There has been some pro and con reaction to Catholic Vote’s photo showing the current and last two popes with a caption Hope, Faith, and Charity under each one. Now you can’t expect much from such a simple meme to be more than a great oversimplification of these papacies. But that is the problem in that it is an oversimplification and a narrative that just doesn’t fit.
I totally agree with Fr. John Trigillio in his worthwhile post on the subject at The Black Biretta.
You know you really do want to get into better shape, but really how can you stay motivated? Each Lent you promise to pray more and even if your goal is not “prayer warrior”, you would at least like to get to “prayer tenderfoot.” Yet each year your prayer life gets more flabby and you dispair of ever getting spiritually fit. The yo-yo spiritual life of temporary loss of prayer sloth only to gain it all back later.
You want to be a saint, if only you could stay motivated.
That’s why we created the Prayerbit family of products. By tracking your spiritual life we help you to stay motivated by being able to see your progress and to avoid back sliding.
This Prayerbit wireless tracker, shown in its recharger, helps you to keep track of your daily prayer life. Simply slip it on your clothing and you are all set to pump up your prayer life.
Each day the Prayerbit assigns a cumulative total of the day’s prayer activity using the standard ACTS model to help analyse possible imbalances.
A – Adoration.. (Worshipping God)
C – Contrition.. (Sorrow for sins)
T – Thanksgiving.. (Thanksgiving to God)
S – Supplication.. (Asking For Our Needs And The Needs Of Others)
The Prayerbit is also Holy Water proof, so don’t worry about using this sacramental liberally.
While the Prayerbit is amazing technology, it can not detect everything.
That is why we created the Prayerbit family of mobile apps.
While the Prayerbit can’t guarantee progress in the spiritual life, when used prudentially and in keeping with the sacramental life of the Church it can do wonders.
“There is only one tragedy in the end, not to have been a saint.” Leon Bloy
..When we eventually arrived at the Sistine Chapel on March 12, I was still pondering two or three candidates. However, when the first blank ballot was given to us, and when it was time to write down a name, something powerful–and strange–happened.
I picked up my pen to write, and I began. However, my hand was being moved by some greater spiritual force. The name on the ballot just happened. I had not yet narrowed my thinking down to one name; but it was done for me..
If something kept him from writing his own name down, it just could be a miracle.
Over the weekend Cardinal Mahony had a series of tweets regarding the new Pope while basically disparagingly the liturgical style of Pope Benedict XVI. It is also odd hearing the Cardinal speaking in praise of humulity and how the Church should be poor.
Now the inner snarker in me would say that Cardinal Mahony certainly did a lot to help his diocese to be poorer in regards to settlements and of course the so-called “Taj Mahony” Cathedral. Poor also in the number of vocations.
What facinates me the most though is the contrast of his apprarent persona which seems to bleed pride and his attraction to humility. What is so offputting about his tweets is he does not seem to get the fact that he comes off as prideful. How often though are we totally blind to our faults? Still we can be attracted to virtues that we don’t have and maybe it might even be the virtue that is the remedy to a dominant fault.
In related news Canonist Ed Peters has Some thoughts on conclave leaks and specifically in regards to Cardinals Kasper and Mahony.
One of the narratives I keep hearing repeated regarding Pope Francis’ papacy is the reform of the Curia. This keeps getting repeated like this is the highest priority and of the upmost importance.
Now of course I realize the Curia needs reform. We all are in need of reform daily and this can be said of any bureaucracy. The Curia has no dispensation from original sin and is filled with all forms of human stupidity. The Curia has generated many unforced errors especially in regard to communication with the media and lacking simple due diligence in research (sometimes even a simple Google search could have saved heartburn).
So surely the Curia needs reform and possibly even an outsider to the Curia might be able to further advance such reform. I am not sure if that statement is true or not in this case, but an outsider can be more immune to “This is the way we have always done it.”
Regardless, what if the Curia was perfectly reformed and actually became a well functioning bureaucracy (if that is not a contradiction in term)? What would it really give us? Sure it would be nice to prevent unnecessary headlines and actually have a more unitive message among the Secretary of State and various congregations and tribunals.
Still when I look at the problems the Catholic Church faces, the Roman Curia is not at the top of the list of what needs to be addressed. The problems of secularism and the fact that many believers act in their daily lives as if God did not exist is of much more concern. There has never been a perfect time in Church history when all the believers actually acted as if their faith was true. Maybe it was always a mistake to divide territories and to describe some as mission territories. Evangelization never ends with the conversion. This is the point Catholic soteriology makes in that salvation is a process. Conversion that is not continuous is no conversion at all.
