This is Pope Francis’s first homily as pope, given Thursday, March 14, 2013, at a Mass celebrated with the College of Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel.
In these three readings, I see a common element: that of movement. In the first reading, it is the movement of a journey; in the second reading, the movement of building the Church; in the third, in the Gospel, the movement involved in professing the faith. Journeying, building, professing.
Journeying. 'O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord' (Is 2:5). This is the first thing that God said to Abraham: Walk in my presence and live blamelessly. Journeying: our life is a journey, and when we stop moving, things go wrong. Always journeying, in the presence of the Lord, in the light of the Lord, seeking to live with the blamelessness that God asked of Abraham in his promise.
Building. Building the Church. We speak of stones: stones are solid; but living stones, stones anointed by the Holy Spirit. Building the Church, the Bride of Christ, on the cornerstone that is the Lord himself. This is another kind of movement in our lives: building.
Thirdly, professing. We can walk as much as we want, we can build many things, but if we do not profess Jesus Christ, things go wrong. We may become a charitable NGO, but not the Church, the Bride of the Lord. When we are not walking, we stop moving. When we are not building on the stones, what happens? The same thing that happens to children on the beach when they build sandcastles: everything is swept away, there is no solidity. When we do not profess Jesus Christ, the saying of Léon Bloy comes to mind: 'Anyone who does not pray to the Lord prays to the devil.' When we do not profess Jesus Christ, we profess the worldliness of the devil, a demonic worldliness.
Journeying, building, professing. But things are not so straightforward, because in journeying, building, professing, there can sometimes be jolts, movements that are not properly part of the journey: movements that pull us back.
This Gospel continues with a situation of a particular kind. The same Peter who professed Jesus Christ, now says to him: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. I will follow you, but let us not speak of the Cross. That has nothing to do with it. I will follow you on other terms, but without the Cross. When we journey without the Cross, when we build without the Cross, when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord, we are worldly: we may be bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, but not disciples of the Lord.
My wish is that all of us, after these days of grace, will have the courage, yes, the courage, to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the Lord's Cross; to build the Church on the Lord's blood which was poured out on the Cross; and to profess the one glory: Christ crucified. And in this way, the Church will go forward. My prayer for all of us is that the Holy Spirit, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, will grant us this grace: to walk, to build, to profess Jesus Christ crucified. Amen.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
First Impressions of Papa Francesco
It is evening in Rome, Wednesday, March 13, 2013. White smoke issues forth from the makeshift chimney of the Sistine Chapel. All the bells of Rome begin to toll. Soon, the bells of churches all over the world begin to toll. The Catholic Church has a Pope.
While people in Rome fill St. Peter’s Square, people all over the world flock to the nearest television, just waiting to see who this Pope is. The Cardinal-electors have been in the conclave since the day before. No communication with the outside world is allowed to pass in or out of the conclave. The proceedings are a total mystery. Sure, the media has knocked about a few names of potential “candidates” for the papacy, but there is no way to know who God will have in mind as Pope. So the world waits in anticipation.
About an hour later, a Cardinal comes out on the balcony that the gaze of the world is fixed upon. He pronounces those famous and joyous words, “Habemus Papam”, “We have a Pope.” The name he announces, is unfamiliar to many, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now called Pope Francis. That wasn’t a name mentioned very often in the media, who is this man? The world continues to wonder.
Soon, the world is taking its first look at Pope Francis. He steps out onto the balcony of the basilica, and for the longest time, he just stands there, staring down at the crowd, which erupts in cheers.
And then he speaks.
His words won me over from the beginning. He immediately displayed his good sense of humor and his humility at the same time. His first words were to joke that his “brother cardinals went almost to the ends of the earth” to find a new pope.
He then led the world in prayer for his predecessor, Benedict XVI, the pope-emeritus. He used simple prayers, such as the Our Father and Hail Mary, prayers that all Catholics could participate in.
Then came the most astonishing part. After saying a few more words, he told the crowd gathered that he would give his blessing, but first he wanted the people to pray for blessings on him. In a stunning moment, he asked for silent prayer from the people, and then bowed as the world prayed for him. For me, personally, that was the most touching moment of his short address. The image of the Holy Father, bowing to receive the prayers of the Church that he has been called upon to serve as the earthly leader for, will stand out in my mind for a long time. His humility in that moment completely won me over, and all I have heard about him since has only served further to cement my love for our new Holy Father, Papa Francesco!
While people in Rome fill St. Peter’s Square, people all over the world flock to the nearest television, just waiting to see who this Pope is. The Cardinal-electors have been in the conclave since the day before. No communication with the outside world is allowed to pass in or out of the conclave. The proceedings are a total mystery. Sure, the media has knocked about a few names of potential “candidates” for the papacy, but there is no way to know who God will have in mind as Pope. So the world waits in anticipation.
About an hour later, a Cardinal comes out on the balcony that the gaze of the world is fixed upon. He pronounces those famous and joyous words, “Habemus Papam”, “We have a Pope.” The name he announces, is unfamiliar to many, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now called Pope Francis. That wasn’t a name mentioned very often in the media, who is this man? The world continues to wonder.
Soon, the world is taking its first look at Pope Francis. He steps out onto the balcony of the basilica, and for the longest time, he just stands there, staring down at the crowd, which erupts in cheers.
And then he speaks.
His words won me over from the beginning. He immediately displayed his good sense of humor and his humility at the same time. His first words were to joke that his “brother cardinals went almost to the ends of the earth” to find a new pope.
He then led the world in prayer for his predecessor, Benedict XVI, the pope-emeritus. He used simple prayers, such as the Our Father and Hail Mary, prayers that all Catholics could participate in.
Then came the most astonishing part. After saying a few more words, he told the crowd gathered that he would give his blessing, but first he wanted the people to pray for blessings on him. In a stunning moment, he asked for silent prayer from the people, and then bowed as the world prayed for him. For me, personally, that was the most touching moment of his short address. The image of the Holy Father, bowing to receive the prayers of the Church that he has been called upon to serve as the earthly leader for, will stand out in my mind for a long time. His humility in that moment completely won me over, and all I have heard about him since has only served further to cement my love for our new Holy Father, Papa Francesco!
Friday, March 15, 2013
Introduction
This blog is about all things Catholic; that means whatever comes to the top of my head pertaining to the Catholic faith and the Roman Catholic Church. I will do my very best to represent the truth about the Church. That being said, it is important to note that I am not a representative of the Church in any way; I am just someone who loves the Church very much and wants to spread the truth about it!
As you probably know, the Catholic Church has a new Holy Father, Pope Francis! In the days and weeks ahead, I will be writing a ton about the popes of the Church, the men who have been pope, how a pope is chosen, the history of the papacy, really all things papal!
It is also important to note that we are in the midst of Lent, the time in which we prepare to enter into the celebration of the Passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus. So I will also be discussing the importance of that, and the liturgical celebrations of the Church at this time.
I will also discuss the lives of the saints and important feast days throughout the liturgical year!
Questions and comments are welcome. However, any hateful comments WILL be deleted!
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