Three Popes and me

               The election Pope Francis has absorbed me.  I’ve wanted to sit down and write my thoughts and yet it has been hard for me to focus and concentrate. Seeing black smoke on that Tuesday afternoon actually gave me chills and I did not sleep well that night, thinking I might be missing the election of our new Holy Father.  I was home and saw the white smoke on Wednesday, and then had to meet my tax preparer at 2:30 and missed the live broadcast of Pope Francis  (what a great name) greeting the thousands in St. Peter’s Square.

               This is the fourth time that a Pope has been selected in my memory.  (John XXIII was elected Pope just after my first birthday and Paul VI became Pope when I was VI.)  I was barely cognizant of the elected of John Paul I as I was in the midst of preparing for my senior year of college.  His death after being in office for only 33 days got my attention. 

An Adult Encounter with the Church

               As a political science major, I was fascinated with the second papal conclave in 1978, following the details through the newspaper.  (The internet didn’t exist and we didn’t have a TV in our dorm room.) It was my first encounter with the Catholic Church as an adult.  The selection of a Polish Pope was fascinating. In the ensuing years, when news about the Church and the Pope became center stage, I knew who he was and had an affinity to him.   

               Nearly 8 year later, I became a member of the Catholic Church and even saw John Paul II during a trip to Italy.  As the years passed, my prayer life and relationship with God diminished as I became a full time working wife and mother. I questioned many of the “archaic” views of the church.  I did feel a person loss when John Paul II died, but was busy with daily activities and missed his funeral.

A Call Back from the Desert        

               I was distant enough from my faith to be only vaguely aware of the 2005 Conclave.  In My humanness, I thought that this new Pope Benedict could not compare with JPII.  I didn’t have any kind of connection with Pope Benedict XVI until April 2008.  After the announcement that Pope Benedict was coming to DC, my 10 year old son asked if we could go see the Pope.  I answered, “We’ll see”, as I thought that it was highly unlikely because so many others would be more worthy to see him.

               When I received the call from the rectory that we had been selected to receive tickets to the mass at Nationals Park, I felt like we had won the lottery.  The experience of worshiping with the successor of Peter and 60,000 other Catholics was the beginning of a reconversion experience for me. I became a follower of Pope Benedict XVI after seeing him in person and hearing the truth that he spoke.  I began to listen to his weekly audiences, read his books and watch him on TV. While I was in Rome a year ago, it was a thrill to see him during the general audience.  

               During the past two years, I noticed that he was slowing down.  His resignation took the entire world by surprise, yet I am thankful for the years that he was our Holy Father and for his writings. I have learned so much from him.  He has been my shepherd, leading me closer to God. I followed his last public appearances and had tears in my eyes as he left the balcony of Castel Gandolfo.

               

An Instant Admirer

               Is conclaveinesita a word?  If so, then I was one during this conclave.  If I wasn’t working, taking care of my family or praying, I was watching TV or searching the web for information about the conclave.  I spent significant time in prayer, asking that the Cardinals choose the “one” who is to lead our church.    And Adopted a Cardinal! And as mentioned above, couldn’t sleep on Tuesday night.  And now we have Pope Francis!

               This time, I am in instant admirer and supporter of him.  He is my papa - the successor of Peter.  I will depend on him to be my shepherd. I love you Pope Francis and look forward to getting to know you better!  Thank you Lord, for bringing us the leader we need for today!

              

The Marriage March

              

It was the day after a late March snow storm in Washington DC.  Twenty-four hours earlier, heavy, wet snow clung to the branches and trees and covered the grass throughout the metropolitan area.  Today, the sun was shining and little trace of the snow was evident.  I walked from the Metro station to the National Mall, not knowing what to expect.  This is the day of the Marriage March, scheduled for March 26, 2013 because it is the day that the Supreme Court will hear arguments of the validity of California’s Prop 7.

I digress at this point to mention that I am frustrated with idea of marching to the Supreme Court.  If it is possible for special interest groups to influence the Supreme Court, then the 9 justices are no longer the Supreme Court. . This Court is no longer the impartial and independent branch that is vital for checks and balances in the US democracy.   

