Origen of Alexandria

Either Benedict speaks extemporaneously in each language, not quite saying the same thing in each, or the translations are very loose. (Maybe they reassembled the original ICEL experts!) Last Wednesday, he spoke on another of the church fathers, Origin, the great biblical scholar of the early church. You will find the German and the English versions below with the links to the Vatican website which owns the copyrights to these versions.

Amy Welborn, in her Open Book blog, quotes extensively from the AsiaNews.it article on the audience. Her account and the AsiaNews account are both much longer than either the German or English versions. They contain an interesting phrase. His "'orated reading' of the Bible, [his] catechesis and coherence in 'moral' behaviour ... mark the life and works of the third century Origen..." Does "orated reading" of scripture come from orare to speak or pray (i.e. speaking to God.) Although it may be just a neologism accidentally created by a mauled translation from the Italian version of Benedetto's address (which is three to four times longer), I like it. We need scripture scholars who pray and live the scriptures. Ordinary folk too!

According to AsiaNews.it, Benedict concluded: "'Let us pray to God – ha [sic] concluded - that he gift [sic] us philosophers, theologians and thinkers today, capable of finding this multi-level dimension, this permanent actuality in their reading of the Sacred Scriptures. Let us pray that the Lord help us to read the Scriptures correctly, so it may nurture and feed us with the true bread of life and of his Word'."

The Holy Father likes him so much, maybe he will finally declare him a saint. If his Holiness should pray to Origin for the conversion of biblical scholars and succeed, he would have the requisite miracles!

BENEDICT XVI

GENERAL AUDIENCE

St Peter's Square
Wednesday, 25 April 2007

Origen of Alexandria

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Our catechetical journey through the early Church brings us to the remarkable figure of Origen of Alexandria. This great teacher of the faith was highly esteemed by his students not only for his theological brilliance, but also for his exemplary moral conduct. His father, Leonides, was martyred during the reign of Septimius Severus. Though Origen himself always had a deep yearning to die a martyr’s death, he decided that the best way to honour his father and glorify Christ was by living a good and upright life. Later, under the emperor Decius, he was arrested and tortured for his faith, dying a few years later. Origen is best known for his unique contribution to theology: an “irreversible turn” which grounded theology in Scripture. He emphasized an allegorical and spiritual reading of the word of God, and demonstrated how the three levels of meaning—the literal, the moral, and the spiritual—progressively lead us to a deeper prayer life and closer relationship with God. Origen teaches us that when we meditate on God’s word and conform our lives to it, we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to the fullness of truth. May we follow Origen’s example by praying with scripture, always listening attentively to God’s word.

Und auf deutsch:

BENEDIKT XVI.

GENERALAUDIENZ

Mittwoch, 25. April 2007

Liebe Brüder und Schwestern!

In der heutigen Katechese wenden wir uns dem Leben und dem Werk des Origenes zu, des fruchtbarsten Kirchenschriftstellers der ersten drei christlichen Jahrhunderte. Origenes wirkte als bekannter Lehrer in seiner Heimatstadt Alexandrien und dann in Cäsarea in Palästina. Während der Christenverfolgung unter Kaiser Decius im Jahre 250 erlitt er schwerste Torturen, an deren Folgen er wenige Jahre später nicht ganz siebzigjährig starb. Sein umfangreiches Werk, von dem jedoch nur ein Bruchteil überliefert ist, stellt eine unumkehrbare Wende in der Entwicklung des christlichen Denkens dar, die in der gelungenen Symbiose von Theologie und Exegese gründet. Origenes bemühte sich um einen zuverlässigen Text der biblischen Bücher, wovon die Hexapla, eine sechsspaltige Synopse des hebräischen Textes und der griechischen Übersetzungen des Alten Testaments, Zeugnis gibt. Vor allem aber widmete er sich der systematischen Auslegung der Heiligen Schrift in Kommentaren und Homilien. Dabei unterschied er den wörtlichen, den moralischen und den geistigen Schriftsinn. Diese Differenzierung hilft dem Leser, das Wort Gottes tiefer zu verstehen und im Glauben zu wachsen. So gelingt es Origenes auch, die Einheit von Altem und Neuem Testament aufzuzeigen und die lebendige, stets neue Kraft des Wortes Gottes für die Gläubigen zu erschließen.

