Gone to Rio Today

Sunday, the Lord's Day, now is my favorite day of the week.  And today, I'm home and could attend my home church, Christ the King Cathedral, here in Lexington, Kentucky.  On the drive there, this morning, it occurred to me that, although I've included photos of churches I visit wherever I travel, I've never posted a photo of my beloved home church.

Main altar at Christ the King Cathedral, Lexington, Kentucky.  Although it is difficult to spot in this photo, a very large crucifix hangs from the gold ceiling medallion.

Stained-glass window at rear of Christ the King Cathedral, depicting Jesus Christ the King (with crown) and American Saints of the Catholic Church.

Before my youngest daughter #8, Jeannie, and I moved from Danville, Kentucky, to Lexington in the year, 2000, we church-shopped in Lexington.  We attended Sunday Mass in all the churches, one at a time.  My favorite was the Newman Center/Holy Spirit Parish at the University of Kentucky.  I appreciated their emphasis on Outreach and Justice Issues.  Jeannie's favorite was Christ the King.  She liked their very conservative organ music at a particular Mass.  Of course, we became members  where Jeannie wanted to go since I wanted to encourage my young daughter in all things 'church.'  (It is hard to believe that I have a daughter who is even more conservative than I am!)

Then I started meeting people and getting involved in various church ministries.  I discovered that Christ the King engages in an ENORMOUS Outreach and Justice ministry - to the tune of supporting a medical mission in Central America and much, much more.  A previous pastor told me that his job was a large challenge for him because, at the time, Christ the King had 88 different committees!  Anyway, it is a wonderful experience for me to be able to participate in the Mass on Sundays since I've retired!

Oh, the Jet Lag I've felt since I returned from Hawaii yesterday morning!  I knew a quick recovery would involve doing as little as possible this weekend, so I've sat in my comfy brown recliner and watched TV, mostly "World Youth Day" on EWTN-TV (Eternal Word Television Network, the Global Catholic television channel). 

World Youth Day is celebrated every year in a different country. This conference is directed to Catholic youths and anyone else who cares to come, for fellowship and inspiration.  The Holy Father, the Pope, always attends.  This year the celebration was in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.  It was the 28th World Youth Day.  3 million young people were there!!  There were 60,000 youth volunteers! 

Pope Francis, the 266th pope, and current leader of the Catholic Church, gave many stirring speeches as part of the worship services.  The music by the Brazilians was outstanding, very professional, touching hearts!  Pope Francis himself is a South American, coming from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

I have grown to love all of the Popes in my memory which goes back to Pope Paul VI, who was leader from 1963 to 1978.  With Pope Francis, however, it was love at first sight for me.  When first elected several months ago, Pope Francis spoke with such passion about Jesus and the mission of the church that was clearly miles above anyone I have ever heard!  (And you know how wonderful and loved Pope John Paul II was!)

Pope Francis encouraged the youth, "It is worth it to take risks for Christ and His gospel."  He urged them to engage in 'revolution', to be counter-cultural against a world which only exists for pleasure and doesn't think youth are capable of good behavior.  Pope Francis related that he has seen "A New Springtime" around the world and told them, "Take heart, never lose courage, the Lord is your strength."  He mentioned to all watching and listening, "Never tire of asking God's forgiveness for God never tires of forgiving us."

The TV commentators said that they had heard of a young man from Argentina who was very poor and couldn't afford to pay to travel to the conference but decided to walk.  He started walking in July.  Along the way, there were people who helped him, especially "monks from Boston," and he made it on time.  Others heard of his journey and offered to pay for his trip home.  He declined, even with his feet very sore, and explained that he was going to walk home and "tell everyone about Jesus."

Pope Francis was born in 1936 and is 76 years old.  He is extremely energetic, an example to all us 'seniors.'  I'll admit that I looked forward to retiring at age 65 and settling in to 1) sitting around all day and embroidering, and 2) playing with my grandchildren.  I now know that I have a Mission, and that is Writing.  Praise God, I have the health and energy to work at the Mission even more now that I'm a young 70!

At this moment, Pope Francis is flying to his home in Rome, Italy, a flight of 13 1/2 hours!