Pope Francis asked for prayers at the end of his General Audience yesterday for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as he is very ill.
“Remember him — he is very ill — asking the Lord to console him and to sustain him in this testimony of love for the Church until the end.”
“We have probably reached the last phase of his earthly life, and we must prepare and pray for him and for the Church. But only God knows when this will happen: this evening, tomorrow night, in a few days or perhaps in ten,” the source said. “I don’t think we can speak of months now, but we are in the Lord’s hands now more than ever.”
Reading the article all sounds rather familiar to anyone who has had an elderly loved one go through "the 'mystery' of the evening of life" as the source called it. I love that phrase — "The mystery of the evening of life."
I also really liked the way Pope Francis described Benedict "who, in silence, is sustaining the Church." I know that he has spent a lot of time in prayer and that is such a lovely way to put it — and so true to the way that John Paul II described the vocation of the elderly and sick to pray for those of us active in the world.
I recently finished the first Jesus of Nazareth book and again was thankful that Pope Benedict had given us such a gift in his writings and teachings. I little thought that a couple of days later I would be praying for him in his last days, as are those around the world.
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| Via Monsignor Eric Barr |
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