Monday, June 06, 2005
TOUCHED BY SOMETHING LARGER
Katie Grant at Scotsman.com describes the emotions she felt when unexpectedly becoming part of Pope Benedict's Corpus Christi Mass and procession in Rome. She is astonished that her sophistication fled from her during this encounter with a very Catholic ritual, bringing back memories of the practice of the faith of her childhood. Was it the memories? Was it being close to the Pope that reduced her to tears?
Perhaps what she can't put her finger on is the something larger even than the Pope to which he directed her sentiments. His actions seemed to say to her don't look at me, look at the Eucharist--look at Christ. Christ is the something larger that all of the ritual, all of the pagentry, all of the symbolism points to. It was not the encounter with the Pope, but rather the God-Man the Pope represents that brought tears to her eyes. It was knowing that in the Host, we have Someone here.
If the early days of his Pontificate are any indication, we may have in Pope Benedict a self-effacing shepherd who directs our attention away from himself and toward He whom he represents. A fortuitous characteristic to have in the Chief Shepherd, and one we have not seen in recent memory.
