Thank You, Pope Benedict!

Sorry it has been so long since I last posted.  Life has just been crazy busy over here.  But this post is a big one, so sit back, relax, and strap it down.  Wednesday was Benedict's last audience as the Holy Father, so of course, we had to go.  Luckily, the Angelicum, realizing the magnitude of the event, canceled classes, so we had the whole day free to spend at St. Peter's.  The day started for me at 4:45 AM, when we woke up to get ready to leave for the 10:30 audience.  We left at 5:30 and as we walked to St. Peter's we stopped at this awesome little 24 hour bakery.  It is super cheap, and super tasty, so you can never go wrong.  I ordered my tre ciambelle (three donuts) and paid 90 cents for them.  Definitely a good purchase.

Ryan and Vince Fernandez, Tulsa Seminarian!  

We got to the Square around 6 and joined the large blob of people that was the line.  Waiting there for a couple of hours, I met some students from Franciscan University in Steubenville.  I even saw a Chicago Totus Tuus teacher, whose name I epically got wrong.  It was kind of embarrassing, but those things happen.  When the gates finally did open to get into the Square, talk about one giant bottle neck effect.  It was very tight, but we have learned to box out, stand our ground, and not to be discouraged by the great skill of the 4'11" nuns that seamlessly weave through the crowds.  But as we were going in, one of the guards was like "Sacerdote, seminaristi (priests, seminarians)" and directed us to a special section.  And what do you know, I end up sitting in the 2nd row.  Yep.  It was crazy.  Being just feet from the Pope as he drove by, what an incredible gift that I had absolutely no reason to receive.  And really the only way to react is to give thanks to God for the incredible opportunity and to share that experience with the people I meet, like I am do here on the blog.  I even made a YouTube video from the audience!  While I may not be as central in this video as I am in some of my other YouTube appearances  I still made it!    I'm around 46 seconds in.

So folks, it was amazing to be that close to the Pope on the last day he was seen by the public.  Seeing the peace he had about the decision was very comforting.  And personally, he just looked very weak and frail, so it was just very apparent that he was making the right decision.  So while people may question it, I know that Benedict did what the Lord called him to do.  And as he said, he is only stepping down from the role as Pope, not from an active role within the Church.  He will still serve the Church through great prayer and study from within his new hidden life.  To read the text of his address, where he addresses this issue very directly, check out this site.   Pope's Final Address

And one amazing thing we did as a house was last night, the night the Chair of Peter became vacant, we went to St. Peter's and held a prayer vigil from 7-8 PM.  We prayed for Pope Benedict, in thanksgiving for all that he had done for the Church.  We prayed for the next pope, whoever he may be, that the Lord will guide him as he leads the Church.  And, or course, we prayed for the Church as a whole, that She may stay strong in this time of transition and that Christ, the eternal shepherd, may always watch over the Church.  It was a very moving experience to say the least, and to be at St. Peter's the moment the clock stuck 8 was just cool to experience.  Even though there are rough times, either because of sadness or sinfulness, we know that Christ said that "the gates of Hell will never prevail." The Catholic Church is His Church.  Other faiths come and go.  Different worldviews and philosophies pervade society.  Thousands of world leaders have tried, and continue to try, to end it.  But when you look at history, there is only one institution that has made it this long, and only one will make it to the end.  That, my friends, is the Catholic Church.  So we have great reason to have faith: because Christ will never abandon His flock.

If anyone ever thinks the Church is dead, then why would 200,000 young people come out to see Pope Benedict's final audience?  Just saying, the future is bright.

Thinking about the role that Benedict played in my life, he as been a great role model and has been the Pope for really all of my Catholic life.  Statistically, JP II is technically still leading, Benedict is the only Pope I have seen and has held the office for all of the time I have been very involved in the Church.  His witness of humility, first in accepting the role of Pope, and secondly, in his resignation, show how one man can so whole-heartedly put aside his own desires and plans to serve the Church with great vigor, love, and joy.  Pope Benedict is a true model of Christian joy and trust in the Lord.  His fiat, his yes, to the Lord, some 60 years ago when he was ordained a priest, shows the world that the Lord will do amazing things with your life if you only let him.    
So to conclude, it has been such an incredible gift to be here in Rome during this historic time for the Church.  The Lord has really blessed me here, and I hope that I will be able to continue to share what is going on from Rome.  Please pray for the Conclave, whenever it starts.  Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide the Cardinals and that the Lord's will is done.  We can't just assume that everything will turn out OK.  We need to pray and trust that the men the Lord has called to be Cardinals will cooperate with His grace to choose the man that will be fulfill the role of Peter in the Church today.  Long Live the Pope!