Papal preacher addresses the "secularization of love"
Pope Benedict XVI heard the III Lenten sermon from the preacher of the Papal Household
Friday morning in the Redemptoris mater chapel of the Apostolic Palace. The traditional
Lenten exercise for the Pope and the curia began with the sining of the Parce Domine
antiphon, and then passed to the sermon of Capuchin Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa – the
preacher of the Papal household – who this Friday concentrated his reflections on
the theological virtue of charity.
Drawing on sources as diverse as Soren Kierkegaard,
St. Catherine of Siena, Lafontaine’s Fables and the Letter of St. Paul the Apostle
to the Romans, to name just a few: the three-part sermon focused on charity as the
essential and indispensible characteristic of true love of neighbour, as requiring
authenticity – real commitment to and investment in the good of one’s fellow, and
as an element – the element, which edifies.
Fr. Cantalamessa concluded his
reflection by recalling St. Paul’s exhortation to the Christian community at Philippi:
Make
my joy complete, by being of a single mind, one in love, one in heart and one in mind.
Nothing is to be done out of jealousy or vanity; instead, out of humility of mind
everyone should give preference to others, everyone pursuing not selfish interests
but those of others.
Fr Cantalamessa’s sermon was in continuity with his
Advent reflections on modern and contemporary obstacles to authentic love, and were
in large measure inspired by the Pope’s own reflections in his Encyclical letters
Deus caritas est and Caritas in veritate.