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A
spiritual testament, a last blessing
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
In Perhaps like me you were able to watch the proceedings as the crowds
gathered in St. Peter’s Square on April 19, as the identity of the new
pope was revealed and as Benedict XVI stepped out onto the balcony of
St. Peter’s Basilica to give his first blessing as successor of St.
Peter. It was a magnificent moment. The Holy Spirit has spoken. The
waiting is over. We again have a Holy Father.
While I was personally surprised, thinking it would likely be a younger
man who could bring the vitality of youth to Petrine ministry I remember
in a young John Paul II, I also am mindful of the last senior cardinal
elected — John XXIII. He was far from a caretaker pope. He convened the
Second Vatican Council. I suspect Benedict XVI, too, will surprise many
who may be tempted to bemoan his choice. Joseph Ratzinger is no longer a
cardinal. He is now the Holy Father. Let those who would second guess
him beware.
Some of my bishop friends, all named by John Paul II, and I talked from
time to time about whether we would go to Rome for his funeral. Still
recuperating somewhat from a broken ankle, I decided against it. A
number of commentators remarked that one had to be there to truly
appreciate the emotion of the moment. I do not doubt that. Viewing a
huge crowd on television and being part of such a gathering are very
different experiences. Those who have walked it know that the Via della
Conciliazione is a magnificent broad boulevard that leads up to St.
Peter’s Square. Television cameras narrowed it. The immensity of St.
Peter’s Square itself was lost when viewed through television lenses.
Yet, as I stationed myself before my television shortly after 2 a.m. on
April 8, I knew I would see more of the ceremony than I would had I
traveled to Rome. I don’t weep often. I did on April 8. It was
particularly moving to me when the crowd took up the cry: “Santo
Subito” (saint now). There was a final wave as the coffin was
carried into St. Peter’s Basilica. It truly was a funeral for the ages,
one that ignited deep emotion within this man.
Apparently there is no formal way in which a pope is given the title
“The Great.” It has been more than 1,100 years since that term was last
appended to a pope. Nicholas the Great died in 867. He is not remembered
nearly as often as Gregory the Great (604) or Leo the Great (461).
Whether John Paul II is added to that list, millions will remember him
as a truly great pope, a unique gift to the Church and to the world.
The spiritual testament released to the media as the last will and
testament of John Paul II got a lot of attention. Those who expected a
legal document must have been surprised. Some assumed, no doubt, that
the pope was a wealthy man. The Catholic Church is judged to be
tremendously wealthy. Spiritually, that is true. In terms of material
assets, it is a myth. The Wall Street Journal recently reported
the Vatican struggles to operate with a balanced budget. While the
Vatican is custodian of great artistic treasures, those treasures in
fact are a liability since they will never be sold and must be protected
and maintained. So, the Holy Father’s “will” turned out to be quite
different from the last will and testaments to which we are accustomed.
First dated March 6, 1979, five months after he became pope, the Holy
Father asks forgiveness of anyone he may have offended. He also asked
for prayers that “the mercy of God may appear greater than my weakness
and unworthiness.”
The basic spiritual testament seems to have been reviewed each year
after his annual retreat. Initially thoughts were focused by the
statement left by Paul VI. Early on he seemed to have entertained hope
of burial in Poland. That was later adjusted to the realities of who and
what he was: Bishop of Rome.
In 1982, after the nearly successful assassination attempt on his life,
the Holy Father added this thought: “All the more deeply I now feel that
I am totally in the hands of God — and I remain continually at the
disposal of my Lord, entrusting myself to him and his Immaculate
Mother.”
The last entry to his spiritual testament is dated March 17, 2000. He
refers to the biblical Simeon and his “Nunc Dimittis.”
Commentators were quick to suggest that perhaps the pope, having reached
the Third Millennium, considered resignation. That is not the way I read
it.
This is the scriptural reference that he makes: “There lived in
Jerusalem at the time a certain man named Simeon. He was just and pious,
and awaited the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not experience
death until he had seen the Anointed of the Lord. He came to the temple
now, inspired by the Spirit, and when the parents brought in the Child
Jesus to perform him the customary ritual of the law, he took him in his
arms and blessed God in these words: ‘Now, Master, you can dismiss your
servant in peace; you have fulfilled your word. For my eyes have
witnessed your saving deed displayed for all the peoples to see …’” (Lk.
2:25-31).
It seems to me the Holy Father was saying “I am ready.” He goes on to
write: “I also hope that, as long as I am called to fulfill the Petrine
service in the Church, the mercy of God will give me the necessary
strength for this service.”
He concludes his “will” with these words: “Into your hands, Lord, I
commend my spirit.”
The other day I pulled out my grandfather’s last will and testament. It
was a routine legal document. But, he left his children (my father was
one of six) an appendage. I’ve always been deeply moved by it. You too,
perhaps, will be moved and even motivated to think about doing something
similar for your children.
Stephen Higi wrote: “I address these words to you, each one, not indeed
to be recorded as an earthly document, but to be engraved in your minds,
and upon the tablet of your hearts.
“I counsel you to be kind, loving, and helpful to each other always, as
true brothers and sisters. Use the money wisely which comes to you, not
forgetting to give some part of it to God’s work for religion, or
charity, and thereby acknowledge your gratitude to God, and to your
parents, for the blessings which have come to you, through them. I
counsel you to be faithful and constant in your prayers, keeping
yourselves unstained from the false principles and moral leprosy with
which the world is filled. And finally, I ask you, each one, to breathe
a prayer every day for me, and for your beloved mother.
“Keeping these thoughts well in mind I am sure that Our Blessed Lord
will reward you with that true happiness, for which your souls yearn,
and then, after having fought the good fight, and persevered to the end,
through the mercy of God, I hope to await, together with your beloved
mother, your coming, each one, to that happy reunion in the everlasting
and incomprehensible peace and joy of heaven.
“With these, my most earnest wishes for you, from the depths of my
heart’s love, I give you, each one, my paternal and last blessing.”
John Paul the Great left us a spiritual testament, but one does not have
to be pope to impart a last blessing. |
