Exiit qui seminat
Pope Benedict XVI
With everything that went along with the feast days of the Christmas season, this is my first opportunity to write about the death of Pope Benedict XVI on December 31, 2022. This is truly an unprecedented time because the Church hasn't had the funeral of a "retired pope" in about 600 years. I'm sure we've watched in one way or another how the Church has decided to pray for and honor the life of this true Churchman and Priest. I was blessed to meet Pope Benedict personally twice: once, as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger while I was vacation in Rome in the early 2000s. He was so kind to spend a few minutes talking to me and my friends. Unfortunately, it was the only day of my trip that I didn't bring my camera with me! The second was almost 10 years later in January 2010. Now Benedict XVI, the seminarians of the Pontifical North American College and the student priests of the Casa Santa Maria (the American House of Studies for advanced Church degrees) had an audience with the Pope on the occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the North American College. My interaction with Pope Benedict was brief. My only thought at the time? Don't miss his hand when attempting to kiss his ring. I've included the two photos of that moment in this week's bulletin. I also had the great privilege of distributing Holy Communion at the Easter Vigil at St. Peter's that same year. It was truly a "pinch me" type of moment - one that I will never forget. My take away from these special moments point to the humility of Pope Benedict and how he tried, as best as he could, to live out the office as the Successor of St. Peter. It was that same humility that shocked the world in February 2013 as he stepped down from the Petrine Ministry. The reality is that any of us who are priests, bishops and even popes, are truly the same people after we are ordained as we were before we were ordained. Thankfully, ii is the Lord's priesthood and not ours. It's only by our sharing or our full participation (for bishops) of the priesthood of Jesus Christ that we are aware of the humbling and incredible life that God calls us. We try and live out that life in the best way we know how. So pray for the repose of the soul of Pope Benedict XVI. Pray for our priests. Pray for our bishops. Pray for the Pope. Because in the end the Lord knows that none of us are worthy to follow in the footsteps of the Savior. We just try to be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in order to follow the will of God and humbly serve His Church.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Rob Sinatra
