God assures that chair of St. Peter is never vacant

    As we continue our Lenten journey, one of the messages that continues to come up points us to remember that our faith, and indeed, the message of the church, has always focused on Jesus Christ. While this may seem like a simple message, I think it is something that is worth remembering, particularly during this Lenten season and as we continue to pray for Benedict XVI’s successor.
    The media has been abuzz with questions regarding what happens when the church finds itself without a leader, but this is an erroneous assumption. We, as a Church, are not without a leader, for God promised us that he would not abandon us. He gave us his only son as our redeemer, and Jesus left us with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
    As the cardinals begin to gather in the conclave, we must not think that we, as Catholics, have been abandoned, nor must we believe that we are leaderless. We must not forget that the Catholic Church is not about the pope or the pope’s teachings. Rather, the Catholic Church is about Jesus Christ and the teachings that we learn from his life and preaching.
    Benedict XVI knew that, evidenced in his own writings. Indeed, the Lenten season helps us to remember that we are not abandoned, as     we hear of Jesus’ emptying of himself in order to take on the human condition.
    As the chair of St. Peter stands empty, we must pray that our new pope will have the strength and courage to be faithful to the task that will be appointed him: to be a leader of the Catholic Church, guided by the Holy Spirit. While we find ourselves in an unusual circumstance because Benedict XVI is still alive, the process of prayer has remained unchanged as popes follow one another to take St. Peter’s place as head of the church.
    We must remember that these people were all human, marked by the wretchedness of our human condition, as Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury pointed out in a sermon on Feb. 28. “Tonight, we might each examine our consciences and ask: ‘Did we live up to the gift of leadership in our time?’” he asked.
    Rather than yield to the beliefs of our secular society and contribute to the condemnation of Benedict XVI’s decision to resign, we should look within ourselves before we cast the first stone. I firmly believe that Benedict XVI’s choice was not an easy one for him and that he may have experienced some of the same agony that we will hear about with Jesus’ agony in the garden prior to his death on the cross. But ultimately, the decisions of both Benedict XVI and Jesus were made with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and we must trust that guidance as we await the proclamation of our new pope.
    This Lent, as we relive the persecution and death of Jesus, we must try to remember that Jesus’ human suffering was bodily and in this world. But Jesus was not solely of this world – he is of God, of divine nature.
    So, too, is our church. As Benedict XVI reminded us in his last official speech, the church “lives through the course of time, in becoming, as every living being, transformed … even if in her nature she remains always the same, and her heart is Christ.”
    The church will continue to experience trials and tribulations because it is within this human world, but it is not of the world. We, as Catholics, always have something to look forward to: our reunion with God in heaven, in the divine realm. And through the church and the church’s teachings, as Benedict XVI said, “the mystery of the Incarnation remains forever present. Christ continues to walk the path through the ages and all places.”
    As we continue our Lenten journey, let us keep in mind that Jesus is the focus of our church and that through him we will be able to endure all that he has in store for us so that one day we may rejoin him in his eternal glory.
    Heather Bozant Witcher can be reached at hbozantwitcher@clarionherald.org.