that is the monk's profession of faith.

At the law firm where I worked, I had a good understanding of the mind of the lawyer and his world, and much admiration of their profession, but I failed to enter into their fascination with the law. If I were to write about it, I don't suppose I would use much of its terminology.

To employ one of your tools: there are 95,136 words in Richard North's study of monasticism, yet only mentioning "Faith" 34 times, and "Belief" 7 times. The monk's religion is also seldom mentioned: in ascending order, "Jesus Christ" 8 times, "Jesus" 28 times, "Christ" 176 times; and finally, "God" 155 times.  

The review delights in Richard North's honesty and humility before the aura of the profession, and his "fear" to approach too near to the issue of faith. The words that give the overriding portrait of the writer of the book are those used to describe the last chapter of the book; "sweet and genuine". A delightful man!

Thank you for sharing this with me. It has been a real joy.

. . . in Our Lord,

William

 + + + +

From: Donald . . .
To: William J . . .
Sent: Saturday, 27 August 2011, 16:39
Subject: Fw: [Blog] "Fools for God"

Dear William,

I am glad you have been browsing "Fools For God".

Further surfing,  the archive of The Catholic Herald has a Review, and I forward it to you.

The Reviewer is the loved  Br. Jonathan of Mount St Bernard (80+).

He writes quite incisively. Monasteries, monks and travel are fine, but he sees a significant lacuna regarding Christ. “The great lacuna in the book is that the author fails to deal with Christ.” 

I will be interested to see how you read it from this point of view.
 

Since then, copies of Fools For God have disappeared, leaving only 3, two at  £12.49, one at £30.43, both plus P&P. 

Yours . . .

Donald

For what is our cross other than Jesus himself? To accept this cross is to accept him.

 

SUNDAY 28^th Aug. 2011

MAGNIFICAT Monthly

Taking Up Our Cross and Following Jesus 

When our hour has really arrived, God's grace will also be there, and very small things may suffice to help in our simple acceptance of and co-operation with grace.  What counts is the recognition of our real cross. Often it is much more difficult to recognise the cross Jesus intends for us personally than to accept it once we have recognised it. We are inclined to think, furthermore, that our crosses would not be so pain­ful if we could immediately see them. There lies the rub which usually disturbs those who have opted for a life of detachment. Their temptation consists in imagining that they already know beforehand what their cross or time of testing will be. Unfortunately, a cross one knows in advance, even if it is fairly heavy, is no longer the cross of Jesus. Our real cross is always to some degree unanticipated and always seems to far surpass our strength. As a rule, we would never have chosen it. Passionately to cling to a cross of our own choosing and perhaps unconsciously but equally pas­sionately to reject the cross that Jesus intends for us is perhaps the heaviest and most discouraging cross. It could keep us forever from taking up our real cross if Jesus did not at some time intervene.

For what is our cross other than Jesus himself? To accept this cross is to accept him. It is simultaneously "to take up our cross" and to follow him. Undoubtedly, if we could know God's gift, if we could see and recognise it, we would have an easier time of it.

FATHER ANDRE Louf. o.c.s.o. (+ 2010) served for thirty-five years as abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Mont-des-Cats. France, and was an esteemed spiritual guide and author.

Mt. 16:21-27 T wo sides to the Cross. On one side it is a cross of redemption and on the other side it is a cross of compassion

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Raymond , , , Sun, 28 August, 2011 18:41:45
Subject: 

HOMILY SUNDAY 22     YR A  

Matthew 16:21-27  "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me (v 24)

Today’s Gospel opens with Jesus first moves to introduce the idea of his passion and his death to his disciples: “Jesus began to make it clear” it says “that he must suffer grievously and be put to death”. This statement so stunned the apostles that they didn’t even notice what he said about rising again on the third day. Peter, in his characteristic, impulsive way, drew him aside, and he began to remonstrate with him.  “Heaven preserve us!”  He said “this mustn’t happen to you”.  We can hardly blame poor Peter for his attitude and for his lack of understanding, but there is no such excuse for us. We have grown up with the whole truth of the mystery of Christ’s passion as our Christian inheritance.

