The
"silence of God" alleged by Joseph Ratzinger
Why such silence is only apparent
to certain souls
INTRODUCTION
In a brief note Mr. RB shared with us his initial impressions about a
book published in the year 2007 by Joseph Ratzinger - "Jesús de
Nazaret". It became obvious to us that said book amply confirmed all
that we have published about Ratzinger and his function in the End of
These Times. Therefore, we asked Mr. RB to prepare a document
evaluating the book for the benefit of the Faithful. Following, the
reader may read the fruit of that request.
Comments
on Joseph Ratzinger's book "Jesús de Nazaret" (1)
A
guest document
PURPOSE
"Jesús de Nazaret", a book authored by Joseph Ratzinger – Benedict XVI
– was positioned as a best-seller upon its release in the year 2007.
Coming from someone who claimed to be legitimately occupying the Chair
of Peter (2), this new way of communication is
indeed novel. A book prepared for mass consumption in which the author
boasts of his personal title, "Pope Benedict XVI", prominent on the
cover, in order to reach world wide diffusion for the book and, at the
same time, he detaches from his "Pope" title when he announces in the
prologue that "it is not a magisterial act" and that "anyone is free to
contradict me". (3)
In said book, we found words that cause scandal, considering that the
words comes from the one who claims to be the Vicar of Christ on earth.
The purpose of this document is to expose that scandal and not to leave
the Faithful in the dark before the question which, for Joseph
Ratzinger, still is a mystery.
DETAILS
The message delivered by J. Ratzinger in his book which caught our
attention is: "...the question that will come with us along all the
book" (that is, for him it is not an accessory question, but a central
one). Here we quote some extracts where his message is clearly made
patent (we quote literally (1); ours are the
notes between brackets as well as the highlighting by
boldface/underline):
[In a context speaking about Third
World marginalization] «Naturally,
anyone can ask why God did not create
a world in which his presence was more evident; why Christ did not
leave a more brilliant trail of his presence, such that anyone
would be irresistibly impressed. This is the mystery of God and man
that we can not fathom out»
[Ch.2, pg.58]
[In speaking about the temptation of building a earthly reign according
to satan's deception] «Here arises
the great question that will go with us along all this book: really what did He bring, if he did not
bring peace to the world, wellness for anybody, a better world?
What did He bring?» Mr. Ratzinger gives his own answer: «He brought God», and follows it by words
depicting a god such that «Yes, the
power of God in this world is a silent power, but it is the
true, everlasting power.» [Ch.2, pg.69 and 70]
May we not forget that Mr. Ratzinger gave us a preview of his thinking
with the words he uttered on May 28th, 2006, when he visited the former
Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau (4):
"In a
place like this, words fail. In the end, there can only be a dread
silence, a silence which is a heartfelt cry to God -- Why, Lord, did you remain silent? How could
you tolerate all this?"
"Where was God in
those days? Why was he silent? How could he permit this endless
slaughter, this triumph of evil?"
Is not the trail of Christ presence "brilliant enough"? How dare he!
That God was silent? What a blasphemy! Is the "silence" of God a
"mystery"? Of course it is, for
those who do not have eyes to See! (5) As
Jesus told us:
...To
you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to the
rest in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing may not
understand. [Luke
8:10]
At that time Jesus answered and said:
I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou
hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them
to the little ones. [Matthew11:25]
And there came to him the Pharisees
and Sadduccees tempting: and they asked him to show them a sign from
heaven. 2 But he answered and said to them: ... A wicked and adulterous
generation seeketh after a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but
the sign of Jonas the prophet. ... [Matthew16:1-4]
What is that "sign of Jonas" about? The answer is given also by Jesus:
For
as Jonas was in the whale's belly three days and three nights: so shall
the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
[Matthew12:40]
That is, to those who ask for more than the sign of the Resurrection,
nothing more will be granted, because, in their daring, they do not
consider "bright" enough the Presence and Resurrection of the Son of
God. And that man, who sits on the self proclaimed highest chair of
Earth and who considers himself the wisest among the wisest, that one,
who judges that "Christ did not leave a trail brilliant enough of his
presence", that one, is
truly defining himself (4).
God has
raised His Voice repeatedly
The message that J. Ratzinger is delivering, over and over again, is
nothing but a reproach to God, a daring to the Most High, the same
challenge which satan directed to Christ by saying "If you are the Son
of God, command for this stones to become breads." Witnessing the
suffering of mankind, in scenarios such as the Second World War and the
marginalization of Third World, J. Ratzinger asserts that God kept
silent, that is, that He did nothing. (Although he presents it as a
question, he makes it an assertion, in saying "this is a mystery" or
"God was silent").
