Pope Benedict XVI's "Last Testament"

Pope Benedict's Last Testament: In His Own Words is a fascinating retrospective and summation of the life of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI, a welcome ending to Peter Seewald's prior book-length interviews, Salt of The Earth (1997), God and The World (2002) and Light of The World (2010).

Of particular interest to me was the Pope Emeritus' recollections of his intellectual interactions with fellow academics in philosophy and theology, his experience as a peritus at Vatican II, and his appraisals of political figures he encountered in the course of his pontificate.

Throughout the interview his character shines through as a man of genuine faith, conviction and humility -- who regardless of his impressive theological stature and academic legacy is nonetheless capable of receiving criticism and correction from colleagues ("he reproached me many times, which is possible and proper among friends"), appreciative of those instances in life in where one is "made small" as opportunities for Christlike self-mortification ("That does someone good: to recognize once again one's utter poverty").

Likewise as Pope, cognizant of very clear ethical disagreements with political leaders (Obama, Castro, Putin), was able to see their humanity as well:

"I got to know these people, and not only from their political and tactical sides. What was generally impressive about these encounters was discerning that -- although these people indeed think very differently to us on many issues -- they certainly try to see what is right."

And so with respect to agnostics, professed atheists and left-wingers, "if they think and speak honestly. Of course there are fanatics, who are only functionaries and just dispense their working slogans. But if they are human beings, one can see that they are somehow restless inside..."

Above all, and as with prior interviews, he comes across as one whose life -- and pontificate -- "put God and faith at the center [and] Holy Scripture in the foreground"; sought "to discover God again, to discover Christ again, and so find the centrality of faith again" -- and for whom "the important thing is that the faith endures today. I see this as the central task. All the rest is just administrative issues..."

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The people who feel driven today to turn their backs on the Church are not only the ones who have become alienated from the Church's faith or who regard the Church as too old-fashioned, too medieval, to hostile to the world and life, but also those who loved the historical form of the Church: her worship, her timelessness, and the reflection of the eternal in her. It seem sto them that the Church is in the process of betraying what is most characteristic of her, that she is selling herself to the current fashion and thus losing her soul: they are disappointed like a lover who has to experience the betrayal of a great love and must seriously consider turning his back on her.

Conversely, however, there are also quite conflicting reasons to stay in the Church: the ones who remain are not only those who steadfastly adhere to their faith in her mission or whose who are unwilling to sever their ties to a dear old habit (even though they make little use of that habit). Also remaining in the Church today, quite emphatically, are those who reject her entire historical character and passionately fight against the meaning that her officials try to give her or uphold. Although they want to do away with what the Church was and is, they are determined not to be ousted, so that they can make of her what, in their opinion, she is supposed to become. [p. 134]

* * *"The death of God" is a very real process, which today extends deep into the interior of the Church. God is dying in Christendom, so it seems. For when resurrection becomes an experience of a commission perceived in outmoded imagery, then God is not at work. Is he at work at all? That is the question that immediately follows. But who wants to be so reactionary as to insist on a realistic "he is risen"? Thus what one person necessarily considers unbelief is progress to another, and what was hitherto unthinkable becomes normal: that men who long ago abandoned the Church's Creed should in good conscience regard themselves as the truly progressive Christians. For them, however, the only standard by which to measure the Church is the expediency with which she functions; of course, the question remains as to what is expedient and for what purpose the whole thing is actually supposed to function. For social criticism, for developmental aid, for revolution? Or for community celebrations? [p. 139]

Joseph Ratzinger, on "Why I am still in the Church", circa 1970. From Fundamental Speeches from Five Decades].

Joseph Ratzinger - Collected Works: Theology of the Liturgy

Joseph Ratzinger-Collected Works: Theology of the Liturgy
Publisher: Ignatius Press (May 5, 2014). 700 pgs.

This major volume is a collection of the writings of Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) on the theology of the Liturgy of the Church, a subject of preeminence to him as a theologian, professor and spiritual writer. It brings together all his writings on the subject, short and long, giving his views on liturgical matters and questions over many years and from various perspectives.

He chose to have his writings on the Liturgy for the first volume published of his collected works (though listed as vol. 11) because, as he says in the Introduction: "The liturgy of the Church has been for me since my childhood the central reality of my life, and it became the center of my theological efforts. I chose fundamental theology as my field because I wanted first and foremost to examine thoroughly the question: Why do we believe? But also included from the beginning in this question was the other question of the right response to God and, thus, the question of the liturgy."

