'Draw near to God to overcome weakness and find lasting joy and happiness', says Pope Benedict XVI
Vatican City, Aug 22, 2007 / 09:04 am (CNA).- By drawing near to God, we are able to overcome our weakness and find lasting joy and happiness, Pope Benedict XVI told the faithful today at his weekly General Audience.As an example, the Holy Father held up St. Gregory Nazianzus, 4th century Doctor of the Church, in the second of a two-part reflection on the saint’s life.
“The life and teaching of Saint Gregory are a celebration of the divine love which is revealed in Christ”, the Pope told the pilgrims gathered in the Paul VI auditorium. “He felt the need to draw near to God to overcome his very real weariness”.
Benedict XVI recalled that for him, “within the drama of a life weighed down by the realization of weakness and misery, the knowledge and experience of God’s love always predominated. You have the duty of the soul, St Gregory tells us, the duty to find the true light, to find the true heights of your life.”
St. Gregory led by example, using his talents for the glory of God, the Pope explained, in particular his academic and oratory skills in countering controversies of the day. He forcefully defended the Church’s faith in one God in three equal and distinct persons, the Pope recalled, and upheld the full humanity of Christ. “To redeem man in his whole body, soul and spirit, Christ had to assume every part of human nature, otherwise man would not have been saved”, the Pope explained. “Against the heresy of Apollinare, who believed Jesus Christ had not assumed a rational soul, Gregory confronts the problem with the light of the mystery of the salvation”.
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 11:27 AM
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