When I joined my 7 a.m. online morning meditation group today, I learned that Pope Francis had gone to eternal life, and I was kinda choked up for a few moments.
My affinity for this man began on March 13, 2013, when the results of the last conclave were announced and a humble, nervous looking, bespectacled man appeared on the balcony of the papal apartment and asked the world to pray for him. I wrote in my moodlings,
A dear friend of mine has often commented that what the Church and the world need is a new St. Francis of Assisi, someone who is simple and holy and sees the essential.
Having been a lifelong fan of that particular Francis, I was quite excited when the new pope's name was announced, thinking that anyone who would take the name of Francis of Assisi would be the reformer the Church and the world need in this era. Yess!!!
...
We don't know much about Pope Francis yet, but it seems that he's a man who favours simplicity, and he has some pastoral sense if he's been telling his priests to baptize infants even if their parents haven't been married. I mean, it's not the child's fault that his parents didn't see the necessity.
So I'm going to reserve judgment, and just say, God bless Pope Francis.
And, come, Holy Spirit!
In the years since, I've spent a lot of time thinking with and moodling about Pope Francis thanks to Laudato Si, setting myself the goal of writing one moodling a week about sections of the encyclica l about Care for Our Common Home after it came out. It was a challenge that took me from July of 2015 to August 2016, and it turned out to be a good exercise for someone who wants to live simply, sustainably, and in solidarity with the poor of the world. It had an impact on me and our family's life, no question.
Some people feel Pope Francis was too lax, others, too strict. I wish he could have spoken more against the false sense of entitlement and injustices imbedded in western culture, could have pushed the Church further toward women's ordination and equality, could have welcomed our 2SLGBTQ+ children more openly, and could have advanced ecumenical and interfaith efforts further... but I'm willing to give him grace for the work he did in a Church that spans the entire globe and has so many variations and different understandings of Catholicism. He held the Church together for the past twelve years, a difficult task, to be sure.
So today's music appreciation is a Taizé chant that I've always loved, a prayer for Pope Francis from the lips of Simeon in Luke's Gospel.
Go in peace, faithful Francis. Thank you for giving of yourself, and serving God's people to the best of your ability.
No comments:
Post a Comment