Logos & Muse

HAVE NO PROFOUND THOUGHTS on the res­ig­na­tion of Pope Bene­dict XVI, to take place on Feb­ru­ary 28. I am as sur­prised as any­one else, and I’m still try­ing to digest it all. I admire the Holy Father’s intel­lec­tual and spir­i­tual depth, and his incred­i­ble wis­dom guided by the Holy Spirit, and I will miss his lead­er­ship. But I do have what I hope will be some use­ful reminders.

First, Christ has promised that he will be with his Church until the end of time (Matt. 28:20) and that the gates of Hell will not pre­vail (Matt. 16:18). One should pray for Bene­dict XVI, and pray for the wis­dom of the Holy Spirit to be present with the car­di­nal elec­tors. But one should never be afraid for the future of the Church. The Church will be just fine, and no pope can change its teachings.

Sec­ond, one should not read into Bene­dict XVI’s deci­sion more than is actu­ally there. He has said he is resign­ing because of his age and health, and spec­u­lat­ing about what-else-is-behind-this-that-we-don’t-yet-know-about is pointless.

Third, the prog­nos­ti­ca­tions of St. Malarkey are just that: malarkey. Like the writ­ings of Nos­tradamus, they are writ­ten so vaguely that any pope can be inserted into any of the descrip­tive state­ments. Not even Christ knows the day or the hour (Matt. 24:36).

Fourth, spec­u­lat­ing who will be Bene­dict XVI’s suc­ces­sor is just as point­less as any­thing else–a fun par­lor game, maybe, but mean­ing­less. The papal con­clave will choose the man the Holy Spirit has already cho­sen. Like any­one else, I have my per­sonal favorite. But I am not a car­di­nal and the Holy Spirit has not promised to guide my own wishes.

Finally, we must trust that even in this deci­sion the pope was led by the Holy Spirit, and God knows what he is doing. The most use­ful thing any of us can do in the weeks to come is to pray and to trust in the wis­dom of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit.

And Jesus came and spake unto them, say­ing, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye there­fore, and teach all nations, bap­tiz­ing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teach­ing them to observe all things what­so­ever I have com­manded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. (Matt. 28:18–20, KJV.)

Photo Credit: Pope Bene­dict XVI, 16 Jan­u­ary 2013. U.S. Defense Depart­ment photo. Pub­lic domain.