The heart of this
simple sinful man aches today as our Church bides the Holy Father a prayerful
farewell from the visible throne of Peter.
It is often said
that we rarely appreciate those who are in our midst until they are no longer
with us. No doubt, this will be the sentiment with respect to Benedict XVI, although
he will remain prayerfully united with His beloved Church and his flock for as
long as God wills it. His greatest sufferings and most magnificent sacrifices,
I suspect, are yet to come.
He has taken the
Ship of Peter as far as God has asked Him. He has reclaimed the Sacred Liturgy.
He has called his priests and Bishops to
repentance, to faithfulness, and to selfless holy lives centered on a deep and
unfailing love of the Eucharist and an insatiable zeal for the salvation of
souls. Nothing, absolutely nothing else, is more important and necessary for our
Church during these troubling times.
There is only room
in Christ’s Church for holy and obedient priests and Bishops – men willing to
make the Eucharist the center of everything they do and to give their lives to teach, defend and protect God’s Truth and His Church. The “filth’ which His
Holiness found had infiltrated the Catholic Church must be exposed and removed.
This purifying process will be a difficult and painful one. Let us not delude
ourselves.
It is also time for
the rest of us professing Catholics to examine the “filth” in our lives that
have prevented us from living out our Faith courageously and unapologetically. We
too must plea for the grace to persevere in our Faith whatever persecutions are
likely to come. We can not ask our priests and Bishops to do something we are
unwilling to assume ourselves.
May the Holy Spirit
bring forth a successor to our beloved and courageous Pontiff - though
only a mere man like Benedict - one who will embrace and not shy away from
being “another Christ,” and who, if necessary, will offer his life for the salvation
of souls and for the restoration of Christ’s Church on earth.
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I like this.. I hope Pope Emeritus Benedict can now live a quiet and comfortable life of prayer. He dedicated his whole life to our Church. Now hopefully he can live out his days with peace.
ReplyDelete-Yes, this humble and obedient servant deserves our prayerful support. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
ReplyDelete"The “filth’ which His Holiness found had infiltrated the Catholic Church must be exposed and removed." Amen! Amen! Amen! And the part about removing the filth from our own lives, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Barb. We are all sinners and in need of God's forgiveness and mercy.
ReplyDelete