Tears

My hormones must be getting the best of me.

Why else would I catch myself crying in church over the possible demise of a character in my story?

Why else, I ask?

I'm sure that was the reason, and I find it funny that I am already so attached to a character that currently lives mostly in my mind. Call me crazy and I won't correct you.

The problem these days is that if I start to tear up over one thing, it then leads to another and another. I keep the tissues handy, and if I had to, I could make the excuse that I am crying over the election of the new pope.

Of course, one thinks, the mad woman in the pew is so relieved to have a fine, upstanding and honorable man at the head of the Catholic Church. Those are tears of joy, I'm sure.

Uh, not really. Unlike many in my parish, if I shed tears over the pope, it won't be because I am content that the Catholic Church has chosen someone from humble beginnings. They are so thrilled, some say, because he "often rode the bus to work, cooked his own meals and regularly visited the slums that ring Argentina's capital. He considers social outreach, rather than doctrinal battles, to be the essential business of the church. He accused fellow church leaders of hypocrisy and forgetting that Jesus Christ bathed lepers and ate with prostitutes." (Politico.com, http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/pope-francis-biography-key-facts-life-in-latin-america-and-background-88818.html#ixzz2NsmweIdr)

Yes, that is all good and well. But are we finally headed in the right direction here in the Catholic Church? Might we learn to accept all people, regardless of who they are, for the special place they hold in God's heart?

Nah, of course not. Because the new head of the Catholic Church still finds that it is okay to condemn gays and adoption by gays. Marriage by priests? That isn't going to happen, either. And the role of the woman in the church will still be relegated to the minor side kick. (Don't even get me started on the Catholic Church's teaching on contraception. When science and religion battle in my head, science wins out, hands down).

So I think that even though we're in the 21st century and times have changed, and that the church could stand to strengthen its community by leaps and bounds, that just isn't going to happen, at least not under this pope. I'm somewhat saddened by that fact, but I can't claim I'll shed tears over it.

Instead, I might try to do something about it. Let me remind people that in John 13:34-35 it says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Love for one another is the key. Love your neighbor, your friend, your colleague, the person on the bus you've never met. Love them, respect them, and do good by them, no matter what their religious affiliation or sexual orientation. Show that love by being that example. If enough people in general (including you Catholics) took just one step each day toward being kinder and gentler and more loving to those around us, it would pull us in a far better direction than choosing a leader who, at least in my opinion, plans to perpetuate a deep chasm within the church.