Sue, just a clarification: the Pope is not head of the RCC.  Jesus Christ holds that lofty position.  The Pope is the visible representative of Christ, but Jesus is himself really and truly in charge.  People like Buddy, who are consumed by people and personalities, miss this important distinction, to their scandal.  No human person can possibly manage the spiritual lives of all humanity, past present and to come.  That task requires godhead.  It is therefore an amazing grace that God has provided for us in his Son.  Don’t lose sight of this fact.  Blessed Easter to you!

@Buddy: I don’t know who is grumbling abt. the Pope washing a Muslim girl’s feet; but I do know, the Pope is a representative of Jesus and the head of the RCC and to Jesus we are all His children, no matter what Church one belongs to or doesn’t belong to.  I believe our new Pope Francis is setting a good example to us Catholics.  I have always believed that “example” teaches a lot more than “words”.  I would really like to see our Government do the same. I am really looking forward to the months ahead with our new Pope Francis.

Smincha—it looks like there are more Catholics terrified of Pope Francis as well. Some Catholics are howling over his washing the feed of two young girls (one is a Muslim!) on Thursday.
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So, do you think he’ll be a good change for the Church?

God help me, but I need to thank you Simcha - at the price of my life.  You are an excellent writer and a great soul.  May all the joys of Easter reach you in your aerie, and may all your looks be up.  (Re: “Good Friday,” take the cake, baby!)  Truant, I depart.

I’m glad the “time period for comments” has not expired.  But I shouldn’t be optimistic.  I could still be spammed…  It’s Easter Morn.  I’m coming out of a Lent that should not have been.  I’m looking at a landscape radically changed.  The grace of Resurrection has touched my life.  What should I do?...  I feel like it’s the end of an all night vigil from years ago, when floating out of the narthex, I felt the hands of older, wiser Catholics guide me to a cup of coffee and the day.  My feet don’t touch the ground.  I’m exhilarated and alone…  Where, trek, dost thou end?  Where findeth thou faith, O Man?  Wherefore art thou being?

Chaste spouse of Mary, pray for us.

How do I feel?  I feel like people who are looking for scandal are always going to be able to find it.?

Well, it turns out the scandal is not that they were juvenile criminals—he washed the feet of two women, and one was a Muslim!
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How do you feel about that, Smicha?

Whew! Thanks!

Matt, I laughed out loud once while reading the comments today—it was your description of singing at mass.  Boors don’t make me laugh, they make me scoff. My husband really sings with his heart in it too, so much so that I’ve been known to elbow him slightly.  Even when he embarrasses me I’m always in awe of how ardent his faith is. 
Thank you for your kind words again.  I write what inspires me, and also worry sometimes that I cross the line!

I think the Pope is taking things to the extremes. The humility is starting to turn me off to him. Part of humility is setting aside oneself and personal wishes and doing things we may not like to do. I don’t see him shedding all the things in 2 weeks time, I learned about a Pope growing up. Ok the shoes was one thing, now the apartment? Where we all know the head of the Church resides? Imagine if a President refused to live in the White House. I think the humility thing has been carried too far. Another political “tool” of the Popes, albeit a different one this time.

anna, I wonder.  When I started following Simcha about a year ago, you were prominent among her commenters.  In recent times you seem more reticent.

I have over these last few months really gained by your comments and observations.  But I wonder if I’ve been rude with my obstreperous rants.  I also wonder if you don’t consider me something of a boor.  I find that you’re a very class act, and maybe you’re offended by me.

I apologize if this is the case.  Please let me know and I will tone it down.

Matt,
Again, in your kindness, you have attributed too much to me.  I once had a confessor sent from God.  After some years of indulging in reading spiritual books I was left both edified and disconcerted.  I prayed with all my guts for a good spiritual director.  I actually prayed a novena.  God must have known how desperately I needed it, because at my next confession, the priest asked me point blank: “Would you like me to be your spiritual director?”  This had never happened before in my life, and it hasn’t happened since.  At times I was left a little bit off balance from how he counseled me.  What he recommended seemed too easy. Why is it that we want to punish ourselves more than God cares to?

Also, I read your comment which emerged from cyberabnegation.  You are so wise, anna lisa, for a woman so young.  Many of my contemporaries are struggling to learn truths which you have already mastered.  We often pray with people for deliverance, and lies have tied many of them in darkness.  You would be surprised how much a little love and a little light can do.  I have always cherished someone who cuts through the web of lies the world casts on souls.  I always measure myself against those who are deeper in love and sounder in truth than myself.  I always trust God to bring these holy elves into my life, at just the time I need them.  He always delivers.  Thank you.

anna lisa, I’m glad you understand the Solomon story spiritually.  As Solomon himself is a type of Christ, the thousand wives represent all of humanity - male and female, who are espoused to God as his creation.  Therefore, what is a fatal flaw in Solomon the man is merely a revealed truth as it relates to God: he is doting in his indulgence towards mankind - even to the point of erecting monuments to their erring idolatry.

Regarding the depiction of both man and women as “wives,” we all are “female” in view of an omnipotent God.

Grok and Sue,
My response got caught in the spam filter, so I suppose it will find the light of day, but I also want to add one more comment:  There is nothing new under the sun.  On the one hand, people have had the inclination to worship outward forms from day one—at the expense of love—or become so inclusive as King Solomon did with his wives’ idols, that the wisest man on earth traded the Spirit of God for stupidity.  Why should we be surprised if we find these extremes in humanity today?

I agree with everything you say. Thankfully I belong to a parish that does the Extraordinary (Latin Mass) form exclusively and most follow the laws of fasting, etc that existed prior to the changes of the 60s forward. It seems that the old ways build a much stronger Catholic. By the way, our parish is not empty and we are growing relatively fast, mostly from protestant converts. We also have a lot of new Catholics joining us, but oddly enough, the protestant converts see the genuine Catholicity of our practices and stay, while a few of the Catholics that join, love it but after a few years, a few will get a bit lazy or materialistic and go back to a regular parish where nothing is expected of them.

From what I have seen, it isn’t the high expectations that create empty pews, it is the lack of any real expectations. We have watered down the faith to the point where there is little difference in the lives of Catholics and Lutherans or Atheists. All are doing their own thing, sinning openly, questioning the bishops and Pope, with no worry of any punishment. I live in a town where it was about 90% Catholic but I couldn’t tell you who is Catholic where I work. There are a couple that mentioned mass around Christmas so I asked and they are Catholic, but I have yet to see anyone pray during meals or show any sign of being Catholic.

What ever happened to Jesus words, that we are to be NO PART OF THE WORLD, the world would know us by our love, that we need to leave behind friends, father, mother, wife, husband, in order to follow God. My God Mother just asked me to come to her ‘Catholic’ grand daughters wedding, which was not done by a priest. I’m sorry but I didn’t go or send a card.

Sometimes I wonder if we might be in the end times mentioned in Revelation where it said that the love of God by the greater number would cool off and that most of the world would be enemies of God. When 56% of Catholics agree with Gay marriage, they have become enemies of God.

