In address to Foundation, Looks at Philosopher's Writings on Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov"
Friday, November 13, 2015
Guardini Has Much to Say to the People of Today, Says Pope Franci
In address to Foundation, Looks at Philosopher's Writings on Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov"
Rome,
November 13, 2015 (ZENIT.org)
This morning, the Pope received
in audience members of the Romano Guardini Foundation attending a Congress
promoted by the Pontifical Gregorian University to commemorate the 150th
anniversary of the birth of the Italian-born German priest, theologian and
writer.
During the audience, the president
of the foundation, Professor Ludwig von Pufendorf, announced the imminent
publication of a previously unpublished text by Guardini who, as the Holy
Father affirmed, “has much to say to the people of our time, and not only
Christians."
Francis recalled that Guardini,
in his book “The Religious World of Dostoevsky”, cites the episode in “The
Brothers Karamazov” in which a peasant confesses to the starec (the spiritual
guide of Orthodox monasteries) that she had killed her sick husband who had
mistreated her throughout his life. The starec notes that the woman,
desperately aware of her guilt, is entirely closed in on herself and that any
reflection, comfort or counsel would meet this wall. The woman is convinced she
is condemned; however, the priest shows her the way out. Her life has meaning,
because God will receive her at the moment of repentance. He urges her not to
be afraid since there is not, and there cannot be, a sin on earth that God
cannot forgive to those who repent sincerely, nor can there be a sin so great
that it exhausts God's infinite love. In confession the woman is transformed
and receives new hope.
“The simplest people understand what
this is about”, said the Pope. “They perceive the greatness that shines in the
starec's wisdom and the strength of his love. They understand what holiness
means, that is, an existence lived in faith, able to see that God is close to
man, that He holds their life in His hands. In this respect, Guardini says,
that by accepting with simplicity existence in the hand of God, personal will transforms
into divine will and in this way, without the creature ceasing to be only a
creature and God truly God, their living unity is brought about."
For Guardini, this “living unity”
with God consists of the concrete relationship of people with the world and
with others around them. “The individual feels a part of the fabric of the
population, that is, in an original union of men that by type, country and
historical evolution in life and destinies are a single entity”. The author of
“The Meaning of the Church” considered the concept of “population” as the
“compendium of what in man is genuine, profound and substantial. We are able to
recognise in the population, as in a mirror, “field of the force of divine
action”.
“Perhaps we can apply Guardini's
reflections to our own time, seeking to uncover the hand of God in current
events”, observed the Holy Father. “In this way we will perhaps be able to
recognise that God, in His wisdom, sent us, in rich Europe, the hungry to be
fed, the thirsty to slake their thirst, the stranger to be welcomed and the
naked to be clothed. History then shows this: if we are a population, we will
certainly welcome these as our brothers; if we are merely a group of
individuals, we will be tempted only to save our own skins, but we will have no
continuity”.
The Pope greeted the members of the
Foundation, expressing his hope that Guardini's work will help them
increasingly to understand the meaning and value of the Christian foundations
of culture and society.
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