Benedict XVI: Let us rediscover the beauty of being baptized in the Holy Spirit

In his Sunday greetings, the pope urges us to rediscover the beauty of being baptized in the Holy Spirit!

Let us rediscover, dear brothers and sisters, the beauty of being baptized in the Holy Spirit; let us be aware again of our baptism and of our confirmation, sources of grace that are always present.
“Let us ask the Virgin Mary to obtain a renewed Pentecost for the Church again today, a Pentecost that will spread in everyone the joy of living and witnessing to the Gospel.”

You can read the full article here.

And if you want to read the Pope’s homily for Pentecost, you can find it in this page.

Prefer Nothing to the Love of Christ

A wonderful reflection by Pope Benedict XVI on St. Benedict of Nursia. You can find the full article in this page.

One thing that caught my heart is this:

There is a particular aspect of his spirituality, which today I would particularly like to underline. Benedict did not found a monastic institution oriented primarily to the evangelization of barbarian peoples, as other great missionary monks of the time, but indicated to his followers that the fundamental, and even more, the sole objective of existence is the search for God: “Quaerere Deum.”

He knew, however, that when the believer enters into a profound relationship with God he cannot be content with living in a mediocre way, with a minimalist ethic and superficial religiosity. In this light, one understands better the expression that Benedict took from St. Cyprian and that is summarized in his Rule (IV, 21) — the monks’ program of life: “Nihil amori Christi praeponere.” “Prefer nothing to the love of Christ.”

Pope Benedict’s homily during Easter

Wonderful reflection, check these two homilies:

• Easter Vigil homily
• Easter homily

Do we not perhaps also allow idols to enter even into the world of our faith?

This is the question asked by the pope in his homily during Palm Sunday. You can read the full in this article

It is a wonderful reflection. The one that caught my attention is the following paragraph

Benedict XVI said that Christ’s zeal for the temple should lead Christians of today to reflect: “Is our faith pure and open enough that, beginning from it, the ‘pagans’ — the persons today who are seeking and have their questions — can also intuit the light of the one God, can associate themselves with our prayer in the atriums of faith and by their seeking perhaps become worshippers?
“Does the awareness that greed is idolatry also reach our heart and our life practices? Do we not perhaps also allow idols to enter even into the world of our faith? Are we disposed to let the Lord purify us again and again, allowing him to chase out of us and the Church what is contrary to him?”

(emphasis mine)