However, although we are, in a way, familiar with the concept of the passion of Christ in God’s plan of redemption, still, there is a way in which we too fail to understand and we fail to accept the reality of the place of the passion and death of Christ in our own lives.  We can fail to realise that we ourselves are all the Body of Christ and we all must share in his passion and death.  Jesus brought this home to us very forcibly when he met the women on his way to Calvary as he was carrying his cross.  He said to them:  “Don’t weep for me.  Weep for yourselves and for your children.”

In effect, what Jesus meant by that statement:  “Don’t weep for me.  Weep for yourselves and for your children”, was that we should weep, not only For him, but also With him.  “This cross I am to be nailed to is not only my Cross, but it is also your cross.  The nails that are to pierce my hands and feet are not only to pierce my hands and feet but also to pierce the hands and feet of yourselves and the hands and feet of your children.  Indeed The Cross is yours before it is mine.  It was to share in yourcross that I came down from heaven.  There are two sides to the Cross.  On one side it is a cross of redemption and on the other side it is a cross of compassion and on both these sides of the cross I have my part to play and on both sides of the cross each one of you has also your own part to play. Compassion and Redemption are the defining characteristics of Christianity.

Feast of St. Monica  Religious August 27
http://www.liturgies.net/saints/monica/readings.htm

Mass Entrance Song
Honour the woman who fears the Lord. Her sons will bless her, and her husband praise her. (See Proverbs 31:21,28).

I left at the whole story in this Entrance Antiphon.

At second thought, St. Monica (Memorial), is unfairly overshadowed by Augustine.

At every count, Monica stands personally on the strength of her faith apart from husband and sons.

A comment about her character surpasses her son and her life independent of any other.

She was her ‘own woman’ – her woman of Christ.

“ Monica became a leader of the devout women in Milan as she had been in Tagaste.”

. . .

Cistercian winner of the Ratzinger Prize for Theology

Heiligenkreuz Abbey

The first three winners of the Ratzinger Prize for Theology are an Italian layman, Manlio Simonetti; a Spanish priest, Olegario González de Cardedal; and a German Cistercian, Father Maximilian Heim, all chosen because their theology is anchored in reality.
Father Maximilian Heim, 50, is the abbot of the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz in Austria. He is a professor of fundamental and dogmatic theology. He is a member of the new circle of Ratzinger students and oversees the publication of his complete works.

----- Forwarded Message ----

Abbot  Maximilian Heim OC Heiigenkreuz

From: ZENIT
To: dailyhtml@list.zenit.org
Sent: Fri, 26 August, 2011 4:43:12
Subject: [ZE110825] The World Seen From Rome

ZENIT

The World Seen From Rome

Daily dispatch - August 25, 2011

VATICAN DOSSIER

•    Ratzinger Students Discuss New Evangelization   

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Ratzinger Students Discuss New Evangelization

Pontiff Expected to Give a Conference to Study Session

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 25, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI today gathered with a group of his former students to discuss the new evangelization.
The students, known as the Ratzinger Schulerkreis, are having their annual meeting at Castel Gandolfo through Sunday.
Some 40 individuals are taking part in the meeting, among them Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop of Vienna; Auxiliary Bishop Hans-Jochen Jaschke of Hamburg; and Monsignor Barthelemy Adoukonou, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture.
The discussions are taking place, as usual, behind closed doors. L'Osservatore Romano reported today that the Pope will give a conference.
There will also be conferences from Hanna Barbara Geri-Falkowitz, a lay theologian who will focus on the difficulties and resistance the Christian proclamation meets today; and Otto Neubauer, an Austrian lay member of the Emmanuel Community, who will speak on the "importance of poverty" when it comes to approaching modern man.
The theme of the new evangelization is in line with the Oct. 15-16 meeting the Holy Father will have with Church representatives of the West who are leading the new evangelization, as well as the October synod on this topic.
Ratzinger's first meeting with his former pupils took place in March of 1977, when Pope Paul VI appointed him archbishop of Munich-Freising. The annual appointment was kept thereafter, though students were surprised in 2005 to receive a letter from the new Pope a few months after his election, to call them to Castel Gandolfo to continue the custom.
That year they reflected on Islam, in 2006 and 2007 on evolution and evolutionary theories, in 2008 on the historical Jesus and his passion, in 2009 on the mission and on dialogue with religions and cultures, and in 2010 on the appropriate interpretation of the Second Vatican Council.
A few years ago a new circle was added to the original group: people who were not Ratzinger's students but who have been formed by studying his theology. Among this group is Cistercian Father Maximilian Heim, one of the recipients of the new.  \

