Pope Francis has been in the news these past few days. He has sent shock waves through the whole church. He has sent shock waves through the hierarchy and through the laity. He has sent shock waves through the world.
He speaks from his heart. He speaks with humility. He speaks with authenticity. He speaks with meekness. He speaks from his core. He speaks from his heart. He speaks as one Jesuit trustingly speaks to a brother Jesuit. He speaks with the personification of simple dress and modest living quarters.
He did not call for substantive changes in the church. He did not ask for changes in the teachings and traditions of the church. He did not present himself as having all the answers.
He did not pretend that he was rectifying past mistakes. He did not pretend to be a prophet. He did not condemn his predecessors. He did not pretend we have been waiting for him for the last 2,000 years.
Instead he simply asks all of us to take a fresh look at the way we present our doctrines and our traditions and our faith. He challenges us to be more compassionate in the way we proclaim that Jesus saves us.
He wants us to be more accepting and understanding of the pain and the hurt and the sufferings and the struggles of others. He asks for a change in style and a change in tone. He asks for a more embracing and inclusive attitude.
When the interviewer asked him “who are you “he freely and easily talked about his own frailties. He said, “I am a sinner.” He sees himself as a loved sinner and a redeemed sinner. He trusts in the infinite mercy of God.
Deep down in his heart he feels he is a sinner and yet loved by God. He knows he is redeemed by the infinite mercy of God. He feels in his bones that he is flawed and imperfect and yet loved and forgiven by God. He views himself as imperfect and struggling and yet loved and understood by God.
And then, in keeping with his Jesuit tradition, he says, “God is in every human being.” He sees God in everyone’s life. God is in the life of the person whose life has been a disaster. God is in the life of the person whose life is destroyed by an addiction. God is in the life of the person whose life is destroyed by vice.
He essentially has us believe that God is in us even if we were wounded as a child. God is in us even if we were neglected as a child. God is in us even if we were shamed as a child. God is in us even if we were abused as a child. God is in us even if we have a hole in our souls.
Loud and clear he is remembering that God loves us unconditionally and extravagantly and eternally. He knows that this awareness can heal us. This awareness can restore us to wholeness. This awareness frees us from being bound by the past. We can start all over. We can find renewal. We can live a path of transformation.
Living in his love and infinite mercy can transform our thoughts, our fears, our desires, and our longings. These are the inner qualities of the heart. And, the heart is the purest expression of who we are.
The heart guides us to be more accepting, more compassionate, more understanding, and more loving as Pope Francis hopes we become. And, in this way “we heal wounds and warm the hearts of the faithful.” That is how he sees his mission as Bishop of Rome.
Msgr. Thomas J. Morgan is a retired pastor of the Diocese of Camden.
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