VATICAN CITY, MAY 2, 2007 (VIS) - During his general audience this morning, the Pope returned to consider the figure of Origen, the famous third century historian. Last week the Holy Father had focussed on the life of this Father of the Church and on his literary works, this week he turned to Origen's teachings on prayer and the Church.
Origen, the Pope told the 30,000 people gathered in a rain-swept St. Peter's Square, "constantly intertwines his exegetical and theological works with experiences and suggestions concerning prayer."
For Origen "the understanding of Scripture requires, more even than study, intimacy with Christ and prayer. He is convinced that the best way to know God is love, and that there can be no true 'scientia Christi' without being enamoured of Him."
"The highest level of knowledge of God flows from love," said the Pope. To demonstrate this, Origen "bases himself upon a meaning sometimes given to the verb 'to know' in Hebrew: when it is used to express the act of human love. ... Just as man and woman are 'two in one flesh,' so God and the believer become 'two in one spirit'."
Benedict XVI then turned to another of Origen's teachings, this time concerning the Church and the "common priesthood" of the faithful. "Purity and honesty of life," said the Pope, and "faith and study of the Scriptures are the indispensable conditions for exercising the universal priesthood. Even more so, then, are they indispensable for the exercise of the priestly ministry.
"These conditions - integrity of life and welcoming and studying the Word - create a true 'hierarchy of sanctity' in the common priesthood of the Christian faithful," the Holy Father added. "Origen places martyrdom at the peak of this journey of perfection. ... This tireless journey of perfection concerns us all, so long as the gaze of our hearts is turned to contemplation of the Knowledge and the Truth that is Jesus Christ."
AG/ORIGEN/... VIS 20070502 (340)
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