On
the second day of his four day visit to Spain for World Youth Day
celebrations, Pope Benedict met women religious, lay faithful, academics
and university professors at the XVI century monastery of St. Lorenzo
de El Escorial outside Madrid.
Pope
Benedict XVI’s second day on Spanish soil began to the sound of peeling
bells, ringing since early morning from the chapel of the Augustinian
monastery housed within the majestic El Escorial complex.
The monumental
16th century palace which lies beneath the hills beyond
Madrid, was designed by King Philip II of Spain and houses the library
in which the Spanish monarch wanted to gather the works of the greatest
thinkers of his time.
On Friday this UNESCO world heritage site set the
stage for Pope Benedict XVI’s encounter with young academics and
professors and 1600 young women religious.
“In the silence of the
cloister, in our humble service to others we do all we can to help your
mission” a young Spanish nun told the Pope, with a trembling voice that
echoed around the enclosed courtyard of the “Patio de los Reyes”.
The
women all under 40 years of age, many of them novices, representing a
variety of charisms, had welcomed Pope Benedict with an unexpected
clamour, particularly considering that there were - among the
Benedictines, the Pauline family, the Missionaries of Charity and the
Servants of the Divine Master, - many from contemplative orders who had
received special permission to be present at the encounter.
He told
them “In a world of relativism and mediocrity, we need that radicalism
to which your consecration, as a way of belonging to the God who is
loved above all things, bears witness”.
This he emphasized “is all the
more important today when “we see a certain ‘eclipse of God’ taking
place”.
The Pope thanked them for their silent service, for their
prayer; “Thank you for your generous, total and perpetual “yes” to the
call of the Loved One”.
From the sunny courtyard he passed beneath a
delicately sculpted portal into the shade of the Saint Lawrence Basilica
where in stark contrast to the song of the nuns, he was greeted by the
tumultuous applause of over 1,000 young academics.
The ‘Professor Pope’,
had arrived among his fellow professors.
As Pope Benedict made his way
up the long central aisle, the men and women drawn from across Spanish
Universities, Catholic and non-Catholic, precipitated forward to greet
him, their colorful academic hats and robes indicating their various
faculties.
As Pope Benedict moved forward his delight to be among them
was apparent on the broad smile that never left his face.
Professor
of Medieval History at Madrid University, Alejandro Rodriguez del la
Pena, spoke to the Pope of how “today it is not easy to be a witness to
the faith in University circles“ and on behalf of his colleagues asked
for advice.
Pope Benedict began by recalling his own first steps as a
young professor at the University of Bonn:. “At the time, - he said -
the wounds of war were still deeply felt and we had many material needs;
these were compensated by our passion for an exciting activity, our
interaction with colleagues of different disciplines and our desire to
respond to the deepest and most basic concerns of our students”.
He
continued “At times one has the idea that the mission of a university
professor nowadays is exclusively that of forming competent and
efficient professionals” to supply to the jobs market.
Pope Benedict
noted that often it is said “that the only thing that matters” is pure
“technical ability”, a “utilitarian approach” to education which he
warned “is becoming more widespread, even at the university level,
promoted especially by sectors outside the University”.
As professors
Pope Benedict said, we know that when this is happens, much is lost with
potentially tragic results “from the abuses associated with a science
which acknowledges no limits beyond itself, to the political
totalitarianism which easily arises when one eliminates any higher
reference than the mere calculus of power”.
Instead “the authentic idea
of the University, on the other hand, is precisely what saves us from
this reductionist and curtailed vision of humanity”.
Herein said the
Pope lies the vital importance of the professors mission: the honor and
responsibility of transmitting the ideal of the University.
This is
achieved- he said - not simply by teaching, but by the way professors
live and embody their faith, by realizing that truth itself will always
lie beyond our grasp, by remaining humble and always keeping our gaze
fixed on Christ.
“Always remember – he concluded – that teaching is
not just about communicating content, but about forming young people.
You need to understand and love them, to awaken their innate thirst for
truth and their yearning for transcendence. Be for them a source of
encouragement and strength”.