This morning at Castel Gandolfo, Pope emeritus Benedict XVI received a Doctorate hororis causa from the Pontifical John Paul II University in Krakow and from the Academy of Music of Krakow (Poland).
The two degrees were conferred by His Eminence, Stanisław Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical John Paul II University.
Your Eminence!
Your Excellencies!
Distinguished Professors!
Ladies and Gentlemen!
At this moment, I cannot but express my greatest and most cordial thanks for the honour that you have bestowed upon my by conferring the degree of Doctorate honoris causa. I thank the Grand Chancellor, our beloved Cardinal Sanisław Dziwisz and the Academic authorities as well as both Universities. I am particularly happy because in this way, my relationships with Poland, with Krakow and with the country of our great Saint John Paul II have been strengthened. Without him, my spiritual and theological journeys would never even have been imaginable. Through the example he set, he showed us how the joy of great sacred music and the task of common participation in the Sacred Liturgy can go hand in hand: a solemn joy and the simplicity of a humble celebration of faith.
In the years following the Council, an ancient conflict came to life with renewed passion. I myself grew up in Salzburg and was marked by the great traditions of that city. Attending festive masses accompanied by choirs and orchestras was an integral part of our experience of faith in the celebration of the liturgy. I still retain indelible impressions in my memory such as, for example, not only hearing the first notes of Mozart's Coronation Mass, but it was as though the sky would open up and I could taste deeply the presence of the Lord. Thanks also to you - who allowed me to hear Mozart and the Choir: you are wonderful singers! - Besides all this, however, there was nonetheless already present, the new reality of the liturgical movement, above all through one of our chaplains who later became vice-regent and then rector of the Major Seminary at Freising. During my studies at Monaco in Bavaria then, very concretely I entered even more into the liturgical movement though the lectures of Professor Pascher, one of the most significant experts at the Council in liturgical matters, and especially through the liturgical life of the seminary community. This is how, little by little, the tension between active participation in conformity to the liturgy and the solemn music enveloped the sacred actions, even though they had not yet begun to grow strong.
The Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Liturgy says very clearly: The heritage of Sacred Music should always be conserved and fostered with great care (SC, 114). On the other hand, the text points out the importance of active participation by all the faithful in the sacred action of the liturgy. What appears in the Constitution to be in peaceful harmony, later on, during the implementation of the Council, became the source of a relationship of dramatic tension. Significant numbers of those who were part of the liturgical movement believed that the great choral works and even Masses written for orchestras would in the future be relegated only to concert halls: that such works would no longer find a place in the liturgy. Instead, this space would be reserved only for singing and for the common prayer of the faithful. On the other hand, there was shock at the cultural impoverishment in the Church which would necessarily come about. The question was how to reconcile the two viewpoints? How should the Council be implemented? These were the questions that were particularly interesting to me and to many others of the faithful, to simple people as well as those who possessed a theological formation.
At this point, perhaps we should ask a very basic question. What actually is music? Where does it come from and where is it headed?
I think that we can identify three places from which music comes.
One of those places is the experience of love. When human beings fall in love, it is as though they discover another dimension of being, a new size and scope of reality, and it also leads us to express ourselves in new ways. In general, poetry, song and music are born from this sense of being captured, by this unfolding of a new dimension of life.
A second origin of music is the experience of sadness, being touched by death, by suffering and by the depths of existence. Even in this case, we discover new dimensions, in the opposite direction, new dimensions of reality that cannot be answered by mere words.
Finally, the third place of origin for music is the encounter with the divine, which from the very beginning has always been part of what defines the human being. One of the major reasons is that we are in the presence of something that is totally other and totally great that arouses within us new ways of expressing ourselves. Perhaps it is possible to affirm the fact that truly in the other two areas - love and death - the divine mystery touches us and in this sense, it is this experience of being touched by God that constitutes the origin of music. I find it particularly moving to observe how for example in the Psalms, it is no longer enough for men to merely sing, but rather a call is made for all instruments: an awakening of the music that is born of creation, its mysterious language. With the Psalter, which also provides the other two motives of love and death, we find direct references to the origins of the sacred music of the Church of God. We might say that the quality of music depends on the purity and the greatness of the encounter with the divine, with the experience of love and of suffering. How much more pure and true is that experience? Much more pure and great will also be the music that is born and developed from that experience.
