Happy Name Day, Papa

In Europe, name days are celebrated the way birthdays are here in the United States. Today is the feast of St. Benedict, whose name Joseph Ratzinger took upon his elevation to the papacy. Here is what the Holy Father had to say about it yesterday in his Angelus address:

Before leading the Angelus prayer, the Pope called attention to the feast of St. Benedict, the founder of the Benedictine order and patron of Europe, which falls on July 11. He remarked that St. Benedict "sowed the seed of a new civilization" in Europe, forming a Christian culture in a pagan world. Pope Benedict remarked that today's world needs urgently to recover a central insight of St. Benedict's message: "Place nothing before the love of Christ." That insight, he said, counteracts "a mediocre life marked by minimalist ethics and superficial religiosity."

The Holy Father added that St. Benedict is "particularly dear to me, as you can deduce from the choice that I made to take his name" upon being elected to the papacy. He observed that St. Benedict founded his religious order not to convert the world but to serve God completely-- and conversions came as a natural consequence. Today, he said, the Church also needs "to anchor life and history to solid spiritual references."

From CWNews.com.