Ty Tomson: Writings of Benedict XVI

Since the new Holy Father Benedict XVI was elected, I have been looking back through some of his writings: I figure if my boss is one of the most respected theologians of the modern era, I should at least see what he has to say. What he has already said probably will indicate what he is going to keep on saying in the future. Most importantly, I went looking for things he has said about himself, because I think you can learn much of what you need to know about a person from what he says about himself. Since His Holiness is a rather humble guy, it’s not easy to find much. He did write memoirs entitled Milestones, which covers a great portion of his life. But I stumbled across a most interesting part of a more recent work, God is Near Us. In it, he speaks of himself without even realizing it! It was a sermon delivered in 1977 entitled “A Church of All Times and Places.” Concerning the Mass, he says, “it can be carried on only in unity with the whole Church and with her authority. That is why the pope belongs in the Eucharistic Prayer.” He stresses the Church as a universal communion “of all times and of all places,” united under the Holy Father. It is true throughout history that whenever a person or group separates from the Supreme Pontiff, they stray from the truth. In fact, in the early Church the bishops themselves (with St. Peter being primary among them) would travel around and celebrate Mass, and as it became more difficult due to the growing number Christians they ordained priests to carry this out in his name; the same idea is at work today in our dioceses. There is a hierarchy in the Church; every parish priest celebrates Mass on behalf of his bishop in union with the Holy Father. This connection to the Bishop of Rome keeps us individually and collectively assured of God’s grace, for He will never abandon His Universal Church. Now that the man who wrote about this has succeeded to the See of Peter and is himself the Vicar of Christ, the visible symbol to everyone of all things “Catholic” (which means “universal”), his words ring all the more true. The connection to our Holy Father must run deeper than simply a ceremonial necessity or an obligatory ancient custom. It has to be more profound than even an intellectual adherence to the Church and Her teachings through him. Our bond with him must be an intense spiritual one, as he is the one who unites all of our prayers – more than symbolically – as a whole Church. These reflections which have come to be about himself have great importance already in these early days of the pontificate of Benedict XVI, as he has stressed the unity of the worldwide Church and reached out to bring others to the fullness of the Faith. As a priest, I hope one day to bring the ultimate prayer of the Church, the Mass, under his name during the Eucharistic Prayer: “We come to you, Father, with praise and thanksgiving, through Jesus Christ your Son. Through Him we ask you to accept and bless these gifts we offer you in sacrifice. We offer them for your holy Catholic Church, watch over it, Lord, and guide it; grant it peace and unity throughout the world. We offer them for Benedict our Pope, for Frederick our bishop, and for all who hold and teach the Catholic Faith that comes to us from the Apostles...”