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                                  VIS-Press releases   
      
   PURIFICATION AND CONFIGURATION WITH CHRIST   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 3 NOV 2010 (VIS) - In today's general audience, which was held in   
   the Paul VI Hall, the Pope dedicated his attention to Margaret d'Oingt, who was   
   born in 1240 "to a powerful family of old Lyonese nobility".   
      
   From her writings, said the Pope, "we learn that she entered the Carthusian   
   convent of Poleteins in response to the Lord's call, abandoning everything and   
   accepting the severe Carthusian rule in order to be completely and always with   
   the Lord".   
      
   "We know that in 1288 she became the fourth prioress, a position she held until   
   her death on 11 February 1310. Her writings reveal no particular details of her   
   spiritual itinerary. She conceived of life as a journey of purification leading   
   to full configuration with Christ. He is the book that must be written and   
   inscribed into one's heart and life every day, especially His salvific   
   passion".   
      
   "Through her writings, Margaret offers us some glimpses of her spirituality,   
   enabling us to comprehend certain traits of her personality and her gifts of   
   leadership. ... She lived a life rich in mystical experiences which she   
   described with simplicity, hinting at the ineffable mystery of God while   
   underlining the limits of the mind to understand it and of the human tongue to   
   express it".   
      
   "In the dynamism of her mystical life, Margaret particularly appreciated the   
   experience of the natural affections, purified by grace, as a privileged means   
   for a deeper understanding and a more ready acceptance of divine action. ...   
   The Triune God, the God love which is revealed in Christ, fascinated her, and   
   Margaret experienced a relationship of profound love towards the Lord. By   
   contrast, she was also aware of human ingratitude and baseness, even unto the   
   paradox of the cross".   
      
   Benedict XVI concluded by encouraging people to follow Margaret of Oingt's   
   invitation "to meditate daily on Jesus' life of pain and love, and that of His   
   Mother, Mary. This is where our hope, the meaning of our existence, lies. From   
   the contemplation of Christ's love for us arise the strength and the joy to   
   respond with the same love, placing our lives at the service of God and of   
   others".   
   AG/VIS 20101103 (370)   
      
   SUMMARY   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS =Meridian, MS= bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)