The passing on Easter Monday of Pope Francis is an occasion for us to pray in thanksgiving for his faithful and courageous life. His groundbreaking ministry was not only within the immense hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church but among the most vulnerable of humankind and also creation, which he saw was equally at risk.
Like many in the ordained ministry, Pope Francis committed his life and talents to the health of the institution of the church. But he was not especially a “company man.” For him the church was a field hospital to the poor, the broken, the refugee, and those injured by the sins of racism, homophobia, and gender inequality. He condemned global greed and systemic hatred with clarity. In the most beautiful, gentle, and gracious ways, he applied his expansive pastoral heart to the reforms of the church so that it was less rigid and more alive to all people. His smile was irrepressible. His encyclical Laudato si’ is a masterpiece of pastoral theology that directs our attention to the pain of the earth and urges our repentance and amendment of life in response to God’s gift of life on this planet. I commend it for your reading: (link here.)
I urge our prayers for the repose of the soul of His Holiness, that he will be embraced by our Risen Lord and rise in God’s Glory. I also invite our prayers for our Roman Catholic friends in Christ as we long for the fulfillment of our Savior’s prayer that “we all may be one.”