Love is Our Mission: That time the Pope was in the U.S. (Part Two)

As we ended our time at Catholic Underground, we stopped downstairs to use the bathroom and to say hi to some people. We ended up running into a bunch of people from CYFM, the archdiocese, and some people from my home diocese, Rockville Centre. As I waited online for the bathroom, my fellow CCVs were able to acquire tickets to the Papal event in Central Park the next day. The CFRs were giving out their extra tickets to the attendees, and we were able to get the three we needed to go as a group. Our tickets were in the yellow section, and we had to be in Central Park by 3pm the next day.

We went into CYFM in the morning to finish preparing for our upcoming retreats, and were able to leave at lunch time to take the train from Garrison to Grand Central. We ate our lunch on the train, and napped, and then set out for central park. We walked from Grand Central so that we could see all of the sites of the city. We also weren't sure how crowded the city would be, and didn't want to squeeze onto an already packed subway car. It all worked for the best though. After an hour or so, we made our way through security and made our way into the park. We secured a spot next to two strollers (to avoid the congested crowd) and took a selfie.

So many people!

Two hours later, the crowds stood and (patiently?) waited for Papa. Now, these full time Catholic volunteers were very excited. As we got closer to 5pm, 4/5 of us couldn't see because of all the people, but lucky for us, Paul could still see and secured a video for our archives. 

He may not have been looking our way, but it was still incredible to be there. 

Knowing how much the world loves this man, makes me realize how he is leading us as a shepherd. He truly shows us what it is to love like Christ. Below are a couple of pictures of the Pope's visit to NYC and Philadelphia. In NYC he visited a catholic elementary school in Harlem where he met with students and faculty. In Philadelphia, one of his many stops was to a Philadelphia Prison.

Taken from Fr. James Martin, SJ's Facebook:
Quote of the Day: Little girl at Our Lady Queen of Angels School in Harlem to Pope Francis working a computer screen: "You have to double click it!"

Taken from Mark Hart's Facebook:

My absolute favorite pic from #PopeinUS - taken when he visited inmates in a Philly prison.
(Matt 25:39-40)
Our God is a God of hope and unyielding mercy...

I think that the majority of the Catholic (and non-catholic) world was excited for the Pope to be in the United States. But for these Cap Corps Volunteers, it was a reminder of why we each chose to do a year of service. Pope Francis taught us to serve in Humility and Love, and to love each person as Christ loves them. Love truly is our Mission.