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April 25, 2005
Benedict and the Germans
Met with them today, as well as reps of other faiths.
The 78-year-old Bavarian seemed almost overcome by joy and stagefright as he strode down the aisle of the Paul VI audience hall waving to the crowds amid flashing cameras and pilgrims straining to shake his hand or kiss his ring.
A shy man thrust into the limelight by his election last Tuesday, he drew laughter and applause when he apologised for arriving late from an inter-religious meeting.
"Germans are known for being punctual -- it seems I've become a bit of an Italian," he joked.
He also recounted with a sly smile that he had begged God not to make him Pope as successive ballots in the secret conclave showed it was likely that "the guillotine would fall" on him.
"God clearly didn't listen to me," he remarked with a sigh.
Posted by Amy Welborn | Permalink
Comments
It's a thoughful touch that he is visiting the tomb of St. Paul, who is much more frequently cited by Protestants than Catholics. This bodes well.
Posted by: Ed at Apr 25, 2005 10:54:26 AM
"So with deep conviction, I told the Lord: 'Don't do this to me! You have younger and better men, who can do this work with a very different verve and strength'. In this situation ... the Lord clearly did not listen to me."
You're not the first. There once was a man named Job. :)
Posted by: Jason at Apr 25, 2005 11:05:42 AM
Oops. *Named Jonah.
Posted by: Jason at Apr 25, 2005 11:06:08 AM
"...St. Paul, who is much more frequently cited by Protestants than Catholics."
Then who are Catholics citing more since St. Paul's epistles are larger in content than anyone else's and probably take up more pages than all the Gospels put together?
Go to daily Mass and listen to the epistles...or read them.
Ed makes a moot point with little notional basis.
Posted by: Mark R at Apr 25, 2005 11:10:50 AM
Blessed James Alberione, the founder of the Daughters of St. Paul, spent a lifetime speaking and writing about this great Catholic saint! He said, "Before placing [it, the Institute, the Pauline Family] under the protection of the Apostle Paul, there was very much prayer. It needed a saint who excelled in holiness and who at the same time, would serve as an example for the apostolate. In himself, St. Paul united holiness and apostolate."
Posted by: Sr Lorraine at Apr 25, 2005 11:34:49 AM
Mark,
I think Ed's point was that Protestants as a group tend to cherish and cite the epistles of St. Paul more than any other, which is what I have found to be the case too. His wording may have lacked enough precision, that's all.
Posted by: Rick Lugari at Apr 25, 2005 12:00:52 PM
"Die Cafeteria ist zu!" = "The cafeteria is closed" in German.
Posted by: Rod Dreher at Apr 25, 2005 12:06:39 PM
Although, according to reports I have read, a newly-elected pontiff visiting St. Paul Outside the Walls is an old custom that fell out of use only recently. It is not that Pope Benedict made this up out of thin air to impress Protestants. He just revived this custom. Though there *might* be an added ecumenical layer of meaning, I think he is simply stressing the historical connection between the See of Rome, the Authority of the Papacy and the historical sources of this--i.e. Peter and Paul.
Posted by: Kurt at Apr 25, 2005 12:13:40 PM
"Die Cafeteria ist zu!"
What would it be in Latin?
Posted by: john hearn at Apr 25, 2005 12:14:03 PM
Although, according to reports I have read, a newly-elected pontiff visiting St. Paul Outside the Walls is an old custom that fell out of use only recently. It is not that Pope Benedict made this up out of thin air to impress Protestants. He just revived this custom. Though there *might* be an added ecumenical layer of meaning, I think he is simply stressing the historical connection between the See of Rome, the Authority of the Papacy and the historical sources of this--i.e. Peter and Paul.
Posted by: Kurt at Apr 25, 2005 12:15:27 PM
John this is it in Pig Latin
hetay afeteriacay siay losedcay
;)
Posted by: Rick Lugari at Apr 25, 2005 12:19:27 PM
Shouldn't it be:
Die Cafeteria ist geschlossen!
Posted by: Tim at Apr 25, 2005 12:23:42 PM
Thanks to the title, I'm going to be hearing that Simpsons episode in my head all day.
Horst: Okay, Mr. Burns, you win. But beware: Ve Germans aren't all smiles und sunshine.
Burns: (Sarcastic) Oooh, the Germans are mad at me. I'm so scared! Oooh, the Germans! (Hiding behind Smithers) Uh oh, the Germans are going to get me!
Horst: Stop it!
Man: Stop, sir.
Burns: Don't let the Germans come after me. Oh no, the Germans are coming after me.
Man: Please stop the `pretending you are scared' game, please.
Horst: Stop it! Stop it!
Burns: (Pause) No! They're so big and strong!
Man: Stop it.
Horst: Stop it, Mr. Burns.
Man: Please stop pretending you are scared of us, please, now.
Burns: Oh, protect me from the Germans! The Germans...
Horst: Burns, STOP IT!
Then again, I am strange that way.
