I found this old Parish Bulletin from 2005. It was printed just after the Pope was elected. One great takeaway from this short article is that Catholics should pray for the pope, and for priests too! And we get the Pope we deserve - because of our sins and lack of faith, we justly suffer 'no so great' popes. God may allow a miracle, He is in control.
I substituted Benedict XVI with the name of an imaginary Pope John XXIV, for easier reading.
Unofficial!!
Drastically adapted from a SSPX Bulletin & Mission Letter:
(Original subject was about the newly elected Pope Benedict XVI.)
May 2005
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John XXIV, what can we do?
I. A Realistic and Supernatural Attitude
We must remember that the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ of which we and Pope John XXIV are members. We are in this crisis and life together for better or for worse. The first error we can have regarding the new Pope is to look upon him someone totally exterior to us upon whom we have no influence. Just as it would be wrong for a Pope to think his acts have no effect upon the Church, so it is wrong for us to forget that our acts have an influence
upon the Pope.
I. A man
No, doubt, John XXIV, with all his qualities or defects, whichever you prefer to look at, is a man, and as a man, he could go either way. Is he at this moment moving toward God and thus slowly helping the Church, or moving away from Him and thus little by little destroying the Church?
Some were perhaps awaiting a Pope where all would be clear: A progressive liberal calling for women priests and approving ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity; or a staunch traditionalist, taken from one of our bishops. God, was not of the party.
2. We get the leaders we deserve
We get the pope we merit. 'I' firmly believe that if all faithful Catholics had fasted but one day on bread and water, for the intention of a traditional pope, we would most certainly have gotten one. Miracles are possible. There is a divine economy however. God does not deal out miracles like a sugar Daddy but like a Father who is pleased to see the efforts of his children.
True, some no doubt did some serious penance for a fully traditional pope, is not enough when we are asking a favour for the whole Church. Yet prayers may have obtained deliverance from worse and in fact a certain blessing in the election of Cardinal N.
Good publicity for the Church
... The more in fact the media paints the Pope as ultra-conservative, the more God-seeking souls will turn to Catholicism....-
Bulletin, May - June
4. What the Pope is and is not
What the Pope is not is perhaps more easy to answer. The Pope is not, at present, a Traditionalist in the full sense of the term, and it is unlikely according to supernatural economy that he ever will be. Do not expect great and stunning changes in favour of Tradition. As much as we say that is what he ought to do, it is not likely from his point of view, clouded by modernist theology and years of life within the post-conciliar Church, that he sees things that way. Perhaps, too, God knows that too quick a return to Tradition would cause the loss of too many souls.
Will the Pope head toward Tradition? Which direction will he go? 'I' think the answer depends in part upon us.
Certainly, Cardinal N.N., as a man seemed to be evolving back from liberalism to a more conservative Catholicism. He seemed to express a true concern for the present fate of the Church if we are to believe some witnesses.
At other times, he seemed to hesitate or cede to human respect and even speak and act like an outright liberal. How will he rule the Church? Once again, 'I' think the answer depends in part upon us.
5. Temptation and influence
We too soon forget that the Pope is a man. In this case an old man. He may be easily influenced. He will be tempted by the devil, by his own weakness and modernist formation. It is for all of these reasons that we must pray for him.
III. Our Attitude
Rather than a wait and see attitude,..the only solution for us is to wait and pray. It is not a question for us to sit back and watch the Pope as idle spectators. We live in something similar to an interactive computer game where players can intervene and change the way a character acts. We too can obtain graces for the Pope daily. Each day, every moment of the day, the Pope will be confronted with choices as to what to say, who to name to which position, what to attend, what not to attend, which reforms to make. In each of these choices he will have to battle against the spirit of the world (perhaps in many of those who surround him), but also the devil, and his own human nature. We must indeed pray for the Pope.
1. Pros and cons
John XXIV is not a born eagle to soar with the formation of a St. Pius X, but a bird with clipped wings with a fifties formation and post-Vatican II experience.
In some things he has some things in his favour. For one, he is an old man, and thus he knows he will die soon. Hopefully, he will make his decisions with more care. The downside of this is that he could be manipulated more easily by others.
Secondly, John XXIV, knows the ins and outs of modernism due to his past. If he is sincerely going in the right direction this could be a valuable asset.
Thirdly, thanks to his former position as head of the Congregation for the [….], he knows what is going on in the Church, probably much more than Francis I, due to the unending travels of this last. Hopefully, considering his age, he will opt not to be a traveling pope, but a governing pope. But still all of this depends upon us and our prayers.
2. Good Friday reflections
We note that if he keeps to his reflections he made during the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday, there is some room for hope. We note in particular, the reflection on Jesus' third fall under the weight of the cross: "Ought we not call to mind how much Christ has to suffer in HIS own Church? How many times we celebrate only ourselves without so much as taking Him into consideration! How much filth there is in the Church, even among those who, by virtue of their priesthood, ought to belong entirely to Christ! How much vainglory, how much self-complacency! How little respect we show the Sacrament of Reconciliation, in which He awaits us to raise us up again every time we fall!"
There were reflections in which he spoke of the Church as a "boat on the point of sinking, a boat taking in water on all sides. And also in Thy field we see more darnel than wheat. To see the vesture and visage of Thy Church so filthy throws us into confusion. Yet it is we ourselves who have soiled them! It is we who betray Thee time and time again, after all our lofty words and grand gestures.” (Pope Benedict XVI.)
Two days later, near the Vatican, Cardinal N.N. met on the street a retired curial monsignor who asked him the reason for giving what seemed a discouraging reflection. "We must pray much, we must pray much, " answered the future Pope, "You weren't born yesterday; you understand what I'm talking about; you know what it means -- We priests! We priests!" he concluded in a tone of pleading, adding, "Remember the prayer to the Sacred Heart, in which we ask particular pardon for the sins of priests. I know it hurts to say the boat's taking in waterfront every side, but it's true, it's true. We priests…” Struck by thc manner in which the Cardinal said, "we priests, we priests, " the monsignor recognized his inner suffering and asked him nothing further.
…
Conclusion
In closing. urge you also to take the resolution to pray for your priests and also for this new Pope. It would not be out of place for most of us to add a sixth decade to our Rosary to pray especially for him. Some, with more time, could add even an entire five decade Rosary. We forget too easily our role and the effect of our actions (good and bad) upon the Mystical Body of Christ. We can not expect the Church to be restored if we do not do our part.
N.N. priest.
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Unofficial!!
So we get the pope we deserve...that is a good point.
And we must pray for the Pope and priests, a better point.
Topic: We get the pope we deserve. 2005 Bulletin. Pray and God rewards our efforts. (Read 392 times)