God in His providence gave us some readings to fit the
sentiments of this great day. I
can’t help but wondering what was going on in Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio’s mind
this morning as he prayed with these readings. And now he is Pope Francis!
The
prophet Isaiah said, “See, some shall
come from afar, others from the north and the west, and some from the land of
Syene.” When I heard this I
pictured the thousands of people in St. Peter’s square waiting to meet the new
pope
We
heard the news in the school as the second and fifth grade classes were
watching the chimney on their Smartboards. The kids went nuts in their excitement and joy at this
historical day and Kevin and I ran around ringing some bells.
We
waited for an hour to meet Pope Francis—a pope of many firsts. He is the first from Latin America,
first named Francis and first from the Jesuit order. His first order of business was to pray for Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI and then ask us to bless
him.
In
being first introduced to this amazing man, we can see that “The Lord is gracious and merciful.” Not only this, but we see affirmed the
truth that God is at work in our world.
This simple man had his mansion sold to live in a one-room apartment and
gave up a limousine and driver to travel on public transportation in Buenos
Aires. Fr. Rich should note that
Cardinal Bergoglio even cooked his own meals. And perhaps most inspiring to me is the day after he began
his work as an archbishop he fed the hungry in a soup kitchen.
I
pray that Pope Francis will inspire our community and country in a particular
way. It seems we often create a
false division (especially in Duluth)—people hold fast to Church teaching or
serve the poor. We have an amazing
witness of a man who serves the poor while living out of the truths of our
faith.
Today
we rejoice in God’s gift of Pope Francis.
We pray for him and can be assured of his prayers for us. Together we unite to heed God’s initial
call to St. Francis of Assisi—“Rebuild my Church.”
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