The Making of Papas and Mamas

I feel great peace now that we have Pope Leo XIV to shepherd and guide the Church and influence the world. I hope you feel that peace, too. Waiting for him to appear on the balcony to be introduced filled me with such excitement. Who would be our next Papa?

As I watched coverage of the event, I kept thinking he reminded me of someone. Something about him felt familiar. He carries himself like my Daddy did, I thought to myself. That's it. Then, I found out he has Louisiana roots -- so there's also that connection! Watching the video of those first moments on the balcony, I caught a subtle detail that made me think of one of my little grandsons. When our little guy has done something he's proud of and realizes we are watching him, he puckers his mouth ever so slightly, trying to hold back a big grin and giddy laughter waiting to burst out at any second. Watch this short clip and look for it. My guess is our new pope was thinking, 'Wow! God made me a Papa!'

Habemus Papam!!! Introducing Pope Leo XIV on May 8, 2025

You can see the great mix of emotions in his teary eyes ~ joy, gratitude, and the weight of his new role in line behind Saint Peter and 265 other previous Bishops of Rome.

He entered the Conclave to vote, not campaigning to be elected. Can you imagine seeing the view from where he is standing?

Watching more videos of his first homilies and actions as Pope, we can see that his demeanor is calm, joyful, and confident. God called him to this, he has no reason to doubt that being Papa is what he was made for and where he belongs. His first Sunday as pontiff was Good Shepherd Sunday ~ what a perfect celebration to affirm his role to love God and shepherd His people with love.

In his homily, our Holy Father said,

"I consider it a gift from God that the first Sunday of my service as Bishop of Rome is Good Shepherd Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Easter. On this Sunday, we always hear proclaimed at Mass a passage from the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John, where Jesus reveals himself as the true Shepherd, who knows and loves his sheep and gives his life for them. Indeed, as Pope Saint Gregory the Great teaches, people respond to the love of those who love them."

Good Shepherd Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, also happened to be Mother's Day this year. As I reflected on all the excitement of this Easter Season and my own life so far, I began to see this beautiful connection. When I gave birth to my first child, I felt calm, joyful, and confident. God called me to this, I had no reason to doubt that being Mama is what I was made for and where I belonged.

Each time I stepped out of the hospital with my newborn cradled in my arms, I marveled at the miracle of my beautiful baby! I had to hold back from bursting into giddy laughter and shouting, 'God made me a Mama!'. I had a great mix of emotions and tears ~ joy, gratitude, and the weight of my new role.

What if all Christians recognized and lived our first vocation ~ discipleship ~ in this way with such great joy, gratitude, and an awareness of the weight of our role as instruments of Salvation to the World? We are meant to carry on the work of the first disciples, as Saint Paul clearly states in Acts 13:47:

For so the Lord has commanded us, I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.

---

The Church teaches, "Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist are Sacraments of Christian initiation. They ground the common vocation of all Christ's disciples, a vocation to holiness and to the mission of evangelizing the world. They confer the graces needed for the life according to the Spirit during this life as pilgrims on the march towards the homeland. ~ CCC 1533

---

When we are doing what we have been called to do, we will be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. But, how can we know what He has called us, specifically, to do?

We just heard the answer in the Gospel last weekend, the Fourth Sunday of Easter. John 10:27-30

We must LISTEN... Listen for the voice of our Shepherd.

Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

When we are doing what God has called us to do, we are filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. But, how can we do it well, so that our lives are pleasing to the Father?

We will hear the answer in the Gospel this coming weekend, the Fifth Sunday of Easter. John 13:35

We must LOVE...

Love like Jesus loves.

As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Not by loving only those who love us back. Not by loving only those whom we think deserve our love. Rather, by loving every person the way Jesus loves them. By asking Jesus to help and listening to the Shepherd's voice when we find it challenging to love someone. We have to train ourselves to always consider, "What is my most loving response to this person or in this situation?"

It's not always easy. Sometimes it hurts a bit because we want to retaliate or even level the playing field when we're not met with love from others. That's when we turn to our fellow disciples on the journey and encourage one another, as Saint Paul recalls in Acts 14:22:

They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, 'It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.'

If loving one another is what Jesus said to do, we've got to try with all our being! Remember, it's our first and most important vocation!

---

 Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we praise You and thank You for calling us to be Your sons and daughters. Give us greater strength and conviction to act as Your faithful disciples in our daily lives.

We ask You to bless Pope Leo XIV with abundant Grace and Wisdom so that he may lead with his whole heart turned toward God the Father, listening to Jesus the Son, with guidance of the Holy Spirit, in the company of the Virgin Mary.

May our Holy Father lead us, the Church, to build bridges of Peace, encourage dialogue of Truth, and be a visible sign of God's Love and Mercy for all.

We ask you to grant Pope Leo XIV good health and protection from every kind of evil. We pray all of this in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns forever and ever.

Amen.