Archdiocese of Newark honors Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at Memorial Mass
Instead of grieving in sorrow on Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s passing, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, told those attending a Jan. 12 Memorial Mass that they should instead “grieve his death in hope” because the former pope has finally attained the peace God promised to all faithful.
It was an intimate gathering that came out to hear Cardinal Tobin’s words of hope as the rain poured outside and could be heard beating on the Cathedral Basilica’s rooftop during Mass.
Auxiliary Bishops Manuel A. Cruz, D.D.; Elias R. Lorenzo, O.S.B.; Michael A. Saporito; and Gregory J. Studerus as well as Abbot Augustine James Curley, O.S.B, and about 20 priests concelebrated with Cardinal Tobin, with several deacons also present. Additionally, about 25 seminarians were in the pews joining in prayer.
“The rain and darkness of this night could tempt us to gloom, but we share in faith the same Word of God and sacramental encounter with Christ that nourished Pope Benedict and make it possible to grieve his death in hope,” Cardinal Tobin said.
A parishioner prays before a portrait of Pope Benedict before the Memorial Mass. (Joe Jordan)
The first reading was from the Book of Wisdom – 3:1-6,9 in which Cardinal Tobin said the Word insists that the faithful departed are “at peace” and “their hope is full of immortality.”
The second reading was Romans 5:5-11., which also speaks of peace and hope, the cardinal said.
In his homily, Cardinal Tobin said he first learned of the death of Pope Benedict on Dec. 31 in the early hours of the final day of 2022.
“A text arrived – not from some Vatican department or Italian journalist, but from a fellow disciple, a newspaper editor and devout member of the Serbian Orthodox Church. He wrote ‘At the end, Jesus embraces us all equally – whether pope or pauper,’” Cardinal Tobin said. “Pope Benedict would be pleased by the way his death was described — as the fulfillment of ‘the hope that does disappoint.’ A hope that illumined his shepherding of the Church. A hope that is renewed in us each day.
“We do not grieve, then, as people bereft of hope, or as anonymous travelers stumbling toward an uncertain future,” he continued. “Nor are we self-centered ingrates and so absorbed with our own issues that we forget to be grateful.”
Quoting Pope Francis’ funeral homily, Cardinal Tobin said the pope spoke for the whole Church when he said,: “We are moved as we recall him, such a noble person, so kind. And we feel such gratitude in our hearts: gratitude to God for having given him to the Church and to the world; gratitude to him for all the good he accomplished, and above all, for his witness of faith and
prayer, especially in these last years of his recollected life. Only God knows the value and the power of his intercession, of the sacrifices he offered for the good of the Church.”
Cardinal Tobin also reminded those in attendance that the pope emeritus never viewed being a Christian as “an ethical choice or a lofty idea.” Instead, he said Benedict believed people should live their faith by sharing the love God gifted to humanity.
Brother Bruno Mello, O.S.B., a Benedictine Monk of Newark Abbey who attended the Mass, said after recently becoming a monk at the age of 26, he began reading Pope Benedict’s writings. He said Pope Benedict’s sense of communion that he fostered amongst the Church, uniting Catholics more closely in charity, in prayer, and in love of the Lord and of each other, is his greatest legacy.
“‘The Spirit of the Liturgy’ especially was very impactful to me. It was one of those things where I wish I had appreciated him when he was pope. I didn’t realize what a gift he was to the Church in that role as the Vicar of Christ on Earth,” Brother Mello said. “I think his approaches to the liturgy really moved me to live liturgically. Not just go to Mass or not just pray in a church, but to change the way that I was waking up in the morning, to change the way I was going to bed at night, to live in communion with the Church through the liturgy, through Liturgy of the Hours, through an awareness of the liturgical calendar.”
Sister Joséfa Gonzalez, H.M.C.J., the Director of Catechesis at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, who also attended the Mass, said she will most remember Pope Benedict for his doctrine and his books. As for Pope Benedict’s resignation in 2013, Gonzalez said he needed to be very humble to do so.
Cardinal Tobin’s Memorial Mass was the latest of many global tributes honoring Benedict, who died at the age of 95 following a period of ill health. Pope Benedict was the pontiff who appointed Cardinal Tobin the Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life as well as the Archbishop of Indianapolis.
Joe Jordan and Alexandra Rojas contributed to this article.
Jaimie Julia Winters is the editor of Jersey Catholic, Archdiocese of Newark.
