Homily for Pope John Paul II During His Funeral Mass
April 8, 2005— -- Text of the homily read, in Italian, by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals, during the funeralMass of Pope John Paul II. Translation provided by the Vatican:
"Follow me." The Risen Lord says these words to Peter. Theyare his last words to this disciple, chosen to shepherd his flock."Follow me" -- this lapidary saying of Christ can be taken as thekey to understanding the message which comes to us from the life ofour late beloved Pope John Paul II. Today we bury his remains inthe earth as a seed of immortality -- our hearts are full ofsadness, yet at the same time of joyful hope and profoundgratitude.
These are the sentiments that inspire us, Brothers and Sistersin Christ, present here in St. Peter's Square, in neighboringstreets and in various other locations within the city of Rome,where an immense crowd, silently praying, has gathered over thelast few days. I greet all of you from my heart. In the name of theCollege of Cardinals, I also wish to express my respects to Headsof State, Heads of Government and the delegations from variouscountries. I greet the Authorities and official representatives ofother Churches and Christian Communities, and likewise those ofdifferent religions. Next I greet the Archbishops, Bishops,priests, religious men and women and the faithful who have comehere from every Continent; especially the young, whom John Paul IIliked to call the future and the hope of the Church. My greeting isextended, moreover, to all those throughout the world who areunited with us through radio and television in this solemncelebration of our beloved Holy Father's funeral.
Follow me -- as a young student Karol Wojtyla was thrilled byliterature, the theater, and poetry. Working in a chemical plant,surrounded and threatened by the Nazi terror, he heard the voice ofthe Lord: Follow me! In this extraordinary setting he began to readbooks of philosophy and theology, and then entered the clandestineseminary established by Cardinal Sapieha. After the war he was ableto complete his studies in the faculty of theology of theJagiellonian University of Krakow.
How often, in his letters to priests and in his autobiographical books has he spoken to us about his priesthood, to which he was ordained on Nov. 1, 1946. In thesetexts he interprets his priesthood with particular reference tothree sayings of the Lord.
First: "You did not choose me, but Ichose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit thatwill last" (John 15:16). The second saying is: "The good shepherdlays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). And then: "As thefather has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love" (John15:9). In these three sayings we see the heart and soul of our HolyFather. He really went everywhere, untiringly, in order to bearfruit, fruit that lasts. "Rise, Let us be on our Way!" is thetitle of his next-to-last book. "Rise, let us be on our way!" -- with these words he roused us from a lethargic faith, from thesleep of the disciples of both yesterday and today. "Rise, let usbe on our way!" he continues to say to us even today.
The Holy Father was a priest to the last, for he offered his life to God forhis flock and for the entire human family, in a daily self-oblationfor the service of the Church, especially amid the sufferings ofhis final months. And this way he became one with Christ, the GoodShepherd who loves his sheep. Finally, "abide in my love:" thePope who tried to meet everyone, who had an ability to forgive andto open his heart to all, tells us once again today, with thesewords of the Lord, that by abiding in the love of Christ we learn,at the school of Christ, the art of true love.
Follow me! In July 1958 the young priest Karol Wojtila began anew stage in his journey with the Lord in the footsteps of theLord. Karol had gone to the Masuri Lakes for his usual vacation,along with a group of young people who loved canoeing. But hebrought with him a letter inviting him to call on the Primate ofPoland, Cardinal Wyszynski. He could guess the purpose of themeeting: he was to be appointed as the auxiliary Bishop of Krakow.Leaving the academic world, leaving this challenging engagementwith young people, leaving the great intellectual endeavor ofstriving to understand and to interpret the mystery of thatcreature which is man and of communicating to today's world theChristian interpretation of our being -- all this must have seemedto him like losing his very self, losing what had become the veryhuman identity of this young priest. Follow me -- Karol Wojtylaaccepted the appointment for he heard in the Church's call thevoice of Christ. And then he realized how true are the Lord'swords: "Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, butthose who lose their life will keep it" (Luke 17:53).
Our pope -- and we all know this -- never wanted to make his own life secure, tokeep it for himself, he wanted to give of himself unreservedly, tothe very last moment, for Christ and thus also for us. And thus hecame to experience how everything which he had given over into theLord's hands came back to him in a new way. His love of words, ofpoetry, of literature became an essential part of his pastoralmission and gave his new vitality, new urgency, new attractivenessto the preaching of the Gospel, even when it is a sign ofcontradiction.
Follow me! In October 1978, Cardinal Wojtyla once again heardthe voice of the Lord. Once more there took place that dialoguewith Peter reported in the Gospel of this Mass: "Simon, son ofJohn, do you love me? Feed my sheep!' To the Lord's question,`Karol, do you love me?' the archbishop of Krakow answered from thedepths of his heart: "Lord, you know everything: you know that Ilove you." The love of Christ was the dominant force in the lifeof our beloved Holy Father. Anyone who ever saw him pray, who everheard him preach, knows that. Thanks to his being profoundly rootedin Christ, he was able to bear a burden which transcends merelyhuman abilities: that of being the shepherd of Christ's flock, hisuniversal Church. This is not the time to speak of the specificcontent of this rich pontificate. I would like only to read twopassages of today's liturgy which reflect the central elements ofhis message. In the first reading, St. Peter says -- and with St. Peter, the pope himself -- "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to thepeople of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ -- he is Lord ofall" (Acts of the Apostles 10:34-36). And in the second reading,St. Paul -- and with St. Paul, our late Pope -- exhorts us, cryingout: "My brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joyand my crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved"(Philippians 4:1).
Follow me! Together with the command to feed his flock, Christproclaimed to Peter that he would die a martyr's death. With thosewords, which conclude and sum up the dialogue on the love and onthe mandate of the universal shepherd, the Lord recalls anotherdialogue, which took place during the Last Supper. There Jesus hadsaid: "Where I am going, you cannot come." Peter said to him,"Lord, where are you going?" Jesus replied: "Where I cam going,you cannot follow me now: but you will follow me afterward." (John13:33-36). Jesus from the Supper went toward the Cross, went towardhis resurrection -- he entered into the paschal mystser; and Petercould not follow him. Now -- after the resurrection -- comes thetime, comes this "afterward." By shepherding the flock of Christ,Peter enters into the paschal mystery, he goes toward the cross andthe resurrection. The Lord says this in these words: "… when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and takeyou where you do not wish to go; (John 21:18)
In the first years of his pontificate, still young and full of energy, the Holy Fatherwent to very ends of the earth, guided by Christ. But afterward, heincreasingly entered into the communion of Christ's sufferings;increasingly he understood the truth of the words: "Someone elsewill fasten a belt around you." And in the very communion with thesuffering Lord, tirelessly and with renewed intensity, heproclaimed the Gospel, the mystery of that love which goes to theend (John 13:1).
He interpreted for us the paschal mystery as a mystery of divinemercy. In his last book, he wrote: The limit imposed upon evil "isultimately Divine Mercy" ("Memory and Identity," p. 60-61). Andreflecting on the assassination attempt, he said: "In sacrificinghimself for us all, Christ gave a new meaning to suffering, openingup a new dimension, a new order: the order of love … It is thissuffering which burns and consumes evil with the flame of love anddraws forth even from sin a great flowering of good." Impelled bythis vision, the Pope suffered and loved in communion with Christ,and that is why the message of his suffering and his silence provedso eloquent and so fruitful.
Divine Mercy: the Holy Father found the purest reflection ofGod's mercy in the Mother of God. He who at an early age had losthis own mother, loved his divine mother all the more. He heard thewords of the crucified Lord as addressed personally to him:"Behold your Mother." And so he did as the beloved disciple did:he took her into his own home;" (John 19:27) - Totus tuus. And from the mother he learned to conform himselfto Christ.
None of us can ever forget how in that last Easter Sunday of hislife, the Holy Father, marked by suffering, came once more to thewindow of the Apostolic Palace and one last time gave his blessingurbi et orbi. We can be sure that our beloved pope is standingtoday at the window of the Father's house, that he sees us andblesses us. Yes, bless us, Holy Father. We entrust your dear soulto the Mother of God, your Mother, who guided you each day and whowill guide you now to the eternal glory of her Son, our Lord JesusChrist. Amen.