Trailblazers Retreat Conferences, Table of Contents

   April 18-20, 2008

Talk 4: The Pope and You

            It’s the last day of our retreat. Think of how many graces we have received in these thirty-six hours. Adoration. Rosaries. The Way of the Cross. Mass. Confession. Some, spiritual direction. We have seen the Pope in New York. We have come to know one another, at least a little bit, this great gathering of the world’s best young people to go on this trip to Australia in eleven weeks and one day!

            Our first talk, Friday night, helped us get into the retreat, and to do so well. Saturday morning, we talked about Sin and Conversion. This moved us to live completely convinced about God, and to love him above all things and our neighbor as ourselves. In the evening, the spiritual talk had to do with the World Youth day Motto, and we came to know the Holy Spirit better, and commit ourselves to spreading the Gospel in a world dying because it does not know him. Later this morning we will have an extended questions and answer sessions, more for spiritual questions than for practical ones.

            Will all of World Youth Day be like the retreat this weekend? The answer is simple: no. In fact, none of the days in World Youth Day will be like this retreat. That’s what makes our retreat so urgent and important. These are intense days which serve as an interior preparation.

            The final piece, I think, which will help us prepare is the topic of this talk, for we have not yet spoken about the Pope. That’s the title, you might put it, of this conference: the Pope and You. The focus will be more on the Pope than on Josef Ratzinger who is the man of Pope Benedict XVI.

            The Papacy is an important piece of Catholicism, which we have had since the get go, and which will exist until the end of the world; and who knows what special place the Popes who are saints will have in heaven. The Church could scarcely be more blessed than to have Pope Ratzinger at the helm; but no matter who the individual man is who occupies this exalted office, it is a good time for us to renew our faith and attitudes towards the Pope, so that we can truly love him, like every Catholic should; and, loving him, assent to his teachings and obey his commands. For love brings one to bend his will before the one he loves.

            There are many arguments out there against the Pope. Protestants clearly and completely reject the Papacy, even if from time to time they find something nice to say about one Pope or another. Secularists see the Pope as a powerful head of state, seeing his power in political influence instead of in his supernatural office.

            Sometimes we Americans of the 21st Century find ourselves resisting the fact that there is someone out there, who is not an elected official; or that there is one out there whom we must obey – who’s going to tell a young American what to do, right?

There are even Catholics who can’t stand the idea of the Papacy. Some say, “Let the Pope keep out of my life, out of my society, out of my bedroom, out of my conscience,” but that attitude is gravely mistaken.

These are instances, or examples, of those who sift the Pope through the sieve of their own rationalism. They fail to see the Pope with faith. Yet if one looks at the Pope without faith, it is impossible to understand the Pope, accept the Pope, or much less love him.

Today’s talk is shorter, so I wish to only go over one important passage of the scriptures about the Pope, from the very many which exist, and then remember some of the key dogmatic teachings regarding the Pope.

            (Mt 16:13-20)

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.

            Many other things were said to Peter. The Lord gave to him and to no other these words:(1)

• “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas (which means Peter)” (John 1:42).
• “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17).
• “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again [after the denials], strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:31-32).
• An angel was sent to announce the resurrection to Peter (Mark 16:7)
• In the Acts of the Apostles we find much more about him:
• He headed the meeting that elected Matthias to replace Judas (Acts 1:13-26)
• He received the first converts (Acts 2:41).
• He inflicted the first punishment (Acts 5:1-11)
• He excommunicated the first heretic (Acts 8:18-23).
• He led the first council in Jerusalem (Acts 15).
• He announced the first dogmatic decision (Acts 15:7-11).
• It was to Peter that the revelation came that Gentiles were to be baptized and accepted as Christians (Acts 10:46-48).
• The whole Church prayed for Peter (Acts 12:5).

So, who is the Pope, really? He is Peter. There is an expression that says, “Where Peter, there the Church” (ubi Petrus, ibi ecclesia). He is the supreme authority on earth, established by God, and the entire world is his sheepfold, even those who reject him; the keys as symbol of total authority (cf. Is. 22:22, Rev. 1:18). He is the visible head of the Church on earth. And because of all this, he is also the principle to our unity and guarantee of our unity; there is no unity without Peter, without the Pope.

When you see the Pope, you can say, “You are Peter.” Indeed, you will probably hear songs in Spanish and Italian which sing, “You are Peter!”

Since the gates of hell will never prevail against the Church, the Church which is founded on no other rock except Peter – for Peter means rock – then stay with Peter, adhere to the Pope, and you will make it to heaven.

Now for those “key dogmatic” points I referred to earlier. Let’s focus on two.

The first point for us to remember are the teachings of Vatican I, which were not invented by Vatican I but were with the Church since Jesus spoke in Mt 16, regarding the Papacy. I will focus only on three of these.

It is that the Pope enjoys a charism called infallibility. “By virtue of his office, the Supreme Pontiff,” which means the great High Priest, Supreme because no one has more authority that the Pope, “possesses infallibility in teaching when as the supreme pastor and teacher of all the Christian faithful, who strengthens his brothers and sisters in faith, he proclaims by a definitive act that a doctrine of faith or morals is to be held.”(2)#_ftn2

Second, the Pope is not only infallible as a teacher, but he has authority of one who governs. “The bishop of the Roman Church, in whom continues the office given by the Lord uniquely to Peter, the first of the Apostles, and to be transmitted to his successors, is the head of the college of bishops, the Vicar of Christ, and the pastor of the universal Church on earth. By virtue of his office, he possesses supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power in the Church, which he is always able to exercise freely.”(3)

Third the pope is not only teacher and pastor, but he is the one who sanctifies us more powerfully than anyone else. He does this by the sacraments, and by his personal prayers and sacrifices for our salvation. [Tell WYD 2005 story of young man from Chile on the banks of the river Rhine.]

In summary, the Pope is teacher, pastor, and sanctifier. He is priest, prophet, and king. In this triple ministry, he reflects the Holy Trinity in this world, the Father who is King, the Son who is Priest, the Spirit who “has spoken through the prophets.” He teaches, governs and sanctifies, and he has given his entire life to offer this ministry to you, to provide for you a sure guide in the midst of the confusion of this world and of these times.

When we see the Pope, then, let us love him. Let us cheer for him. Let us pray for him – and in Sydney, we’ll be even able to pray with him in real life, right there and personally.

Love is the only response any person ever deserves, and most especially among all persons on the face of the earth the Pope. Love him, and don’t be afraid to do so. Love him as a father, as a brother, as a priest and as your spiritual king, as a teacher and your spiritual guide. In him you will find God, so if you get close to him you’ll find that you will be only getting closer to God himself. Love, and be not afraid.

Are there any questions?