When the Pope said «NO»

One single word. Two letters: NO.

«Good Pope John», was a sturdy Bergamo countryman. And a good diplomat. An audacious Pastor, and eventually, a saint.

One day, a group of visitors from New York, had the privilege to meet the Pope. A young star from Hollywood introduced herself to the plump figure in white, in a dazzling movie smile, saying: 
«I am acting Claire in the movie!»
«No», said the Pope: «you ARE Claire!»

And that was it. Back to the States, Dolores found things as she left them. Ron Robinson, then her fiancé, though, soon suspected that something in her had changed. Not a Catholic himself, he asked her: «You are not going to be a nun, are you?» To which she could give no answer.

At «Regina Laudis» benedictine Abbey, «the actress who had kissed Elvis Presley», was greeted by wise women, who made her feel at home…

The yearning, that no human being can avoid, that very longing «for more than there is», that each of us experiences, with more or less awareness, was now finding its way in the chirping underwoods of Connecticut. Dolores was sure :from Hollywood to cloistered land, her way was clear…

She now makes a radiant nun, who shared her story on screen: «God is the BIGGEST Elvis!» One among millions of us, she found her way to the One who created us out of love. For love.

From the city of Jerusalem, down to the tiny village of Nazareth, in the steps of Joseph and Mary, with Jesus, we are all invited to let ourselves be dispossessed from our grandest dreams, in order to find the hearth, where true love glows.

Men, women alike, and at all seasons, have gone that way: in 1890, a dashing and partying French officer, left Paris for the Sahara desert… In 1957, a soaring star of the American cinema, left Hollywood for the woods of Connecticut.
Where will my Nazareth be?…

Fr.Dominique (NY)