© Copyright 2007 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

The War Within Islam

Benedict is meeting with Mohammad Khatami, president of Iran from 1997 to 2005. Three Presbyterians are murdered in Turkey for the crime of printing Christian bibles. The slaughter of fellow Muslims in Iraq continues. The American people believes our effort to establish a tolerant and democratic state in Iraq is failing despite the contrary evidence from those on the spot. Recently the Taliban kidnapped Italian reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo and his young Afghan interpreter, Adjmal Nashqbandi, and their Afghani driver. The Italian was eventually released. The two Muslims were assinated.

The odd thing is that Jihadists kill primarily Muslims.

Is all this confusing?

Let me recommend an article by Sandro Magister, my favorite vaticanologist, who argues the real war is between those whose Islam is mystical and those whose Islam is political. He reproduces and Matthew Sherry translates an insightful analysis by Khaled Fouad Allam. Allam is an Algerian Muslim academic. He was the first to respond in the spirit of reason from the Muslim world to Benedict's Regensberg challenge.

He argues that the Jihadists (not his word) have adopted a form of totalitarianism. He contrasts that with the opposing form of Islam whose "followers profess a Sufi, and therefore mystical, form of Islam, sometimes referred to as esoteric or parallel, a peaceful and tolerant Islam, in complete antithesis to the Islam professed and imposed by the Taliban. The Taliban has produced a subversive form of Wahhabism, which in my view does not fall within the definition of 'Islamic fascism,' but rather embodies a third generation form of totalitarianism. "

Allam used the abduction of the three to exemplify that "[t]he neural center of the war within Islam is located precisely upon that boundary line between an open and liberal form of Islam and a totalitarian Islam. "

I suspect that ideology is a necessary condition for totalitarianism.

Allam focuses on Afghanistan. He tells us that "[n]ot far from Herat is the tomb of Abdullah Ansari, one of the greatest Afghan mystics, who wrote in the eleventh century: 'O my God! What have you done here for your friends? Whoever seeks You finds You, but until he sees You, he does not recognize them.' "

At our Readers of First Things discussion yesterday we discussed John Paul the Great's dictum that "Men and women of [learning] will truly aid humanity only if they preserve the sense of the transcendence of the human person over the world and of God over the human person." (Fr. Neuhaus quoted Ex Corde Ecclesiae in his talk to Valparaiso.) We speculated which denominations, which religions, and which non-religions are anchored in that "transcendence of the human person."

As the story of St. Martin so beautifully illustrates, the Hebrew scriptures teach us that each human person is made in the image and likeness of God and the Christian scriptures teach us that what we do to the least of our brethren we do to Him.

Does Islam have that same understanding?

Benedikt said a bit more on Clement of Alexander than did Benedict!

