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Thursday, August 21, 2008

A Study of Saints

Angelino Medoro [1567-1631]
Saint Rose of Lima (Santa Rosa de Lima) (20 April 1586 – 24 August 1617): Posthumous portrait (1617)
Oil on canvas
Basílica Santuario de Santa Rosa, Lima




Pope Benedict XVI says it is important and advantageous to cultivate devotion to the saints, and recommends vacation as a good time to study their lives.

The Pope said this yesterday at the general audience, during which he reflected on several saints whose feastdays are celebrated in these weeks. He mentioned Sts. John Eudes, Bernard of Clairvaux, Pius X, Rose of Lima, and the celebration of the Queenship of Mary.

"Dear brothers and sisters," he said, "day after day the Church offers us the possibility to walk in the company of the saints."

The Pontiff recalled how Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote that the saints are the most important Gospel commentary and represent for us "a real path of access to Jesus."

And he noted how Jean Guitton described saints as "'the colors of the spectrum in relation with the light,' because with their own hues and accents each one of them reflects the light of God's holiness."

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