Encountering Holiness in His Holiness

As many of you know, this past Thursday January 26th, I had the great privilege of meeting the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.  This encounter was more than an opportunity for wonderful pictures (though it was that too).  In this blog, I hope to share some of my experience with you.

First, the reason for the visit.  Every five years (ish), every bishop in the world must meet with the Holy Father for what is called their Ad Limina Apostolorum visit.  This literally translates as "to the threshold of the Apostles" (Peter and Paul).  The purpose of this visit is for the bishops to make a pilgrimage to Rome in order to be renewed through prayer at various holy sites, including the Tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul, to gain a renewed sense of their mission as the successors of the Apostles, and to renew their union with the Successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, the pope.  One of the highlights of this trip is the bishops meeting with the Holy Father.  In this meeting, the bishops are allowed to bring one priest or seminarian.  Though my bishop had a priest who was traveling with him, he arranged for me to go in with another bishop who did not bring anyone with him.

As soon as I learned that the American bishops would be making their visits this year, I was hoping for the chance to meet the Holy Father (actually I was hoping for this before I even came to Rome, but the visits made it more of a possibility).  I remembered seeing a picture from another priest of the diocese who was able to meet Blessed Pope John Paul II during the last Ad Limina visits for the US Bishops.  The bishop arrived to Rome on Sunday January 22nd and after an opening Mass with all of the bishops here at the College that evening I found him to tell him hello.  It was then that he informed me that I would in fact be going to meet the pope...it made for a rather long week of finals waiting for Thursday!

After being brought through a back gate into rarely seen areas of the Vatican, up an elevator, through room after room, waiting in one, moving to another and waiting there and then another, we were finally given instructions and told it wouldn't be long.  One group went in before us and we were brought to the final small waiting room after they finished.  We were arranged in a line with the bishops of New Orleans first, then the rest of us in alphabetical order by diocese.  Since I was with the bishop of Shreveport we were the last in line.  This was great as I was able to be in the room for about 15 minutes and I was able to watch all of the other bishops and priests great the Holy Father.  It was wonderful watching the others interact with the Holy Father, especially my bishop, the priest from our diocese and another priest who was my spiritual director at St. Ben's.  I particularly enjoyed watching the Holy Father perk up and his voice get louder when my former spiritual director was introduced by his bishop as the Vocations Director for his diocese.  Afterwards, I asked him what the Holy Father told him to which he responded, you have a very difficult but very important job (or something close to that!).

Finally, it was my turn.  The bishop of Shreveport was up there speaking to the Holy Father, they posed for their pictures, then the Msgr. turns to me to signal for me to come over.  To be honest, the first thought in my mind as I began walking over was "pick up your feet...it would be really bad to trip on the carpet".  After making it over to the pope, I bent down and gave the traditional sign of respect by kissing his "fisherman's ring".  After this I remembered only a few of the words that I had been rehearsing in my mind for days now.  I was able to utter "Holy Father, thank you for your faithfulness and service to the Church".  He thanked me and said four simple words which I will never forget:  "PLEASE PRAY FOR ME"!  These words may not seem too inspiring to some, but they struck deep in my heart.

After the visit, I recalled my meeting Cardinal Burke the night after he had been raised to the College of Cardinals.  I recalled how before I could ask for his blessing, he uttered those same words, "please pray for me".  Why are these words so amazing to me?  It's simple.  These are men who I look up to and greatly respect because of their holiness, faithfulness to the Church and untiring service on behalf of the Church and the People of God.  To hear them utter these words reminds me that we, that I can do nothing without God.  I know this in my head, but these holy men live it every moment of their lives.  I think that this realization was accentuated because of something I recently read.  In doing research for a practice homily, I came across a quote from an article reporting on one of Pope Benedict's first audiences which he had with a group of German pilgrims.  In that audience, he said how he prayed that he would not become pope.  When he saw that it was likely that he would be elected, he had to come to accept this decision.  He told them of the lesson he learned during the conclave.  The lesson was that “The ways of the Lord are not comfortable, but we were not created for comfort, but for greatness, for good.”  The humility I have witnessed in these two leaders of our Church and in many others, is truly inspiring.  They realize that they are in no way worthy of the great task that has been entrusted to them.  It is only by lives of constant prayer and reliance on God that they are able to carry out the duties their offices require.

I am receiving a rosary before
leaving as a way to remember the visit.

Looking through the pictures from my brief meeting with the Holy Father, I am ever more convinced of his holiness, joy and saintliness.  As I look through the pictures, I see a man doing something that he never wanted to do, but doing it with joy and doing it with love.  His love for God is infectious.  I can see this by the look on my face.  While I was in the room with him, I remember being so joyful, so inspired.  This joy and love shows on my face...I could not stop smiling.  I pray that I will continue to allow this experience to spur me on to a greater love for God and His people.


Having encounters with men of such heroic virtue gives me great hope.  I realize that I am not worthy for the great calling which God has for me, but if I allow myself to rely on Him for strength, I too will be able to do what it is He is asking of me.  Each day at every Mass we pray for Pope Benedict.  Every time I pray the rosary I offer prayers for him too.  Since meeting him and hearing him utter these simple humble words, praying for the Holy Father has taken on a whole new dynamic.  Please join me in praying for him that he may continue to do God's will and lead souls to heaven.  I also ask that you pray for me, that I too will grow ever closer to our God and be more able to carry out His will in my life.  Please be assured of my prayers for all of you.


In Christ,
Patrick


P.S. - Not that anyone is counting, but it is only about 4 1/2 months until I return home for the summer!

Christmas Break = Success!

This Christmas was extremely blessed.  What seems like the constant stream of visitors continued with my sister's best friend and her husband (who are also my friends!) and then with four of my very good friends from high school.  The visits were filled with food, laughter, catching up, visits to churches and typically Roman sites, food, papal liturgies, museums and food!  With the second group, I was also able to make it to Assisi for a few days, which is one of my favorite places ever.

Visitors from home are always a true blessing.  Time with them is usually filled with events and sleep gets put on the back burner, which is fine for the duration of their visit since they came here to see me.  Seeing great friends, spending the last days and hours of my "year of exile" (the calendar year in which I did not see the USA)  and welcoming the New Year with them gave me a nice little boost to push through the last 5 months before I come home in early June!

After the visits I was in need of some R&R and some time to get through some school work.  Luckily, this past summer I ran into a seminarian in Lourdes with whom I studied in pre-theology.  During this encounter I found out that his parents had moved to Holland for work and they offered me to stay with them whenever I wanted. Remembering this and knowing I would want to relax at the end of the break, I set up a trip to visit them for about five days.  This was just what I needed.  I flew into Amsterdam, which is a short train ride from their town, and was greeted by my friends mom at the airport.  She led me to their home on the train making it effortless for me!  I spent the next five days at their home being treated like a king.  It was great to be in a home where I could read and study in front of the fireplace, where I could enjoy three meals a day (including great breakfasts and family dinners!), where we frequently rode bikes to Mass, once to dinner and to the North Sea on my last day, where I was able to help out at the soup kitchen run by the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Theresa's order), where I was able to watch a great movie (The Blind Side) with my hosts after dinner one night and play cards another night, and where I was able to be around people who lived in Louisiana for 22 years!  Rather than making me homesick, this was a great time of rejuvenation for me.  Yes, it did make me even more ready and excited to come home this summer, but in a good way.  I was with a family and that is what I miss most about home.  My family (blood relatives), the family of my friends, the family of my home parish and the diocese (especially the priests and seminarians), and the family of our Cajun culture all of which have been so formative for me.

From my bike ride to the North Sea.

Thank you God for this wonderful break.  Help me never to forget how amazingly blessed I am, especially in these last five months before I return home, which at times will certainly be challenging.  To all of you who will read this, know how much I love and miss you and how much I look forward to seeing you this summer!

In Christ,
Patrick

P.S. - Please keep the 22 new Cardinal-elects in your prayers, especially the two Americans, Cardinal-elect Timothy Dolan (Archbishop of New York) and Cardinal-elect Edwin O'Brien (Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepluchre of Jerusalem).

I Want You to Want Me

            No, this is not a blog about the song by Cheap Trick, although it is an amazing song.  This will be much better (hard to believe I know), not because of my writing, but because of the subject matter, because of our God!

            Over the holidays, I was blessed to have several people visit me in Rome.  Adding to that greatness, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend several Papal Liturgies with those guests.  Going to holy sites in Rome, especially St. Peter’s Basilica, with people for their first time is always a great joy for me.  It is wonderful seeing the excitement in their faces when they get to witness the splendor of these beautiful houses of prayer dedicated to the worship of God.  One particular liturgy however became particularly special when one of my friends shared her experience with me afterwards.

            For those of you who have ever had the chance of going to a Papal Liturgy, you know what the distribution of Holy Communion is like.  For those of you who have not been, imagine rows not big enough for two people to pass blocked by barricades with people basically crawling over each other to make it to a priest or deacon to receive Holy Communion.  The process is not exactly efficient or orderly.  Several times, it has happened that guys from the College were not able to receive Communion because of the amount of people at a Mass and have had to return to the College to receive from a priest there.

He is my Bigfoot...always blurry!

            After the Mass, as we walked away from the basilica, one of my friends told me of her surprise at how crazy the process of Communion had been.  She said that she became worried at one point that she would not make it to the priest in time and that she would not be able to receive our Lord.  She shared with me how this was a good experience for her because for the first time she could remember, she was afraid at the possibility of not being able to receive Holy Communion.  She expressed to me how badly she wanted to receive our Lord and how determined she was to make it to that priest.

Here it is in her own words...

            "That experience was so powerful for me. I honestly felt anxious that I would not be able to receive the Eucharist, and it really hit me. It's a feeling I will always remember, and cherish. In that very moment of outstreching my hands and extending my body over several chairs I physically, emotionally, and spiritually longed to receive Christ. I didn't want to let anyone stand in my way of receiving Him. It's so beautiful because it really is what Christmas is all about. And against the backdrop of the nativity scene, it was even more powerful for me!"

            What a beautiful thing to reflect on during the Christmas Season.  All of Advent leading up to Christmas is a time of preparation for receiving our Lord anew at Christmas.  We spend time in expectation in order to prepare ourselves for His coming.  We spend time purifying ourselves and noticing areas where we have failed and still need God’s help so that we can allow Him to come in and heal our sinfulness.  This waiting, this anticipation of the coming of Christ should lead us to desire God all the more just as the thought of not receiving Communion inspired my friend.  How differently we would approach each celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass if we took a few minutes to recall this longing for Christ that my friend experienced.  In the last days of the Christmas Season, let us pray that God will continue to inspire us to draw near to Him and to desire Him more and more.  I pray that this reflection will help you and me to realize the great gift we have in the Eucharist and help us never to take it for granted.

In Christ,

Patrick