Posted by: Dale Price at Apr 25, 2005 12:46:44 PM
It could even be "Die Mensa ist gesperrt."
Mensa is a college or other "collective" cafeteria, and gesperrt is usually taken to mean closed and locked; that's why i prefer "gesperrt."
Posted by: Yurodivi at Apr 25, 2005 12:57:36 PM
Dale - for me it's Fawlty Towers.
"We did NOT start this!"
"Yes you did! You invaded Poland!"
Posted by: Sonetka at Apr 25, 2005 1:19:13 PM
Die Cafeteria ist geschlossen!
That's what I would have thought, but we have a German speaker on staff here, and she told me "zu" was the right word.
Posted by: Rod Dreher at Apr 25, 2005 1:19:58 PM
The vatican.va folks have his speech up, but only in German. Still, my comprehension of the Fish (Babelfish, that is) is good enough to point something out that the news reports didn't.
He summed up his acceptance of the pontificate with "The ways of the Lord are not comfortable; but we were not created for comfort, but for the great and the good." He then talked about various other things, including young people, and then claimed that young people are not materialistic, as people say. "Youth wants the great": an end to injustice, an end to inequality between rich and poor, and freedom for the oppressed. So therefore the young are also open to Christ. Anyone looking for ease and comfort from Christ is at the wrong address. But He points the way to the great, to the good, to the right human life. If He asks us to take up our crosses, it is not out of smallminded morality but an impulse of love. He shows us God, and He shows us mankind's true measure.
How the heck is Pope Benedict coming up with this amazing stuff every day!?!
Posted by: Maureen at Apr 25, 2005 1:21:05 PM
I was wrong about Benedict XVI. I humbly (and gladly) admit this.
My initial worries about Benedict XVI were precipitous and unnecessary. The more I read of the man, the more I observe his demeanor, and the more I catch up on what he has had to say over the years, the more relieved and centered I feel about how he will lead the Church.
All this is not to say that I won't have my moments of disagreement or my moments of feeling disappointed with Benedict XVI, but I do think he is truly, sincerely, and personally my Pope, too. Amen!
Posted by: Jimmy Huck at Apr 25, 2005 1:26:48 PM
Darn.. if the prayers of Pope Benedict XVI go unanswered by God, what are the chances that mine will be answered? =P
Posted by: Jermaine at Apr 25, 2005 1:57:59 PM
Jermaine:
I guess we could take comfort in the schmaltzy slogan:
"The Prayers of Ratzinger were overlooked so that the Prayers of Benedict XVI could be answered"
Posted by: Chris-2-4 at Apr 25, 2005 2:06:48 PM
I love the chant: "Benedikt, Gott geschikt" (Benedict, sent [by] God).
And did you see the item that noted he's a fan of Franziskaner Weissbier? One of my favorites! Truly a sign from Heaven! Prost, Papa!
Posted by: Don Boyle at Apr 25, 2005 2:31:45 PM
Ok, this isn't verbatim, just the memory of an aging baby boomer who read Jimmy Carter's book: Faith... a long time ago....
Jimmy said that after being pres, he still taught Sunday School at his Baptist church and people would come as much to hear him preach as to hear an ex-president and he always took questions afterwards. He would invariably get a question which went something like this:
"Your a Christian"
"Yeah"
"You believe that God always answers prayer"
"Yeah"
"Well, how come it seems that sometimes He doesn't?"
Jimmy: "Well,(interject drawl)God always answers prayer......its just that sometimes, the answer is NO!"
Posted by: Green at Apr 25, 2005 3:19:12 PM
"The Prayers of Ratzinger were overlooked so that the Prayers of Benedict XVI could be answered"
Will someone from the Ratzinger Fan Club please start making a t-shirt with this slogan? It's the best thing I've read all day.
Posted by: Roz at Apr 25, 2005 4:07:10 PM
Dear Rick,
It appears that, as in Latin, there are two distinct usages. You wrote for "the cafeteria is closed":
hetay afeteriacay siay losedcay
whereas I would say,
ee-thay afeteria-cay is-way osed-clay.
Knowing of no precedent to the contrary, I claim the title "ecclesiastical Pig Latin" for my dialect; yours is perhaps classical Pig Latin.
Cheers -
bw
Posted by: Bill White at Apr 25, 2005 6:05:17 PM
Is this adress available online in full English translation?
Posted by: Eric Giunta at Apr 25, 2005 7:31:54 PM
If the cafeteria is closed, then that means not only are we unable to eat only from the dessert trays (as unhealthy as that may be), but we can't even have the obligatory staples.
Better that the cafeteria be opened so we still can avoid starving, don't you think?
Posted by: Jimmy Huck at Apr 25, 2005 8:01:38 PM
Jimmy, the only line open is the full dinner line. It's great though.
Posted by: michigancatholic at Apr 25, 2005 8:40:00 PM
What's stopping people from pushing the Brussel sprouts to one side on their dinner plate and just eating the mashed potatoes and fried chicken? Just because the cafeteria is closed doesn't mean everyone is going to clean their plates.
