I may be wrong but didn't Our Lady in her last message at Medugorje ask us to pray for priests? Anyhw I went to mid day mass just after hearing this. The priest at mass told us the news and I was surprised to find my cheek wet with tears streming down it! I fear this is very,very bad news. Dark clouds hover over Rome and the Church. I am fascinated who the next Pope will be. Amazing, astonishing times.
In reflecting upon this announcement, I wonder how much timing plays into it?: it is the Year of Faith when all Catholics are called to reflect upon Faith and what it means to us individually and the Church -- And, we are about to enter the Lenten Season. Just wondering.
Back on April 29, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI did something rather striking, but which went largely unnoticed. He stopped off in Aquila, Italy, and visited the tomb of an obscure medieval Pope named St. Celestine V (1215-1296). After a brief prayer, he left his pallium, the symbol of his own episcopal authority as Bishop of Rome, on top of Celestine's tomb! Fifteen months later, on July 4, 2010, Benedict went out of his way again, this time to visit and pray in the cathedral of Sulmona, near Rome, before the relics of this same saint, Celestine V. Few people, however, noticed at the time. Only now, we may be gaining a better understanding of what it meant. These actions were probably more than pious acts. More likely, they were profound and symbolic gestures of a very personal nature, which conveyed a message that a Pope can hardly deliver any other way. In the year 1294, this man (Fr. Pietro Angelerio), known by all as a devout and holy priest, was elected Pope, somewhat against his will, shortly before his 80th birthday (Ratzinger was 78 when he was elected Pope in 2005). Just five months later, after issuing a formal decree allowing popes to resign (or abdicate, like other rulers), Pope Celestine V exercised that right. And now Pope Benedict XVI has chosen to follow in the footsteps of this venerable model.
I am really surprised that the Pope has chosen the 'Year of Faith' in which to leave the Papacy. I am also surprised that he has resigned since this is technically a secular phrase and has connotations of 'giving up'. I believe John Paul II preached the most wonderful sermons in his last days - who can forget his heroism at the window of the Vatican or the humble coffin in which his mortal remains was rested? I am not being critical of the Pope since I love him very much but I am confused by this decision - our world badly needs examples of heroic virtue and perseverance. It leaves the Church with a dilemma - the next Pope will be under scrutiny and have the unusual problem of having a living predecesor in his midst. Oh boy we sure are in the end times 'ball-park'. I am hoping that Benedict received Divine Enlightenment or Angelic visitation before making this decision - thus conforming that it was God's will for this generation. The response of the secular media has been incredible and BBC News are streaming live coverage 24/7 - could this be God's way of getting the world's attention since the next Pope is the last in Malachy's prophecies. I suspect the next Pope will be black but also an enforcer since he is described as Peter the Great not that he will be called Peter but will be like Peter.
Perhaps the Lord is preparing the Church for the new era and pruning the Church for the future? Mark Mallett has speculated that the 'age of ministries' is ending: http://www.markmallett.com/blog/2011/03/the-age-of-ministries-is-ending/ Some of us have speculated too that after Peter the Roman and the destruction of Rome & after the tribulations then the Church will move its centre to Jerusalem. This resignation means that Peter the Roman will be on the throne in March 2013. It is also a sign that the real tribulations will be upon us under the next Papacy. The next Pope nourishes his flock - he will be a real shepherd nourishing the flock with the bread of life in Word and Sacrament. Peter the Roman, who will nourish the sheep in many tribulations; when they are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The end.
Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, World Day of Prayer for the Sick. I have butterflies in my stomache. I sense we are on the eve of huge events. I just feel the need to pray and pray and pray. Its interesting that none of the prophesies I ever read forecast a Papl renunciation of Office. Now what to make of that?
It is most definitely extraordianary. I would imagine Pope Benedict would be is a position to know the dates of the Warning & Miracle?
The Prophecy of Bl. Tomasuccio de Foligno "One from beyond the mountains shall become the Vicar Of God. Religious and clerics shall take part in this change. Outside the true path, there will be only disreputable men; I shrug my shoulders when the Bark of Peter is in danger and there is no one to lend it help... The schismatic shall fall into the scorn of the Italian faithful... By about twelve years shall the millennium have passed when the resplendent mantle of legitimate power shall emerge from the shadows where it was being kept by the schism. And beyond harm from the one who is blocking the door of salvation, for his deceitful schism shall have come to an end. And the mass of the faithful shall attach itself to the worthy Shepherd, who shall extricate each one from error and restore to the Church its beauty. He shall renew it."
