Life is worth living...

Archbishop Fulton Sheen's famous kneeler sits in the entranceway to the crypt under the altar at St. Patrick Cathedral in New York City. Archbishop Sheen's tomb is second from the left. (Herald photo by Bill Howard)

As NYC began to settle down following the departure of Pope Benedict XVI, I had one final chance yesterday to do some things I didn't get to do earlier... spend some quality time at St. Patrick Cathedral, go to confession and get some papal visit souvenirs. I had originally intended to fly back in the morning, but with heavy fog at LaGuardia moving flights around, my departure was pushed back. The only downside (cue violin) was that I got a terrible head cold from the second leg of my flight from Chicago to Denver, and didn't get back to Colorado Springs until around 2 a.m. But considering the below blessing, it was worth it.

While visiting St. Patrick, where our Herald special section issues were a very hot property (I placed about 500 copies there before the pope's arrival and they were gone that evening... it was neat to see people along 5th Avenue sitting and reading the paper), I had a very special opportunity to have a private tour of the cathedral crypt. My brother has been working on his doctorate, which features the Mariology of Archbishop Fulton Sheen. He asked if I could say a prayer for him in front of Archbishop Sheen's resting place. Because things were very busy still there after the papal visit, I did not expect to get the chance, but I was told to go to the parish office, state my intentions and pray. I was told to come back at 3:30 p.m. and, sure enough, it happened. Assistant sacristan Ian Dowding generously took time from his schedule to allow me a quick visit. While we walked to the crypt, which is under the altar, he talked about his one experience in Colorado Springs (staying at the Broadmoor) and pointed out the rooms Benedict had been in before and after he celebrated Mass two days earlier. On Saturday, he personally met the pope, who thanked him for his service to the church before being whisked away to vest for Mass.

There is nothing fancy to the crypt other than a beautiful set of iron bars at the entrance that features plaques with the names of those archbishops of New York who are buried there. Ian said that they polished up the crypt in case Pope Benedict wanted to make a quick visit, but the Holy Father stuck to the schedule and did not go there. You walk down marble steps into a very short walkway and there is a small room, all in white marble, with 21 tomb spots on one wall (and one very special item that I will mention in a bit). Thirteen of them are taken -- by six cardinals, five archbishops, one bishop, one monsignor and one lay person. The lay person, Pierre Toussaint, was a former slave who became a wealthy hairdresser and noted humanitarian and helped fund the original St. Patrick Cathedral on Mott St. He, his wife and daughter were buried at Old St. Patrick's. His grave was discovered in 1941 and Cardinal John O'Connor, who began a push for Toussaint's canonization, later had his body exhumed and relocated to its current resting place. Pope John Paul II declared him "venerable" in 1996. It was very humbling to be in the presence of so many holy men.

Ian gave a short talk about the crypt and shared a short story about the times he met Archbishop Sheen. I snapped some pictures of the crypt, pressed a bag of holy cards and other items to Archbishop Sheen's tomb and then asked for a couple of minutes of silence to pray to Archbishop Sheen. As if this experience wasn't already amazing enough, Ian points to a kneeler sitting in the hallway near the entrance to the room and says that that is Archbishop Sheen's kneeler that became a staple on his famous television show in the 1950s. It was one of those moments where you wonder, "Lord, what did I do to deserve this incredible moment!?" And so there I was, kneeling on Archbishop Sheen's kneeler, praying to him for his intercession for various intentions.

It's hard to put into further words what those moments were like, as I have long been an admirer of Archbishop Sheen and have several of his books and talks. I've longed for that entire "Life Is Worth Living" television series to be transferred to DVD so I can watch all of it. And I strongly recommend the audio set of talks he gave at a seminarian retreat at Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving in 1972. While he is addressing seminarians, clergy and religious there, the talks are really for anyone and cover a wide variety of important faith topics.

Anyhow, it was a fantastic ending to my visit to New York, and I am grateful to Mr. Dowding for his time, as well as for the receptionist at the parish office who connected me with him. As I hopped on the N train to go back toward LaGuardia Airport, I thought a lot about the pope's simple message of hope, as well as of Archbishop Sheen's message that "life is worth living." Benedict is certainly an academic man, but the message I gathered during the NYC visit was very simple: to keep our gazes fixed on Christ, to trust Him and to defend Him and His Church.

