Memorial Mass for Pope Francis
Reminder of God’s Mercy
By Reverend Andrew DeRouen
Diocese of Lake Charles
From atop the haphazard stack of sketches on my studio desk, a few of us architecture students – Catholic or otherwise curious – monitored the ongoing papal conclave while completing our projects. We marveled at the fact that from over 5,000 miles away, this emerging technology on YouTube called “livestreaming” could make such a historical event so freely accessible.
It was 2013, and I was a 20-year-old college kid without even a proximate thought of the priesthood on my mind. Little did I know that the appearance of white smoke would so sharply define the imminent era, much less, that by the next time it happened, I would have twice met the very man elected and, after his passing, concelebrated a memorial Mass for him with my brother priests.
While the Church tends to think and move not in days or months but rather in centuries and millennia, I cannot deny that my priesthood began very concretely in the age of Pope Francis.
Certainly, it was the work of the previous popes who guided the Church which I experienced as a child and teenager — the Church which Francis would receive, with all Her perennial challenges in need of relevant solutions. But it was Francis who would draw my attention to the timeless tradition and treasure of the priesthood, which I had clearly taken for granted and to which I was clearly being called.
On Monday, April 28, Bishop Glen John Provost offered Mass for the Repose of the Soul of Pope Francis, together with the priests of the Diocese of Lake Charles, in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The Mass marked eight days to the hour of his passing — further reminding us that his death at Easter is a special grace from God pointing to the reality of the Resurrection — the “eighth” and eternal day of the new creation for which we hope. It therefore becomes our duty as Catholics — clergy and lay faithful alike — to pray for Pope Francis what we ourselves long to enjoy in eternity: communion with the Trinity, by means of the Divine Mercy.
In his homily, Bishop Provost recounted Pope Francis’ extraordinary love for the imprisoned — a challenging ministry to which the late Pontiff, even with his other pressing responsibilities, dedicated himself with great compassion, effectively reminding us of the Lord’s offer of redemption to even the most isolated soul.
As a priest, it is humbling to see that in an age increasingly entrenched in secularism, men continue to rise to the occasion in apparent defiance to say — with the surrendering of their lives — that there is more to life than this world. And make no mistake: the more the Church, led by the example of Her priests, clings to this conviction of the Resurrection, the more She will flourish. Why else would we see a dramatic increase in the number of baptisms across the globe this year, if not because the world has finally begun to have enough of the hopelessness offered by Godlessness?
The Holy Spirit remains in control of the Church, orchestrating the movements that will lead us into the next era needed for our sanctification.
As we pray for Pope Francis and for the Cardinals entrusted with electing the next Supreme Pontiff, we give thanks to God for all those He would have succeed St. Peter, because in every age, wherever we find Peter, we find the Lord Himself calling us to something greater.