I’m sorry, but we can’t pull Catholics into heaven by ignoring their ever more worldly and sinful lifestyles. We help them by being good examples, showing reverence for God publicly and in every part of our lives. Show charity for all but no tolerance for evil, just as Jesus had no tolerance for the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. We don’t want to be snobs, but there is nothing wrong with kindly reminding someone of their wrong course.

Sad to say, a very kind and loving Catholic woman I know, told me that none of her grand children are baptized. She thinks that it just shows the lack of faith in her children. It is much more than that. Jesus said that unless one is baptized, they cannot enter heaven. This is life and death. Most Catholics don’t even realize this because it is never preached from the pulpit anymore.

We, each and everyone of us is responsible for this. We do’t speak up, we don’t write our bishops, we don’t talk to our priests, we don’t openly show a good example. Yes, I am as guilty as anyone. I too haven’t openly done the sign of the cross at work. But after this article, I see that I need to show my faith openly and be a good example.

Grok and Sue, I was born in ‘66, I don’t have any memories of the church pre-vatican II.  I like to worship in two different churches: the ornate turn of the century church which I was married in, and the bare hall-like building which is the Catholic church for our local university.  I love both places for different reasons.  *All* of the priests at both churches are orthodox and faithful to the Magisterium. The hall-like church doesn’t bother me at all because it is simple, intimate and poor.  It reminds me of what it must have been like when Christians worshiped in the homes of the faithful.  Our priest there is so intelligent and unpretentious.  He fills the room with love of God, and inspires us with his obvious devotion and years of *loving* his flock.  Grok, I too spent some time early on, lamenting what I was taught in Catholic Schools etc.  It was more of the Cumbaya 70s groove problem than it was heterodoxy.  Now,I don’t get stuck over what it *should* have been. I focus on *gratitude* to the souls that I encountered along the way that truly passed on the *authentic* faith. I agree with both you and Sue that *selfishness* is the disease that infected the faithful and the church, even to the highest levels…but I am incredibly grateful to those great souls, JPII, and B16, who were amazing gifts to the church in troubled times.  I don’t get as hung up on which way the altar is facing etc.  If they change it back, so that the priest has his back to us, I won’t skip a beat either, but I truly do not believe some of these practices are the root of the problem in our church.  Self love is.

@Grok: “The hidden poor and needy are the ones that never get helped.”
I agree with much of what you say.. [your generation] my children’s generation are greedy along with my grand children’s. I do not feel that it was my generation’s fault, because most people I knew could not afford to give their kids everything they wanted, [WWII opened up the colleges to many] and my parents generation were the great depression generation, and we got next to nothing. My opinion, as I have looked over the years, is that when mothers went to work and brought in two incomes, that is when the greed started. [my children] so then their children [my grandchildren] have done the same thing and it goes on and on. [which is also why they have children later and less children] Then we had the influx of the illegal aliens who require much from the government, because they were told what they would get. The immigrants of Ellis Island came here “because the streets were lined with gold”. They found out differently. Now aliens come here to get what they can for nothing. [and they get it] Our government is a big mess, from what it used to be and so are our churches. The new generation is “I do what feels good and do as I please”.  So, the Church changes to accommodate. [because the pews are empty] Obama’s social justice, [which is not true social justice], gets the illegals to vote for him for what they can get and the mindset of many of them is their motto which is also within the Catholic Church “we were here before, we are here now and we are here to stay”. I know, I have heard the head of Hispanic Catholic Ministry cite this over and over.
I asked a friend yesterday if she thought we’d have statues in our new church [we are now worshiping in a big room.] She told me she did not think so because Father told her that some Catholics worship the statues. Huh? Sounds real Baptist to me. Many protestants believe that.

Now, I have heard many of the elderly say “I don’t care what other people do or think…I only care for my own soul.” I am in that confused group but I cannot help but think “is this the way a Catholic should feel?...only care for your own soul and not the soul of others?  That does not sit right with me. If anyone on this blog will explain that to me, please do. ” Am I my Brothers Keeper”
Hope this blog does not sound too confusing, but we live in a very confusing world today. We do not know whom to believe, even in our churches. Our bishops had better straighten out because that pedophilia did great harm to the Church. 

Claire,
I’m so sorry about what happened to you.  I didn’t know what to say when you first wrote it.  It left me speechless.  It’s been in my thoughts ever since.  You and your family are in my prayers.

As observed in NT writings, many of our first churchmen were imprisoned.  Peter, James, Paul - they were jailed by the authorities.  Jesus himself was apprehended and imprisoned, before his speedy trial and precipitous execution.  “But they were wrongly imprisoned,” you might say.

No, they were all guilty, and their imprisonment was proper.  Jesus really was a blasphemer, according to the Law of the Jews.  He did deserve death.  He claimed to be God, there’s no hiding it.  The fact that he was God is so improbable, you can almost forgive the Sanhedren for their evidentiary slip up.

Similarly, Paul, James, Peter - all the early martyrs were exactly what they were accused to be.  None of them was innocent.

@ anna lisa,

I don’t remember saying about the 1950s. I was talking about the poor CCD training in the 1970s. As far as the 1950s mentality, in reality it has nothing to do with a certain date or Vatican Council or whatever. What it has to do with is an ever more selfish attitude that we seem to have in our modern day. Perhaps it has to do with our materialistic society that allows us to want something and then just go buy it. If we don’t like what’s on TV, we change the channel. If we don’t like what God is telling us, we just change religions or try to change our own religion.

In the last 50 years we have seen the Vatican bend over backwards trying to make the US happy. We want the priest facing us, we want the mass in English, we want to be priests ourselves, we want women priests, we want same sex marriages, and on and on.

If these changes were put in place to help us love our neighbor more, to accept the sinner, to stop being so judgmental, basically to do as our Pope Francis is encouraging us to do, it has had the opposite effect. What we have seen is an ever growing selfishness. Why do you think there is such a fall off in religious vocations. Because we don’t want to serve others, to have to accept orders, to make a life long commitment to God, etc. Why should I have to deprive myself of sex when and how I want it? Why should I fast to show God how much I love him?

I drive through our 90% Catholic town and see the closed monestaries, empty churches, closed orphanages, but a new shopping center, and big beautiful homes, and new shiny cars, and I really don’t think we have our priorities straight.

I am a perfect example of this selfish life, with my four car garage and four bedroom home, three cars and a summer cabin. I am a product of the new church.

There was nothing wrong with the way the liturgy was done for centuries. Societies changed, attitudes changed, revolutions and wars, ect, yet the Church was the same. Catholicism kept growing, its adherents more devoted than any other religion. I don’t have rose colored glasses. I remember my family who were very devout prior in the 1950s but since then they have lost their faith. They seem to think that if the Church was wrong before about how the Mass should be done, Confessions should be performed, statues in churches, and on and on, maybe it doesn’t really matter how we worship God.

