Reflections on our new Pope...based on Facebook

Today is an exciting day for the lives for Catholics. And, over the past month, I've realized just how many dedicated Catholic friends I have. I mean it shouldn't be surprising. I am a Catholic, I went to Catholic schools for almost 20 years, and I work at a Catholic retreat center. But it surprised me nonetheless as I scrolled through my Facebook page, day after day, just how many Catholic posts, comments, articles, and pictures my Facebook friends were posting. To be honest, this evening after the big announcement came, I was caught of guard when anything other then Papal news popped up on my Facebook page! This evening  as I looked through the many Facebook updates, I noticed a few themes that emerged. And, since I have a blog, I thought I would share them with you.

1.) Everyone is happy. Everyone is hopeful. Everyone is sharing in the joy of the moment. I have friends that represent all different points of the theological spectrum. I have very conservative friends,  ultra liberal friends, and those who fit in somewhere between. And, everyone is happy...and more importantly, everyone is hopeful. I find this both unique and reassuring. It is a unique experience, because often times people who are on the extremes of the theological spectrum find it hard to relate to each other and would have very different views of matters of faith and justice. Yet, there was an instance of unity. And, this unity and hope is very reassuring. The overall message I received via Facebook was hope that our new leader, the new vicar of Christ, would make the Church a more vibrant and relevant institution. Now, I am sure there is much disagreement as to what a vibrant and relevant Church looks like...but I'll just leave that debate for later. At the end of the day, strong Catholics, liberal or conservative, desire and pray for a vibrant and relevant Church that can communicate the good new of Jesus Christ. Now, that is an institution that I want to be a part of.

2.) Once the excited of "WE HAVE A POPE!!!!!" sunk in a bit, people began to wonder who is Pope Francis I, aka Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio. And, we are instantly drawn to his humanness. As we all Google searched and listened to the Vatican insiders, we began to post the "important" things about our new Pope...the things that we want people to know Pope Francis. I saw no posts about this academic credentials (and they are nothing to put your nose up at!) and for the most part, no one commented on this theological views. The first things that I saw about our new Pope highlighted how human he is. People immediately posted about how, even as a Cardinal, he took public transportation, cooked his own meals and lived in humble accommodation. I even saw this lovely picture of him on a bus. What a witness.

Next, I saw posts about the humanness of his first words as Pope. As one friend quoted him, "‎And now let us begin this journey, the Bishop and people, this journey of the Church of Rome, which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world that there might be a great sense of brotherhood." We are attracted to a Pope who both prays for us and asks that we pray for him. And, we love him for that. We love that we have a Pope that we can relate too. How may times have I taken people transportation, cook my humble meals, and had to keep the heat at 65 F? And how many times have I asked for prayer? To have a Pope share in these experiences is so humanizing.  We can only hope that our new Pope can continue to relate to his flock and present the Gospel message in a way that reaches people of our time.

3.) People LOVE their Jesuits! Through education, the Society of Jesus has reached out and touched the lives of so many young people...me included! My first reaction was "I <3 Jesuits!" and then I lamented over the fact that I didn't bring my I <3 Jesuit t-shirt to Ireland! (But in all serious, I am totally bummed I cannot go into work tomorrow wearing that t-shirt with pride!) What a testament to the work of the Jesuits. In a world that is becoming increasingly skeptical of institutionalized religion, the Jesuits are reaching out and engaging young people, and forming them into young men and women that are committed to their community, Church, world, God and, of course, their Jesuits!

As time goes on, people will become more critical of our new Pope. Some people will become more excited about him and other will become less excited. We will scrutinize his writings and official statements, and we will pass judgments on the man. But, I will always remember those first few hours when there was true unity and hope within the Church, when we celebrated the humanness of this holy man, and when we (or at least those of us who attended Jesuit schools!) expressed our love and appreciated for the Society of Jesus. I, like so many of my Facebook friends, am hopeful. I am hopeful that under the leadership of Pope Francis, the Catholic Church will be a relevant source of good that champions human rights and fosters spiritual growth. And so, Your Eminence Pope Francis, I pledge my prayers to you and I know that you will pray for me.