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.