Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Commentary of Benedict XVI on the Gospel: Mark 1: 21-28

"... this Sunday's Gospel passage (Mk 1: 21-28) tells of a man possessed by the devil who suddenly shouts: "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God". And Jesus commands the spirit: "Quiet! Come out of him!". 


Angelus, 1st February 2009

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January 28. St Thomas Aquinas

Texts of Benedict XVI about Saint Thomas Aquinas.

The life and teaching of St Thomas Aquinas could be summed up in an episode passed down by his ancient biographers. While, as was his wont, the Saint was praying before the Crucifix in the early morning in the chapel of St Nicholas in Naples, Domenico da Caserta, the church sacristan, overheard a conversation. Thomas was anxiously asking whether what he had written on the mysteries of the Christian faith was correct. And the Crucified One answered him: "You have spoken well of me, Thomas. What is your reward to be?". And the answer Thomas gave him was what we too, friends and disciples of Jesus, always want to tell him: "Nothing but Yourself, Lord!"

Catechesis:

• Saint Thomas Aquinas (I) (June 2, 2010)
• Saint Thomas Aquinas (II) (June 16, 2010)
• Saint Thomas Aquinas (III) (June 23, 2010)

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January 25. St Paul's "Conversion"

Texts of Benedict XVI about St Paul's "Conversion" :

"This turning point in his life, this transformation of his whole being was not the fruit of a psychological process, of a maturation or intellectual and moral development. Rather it came from the outside: it was not the fruit of his thought but of his encounter with Jesus Christ. In this sense it was not simply a conversion, a development of his "ego", but rather a death and a resurrection for Paul himself. One existence died and another, new one was born with the Risen Christ. There is no other way in which to explain this renewal of Paul".

Catechesis about St Paul's Conversio (September 3, 2008)

More information: Catechesis - St Paul (2006 - 2009)

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January 24. Saint Francis de Sales

Texts of Benedict XVI about Saint Francis de Sales:

"St Francis de Sales is an exemplary witness of Christian humanism; with his familiar style, with words which at times have a poetic touch, he reminds us that human beings have planted in their innermost depths the longing for God and that in him alone can they find true joy and the most complete fulfilment."

Catechesis about Saint Francis de Sales (March 2, 2011) 

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Catechesis: St Paul

Paul of Tarsus

• Paul, profile of man and apostle (October 25, 2006) 
• Religious and Cultural Environment (July 2, 2008)
• Life of Saint Paul before and after Damascus (August 27, 2008)
• St Paul's "Conversion" (September 3, 2008)
• Saint Paul's Concept of Apostolate (September 10, 2008)
• Paul, the Twelve and the pre-Pauline Church (September 24, 2008)
• The "Council" of Jerusalem and the Incident in Antioch (October 1, 2008)
• St Paul migrant, ‘Apostle of the peoples’ (Janaury 18, 2009)
• St Paul's martyrdom and heritage (February 4, 2009)

Doctrine of St. Paul

• St Paul's new outlook (November 8, 2006)
• St Paul and the Spirit (November 15, 2006)
• St Paul and the Church (November 22, 2006)
• The Relationship with the Historical Jesus (October 8, 2008)
• Paul's Ecclesiological Dimension (October 15, 2008)
• The Importance of Christology: Pre-existence and Incarnation (October 22, 2008)
• The Importance of Christology: the Theology of the Cross (October 29, 2008)
• The Importance of Christology: the Decisiveness of the Resurrection. (November 5, 2008)
• Eschatology : the Expectation of the Parusia (November 12, 2008)
• The Doctrine of Justification: from Works to Faith (1) (November 19, 2008)
• The Doctrine of Justification: from Works to Faith (2) (November 26, 2008)
• The Apostle’s teaching on the relation between Adam and Christ (December 3, 2008)
• Theology of the sacraments (December 10, 2008)
• Spiritual Worship (Janaury 7, 2009)
• The Theological vision of the Letters to the Colossians and Ephesians (January 14, 2009)
• Theological vision of Pastoral Letters (January 28, 2009)

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To the Neocathecumenal Way (January 20, 2012):

Speech - Address to the Neocathecumenal Way (January 20, 2012)

"The "following of Christ" requires the personal adventure of looking for him, of going with him, and always involves going out of the closed-ness of one's ego, breaking down the individualism that often characterizes the society of our time, to replace selfishness with the community of the new man in Jesus Christ..."

"... A while ago I was reading the decree with which the celebrations which are in the "Catechetical Directory of the Neocatechumenal Way" are approved..."

"...But even during the way it is important not to separate from the parish community, right in the celebration of the Eucharist which is the true place of the unity of all, where the Lord embraces us in the various states of our spiritual maturity and unites us in the one bread that makes us one body (cf. 1 Corinthian 10:16f)..."

