Initially I wanted to write about Demetrius Gallitzin who I recently visited his tomb. He was a Russian prince, who gave up his inheritance to become a Catholic priest in America. Since I’m still learning about him however I thought I would wait until next year after I read his biography. Then since it’s May, the month of Mary, I drafted something, but decided again to hold off since we just received a new Pope on my birthday of May 8. With this happening and many asking my opinions, I wanted to write something that I have discerned and unpacked over the past couple days. As the Pope gave his first blessing on my birthday, the weight of the situation hit me. We have a new Pope, on my birthday, who is the first of the USA, who is an Augustinian. This quickly became a WHOA! moment to discern, but most of all simply encourage patience over these next years as this man, led by the Holy Spirit guides the Body of Christ further into the New Evangelization set forth by Vatican 2, and inspired by all the Popes since.

First let me begin with saying that John Paul 2, laid a foundation of philosophy over the years, to combat the confusion of communism and many other worldly ways of division and lack of God. Then his close confidant, Benedict XVI solidified the foundation with sound theological teachings giving us a healthy foundation moving forward in evangelization since theology and philosophy have always complimented each other when viewed through he proper lens. After this we received Francis, who in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi taught us to humbly proclaim the good news. While Pope Francis at times didn’t say the perfect things, as a flawed man, he was a perfect example of humility for us in evangelization through the Holy Spirit. He emphasized to be kind, and not judge why someone fell into the life they struggled in, which leads to separation from the family of God. Instead he encouraged us, like Jesus to dwell with them and encourage them to come home and unite with this human family, which all resembles the image of God’s creation.

With this thought and foundation, we are given a new Pope, who comes from the USA. A country that lays claim to being the United States, but is the most divisive Christian country, with new denominations/divisions being formed regularly. Before the USA I’m willing to say there were less than 100 protestant denominations, nowadays we have tens of thousands, most coming from the USA and our personal paths of knowledge and enlightenment, contradicting the religious traditions handed on since the beginning. They even use the modern term of non denominational, which is a denomination of a disenfranchised denomination. In the end divisions are not of God. As I previously share, cancer is a cell in the body that mutates, then replicates destroying the body by turning cells against each other. This is the Christian experience in the USA and now spreading in the world. All of which started with an Augustinian monk, named Martin Luther…….

Now at the pinnacle of this division, we have an Augustinian from this same line coming into leadership of the Universal/Unified (Catholic) Church, a symbol of unity in God’s family. As this moment settled in, I realized it’s re-reformation day and time for the prodigal children to come home. This is who St. Augustine was, a worldly man who fought to deny God, only to later realize his heart was restless, until it rested in the Lord. One of St. Augustine’s great quotes. This is our American society (and many other parts of the world), despite such vast resources, we suffer from high amounts of mental illness and depression, much of what comes from our relationship with God being foggy or severed. Pope Leo addressed this idea quickly in his early words “A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds,”

This then brings me to the next thought that was pointed out to me the day after and has developed more. I share with many, it was a St. Michaels medallion I found on the ground, walking in the rain that led me back to the faith (It was an answer to a specific prayer of protection from the devil). Later in time I discovered St. Michael had a feast day on my birthday of May 8, when it’s believed there was an apparition of him in Italy circa 400 A.D. This was always a profound moment that God used this as a rope to draw me back. A friend and customer of mine pointed out that it was the previous Pope Leo XIII that gave us the St. Michael prayer and how coincidental he chose the same day of St. Michael. The Leo of the late 1800’s was pushing back against a similar lack of faith as people were turning to modern enlightened ways and felt called to institute the St. Michael prayer to combat modernity and the temptations of self reliance and enlightenment, instead of reliance on God.

This brings me back to St. Augustine, who sought worldly ways and passions, which he later shares in his book “Confessions”, these ways of the world’s allurements left him desolate. I was moved to hear yesterday that when the Pope showed himself for the first time on the balcony his pectoral cross has relics of St. Augustine and St. Monica in it, since the he’s gone to a more simple cross. This again was of personal significance, since it was on the feast of St. Augustine, that I met my wife Monica, by wishing her a belated feast day. St. Monica is the day before St. Augustine. She’s the mother who prays for her lost husband and son, who eventually convert and come to the fullness of faith. Her son would become one of the greatest minds in the Church and human history.

In close one more final thought came to me when I heard the Pope received a degree from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, a place I visited and recently shared a picture from my visit in this blog. As I reread it, I am reminded of my thoughts back in October when I wrote this, there’s a great reset coming, and with this new Pope, I truly am confident a new unity through Jesus Christ, in a greatly divided world. Those of political thought religious or not will take the Popes words out of context for their agendas, I encourage you go straight to Vatican sources, and read his words directly without emotional reactions like I shared in blog I attached, but to patiently discern through the Holy Spirit, “what is God asking of me/us?”

As I watched the video of the Pope at Game 1 of the world series in 2005, it was a humble reminder that God is among us, and we never know who we are in the presence of. Be humble and patient with all of those around you. I struggle with this, but I try to never give up trying to show mercy in every moment, even when I am wronged. Sometimes you will have to simply let go and let God sort things out, don’t engage in the negative ways which are designed to divide us, but instead patiently encourage each other in the spirit of St. Augustine, hate the sin, love the sinner. Sadly this is something we no longer know how to do, we either hate both or love both which then causes much of the confusion we have in our world. Most of all, we then miss the presence of our Lord and communion with this family of humans, all made in the image of God. How many people at that White Sox game, wished they focused more on the man of God that was in their presence, rather than a worldly baseball game which has been long forgotten. This man now carries the True Presence of Jesus’ Church here on earth. I pray we now take the time to see what we previously missed. Godspeed His continued blessings in your life. Take the time to discern, it’s happening everyday, I only write this to share how I’ve been fortunate to experience some of them and many more to come.

May Drinking Companion