Pope Benedict XVI
Enters into Eternal Rest
December 31, 2022
Pope Benedict XVI words as he prepared for Final Judgment:
Preparing for Final Judgment
In a separate letter responding to the Munich investigation that served as a profound and memorable coda for his ministry as a priest, archbishop, and pontiff, the Pope Emeritus asked for the forgiveness of abuse survivors, noting that he had “borne great responsibility in the Catholic Church.”
Concluding his letter, Benedict looked toward his judgment before God.
“Quite soon, I shall find myself before the final judge of my life. Even though, as I look back on my long life, I can have great reason for fear and trembling, I am nonetheless of good cheer, for I trust firmly that the Lord is not only the Just Judge, but also the Friend and Brother Who Himself has already Suffered for my shortcomings, and is thus also my Advocate, my ‘Paraclete,’” he wrote.
“In light of the hour of judgment, the grace of being a Christian becomes all the more clear to me. It grants me knowledge, and indeed friendship, with the judge of my life, and thus allows me to pass confidently through the dark door of death.”
“In this regard,” he concluded, “I am constantly reminded of what John tells us at the beginning of the Apocalypse: he sees the Son of Man in all His Grandeur and falls at His Feet as though dead. Yet He, placing His Right Hand on him, says to him: ‘Do not be afraid! It is I…’”
From the Book of Heaven:
Volume 1 – Jesus’ Words to Luisa as she confessed her sins: – “This time I Myself want to do the office of Confessor. You will confess all your sins to Me, and in the act in which you do this, I shall make you comprehend, one by one, the Sorrows you have given to My Heart in offending Me, so that, by comprehending what sin is, as much as it is possible for a creature, you may be Resolved to die rather than to offend Me. You, in the meantime, enter into your nothingness, and recite the Confiteor.”
On entering into myself, I could see all my misery and my wicked deeds, and I trembled like a leaf before His Presence. I lacked the Strength to pronounce the Words of the Confiteor, and if the Lord had not Infused New Strength in me, by Telling me: “Do not fear – if I AM the Judge, I AM also your Father. Courage, let us proceed”, I would have remained there, without uttering one word.
