Pope Benedict XVI

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When will the See of Rome become vacant around the world? Let’s pray then!

To all Catholics around the world, my brothers and sisters in Christ, the See of Rome will be vacant as of Rome time (CET/UTC+1), 8.00 pm on 28 February 2013, which corresponds to these times :

Los Angeles / PST / UTC-8 : Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 11.00 am

New York / EST / UTC-5 : Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 2.00 pm

London / GMT / UTC : Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 7.00 pm

Jakarta, Bangkok / UTC+7 : Friday, 1 March 2013 at 2.00 am

Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Beijing / UTC+8 : Friday, 1 March 2013 at 3.00 am

I do not think many will be awake or stay awake, or at work, and busy at this time, but if you are awake or available, let us make this hour an hour of prayer, for our current Pope Benedict XVI, his to-be-elected successor, and for the whole Church.

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Ash Wednesday with Pope Benedict XVI : Maybe to be his last public Mass as our Pope

http://www.vatican.va/video/

Tune in to Vatican Player at the site above for the Ash Wednesday celebration with the Pope from St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. It is scheduled to be on Wednesday, 13 February 2013, at 5.00 pm CET (Central European Time) or UTC+1

The timings in other regions :

UTC : Wednesday, 13 February 2013 at 4.00 pm

EST/UTC-5 : Wednesday, 13 February 2013 at 11.00 am

PST/UTC-8 : Wednesday, 13 February 2013 at 8.00 am

UTC+7 (West Indonesia and Thailand) : Wednesday, 13 February 2013 at 11.00 pm

UTC+8 (Singapore, Malaysia, HK, China) : Thursday, 14 February 2013 at 00.00 am

As this may well be the last large public Mass Pope Benedict XVI will be presiding in, let’s give him our support and pray with him, and participate together from all over the world in the Mass celebrated by our beloved Pope Benedict XVI!

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The Papacy, St. Peter the Apostle, and Christ : the unbreakable chain

‎”No chain is stronger than its weakest link, and the weakest link of the chain of Popes was the first (Peter). But that weak link was held in the hands of Christ. That is why the papacy will never fail.” – Venerable Fulton Sheen

Christ Himself have the Church firmly in His hands, and He will not let go. He is faithful to us just as we are faithful to Him. The Church He has built and the authority He has given to Peter to feed His sheep, will never fail.

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Thursday, 28 February 2013 : What a memorable day indeed to me

Thursday, 28 February 2013, will therefore be a very memorable day to me. Not only that, on that day, is my parent’s silver wedding anniversary (They married on 28 February 1988 – 25 years ago), but also on that day, Pope Benedict XVI will, at 20:00 Rome time, no longer be our beloved Pope.

We pray for him in his retirement and also for his successor, who will be elected soon, and I will also pray for my parents’ and their loving and happy marriage that it will continue to be so. I hope they will be there when I become a priest, and if God willing, maybe a bishop, a Cardinal, and Pope. Reminds me of Cardinal Sarto (later to become Pope Pius X), whose mother managed to stay on until just after he was made Cardinal. It was he himself who presided over the funeral.

I want to give my mom a Catholic funeral, because although my mom’s identity doesn’t say that she is, she is and always is a Catholic since the day of her baptism many years ago. But that is still long to come, and while she and my dad are still with me, I will treasure them, just as I treasure the Lord in my heart.

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Full text of Pope Benedict XVI’s announcement on resignation/retirement, effective Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 20:00 Rome time

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-benedict-xvi-announces-his-resignation-at-end

Dear Brothers,

I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. 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 bark 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 toadequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.

For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.

From the Vatican, 10 February 2013
BENEDICTUS PP XVI

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Prophecy of the Popes by St. Malachy (No! The last one is not the next one, only God knows!)

To those who believe in the Prophecy of St. Malachy on the Popes :

Do not think that the next Pope will be the last one, since there is no number assigned to the last prophecy, and therefore there will be a number of Popes before the last one. After all, it is only God who knows the time, not us. To the Saint is revealed the vision of the prophecy, but the last was purposely made vague so that we will always be ready for the coming of the Lord, whenever it will be. God be with Pope Benedict XVI and his successors!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophecy_of_the_Popes

In persecutione extrema Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae sedebit Petrus Romanus, qui pascet oves in multis tribulationibus : quibus transactis civitas septicollis diruetur, Iudex tremedus iudicabit populum suum. Finis.

(In the extreme persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will sit (as the Bishop of Rome), Peter the Roman (Petrus Romanus), who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations : and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills (Rome) will be destroyed, and the ‘terrible’ Judge (Christ) will judge His people. The end.)

Even the last Bishop of Rome will likely face martyrdom for his faith in the Lord, from the enemies of His Church, in the command of the evil one, who are now increasing their attacks on the Lord’s faithful. Pray for our current Pope Benedict XVI, and whoever his successor as the Bishop of Rome will be. That our next Pope will be a great shepherd, a guide in our journey towards Christ, and a unifier of the Church!

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Pope Benedict XVI will retire, effective on Thursday, 28 February 2013, at 20:00 Rome time due to old age.

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-benedict-xvi-announces-his-resignation-at-end

If there is a news that will shake the world, this is it. I myself was very surprised, but I can rather expect the news. It is not the first that a Pope has resigned, although extremely rare (Canon Law does allow Popes to retire), and the last to resign was Pope Gregory XII in 1415 who resigned to end the Great Schism in the Church, and allow the Church to formally reunite again, and another Pope to resign was the great Pope St. Celestine V, who was elected as Pope at a very old age, just like our current Pope Benedict XVI, and showed example through his great leadership and great holiness. He also resigned due to old age, and wished to spend the rest of his life in prayer and quietness, just like our current Pope Benedict XVI wished to do.

Pope Benedict XVI, as Cardinal Ratzinger before his election as the Bishop of Rome, has repeatedly asked the late Pope John Paul II then to be allowed to retire and return to his native Bavaria, which because of his election as the Bishop of Rome, was not able to do so. Now that Holy Father will retire at the end of this month, let us all pray for him, that he can have a great and fulfilling holy life dedicated in prayer to God, and may God be with him always, and also with his successor, whoever it will be. Amen!