In commemoration of the day, Amy Welborn has a post titled Where Were You? in which she writes:
I swear, hearing those bells again and seeing the crowds pouring into the piazza, with people racing from the city - responding to the bells, to the call to come and here the news, as people have done throughout history - chills.
I second her thoughts completely.
I still vividly recall watching the coverage of Benedict's election.
The previous two days had been horrific, as we spent Sunday (the 17th) loading a moving van with all the stuff from our old house, then, after about an hour and a half of sleep that night and seeing the closing on the new house almost go awry at the last minute, spent Monday (the 18th) moving into our new place.
By the time that day was over, just about all my energy was spent. You know when you're really uber-tired - to the point where you start speaking a sentence and then find yourself mumbling? That was me.
The next day, I got to work - late, of course - and a few hours later we got the news of the bells and smoke.
We all congregated around a TV in our office, and I saw the smoke and heard the bells myself. All of a sudden, the beauty of it all hit me, and tears welled up in my eyes.
For most of the previous days, I had been preoccupied with things of this world, and had put my interior life on the back burner for a while. The election of a new pope -- and not just any pope, but beloved Cardinal Ratzinger! -- was exactly what I needed to regain my bearings.
1 comment:
I remember those moments, too. For me it was some kind of relief (among other things) brought about by the smoke and bells -- and hearing "Habemus Papam" because for days before that I had felt like an orphan. So when the new Pope was elected, I felt like I had a Father again and wouldn't be so lost anymore.
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