Pope on finding love and saving souls

Plummeting temperatures forced the Wednesday audience indoors this week but failed to dampen the Advent spirit as thousands of pilgrims filled the Paul VI audience hall, gazing curiously at the Mexican nativity scene that has been installed there, and listening to the notes of the famous Italian ‘zampognari’, or Alpine pipers, who descend into the cities to announce the coming of Christmas.

Arriving to cheers and applause, Pope Benedict greeted the faithful and then spoke to them about nurturing true love in our lives, to become true images of the crucified Christ. His thoughts were inspired by a saint, this week not from the Middle Ages, but still a woman, a religious and a mystic, in keeping with his series of lessons on the great female figures of the Church: St. Veronica Giuliani.

A Capuchin Poor Clare and mystic, she was who was born three hundred and fifty years ago this month, on December 27^th. The Pope noted that “Saint Veronica, true to the name she took in religion, became a “true image” of Christ crucified; her configuration to the Lord was accompanied by profound mystical experiences such as her crowning with thorns and the stigmata”.

Pope Benedict continued “Veronica’s spirituality, as revealed above all in her Diary, is Christ-centred and spousal: she saw all things in the light of Christ’s love, manifested in his Passion, and she united herself to his self-oblation to the Father for the salvation of souls”. In comments in Italian he added, “Compared to the preaching of the time, often focused on saving of the soul in individual terms, she shows a sense of solidarity with her brothers and sisters on the path to heaven”.

“Her love of the Scriptures”, he concluded “was deeply linked to her love of the Church and her strong sense of the communion of the saints. Veronica’s passionate mystical experience can be summed up in the words she spoke on her deathbed: “I have found Love”.”

Finally in greetings to English speaking pilgrims, Pope Benedict had a very special welcome for a group of priests from the United States: “I extend a warm welcome and prayerful good wishes to the priest alumni of the Pontifical North American College celebrating their fortieth anniversary of priestly ordination. Upon all the English-speaking visitors present at today’s Audience, especially those from Ireland and the United States of America, I cordially invoke God’s abundant blessings”.


Listen to the full report by Emer McCarthy: