The Seventh Day of Christmas: Sylvester (and Benedict)

Happy seventh day of Christmas! Today the Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Sylvester I, pope and confessor.

He was born in the southern Italian town of Sant’Angelo a Scala to two Roman citizens, Rufinus and Justa. He was ordained by Pope Saint Marcellinus just before the persecutions of Diocletian got underway. He survived those years of terror and saw the triumph of Constantine in the year 312. Two years later he succeeded Saint Melchiades as Pope.

Christianity was legal at last, and it was during Saint Sylvester’s Pontificate that the great basilicas founded at Rome by Constantine were built — St. John Lateran, Santa Croce, and the old St. Peter’s in the Vatican.

Among other achievements, he convoked the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. He did not himself attend the council, but he was represented by two legates, Vitus and Vincentius, and he approved the council’s decrees.

Saint Sylvester established the Roman school of chant and music, and he is responsible for the first Roman Martyrology. He died on 31 December 335 and is buried in the Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome.

Come, O Lord, to the help of your people,
sustained by the intercession of Pope Saint Sylvester,
so that, running the course of this present life under
your guidance,
we may happily attain life without end.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Today is also the anniversary of the death of Pope Benedict XVI of happy memory. He was an enormous influence on me in my life of faith. When the Cardinals elected Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI.  I knew nothing of this man but was intrigued to discover a yawning rift amongst the Catholics I knew. Some of them adored him, and some of them positively vilified him.

This dichotomy still exists, and I confess it has always puzzled me. At the time, I was intrigued, and since the man had just been elected pope, I resolved to read one of his books. Since I was a new Catholic, I thought I’d start with his Introduction to Christianity.

This book was, for me, an absolute revelation. In it, he goes through the Apostles’ Creed and provides commentary and explanation of every line. He spends a hundred pages or so on the very first word: Credo – I believe.

He brings out the meaning of the text, which is, of course, much deeper than I had ever realized. It was said of Saint Anthony of Padua that his preaching provided a jeweled cover to the book of the Gospel. This was precisely my impression of Introduction to Christianity: Benedict provided the jeweled cover to the Creed.

I’ve often said that had I not already converted when I read Introduction to Christianity, that book alone might have done it.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Benedict shaped and deepened my spiritual life. I have since read a number of his books, but Introduction to Christianity remains one of my two favorites.

The other, of course, must be The Spirit of the Liturgy.

When our pastor at Holy Rosary, Rev. Jacob Maurer, started the parish liturgical commission, one of the things he did was purchase a copy of this book for each member. To this day, I think that that was one of the best decisions in the pastoral governance of a parish that I have ever seen.

My copy has underlines on every page, and often notes as well. This book revolutionized and crystallized my idea of what the sacred liturgy was, and what it was for. I’d like to think that my entire liturgical life is a commentary on this book.

If you have not read any of his books, what are you waiting for? The most accessible place to start is probably Jesus of Nazareth. Start there – but don’t stop there.

Obviously, we don’t know how history will judge the life and works of Pope Benedict XVI. As for me, I think that in a century or so, he will be enrolled amongst the Doctors of the Church. And I’m not alone in thinking that.

I am reminded on this day of a homily delivered by a priest in Seattle back in 2012, when I was attending daily Mass near to where I worked at the time. The priest in question took the rather unusual step of simply preaching the Pope’s homily of that day. Although I did not know it at the time, that priest was Rev. David Mulholland, who is now my pastor at Saint Patrick.

When Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation – in Latin – I was profoundly saddened. At the time I said “I am stunned and grieving”. He sounded so tired as he spoke, and I think in retrospect we can see that he was already suffering from the long decline into frailty that we’ve witnessed over the past decade. I walked our first Camino partially “for the intentions of two Popes“.

His profound humility is present in all of his writing. Even his last words as Pope ring with it.

Thank you from the heart, dear friends! I am glad to be with you, surrounded by the beauty of Creation. From eight this evening, I will no longer be Pontiff.

I am simply a pilgrim who begins the final stage of his pilgrimage on this earth, but I still wish to, with my heart, with my love, with my prayer, with my reflection, work for the good of the Church and for the common good of mankind.

Buona notte!

(Pope Benedict XVI, from the balcony at Castel Gandolfo)

I pray that this humble servant of God and of His Church has ended his pilgrimage in our heavenly homeland.

Please, in your mercy, pray for the repose of the soul of this deeply holy man. And if you are so inclined, pray for him to be raised to the altars: santo subito!

Requiem æternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.