You will forgive me for this indulgence, which does have a spiritual dimension as it cannot fail to have with Benedict XVI. I had all but forgotten about these images that were posted in the PRF 'Pictures and Videos' section in 2006 - and my reaction to Benedict XVI's completely unexpected act of 'prostratio' before the main altar of St. Peter's on Good Friday, March 27, 2006 - his first as Pope... I had even forgotten that at the time, it took even the media by surprise, because it was a 'first in papal liturgy'. Here is the post from March 28, 2006:
BENEDICT XVI'S 'PROSTRATIO' IN 2006:
A FIRST IN PAPAL LITURGY
For those who like me who wondered about the Pope's act of prostration before the altar at
St. Peter's yesterday afternoon, at the start of the rites to mark the Passion of Christ,
I have found so far two comments in the Italian press about it:
In Corriere della Sera:
In the afternoon at St. Peter's, at the "celebration of the Passion," the Pope extended
himself face down on the floor in the act of 'prostration' - it was the first time ever
in Papal liturgy.
In Avvenire:
Completely prostrate on the floor, his face between his hands in a gesture that indicated
both meditation and participation in the suffering of the Cruficied Son of God,
Benedict XVI paid homage to that "Wood" which is the sign of suffering but also of
salvation for the whole world.
Thus, in silence and adoration, the Successor of Peter opened the celebration of the Passion
at the Vatican. In his first Good Friday as Pope, Ratzinger showed the only possible
attitude before the mystery of God who gave his own life for mankind.
Here are the videocaps taken by our good friend Paparaxvi who, along with our own Paparatzifan, was the most assiduous photo archivist of Benedict XVI in the PRF in those heady early years...
At the time, here was my reaction to our beloved Papa Bene's first Muandy Thursday and Good Friday as Pope. It is amazing how much of it resonates in the context of a new Pontificate...
PAPA AS PRIEST, PAPA AS ICON
Having missed the Maundy Thursday rites at St. Johns Lateran yesterday due to unavoidable appointments, I was glad to be able to watch the Good Friday rites today. And I was literally stunned when, in the first few minutes of the transmission, the Pope prostrated himself before the altar and remained so for...it seemed minutes.
Perhaps, in addition to being a Good Friday act of veneration, it was also a carryover from yesterday's commemoration of the institution of the priesthood at the Mass of the Lord's Supper, recapitulating in his full prostration today the full prostration that a new priest does on the day he is ordained.
In any case, the Pope's spoken and tacit messages so far this Holy Week have had to do with emphasizing that, above all, he is a priest, and in every word and action, he has been showing us how a priest should comport himself to be worthy of being in persona Christi.
How fascinating when he stripped his outer garments, a symbolic spoliation, to lead the veneration of the Cross! I did not notice during the coverage that he had also taken off his ring, but that is clear from the still pictures...
It takes a Pope, and a Pope like Benedict, to bring new meaning to old rites, to show us that ritual has a logic and that therefore it must be done right, that ritual grows out of tradition and therefore it must be respected as it has come down to us.
The great homily on priesthood that he delivered at the Mass of the Chrism yesterday was, I felt, the concrete companion piece to his Ninth Station meditation last year ("How much filth have we brought into the Church ourselves!") and was much better than any conventional 'Maundy Thursday letter to priests' could have been.
[This refers to a practice by John Paul II to send such a letter on Maundy Thursday.]
I think maybe
many priests - especially the 'activists' - have forgotten that above all, as the Pope said, a priest should be a man of prayer - it was great that he cited how much and how often Jesus Himself prayed!; that the best deeds will not count for much in the end, if they are not rooted in communion with God.
And who could not have been moved to tears by his citation of very appropriate words from Andrea Santoro
[the Italian priest murdered by a Catholic-hating fanatic in Cyprus earlier in 2006] who lived the ideals of priesthood up to his death (he was killed in his church while in meditative prayer)!
And tonight at the Colosseum, Papa looked ageless - I don't remember any other coverage where the camera was so close to him most of the time. And the bonanza of close-ups could have been 'distracting' except that his very expression keeps you focused on the spiritual exercise.
But quite apart from the emotions awakened by the beautiful poetic meditations and prayers by Mons. Comastri, I also felt a great sense of pride and joy that our Pope appeared to be at the top of his physical form, bearing the Cross in front of him with steady hands, walking, standing, going up and down flights of steps, with ease and grace.
And the images of him in his red cape in the Roman night, speaking atop that wall to the crowd below, with the 'flaming' Cross to his right, are iconic and unforgettable.
BENEDETTO, SEI IMMENSO! DEO GRATIAS!
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 08/04/2013 06:03]