The secularists don’t want any pope; the liberals in the Church want a more liberal pope, and the conservatives claim that a conservative pope has ensured his legacy with conservative cardinals.
Are we then left with a choice of no pope, a more liberal pope, or the status quo?
Is there a better alternative?
It is a simple question.
A question in its primordial form: John Paul vs. Jesus.
The world wants neither Jesus nor John Paul II.
The world has no love nor desires to follow either one.
That is to be expected.
But is this a question we as believers are prepared to answer?
As a Church?
With so much focus on the recent concerns regarding the pope’s health, we found it interesting how the Church reacted.
Of course, as human beings, we all want the pope to be well.
As Catholics, we all want the pope to be strong.
But as believers, what do we really want?
Do we want the pope to reign another 25 years?
Do we want another vicar after the Lord calls Karol Wojtyla home?
What do our cardinals want?
Our bishops?
Our priests?
Our fellow Communicants?
Do we all want Jesus to remain right where He is?
Invisible and far from His Throne in Jerusalem?
In the Tabernacle waiting for us to approach Him?
In the hands of the priest ready for us to receive Him?
In the hands of a stand-in who acts as His human fallible deputy?
Do we want Jesus to keep His distance?
Oh yes, Lord, we love You, worship You and adore You, but only when it is convenient.
On Mass at Sunday; when we pray the Rosary, when we watch EWTN.
But other than that, Lord, please, we have lives to live.
Please don’t take our beloved pope away from us.
We don’t want change.
We’re extremely satisfied with the way things are.
There’s no need for You to do anything else, Lord.
If You do take John Paul home, please grant us, from among all those wonderful new cardinals, a new pontiff we can love as much we did Karol.
Please let the new pope reign as long as John Paul did, if not longer.
Please let the Church live in peace with everyone conforming to the new “norms.”
As believers, we can claim this is not what we are saying to Jesus.
We can claim that we are only praying for the pope because we love him and he deserves our prayers.
And surely he does.
But our Lord is not deceived.
He is well aware of what our hearts speak behind those prayers.
And there is no one in the Church as we talk about the Holy Father’s condition who prays or asks for a complete change in the situation.
We pray for peace.
We pray for an end to abortion.
We pray for all to believe.
We pray for an end to evil.
And do we really believe that with one more year or 10 more years that any of this will be achieved because John Paul has called for another Year of the Rosary? Another pilgrimage to another shrine?
Do we really believe that with one more pope or 10 more popes that any of this will be achieved because they have declared another dogma? Another pilgrimage to another nation?
The Lord is testing us.
He is testing a Church that has long neglected His Sanctuary.
And the test is simple.
Do we want John Paul III or Jesus?
© 2003 Agnus Dei Presents!
