To commemorate this most august occassion, and to launch the new Vatican News Portal (again, I LOVE this Pope!), News.vanews.va runs a commemoration of Pope Benedict thinking back to the day he was ordained to the Priesthood by Cardinal Faulhaber in Munich with his brother and 42 other young men!
A snippet:
On the day of our first Holy Mass, our parish church of Saint Oswald gleamed in all its splendor, and the joy that almost palpably filled the whole place drew everyone there into the most living mode of “active participation” in the sacred event, but this did not require any external busyness. We were invited to bring the first blessing into people’s homes, and everywhere we were received even by total strangers with a warmth and affection I had not thought possible until that day. In this way I learned firsthand how earnestly people wait for a priest, how much they long for the blessing that flows from the power of the sacrament. The point was not my own or my brother’s person. What could we two young men represent all by ourselves to the many people we were now meeting? In us they saw persons who had been touched by Christ’s mission and had been empowered to bring his nearness to men. Precisely because we ourselves were not the point, a friendly human relationship could develop very quickly.
Posts
1 comment:
Thanks for highlighting that remembrance, Father. For what it's worth, the 11:30 weekday "community Mass" at St. Gertrude, which is almost entirely sung by the priest-celebrant along with the novices and congregation, has that same transcendent sense about it: priests lovingly received, a laity focused on worship and not busyness, a deep sacramental awareness.
Post a Comment