Pope’s weekly audience of Sept. 23

(September 23, 2009) Every week on Wednesday, the Pope holds a public meeting, called the general audience, during which pilgrims and tourists who come to Rome have a chance of seeing and hearing him speak. The Holy Father delivers a spiritual reflection and greets various groups in their languages, including in English. Pope Benedict XVI who is currently staying at the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, just outside Rome, flew into the Vatican by helicopter Wednesday morning, to hold General Audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall. The general audience began with readings of a scripture passage in various languages. An aide greeted the Pope on behalf of the English-speaking pilgrims, presenting the various groups to him. Pope Benedict then delivered a reflection in English. Listen:
 
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our catechesis today turns to an outstanding churchman of the eleventh century, Saint Anselm of Canterbury. Anselm received a monastic education in his native town of Aosta, in the north of Italy, and entered the Benedictine monastery of Bec in Normandy. Under the guidance of his prior, Lanfranc of Pavia, he devoted himself to study and prayer, and eventually was elected abbot of Bec. Some time later he succeeded Lanfranc as Archbishop of Canterbury. Anselm’s years in England were marked by the reorganization of ecclesial life in the wake of the Norman invasion and the struggle for the Church’s legitimate freedom from political inroads, which resulted in his being exiled for three years. This great spiritual leader was also a brilliant teacher, writer and speculative theologian. In the prayer which opens his most celebrated work, the Proslogion, he expresses his desire to understand the faith, the divine truth which his heart already believes and loves. May Saint Anselm’s life and teaching inspire us to a more fruitful contemplation of the mysteries of the Christian faith, and a deeper love of the Lord and his Church.
I offer a warm welcome to the English-speaking visitors present at today’s Audience, including the members of the Australian Girls Choir and the school groups from Norway and Scotland. I ask you to join me in praying that my imminent visit to the Czech Republic will bear many spiritual fruits, and upon all of you and your families, I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace!