Pope Benedict Resigns

I presume that many Christians and  around the world today would have been stunned by the news of the resignation of the Holy Father.
And presumably most Catholics are saddened too. We have come to expect our Popes to die in Office. And certainly for me my feelings today are akin to that of the death of a significant person.

It was clear that Benedict was becoming frailer, and his mobility was becoming more limited. Could he have continued to guide the Church as an invalid?
Pope John  Paul II continued till his death. His suffering was there for all to see. We all remembered him as that charismatic smiling strong man who came to visit us here in Scotland.

It pained us to see him weak,  dribbling and slurring his speech. But he soldiered on showing great courage. He showed us an example of heroic sanctity. Human frailty was not being hidden away. And as he approached death, the crowds gathered to be with him in his final hours. Here was an old dying man, surrounded by the love of millions, who wanted to be with him as he prepared to meet God. He was not being hurried out of his life for the sake of convenience.
Death was seen as a part of living.
For the sick and the old it was a tremendous statement of the value and worth of every life, no matter how restricted that life seemed. It was a witness against those who would destroy life when it became cumbersome, at whatever age, and especially in these times of campaigns for euthanasia, and the deplorable standards of care experienced by the elderly in our hospitals.

Pope Benedict addressed this issue in his statement. As he saw it, physical as well as mental strength will be needed to guide the Church over the next years. Obviously for him, his failing physical well being was an important factor. And I wonder, given that I am informed he was a smoker, whether this has contributed to his state of health?

I can only express my personal feelings here. I believe that this is an extremely significant event for the Catholic Church and for the World.
I feel lost tonight. I am confused and not a little afraid. I have a sense of having been abandoned.
No doubt these feelings will pass. A new Pope will be elected and with God's help, our new Pope will begin to steer the Barque of St Peter.

Christian values, and in particular Catholic values are under an increasing and world wide attack. A persecution is underway. God may have decided that for what comes next, His Church needs a younger ,hysically stronger Pope at the helm.

Much will be written over the next days and weeks. I am certain the supposed work of St Malachy will be oft quoted.
Let us not waste time on such trifles. There are things we should be doing.

Pray! Pray for the Pope, the Church, ourselves. Pray the Rosary! Our Lady has been warning us of the need for the Rosary, for contrition and penance.Go to Mass. Frequent Confession, frequent Holy Communion. She warned that there would be a chastisement one day if we did not heed her call!
Perhaps that time is now upon us.
How apt that at the beginning of Lent, we find ourselves in this position! Surely this is a call to awake!
We have become complacent. How many of us have been involved in campaigns against same sex marriage, abortion and euthanasia? Too many have listened but have done nothing, even too lazy to write a letter, send an e mail, or join a street protest. The Legislators have not been pressurised by hundreds of thousands of active Christians. It has been down to a few. And that is not enough. The enemies of God are succeeding because we stand passively round muttering about what is the point.
In the next election, if every Christian voted for the Christian candidate, some would be elected! But too many say..."It's a wasted vote...let's just vote the way we usually do...it won't make any difference.
And that is our problem. Total disinterest as our beliefs are trampled upon and cast aside.

Time is short. Now is the time to return to the full practise  of our   Catholic Faith. Jesus promised that He would be with us, and that the Gates of Hell would not prevail against us. But we need to play our part, and not wait for a knight in shining armour to fight our battle for us!