Opposition to Pope Francis

It is well-known that some segments of the Catholic Church oppose Pope Francis and his vision of what the Church should be.  

Even some cardinals and bishops as well as lay persons have publicly challenged the pope’s openness to allow Catholics in certain circumstances who have divorced and remarried  to receive Holy Communion.

On other fronts some of the hierarchy and even some seminarians object to Pope Francis’ suggestion that clergy should reject clericalism, careerism, and elitism. They resent being told they should smell like the sheep.  Some Catholic  bookstores (even in seminaries) carry few if any books by or about Pope Francis.
They want him to go away.

The Argentine pope looks at the Church not only from the traditional European point of view but also from a South American perspective. His theology is influenced by writers whose names are well-known in Europe and America (Thomas Aquinas, Romano Guardini, Yves Congar, Henri de Lubac) but also by others scarcely known in the United States or Europe (Amelia Lezcano Podetti, Alberto Methol Ferre, Guzman Carriquiry Lecour, Lucio Gera).

Massimo Faggioli, professor at the University of St. Thomas in St Paul (MN), writes that “Pope Francis appears to be motivated by a more historical and cultural vision, in line with the Latin American theology he comes from, and by a more spiritual than theological vision for the ministry of the Roman pontificate” (Pope Francis: Tradition in Transition, Paulist Press, 2015,  p.77).

Faggioli adds, “The shift of emphasis with Bergoglio, from the theological to the spiritual papacy, has some unknowns for the future structure of Catholicism” (ibid, p. 78).

Pope Francis is aware of both the task before him and the obstacles he faces. That may be the reason he continually makes the plea, “Pray for me.”

Marco Politi, author of Pope Francis Among The Wolves (Columbia University Press, 2014) recalls a You Tube skit which shows Francis plodding along with a refrigerator on his shoulders, a gift for a poor widow. As he walks along he asks his two secretaries who accompany him (but offering no assistance with the heavy load), “What door do we deliver it?” One answers, “Number 1321, Your Holiness.” And Francis asks, “Where are we now?” only to hear, “Number 23, Your Holiness.”

As he trudges along under his heavy burden, a number of others, including two cardinals, stop him and ask for photos and blessings, but none of them lends a hand. Finally he arrives at the widow’s house only to hear her refuse the gift because it is the wrong color! “It could have been worse,” Francis murmurs as he sets off homeward.

Changing metaphors, I recall  an old saying that “it’s hard to remember that you came to drain the swamp when you’re up to your hips in alligators.”

Many of the cardinals who elected him to succeed Pope Benedict XVI chose Cardinal Bergoglio with the hope that he would reform the Curia, the Church’s bureaucracy, and  rid the Church of the alligators.

He may well be up to his hips in opposition but it is a fair assessment that he has not forgotten why he came to the swamp. For that reason his many supporters continue to  pray for him!

It Is Hard To Be Honest

It’s hard to be honest.

When I was teaching high school I was sometimes challenged by a student who rejected what I was saying, often defending her resistance with, “Well, I’m entitled to my own opinion!”  My rejoinder, “No, you’re not, at least not until you’ve taken steps to form it properly. You are not entitled until you opine.”

An opinion is the result of thinking. It’s not a feeling or a prejudice or what I would like to be true. An opinion is the result of an honest search for the truth. It requires effort. It means using both one’s intellect and will in a quest for accuracy, verity, honesty. And God knows, it’s hard to be honest.

That honesty is rare may be assumed by noting that of all the United States presidents only Washington and Lincoln are characterized by or remembered for their honesty. Washington’s “I cannot tell a lie” story may be apocryphal but it does affirm history’s respect for a man who is honest.

And in his biography of Lincoln, William Herndon, his law partner, concluded, “In the grand review of his peculiar characteristics, nothing creates such an impressive effect as his love of the truth. It looms up over everything else. His life is proof of the assertion that he never yielded in his fundamental conception of truth to any man for any end” (p. 487).

Dedication to truth and honesty seems to be intimately related to humility. What irony that Shakespeare’s Polonius, the rather officious, garrulous counselor to King Claudius, should advise his own son, “This above all, --to thine ownself  be true; and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man” (Hamlet I, 3).

It is humility, being down-to-earth, that promotes an honest assessment of oneself. The sincere recognition that we are not perfect, that we may err, even sin, is healthy. Failure to acknowledge weakness often leads to defense-oriented behavior, those mechanisms we use to prop up our pride and defend our ego.

