Recently,
I was invited to speak with a reporter of a major newspaper about Pope
Francis. It gave me the opportunity to
think about my thoughts of Pope Francis and his papacy. Initially, I must say that thinking about
Pope Francis makes me miss Pope Benedict.
I miss his writings and his German accent and his very logical and
thoughtful way of teaching me about why I believe what I believe.
Because
of where I am in my faith journey, I am paying much more attention to the early
homilies, writings and talks of Pope Francis than in the early days of Pope
Benedict XVI’s papacy. I didn’t really
have a sense of who Pope Benedict was until he visited Washington DC in 2008.
The
reference of Pope Francis in Mass no longer jars and I recognize his face. I find many important similarities between
our 265th and 266th Popes. They both have a great love and dedication to
Mary, the Mother of God, seeing her as the perfect creature. They try to imitate her humility and ask for
her protection. They have deep, intimate
relationships with Jesus and pray often, perhaps almost constantly to the Holy
Spirit for guidance in all that they do.
And they have a deep desire for all souls to be saved, and for all to
know and understand the peace that comes with putting God first.
Of
course there are many differences. Pope
Francis is a man who has been working in the trenches who has now been called
to lead the Roman Catholic Church. I can
only admire the way his has decided to continue to live simply even within the
Vatican walls. Unlike Pope Benedict, who
was a professor and a writer, I see Pope Francis as a man who is more
comfortable with conversation and intent on conversion of those with whom he
comes into contact.
He sees
each individual, not with a label, but as a person created uniquely by God for
a specific purpose. My sense is that there is urgency in his life to bring each
person with whom he has contact closer to God.
He has that burning desire for salvation of souls and that is what is
driving his Pontificate, not protocol or procedure.
Because
of his work in the trenches, he understands the corporeal works of mercy as
being essential to the spread of the Gospel.
He recognizes that reaching out to the poor, elderly, disabled, homeless
and “getting our hands dirty”[i]
is an essential part of our salvation. (“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”)[ii]
It has
only been six months since he began this journey as Pontiff and I am inclined
to watch and learn, not jump to conclusions or judge. Who is Pope Francis? I don’t yet know, but he is challenging me on
this journey. Look for more thoughts
from the interview in future blogs.
[i] From Pope Francis’ Tweet on Sept 13 - #PopeFrancis: want to help the poor?
don't be afraid to get your hands dirty
[ii] James 2:26
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