Kathy's Blog

Today's papal mass at Yankee Stadium brings me back to a difficult time for a friend  that was made easier by the last pope's visit to the United Stares. The day was even eerily similar: overcast, a bit chilly. My high school classmate had lost her mother a year earlier. She knew I wanted to see Pope John Paul II at Giants Stadium so she somehow managed to get a ticket for me through her church. We went together and during the bus ride from Jersey City to East Rutherford we talked about her mother (something she had never done before with me.) A somber conversation but one that felt appropriate. Once we got to the stadium and heard mass by the Holy Father I could tell she felt (and so did I) a sense of peace...as if not only the closest person to God on earth was near us but that her mother was, too.

I have a feeling that the people at Ground Zero this morning and at Yankee Stadium later in the day will walk away with that same sense of peace. It's also my prayer for them.