Pope Benedict XVI in English - Weekly General Audience
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our catechesis on the Christian writers of
East and West, we turn to Saint Peter Damian, who was born in Ravenna at the beginning
of the eleventh century and became an accomplished writer and Latinist. His fine
sensitivity made him excel in poetry and enabled him to see the world as a parable,
full of symbolic references to the supernatural, leading him to embrace as a mature
man a monastic vocation at Fonte Avellana, founded not long before. He was fascinated
by the salvific mystery of the cross of Christ and promoted as the fullness of Christian
living a form of monasticism noted for its austerity. Nourished by a mystical understanding
of Scripture, Saint Peter Damian enjoyed precise theological insights especially into
the mysteries of the Holy Trinity, our union with Christ, and the Church as a communion,
from which he derived practical advice for living in charity with others. In 1057
he accepted the office of Cardinal Bishop of Ostia and assisted the Pope with courage
and dedication in the reform of the Church of his time. After ten years he was granted
his wish to return to his monastery and continued to serve the Church with prayer
and action until his holy death in 1072. May the example and intercession of Saint
Peter Damian, my dear Brothers and Sisters, inspire and renew us in our love of Christ
and his Church.
I offer a warm welcome to all the English-speaking pilgrims
and visitors from England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Gibraltar, Japan and
the United States. Upon all of you I cordially invoke the Lord’s abundant blessings
of joy and peace!