I have read this before. Oh and I believe it. I am a very traditionalist Catholic. I believe this next election of a pope is very special and important. I love Benedict but I am very excited for this next pope!! We will see if what I believe is really the truth or not.
I can find no reference to this alleged blessed except on two sedevacantist sites. Have you an authentic Catholic link to information about him and this prophecy?
At his penultimate address.. Speaking in spanish, The Pope begs for prayers for himself and the next Pope to continue http://www.newsmaxworld.com/newswid...utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1
Has anyone seen this writing by MM? http://www.markmallett.com/blog/2013/02/the-pope-thermometer-of-apostasy/
Is Pope Benedict not seen as "The Glory of the Olive"? Seems he has been a peace maker. JERUSALEM, February 19, 2013 (Zenit.org) - Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu sent a letter to Pope Benedict XVI thanking the Holy Father for his efforts in strengthening relations between Jews and Christians. The letter was made public yesterday on the Prime Minister's Office web page. "On behalf of the people of Israel, I want to thank you for all you have done as Pope to strengthen relations between Christians and Jews and between the Vatican and the Jewish State," the letter stated.
This is an excellent article on Pope Benedict's decision: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/benedicts-renunciation-and-the-wolves-within-the-church Benedict’s renunciation and the wolves within the church BY STEVE JALSEVAC First Part: February 14, 2013, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Since Pope Benedict’s shock announcement Monday, I have held off commenting. Time was needed to step back and consider just what this astounding action from the world's leading defender of life and family really meant. It was an earthquake announcement that had to have greater significance than the Pope merely being tired and worn out. The two lightning strikes onto the dome of St. Peter’s that evening added an uncanny emphasis that the Pope’s action demanded the world’s attention.So, really, why did Pope Benedict suddenly announce that he would abdicate the ministry of Successor of St. Peter in only 17 days? It is nearly impossible for me to believe that the reasons are as simple as Benedict has stated (although I believe that he is indeed very tired and barely able to carry on which we saw on our last 2 visits to Rome). There are clues.Robert Moynihan, a reliable, long-time Vatican observer and Founder of Inside the Vaticanmagazine, also finds himself unsettled about the Pope’s announcement and wrote in his Feb. 12 report:“Are there facts the Pope has weighed in making this decision that we simply don't know about, or don't know fully? … Does the Pope have information about the possible course of events in the months ahead that led him to conclude that he needed to allow a younger, more energetic man to take over his office from him, so that the Church's highest authority could take action quickly and decisively as events unfold?”Those are my same questions. This great and yet exceptionally humble and gentle man’s fatigue has come about from much more than aging.Reading other commentators and looking to our own LifeSiteNews experiences have revealed a ferocious battle going on within the Catholic Church and a notably rising tide of hatred towards authentic Christianity from outside. Moreover, a comment from Benedict yesterday, adds to the impression that resignation was decided for strategic reasons. A new pope had to be quickly chosen because of the pace of alarming events both within and outside the Church.Yesterday, during his Ash Wednesday homily, Benedict stated:“I am thinking in particular of the sins against the unity of the Church, of the divisions in the body of the Church.”And then we should remember these words from his first Mass as Pope:“Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves.” Is he fleeing from the wolves, especially those within the Church, who he knew would inevitably, incessantly attack him during his pontificate? Very doubtful. They have been even more ferocious than he anticipated in response to his determined rolling back of some of the chaos that followed Vatican II and his strong rebukes to all the elements of the Culture of Death. Benedict’s resignation should instead, in my opinion, be seen as a deeply humbling self-sacrifice to pave the way for an urgently needed stronger pope and stronger Church.For nothing more than professionally reporting solid facts about controversial Church developments related to moral issues, LifeSiteNews has experienced unrelenting, ferocious assault from particular Church personalities and organizations over the past few years. We have been enduring a visceral hatred from some quarters as noted by LSN-friendly inside-the-church observers. It has been nearly beyond belief, shockingly unreasonable and entirely unchristian.The more layers we have peeled away from hidden and long-standing situations needing exposure and correction, the more we have we been subjected to these unjust and hateful assaults on our integrity and credibility and to damaging whispers and other malicious actions. The secular pro-abortion and homosexual activist forces have been easier to manage in comparison to these enraged forces within the Church. Now think how much more Benedict has had to endure for his heroic attempts to steer the entire, badly damaged, diminished, wayward Church back on course away from the errors and influence of the “progressives” and other dissidents. They have been howling with rage over his undoing of their five decades of control. He has spoiled their plans for a morally and theologically liberal church remade in their own image, rather than Christ’s. ....... Second Part continues in next post
