The voice of the shepherd

In his book Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict XVI says of his first predecessor Saint Peter:

This is how he comes to the sheep “through Jesus”: He takes them not as his own – Simon Peter’s – but as Jesus’ “flock.” It is because he comes through the “door,” Jesus, it is because he comes to them united with Jesus in love, that the sheep listen to his voice, the voice of Jesus himself – they are not following Simon, but Jesus, from whom and through whom Simon comes to them, so that when he leads them it is Jesus himself who leads.1

Has this not been the experience of these past few days here at the World Youth Day 2008? Indeed it has.

Whenever one sees Benedict XVI or hears his voice one cannot help but see that he comes not in his own name but in the name of the Lord.

Last night, flipping through the channels some of the boys stumbled upon a documentary on the life of then Cardinal Ratzinger. I was in the room – an “L” shaped room - away from the television and the boys at the time busy with other things paying little attention to what was going on about me. They stopped on that particular channel, apparently – as I soon learned - to do a little experiment of sorts. After just a few moments I said, “It’s Papa,” and moved toward the television so that I could see. Sure enough, it was.

The boys wanted to see if I could recognize Pope Benedict XVI simply by his voice. They were surprised that indeed I could. They said, “You knew his voice even when he spoke in German!”

My response: “Of course I did; he’s Papa.”

The experience of these past few days has not been that of listening to and following after Joseph Ratzinger, but rather of listening to and following after Jesus Christ, who used Pope Benedict XVI – the humble worker in the Lord’s vineyard – as his instrument to teach us and lead us in the ways of faith. This Pope Benedict XVI has done well.

Throughout these next few days here in the Great South Land of the Holy Spirit we will be reflecting on the words that the Holy Father spoke to us. We know that the purpose of a pilgrimage is to embark upon not only a physical journey but, more importantly, a spiritual one and to return home changed. His Holiness reminded us that he who is baptized and confirmed has been changed forever. It is my great hope that together we will come to a deeper understanding of this foundational reality of the Christian faith to return home changed as witnesses to Christ filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.

If we return in this way the World Youth Day 2008 will have been a great success.

1 Joseph Ratzinger / Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration, trans. Adrian J. Walker (New York: Doubleday, 2007), 277.