"The Future of the Church in America Must Even Now Begin To Rise."

Sunday was, of course, the Papal Mass at Yankee Stadium. Although I had a ticket to join the OLQP group for the Mass, I accepted an invitation to assist with the distribution of Communion.  So on Sunday morning I drove to St. Joseph's Seminary in Dunwoodie (Yonkers) to receive instructions and head to the stadium with the 500 other priests either concelebrating or distributing Communion.

We were all shown a video about how to distribute Communion in our sections, and were then given our section assignments, our credentials to enter the stadium, and our stole (which we were given to keep as a gift from Cardinal Egan).  We then boarded eight buses and were escorted by New York's Finest to the House that Ruth Built.

Once at the stadium, we went through security and had a quick sandwich in the Yankee Club Room.  Then we were divided into section crews and headed up to our part of the stadium. (The sections of the stadium were assigned by the priests' date of birth - so the youngest of us had the steepest sections, and the eldest priests had the easier sections closer to the field.)  We had some time to rehearse the faithful in our section and to meet our "guides."  These were NY Police, Knights of Columbus or West Point Cadets who assisted us with crowd control.  (I had a really nice conversation with one of the cadets and had a couple of really good laughs with the cops in our section.)

The pre-Mass "Concert of Hope" was highlighted by Harry Connick Jr.  But for me, the "soundtrack" of the day came from the youth choir "Libera."  

Of course, when the Holy Father entered the stadium and drove the warning track in the Popemobile, the crowd went insane.  And throughout the day there were plenty of chants of "Benedetto" and "Viva il Papa."  But in testimony to the power of Pope Benedict's teaching, what I will really remember from the day was his homily.

It didn't hurt that yet again the liturgy felt especially directed at me (isn't that how we're all supposed to feel all the time?!):

• The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles recounted the selection and ordination of Stephen and the other deacons.

• The Mass was intended to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the elevation of Baltimore to the status of Archdiocese and the erection of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville as diocese . . . so American Catholic history was a prominent theme.

• The Holy Father spoke about Catholic education in terms that were reminiscent of Blessed Basil Moreau's writing . . . "to know God, to love Him and to serve Him."

• Pope Benedict quoted Dante's wonderful line - "His will is our peace." Which also just so happens to be the episcopal motto of the bishop who ordained me, Bishop Daniel Jenky, CSC.

But much more than that, Pope Benedict's homily (again, do yourself the favor of reading it) laid out a challenge to the faithful in America, especially the youth:

And this, dear friends, is the particular challenge which the Successor of Saint Peter sets before you today. As "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation", follow faithfully in the footsteps of those who have gone before you! Hasten the coming of God's Kingdom in this land! Past generations have left you an impressive legacy. In our day too, the Catholic community in this nation has been outstanding in its prophetic witness in the defense of life, in the education of the young, in care for the poor, the sick and the stranger in your midst. On these solid foundations, the future of the Church in America must even now begin to rise!

And, I think, if you look at what else he said and did, in this homily and throughout his visit, he laid out an agenda to make this happen:

• He spoke of true freedom and the requirement it places upon us: "'Authority' … 'obedience'. To be frank, these are not easy words to speak nowadays. Words like these represent a 'stumbling stone' for many of our contemporaries, especially in a society which rightly places a high value on personal freedom. But true freedom, the freedom of the children of God, is found only in the self-surrender which is part of the mystery of love. Only by losing ourselves, the Lord tells us, do we truly find ourselves."  

• He spoke of the proper relationship between our faith and the public square: "reject a false dichotomy between faith and political life, since, as the Second Vatican Council put it, "there is no human activity - even in secular affairs - which can be withdrawn from God's dominion"

• He called upon young people to discern their vocation in the Church: "Young men and women of America, I urge you: open your hearts to the Lord's call to follow him in the priesthood and the religious life. Can there be any greater mark of love than this: to follow in the footsteps of Christ, who was willing to lay down his life for his friends."

• And finally, he gave us encouragement and hope in this mission: "Dear friends, only God in his providence knows what works his grace has yet to bring forth in your lives and in the life of the Church in the United States. Yet Christ's promise fills us with sure hope. Let us now join our prayers to his, as living stones in that spiritual temple which is his one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Let us lift our eyes to him, for even now he is preparing for us a place in his Father's house. And empowered by his Holy Spirit, let us work with renewed zeal for the spread of his Kingdom." 
  

As I say, I think the fruit of this Papal Visit can grow in the Church in America for years to come if we take up the challenge and the promise of this "new springtime."  Let us pray and work so to be faithful to this commission.