Friday, September 25, 2015

Speaking the Truth in Love: Pope Francis is Being Awesome!

Praying for the pope at the park! 
Wow. Is it Friday already? Is this really happening? I don't know about the rest of you, but for me, this week has been flying by at a rapid pace!!!! Since Pope Francis is still here, shaking things up like nobody's business, I'm going to touch on a few things he's done recently. Only a few things, though-he has been all over the place, doing all of the awesome things, and I can't keep up with him! 

On Thursday, Pope Francis addressed a joint meeting of Congress. He's the first pontiff to do this! That's pretty cool. When I read his speech, I immediately thought about St. John Paul's Theology of the Body and Jesus. In the Theology of the Body, St. John Paul mentions Matthew 19:8, where Jesus is being questioned about lawfulness concerning divorce and marriage: "He [Jesus] said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so." St. John Paul II points out that Jesus takes the Pharisees' questions about the law, and turns the conversation to how things were in the beginning. St. John Paul II spends a huge amount of time in his TOB audiences discussing how God ordained things profoundly and simply in the beginning.  
What does this have to do with the address to Congress? 
In his address, Pope Francis explicitly touched on some major issues: immigration, politics, finances, the environment, the death penalty. While I've been trying to stay away from all the negative news sources and responses to the pope's visit, I did notice that some people were mad he didn't blatantly talk about certain issues (for instance, abortion). But what did Pope Francis say? Among other things, he hearkened back to the beginning, in a sense. Going back to the words of Christ, to the law of love given in the New Testament, Pope Francis referenced the Golden Rule. 
In a matter-of-fact, blunt, kind manner, Pope Francis showed us that we do not have a complicated task. Nope, the Golden Rule is simple, easy to remember (I'm sure many of you, like myself, had it memorized at some point during our childhood), and profoundly true. In this walloping punch of an epic statement, Pope Francis is showing us that no matter what our political affiliations are, we need to listen to the words of Christ, and to live out the Golden Rule. This one little statement from the pope forces us to look at how we treat the elderly, the unborn, refugees, immigrants, and the underprivileged. Pope Francis, you are legit. 

He also spoke at the United Nations this morning, and I eagerly read the text of his speech. Did he really talk about education??? Yes, he actually talked about "the primary right of the family to educate its children, as well as the right of churches and social groups to support and assist families in the education of their children." Oh, my home schoolers heart is singing! Pope Francis, could you get any cooler? Oh wait, the pope also called us out to put an end as quickly as possible to 
He just got cooler. Pope Francis is really laying it down. Hold on, he's not finished yet...
I just can't even...
Photo courtesy of the Archdiocese of New York, from Vespers on Thursday.
So not only has Pope Francis been looking super adorable (see above picture for evidence), chilling at Catholic Charities and surprising the Little Sisters of the Poor with a visit, but he has been preaching the Truth gently, lovingly, and blatantly. I'm a fan! Please keep praying for him (and his safety) as he continues to visit a school in Harlem later today, process through Central Park, and celebrate Mass at Madison Square Garden! 


  1. I'm with you on avoiding people's negativity about what he hasn't said rather than what he has said! It got to the point where I had to unfollow at least one person on Twitter because I couldn't deal with their constant ragging on him, going so far as to even say that Pope Francis isn't Catholic. Like, really? So unnecessary. But ohhh that photo of him that you posted just made my day! I can't help but smile looking at it. :)

    1. Wow, that's insane!!!!!! I can't believe some people would go so far as to say that. Yeah, super unnecessary. I've also seen lots of people posting videos and articles about politicians and the pope because they're trying to prove that "conservatives are evil," basically. Why do people try to use the papal visit to further their political agendas?? Grr... Teehee! Glad you like the photo! It's one of my top 2 favorite papal photos now, and it's basically the best thing ever. :D

  2. First of all, our YG has been obsessed with #FlatFrancis, so fun!!

    I LOVED his address to Congress, I was tearing up right along with the Speaker of the House. The comment on the Golden Rule NAILED it...still want to go listen to his speech to the United Nations hopefully this week:)

    1. SO COOL! Your YG must be awesome :) I'm glad that they appreciated #FlatFrancis, too! I think it is a super creative, awesome, simply delightful thing-Catholic Extension is brilliant!

      Oh, wasn't it powerful when the Speaker of the House started crying??? If you haven't read the article about the night before his resignation yet (from the Washington Post), you totally need to. It's amazing. Haha I feel ya, I want to actually watch/listen to his UN speech too! I also want to watch the speech he gave to the inmates, because I haven't done that yet, either.