Catholic World News News Feature

Pope, at audience, explains importance of saints August 20, 2008

Pope Benedict XVI encouraged devotion to the saints during his regular weekly audience on Wednesday, August 20.

Speaking to about 4,000 pilgrims in the courtyard of the apostolic palace at Castel Gandolfo, the Holy Father said that the vacation days of summer offer a good opportunity for the faithful to acquaint themselves with the lives of the saints, perhaps reading biographies during their leisure time. The example set by the saints, he said, provide an important reminder that "holiness is not the privilege of the few, but the vocation of all the baptized."

Pope Benedict called special attention to St. Bernard, whose feast the Church was celebrating on August 20. The next day, he pointed out, would bring the feast of St. Pius X. Looking further forward he mentioned the feast of St. Rose of Lima, the first canonized saint of the New World.

The Pontiff quoted two different scholars' perspectives on the importance of the saints for the lives of today's Christians. Hans Urs von Balthasar, he said, saw the saints as offering "the best commentary on the Gospel," since they show how the Word of God can be put into practice. Jean Guitton offered a poetic image, the Poep added, saying that the saints are "like the colors of the spectrum in relation to light, because with their own tones and emphases they each reflect the pure light of God's holiness."