I love and respect Pope Benedict. I always have, even before he was Pope. I studied many of his writings in college. I came to associate his name with the pinnacle of Theological scholarship and his solemn and serious demeanor with Wisdom. He has weathered some of the worst storms our modern times and human failings could throw at him in his short 8 year reign and he has done so with fortitude and humility. He is a good man.
I know that he is, after all, only a man. And so does he. And I know that, after all, the Church is bigger and more brilliant than any one human being. An so does he. So here we are. A bit sad but also very hopeful. The next few days will be exciting and at the same time a little anxious, as we wait for a new name, a new leader, a new shepherd on earth. But I will still be praying for this man. The Pope that saw our little family begin, that guided us through the first years of our marriage, the first years of teaching and guiding our own children in the faith. What an amazing Father he has been. We love him and will miss him dearly.
I love him and will miss him dearly.
Thank you Pope Benedict.
May Peace be with you.
" Faith, hope and charity go together. Hope is practiced through the virtue of patience, which continues to do good even in the face of apparent failure, and through the virtue of humility, which accepts God's mystery and trusts him even at times of darkness. Faith tells us that God has given his Son for our sakes and gives us the victorious certainty that it is really true: God is love! It thus transforms our impatience and our doubts into the sure hope that God holds the world in his hands and that, as the dramatic imagery of the end of the Book of Revelation points out, in spite of all darkness he ultimately triumphs in glory. Faith, which sees the love of God revealed in the pierced heart of Jesus on the Cross, gives rise to love. Love is the light—and in the end, the only light—that can always illuminate a world grown dim and give us the courage needed to keep living and working. Love is possible, and we are able to practice it because we are created in the image of God."
- Benedict XVI
"Deus Caritas Est"- God is Love
A video that I took of the Church bells in Krakow tolling at 8pm. The video is long. The reason why is because if you really want to hear the bells you have to take a couple seconds to adjust your hearing to the dogs barking and the street noise. But they are there. And we are almost certain that the Zygmunt Bell at Wawel Cathedral is the low droning sound you here throughout. Heard all the way out here. This is the second time Martin has heard these bells toll for the end of a pope's reign.
