Am I the only one who is feeling a bit unfaithful right now?
Perhaps a bit divided? Don’t get me wrong, I am elated at the election of Pope
Francis and the blessing he appears to be to our Church. His modesty and low
maintenance style is very appealing. The positions he has historically held on
the moral issues I hold dear are spot on from what I have learned about him in
the past two days. But what about dear, sweet, unassuming Benedict? Unlike
other past popes, he has not yet gone to his Eternal Reward. He still lives –
albeit solitarily – amongst us. Our gentle German Shepherd did so much for Holy
Mother Church during his eight year pontificate – not to mention, the time he
spent serving as Cardinal Josef Ratzinger.
OK, I’ll admit that his German heritage always appealed to
me. His way of analyzing and explaining felt like my German Opa counseling me
in the ways of the Faith. I will also be eternally grateful for what I suspect
is a deeper framework for the future of Christ’s Church than we will ever
realize. Even the election of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio may have Benedict's fingerprints on it.
But what do we do about Benedict now? He still occupies a warm place in my
heart and even as I work feverishly to get to know Pope Francis, I still hear
the echoes of what Benedict has taught us ringing in my soul.
Is this how it feelswhen an adopted child finds her birth
parent(s)? That feeling of split loyalty - OK, I know where my loyalty lies, but you know what I mean, right? How does one negotiate the roadways of
affection, loyalty and love for two of something? It will be interesting to
see. Now that the mystery has been revealed, and we know who will be
serving as the Vicar of Christ, life can begin to normalize a bit. Sure, we
have much to learn about our new Pope, but we still have much to glean from
what his predecessor has gifted to the world. Therein lies the beauty of the Church instituted by Christ Himself - a succession of earthy Shepherds to lead us Home. May we find an equitable place in
our hearts for them both. Viva la Papa – past and present!
Hi Birgit,
ReplyDeleteI found your post on Pinterest because I noticed your name and my name is Birgit too. My family is from Passau, the Diocese where Pope Benedict is from, so he always felt more like "our Pope." Pope Francis seems very open and relatable, so I think we will be very happy with him, but Pope Benedict will always hold a special place in our hearts.
Hi Birgit. Great to 'meet' you. It's always so much fun to find another person with the same name. Here in the US it is quite uncommon. I, too, made a friend (on Facebook)just because her name is Birgit. She is a good Catholic and I have enjoyed our online friendship very much.Yes, definitely I agree with what you have said! God bless.
ReplyDeleteHi Birgit, thank you for your post! ...but I have to point out that it's "il Papa," not "la Papa," since "Papa" is a masculine noun. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the correction! I'll try to remember is for next time. ;-)
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