Person of the Year

"Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, 'Do you want to be well?' The sick man answered him, 'Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.' Jesus said to him, 'That question had two possible answers: yes, or no.'" (Jn 5:2-8a, except for that last part, which came to me in prayer.)

By the time I get to writing, someone else (often, several someones else) has written before me! If this lament were a subscription, today's issue would be the selection of Pope Francis as Time magazine's Person of the Year (henceforth, POTY). I've found several posts from aleteia.org--the first was "TIME Magazine Got it Wrong" by Daniel McInerny, "Why is Pope Francis TIME Magazine's POTY?" by Fr. Dwight Longenecker, and "Twitterverse Ablaze After TIME Announces Pope Francis as 'POTY'," a presentation of accolades from various sources who otherwise wouldn't be found in the same article.

Back to the opening Scripture quote. Jesus' actual response to the lame man was, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk." By divine power and human effort, a miracle. Just this evening, Jimmy Fallon declared Pope Francis' first miracle: he got people to read TIME Magazine.

It could have been Miley Cyrus

Jesus often directed people to do certain things in the process of demonstrating His authority in human affairs. So did Mary: she directed Juan Diego to gather unseasonal flowers in his garment and present them to the bishop--and a whole blasted continent more or less turned away from human sacrifice and learned of the Living God! Indolence, overcome through obedience.

Even though our Holy Father has won the accolades of the City of Man, he will not attenuate the Catholic Faith. Just you wait and see. But in the process, he may well both intelligently present the Faith and genuinely win people's affections. Some may wonder, invoking Our Lord's words, "Woe to you when all men speak well of you" (Lk 6:26); but I believe he will continue to deflect that glory whither it is due.

If the New Evangelization is all about glorifying God and actualizing self through generous and talented service--I'm game! It makes "Persons of the Year," only because it makes persons.

You Think You've Flown Before

A priest friend of mine from the Diocese of Gallup (NM) was "sure" that Pope Benedict XVI issued his first Tweet on this day because it is the anniversary of his ordination to the transitional diaconate.

Sorry, Fr. Matt, I don't think so.

I am equally sure that he arranged to issue his first under-140-character pronouncements on the anniversary of the birth of Francis Albert Sinatra.

I am even more equally sure that Sinatra arranged to enter the Big "Big House" on the day I graduated college seminary (14 May 1998).

While attending a friend's wedding* in SoCal the following August, we were driving through Palm Springs when it occurred to me that Frank was buried there.  Ah--there's a cemetery!  Could we check it out?  Sure enough...

We stopped to say a Pater and an Ave, and maybe a Gloria Patri, and then continued our sightseeing.

"The Best is Yet to Come."  Great choice.

I'd call that the swingin'est plug for the Resurrection Life out there.  With most good love songs (written before the 1980s-90s), their "fuller sense" can be understood in reference to the divine-human relationship.

"You think you've flown before, but baby, you ain't left the ground.  Wait 'til you're locked in My embrace, / Wait 'til I draw you near / You think you've seen that sunshine place / Ain't nothin' like it here."  "The best is yet to come / come the Day (yom YHWH) you're Mine."

Lest we forget the most lasting significance of this day, behold the Guadalupana, our sneak preview into the Resurrection Life.

The Blessed Mother so disposed herself to divine beckoning that she has appeared all over the world in order to reinforce the Gospel.  Her imprimatur on Juan Diego's tilma depicts the "woman clothed with the sun" (Rev 12:1), bound with the cloth that indicated pregnancy.  Mary thus demonstrated the sanctity of human life, declared the death of human sacrifice, and facilitated the conversion of Mexico.

+ + + + +

Last and least, tap a microphone in honor of "World Sound-Check Day."

When the luna is placed into the monstrance, the "On the Air" sign illuminates.^

Spell out the date (not the YYYY version), and all will be made plain.

*The best man, whose wedding I witnessed last month, shares Sinatra's birthday.  To quote a song that Sinatra never covered, "Small World"!
^Andy Rooney Alert: Did you ever notice that a search for free "Old School Microphone" images shows almost as many tattoos of such as actuals?  O tempora! O mores!