Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (1927-2022) - Rest in Peace

I've met a few famous people during my 78 years, but the greatest, the humblest, surely the most intelligent was Joseph Ratzinger, better known to the world as Pope Benedict XVI. This wonderful, faithful servant of God died this morning in his residence at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican Gardens at the age of 95. My personal belief is that Pope Benedict XVI was among the greatest of the modern popes, not only for what he accomplished during his papacy, but also for all he did during his many years as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith where he served the Church as the leading theological advisor to Pope John Paul II.

Pope Benedict XVI (2005)

This morning, as I sat here in my messy den considering this remarkable man, I happened to glance at one of my bookcases in which several shelves are filled entirely with books by and about him. I suppose that's one thing I have in common with Pope Saint John Paul II: we both listened to Jospeh Ratzinger on all things theological.

I actually met then-Cardinal Ratzinger years ago on February 26, 2000. The Church had set aside a week of that Holy Year expressly for deacons, so Diane and I joined a few thousand other permanent deacons and their wives from around the world and made the pilgrimage to Italy, where we visited Florence, Assisi, Venice, Orvieto, and, of course, Rome and the Vatican.

When we arrived in Rome, we intended to call a friend, Fr. Adam Domanski, a Polish priest who had served in our parish on Cape Cod for a few summers. Fr. Adam was studying in Rome, earning his doctorate in Sacred Scripture. Afterwards, he would return to his native Poland and teach in one of the seminaries. Anyway, on our first morning in Rome, before we had an opportunity to call Fr. Adam, we ran into him on a small street as we searched for a particular vestment shop. If I believed in coincidences, which I don't, it would have been a remarkable one. We asked Fr. Adam if we could take him to lunch the following day, and he agreed.

The next day he met us at our hotel and then led us to a lovely, little restaurant on Borgo Pio, a pedestrian-only street just a block from St. Peter's Square. As we made our way to a table, Fr. Adam laughed and said, "A lot of bishops and cardinals eat lunch here, so we'll have to be on our best behavior." And he was right, I noticed several bishops sitting at nearby tables.

Afterwards, as we made the short walk back to the Vatican, Fr. Adam turned to me and said, "Well, well, there's a very important man in the Church." I looked up and saw Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger walking toward us. He was accompanied by a young, tall priest who I believe was George Gänswein, a member of his staff and his future personal secretary.

If you know me, you'll guess that I didn't hesitate, but instead went right up to the cardinal and introduced myself as one of the American deacons on our Holy Year pilgrimage. He asked about my bishop, Sean O'Malley, then Bishop of Fall River, and I then expressed my thanks for teaching me so much through the many books he had written. He was extremely kind, soft-spoken, and very interested in Diane's work as a teacher in a Catholic elementary school. I asked if we could take a picture and Fr. Adam volunteered to handle my new digital camera. I've included the photo below. I believe I was instructing Fr. Adam on how to use the camera, when he snapped the photo.

Our brief meeting had a pleasant epilogue. Weeks later, our local diocesan newspaper wrote a front-page story about this meeting between me and Cardinal Ratzinger and included the photo. I had expected only a brief mention in a longer article about the deacons' Holy Year pilgrimage, but the writer, another deacon, had other ideas. When the issue appeared, I sent a copy to Cardinal Ratzinger, along with a letter thanking him for taking the time to chat with us on the streets of Rome. Surprisingly, he responded with a beautiful, personal letter, now among my most cherished possessions.

Pope Benedict may well have been the most brilliant theologian who ever served the Church as pope. I certainly think so. He was a man who had no desire to be pope, a man with no personal ambition, a saintly man who wanted only to serve his Lord by helping the Church stay true to the deposit of faith with which it is entrusted.

A little over a year ago, commenting on the death of a close friend, the Pope Emeritus wrote, “Now he has arrived on the other side, where surely many friends already await him. I hope that I can join their company soon.” Today this hope is fulfilled.

Rest in peace, Holy Father. Today may we come together as Church and sing our Song of Farewell:

May the choir of angels, come to greet you.

May they speed you to paradise.

May the Lord enfold you in His mercy.

May you find eternal life.

Homily: Feast of the Holy Innocents

 Readings: 1 Jn 1:5-2:2; Ps 124; Mt 2:13-18

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More than any other time in the liturgical year, Christmas is a celebration of life. It’s the day we celebrate the remarkable gift of the Father – the gift in which He gives us His Son, Jesus Christ, by having Him share in our human life. During this season God sends Himself into the world. He becomes one of us:

“And the Word became flesh, and made His dwelling among us” [Jn 1:14].  

Yes, Christmas is a wonderful manifestation of God’s love for us – His regard for the gift of life He has given us.

Today, however, in our Gospel reading we witness an event describing man’s rejection of this gift. Herod, so afraid of losing his earthly power, a power that cannot last, turned his fear into hate, and hate into the destruction of innocent life. In a very real sense, these little ones gave their lives so the Son of God could be Emmanuel and live among us.

