Thousands paid homage to Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday, with a funeral at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.

Underlining Jesus’ last words on the cross “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit,” Pope Francis said these words summed up Benedict’s life.

In his homily during the funeral mass, Pope Francis said: “Holding fast to the Lord’s last words and to the witness of his entire life, we too, as an ecclesial community, want to follow in his steps and to commend our brother into the hands of the Father. May those merciful hands find his lamp alight with the oil of the Gospel that he spread and testified to for his entire life.”

Pope Francis didn’t mention Benedict by name until the last line, in which he referred to Jesus as the bridegroom of the Catholic Church. “Benedict, faithful friend of the Bridegroom, may your joy be complete as you hear his voice, now and forever.”

The Pontiff also made reference to the German theologian’s life dedicated to meditating on the life of Jesus.

“Like the Master, a shepherd bears the burden of interceding and the strain of anointing his people, especially in situations where goodness must struggle to prevail and the dignity of our brothers and sisters is threatened,” Francis said.

“In the course of this intercession, the Lord quietly bestows the spirit of meekness that is ready to understand, accept, hope and risk, notwithstanding any misunderstandings that might result.”

The Pope also made reference to Saint Gregory the Great who in his Pastoral Rule urged a friend to offer him this spiritual accompaniment: “Amid the shipwreck of the present life, sustain me, I beseech you, by the plank of your prayer, that, since my own weight sinks me down, the hand of your merit will raise me up.” 

Pope Francis said “here we see the awareness of a pastor who cannot carry alone what in truth he could never carry alone, and can thus commend himself to the prayers and the care of the people entrusted to him.

“God’s faithful people, gathered here, now accompanies and entrusts to him the life of the one who was their pastor. Like the women at the tomb, we too have come with the fragrance of gratitude and the balm of hope, in order to show him once more the love that is undying. We want to do this with the same wisdom, tenderness and devotion that he bestowed upon us over the years. Together, we want to say: ‘Father, into your hands we commend his spirit’.”

‘Benedict’s last words should be our life programme’ – Archbishop Scicluna

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s last words “Jesus, I love you” should be our life’s programme, Archbishop Charles Scicluna said on Thursday.

The retired Pontiff died aged 95 on 31 December, with a three-day lying-in-state beginning on Monday culminating in a funeral led by Pope Francis on Thursday. He led the Catholic Church for eight years before becoming the first pope in six centuries to step down in 2013, citing his declining mental and physical health.

Speaking to Newsbook.com.mt moments after the funeral held in the Vatican, the Archbishop of Malta said “our heart overflows with gratitude to the Lord for introducing us to a man of such humility, wisdom, and love for Jesus and the Church.”

Archbishop Scicluna added that he hoped that Benedict XVI’s last words “Jesus, I love you,” become “our life programme” and express that love towards the Lord by loving our neighbours.

The Archbishop also recalled Pope Benedict’s visit to Malta in 2010, during which he praised the Maltese people’s “love for the family and life, from conception to death, and I hope that Pope Benedict’s prophetic and topical message seeps into our hearts and is put into practice.”

‘An important life lesson’ – Sr Ramona

Sister Ramona Privitelli was also present for today’s funeral at the Vatican and speaking to Newsbook.com.mt she said that Pope Benedict XVI’s decision in 2013 to step down as Pontiff “is an important life lesson.”

Sr Ramona – who took her final vows three months ago – said that although Benedict XVI’s papacy did not directly influence her vocation and discernment his decision to resign in 2013 left a lasting impression. 

“Something which had a deep impact on me and marked my journey was his decision to resign, his humility and the way he conducted himself during the past 10 years, during which he prayed in silence for the Church, which when you think about it was not the obvious choice for somebody in such a position to acknowledge that his fragility impeded him from continuing to lead the Church.”

Source: Newsbook.com.mt