Today, the Pope resumed the General Audiences in St. Peter’s Square, and continued his series on the Early Church Fathers – today being Gregory of Nyssa. No full translation of the catechesis yet, but at PRF, there is a good summary from a news service:
He devoted the catechesis today to St. Gregory of Nissa, brother of St. Basil and friend like him of St. Gregory Nazianzene – the two Father of the Church to whom the Pope had dedicated his four previous catecheses (two each for each one).
The Pope said St. Gregory of Nissa’s teachings invited man “to recognize in himself the reflection of divine light.”
“Man’s ultimate purpose is the contemplation of God,” he said. “Only thus can he find his satisfaction. To anticipate this goal in some measure during life, he should progress incessantly towards a spiritual life that is increasingly more perfect.”
He said “the most important lesson St. Gregory of Nissa left us is that ‘man finds his full realization in sainthood.”
he called him ‘the father of mysticism’, one who was “gifted with a meditative character, with a great capacity for reflection, and a lively intelligence which was open to the culture of this time.”
After the death of St. Basil, the Pope said, St. Gregory of Nissa virtually “took up his spiritual legacy and cooperated in the triumph of (Catholic) orthodoxy.”
St. Gregory “recognized in himself the reflection of divine light.” Speaking beyond his prepared text, the Pope added, “By purifying his heart, he returned to being – as man was before – a limpid image of God, exemplary beauty. Thus man can see God, as do the pure of heart, only by washing out the terrible things deposited in our hearts, can one find the light of God.”
At the end of the general audience, the Pope extended a special greeting to a delegation from San Marino “who have gathered here today for the 25th anniversary of the visit made by my beloved predecessor John Paul II to that country.”
“Dear friends,” the Pope said to the 24-man delegation, “may the memory of that significant event inspire you to a renewed adherence to God, fountain of light, hope and peace.”
The delegation was accompanied by the Bishop of San Marino-Montefeltro, Mons. Luigi Negri.
Finally, Benedict XVI invited the faithful to pray for the victims of the floods in Asia as well as the disastrous summer fires in Greece and other parts of Europe.
“In these days,” he said, “some geographic regions are devastated by great calamities. I refer to the floods in some Asian countries, as well as the disastrous fires in Greece, Italy and other European nations.”
To the appreciative applause of the audience, he said, “Before such tragic emergencies which have created so many victims and enormous material damage. we cannot be unconcerned about the irresponsible behavior of those who place the safety of persons at risk and destroy the ecological patrimony which is a precious asset for all of humanity.”