Friday, April 08, 2005 :::
 
One could hardly do better in summarizing the essence of John Paul II, of most happy memory, than did His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger this morning during his homily at the funeral, and so this humble blog will simply refer readers to that great man's comments.

One small thanks to the moderator of ABC's coverage, a Protestant who asked entirely suitable questions of the very knowledgeable priest who with him. He read the translation of the Mass as it was being said, but when it got to the Responsorial Psalm, his good taste got the better of his reportorial duties. He choked on what the New American Bible had done to "The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want," so halfway through he said, "as we used to say," and recited the King James from memory. Simply must drop that boy a thank you note.

It comes close to excusing him for asking, after the homily, whether there was as significance to the fact the H.E. Ratzinger was presidingi.e., is he a favorite to become Pope. (There was no significance, as he is Dean of the College of Cardinals, and so would be expected to officiate in any case.) Immediately after the homily comes the Creed, of course, which was being sung. But even George Weigel, over at NBC, who really should know better, could not resist the urge (or perhaps the urging of producers buzzing in his earpiece) to offer a post-game commentary on the homily, so ABC's Protestant gets a by on that one.

Everyone who watched, apparently, did as did this writer: constantly click around channels trying to find the one where no one was talking. Ah, telecom competition: it does have its advantages.

It was a magnificent service in its simplicity--just the full liturgy done beautifully--so watch it if you get the chance. For those who wish to quibble, a full choir does not make a Mass complicated, and neither do 160 Cardinals, just very musical, and very, very red.

::: posted by A Mind That Suits at 2:59 PM


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