Deep thoughts on the Conclave

You knew I was kidding, right?

As a convert of barely 15 years, and a poorly catechized one at that, I can't offer you any deep thoughts on the Conclave. I was watching live coverage of a chimney and downloading my iphone Pope Alarm app like everyone else today.

So I offer you these funny, Conclave-related tidbits instead:

In case you were thinking I couldn't work a Locket into a conversation about the Cardinals assembling in a Conclave to elect our next Pope - something I take very seriously and am praying very hard about - here is a Locket to prove to you that I can, indeed, make a Locket about just about anything I set my mind to:

Up next there's the video clip on youtube that I first saw linked at Little Catholic Bubble. Oh, my, these Lutherans get it, don't they?

Please go visit Leila over at her Little Catholic Bubble blog and watch the cartoon about who gets to pick the next Pope - proving that not all Lutherans are a bunch of humorless old fogies. {This may apply to Methodists as well, jury's still out.}

And finally, my favorite clip of the past week, here's Gillete Penn(the atheist) schooling Piers Morgan(the "Catholic") on why the Pope should, in fact, be Catholic:

Penn Gillette vs. Piers Morgan - will the real Catholic please stand up?

This guy is more Catholic then most Catholics!

And then, and even more bizarrely, and perhaps a sign that the end is indeed near, NBC set up a live Smoke webcam so we can watch the smoke coming out of the chimney in all its white or black glory. And no, I didn't get the acronym wrong, I didn't mean EWTN, I meant N - B - C.

I understand why FOCUS would create a Smoke alarm iphone app. But NBC? I surely wasn't expecting that. 

And then NBC hired Fr. Robert Barron to do commentary. Whoa! They know he's *really* Catholic, don't they? He's not just wearing that collar for kicks. He even produced and narrated a mulit-part documentary entitled Catholicism. He is the real deal.

All this and a new Bible mini-series documentary on the History Channel! {from the people who have brought you The Da Vinci Code a gazillion times and the latests offerings from the conspiracy-of-the-month-club}

Could it really be Lent? {should I be this happy?}

Could this really be leading up to Easter? {should my anticipation be so heightened?

Did you ever think in a million years that this many people all over the world would be getting wall-to-wall news coverage of the Pope, the Church, the Truth, and the Way? 

And so I think back to when Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation, and how we Catholics were all so saddened and shocked by his announcement.

But God played His cards right, didn't He? If there were any doubt in my mind that the Pope was doing what the Holy Spirit wanted him to - this week has extinguished that thought completely.

All this press coverage, most of it positive or at least neutral {for a delightful change of pace} - all of it leading up to Holy Week and Easter Vigil. This must be the work of the Holy Spirit. This is our parting of the Red Sea. I can feel it people.

Now is the time to invite the person you've always thought about inviting to Mass to join you at Church this weekend. Don't wait until Easter, when the huge crowds of twice-a-year Catholics will distract and overwhelm them. Strike now while the iron is hot. 

The world's eyes and ears are open to the Beauty of the Catholic Church as never before thanks to the technology that is bringing these beautiful images of God's Church to people's homes, their TVs and computers, and even to their mobile phones. 

Invite them to join you for Mass on a quieter Sunday and see what the Holy Spirit has in store for them, for you, for us.

Because where there's smoke, there is fire.

*Please continue to pray for our Cardinals.*