April 8, 2005

VATICAN – In his homily at the funeral Mass for John Paul II, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said that the key to understanding the life and pontificate of the beloved Pope can be found in Christ's last words to St. Peter: "Follow me."

Although the funeral Mass was celebrated mostly in Latin (with Scripture readings in Spanish and English), the dean of the College of Cardinals delivered his homily in Italian. In it he spoke of the Pope's burial as "a seed of immortality." He remarked that while the world mourns the Pontiff, his funeral is also an occasion for "joyful hope and profound gratitude."

Cardinal Ratzinger began his homily by acknowledging the hundreds of dignitaries who had traveled to Rome to attend the funeral at St. Peter's Basilica, the hundreds of thousands gathered outside on the streets of Rome, and the countless millions watching the ceremony on television.

Next the German prelate gave a short synopsis of the life of Karol Wojtyla, noting that the late Pope had often referred to his own sense of personal vocation. "He really went everywhere, untiringly, in order to bear fruit: fruit that lasts," the cardinal said. With his evangelical zeal, he continued, John Paul "roused us from a lethargic faith – from the sleep of the disciplines of both yesterday and today." His preaching, his teaching, and his remarkable capacity to reach out to people around the world gave "new vitality, new urgency, new attractiveness" to the Gospel message, Cardinal Ratzinger said.

During the last years of his pontificate, John Paul II bore witness to the Christian message in a different way, the cardinal continued: through his "very communion with the suffering Lord." As his health deteriorated, "the Pope suffered and loved in union with Christ, and that is why the message of his suffering and his silence proved so eloquent and so fruitful."

Now that suffering has ended, and as neared the conclusion of his homily Cardinal Ratzinger remarked that "our beloved Pope is standing today at the window of our Father's house."

"Yes, bless us, Holy Father," the cardinal said. "We entrust your dear soul to the Mother of God – your mother – who guided you each day and who will guide you now to the eternal glory of her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."

Catholic World News