Elizabeth Annechino, OFS
As I reflect on the Canonizations of John Paul
II and John XXIII what immediately comes to mind are the words:
miraculous and sublime. When you are open to God’s invitation miracles
take place. Our minds were on God alone
and our hearts were eager and open to receive all that God had invited us to
that day.
You
see when Gwen and I started planning our Franciscan Pilgrimage it was to be our
“Assisi Pilgrimage” with the privilege of also spending a couple of days in
“Rome sweet Home.” We were well into planning before they announced the
canonizations of these two great Popes.
Anyone who knows me well knows I hate
crowds and don’t enjoy big celebrations. I experience God most profoundly off by myself
and in silence. That was my heart’s
desire and as for Gwen she was marveling at how God had provided the time and
means to go. After this occurred, an
awareness emerged that we were no longer in charge and that Someone far greater
than us was inviting us on this pilgrimage. We were humbled and felt honored to
accept this invitation.
We got up very early that morning to arrive at
St. Peter’s Square by 7am. With no breakfast, we just swiftly went to get to
our destination nice and early. Mass
would begin at 10:00 and we were going to be there to receive all that the Lord
had invited us to, no matter what.
Our excitement soon turned into frustration
and terror as we stood for hours while the crowds emerged. They say there were
close to a million people. People were pushing and shoving and not acting very
Christian at all. There was garbage all over the place from people who had
camped out the night before. Gwen and I
were hanging on for dear life and I was getting very upset that people were
forgetting they were on holy ground!
The first miracle happened when the holy
Mass began and Pope Francis and Benedict embraced and the people responded to
Mass parts in Latin. God transcended our
humanity and we were on holy ground. My heart melted and my anger turned to an
overwhelming sense of God’s Mercy on His people…one, holy, catholic and
apostolic church. Gwen who had been
standing on her once injured leg, that made normal walking difficult at times,
was somewhere other than earth in adoration.
We were both humbled and honored to be at
this historic moment in history. Four Popes at one Mass! We were immersed in
our heavenly Father’s love and mercy for His poor, broken and sinful people on
this Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, 2014. I’m sure only a tiny speck in His Ocean of
Divine Mercy! So after the three and a
half hour Mass we headed back to our hotel. There were no buses or taxis due to
the masses of people in Rome. So we walked and we walked and we laughed and we
cried for literally hours until we arrived at our hotel close to seven pm. It
was only the next day that we learned we had walked ten miles. I certainly do
believe in miracles.
Pax et bonum
