Pope Francis is no rock star

Pope Francis is who he is.  After his most impressive visit to the USA, it must be reiterated that he is not a rock star. He was asked this very question and there is no way he ever seeks to be put into this category.  He is a man of the gospel and that is what makes him the outstanding person he is - his love for and commitment to the gospel.  The young idealist of my youth simply responds with a Wow!  My summary could be that he is a simple and humble man, but still a man, acting for good in the world and proclaiming God's mercy and compassion.  What a mission in life!

Our world today hungers for such leaders, people of integrity and ideals that uphold humanity.  Such a hungering world sees in Francis a man that they can trust and look to.  The danger becomes that we can expect too much and transfer out expectations and hopes onto another human being, who like us is vulnerable and fragile, which is not what Francis is about.  Such a road is sure to lead to failed expectations and lost hope.

As I share this I feel that I am becoming too issue focused and starting to preach but that is not my intention nor my felt desire in sharing this.  I can't explain it but I feel like Francis is a close friend whom I have known for such a long time but I am very aware of the reality.  I judge it simply that people of deep faith in humanity and strong leadership shown in accompanying us in life as fellow human beings speak to us so clearly and deeply that they have this profound effect not just on society but on individuals.  Pope Francis is one such human being.  He is no rock star.  He is much more. 

Let Pope Francis Speak

Actions speak louder than words.  How true for Pope Francis - the man of the surprise action that speaks so loudly.

Pictures tell 1,000 words.  How true!

The Pope going to the White House to meet Obama.  He arrived in his own style of limo being escorted by huge and expensive security limos.  He arrived on the south lawn of the White House to let himself out and greet the President of the USA.  Mind blowing stuff!

The Pope in his chosen car for being driven from Andrews Airforce base into Washington DC.

Fidel Castro:  Welcome companero! What are you doing?
Pope Francis:  The other revolution. 

 

These pictures tell their story of the Pope's visit this week to Cuba and the US.
Another coup for His Holiness.  Good one Francis!

The three pillars

ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) is based on its ever quoted three pillars.  Having been at an ASEAN workshop this week, I would say that they would be well counselled to add a fourth pillar - Reality.

I was there all day hearing ones talk on migrant workers and it was all about good policy, good legislation and good outcomes.  Then I think of my work and what I see and read all the time.  The migrant worker's lot is not all doom and gloom but neither is it a total bed of roses.  They are often mistreated and taken advantage of.  What got me at this workshop was how the bureaucrats could not accept any dark side or any other side than it is all good.

It makes me think that we all could do with this proposed fourth pillar when looking at life.  What is real? What is unreal?  We all need a reality check at times.  After so long living here, I find asking myself more not if someone is lying or if something is bad but is this real?  This is the basic question for dealing with life here.  I say this because there is so much I do not know or understand and it is so often the hidden agenda that is the one that is important, the one you will never know.  So asking if this is a truth or a lie or whether it is good or bad is not adequately dealing with what faces you.  

That takes one into the philosophical pursuits of  dealing with the question - What is real?  Then I remember the story of the Velveteen Rabbit which is about a stuffed rabbit and his quest to become real through the love of his owner.

What is real?  Love is real and that means real love, hard love, tough love.  

I was going to finish here but then I sent a message to a good friend today about all that is happening around us, saying that there is just so much with earthquakes, wars, bad politics, death of ones close to us.  My closing line was - I am so happy God is running the show.  I could not cope.

Mary's Birthday

Did you know that it was Mary's birthday on Tuesday?  I do not know how old she is or how they know the exact date but still it was her birthday this week in the Church calendar. 

In honour of the great day, a friend posted on Facebook the following.
"Jesus, Mary and Joseph were migrants forced to leave home fleeing  into Egypt.  Happy birthday today, Mother Mary.  We know you know what it is like to be a migrant with a young child, no job, new language and the many daily challenges migrants face." 

How true!  Especially in the same week when Europe is being forced to face the reality of a refugee crisis due to wars in the Middle East.  One will poignantly recall the image that so graphically summed up the whole tragedy - that of a little boy lying dead on a beach. 

It is a time that makes us all think what it means to be part of humanity.  Would Jesus, Mary and Joseph be part of David Cameron's so called swarms or fall under the unwanted category of the Hungarian PM?  Like Jesus, Mary and Joseph, refugees today are human beings seeking safety and a life.  They are only seeking what any of us would want in our lives - a life with basic dignity and basic human rights.  They are not criminals nor evil people.  I do wonder at times what it is that our world does not get about these people in their plight.  It is not rocket science. 

Where are the leaders in our world?

In all good faith, I saw in Angela Merkel's recent stance on facing the present refugee crisis real leadership.  Then I met with a knowledgeable, young German this week and I wonder.  I saw in Obama the possibility of leadership but like so many became disillusioned by his inability to deliver.  Then lately, I see how more effective he is becoming and think that he is doing okay but I still wonder.  The bigger question remains - where is the leadership so badly needed in our world?

Our world is so lacking what it so badly needs - good and strong leadership.

In response to my own search, I have to say that the one truly, worthwhile world leader I identify is Pope Francis.  I may be wrong but this is my judgement.  He is not a President, a Chancellor or a Prime Minister, ruling neither a national budget nor a military force.  Yet he speaks with great authority and speaks a message that touches people at the grassroots.  He is successfully able to touch our hearts and connect across borders with ordinary citizens everywhere.

For me, his most recent success story in this regard has been his pronouncement this week for the upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy where, among other things, he has proclaimed prisons as centres of God's mercy.  He puts it in these terms:
"Prisoners may obtain the indulgence in the chapels of the prisons.  May the gesture of directing their thought and prayer to the Father each time they cross the threshold of their cell signify for them their passage through the Holy Door, for the mercy of God is able to transform hearts and is also able to transform bars into an experience of freedom."
Prison authorities may not know it, and I would say that is definitely true in Thailand, but their dreaded facilities worldwide have been put in the limelight by the Pope for good.

I say it time and again about Francis but it is true - a statement like this is just mind blowing.  Pope Francis has done it again and keeps doing it.  He just has the knack of acting at such very human levels for good, responding to people's deepest desires and aspirations for life.  His lesson is clear.  Leadership is not about being able to rule powerful armies and almighty budgets but about being able to touch the human heart and effect it for good.