What would be your first words as Pope?

Homily

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time A2

30 August 2026

St. Ann Catholic Church - Prairie Village

AMDG

If you were elected Pope, what would be your first words?

Does anyone remember Pope Leo XIV's first words, our first American Pope?  He chose very wisely, choosing the words of the Risen Christ - Peace be with you!  What was Pope Leo's first public act as Pope?  He followed tradition, going to the Basilica of St. Mary Major to dedicate his pontificate to the image of Our Lady as Patroness of the People of Rome.  While there he was able to visit the new tomb of his predecessor, Pope Francis.

My hero John Paul II's first words were 'Praised be Jesus Christ!'  He is more known for his first homily, the theme of which confirmed him in my heart as the most courageous figure of the 20th century - Do Not Be Afraid!

How about the first Pope St. Peter?  We hear his first words as Pope today, after being named Rocky and given the keys to the kingdom last week.  This week he puts his foot in his mouth.  His first words as Pope are 'God forbid Lord any such thing happen to you.'  Jesus has to correct the Pope - Get behind me, Satan, you're thinking of winning through control not through surrender.  The greatest power that anyone has

Peter is known for putting his foot in his mouth, which is why we love him. He's so raw and real and vulnerable.  He gets it right in the end, but sure makes a mess of things along the way.  He's relatable because He puts Himself out there - he doesn't play it safe, or look for ways to escape or avoid or hide.  He makes a ton of mistakes, but ends up learning from every one of them. Those to whom much is forgiven, love much. That is the story of St. Peter.  

Do you know the last words St. Peter says in the Gospels?  It's after his final conversation with Jesus, the one when he told Jesus three times that he loved him, overturning his threefold betrayal.  Then Peter had to make a final mistake.  He asked why St. John didn't have to die a martyr like the rest of the apostles.  What about him, asks St. Peter about John?  Mind your own business, Jesus tells him one last time.  What if I want him to remain?  You, come and follow me!

So what would your first words as Pope be?  I think I would say the Eucharistic words of Jesus - This is my body, which is for you!  I would learn from Peter's well-meaning attempt, and try to encourage everyone to play their part in the redemptive sacrifice of Christ.  It's why I'm here.  It's why you're here.  To be a part of something that redeems everything it touches.  To be touched and to touch the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus with your own life.  This is my body, that is for you.  It's redemptive precisely because it's sacrificial. It's not this is my body, that is for me.  It's quite the opposite. This is my body, that is for you.  St. Paul didn't get a chance to be Pope, but he may have started with Romans 12:1-2.  I urge you to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, your spiritual worship.  

In OCIA this week I asked a member of the team what is the most unifying thing he experiences in the Catholic Church.  He started crying and then says there's just nothing like the Eucharistic procession.  He said he will never get enough and will never get over seeing people coming forward to receive the sacrifice of Christ and to play their part in it.  The stories are so mysterious and so dramatic, and you see babies one month old and people 100 years old both approaching the mystery of Christ's suffering, death and resurrection, made really present in bodily form, and playing their part in it.  It only gets more beautiful every time he sees it, and there's nothing quite like it, nothing so unifying and inspiring as the Eucharistic procession.

His answer reminded me of my favorite moment of the year. It's when on Good Friday people come to kiss the body of Jesus on the cross.  It's the most passionate, dramatic thing you will ever see - people uniting their life as it really is, and their suffering, and that of their loved ones, to the suffering of Jesus.  Catholicism is a full contact sport, the body of Christ and the members of His mysterious body crashing into each other.  

Last week I was blessed to go to a funeral at a neighborhood church that was not-Catholic.  It was a wonderful prayer and tribute, beautifully done and I was so grateful to be blessed to be there.  What was missing was the Eucharistic procession, and the placement of this life and all the lives present into the paschal mystery of Jesus, lives filtered through the cross of Jesus.

Jesus teaches the first Pope that the life of every disciple will be filtered through the mystery of His cross.  Jesus did not come to preserve his life by avoiding evil, but by giving his life to destroy evil from the inside out by manifesting a love stronger than death.

It's what He came to do.  It's what is best in you.  It's what you were made for, to offer your body as a living sacrifice that is your worship.  Thank God Catholicism is a full contact sport, and you have a part to play in it.  

It's the first words I would say as Pope - this is my body, that is for you.  How about you?