Yes, all the ‘changes’ I mentioned are just external trappings of an internal spirituality. But the saying I heard once is so true ‘The essence of Catholic liturgy is to employ things physical in order to bring us into the divine.  This is part and parcel of what it means to be sacramental.’ Our religion is one of both spiritual and material holiness. For example, sacramentals, which were for the most part disbanded by US Catholicism, yet were so important in helping maintain the spirituality of many Catholics. All these little things that many have abandoned, are in fact of great effect in keeping us physical beings cognizant of a spiritual world in our lives.

May we all come back to that simple Catholicism where we put God truly first in our lives by putting others first in our lives. Let’s free ourselves of this materialistic prison, and use our resources for serving God and our neighbor. 

And the wind cries, anna!

@Grok, it’s tempting to think that there was a golden age of Catholicism.  Maybe there was!  But I really don’t think it was in the 1950s.  Check out how bad the sex abuse crisis was in the L.A. archdiocese in the 50s, *pre-Vatican II*...The amount of abuse cases was *higher* there before Vatican II.
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What has infected the world is the worship of self.
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Paul knew his catechism *perfectly* before he was knocked from his proverbial horse.  After his encounter with Christ, he was able to write:
“I can know the language of angels, but if I don’t have love, I am a clanging gong..”
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Pope Francis is a breath of fresh air.

@ Jeni

I have the same problem with an examination of conscience as well. However, seeing the Holy Father’s example over the past week has led me to start realizing that avoiding mortal sins just isn’t enough, we have to act positively out of a deep and true charity for others, for *all*. And that startss with actually paying attention to others. How often do we buy something from a store or use a service and treat the workers there as if they were just inanimate machines who process our transaction? How many times do we only listen halfheartedly to someone because of some silly distraction? How often do we stop and look at our family and shake ourselves out of our habitual treatment of them to see them as beautiful human beings of inestimal value who deserve our full attention? It is so easy to get caught up in oneself and forget that actually living a life that is full of charity and focused on others is *not* optional for us Christians, it is in fact the very heart of the Gospel message. It is so humbling to realize how far we have to go.

Sleepyhead is my Friday March 22 hero.
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And Matt, I’d like to think that I’d never stoop to having a sock puppet to agree with what I have to say (our troll is a virtuoso).  But every now and then a Spidey suit…Now that’s a different story.

@sleepyhead,

I am grateful to God for the healing and forgiveness you have found and the peace it has brought you after so much horror and pain.  It is also true that forgiveness in these circumstances is a life long process and not something we can rush (as I am sure you know) and it would be regrettable if others who shared their stories were hearing that we were making it sound otherwise, or that they should hurry up and forgive or else they will not be forgiven by our Father.  Our Father who is rich in mercy will only ask you to forgive what it is possible and healthy for you to forgive at the time.  Those who experienced such abuse will discover new needs for forgiveness and healing till they themselves rest in the arms of Jesus.

May the kindness of our Lord heal us in this time of trouble.

I read somewhere that the people getting their feet washed HAD to be male because it was ONLY males whom Jesus washed. Now, it’s kids, women. When I converted I said no, but was assured that it was okay. I hope it goes back to all males, no little kids-no females at least in the local parishes.

sleepyhead, I have to acknowledge you.  But don’t stop at mere forgiveness - reach for joy.  You can have it.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, during His public ministry, taught in the temple, chose 12 apostles who leaving everything followed Jesus.  He went to feasts and weddings and changing water into wine.  He is accused of being a glutton; of eating with sinners and publicans. He visited His friends for dinners…and sat talking to them.  He took the little children close to him and blessed them and their parents. Jesus got angry and chased the money changes from the temple, cursed the fig tree and cursed those who scandalize and hurt especially little children.

He preached His Gospel and fed the multitudes.  He drove out devils from those possessed by evil spirits.  He cured the sick, gave sight to the blind and made the crippled walk again.  He raised the dead to life. He forgave sinners, including the woman taken in adultery telling her “sin no more.”  He went to the mountain to pray in solitude.  He allowed Himself to be tempted by satan and vanquished him to show us how to overcome temptations of pride, false humility to be seen by men; quest for power and the worship of the attractions of the world and everything the world stands for.

Jesus gives us His example and direction as how to live: For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I WAS IN PRISON, AND YOU CAME TO ME. … The King answering will say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.

On Palm Sunday, knowing full well what was to come, Jesus did not refuse to ride on a donkey through the streets of Jerusalem where many spread their garments and boughs from the trees in the way to their adulation and went before and followed Him, saying: Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.  Jesus shows us how to be humble even when we are praised by others, yet soon to prove how short-lived such praise can be.

Yet, on Holy Thursday Jesus is not on the road, in the soup kitchen, in the hospital or the prison or with His friends eating by the wayside or by the sea shore or in a fishing boat as He frequently did.

On the eve of His Death for the Salvation of the mankind, on this Solemn Holy Thursday Jesus is with His Twelve.  Not even His Mother is there.  Jesus asks His disciples to “go and prepare the Upper Room which was large furnished dining room,”  “Where I may eat the Pasch with my TWELVE disciples.”  The Greatest Miracle and Gift to the world was about to be given. 

Jesus washes the dirty feet of these twelve men who followed him, including the feet of Judas who was to betray Him.  He then goes on to make them His Priests by instituting the Holy Priesthood and The Most Holy Eucharist – His True Presence.  His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity to be in our midst until the consummation of the world.

The greatest example shown in humility, is in giving up our own will to follow God’s plan and God’s will, in silence, without flaunting actions, in obscurity and love, even for the Pope who is not just the Bishop of Rome but the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church that is over two thousand years…which is made up od over a billion of souls. 

Irenic,
I don’t think I want to ignore your comments because they are true and you made me think. We all need to think. We all need to be a bit uncomfortable when faced with truth. We all are temped to think we are God, whether more liberal, middle of the road, and more traditional. We judge each other as too whether we meet our idea of what God wants. Pope Francis made me uneasy because I recognized that in myself.

For example, when I was a young man, I was very strong and healthy. I didn’t have compassion for those who couldn’t wouldn’t care for themselves. I knew that people will use any excuse to get out of work. But when I came down with an illness that put me in bed, on and off for years, I learned that it isn’t always laziness. We all need to show compassion and try to put ourselves in the place of the one in need. Pope Francis is showing us how selfish we are. Yes, we need to feel VERY UNCOMFORTABLE.

But my other point above was that in becoming more compassionate, we need to be discerning and not spend all our efforts on those who don’t really need our help (are taking advantage) but help those that may not be visible, may not be smart or healthy enough to get on the government dole. The hidden poor and needy are the ones that never get helped. Perhaps asking our parish priest if he knows anyone in this situation. Perhaps calling the diocese to find out where we can be most helpful.

This morning I read a blog explaining why not washing the feet of priests on Holy Thursday is a poor choice.  Having never been to a Mass at a cathedral on Holy Thursday, I had no idea this was the “norm”, and whispers of how I must be a bad Catholic for admiring Pope Francis and not knowing what it’s “supposed to be” started to ring in my ears.
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Then I read this blog and suddenly everything was right in the world again.  God is pushing me to clean out the recesses of my heart. He’s challenging me like Paul did the Jews in Rome to not just talk the talk but walk the walk of being one of God’s followers.  And it’s a great reminder that in the end, it’s the status of my heart that matters more than what my head knows about liturgy.  Away evil whispers, and welcome the true challenges of God.

