Pope’s ‘spiritual booster shot’
Florida priests, sisters find appreciation and affirmation at papal mass.
Posted: 04.23.08
KAREN OSBORNE | FC
Sister Helen Gilroy (Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary), director of the Office of Religious for the Archdiocese of Miami, stands on the steps of the Cathedral of St. Patrick in New York City after an April 19 Mass for priests, deacons and religious celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI. With her are Sister Elizabeth Worley, chief operating officer of the Diocese of Orlando, center, and Sister Ann Kuhn of the Diocese of St. Augustine. Both are Sisters of St. Joseph.
NEW YORK | One of the things Sister Elizabeth Worley will remember most about the papal Mass she attended April 19 at the Cathedral of St. Patrick is Pope Benedict’s ad-libbed message of gratitude to the assembled priests, deacons and religious.
The pope thanked vowed and ordained men and women for their love of Christ, the church and “this poor successor to St. Peter” in remarks that were not in the pope’s previously distributed text, said Sister Worley, the chief operating officer of the Diocese of Orlando.
“It was touching. This is the successor of St. Peter saying this to us,” she said. “It’s very important to me as a religious. This is my life. It’s not a matter of the job I do. My life is that I am a Sister of St. Joseph, and he thanked us for that gift. This is what the pope says to us,” she said.
During his homily, the pontiff spoke again of the clergy sexual-abuse crisis, calling for unity and assuring priests and religious of his “spiritual closeness as you strive to respond with Christian hope to the continuing challenges this situation presents,” he said. “I join you in praying that this will be a time of purification for each and every particular church and religious community, and a time for healing.”
Pope Benedict XVI arrived to cheers from spectators on the stairs of the cathedral and was greeted by two separate standing ovations from the thousand-plus Mass-goers inside, who received their tickets through diocesan vicariates for religious or directly from their bishops.
The New York Mass, which Sister Worley attended with Sisters of St. Joseph superior general Sister Ann Kuhn of Jacksonville, wasn’t her first close encounter with a pontiff. During Pope John Paul II’s 1987 visit to Miami, she sang in the Cathedral of St. Mary sanctuary choir, which was seated less than 20 feet away from the now-deceased pope. This time, she appreciated that Mass-goers were still able to “focus on the prayer experience,” she said.
“As exciting as it was, I was not distracted,” she said. “Above all, I was at the Eucharist.”
Sister Helen Gilroy — a Sister Servant of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, director of the Miami archdiocesan Office of Religious and a reading teacher at St. Rose of Lima School in Miami Shores — had a “perfect view” of Pope Benedict’s entrance from her spot in the back pew of the cathedral.
“There were tears in my eyes, my heart pounded,” she said. “He gave us such a sense of gratitude for the church, for vocations. It was nice to have that flame enkindled again.”
Sister Gilroy, who arrived in New York the previous Friday, avidly kept up with the pope’s movements during his visit. “I’m just thrilled — his gentleness, caring, his approach to things. We take our religion for granted at times, and our freedom as Americans. To hear him tell us to treasure these things, how lucky we are to have that” was eye-opening, she said.
She was also encouraged by the pope’s mention of “the need for unity among religious, so that we do support each other in our ministries,” she said.
Father Michael Hoyer, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Apostles Parish in Fort Lauderdale, came out of the papal Mass “uplifted,” he said, and called the liturgy and music in the celebration “dramatic and exquisite.”
“In the words of a teenage kid, it was ‘awesome,’” he said. The pope “really seemed to enjoy the spirit of the priests and religious that were there. I was touched by that. He said that we were to be a transforming witness (for others), and I think that touched a lot of people.”
The pope’s words are especially important for priests to hear because they “reaffirm what we preach,” he said. For Father Hoyer, “It was a very good vitamin shock for me at the end, when he wished us joy and life. It’s like a booster shot for life.”
Father Hoyer was especially energized by the mutual regard the congregation and the pope seemed to have for one another, saying that “the love went both ways.” “It was a wonderful experience,” he said, “a great encouragement to my ministry, and to the ministries of all the priests and religious that were there.” He plans on bringing his experience back to his parish through words and presence of his own.
“I’m going to tell them all about it, tell them that I was there and how I felt about it. That’s sharing the good news. Pass it around!” he said.