For the past few years we as a parish have traditionally celebrated First Holy Communion on the Second and Third Sundays of Easter, at Sacred Heart and St. Malachy. Again, this weekend at St. Malachy Church there will be anxious and excited children, dressed up and ready to receive for the first time, the Body and Blood of Christ. Thank you to the Catechists who have prepared them, for their prayer partners who have shared in this period of preparation through your faith, and especially the parents who continue to support these children’s faith within your respective homes and activities. We are blessed as a parish to witness and support the passing on of faith, and participation in the Sacramental life of our Catholic Church.
As the Cardinals sequester themselves this week in the Sistine Chapel to bring forth the next Pope, it’s good to recall Pope Francis’ recollection immediately after his election in 2013: “When the votes reached two-thirds, there was the usual applause, because the pope had been elected. And Cardinal Claudio Hummes gave me a hug and a kiss and said: ‘Don’t forget the poor!’ And those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi. Then I thought of all the wars, as the votes were still being counted, till the end. Francis is also the man of peace. That is how the name came into my heart: Francis of Assisi. … How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor!”
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website, there is a Ritual guide or “Ordo” to the beginning of the Conclave. On the designated day for the Conclave to convene—May 7th—there will be a Mass for the Cardinals, celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals. He will begin with the traditional prayer, “O God, eternal pastor, you who govern your people with a father's care, give your church a pontiff acceptable to you for his holiness of life and wholly consecrated to the service of your people."
Prior to the conclave this Mass for the election of the pope is the last rite celebrated publicly before the new pope is presented to the world. In the afternoon of that same day the cardinals process into the Sistine Chapel. During the procession the cardinals sing the Litany of the Saints of the East and West with the refrain, “Save us, Lord.” As the cardinals settle in to respective places the ranking member of the College of Cardinals (under the age of 80) offers the ritual address: "After having celebrated the divine mysteries, we now enter into conclave to elect the Roman pontiff. The whole church, united with us in prayer, invokes the grace of the Holy Spirit so that we elect a worthy pastor of the entire flock of Christ." Immediately following the address the cardinals chant the invocation of the Holy Spirit, “Veni, Creator Spiritus.”
Then the cardinals take the oath to uphold the rules for electing the pope including the promise to keep everything concerning the election secret. Each cardinal gives the oath that if elected pope, he will “faithfully fulfill the Petrine ministry as pastor of the universal church and will strenuously affirm and defend the spiritual and temporal rights as well as the freedom of the Holy See." After all the cardinals have sworn the oath with the placing of their hand on the Book of the Gospels, the doors of the Sistine are shut and the first ballot commences. Two thirds of the votes is the mandate for the choosing of anew pope. From the Vatican an official request was made on behalf of the College of Cardinals as they prepare for this week’s conclave: “the need to be supported by the prayers of all the faithful. . . .is the true force that in the Church promotes the unity of all the members of the one Body of Christ. It is first of all necessary to make ourselves humble instruments of the infinite wisdom and providence of our Heavenly Father, in docility to the action of the Holy Spirit.” As such, the following prayer of Novena is a fitting offering of hope for the Cardinals as they gather together for the election of our new Shepherd.
Lord God,
you guide us through your visible shepherd on earth, the Pope.
We ask you to make yourself present during the upcoming Conclave.
Pour out your Holy Spirit upon the cardinals present, Lord,
that there may be a renewed Pentecost in your Church.
Give them the wisdom, prudence and fortitude they need
to elect whom you have chosen to lead and guide us.
We need you Lord. Hear our prayer
and grant us the gift of a holy successor of Peter
to govern in your name. Amen.
Final thought from Pope Francis’ encyclical, Amoris Laetitia/The Joy of Love: “In certain cases, this can include the help of the sacraments. Hence, ‘I want to remind priests that the confessional must not be a torture chamber, but rather an encounter with the Lord’s mercy.’ I would also point out that the Eucharist ‘is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.'” 
God Bless, Fr. Tim 
FYI: “It often happens that I wake up at night and begin to think about a serious problem and decide I must tell the Pope about it. Then I wake up completely and remember that I am the Pope.” (Pope John XXIII)