"The Reality of Realities": On God, Conversion, and the Priesthood

"The Reality of Realities": On God, Conversion, and the Priesthood | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | April 13, 2011 | Ignatius Insight

"Neither material things, nor money, nor buildings, nor any of the things I can possess constitute the essential, or reality. The reality of realities is God. This invisible reality seemingly far away from us, is the reality."
-- Pope Benedict XVI, Audience with Parish Priests of Rome, March 10, 2011 ( "Faithful Workers in the Lord's Vineyard," L'Osservatore Romano, English, March 23, 2011)

I.

The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861. On March 27^th of that same year, Rome, though still in the hands of the Papacy, was declared the capital of united Italy. This year, 2011, is also the sixtieth anniversary of the Holy Father's ordination to the priesthood. In letters to the Italian President (March 16) and in a discourse to the National Association of Italian Municipalities (12 March), the Pope noted the unique relation of Italy with regard to the Church in its midst. To Mr. Georgio Napolitano, the Italian President, Benedict wrote of the "history of this beloved country, capital if which is Rome, the city in which "divine Providence has established the See of the Successor of the Apostle Peter." The See of Peter, then, is not in Rome for merely technical or political reasons, though there is a lively history of its being and remaining there.

To the Italian mayors, Benedict recalled the broader context of the presence of the Church in any civil society: "The Church demands no privileges but only asks to be able to carry out her mission freely, as effective respect for religious freedom requires. In Italy religious freedom permits the collaboration that exists between the civil and ecclesial communities. Unfortunately in other countries Christian minorities are all too often victims of discrimination and persecution." The Pope does not name the countries in which this "discrimination and persecution" exists.

The Pope likewise addresses the Roman clergy, whom he meets every year. He goes over a "lectio divina," with them. The reflective reading together this year was of a passage from the Acts of the Apostles (20: 17-38). Here, Paul explains nothing less than how to be a priest. But Benedict also begins with a reference to the uniqueness and importance of Rome and its clergy. He thanks this clergy "for the work you do for the Church of Rome, which—according to St Ignatius (of Antioch)—presides in charity and must also always be exemplary in her faith. Let us do all we can together to ensure that this Church of Rome measure up to her vocation...."

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