 Ratzinger Prize.

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ZE11061503 - 2011-06-15
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-32861?l=english

WINNERS OF RATZINGER PRIZE ANNOUNCED

New Honor to Promote Theological Studies

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 15, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The first three winners of the Ratzinger Prize for Theology are an Italian layman, Manlio Simonetti; a Spanish priest, Olegario González de Cardedal; and a German Cistercian, Father Maximilian Heim, all chosen because their theology is anchored in reality.

The Ratzinger Prize was inaugurated by the new Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation, founded last March.

These first three winners will get their prize -- €50,000 ($70,000) -- from the Holy Father on June 30. The ceremony will include an address from Father Heim and from the Pontiff.

The winners were presented Tuesday by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, president of the Ratzinger Prize committee.

The foundation and the Ratzinger Prize are funded in part by revenues from the Pope's books. But Monsignor Giuseppe Antonio Scotti, president of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Foundation, noted how one of the first private donors -- a French woman -- sent a €500 check with a note saying the foundation is "something new and full of future." 

Cardinal Ruini indicated that prize winners are evaluated on theological excellence, regardless of fame. The award also hopes to recognize up-and-coming scholars. Furthermore, the cardinal explained, the criteria do not dictate that the candidate be Catholic.

Simonetti, 85, is an expert of ancient Christian literature and patristics. He is "one of the principal authorities in the matter of research on primitive Christianity," Cardinal Ruini said.

Father González de Cardedal, 76, is a systematic theologian. He is a member of the International Theological Commission, and has worked primarily on the Trinity and Christology, on the relations between theology and anthropology, and in particular on the confrontation between faith and unbelief.

Father Maximilian Heim, 50, is the abbot of the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz in Austria. He is a professor of fundamental and dogmatic theology. He is a member of the new circle of Ratzinger students and oversees the publication of his complete works.

[Reporting by Anita Bourdin]

Link:
http://www.hochschule-heiligenkreuz.at/Prof-P-Dr-Maximilian-Heim-OCist.90.0.html
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Heim#Ehrungen_und_Auszeichnungen

Thank you, Fr. Patrick,
passing on this message from the Mayor of Madrid.
Other great encouragement from

WYD 2011: Pope praises the "soul of Spain" as he departs.

Unforgettable Media coverage after all.
Donald 


----- Forwarded Message ----
From: father patrick . . .
Sent: Thu, 25 August, 2011 16:24:26
Subject: Mayor Of Madrid

madrid-mayor-alberto-ruiz-gallardon-receives-the-pilgrims-backpack

Madrid's mayor impressed by behavior of youth during World Youth Day    

Madrid, Spain, Aug 24, 2011 / 01:48 pm (EWTN News)  

The mayor of Madrid, Alberto Ruiz Gallardon, has attributed the success of World Youth Day 2011 to the excellent behavior of young people from all over the world.
“I have been mayor of Madrid for 16 years and never in my life have I met people so willing to help out and follow instructions,” Gallardon said during a radio program on Aug. 22.
“Madrid has never put on an event as challenging as this one,” he stressed, noting that all together some three million people participated in the events of World Youth Day.
Gallardon said his own personal experience of the Pope’s visit has left him with much food for thought.  “One thing is that it is amazing that an 84-year-old man can bring together more than one million young people."
“We should focus on the faith and not on a person, but we live in a world in which the abstract needs to be made personal by someone and in which young people need to affirm their willingness to set aside their routines in order meet others like themselves, and be open to getting excited and sharing about a message," the mayor said.
"(A)nd that is what Benedict XVI has done."
He thanked officials and city workers who helped make World Youth Day happen. 

