Pope Benedict looks to the East in this week's General Audience

Matthew Harrison

September 17, 2009
st-symeonPope Benedict XVI's Wednesday General Audience looked at the Eastern monk Symeon the New Theologian.
One point I found interesting, particularly in this Year of the Priest, was the Holy Father's comments on spiritual direction. Symeon had a spiritual father who helped him greatly as a young man, and our Pontiff invited the faithful to consider a spiritual director too:
And I would like to say that this invitation continues to be valid for all -- priests, consecrated persons and laypeople -- and especially for young people -- to take recourse to the counsels of a good spiritual father, capable of accompanying each one in profound knowledge of oneself, and leading one to union with the Lord, so that one's life is increasingly conformed to the Gospel. We always need a guide, dialogue, to go to the Lord. We cannot do it with our reflections alone. And this is also the meaning of the ecclesiality of our faith, of finding this guide.
You can read the entire ZENIT translation of the General Audience on Symeon the New Theologian HERE, or catch a our broadcast of the General Audience, with English translation, at 9:30pm ET, September 17th (the General Audience airs every Thursday at this time, and earlier in the day at 3:30pm ET).