History in the Making

This was my view at the time of the sede vacante:

While on vacation I stopped at Saint Vincent Basilica in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, to hear the bells ring at 2:00 PM local time to announce that the Catholic Church was without a chief shepherd.




It's now been a little over a week since Benedict XVI became our "pope-emeritus". 

And history has been made.


Again.


Of course, any time of transition can be considered "history in the making". Every four years for us in the United States is history in the making when we elect our president. And for that matter, each and every day is always "history in the making".

But this time, for us as Catholics - and even for the modern world - this is different.

Yes, it's been 600 years since the last pope stepped down from the Office of Peter. But there was no blogging, no Facebook, no Twitter, and no 24-hour news channels. We didn't have people all over the world trying to guess in such a large way who the next pope would be. We - not just Catholics, but society as a whole - have become obsessed with the Papal Election. And I think that, in some ways, that's a win for the Catholic Church.

However, the impatience of society, and all the speculation going on, is really driving me a little crazy. Why are we trying to guess the work of the Holy Spirit? For us as Catholics, it's not our job to criticize the work of the Spirit, or try to "influence" Him in any way. Of course, that also means that we don't become interested in and understand how our Church works. What it means for us is that we pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance on the College of Cardinals that they will choose the best man for the job. For as Catholics, it also means praying for the next pope.

Yes, while we can't do a physical thing to elect the next pope, we can do something spiritual for him. And that spiritual thing is something more greater than anything physical. Our prayers for guidance, and not influence, will allow the cardinals to do the job they have gathered in Rome for. If Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI can stay out of history's way in the making of this decision, surely we can as well.


But this doesn't mean we can't have some fun with this period of time, as well.

Our youth ministry had a little fun on a snow day. Presenting to you His SNOWliness, Pope Frostinius I. The flamingos surrounding him are his "Swiss Guard". 

And I even got the opportunity to meet His Snowliness in person, or, I should say, "snowson":

 

It was a great day!



Ideally, we just need to be patient, to pray, and allow the Holy Spirit do what He needs to do to ensure that the best man is chosen as our Chief Shepherd. Nothing more, nothing less.


Come, Holy Spirit!







Enjoy the journey . . .