2008-05-14 13:23:11

Pope Benedict in English - Weekly General Audience


Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In today’s catechesis we turn to the teaching of a sixth-century author whose writings have been attributed to the first-century disciple of Saint Paul, Dionysius the Areopagite. His two principal works, The Divine Names and Mystical Theology, strive to present a knowledge of God which surpasses rational understanding and culminates in spiritual perfection and transforming contemplation. Pseudo-Dionysius stresses the apophatic or “negative” understanding born of pondering God’s infinite transcendence and otherness. By contemplating what God is not, and by entering more deeply into the rich symbolic language of Scripture, we grow in our relationship with the One who reveals himself in hiddenness. Contemplation is thus an ascent leading from purification to illumination, perfection and union with God. In the West, Dionysius’ writings influenced the early scholastics and Saint Thomas, as well as Saint Teresa of Avila and Saint John of the Cross. His vision of a great cosmic harmony reflecting the beauty of the Creator and the love freely bestowed on us in Christ, can also inspire our efforts to work for unity, reconciliation and peace in our world.
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I welcome all the English-speaking visitors present today, including the groups from England, Ireland, Japan, The Philippines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States of America. May your visit to Rome be a time of deep spiritual renewal. Upon all of you I invoke God’s abundant blessings of joy and peace.
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