Christ our Hope

Mass with Pope Benedict XIV

April 17, 2008

Nationals Stadium

Washington, D.C.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. On Thursday, April 17th, 2008 I had the great fortune to attend the Papal Mass at Nationals' Stadium. Each parish in our diocese was given a ticket allotment based on membership. St. Theresa's had 123 tickets and opted to distribute them through a lottery. The Belknap Family got one ticket and then we could decide who in the family would use the ticket. All names were submitted to the diocese so that background checks could be done.

The parish chartered a bus to take us downtown to RFK stadium to catch a shuttle to Nationals' stadium. We left Ashburn at 6:30am, pulled into RFK at 8:30 and were in the gates by 9:00. The Mass started at 10:00am. It was a gorgeous day with a glorious blue sky and a slight breeze. The atmosphere in the park was surreal. Each attendee received a "goodie" bag from the Diocese of Washington that had a program for the Mass, a small papal flag, and some publications featuring the Holy Father. There was an area where confessions were being heard as well as several musical groups that entertained the arriving crowds.

Around 9:30, the Pope emerged and took a spin around the field in his "pope mobile." There was an audible, collective gasp from the crowd as the first sections saw him. As he made his way around, that gasp was like a wave.

This is a video of the processional. Sorry for the shakiness as I was a little emotional. Even though I couldn't see the alter from my seat, it did not detract from the beauty of the Mass.

The Holy Father's message for the people of the United States has been one of "Christ our Hope." He spoke of the need for evangelizing and constant conversion to our Lord Jesus Christ in order to strengthen the world in "a time [when] we see clear signs of a disturbing breakdown in the very foundations of society: signs of alienation, anger and polarization on the part of many of our contemporaries; increased violence; a weakening of the moral sense; a coarsening of social relations; and a growing forgetfulness of God." In his message of "Christ our Hope" he said that the U.S. has always been a place of hope for people of all faiths from around the world who came here for greater opportunity. And despite times in which not all shared in the freedoms of this country, there were those who with great hope fought to change that- "hope for the future, is very much a part of the American character. And the Christian virtue of hope — the hope poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, the hope which supernaturally purifies and corrects our aspirations by focusing them on the Lord and his saving plan — that hope has also marked, and continues to mark, the life of the Catholic community in this country."

Lord send out your spirit and renew the face of the Earth. Ps 104:30