FOR PERPETUAL REMEMBRANCE
1. Caritas Christi urget nos (2 Cor 5:14). The
love of God, made known in Jesus Christ, is the key to the personal
experience and teaching of the Holy Master John of Avila, an
“evangelical preacher” constantly grounded in the sacred Scriptures,
passionately concerned for the truth and an outstanding precursor of the
new evangelization.
The primacy of grace, which inspires good works, the
promotion of a spirituality of trust and the universal call to holiness
lived as a response to God’s love are central themes in the teaching of
this diocesan priest who devoted his life to the exercise of his
priestly ministry.
On 4 March 1538 Pope Paul III issued the Bull Altitudo Divinae Providentiae,
addressed to John of Avila and authorizing him to found the University
of Baeza in the province of Jaén. John is there described as “praedicatorem insignem Verbi Dei”. On 14 March 1565 Pius IV sent a Bull confirming the faculties granted to the University in 1538, wherein John is called “Magistrum in theologia et verbi Dei praedicatorem insignem” (cf. Biatiensis Universitas,
1968). His contemporaries readily called him “Master”, a title which he
held from 1538. In the homily for his canonization on 31 May 1970, Pope
Paul VI
praised his person and his outstanding teaching on the priesthood; he
held him up as an example of preaching and spiritual direction, called
him a advocate of ecclesiastical reform and stressed his continuing
influence down to our own time.
2. John of Avila lived in the first half of the
sixteenth century. He was born on 6 January 1499 or 1500 in Almodóvar
del Campo (Ciudad Real, in the Archdiocese of Toledo). He was the only
son of devout Christian parents, Alonso Ávila and Catalina Gijón, who
were wealthy and of high social standing. When John was fourteen years
old, he was sent to study law at the prestigious University of
Salamanca. He left his studies at the end of the fourth term, after a
profound experience of conversion. This prompted him to return home to
devote himself to meditation and prayer.
Set on becoming a priest, in 1520 he went to study
theology and humanities at the University of Alcalá de Henares, which
was open to the great currents of the theology of that time and to the
stirring of Renaissance humanism. In 1526, he received priestly
ordination and celebrated his first solemn Mass in his parish church.
Intending to go as a missionary to the West Indies, he determined to
distribute his large inheritance among the needy. Then, with the consent
of the future first Bishop of Tlaxcala in New Spain (Mexico), he went
to Seville to await a ship for the new world.
While preparing for his journey, John devoted himself
to preaching in the city and its environs. There he met the venerable
Servant of God Fernando de Contreras, a doctor of Alcalá and a
celebrated catechist. Fernando, impressed by the young priest’s witness
of life and his rhetorical ability, got the Archbishop of Seville to
dissuade him from going to America in order to remain in Andalusia. He
stayed with de Contreras in Seville, sharing with him a life of poverty
and prayer. Devoting himself to preaching and spiritual direction, he
continued to study theology at the College of Saint Thomas, where he may
have been granted the title of “Master”.
In 1531, because of a misunderstanding about a homily
he had given, John was imprisoned. It was in prison that he began
writing the first version of his work, Audi, Filia. In those
years he received the grace of an unusually profound insight into the
mystery of God’s love and the great benefits bestowed on humanity by
Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Thereafter these were to be pillars of his
spiritual life and central themes of his preaching.
Following his acquittal in 1533, he continued to preach
with considerable success among the people and before the authorities,
but he chose to move to the Diocese of Córdoba, where he received
incardination. Some time later, in 1536, the Archbishop of Granada
summoned him, desirous of his counsel. There, in addition to continuing
his work of evangelization, he completed his studies at the university.
Thanks to his insight into the times and his excellent
academic training, John of Avila was an outstanding theologian and a
true humanist. He proposed the establishment of an international court
of arbitration to avoid wars and he invented and patented a number of
engineering devices. Leading a life of great poverty, he devoted himself
above all to encouraging the Christian life of those who readily
listened to his preaching and followed him everywhere. He was especially
concerned for the education and instruction of boys and young men,
especially those studying for the priesthood. He founded several minor
and major colleges, which after the Council of Trent would become
seminaries along the lines laid down by that Council. He also founded
the University of Baeza, which was known for centuries for its work of
training clerics and laity.
