Pope Benedict XVI bid us all goodbye today as he left the residence to the new pope. Many prayers are needed as the cardinals come together to determine and vote for the man who will be our next pope.I remember the whirlwind of Pope John Paul II's death and the announcement of then Cardinal Ratzinger's appointment as our Holy Father eight years ago. Time goes by quickly and he had an amazing and tiring time as our Pope. Many people fear he has started a trend in leaving office when either he or the world got tiring. As I've mentioned before, I like the way our pastor put it . . . He said that when his grandmother turned 90, she was still very active and lively but decided to stop driving on her 90th birthday. Why? Because she felt herself inept? No, she wanted to stop on a high point before she crashed. Now, she wasn't planning on ever having a crash but didn't want to find herself more aged than she felt while behind the wheel of the car.
I think Pope Benedict felt the same way. The world isn't getting any better while he was getting older and less able to keep up the hectic pace. He wanted to make sure the Church was in good hands and, after much prayer and deliberation, decided he was no long the man for the job. I feel he showed more strength in this decision than he would if he had plodded along for the remainder of his life knowing his strength was no long in line with what needed to be done.
I will miss Pope Benedict. He was born and raised in the German town next to where my mother was brought up. I am, however, praying that his influence over the last eight years will help the cardinals make the best decision possible when selecting the new pope.
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