SECOND PART (continue from previous post) Benedict’s renunciation and the wolves within the church BY STEVE JALSEVAC Catholic commentator, George Neumayr, in his article The Reluctant Pope, lists some of Benedict’s notable accomplishments “trivialized and discredited” by many: “his battles with the dictatorship of relativism,’ his promotion of wider use of the traditional Latin Mass, his reinstitution of the ban on the ordination of homosexuals to the priesthood, his historic overture to disaffected Anglicans, his voluminous stream of speeches and writings that aimed at repairing the catechetical collapse within the Church; his insistence on the ‘non-negotiable’ character of the natural moral law in shaping politics and culture.”Benedict’s greatest and nearly-unbearable crosses have likely come from opposition to, hatred for, and outright rejection of his reforms - the opposition coming from many in influential positions within the Church – at all levels. In his blog, Benedict XVI: Reason’s revolutionary, The Acton Institute’s Samuel Gregg explains some of the reasons for the animosity Benedict has experienced: “Intellectually, Ratzinger far surpassed the usual suspects who want to turn Catholicism into something between the disaster otherwise known as the Church of England, and the rather sad leftist-activism of aging nuns stuck in 1968. But against the increasingly-absurd rants of a Hans Kung or Leonardo Boff, Ratzinger simply continued defending and explaining orthodox Christianity’s essential rationality with a modesty lacking in his opponents.”Gregg also mentions the pope’s “efforts to root out what Ratzinger once called the 'filth' of sexual deviancy” which I have repeatedly noted on this website is a job still far from completed. He has been able to complete this and his other priority tasks only to the extent that the difficult Church bureaucracies and the world’s bishops have followed his urging and well reasoned pleadings. There has been much resistance, some of it astonishingly vicious and rebellious, especially from clergy and laity in the wealthy, developed nations. Benedict has been betrayed even by those closest to him within the Vatican itself. Benedict’s exceptional appeals to reason, if accepted, writes, Gregg, translate “into changes in lifestyles that many people simply don’t want to make. But a pope’s job isn’t to tell people what they want to hear.” But as we have noticed in recent years, reason is increasingly rejected, and changeable feelings and desires are given more emphasis in decision-making by persons and organizations. Anyone who dares to instruct them in what is best regarding their bodies, their sexuality, their theology or their ego, is increasingly seen as a hateful personal aggressor rather than a loving father or other teacher. I wish that Benedict could have held on for at least several more months to complete more of his necessary reforms and to appoint more faithful bishops. I wish he could have waited for some of his recent outstanding archbishop appointments to receive their red hats so that they could also vote in this conclave. I am thinking of persons such as Philadelphia’s Charles Chaput, Montreal’s Christian Lépine, Quebec City’s Gérald Cyprien Lacroix and the archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose Gomez – all some of the very best of Benedict’s recent placements or moves to major dioceses. The Cardinal Mahony scandal that broke last week has shown how very entrenched the “filth” still is, and that those responsible have still not yet been fully accountable. The neglect was sickening. If the now revealed offences of actively protecting criminal sexual abusers of minors did not exceed the statute of limitations, we might today be seeing the archbishop of the largest diocese in the US up on criminal charges. Even secular media are appalled that Cardinal Mahony has made it a point to announce to the media that he islooking forward to going to Rome to vote for Benedict’s replacement. Mahony is an aggressive personality, some say, a bully. Considering all that has been revealed in recent weeks, it is a great scandal for the Church and to the world that this severely negligent prelate, considered by some to be the ring leader of “progressive” US bishops, should be allowed to have any influence whatever in the conclave. I hope at the very least that he will be shunned by the other cardinals. It is perhaps more than coincidental that Benedict announced his resignation after the Los Angeles abuse files were made public last week. Archbishop Gomez publicly rebuked his predecessor (highly likely with papal approval) and then Cardinal Mahony arrogantly publicly challenged his rebuker’s