BENEDIKT XVI. GENERALAUDIENZ Mittwoch, 18. April 2007 Liebe Brüder und Schwestern! Heute wollen wir die Reihe unserer Betrachtungen über bedeutende Persönlichkeiten der frühen Kirche mit Klemens von Alexandrien fortsetzen. Er stammte aus dem griechischen Kulturkreis und wuchs wahrscheinlich in Athen auf; später wirkte er in Alexandrien, einer hellenistischen Kolonie in Ägypten. Klemens starb um das Jahr 215 in Kappadozien in Kleinasien. Von den literarischen Werken des Klemens von Alexandrien sind nur wenige erhalten geblieben: unter anderem ein Buch mit dem Titel Protreptikos, eine Art Mahnrede, in der das Christentum gegenüber heidnischen Ideen von Göttern als die wahre Philosophie dargestellt wird, die ein durch den göttlichen Logos geschenkter Weg zum Heil ist. In einem weiteren Werk, dem Paidagogos, führt Klemens aus, daß Christus, der wahre Erzieher, die Menschen von sündigen Gewohnheiten befreien und zu einem besseren Leben führen will. In einem Sammelband, den Stromateis, geht Klemens dem Gedanken nach, daß auch im griechischen Denken „Samenkörner“ der Wahrheit zu finden sind. Er unterstreicht, daß nur der Christ Zugang zur „wahren Lehre“ hat. Gott schenkt dem Menschen die Vernunft, aber er hilft ihm vor allem durch die Gabe des Glaubens, die Wahrheit zu erkennen und das ewige Leben zu erlangen. Klemens legt zudem großen Wert auf ein tugendhaftes Verhalten, das den Glauben stützt. Die apátheia, die Freiheit von den Leidenschaften, gehört dazu, sie muß aber ergänzt werden durch die Gottes- und Nächstenliebe, die den Menschen für die wahre Gemeinschaft mit Gott öffnet. Liebe Freunde, mein verehrter Vorgänger Papst Johannes Paul II. hat in seiner Enzyklika Fides et ratio auf ein zentrales Anliegen des Klemens von Alexandrien hingewiesen: Die griechische Philosophie war ein Streben nach richtigem Denken und Erkennen, sie ist jedoch kein Ersatz für die christliche Wahrheit, die selbst göttlichen Ursprungs ist und keiner Ergänzung bedarf (vgl. Nr. 38). * * * Ganz herzlich begrüße ich die Audienzteilnehmer deutscher Sprache und danke allen, die in diesen Tagen aus Anlaß meines 80. Geburtstags nach Rom gekommen sind und mich mit musikalischen Beiträgen erfreut haben. Unter den vielen, die ich gerne persönlich grüßen würde, kann ich hier nur einige Gruppen nennen: die Pilger aus dem Erzbistum München und Freising mit Kardinal Wetter, den Weihbischöfen und dem Domkapitel, die Marianische Männerkongregation Regensburg, die Alphornbläser aus Bayern und Baden-Württemberg sowie die Deggendorfer mit ihrer Bäckerinnung. Ich grüße auch gerne die großen Pilgergruppen aus den Bistümern Mainz und Trier. Ich freue mich über die Glückwünsche und danke für euer Gebet, mit dem ihr mich und meinen Hirtendienst begleitet. Vergelt’s Gott dafür! Der auferstandene Herr Jesus Christus, den uns diese österliche Festzeit in der heiligen Liturgie besonders nahebringt, stärke euch in der Gemeinschaft im Glauben und in der Liebe und schenke euch seinen Frieden. Euch alle schütze und führe der gütige Gott in diesen Tagen mit seiner Gnade und seinem Segen! © Copyright 2007 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

"Faith and reason" are "two necessary and complementary 'wings' by which the human spirit comes to the knowlege of Christ" B16 on Clement of Alexandra

BENEDICT XVI

GENERAL AUDIENCE

St Peter's Square
Wednesday, 18 April 2007

Saint Clement of Alexandria

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In our catechesis on the Fathers and teachers of the early Church, we now turn to Saint Clement of Alexandria. As head of the catechetical school of Alexandria, Clement promoted a fruitful encounter between the Gospel and the Greek philosophical tradition. For Clement, faith in Christ grants the true knowledge which the ancient philosophers had sought through the use of reason. Faith and reason thus appear as two necessary and complementary “wings” by which the human spirit comes to the knowledge of Christ, the Word of God. Faith itself, as a divine gift, inspires a search for a deeper understanding of God’s revelation. As creatures made in God’s image, we are called to become ever more like him not only through the perfection of our intellect, but also through our growth in the virtues. Freed from our passions, we are drawn to contemplate in love the God who has revealed himself in Christ. By his life and teaching, Clement can serve as a model for all Christians who seek to give an account of their hope (cf. 1 Pet 3:15), and especially for catechists and theologians as they strive to articulate the Christian faith in a disciplined dialogue with the great philosophical tradition.

