December 31, 2022, marked the passing of a great man, Pope Benedict XVI. I will not be using the “emeritus” title to describe him. I don’t think that it is necessary anymore. With the Holy Father’s passing, as with the passing of any truly great person, many are coming forward to talk about his life, his legacy, and his contribution. Most are praising him, some are criticizing him. Many who come forward do so without agenda; others have an obvious agenda.
However, I will leave the retrospective analysis to others. Tonight, I will share a few key things about Pope Benedict’s from which I believe we can all learn.
While Pope Benedict was a great man, he also gave us a simple example. He lived with God at the center of his life, and if we pay attention, he showed us how to place the love of God at the center of our lives.
Before I dive into that, I want to share with you two personal experiences that I have had that have helped me understand Pope Benedict. Both involve his homeland. I’ll begin at the beginning, in the house where young Josef Ratzinger, the man who would become Pope Benedict, was born, the village of Marktl am Inn. The house has been converted into a wonderful museum. The most vivid memory I have of the tour is the smile on our tour guide’s face as she said to us, “One us became Pope!
One of us became Pope. This statement is more than just hometown pride; it carries a much deeper meaning. All of us, the great and the small, are formed by our environment, by those around us. All of us, the great and the small, are formed by our response to those around us and to the stirrings of the Holy Spirit. All of us, the great and the small, in our own way help those around us in finding their way. There is a commonality of experience that we all share. We are all close to one another, Midlanders to Marktlers, people in the pews to popes.
Now, I’ll jump forward seventy-five years, to Cardinal Ratzinger’s planned retirement to teach at the University of Regensburg. This experience is a little harder to communicate. My wife Pat and I visited Regensburg last summer, and I simply fell in love with the place. It is about the size of Midland, with the River Danube running through it, beautiful rolling hills, friendly people, and a gorgeous cathedral. It felt like the perfect place to retire. I certainly was ready to retire there, and I don’t even speak German!
I have heard it said that the “best laid plans of mice and men, often go awry”, but in Ratzinger’s case it is more like they were sacrificed. Pope John Paul II asked him not to retire, and he stayed on. When Pope John Paul II died, Ratzinger accepted his election as the two hundred sixty-fifth successor to St. Peter. His retirement plans changed drastically from teaching and writing in a vibrant city to prayer and contemplation in a Vatican monastery.
He gave up the perfect retirement in order to serve us.
Deus Caritas Est
Josef Ratzinger the theologian then became Pope Benedict XVI. He put his gifts of a keen intellect and an amazing ability to clearly communicate at the service of the entire Church. He summarized the key theme of his pontificate in his first encyclical letter – Deus Caritas Est. Translation: God is love. He said it like this:
Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction… For this reason, I wish in my first Encyclical to speak of the love which God lavishes upon us and which we in turn must share with others.[1]
He centered his papacy on the simple fact that God loves us, and therefore, we must love one another. Such deep thought. Such a simple conclusion. Such a wonderful teaching. Pope Benedict dedicated his pontificate to the love of God and love of neighbor. That is our lesson tonight, as well.
On the Mass Readings
Our readings begin with an admonition to humility. Whatever our gifts, whatever our position, we must understand that we are just clay. We are not the potter. We rely on God for all that we are, for all that is good. Our responsorial psalm shows clearly the love of God who protects and sustains us. Our second reading reminds us that all of our joy is pointed to the day when we will be united with Christ. It is pointed to the salvation of our souls is realized only after we walk the road that Pope Benedict has just travelled. Our gospel reminds us that the way to the Lord, for all of us, is the way of the good thief. We all come to the Lord broken, bound to sin. We share in his cross as we can, and it is only through Jesus that we realize the hope of salvation.
In all of these readings we see the love of God who through Jesus Christ saves us. We see the right response to this love in both humility and in hope. We, like Pope Benedict, are all called to share in the resurrection of our Lord!
“Stand firm in your faith. Do not be confused!”
In his Spiritual Testament Pope Benedict wrote, “For all those entrusted to me, my heartfelt prayer goes out day after day.”[2] Recognize that every soul on the planet is entrusted to the Pope. As a good priest, he continues to pray for each of us and leads us to do the same for one another. He leads us to care about one another, and to pray for the eternal well-being of all.
He also admonishes us to “Stand firm in [our] faith. Do not be confused!” He encourages us to keep God at the center of our lives, even when the scientific or theological community’s thought appears to conflict with Catholic teaching. These apparent conflicts collapse with the passing generations. In the end, he concludes that “Jesus Christ is truly the Way, the Truth, and the Life – and the Church, in all her shortcomings, is truly His Body”.[3]
<<Jesus, ich liebe Dich>>
Pope Benedict was certainly a great man who gave us a profound, but simple example to follow. He placed God at the center of his papacy, of his teaching, of his very life. We do the right thing by honoring him and by praying for him tonight just as he prays for us. Pope Benedict, on his deathbed, gave us one last great teaching on priorities. With his final words, he taught us what is most important – maybe the only truly essential thing. As he lie dying his final words were, “Jesus, ich Liebe dich”, Jesus, I love you.
Eternal rest grant unto your servant Benedict, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace.
Amen!
Mass Readings
First Reading: Isaiah 29: 16-19
The Lord said:[4]
[Is the potter no better than the clay?]
As though what is made should say of its maker,
“He did not make me!”
Or the vessel should say of the potter,
“He does not understand.”
17 Surely, in a very little while,
Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,
and the orchard be considered a forest!
18 On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a scroll;
And out of gloom and darkness,
the eyes of the blind shall see.
19 The lowly shall again find joy in the Lord,
the poorest rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. [5]
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 23
Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his
great mercy has given us a new birth as his sons, by raising Jesus
Christ from the dead, so that we have a sure hope and the promise
of an inheritance that can never be spoilt or soiled and never
fade away, because it is being kept for you in the heavens. Through
your faith, God’s power will guard you until the salvation which
has been prepared is revealed at the end of time. This is a cause
of great joy for you, even though you may for a short time have to
bear being plagued by all sorts of trials; so that, when Jesus Christ
is revealed, your faith will have been tested and proved like gold
– only it is more precious than gold, which is corruptible even
though it bears testing by fire – and then you will have praise and
glory and honour. You did not see him, yet you love him; and still
without seeing him, you are already filled with a joy so glorious
that it cannot be described, because you believe; and you are sure of
the end to which your faith looks forward, that is, the salvation of
your souls.
Gospel: Luke 23:39-46
39 Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” 40 The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? 41 And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
44 It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon 45 because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. 46 Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; and when he had said this he breathed his last.[6]
[1] Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2005, §1. Deus caritas est (December 25, 2005) | BENEDICT XVI (vatican.va) . Accessed January 1, 2023.
[2] Pope Benedict XVI, “Benedict XVI, My Spiritual Testament”, 26 August 2006. https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/elezione/documents/testamento-spirituale-bxvi.html Accessed January 1, 2023.
[3] ibid
[4] Is 29:13a
[5] Is 29:16b–19.
[6] Lk 23:39–46.