New Pope Brings Joy And Perspective On Faith Over Politics
(ANALYSIS) We have a new pope! May the Holy Spirit guide you, Papa!
These are my thoughts, on the fly, as a relatively new Catholic, having entered the church two years ago.
In my younger years, even though I’ve always been a deeply faithful and regularly practicing Christian of one type or another, a big part of my identity was caught up in politics.
For several years, I woke up on Election Day like a kid on Christmas morning, excited to see what would unfold that evening and excited to be part of the process, be it waving signs, working at the polls or attending election night parties. I even followed politics in other nations, including ones the news doesn’t regularly report on, so enamored was I by the process.
All that began to change slowly over the years. What used to be an almost all-consuming interest receded. While I still vote and while I’m not totally disengaged with politics, my deeper interest in my faith, my “deeper conversion,” something our priest prays for at the beginning of every Mass, means I don’t put much stock in whomever the president is.
Sure, he has influence, even outsized influence, in this nation and this world. His decisions affect billions of people, but not as much as most people give him credit for, good or bad. We, ultimately, have the biggest influence over the course of our lives. We have no control over how others behave. We only have control over how we respond.
As a Catholic, I believe the main character in my life is not me but the God who created me, acting through the Holy Spirit. (Many other faith traditions believe a form of this as well.) It is up to me to listen attentively through prayer to His voice and try to follow His guidance as best I can.
I’m grateful that I no longer put so much of my energy in worldly politics and instead focus on my faith. It’s given me greater peace.
Who is Leo XIV?
I don’t know much about our new pope. He’s American born. He’s of the Order of St. Augustine. He spent much of his service to the Church in Peru. He’s also on the younger side at 69. His first address to the world focused on building bridges. He’s viewed as a “centrist”, whatever that means.
From my Catholic friends, I’ve exchanged messages that have mostly been filled with joy, even to the point of tears, although that sentiment has not been universal with a few already griping that our new pope is not this or that which they’d hoped for.
For me, though, I am overjoyed, even to the point of tears, and not because I was hoping for Cardinal Prevost to be our next pope. He was on the “short list”, so it seems, so I could have studied up on him. Some of the websites and podcasts I follow were discussing that “short list” in easily digestible sound bites. I didn’t listen though. My opinion doesn’t matter. Truly. With typical elections, my opinion doesn’t really matter either. Yes, I vote, but even in a local election, my vote counts for one in tens of thousands.
With the Papal Election, only 133 men get to make the decision though, and, unlike the U.S. Electoral College, the College of Cardinals is not basing its votes on any sort of poll, official or not. They rely, at least in theory — we don’t know what truly goes on once the doors to the Sistine Chapel close—on the Holy Spirit alone to guide them.
And so must I. That’s why I was overjoyed to the point of tears this morning, even to a little of my own surprise. Yes, I used to be overjoyed—or over-distraught — at the results of an American election, but if this morning showed me nothing else within my own soul, it’s that I was putting too much faith in worldly things.
I now put much more faith in Godly things and, as a Catholic, I believe the Church and the pope who leads it, are of that Divine Will. That’s not to say I follow blindly or believe the pope will be perfect. Even our first pope, Peter, was far from perfect even when Christ Himself was talking in Peter’s ear. We are all imperfect vessels, but God, in His perfection, is able to use us to carry out His plan. Pope Leo XIV will be who he will be and, regardless of how great or not his pontificate is, God’s will will still be done and that gives me peace. That gives me joy.
Today was an important day in history, just the 266th time in almost 2000 years that a new pope has been chosen by someone other than Christ himself, who hand-picked Peter. It is a wonderful and awe-inspiring event that evidences that the Catholic Church, love it or hate it, has withstood the test of time unlike any other institution in history. That gives me peace. That gives me joy.
May the Holy Spirit guide you, Pope Leo XIV. May He guide us all.
This article was originally published by FaVS News.
Mark Griswold is a recent convert from evangelical Christianity to Catholicism. Originally from Seattle, he now lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, with his wife and three sons. He’s a writer, ghostwriter, book editor, publisher and writing coach. He has written scores of poems, hundreds of essays, dozens of shorts stories and a novel. He's also hosted two radio programs, one airing Greek music and the other a talk show covering history, world culture, food and politics. When not writing, he loves the outdoors and participating in scouting activities with his sons, world travel and being a lifelong learner of history, religion, literature, public policy and philosophy. You can find his essays and other non-fiction at instaurare.com and his poetry and fiction at allofitstrue.com.