Remembering Last Days of Benedict XVI and the Sede Vacante

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“The Church is in the world but not of the world and it is a living body,” therefore it is not an institution designed and conceived according to pre-set plans, but is of God. -Benedict XVI speaking to the Cardinals for the last time as pope full text below

The process of transition to a new pope was lived through by all the members of the church and we have now passed one year with our new Pope Francis and a Pope emeritus Benedict XVI. I wish today to remember with gratitude our beloved Benedict XVI, now known as "pontiff emeritus,"  who after leaving the Vatican spent the next few weeks at the hilltop Castel Gandolfo until the new Pope had taken office and now resides in a former convent in the Vatican gardens, he said before he left office that he would live out his days "hidden from the world" in prayer and isolation. He has been photographed only a few times since then.

Indeed, he is far from the world but he is present in the Church. His mission now, as he once said, is to help the Church and his successor, Pope Francis, through prayer. This is his first and most important task.

Benedict XVI 

Last Words and Blessing 
 as Pope from Castel Gandolfo

"Thank you, thank you all! Dear friends I am happy to be with you...your friendship does me a lot of good....Thank you for your friendship and affection...I am not any longer the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church- until 8pm I am, but then, no longer. I am simply a pilgrim who is beginning his last stage of pilgrimage on this earth. I would still like to, with my heart, love, prayer, and reflection, with all my interior strength, work for the common good, for the good of the Church and of humanity, and I feel very sustained by your love. Let us go ahead together with the Lord for the good of the Church and of the world. Grazie! I extend to you now, with all my heart, my blessing....grazie! Good night! Thank you all!  

Click for Video of Pope Benedict XVI giving his last blessing as pope at Castel Gandolfo 

Fr. Federico Lombardi said that His symbolic Fisherman's Ring and papal seal will  likely be "destroyed" by means of making scratch marks so that they can no longer be used to seal documents. 

Benedict XVI First Pope to Tweet Ended Pontificate  With 3 Million Twitter Followers 

Benedict's final  Twitter tweet was sent at 11 a.m. ET from his @Pontifex account, and read: "Thank you for your love and support. May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the centre of your lives."

The nine @pontifex Twitter accounts reached over three million followers just before 8 pm on Thursday, when the accounts were officially made inactive as the Sede Vacante started. The account will remain dormant until the next pope decides whether he wants to use it, the Vatican said. 

 Benedict XVI Gives
Last Talk to the Cardinals
Who will elect the new pope

 
Dear beloved brothers,

I welcome you all with great joy and cordially greet each one of you. I thank Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who as always, has been able to convey the sentiments of the College, Cor ad cor loquitur. Thank you, Your Eminence from my heart.
 
And referring to the disciples of Emmaus, I would like to say to you all that it has also been a joy for me to walk with you over the years in light of the presence of the Risen Lord. As I said yesterday, in front of thousands of people who filled St. Peter's Square, your closeness, your advice, have been a great help to me in my ministry.

In these 8 years we have experienced in faith beautiful moments of radiant light in the Churches’ journey along with times when clouds have darkened the sky. We have tried to serve Christ and his Church with deep and total love which is the soul of our ministry.

We have gifted hope that comes from Christ alone, and which alone can illuminate our path. Together we can thank the Lord who has helped us grow in communion, to pray to together, to help you to continue to grow in this deep unity so that the College of Cardinals is like an orchestra, where diversity, an expression of the universal Church, always contributes to a superior harmony of concord. 

I would like to leave you with a simple thought that is close to my heart, a thought on the Church, Her mystery, which is for all of us, we can say, the reason and the passion of our lives. I am helped by an expression of Romano Guardini’s, written in the year in which the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council approved the Constitution Lumen Gentium, his last with a personal dedication to me, so the words of this book are particularly dear to me .

Guardini says: "The Church is not an institution devised and built at table, but a living reality. She lives along the course of time by transforming Herself, like any living being, yet Her nature remains the same. At Her heart is Christ."

This was our experience yesterday, I think, in the square. We could see that the Church is a living body, animated by the Holy Spirit, and truly lives by the power of God, She is in the world but not of the world. She is of God, of Christ, of the Spirit, as we saw yesterday.

This is why another eloquent expression of Guardini’s is also true: "The Church is awakening in souls." The Church lives, grows and awakens in those souls which like the Virgin Mary accept and conceive the Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. They offer to God their flesh and in their own poverty and humility become capable of giving birth to Christ in the world today.