I look forward to taking some time later this week to really read through all of the speech texts and homilies. If anyone has been reading them and would like to offer some reflections, please go for it!

Yankee Stadium

(Herald photo by Bill Howard)

Click to enlarge any photos from NYC blog posts.

I'm wrapping things up quickly here before heading to the airport, so I may have more random thoughts of the weekend tomorrow, but some thoughts on the Yankee Stadium Mass...

1. The Mass experience was awesome, and the Mass itself was pretty well done. Pope Benedict XVI seemed to be energized by the crowd. I was surprised that the altar was placed over second base and not in the outfield, but I won't complain as my seat was amazing... I was literally sitting right next to the left end of the visiting team dugout, in front of the altar and just two rows from the field and the popemobile route. I have to thank Melissa Ferguson and Mark Tamisiea for hooking me up with a ticket late in the game. It was quite the blessing.

2. Nothing says papal visit like . . . dove performance art? The pre-Mass concerts either need to be dramatically changed or stopped altogether. It did nothing to prepare people for the Mass and I felt more like I was at a pre-Olympic ceremony than preparation for a historic papal Mass. I didn't catch all of Dana's performance (which was one of the few that seemed to "get" it), but there was scarcely any recognition of just why people were there. You had some artists thanking God for their careers and introducing some of their classic hits, but no talking about the Catholic Church or the pope... at least not until Harry Connick Jr. While his orchestra and swing-tinged songs were probably hit and miss with viewers and attendees (I liked the orchestral part and his rendition of "How Great Thou Art"), he actually mentioned the words "pope," "His Holiness" and "Catholic Church." I appreciated Dana and Ronan Tynan's songs, but the rest made me wonder just what the point of all of it was.

3. It was great to see so many happy priests, nuns and deacons running around the stadium. One of my favorte parts was seeing about six rows of nuns in the farthest corner of the right field upper deck help get the wave going. It was cool to see blocks of seat in white with vested priests. The priests who participated in Communion and some of those who sat on the stage entered and exited the field through the visiting team dugout, and their joy was obvious.

4. The Mass seemed more in line with what Benedict would appreciate liturgy-wise than Washington D.C. Just a note now that all of the Masses are done... I think Benedict got the point that we are a multicultural church on the first day of his visit. Why do we have to drive that point home at nearly every event? OK, don't answer that. While I'm not a big fan of mixing languages in the same reading (as happened during the Y.S. Mass), the different cultures represented during the intentions was interesting. I had never heard Igbo before. But it made me wonder... these kinds of Masses often don't seem to take into account what the pope might want. The Yankee Stadium Mass was more solemn than D.C., which was nice, but I can only imagine what we're going to get at World Youth Day in Sydney. I hope I'm wrong, but I envision that there will be a need to shoehorn in so many cultural and politically correct messages to "cover the bases" that there could be little that feels authentic. Again, I really hope that's not the case, but I just feel like we have yet to really figure out how to hold Masses of this magnitude, crowd-wise and do it right. It's about directing all of our gazes to Christ, not back on each other. And there were times during the Mass when rogue sections of the stadium forgot this was a Mass and started "Benedicto" and other chants out of over-enthusiasm. A couple of times Benedict acknowledged it, and other times he just kept on going, which I liked.

5. Tenor Ronan Tynan was sitting a few rows away across the other side of the popemobile track (closer to the altar... in the celebrity/honored guests section), and I could see him following along at Mass. I could only wonder how awesome it would have been sitting near him and hearing him sing all of the reponses, hymns, etc...

6. The overall experience here was great. You could sense that NYC still has deep wounds from 9/11, and having the "Pope of Hope" there for them really impacted a lot of people. I don't know how the pope kept up his travel schedule, but it's quite impressive what he's able to do at his age. Having watched most of the events, it seemed like he was most energized that youth rally, although he seemed very pleased to be at all of the events. I believe he will come back again in a couple of years... maybe to the south (he has friends in Texas) or to the west coast. At any rate, it was truly a gift to be here and I look forward to sharing some pictures from different events in the next Herald. It will be a mix of CNS photos and Herald photos from unique vantage points that I and Esperanza and Mark Griffith had at different events.

