Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Benedict examines St. Augustine's path of conversion

Papal trip to Vigevano and Pavia

Rome, Apr 23, 2007 / 07:24 am (CNA).- Enjoying the second day of his pastoral visit Lombardi Dioceses of Vigevano and Pavia, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Holy Mass at the Borromeo College of Pavia. The Holy Father focused his homily on the conversion of Saint Augustine, whose bodily remains the Holy Father visited at an Augustinian Monastery in the area. The conversion of St. Augustine, Benedict said, was not an event, but a path.

The Holy Father began his homily by examining the work done by the Apostles in the work of preaching conversion in this Sunday’s Gospel. “During Easter time,” His Holiness began, “the Church presents us, Sunday by Sunday, some parts of the preaching with which the Apostles, particularly Peter, invited Israel to faith in Jesus Christ.” Before the Sanhedrin today, Peter “responded with a brief catechesis on the essence of the Christian faith.”

“This brief catechesis,” Benedict continued, “is not valid only for the Sanhedrin. It speaks to all of us.” Jesus is, according to the Pope, “the ‘head’ that leads us on the way and the ‘savior’ that justifies our life.” In fact, he said, the keywords of Peter’s catechesis are “conversion” and “pardon for sin,” “which correspond to Christ’s two titles, ‘head’ and ‘savior.’”

The Pope asked what one needs to do to convert. Noting that “conversion has its own, proper form for each life,” he added that “throughout the history of Christianity, the Lord has sent us models of conversion, so that we may orient ourselves by looking at their example.”

Benedict XVI then noted the moving story of conversion found in Augustine’s Confessions. By reading The Confessions Benedict said, “one can see that the conversion was not an event that happened in a particular moment, but was, instead, a path.”
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 12:45 PM