Francis is the sixth pope elected in my lifetime, but the first papal transition I remember is that of Paul VI. Admittedly the Masses for the dead Pope John XXIII at the small parish where I grew up are far more vivid in my mind's eye than the news reports of Giovanni Montini's election.
This is the first announcement I have heard live. I was walking out of the old Jesuit novitiate in Wernersville and stopped to let Math Man know I was on my way home. My phone was open to Facebook, where the "top story" was Crash's post: We have a pope! (translation from LOLspeak is mine).1 I flipped to the New York Times site. No word yet on who, just that white smoke had billowed up and an annoucement was expected soon.
With a long drive ahead of me, I wouldn't be browsing the interwebs, and radio reception out here can be tough. I so wanted to know, but really had to be on the road this minute. In the car I tuned in a Philly AM station, nearly drowned out by static, and while stuck in traffic on 422, heard the scratchy announcement. Francis.
I was struck by the new pope's request that we be silent for a moment pray for him before he in turns prays that we be blessed. And I while I get that Francis of Assisi is what rises first to many minds (and I'm certainly not pretending to know the mind of Pope Francis in this update, we now know it was Francis of Assisi...), my first thought was Francis of Xavier. A Jesuit missioned on a moment's notice to a place half a world away, Francis Xavier was reported to have responded when asked to leave for India in place of another Jesuit who was too ill to travel, "Well then, here I am."
The new pope and I have at least three things in common aside from being Roman Catholic. Care to guess what they are?
[UPDATE: I was thinking of chemistry, the Spiritual Exercises and we both speak Spanish, but there is also the Liturgy of the Hours, and German to add to the list.]
1. Listen to the Jesuit Post speculate about cat memes and the new pope here.
He's a chemist!
ReplyDeleteThat's one!
DeleteChemist, Jesuit, I don't know Michelle. Maybe you will be next! What name will you choose? :-)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely chemist, but the last (and only) woman member of the Society joined the heavenly company long ago. Michael, now wouldn't that shake things up!
Delete#3 - you both occupy the space-time continuum, at least in the Newtonian sense
ReplyDelete(this IS quantum theology, isn't it?)
True, but not on my list of three, so I'd have to add it!
DeleteFran made me LOL!
ReplyDeleteDo tell!
Me, too! :)
DeleteSix (or whatever the correct number is) siblings? You've both made the Exercises and presumably pray the Daily Office but I don't know if you're taking those for granted.
ReplyDeleteGod forbid I should take either the Exercises or the Daily Office for granted! But funnily enough,while I was thinking that we had both made the Exercises (according to the 20th annotation), the Office was not on this list of three.
DeleteLast night as I prayed Night Prayer, I thought of the new Pope doing the same....
You both speak fluent Italian, as well as Spanish and German, but not Vaticanese
ReplyDeleteYou both have brothers who mock short people???
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, does the man know how to make strudel?
ReplyDelete