Read more: http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/World.php?id=3852#ixzz1W3RHgmPA

The Highpoint of WYD

World Youth Day - Madrid airport, Vigil and final Mass

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INTERVIEW

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The Highpoint of WYD

Bishop Munilla Discusses the Consecration of Youth
to the Sacred Heart

By Patricia Navas

• MADRID, Spain, AUG. 24, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The highpoint of World Youth Day was a moment that has been little-discussed, according to the leader of the Spanish episcopal conference's youth ministry department.
• For Bishop José Ignacio Munilla Aguirre of San Sebastian, the climax of World Youth Day occurred Saturday night, when Benedict XVI consecrated the youth of the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
• The 49-year-old bishop spoke with ZENIT about this moment, and about the keys for making the WYD experience bear fruit.
• ZENIT: What would you highlight from the Madrid WYD?
• Bishop Munilla: During the months and weeks preceding the WYD, we did not expect such a widespread involvement from Spanish youngsters. The number of pilgrims registered from other countries was very numerous, but the number of registered Spaniards left a lot to be desired.
• Their large-scale attendance at the last minute, which surprised us all, can be explained by -- among other things -- the enlivening of the Spanish dioceses by pilgrims from all over the world in the days prior to the WYD.
• Once again, the initiative of the Days in the Dioceses has been very effective and pedagogical. The footprint left by young people who came to Madrid has been truly profound and effective.
• ZENIT: In your opinion, what are the main novelties offered by this WYD as opposed to previous ones?
• Bishop Munilla: The dynamic of WYD is already fairly stable, and the outline of the Madrid meeting was very similar to previous ones.
• I think what should be pointed out is the very ample cultural agenda of this WYD, as well as the novel method of providing food -- no longer by catering, but making use of 2,500 Madrid restaurants, which contributed to the greater integration of young people in the city.
• ZENIT: How do you interpret the rain during the night vigil in Cuatro Vientos?
• Bishop Munilla: It is interesting to note that that strong storm -- which surprised all of us present there, making us feel our human weakness in face of nature -- introduced the culminating moment of Madrid's WYD.
• It was certainly a moment of grace, because it made us see how at a given moment the wind despoiled us of our plans and programs, and we were left naked before the grandeur of God.
• In fact at that instance, the Pope decided to omit his words and move to the essential, to Eucharistic adoration.
• In the midst of an impressive prayerful silence, the Pope pronounced with a confident voice the consecration of the young people of the world to the Heart of Jesus. It was the culminating moment of this WYD, which will pass into history.  
    
