{"id":1294,"date":"2012-10-10T16:54:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-10T16:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/pope-calls-vatican-ii-a-moment-of-grace-in-church-history\/"},"modified":"2012-10-10T16:54:00","modified_gmt":"2012-10-10T16:54:00","slug":"pope-calls-vatican-ii-a-moment-of-grace-in-church-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/10\/pope-calls-vatican-ii-a-moment-of-grace-in-church-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope calls Vatican II a ‘moment of grace’ in Church history"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vatican City, Oct 10, 2012 \/ 10:54 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council\u2019s opening, Pope Benedict XVI described it as a \u201cmoment of grace\u201d in the recent history of the Church.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe Second Vatican Council is a strong call for us to rediscover the beauty of our faith every day, to nourish a deeper understanding of it, a more intense relationship with the Lord, to truly live our Christian vocation,\u201d the Pope said during his Oct. 10 general audience.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cMay the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ and of the whole Church,\u201d he prayed, \u201chelp us to realize and to fulfill all that the Council Fathers, inspired by the Holy Spirit, guarded in their heart: the desire that all may know the Gospel and meet the Lord Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Pope offered \u201csome brief thoughts \u2026 on the great ecclesial event that was the Council\u201d to the more than 20,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter\u2019s Square.<\/p>\n

\tDuring the 1962-65 council, Pope Benedict XVI attended as the chief theological advisor or \u201cperitus\u201d to Cardinal Joseph Frings of Cologne.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt was a unique experience for me, after all the fervor and enthusiasm of preparation, I could see a living Church,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

\tThe Pope remembered the great sight of over 3,000 bishops from around the world \u201cgathered under the guidance of the Successor of the Apostle Peter\u201d at \u201cthe school of the Holy Spirit, the true driving force of the Council.\u201d At few other times, he suggested, have people been able to \u201calmost concretely \u2018touch\u2019 the universality of the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe also recalled the \u201cthe surprise of the small group of cardinals\u201d who were present at the Roman basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls when Pope John XXIII announced the convening of the Second Vatican Council in January 1959. Unlike the previous general councils of the Church, there \u201cwere no particular errors of faith to correct or condemn,\u201d nor were there \u201cspecific issues of doctrine or discipline to be clarified,\u201d Pope Benedict explained.<\/p>\n

\tThe reason for the Council, Benedict XVI said, was spelled out by Pope John in his opening speech when he stated that \u201cfaith had to speak in a \u2018renewed,\u2019 more incisive way\u201d in a rapidly changing world, while \u201ckeeping its perennial contents\u201d and \u201cwithout giving in or compromising.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe Pope wanted the Church to reflect on her faith, on the truths that guide her, but this serious, in-depth reflection on faith, had to outline the relationship between the Church and the modern age,\u201d Pope Benedict noted.<\/p>\n

\tBorrowing a phrase from Blessed Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict described the documents that emerged from the council\u2019s discussion as \u201ca sure compass\u201d for the Church in the contemporary world.<\/p>\n

\tFifty years after the start of the council, Catholics \u201cmust learn the simplest and most basic lesson of the Council,\u201d he said, \u201cnamely that Christianity in its essence consists in faith in God, which is love of the Trinity, and in the encounter, both personal and communal, with Christ who directs and guides life.\u201d From this understanding \u201ceverything else follows.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vatican City, Oct 10, 2012 \/ 10:54 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s opening, Pope Benedict XVI described it as a “moment of grace” in the recent history of the Church. <\/p>\n

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