At this point, I want to express a thought which has recently occupied my thoughts more and more, the more that different cultures and religions enter into relationship with one another. In the context of different cultures and religions, there is great literature, great architecture, large paintings and great sculptures. And there is also music. Yet nowhere in the field of culture is there a music greater than that which comes from the context of the Christian faith: from Palestrina to Bach, to Händel, to Mozart, Beethoven and Bruckner. Western music is something unique which does not find an equal in any other culture. This - it seems to me - should make us think.
Of course, Western music goes far beyond the scope of religion and the Church. Yet it still finds its most profound origin in the liturgy of an encounter with God. In Bach, for whom the glory of God represents the ultimate goal of all music, this is most evident. The great and pure response of Western music was developed in the encounter with this God who, in the liturgy, makes Himself present to us in Christ Jesus. That music, for me, is a demonstration of the truth of Christianity. That is the place where we develop a response like that, and hence have an encounter with truth, with the true creator of the world. For this reason, the great Sacred music is a reality which has a theological range of permanent significance for the faith of all Christians, even if it is not necessarily observed in every time and in every place. On the other hand, it is also clear that it cannot disappear from the liturgy and that its presence can be a special way of participating in the sacred celebration, the mystery of faith.
If we think about the liturgy that was celebrated by Saint John Paul II on every continent, we would see the fullness of the expressive possibility for faith in liturgical events; and we would also see how great music in the Western tradition has never been external to the liturgy, but rather it was born and grows from itself and in this way, it always contributes in new ways to shaping it. We do not know the future of our culture or of sacred music, but I believe that at least one thing is clear: wherever a true encounter with the living God in the person of Christ is made known to us, the response is also born and grows, its beauty coming from the very heart of truth.
The actions of the two Universities who confer upon me - have conferred upon me - this doctorate honoris causa - for which I can again say thank you with all my heart - represent an essential contribution in order that the great gift of music which comes from the tradition of the Christian faith may remain alive and help to provide the creative strength of the faith also in the future. For this reason, I thank you all with all my heart, not only for the honour that you have bestowed, but also for all the work that you are doing to serve the beauty of the faith. May the Lord bless you all.
The two degrees were conferred by His Eminence, Stanisław Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical John Paul II University.
Words of Gratitude spoken by His Holiness, Pope emeritus Benedict XVI
during the ceremony of conferral of the Doctorate honoris causa
Your Excellencies!
Distinguished Professors!
Ladies and Gentlemen!
At this moment, I cannot but express my greatest and most cordial thanks for the honour that you have bestowed upon my by conferring the degree of Doctorate honoris causa. I thank the Grand Chancellor, our beloved Cardinal Sanisław Dziwisz and the Academic authorities as well as both Universities. I am particularly happy because in this way, my relationships with Poland, with Krakow and with the country of our great Saint John Paul II have been strengthened. Without him, my spiritual and theological journeys would never even have been imaginable. Through the example he set, he showed us how the joy of great sacred music and the task of common participation in the Sacred Liturgy can go hand in hand: a solemn joy and the simplicity of a humble celebration of faith.
In the years following the Council, an ancient conflict came to life with renewed passion. I myself grew up in Salzburg and was marked by the great traditions of that city. Attending festive masses accompanied by choirs and orchestras was an integral part of our experience of faith in the celebration of the liturgy. I still retain indelible impressions in my memory such as, for example, not only hearing the first notes of Mozart's Coronation Mass, but it was as though the sky would open up and I could taste deeply the presence of the Lord. Thanks also to you - who allowed me to hear Mozart and the Choir: you are wonderful singers! - Besides all this, however, there was nonetheless already present, the new reality of the liturgical movement, above all through one of our chaplains who later became vice-regent and then rector of the Major Seminary at Freising. During my studies at Monaco in Bavaria then, very concretely I entered even more into the liturgical movement though the lectures of Professor Pascher, one of the most significant experts at the Council in liturgical matters, and especially through the liturgical life of the seminary community. This is how, little by little, the tension between active participation in conformity to the liturgy and the solemn music enveloped the sacred actions, even though they had not yet begun to grow strong.
The Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Liturgy says very clearly: The heritage of Sacred Music should always be conserved and fostered with great care (SC, 114). On the other hand, the text points out the importance of active participation by all the faithful in the sacred action of the liturgy. What appears in the Constitution to be in peaceful harmony, later on, during the implementation of the Council, became the source of a relationship of dramatic tension. Significant numbers of those who were part of the liturgical movement believed that the great choral works and even Masses written for orchestras would in the future be relegated only to concert halls: that such works would no longer find a place in the liturgy. Instead, this space would be reserved only for singing and for the common prayer of the faithful. On the other hand, there was shock at the cultural impoverishment in the Church which would necessarily come about. The question was how to reconcile the two viewpoints? How should the Council be implemented? These were the questions that were particularly interesting to me and to many others of the faithful, to simple people as well as those who possessed a theological formation.
At this point, perhaps we should ask a very basic question. What actually is music? Where does it come from and where is it headed?
I think that we can identify three places from which music comes.
One of those places is the experience of love. When human beings fall in love, it is as though they discover another dimension of being, a new size and scope of reality, and it also leads us to express ourselves in new ways. In general, poetry, song and music are born from this sense of being captured, by this unfolding of a new dimension of life.
A second origin of music is the experience of sadness, being touched by death, by suffering and by the depths of existence. Even in this case, we discover new dimensions, in the opposite direction, new dimensions of reality that cannot be answered by mere words.
Finally, the third place of origin for music is the encounter with the divine, which from the very beginning has always been part of what defines the human being. One of the major reasons is that we are in the presence of something that is totally other and totally great that arouses within us new ways of expressing ourselves. Perhaps it is possible to affirm the fact that truly in the other two areas - love and death - the divine mystery touches us and in this sense, it is this experience of being touched by God that constitutes the origin of music. I find it particularly moving to observe how for example in the Psalms, it is no longer enough for men to merely sing, but rather a call is made for all instruments: an awakening of the music that is born of creation, its mysterious language. With the Psalter, which also provides the other two motives of love and death, we find direct references to the origins of the sacred music of the Church of God. We might say that the quality of music depends on the purity and the greatness of the encounter with the divine, with the experience of love and of suffering. How much more pure and true is that experience? Much more pure and great will also be the music that is born and developed from that experience.
At this point, I want to express a thought which has recently occupied my thoughts more and more, the more that different cultures and religions enter into relationship with one another. In the context of different cultures and religions, there is great literature, great architecture, large paintings and great sculptures. And there is also music. Yet nowhere in the field of culture is there a music greater than that which comes from the context of the Christian faith: from Palestrina to Bach, to Händel, to Mozart, Beethoven and Bruckner. Western music is something unique which does not find an equal in any other culture. This - it seems to me - should make us think.
Of course, Western music goes far beyond the scope of religion and the Church. Yet it still finds its most profound origin in the liturgy of an encounter with God. In Bach, for whom the glory of God represents the ultimate goal of all music, this is most evident. The great and pure response of Western music was developed in the encounter with this God who, in the liturgy, makes Himself present to us in Christ Jesus. That music, for me, is a demonstration of the truth of Christianity. That is the place where we develop a response like that, and hence have an encounter with truth, with the true creator of the world. For this reason, the great Sacred music is a reality which has a theological range of permanent significance for the faith of all Christians, even if it is not necessarily observed in every time and in every place. On the other hand, it is also clear that it cannot disappear from the liturgy and that its presence can be a special way of participating in the sacred celebration, the mystery of faith.
If we think about the liturgy that was celebrated by Saint John Paul II on every continent, we would see the fullness of the expressive possibility for faith in liturgical events; and we would also see how great music in the Western tradition has never been external to the liturgy, but rather it was born and grows from itself and in this way, it always contributes in new ways to shaping it. We do not know the future of our culture or of sacred music, but I believe that at least one thing is clear: wherever a true encounter with the living God in the person of Christ is made known to us, the response is also born and grows, its beauty coming from the very heart of truth.
The actions of the two Universities who confer upon me - have conferred upon me - this doctorate honoris causa - for which I can again say thank you with all my heart - represent an essential contribution in order that the great gift of music which comes from the tradition of the Christian faith may remain alive and help to provide the creative strength of the faith also in the future. For this reason, I thank you all with all my heart, not only for the honour that you have bestowed, but also for all the work that you are doing to serve the beauty of the faith. May the Lord bless you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment