“As is the case with all true disciples of Jesus, the pope has experienced much suffering, but it seems that this disciple has learned to speak of the suffering that brings salvation more than others.”
These are the words of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, spoken at a celebration held at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of Karol Wojtyla's doctorate. The meeting, which took place on November 5, 1998, was organized by the Congregation for Catholic Education along with the pontifical universities and academies in Rome.
The lecture by Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was entitled “Sapiential Theology (from Latin sapientia – wisdom): The Concern of John Paul II for the Third Millennium.” In his speech, the cardinal stated: “I believe that understanding the sapiential dimension that spans the entire theological reflection of the current pope can be helped by two women, both belonging to the Carmelite Order.” With a clever wordplay, the cardinal continued: “One is a saint whom he declared 'Teacher,' and the other is a Teacher whom he declared a saint.” (“Sono una Santa dichiarata da lui ‘Dottore’, e una Dottoressa, dichiarata da lui ‘Santa’.”) The first, Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, is a girl who allowed the sanctity to shine through the simplicity of her young heart, and thanks to John Paul II, it was revealed that she is wise enough to be declared a Doctor of the Church. The second, Saint Thérèse Benedicta of the Cross, is a young woman devoted to science, a philosopher who, through the knowledge of the cross to a consciously accepted martyrdom, learned that mysterious wisdom, which is born from lived holiness. One is the patroness of missions, a sign of the universal openness of salvation, the other is a Jewish woman who converted to the Catholic faith, a sign of that reconciliation between fathers and sons.” (Cf. Mal 3:24.) In the lives of both, we find holiness that becomes wisdom and wisdom that becomes holiness, in a single intention of love and the salvation of people. Both are wise, meaning they know that wisdom which is revealed only to those who have found in the cross the keystone of their existence.”
During his profound reflection on the thoughts of these two modern mystics, the cardinal clarified: “In this noble fabric of the wisdom of the heart and the wisdom of the cross, we can now discern the true origin of the fervor that inspires this pope. John Paul II is a man who has rediscovered the crucified wisdom through his own lived suffering, which he learned in his youth from the works of St. John of the Cross. It is already impossible to think of this pope without conjuring up his face, in which the features of pain are already indelibly etched, pain borne and sacrificed in connection with ushering the Church into the third millennium.” Cardinal Ratzinger revealed that once the pope let slip: “It was necessary for (the Church in the third millennium) to be ushered in through suffering…” This is the wisdom that was needed in a time that hides pain everywhere as shame…”
Then the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith quoted a Russian author and said: “‘The idea of God descending into the world, voluntarily suffering and taking on a share of human and cosmic suffering, the idea of the God-man who suffers, is the only possible theodicy (i.e., a defense of the existence of God and His attributes built on rational knowledge), the only convincing justification for God.’ Perhaps this pain was precisely needed for the human heart to become wise again, to acquire that wisdom which springs from the painful yet joyful mystery, a mystery in history still present, and yet still less known to human hearts: the mystery of Jesus' Easter.”
(CITOC 1999/1, translated from Italian by P. Vojtěch of St. Hedwig OCD.)
