Our Pope-tastic Weekend

The weekend of April 20th, Kevin and I went to New York City with his parents to do a bit of sight-seeing and attend the papal mass at Yankee Stadium. It was a once in a lifetime experience, and I think we all received many spiritual graces at and after our time with the Holy Father and nearly 60,000 other Catholics.

During the processional, the choir sang "Tu es Petrus" (You are Peter) which is the following Scripture:

"Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I shall build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I shall give thee the keys to the kingdom."

During this short choral piece, my understanding of the papacy new depth. The papacy and the teaching authority of the Church empowered by the Holy Spirit have enabled the Catholic Church to remain as such for 2000 years. I have known this for a long time, but at that moment, to be in the presence of the Pope and to experience that rich spiritual heritage was very moving. It made me feel truly joyful to be Catholic. And the joy continues!

Here are some pics from the mass:

These flags sporting Vatican colors were flying all around the stadium (instead of the usual MLB flags).


Papa Ben on the Big Screen! We had bleacher seats so our view was of the back of the stage.

The Pope Mobile making its way in front of our seats.


Even though we had far-away bleacher seats, they were right next to the gate where the Pope Mobile entered and exited the field. So, here's our "up-close-and-personal" photo of Il Papa.