This emphasis can come under the heading of the New Evangelization which can be simply described by:
“It is an old story that, while we may need somebody like Dominic to convert the heathen to Christianity, we are in even greater need of somebody like Francis, to convert the Christians to Christianity.” –G.K. Chesterton “The Dumb Ox”
Maybe one of the reasons for so much focus on the Pope and the Curia is that in many ways we have become dependent on structures. Instead of going out and evangelizing ourselves we hope for a higher organization to fix those problems for us. Just as in politics increased Federalization to solve problems is akin to this attitude. If only we had such and such dicastery with such and such prefect in charge of it everything would be better. We want a charismatic Pope to evangelize for us, so we don’t have to do it ourselves.
Now as a great believer in both/and I don’t mean to throw things into opposition. It is not a case of either the Pope doing something or ourselves. It is also not the case of whether we evangelize or instead reform some aspects of the Curia. Really I am quite thankful for the great catechists and evangelizers I have been lucky to have as popes during my lifetime (even when I didn’t appreciate it). I am just ranting at the idea of an idealized Curia and the transferring of what are also our personal responsibilities to others. Most of all I have to rant at myself for falling into this same trap.
I have been remiss in pointing this out:
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Thanks to Happy Catholic for the reminder.
Buenos Aires (CNN) – Maria Elena Bergoglio was in her home west of Buenos Aires last week when she heard the shocking news: Jorge Mario Bergoglio – her brother – was the new pope.
In the past, she had prayed that the cardinals wouldn’t pick him.
“During the previous conclave, I was praying for him not to be elected … because I didn’t want my brother to leave,” she told CNN en Español on Monday. “It’s a position that was a little selfish.”
But this time around, Bergoglio said she changed her tone.
“I prayed that the Holy Spirit would intervene and not listen to me. And it didn’t listen to me,” she said, laughing. “It did what it wanted.”
Last week, soon after the white smoke billowed out from the Sistine Chapel chimney, she heard her brother’s voice crackling through the telephone line.
“I almost died,” she said. “The telephone rang and my son answered. I heard him say, ‘ooooh, God.’ I couldn’t believe it.”
Her brother, who chose the name Pope Francis, told her not to worry and reassured her he was well – something she’s also seen watching his face as the events of recent days unfolded on television.“I told him I wanted to hug him,” she said, “and he told me that we are already embracing from a distance, which is also something that I feel and that is real.”
Then, the pope told her to pass along his warm greetings to the rest of the family.
“He said, ‘I cannot call everyone. We are a very big family, so please send them my love. Because if I call everyone, it will empty the Vatican coffers,’ ” Bergoglio said. (source)
Here is a point I tried to make the other day that Joanna Bogle makes much better:
…of the media trying to stir things up by seeking to stress differences in lifestyle between Popes Benedict and Francis.
Pope Francis has many admirable qualities. But to suggest that he is the first Pope in history to live a simple and austere life is a bit absurd. Pope Benedict lived in a modest flat near the bus depot before he was elected to the Papacy, and walked every day to work with his battered briefcase. People often assumed he was just an ordinary priest, and asked him the way to tourist sites, etc, only discovering afterwards that they had been talking to the famous Cardinal Ratzinger…
John Paul II lived in complete poverty, gave away everything, even a warm coat given to him in the bitter cold, and shoes…the sisters who looked after him as Pope despaired because he wanted them to give away any new clothes and insisted on wearing old ones until they were beyond any further mending. When he died, he left almost no possessions except a photograph of his parents, and his worn old scapular..
On the same theme Amy Welborn posts Surprise! Pope takes walk through Rome!
Oh…wait….it was that other one.
Pope Benedict XVI made his first public appearance on the streets of Rome on Wednesday afternoon, April 20, as he visited his old apartment near Vatican City to transfer some belongings to his new home in the apostolic palace.
The newly elected Pope, clothed completely in the distinctive white vestments of the papacy, caught onlookers by surprise when he chose to travel on foot, walking the few hundred yards to the apartment in the Citta Leonina where he had lived for years. When the news spread that the Pontiff was walking through the city, hundreds of people quickly gathered, and he spent some time in front of the apartment building, greeting the people and blessing young children. Italian police and Vatican security officials did their best to control the crowd, preserving some breathing room for the Pontiff.
After a short stay in his old apartment, the Pontiff reappeared, entering a black car that was waiting for him at the entrance of the building. He paused again to wave to the crowd, turning slowly from one direction to another so that he could greet as many as possible. The crowd burst into cheers of “Long live the Pope!” and the chant that has already become familiar: “Benedetto!” Pope Benedict later commented that he was “very moved” as he resumed direct contact with the faithful.
One of the surprises from the papal election was the age of Pope Francis. From the media, to vaticanistas, to the expectation of many Catholics – many speculated on a younger man being elected. At work I was asked about the Pope’s age and one person said “couldn’t they find someone younger?” I also bought into the expectation of somebody relatively younger somewhere in the sixties or very early seventies.