The answer to this "mystery" is so easy and so clear that it can be
expressed in only a few paragraphs (thus there is no justification J.
Ratzinger for not to answer the question immediately). Following we
explain it for our readers.
In reality, He is Omnipotent and by "snapping His fingers" He could
transform the world (in the
way we tempt Him to do), but the concept that escapes Ratzinger
is that: (a) God has chosen our collaboration (6);
(b) He has chosen to respect our free will as an
untouchable part of His Plan of Salvation; and (c)
Faced with the disastrous failure of man in his collaboration with the
Divine Plan, God has intervened repeatedly, raising His Voice – even to
the sending of His Own Son! And yet someone ask Him to speak louder!?
The process is always the same. God granted free will to man since the
very moment of his creation – "made in His image and semblance". That
free will entails a responsibility: to collaborate with God. Man fails
in this responsibility. God, in His Mercy, intervenes to give him
another opportunity. When, time after time, man becomes irresponsible
and blind, God respects him in his free decision of acting alone. The
result is that man, by his own daring, increase his own suffering. God
allows this when His creature drifts away from Him, and even so, He
does not cease to give opportunities to minimize that suffering:
(a)
God offers man the Earthly Paradise. Man rejects this opportunity,
wanting to be like God.
(b) God, in His Mercy, sends
His Son. Man rejects this opportunity, beating Him and crucifying Him.
(c) God, in His Mercy,
establishes His Church on earth. Man rejects this opportunity,
subjecting the Church to the temporal power, and using it for his own
benefit (7).
(d) God, in His Mercy, sends
Mary, the Mother of His Son (8). Man rejects
this opportunity, turning it into an opportunity for profit (9).
(e) And so many other
opportunities... As when mankind was warned, through Mary in Fatima (10),
about the risk of a Second World War and about what was needed to
prevent it. Man, again, rejected that opportunity, this time the
responsibility falling squarely in the hands of the Administrators of
the Church.
His Divine Plan for mankind will be accomplished on Earth, whether we
collaborate or not, but at the same time we are who, according to our
degree of collaboration, decide the degree of suffering which will
carry us the fulfilling of His Plan. He desires the minimal suffering
for us, that is, our maximum collaboration. So, in asking "Your Will be
done on Earth" we are asking Him for assistance in our mission and we
are opening to His participation in those things in which He has chosen to depend on our
consent.
Suffering under the hands of our fellow men? (11)
Suffering under natural disasters? (12) All
makes sense and responds to the Plan of God, in which God does not
cause suffering, but only allows it for man's benefit. It is like men
building a giant screen on the sky to block the light of Sun (13),
giver of life. At the end, the absence of light lead to nowhere but
suffering. And to blame God for not to build mirrors in order to bring
us light dodging our big screen is nothing but a daring.
NOTES
(1) "Jesús de Nazaret" by Joseph Ratzinger
/ Benedict XVI, published by "La esfera de los libros". First edition -
september 2007. ISBN 978-84-9734-636-8. Without having at hand the
English translation of the book, I have translated the quotes but, for
identification purposes, kept the numbering of Chapters and Pages
referring to the Spanish translation of the book.
(2) The
True Petrine Ministry
(3) On the cover it says in big red letters
"Benedict XVI", and in black and smaller letters "Joseph Ratzinger";
according to that the author would be Benedict XVI" exerting all of his
power, but from the contents of the prologue it is implied that the
author is "Joseph Ratzinger". Dressed
like a Pope
but deploys his own personal ideas and interests, that is, "seems to be" but "it is not"
(4) Who would dare, from a "holy" podium, to
raise his voice with words of reproach to the True and Living God? Part I and Part 2)
(5) Who have
eyes to see and
ears to hear?
(6) Mankind's participation in its
own redemption - Suffering only has two purposes; and both are
constructive
(7) See, for example, Constantine
Donation
and The Papacy
in historical perspective. and What went wrong in Roman Catholic
Church? Part I - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
(8) We
have been warned by the Virgin Mary, are we going to listen this time?
(9) The
response of the Church Administration to Mary's Calling
(10) The
Calling of Mary from Fatima, and The
response of the World to
Her Calling, and How
Her Calling is being discredited, and How it is even
forged.
(11) Catastrophes
caused
by our fellow men?
(12) Apparently
illogical and totally senseless disasters?
(13) The Sin of
Denial and its
grave consequences
En Español: El silencio de Dios que proclama Joseph
Ratzinger
Document dedicated to the
Virgin Mary on September 8th, 2007, day in which is celebrated Her
Birthday.
Translation to English completed on
February 2nd, 2008, day in which is celebrated Her Purification.
Published English version on Ash
Wednesday 2008
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