Habemus Papam!

We have a new pope! The world has been holding its breath for days, waiting to see who the next leader of the Roman Catholic church would be. Then, today, as I was walking to my 2:10 French class, I heard a shout from Caldwell as I was walking past: "White smoke! We have a pope! We have a pope!" The Caldwell chapel bells began to peal, as did the massive Basilica bells. The entire campus seemed to be singing and dancing with joy. I ran to French class (unfortunately, I had already skipped too many times to miss it today!), got through the hour with the goofiest grin on my face, and when I got out of class, the bells were still ringing, as they continued to do for yet another hour after that. I hurried to put my things in the music school and then dashed off to the Basilica. On my way into the shrine, I was stopped by a young woman who wished to interview me for her German blog... so, after saying a few things and praying I didn't say anything utterly ridiculous, I was finally able to get into the church. It was surprisingly empty, but I was actually almost pleased at the silence in that cavernous room. To me it said that while, yes, the world at large was celebrating, and the bells were ringing joyfully, and my newsfeed on facebook said things like "White smoke! New pope! Habemus papam!" inside the church, where the eucharist is reserved, respect and honor reigned surpreme. There seemed to be a buzz in the air, a quiet, expectant buzz. The juxtaposition between the two kinds of celebrating - the loud, raucous kind and the quiet, reverent kind - struck a chord in me as I walked into that beautiful place.

After spending a little time there, going to the Pryz to get food, and heading back to the music school, I was jolted back into reality. The Catholic University of America is one of the best places to be when a new pope is elected... the BTR School of Music is possibly one of the worst. I wanted so desperately to just stay happy and celebrate with everyone, but as I was sitting in the lower lobby, it was like yin and yang, with happy, ecstatic Catholics on one side of me, who couldn't stop talking about it and doing research and learning about Pope Francis... and on the other side of me, friends who were mocking the Catholics, the papacy, Christianity in general... basically my entire life. It stung. It stung a lot, actually. I found myself just biting my tongue... every now and then, someone would something like, "So this means we get off class, right?" or "New pope... I guess this is supposed to be exciting" and I just wanted to cry. I did respond to the second one and said, "I know it isn't exciting for you, but it is for me." It got worse... everyone had a snide comment to make about Pope Francis' stance on gay marriage, on abortion, on anything that could possibly comment about.

It made me feel a little better to get on facebook and find several of my protestant friends expressing best wishes for the new pope, hope for the Catholic church, and in general being excited as well. It was incredibly bittersweet, trying to balance my joy and my silence. I have chosen a career path that is certainly stretching me in my faith (musical theatre is not necessarily the best place for someone of the conservative persuasion!), as I'm trying to maintain my beliefs without completely alienating the people I love who do not in any way share those beliefs. I want to ask, my dear friends, how do you deal with this on a daily basis? I've been dealing with it for 21 years, but still really don't know what to do when situations like this come up. Protestant and Catholic alike, we share Christ, we share faith, and we share hope. We also share persecution and the daily struggle to live out our faith without completely shoving it in others' faces. I would like to extend a challenge to all of my friends to constantly uphold each other in prayer, Protestants and Catholics alike. The time is coming when the church will be whole again, and in the meantime, there's nothing wrong with jumpstarting the process! I'd like to challenge you as well to keep in mind that every interaction you have impacts another person's faith or lack thereof. I know a few people who I can tell live their faith, and I strive to be like them, but it's a long process, and I know I am nowhere close to even moderately good at it. But it is my goal in life, and I would like to extend that same challenge to you. Do people who look at you see a human being or do they see Christ? And how can that change without shoving our opinions down peoples' throats, angering them and turning them further away in the process?

-sigh-

Okay, back to the Pope. A few details: Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Although he basically had a palace at his disposal, he refused to live there, residing instead in a very small apartment, taking the bus to work, etc. He is a humble man who is incredibly orthodox in his beliefs about abortion, gay marriage, and other pertinent issues. He chose the name Francis as a nod to Saint Francis of Assisi, who is known for working hard to rebuild and strengthen the Church. I have great hope that Pope Francis will strive for the same thing, working to unify the Church and build great bridges for the future. I pray for our new pope, that he will have wisdom to guide the church well and lead us closer to God as a people. I'm encouraging you, my dear readers, to do the same. Every Pope has, literally, the weight of the world on his shoulders, and Pope Francis is no different. Whether you believe in the papacy or not, the pope has a huge responsibility and God alone can give him the strength to lead through all things.

Every day is a chance to start again, a chance to make a change. But with the election of Pope Francis today, March 13, 2013, there is no better time to begin to strengthen our lives as Christians (Catholic or Protestant). There is no better time to reopen discussion about all of the issues that have separated us, to reevaluate the beliefs that we share and the ones that separate us. My hope and my prayer is for unification of Church, of family, and a newfound joy in the lives we have been given.

~ Habemus papam franciscum. ~

~ Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen. ~