In some ways it is surprising that a man only two years younger than Pope Benedict XVI was elected. The pope’s resignation due to age you would have thought would have weighed more in the thinking of the cardinal-electors. Perhaps though Benedict’s resignation might have actually provided a way forward for the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio. That resignation due to age is now more opened up and age might now be less of a consideration than at one time. Historically the large majority of papacies has been 10 years or fewer. Blessed John Paul II’s length as pope is really a historical oddity, although occurring more in the last two centuries such as with Pius IX and Leo XIII. Advances in medicine will certainly skew this over time.
It is not surprising the desire for a younger physically active pope. Considering that in most cultures now there is a worship of youth and a more slanted view towards the elderly. The celebrity focused culture puts a shorter shelf life on people’s attention and aging gracefully now means keeping up with the latest injections and surgery. We don’t want to look at the ravages of age because we don’t want to think about our own. Ironically the Culture of Death really does not want to think about their own inevitable demise. The wisdom that age can bring is not a commodity we much care about.
Pope Benedict XVI “Visit to the Community of Sant’Egidio’s home for the elderly” on 12 Nov 2012:
I come to you as Bishop of Rome, but also as an old man visiting his peers. It would be superfluous to say that I am well acquainted with the difficulties, problems and limitations of this age and I know that for many these difficulties are more acute due to the economic crisis. At times, at a certain age, one may look back nostalgically at the time of our youth when we were fresh and planning for the future. Thus at times our gaze is veiled by sadness, seeing this phase of life as the time of sunset. This morning, addressing all the elderly in spirit, although I am aware of the difficulties that our age entails I would like to tell you with deep conviction: it is beautiful to be old! At every phase of life it is necessary to be able to discover the presence and blessing of the Lord and the riches they bring. We must never let ourselves be imprisoned by sorrow! We have received the gift of longevity. Living is beautiful even at our age, despite some “aches and pains” and a few limitations. In our faces may there always be the joy of feeling loved by God and not sadness.
Pope Francis to the Cardinals:
Dear brother Cardinals, take courage! Half of us are advanced in age. Old age is – as I like to say – the seat of life’s wisdom. The old have acquired the wisdom that comes from having journeyed through life, like the old man Simeon, the old prophetess Anna in the Temple. And that wisdom enabled them to recognize Jesus. Let us pass on this wisdom to the young: like good wine that improves with age, let us give life’s wisdom to the young. I am reminded of a German poet who said of old age: Es is ruhig, das Alter, und fromm: it is a time of tranquillity and prayer. And also a time to pass on this wisdom to the young. You will now return to your respective sees to continue your ministry, enriched by the experience of these days, so full of faith and ecclesial communion. This unique and incomparable experience has enabled us to grasp deeply all the beauty of the Church, which is a glimpse of the radiance of the risen Christ: one day we will gaze upon that beautiful face of the risen Christ!
This is the 1st volume of The Weekly Francis ebook which is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I post at Jimmy Akin’s The Weekly Benedict. The post at Jimmy Akin’s site contains a link to each document on the Vatican’s site and does not require an e-reader to use.
This volume covers material released during the week for 13 March 2013 – 17 March 2013.
The ebook contains a table of contents and the material is arranged in sections such as Angelus, Speeches, etc in date order. The full index is listed on Jimmy’s site.
There is an archive for all of The Weekly Francis eBook volumes. This page is available via the header of this blog or from here.
So now we have further information on why the Pope choose Francis.
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said that “as things got dangerous” in the conclave voting, he was sitting next to his “great friend” Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes “who comforted me.”
When the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio went over the 77 votes needed to become pope, he said, Cardinal Hummes “hugged me, kissed me and said, ‘Don’t forget the poor.’”Pope Francis told thousands of journalists March 16 that he took to heart the words of his friend and chose to be called after St. Francis of Assisi, “the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation,” the same created world “with which we don’t have such a good relationship.”
“How I would like a church that is poor and that is for the poor,” he told the more than 5,000 media representatives who came from around the world for the conclave and his election. (source)
Thinking again on regnal names I think the use of Francis gives us another unique distinction. St. Francis of Assisi baptismal name was actually Giovanni Bernardone. His name was latter altered to Francesco “Frenchman” either by his father because of his fondness, it would seem, for France or by others for the same reason. Regardless it was not his baptismal name and maybe was more of a nickname. So we have the first regnal name based on a nickname. Well maybe not exactly true since Peter our first Pope was born Simon and became Peter. Although you couldn’t say it was exactly a nickname. When Jesus names you something it becomes almost ontological and name changes in the Bible are always important.
So we have a Pope of Italian parentage from Argentina with the name “Frenchman”. Don’t you just love the universality of the Church?
It is always interesting how origin’s of a pope’s name and specifically how they came about. Mostly, as in this case, in the last moments.
It does make me wonder how many, if any, walk into the Conclave with a regnal name picked out? Probably most that do walk out with their given name.
I thought this piece of information was rather funny and am glad the Pope shared it.
Pope Francis also said some had suggested jokingly that he, a Jesuit, should have taken the name Clement XV “to get even with Clement XIV who suppressed the Society of Jesus” in the 1700s.
Ha!