At the Window of the Father's House

In 1978 when Pope John Paul II stood on the balcony and declared, "Be not afraid! Open wide the doors to Christ!" I was two years old. I have no recollection of that moment, though I have seen it played over and over to the point that I feel in my heart as if I were there in that crowd waiting expectantly.

"We can be sure that our beloved Pope is standing today at the window of the Father’s house, that he sees us and blesses us" said then, Cardinal Ratzinger at the funeral of John Paul the Great.

When I call my Father's house these days I hear his voice on the answering machine, "May the Peace of Christ be with you..." At first it was too painful to hear, but now when I hear it it is like hearing the voice of our beloved JPII. Both have left us, but I can hear both of them in my heart, one reminding, or is that exhorting, me to "Be not afraid!" and the other wishing for me the Peace of Christ.

Now the rooms of the Father of the Church will soon be filled again by Papa Ben. Already his books are filling the rooms, transfered from his apartment in the exact order in which they were on the shelves there, to the Papal apartments.

In my Father's house no one will ever be able to fill those rooms, or take his place. His books have not been moved to another apartment. But just as we waited for the announcement of our new Holy Father with expectation there is a sense of expectation that comes with faith. The expectation that he too is waiting for us at the window of our Father's house and that one day we will be together again.

Watching Papa Ben at the installation mass this morning it was evident that the burdens of office are already taking their toll. He has aged at least a decade since he appeared on the balcony of the Basilica of St. Peter last tuesday. Be not afraid Papa Ben, be not afraid.

A Contemplative Feminist with a Rock-Star-Like Quality

The charism of JPII which attracted so many youth to WYDs across the world and has been described by the news networks as a "Rock-Star-Like Quality" is a charism that the world does not understand in the same way that the Pharasees did not understand the authority of Christ and his mission.

While this is surely a time to mourn it is also a time of great anticipation for the youth of the world. They have heeded the call to "BE NOT AFRAID!" Generations X and Y lack the singular focus of Generation JPII. This generation which has been shaped by his papacy have begun to lead the Church. They anticipate with great hope the naming of the successor of Peter. They also hold the Theology of the Body close to their hearts knowing that it is a ticking time-bomb of the love of Christ for His Church.

BE NOT AFRAID!

There's this photo...

...on the shelf in the living room at my parents' house of my Father at an indoor Papal audience when he was on cruise in the Med. He is reaching out to touch the Pope, they are just inches apart. We would never have seen that photo, but that week he went to visit Navy friends and they asked if he had been in Rome. They pulled out the paper and there he was on the front page!

Now as the Pope is dying I am sure that he is reaching out to him again.

When I was young we travelled to Israel. We stayed at the Jerusalem Hotel and our room was far from the rest of our pilgrimage group. We went through many thick glass doors to get there, down many corridors. Our room was breathtaking, the ceilings covered in mosaics. We found out the next morning that we were staying in part of the Papal suite of rooms. We were floored as were the folks in the rooms on either side who were also in the suite. I wanted to leave the Pope a note, but my parents gently explained that he wouldn't get it. Ah well, soon I'll be able to speak directly to the Pope.

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him!