A busy day for the pope

It has been very heartwarming to see how New York City has embraced Pope Benedict XVI during his visit. It is always a daunting task to shut down part of a monster city, and very few people get the treatment the pope gets. Roads were shut down all around St. Patrick Cathedral since last night and by 5 a.m., a large crowd of people were already lined up for the "5,000 on 5th Ave." last-minute gathering that was organized. Herald editorial assistant Esperanza and I each managed to get a ticket to that, which allowed us within a one-block radius of the front of the cathedral.

The police were firm but charitable in dealing with the crowds, and one cop who was not Catholic was highly impressed with everything that was going on and asked us to pray for him. While Esperanza managed to find her way to just near the entrance to the cathedral (photos coming either here or in the Herald ...), I hung back a little farther on 5th Avenue with some friends.

The pope did not arrive in the popemobile, but rather was seated in the far back passenger side of a black limo. The energy around the cathedral was very high, and I could see the top of the pope's head as he made his way up the stairs into the cathedral. I was very moved to be there, as my older sister, Kathleen, is a nun with the Sisters Minor of Mary Immaculate and was present in the cathedral. I had hoped to find a way to get into the cathedral to be with her, but it was not to be. We will share stories over the phone later this weekend. Nevertheless, to see the images of a cathedral full of men and women who have given their lives completely over to Christ was incredibly powerful. I can only imagine how much the vocations of the priests, nuns and deacons were affirmed.

Later, Mark and a friend left for the youth rally at St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers. I decided to get back a little of sleep that I missed last night after getting three hours of sleep. Watching the seminary visit on television, I have been very moved, particularly by his blessing for the disabled and their caregivers prior to the rally. The pope's message to them was one that all of us should absorb. I loved this part:

God has blessed you with life, and with differing talents and gifts. Through these you are able to serve him and society in various ways. While some people's contributions seem great and others' more modest, the witness value of our efforts is always a sign of hope for everyone.

Sometimes it is challenging to find a reason for what appears only as a difficulty to be overcome or even pain to be endured. Yet our faith helps us to break open the horizon beyond our own selves in order to see life as God does. God's unconditional love, which bathes every human individual, points to a meaning and purpose for all human life. Through his Cross, Jesus in fact draws us into his saving love (cf. Jn 12:32) and in so doing shows us the way ahead - the way of hope which transfigures us all, so that we too, become bearers of that hope and charity for others.

The pope was not singling out the disabled and caregivers with this statement. His love for them was so apparent and one could tell he deeply respected their vocations. His message was meant for everyone, particularly those who sell their lives short and are spiritually disabled. I thought particulary of the diocese's fledgling As For Me and My House program aimed at healing and recovery from lust and pornography. Those evils have left many people disabled. The buzz word for Pope Benedict XVI's visit has been "hope" and you see many signs that say "Pope Hope" and "The Pope of Hope." Benedict's visit is bringing more to life the calls for hope that he has repeatedly brought in his recent writings. Living with a conviction of hope through Christ is something that many people will take away from this visit and back to their parishes.

The pope is currently addressing the youth at the rally. One of my favorte images was seeing some teens scrambling to the tops of some portable toilets to get a glimpse of the popemobile as it passed from the seminary chapel to the rally stage.

Singing the pope to sleep

(Herald photo by Bill Howard)

Tonight was memorable as I ended up taking part in a procession from St. Malachy Church to the pope's residence at E. 72nd St. and Madison Ave. There, more than 1,000 people were lined up with candles, singing songs while waiting for the pope to arrive.

It was quite a scene. There were a ton of priests, brothers and nuns joining a nice mix of youth and adults in singing songs and chanting "Benedetto." The Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Renewal, Sisters of Life and many diocesan priests and seminarians were leading the way, with friars playing guitar and percussion. The Missionaries of Charity were there, as were Dominican Sisters and some others I didn't recognize.

