Who is Pope Francis?

               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 265^th and 266^th 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.

              

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[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

What Divine Love Accomplish?

            The lives of St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena are evidence of what Divine Love can accomplish.  As God called them to be who he created them to be, they listened and responded to that Divine Love.  The result was a deep intimacy to Christ that enabled them to bring about results that they could not have imagined in their most hopeful dreams. They entered into the mystery into which we are all called.  Combining their great love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit with a devotion to Mary, the Mother of God, they were able to detaching themselves of the things of this world and focus on the things of heaven.

               In a time before “screens”, yet a time filled with significant temptations and distractions to pull individuals away from God and into sinful living, both St. Dominic and St. Catherine were able to be in touch with the movement of the Holy Spirit within their souls.  Their love for God gave them the courage and fortitude to follow those movements, resulting in a personal relationship with our Triune God.

               The spiritual journey of this ordained priest and lay woman had many things in common of which I would like to focus on two.  They each spent significant time in prayer and contemplation and they each had a devotion to Mary and the rosary.

               St. Dominic reportedly spent many nights on the ground praying for the salvation of souls.  He prayed and fasted and did penance, binding his sufferings to the sufferings of Christ.  It was during a time of praying for the conversion of souls that he was given the Rosary by Mary.  He continued his active apostolate preaching and forming men to become Dominican priests and brothers while advancing the use of the Rosary throughout Europe. 

               St. Catherine, early in her adulthood, spent three years in solitary prayer.   During this time, the Lord must have formed her for the active work he had planned for her.  She knew at an early age that she was made to be devoted to Christ and had the courage to defy her parents.  Once she began her active life of service, it continued to be sustained by frequent daily prayer and contemplation. 

               The lives of both of these saints illustrate the absolute need for an active apostolate to be supported by a vibrant life of prayer.  They also illustrate lives filled with joy as a result of their relationship with Christ.

Thoughts for the Celebration of Advent

The Religious Education Director at my parish asked me to speak to the parents are preparing for Advent.  I have given this talk in the past and went in search for some new material. In the context of the Year of Faith here are some of my thoughts about preparing for the coming of Jesus. 

In October 2011, our Holy Father released a letter that declared a year of faith beginning Oct 11, 2012 and ending on November 24, 2013.  The Year of Faith is also tied into the much promoted New Evangelization. Pope Benedict believes that the Holy Spirit is giving us the opportunity and grace to rediscover our faith in this Year of Faith.  And what better time for us to begin than in preparation of Christ’s birth?

Let’s review some thoughts of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict.  On Wednesday, during the general audience, our Holy Father spoke about the role of family in faith.  Speaking specifically about parents, he said: 

·        Sharing the faith with children and others should be done in a clear, joyful and simple manner.

·        The Second Vatican Council says that parents are the first messengers of God. 

·        They are called to rediscover their mission to open small minds to the love of God.

·        A fundamental role of parents is as the first catechists. 

·        Always be joyful. Help all members of the family understand that faith is not a burden, but a deep source of joy.

Do your children know who Jesus is and what it did? St. Bernard describes Jesus life as follows:  He lay in a manger and rested on a virgin’s breast, preached on a mountain, and spent the night in prayer. He hung on a cross, grew pale in death, and roamed free among the dead and ruled over those in hell.  He rose again on the third day, and showed the apostles the wounds of the nails, the signs of victory; and finally in their presence he ascended to the sanctuary of heaven. 

And He sent the Holy Spirit to remain with us until He comes again.  One activity that may help Jesus come alive in the hearts of your children is to use the internet to find the places where Jesus lived.  Explore them together.

Advent is a time of waiting and preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ.  We can and should use this time to rebuild our own hearts.  I suggest a three-fold approach to rebuilding Advent hearts in your homes, adoration, Mary and Penance.

Adoration - I used to think that you had to be really holy to go to Adoration.  Now I believe that Adoration is for everyone, even the unbeliever.  During Adoration you may pray, think, read, and contemplate in the presence of Jesus. Plan to attend Adoration with your family during Advent. Come with your family and spend 15 or 20 minutes with Jesus.  Do this every month in 2013 and see what a difference it will make in your life and the life of your family.

Celebrate Mary – Because she said, " Yes", Jesus was born. Three great Marian feast days take place in the next month – Dec 8 –Mary’s Immaculate Conception, Dec 12 – Our Lady of Guadalupe, Jan 1 –Mary, Mother of God.  Come as a family to mass all of these days.  (Two of them are Holy Days of Obligation.)  Pray a decade of the Rosary each evening with your family.  You’ll be through all four of the mysteries before Christmas comes!

Penance - It is the most misunderstood sacrament of the Church.  I recently heard a priest say that the best reason to come to confession is because Jesus should have the opportunity to say, “I forgive you” and that is what he does thought our Priests.  In Psalm David writes, “Create in me a clean heart, Oh Lord”.  Have all of your family members receive a clean heart during Advent.

Today, after you pick up your children, sit down and talk about Advent.  Ask them how your family should prepare for Jesus’ arrival on earth.  You might be surprised with their response.  However you celebrate Advent, remember the Holy Father’s comments: clear, joyful and simple manner, open small minds to God, faith is not a burden, but a deep source of joy.

Light

             Light is in my thoughts this morning. This weekend, we took down our outside Christmas lights.  The weather was unusually warm, so it made sense to do so, and Epiphany (January 6^th) is past.  Today we will take down our Christmas tree.  I reluctantly turned off the lights last night.  I know that it will be next Christmas before I these lights will glow in the living room again.

Wide-awake in the middle of the night, I decided to lie down on our family room couch to see if I could get back to sleep.  Initially, I laid my head at one end of the sofa and then realized that there was light coming through the windows and resting on the other side of the sofa.  “It must be a full moon,” I thought.  I turned around to put my head at the other end of the sofa so the soft, gentle moonlight would rest on my face and upper torso.  As I closed my eyes, I thought of the reflection that I recently read that compared Mary’s reflecting the love of Jesus, like the moon reflecting the light of the sun.  When I woke 90 minutes later, the moonlight was gone and it was time to begin my day.

                As I drove my son to his carpool early this morning, I noticed the pink sky as I drove home - a reminder that the days are lengthening, although we are in the middle of winter.  Each day brings us closer to spring.

                 How fortunate I am to be surrounded by light today: the colorful, beautiful lights of a Christmas tree, celebrating the birth of Jesus, the gentle light of a full moon in the middle of the night, reminding me of Mary and then the sun rising just a little earlier each day in the midst of winter.

                I simply ask that I might be a light to others today.