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March 17, 2024I’m going to take a break from the Civil War this week. On December 31, 2022, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI departed from our mortal world. His papacy had a major influence on my vocational discernment and on my priesthood. I’ve often told family and friends that as much as I love St. John Paul II and Pope Francis, Benedict XVI was a man I loved and understood the most of the three. Entering the seminary, I was a poor public speaker and frankly quite uncomfortable in large crowds (yes, believe it or not I was worse ha!). I saw in Benedict XVI, a fellow introvert who was given the gifts needed in ministry from God to serve His people.
Throughout his papacy, Benedict XVI was demonized by many in the secular world for the crime of standing firm on the foundation of objective truth in an increasingly relativistic world. Yet, when sitting and reading his homilies, papal addresses, encyclicals, and books (no easy task I will admit), one is often struck at the caring tone of this pope. He defended the truth, but he did not do so in order to create division or cause distress. I never got the impression that he enjoyed making some of his difficult pronouncements as head of the CDF or got any kind of glee when called such things as, “the panzer Cardinal.” Rather, he understood that if we proclaim God is love, then one must know both who we mean by God and what we mean by love.
I imagine this will not be my only bulletin article on Benedict XVI, but I wanted to speak about Benedict XVI’s spiritual testament released by the Vatican following the former pope’s death. In the document, the Holy Father thanked God for the gifts of family and friends, he told those who remain to remain strong in the faith, and begged God for forgiveness for any wrongs that he may have committed.
The section of the testament which stood out to me was how Benedict XVI spoke about his family. He was raised during a very difficult time in his country’s history with the rise of fascism. Yet the Holy Father spoke with eloquence about the faith in which he was raised and how each member of his family helped him to grow in relationship with God. This is exactly what the Church means when she speaks about the parents as the first teachers of the faith. This is how we will grow in our faith despite all the turmoil facing the Church both on a local and universal level. As Pope Benedict XVI was departing the world, he left us one more great gift, which is a reminder of the important role that we have in the Church. Let us not shy away from this task, and instead head the call to become saints.
In Christ,
Fr. Chris
