Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy)
~ Most every Catholic experienced many emotions this past week. We are filled with joy at our celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection, and we were surprised and sorrowful to learn of the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday. I had already prepared a bulletin article for this weekend about the canonization of St. Carlo Acutis, but his canonization has been postponed because of the death of the Holy Father. In its place, I’m sharing some words I wrote about Pope Francis on his 10th anniversary as Pope in 2023. They are still true today! There will be much more to say and much more news in the weeks to come. For now, let us pray for the repose of the soul of Francis and that the Church will be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in the weeks to come.
I was the Pastor of St. Pius V Parish in March 2013, and I remember watching the announcement of the election of a new Pope. It was the night of our parish Lenten Penance Service, so I was with several other priests that evening watching the news. I remember being surprised! Surprised that the new Pope was from Argentina. Surprised that the new Pope was a Jesuit. Surprised at the name he chose. Surprised that the new Pope did not wear the formal regalia when he appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. Surprised that the new Pope bowed down and asked for the prayers and blessing of the people gathered in the Square. I will add that I was pleasantly surprised! I knew things were going to be different when the new Pope personally went back to the hotel in Rome where he was staying to pay the bill, when others would have simply made arrangements to settle accounts. This taught me that the new Pope honored his commitments and fulfilled his responsibilities, that personal connections and contact were values, and that he was a man of the people. I witnessed all these things fulfilled in his first months and years as Pope.
Later that year, on November 24, 2013, Pope Francis published his Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” or “The Joy of the Gospel.” On the morning it was released, I sat at the computer in my office and read the entire document; it was the only time I’d ever read a papal document in its entirety on the day it was released! I couldn’t stop reading it because I was so inspired by his vision for the Church, and I wanted to help make his vision a reality by my ministry and preaching. If you want to know Pope Francis’ vision for the Church, I encourage you to read and reflect on “The Joy of the Gospel.” I find all of Francis’ writings to be accessible and relatable, hopeful and inspiring, but this first major writing of his is extraordinary and sets the tone for his entire pontificate.
I continue to be inspired by Pope Francis, his preaching, his travels, his choices, and his vision. I appreciate his efforts to promote synodality in the Church, that is, that we must be a Church that meets, listens, and accompanies people on their journey of faith. I love his images of the Church as a field hospital and the Eucharist as medicine for the sick soul. I am grateful for his promotion of care for creation, the earth as our common home, and his encyclical Laudato Si. I value his witness to the dignity of LGBTQ persons. I support his promotion of women to various offices in the Vatican and in the Church structure. I admire his efforts to minister to the Church and to individuals on the “peripheries”. I’m challenged by his critiques of clericalism to be more humble and more inclusive. More than anyone, Pope Francis inspires me to want to be a better person, a better Christian, and a better priest, and I am grateful to God for the hope Pope Francis has given me over these ten years.
May Pope Francis rest in peace and rise in glory!
