***
Gospel: John 20: 19-31
On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
Twelve years ago, Jorge Mario Bergoglio – the Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires – was elected pope. From the moment he walked out onto the balcony overlooking Saint Peter’s Square vested in white, he embodied the name he had chosen: Francis.
***
I was living in Rome at the time, studying for the priesthood. I remember it was a grey, rainy evening. As the time for the next round of voting inside the conclave neared, I rushed from class and headed straight to Saint Peter’s.
The square looked like a tent city with a canopy of umbrellas keeping us dry. Closing my umbrella, rolling it tight, I wiggled my way to the very front row.
Suddenly, a plume of white smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. Habemus papam! We have a pope!
***
When Francis emerged, two things happened: mysteriously, the rain stopped on a dime, as nearly everyone wondered, who is this?
Fortunately, a group of pilgrims from Argentina stood close behind me. They declared to the incredulous crowd, “That’s our bishop!”
Now, he was pope.
As Francis was handed a microphone to make his first public statement, he began with two simple words, “Buona sera.” [Good evening].
What followed was a gesture of great humility, which was admired around the world.
Francis bowed and asked for our blessing.
It struck me to the heart. Humbled, I raised my hand towards the balcony above me, and prayed for our shepherd.
***
Twelve years later, the Church came full circle.
A frail Francis, just hours from his death, was wheeled out onto the same balcony where he first appeared as pope. There, he spoke his final five words in public.
“Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter.”
Raising his feeble hand, he made the sign of the cross, blessing his flock.
***
Francis can be understood through simple gestures like that – blessing a crowd hours before his death, kissing a grossly disfigured man’s face covered in sores, washing the feet of prisoners, traveling to the poorest places on earth.
Even forsaking the Apostolic Palace, where popes have traditionally lived, residing in the Vatican guest house, instead. There, the head of the Church ate lunch in the same cafeteria with the rest of his staff, from Cardinals to janitors.
He was a pope of the people who communicated through gestures of humility, love, forgiveness, and inclusivity.
Gestures which anyone can emulate.
***
Perhaps one of the most beautiful, and ironic, aspects of his papacy is how it ended.
His death has not only garnered international attention and positive press, but also – and more importantly – Francis has drawn the world into the mystery of Christianity, and the beauty of the Catholic Church.
Over the last few days, hundreds of thousands of people have passed through the Jubilee Doors of Saint Peter’s Basilica, one of the most remarkable houses of worship ever built.
Some, perhaps, never having entered a church before.
Upon entering, they pass by Michelangelo’s Pietà, a marble baptismal font, tombs of popes, altars for Mass, the Blessed Sacrament chapel, masterful mosaics proclaiming the life of Christ, light emanating through high windows, seemingly from heaven.
At the very center of Saint Peter’s Basilica is one of the largest domes ever built. High up, inside the inner rim, the words of Jesus are proclaimed in letters seven-feet tall:
“You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”
Directly below stands the main altar where Francis celebrated Mass, where his body was lying in state this past week. Far beneath him rest the bones of Saint Peter, the first pope, the rock of the Church, whose authority flowed directly from Christ down to Francis.
As the world watched on Saturday, our shepherd was commended to our heavenly Father. It looked like a paradox – the death of our pope in the Easter season. But that very event speaks to the heart of what we believe. Christ has been raised from the dead!
In the words of Saint Paul, “O death, where is your victory? Where is your sting?”
***
Francis was a pope of the periphery. He pushed boundaries only to make more room for souls desperate for God’s love. He cast the net of the Church far and wide, crying out, Todos, todos, todos.
Everyone, everyone, everyone.
May we continue to stretch our own hearts and minds, opening doors, making room for all seeking God’s love. For God so loved the world that all who believe in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
Eternal rest grant unto Francis, O LORD, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.
***
***
Image credits: (1) IMDb (2) USA Today (3) Vatican News