Behind Closed Doors

Moments ago the doors of the Sistine Chapel were closed. One one side of those heavy doors sit 115 of our church's leaders gathered in intensely prayerful silence. On the other the rest of us gather behind computer and television screens prayerfully, anxiously awaiting the Holy Spirit's selection of a new shepherd for Christ's Church. As I watched each of the participating cardinals stand before the altar, lay their right hand on the pages of Scripture and make a solemn vow of fidelity and obedience to God through the Holy Spirit I was struck by the enormity of the responsibility that rests on their shoulders. The ability of each man to discern the whispers of the Holy Spirit, to set aside all personal agendas and act in humble obedience will directly affect more than a billion of us for years to come. I was moved by the obvious universality of the Church as representatives from every populated continent stepped forward one at a time to make their vows. Black men, White men, Asian men, Indian men, old men, young men. Each one charged with hearing the voice of God perfectly over these next days, weeks or months. Through Adopt A Cardinal, the kids and I were assigned Carlo Cardinal Caffara from Bologna to specifically pray for throughout the conclave and I was tickled to recognize him this morning. I felt a special connection to this man who has no idea I even exist. After the last Cardinal made his vows the Msgr officiating over the conclave walked to the front of the chapel and quietly said "Extra omnes." (Everyone out.) At that point all the priests, lay people, nuns and media quietly started filing out of the chapel. Once everyone had left the Msgr begand slowly walking toward the big wooden doors and the reporter stated that this moment was the last time any of us would see the members of the conclave until the doors open again to present our new Holy Father. Almost as if orchestrated, the Msgr then reached the doors and slowly...solemnly... closed them. It nearly took my breath away. The beauty and ancientness of the rituals in which these holy men are participating captivates me. I can only imagine how tangibly the presence of the Holy Spirit palpates in that room. I imagine the whispered prayers of 115 men seeking the face of God, each crying out in his own native language. The soft sound of prayer beads sliding through fingers as the intercession of our Blessed Mother is sought. The anxiety, excitement, hopefulness, and maybe even fear, that they must be feeling. So much rests on each man's ability to clearly hear the voice of God. But, we have Jesus' assurance that His sheep know his voice and we have his promise that even the gates of Hell will not prevail against His Church, so we have every confidence that His Will will be done in that beautiful room. What a priceless gift we've been given in this great and faithful church Christ established! He promised He would never leave or forsake us and fulfills that promise every day by being physically present in the Blessed Sacrament in churches around the world. And He left us with an unbroken line of shepherds to lead and guide us until He comes again. And so we pray for our next shepherd. That he will be a man after God's own heart, that he will continue to promote unity among all Christians and that he will be effective in leading all of us into deeper holiness.