After travelling throughout Andalusia and other regions
of Central and Eastern Spain in preaching and prayer, in 1554, already
ill, he finally withdrew to a simple house in Montilla (Córdoba), where
he exercised his apostolate through an abundant correspondence and the
preparation of several of his writings. The Archbishop of Granada wanted
to take John as his theological expert to the last two sessions of the
Council of Trent. Prevented from travelling because of ill health, he
drafted the Memoriales, which were to have considerable influence on that great ecclesial assembly.
On the morning of 10 May 1569, in his humble home in
Montilla, surrounded by disciples and friends, clinging to a crucifix,
after much suffering he surrendered his soul to the Lord.
3. John of Avila was a contemporary, friend and
counsellor of great saints, and one of the most celebrated and widely
esteemed spiritual masters of his time.
Saint Ignatius Loyola, who held him in high regard, was
eager for him to enter the nascent “Company” which was to become the
Society of Jesus. Although he himself did not enter, the Master directed
some thirty of his best students to the Society. Juan Ciudad, later
Saint John of God, the founder of the Order of Hospitallers, was
converted by listening to the saintly Master and thereafter relied on
him as his spiritual director. The grandee Saint Francis Borgia, later
the General of the Society of Jesus, was another important convert
thanks to the help of Father Avila. Saint Thomas of Villanova,
Archbishop of Valencia, disseminated Father Avila’s catechetical method
in his diocese and throughout the south of Spain. Among Father Avila’s
friends were Saint Peter of Alcántara, Provincial of the Franciscans and
reformer of the Order, and Saint John de Ribera, Bishop of Badajoz, who
asked him to provide preachers to renew his diocese and later, as
Archbishop of Valencia, kept a manuscript in his library containing 82
of John’s sermons. Teresa of Jesus, now a Doctor of the Church,
underwent great trials before she was able to send him the manuscript of
her Autobiography. Saint John of the Cross, also a Doctor of the
Church, was in touch with his disciples in Baeza who assisted in the
Carmelite reform. Blessed Bartholomew of the Martyrs was acquainted with
his life and holiness through common friends, and many others
acknowledged the moral and spiritual authority of the Master.
4. Although “Father Master Avila” was primarily a
preacher, he did not fail to make masterful use of his pen to set forth
his teaching. His memory and his posthumous influence, down to our own
times, are closely linked not only to his life and witness, but also to
his various writings.
His major work, Audi, Filia, a classic of
spirituality, is his most systematic treatise, wide-ranging and
complete; its definitive edition was completed by the author in the last
years of his life. The Catechism or Christian Doctrine, the only
work printed during his lifetime (1554), is a pedagogical synthesis of
the content of the faith, addressed to children and adults. The Treatise on the Love of God, a literary gem, reflects the depths of his insight into the mystery of Christ, the Incarnate Word and Redeemer. The Treatise on the Priesthood
is a brief compendium including his conversations, sermons and letters.
Saint John’s writings also include minor works consisting of guidelines
or recommendations (avisos) for the spiritual life. The Treatises on Reform
are linked to the Council of Trent and the provincial synods which
implemented it, and fittingly deal with personal and ecclesial renewal.
The Sermons and Conversations, like his Letters,
are writings which span the entire liturgical year and the years of his
priestly ministry. His commentaries on the Bible — including those on
the Letter to the Galatians, the First Letter of John and others — are
systematic expositions of remarkable insight and of great pastoral
value.
All these works are marked by profound content, a
clearly pedagogical format and the use of images and examples which give
a glimpse into the sociological and ecclesial realities of the time.
The tone is one of supreme trust in God’s love, which calls each person
to the perfection of charity. His language is the classical and sober
Castilian of his birthplace, La Mancha, coloured at times by the
imagination and warmth of the south, an environment in which he spent
the greater part of his apostolic life.