Wow! Very good read. The picture above says a lot of things. I hope what Pope Francis did to them will do good and help them in their difficult battle. This is really a life-changing event. Thank you for sharing this.

@ann from Steubenville and @Corita
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actually, you can heal… by forgiving your rapist
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I was raped as a child… two diff men, two diff houses, two diff ages for me…
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I was raped twice as an adult… again, two diff men, two diff occasions…
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I was mistreated several times by several others…
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I began with the last two - no names, no addys, nothing to tell the cops but what theyd done to me, what they forced me to do to them… I went to confession for all 4x (in spite of 1 being several times between 9 and 13)... I confessed I couldn’t forgive any of them… the priest said to say our father every time I thought of any of them… he couldn’t forgive me until I forgave them… but he absolved me ahead for them…
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next two were hard… my uncle sought me out for forgiveness at reunion…I said I forgave him, as time went on, I did…
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last was my daddy… I told him he shouldn’t have… but I forgave him anyway… I know I did because I can sleep now…
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I’ll pray for you both… I’ve been forgiven, because I forgave them…

Jeni - I forgot to say, the greatest example of all of holiness is Jesus himself.  Pick up a bible.  It’s the greatest story ever told.  But it’s also a great how-to book.

Jeni - do you mind if I comment?  It’s not a bad thing if you’ve overcome the temptations to mortal sin.  When you turn around and discover that you’re no longer committing murder or adultery - it’s something to rejoice over!  If your transgressions are only “kitchen sins,” you’ve come a long way in your walk with God.

But then, the Lord calls you to perfection.  Turn your sight to the higher calling.  Read “The Way of Perfection” or “The Story of a Soul” and aspire.  Who said that holiness was only for great saints?

Grok: please ignore the three comments above.

Oh Simcha, I was going to say something along the lines of how do you stand all the people who clearly have missed the entire point of your writing when it makes *my* eye twitch—and then I saw the jerks comment :)

Human after all ;)

Lord have mercy—I struggle big with the whole no mortal sins at confession pride thing. It’s so easy to think how great I am rather than reflect on sins I am still responsible for though I’ve been forgiven. I do really struggle with that sense of pride though. How do we really come to grips (at a tolerable, approachable level) of our inadequacies, flaws and sins? In other words, I suck at examinations of conscience. Any advice? Especially advice that’s more entertaining to read as an NC Register post than what I typically find in a pew?

anna lisa, why do you tempt us with sock-puppet talk.  I’m waiting to hear your real voice.

Irenic, while you’re right, you’re wrong.  The gospel calls us to be Christ.  Every day, in all we do.  There is no rationalization or excuse.  It is an inexorable calling.

While I do have to admit that washing the feet of prisoners(young and old)will hurt victims by reminding them that there will always be CIMINAL DEFENSE,and never VICTIM DEFENSE especially for rape victims.Yet,washing the feet of single mothers are excellent because they are the ‘outcasts’ of the Church and ,to some degree, society.

As someone who has been apparently classed as “a modern pharisee, a crank, a bitter, unloving one”:  Yeah.  I have not committed every species of sin; for example, I pretty obviously have never committed suicide.  Sadly, I have, however, broken each of the ten commandments in one way or another.  With very, very few exceptions, I think anyone over 20 who is remotely self-aware can say the same thing.  Therefore I have no problem whatsoever with Pope Francis washing the feet of inmates; it is a moving symbol.  Let’s just remember, though, that it is NOTHING BUT A SYMBOL.  Specifically, it is not a sacrament.  So is it more moving to have the Pope wash the feet of prisoners than to hear their Confessions?  No.  Is it move moving than giving them Communion?  No.  Does it really make their lives better in a way that is more powerful or more important than Confession or Communion?  Of course not; it’s not even remotely close.  Let’s keep this in mind.  When the Holy Father says Mass in prison, the (optional!) foot-washing is among the least important things that will be done.

In reading up on the new Holy Father I’ve come across his term “self-referential” more than once. As I understand it, we erroneously view things with ourself as the point of reference.  If we see sinners the way Christ does, we’ll see someone that He thought was worth dying for, and the only true horror would be if He were to have died for nothing in their regard. As long as we’re still breathing, we’re living in His Mercy; Justice comes after. The Holy Father doesn’t want to lose them either. He’s a great imitator of St. Francis who on one occasion I read laid in a roadway rescuing worms from being trampled, because Christ had once compared Himself to a worm, and no man. Yes, he pretty scarey.

He terrifies me, too!

My husband’s comment:  “My God, we’re not great at being Catholics, now he’s going to show us up as even worse Christians!?!?”

Thanks, Pope Francis!

I believe that Simcha meant “terrify” in a good way: challenging, discomforting, astonishing—He’s going to push our comfy beliefs of holiness and dare us all to follow Christ in a pretty basic honest way

Grok Hadrian: We know we are on the right when we simply thank God for sending along people we can help in some way. If we want to be perfect, all we need to do is just get on with it! i.e. don’t go blogging about your good works or you may lose the spiritual benefit!

Or rather: There’s only one thing WE really need to know about God at this time. We’re not Him!

Grok Hadrian: Matthew 25 contains the entire message of the Gospel, from the wise and foolish virgins through to the incarnation beautifully manifest in God’s poor, and the last judgement. If you are uncomfortable with Pope Francis it is because God has given you a conscience. There’s only one thing you really need to know about God at this time. You’re not Him.

Personally, I too am uncomfortable with our new Pope. I think many may take is message and use it as an excuse to remove the importance of the Praise and Love of God first. There is nothing wrong with a reverent mass and beautiful church. Many Bishops spent millions of dollars removing statues from old churches and remodeling to ‘Simplify’ the church. Not exactly the point I think our Pope is trying to make.

What I think we need to learn now is to live a simpler poorer life than we need. Use that extra time and or money to help others. We need to be discerning though. You can give your $10 to the drug addict on the street corner who will use it for more drugs, or you can send it to those Christians who really need it that are being driven out of Egypt and Iraq. We can go to a concert for some environmental cause or take that time to visit a shut in from your local parish.

The sad thing is that so many may have had the same experience I had as a young man. I grew up in the 1970s CCD classes where it was all about love your neighbor and forgiveness. Good qualities to learn no doubt but there was never anything about loving God FIRST.

I spent the first 10 years of my adult life forgiving too much and loving too much. After being taken down to the point of suicide, I realized that we still must use a little smarts about it. Jesus forgave the woman at the well but he told her she must sin no more. She would have been stoned by the Jews but Jesus forgave her with one requirement, sin no more.

I think part of our super greedy and selfish society today may be a backlash to the ideas of the welfare state where we had the attitude that if you help someone, they will respect you and appreciate it. What we learned is that the poor can be just as greedy and selfish as the rich.

There are so many great ways to help the needy and there are many different types of need. We are money rich but time poor. Old people die of loneliness, while we give money to cure cancer. Someone dies in Hospice where nobody comes to visit while a cancer researcher lives in a million dollar home. I think we need to get into the trenches. Sending money isn’t usually the answer, using our hearts and hands is.

