Category Archives: All Things Catholic

Benedict’s resignation: what happens next?

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Benedict’s resignation: what happens next?

It is up to the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, to make preparations for a conclave to elect a new pope.

Father Lombardi said after the pope steps down, he will move to the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo outside of Rome. He will stay there until the renovation is completed of a cloister, set up by Blessed John Paul II, which is located inside the Vatican Gardens, he said.

The pope will then live in the cloister, called the Mater Ecclesia monastery, and dedicate his time to prayer and reflection, the Vatican spokesman said.

It was likely the pope would keep writing, he added, since the pope has mentioned many times that he has wanted to spend more time dedicated to study and prayer.

When asked if there would be any confusion over leadership or a schism were a possibility, Father Lombardi said he believes the pope “had no fear of this” happening because he clearly demonstrated his desire to step down and no longer be pope or retain any papal authority.

“I think in no way is there any risk of confusion or division” in this respect, he said.

The pope, who is past the age allowed a cardinal to vote for a new pope, will obviously not be part of the conclave that will convene to elect his successor, he added.

He is not likely to play any role in the “interregnum” or time between popes because “there is no role for a predecessor pope” during this period, the priest said.

The Jesuit priest said a “sede vacante” usually lasts less than a month, and that it was more than likely a new pope would be elected in time to lead the full schedule of Holy Week and Easter liturgies.

Cardinal Sodano, who was one of the many cardinals present during the pope’s announcement, addressed the pope, telling him the news left them with “a sense of loss, almost completely incredulous.”

However, it was obvious that his decision was based on a “great affection” for the well-being of the church, the cardinal said.

New Pope by Easter?

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It is being said that a Conclave will be held in mid-March.  Living in interesting times is indeed a challenge.  Are we up to it? Jesus Christ would say, as He does always: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) Yes, we are up to any challenge in Christ Jesus, and He hasn’t and will never resign.  He is alive and well and reigning at the right hand of the Father and present in the power of His Holy Spirit with us now and forever.

And the People of God say, “AMEN”

Perhaps, Easter will see us welcoming a new pope to the Chair of Peter. If we are called to wait longer, our great strength is our faith  We will wait in hope and great expectation during the Easter season as Christ reigns now and forever.
Catechism of the Catholic ChurchL

857     The Church is apostolic because she is founded on the apostles, in three ways:

  • she was and remains built on “the foundation of the Apostles,” the witnesses chosen and sent on mission by Christ himself;
  • with the help of the Spirit dwelling in her, the Church keeps and hands on the teaching, the “good deposit,” the salutary words she has heard from the apostles;
  • she continues to be taught, sanctified, and guided by the apostles until Christ’s return, through their successors in pastoral office: the college of bishops, “assisted by priests, in union with the successor of Peter, the Church’s supreme pastor”:You are the eternal Shepherd
    who never leaves his flock untended.
    Through the apostles
    you watch over us and protect us always.
    You made them shepherds of the flock
    to share in the work of your Son. …

The Apostles’ mission

858     Jesus is the Father’s Emissary. From the beginning of his ministry, he “called to him those whom he desired; . … And he appointed twelve, whom also he named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach.” From then on, they would also be his “emissaries” (Greek apostoloi). In them, Christ continues his own mission: “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” The apostles’ ministry is the continuation of his mission; Jesus said to the Twelve: “he who receives you receives me.”

859     Jesus unites them to the mission he received from the Father. As “the Son can do nothing of his own accord,” but receives everything from the Father who sent him, so those whom Jesus sends can do nothing apart from him, from whom they received both the mandate for their mission and the power to carry it out. Christ’s apostles knew that they were called by God as “ministers of a new covenant,” “servants of God,” “ambassadors for Christ,” “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”

860     In the office of the apostles there is one aspect that cannot be transmitted: to be the chosen witnesses of the Lord’s Resurrection and so the foundation stones of the Church. But their office also has a permanent aspect. Christ promised to remain with them always. The divine mission entrusted by Jesus to them “will continue to the end of time, since the Gospel they handed on is the lasting source of all life for the Church. Therefore, … the apostles took care to appoint successors.”

The bishops — successors of the apostles

861     “In order that the mission entrusted to them might be continued after their death, [the apostles] consigned, by will and testament, as it were, to their immediate collaborators the duty of completing and consolidating the work they had begun, urging them to tend to the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit had appointed them to shepherd the Church of God. They accordingly designated such men and then made the ruling that likewise on their death other proven men should take over their ministry.”

862     “Just as the office which the Lord confided to Peter alone, as first of the apostles, destined to be transmitted to his successors, is a permanent one, so also endures the office, which the apostles received, of shepherding the Church, a charge destined to be exercised without interruption by the sacred order of bishops.” Hence the Church teaches that “the bishops have by divine institution taken the place of the apostles as pastors of the Church, in such wise that whoever listens to them is listening to Christ and whoever despises them despises Christ and him who sent Christ.”

 
Let Us Pray. -
O God!
our refuge and our strength,
look down with favour on Thy people who cry to Thee;
and through the intercession of the glorious
and Immaculate Virgin Mary,
Mother of God,
of Saint Joseph her Spouse,
of Thy blessed Apostles Peter and Paul,
and of all the Saints,
in mercy and goodness 
hear our prayers for the conversion of sinners,
and for the liberty and exaltation 
of our holy Mother the Church.
Through the same Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Holy Michael Archangel,
defend us in the hour of conflict;
be our safeguard against the wickedness
and snares of the devil. -
May God restrain him,
we humbly pray;
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God thrust Satan down to hell,
and with him the other wicked spirits,
who wander through the world for the ruin of souls.

Amen.

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Be Holy's avatarBe Holy!

The 12 Year Prayers:

O Jesus, now I wish to pray the Lord’s Prayer seven times in unity with the love with which You sanctified this prayer in Your Heart. Take it from my lips into Your Divine Heart. Improve and complete it so much that it brings as much honor and joy to the Trinity as You granted it on earth with this prayer. May these pour upon Your Holy Humanity in Glorification to Your Painful Wounds and the Precious Blood that You spilled from them.

First Prayer: The Circumcision

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary’s unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the first wounds, the first pains, and the first Bloodshed as atonement for my and all of humanity’s sins of youth, as protection against the first mortal sin, especially among my relatives.

Second Prayer: The Suffering…

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Full text of Benedict XVI’s general audience address- Ash Wednesday

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1

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today, Ash Wednesday, we begin our yearly Lenten journey of conversion in preparation for Easter. The forty days of Lent recall Israel’s sojourn in the desert and the temptations of Jesus at the beginning of his public ministry. The desert, as the place of silent encounter with God and decision about the deepest meaning and direction of our lives, is also a place of temptation. In his temptation in the desert, Jesus showed us that fidelity to God’s will must guide our lives and thinking, especially amid today’s secularized society. While the Lord continues to raise up examples of radical conversion, like Pavel Florensky, Etty Hillesum and Dorothy Day, he also constantly challenges those who have been raised in the faith to deeper conversion. In this Lenten season, Christ once again knocks at our door (cf. Rev 3:20) and invites us to open our minds and hearts to his love and his truth. May Jesus’ example of overcoming temptation inspire us to embrace God’s will and to see all things in the light of his saving truth.
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I offer a warm welcome to all the English-speaking visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Denmark and the United States. My particular greeting goes to the many student groups present. With prayers that this Lenten season will prove spiritually fruitful for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you God’s blessings of joy and peace.