How has Pope Francis impacted your spirituality so far?

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I believe he is charismatic and genuinely deeply spiritual. His love I feel transmitted. I hear him without him speaking. Its an example that cannot be missed.

COME HOME…we Love You! You can’t hear that?
 
The Pope is being who he is, being fathful to his vocation. Seeing that kind of faithfulness from him is making a difference in my own life. I am reminded of the Garden of Gethsemane where Christ is seemingly going to fail at His earthly mission. His Father sends an angel to sustain him, according to Luke. His Father sustains Jesus in his faithfullness and obedience to his ministry, his vocation to love unto death, even though he seemingly fails in converting the whole world for all time.

I had been fasting from lunch a few days a week for lent. Sometimes it’s difficult to practice self-denial. Seeing the Pope minister to people inspired me to take the money I would have spent on lunch, save it and give it to a charity. Seeing how the Pope ministers to people reminds me that humility and self-denial must be done out of love for God and others, not to build up my own merits with God.

His ministry to the crippled man was inspiring. Seems very appropriate that it brings tears to people’s eyes. It is cathartic to see a person demonstrate to us what is really important in life. Barriers are broken down between people when we live like this. The tears, for me anyway, are a release of all that “stuff” I am clinging to that is not really important in God’s eyes.
 
GaryTaylor said:
I believe he is charismatic and genuinely deeply spiritual. His love I feel transmitted. I hear him without him speaking. Its an example that cannot be missed.

COME HOME…we Love You! You can’t hear that?
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Well, you see, to me, that just sounds …mad.
 
I believe that we have been blessed in my living memory with wonderful Popes, some of whom will be canonized.

I see their ministry as an unfolding of God’s plan.

As an adult I have lived through Blessed John Paul II’s and Pope Benedict’s reign. I have heard them described as the best philosopher-pope the Church as ever had, and one of the best theologian-popes the Church has ever had.

I believe/hope that Pope Francis will put into simple gestures and actions what the two previous popes put into the spoken and written work.

Though Blessed John Paul II’s courage and acceptance of pain and suffering was a spiritual example of the suffering servant, and Pope Benedict’s deep humility in abdicating was an example of that same servant-hood.

In a few generations people will talk of these three popes in the same breath as part of the same renewal of the church…
 
QuestingKnight said:
The Pope has made some theatrical gestures,
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The use of this term is both unfortunate and unfair. Theatrical is something that is artificial and it’s purpose is to entertain. You’re saying that the gestures of these two popes were not real and that they were solely for the purpose of entertaining the observer.

What about those gestures that are not seen? Are those also for entertainment? Today, he visited Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. When they entered the chapel, Benedict offered him the kneeler. Pope Francis responded, “Let’s share it. We’re brothers.” Is that theatrical or is it respect and charity?

He visited an elderly cardinal who is in the hospital, because he’s very sick. Is that theatrical as well?

Three very poor people from the streets of Buenos Aires made it to the inaugural mass, apparently sponsored by the people there. The pope was not expecting this visit. When he became aware that they were there, he asked that they be seated in the front row with the dignataries. These folks could not even afford a suit for the occasion. They truly represent the poor to whom Jesus calls up to the head of the table. Is that theatrical too?

He told a certain cardinal, whom we need not mention, that he was not to enter the Basicilia of Santa Maria Maggiore, but was to retire to a monastery to do penance for his sins of omission during the height of the sex abuse scandal. Few people know that he did this. It was very low key. Is this theatrical?

He’s used to living in a one bedroom apartment. When he was given the tour of the papal apartments he said, “I don’t need all of this space.” Is that theatrical or is that the Jesuit in him speaking?

In a letter that he sent to the Superior General of the Jesuits, he proclaims his love for “our order”. Is that theatrical or a deep sense of identification with his community and a profession of his Jesuit identity?

Like this, there are many things that he has done since long before he was pope and continues to do, simply because he’s a Jesuit. Some of them strike me as different as well. We have not had a regular pope in more than 150 years. On top of that, I’m not a Jesuit. However, I also understand and accept these things as part of his personal history. These “theatrical gestures” are part of his gifts. If a Franciscan had been elected pope, we would have seen some very different gestures. Some would have made people’s jaws drop to the floor, such as a pope who wears a habit and sandals instead of a white cassock, as did prior Franciscan popes.

Maybe the term theatrical is a bit harsh and unfortunate, don’t you think?

This does not mean that we don’t want him to clean house. On that score, we must also remember that he is one human being and the problems of the house are many. He will have to identify those that he wants to deal with and those that will have to wait.
 
JReducation said:
Three very poor people from the streets of Buenos Aires made it to the inaugural mass, apparently sponsored by the people there. The pope was not expecting this visit. When he became aware that they were there, he asked that they be seated in the front row with the dignataries. These folks could not even afford a suit for the occasion.** They truly represent the poor to whom Jesus calls up to the head of the table**. Is that theatrical too?
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That example really touched me! I had not read about this previously. How beautiful!
 
Pope Francis has impacted my spirituality from the day he was elected.

Before the conclave, I participated at the “Adopt A Cardinal” website where a cardinal voting in the conclave was selected for you, emailed to you, and then you prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide that cardinal. I also selected the same cardinal, an Italian named Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, to pray for here on CAF in a similar type of thread someone started. As part of that, I decided to send my guardian angel to the Vatican to help pray for my selected cardinal.

