Conjectures of a Benevolent Benedictine Bystander

Give him the chair!

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter.  This celebration dates back to the fourth century.  According to tradition, the chair depicted above was occupied by St. Peter.  The 17th century sculptor Bernini (famous for the colonnade that embraces the entrance to the basilica) designed the ornate bronze casing and all the rest.

The feast is based on the ancient Roman festival Parentalia, (or dies parentales, sc. 13-21 February) which honored deceased relatives and friends with quiet reflection and graveyard visits.  On the day after this "novena," families would hold an informal banquet in honor of their dead.  We can imagine them setting out an empty chair to commemorate those who used to occupy a place at table, akin to the empty chair that Jewish families leave for the prophet Elijah, when they celebrate the Passover.

In less than a week Peter's chair will be temporarily unoccupied, but the office of Pope does not disappear, nor does it lose a speck of due reverence.  Our Lord promised Peter, "The gates of the netherworld will not prevail against it [My Church]" (Mt 16:18).  Non praevalebunt ("they will not prevail") is one half of the motto of L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican weekly newspaper.

The religion beat of the Washington Post and ABC News compares the popularity of Pope Benedict vs his beatified predecessor, John Paul II.  There is a curious note: in the latter days of JPII, the Pope was more popular (among Catholics) than the Church--perhaps the populace was still smarting from the scandals--and our current pontiff's popularity is a few points lower, while the Church's has increased by two points!

Now, if public acclaim were all there is to ecclesial authority (or any other!), then polls such as these would be more than the curiosity that we should consider them to be.  People might misread Jesus' question in the Gospel (Mt 16:13-19) as a poll: "Who do people say that I am?" (16: 13) and, soon thereafter, "But who do you say I am?" (16:15)

I would call it a setup...and Peter makes the trey: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

nil nisi rete

Jesus knows where to place his men on the court.  He knows their strengths and their weaknesses.  Peter's boldness, infused by divine inspiration, shows forth "for the win," specifically for the keys to the Kingdom of heaven (16:19) with all the rights and responsibilities appertaining thereto.

To this day Peter must be by turns bold and demure, ever prudent, ever pressing; waiting for the right moment to deliver.  Difficult tasks and circumstances, like scandals, will inevitably come (cf. Lk 17:1); how we respond to them is our choice.

If it really matters, I believe that history will support our man Benedict.  For nearly eight years he kept at it, doing everything that he enjoyed doing (presiding over the Sacred Synaxis, writing, speaking) and everything that we are told he wasn't so fond of (crowd-pleasing, administrating).  If he had ministerial preferences, perhaps astute body-language readers and close advisors could glean them, but I surely couldn't.  Preferences don't much enter into parenthood, I reckon, be it physical or spiritual.

Benedict, emergent emeritus Bishop of Rome, may doff the white jersey, but he will still have our back.  Within his monastic enclave he will be conducting himself as he has done for his entire priesthood: as an "example to the flock," awaiting the revelation of the Chief Shepherd (1 Pet 5:3-4) whom he has served so faithfully.

I'm Audi.

Name That Pope!

Fr. Z., of the blog "What Does the Prayer Really Say?" has a neat little contest going on, in which you--yes, you--get to choose the name of the next Supreme Pontiff.  Well, you get to suggest a name, or to guess what he might choose...and to view immediately the voting results.

My choice, if anyone cares to know, is Gregory (XVII).  The name comes from the Greek gregorios, "watchful," understandably related to the Latin grex, which means "flock" or "herd."  The Pope is always the vigilant overseer of the Lord's flock.  As such, it behooves him to be gregarious--readily willing to be among people, to identify himself with his own even as they look to him for direction and care.  It reminds me of a line from my favorite stanza from the Pange Lingua:

Nobis datus, nobis natus / Ex intacta Virgine,/ Et in mundo conversatus, / Sparso verbi semine, / Sui moras incolatus / Miro clausit ordine. 

Poetic translation:

Of a pure and spotless Virgin / Born for us on earth below, / He, as Man, with man conversing, / Stayed, the seeds of truth to sow; / Then He closed in solemn order / Wondrously His life of woe. 

"With man conversing": Literally, "having associated/consorted/dwelt with the world."  It can also mean "having turned over" or "pondered."  Following the predominant theme (and the approach) of the Benedictine Papacy: Jesus the Word Incarnate engages the world not as a stranger, but as His own true love, setting the pattern for our free and conscious response.

"To the extent that we nourish ourselves on Christ and are in love with him, we feel within us the incentive to bring others to him: Indeed, we cannot keep the joy of the faith to ourselves; we must pass it on.”(Address to the Rome Diocesan Congress, 23Jun06)

So, name your pope!  Perhaps you have a substantively meaningful reason for your selection; perhaps you just think it would be neat to hear Father say, una cum Papa nostro, Sergio, figuring, "It's been a millennium since the last one, so why the heck not?"  Leave your suggestion as a comment below for our readership to ponder, and then take Fr. Z's poll!