(03 mAY 10 - RV) “Prefer Nothing to Christ” – this part of the rule of St. Benedict
was a guiding light of Cardinal Paul Meyer, who died on Friday at the age of 98.
The oldest cardinal was laid to rest on Monday in a Mass celebrated by the Dean of
the College of Cardinals, Angelo Sodano.
After the liturgy, Pope Benedict XVI
addressed the congregation about the man who was his friend and fellow Bavarian.
The Holy Father remarked on how the Church, and especially those in the monastic community,
it a precursor to the hope of eternal life. He mentioned the motto of Cardinal Meyer
– the Love of Christ has gathered us as one.
The Pope also spoke about Cardinal
Meyer’s service to the Church – his work as a teacher and later rector at the Pontifical
Athenaeum of St. Anselm, where he founded the Pontifical Liturgical Institute.
He
spoke of how he was made Secretary of the Congregation for the Religious, and later
headed the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
Later,
he was appointed first President of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", where
he was given the delicate task of trying to heal the division caused by the Society
of St. Pius X.
Pope Benedict ended his reflections by returning to the Marian
shrine close to the birthplace of both Cardinal Mayer and the Pope himself, Our Lady
of Grace of Altotting. He said he was born at the shrine, confirmed his life according
to the rule of St. Benedict, and died in the shadow of St. Peter’s Basilica. Therefore,
the Pope asked Our Lady, St. Peter and St. Benedict to accompany the Lord’s faithful
disciple to the his Kingdom of Light and Peace.