BEAUTIFUL, SOLEMN FAREWELL RITES for Benedict XVI: Memento Mori; The Rites & Masses; The Tolling of the Bells of Munich's Frauenkirche; Reminiscences, and His Legacy (VIDEOS)
BEAUTIFUL, SOLEMN FAREWELL RITES for Benedict XVI: Memento Mori; The Rites & Masses; The Tolling of the Bells of Munich's Frauenkirche; Reminiscences, and His Legacy (VIDEOS)
Our modern culture turns away from death, fears it, dares not talk of it, hides it away from public view. We are all fully aware of the predominant trend to look forever young, to deny the many years lived on earth; contemplating our inevitable death (not in a depressed, suicidal manner, of course) is seen as “morbid” and distasteful.
(Personally, I no longer fear death, not since my own kind parents passed on. I do worry about the physical mess I will leave behind in this temporal plane, though!)
But why should we remember our death - Memento mori?
This piece gives us good reasons why.
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We are all going to die.
Every single one of us.
And, over time, so will all those whom we know and love.
This reality can strike fear in the heart of even the most faithful Christian. Yet, if we are pursuing holiness and conformity to God’s will, we need not fear the future held in store for us: it is Heaven, and union with the Lord who is the source of our joy.
Christ has already died for each of us, and if we have been baptized, then we have died to the world through our baptism in Him. If we understand and believe these truths of our Faith, we can live freely in the light of His love for us. We can spend our lives seeking His will, and aspiring only for that to be done. We can let go of our fear of death and embrace the unique mission He asks of us in our finite time on earth.
Contemplating the Reality of Death
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Matthew 10: 28-31
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Pondering our death and eternal life can and should change us for the better. What if instead of pushing this unpleasant thought from our minds, we allowed it to motivate us to grow in virtue and holiness? To love God more fervently? To extend ourselves in self-sacrifice and charity? To aspire to love others as Christ loved us all? Setting aside worldly concerns, we are invited to seek the spiritual without delay.
Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and there is only one Glory, which is eternal. If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing.
St. Teresa of Avila
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FULL ARTICLE: Memento Mori - Remember Your Death
THE EXTENDED FUNERAL RITES
With the passing away of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and the lying-in-state to allow the faithful to come pay their last respects to him, and the Funeral Masses all events culminating with his burial today, I’ve grown to appreciate more the long, public rites and formalities. The final laying-to-rest of the late Pope Emeritus’ mortal remains has a finality to it that one might describe as comforting, reassuring.
It is actually beautiful to see: To send off this good man to his eternal rest at the side of the Lord via these (mostly) traditional ceremonies that few are ever allowed to witness so closely. (We of course pray for this, the eternal repose of his soul, as we are called to do so for all the departed, from today and yesterday.)
Reviewing these videos, reading these articles, listening to people remember Benedict XVI, an ache enters my heart, as I will dearly miss this gentle man of God. He had a scintillating mind, and also dry humor (few knew this of him). I looked to him as a kind, spiritual father.
He called himself “a humble laborer in the vineyard of the Lord,” yet had such depth of knowledge in music, history, philosophy, theology, and was able to encapsulate these ideas in his writings in simple yet concepts filled with a deeper meaning but were easily grasped by the non-academic. He read Greek and Latin, and was fluent in several languages (including German, English, Italian, French, Spanish, and Latin, with a working knowledge of Portuguese).
He truly loved Christ, and tried to embody his faith in his life, while also using the reason and rationality given by God to share his knowledge and understanding of the Faith with the world.
As Cardinal, he’d only wanted to retire to the Vatican Library to write his books, but Pope John Paul II refused several times to accept his resignation as Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (see #7 here). When the position of Pope was thrust onto him, he took it on as God’s will, even if it was the last thing he’d wanted to be.
Have been saying this since my return to the Faith during his pontificate: I foresee that Fr Joseph Ratziner, aka Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, aka Pope Benedict XVI will be proclaimed by a future pope as a Doctor of the Church.
I believe that the Pope Emeritus died a “happy death.” Why do I think so? This: Here Are the Last Words Spoken by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. {ORIGINAL SOURCE}.
Funeral Mass for the Repose of the Soul of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the Vatican this morning:
Note that Pope Francis’ homily was quite brief, feels insufficient for the great position, achievements and brilliance of the late Pope. (Other issues, including the omission of the Roman Canon in the Funeral Mass, are discussed in Raymond Arroyo’s The World Over show Thursday evening; see link below.)
The Vatican had also not expected the vast numbers who actually came to St Peter’s Basilica to pay their respects — estimated at 160,000 in just 34 hours.
From St John Cantius Church, Chicago, IL:
Solemn Requiem High Mass
January 4, 2023
The Canons Regular mourn the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
Parishioners and friends are invited to join the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius for a Solemn Requiem High Mass for Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday, January 4th at 7:30 pm.
The St. Cecilia Choir and Orchestra will sing the Requiem in D minor, K. 62 by W. A. Mozart in honor of Pope Benedict XVI.
