What a joy filled week it has been! I’m still smiling at the memory of watching the announcement of our new Pope with my 3rd graders on our SmartBoard.
We even sent out paper tweets of congratulations to our new Pope Francis. 
I really enjoyed reading about Pope Francis. Who would have thought that a Jesuit, from Latin America, would be our Pope?! My students loved the fact that he was a soccer fan. Soccer is very big with 3rd graders.
After reading about the reason he took the name Francis after St. Francis of Assisi and how he asked that members of his diocese give money to the poor instead of traveling to his installation, I wondered what I could do locally. On the 3rd Sunday of each month, my husband and I contribute to a meal at our local homeless shelter, the Siena/Francis House. I thought that I would add a little extra to our contribution. So while I was at Costco today I picked up 2 packs of socks and some toilet paper. Not the most glamorous gift, but something my family can give in honor of our new pope.
When I got home, I happened to read my friend, Lisa Hendey’s Patheos blog. You can read her blog here. She was thinking along the same lines as I was! So now, it’s official. Everyone is invited to donate to the poor in honor of our new Holy Father.
Of course, with Social Media, we have to have a hashtag. What fun I had last Sunday following the #FakeConclaveTweets with my friend Fr. James Martin S.J. I even got in on some of the fun. Hashtags are the way to go. So the official hashtag for Tuesday, March 19th is #InHonorOf
My husband and I have a long history with our local homeless shelter. It was a few blocks away from the Jesuit university we attended, Creighton. When I first got to know him, he invited me to help him serve a Friday night dinner. That was one of our first dates and many dates after that! After he graduated from Creighton, he became a staff member for about a year. We were married after that. We have always kept contact with them by helping to make a meal. We started on the turkey crew and for 20 years we cooked and deboned a turkey for the 1st Sunday. More recently, we moved to making cole slaw on the 3rd Sunday.
How are you honoring our new pope this Tuesday?
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