I read today in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald that Pope Benedict “stole the show” at a ceremony celebrating the 65th anniversary of his ordination. According to the AP article by Nicole Winfield, Benedict gave “an off-the-cuff, mini-theology lesson on gratitude sprinkled with Greek and Latin that showed that the mind of the German theologian is still sharp at 89.” Benedict delivered the lesson in Italian; I could hear the Greek verb eucharistomen meaning “we thank,” and a quotation from St. Augustine, cor ad cor loquitur meaning “heart speaks to heart," a reference to his speaking before the cardinals. Benedict also, in his lesson on gratitude, spoke about how Christ benedixit fregit deditque meaning “he blessed broke and gave” the bread to his disciples, but he also gave to all the bread of true life. Benedict hopes that we will transform, transubstantiate, the world from a focus on death to a focus on life.
Because I was tracking down the “Greek and Latin,” I only watched a little of the ceremony on a website called Crux, a Latin word meaning “cross.”
Benedict's whole address lasted just under five minutes.
And the whole ceremony lasts just over an hour...
