Confession: What will the Vatican give for the pope’s name? Roger Cadenhead sought an answer to that question. Upon the death of Pope John Paul, this self-described “domain hoarder” registered www.BenedictXVI.com before the new pope’s name was announced. Cadenhead secured it before Rome knew they even needed it. (The right domain name can prove lucrative. Another name, www.PopeBenedictXVI.com surpassed sixteen thousand dollars on eBay.) Cadenhead, however, didn’t want money. A Catholic himself, he’s happy for the church to own the name. “I’m going to try and avoid angering 1.1 billion Catholics and my grandmother,” he quipped. He would like something in return though. In exchange, Cadenhead sought:
- “One of those hats”;
- “A free stay at the Vatican hotel”;
- and “Complete absolution, no questions asked, for the third week of March 1987.”
Makes you wonder what happened that week, doesn’t it? It may remind you of a week of your own. Most of us have one, or more. A folly-filled summer, a month off track, days gone wild. If a box of tapes existed documenting every second of your life, which tapes would you want to burn? Do you have a season in which you indulged, imbibed or inhaled? Does your third week of March stalk you? It’s time for you to put your “third week of March 1987” to rest… Place the mistake before the judgment seat of God. Let him condemn it, let him pardon it, and let him put it away.
Max Lucado
Source: Max Lucado, 2006, Facing Your Giants, Nashville Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, p142-2, 148