Posted by: Radactrice at Apr 25, 2005 8:44:16 PM
John Hearn,
There would be no word in classical (or Medieval) Latin for "cafeteria" since the darned things didn't exist until the 20th century so I guess one would have to simply use the English word as a borrowed word. At any rate the phrase in Latin would be, "Cafeteria clausa est," or better yet, "Cafeteria clausa est nunc!" ("The cafeteria is now closed!")
Posted by: Kurt at Apr 25, 2005 9:06:14 PM
"Jimmy, the only line open is the full dinner line. It's great though."
But there are some who are deathly allergic to the shellfish, and forcing them to eat it could cost them their lives. Are you willing to live with that?
Posted by: Jimmy Huck at Apr 25, 2005 9:30:18 PM
We muist all be prepared to die to our shellfish nature.
Posted by: Ed the Roman at Apr 25, 2005 10:06:21 PM
>>The more I read of the man, the more I observe his demeanor, and the more I catch up on what he has had to say over the years, the more relieved and centered I feel about how he will lead the Church.<<
Jimmy Huck: you made my night, Benedict XVI is a gift to all of us!
Posted by: Colleen at Apr 25, 2005 10:25:36 PM
Ed the Roman - "shellfish nature" - Gotta love it! Gave me my best chuckle of the day!
Posted by: Jimmy Huck at Apr 25, 2005 10:28:52 PM
I concur--shellfish nature is a masterful stroke of the keyboard.
Posted by: Radactrice at Apr 25, 2005 10:33:54 PM
I have a "The Cafeteria is Closed" anecdote to tell. I was a young girl, maybe 10 years old. I think it was Bishop's Buffet in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As I was sliding my tray along the stainless steel rails, something caught my eye. In utter disgust, I nudged my father and pointed out a multitude of cockroach antennae 'waving' to us from up under the buffet table. My dad must have been pretty hungry because we continued on down to the desserts, paid for our food, and ATE IT! We read in the Des Moines Register a few days later that they shut the place down. Now, picture the German Shepherd in full regalia standing at the entrance of 'Bishop's Buffet', the interior crawling with cockroaches (dissenters?), proclaiming, "Ze Cafeteria is Closed!"
The only German word I know I learned from my college roommate who was taking a German class at the time. She had little flashcards with the German word on one side and the English equivalent on the other. The only word that stuck with me was -- der schnupfenspray -- or nasal spray. Now that is a darn good German word!
Posted by: midwestmom at Apr 26, 2005 12:09:27 AM
"the interior crawling with cockroaches (dissenters?)"
I've never thought of myself as a disgusting cockroach and, frankly, I never could have imagined that my Catholic brothers and sisters would think of me as such, "dissenter" that I am, and would even suggest that my Pope might think likewise about me, too.
In my house, we don't pray for cockroaches, we either squash them and flush them down the toilet, or we drown them in poison. I don't think (I hope not, anyway) that you meant ill by your comment; but, just so you know, it didn't come across as all that humorous to me.
Posted by: Jimmy Huck at Apr 26, 2005 12:37:25 AM
Perhaps, in charity, we should clam up about the food metaphors.
Posted by: Dorian Speed at Apr 26, 2005 9:31:46 AM
I was in the old market in Roanoke, Va., and stuck a penny in a gumball machine on the counter.
Out slid a cockroach instead of a gumball. He calmly walked around the corner and into a crack, and I calmly put my other penny back in my pocket and walked away.
Bleh!
Posted by: WRY at Apr 26, 2005 9:36:45 AM
"Die Cafeteria ist zu" and "Die Cafeteria ist geschlossen" are both correct and mean the same thing. "Zu" is a tad more colloquial. But the better word in German for "cafeteria" would probably be "Mensa" (students' cafeteria).
The Prayers of Ratzinger were overlooked so that the Prayers of Benedict XVI could be answered.
In German: "Die Gebete Ratzingers wurden übergangen, damit die Gebete von Benedikt XVI. erhört werden können."
Posted by: Petra at Apr 26, 2005 10:06:05 AM
Vielen Dank Petra! In meiner Zeit in Deutschland habe ich den Begriff "Cafeteria" weder gehört noch gesehen; jeden Nachmittag aber gingen wir Alle in die Mensa um unseren Mittagessen zu nehmen.
Posted by: Yurodivi at Apr 26, 2005 10:53:04 AM
Apropos of nothing, but seems to sorta fit:
I heard a radio preacher in the deep south one night complaining that churches were asking people to raise money by selling barbecue and whatnot rather than relying on their zeal and love of God to bring the money in.
"God didn't call the church to fry chicken," he said. "He called the Colonel to do that. If you'd preach the word of God, people would pay their tithes and you wouldn't have to have to have bingo. You wouldn't have to fry chicken. You wouldn't have to have a fashion show."
Posted by: WRY at Apr 26, 2005 5:45:40 PM
