Hope

One bright item in the near future is the Holy Father's arrival in the US. Regardless of the venue or reason, the fact he is coming here and cares about the Catholic Church here is reason for hope. I'm always in such awe of the Holy Father and his ability to lead with consistency and historical fervor. For the first time in my "Catholic life", I feel a connection with the Church throughout time. I never felt "that" as a child, a teen or my college years. There was a disconnect. Looking back, it was a different church or religion in that my beliefs and the beliefs of those around me were very passive and had with a focus. It is not a matter of nostalgia, I was not old enough to remember the pre-VII church. My faith now permeates my life and my decisions, it is not just when I am at church on Sunday. So, yeah, I'm excited. We may have a "Pope Party" like we did when my boys were toddlers during the St. Louis visit. We made cool hats and ate polish food. We may not be able to top that.