MORE ABOUT THE DECEMBER 8 HOMILY
I hope no one minds if I post in the English section my translations of posts in the main forum which I find interesting, instructive and worthy of sharing.
Herewith is an exchange occasioned by stupor-mundi's original post, earlier translated, about the Pope's homily yesterday. Vallifra reacted to that first post, stupor-mundi replied, and at the same time, ratzigirl posted her own reaction.
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Vallifra to stupor-mundi:
I write to compliment you about your post, which could not be more on the mark! Since April 8 this year, I have been a devoted and stunned follower of all Papa Ratzi’s homilies, but I find that with the one he delivered yesterday, he has outdone himself, if that is at all possible. And I ask myself how an accredited journalist like Alberto Melloni could say (as he does in his article today in Corriere della Sera) that “the Pope limited himself to circumstantial expressions,” which indicates he, Melloni, has not understood anything!
The genius of this Pope is such that many so-called intellectuals do not understand him! Unlike, for instance, Sandro Magister, a journalist I respect highly, whose blog today is entitled “The Council finally explained by Benedict XVI”. [
NB from Teresa: Translation of Magister's short blog will follow]
This Pope is truly a gift of God who leaves us "wondrous", who inspires us to be good, and in my humble opinion, is a hope for the world, someone who, through his divinely inspired teachings, will wield an influence for good on history and on the world.
Stupor-mundi replies:
Certainly I am not surprised that certain Solons of vaticanism express themselves in the way you quoted...On the other hand, many of them built their “fortunes” during the declining years of the Wojtyla Papacy when they vied with each other to get entrée into the Roman Curia. But now the wind has turned.
Let me not be misunderstood. John Paul II was a great Pope, a saint who will pass into history, but inevitably, his declining physical health resulted in a number of repercussions in the Roman Curia [as we read in the initial chapters of Giancarlo Zizola’s book, “Benedetto XVI, un successore al crocevia” (Benedict XVI, a successor at the crossroads, published 2005), Zizola who is far from a fan of Benedict, nevertheless makes clear – as he could not have done otherwise - that Ratzinger never stooped to making compromises or to power games, but always and only served the truth and the Church.]
As far as this strange types, the so-called vaticanisti, I followed a simple exercise: In the days preceding the Conclave, TV broadcasts and talk shows were rife with speculations on “Totopapa” – the papal lotto, so to speak . I recorded all these, and it is remarkable how most of them (with a few exceptions, Magister among them) proclaimed their absolute certainty that Ratzinger’s candidacy was merely nominal, that he was too old, too “compromised,” that the Church needed a pastor-Pope, that he had no gifts for communicating, that he was not at all ‘simpatico’, and so 0n (I could of course name the names of those who blathered on that way).
But having followed the thinking of the Bavarian cardinal for over 10 years and having seen and heard him in person, I believed that none of the cardinals was his peer, not just in culture but also in charisma. I found him a true leader, that is, someone who succeeds in catalyzing others towards sharing his point of view – through sheer force of reasoning and his manner of presenting his case – strong, sure and unshakeable in the Faith.
And so, I never stopped thinking and hoping that it would be him who would come out and face us from the Loggia of Benediction – him whom almost everyone had maligned, but who, already in his Meditations for the Way of the Cross (last Good Friday), already showed he had very clear ideas about the Church (and we all recall the passage that has now become famous about “filth” in the Church).
Well, once again the Spirit breathed where he would, and Joseph Ratzinger became the 265th successor of Peter. To the chagrin of the experts...
I can only wish and pray that this man, who now occupies Peter’s Chair, will continue to do so for many more years and be, as he has been for years to me, a beacon who shows us the way, not his, but that of Christ.
Ratzigirl:
Yesterday I remained transported by the Pope’s splendid homily –in my opinion, one of the most beautiful during the first year of his Papacy. Not only because of the firmness and theological competence that the homily showed, but also because I could appreciate in it some words and concepts I had already grasped from reading a book by Cardinal Ratzinger, “Maria, Chiesa nascente” (Mary, nascent Church).
But what I appreciated most was the Pope’s accurate take on the actual human condition today - the attitude among many that there is no such thing as sin, or on the other hand, seeing sin as the only escape from boredom. (I found it) an analysis that was complete, precise and to the point, as few have been. So I wonder how Melloni could have written what he did – I think he must either have fallen asleep, or he failed to understand a single word of that denunciation of social ills.
It was a marvellously strong declaration, which indicates the presence of a Pope who is also a guide, who from Peter’s Chair can “thunder” about the ills of society. I truly sense about him the force of the Holy Spirit which sustains him, which inspires him to raise his voice as needed, he who is usually understated, but who, from the moment when he assumed the ministry of Peter, has shown himself to be the Rock on which all of Christianity can cling to, a rock which - as we can see and hear - is most decisively solid.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 10/12/2005 3.17]