admonition. This is a first since the sex abuse scandals broke. Maybe the Mahony incident and other recent inappropriate outbursts by leading Church officials were the last straws for Benedict. That is, he knew that these and other worrisome developments needed quick and firm action from a strong pope, but that he could no longer muster the energy. I suspect that Benedict knows the restoration and cleaning up of the filth and rebellion within the Church has to continue with haste because of an ominous, rapidly growing cloud of persecution on the horizon at a time when the wisdom and inspiration of the Church will be greatly needed. Perhaps he sees clearer than most what is coming and that there is no time to have an incapacitated pope leading the Church. His resignation was a proactive action. There will be a conclave in only a few weeks. Who could have predicted such a thing would happen so quickly? In that conclave the forces of good and evil will be in an unseen battle that we cannot imagine - pride, power and glory-seeking vs holiness, humility and willingness to embrace Christ’s cross. The outcome of the conclave will to a very large extent depend on the intensity of the prayers and sacrifices of Christians around the world from now until the final decision and acceptance is reached. May the Holy Spirit guide the cardinals and keep the powers of darkness that have infiltrated the church at bay during this historic time. I have to agree with many commentators that Pope Benedict has likely performed a great act of humility and charity for the good of not just the Catholic Church, but for the whole world. Where I disagree with many is that there are graver reasons for his decision than are being surmised. There is a growing sense that something evil is on its way and the greatest bulwark against the evil can only be a strong, unified and faithful Catholic Church working together with all other authentic believers of the loving triune God. Benedict knows this. That is why he has suddenly stepped aside for the new pope, who will be called to do the necessary battle that Benedict is no longer capable of. And he has done it at the very beginning of Lent, the Catholic season of special prayer and fasting that culminates in the full rememberance of the suffering and resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter. By then, the new pope should be in place. The timing could not be better. The power of authentic faith, when unleashed, will always defeat any evil. It usually happens, however, by way of the cross. That was the example the Master gave.
I find this take on Pope B16 as The Glory Of The Olive quite insightful: http://www.taylormarshall.com/2013/02/st-malachy-prophecy-why-pope-benedict.html (I'm posting part of the article, you can read it all in the link) But Why is Benedict XVI the "Glory of the Olive"? Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night He was betrayed, after the Last Supper, went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. We Catholics know this as the First Sorrowful Mystery, the Agony in the Garden. The word Gethsemane in Hebrew is: גת שמנים and it means "olive oil press." In fact, the Garden of Gethsemane is located at the Mount of Olives. The Agony of the Garden among the olive trees is the prelude to the Passion of Christ! The episode at the Mount of Olives is the beginning of the redemptive sorrows ending in the crucifixion and death of Christ. So likewise, Pope Benedict's sorrowful agony as Pope may be the prelude to the final Passion of Christ's Church. His papacy is the glory of the olive because he was placed in the Agony of the Garden for the Church. All have fallen asleep. He is betrayed by his closest friends and counselors. He is all alone. He is staring into the chalice of God's wrath and he is asking that it be taken from him! “And they came to a farm called Gethsemani. And he saith to his disciples: Sit you here, while I pray. And he taketh Peter and James and John with him: and he began to fear and to be heavy. And he saith to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto death. Stay you here and watch. And when he was gone forward a little, he fell flat on the ground: and he prayed that, if it might be, the hour might pass from him. And he saith: Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee: remove this chalice from me; but not what I will, but what thou wilt.” (Mark 14:32–36, D-R) Pope Benedict is alone and he may know that we are about to enter into the Passion of the Catholic Church. The abdication may confirm that Pope Benedict is the Glory of the Olive. He is asking God to "remove this chalice from me." If the Malachy list is legit, then the events of the last several days reveal something more profound about the Benedict's identity as the "Glory of the Olive." So far, his identity with the "olive" is more obvious. Like Christ His Lord, His Holiness is alone and betrayed. Perhaps something "glorious" will happen in the next days and weeks. Let's pray for our Holy Father. And let's pray for the Catholic Church.
Fatima, Look at the Msgr Essef thread for a discussion. I must note that the locutionist's messages contained a false prophecy that Benedict would die in 2012. In prophecy, it's one strike and you're out. Safe in the Father's Arms!
