April 19, 2005 (1:00 PM PST)
Dear Friends in Christ,
Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum - habemus papam! Eminentissimum et reverendissimum
Dominum Josephum, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem Ratzinger. Qui
accipit nomen Benedictus XVI!
Indeed, it is a great joy to be Catholic today, as we receive yet another
blessing from Our Father in Heaven: Pope Benedict XVI. I just got back
from St. Peter's, and I want to share with you my beautiful ecclesial
experience.
I went down to St. Peter's Square at around 5:30 pm and joined my brother
NAC seminarians. A few of the guys had brought guitars and drums, and
we began to sing praise-and-worship songs. During our time of prayer,
many of the others in the Square came over and joined us. It was an
awesome experience to praise the Lord in song with so many fellow Catholics,
all of us imploring Him to send us another holy pope.
At around 6:00, as we were ending a song, the smoke emerged from the Sistine
Chapel chimney. At first, it was black and we were disappointed.
But then we realized that they must have reached a consensus because of the
early burning of the ballots. At about the same time, the smoke turned
white. Little by little the anticipation increased as white smoke came
pouring out. We began cheering, and waited for the conclusive sign that
we were truly seeing white smoke: the ringing of the bells.
After about five minutes (at least it seemed that long), the crowd erupted
into a huge roar as the bells began to move. The explosion of emotion
was much like what one would experience during an exciting moment at a sporting
event. Needless to say, the anticipation heightened.
We waited for 25 more minutes, singing praise to God for the new Pope and
talking about who it might be. Of course, everyone now says they knew
it was Cardinal Ratzinger all along. I, for one, have never been happier
to be wrong.
When the gentiluomini came out onto the center balcony of the facade of St.
Peter's Basilica to close the curtains, the crowd roared in delightful
anticipation. Onto the balcony emerged Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez,
the Cardinal Proto-Deacon. He greeted his "dear brothers and sisters"
in five languages, and then declared the solemn announcement of the
new Bishop of Rome.
When he said "Dominum Josephum", we began to jump around like we
were sitting in the Kennel Club section at a Gonzaga basketball game.
And when the name "Ratzinger" was pronounced, there was pandemonium
the likes of which I have never seen.
We waited with now-relieved anticipation for the procession of the new Pope
Benedict XVI onto the balcony to greet the crowd. The Church had gotten
her man, and we were ready to give him what has now become a Pope's welcome.
And then he came.
For most of us, it was the first time we had seen anyone besides John Paul
II in the Pope's white zucchetto. There was the familiar German face
of Joseph Ratzinger, a humble servant of the Lord, as he rightly called himself
in his address. As he did many times as Prefect of the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Benedict got right to the point: "After
the great Pope John Paul II..." The crowd roared in approval of
this noble salutation for our dear departed JPII.
Benedict then assured us that he has entrusted himself to the Lord and to
His Mother and to the prayers of the Christian faithful. There was a
serene humility about him. I imagine that he will waste no time in beginning
his Petrine Ministry. His choice of St. Benedict's name no doubt indicates
something of the direction of his pontificate. The choice of the name
of the patron saint of Europe is certainly appropriate during this time
of the secularization and de-Christianization of European society.
Additionally, St. Benedict's great promotion of and love for the dignified
celebration of the Sacred Liturgy will not go unheeded by our new Holy Father.
After his brief address, our new Pope intoned the Urbi et Orbi Blessing.
As we knelt before him and made the sign of the cross, many were moved to
tears. The joyous celebration of this gift from God to His Church gives
us the opportunity to reflect more deeply on the richness of our Catholic
faith. What an even more precious gift is that faith!
Pope Benedict XVI is eating supper tonight with the cardinals in the Domus
Sanctae Marthae, where he will spend the night. He will celebrate Mass
with them tomorrow morning at 9:00 am in the Sistine Chapel. Let us
pray for him as he begins his time as the 264th Successor of
Peter. May the Blessed Virgin Mary and her faithful son Pope John Paul
II, intercede for him before the throne of God, that he may take up this cross
and follow the Lord in complete fidelity and with peace and joy.
Your brother in Christ,
Joe
Brother
Joseph's Christmas reflection
Christmas with the Ancient Church
Joseph F. Previtali
Archdiocese of San Francisco
Class of 2008
This year, for the first time, I celebrated the Birth of Jesus Christ away from the warmth and comfort of my family. The Midnight Mass, the nativity scene, the Christmas tree, presents, and the traditional foods and trimmings all were absent. Rather I spent Christmas in a Muslim country, with almost no public indication of the season, with people who spoke a different language, ate different foods, and celebrated different customs. Surely such a setting could not lend itself to a rich Christmas celebration, one might think. But, much to my surprise and joy, in Turkey I found myself immersed in the mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
Turkey was at one time known as Asia Minor, which was the crèche of Western civilization and the center of a great deal of activity in the early Church. On our 16-day pilgrimage which started on December 21, five friends and I saw countless places in which the great saints of the early Church lived or traveled. We visited two of St. Paul’s communities and explored Constantinople, at one time the center of the Western world. We also saw the sites of the first seven ecumenical councils of the Church. In fact, we visited Ephesus on January 1, the feast of Mary, Mother of God, where the dogma of Mary as “God-bearer” was formally proclaimed at the ecumenical council there in 431. We spent time in prayer and fellowship at the beautiful house of the Blessed Virgin in the mountains near Ephesus, and we accomplished the hallowed feat of visiting all the seven churches to which St. John wrote in the Book of Revelation.
During this time I grew much in my understanding of the meaning of the Incarnation. When Jesus Christ became man, He sanctified the world – space and time, here and now – forever. He changed the very meaning of creation, allowing us to come to know Him in the sacramentality of the material world. Now, after the Incarnation, stuff matters in a new way. This was never more apparent to me than during my pilgrimage to Turkey. Most of the places that we visited were simply old ruins, at first sight unimpressive and indistinguishable from the others. Because of the sanctity of space made possible by the Incarnation, however, it was important and meaningful for us to be there at that place where the Holy Spirit had worked so effectively in the life of the Church. Whether it was the lukewarm water of the church at Laodicea, the corner of the street where the Christians were beaten in Ephesus, or the ruined sanctuary of the conciliar church at Nicaea, we experienced Jesus Christ in a real and true way by being in those particular places.
The Good News of the Incarnation is that everything in creation is sanctified and can be used as a means to holiness. In our modern world, in which we so often encounter a great division between “spirituality” and “religion”, our pilgrimage to the holy shrines of Asia Minor served as a reminder that the Christian life of holiness is incarnational and that the material world serves as an icon of its spiritual creator. Thus, even without the tree and presents, my Christmas this year was a rich experience that helped deepen my relationship with Jesus the Incarnate Word.