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Mary G
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| Posted: Jan 23 2006 at 9:16am | IP Logged
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If y'all have anyone reading Dante's Divine Comedy -- you might want to have them look at the talk Pope Benedict gave when he addressed the Cor Unum group.
Here's an excerpt:
VATICAN CITY, JAN 23, 2006 (VIS) - This morning, Benedict XVI participated in a congress organized by the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum." The event is being held in the Vatican's New Synod Hall on January 23 and 24, and its theme, taken from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, is: " ... But the greatest of these is love."
In his address, the Holy Father made frequent reference to his first Encyclical, "Deus caritas est," which is due to be published on Wednesday, January 25.
"The cosmic journey in which Dante, in his 'Divine Comedy,' wishes to involve the reader," the Pope began, "ends before the eternal light that is God Himself, before that Light which is, at the same time, 'the love that moves the sun and the other stars'."
The God Who appears in Dante's central circle of light "has a human face and, we may add, a human heart. Dante's vision shows the continuity between the Christian faith in God and research based on reason; ... at the same time, however, there appears a novelty that goes beyond all human research: ... the novelty of a love that impelled God to assume a human face, to take on flesh and blood. ... The 'eros' of God is not just a primordial cosmic force, it is the love that created human beings and stretches reaches out towards them."
"The word 'love,' is so overused today," the Pope continued, "that one is almost afraid to pronounce it. Yet, ... it is the expression of a primordial reality, ... and we must retrieve it, ... so that it may illuminate our lives. ... This awareness is what induced me to choose love as the theme of my first Encyclical. I wanted to try and express, for our own times and our own lives, something of that which Dante encapsulated in his vision."
Faith should become "a vision-understanding that transforms us," said the Holy Father. "I wanted to highlight the centrality of faith in God, in the God Who assumed a human face and a human heart. ... In an age in which ... we are witnessing the abuse of religion even unto the apotheosis of hatred, ... we have need of the living God Who loved us even unto death. Thus, in this Encyclical, the themes of God, Christ and Love are fused together as a central guide to the Christian faith."
"A first reading of the Encyclical could perhaps give rise to the impression that it is divided into two parts with little in common between them: a first theoretical part discussing the essence of love, and a second part covering ecclesial charity and charitable organizations. Yet I was interested precisely in the unity between the two themes, only if seen as a single thing can they be properly understood. ... On the basis of the Christian image of God, it was necessary to show how man was created to love, and how this love, which initially appears above all as 'eros' between man and woman, must then be internally transformed into 'agape,' into the giving of self to others."
"On this basis, it was necessary to clarify how the essence of the love for God and for others, ... is the core of Christian life, the fruit of faith." Then, "in the second part, it was necessary to highlight that the totally personal act of 'agape' can never remain a purely individual issue, rather it must also become an essential act of the Church as community; in other words, it also needs the institutional form that finds expression in the community activity of the Church."
The Pope concluded: "The ecclesial organization of charity is not a form of social assistance, a casual addition to the reality of the Church. ... Rather, it is part of the nature of the Church, ... [and] must in some way make the living God visible. ... The spectacle of suffering man touches our hearts. But charitable commitment has a meaning that goes well beyond simple philanthropy. It is God Himself Who encourages us from within our most intimate selves to alleviate misery. ... It is He Himself Whom we carry into a suffering world. The greater the awareness and clarity with which we bear Him as a gift, the more effectively will our love change the world."
AC/ENCYCLICAL:LOVE/COR UNUM &n bsp; &n bsp; &n bsp; &n bsp;VIS 060123 (740)
This ties in with his enclyclical that is due out on the 25th of January.
Enjoy!
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MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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Kelly
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| Posted: March 29 2006 at 10:36pm | IP Logged
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I've been meaning to post this for ages and keep forgetting, but if anyone is doing a unit on Dante, they might consider letting their highschool students read Matthew Pearl's recent novel, "The Dante Club"---about a real club, lead by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, that reuned regularly to put heads together and assisthim in his English translation of Dante. Of course, the book goes beyond fact, to incorporate a rather grisley murder mystery (hence it being for highschoolers and beyond), but I thought it was very well written, and really made Dante, and Longfellow, come alive. Moms might want to preview it beforehand to see if you're comfortable with it for your students, but I thought it was a thumping good read.
We happened to visit Longfellow's home this summer, and I simply couldn't get this book (which I read two years ago) out of my head. I asked the docents there if they had met Matt Pearl and they laughingly said he practically lived there while he was writing the book!
Kelly in FL
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Kathryn UK
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| Posted: March 30 2006 at 6:47am | IP Logged
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Nobody here doing a Dante unit, but I now have The Dante Club on order from the library for me. 
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Kathryn
Dh Michael,  Rachel(3/95) Hannah(8/98) Naomi(6/06)  (11/07)
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Kelly
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| Posted: March 30 2006 at 8:29pm | IP Logged
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Hope you like it, Kathryn. It's quite different from the Chalet School, but, hey....
Kelly in FL
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Shari in NY
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| Posted: April 11 2006 at 8:26am | IP Logged
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Not to knock the Chalet school or unit studies, but I'm reading Dante just because I've never read him before. And I'm heading to the library today, and I could use a break between Purgatory and Heaven (just not ready yet,  ) I hope they have this.
Shari in NY
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Shari in NY
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| Posted: April 11 2006 at 8:27am | IP Logged
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And Mary, thanks for posting Pope Benedict"s word on Dante and Caritas Deus Est. Very interesting.
Shari in NY
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Kelly
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| Posted: April 11 2006 at 9:08am | IP Logged
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Shari, let me know if you like the book. It might be the anodyne you seek (and still keep you on track with Dante...somewhat...) 
Kelly in FL
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Kathryn UK
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| Posted: April 11 2006 at 2:20pm | IP Logged
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I'm enjoying it Kelly - posted about it on my blog yesterday  . And Shari, I think you will enjoy it too  .
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Kathryn
Dh Michael, Rachel(3/95) Hannah(8/98) Naomi(6/06) (11/07)
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: For a Dante Unit