By starting with the theme of liturgy in this volume, Ratzinger wants to highlight God's primacy, the absolute precedence of the theme of God. Beginning with a focus on the liturgy, he said, tells us that "God is first". He quotes from the Rule of St. Benedict, "Nothing is to be preferred to the liturgy", as a way of ordering priorities for the life of the Church and of every individual. He says that the fundamental question of the man who begins to understand himself correctly is: How must I encounter God? Thus learning the right way of worshipping is the gift par excellence that is given to us by the faith.

The essential purpose of his writings on the liturgy is to place the liturgy in its larger context, which he presents in three concentric circles. First, the intrinsic interrelationship of Old and New Testament; without the connection to the Old Testament heritage, the Christian liturgy is incomprehensible. The second circle is the relationship to the religions of the world. The third circle is the cosmic character of the liturgy, which is more than the coming together of a circle of people: the liturgy is celebrated in the expanse of the cosmos, encompassing creation and history at the same time.

(As if there aren't already enough books on my "to read" list).

Ratzinger on Prayer, Faith.

Many people were able to pray as children, but at sometime or other they lost the ability. Do you have to learn to talk with God?

The organ of sensitivity to God can atrophy to such an extent that the words of faith become quite meaningless. And whoever no longer possesses a faculty of hearing can no longer speak, because deaf goes together with being mute. It's as if one had deliberately to learn one's own mother tongue. Slowly one learns to spell out God's letters, to speak this language and -- if still inadequately -- to understand God. Gradually, then, one will begin to be able to pray for one's self and to talk with God, at first in a very childlike way -- in a certain sense we always remain like that -- but then more and more in one's own words.

* * *

I also think one has never achieved complete faith. Faith has to be lived again and again in life and in suffering, as well as in the great joys God sends us. It is never something I can put in my pocket, like a coin.

Joseph Ratzinger [Pope Benedict XVI]
God and the World: A Conversation With Peter Seewald

Celebrating the 5th Anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI's Pontificate

April 19th marked the 5th anniversary of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI. (It also marked the birth of my second son, which is why I'm a little late to the celebration). Following are some links commemorating the occasion:

• Acton President Rev. Robert A. Sirico and Kishore Jayabalan, the Director of Acton’s Rome office on the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI -- a dicussion with Al Kresta on Kresta in the Afternoon.
• Pope Benedict's Rookie Year as a Priest - Before he was Pope Benedict XVI, or Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, our new pope was a young Bavarian seminarian. In his autobiography, Milestones: Memoirs 1927-1977, Joseph Ratzinger recounts his ordination on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul in Freising, Germany, in 1951, and his first years as a parish priest and then completing his doctorate while teaching at the seminary.
• From Catholic News Service: After having collaborated on children’s books about Pope Benedict XVI, Msgr. Georg Ganswein — his personal secretary — is celebrating the fifth anniversary of the pope’s election with his own book, “Benedict XVI: Urbi et Orbi” looking at the pope’s public encounters with the faithful and with other visitors in Rome and around the world.

  According to the Salt + Light blog, the book is released in Italian and German only:

  As Msgr. Gänswein says in his introduction to the book, in Mark’s Gospel Jesus tells the apostles to go to every corner of the earth to preach the Gospel, and so the successor of Peter has to do the same in order to bring “the words of eternal life” to the ends of the earth.

  The photos are beautiful shots of Pope Benedict in different places, including a great photo of him walking hand-in-hand with a select group of young people at World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany. There’s even a picture of the Holy Father meeting Governor General Michaëlle Jean and her daughter Marie-Eden.

• At the five-year mark, "two key objectives of Pope Benedict XVI's pontificate have come into clear focus: creating space for religion in the public sphere and space for God in private lives", says John Thavis (Catholic News Service).
• Close to 1,200 students from Roman universities signed a letter congratulating Benedict XVI for the fifth anniversary of his election to the See of Peter. (Zenit News Service).
• Benedict has already left its mark on the Church, says Carmen Elena Villa, in a survey of highlights of his pontificate to date, not to mention significant facts (with 142 published works, he holds the papal record for having written most books before taking the Chair of Peter).
• "Reigniting the Word of God" (National Catholic Register April 21, 2010). According to biblical scholar Scott Hahn, emblematic to Benedict's pontificate is the centrality on the word of God:

  That’s where he has kept our focus — not on fads or scandals or the world’s alarms. Christ, the Word Incarnate, is the solution to every world crisis. Pope Benedict has invited us, insistently and consistently, to encounter Christ in the word inspired, the sacred Scriptures. And he has done this through some very large labors. ...

• To commemorate the fifth anniversary of this historic event for the Catholic Church, Catholic World Report asked its contributors to reflect on these first years of Pope Benedict's pontificate:

  Priest, Prophet, King
  Three ways Benedict has exemplified these three roles
  By Father Joseph Fessio, S.J.

