Giving Thanks for the Life and Ministry Of Pope Benedict XVI

“… He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Mt 16:15–19
 

BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY

When I heard the news on Saturday morning that Pope Benedict had died, even though we had known his health was failing, it was still a shock, and it was sad to hear this news. After hearing the news, I was in contact with a number of our diocesan leaders to prepare a statement and discuss communication with our priests and parishes to discuss our common response and, especially, the ways in which we would invite the faithful of our diocese to join together in prayer for the deceased Pope Emeritus.

Following those conversations, I took some time to look back and reflect on my own memories of Pope Benedict, especially recalling being with him and with hundreds of thousands of young people at two World Youth Days in Cologne, Germany, in 2005 and in Sydney, Australia, in 2008. I also recalled his trip to the United States in April of 2008 and how I was blessed to be on the lawn of the White House when the Holy Father visited the President on the Holy Father’s Birthday, and the whole crowd sang “Happy Birthday”! Four days later, I was blessed to be at Yankees Stadium for a Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict.

During the rest of Saturday and the following day, we all heard and shared the tributes that were being offered for the man, Joseph Ratzinger, who became a priest, a brilliant theologian, a Cardinal, and then Pope Benedict XVI. In addition, his decision to retire from the Petrine Ministry and become Pope Emeritus in February of 2013 will not only be part of his legacy, but a powerful part of the way he taught us, yes, with his words, but even more so by his example. In one of his last homilies as the Successor of Peter, Benedict XVI showed that the brilliance of his intellect was matched by the fire of his faith as he spoke of the road to Calvary, which we all must walk with the Lord: “It is a journey which teaches us each day to abandon our selfishness and self-absorption in order to make room for God, who opens and transforms our hearts.” Pope Benedict’s life of humble service was grounded in his confidence that in giving our lives to the Lord, we lose nothing and gain eternity.

In my own prayer and reflection, there were two other related thoughts that came to my mind, especially as I celebrated Mass on Saturday evening and Sunday. First, I realized that, until Pope Benedict’s passing, there had been only one Pope who died in the past 44 years, when St. Pope John Paul II died on April 2, 2005. While this reality reminds us of the “Year of Three Popes,” 1978, when two Popes died within the course of 33 days (St. Pope Paul VI on Aug. 6 and Blessed Pope John Paul I on Sept. 28, 1978), it also can teach us something about the meaning of the “Petrine Ministry” for us, the Church. To consider that, for 35 years, the Church was led by two Popes, John Paul II and Benedict the XVI, and has now been led by Pope Francis for almost 10 years, we can see how Jesus continues to care for His flock and unite us by the person of the Pope, the “Petrine Ministry.”

This led me back to the Scriptures, and the 16th Chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, when Peter confesses Jesus as “the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the living God,” and Jesus gives Peter his name, meaning “Rock” and tells him that He will build His Church on the foundation of that “Rock.” Jesus then promises that His Church will endure, that even “the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against it,” and entrusts Peter with the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. The death of our retired Holy Father is an opportunity for each of us to consider and reflect on whom we are as baptized members of the “One Body of Christ,” the “One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church,” and our relationship to “Peter” as the head of the Church on earth. Many of us can recall the outpouring of love at the passing of St. Pope John Paul II and the seemingly millions of pilgrims who traveled to Rome to pay their respects, say their tearful goodbyes, and attend his funeral. Now we have this opportunity to say “Goodbye” to our Pope Emeritus.

Even as we consider Pope Benedict in relation to his predecessor and successor, we see that Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis each have their own “human qualities” and personalities, gifts and talents, strengths and weaknesses. They each gave, as Pope Francis continues to give, themselves completely to a life of service. They did and do so through their own personal histories and response to God’s call. Each of these men who have accepted the Petrine Ministry has given themselves as a gift to the Church and the World.

We are united with the whole Church and the world as we pause to give thanks for the life and ministry of Pope Benedict XVI and pray that he may now receive the reward of his goodness in the eternal life of Heaven. There is so much that can and should be said about his particular life and ministry. I would like to highlight only a few of those qualities and particular gifts at this time.

First, in reflecting on the life and ministry of Pope Benedict, two words come immediately to my mind: family and vocation. When we encounter people who inspire us by the way they live lives of faith, hope, and love, lives of generosity, sacrifice, prayer, and holiness, we should ask the question, “How did he or she become that kind of person?” So often, the answer to that question begins “at home,” in the “domestic Church,” where parents, grandparents, siblings, and extended family teach by example and, with the help of parishes and catechists, raise children in the Faith. In giving thanks for the life and ministry of Pope Benedict, we should remember his parents and family, especially as young Joseph Ratzinger came of age in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and 1940s. Pope Benedict’s father, Joseph Sr., was a policeman in a small town in Bavaria and fiercely anti-Nazi.

In the closeness of his family, young Joseph came to understand the life and truth found in the faith. I wonder if it may be more than a coincidence that Pope Benedict died on the day after the Church celebrated the Feast of the Holy Family and the day the Church would enter into the celebration of the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God?

Joseph Ratzinger was born on the Easter Vigil and was baptized with the newly blessed Easter water. His whole life was a reflection of our certain hope that our friendship with the Lord leads to life with him forever. Let us allow Pope Benedict to once again teach and remind us that all the baptized share a “common vocation,” a call to follow Jesus and live a life of holiness. Whether it be in the single life, marriage, priesthood, or consecrated life, each of us is called to seek to know and do God’s will. Pope Benedict showed us what it is to follow the example of our Blessed Mother and (his patron) St. Joseph and, day by day, say “Yes” to what God is asking of us. Pope Benedict showed us what it means to offer that daily “Yes,” even when the path may not be clear, and we need to trust that He will show us the way, asking in daily prayer and discernment for the help of the Holy Spirit.

I would like to mention, very briefly, three other aspects of Pope Benedict’s life and ministry that can teach and inspire all of us. First, Pope Benedict taught us the importance of the “life of the mind,” the intellectual life, especially in the service of the Gospel. Very few are blessed with his level of intelligence, but I hope that our seminarians and young people, priests and religious, catechists and parents, and all Catholics might, each in their own way, be inspired to follow his example and dedicate themselves to the study of our Catholic Faith and the Word of God in the Scriptures.

Pope Benedict’s love for and devotion to the Sacred Liturgy and the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, will also surely be part of his legacy. The Bishops in our country have invited us to three years of “Eucharistic Revival.” The more that we come to know Pope Benedict, read his texts, and listen to his teaching, the closer we will be drawn to the “Source and Summit” of our Faith and the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

Finally, for all that he taught us in his writing, preaching, leadership, and ministry, perhaps his greatest lesson will be his example of humility and silent prayer. In the years since he retired from the Papacy, he has lived his own hidden life. When we think of those who are advanced in their years and no longer have the responsibility, mobility, and independence that they had in their younger years, we have the example of our Pope Emeritus. It has been said that Pope Benedict’s last words were, “Lord, I love you.” We give thanks for his life and ministry and ask for the grace to follow his example of a life of living faith through which he taught us to say with him and with St. Peter, “Lord, you know I Love you.”

May Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Rest in Peace. May his soul and all souls of the faithful departed, Rest in Peace. Amen.