Wonders!!AARP has a good article about Pope Francis…The Pope is already working in this world of ours.  Check it out by putting the following on your Search Line:

AARP ON AGING/Papal Pearls of Wisdom

@Fred:  It wasn’t my intention to malign the TLM, and I’m sorry if I gave that impression.  I go to the TLM every Sunday.  I like incense, birettas, and nice vestments.  I will take an a capella rendition of “De Profundis” over an acoustic guitar version of “One Bread, One Body” any day of the week.

My beef is only with those traditionalists who, like some spawn of Mr. Blackwell and Marcel Lefebvre, turn every news item about the Pope into a chance to kvetch about his sartorial choices.  And I take issue with those who seek to interpret every act of charity by His Holiness as a symbol of “false humility.”

Right now many are upset about his choice to forgo the Holy Thursday Mass at St. John Lateran.  I don’t doubt that such a Mass would have been very beautiful, but I think these people are misinterpreting the decision as some sort of attack on Tradition, or on his predecessor.  I think that’s unfortunate—and, without any evidence that that is his intention, uncharitable.

I was once attacked. I was helpless for quite some time, and by a miracle, God let me free of my attacker at the last minute.  The end result was, I was made a fool of by the entire school, and most of my friends hated me.  I was driven to great distress to the point I knew I could not take him to court. There wasn’t enough evidence anyway.

But, a friend of mine introduced me to one of this “child’s” other victims. She had to drop out of school to take care of his child. Her peace with the situation was humbling. She said she forgave him because she had received such a precious gift from such a terrible situation.  For weeks I wandered around in a daze, brought low by her example.  Her example helped me heal more than anything else.

I have a feeling that this daze is going to be a frequent experience in our new Pontificate.

Fred,
Thanks.
I’m possibly the biggest liturgical music snob below the Mason Dixon Line & would happily attend Latin Mass exclusively, but it’s not offered in our small, rural parish.
I like to look at things from both sides.If not, like you say, we lose sight of the potential for humor & life’s too short for that.
God bless.

Thanks Kathleen, yes I probably overreacted and forgot that there is potential for humor here.  I guess one can get hypersensitive when always being bashed for loving the TLM.

Thank you Simcha.  I needed to hear this.

I have to admit that I was visibly disturbed by this post, and by the comments that followed it.  Simcha has learned the art of positing positively jarring truths in counterposition.  At first I perambulated the radical Jesus image of the Pope.  He really is a nice old man.  Then I was subjected to the brutal truth that high school football players are slaying their sisters on the streets of Steubenville.  Pucker up Francis.  But this is not his soiree.  He has spent his adult life with Jesuit scholars learning geometry.  Steubenville is my street; these rapist kids are my kids, I taught them this; the rape victims are me, my wife, my daughter.  I let this happen.  It was me.

“Love your enemies and bless those who persecute you.”  Mt 5:44. Some of Christ’s most challenging words. Love means desiring their greatest good, not necessarily warm, fuzzy feelings. What is the highest good?  To know and love Jesus so that they will live forever in heaven.

TRS and Sue (old)—thank you both very much. 

ann—many people here are praying for you.

Yes, and also, what the pope is is the VISIBLE head of the Church on earth. He is the visible representative of Jesus. This is exactly what Jesus did.

AMDG

Methinks “John the parade-spoiling commenter” on this thread is half-right: “When you [minister to the underprivileged], don’t [even] let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,” says the Bible—which I take to mean, in part, anyway—be unassuming about your “almsgiving”. But “John” has wrongly neglected at least two other Bible passages: “Let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” And: “For everything there is a season.”—now, a time to do good quietly without trumpeting it, and now, a time to do good publicly without making Herculean efforts to hide it.

Kathleen, I was a bit of a gnat strainer, until I got competely flattened by circumstances.  By the time I had “come to,” I had no idea of who I was, what I was doing, or what needed to be done.  I couldn’t rationalize anger or indignation.  I didn’t know who needed to be punished, or why.  It all kind of just “was.”

Detachment allows you to step back and “let it be.”  After that, all the gnat-strainers get the high sign.  I don’t go there any more.

Fred,
I wear a head covering, used to attend weekly Tridentine Mass & sang in the schola.I get the humor.If we’re honest, I think we can all admit we’ve met some of those gnat-straining folk at Mass at least once or twice…God bless them.

The desire to control things makes our hearts and minds go in such crazy directions.  Sometimes I look up my rapist on the internet and see how many times he has been arrested lately and how his music career is going.  I pray for him that he will have or a conversion of heart—maybe he already has but I wouldn’t know, so I pray anyway and know Our Lord isn’t bound by linear time.  Sometimes I want to contact the woman he was with at the time of the prosecution—later became his wife and his music partner.  They have split up now.  I want to see how she is doing.  He victimized her, too in other ways. 
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But I can’t do these things because of the potential for harm, to myself and others. So I just pray and give it to God. Working on my own false desire to control the world has helped me heal 1000 times over my rapist’s “comeuppance.”

Did I really see people here start mocking the people that go to the Traditional Mass?  That was so far out of context of this piece that they should be ashamed of themselves.  Really?  You had to come here and throw another log in the fire to try and get your little jabs in?  Simcha wrote a great peace here and you basically just stepped all over it with nonsense. Very sad.

At Bill >  No one is ENTITLED to the love of God, or His mercy.  God freely gives love and mercy.  We are entitled to nothing. 

At Ann, in Steubenville > I will pray for you.  I have been to Steubenville.  I can understand what you are saying.  I cannot imagine your suffering.  St. Maria Goretti will help you and other rape victimes here through this so you can all forgive 77 times.  Please talk with her.  Tell her how angry you are.  And let Jesus know, too!

Great piece.  Obviously Pope Francis will challenge us more than Simcha Fisher does.  ;)

Well, they say a good pastor should comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Pope Francis excels at both.

I don’t think Jesus meant to visit a prison to see prisoners and visit them. So many are prisoners of their own making and living beside us daily. They are so involved in this earthly life that they cannot see they have a soul which will go on living forever somewhere else.
To “visit” them, we must let them see our good example as Pope Francis is doing. We must tell them that they have another life somewhere after this earthly one.  If we fail to do this, we are not “visiting” those prisoners and if we do talk to all our “brothers” about God we are opening the door to their “cell” and letting them see more than the world around them. (and perhaps keeping them from actually being imprisoned in a penitentiary)
PLEASE GOD ENLIGHTEN YOUR “SHEEP”

@ARM- My mother always taught us that there are different ways to be “imprisoned.” The corporal act of mercy could include visiting someone imprisoned in their home/nursing home due to old age or sickness, as well as visiting someone in prison. I agree that it is wrong to leave it out of the CCD curriculum. Even if children cannot go to visit the inmates, the seed can still be planted to make them mindful of those “imprisoned” around them.

@ Claire, God love you, I understand what you mean about thoughts going where you don’t want to. I will pray for yor rapist with you in mind…. And my sisters rapist/ murderer too.
. You are so precious. Thank you for chiming in.

