Pope Benedict on Hippolytus and Martyrdom
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Papal Summer Residence, Castel Gandolfo
Wednesday, 11 August 2010
The significance of martyrdom
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today in the Liturgy we commemorate St Clare of Assisi, Foundress of the Poor Clares, a luminous figure of whom I shall speak in one of the forthcoming Catecheses. But this week as I already mentioned at last Sunday’s Angelus we are commemorating several holy Martyrs, from the early centuries of the Church such as St Lawrence, Deacon, St Pontianus, Pope, and St Hippolytus, Priest; and from the nearer past, such as St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Edith Stein, Patroness of Europe, and St Maximilian Mary Kolbe. I would then like to reflect briefly on martyrdom, a form of total love for God.
On what is martyrdom founded? The answer is simple: on the death of Jesus, on his supreme sacrifice of love, consummated on the Cross, that we might have life (cf. Jn 10: 10). Christ is the suffering servant mentioned by the Prophet Isaiah (cf. Is 52: 13-15), who gave himself as a ransom for many (cf. Mt 20: 28). He urges his disciples, each one of us, to take up his or her cross every day and follow him on the path of total love of God the Father and of humanity: “he who does not take his cross and follow me”, he tells us, “is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it” (Mt 10: 38-39). It is the logic of the grain of wheat that dies in order to sprout and bring new life (cf. Jn 12: 24). Jesus himself “is the grain of wheat which came from God, the divine grain that lets itself fall to the ground, that lets itself sink, be broken down in death and precisely by so doing germinates and can thus bear fruit in the immensity of the world” (Benedict XVI during his Visit to the Evangelical Lutheran Community at the “Christuskirche”, Rome, 14 March 2010). The martyr follows the Lord to the very end, freely accepting death for the salvation of the world in a supreme test of love and faith (cf. Lumen Gentium, n. 42).
(To continue reading, please see here).
Remembering Father Alphonse de Valk
(Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of Father Alphonse de Valk, C.S.B., a faithful, courageous and indefatigable Basilian priest, pro-life-and-family apostle, and the founder of Catholic Insight magazine. Here is what we wrote those on his entering into eternity five years ago, as we continue to remember him in our prayers and thoughts)[…]Continue reading→
Divine Mercy Sunday – An Echo of Every Mass
Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe’… ‘My Lord and my God!’ (Jn. 20:18)). Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, and as we celebrate the end of the Easter Octave, we contemplate the wounded side of our Saviour, the Church’s source of life. On Good Friday in the[…]Continue reading→
In the Glorious Light of Easter, Alleluia!
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory (Col. 3:3-4). The Resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour[…]Continue reading→
An Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday
The time between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is one of waiting, in silence, as the world wonders – anticipates – what will happen, after the death of Christ. We re-live this time each year in the anamnesis of our liturgy, and in turn look forward to the glorious re-creation of all things at the[…]Continue reading→
Pope Saint John Paul II’s First Good Friday Homily
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS AT THE COLOSSEUM Good Friday, 13 April 1979 When we make the Way of the Cross from one station to the next, in spirit we are always at the spot wherethis journey had its “historical” place: where it[…]Continue reading→
Pope Benedict’s Last Holy Thursday Homily
MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI Basilica of St John Lateran Holy Thursday, 5 April 2012 Photo Gallery (Video) Dear Brothers and Sisters! Holy Thursday is not only the day of the institution of the Most Holy Eucharist, whose splendour bathes all else and in some ways draws it to[…]Continue reading→
Homily of John Paul II in the Basilica of the Annunciation
A blessed Solemnity of the Annunciation to one and all! Verbum caro factum est! Here is a meditation of the late, great John Paul II, staunchly devoted to Our Lady, from the Jubilee Year, just over a quarter of century ago, to provide food for thought, as we celebrate, and pray. Editor. JUBILEE PILGRIMAGE OF[…]Continue reading→
Homily of Pope Benedict on Saint Joseph
APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF THE HOLY FATHER BENEDICT XVI TO CAMEROON AND ANGOLA (MARCH 17-23, 2009) EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION ON THE OCCASION OF THE PUBLICATION OF THE INSTRUMENTUM LABORIS HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER BENEDICT XVI Amadou Ahidjo Stadium of Yaoundé Thursady, 19 March 2009 Dear Brother Bishops, Dear Brothers and Sisters, Praised be Jesus Christ who has gathered[…]Continue reading→
Pope Benedict and Saint Cyril
BENEDICT XVI GENERAL AUDIENCE Paul VI Audience Hall Wednesday, 27 June 2007 Saint Cyril of Jerusalem Dear Brothers and Sisters, Our attention today is focused on St Cyril of Jerusalem. His life is woven of two dimensions: on the one hand, pastoral care, and on the other, his involvement, in spite of himself, in the[…]Continue reading→
Fourth Sunday of Lent: Siloam and Spiritual Blindness
Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light – for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and true (Eph. 5:8-9). The account of the cure of the blind man at the pool of Siloam, like the account of the conversation[…]Continue reading→