Father Z on The Holy Father's Sermon at St. Patrick's

I just wanted to post a bit of Father Z's insights into the Holy Father's Sermon. Please visit his site, you will not be disappointed! He has the entire sermon with his annotations.

Truly amazing.

I am struck by the use of the Gothic architecture.

Medieval architecture is distinguished by its "articulation", its division into balanced defined parts or sections.

"Articulation" comes from the Latin word artus, "joint", as in the knuckle or your fingers or joints of your limbs. Think of St. Thomas Aquinas, who wrote in "articles". Ancient and medieval teachers would organize their arguments and present each point while holding up a hand, palm outward, and pointing to the joints of their fingers as they delivered their points.

In a sense, the articulation of a gothic structure reveals the same organization of thought. It is highly rational, which gives structure to faith. Pope Benedict has been very interested in the question of the priority of faith and of reason and how they fit together. This sermon reveals decades of deep reflection on this relationship of faith and reason.

The Holy Father has articulated a foundation for a new view on the part of clergy for the Church in the United States and their vocations for and within it.

For those of you who don't know the Reverend Father please check out this link.