Cardinal Burke speaks with Benedict XVI  photo by @GuadalupeShrine

Through the Church the mystery of the Incarnation remains present forever. Christ continues to walk through all times in all places. Let us remain united, dear brothers, to this mystery, in prayer, especially in daily Eucharist, and thus serve the Church and all humanity. This is our joy that no one can take from us.

Prior to bidding farewell to each of you personally, I want to tell you that I will continue to be close to you in prayer, especially in the next few days, so that you may all be fully docile to the action of the Holy Spirit in election of the new Pope. May the Lord show you what is willed by Him. And among you, among the College of Cardinals, there is also the future Pope, to whom, here to today, I already promise my unconditional reverence and obedience. For all this, with affection and gratitude, I cordially impart upon you my Apostolic Blessing"  (From Vatican Radio)

Gatias, Grazie, Thank You, Benedict XVI
We pray for you and our new Pope Francis
Ora pro nobis, Pray for us!

  

Benedict XVI joins Pope Francis in consecrating Vatican to St Michael Archangel and St. Joseph!!

2013-07-05 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) To the joy of Vatican City State workers, Friday morning Pope Francis was joined by Pope emeritus Benedict XVI in the gardens for a ceremony during which the Holy Father blessed a statue of St Michael Archangel, at the same time consecrating the Vatican to the Archangel’s protection.

Following a brief ceremony, Pope Francis addressed those present noting how St. Michael defends the People of God from its enemy par excellence, the devil. He said even if the devil attempts to disfigure the face of the Archangel and thus the face of humanity, St Michael wins, because God acts in him and is stronger:
 

 New statue of St. Micheal in Vatican Gardens sculpted by Giuseppe Antonio Lomuscio.

"In the Vatican Gardens there are several works of art. But this, which has now been added, takes on particular importance, in its location as well as the meaning it expresses. In fact it is not just celebratory work but an invitation to reflection and prayer, that fits well into the Year of Faith. Michael - which means "Who is like God" - is the champion of the primacy of God, of His transcendence and power. Michael struggles to restore divine justice and defends the People of God from his enemies, above all by the enemy par excellence, the devil. And St. Michael wins because in him, there is He God who acts. This sculpture reminds us then that evil is overcome, the accuser is unmasked, his head crushed, because salvation was accomplished once and for all in the blood of Christ.

 Though the devil always tries to disfigure the face of the Archangel and that of humanity, God is stronger, it is His victory and His salvation that is offered to all men. We are not alone on the journey or in the trials of life, we are accompanied and supported by the Angels of God, who offer, so to speak, their wings to help us overcome so many dangers, in order to fly high compared to those realities that can weigh down our lives or drag us down. In consecrating Vatican City State to St. Michael the Archangel, I ask him to defend us from the evil one and banish him. "

"We also consecrate Vatican City State to St. Joseph, guardian of Jesus, the guardian of the Holy Family. May his presence make us stronger and more courageous in making space for God in our lives to always defeat evil with good. We ask Him to protect, take care of us, so that a life of grace grows stronger in each of us every day. "

The Pope in  June also approved a new addition to the Latin Rite Mass. The name of St. Joseph, will be included after the usual prayer to the Virgin Mary in all of the Eucharistic Prayers in the in the 3rd edition of the Missale Romanum.
 

The Decree of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments was made public on Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The decree was promulgated on May 1, 2013, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. The Decree mandates the insertion of the name of St. Joseph in the Prayer offered by every Catholic priest in the world when they offer Eucharistic Prayers II, III, and IV during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. St. Joseph is already included in Eucharistic Prayer I. 

So, What is Pope Francis saying here! What does it mean? Maybe it  Announces A Crisis of Fatherhood in Society and the Church! St Joseph, Fatima and Fatherhood

St. Joseph's Appearance at Fatima Announced A Crisis of Fatherhood in Society and the Church! 

Also see: Fatherhood and Family under Attack—The Spirit of Anti-Fatherhood also entered the Churc
The rejection of the Fatherhood of God!

This post linked to Catholic Bloggers Link Up Blitz for JULY 2013

The Year of Faith--Togethor Let us seek the Face of Christ!

Pope inaugurates Year of Faith 

and invites all to rediscover 

the Second Vatican Council!