Sue ,
You’re right.There’s pretty strong evidence linking marijuana use &  psychosis in some young people.I don’t particularily want to see it legalized for that reason, but maybe decriminalized.It’s a trade-off between pyschosis in vulnerable kids & the rest of the public at risk of getting gunned down by the drug cartels & gangs.I guess either way we lose.
Opium’s got it’s good points. It’s very valuable for legit. medical use.We used to buy paragoric & parapectolin for “runny tummies.” Tincture of opium was an ingredient.It worked great but tasted nasty.

Sue - what’s killing me is that all this drug use is masking a deep inner pain.  Happy kids don’t turn to drugs.  Stressed out kids do, emotionally volatile kids do, kids subjected to inordinate amount of pressure to succeed, or to look pretty, or to get along - these kids do.

Drug use is like a thermometer of how we’re all doing.  And right now the fever is up to 104 degrees.  Next thing that happens is that we start shedding blood in the Coliseum or mass marketing snuff films.

I hope that Pope Francis has some answer to this.  What we need is divine triage.

@Matt B: I agree, there is too many drugs in this world and the kids are using them, also many adults . Right now in Calif. they have many, many medical marijuana [cannabis] stores open. My nephew tells me it is disgusting. It is really a joke! From everything I have learned, one can get on the internet and fake anything, so why not a prescription from their M.D. These “social” drugs not only hurts the user, but their family and all the people connected to them. I don’t know if everyone knows how it brings on mental illnesses also.  Yet, our Government does nothing about it. Our Government would rather tell us not to eat fast foods. Calif. even tells people how to grow it…..like the devil won’t get right in the middle of it all. Back in the mid 1800’s one could get a drug called opium, over the counter, for their complexion. History repeating itself, in a way.

When I found out that one of my brother in laws was a serial sex offender who has never been brought to justice, I was repulsed and shocked.  He has abused countless women.  Some were willing victims; wives of neighbors who cheated with him, and girls who stuck around long enough for him to pay for their abortions.  He even had an incestuous relationship with his sister when she was a young teenager.  When my husband was a little boy, this same older brother brought him into a bedroom, showed him where to hide and then went and got one of the maids.  He raped her five feet from where my husband was crouched in a closet, watching.
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How did this happen to a family that appeared to be so upstanding?  They turned their backs on Christianity.  They became more worldly than they already were.  They allowed pornography to be a dirty little secret, stuffed in nightstands and on video tapes, for children to find.  How did this happen?  When my husband’s mother was a teenager, her brother in law raped her.  When the crime was hushed up for the sake of keeping up appearances; and when my husband’s mother was shunned for being a “willing” participant, my husband’s mother rejected the faith of the family that would never forgive her.  In time this poor woman turned to militant feminist ideology to channel her rage.  How ironic that her feminist ideology, which translated to living for yourself rather than God gave birth to a prolific rapist.
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About 18 years ago, before I knew about most of this, I heard that my brother in law had squandered most of his father’s money on supposed business dealings in Europe.  My mother-in-law was terrified that he was about to kill himself.  I prayed for him, sending him a miraculous medal, with a letter of encouragement and wrote out the Memorare for him.  Ten years later, when he came to visit at Christmas, he took our family out, and I noticed he was wearing the medal around his neck.  He still lives a worldly life, but I know he started going to mass.
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I know this is going to sound bizarre, and you can take it or leave it, but the first time I ever saw a devil is when I was a newlywed and lived in the apartment that my brother in law had moved out of, with my new husband.  I awoke to the sight of a horrifying creature that took up half the room.  I couldn’t calm down (stop screaming)until my husband and I got on our knees in the middle of the night and prayed the rosary.
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Our war is not just with flesh and blood.

@John Barnes - I think you’re sugar coating it John.  The last few generations have been increasingly high - on whatever drug is flowing down the pipeline at the moment.  To complicate matters, things that used to be innocent in and of themselves, have been converted to drugs: sports, entertainment, food, politics, religion.  To put it bluntly, we are a nation high on dope.  When people walk around high, young people especially, all kinds of irresponsible things take place - like Steubenville.  But don’t worry, because violent crime is a drug too, and fits quite nicely into the narcotic picture.

This piece reads my mind today.  When I read about his plans for Holy Thursday it put a big light on my own sin and weakness.  One of my thoughts was, “Sure, it is great that he is serving those who need him, but what is wrong with a pretty ceremony with all the tradition some times.”  He’s been in charge for a week and has already broken me out of feeling like I’m doing “well enough.”  “...for what I have failed to do,” indeed!

This is a great reflection.  As someone who volunteers in a juvenile detention center I face the same conflict each week.  I meet with these young men and build a relationship with them.  Just as I think about how horrible it is that they are behind bars I’m reminded of what they did to be there.  It’s a good tension, one I embrace because it reminds me how difficult it is to love unconditionally like God.

I think the Pope is setting the bar high, and I look forward to following his lead.

ann: I have been raped.  I understand how you feel.

I always remind myself that nobody’s humanity is destroyed by circumstances. Rape doesn’t make us less even though we were treated like less than human.

This has to apply also, in some way, to people who chose to behave in a way that rejects their own humanity, as a rapist does.

I have been sleepless and distracted, horrified, sad and traumatized over this Steubenville case. I am praying for you and everyone else suffering in this way. Please pray for me, if you can.

Do we know anything really about the parents of these boys? I mean, maybe we do, but I don’t. I don’t know that they don’t have good praying parents who are heartbroken.

AMDG

+While I can accept your reaction to these two young guys who have committed these heinous crimes, there are some aspects we need to look at. So often in our society children are not disciplined in their formatative i.e not abused. If not, then they do not learn to be self-disciplined. These kids are also not taugt to accept respospnsibility for their actions and the consequences that go with them. Witout this formation, people grow up believing that anything goes.

I’m from Steubenville and I’ve been raped here. You don’t seem to understand what rape is like… that girl will never recover, ever. There’s no end to her pain. Rape doesn’t end when the actual act is done; it doesn’t end when the rapist is caught; it doesn’t end at all. It’s so much worse than murder. I can’t believe those two are human (or my rapist, or the sex offenders who are allowed to live normal lives all around this area) and I can’t forgive the people who feel sorry for them. Some things cut you off from the human race forever—being raped and being a rapist both do.

@JoAnna, No problem.

@Bill, I think Simcha is saying that he terrifies her because he challenges her to go further herself—not to be complacent with any kind of halfway commitment to Christ.

@Buddy, She IS praising him.

AMDG

The crime of rape puts two persons in prison.  They share a cell.  Rape is an act of abuse, the kind that keeps on giving.

Every sin is an act of abuse, aggression that just keeps giving and giving and giving.

I’d like to think there’s freedom from this sort of thing.

I went to Confession yesterday.  I have *never* felt the way I did during it: the constant urge—sometimes not realized until the words were already out—to make excuses and “explain” my bad behavior.

Was this a new onslaught, an attack of evil?  Or is it my awareness that is new?
Pope Francis terrifies me, too.