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Catechesis: "School of Prayer"

(***) - In this blog 

• 11 January 2012, Jesus' prayer at the Last Supper
• 28 December 2011, The prayer and the Holy Family of Nazareth
• 14 December 2011, The prayer of Jesus linked to His miraculous healing action
• 7 December 2011, The “jewel” of the Cry of Exultation
• 30 November 2011, Jesus, our Teacher in prayer
• 16 November 2011, Psalm 110 (109)
• 9 November 2011, Psalm 119 (118)
• 19 October 2011, The Great Hallel, Psalm 136 (135)
• 12 October 2011, Psalm 126
• 5 October 2011, Psalm 23
• 14 September 2011, Psalm 22 (21): "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
• 7 septembre 2011, Psalm 3: “Arise, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God!”
• 31 August 2011, Art and Prayer
• 17 August 2011, Meditation
• 10 August 2011, “Oasis” of the spirit
• 3 August 2011, Man in Prayer (8)
• 22 June 2011, The Salms
• 15 June 2011, Elijah
• 1 June 2011, Moses
• 25 May 2011, Jacob
• 18 May 2011, Abraham
• 11 May 2011, Prayer and the sense of religion
• 4 May 2011, Christian prayer

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Our longing for the full, visible unity of Christians requires patient and trustful waiting

Speech - To the ecumenical delegation of the Lutheran Church of Finland on the occasion of the Feast of Saint Henrik (January 19, 2012)

"There is a need for Christians to arrive at a profound agreement on matters of anthropology, which can then help society and politicians to make wise and just decisions regarding important questions in the area of human life, family and sexuality".

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Speech to the Bishops of the United States of America - January 19, 2012: in the service of the evangelization of American culture and the building of the civilization of love

Speech - To the Bishops of the United States of America on their ad Limina visit (January 19, 2012)

"The Church in the United States is called, in season and out of season, to proclaim a Gospel which not only proposes unchanging moral truths but proposes them precisely as the key to human happiness and social prospering"

"When a culture attempts to suppress the dimension of ultimate mystery, and to close the doors to transcendent truth, it inevitably becomes impoverished and falls prey, as the late Pope John Paul II so clearly saw, to reductionist and totalitarian readings of the human person and the nature of society".

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Audience, 18 january 2012: We will all be changed by the victory of Christ, Our Lord

Audiencie - On the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (18 january 2012)

"This spiritual gathering, which unites Christians of all traditions, increases our awareness of the fact that the unity to which we tend will not be the result of our efforts alone, but will rather be a gift received from above, a gift for which we must constantly pray". 

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Angelus, 15 january 2012 - The mediator, helping the persons called to recognize the voice of God and follow it

Ángelus - 15 january 2012

"The very Christian faith in itself presupposes proclamation and witness: in fact they consist in adhering to the good news that Jesus of Nazareth is dead and risen, that he is God"

"But this is not to forget the fundamental role of parents, who with their genuine and joyful faith and their marital love show their children that it is beautiful and possible to build a whole life on the love of God". 

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Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (PDF)

Benedict audiences on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (18-25 January):

• 19 january 2011, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
• 20 january 2010, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
• 21 january 2009, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
• 23 january 2008, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
• 17 january 2007, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (1)
• 24 january 2007, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (2)
• 18 january 2006, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Download: All audiences in PDF

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Angelus, Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (8 January 2012)

Angelus - Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (8 January 2012)

"Being born is never a choice, we are not asked first whether we wish to be born. Yet, in life, we can develop a free attitude with regard to life itself: we can regard it as a gift and, in a certain sense “become” what we are: children. This transition marks a turning point of maturity in our existence and in our relationship with our parents, which is filled with gratitude."

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13 january. Saint Hilary of Poitiers

Texts of Benedicto XVI abaut Saint Hilary of Poitiers

"Obtain, O Lord", St Hilary recites with inspiration, "that I may keep ever faithful to what I have professed in the symbol of my regeneration, when I was baptized in the Father, in the Son and in the Holy Spirit. That I may worship you, our Father, and with you, your Son; that I may deserve your Holy Spirit, who proceeds from you through your Only Begotten Son... Amen" (De Trinitate 12, 57). 

General Audience: Catechesis on the Fathers of the Church - Saint Hilary of Poitiers (10 october 2007)

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The Church offers the light of the Gospel to all people of good will (6 January 2012)

Angelus - Solemnity of the Epiphany (Friday, 6 January 2012)

"Nevertheless the Church, thanks to the Word of God, sees through the fog. She has no technical solutions but keeps her gaze fixed on the destination and offers the light of the Gospel to all people of good will, whatever their nation and culture. And this is also the mission of Papal Representatives to States and to International Organizations".

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Benedict XVI to the Members of the Diplomatic Corps: the crisis can and must be an incentive to reflect on human existence and on the importance of its ethical dimension

Speech - To the Members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See for the traditional exchange of New Year greetings (January 9, 2012)

"Truly the world is gloomy wherever it is not brightened by God’s light! Truly the world is dark wherever men and women no longer acknowledge their bond with the Creator and thereby endanger their relation to other creatures and to creation itself. The present moment is sadly marked by a profound disquiet and the various crises – economic, political and social – are a dramatic expression of this".

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Eucharistic celebration on the solemnity of the epiphany the Lord

Homily - Solemnity of the Epiphany (Friday, 6 January 2012)

"The Epiphany is a feast of light. “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” (Is 60:1). With these words of the prophet Isaiah, the Church describes the content of the feast. He who is the true light, and by whom we too are made to be light, has indeed come into the world".

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