Memory
“From the kinds of harm occasioned by the apprehensions of the memory, we can also determine the opposite benefits that come from forgetting them; as the philosopher says: The doctrine for one thing serves also to the contrary…People would never lose their tranquility if they were to forget ideas and lay aside their thoughts…Our nature is so unstable and fragile than even when well disciplined it will hardly fail to stumble on thoughts with the memory. And these thoughts become a disturbance to a soul that was residing in peace and tranquility through the forgetfulness of all. As a result, Jeremiah proclaimed: *With the memory I shall remember, and my soul will faint in

New Monks and Prayer
Each individual that enters the cell of solitude must be led by the Holy Spirit. Since prayer is a conversation with God, our part is to remain open to the conversation. Carthusian solitude, silence and separation from the world all help us to remain open and converse. That is why there is no true Carthusian spirituality or method of prayer. But if you remain faithful to the cell, the cell will teach you how to live in union with God.

Pontifical Acts
The Holy Father appointed:  - As consultors of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Archbishop Manuel Monteiro de Castro, secretary of the Congregation for Bishops, and Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues O.P., secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education.  - John C. Cavadini, professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame at South Bend, U.S.A., as a member of the International Theological Commission.

Promoting a Knowledge Illuminated by Faith
At midday today in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, the Pope received professors and students of Roman pontifical universities, and participants in the general assembly of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (FIUC). At the beginning of his address the Holy Father recalled how John Paul II’s Apostolic Constitution “Sapientia christiana”, the thirtieth anniversary of which falls this year, “underlines the urgent need, which still persists today, to overcome the separation between faith and culture, calling for a greater commitment to evangelisation in the firm conviction that Christian Revelation is a transforming power destined to permeate

Mediaeval Cathedrals: Harmonious Blend of Faith and Art
“The Christian faith, profoundly rooted in the men and women of the Middle Ages”, said the Pope in his catechesis during this morning’s general audience, “not only gave rise to masterpieces of theological literature, it also inspired some of the most exalted artistic creations of all civilisation: the cathedrals”.   Apart from the more favourable historical conditions, such as greater political stability, the artistic fervour Europe witnessed over three centuries from the year 1000 was due also to “the ardour and spiritual zeal of monasticism”, thanks to which the abbeys were built. There “the faithful could remain in prayer, drawn