Something tells me that Sock puppet Sandy has joined us here on the thread.  He-she is hungry, and hungry for destructive attention.

I’d like to welcome Bill, Buddy, and all the readers from the great state of Not Getting It.

@Buddy Sorrell:  nope, go back and read it again.  There’s a difference between “inexcusable” and “unforgivable.”

“Pope Francis, future patron saint of the socially awkward.  Oh, how we’ve needed you!”

“I do wonder how well he will get along in the Vatican with everyone catering to him in all ways.  It should be interesting and amusing.”

I wrote the above quote just above and it has already come true and is amusing. Just heard on TV that Pope Francis made a call outside the Vatican on his own, instead of going through proper sources. When he said “this is the Pope”, the operator said “and this is Napoleon”. He finally convinced her that it was he.
[Megan Kelly on Fox News.]  Guess it is true and sounds just like him.  He will have a lot to learn in the Vatican or maybe he already knows and is doing his own thing. God Bless Pope Francis!

I am just crazy about our beautiful Pope Francis! And yes, he terrifies me in ways I can only say “thank God!” He is showing me exactly what I need to see, and he is changing me in ways I so need to be changed. And it has only been a week! I am praying that he stays healthy and safe so he has time to make a lasting impact on the Church and the world. Critics? I am sad for them, they’re so blind, and so let’s pray for them too.

It’s the first time I’ve read a Catholic blog that agreed that some crimes are unforgivable.
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Pope Francis promises to be more liberal than the popes of the past. You were full of praise for him until this blog. Now you are beginning to have second thoughts and starting to miss Benedict.
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I wonder—will the National Catholic Register start bashing their new Pope?

I have to ask, maybe i’m “thick”  why “Pope Francis, you terify me?”????  Why does he terifiy you?

I know that the people in prison are there for good reason.  They have done something that society deems very wrong.  With that said… they are serving their time.  Paying the price for their deeds.  Hopefully they are doing it with remorse for their actions. And there is the point.  They are in NEED of Reconciliation, with the people they hurt, the Church and with God Himself.  Most importantly with God, their final judge.  Pope Francis is showing us that even the “worst of us”, or who we think is the “worst of us” is ENTITLED to the LOVE OF GOD.  After all, isn’t that why God sent his only begotton Son?
Francis is giving us a reputation to live up to.

Well done once again, Simcha.  Pope Francis should frighten us because we have it pretty good here - all things considered.  I heard someone comment that “there goes all the liturgy work laid by Pope Benedict because Pope Francis was going to the jail to celebrate Holy Thursday.  My thought was - Pope Francis is the embodiment of the liturgy work laid by Pope Benedict….he (Francis) is living the liturgy by serving the most in need - imprisoned youth….could you imagine what this visit could do for these children?  We, as Catholic adults, should shout well done, faithful Francis - thank you for showing us how to live the True Body of Christ.  Just as we should say thank you and well done to Pope Emeritus Benedict….well done - thank you for showing us how to live the True Body of Christ.  Thank you, Simcha - you always make me think, and pray.

Simcha, this is hard hitting.  Last night I was texting my daughter at 10, just to hear her voice.  I know she is often sitting on a bench at a bus stop in Oakland at that time, because she stayed late in the computer lab.  Fear is always nipping the edges of my heart.
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As I read through this my mind went continually to that piece you once wrote about forgiveness of our brother (sister) seven times seventy—for a single crime.  This liberated me to forgive myself, for the fact that I bear lingering resentment for those who have committed crimes against my family.  But I plod on, and pray for these ones that have been abusers more than those whom I admire and consider upstanding Catholics.
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I lived a protected life.  My parents were good, upstanding people.  The worst abusers that have impacted my family, were all the victims of rape.  These poor women struggle in their own private hell because of it, and this affected everyone around them. The poor wretches that abused them were like lightening rods for hell. I don’t lose hope about it though. Love is stronger than death, and it will prevail over the hell that we create on this earth. I too tremble when I consider what the gospel says: “to those whom have been given much, much is expected.”  At the end, we will all have to give an accounting.  We may be surprised over how our sins (“thank you God, that I am not like that sinner over there…”), and the sins of an abused criminal (“remember me Lord, when you come into your kingdom”)all stack up in the final “wash”.

@Clair: “I try to pray for them myself, but the “prayer” turns into thoughts that I don’t need to have”. 
Clair, you don’t need to pray special prayers for them…just say the “Our Father” and pray to God to give you strength to get on with your life….leave the praying for the prisoners to your fellow Christians.  You are a very strong, giving and kind person and I shall pray for you and all rape victims, with love, for all of you have much to bear.

Wow! is right! You rock, Simcha! Pope Francis will shame all of us and/or make us aware of how ashamed we should be.

Apologies, AMDG, I did not see John’s comment and thought your were responding to Simcha’s piece.

I’m a rape victim.  I work on trying to forgive my attacker (he’s been in prison for 14 years and will remain there for at least 11 more) and I’m not there yet.  Thank God for Pope Francis and for all of the others who minister to prisoners; they’re doing what I cannot do myself.  When Jesus said to visit the imprisoned, I’m sure he didn’t mean only the unjustly imprisoned, or the victims of circumstance, or the political prisoners.  I’m pretty sure he meant all of them, even the worst criminals.  Pray for the man who attacked me, and for all violent criminals.  I try to pray for them myself, but the “prayer” turns into thoughts that I don’t need to have.  Thanks for posting this.

@don. “So what you are saying is forgiveness only belongs to those who don’t sin too bad?”

I don’t believe that is what Simcha is saying…  But she is saying that some of us pridefully make that mistake. Yes.
And we do.  We must remember that forgiveness is for everyone. Even the really really terrible things.
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A friend of mine told me that he didn’t have much use for the idea that someone who has murdered, raped, tortured people could be forgiven and wind up in heaven next to him someday. He said, “if someone like Charles Manson can be forgiven and get to heaven, then I don’t want to be in a heaven like that!”
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What wrong thinking!  That’s when I knew just how far he has fallen from the church!
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Yes. I should hope and pray that the man who murdered my sister is truly repentant, and when I get to heaven and see my sister, he’s just an arms length away.  How glorious would that be?
Of course, I’m not there yet. I still want him to suffer. I still want his life to be miserable. I don’t want him to fall in love or have children.  ( because I don’t get to, and I haven’t murdered anyone!)
But I’m working on it.
Because I do truly know that if there is not forgiveness for him, forgiveness for the really big, bad ugly sins - then how could I deserve forgiveness for my “small” sins?

What a gifted writer you are, Simcha!  I am writing this with tears quivering, threatening to fall.

“I will remember this next time I go to confession.  I will tamp out that little spark of hellish pride that tells me, “Aren’t you great to be coming here, asking forgiveness!  Good for you, making the trip when you don’t even have any mortal sins to confess.  You’re not such a bad kid!  Jesus will take care of it!  Jesus has your back.  This is just a big misunderstanding, so let’s get this ridiculous trial over with so you can get back to your superstar life.”

