Eulogy for Pope Benedict

Appreciating the legacy of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

01/02/2023

Mt 23:8-12 Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples: "Do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

When Mark Antony stood up to deliver his eulogy of Julius Caesar, he famously said: “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones.” I probably will not be asked to deliver the eulogy at the funeral Mass of Pope Benedict XVI, so I will give a little eulogy for him this morning. My humble hope is that Mark Antony (my great ancestor) was mistaken and the good that Pope Benedict did will not be interred with his bones in Rome, like the bones of Julius Caesar.

Whenever I prepare for a funeral homily, I meet with the family of the deceased and we talk about him or her. I listen to their stories and memories and recollections. As they talk, a central theme or idea eventually emerges in the life of this person. It is like a golden thread that runs from their birth to their death, and gives meaning, purpose, and direction to their whole life. Well, I cannot meet with the late pope’s family. But I have read several of his books. And our books are like our babies, the children and legacy we priests leave behind, since we do not bear natural children.

And if there is one theme that recurs again and again in Benedict’s books it is a concern about the spread of atheism in modern society. And by contrast, the Holy Father insists we must believe in God. And that is exactly what Jesus came to do: to show us the face of God. Let me share a rather long quotation from one of the pope’s last books, Jesus of Nazareth, where it seems the pope’s life work comes to a sharp point, like the tip of a spear thrown across the arc of the last century, marked by two bloody world wars.

The late pope wrote something we all wonder about at one time or another. He asked: “The great question that will be with us throughout this entire book: What did Jesus actually bring, if not world peace, universal prosperity, and a better world? What has he brought?” By the way, have you ever wondered that? Why are people still dying of hunger? Why are ruthless rulers still waging wars? Why are children still being abused and abandoned? In other words, what difference did Jesus’ coming really make?

The pope continues: “The answer is very simple: God…Jesus has brought God, and now we know his face, now we can call upon him. Now we know the path that we human beings have to take in this world. Jesus has brought God and with God the truth about our origin and destiny: faith, hope and love.” Then the pope adds another most important point, showing how well he understands the modern mentality, that is, how you and I think.

The pope writes: “It is only because of our hardness of heart that we think this is too little. Yes indeed, God’s power works quietly in this world; but it is the true and lasting power. Again and again, God’s cause seems to be in its death throes. Yet over and over again, it proves to be the thing that truly endures and saves.” Fredrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher, had boldly declared: “God is dead.” But today, only poor Nietzsche is dead, and God is still very much alive, thanks to Jesus Christ.

I think that is the underlying and overarching point in all the pope’s writings: God is alive, we know him in Jesus, and that gives meaning to our lives. Everything the pope said, everything he did in 95 years, everything he believed can be summarized in the statement that God exists thanks to Jesus and that makes all the difference in the world, and it should make all the difference in each of our lives. Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the Russian novelist, put the same point negatively: “If God does not exist, then everything is possible.” He meant that everything bad is possible without God. That is the difference that Jesus’ coming makes: the good news overcomes the bad news.

In the days and weeks to come you will hear many commentaries and opinions about Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Some people will only see him as a conservative or traditionalist who tried to turn back the clock to a pre-Vatican II Church. Others will say he disagreed with Pope Francis and create some rivalry. Still others will focus on the pope’s management of the Church during the sexual abuse crisis. And all those perspectives will contain some kernel of truth and validity. We are all complex characters.

But I think they will all miss the mark of the pope’s deepest purpose as a Christian and as a priest. He simply wants an increasingly atheistic world to know there is a God, and we can see his adorable Face in Jesus Christ. And if we can keep our eyes on him, then eventually everything else will be okay. May Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger, behold that adorable Face of God in heaven today!

Praised be Jesus Christ!