"Whether it is Bach or Mozart that we hear in church, we have a sense in either case of what gloria Dei, the glory of God, means. The mystery of infinite beauty is there and enables us to experience the presence of God more truly and vividly than in many sermons."
— Pope Benedict XVI
Mozart’s Requiem is wonderfully rendered by the choir. This piece was expressly selected because Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI so loved Mozart, saying (at 52:30 in the homily by the celebrating priest):
“Whenever you hear Mozart in church, there’s more truth than many, many sermons.”
The Closing of the Coffin (in a private ritual), January 5, 2023:
In video below, fellow German Archbishop Georg Gänswein and long-time personal secretary is visibly moved during the blessing and interring of the remains of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in the Crypt of the Popes.
Interring Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s Remains, January 5, 2023
Perhaps the BEST DISCUSSION OF POPE EMERITUS BENEDICT XVI’S LEGACY
by Raymond Arroyo, the “Papal Posse” & Various Guests
“He was a friend and a neighbor. … the media [has been] missing the entire person. … how humble, how beautiful he was. … he was so innocent, like a child, he was the little prince. … Today, we bury the European Church with him. … He was the last European on the throne.”
— Paul Badde, German journalist and historian
Included in this episode are snippets of an interview by a youthful Raymond of then-Cardinal Ratzinger; and assessments of the late pope’s actions and legacy as a cardinal very close to John Paul II, and as pope.
We hear of the late Pope’s “pain in his heart” on learning of Pope Francis’ recent apostolic letter, Traditiones Custodes, unreasonably restricting the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM). This directly contradicted Pope Benedict’s “liberation” of the TLM with his own 2007 motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum; (Benedict XVI knew the troubles in the Church had roots in the untoward changes in the Liturgy, hence the vital urgency of his Summorum Pontificum.)
Ed Pentin, Fr Fessio, Fr Sirico, Paul Badde share their memories of the Pope Emeritus.
CODA:
The Tolling of the Bells of the Munich Cathedral on the Death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
The Bells of the Frauenkirche (Dom zu Unserer Lieben Frau or Cathedral of Our Lady), the tall twin bell towers of which dominate the Munich landscape. (See aerial photo immediately below; video of tolling bells follows.)
It’s actually a sad sight to see in this video — the huge empty space before the cathedral with its tolling bells echoing across the city. The ringing slows down, finally stopping after about 5 minutes.
A few people then appear for brief interviews with the Independent reporter. After expressing surprise at the news, the first man’s thoughts are rather dry, and appear to show little true connection with the late Pope or the Faith.
Later, at the 10 minute mark, there’s the older German woman : she is the most agitated of them all — but is typical of the modern, liberal German Catholic today who is unlikely to be seen at Mass on Sundays.
It has been said about the Second Vatican Council, “the Rhine flows into the Tiber” (where ironically, as a young German priest, Fr. Joseph Ratzinger was one of the Council’s central theologians seeking more modern-sounding changes to the Church! He shifted from this stance later on, realizing that the pendulum had swung too much in one direction).
This snapshot of a street scene in a Bavarian city today might well be a sign of the “small Church” that a young German priest had forecast the Roman Catholic Church would shrink to following the “current crisis.” (—a crisis ongoing since the 1960s; Fr. Joseph Ratzinger had spoken this in an uncannily prophetic radio lecture made in 1969). Afterwards, the Catholic Church would have to start all over again, he had said.
FINALLY:
Lighter moments:
Bavarian bands with their checkered blue-and-white banners arrive at the Vatican to honor the Bavarian-born Pope Emeritus. (Joseph Ratzinger enjoyed an occasional tall mug of German bier.)
CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW VIDEO:
In this list of —
“8 Surprising Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Pope Benedict XVI”,
— only #1, 4, and 5 were true surprises to me!
I still treasure these stickers/magnets about Pope Benedict XVI that came out shortly after his election to the papacy in 2005:
Requiem aeternam dona ei Domine.
Et lux perpetua luceat ei.
Requiescat in pace.
Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord.
Let perpetual light shine upon him.
Rest in peace.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
I apologize for being incommunicado. I am behind in my reading. But I will not miss your coverage of this event. Do you find it curious that the funeral took place on Christmas Eve in the Eastern Orthodox calendar?
When Benedict abdicated and Francis was chosen, St. Peter's was struck by lightening twice after the conclave sent the smoke signal. And now Benedict passes as the Orthodox church celebrates the birth of Christ. I see these as signals that the Vatican is not representing the "light and the way," of Jesus and I am considering transitioning to Eastern Orthodox. I am going to read Benedict's text on Eschatology.
The more I learn about the Vatican's collusion with Nazis and role in the decimation of the Jews and Serbs--both of which were/are based in Eastern Orthodox countries, the region of conflict today--the less comfortable I am as a Catholic. There needs to be a purge of corruption at the Vatican which I suppose will never happen?...They have probably always been up to nefarious geopolitical maneuvers.... They have yet to issue an apology (or better, retract) their endorsement of the gene therapy vaccines--a violation of the body that they portrayed as an act of love...