Watching for smoke and being spiritually with our Cardinal Fathers in the Sistine Chapel

When to look for smoke?  Here's the plan, according to NCROnline:  "If you don't want to watch all day, when should you check for smoke?  Until a pope is elected, twice a day there will be black smoke around noon and 7 PM. White smoke could appear at these times or earlier, around 10:30 AM or 4:30 PM if a pope is elected on the first ballot of the morning or afternoon."  That's Rome time, of course.  For CDT, subtract 6 hours.  For EST, subtract 5 hours. 

The Conclave is much more than a voting session, Archbishop Piero Marini noted during a media briefing on March 9 that was organized by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at the Pontifical North American College and that was reported today by Catholic News Service here.  Archbishop Marini, who coordinated the development of the prayers and Masses that will guide the cardinals entering the Conclave tomorrow, pointed out that the Conclave isn't "a small circle of particular people who gather to make their own little decision" but is rather "an ecclesial event at which the cardinals represent the entire College of Bishops."  Catholics are called to enter spiritually into the Sistine Chapel with our Cardinal Fathers, he said, adding that "With our hearts we are all in the Sistine Chapel to await, through the voting, the Lord's indication of who the next pope should be."

Msgr. Kevin W. Irwin, a professor of liturgical studies at The Catholic University of America, explained that the conclave begins with a procession from the Pauline Chapel in the Apostolic Palace to the Sistine Chapel as a reminder that all people are on a pilgrimage from one place to another on this earth as they make their way home to God.  The entire conclave, he noted, "is liturgy. It's prayer from beginning to end."  The conclave handbook, he added, emphasizes that the conclave "is not only a juridical action -- how to do your hanging chads, it's not about that. It's about prayer."

Australian Jesuit Father Richard Leonard, author of the new book "Why Bother Praying," said when Catholics pray for the cardinals, "The thing we're primarily doing is asking God to give them the greatest insight into who the Holy Spirit wants to lead the Catholic Church right now." Praying that the Holy Spirit assist the cardinals, he pointed out, "also changes me, changes us." We may have a favorite candidate, but asking God to guide the conclave makes us recognize that the key value is not so much who walks out on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica as the new pope, but that "the Gospel be most clearly proclaimed to the world."

On this eve of the Conclave, I find, as always, comfort, hope and strength in the Word of God, particularly this passage from St. Paul's letter to the Philippians (4:6-7):

"Have no anxiety about anything,

but in everything

by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving

let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God,

which surpasses all understanding,

will keep your hearts and your minds

in Christ Jesus."

 

DEO GRATIAS!  THANKS BE TO GOD!