Did mystical experience prompt resignation of Benedict XVI? [CWN]

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What is the “remarkable success” of Pope Francis that the article refers to?
 
Just because it is an “everyday” occurrence doesn’t make it any less mystical. “Mundane” prayer in itself is a very mystically thing in itself, unless you don’t consider communicating with the Be All, End All mystical. Perhaps these things are lost in a Church so saturated in legalism and minimal obligation that God communicating through the smallest thing is no longer profound but a contractual obligation of sorts.
 
Megan7 said:
Thanks BeeHumble. I have missed Pope Benedict every single day, I cried when I heard the news, and was shocked. And now hearing this, it makes me feel a bit better… I miss him terribly. God bless him & protect him always. :highprayer:
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I miss him terrribly too.

In the past few years, I’ve been trying to read as many of his books as I can because I think he’s a great theologian. But in the past few months I haven’t really been able to read them because it makes me too sad.

I feel fatherless, but I’m sure he did God’s will, no matter how hard it is to accept. He’s a very holy man.
 
I hardly think that he would describe a “regular” answer to prayer as “mystical”. As has been pointed out, by this logic every prayer is a mystical experience (which it is, of course, but I don’t think it would require the “mystical” description). I think that his experience was more than that, and that he is too modest to describe it.

I pray for him every day at Lauds and at Vespers.🙂
 
That is the headline for The Guardian’s take on the few words mentioned by Zenit.

It was Scott Richert’s blog post that brought this to my attention:
The Media and Pope Benedict the Mystic
… ZENIT’s report consisted of four short paragraphs, totaling a mere 185 words …
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Yet out of these few words, the media spun pageview gold. NPR did one of the shorter stories: At 276 words, it’s almost 50 percent longer than ZENIT’s original report. The Telegraph and the Guardian, both out of the United Kingdom, whipped up stories of 548 and 577 words, respectively. The Telegraph did so, in part, by putting words in Benedict’s mouth that aren’t found in the ZENIT report, but which took on a life of their own and appeared in later articles that sometimes cited the Telegraph, and often did not. Similarly, almost every article took the few words about Benedict’s thoughts on his successor and spun them into two paragraphs or more.
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🤷

Even thought the popular media is so anti-Catholic, they sure are interested in Christ’s Church!
 
This is gratifying to say the least. Surely, men and women in a state of holiness are open to the interior locutions that may take place for one reason or another within their prayerful communication with our Lord. It would seem particularly so for those in religious leadership roles. To those who believe in the intimate union of God and man it would not seem difficult to understand this explanation.
 
In our super-advanced technological era, is it now possible to implant messages in one’s mind to make it seem that a given experience is religious? Just a thought.
 
Robert_Sock said:
In our super-advanced technological era, is it now possible to implant messages in one’s mind to make it seem that a given experience is religious? Just a thought.
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So you think someone has mind-controlled Benedict XVI?

:confused::confused::confused:
 
I’m gonna guess that it was also because of his advanced age, he probably did not want to end up like John Paul II and finish out his papacy in ailing, agonizing health.
 
ScottEH said:
So you think someone has mind-controlled Benedict XVI?

:confused::confused::confused:
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I would not put anything past those with super-advanced technological knowledge. Satan can also do such things, and this is why such paranormal experiences are so carefully investigated by the Church. I’m sure Benedict XVI is fully aware of these possibilities.
 
Robert_Sock said:
In our super-advanced technological era, is it now possible to implant messages in one’s mind to make it seem that a given experience is religious? Just a thought.
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Yes, despite having no evidence to support your wild accusation, and despite the odds of a Pope having a mystical experience being much, much higher than a Pope being mind controlled, you’re probably right…

Someone wanted him out of the way, and rather than kill him, they decided to take their chances with subliminal messages, banking on God Himself not finding out. We now have a Manchurian Pope.

:rolleyes:
 
Julian_Bashir said:
Yes, despite having no evidence to support your wild accusation, and despite the odds of a Pope having a mystical experience being much, much higher than a Pope being mind controlled, you’re probably right…

Someone wanted him out of the way, and rather than kill him, they decided to take their chances with subliminal messages, banking on God Himself not finding out. We now have a Manchurian Pope.

:rolleyes:
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I’m not saying that is what happened, but merely putting it out there as food for thought. Yes, I believe that there are those who are able to plant such messages into the head of an unwitting person. I also believe that there are truth serums that allow certain people to extract information from a person who is in an unconscious state.
 
All decisions made by the Holy Father are essentially mystical experiences, but not how people picture them. He is a conduit for the Holy Spirit, and his decisions are driven by what God is telling him. Pope Emeritus Benedict did not simply wake up one day and say “meh, I’ve had enough.” Nor is there anything to suggest he had an experience like our Lady of Lourdes gave to Benadette. But the decision certainly came from the Holy Spirit, in God telling Benedict he needed to retire prior to him dying, and that is the crux of the matter.
 
Did Benedict XVI declare this a mystical experience or is it the media, to capture a headline and infuse a sense of the sensational in order to gain attention?
 
Marie5890 said:
Did Benedict XVI declare this a mystical experience or is it the media, to capture a headline and infuse a sense of the sensational in order to gain attention?
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DaddyGirl said:
I assume everyone knows by now…that this story has been fully denied by Vatican officials? :

VATICAN CITY (RNS) –
The personal secretary of former Pope Benedict XVI denied that the pontiff resigned as a consequence of a “mystical experience” in which God “told me” to step back from the papacy.
The Catholic news agency Zenit published a story on Aug. 19 reportedly based on the account of one of the former pope’s few visitors; Benedict is living in a refurbished monastery on the Vatican grounds.
According to the report, Benedict said he had decided to resign after what he described as a “mystical experience,” stressing that this shouldn’t be confused with a vision.
That experience sparked an “absolute desire” to dedicate his life exclusively to prayer, in a solitary relationship with God, Benedict reportedly said.
Zenit’s account received wide attention but was met with skepticism by people familiar with the former pope.
Speaking on Sunday (Aug. 25) to the Italian TV channel Canale 5, Benedict’s personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, said the Zenit report was “made up from alpha to omega.”**
“There is nothing true in that story,” he added.**

.
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