POPE BENEDICT'S SELF-DISPOSSESSION

BENEDICT’S SELF-DISPOSSESSION

Pope Benedict’s warm and humble gentleness, informality and humour replaced the baleful image of the cold disciplinarian. The spirituality of St. Benedict tends to dissolve all harshness, advising leaders “to seek to be loved rather than to be feared.” Pope Benedict XVI pledged not to follow his own will or pursue his own ideas, but to “listen with the entire Church to the word and will of the Lord.” In fact, “listen” is the very first word of the 6^th. Century Rule of St. Benedict, which begins by instructing the monks to “incline the ear of the heart” and then urges the Abbot to “listen” to the counsel of the “whole community”, including its youngest and lowest-ranking members. Pope Benedict’s gentle demeanour and the congenial tone of his talks endeared him to one and all. He opted for dialogue between all religions, and his humble resignation proved him right.

The Vedic dream to fulfil one’s desires has virtually universal appeal, as does the urgency of the Upanishads for one to abandon concern with ephemerals and marshal his faculties for seeking out one’s true self. Jainism’s definition of life challenges us more acutely to consider the impact and implications of our daily actions upon other life forms. The Buddhist emphasis on the transitory nature of what meets the eye serves as a reminder to all people not to search for absolutes in the realm of change. The Confucian quest for propriety holds an undeniable appeal, particularly for societies rocked by uncertainties and upheaval. And the Taoist abandonment of ambition and self-concern seem like good medicine, especially with those obsessed with activity aimed at their self-image and aggrandisement.

          Looking at these religious systems and ways of thought, one is tempted to exclaim, “How very Christian!” and he would not be entirely wrong, since one cannot help arriving at the conclusion that every religious persuasion calls for the minimising of arrogance or “hubris” in order that a higher value can emerge to which one can attach oneself, and which guarantees stability, permanence, and harmony - precisely the imperative of Christianity. Benedict belongs here!

In his resignation from “Pontifex Maximus”, Benedict has imitated his Master, Jesus Christ, who emptied himself in order that God may take over his creation resuméd in his Incarnate Son.  The Vatican Council reminds us that human nature is not absorbed but assumed by the divine.

Pope Benedict will remain a theologian until death.  He understands that the paradox of the Incarnation consists in self-fulfilment through self-dispossession. As such, it was realised by Jesus Christ, “the first-born of many brothers” (Rom 8, 29).” Pope Benedict will soon enter into a transcendent contemplation of God in the divine act of accepting him, thereby making him more free and authentic. God is not in competition with man and the world, but in a healthy tension of correspondence and intensifying intimacy. In retirement, Benedict will embrace the humanity he loved, and pray that all men and women would realise their possibilities in God’s environment.