Stepping Forward By Stepping Aside

Yesterday morning on her drive to work, my wife called me to tell me that she heard some sort of news about Pope Benedict XVI. The story began as she drove into a tunnel and was over by the time she drove out and had radio reception again.

I dashed to my computer and read her the news that he is resigning as of February 28. The pope stated:

I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.  

 It’s not clear what has been going on in the pope’s mind and body over the past few months that have weakened him to the point where he believes this step is necessary, but God bless him for doing what needs to be done.

Catholic scholar George Weigel has said that Joseph Ratzinger (who Benedict XVI will again be once he is no longer pope) is, with enormous humility, doing "his last great service to the Church." How? By being realistic about the needs of the Church, the good of the world, and his own frailty.

Pope John Paul II, it has been said, taught us how to die. Pope Benedict is teaching us how to live—specifically how to live in old age.

Time prunes us just as a vinedresser prunes back grapevines. We have less energy and more health concerns. We have to be careful what we eat and our reflexes are not what they once were. Our attention span shrinks and our ability to understand slows.

We can pretend it isn’t so and thus live in denial. Or we can live humbly and act appropriately. Sooner or later that will mean changing our diet, surrendering our driver’s licenses, and laying down the responsibilities we can no longer fulfill in order to look for new ways to be fruitful.

And it seems to me that this is the point we need to remember. Pope Benedict will retire to a monastery to pursue a life of prayer and devotion and, given the power of prayer, may well be stepping into his most fruitful season of life, doing even greater service than he has done as pope.

Benedict XVI through his writings, sermons, and speeches has taught me a great deal for which I am truly grateful. But I pray that this lesson, the lesson of realism and humility, will be the one that I most clearly remember and most faithfully emulate.