Since the passing of the great pope Benedict XVI, I’ve spent a lot of time contemplating how to pay tribute to this man of God. He was one of the greatest theological minds of the past 100 years. Where does one start? It finally dawned on me that the best way to pay tribute is to share some of the words of Benedict XVI himself. What can we learn from the man known as “God’s Rottweiler?” Much. Below reflect a modest collection of quotes on a variety of important topics for modern Catholics.
The Good and True
Relativism, by indiscriminately giving value to practically everything, has made ‘experience’ all-important. Yet, experiences, detached from any consideration of what is good or true, can lead, not to genuine freedom, but to moral or intellectual confusion, to a lowering of standards, to a loss of self-respect, and even to despair. World Youth Day, Sydney, July 17th, 2008
Dictatorship of Relativism
Having a clear faith based on the Creed of the church is often labeled as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, that is, letting oneself be ‘tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine,’ seems the only attitude that can cope with modern times. We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one’s own ego and desires. Homily, April 18th, 2005
The God of Reason
The God in whom we believe is a God of reason — a reason, to be sure, which is not a kind of cold mathematics of the universe but is one with love and with goodness. We make our prayer to God, and we appeal to humanity, that this reason — the logic of love and the recognition of the power of reconciliation and peace — may prevail over the threats arising from irrationalism or from a spurious and godless reason. Visit to the Auschwitz Camp, May 28th, 2006
Evil of Abortion
Everyone must be helped to become aware of the intrinsic evil of the crime of abortion. In attacking human life in its very first stages, it is also an aggression against society itself. Politicians and legislators, therefore, as servants of the common good, are duty bound to defend the fundamental right to life, the fruit of God’s love. Meeting with the presidents of Latin American episcopal commissions for family and life, December 3rd, 2005
The Believer’s Role Building Social Order
It is inconceivable, then, that believers should have to suppress a part of themselves — their faith — in order to be active citizens. It should never be necessary to deny God in order to enjoy one’s rights. … The full guarantee of religious liberty cannot be limited to the free exercise of worship but has to give due consideration to the public dimension of religion, and hence to the possibility of believers playing their part in building the social order. Speech at the United Nations, April 18, 2008
The Lie of Freedom Found in Sin
The human being does not trust God. Tempted by the serpent, he harbors the suspicion that in the end, God takes something away from his life, that God is a rival who curtails our freedom and that we will be fully human only when we have cast him aside; in brief, that only in this way can we fully achieve our freedom. Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. December 8th, 2005
The Way God Saves
The Lord God did not counter the threats of history with external power, as we human beings would expect according to the prospects of our world. His weapon is goodness. He revealed himself as a child, born in a stable. This is precisely how he counters with his power, completely different from the destructive powers of violence. In this very way he saves us. In this very way he shows us what saves. Christmas Blessing, December 22nd, 2005
Confession Needed to Clean the Soul
It is very helpful to confess with a certain regularity. It is true: our sins are always the same, but we clean our homes, our rooms, at least once a week, even if the dirt is always the same, in order to live in cleanliness, in order to start again. Otherwise, the dirt might not be seen, but it builds up. Something similar can be said about the soul. Catechesis, October 15th, 2005
Sex and Gender Denial
These words lay the foundation for what is put forward today under the term ‘gender’ as a new philosophy of sexuality. According to this philosophy, sex is no longer a given element of nature that man has to accept and personally make sense of: it is a social role that we choose for ourselves, while in the past it was chosen for us by society. The profound falsehood of this theory and of the anthropological revolution contained within it is obvious. People dispute the idea that they have a nature, given by their bodily identity, that serves as a defining element of the human being. They deny their nature and decide that it is not something previously given to them, but that they make it for themselves. Address to the Roman Curia, December 21st, 2012
Marriage: The Foundation of Society Itself
The good that the church and society as a whole expect from marriage and from the family founded upon marriage is so great as to call for full pastoral commitment to this particular area. Marriage and the family are institutions that must be promoted and defended from every possible misrepresentation of their true nature, since whatever is injurious to them is injurious to society itself. Exhortation, Sacramentum Caritatis, February 22nd, 2007
Cafeteria Catholicism
Christians often do not even know the central core of their own Catholic faith, the Creed, so that they leave room for a certain syncretism and religious relativism, blurring the truths to believe in as well as the salvific uniqueness of Christianity. The risk of fabricating, as it were, a “do-it-yourself” religion is not so far off today. Instead we must return to God, to the God of Jesus Christ, we must rediscover the Gospel message and make it enter our consciences and our daily life more deeply. General Audience, October 17th, 2012
A Prayer for the Repose of the Soul of Benedict XVI
O God, who in your wondrous providence chose your servant Benedict to preside over your Church, grant, we pray, that, having served as the Vicar of your Son on earth, he may be welcomed by him into eternal glory. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.
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