Allow us not to drift into the desert of godlessness. Enable us to perceive you in the gentle breeze, see you in street corners, love you in the unborn child.

Second, it's interesting that he uses the label "cynic" in a pejorative manner, something that is often done to skeptics and atheists by people who either are unable to understand the difference between critical skepticism and cynicism or who do understand it but choose to elide the difference because it serves their ideological agenda to "poison the well" against their critics.

Even more interesting, as one of the commenters as Bors Blog points out, is the fact that the original Cynics promoted a "philosophy was that the purpose of life was to live a life of Virtue in agreement with Nature. This meant rejecting all conventional desires for wealth, power, health, and fame, and by living a life free from all possessions." It's interesting to ponder the idea of Pope Benedict XVI denouncing such a philosophy, isn't it?

Finally, it's important to pay attention to the attack which Benedict is making against atheism: according to him, living a godless life is like living in a "desert" where one is unable to enjoy pleasant, refreshing, and positive experiences like gentle breezes. Such calumny must not be allowed to pass by without comment because it's such a common perspective among religious theists.