Get acquainted with saints, Pope tells audience

CWN - August 25, 2010

“Everyone should have a saint who is familiar to him,” Pope Benedict XVI told his weekly public audience on August 25. The faithful, he said, should become familiar with saints, and recognize them both as intercessors and as models for imitation, and thus as companions on the road to salvation.

The Pope told the crowd at his summer residence that he felt a special kinship with “St. Joseph and St. Benedict, after whom I am named, and among others there is St. Augustine.” His devotion to St. Augustine, he said, grew from his study of the great theologian, and his admiration for his “restless and constant search for truth.”

St. Augustine, the Pontiff continued, was relentless in that quest, even when it was difficult; “he never stopped, he was never satisfied with what gave him only a glimmer of light.” Ultimately the saint realized that “it was not he who found the Truth, but Truth itself-- which is God-- pursued him and found him."

Pope Benedict contrasted this quest by St. Augustine with the tendency of the modern mind to avoid tough questions, to distract oneself with passing things. He exhorted his audience: “Have no fear of the Truth. Never stop your journey toward it.”

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($34,555 to go):
$80,000.00 $45,444.82
43% 57%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

There are no comments yet for this item.

Catholic World News Email Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

Learning from the sick, and from the death of a child 18 hours ago
The case for change in Irish abortion law: based on a framework of falsehood 22 hours ago
The Smell of the Sheep May 16
Too many missing funds: Catholic institutions need tighter financial controls May 16
What capitalists should learn from the Pope's critique May 16

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Pope strongly supports call for reform in religious life CWN - May 8