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| Sede vacante (source: Orbis Catholicus Secundus) In the public domain / fair use |
There is confusion in the Church
The Church is confused. Many, if not (secretly) most, Catholics (of whatever rank) are in shock. The Barque of Peter seems to have fallen into a whirlpool of its own making. And, although the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, despite sometimes appearing to be asleep, is always in control of the boat (which is the Church) and the elements that surround it (the world), the Church now desperately needs a good (earthly) helmsman, a holy Peter. She needs a new Pope, sooner rather than later.
Although alive, Benedict XVI reigns no more. We must now lessen
our attachment to the man who was, until a few minutes ago, our Pope. Yes, pray for
him, as Joseph Ratzinger the man. During the next few days try to keep him in your daily prayers and Rosaries, and remember his
ministry with gratitude. (I will be forever grateful for Summorum Pontificum and his highly successful visit to the UK in 2010.) But we need also to let go, in love, of the man who no longer stands in the Shoes of the Fisherman.
Pray for our former Pope
The next few days will be a difficult time for our former pope – he really is stepping out into the unknown, despite the fact that he seems to have planned his future as best he can. Ultimately, though, as I wrote soon after the resignation was announced, the now former pope is powerless: all his final decisions about his future – and the future of his secretary and friend, Archbishop Gänswein -- were not really his to make, and can easily be unmade by his legitimate successor: the man who will be Peter. Humility, if it is authentic, must be painful -- and our poor former Holy Father will soon know the true cost of that dearest of virtues.
Pray for our former Pope
The next few days will be a difficult time for our former pope – he really is stepping out into the unknown, despite the fact that he seems to have planned his future as best he can. Ultimately, though, as I wrote soon after the resignation was announced, the now former pope is powerless: all his final decisions about his future – and the future of his secretary and friend, Archbishop Gänswein -- were not really his to make, and can easily be unmade by his legitimate successor: the man who will be Peter. Humility, if it is authentic, must be painful -- and our poor former Holy Father will soon know the true cost of that dearest of virtues.
We must learn to detach and focus on the things that matter
The See of Peter is vacant. Slowly, people will begin to let
go of their natural attachment to Benedict XVI, they will come out of Catholic
shock and denial, they will (possibly) come to see that those who were warning about the
dangers of a papal resignation actually may have had a point. This sudden resignation of
the Petrine Ministry, whilst holding on to the Petrine vocation (and its accompanying outward vestiges), will have grave
ramifications for the Church of our time. We Christians are possibly about to enter a great, if not the greatest
persecution, against the Church, and it seems as if the rock has been replaced by sand. Millions of
Catholics are worried, anxious, and fed-up.
One good that has definitely come out of the former Pope’s
rather bewildering abdication is the fact that many Catholics are now placing more and more of their trust in the real Shepherd of the Church, Jesus Christ – who never abandons his
flock, who never lets us down, who loves us to the point of the shedding of
his Most Precious Blood. The Pope is officially Christ's vicar -- a vocation shared by all who claim the name of Christian: we are ambassadors of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:20). By divesting himself of the supreme human office, the Papacy, Benedict XVI let us glimpse the real power behind the Throne -- He who is authority itself, the true rock: Jesus Christ.
Unite yourself to the Lord, who never abandons his flock
We must unite ourselves more and more to the Lord -- all of us, poor sinners and weak creatures that we are. Let’s comfort ourselves with these truths: Put not your trust in princes nor in men, but in the Lord your God alone (cf Ps 118, 146), and The last shall be first, and the first shall be last (Mt 20:16). Look around you at our brothers and sisters in Christ who are poor, lonely, despised, rejected, persecuted, starving, unseen, unloved, and unnoticed by so many 'in the Church' – these men and women will soon be surrounding the Throne of Glory! In the Kingdom, they are the closest to God's face. We should also know that only Jesus Christ saves -- no other can bring us true peace. We are all sinners.
The papal abdication, along with the resulting scandals and chaos, have helped me to move a little bit further away from my attachment to a false 'churchianity' and a few steps closer to that simple and authetic Christianity (I do not mean that in an anti-Church, or Protestant, way!), which a deep relationship with Jesus is all about. In that sense, I am personally very grateful to the former Pope.