• ZENIT: This consecration of young people to the Heart of Jesus has not been greatly commented upon. What is the meaning of that gesture?
• Bishop Munilla: With that gesture the Pope wished to stress, before youngsters desirous of transforming the world, that it is necessary to "belong to Christ," to have intimacy with him, to allow ourselves to be moved by his Spirit.
• The Pope used a simple formula, presenting all the young people to Jesus Christ: "(...) with ardent prayer I consecrate them to your Heart, so that rooted and built on you, they will always be yours, in life and in death. May they never be separated from you! (...)." 
• It was an impressive image of the Pope, who was bringing to our memory what is known as the Priestly Prayer of Jesus Christ (cf. John 17), in which He prayed to the Father so that no one of those entrusted to Him would be lost.
• ZENIT: Of all that the Pope said in his addresses, what words have stayed with you the most?
• Bishop Munilla: Now, on returning to our homes, we must reread all the addresses.
• I have no doubt that it was providential that the Pope was unable to respond to young people's questions at the Vigil of Cuatro Vientos, because this obliges us even more, if that is possible, to access on the Internet his integral answers and to reflect on them, without staying with a mere phrase from a headline.
• ZENIT: What post-WYD reactions have you seen?
• Bishop Munilla: The young people are impressed, open at the same time to a new itinerary in their lives.
• Over these days, the advice I am repeating most is the following: Find a spiritual director to help you in your following of Christ! I have no doubt that the fruit of this WYD will be directly proportional to the quantity of spiritual support that is initiated.
• ZENIT: What is WYD like for a bishop?
• Bishop Munilla: I experienced my first WYD as a bishop in Sydney, and I must confess that in that WYD it was hard for me to participate in this way, because I missed the closeness of supporting a concrete group of young people as a priest.
• However, the relationship with other brother bishops during those days is also an occasion of grace, given that in general we do not have many opportunities to be together and to exchange our impressions and diocesan experiences.
• The organization was very punctilious with all of us, offering us a magnificent concert by the Orfeon Donostiarra in Madrid's National Auditorium, followed by a dinner in the IFEMA. It was an unforgettable moment!
• ZENIT: How were the bishops' catecheses?
• Bishop Munilla: The catecheses with young people are one of the main moments in which a bishop exercises his ministry in a WYD. It is an opportunity to make very direct contact with young people, and to answer their doubts and worries in an open dialogue without any filter whatsoever.
• It is a way to heal the deformed image of bishops that many young people have received through the media. The pastors are close to them, share their experiences, listen to them, and communicate the Word to them.
• To the above I add that on the present occasion, due to the distribution of the YouCat (Catechism for Young People) in the pilgrim's backpack, we have had the opportunity to encourage young people to engage in in-depth processes of formation.
• The climate of secularization in which we live obliges us to make a special effort to be able to give the reason for our faith to those around us.
• ZENIT: The Pope counseled the youngsters not to allow themselves to be led by their impulses, and to serve others and to pose life commitments to themselves. An Iraqi bishop appealed to Arab youths not to emigrate from their countries. Are these not rather unrealistic proposals for the young people of today?
• Bishop Munilla: Father Morales, a deceased holy Jesuit, said: "With young people, if you ask a lot of them, they give more, but if you ask little of them, they don't give anything."
• In other words, evangelical radicalism finds a very special echo in the heart of a youth, when he has not been "domesticated" or "surrendered" to the spirit of this world.
• Or as Chesterton said: "Catholicism is the only religion that frees us from the slavery of being children of our time."

[Translation by ZENIT]

St. Bartholomew, Apostle - Feast John 1:45-51

Southern shore of Galilee

DAILY GOSPEL «Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68 Wednesday, 24 August 2011 Saint Bartholomew, apostle - Feast Saint(s) of the day : St. Bartholomew, Apostle - Feast Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 1:45-51. Commentary of the day : Pope Benedict XVI General Audience of 04/10/06 (© Libreria Editrice Vaticana) Nathaniel-Bartholomew recognises the Messiah, the Son of God The Evangelist John tells us that when Jesus sees Nathaniel approaching, he exclaims: "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile!" (Jn 1,47). This is praise reminiscent of the text of a Psalm: "Blessed is the man... in whose spirit there is no deceit" (Ps 32[31],2), but provokes the curiosity of Nathaniel who answers in amazement:  "How do you know me?". Jesus' reply cannot immediately be understood. He says: "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig  tree,  I  saw  you".  We do not know what had happened under this fig tree. It is obvious that it had to do with a decisive moment in Nathaniel's life. His heart is moved by Jesus' words, he feels understood and he understands: "This man knows everything about me, he knows and is familiar with the road of life; I can truly trust this man". And so he answers with a clear and beautiful confession of faith: "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" In this confession is conveyed a first important step in the journey of attachment to Jesus. Nathaniel's words shed light on a twofold, complementary aspect of Jesus' identity: he is recognized both in his special relationship with God the Father, of whom he is the Only-begotten Son, and in his relationship with the People of Israel, of whom he is the declared King, precisely the description of the awaited Messiah. We must never lose sight of either of these two elements because if we only proclaim Jesus' heavenly dimension, we risk making him an ethereal and evanescent being; and if, on the contrary, we recognize only his concrete place in history, we end by neglecting the divine dimension that properly qualifies him.

