I am not a Catholic but I was so blessed by the Pope's visit. Benedict is the perfect pope for this day and age. When he became Pope I started reading some of his writings and found that he is a profound thinker. The reason I believe that he is so relevant today is because so much of what he has studied and written is about the decline of western culture. He sees that as the most critical issue of our age and I, as an evangelical Christian, happen to agree.
Since the sixties, since God was declared dead, moral relativism has taken hold of our culture and it's happened so slowly that even Christians have grown complacent about it. Abortion and homosexuality are accepted. Partial-birth abortion is horrible and thankfully the majority is against it. So much so that Congress and many of the states have passed legislation against it. Of course courts have consistently ruled that the legislation is unconstitutional. But the culture accepts the lie that abortion should be legal for the "health" of the mother. It won't be long before euthanasia is accepted as we debate the definition of "quality of life."
Pope Benedict is ever vocal about the sanctity of life. I was so touched on Saturday as I watched him bless the children with disabilities as he walked down the aisle. He spoke about the trials the parents encounter in raising a disabled child and compared them to the trials Jesus faced. Perservere as Jesus perservered. It was very moving.
I love this Pope because he is Christ-centered. He used his time to point people to Christ who has given us new life. He also encouraged people to daily prayer. During a "rally" before mostly young people at St. Joseph's Seminary on Saturday he called the young people to consider a spiritual vocation. Our culture is caught up in the immediate and most of the youth have never been taught to wait, especially to wait on the Lord. We want what we want now. It is a selfish lifestyle and I admit I have done more of my share of getting what I want when I want it. Waiting on the Lord does not come natural to me. He exorted us to spend time in meditation and not be frightened by silence. He said to wait in silence so we might hear the voice of God. A good message for all us, young and old.
I hope you were able to watich the beautiful mass on Sunday. I've never been to mass and it was a blessing to experience the liturgy of the Catholic Church. I am thankful for his visit. I hope many Americans were pointed back to Christ. I know I was.
