Taking His Leave

Eight years ago, we lost someone who was probably one of the greatest modern advocates for Catholicism.  He was wise, he was charismatic, he was traditional.  At least to me, he made orthodoxy seem not only appealing, but also necessary.  And we all grieved terribly at his death.  Of course, I'm talking about Blessed Pope John Paul the Great.

But, a few short days after his death, we were filled with a kind of wild hope and joy, like always after the death of a pope, there was to be a conclave.  The first in 26 years, the first in my lifetime.  I was 20 at the time.  I will never forget where I was and what I was doing when the conclave concluded.

I was in my dormroom eating lunch between classes: French and algebra, if I remember correctly.  CNN was playing on the TV and they were interspersing clips of the anchors with images of the faithful gathered near the Sistine Chapel and the chapel's chimney.  Then, suddenly, the started saying the two magic words, "white smoke."  My heart jumped up into my chest.  Then it was confirmed.  White smoke, habemus papam.

My brother was studying in Pennsylvania at the time and we were on AIM talking about what was going on.  We were several hundred miles apart, but we sat together and started at the TV waiting for the announcement.  Then on the balcony the cardinals appeared and announced, yes, we have a pope: Cardinal Ratzinger.  And the Piazza San Pietro went nuts.  And I went to algebra.

Here we are eight years later at a different kind of crossroads.  Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, through prayer and careful thought, has concluded that he is no longer fit to occupy the Throne of Peter.  At the end of this month he will no longer be our Holy Father.

This is an incredibly unusual occurance.  We actually know, down to the hour how much longer our pope will be our pope.  I can only imagine what the college of cardinals must be thinking.  How strange to be in this place.

Like everyone else in the world, yesterday I was shocked.  And deeply saddened.  Seriously, you only have to ask some of my coworkers to find out how close to tears I was.  But they let me talk about it and they made me laugh.

And thankfully, the sun came up today, and while we enjoy the last few days of Pope Benedict XVI's reign we can look forward again to a conclave.  There will be speculation about the successor, but thankfully, only 118 men will get to vote.  They who know the church best, they who love us and want what is best for us and for the church. 

All we have to do is look to Christ and His Holy Mother and pray.  Pray for Pope Benedict, pray for the college of cardinals, pray for the church, and pray for each other.  What a wonderful thought to take into Lent.

Twitter

The Holy Father has arrived...on Twitter.

Which means, I'm not ashamed to say, he got there before me.  I've never really gotten the point of Twitter.  If I want to tell a bunch of people what I'm doing, I just update my Facebook status.  Also, I can't see myself "following" any celebrity tweeters.  To me, that seems more than a little voyeuristic.

My good friend Bonnie started up with Twitter, so I made a false start at using it, so I could follow her.  I think I signed up and that was as far as I got.

When I heard Pope Benedict had his own Twitter handle (that's what they're called, right?) I figured it was as good a time as any to give it another go.

I went to work that night and read about the vitriol which has been shot at His Holiness through his Twitter feed.  People who are understandably angry about the recent scandals surrounding church members, people who do not understand the Church and how it works in the world, and people who just hate religion in general have been taking their anger out on the Holy Father's Twitter feed since he opened it.

This gave me pause.  I have stopped reading people's comments on news stories about religion in general and especially the Catholic Church.  Many people seem to find it "safe" in some way to sit behind their computer screens and spout falsehoods about Church teachings, fire angry messages about the scandals, or just bash religion.  These comments have always been difficult to read and are even more so when directed at a figure I hold so dearly as Pope Benedict.

But of course, this is exactly why we should all now create Twitter accounts.  It is upon us to surround the Holy Father virtually with love and support.  For every angry, deprecatory, or hateful comment he receives we should be there with messages of hope, support, grace, and love.  There are over a billion of us, I'm sure if we all work together, we can beat back the tide of anger and malice that surrounds His Holiness online.

So, I went to Twitter again.  I started following Bonnie.  Then I looked for the Pope's pages and realized I had no idea how to operate the site and ended up not leaving a message because I couldn't figure it out.

I'll try again later.

Oh Mine Papa

I was very distressed after Pope John Paul II died that I hadn't made more of an effort while he was alive to get to know him. I suppose it almost makes sense, I was only in college when he died and only just coming to know myself as a Catholic.

But I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't make that mistake again. To that end, I have just finished reading "Milestones" by Pope Benedict XVI. As stern and aloof as he may seem in public, his memoirs were suprisingly warm and witty. They were interesting from a historical standpoint as an account of a child's life at the beginning of the Nazi regime in 1933, when young Joseph Ratzinger was 6 years old. He served a short term in the military and was put in a POW camp by the American liberators. After that his religious and seminary work began in earnest.

The theological sections of the work are a bit dense to wade through, but they also can be charming and surprising. If you want to know more about His Holiness, I recommend you read this book. The work of a life is often dictated in how a youth is spent