The Opening Mass of Year of Faith

Click for The Pope's Homily

If today the Church proposes a new Year of Faith and a new evangelization, it is not to honour an anniversary, but because there is more need of it, even more than there was fifty years ago! And the reply to be given to this need is the one desired by the Popes, by the Council Fathers and contained in its documents. Even the initiative to create a Pontifical Council for the promotion of the new evangelization, which I thank for its special effort for the Year of Faith, is to be understood in this context. Recent decades have seen the advance of a spiritual "desertification". In the Council’s time it was already possible from a few tragic pages of history to know what a life or a world without God looked like, but now we see it every day around us. This void has spread. But it is in starting from the experience of this desert, from this void, that we can again discover the joy of believing, its vital importance for us, men and women. In the desert we rediscover the value of what is essential for living; thus in today’s world there are innumerable signs, often expressed implicitly or negatively, of the thirst for God, for the ultimate meaning of life. 

"The “door of faith” (Acts 14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church. It is possible to cross that threshold when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming grace. To enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime. It begins with baptism (cf. Rom 6:4), through which we can address God as Father, and it ends with the passage through death to eternal life, fruit of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, whose will it was, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, to draw those who believe in him into his own glory (cf. Jn 17:22). To profess faith in the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is to believe in one God who is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8): the Father, who in the fullness of time sent his Son for our salvation; Jesus Christ, who in the mystery of his death and resurrection redeemed the world; the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church across the centuries as we await the Lord’s glorious return."  Porta Fidei,1

The Year of Faith and Vatican II Benedict XVI, in Porta Fide also commented on the Year of Faith and the Second Vatican Council. "In some respects, my venerable predecessor saw this Year as a “consequence and a necessity of the post -conciliar period”  fully conscious of the grave difficulties of the time, especially with regard to the profession of the true faith and correct interpretation. It seemed to me that timing the launch of the Year of Faith to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council would provide a good opportunity to help people understand that the texts bequeathed by the Council Fathers, in the words of Blessed John Paul II, “have lost nothing of their value or brilliance. They need to be read correctly, to be widely known and taken to heart as important and normative texts of the Magisterium, within the Church's Tradition ... I feel more than ever in duty bound to point to the Council as the great grace bestowed on the Church in the twentieth century: there we find a sure compass by which to take our bearings in the century now beginning. I would also like to emphasize strongly what I had occasion to say concerning the Council a few months after my election as Successor of Peter:'if we interpret and implement it guided by a right hermeneutic, it can be and can become increasingly powerful for the ever necessary renewal of the Church.' " Porta Fidei,5 The Year of Faith  Seeking the Face of Christ Hear my voice when I call, Lord;     be merciful to me and answer me.  My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”     Your face, Lord, I will seek. Psalm 27:7-8

Today is the first day of the Year of Faith, and also is the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. . . (Vatican II) and the twentieth anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. During the Year of Faith, Catholics are asked to study and reflect on the documents of Vatican II and the Catechism of the Catholic Church so that they may deepen their knowledge of the faith.

The Year of Faith is a year of Grace concept which is inspired and based upon the Apostolic Letter ‘Novo Millenio Ineunte’ by the late Blessed Pope John Paul II—recalling the events in Rome during the Jubilee Year of 2000 and his challenge to the whole Church to “contemplate the face of Christ” and to “start afresh” from Christ.

Benedict XVI in his Apostolic letter, Porta Fidei elaborates on this theme: "During this time we will need to keep our gaze fixed upon Jesus Christ, the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Heb 12:2): in him, all the anguish and all the longing of the human heart finds fulfillment. The joy of love, the answer to the drama of suffering and pain, the power of forgiveness in the face of an offense received and the victory of life over the emptiness of death: all this finds fulfillment in the mystery of his Incarnation, in his becoming man, in his sharing our human weakness so as to transform it by the power of his resurrection. In him who died and rose again for our salvation, the examples of faith that have marked these two thousand years of our salvation history are brought into the fullness of light." Porta Fidei,13

Also See: Plenary Indulgence Offered for Year of Faith Make use of this gift of mercy from the church!

Plenary indulgence announced for the Year of Faith. Make sure you take part often in this act of mercy from the Church!

Vatican City, Oct 5, 2012 (CNA/EWTN News) - The Holy See announced Oct. 5 that Pope Benedict XVI has granted a plenary indulgence for the Year of Faith, which will last from Oct. 11, 2012 to Nov. 24, 2013.

The decree announcing the indulgence was signed Sept. 14 by Cardinal Manuel de Castro, Major Penitentiary, and Bishop Kryzsztof Nykiel, Regent, of the Apostolic Penitentiary. The penitentiary is the part of the Roman Curia responsible for indulgences and governing the sacrament of confession.

