A Song For The Pope

In preparation for his visit to the United States, Pope Francis held a televised video conference with young people from three cities in the United States. During that time, he listened to the stories of students, immigrants and young families and answered their questions about the Catholic faith.

Perhaps one of the most moving testimonies was that of Valerie Herrera, a student at Cristo Re High School in Chicago. As a child, she developed a rare skin condition called “vitiligo” which causes white blotches on the face. Since then, she was called names and made fun of for her appearance. Valerie fought back her tears as she explained to the Holy Father how she felt excluded and different from everyone. Her only consolation was music. Singing made her feel special and helped her to forget her struggles.

Pope Francis listened compassionately to her. Then he surprised everyone by saying to Valerie, “May I ask you to sing for me? Would you sing me a song?” A look of shock came over her face. She didn’t know what she would sing and was overcome with nerves at the thought of performing not only for the Holy Father but for the millions of people who were tuned into the broadcast on national television. To support her, the crowd broke into applause. Then the Holy Father said to her, “Be courageous!” Finally, she gathered up the courage to sing a hymn to Mary in Spanish. The crowd along with the Holy Father erupted in applause when she was finished and a look of relief and joy came over Valerie’s face.

The Holy Father then began to speak with her. After telling her that she sang beautifully, he told her to always have courage in the face of life’s difficulties. He reminded her of how nervous she felt when he asked her to sing. However, when she found the courage to rise to the challenge, she not only felt relief that it was over but joy that she had conquered her fear. He ended his words to her saying, “Courage leads to joy!”

Valerie was interviewed several days later about her experience of speaking with Pope Francis. She described the range of emotions she felt as she described what life had been like for her dealing with her rare skin condition. Her face radiated with joy as she told the reporter how glad she was that she had become an inspiration for other young people who experienced the same struggles that she had.

“Courage leads to joy.” Young Valerie came to understand the truth of Pope Francis’ words when she found the courage to sing for him. She can now take his words and put them into practice as she faces all the other challenges life has in store for her. We can also learn from the Holy Father’s words. Facing difficulties with courage will make our lives more joyful.

We hear an echo of Pope Francis’ words in today’s gospel. When James and John ask to share in the glory of God’s Kingdom, Jesus has some pointed words for them. “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” He makes it clear to them - and to us - that the only path to glory is through suffering. Only by embracing the cross can we share in His resurrection. We might say, the only way to joy is through courage.

In today’s society, experiencing pleasure and feeling good are the top priorities. We go to great lengths to find short cuts through difficulties and avoid anything that might be painful. Of course, we should avoid suffering whenever possible. However, our obsession with convenience and comfort means that we become self-centered and individualistic. We do not see our responsibility to the poor and to those who suffer. If someone gets in the way of our comfortable life or inconveniences us, we avoid them. This attitude leads to nursing homes and hospitals full of sick people who have no one to visit them. It leads to prisons full of young men and women who have been neglected and abandoned. It leads to violence against the unborn and scorn for immigrants.

The one thing it does not lead to is joy.

Joy comes only from serving others. It takes courage to put the needs of others before our own, to reach out to those whom society rejects and to take the risk of going into areas which might seem dangerous to seek out those who live on the outskirts of our cities. However, when we overcome our fears and selfishness, we learn that the poor and the suffering are no different than we are. We experience the joy of truly making a difference in the lives of others. When pleasure and comfort are not the center of our lives we find our true purpose in helping others. In fact, our joy becomes so deep and leads to such a change in us that we begin to feel that it is the poor who are serving us rather than the other way around. As it turns out, we are the ones who are being helped to see ourselves and our world as Jesus sees it. In doing so, we find a joy that no amount of material goods or worldly pleasures can match.

Jesus tells us, “...whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.” Jesus not only spoke those words but lived them, offering His life on the cross so that we could know the victory of the resurrection and the glory of everlasting life. During our time on earth, it will only be by embracing our cross, by reaching out to the poor and by accepting whatever sufferings will come our way that we will achieve glory and lasting joy. It takes courage. However, God is willing to help anyone who calls on Him. If we accept the challenge with faith, we will never be the same and we will serve as an inspiration to others which will make our joy even more complete.