Center, Cardinal Meisner with Benedict XVI in Cologne, August 2005; right, the Cardinal in tears as he listens to Benedict XVI’s address in Auschwitz, May 2006.
Pope Benedict’s message
at Cardinal Meisner’s funeral
by Steve Skojec
ONEPETERFIVE
July 15, 2017
We reported last week on the death of Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Germany, Archbishop Emeritus of Cologne and one of the four so-called “dubia cardinals”. Dr. Maike Hickson also shared a touching memorial of Meisner, who by all accounts was beloved by all who knew him. In a report on the German cardinal written last year, Hickson also noted his closeness to Pope Benedict XVI, and his role in the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the office of the papacy in 2005, in opposition to the wishes of the so-called “Sankt Gallen Mafia,” who were reported to have desired the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio at that time.
Today, Saturday, July 15, 2017, the funeral Mass for Cardinal Meisner was offered in Cologne Cathedral. Pope Francis, who was not present, had a message read to those gathered by the Apostolic Nuncio to Germany, Archbishop Nikola Eterović. Then, in what has been characterized as a surprise — particularly considering his usual silence on matters facing the Church — a message from the Pope Emeritus himself was read by his Personal Secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, who also serves as Prefect of the Papal Household for Pope Francis.
When one reads the message — particularly where the Pope Emeritus speaks of how Meisner “learned to let go and to live out of a deep conviction that the Lord does not abandon His Church, even if the boat has taken on so much water as to be on the verge of capsizing,” one cannot help but see in it a possible reflection on his own choice to step away from the papacy, and the crisis that even now engulfs the Church in his absence.
This message, of course, of the Lord not abandoning His Church, cannot be read in isolation from the somewhat cryptic message the Pope Emeritus gave the five new cardinals at the ordinary public consistory last month: “The Lord wins in the end.” It would appear this is a theme very much on the mind of the former pontiff in recent days.
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Here is my translation of the transcript provided by kathnet of Benedict XVI’s message which was read by Mons. Gaenswein at the funeral Mass for Cardinal Meisner today:
At this time when the Church of Cologne and believers from far and wide say farewell to Cardinal Joachim Meisner, I am in my heart and thoughts with all of you, and I am pleased to do as Cardinal Woelki asked to address these words of remembrance in his honor.
When I was informed of the Cardinal’s death last Wednesday by telephone, I did not want to believe it initially. The day before, we had spoken to each other on the telephone. He sounded very thankful that he was now on vacation after having taken part in the beatification ceremony for Bishop Theophilius Matulionis in Vilnius (Lithuania) just the preceding Sunday.
All his life, he manifested his love for the Churches in Eastern Europe who had suffered under Communist persecution, and his appreciation for having withstood the sufferings of that time. And so it is no coincidence that the last foreign visit he was to make in his life was to honor one of the confessors of faith in those countries.
What particularly impressed me from my last conversations with the cardinal who has passed away was his relaxed cheerfulness, the inner joy and the confidence at which he had arrived. We know that this passionate shepherd and pastor had found it difficult to leave his post, especially at a time when the Church stands in particularly pressing need of compelling pastors who can resist the dictatorship of the Zeitgeist and who live and think the faith with determination.
But what moved me more was that, in this last phase of his life, he had learned to let go, living out of the deep conviction that the Lord does not abandon His Church, even if the boat has taken on so much water as to be on the verge of capsizing.
Of late, two things caused him to become ever more joyful and confident:
For one, he repeatedly told me how it filled him with profound delight to see how young people, especially young men, experience the grace of forgiveness in the Sacrament of Confession – the gift of having truly found that life which only God can give.
The other thing which always touched him anew and gave him great joy was the quiet spread of Eucharistic Adoration. At World Youth Day in Cologne, this was a central concern of his: that there be Adoration – a silence in which only the Lord speaks to the heart.
Some experts in pastoral work and liturgy were of the opinion that such silence in contemplation of the Lord could not be achieved with such a large number of people. A few even considered Eucharistic Adoration as such to be obsolete - that the Lord desires to be received in the Eucharistic Bread, and not to be gazed upon.
That, however, one cannot eat this Bread like ordinary nourishment, and that to receive the Lord in the Eucharistic Sacrament makes demands upon every dimension of our existence – that to receive him must be to worship him – has since become once again very clear.
Thus, the interlude of the Eucharistic Adoration at the World Youth Day in Cologne became an interior experience which remained unforgettable, and not only for the Cardinal, for whom this moment remained ever present, like a great light, within him.
When, on that last morning, Cardinal Meisner didn’t appear at Mass, he was found dead in his room. His breviary had slipped from his hands: he died praying, looking to the Lord, speaking with the Lord. The manner of death which was granted to him shows once again how he lived: looking to the Lord and speaking with the Lord.
Therefore, we may trustingly recommend his soul to the benevolence of God. Lord, we thank Thee for the witness of Thy servant Joachim. May he be an intercessor for the church of Cologne and for the whole world! Requiescat in pace!
The only pictures I have been able to get online so far about Cardinal Meisner’s funeral are of the procession that brought his coffin to the Cathedral of Cologne, and they only go as far as the coffin being taken into the Cathedral. I do not think I have ever before seen pictures of how a German bishop is buried, but the funeral procession is quite impressive. The miter carried by an official preceding the hearse seems to be the ecclesial equivalent of the riderless horse used in secular state funerals like that of John Kennedy.
More pictures:
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 17/07/2017 22:37]