Instead of an honest admission to self, we may resort to rationalization (searching for reasons to justify a decision or an act), projection (blaming others), compensation (downplaying our weaknesses and focusing on our strengths), denial of reality (refusal to face facts), and other commonly used defense mechanisms.

Those in the Judaeo-Christian tradition are expected to be truthful.

It’s odd that Old Testament Hebrew does not have an exact word for true or truth but conveys the idea with the word emeth which can be rendered stability, firmness, reliability, faithfulness.  Bible scholar Father John McKenzie explains the Hebrew mentality, “The true is not merely an object of intellectual assent, but something which demands a personal commitment. In a sense one can be said to choose or accept the truth rather than assent to it. The lie on the contrary is not solidly real, and therefore not dependable.”  Truth is an objective reality to be embraced.

The New Testament Greek uses alētheia for truth, from an adjective meaning “unconcealed, manifest.” John uses this term in 8:31-32, “Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him ‘If you remain in my word, you will truly (alēthōs) be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth (alētheia)  will set you free.” The freedom he offers removes the constraints of a misguided life, clarifying life’s purpose and meaning.

If religion supports the search for and embrace of truth and honesty, so does an analysis of what makes a human homo sapiens, thinking man. Humanity is characterized by two spiritual powers: intellect and will. With the intellect we know; with the will we choose. By nature the intellect is oriented  toward truth, and the will is oriented toward good. Such natural orientation, however, does not preclude telling lies and doing evil. Humans are so free that they can violate their own integrity and work against their very selves.

The God-given orientation to truth and good is not a pass. A human being must search out truth and discern what is good. It is often a struggle, weighing contradictory options, overcoming thoughtless emotional responses, confronting weakness, and wrestling with the defense mechanisms we can resort to when the ego is challenged.

An opinion is not what one feels nor what one wishes to be the truth. An opinion is the result of responsibly seeking truth.

Many of our religious and political clashes are the result of the failure to pursue the truth. It is easier to hold on to past persuasions/convictions or party lines than to dare an authentic search for truth and good. A great deal of what passes for “opinion” on radio/TV talk shows is not opinion but prejudice. Many of the experts have not responsibly searched for the truth. Failure to opine leads to fake news.

Our searches may not always lead to common answers, but opinions without the search are irresponsible. Pope Francis urges us to accept the challenge of the intersection of opposite (not contradictory) opinions. He believes such an effort is the only way to arrive at truth and unity.

Early on the Church had to wrestle with whether Jesus was divine or human. The failure of some Christians to bring the opposites together led to heresies. The truth did not deny Jesus’ divinity or humanity; it lay instead in the awesome mystery of  “God-made-man.”

The prophet Micah (cf 8:6) told the people that there were three things Yahweh wanted from them: to do what is right, to love what is good, and to walk humbly in His presence. These three responses to life are the supreme qualities of a life well-lived.

Opinions require work; it’s hard to be honest.

Clericalism

The Old Testament and the New describe God’s people as priests. In Exodus 19:6 Yahweh told Moses that the people would become “a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” In 1 Peter 2, the apostle urges the people to “let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood…a royal priesthood.”

Vatican II recalled this ancient designation when it affirmed that “Christ the Lord, the high priest chosen from among human beings (see Heb 5:1-5), has made the new people ‘a kingdom, priests to his God and Father’ (Rev 1:6; 5:9-10)” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 10).

The constitution went on to say, “The common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood, though they differ in essence and not simply in degree, are nevertheless interrelated: each in its own particular way shares in the one priesthood of Christ” (10).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church clarifies the distinction between the common and the ministerial priesthood, explaining that some members of the Church are “called by God, in and through the Church, to a special service of the community.” The sacrament of Holy Orders enables certain members to “act in the person of Christ the head, for the service of all the members” (1142).

Although, over time, the ordained priests, because of their role and leadership, have been specially honored by the non-ordained members, the primary purpose of Holy Orders is to select members who are to be of service to God’s people. Members ordained through Holy Orders are to “act in the person of Christ the head.”  The ordained priest is distinctly called to be an “icon” of Christ the priest who came “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (cf Mt 20:28).

