“Kindness frees us from the cruelty that at times infects human relationships, from the anxiety that prevents us from thinking of others, from the flurry of activity that forgets that others also have a right to be happy.” — Pope Francis, On Fraternity and Social Friendship (p. 103)
Tag Archives: Pope Francis
The spiritual failure to love
“The spiritual stature of a person’s life is measured by love, which in the end remains ‘the criterion for the definitive decision about a human life’s worth or lack thereof.’” — Pope Francis, On Fraternity and Social Friendship
We lack serious discipleship
I am working my way through “On Fraternity and Social Friendship” by Pope Francis. An early section is an exposition of the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is heart wrenching to read this section in light of what happened a week ago at the Capitol and what is going on today in the HouseContinue reading “We lack serious discipleship”
The tragedy of our digital isolation
Over the past 20 plus years, the richness of my life can be traced to the learning I have done with people who are not like me. If they look like me, they don’t think like me. Sometimes they may think like me, but they don’t look like me. I’ve become “comfortable” in uncomfortable spaces.Continue reading “The tragedy of our digital isolation”
Build on and learn from history… don’t ignore it or destroy it
Pope Francis released a new encyclical this weekend and it’s going to be pulled apart so the “divisive” stuff gets highlighted. Early news articles focus on his statements regarding the death penalty. But, there is a lot of other reading to take in and not miss.
Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Journey
Is it time to quit the Church?
The past few weeks have been heavy news for the Church. For evangelicals… it’s been Willow Creek and the leadership failure of that megachurch. (Then there are those trying to cling to evangelical as “tribe” but the politics of it right now are a bad mess.) For the Catholics, it was the grand jury findingsContinue reading “Is it time to quit the Church?”
The call of prayer is to listen
Nonetheless, it is possible that, even in prayer itself, we could refuse to let ourselves be confronted by the freedom of the Spirit, who acts as he wills. We must remember that prayerful discernment must be born of a readiness to listen: to the Lord and to others, and to reality itself, which always challengesContinue reading “The call of prayer is to listen”
The Pope and all our political agendas
One big reason I love the pope is everyone following the Pope in the media and in Christian circles chatters about WHAT the Pope does and “what does this mean?” We all look for the right buzzwords so we can either deride his comments or praise his comments. That’s why I love this comic strip:
Where is the outcry
I understand the world, the media, etc., just won’t give the coverage to what is happening all over the world to Christians. True suffering. But, it is there, and we need to see it. Lord, hear our prayers! The Pope addressed it in his Easter message. “Today we see our brothers persecuted, decapitated, crucified for theirContinue reading “Where is the outcry”
Apprentice 2 Jesus 