April 27th Pastor's Message

Read this week's message from Father Don

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Dear parishioners,

ALLELUIA, CHRIST IS RISEN!   How wonderful that our beloved Pope Francis should die the day after he delivered his final Easter blessing to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square.

Watching the news that evening, however, I was dismayed to see how quickly the secular media began dissecting Francis’ words and actions over the 12 years of his pontificate. The news featured long discourses by various commentators analyzing and interpreting Francis’ connection with the poor, environmentalists, the First Nations, the LBGTQ community, women, the Palestinians etc., making sure to mention those who disapproved of the pope’s diverse messages. 

The evening news primarily offered an examination of the pope’s interaction with issues of concern to the Western world, not an examination of the man Jorge Bergolio whom in March 2013 the cardinals, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, chose to be the leader of the Catholic Church. This is perhaps excusable in those whose vision of life is confined to external realities, but we who believe the Church to have been established by Christ and entrusted to the care of the Holy Spirit must adopt a very different way of viewing the 265th successor of St. Peter.

Whether we agreed or not with everything Pope Francis said and did, we must all be grateful for the courageous and generous service he offered to the Church. Jorge Bergolio, like everyone else, had his own background, life experience and interests that impacted his actions. It was his experience in Argentina that gave him a deep concern for the poor of the world and those who feel excluded from the Church. His pastoral admonitions for Catholics to “reach out to the peripheries” and for priests to “take on the smell of the sheep” had their origins in his observations of the Church as “inward-looking” and of priests as overly attached to their own personal dignity. 

Pope Francis was confident in his vision and bold in his language, not afraid to challenge those within and those outside of the Church. More interested in pastoral ministry than dogmatic decrees, Francis sought to focus the Church’s vision on the real situation of people’s lives and to receive all with compassion and love. He read “the signs of the times” and determined that was what was required in the present age. 

Every pope has his own style and emphasis. Francis was not meant to be the same as St. John Paul the Great or Benedict XVI, and his successor is not intended to be the same as himself. As Catholic history will attest, the Holy Spirit raises up a great variety of different men to serve as leaders of the Church. 

Pope Francis was not called to be perfect, just to be faithful and deeply committed to the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church and in the world, as are we all.  Let us pray for him and be grateful for the gifts his papacy has bestowed upon the Church.

Happy Easter!

Love

Father Don

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