In his effort to discern the working of the Spirit in
the Church during a complex historical period fraught with confusion,
cultural change, various currents of humanism and the search for new
forms of spirituality, he was clear in his presentation of criteria and
concepts.
5. In his teaching, Master John of Avila constantly
spoke of baptism and redemption as spurs to growth in holiness. He
explained that Christian spiritual life, as a participation in the life
of the Blessed Trinity, begins with faith in the God who is Love, is
grounded in God’s goodness and mercy as expressed in the merits of
Christ, and is wholly guided by the Spirit; that is to say, by love of
God and our brothers and sisters. He writes: “Open your little heart to
that breadth of love by which the Father gave us his Son, and with him
gave us himself, and the Holy Spirit, and all things besides” (Letter 160). And again: “Your neighbour is a concern of Jesus Christ” (ibid., 62), and therefore: “The proof of perfect love of our Lord is seen in the perfect love of our neighbour” (ibid., 103). He also showed a deep appreciation of created realities, ordering them in the perspective of love.
Since we are temples of the Trinity, it is the Triune
God who grants us his own life, and thus our hearts become gradually one
with God and our brothers and sisters. The way of the heart is one of
simplicity, goodness, love and filial affection. This life according to
the Spirit is markedly ecclesial, for it expresses the spousal love
between Christ and the Church — the central theme of Audi, Filia.
It is also Marian: configuration to Christ, through the working of the
Holy Spirit, is a process of growth in virtues and gifts which takes
Mary as our model and Mother. The missionary dimension of spirituality,
derived from its ecclesial and Marian dimension, is clearly seen in the
writings of Master Avila, who calls for apostolic zeal grounded in
contemplation and the constant pursuit of holiness. Devotion to the
saints is something he recommends, since they point us toward “a great
Friend, God himself, who embraces our hearts in his love (...) and
commands us to have many other friends, who are his saints” (Letter 222).
6. If Master Avila was a pioneer in pointing to the
universal call to holiness, he also had an essential role in the
historical development of a systematic doctrine on the priesthood. Down
the centuries his writings have been a source of inspiration for
priestly spirituality and even a current of mysticism among secular
priests. His influence can clearly be seen in a number of later
spiritual writers.
Central to Master Avila’s teaching is the insight that,
as priests, “during the Mass we place ourselves on the altar in the
person of Christ to carry out the office of the Redeemer himself” (Letter 157), and that acting in persona Christi
demands that we humbly embody God’s paternal and maternal love. This
calls for a particular lifestyle, marked by regular recourse to the word
of God and the Eucharist, by the adoption of a spirit of poverty, by
preaching “temperately”, in other words, based on prior study and
prayer, and by love for the Church as the Bride of Christ.
The creation of means for providing candidates to the
priesthood with a suitable formation, the need for greater holiness
among the clergy and the necessary reform of ecclesial life were deep
and constant concerns of the Holy Master. A holy clergy is essential to
the renewal of the Church, and this in turn calls for the careful
selection and suitable training of aspirants to the priesthood. To meet
this need, Saint John urged the establishment of seminaries and the
creation of a special College for the study of sacred Scripture. These
proposals would affect the entire Church.
The foundation of the University of Baeza, to which he
gave all his attention and enthusiasm, turned out to be one of his most
successful ventures, since it succeeded in offering seminarians an
excellent initial and permanent formation, with special emphasis on the
study of a pastorally oriented “positive theology”; it also gave rise to
a priestly school which flourished for centuries.
