Biblical Images of Sin, Penance and Reconciliation in the Preaching of Pope Benedict XVI

Abstract

During his pontificate, which lasted from April 19, 2005 to February 28, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI delivered many homilies and speeches intended not only to educate the faithful but also to show the beauty and depth of the Christian faith. An important aspect of that teaching were biblical images conveying the greatness of God’s Mercy, the weakness of sin and the need for satisfaction, reconciliation and conversion. As he discussed the existence of sin, the Pope referred to the classic image of the fall of the first parents in Paradise and to the relationship that exists – according to tradition – between the tree of Paradise and the Cross of Christ. The biblical images invoked by Benedict XVI concerned the need to recognize sin and reconcile with God (David after his sin with Bathsheba, the adulteress who was brought to Jesus’s feet, the sinful woman who anointed Jesus’s feet in the Pharisee’s house, or Peter whose feet were washed by Jesus), demonstrating how Jesus’s paschal gift of forgiveness of sins is to lead to conversion – as had been the case with St. Paul. The Pope’s intention in invoking these images was not only to have some biblical illustration in his preaching but also to present the essence of these issues in theology.