Pope Francis has frequently pointed to clericalism which he called a new edition of an ancient evil, namely, religious authorities lording it over others (cf. Homily in Casa Sancta Marta, 12/13/16).  In a meeting with young Italians on August 11, 2018, he called clericalism “a perversion of the Church.”  During his meeting with the bishops of Chile in January of 2018 he had explained that “Clericalism, far from giving impetus to various contributions and proposals, gradually extinguishes the prophetic flame to which the entire Church is called to give witness.” 

(Some have proposed that clericalism precipitated and fueled the Protestant Reformation., an assertion that deserves further analysis and study, but one which may underscore the serious consequences of  clericalism if left unchecked.)

If men are ordained in Holy Orders to be servants, if they are to act in the person of Christ, then they exist to assist and promote the priesthood of the faithful. The first sacrament of “priesthood” is Baptism, “the ‘door’ which gives access to the other sacraments” (as The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes it). The priesthood of Holy Orders is ordered to the service of a priestly people; authority/authorization  bestowed by Holy Orders is given strictly for the benefit of others.

Clerics who forget or reject their servant role are like servants rejecting the role of their master. The priesthood of the faithful comes first. Holy Orders must be understood in light of the priesthood of Baptism.

In his homily at Casa Santa Marta (12/13/16) Pope Francis described clericalism as “a really awful thing.” In it “clerics feel superior; clerics distance themselves from the people; clerics always say, ‘this should be done like this, like this, like this –and you, go away!’”  In the mindset of clericalism, Pope Francis explained, “the cleric doesn’t have time to listen to those who are suffering, the poor, the sick, the imprisoned.”

Clericalism, the Holy Father told the bishops of Chile, is a caricature of the priestly vocation. The mission of the Church, he said, belongs to the whole Church, not to the individual priest or bishop. Clericalism stifles the initiatives of the Spirit. “Let us be clear about this. The laypersons are not our peons, or our employees. They don’t have to parrot back what we say…Clericalism forgets that the visibility and the sacramentality of the Church belong to all the faithful people of God, not only to the few chosen and enlightened.”

In their synodal meeting in Baltimore (November 12-14, 2018) several bishops publicly called for greater involvement of the laity in the effort to meet and correct the crisis of pedophilia by the clergy and cover-up by bishops. One bishop went so far as to say that had there been more women involved in Church leadership the pedophilia crisis would never have happened.

Pope Francis has called for a special summit meeting of the heads of bishops conferences worldwide, February 21-24, 2019, to discuss and formulate policy  for the protection of  minors and vulnerable adults.  The US bishops meeting in Baltimore had planned to develop a US response, but the Vatican asked them to await the Vatican-sponsored meeting in February.

The frustration, embarrassment, skepticism, anger, discouragement, and protests of lay people over the failures of Church leaders to stop abuse of children and young adults are more than understandable and appropriate. If the whole priestly people of God will be sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in the midst of this debacle, there is reason to hope that those who are suffering can be healed and measures can be taken to prevent the frequency of the abuse in the future.

As expected the People of God have been asked to pray. Sometimes such a request seems to be an empty gesture. In reality, however, the Church is in such a mess that prayer is an essential element in restoring the community and institution we call the Catholic Church. Prayer is our petition for God’s help. Prayer helps us think the matter through and seek the truth. Prayer can change the heart and mind of those who pray.

Several facets of the Church of the future are coming together in the wake of the current crisis: an end to clericalism, revision of the acceptance and training of candidates for the priesthood, wider and truly meaningful involvement of women in Church leadership, healing for the abused, a shift  by many in the hierarchy from single focus on the institutional Church to renewed emphasis on the Church as community, movement  of the Church’s mission and ministry from the center to the periphery, the pastoral outreach of the Church as envisioned at Vatican II.

Based on what is at stake here, the need for prayer by all the People of God, lay and ordained, is obvious.

Outside the Comfort Zone (continued)

If we are going to fulfill the commandment  to love one another , then we are going to have to step outside of our comfort zone. Jesus did it. The ultimate example of stepping outside your comfort zone must be the Incarnation, when God lay aside glory and took on human nature.

If I say this in front of children, I like to ask them: “Would you change places? Would you be willing to become a cockroach?” “Oh, no!” But the distance between us and a cockroach is miniscule compared to the distance between us and the almighty God.