I didn't see the pope get out of his ride and enter his residence somewhere around 9 p.m. It all happened so fast ... there was a huge wave of cheering that lasted about 10 minutes or so and then everyone milled around in excitement for another hour. It was funny to see nuns, priests and brothers running around like little kids. Some of them apparently got to meet the pope because after things were dying down a group of them emerged into the crowd, one nun in a full sprint along one side of the crowd slapping hands as she reached her crew. They were soon being pulled aside by television crews. My favorite moment came when, after the crowd dispersed, a group of about 20 nuns gathered and began singing beautiful, quiet songs for the pope... like they were singing lullabies. He was probably too far away to hear it being across the other side of Madison Ave., but I'd like to think he could hear it. I wish I had recorded it.

And so the crowd disperses and everyone is planning to get little sleep as security checks for the St. Patrick Mass and outside welcome group (which I was blessed to get a ticket for) are at 6 a.m. I'm meeting my faction of the outside welcome group at St. Malachy at 5:30 a.m. for an early morning breakfast. I've been to NYC many times, but probably the most New York thing I've ever done took place after the vigil. My seminarian friend, Mark, was put in charge by the pastor of St. Malachy of buying seven dozen bagels for the gathering tomorrow morning. So Mark, his friend Alex, his college friend Dan (who lives in Denver) and I took a cab to H&H Bagels on Broadway and 78th. What an awesome place. So we walked out with two huge paper bags (felt like they weighed 30 pounds each) of bagels for tomorrow.

Blogging from NYC... awaiting the Holy Father

Before I get rolling here, we've decided to link to EWTN's papal visit coverage on the Herald site for complete coverage.

Well... the Herald is up late in New York City and getting ready for the pope's visit. By some unfortunate and bizarre circumstances, I was approved for a credential yet was not assigned to any of the events. Apparently there were quite a few journalists that had this happen. Not sure if they overcredentialed expecting some media folks to pull out or what. Anyhow, I feel for the folks doing the credentialing... it was a near impossible task to make everyone happy. So I'm trying to see if I can beg my way into a couple of events (St. Patrick Cathedral Mass and the youth rally at St. Joseph Seminary).

That said, there are some fringe events that I will try to report on that hopefully will make a more complete picture for folks who will be reading coverage of the main events. Tomorrow night, I will be taking part in a special candelight procession from St. Malachy Church (off Broadway, known as "The Actors' Chapel") to the residence where the pope will be staying. Outside that residence, we will hold a prayer vigil. There are several grassroots events like this sprouting up around the city. A recently organized event also involves the Mass at St. Patrick Church. Tickets were made available for a crowd of 5,000 to welcome the Holy Father outside St. Patrick Church before Mass. If I can't get into the Mass, I hope to be a part of that.

Regarding the Washington D.C. leg of the trip, the diocese was represented at the papal greeting at the White House by Bishop Sheridan and Catholic Charities of C.S. Executive Director Jason Christensen. Michelle Maher, diocesan director of the Office of Total Catholic Education, represented the diocese at the pope's speech to educators at Catholic University. Also, Herald advertising account manager Chris Reynolds took personal time to see the pope celebrate Mass at Nationals Park (and brought a stack of Herald pope issues (April 4). There were 24 other representatives of the Colorado Springs Diocese in attendance in addition to Bishop Sheridan, who concelebrated the Mass.

I was struck today by the presentation of practically the entire D.C. Mass on CNN, which I watched while I was waiting for my flight at Denver International Airport. Because my flight had several delays, I was able to watch the entire Mass. I thought, what other religious leader gets that kind of coverage? Considering how often Catholicism gets mocked on television, this was an awesome opportunity for evangelization.

Here's one touching note from the Mass. It doesn't make me a Jets fan, but it does make me a fan of Kellen Clemens (except if he faces the Eagles). Not often you hear a professional athlete say something like this...

"I don't really know if we fully understand just how special it was. That's a direct descendant of Peter, and there he is giving a blessing and a kiss to our child."

Not sure when and how often we can post, but I'll try hopefully tomorrow night after the St. Malachy event. During the day, I will be dropping off stacks of our special pope edition of the Herald (feel free to comment on it... did you like it/not like it?) at different papal visit locations throughout the city. Please keep all of us pilgrims here in NYC in your prayers. This has to be a security nightmare.