Yet from the time I learned of the Marriage March, I knew that I had to participate.  As I approached the Mall, about 15 minutes before the beginning of the march, I could see thousands of men, women and children already beginning the walk toward the Supreme Court.  One organizer (who handed me a sign that said, “A child deserves and mom and a dad”) said that the crowd was so large that they had to begin the march before the scheduled time.

I walked rapidly, catching up with the marchers, until I was in the middle of the crowd.  We were accompanied by a small band playing patriotic and Christian tunes.  A few large banners were visible, along with the hundreds of red and blue signs distributed by the organizers.  And there were many, many handmade signs.

I was struck by the diversity of the crowd.  Asian, Hispanic, Caucasian and African American men, women and children marched.  Elder couples walked holding hands, young moms and dads pushed baby carriages, and many youth were at the rally. Many of them hailed from New England and the Mid-Atlantic.  They rose before dawn to come to our nation’s capital to support the cause of marriage between one man and one woman.

As we walked past the US Capitol toward the Supreme Court, there were occasional small groups of protesters who want to redefine marriage.  Our pace slowed down to a standstill as we approached the Supreme Court. The sidewalks were packed with the opposition.  They chanted about what they want and what they will get. Some of the Marriage Marchers chanted, “One man one women” but for the most part quietly held there signs until it was time to move.

As we stopped I prayed that the Holy Spirit will guide the justices as they make their decision.  We began to move back toward the Mall where there was to be a rally.  Two young African American women happened upon the march and one of them said, “I wish I had a sign.”  I needed to get to work, so I handed them my sign and walked to the Union Station metro.

On this day, I did what I could to defend marriage as the union of man and woman, sacramentally joined together as husband and wife, united in mind, body and spirit to family life, in the service of our great and mighty God. 

What's next God?

               Last night I experienced one of those incidents when I felt that I followed God’s plan, with my action being guided by the Holy Spirit.  My action was affirmed by an email from a friend and I wanted to give the Holy Spirit a “high five”.

               Nearly five years ago, God swept me back to himself with two incidents that happened about 12 hours apart.  In the early weeks of my conversion, I came to realized that both events had to be the working of the Holy Spirit.  The first time I said to someone that it could have only been the work of the Holy Spirit, I almost whispered his name. (I thought, if I say this too loud and someone overhears the conversation, they will think I am crazy.)  I was still living in a world that included little of the supernatural. 

               Not so last night.

               A friend and I are conducting a six week adult education retreat using 33 Days to Morning Glory.  The program includes a book with daily readings, time for prayer and a weekly meeting to view a video and discuss our impressions for the week.  I was extremely delighted when a woman that I know emailed me and said she wanted to participate.  She couldn’t make the orientation so we scheduled a time when I could come over and give her the book.  She had been on my mental list of people who might benefit from the retreat.

               The evening of our appointment she cancelled and we agreed that we would find another time.  I included her on the email list of people who had signed up for the class.  The evening reading was to begin, I received an email saying that she was going through a lot; she couldn’t make the commitment, even though this was probably much needed. That message was the verification I needed to understand that this program was for her!

               I looked up her address and planned to drop it by her house in the midst of errands.  I had been to her house before, but only during the day.  As I drove toward her house on this dark and dreary evening, I realized that I left my phone, with the GPS, at home.  After about 10 minutes of driving to try to find her house, I stopped and pulled out the map book, only to discover that the four pages with the local maps were missing.

               Part of me wanted to give up and go home, but another part of me was so convinced that she needed the book, that I persevered.  After nearly 20 minutes of driving, in what seemed circles, I found her house.  It is not my nature to just drop in, even to friend’s homes, so I took a deep breath and climbed the stairs to her from porch.  Her husband answered the door and called for her. 

               “Did we plan to get together?” were the first words out of her mouth.  No, I said, but I got your email and just had to get this book to you.  I explained that the commitment was about 10 minutes of daily reading and some prayer for this retreat.  She said “thank you” and gave me a big hug.

