Archbishop Georg Gänswein gave a great interview and the money-byte sums it up for me too: Press title for full interview:
Benedict XVI’s Personal Secretary: ‘The Proclamation of God Was the Center of Benedict XVI’s Pontificate’
Which of the words he said will you remember? What will remain?
Well, at this point, let me just spill the beans: Time and again — especially during his time as emeritus — I found myself in difficult situations; moments when I said: “Holy Father, this cannot be! I cannot cope with it! The Church is running against a brick wall! I don’t know: Is the Lord asleep; is he not there? What’s going on?” And he said, “You know the Gospel a little, don’t you? The Lord was asleep in the boat on the Sea of Galilee, so the story goes. The disciples were afraid: A storm was coming; waves were coming. And they woke him up because they didn’t know what to do. And he just said, ‘What’s going on?’ Jesus only had to speak a few words to the storm, in order to make it clear that he is the Lord, even over the weather and the storms.” And then Benedict said to me: “Look, the Lord doesn’t sleep! So, if, even in his presence, the disciples were afraid, it’s quite normal that the disciples of today can be afraid, here and there. But never forget one thing: He is here, and he remains here. And in all that’s troubling you now, that’s difficult for you now, that weighs on your heart or on your stomach, that is something you must never forget! Take that from me; I act accordingly.”
That is something that, among other things, has really sunk into my heart, and it remains firmly anchored there.
1 comment:
The two best popes of my short lifetime (born during John XXIII's pontificate) have been Wojtyla and Ratzinger. I used to be fairly critical of Wojtyla for not reining in the runaway apostasy and heresy in the upper ranks of the Church, but have learned a good bit of posthumous information that suggests that he was undermined at every turn by bureaucrats who despised him or despised what he stood for or both. He was a great man and a good pope who surely practiced heroic Christian virtue in the face of the demonic vise-grip of Vatican careerists.
That said, I hold Ratzinger in even higher esteem. Ratzinger TRIED to clean up the mess. He appointed better bishops (mostly) and, most importantly HE OFFERED US A RESPITE FROM THE CHAOS AND DECAY OF THE POSTCONCILIAR CHURCH. While he defended Vatican II, he also delivered us from bowing down before it as an excuse to change everything and dispatch Tradition to the garbage heap. It took tremendous courage to issue Summorum Pontificum and it's since been shown that there are a number of people who can't seem to forgive him for that. I am especially grateful for his simple statement that not one of his detractors or critics (or subverters, including our current Pontiff) can provide any sensible contradiction to:
"What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful."
Such simple words, yet so powerful. I will miss this gentle, intelligent, pastoral and generous pope.
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