One of the things that Pope Francis has encouraged, at least informally, is be willing to go out and risk. It is okay if you make a mistake. He wants the shepherds and evangelizers to smell like the sheep. We do not smell that way if we are separated from them. Get out there. Bring the gospel. The motivation for doing that is that our God came to be with us. Every time we celebrate the eucharist, we are reminded of how much God was willing to empty himself.

There is a beautiful line in the opening chapter of the Gospel of John. We often translate it this way: “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

If we go back to the Greek, it actually says, “The Word became flesh and  pitched his tent among us.” I would love to find that translation used. “He pitched his tent.” It may not mean much to us in our day and culture, but to our ancestors, it certainly would because they would remember that pitching a tent was what they did when God led them out of the slavery of Egypt until they wandered into the Promised Land. For 40 years they wandered in the wilderness, trying to find their way.

Throughout it all their God was in the midst of them. They erected a tent where the ark of the covenant was placed. They thought of God being there, that this tabernacle was his dwelling place, and when they moved on they struck that tent and continued on until they set it up again wherever they would stop. It was a constant reminder that God was with them on this journey. When we say that “he pitched his tent among us,” we are encouraged to hold onto the conviction that he has promised to be with each one of us in the journey that we take. You know as well as I that if you are on a journey with God, you are not going to be able to stay where you are very long.

That is one of the characteristics of a Catholic Christian spiritual life—the acknowledgment that God will let you rest in an oasis for a little while, but he is always saying “Let’s go.” When the disciples came to him and said, “Where do you stay?” He didn’t tell them. He said, “Come and see.” It is meant to be an adventure.

Pope Francis likes to say, “Be open to the God of surprises, the God who enters into the life of the church at large and into the life of individual persons. I have to believe that you have had that experience, that several times you found yourself doing things and saying later, “I never thought I would be doing this.”

That is the response to the God of surprises. That is the call to step outside your comfort zone. Jesus not only taught it in word, he showed us an example, did he not? For example, Jesus was confronted by a leper. Had Jesus touched him, he would have been rendered impure. The lepers were told to cry out, “Unclean, unclean.” But the New Testament says that Jesus touched him. Jesus was willing to risk the impurity of the law for the sake of doing what his Father wanted—to reach out and to love.

At times, I understand the statement of Lucy Van Pelt (Charlie Brown’s friend): “I love humanity. It’s people I can’t stand.”

To be in the world or to be in a community means you are rubbing shoulders day in and day out with differing people, with differing ideas and differing temperaments, and you have to struggle with that. There is always a reason to close the door. And indeed, a spiritual life is going to have to have times to do as Jesus did when he went off to the mountain to be alone and to pray. You have to have those times in which you are energized. The energizing is to open one up to go back again.

That is the whole purpose of our repeatedly coming to the liturgy we call the eucharist. We have an extraordinary nickname for it—we call it the “Mass.” And what does “Mass” mean? It means “dismissal.” We come every Sunday morning—some of us more frequently than that—to celebrate the eucharist so that we can be sent out into the world again. “Go back out there. You are not finished yet. I’ve got something else for you to do.”

Outside The Comfort Zone

It takes courage to step outside of one’s comfort zone.  Jesus did it, and he clearly expects his disciples to do the same. The lives of the saints are biographies of people who dared to risk  being at ease and feeling comfortable in order to be and do something that threatens their security and tranquility.

Jesus left his carpenter shop and went out on the road, with no place to lay his head, in order to preach the values of the Kingdom of God. He risked being rejected by the very people he had come to serve.  He challenged the status quo in his own religion, and compared his mission to carrying a cross.  The ultimate price for stepping out of his comfort zone was death by crucifixion

The list of those willing to follow his example and eschew their comfort zone is long, but for the sake of example and encouragement reflect on the sacrifices undertaken by three of his followers:  Francis of Assisi, Blessed Mother Frances Schervier, and Pope Francis.

St. Francis of Assisi obviously went out of his comfort zone when he told his father, “I am not living according to your custom, your rule, your way of life anymore,” and, according to the story, stripped himself of his clothes. That would be going out of your comfort zone.

Bl. Frances Schervier of Aachen, Germany, (1819-76), in imitation of Francis of Assisi, left her comfortable home, went out to care for the sick, and with three other like-minded women established the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor.  Even as a youngster she shared her school lunch with those that she saw poor and miserable along the way.

