Four moving spiritual images by the Pope

The Holy Father explained to the youth what the power of the Holy Spirit is:

"It is the power of God's life! It is the power of the same Spirit who hovered over the waters at the dawn of creation and who, in the fullness of time, raised Jesus from the dead. It is the power which points us, and our world, towards the coming of the Kingdom of God."

and

Faith teaches us that in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word, we come to understand the grandeur of our own humanity, the mystery of our life on this earth, and the sublime destiny which awaits us in heaven.

and

The Fathers of the Church loved to see the Scriptures as a spiritual Eden, a garden where we can walk freely with God, admiring the beauty and harmony of his saving plan as it bears fruit in our own lives, in the life of the Church and in all of history.

and

Crucified, buried and raised from the dead, given life in the Spirit and seated at the right hand of the Father, Christ has become our great high priest, eternally making intercession for us.

***
These four samples from two of Pope Benedict's sermons and talks are absolutely beautiful and foundational of important aspects of our faith in God.

I like to point out something in the fourth quote in particular. I've often reminded people that Jesus Christ is the first priest-the high priest-of the Christian faith, the priesthood which is faithfully maintained in the Catholic Church. I have also reminded people, and I'm glad to see that the popular press has started mentioning this much more-to their credit-that the Pope is The Vicar of Jesus Christ. The Pope is Jesus Christ's Vicar here on earth on his behalf. Now in this quote we are reminded of a third aspect of this relationship. Jesus Christ, first priest, "continues" to be humanity's high priest in heaven. So as the Pope is Christ's Vicar on earth, Jesus Christ continues in heaven to advocate for humanity and intercede to God in Jesus Christ's eternal role as humanity's high priest.

I think meditating about these roles and relationships make doctrine clearer for both Christians and non-Christians, who find the Trinity to be confusing and perhaps "God replacing," which it is not. (Thinking about this will probably help Catholics understand their own doctrine too!) But I am thinking with good will and friendship of our Muslim brothers and sisters, and offering another piece of the puzzle of mutual understanding. The understanding of Jesus Christ as the Son is confusing and contrary to understanding of how the Qur'an addresses that God does not need a "son." But there were accusations and misunderstandings about what being a "son" really meant, and the teachings in the Qur'an were meant to put completely to rest a kind of pagan understanding of a "son," accusations of which were made in both heretical Christian representations and among unbelievers. So while I do not want to write a long explanation in this comment, I wanted to prepare the groundwork by giving an image of our true doctrine that is much more easy to understand. Jesus Christ is the eternal high priest on behalf of all humanity, where he serves God in heaven by offering his intercessions and advocacy for humanity. As Muslims have come to understand much more clearly how the Pope is the Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth, the mirror image of the vocation is much easier to understand, that Jesus Christ continually sits at the right hand of God, who we call the Father, offering intercession for humans.

I hope this helps. Bless the Holy (earthly) Father ("Papa") Pope Benedict XVI! He has such a charism and grace of scholarly yet also accessible explanation of our Christian doctrine!