               The next evening, I received an email message saying that she had read the introduction and was beginning the reading.  Her concluding words were “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”  And as I turned off the computer and went to bed, my words to the Holy Spirit were, “thank you, thank you, thank you”.  My prayer, as I drifted off to sleep, my prayer was, “What’s next God?”

Understanding the Chair of St. Peter

               Yesterday, I was cleaning out a drawer filled with old Magnificat books and found the following article from February 2001, (pg 318) that I wanted to share.

               Treat the Catholic Church as divine only and you will stumble over her scandals, her failures and her shortcomings.  Treat her as human only and you will be silenced by her miracles, her sanctity and her eternal resurrections.

               Of course the Catholic Church is human.  She consists of fallible men, and her humanity is not even safeguarded as was that of Christ against the incursions of sin.  Always, therefore, there have been scandals, and always will be.  Popes may betray their trust in all human matters; priests their flocks; laymen their faith.  No man is secure.  And, again, since she is human it is perfectly true that she has profited by human circumstances for the increase of her power. Undoubtedly it was the existence of the Roman Empire, with it is road, its rapid means of transit and its organization that made possible the swift propagation of the Gospel in the first centuries.  Undoubtedly it was the empty throne of Caesar and the prestige of Rome that developed the world’s acceptance of the authority of Peter’s Chair.  Undoubtedly it was the divisions of Europe that cemented the Church’s unity and led men to look at a Supreme Authority that might compose their differences. There is scarcely an opening in human affairs into which she has not plunged; hardly an opportunity she has missed.  Human Affairs, human sins, and weaknesses as well as human virtues, have all contributed to her power.  So grows a tree even in uncongenial soil.  The rocks that impede the roots later became their support; the rich soil waiting for an occupant has been drawn up into the life of the leaves; the very developed too its power of resistance.  Yet these things do not make the tree.

               For her humanity, though it is the body in which her divinity dwells, does not create that divinity.  Certainly human circumstances have developed her, yet what but divine Providence ordered and developed those human circumstances?  What but that same power, which indwells in the Church, dwelt without her too and caused her to take root at that time and in that place which most favored her growth?

Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson – was a British convert to Catholicism who is best known for his novels about the faith.

Back to normal?

               Last week, the husband of a friend of mine had surgery to remove cancerous tissue.  The day before the surgery, I received a message from my friend today thanking me for a recent message. She was look forward to getting the surgery over so life could get “back to normal”.

               In December, there was a Facebook post from a friend who was celebrating her tests that showed that she was clean from her cancer.  And now she wanted to forget about it and get on with her life.

               When my husband was out of work two years ago, I just wanted to him to get a job so we could get “back to normal”. And after he went back to work, life was not the same as before.  After being home for eleven months, our roles had change. It wasn’t a huge change, but in his time off, my husband had become involved in the day to day details of the house and so he had more questions about transportation and meal schedules.  I tried to get back into our “normal” routine, but it wasn’t the same.

               There are many good things in the “new” normal. 

·        Our house and routine are much more centered on our faith in God.  Nearly a year of unemployment leaves plenty of time for prayer and a need to lean on God to show the way.

·        My husband and now 16 year old son have an improved relationship.  They spent A LOT of time together, while he was unemployed.  They like each other – most of the time. 

·        We now split the transportation responsibilities more evenly as we have learned that the best place to talk to a teen is in the car.

·        Our budget is leaner.  Not eating out and spending only what we had to on clothes for almost a year has changed the way we shop.  We still enjoy terrific vacations, but eat out one night a week or less.  We also shop at more inexpensive stores for clothes.  Our teen loves the Nike outlet for shoes and was proud of his $15 purchase last year.

·        Less is good. With time to clean out and organize, we have managed to give away the things we weren’t using.  Those things that we moved from our old house ten years ago and still hadn’t used!

·        We are more sensitive to the needs of others. While we have always been fairly generous, we now are stretching our giving to 10% of our income.  We also are more willing to reach out to neighbors and friends who are experiencing challenges.

                Without sounding flip, I wanted to say to both of my friends that normal will be different.  A significant life challenge produces changes in how life is viewed, how things are accomplished and even what is important.

               Back to normal?  Not for us and probably not for them.  Yet the new normal can be an improvement.