JORDAN: Are we running together?

While it seems like an eternity ago, if I try hard enough I can almost remember the muted moment as I stood on my high school track, waiting for the split second when I would start to build up speed to continue the momentum of the baton that was about to be placed in my hands by my teammate running the 4×400 relay with me. It was not a moment that happened haphazardly. This passoff had been done hundreds of times over the course of the season–to magically time one person’s momentum to pass along to another. Some of those times, the baton had gone hurling to the ground, the metallic clanking of the baton taunting us as the pass-off failed. And other times, there was the hiccup that occurred as one person sped up too much or another person slowed down too much. But when the passoff was seamless, it was like the two people were somehow joined together by something invisible.

On the day after Easter, we learned that the earthly leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, had passed away in his sleep the night before. For some this was simply the news of a head of state dying, but for the millions of Catholics in the world, there was a mixture of sadness and quiet joy. Sadness at the loss of someone who had faithfully served Jesus, and His bride, the Church, so well. Yet joy that his earthly trials were now over. No more tears or suffering or sorrow in his earthly body. 

Very quickly after, the focus shifted to who would be the next Pope of the Catholic Church. The Catholic faithful, joined with the eyes of the rest of the world, shifted to looking at a chimney coming from the Sistine Chapel, straining to see if black or white smoke would billow from this specific chimney. What was it about this process that made the world stop for a moment and focus so intently on the person that would be chosen to be the successor of Peter, the first Pope chosen by Christ? 

When the smoke came out of the chimney and we waited for the unbelievable news that the new Pope was an American- the first American and Peruvian pope at that, we had a sense that while the only thing we could do during the whole process was to pray, we were still a part of something bigger, more beautiful and more surprising than we could imagine. And while we are still just in the early days of Pope Leo XIV’s time as head of the Church, we have a peace in the continuity that has taken place in the over 2000 years of unbroken leadership by the Pope. Over 2000 years of very different individuals who while imperfect like the rest of us, were given the gift of infallibility in the official teachings that they handed down to the Church. And with all of those different personalities and cultures, none of those official teachings have contradicted each other in all that time. How is that even possible? Only by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

Apostolic succession is one of the most beautiful things about the Catholic Church. That the line is unbroken from the time of the first disciples to our current Pope, Bishops and Priests that continue to serve us in our churches. This was one of the main reasons I became a Catholic after being a Protestant for 30 years. In a world where things are constantly changing, there is peace knowing that there is a rhythm and an order that is bigger than myself.

While the choosing of the new Pope made the headlines, these same transitions are happening around us as well. In our local parishes, the Bishops of our Archdiocese oversee who will serve in each of the local parishes that help the faithful to grow in their faith. Our own local community has been blessed by the faithful sacrifice of Father Roberto Orellana, the pastor of St. Augustine for 18 years.While you may not have met him within the walls of our church, you may have run into him walking in the community or standing in line at Starbucks.  

In the midst of a culturally shifting community, a pandemic and all the personalities that make up a church, he allowed the Holy Spirit to guide him in providing a place where our families and our souls could grow and draw closer to Christ. Like Pope Francis, Father Roberto has done his part in running the race that he has been given. He will now pass that baton on to the new pastor of St. Augustine, but the beauty of the race that intertwines all of us in ways that are bigger than ourselves continues. As Hebrews 12 tells us, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.”

God sees each one of us individually but we also have the privilege of being a part of His body, each one of us sharing the gifts and talents we are blessed with. Are we doing all we can do to run the race together? Are we sharing the faith and living the Gospel in ways that are authentic and see beyond to the plan that is so much greater than ourselves? We may drop the baton or stumble sometimes, but we can be certain that the Holy Spirit is there to lead and guide us as He has so faithfully done with those who lead us in our faith in this great race called life. 

Kasey Jordan is a religion columnist for The Covington News. She is a former missionary and lives in Monticello.