The Lord knows how I love the Popes and so He granted me the desire of my heart again … I always love to see and hear the words “Habemus Papam” personally. On March 13, I had to work, and based on the environment there decided I had better not speak up at all about being interested in learning news about the Pope on the Internet during business hours.

Well, my guardian angel must have returned from the Vatican to help, because someone whom I would not have expected was the person to come and announce to me, “We have a new Pope. We don’t know who it is yet.” And so I was able to watch the event live over the computer at work.

The videostream and sound kept stopping and starting, spooling so that you would miss bits and pieces of the broadcast, the words and actions. So I prayed to my guardian angel … and I was able to clearly see and hear the “Habemus Papam” and also the papal blessing live, even though I missed other parts of the event (like the new Pope’s name) as it was unfolding live.

Wow! Thanks be to God!

…
 
JReducation said:
He told a certain cardinal, whom we need not mention, that he was not to enter the Basicilia of Santa Maria Maggiore, but was to retire to a monastery to do penance for his sins of omission during the height of the sex abuse scandal. Few people know that he did this. It was very low key. Is this theatrical?
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Is this confirmed, Brother? I heard conflicting reports.

If it is true then Pope Francis is my hero.
 
Our new Holy Father has not had any impact on me at all, so far. He is the Pope; nothing has changed for me. Time will tell us if he will be a great Pope. I pray that he will.
 
Sirach2 said:
That example really touched me! I had not read about this previously. How beautiful!
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Video Here
Francoist said:
Is this confirmed, Brother? I heard conflicting reports.

If it is true then Pope Francis is my hero.
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Hmm . . . that’s interesting. I have not heard conflicting reports. I only heard the one, which the Vatican has not denied or confirmed. The story came from someone who works at Santa Maria Maggiore. If don’t know who that may be. There are lay people there and Dominican Friars.

We’ll know soon enough. Eventually, they’ll put out some list of which cardinal is assigned to which church.

We do have to be careful with the words that people put in his mouth. This also happened to Pope Benedict. Some people have already forgotten the condom and the Muslim issues.

Someone at the Vatican has already had to straighten out that the pope never said, “You wear them Msgr, the carnival is over.”

What happened was that as with every new pope, he was shown into the room of tears which apparently doubles as a dressing room. Every possible option is there for the newly elected pope to choose. When asked about the mozzetta, he said, “Leave it there.”

What he may have said to the cardinal and how he said it can be tainted by those reporting, depending on how they feel about the pope. We do know that they did meet at the basilica and that it was not planned. The cardinal sneaked in very quietly to pay his respects and the pope did not react with his usual charm.

We always have to wait and see how much of what’s on the Internet is accurate. That’s my reason for not using names. I don’t want someone googling this and find this post, then go “Aha! You see!” That would be unfair, if that’s not what happened or how it happened.
 
JReducation said:
Three very poor people from the streets of Buenos Aires made it to the inaugural mass, apparently sponsored by the people there. The pope was not expecting this visit. When he became aware that they were there, he asked that they be seated in the front row with the dignataries. These folks could not even afford a suit for the occasion. They truly represent the poor to whom Jesus calls up to the head of the table.
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I wasn’t aware of this. What a truly wonderful thing to do. Matthew 25:40 “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me”.
JReducation said:
He told a certain cardinal, whom we need not mention, that he was not to enter the Basicilia of Santa Maria Maggiore, but was to retire to a monastery to do penance for his sins of omission during the height of the sex abuse scandal.
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And that is a very good start. Hopefully a sign of what’s to come. We need to clear out any member of the Church hierarchy who has been in any way complicit with covering up child abuse amongst our clergy. The idea that they seemed to think they were covering up such vile abuse as some sort of act of protection for the Church’s reputation really makes me feel sick to the stomach. Again Matthew 25:40 is also apt here.

Who was the real beneficiary of the coverup, God or Satan?
 
Marie5890 said:
This is the report I am referring to.

ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/report-pope-exile-law-totally-false-vatican-says
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Wow! This says more than what I had read elsewhere. What I read did not mention the Vatican’s response at all. Maybe the Vatican had not responded.

Since this is the NCR, we should just wait. In any case, whatever happens, one way or the other, will not do anyone any harm.

On another subject, I found a video that says a little about those folks from Aregentina who attended the inaugural mass. They are not homeless people as the newspaper said. They are poor people. She’s the Holy Father’s relative who happens to be a sister.

youtube.com/watch?v=85j4KGNE8d4

I had said before that he went by Jorge or Father Jorge and someone argued that he went by Cardinal Jorge. Apparently, according the the layman in the video, he asked the Holy Father, “What should I call you?”

The Holy Father said, “Call me Jorge.”

This is what I had seen on the Spanish TV new. They interviewed people from Argentina. The folks were talking about how much they loved him when he was there. A young woman said that they often met on the subway going to work. Maybe they had the same schedule. I don’t know. She said that to everyone there he was just Jorge and they loved him. I’m not sure if “there” means in Buenos Aires or the people whom he regularly met on the metro.

Correction above
 
More than Pope Francis, our Pope Emeritus has impacted my spirituality more. What an example of humility and submission. Not a few are upset that Benedict XVI renounced the papacy, but I think Our Lord allowed it to teach us a well needed lesson.
 
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