SW News: The Vatican released on Saturday, December 31, the Spiritual Testament of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, which was written almost 17 years ago on August 29, 2006.

In the testament, the Pope Emeritus reflects on the decades he has lived through in his life. He writes about the things he has to be grateful for. “First and foremost, I give thanks to God, the source of all good things, for giving me life and guiding me through many trying circumstances. He never let me down when I started to stumble and never failed to rekindle the light in my eyes. In hindsight, I see and realize that even the arduous and difficult parts of my journey were for my salvation and that it was during those times that He skillfully led me.”

Then, he gives thanks to his parents, who through their love and enormous sacrifice, prepared for him a lovely home that continued to brighten his days. He said his mother's profound dedication and exceptional generosity constitute a legacy for which he will always be grateful. His father instilled in him a clear-eyed faith that has served as a beacon of hope throughout all of his scientific learning. His brother has always paved the path for him with the clarity of his judgment, his steadfast resolution, and his peace of heart. He also acknowledged the support of his sister for decades.

He sincerely thanked God for all of his friends—both male and female—who He has placed by his side throughout his life, for the people who have helped him along the way at every turn, and for the mentors and pupils He has given him. He humbly commits them to His goodness.

He also wants to express his gratitude to the Lord for giving him a wonderful home in the Bavarian Alps' foothills, where he has always witnessed the majesty of the Creator Himself shining through.

He is grateful to his country because it has allowed him to repeatedly experience the beauty of faith and asked God to implore his fellow citizens not to turn away from their faith. His Holiness urges the Church to stand firm in its faith.

“Stand firm in the faith! Do not be confused! Often it seems as if science - on the one hand, the natural sciences; on the other, historical research (especially the exegesis of the Holy Scriptures) - has irrefutable insights to offer that are contrary to the Catholic faith. I have witnessed from times long past the changes in natural science and have seen how apparent certainties against the faith vanished, proving themselves not to be science but philosophical interpretations only apparently belonging to science - just as, moreover, it is in dialogue with the natural sciences that faith has learned to understand the limits of the scope of its affirmations and thus its specificity.

For 60 years now, I have accompanied the path of theology, especially biblical studies, and have seen seemingly unshakeable theses collapse with the changing generations, which turned out to be mere hypotheses: the liberal generation (Harnack, Jülicher, etc.), the existentialist generation (Bultmann, etc.), the Marxist generation.

I have seen, and see, how, out of the tangle of hypotheses, the reasonableness of faith has emerged and is emerging anew. Jesus Christ is truly the Way, the Truth, and the Life - and the Church, in all her shortcomings, is truly His Body,” he wrote.