I love our new Pope! Thank you Holy Spirit, you never disappoint.
A couple weeks ago when Papa Bene announced he was stepping down I quickly came to the realization that something unusual was going on. God's retirement plan for His Vicar on Earth does not typically result in an earthbound forwarding address... I had (and have) no doubt that what Pope Benedict said regarding prayerfully discerning the decision and concluding it was what was best for the Church (read: what God wanted) is the full and entire truth. And, after all, everything is God's will. He can prevent anything, so if He allows something it is for His purpose, so why allow or ask Pope Benedict to take such an usual step?
Simple. To grab our attention. And it worked. Everyone has been talking about his resignation. Everyone has been focused on the selection process. Everyone was paying attention yesterday when the white smoke went up. Some, like me, were locked in watching to see the Holy Spirit at work, to see what He was doing. Other's were just paying attention to see history, unique history. And, as one of those watching to see what the Spirit was doing, I have to say I am amazed.
I'm sure the Holy Spirit's plans are far grander than the little things I have picked up on in the first 24 hours of Pope Francis' pontificate, but, one thing seems quite apparent, from the humility of Pope Benedict admitting he was not up to the task, to his asking forgiveness for his flaws when he resigned, through the events of yesterday with Pope Francis asking for OUR blessing and prayers, and the stories of his humility and truly living out his vow of poverty, there is a clear message of humility being played out before our eyes. Not someone telling us we need to be humble, but honorable, powerful, respected male leaders acting with such great humility while the cameras are pointed at them. Teaching by example what it means to be Christian, what it means to be a man, what it means to be Catholic and to live a life of faith.
Which brings me to the above picture, and a statement made by the always interesting Simcha Fisher over at the National Catholic Register where she cleverly refers to Pope Francis as the "future patron saint of the socially awkward". I simultaneously laughed and felt reassured as I quite often find myself being that guy... the socially awkward misfit toy... But then I thought about it in the context of the Holy Spirit grabbing our attention and the message of humility. And it struck me... Everyone in the world was watching this yesterday. And all those people are used to seeing the big confident smiles and waves of politicians, movie stars, athletes, etc... Power, success, honor, etc. are so associated with the "look at me" confident egoism that is so contrary to Christian humility. Not to say that the big, smiling, confident waves of John Paul the Great or Benedict were un-Christian, I can see the look in their eyes and see them sharing in the joy of their flock which is equally Christian. But, our culture today is so sucked into the ego, the self-aggrandizing, the big show, with the perfect smile, and all the other superficialities and perfectly staged social behaviors that this is such a strong counter-cultural, Christian message.
Meek, poor in spirit, humble. Just like me, just like you, just like everyone of us, he's just a man, weak, frail, awkward, totally dependent on God. It's OK to be socially awkward, to not be what the culture expects. You can be meek and humble and you will draw more attention than the most well groomed, rehearsed actor, politician or celebrity can hope to draw. The eyes of the world were on this humble man yesterday. And he had God's full attention as well, which is infinitely greater than the attention we can hope to find in this world. Yesterday, the media around the world allowed the Holy Spirit to remind everyone how much strength and power awaits the meek and humble. He sent His message.
Hi.