And now there’s Pope Francis, calling on Christians  to go out to the periphery, urging ministers to take on the smell of the sheep, and challenging  clergy, religious and laity “to abandon the complacent attitude that says: ‘We have always done it this way.’” In his Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (Gospel Joy) he invites “everyone to be bold and creative in this task of rethinking the goals, structures, style and methods of evangelization in their respective communities” (#33).

Prior to the conclave that elected him as the successor of Pope Benedict,  Cardinal Jorge Bergolio of Argentina  addressed his fellow cardinals and said that what we need is a leader who will take us out to the periphery, a leader who will help the church be what the church is supposed to be.

His words had a powerful impact  on that select audience, and they elected Cardinal Bergolio, to be the successor of Pope Benedict XVI.  Coming out on the balcony at St. Peter’s in Rome, Pope Francis, before blessing the crowds in St. Peter’s Square, asked them, “Bless me. You bless me.”

Since that time, he has said again and again, “We are all in this together.” He holds fast to one of the truths reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council, namely that  the Holy Spirit was given to all the people of God.

Prior to Vatican II, many in the hierarchy and among theologians  had given in to pyramid model of Church -- that somehow the pope, the bishops and the priests got the message from heaven and they would give it down to the people who were often called called the simple faithful.

But when the document on the church, Lumen Gentium, was put together, there was aggiornamento, a return to the understanding  that the Holy Spirit is given at baptism and in confirmation the baptized are sent out.  The two-fold rite is the sacrament of initiation --baptism and confirmation-- because baptism makes you a Christian; confirmation authorizes you to go forth and bear witness to what you have become.

The baptized have been sent to be apostles to the world and have been given the gift of the Spirit.  The baptized have share in the priesthood, in the prophetic mission of Christ, in the ministry of servant-leaders.

From the very beginning of the Christian gospel and the development of the church, this is a foundational reality. Pope Francis is intent on bringing that awareness of that reality back into the mainstream of the church of this day.

It was a rather exciting and I am sure somewhat startling presentation that he gave to the curia just before Christmas in 2013 when he suggested to them that there are certain maladies and illnesses, and temptations that need to be resisted. He explained that a Church that focuses upon itself is a sick institution, not living up to the purpose for which it was created.

He urged the Curia staff to be careful. They must not allow themselves to succumb, for example, to what he called “spiritual Alzheimer’s” where you forget your beginnings, your struggle with the gospel and living it. You can get yourself into an institutional setting and forget about your spiritual struggle of growing in faith and personal discipline. Others have spiritual mountains to climb;  not all are the same, not all can climb at the same pace. You have to be wary of taking on judgmental/condemnatory attitudes about others who are still climbing the mountain.

His warning is reflected in a bumper sticker that said: “Before you offer a criticism, tell me if you’ve ever volunteered.” Have you been there? Have you been in it? Pope Francis is asking us to get into that world, particularly into the periphery of it and learn from those who are broken.

                                                                                                                                                                     (to be continued)

Understanding Pope Francis

Although Catholics in general like Pope Francis and support his papal style, many (bishops and priests included) do not understand him.

Francis’ words are often reduced to “sound byte” expressions (“Who am I to judge?” or “smell like the sheep” or  “confession is not a torture–chamber”), pleasant and refreshing to hear.

On another level, however, there is a depth to Francis’ theology, which challenges interpretation and application.  His message is read too quickly; readers must spend time with it to understand it.

Francis is calling the Church to on-going reform. He takes the letter and spirit of the Second Vatican Council and adds to it the theology and spirituality born of his experience in South America.

In a way, in Francis’ papacy, two mind-sets are in competition: European versus Latin American. They are not diametrically opposed but sometimes they differ. Those of us formed in the European model (North America included) may not recognize the revolution which Pope Francis has set before us.

He means it when he encourages “the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization” (EG 1). He is serious about “pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come” (EG 1).

Francis’ gives priority to a theology which is pastoral. He urges the Church to imitate a pattern from Jesus’ style of ministry: accept, heal, reform. 

He says we are to begin by embracing a person who is broken because of poverty, disability, rejection, abuse –sin! Next do something to alleviate the hurt, by bringing healing, comfort, assurance of acceptance --recognition of the dignity of every human being as an image of God. And then add the moral, ethical, spiritual dimensions necessary for a healthy, happy life.