Unite yourself to the Lord, who never abandons his flock
We must unite ourselves more and more to the Lord -- all of us, poor sinners and weak creatures that we are. Let’s comfort ourselves with these truths: Put not your trust in princes nor in men, but in the Lord your God alone (cf Ps 118, 146), and The last shall be first, and the first shall be last (Mt 20:16). Look around you at our brothers and sisters in Christ who are poor, lonely, despised, rejected, persecuted, starving, unseen, unloved, and unnoticed by so many 'in the Church' – these men and women will soon be surrounding the Throne of Glory! In the Kingdom, they are the closest to God's face. We should also know that only Jesus Christ saves -- no other can bring us true peace. We are all sinners.
The papal abdication, along with the resulting scandals and chaos, have helped me to move a little bit further away from my attachment to a false 'churchianity' and a few steps closer to that simple and authetic Christianity (I do not mean that in an anti-Church, or Protestant, way!), which a deep relationship with Jesus is all about. In that sense, I am personally very grateful to the former Pope.
Move on ... and pray for the Church
Now is the time to pray for the Cardinals and for the
Church. Benedict XVI has gone. He will no longer be prayed for during the Roman
Canon or the Anaphora (Eastern Rite). He is not the Pope – which makes his choice of titles
and forms of address for himself rather unfortunate.
Yes, say a prayer for Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) as he begins his self-imposed retirement, ask God to keep him in wisdom, health, and in His grace; but put most of your efforts into praying for the Church and for the Sacred College of Cardinals, who now govern her and who will soon elect the next Pope. Pray, too, that whoever will be our new Supreme Pontiff will exercise the authority given him with great care and love, whilst wedded to the truth – may he put the needs of the Church above all other considerations. And may he always have the courage and wisdom to do what is right.
Tu es Petrus
Yes, say a prayer for Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) as he begins his self-imposed retirement, ask God to keep him in wisdom, health, and in His grace; but put most of your efforts into praying for the Church and for the Sacred College of Cardinals, who now govern her and who will soon elect the next Pope. Pray, too, that whoever will be our new Supreme Pontiff will exercise the authority given him with great care and love, whilst wedded to the truth – may he put the needs of the Church above all other considerations. And may he always have the courage and wisdom to do what is right.
Tu es Petrus
There may be a day when the future Pope will have to further divest
the former Pope -- of his titles and lifestyle, for example. He may have to dispense
of the services of Benedict XVI’s secretary, he may have to re-title the former pope ‘Bishop
Emeritus’ or send him away from the Vatican. If this happens, will we then be
able to submit to the next Successor of Peter and gladly say: Tu es Petrus?
Prayer for the election of a Pope
Supplici, Domine,
humilitate deposcimus:
ut sacrosanctae Romane Ecclesiae
concedat Pontificem
illum tua immensa pietas;
qui et pio in nos studio semper tibi placitus,
et tuo populo pro salubri regimine sit assidue
ad gloriam tui nominis reverendus.
Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum,
Qui Tecum vivit et regnat
in unitate Spiritus Sancti,
Deus,
Per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
We entreat Thee most humbly,
O Lord, that Thy boundless mercy
may give the holy Roman Church
a Pontiff whose loving care in our regard
will always be pleasing to Thee,
and by his beneficent rule will always give glory to Thy name
and be deeply honoured by Thy people.
Through our Lord, Jesus Christ,
who liveth and reigneth with Thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God,
forever and ever. Amen.
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| The Papal Cathedra in the Archbasilica of St John Lateran Detail from a photo by Ern (Flickr) Published under a Creative Commons Licence (source: Wikimedia Commons) |
Prayer for the election of a Pope
Supplici, Domine,
humilitate deposcimus:
ut sacrosanctae Romane Ecclesiae
concedat Pontificem
illum tua immensa pietas;
qui et pio in nos studio semper tibi placitus,
et tuo populo pro salubri regimine sit assidue
ad gloriam tui nominis reverendus.
Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum,
Qui Tecum vivit et regnat
in unitate Spiritus Sancti,
Deus,
Per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
We entreat Thee most humbly,
O Lord, that Thy boundless mercy
may give the holy Roman Church
a Pontiff whose loving care in our regard
will always be pleasing to Thee,
and by his beneficent rule will always give glory to Thy name
and be deeply honoured by Thy people.
Through our Lord, Jesus Christ,
who liveth and reigneth with Thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God,
forever and ever. Amen.
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