Another Link:

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=569

One of the moments of the youth gathering that most moved the Pope was the Via Crucis

Vigil with Youth at Airport - Vis Crucis

WYD 2011: Full text of the Pope’s address at the end of the Via Crucis

By POPE BENEDICT XVI on Friday, 19 August 2011

Pope Benedict XVI attends the Via Crucis in the Plaza de Cibeles
(PA Photo)

Dear young people, we have celebrated this Way of the Cross with fervour and devotion, following Christ along the path of his passion and death. The commentaries of the Little Sisters of the Cross, who serve the poor and most needy, have helped us enter into the mystery of Christ’s glorious Cross, wherein is found God’s true wisdom which judges the world and judges those who consider themselves wise (cf. 1 Cor 1:17-19).

We have also been assisted on this journey to Calvary by our contemplation of these wonderful images from the religious patrimony of the Spanish dioceses. In these images, faith and art combine so as to penetrate our heart and summon us to conversion. When faith’s gaze is pure and authentic, beauty places itself at its service and is able to depict the mysteries of our salvation in such a way as to move us profoundly and transform our hearts, as St Teresa of Jesus herself experienced while contemplating an image of the wounded Christ (cf. Autobiography, 9:1).

As we were making our way with Jesus towards the place of his sacrifice on Mount Calvary, the words of Saint Paul came to mind: “Christ loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). In the face of such disinterested love, we find ourselves asking, filled with wonder and gratitude: What can we do for him? What response shall we give him? Saint John puts it succinctly: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 Jn 3:16). Christ’s passion urges us to take upon our own shoulders the sufferings of the world, in the certainty that God is not distant or far removed from man and his troubles. On the contrary, he became one of us “in order to suffer with man in an utterly real way — in flesh and blood … hence in all human suffering we are joined by one who experiences and carries that suffering with us; hence con-solatio is present in all suffering, the consolation of God’s compassionate love — and so the star of hope rises” (Spe Salvi, 39).

Dear young friends, may Christ’s love for us increase your joy and encourage you to go in search of those less fortunate. You are open to the idea of sharing your lives with others, so be sure not to pass by on the other side in the face of human suffering, for it is here that God expects you to give of your very best: your capacity for love and compassion. The different forms of suffering that have unfolded before our eyes in the course of this Way of the Cross are the Lord’s way of summoning us to spend our lives following in his footsteps and becoming signs of his consolation and salvation. “To suffer with the other and for others; to suffer for the sake of truth and justice; to suffer out of love and in order to become a person who truly loves — these are fundamental elements of humanity, and to abandon them would destroy man himself” (ibid.).

Let us eagerly welcome these teachings and put them into practice. Let us look upon Christ, hanging on the harsh wood of the Cross, and let us ask him to teach us this mysterious wisdom of the Cross, by which man lives. The Cross was not a sign of failure, but an expression of self-giving in love that extends even to the supreme sacrifice of one’s life. The Father wanted to show his love for us through the embrace of his crucified Son: crucified out of love. The Cross, by its shape and its meaning, represents this love of both the Father and the Son for men. Here we recognize the icon of supreme love, which teaches us to love what God loves and in the way that he loves: this is the Good News that gives hope to the world.

Let us turn our gaze now to the Virgin Mary, who was given to us on Calvary to be our Mother, and let us ask her to sustain us with her loving protection along the path of life, particularly when we pass through the night of suffering, so that we may be able to remain steadfast, as she did, at the foot of the Cross.

Pope's address at the end of the Via Crucis

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