Three Things I've Loved About Pope Francis

A prayer request, and then my top three highlights for evangelists from the late holy father's pontificate.

Happy Easter! It’s been one of those weeks when Christ’s victory over death is keenly appreciated. In addition to praying for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis, can I ask you to keep in your prayers my husband’s grandmother (age 94) who is also preparing to meet the Lord sometime very soon?

Meanwhile, I want to share three things I’ve truly admired about Pope Francis.

Laudato Si’

I don’t usually link from this newsletter to my blogging at Patheos, which often delves into political or other controversial topics, but in the interest of brevity, here is my initial reaction to the holy father’s encyclical on the environment, back when it came out in 2015.

I’m sorry the church didn’t run with this one, though I say that as someone quite comfortable with my affluent first-world lifestyle.

Nonetheless, I am grateful the holy father said what needed to be said, and in time here’s hoping we can live it out more fully.

On point for the topic of this newsletter: I think the church’s teaching on stewardship of the environment is a valuable part of our evangelical witness. The Good News isn’t an anti-pollution scheme, but who we are and how we act does flow from our understanding of what it means to live out our original mission as stewards of the earth in light of our reconciliation with the Lord.

(For those who don’t know me better: No, I don’t have a particular political agenda related to this topic. I think caring about pollution, resource conservation, and habitat preservation crosses party lines, though obviously persons of goodwill can disagree over what policies and practices are best in which contexts.)

Adoration during Covid

I remember my husband and I watching and praying along with the holy father as he led the world in adoration and worship of the Lord at the height of pandemic. Not a speech, not a program, not a meeting. I believe it’s the most moving thing I’ve ever seen a pope do, and it’s exactly what the spiritual leader of the entire world should be doing during a time of catastrophe.

Again, even though this was a Catholic moment to exceed all Catholic moments, I think it was also a powerful evangelical witness. I do think souls were turned to Christ on that day.

The Final Easter Blessing

I remember sometime during this year’s Holy Week a news commentator saying that the pope had come outside to greet the faithful despite advice from his medical team not to do so.

I was impressed by the holy father’s witness, in this way, to what the human body is for. Stewardship of our physical health isn’t for the purpose of maximizing longevity or hitting fitness goals. It’s something we are obliged to take seriously, rather, so that when we are called to do so, we can give of ourselves, even sacrificially, in living out our vocations.

There’s a time for miserably denying oneself in order to eke out that last Holy Week on earth, and there’s a time for dispensing that gathered up strength to deliver the final few pastoral words to the souls in your care.

May the soul of the holy father and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.