What a powerful paragraph - and one I swear was taken from my head.  Thank you.

@John: Just as Christ washed the feet of his apostles.  This is a sign of humility in the Catholic Church. The Pope is SHOWING US, not just TELLING US how to love people, who can be hard to love. Also, even though he is Head of our Church, he is our Servant, sent by God.  As to that rape in Steubenville, I felt sorry for that young man who cried. These kids had to have been drunk or on drugs. Someone said in another article, that a parent or teacher cannot teach children compassion. I disagree with that. Example: as a young teenager I came home and told my Mom that a girl I knew was pregnant. Mom said, ‘yes she knew that’ and I said, ‘but Mom she is not married’ and her answer was ‘Yes, I know I feel sorry for her and her family’.  I knew right away what she meant because in those days it was a disgrace on the family.  So, yes, one can teach compassion to children. Pope Francis follows how Jesus taught, from everything I have read about him as Cardinal.  I do wonder how well he will get along in the Vatican with everyone catering to him in all ways.  It should be interesting and amusing.

John,

There is a time for not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing and a time for modelling virtue to those under your spiritual care. As an ordained man I feel that leading by example is very important. In addition, because he is a humble man, Pope Francis seems like someone for whom letting people see, film, photograph his acts of charity could be a large sacrifice in and of itself.

http://www.marymotherofcaptivessupport.org/pen-pal.htm

Completely anonymous pen-pal program.
“Every day we encounter opportunities to be God’s voice, His hands, His feet here on earth. Please consider taking advantage of an extremely rewarding opportunity to touch the lives of our brothers and sisters behind prison walls, the prison pen-pal ministry of Mary Mother of Captives.”

The Holy Father will be performing a corporal work of mercy.

Beautiful.  Thank you.  Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.  Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Let me preempt the traddie blogs by just going ahead and listing everything in that picture they could complain about.

1) No biretta or mitre or zucchetto.
2) There do not appear to be six candles on the altar.
3) Card. Bergoglio has not sent the gentlemen wearing shorts and flipflops home.
4) A woman is lined up to have her feet washed.
5) She is wearing pants and did not bring her mantilla.

Example can teach better than words! Remember what St Francis (or was it Anthony), if we have to we will use words.
PLEASE GOD ENLIGHTEN YOUR “SHEEP”

And JoAnna, I did read the piece. Did you read the comment above mine?

AMDG

Thanks Simcha, How could I EVER say you were wrong. ;-)

I probably shouldn’t have been so snarky though.

AMDG

@JoAnna - no, Janet was responding to John, who thought that the pope was being a big show-off.  (I know the comments sometimes show up in the wrong order, so there is sometimes confusion about who is responding to whom!)

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@Don - no, I’m saying the opposite of that!

Janet, where did Simcha say Pope Francis was wrong?
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Actually read the piece before commenting, please.

So, what do you think he should do? Stop performing humble acts? Do you think he could do anything that wasn’t done in public? Could he be an example to others by not doing these things?

And yes, you clearly did want to rain on the parade.

AMDG

Excellent. Pride goeth before the fall. Lesson learned: remove the timber from my own eye… Thank you, Holy Spirit, for sending us the Pope we needed!

He so proudly displays his humility… like Donald Trump when he gives money to the poor… he makes sure everyone sees it… see how good he is…see how humble I am.
Sorry, just another perspectiv…don’t mean to rain on the parade.

How old are your CCD students? If they are young, perhaps they were thinking that that was something they couldn’t do.  Still, I don’t think it’s wise to leave it out. When I was looking for illustrations of the Works of Mercy for my kids to color, they sometimes left out that, and sometimes left out another, but I don’t remember which.

AMDG

I am so glad to see this.  My default reaction to Pope Francis has been one of fear—not the fear that he will change things, that is a certainty, or that the changes will make me uncomfortable—also a certainty—or that he will lead the Church off track—he will not.  It has beenthe fear you get at in this article: the fear that I will really, really have to change.  Give up things I like because they are in the way of getting to God.  Change who I am to be someone new.  That has, of course, been going on every day of my Catholic life, but this Pope puts things in such focus, such clarity for me personally that I cannot slide past my sins any more.  And so I am afraid. but in a good way, the way I am, when you get right down to it, afraid of Christ and for the same reasons.  And When I find time to be quiet about it, away from the news and the hubbub of life, I am able to be honest with that fear and what I hear back is “Don’t be afraid.”  So in fear, I move toward that voice that tells me not to fear. I will be changed.  It will hurt!  Thanks be to God!

Interestingly, the catechism used at my parish CCD classes rewrites the Works of Mercy (there aren’t seven, but six now, apparently) and among the changes I noticed, they left out “Visit the imprisoned.” I don’t know their rationale, but I suspect it’s something like the line of thinking you describe here.

As the sister of a rape victim, I have found the Stuebenville rape case and much of the response to it unbearably difficult to watch. This piece is challenging to me in the right way, helping me to keep pushing through the pain to a place of forgiveness and peace.

The passion story goes unheard by the vast majority of faithful.  It is about real desolation and abandonment.  What Jesus accomplishes by his death is so transformative that none of the former categories apply.  In order to do this, the depth he reaches is really low.  Perhaps it’s too much for some people to accept or internalize; they walk around the passiontide liturgies like stunned deer.  “I know there’s something in here, but I don’t know exactly what.” 

And then we’re out at Easter, dressed in pastels and eating chocolate bunnies.  The “death” part seems like a dream.

Magnificent, Simcha.  Thank you.

Where we used to live, teens who committed serious enough offenses got put in adult prison.Maybe that’s changed now.
At Mass this past weekend our priest gave a homily on the woman caught in adultery.He asked us, if we were truly honest, how many of us were only known as good, upstanding citizens,without rap sheets, because we’d *not* been caught when doing something wrong? Or because we knew someone who could arrange things, or because we had an expensive lawyer & not the public defender?

“But more importantly, what will he be wearing?”
- Comment taken from US Weekly, or a traditionalist blog

So what you are saying is forgiveness only belongs to those who don’t sin too bad?

Yeah, but this is Italian juvie, though. I’m sure the worst thing those kids are in there for are stealing a bike, or popping some other kid’s red balloon with a rock, or not finding their father’s comic antics in the camp sufficiently amusing before being rescued by American GIs.

We are terrified by so many inconsequential things that probably won’t ever happen. It’s about time that we get terrified by the right things. Maybe this has something to do with Fear of the Lord.

AMDG

“Pope Francis, you terrify me.” Not unlike how Jesus terrified the pharisees. This pope will unsettle our complacency. He will comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. What a gift to the Church and the world. He shows us how WE should live our Baptism into Christ.

Wow.  Thank you.

We most of the time remember the part where Jesus talks about how he was sick, or hungry, or naked, and “we” nursed, fed and clothed “him.” Sometimes we even perform those acts of charity. But I think most people are like me, and we forget that he also specifically talked about visiting those in prison, in that same litany of charitable acts. I have given money, food, and clothing to the needy, and I have visited the sick, but I have never once in my life visited someone in prison.

What a witness to contemplate.