Didn't He Do Well

Pope Benedict is a most astonishing man.  There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit has chosen the right man for these times.  The recent visit to Spain was a triumph and, once again, he silenced his critics.  The gay activists were out kissing in the streets in protest, Benedict didn't bat an eyelid and just got on with preaching the Gospel. 

I noted with interest the profound respect the royal family showed to the Pope.  First the Prince and Princess of Asturias bowed low and kissed his hand, and then the next day, in Barcelona, the King and Queen did the same.   I wonder how that went down with Spanish secularists and atheists.  Interestingly part of the King's official title is "His Catholic Majesty", so traditionally the Spanish monarchy cherish close ties with the papacy (when politically expedient, of course).  I would have liked to have seen the King make a stand when it came to recent abortion legislation, unlike the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and the Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein, he signed a more liberal abortion act into law.  He is a good man, and if he had refused not onlu would it have produced a constitutional crisis in Spain, but would have also send a message to the Spanish government that His Catholic Majesty would not cooperate with the destruction of innocent human life.

Interestingly, this was the pope's message during his trip as he encouraged Spanish Catholics to stay true to their faith, reminding them of the great Christian heritage which was theirs, and the of the many great Saints and Founders who have emerged from among their countrymen and women.  In a strong homily in Santiago he defended the faith with a passion which would have rallied St James himself.  The dedication of Gaudi's Church of the Sagrada Familia and its elevation to the level of Basilica, was the perfect opportunity for the pope to take on the anti-family, anti-marriage and anti-life agenda of modern European secularism, and he did so in his usual poetic and gentle way, extolling the faith of the Servant of God, Antoni Gaudi, and culminating in this marvellous paragraph:

This church began as an initiative of the Association of the Friends of Saint Joseph, who wanted to dedicate it to the Holy Family of Nazareth. The home formed by Jesus, Mary and Joseph has always been regarded as a school of love, prayer and work. The promoters of this church wanted to set before the world love, work and service lived in the presence of God, as the Holy Family lived them. Life has changed greatly and with it enormous progress has been made in the technical, social and cultural spheres. We cannot simply remain content with these advances. Alongside them, there also need to be moral advances, such as in care, protection and assistance to families, inasmuch as the generous and indissoluble love of a man and a woman is the effective context and foundation of human life in its gestation, birth, growth and natural end. Only where love and faithfulness are present can true freedom come to birth and endure. For this reason the Church advocates adequate economic and social means so that women may find in the home and at work their full development, that men and women who contract marriage and form a family receive decisive support from the state, that life of children may be defended as sacred and inviolable from the moment of their conception, that the reality of birth be given due respect and receive juridical, social and legislative support. For this reason the Church resists every form of denial of human life and gives its support to everything that would promote the natural order in the sphere of the institution of the family.

Can't put it any better than that!   He ends his sermon with a renewal of the call to holiness and a prayer to Our Lady, the April Rose - the title of affection of Our Lady of Monserrat.  I hope his words were heard by those who need to hear them, and give courage to Spanish Catholics to profess unashamedy, and live without fear, their ancient Catholic faith.  I noticed this morning the press are furious, that can only be good.

Got to love this - the Holy Father and the great botafumiero of Santiago de Compostela, I'm sure the video is all over the net, but I have to include it - this is liturgy!  Every church should have one of these! If for nothing else but to take out a few liturgists!  (There I go again, back to confession!)