Pope Benedict devoted this morning's catechesis to the Mendicant preaching orders that arose in the life of the Church during the 13th century. At the conclusion of the audience the Holy Father met with the woman who attempted to attack him during the Christmas Midnight Mass at the Vatican to assure her of his forgiveness and spiritual closeness.
VATICAN CITY, 13 JAN 2010 (VIS) - Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis,
during the general audience held this morning in the Paul VI Hall, to the
mendicant orders that came into being in the thirteenth century, focusing onthe most famous: Franciscans and Dominicans founded, respectively, by the Italian Francis of Assisi and the Spanish Dominic de Guzman.
"The saints", said the Pope, "guided by the light of God, are the true
reformers of the life of the Church and society. Teachers by their words and witnesses by their example, they are able to promote stable and profound ecclesial renewal".
Saints such as Francis of Assisi and Dominic de Guzman "were able to read
the 'signs of the times', and discern the challenges the Church of their
time had to face". One of these challenges was the expansion of groups and
movements of faithful who, though inspired by a legitimate desire for
authentic Christian life, often placed themselves outside ecclesial
communion". These groups included the Cathars or Albigensians who revived
such ancient heresies as "disdain for the material world, the negation of
free will and the existence of a principal of evil comparable with God".
Movements such as these proved successful, "not only because they were
well organised, but also because they denounced a disorder that really did
exist in the Church, caused by the un-exemplary behaviour of various members of the clergy".
And yet the Franciscans and Dominicans showed "that it is possible to live
evangelical poverty without separating oneself from the Church". They
rejected not only the possession of material goods but also refused the idea that the community could own lands and estates, living "an extremely sober life in order to remain close to the poor and placing their trust in Providence alone.
"This individual and community lifestyle of the mendicant orders", the
Holy Father added, "united to their complete adherence to Church teaching
and authority, was much appreciated by the Pontiffs of the time, ... who
gave their complete support to these new ecclesial experiences, recognising
in them the voice of the Spirit".
"Today too, though we live in a society in which 'having' often prevails
over 'being', we are still receptive to examples of poverty and solidarity",
Pope Benedict observed, and he recalled how Paul VI had affirmed that "the
world is willing to listen to teachers when they are also witnesses. There
is a lesson that must never be forgotten in the work of spreading the
Gospel: we must ourselves live what we announce, be mirrors of divine
charity".
The mendicant orders likewise responded to the widespread need for
religious instruction felt at the time, preaching and "dealing with topics
close to people's lives, especially the practice of the theological and
moral virtues, using concrete and easily understood arguments".
Because of the importance of the mendicant orders, lay institutions such
as the guilds and civil authorities often consulted them. Thus Franciscans
and Dominicans became "the spiritual animators of mediaeval cities, ...
putting into effect a pastoral strategy that was adapted to the transformations of society". At a time in which the cities were expanding
they built their monasteries in urban areas and travelled from place to
place "abandoning the principle of stability which had characterised
monastic life for many centuries". To this end they adopted a new form of
organisation, "giving greater importance to the order per se and to the
superior general" as opposed to the autonomy which individual monasteries
had enjoyed until then. "Thus they were better prepared to meet the needs of the universal Church".
Another great challenge of the age were the "cultural transformations",
which gave rise to lively debate in universities. The friars did not
hesitate "to enter the universities themselves, as students and teachers,
erecting study centres" of their own "and profoundly influencing the
development of thought".
The Holy Father concluded: "Today too there is a 'charity of and in
truth', an 'intellectual charity' that must be brought into play in order to illuminate minds and associate faith with culture. The commitment shown by Franciscans and Dominicans in mediaeval universities is an invitation to us to remain present in the places where knowledge is produced in order to throw the light of the Gospel, with respect and with conviction, on the
fundamental questions that concern man, his divinity and his eternal destiny".
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