7. Given the evident and growing reputation for sanctity
of Master John of Avila, the cause for his beatification and
canonization was opened in the Archdiocese of Toledo in 1623. It was not
long before witnesses were questioned in Almodóvar del Campo and
Montilla, where the Servant of God was born and died, and in Córdoba,
Granada, Jaen, Baeza and Andujar. Nevertheless, for various reasons the
cause was left unfinished until 1731, when the Archbishop of Toledo sent
to Rome the informative processes that had already been completed. In a
decree dated 3 April 1742, Pope Benedict XIV approved Master Avila’s
writings and praised his doctrine, and on 8 February 1759, Clement XIII
declared his heroic virtues. John of Avila was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 6 April 1894 and canonized by Pope Paul VI on 31 May 1970. Acknowledging his outstanding role as a model of priesthood, in 1946 Pius XII named him Patron of the diocesan clergy of Spain.
The title of “Master”, by which Saint John of Avila was
known in his lifetime and down the centuries, made it possible,
following his canonization, to consider naming him a Doctor of the
Church. Thus, at the request of Cardinal Benjamín de Arriba y Castro,
Archbishop of Tarragona, the twelfth Plenary Assembly of the Spanish
Episcopal Conference in July 1970, decided to petition the Holy See to
declare him a Doctor of the Universal Church. Many other petitions
followed, particularly on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his
canonization (1995) and the fifth centenary of his birth (1999).
The declaration that a saint is a Doctor of the
Universal Church implies the recognition of a charism of wisdom bestowed
by the Holy Spirit for the good of the Church and evidenced by the
beneficial influence of his or her teaching among the People of God. All
this was clearly evident in the person and work of Saint John of Avila.
He was often sought out by his contemporaries as a master of theology,
gifted with the discernment of spirits, and a director of souls. His
help and guidance were sought by great saints and acknowledged sinners,
the wise and the unlearned, the poor and the rich; he was also
responsible for important conversions and sought constantly to improve
the life of faith and the understanding of the Christian message of
those who flocked to him, eager to hear his teaching. Learned bishops
and religious also sought him out as a counsellor, preacher and
theologian. He exerted considerable influence on those who came into
contact with him and on the environments in which he moved.
8. Master Avila was not a university professor, although
he had organized and served as the first rector of the University of
Baeza. He held no chair in theology, but gave lessons in sacred
Scripture to lay people, religious and clerics.
He never set forth a systematic synthesis of his theological teaching, yet his theology was prayerful and sapiential. In his Memorial II
to the Council of Trent, he gives two reasons for linking theology and
prayer: the holiness of theological knowledge, and the welfare and
upbuilding of the Church. As befitted a true humanist endowed with a
healthy sense of realism, his was a theology close to life, one which
answered the questions of the moment and did so in a practical and
understandable way.
The teaching of John of Avila is outstanding for its
quality and precision, and its breadth and depth, which were the fruit
of methodical study and contemplation together with a profound
experience of supernatural realities. His abundant correspondence was
soon translated into Italian, French and English.
Particularly evident was his profound knowledge of the
Bible, which he wished to be known by all. For this reason he did not
hesitate to expound the Scriptures, both in his daily preaching and his
lessons on specific books. He was in the habit of comparing translations
and analysing their literary and spiritual meaning, and was familiar
with the most important patristic commentaries. He was also convinced
that study and prayer were necessary for a proper understanding of
revelation, and that insight into the meaning of the sacred texts could
be gained with the aid of tradition and of the magisterium. From the Old
Testament he cited most frequently the Psalms, Isaiah and the Song of
Songs. From the New, he cited the Apostle John and, most of all, Saint
Paul. Pope Paul VI, in the Bull for his canonization, described him as
“a faithful imitator of Saint Paul”.
9. The teaching of Master John of Avila clearly contains
a sound and enduring message, capable of strengthening and deepening
the deposit of faith while lighting up new pathways of doctrine and
life. The relevance of his teaching can be seen by comparing it to the
papal magisterium; in this way we see that his eminens doctrina constitutes a genuine charism, a gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church past and present.
The primacy of Christ and of grace which, in relation
to the love of God, was a constant theme of Master Avila’s teaching, has
been taken up by contemporary theology and spirituality, and has clear
implications for pastoral activity, as I stressed in my Encyclical Deus Caritas Est.
