Pope T.V.

Like many people across the country, I spent some time this week watching Pope TV. I was interested in hearing what this man of god had to say, and for someone like me who was raised catholic but has wandered from the church and their teachings it was quite a step to say the least. The Pope has been tweaking the interest of “wanderers” like me for some time now. We here snippets of speeches that make us raise our eyebrows and say hmmmmmmm, we see him riding around in a Fiat and say hmmmmmm, but there is one one reason that kept me tuning in each night to Pope TV.

I wanted to see a miracle.

I can not be the only person who was watching Pope T.V. waiting for a miracle. I mean we have all seen miracles in our lives. The 1969 Mets, miracle. The 1980 USA Hockey team, miracle. My getting a date on a Saturday night, miracle in waiting. We refer to those occurrences things as miracles but really they are just a matter of being in the right place at the right time, there is no divine intervention for a sports team winning a championship or me getting a date. That is why I wanted to see a real miracle.

Each time the Pope got out of his car and walked over to a child in need to deliver a blessing I wanted desperately for that child to be able to walk, to see or to hear. I thought for sure that if anyone could do this, he was the man who could. He would bring a shining light from the sky's down onto this person and heal them of whatever terrible affliction they may have. Each night I was disappointed that the Pope didn't deliver. I didn't get my miracle, but I continued to tune in.

On Friday night after another particularly distressing week at work I tuned in to Pope T.V. once again just as the Pope preparing to ride through Central Park en route to his mass at Madison Square Garden. Ah-ha I thought, if there is going to be a miracle what better place for it to happen than at Madison Square Garden, the home of miracles!

As the Popemobile cruised through Central Park I was astounded at the tens of thousands of people who had gathered just to capture a glimpse of the Pope. Thousands crying, thousands smiling, thousands cheering and thousands holding up their cell phones so that they might capture a moment in time they will hold dear for the rest of their lives. The motorcade was running late so the pope did not have time to exit his vehicle to deliver any blessings and again I began to wonder if I was going to be disappointed. His ride through the park was short and quick but the people who came to see him were still crying, smiling and cheering well after he was gone. Hmmmmmmm.

The Pope arrived at Madison Square Garden via his Fiat again to thousands and thousands of people just waiting for a look at the man I hoped was going to perform a miracle. He was whisked into the back of the Garden and got into a golf cart that would carry him around the Garden floor so that he might greet the 20,000 people who had gathered to hear him and watch him perform a mass.

As his golf cart slowly worked its way through the tight aisles his driver stopped as the Pope looked upon a child who was being held by its father. The Pope raised his hand, blessed the child and then gave a blessing to both parents. The mother and father cried tears of joy and hope. 

That's when I realized that I had seen my miracle.

All this time I was looking for the miracle to be a cure, something substantial that I could see, when all the while the miracles were right in front of me every night watching Pope T.V. This Pope came and gave millions of people hope. He gave them smiles, tears and the feeling that their god was there for them. He helped them believe that he cared about each and every one of them, and for most the real miracle was just him being here. He touched each them without touching them, he spoke to each of them without speaking to them and he cured them without curing them. Some of their lives will never be the same because of a kiss on the forehead, a blessing or just a smile.

So in the end I guess the Pope showed me my miracle. Now I can't wait for Saturday night.