One plenary indulgence per day may be gained by an individual, which they can use for themselves or apply to a soul in purgatory. The indulgence remits the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven.

During the Year of Faith, there are four means of gaining an indulgence.
Click for entire story
  

The Pope also requested the faithful for Prayer at the start of his pilgrimage to Loreto October 4th. The pope said he was following in the footsteps of Bl. John XXIII, who entrusted Vatican II to Our Lady at the Shrine of Loreto on October 4th, in 1962!

Benedict XVI's pilgrimage to Loreto marks the 50th anniversary of that journey and the opening of the Council. The Pope asked everyone in Wednesday's General Audience to join his prayers "entrusting to the Mother of God the main ecclesial events we are preparing to experience: the Year of Faith, and the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization."

Below are excerpts taken from his Homily given at the shrine....
Click for entire text of the Pope's Homily....

Blessed John XXIII's 

Act of entrustment of 
Vatican Council II

"On October 4, 1962, Blessed John XXIII also came as a pilgrim to this Shrine to entrust to the Virgin Mary the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, due to begin a week later. On that occasion, with deep filial devotion to the Mother of God, he addressed her in these words: “Again today, and in the name of the entire episcopate, "I ask you, sweetest Mother, as Help of Bishops, to intercede for me as Bishop of Rome and for all the bishops of the world, to obtain for us the grace to enter the Council Hall of Saint Peter’s Basilica, as the Apostles and the first disciples of Jesus entered the Upper Room: with one heart, one heartbeat of love for Christ and for souls, with one purpose only, to live and to sacrifice ourselves for the salvation of individuals and peoples. Thus, by your maternal intercession, in the years and the centuries to come, may it be said that the grace of God prepared, accompanied and crowned the twenty-first Ecumenical Council, filling all the children of the holy Church with a new fervor, a new impulse to generosity, and a renewed firmness of purpose” (AAS 54 [1962], 727).

Benedict XVI continues:

"Fifty years later, having been called by divine Providence to succeed that unforgettable Pope to the See of Peter, I too have come on pilgrimage to entrust to the Mother of God two important ecclesial initiatives: the Year of Faith, which will begin in a week, on 11 October, on the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, and the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which I have convened this October with the theme “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith”.

 "We must return to God, so that man 

may return to being man" Pope Benedict XVI

This Shrine of Loretto, built around Mary's earthly home, preserves the memory of the moment when an angel of Lord came to Mary with     the great announcement of the Incarnation, and she gave her reply. This home is a physical, tangible witness to the greatest event in our history, the Incarnation; the Word became flesh and Mary, the handmaid of the Lord, is the privileged channel through which God came to dwell among us!"

Here at Loreto fifty years ago, Blessed John XXIII issued an invitation to contemplate this mystery, to “reflect on that union of heaven and earth, which is the purpose of the Incarnation and Redemption”, and he went on to affirm that the aim of the Council itself was to spread ever wider the beneficent impact of the Incarnation and Redemption on all spheres of life (cf. AAS 54 [1962], 724). This invitation resounds today with particular urgency. In the present crisis affecting not only the economy but also many sectors of society, the Incarnation of the Son of God speaks to us of how important man is to God, and God to man. Without God, man ultimately chooses selfishness over solidarity and love, material things over values, having over being. We must return to God, so that man may return to being man.

With God, even in difficult times or moments of crisis, there is always a horizon of hope: the Incarnation tells us that we are never alone, that God has come to humanity and that he accompanies us!

Dear brothers and sisters, on this pilgrimage in the footsteps of Blessed John XXIII – and which comes, providentially, on the day in which the Church remembers Saint Francis of Assisi, a veritable “living Gospel” – I wish to entrust to the Most Holy Mother of God all the difficulties affecting our world as it seeks serenity and peace, the problems of the many families who look anxiously to the future, the aspirations of young people at the start of their lives, the suffering of those awaiting signs or decisions of solidarity and love. I also wish to place in the hands of the Mother of God this special time of grace for the Church, now opening up before us. Mother of the “yes”, you who heard Jesus, speak to us of him; tell us of your journey, that we may follow him on the path of faith; help us to proclaim him, that each person may welcome him and become the dwelling place of God. Amen! Click for entire text of the Pope's Homily....

               

Click for video of the Pope's Oct 4th, 2012 visit to Loretto!

Also see recent post:
The Fatima Message Embraces the Holy Father in Prayer & Sacrifice!