I’m pretty well known for an epic lack of any sense of
direction. On more than one road trip I have gotten dramatically lost. An
accidental trip to Washington, DC, on the way to New Jersey comes to mind. But
a more recent trip to New Jersey is what this story is about. Typically this
blog features poignant and inspiring moments in the life of a married couple.
Sorry, this one is about a group of moms who left their men behind and took a
14 hour road trip to visit another guy.
Okay, yes, the other guy was Pope Francis. So that’s all right…right?
This little trip was an amazing experience of why it is
wonderful to be a Catholic.
Appreciating God’s Providence
It began with a little email from Nicole Dresser to several
mom friends here in STL asking, “Hey, anyone want to go to Philly to see the
Pope? (Nicole and hubby Eric were in Teams of our Lady in STL and this summer
Eric’s job transferred their family to Canada) I had been wishing I could be
part of the Pope’s World Meeting of Families Visit to the USA, but thought it
was an impossible notion, so I called Nicole to joke about what an absurd idea
it was. But God in His providence used that phone call to make the impossible
into possible. (Amazing how God does that.)
Soon, with God’s guidance and Nicole’s amazing organizing
capabilities put to work, the trip came together. We had no tickets to
anything. We just went to go pray with and for the Pope praying with and for
our nation, our families and our world. God provided all we needed: a place to
stay (Nicole’s friend’s house nearby in Jersey), a car to travel in (Stephanie
Lombard’s van), train tickets to Philly (Thanks Nicole), and great travelling
companions. It’s wonderful to be Catholic and have eyes to see the gracious
hand of providence even in small things like planning a mom’s road trip. For
example, Thank You, God, for relocating Nicole to Canada so we’d have to go to
Philly for the Pope’s visit to see her!
Hearts Burning with Love
From the moment we arrived off the train in Philadelphia on
Saturday, we were drawn forward as if by a compelling inner invitation. Like
the disciples on their way to Emmaus with Jesus, we knew there was a special presence here. In the birthplace of
freedom in America, among vast crowds of Catholic people, with joyful images of
the Pope everywhere, we felt like we were really part of a universal Church
family. Huge jumbo-tron screens on city street corners would be streaming all
day with Holy Mass, Sacred music, personal testimonies, papal speeches and
more. Expectancy and joy breathed from everyone. We were exultant when we
finally found “our spot” where we could see both a jumbo-tron AND the stage way
off in the distance where the Pope would be.
Saturday’s Festival of Families was a day filled with
celebration of the family itself. The quality of the entertainment, music,
comedy and fellowship was such a delight. All around us, total strangers felt
more like a huge family reunion. After waiting for hours, everyone’s hearts
were burning with anticipation to see Pope Francis driving towards us on the
street. It was like that happy Emmaus feeling when Jesus decided to stay with
the disciples, and not move on, that we had when the Pope took his seat on
stage. His inspiring and often humorous words about family life felt like he
was sitting at the family table with us sharing stories with laughter and
wisdom.
Some of his profound thoughts: “In the family, truth,
goodness and beauty can grow,” he said.
Families are “factories of hope.” “God sent Jesus not to live in a
palace but to a family.” His voice insistent and earnest, he concluded: “Two
things we really have to take care of. The children and the grandparents. The
children are the future. The grandparents are the living memory of the family.
They transmitted the faith to us… A society that doesn’t know how to look after
its children [or] ... its grandparents is a people that has no future. It
doesn’t have strength or the memory to go forward.” And as he ended, he turned
aside to one of his aides and the Pope
asked, “What time is Mass tomorrow?” Adorable.
Recognizing Jesus in the Breaking of the Bread
On Sunday, about a million of us made our way toward the
Benjamin Franklin Parkway to attend the outdoor Papal Mass. The only bummer of
the whole trip was that our little group of five got separated. Nicole and
Stephanie made it in on the Parkway and Erin, Barb and I did not. Either way we
all were watching it on a jumbo-tron, but it was the experience of communion that we missed on the outside.
We delighted in sharing Holy Mass, appreciating Jesus’ true presence in, among
and through thousands upon thousands of us. Multitudes of people spilled far
beyond the crowded confines of the parkway. Downtown Philly was a packed church
(And for the Pope, all the front pews were filled ;) But being on the
“outside”, we did not get a little yellow and white umbrella bringing Jesus personally
to us. Nicole and Stephanie wept with JOY when they were able to receive
Jesus. I wonder if Jesus wanted the rest
of us who were stuck on the outside go home hungry
for a reason. To better appreciate the miracle of every mass at home.
The pope’s words to us in Sunday’s homily were a powerful
“take home” as well. He said, “Faith opens a “window” to the presence and
working of the Spirit. It shows us that, like happiness, holiness is always
tied to little gestures. “Whoever gives you a cup of water in my name
will not go unrewarded”, says Jesus (cf. Mk 9:41). These little gestures are
those we learn at home, in the family; they get lost amid all the other things
we do, yet they do make each day different. They are the quiet things done by
mothers and grandmothers, by fathers and grandfathers, by children. They are little
signs of tenderness, affection and compassion. Like the warm supper we look
forward to at night, the early lunch awaiting someone who gets up early to go
to work. Homely gestures. Like a blessing before we go to bed, or a hug after
we return from a hard day’s work. Love is shown by little things, by attention
to small daily signs which make us feel at home. Faith grows when it is lived
and shaped by love. That is why our families, our homes, are true domestic
churches. They are the right place for faith to become life, and life to become
faith.”
Just like Jesus at Emmaus, after the Mass, Pope Francis left
us. But his words and witness are breadcrumbs we can keep in our pockets to
remember and hopefully to influence our lives “for good”.
So, here we are on a blog for married couples. What did this
road trip have to do with marriage? Many inspiring thoughts from Pope Francis
come to mind, but I’ll leave it at this. Sometimes as wives we forget the
spiritual influence that marriage by nature calls us to share in our husband’s
lives. Each of us wives left our husband behind to go see the Pope. Because we
did, our husbands had a keener interest in the visit of the Vicar of Christ to
America too. Pope Francis, visiting here or from Rome, consistently leads us to
love and imitate Our Lord. Connect the dots. We went to see Pope in Philly.
Hubbies had keener interest because we were there. Pope leads us to God.
So…perhaps our absence did make our husband’s hearts grow
fonder… of Jesus.
Cathy Gilmore
PS: To see more of
our wonderful journey, including YouTube videos of the Pope’s talk on Saturday,
his homily on Sunday and more, use this link:
https://sway.com/nV3Nm9IZAPk38C66
to open my SWAY presentation on our trip. (Need to be on Wifi) You’ll feel in a
small way like you actually went with us.
Since I tweet as little animals who love Jesus on Twitter
@myeasterbunny and @mylambofGod, I decided to take the Easter Bunny on the road
trip, and the bunny’s tweets are part of the presentation and add some sweet
comic relief to the story.