Like many of today’s political leaders, Herod foolishly believed he could defeat the will of God. Driven by fear and hatred, he became a mass murderer of the most innocent among his people.

Slaughter of the Innocents

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

Today we face with something very similar, but in truth it’s something far worse. Since 1973 over 60 million of our nation’s most innocent have been slaughtered by abortion. And that’s just a small percentage of the global total. It’s time to stop this child-killing and put the Life back into Christmas, to eradicate the culture of death.

I’m convinced, though, this won’t come about through politics. No, it will happen only when we as God’s People undergo a change of heart, when we all begin to lead the Christian life the Gospel calls us to lead. As Catherine Doherty phrased it, when we learn to live “the Gospel without compromise.”

We can start by following Joseph and obeying God’s commandments – quite simply, to do what He tells us, even if He tells us to get up in the middle of the night and go to where we don’t want to go.

We are called also to love, and that means loving even the Herods of today’s world. Love them into God's kingdom by forgiving them, praying for them, suffering for them, and sharing the love of Jesus with them.

We are called, too, to repentance, to ask God to heal our apathy, our own weak faith. As John told us in our reading today,

"If we acknowledge our sins, He Who is just can be trusted to forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrong" [1 Jn 1:9].

You see, brothers and sisters, you and I aren’t engaging in battle with people. No, our real battle is with Satan. By prayer and fasting we can drive out the demons of abortion and hatred, as well as the plagues of war and terrorism.

And finally, we can fix our eyes always on Jesus. It is He who welcomes the innocents of yesterday, today, and tomorrow into the Kingdom, and it is He, and only He, Who can forgive those who took their precious lives.

Only Jesus Christ, and the grace He showers on us through His holy Church, can save us from our sinfulness and from eternal death.

Only Jesus Christ can give us the gift of life, eternal life, for He is the Lord of Life.

We must never forget that.

Sick and Tired

I’ve been sick, with something that’s made me very tired. I’m really not sure what hammered me about a week ago, but it sure made an impression. It feels like the flu but I won’t hazard a diagnosis except to say that I’ve been out of commission ever since it appeared. The symptoms were pretty standard: aches and pains, upper respiratory congestion and cough, chills, weakness, loss of appetite, and all the rest. To my knowledge I never had a fever, so I guess that’s a good thing. But the best thing has been the loving care provided by Diane who kept me hydrated, medicated, fed, warm and cozy, and let me get the rest I needed. She has been wonderful indeed. Anyway, thanks to Diane, I’m now on the mend, and should be back to normal within a day or two. In the meantime I’ll continue to remain cloistered here at home and just goof off until I feel well enough to rejoin polite society. 

Sadly, today I’ll have to miss the Parish Staff Christmas Luncheon, always an enjoyable event, except perhaps for the irritating Yankee Swap gift exchange. Okay, okay…a lot of folks apparently enjoy it, but it just seems to turn gift-giving into an unnecessarily complicated process that ensures the right gifts too often get to the wrong people. Just seems to me a “secret Santa” approach would be a lot simpler, leave everyone happier, and be more attuned to Christian values. But what do I know? Obviously, not much, because I think I’m alone in my, until now, unvoiced criticism. I’d already bought a gift for the luncheon, one that met the $25 limit. I think I’ll ask Diane to give it to some deserving soul whom she believes will enjoy it,

Diane’s undergoing another of her frequent physical therapy sessions, so while she’s out I’ll ask a compliant Alexa to play a little Vivaldi or Bach while I take a brief restorative nap right here in my easy chair. But first I must extricate my right foot from under Maddie who decided to settle down on top of it. This is something new with Maddie who’s normally not much of a cuddler. Perhaps it’s a symptom of her advancing age — Maddie turns 15 this month — and reflects a long-repressed desire to establish a closer relationship with the pack. Then again, maybe she just decided my slippered foot was a handy pillow. 

In the meantime, get your heart and soul ready for Jesus. He arrives soon. 

Happy Birthdays

Last evening we celebrated two birthdays. Yesterday was our friend Andy Truax’s birthday and today is Diane’s birthday. Andy is married to Jamie, who’s been Diane’s close friend since they first became best pals in grade school in Pensacola. A few years ago she and Andy moved to Central Florida and now live nearby, so Diane and Jamie get together frequently, usually to shop. 

And so, the four of us decided to celebrate over dinner at Coastal Del Mar, a fairly new seafood restaurant here in The Villages. We had a delightful time and enjoyed the food and the stories. The restaurant even surprised us with free birthday desserts, a wonderful key lime pie. A good time was had by all.

Here’s a photo of Jamie and Andy from last night…cute couple.

And here’s a photo of an even cuter couple…yep, that’s us.

When I first met Diane, as I was making my way through flight training in Pensacola, she was entering her senior year at Florida State and was a few months shy of her 21st birthday. That was a while ago, but I’d better be discreet and not mention the year. I will say, however, that Diane seemed to enjoy the fact that Andy is exactly one day older than she.