One Small Step... III How Do the Presidential Candidates Line up on Partial Birth Abortion?

For a ban on partial birth abortion:

Senator Sam Brownback Kansas (Republican)
ex-New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani (Republican)
Senator John McCain of Arizona (Republican)
Senator Joe Biden of Delaware (Democrat)

Giuliani's position seems to changed shifted since 1999.

Against a ban on partial birth abortion:

Senator Hillary Clinton of New York (Democrat)
Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut (Democrat)
Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois (Democrat)
Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina (Democrat)

Senator Obama is "extremely concerned that this ruling will embolden state legislatures" to do more to stop abortions. So much for former President Clinton's desire to make abortions "rare."

For the details read LifeNews.com.

One Small Step... II

It has been a long time since the since the forces for life have read of a victory at the Supreme Legislature, er... I mean Court. After such a parched journey even a water drop is an estatic experience. Yet National Review cautions that it is only a partial victory.

The editors quote Justice John Paul Stevens who concurred as the court struck down Nebraska's partial birth abortion ban writing: “Although much ink is spilled today describing the gruesome nature of late-term abortion procedures, that rhetoric does not provide me a reason to believe that the procedure Nebraska here claims it seeks to ban is more brutal, more gruesome, or less respectful of ‘potential life’ than the equally gruesome procedure Nebraska claims it still allows. . . . [T]he notion that either of these two equally gruesome procedures performed at this late stage of gestation is more akin to infanticide than the other, or that the State furthers any legitimate interest by banning one but not the other, is simply irrational.”

He was right then. He is right now.

One Small Step for Little Humanity (as in "little humans")!!!

The Supreme Court allowed the federal government to ban partial birth abortions! Alleluia!

The Irony of Fate

Easter Sunday, 2007

Easter is the Feast when we celebrate Our Lord's triumph over this world. We must never despair. We must not let the ill turns of apparent fortune turn our hearts sour: God writes in crooked lines. Think how odd it is that the Supreme Court's arrogance in Roe V. Wade has done more to get true believing Protestants and Catholics to work together than all the ecumenical commissions of scholars and prelates put together!

Does God work good through evil? It is too horrible a question to approach, much less answer. Its ugliness drives me to retreat into a fetal position of childish faith. Yet its true answer seems so much more subtle than I can express. In the Lord of the Rings, Evil always seems sure to win. When the heads of your friends are catapulted over the walls of Minas Tirith, can there be any hope left? But your duty is to soldier on. True faith is pietas: doing your fate when you know in your heart you must lose!


Think of Tolkien. You know Sauron can not lose. At least by any calculations of this world. Yet, weakness triumphs! There seems in the books a fate driving events ill, but yet it is undermined by a subtler doom. It is as if there is an apparent fate that shouts through the corridors of time, while Providence whispers. What causes the ring to fall just when it does so that Bilbo finds it? Why does Frodo become the Ringbearer? Tolkien portrays better than my prose can articulate the true nature of Providence. Still more important for our souls, he shows us that any victory on this earth (this middle yard or Middle Earth) is but temporary. There is ultimate victory, but it is not here. It is like Christ's that we celebrate this Easter Day: it comes after death to this world. Then we triumph. That is the true, if not comforting, meaning of the Christian virtue of hope.

The word "virtue" (Latin: "virtus") originally meant a manly quality. The Christian virtue of hope has a larger component of courage than we care to admit.

Happy Easter and soldier on!

Celebrating Holy Week In Iraq

Amy Welborn reproduces a report of what it was like to go to mass on Palm Sunday in Mosul. So you think it is too much trouble to go to mass?