“Ha detto il suo ‘Si!’” recalled the Cardinal who was responding on behalf of the other Cardinals to the declaration of abdication by Pope Benedict XVI.
This was the unchanging expression of Pope Benedict XVI after he read his abdication: eyebrows high, eyes wide open, tearing up, jaw dropped, head hung, not looking at the Cardinal responding to him on behalf of the other Cardinals present, but staring off not into space, but surely right into the Face of Christ Jesus.
During the reading, he was very much the Pope Benedict we always knew. Immediately after, what he had done hit home, especially at this moment, when the Cardinal who was responding to his statement recalled the moment when the new Pontiff “ha detto il Suo ‘Si’!”, when he had said his “Yes!” immediately after his election.
The enormity of what he had done couldn’t possibly have hit home until he had done it. It is just hitting him here. You have to know that the intensely humble reverence before Christ Jesus he was experiencing right then would, I think, have brought any of us total heart failure. The Holy Father’s weakest moment is far beyond any strength we could ever dream of having. The myriad of angels assisting him, the myriad prayers ascending before the throne of the Most High…
The Cardinal started off his response by saying that the Holy Father’s words were like a lightning bolt striking in a serene sky. And, by the way, that’s what happened, literally.
Holy Father! We are in solidarity with you before Christ Jesus!
Accompany me, Father George David Byers, S.S.L., S.T.D., as I begin life as a Catholic Priest-Hermit by choice. Holy Souls Hermitage is dedicated to the sanctification of my fellow priests, bishops, deacons & seminarians going through the purgatory of this life or the next. Prayer and sacrifice go up, of course, for both Benedict XVI and the next Successor of Saint Peter. 
Most Holy Father, we love you and are one with you. Thank you Father Byers for all your updates and concern for us, the flock.
Beautiful and touching. Thank you.
Oh, God bless him! Made me tear up. The photo is a keeper. I love the Papa.
http://weather.aol.com/2013/02/11/photo-lightning-strikes-the-vatican/
Ghanaian Cardinal Turkson’s name is mentioned as a front runner. His name’s Peter!! And he studied in Rome!!! In Ghana they call him “Peter of Rome”!!!
In the movie “the Shoes of the Fisherman,” Cardinal Leone, tells the newly elected Pope Kiril, “Like it or not, you are condemned to a solitary pilgrimage, from the day of your election until the day of your death. This is a Calvary, Holiness. And you have just begun to climb.”
I suspect our Pope Benedict is feeling like this in the above picture.
Yes, I noted that look of defeat in the Pope’s eyes after he ended his statement. THAT made me sob. I haven’t really teared up about this whole situation, as I see the Church as a continuous whole, no matter who the Pope is.
But that glimpse into this man’s personal suffering stabbed my heart and wrenched a long sob out of my coldness.
I did not know that the Cardinal said ‘ the Holy Father’s words were like a lightning bolt ‘. My Latin’s not that good. That explains the bolt.
And here we wonder at this sign of God’s displeasure – perhaps not because of Benedict’s abdication, but wrath aimed against those who caused the abdication.
R Warth: I may write a post on that later today!
Holy Father, we love you and will always be one in heart with you, one in prayer, one in suffering for Jesus and Holy Mother Church.
I love the Holy Father very much upon hearing the news I felt touched,Now I’m fine. I know God is in control , Pope Benedict XVI will always be in my prayers together with his successor.The Holy Spirit will take care of the current situation in our Holy Catholic Church.
I love our chosen Pope Benedict by God and I know God will choose the right one as always. My prayers are with you Pope Benedict. The Holy Father above is with you in your decision. We love you and respect the courage it took to step down from such a great honor. God bless:)
Yes, it is always wise (and comforting) to remember that the Pope is not the head of the Church, but simply a representative of Our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless such brave and Holy men for taking on that role.