Peace Be With You
Find some people, shake their hand and say, "Peace be with you." Can I have an, "And also with you."?
Out in my garden admiring those radishes I got all caught up in the announcement of the new pope when I heard there was white smoke and listened on my phone. I am not Catholic nor consider myself a Christian but I did go to Catholic school and some things stay with you. I also know that the pope is an influential person and over a billion Catholics in the world consider him their leader. I loved Pope Francis for his message of love and compassion.
An hour later listening to the speculation of who the pope would be and where he would be from, and I realized there had never been an American pope.
Then minutes later they announced the pope’s name and that he was from...Chicago. An American pope!
But his message included the word “peace” probably more times than the word “the,” a wonderful message to the entire world from a pope who spent most of his life with those living in poverty who needed hope, and revered Pope Francis.
I’m an easy cry so there I was, and I immediately wanted to go out and find some people, shake their hand and say, “Peace be with you.” That part of the mass was always meaningful to me.
I was not really presentable at that moment so I greeted friends on my phone instead.
Peace be with you too.