Trust, based on the acknowledgement and experience of God’s love,
goodness and mercy, has also been proposed in the recent papal
magisterium, as for example in the Encyclical Dives in Misericordia and the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Europa, which is a real proclamation of the Gospel of hope, as I also wished my Encyclical Spe Salvi to be. In the Apostolic Letter Ubicumque et Semper,
establishing the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New
Evangelization, I noted that “to proclaim fruitfully the word of the
Gospel it is first necessary to have a profound experience of God”;
these words evoke the serene and humble figure of this “evangelical
preacher” whose outstanding doctrine continues to be most timely.
10. In 2002, the Spanish Episcopal Conference was
informed of the positive outcome of the review of the teaching found in
the works of Saint John of Avila conducted by the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith. In 2003 a number of Cardinals, Archbishops and
Bishops, Presidents of Bishops’ Conferences, Superiors General of
Institutes of Consecrated Life, leaders of ecclesial associations and
movements, universities and other institutions, along with certain
distinguished individuals, joined the Spanish Episcopal Conference in
expressing to Pope John Paul II, through a Postulatory Letter, the appropriateness of bestowing on Saint John of Avila the title of Doctor of the Church.
Once the dossier was forwarded to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and a relator for the cause was named, it was necessary to draft the relative Positio.
The President and Secretary of the Spanish Episcopal Conference,
together with the President of the committee for the doctorate and the
postulator of the cause, then signed the definitive Petition (Supplex Libellus)
on 10 December 2009. The particular meeting of the theological
consultors of the Congregation met on 18 December 2010 to discuss naming
the Holy Master a Doctor of the Church. The vote was positive. On 3 May
2011, the plenary session of Cardinal and Bishop members of the
Congregation presided over by the Prefect, Cardinal Angelo Amato, and
with Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella as relator, decided, with another
unanimous vote, to ask me, if I so desired, to declare Saint John of
Avila as a Doctor of the Universal Church. On 20 August 2011, during the World Youth Day celebrations in Madrid, I announced to the People of God: “I will shortly declare Saint John of Avila a Doctor of the Universal Church”. On 27 May 2012, Pentecost Sunday,
I had the joy of telling the throngs of pilgrims from throughout the
world gathered in Saint Peter’s Square that “the Spirit, who has spoken
through the prophets, continues to inspire with his gifts of wisdom and
knowledge men and women committed to the pursuit of truth, who offer new
insights into the mystery of God, of man and of the world. Hence I am
pleased to announce that on 7 October next, at the start of the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bisops,
I will proclaim Saint John of Avila and Saint Hildegard of Bingen
Doctors of the Universal Church... The sanctity of their lives and the
profundity of their doctrine make them perennially relevant: the grace
of the Holy Spirit guided them to that experience of insight into divine
revelation and intelligent dialogue with the world which constitutes
the constant horizon of the Church’s life and activity. Especially in
the light of the new evangelization to which the Assembly of the Synod
of Bishops will be dedicated, and the beginning of the Year of Faith,
these two Saints and Doctors will be most important and relevant”.
Today, with the help of God and the approval of the
whole Church, this act has taken place. In Saint Peter’s Square, in the
presence of many Cardinals and Prelates of the Roman Curia and of the
Catholic Church, in confirming the acts of the process and willingly
granting the desires of the petitioners, I spoke the following words in
the course of the Eucharistic sacrifice: “Fulfilling the wishes of
numerous brethren in the episcopate, and of many of the faithful
throughout the world, after due consultation with the Congregations for the Causes of Saints,
with certain knowledge and after mature deliberation, with the fullness
of my apostolic authority I declare Saint John of Avila, diocesan
priest, and Saint Hildegard of Bingen, professed nun of the Order of
Saint Benedict, to be Doctors of the Universal Church. In the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”.
I hereby decree the present Letter to be perpetually
valid and fully effective, and I establish that from this moment
anything to the contrary proposed by any person, of whatever authority,
knowingly or unknowingly, is invalid and without force.
Given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, under the ring of the Fisherman, on 7 October 2012,
in the eighth year of my Pontificate.
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
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