HABEMUS PAPAM!

WHAT a day! What an emotional roller coaster of a day! I am SO blessed and joyful to be Catholic!

Today's second round of votes in Rome time actually came over my lunch break. I had a live, streaming video of the chimney at the Sistine Chapel on the corner of my computer screen--you know, just in case. It was only the second day of the Conclave so I did not expect to see the white smoke today. I was, however, oddly entertained by the world's [now] most famous bird.

But then shortly after, as I was in the middle of work and lunch, I saw it. I saw the white smoke! I think my jaw slapped the floor and I was in some sort of time-is-standing-still disbelief. But it kept coming out white and my soul leaped with joy!! "HABEMUS PAPAM!" We have a pope!!

Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth;

break into song; sing praise.

Sing praise to the LORD with the lyre,

with the lyre and melodious song.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn

shout with joy to the King, the LORD.

Psalm 98:4-6

 

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my savior

Luke 1:46-47

 

The bells tolled with exuberant joy! The growing crowd of well over 100,000 people was alive and I could feel their energy! All eyes turned from the billowing white smoke to the balcony where the new pope would be presented to us. We waited about an hour in anxious anticipation to see our next Holy Father, the next Peter, our next shepherd.

 

Pope Francis! Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina! A Latin American pope and the first ever from the western world! The first Francis pope! The first Jesuit pope! This is just too unreal.

He seemed to be off the radar from most sources I have been reading for the last month; so honestly, this was the first that I was hearing about him. And as he stepped onto that balcony and looked at the enormous, adoring crowd, he actually looked a bit like a deer in headlights. For a moment, his facial expression read, "What have I just gotten myself into?" I imagined him in the Room of Tears, dressing for his appearance, just in total shock. Yesterday he was just an Archbishop in Buenos Aires, ready to get back home. Today, he is the Vicar of Christ. The successor to St. Peter. The visible head of the Church, which is the bride of Christ. He is now the leader of an entire country, Vatican City. He is the shepherd to over 1.2 billion Catholics. He is an extremely humble man and now the whole world is looking to him. Deer in headlights look?--You betcha.

 

 

I have been extremely struck by the heavy media coverage of the papal resignation and Conclave. Why all of a sudden, does the liberal, secular media want to talk only about the Catholic Church? Sure, too many of their articles and news bits had that secular slant, continuing to negatively shape opinions on our beautiful Church and spreading lies. Perhaps it is the work of Satan, always looking to attack that which threatens him the most. What could possibly threaten him more than Christ's One, True Church? The one that Jesus Himself founded, and continually offers Himself in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and promised to protect to the end of time? Of course the Evil One will do all he can to take Her down... but in a way, and which is usually the case, I think his plan backfired. All eyes, all around the entire world, were on the Vatican today. All ears were turned to the Catholic Church. Even if most people live their lives as if God didn't exist, and either ignore or forget about Him every single day, today they couldn't avoid it. The news was everywhere, and God's Hands were all over this. Many of them probably hardened their hearts and will go about their business tomorrow--but maybe some listened. Maybe some heard. Maybe some were captivated by the Church's ancient traditions, or by the pure joy from the crowd, or by this institution that seemed to be "not of this world." Maybe some started to realize why the Catholic Church has stood strong for 2,000 years, or that the visible, physical world is completely related to the invisible, spiritual world. (The visible sign of white smoke represented the Holy Spirit's guidance and the cardinals' cooperation with Him.)

The Catholic Church will never get its due recognition from the rest of the world--and that is okay, because Jesus told us that that would happen. There certainly will always be people who will never understand the beauty of our faith which knows no boundaries. But none of this ever discourages me. Nothing is more important to me in my life than my Catholic faith. Some days I feel like I could just burst with childlike joy just because I am Catholic. The Holy Spirit has lit my soul on fire and I am falling deeply in love with Him! The Church is getting stronger and signs of life are everywhere. 

And of course, she will continue to grow and strengthen evermore, with our new Supreme Pontiff, Pope Francis! God bless the pope!