Benedict XVI’s words for Card. Meisner’s funeral

Posted on 15 July 2017 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Benedict XVI sent a message for the funeral of the late Joachim Card. Meisner, emeritus of Cologne.

His words include:

What struck me particularly me in the last talks with the departed Cardinal was the relaxed cheerfulness, the inner joy, and the confidence he had found. We know that it was difficult for him, the passionate shepherd and pastor, to leave his office, and especially at a time when the Church needs dedicated pastors who resist the dictatorship of the Zeitgeist (spirit of the times), and who resolutely live and think from the Faith. But it moved me all the more that he had learned at this last period of his life to let go and he lived ever more out of the deep certainty that the Lord does not abandon His Church, even if the boat is filled to the point of capsizing.

He used that image in 2005 in his Stations of the Cross.

And…

When, on his last morning, Cardinal Meisner did not appear at Mass, he was found dead in his room. The breviary had slipped out of his hands: he had died praying, looking at the Lord, talking with the Lord. The manner of dying that was given as a gift to him shows once again how he had lived: Looking at the Lord and talking with Him.

Everyone… Fathers, you especially…  two things.

First, it’s all hands on deck now.  The boat is taking on water to the point of capsizing.  We know that the Lord is in the boat and that the boat is His.  That doesn’t mean that we should not do our part when it is clearly taking on water.

Also, we don’t know the time or place or circumstances of our upcoming death and meeting with the High Priest who is Just Judge and King of Fearful Majesty.  So, consider your state in life, examine your conscience and

… GO TO CONFESSION!

 

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2017/07/benedict-xvis-words-for-card-meisners-funeral/