Recall the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery (Jn 81-11). First Jesus accepts her in spite of her sin (“Let the one without sin cast the first stone”), next he offers healing forgiveness (“Neither do I condemn you”), and then he issues his call for moral reform (“From now on do not sin any more”).

The tendency for many of us is to reverse the order; instead of accept-heal-reform, we respond with reform-heal-accept. The scribes and Pharisees challenged Jesus’ disciples because he ate with sinners and tax collectors, and Jesus said to them, “Those who are well do not need the physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (cf Mk 2:17).

Did not Vatican II reaffirm that the grief and anguish of people, especially of the poor and afflicted, are also the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ?  The Council’s  Pastoral Constitution On The Church In The Modern World  (Gaudium et Spes) acknowledged that for Christians, “Nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an echo in their hearts” (#1).

The Council Fathers, in response to “the immensity of the hardships which still afflict a large section of humanity” suggested the creation of “some organization of the universal Church whose task it would be to arouse the Catholic community to promote the progress of areas which are in want and foster social justice between nations” (Gaudium et spes, #90).

Catholics around the world have established organizations to alleviate the hardships discussed at the Council and to promote social justice.

Pope Francis, however, is urging a response that goes beyond Church-established organizations. He insists that reaching out to the poor, abused, neglected –to anyone whose basic human rights are violated—is the responsibility not only of Church leaders and Church organizations but indeed of all the followers of Christ.

The pope’s conviction is based on Scripture (e.g., the corporal works of mercy derived from Mt 25), on the teaching of his predecessors (e.g., Pope John Paul II’s 1987 encyclical On Social Concern), on his personal experience as a pastor in the slums of Buenos Aires (e.g., he concluded that what the poor need is not charity but justice) and his participation in CELAM, the conferences held by the bishops of Latin America.

The studies, debates, compromises and conclusions of the Fifth General Conference in 2007 produced the so-called Aparecida Document, the result of the bishops’ reflecting on the journey of the Latin American churches in the midst of the lights and shadows of our times.

The bishops focused on the fundamental option for the poor, on the growing continent-wide expansion of fundamental Protestantism, on human rights violations, on migration, and on the positive and negative effects of globalization.

Scripture, Vatican II, personal experience, and the Aparecida Document are major influences in the thinking, theology, style and direction of Pope Francis. Complementing these sources of  his formation are the two hours a day he spends in prayer.

Pope Francis is leading Catholics toward a recognition of their responsibility to be more than a Church of rules and rituals. He is pushing devout Catholics to become active Catholics, applying the Church’s social doctrine in deeds as well as words.

He listed in his 2013 exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (##221-37) four principles for building a society marked by peace, justice and fraternity: 1) time is greater than space; 2) unity prevails over conflict; 3) realities are more important than ideas; and 4) the whole is greater than the part.

What do these principles mean? How are we to apply them?

There is an old saying among some of the clergy that asks, “Who can know what a Jesuit is thinking?”

As challenging, unnerving, and profound as Francis’s words may be, we are on safe ground in concluding that he is thinking, “I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security…my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving, and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: ‘Give them something to eat’ (Mk 6:37).”

Those are the words of the pope (EG, #49)! That much we can understand –readily!

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What did he/she say?

Sometimes I find myself saying the same thing my mother said decades ago (she died in 1973). I doubt she would really like my repeating some of her observations, but they do come quickly to mind in certain circumstances.

This realization got me to thinking about what others in the future may repeat because they heard me say it.

Mention Lord Acton’s name, and immediately we remember, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Refer to General William Tecumseh Sherman, and we hear the plaintive, “War is hell!”

Intimately wedded to Albert Einstein is “E=MC squared.”

Sam Goldwyn: "Any man who goes to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined."

Abraham Lincoln is identified with “Four score and seven years ago…”

Joni Mitchell: “They paved paradise / And put up a parking lot.” 

John Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”

 St. Julie Billiart; “How good the good God is!”

Yogi Berra: "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."

And my mom, when she could not suffer arrogance: “I’d like to buy him for what he’s worth and sell him for what he thinks he’s worth.”

And me? If I could leave one idea, one observation, I’d like it to be this: “God does not like to do things for us; God much prefers to do things with us.”

It’s that realization that helps me make more sense of the Incarnation, of the need for prayer, of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

God could do it all –but a good Father teaches his children not only by word and example but also by participation.

The Father could give us a fish but prefers to teach us how.