I am not Catholic, but I found this article that had this awesome picture and I found it interesting. I could have actually posted this under photography because the photograph is awesome. On the day that the Pope resigned, which I guess has not happened since the 1400s, lighting struck the St Peter dome.

What a picture! I am fascinated by pictures that capture lighting because to time that at just the right moment to capture it, well it just amazes me. There are many things about the Catholic religion that I just don’t understand. However, I have to admire the Pope for recognizing that his health and age were preventing him from doing the work that he feels God called him to do.

One of the things that struck me as I was reading this article was the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the Pope. I just find it interesting because it is in such stark contrast to the way Jesus lived while He was on earth. I mean, look at their meeting and how they are dressed. It is so ornate and really quite impressive.

The room is so beautiful and the floors, it all seems so….I don’t know weird to me. Weird may be too strong of a word. I guess it just perplexes me, because Jesus is so humble and He lived so humbly during His time here on earth. He came to serve and calls us to do the same. The King of Kings would not have dressed that way or lived in that way. I honestly wonder if in His 2nd coming, he will be this way. I don’t think so, I see him in a white flowing button up shirt and jeans. Really cool jeans…classy yet elegant yet down to earth. Anyway, I’m a little weird and back to my point. The Bible tells us that Jesus was with people….meeting them, touching them, and transforming their lives. Maybe that is why the church in American and Europe is in such decline. People, who are having problems making ends meet, are having a hard time seeing Jesus in this situation. Honestly, I have to agree. I am not trying to bash the Catholic religion, it is not just Catholics. I am just wondering where is Jesus in all the wealth, pomp and circumstance of all of this? How can a struggling person connect with a living, loving God through this?