Real Life Radio, a Catholic Apostolate of the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, sponsors an annual “Real Life to Me” essay. We at Catholic Sistas are pleased to be asked to share this year’s winning essay with our readers. The station asked the local Catholic school students to reflect upon what it would be like to be Pope. They pretended they were “Pope for a day”* and they wrote about all the details of what they would do – the causes they would champion, the places they would go, the people they would meet, etc. The overall winner was John Adaniel, a 5th grade student at Sts. Peter and Paul Regional School in Lexington, KY. You can hear John and the other finalists reading their essays on the radio by going to this Real Life Radio page.
Without further ado, it is our pleasure to share with you the winning essay of the “Real Life to Me” 2013 essay contest.
If I were Pope for a day …
I will marvel wonderfully on the thought God has given me the task to shepherd his flock here on earth and enjoy with gladness the trust he gave me. Then I will SIT to listen to his whispers and loving directions, while there I will praise him, feel him and thank him for all the blessings he has showered on his people, and from the lowness of the chair, I will reach out to the “UNs” of this world: the unborn, unloved, undocumented, unheard, unfed, unclothed, undesirables, and the unappreciated; those who did not do their homework and those who did not do well in school, that they may be Unchained from their afflictions and may they climb on my knees for comfort without hesitation. I will make the Chair of Peter a chair for gathering, harmony, compassion and not for judging others.
Then I will STAND to raise my hands up to offer all that I am, that I may raise up those that are low, struggling, weak, wounded and tired, from the cares of this world, that up there they may feel the restoring breeze and cool mist that comes from his rest and that they may realize that this is my job as their servant: to help them channel the Lord. I will continue to stand even if I myself get weary as long as everyone has the chance to be refreshed.
The I will RELAX, to free myself from overburden that which I myself made it to be. I will be full of care and free on the thought that Peter, our first Pope, had but his sandals and determination and trust in God when he first guided our church to where it is now. I will relax knowing that every few minutes somewhere around the world, a priest mentions my name during the mass and people pray for me. I will relax knowing that every few minutes bread and wine is being transformed into the true body and blood of our Christ–the one who put me here. I will relax knowing that whatever my decisions in church matters is directed from high above.
If I were Pope for a day, I will spend the whole day with others, because that’s why I’m here as a Pope, a servant, to share, to be shared, and to be partaken.
*Please note that we understand that not everyone is eligible to be Pope. This contest is simply designed to spark interest in our faith in a fun way.