  Reform within Continuity
  A proper understanding of Vatican II has been paramount in Benedict’s pontificate.
  By Father Matthew Lamb

  Why Do the Media Rage?
  Pope Benedict’s pontificate has caught the media and dissidents alike by surprise.
  By Philip F. Lawler

  Pope Benedict’s Patristic Perspective
  A student of the past, a prophet of the future
  By Father David Vincent Meconi, S.J.

  Planting the Seeds of Reform
  Future generations will have much for which to thank Benedict.
  By George Neumayr

  Benedict Contra Mundum
  In Pope Benedict, “Peter is still here.”
  By Carl E. Olson

  A Pope Who Thinks in Centuries
  Benedict sees the Church as a divine institution with a historical mission.
  By Tracey Rowland

  A Fatherly Figure
  History will vindicate the paternal care Benedict has shown for the Church.
  By Robert Royal

  Pope Ratzinger
  A scholarly pope who also listens
  By Father James V. Schall, S.J.

  Retrieval and Reintegration
  Benedict’s efforts to let the past inform and guide the Church’s future
  By Father Robert Sirico

  
  

Get to know Pope Benedict XVI ...

	The Essential Pope Benedict XVI Edited by John F. Thornton & Susan B. Varenne, with introduction by D. Vincent Twomey, S.V.D. On April 24, 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI, the successor of the Apostle Peter and the spiritual leader of more than one billion Roman Catholics. This collection lays out Benedict's thinking and relates it to a variety of contemporary issues, including modern culture's abandonment of traditional religious values, social mores regarding conception and the sanctity of life, current challenges to the priesthood, and the Catholic Church's relations with other world religions.
	Benedict XVI: An Intimate Portrait In the person of Benedict XVI, the Church has a Pope who is one of the most significant of Europe's intellectuals. The journalist Peter Seewald, who has known Ratzinger since 1992, conducted the longest interviews in Church history with him for two books which were best-sellers world-wide, Salt of the Earth, and God and the World. Now, for the first time, Seewald describes these intensive encounters in detail, and draws a portrait of this brilliant theologian who has put his life entirely at the service of the Catholic Church. This book is also the story of a long dialogue that changed Seewald's life. Many people are trying to understand who Benedict XVI really is. On one point they all agree: in the person of Joseph Ratzinger, the chair of Peter is occupied by one of the most brilliant minds in the world. Peter Seewald's portrait of Benedict recounts details about the personality and life of Benedict that were hitherto completely unknown.'
	Pope Benedict XVI: The Conscience of Our Age Fr. D. Vincent Twomey, a former doctoral student of Joseph Ratzinger and long time friend of the Pope, felt the need to respond to the common question he heard often after the papal election, “What kind of person is the new Pope?” So often Twomey had read false depictions of both the man and his thought, especially the image presented by the media as a grim enforcer. Twomey offers here a unique double–presentation of the man, Pope Benedict XVI — a “theological portrait” that encompasses both an overview of the writings, teachings and thought of the brilliant theologian and spiritual writer, as well as the man himself, and his personality traits and how he communicates with others. Twomey shows that the secret to the serene dignified behavior of Benedict is that he is open to beauty as much as truth, that he lives outside himself, and is not preoccupied with his own self. He also is a man that Twomey says “has the courage to be imperfect”, showing he has a deep humility and strives for teaching the truth even when misunderstood or not presented as well as he would like.

Eschaton Si, Imminent No!

[Cross-posted to The American Catholic]

Over at Vox Nova, Henry Karlson offers some thoughtful reflections on eschatology (Part I | Part II | Part III), or rather -- those who employ the catch phrase "Don't immanentize the eschaton!" as a cudgel against those "doing the work of Christ":

How many times do we find these words repeated, time and again, since Voegelin has suggested to do so is Gnostic? How ironic is this claim, when authentic Christian theology believes that the eschaton has been immanetized in Christ. Voegelin, and many of his followers like Buckley, became critical of anyone who would try to connect the supernatural with the natural in a way which understood the eschatological ramifications of Christ have any this-worldly implications. But this is exactly what Christian theology proposes. God became man; the eschaton has been revealed; the world and all that is in it has been affected by the immanentizing of the eschaton that history can never be the same. Christians are called to live out their lives in and through Christ, bringing the eschatological implications of Pascha to the world itself. The world is meant to be transformed and brought to its perfection, and we are to be Christ's workers in helping to bring this about; of course, our work is not on the same level of Christ's, but, if we truly become one with Christ in his body, we must understand this is exactly what we are called to do. Anything else is a rejection of the incarnation, anything else which tries to establish an absolute duality between the immanent and transcendent is what really qualifies as gnostic!

In response, I'd like to say a little bit about why I find myself sympathetic to Buckley and company.