March is here, and this month, portending so much for our Church, providentially culminates with Easter Sunday. A little while ago, we lived 18 momentous days in February which began on 11.02 with Pope Benedict's announcement that he would be stepping down.
In a shop window I’ve already seen a book entitled Benedixt XVI: Why a Pope Resigns. Nevertheless, it really seems much too soon to assess the impact of his resignation. On the other hand, the Conclave beginning sometime around the middle of March, the election and installation of the new Holy Father, the first 100 days, and so forth … all these will overshadow Pope Benedict’s embracing a life of reflection in silence and prayer. We risk missing the enormous significance, the long-term benefits and consequences, of this so-called "conservative" Pope calmly doing what nearly no one thought could ever be done.
But a bit earlier, on 8 February, the feast of Our Lady of Confidence, whose miraculous painting hangs over the altar of the small chapel of St. Mary’s Seminary near the Lateran Basilica, the Bishop of Rome traditionally meets with his seminarians, and this year Pope Benedict gave a beautiful lectio divina on the First Letter of St. Peter, 1:3-5. Much of the lectio was a reflection on the ministry of Peter, on the Church as served by the Papacy. Benedict called the Letter a sort of “first encyclical with which the first Apostle, Vicar of Christ, addresses the Church of all time.” http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2013/february/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20130208_seminario-romano-mag_it.html
Over 150 Cardinals presently in Rome (all the electors, plus the retired who have the needed health and strength) are holding daily "General Congregations" or plenary discussions behind the closed doors of the Synod Hall. The purposes include: to forge a fairly common understanding of the major questions and problems to be faced, for example, the Church in the world today and the needs of the New Evangelization; to review the work of the Holy See and its Dicasteries (departments) and relations with Bishops in the dioceses; to clarify the profile of the sort of person each one would like to vote for, or the expectations for the future Pope; and perhaps, above all, getting to know one another, in brotherly fraternity, brought together to share concerns for the Church of today and hopes for the Church of tomorrow. For the election itself, the Electors will be symbolically locked (con-clave, "with a key") into the Sistine Chapel until they, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, elect the next Bishop of Rome.
The photo shows the former Vatican Radio studios and transmission tower. In the old days, the building at the right used to be the gardeners’ residence. During and after World War II, it served as a depot for donated food and clothing for distribution among the many needy. Then, between 1975 and 1983, it was the residence for the Jesuits working at the Vatican Radio. Four of them are still living, now between 84 and 97 years of age, with only one fully retired although even he recently launched a book! Three of the four live in the same Canisius Residence as I do. After 1983, the building housed offices for book-keeping and other administrative functions of Vatican Radio.
Blessed John Paul decided to invite contemplative Nuns to pray for the Church and the Pope within the Vatican walls. He had the building remodelled as a monastery in a simple modern style, adding the wing with a library and, the floor above, a chapel with a choir. In the back is a garden cultivated with organic fruit and vegetables. The monastery, called Mater Ecclesiae, “Mother of the Church”, was inaugurated on 13 May 1994, the day of the attempted assassination of the Pope in St. Peter’s Square. Since then, different monastic orders have successively lived there for 5 years each. In November 2012, for reasons which now are clear, the last Nuns moved out before the end of their 5-year term and renovations began.
It is to Mater Ecclesiae that Pope emeritus Benedict will retire. I rejoice at the historical and indeed tangible connection between his prayer ministry as Pope emeritus and the mission of “contemplation in action” of my family, the Society of Jesus. Immediately, this means joining in prayer for the Cardinal electors.
Cardinal François Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân (1928-2002) is a former president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and the Council is promoting his cause of beatification. The prayer and the photo (credit: Hoai Huong Weidemann) can be used freely and re-published.
O God, our heavenly Father,
with the intercession of Blessed John Paul and of your disciple and servant, Cardinal François Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân,
please grant the wisdom of the Holy Spirit,
to guide the choice of the new Holy Father,
who, as “Servant of the Servants of God”,
will fully love you and devotedly serve your Church.
This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Saviour,
who has opened our hearts to know, love and serve You faithfully.
Amen.