VATICAN CITY, 3 MAY 2010 (VIS) - This morning Benedict XVI delivered the eulogy at the end of the funeral of Cardinal Paul Augustin Mayer O.S.B., prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, who died on 30 April at the age of 98.
The funeral Mass, celebrated at the altar of the Cathedra in St. Peter's Basilica, was presided by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, and concelebrated by a number of members of the college.
"The great and unshakeable hope, resting on the solid rock of God's love, assures us that the life of those who die in Christ 'is not taken away but transformed', and that 'as the abode of this earthly exile is destroyed, an eternal dwelling is being prepared in heaven'. In a time such as our own, in which fear of death leads many people to despair and to the search for illusory consolations, Christians stand our for the fact that they place their security in God, in a Love so great as to be able to renew the whole world".
During his entire life, Cardinal Mayer "sought to effect what St. Benedict wrote in his 'Rule': May nothing be put before love of Christ", said the Holy Father. He then recalled the various stages in the late cardinal's life, beginning with his work as a professor at the St. Anselm Pontifical Athenaeum, where he was rector from 1949 until 1966 when the Pontifical Liturgical Institute was founded, "a fundamental point of reference for the preparation of formators in the field of the liturgy".
The Pope then went on to mention Cardinal Mayer's skills, which led him to occupy many prestigious offices. Pope Paul VI appointed him as secretary of the Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes, consecrating him a bishop in 1972. In his years of service in that dicastery "he promoted the progressive implementation of Vatican Council II's dispositions concerning religious families. In this particular field, in his own capacity as a religious, he showed outstanding ecclesial and human sensitivity", said Pope Benedict.
In 1984, John Paul II appointed him as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, making him a cardinal in 1985 and shortly afterwards naming him as first president of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei". "Also in this new and delicate task, Cardinal Mayer proved himself to be a zealous and faithful servant, seeking to apply the words of his motto: 'The love of Christ has brought us together in unity'".
The Pope concluded by entrusting the late cardinal to Our Lady of Grace of Altotting, Germany, a shrine near Cardinal Mayer's birthplace.
HML/ VIS 20100503 (460)
The funeral Mass, celebrated at the altar of the Cathedra in St. Peter's Basilica, was presided by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, and concelebrated by a number of members of the college.
"The great and unshakeable hope, resting on the solid rock of God's love, assures us that the life of those who die in Christ 'is not taken away but transformed', and that 'as the abode of this earthly exile is destroyed, an eternal dwelling is being prepared in heaven'. In a time such as our own, in which fear of death leads many people to despair and to the search for illusory consolations, Christians stand our for the fact that they place their security in God, in a Love so great as to be able to renew the whole world".
During his entire life, Cardinal Mayer "sought to effect what St. Benedict wrote in his 'Rule': May nothing be put before love of Christ", said the Holy Father. He then recalled the various stages in the late cardinal's life, beginning with his work as a professor at the St. Anselm Pontifical Athenaeum, where he was rector from 1949 until 1966 when the Pontifical Liturgical Institute was founded, "a fundamental point of reference for the preparation of formators in the field of the liturgy".
The Pope then went on to mention Cardinal Mayer's skills, which led him to occupy many prestigious offices. Pope Paul VI appointed him as secretary of the Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes, consecrating him a bishop in 1972. In his years of service in that dicastery "he promoted the progressive implementation of Vatican Council II's dispositions concerning religious families. In this particular field, in his own capacity as a religious, he showed outstanding ecclesial and human sensitivity", said Pope Benedict.
In 1984, John Paul II appointed him as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, making him a cardinal in 1985 and shortly afterwards naming him as first president of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei". "Also in this new and delicate task, Cardinal Mayer proved himself to be a zealous and faithful servant, seeking to apply the words of his motto: 'The love of Christ has brought us together in unity'".
The Pope concluded by entrusting the late cardinal to Our Lady of Grace of Altotting, Germany, a shrine near Cardinal Mayer's birthplace.
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