The Compassion of a Pope

I love this photo so much. As with all photos, this one contains a story. Back in 1981, on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, a man tried to assassinate the late Pope John Paul II. Thankfully, he failed in his attempt and was arrested.

Not long after being released from the hospital, Blessed JP2 (as he is now affectionately known) visited his would-be killer in prison. That moment is captured in this photo - a moment of forgiveness and compassion. The Holy Father was in no way obligated to visit the man, a Turk named Mehmet Ali Agca. And yet, as the Vicar of Christ, he chose to demonstrate Christ's love for this man by forgiving him. The Italian President later pardoned Agca at the Pope's request. What an impact that must have made on Agca's life! Rather than serve his life-long prison sentence, he was forgiven, pardoned, and set free.

I've been thinking a lot about forgiveness lately. Sometimes it seems relatively easy to forgive others, but other times grudges persist and drag on for years and years. And then a tragedy (like the recent shooting in Connecticut) occurs, and we think to ourselves, "Now THAT'S something impossible to forgive."

Though I have never lost a love one due to such a terrible occurrence, I have experienced my share of grief in this life. Perhaps losing a little sister to cancer gives me a small bit of understanding regarding Sandy Hook's grieving parents, but I'm clueless to the anger, the regret, and the other emotion they may be feeling. Perhaps it is insensitive of me, in the wake of this tragedy, to speak about forgiveness. And yet, Pope Benedict has already suggested this very thing. After offering his condolences and assurances of prayer, the Holy Father prayed that "'God sustain the entire community with spiritual strength which triumphs over violence by the power of forgiveness, hope and reconciling love.' "(http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/12/16/pope-connecticut-school-shooting/1772725/)

"Forgiveness, hope, and reconciling love." These are the things that will change the world, that will heal our broken hearts of all affected by violence, hatred, and attacks from the Evil One. May Our Lord be especially close to those grieving this holiday season. In this final week of Advent, may we together anticipate the Prince of Peace!

The Hobbit: "LET IT BEGIN (SOON)!!!!!!!!"

My excitement level, especially now that I've finished all of my finals, has recently manifested itself something like this:

or perhaps this:

Actually, this may be more accurate:

That is all. I'll write more about my reaction to the film... and the theater workers' reactions to me next week! Viva el Hobbit <3

Mother Mary: Immaculate Conception or Harlot?

Reason #497 that I love my Catholic university: the homilies are (almost) always awesome!!!!! 

Last week, at one of the daily Masses I heard an amazing homily in which the friar mentioned the Immaculate Conception. He was preaching on the fact that so many young Catholics at my university worry so much about “looking” holy than actually being holy. “Some people who look holy are not, but some people who don’t look holy are,” was his tag line. A very poignant example of his theme was that of Mother Mary.  He described a paradox: as an unwed mother in the ancient Near East, Mary was viewed as a harlot when she was actually the Immaculate Conception!

A HARLOT?! Our Lady placed on the same level as a woman who sold her body, a woman who was an outcast in society, a woman who was a disgrace? For a cradle Catholic who was taught from an early age that the Blessed Virgin as the holiest of all woman, this took me a while to process. Of course, I knew the consequences of her Fiat were serious... but A HARLOT?! That's pretty strong language. I suppose, like many other dogmas and teachings in our Faith, our childhood catechesis needs updating from time to time. It's a very thought-provoking paradox, isn't it? Mary, the greatest woman who ever lived, was misunderstood to a very great degree for her faith. On this most holy feast day and solemnity of the Immaculate Conception - when we celebrate her preservation from sin at the moment of conception in St. Anne's womb - let us consider this: 

When we feel like outcasts, abandoned by the world because we are misunderstood, let us look to Our Lady and ask for a small amount of her great faith and trust in the mercy of God. 

P.S. This is a clip from "The Nativity Story." Though I don’t completely agree with the theology of this film adaptation, I really appreciate St. Joseph’s portrayal in this scene: