Not even in the prayers of the faithful.
Although one of the intentions was a prayer for guidance in electing a new Pope.
Of course the Holy Father is always prayed for in the Eucharistic Prayer.
This Pope deal is really disturbing at times... It has opened a lot wounds I think.
It reminds me not to put my trust in princes, in mortal men who cannot save...
Detachment.
We prayed for Papa to continue to have the strength to lead the Church these last few weeks of his reign.
ReplyDeleteSee - that's what I expected. But Father pretty much read Benedict's section on the Temptation in the Desert verbatim from his book, Jesus of Nazareth - aside from the fact he didn't cite the source, at least he demonstrated he likes the Pontiff. I think parish priests are too busy.
ReplyDeleteI went to daily Mass THE DAY he resigned - a noon Mass, several hours after the news had broken. The priest did not say a word about it. It was very odd. I wondered if perhaps he hadn't heard, but didn't understand how that could happen..
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy - I find it very strange myself.
ReplyDeleteThe whole thing is still very surreal.
"This Pope deal is really disturbing at times... It has opened a lot wounds I think.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me not to put my trust in princes, in mortal men who cannot save..."
I actually have a different perspective. I love the fact that the Pope is stepping down and I applaud him for doing it. I hope this causes Catholics to begin to look at the papacy in a new way (or, more accurately, in the old way). I personally suspect that this is a well thought-out decision by a very intelligent and historically-sensitive scholar designed to de-mystify and de-emphasize an office that has become grossly over-inflated in modern times.
A pope who retires in an age which finds visionaries and armchair prophets predicting doom and armageddon, now, as if the very End of Time hinged upon the actions of the current (or the next) occupant of the Vatican, will go a long way toward bringing the papal office back down to earth, again.
Pope Benedict once commented that "the Pope is not an oracle". It's sad that a pope actually has to remind Catholics that he is, after all, only a human being and that the world, the universe, and the Second Coming do not revolve around him.
A retired pope will, I hope, help to start to put the papacy back into it's proper perspective.
James
James - thanks for the great comment - you make an excellent point. I like the quote you mention: "the Pope is not an oracle".
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, your thoughts parallel certain 'prophecies' which look upon his resignation as an era change.
I think the difficulty for me is accepting change in an institution we always considered immovable, unchangeable. To use an old cliche, it's become sort of a wake up call.
Sunday's Washington Post had a front page above-the-fold article on how the Pope's leaked papers depict a broken Vatican.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/pope-benedict-xvis-leaked-documents-show-fractured-vatican-full-of-rivalries/2013/02/16/23ce0280-76c2-11e2-8f84-3e4b513b1a13_story.html
The first prayer intention at Mass was for Pope Benedict.