Catholic tips for flight delays, inspired by Pope Leo

As summer edges ever closer, millions of travelers are preparing for family vacations, pilgrimages, weddings, reunions, and the annual tradition of convincing themselves that this year will somehow be different at the airport.

It won't.

Somewhere between now and September, departure boards will flicker ominously from "On Time" to "Delayed." Passengers will gather around airline desks with the determined expressions of people preparing for diplomatic negotiations, and tempers often become frayed. Suitcases will go missing. Connections will be missed.

Even Pope Leo recently discovered that no amount of papal authority can persuade an aircraft to ignore a technical problem. During his return journey from Spain, a mechanical issue delayed his flight home, eventually requiring him to travel on a different aircraft, generously provided by the King of Spain.

It is a useful reminder that flight delays are one of life's great equalizers. Whether you are a pope, a pilgrim, or simply trying to reach Mallorca before your hotel reservation expires, there comes a moment when you realize that the departure board now has complete control over your day.

With that in mind, here are a few Catholic ways to survive the experience, especially if there isn't a Spanish royal on hand to save the day!

Nothing humbles a human being quite like a delayed flight. One minute you are confidently planning your arrival time and mentally organizing the rest of your day. The next, you are sitting on the floor beside Gate 47 charging your phone from an outlet shared with six strangers and wondering whether you will ever see your luggage again.

For people who like being in control — and that includes most of us — airports provide a useful reminder that the universe is under no obligation to cooperate with our schedules.

Firstly, it's important to remember that the airline employee did not personally delay your flight. Nor did the teenager serving coffee. Nor did the exhausted parent whose toddler is currently expressing strong opinions about air travel at a volume that could easily deafen those airplane engines -- if only they were working!

Airports are full of people having difficult days. A little patience, and thoughtfulness, often goes further than we imagine.

One of the strange things about airports is that hundreds of private stories briefly pass through the same space. The businessman rushing to a meeting. The grandmother heading to a wedding. The student returning home. The nervous flyer tempted to use the delay as a "sign" that he shouldn't travel. The family traveling for a funeral.

So if that person is irritating you in the security line, remember they may be carrying a burden you know nothing about, whether it be physical or mental.

This is not particularly spiritual advice. It is simply good advice inspired by men who knew how to prep for hard times.

Anyone who has paid airport prices for a bottle of water and a packet of almonds knows that prudence remains one of the great Christian virtues. And if you're traveling en famille, you'll know that if you want to feed you, your spouse, and your kids, you'll need to take a mortgage out. So before heading to the airport, make sure you've got enough food to see you through any potential delays.

A delayed flight offers something most of us rarely experience: a few unexpected moments with nowhere else to be.

Rather than spending the next hour refreshing the airline app every 30 seconds, why not use some of that time to reconnect with the saints? After all, if anyone understands difficult journeys, unexpected detours, and the importance of patience, it is them.

Travelers might turn to St. Christopher, who has been accompanying nervous passengers for centuries. Those facing stress, anxiety, or uncertainty could ask for the intercession of St. Dymphna. And for anyone worried that an important meeting, family gathering, or holiday might be slipping through their fingers, St. Jude has built quite a reputation for helping in situations that appear to be going spectacularly wrong.

At the very least, a short prayer is likely to be a better use of your time than glaring at the departure board and hoping it becomes frightened enough to change.

Flight delays provide countless opportunities to say exactly what we are thinking, and that is not always a blessing. Whether it is the temptation to snap at an airline employee, complain loudly to anyone within earshot, or compose an email that may later feature prominently in a court case, airports have a remarkable ability to test our patience.

The frustrating thing, of course, is that anger rarely speeds up the departure board, repairs the aircraft, or improves the situation. Self-restraint is not about pretending everything is wonderful when it clearly is not; it is about choosing not to make a difficult situation worse. Besides, there is always the possibility that the person behind the counter is having an even worse day than you are, having already delivered the same bad news several hundred times before lunch.

Years from now, nobody will be impressed that your flight left precisely on time. They may, however, enjoy hearing about the unexpected overnight stay, the stranger who became a friend, the airport adventure that turned into a family legend, or the pope who ended up changing planes on his way home from Spain.

Travel has always been slightly chaotic. Perhaps that is part of its charm.

And if your flight does end up being delayed this summer, take comfort in the knowledge that you are sharing the experience with countless fellow travelers around the world — including, apparently, the Holy Father.