Re: Ratzinger Homily "Looking Down" Comment

[Kire]

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger choked up while pointing to the pope's window overlooking the square -- telling the crowd he was sure the pontiff was looking down and blessing them as he had thousands of times from the same place.

Would it be Protestant of me to point this out?


"The living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun."

"There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10.

"The dead praise not the Lord." Psalm 115:17.

[LostInAnomie]

1. Would it be atheist of me to point out...

... that there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever of an afterlife, or god for that matter.

[Kire]

11. yes, it would

but it wouldn't be as effective

[SheilaT]

2. While I personally believe in an afterlife,

I find the idea of someone's spirit looking down like that to be a little creepy. I'm sure the Pope's soul has better things to do than watch his own funeral.
(edit for clarity)

[Kire]

3. some people find it romantic

those people are more willing to part with their money, hence Ratzinger's homily,IMNSHO.

[Inland]

13. Even if its a really HUGE funeral? nt

[xchrom]

4. it's not creepy for me to think the pope might be doing that.

it's creepy that ratzinger gave the homily.

[megatherium]

7. not as creepy as Cardinal Law saying this coming Monday's Mass.

He's being given a high honor to do that Mass. He's the one who can't leave Vatican City because Italy has an extradition treaty with the US; the only reason he hasn't been indicted is to prevent a diplomatic incident.

[xchrom]

8. yeah -- that's creepy big time.

[tjwmason]

5. Yes it would

Catholics believe in a strong connexion between this life and the next; and those who are in heaven can perceive (in some sense) the continuing life on earth.

[The White Tree]

6. The Catholic Church - So little Time

So many contradictions.

Yet we still continue to believe.

I believe he also said in the ceremony that all souls would be raised up on the last day. The juxtaposition of the two gave me a second of pause.
(edited for bad spelling)

[flordehinojos]

9. if ratzinger becomes POPE, I will probably not like his RIGHT WINGtheology

but watching him on the television and knowing nothing more about him other than he is a right win cardinal .... i kind of liked the human who looked at the world from inside those eyes and was patient enough, warm enough, and human enough to give the POPE plenty of time to linger on in people's spirits and minds, and he gave the people all the time the people needed to applaud the Pope and chant JOHN PAUL, JOHN PAUL, JOHN PAUL ... envy does not seem to be one of his cardinal sins and he seemed to be a man who can listen to the silence of water in a brook and understand its language and i like that.

[Kerrytravelers]

10. My parents are Protestant and they always speack of their parents

looking down, watching them.

[Inland]

12. You mean, taking a few verses out of the old testament out of context

to make a point?

Could be protestant.

[supernova]

14. Well, no. it's not protestant

since we believe in an afterlife too.

It is comforting to some to believe that the deceased is still watching over them in some way. I thought this myself from time time about my parents and I wouldn't begrude any bereaved person that small bit of comfort.

Although, since the Psalms and Ecclesiastes are part of the Jewish half of our heritage, these particular quotes make perfect sense in those terms.

[Donailin]

15. I am no fan of Ratzinger

but I found the homily to be beautiful and cahrismatic, unlike Pope John Paul whose encyclicals and homilies I have heard through the years, which I found to be dry and uninspired, but that may be due to the translations.