Three Popes I have seen

They were three fathers. Each one different and yet they all loved the same. I have found myself pondering the lives of the three men I have seen take the helm of the Church I love so much. They have each given their lives as servants to the people of God, not all in the same way or style but certainly from the same source of love.

"My 3 Dads" sounds like a bad sit com but that's how I feel about this picture!

In 2001 I was fortunate enough to see Pope John Paul II (or the Great) in Toronto. His presence was overwhelming, loving, and powerful. It was how one should feel in the presence of a holy person. It was how one should feel in the Presence of the Sacraments. John Paul II gave me my first look at a Pope and what I saw was a man who looked out over a field filled with hundreds of thousands of young eyes and had nothing but love in his heart. As he elevated the Eucharist during Mass in that same field the light broke through the rainclouds directly over the platform he was on and there formed an image burned into my mind for eternity. The Church, The Sacraments, and the Pope were such an example and focal point of love on earth that nothing could stand in its way.

 JPII’s story was nothing short of inspiring. His devotion to Mary and the Church showed so many youth my age that there is a clear cut path to holiness and love. He was a Pope that showed fatherly warmth, with open arms and a big smile. He was our philosopher pope. His writings are brilliant and filled with riches for any Catholic (or non Catholic) young or old. Theology of the Body gave the people of my generation the knowledge and mindset needed to recapture our spirituality in regards to our own bodily Temples.

JPII was that teacher we all loved in Junior High. The guy we wanted to teach every class from now until Graduation day. He was the teacher that taught us how to live not just what was needed to pass the test.

I watched the world mourn his death. I mourned with them. His shining example and his loving smile was gone from this world but his example lived on in each of us and the Church grew because of him.

We waited in anticipation for our next Holy Father and we were given the Spirit’s answer: Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger who would become Benedict XVI. Despite the jokes of his similar appearance to a certain Emperor from a certain Sci-fi franchise I saw in him a very different but all the same loving man who would show us holiness. I saw the shyness in his eyes. I remember reading that he hoped he would not be picked for the job and for that I admired his bravery. He took up the yoke of service and ran with it in his own way. He showed us through his 8 years of papacy that the search for knowledge could be holy. He was our theologian Pope. His quiet wisdom and love of learning showed me that the Church would once again grow in so many ways. I remember his meeting with abuse victims in America within his first years and I remember the look in the eyes of those interviewed who met with him in that private meeting. They may not have returned to the Church, or they may have but they saw the man at the top humble himself before them to beg forgiveness on behalf of the Church. It saddens me so few remember this but it does not surprise me.

Benedict would then shock the entire world with his announcement that he would resign! YOU CAN DO THAT?! Said the entire world.

When the shock finally cleared all that was left was a very big act of humility. It was plain and simple and this act would usher in for the next pope the opportunity to keep that sentiment flowing and show us not a new but very old Church willing to get down on its hands and knees and bare the weight of the world on its back.

Enter Pope Francis.

It has only been a few days into the new papacy and already the world is spinning its collective head to see this man who embraced simplicity of life during his time as a bishop in Argentina to continue to humble himself as Pope. Here is a very different Pope A very different father with a very different style of loving. Even the non-Catholics of the world are in awe of his actions over the past week. A tune which will soon change I am sure when they realize that he is still in fact Catholic and holds to Catholic teachings. The dread of the future is not on my mind however but hope. This man instills so much hope it is unbelievable. It is hope that he can show the Church how to show the world what true Christian love is; That what we preach is attainable and livable, and WORTH THE EFFORT. Pope Francis is a man that in only a short time has set himself apart from his predecessors but also shown that he can stand shoulder to shoulder with them in magnitude of actions. It is a very hopeful future I see in this man and I truly feel that we will all experience the journey along with him as he leads us. This is not a Pope that will feel far away. He will feel close.

He says “I want a poor Church that is for the poor.” We want that too. He wants a Low Church. We need that too. He shows us humility and love. We need to learn this too. We always must be willing to relearn how to love. We are in need of a Low Church because it is the Low Church that elevates the poor so that the High Church can shine its Heavenly beauty upon them.

I do not think he is simply referring to the earthly poor alone. He is referring also to those that are poor in spirit: Those who are despairing, those who are arrogant, those who are in need of love and humility so that they too can walk beneath the very low gate that leads to heavenly holy life. Pope Francis looks to be the man to show us how to get that job done.

VIVA IL PAPA!!!