Leading with Humility Pope Francis

"Smell like your sheep!"

Pope Francis writes of himself as a young man that he was sometimes hard headed, rash and not always thoughtful about others and their short comings. He could easily anger and alienate others, but he learned by the hard lessons of experience not only about others, but most importantly about himself. He thus worked to mature himself and to correct his natural deficiencies. A deep and abiding faith led him forth.
A mature man emerged with greater kindness, strength, foresight, humility and grace. Lead with Humility, is his story. The book authored by Jeffrey Krames, more often a business management writer, is the result of the impression the Pope leaves him with. Krames writes about the 12 points of this Pontiff that he thinks are most critical:

* Lead with humility-- Never presume that you are better than any one else. We all have our skills and individual talents. They aren't better or worse, just different.

* Smell like your flock-- The good shepherd knows his sheep and his sheep know him; they recognize and care for one another.

* Who am I to Judge? -- Be we nothing more than humble. Judge not, lest you be judged for great is your god in heaven, and great is his kingdom upon earth.

* Don't Change--Reinvent-- As the Spiritual leader of the world's 1.3 billion Roman Catholics, the Pontiff recognizes the slow and lumbering difficulties in turning this great ship of state. Thus he comes to the task with his own complete and full understanding of the complex modern world and the need to freshen up the teachings to address modern concerns today.

* Make inclusion a Priority-- All are One in Creation, all the body of Christ. Don't forget the Church. She is world-wide, both local and universal. All come to the table to be fed whether they look like you or not.

* Avoid insularity -- Remember the Beatitudes, happy are those who... and it is the poor in spirit, who in coming to faith will inherit the earth, this the Bible instructs.

* Choose pragmatism over ideology-- The Pope, as the spiritual leader of the Church, leads and must lead forth into the modern world. His influence both in the universal church and the local church is considerable; communities everywhere take notice those cues coming from Rome.

* Employ the optics of decision making-- With a worldwide organization whose "citizenry" equals or tops nearly all the individual countries of the world, the Pontiff with the advice of his bishops hailing from every nation and his core team at the Vatican State, he must consider and rule in favor of justice to all. A 'one size' policy is not necessarily equitable nor just to the peoples of the world. Consider the many political systems in which the Church operates, plan accordingly.

*Run your organization like a field hospital-- There are those who consider churches the realm of the pious, the intolerant, the hypocrite. Jesus the Christ knew well. He wrote of them in the Bible and warned against them. The Pontiff drives home the message that churches are more like refuges for the 'walking wounded,' those whose daily life is a struggle, field hospitals for the wrong-doers.

* Live on the frontier-- When we become complacent with a feeling of ease, we fall into a slumber in which we fail to observe the simple, everyday needs of others. The Bible exhorts the faithful to always be on guard, to be aware to the needs of others, that we should assist to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and care for the sick and destitute of the world so that they may gain a measure of their god-given dignity.

* Confront adversity head-on-- Remember Jesus the Christ who did not shy away. Faithful to his tasks, the Christ bore up to them, even unto the Cross of his own Crucifixion.

* Pay attention to non-customers-- There are many minds in the world and many who have not known the tender mercies of the Christ, nor the working of the Holy Spirit come upon them. Be gentle with those whose understanding is not your own. Be the Christ for them. Show the unfamiliar, the strangers among us the way. Remember the Christ comes in many disguises. He may not be immediately recognizable to you.

Divorce and the Church

"The tradition of the Church has understood the sixth commandment as encompassing the whole of human sexuality."    
-- The Catholic Catechism, 'Love your neighbor as yourself'

Kryie Eleison

version by Mr. Mister

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Recently in the news the Roman Catholic Pontiff Francis is again making waves on the internet as a result of statements he has made. The latest on the dissolution of marriage front, as divorce attorneys like to call it, is the Pope's statement that a large percentage of Roman Catholic marriages are invalid--yes, invalid!

What does that mean? It means several things and that possibly a lot of people can get a divorce and start over again. But doesn't everyone know that Roman Catholics can't get a divorce, not so simple you say?
 But this topic makes more sense if one understands that in the Catholic view, an invalid marriage is one which from the very beginning, something was lacking that was necessary for this relationship to be called a marriage.
 She, the Church, does not expect the Body of Christ to be taken advantage of, abused or otherwise grossly mistreated in the name of marriage, thus divorce is indeed possible for some reasons, but not for what is viewed as self-centered, petty reasons of the ego: he dresses like a slob, she talks too much, we don't like the same movies or vacation spots, he snores, etc.

So some marriages may indeed be invalid. The general criteria is that a marriage is not valid or is null when the partners do not enter into the marriage of their own free will; that one or both partners refuse to support or abandon the marriage; that one or both partners refuse to freely accept what children might be born of the marriage; that there is insanity, or other physical inability to freely contract the marriage such as age, drug abuse, alcoholism or drunkenness; if one or both partners enter into the marriage without the intent or belief of its permanence, all are examples of cause for a Roman Catholic to divorce within the Church. Any one of these reasons support the claim of marital nullity. You see, they are specific and limited.

So exactly what did Pope Francis say? A Simple Mind is unable to confirm any recent statements via the Vatican web page or any major Catholic news outlet such as Catholic News Service regarding this point. However the Pontiff has convened a meeting scheduled to take place in Rome in October of this year. From that meeting there is likely to be much more about divorce  along with other family life issues.

The Face of a Religious China

"Grace means that a life is not assessed for its faults but by a love of God that overwhelms all those faults"  -- Rev. Verity A. Jones

Today, around the world many more are coming to the teaching of the Christ. Forming a community, a Church that stands for all people in solidarity with suffering humanity, and engages peoples of all cultures and religions, is the Church teaching of the Gospels (bible stories). She stands with principle. All peoples the world over, want something to believe in, regardless of their faith heritage, be its origins East or West.

Jesuit Father Myles Sheehan, member of the same Jesuit Christian community as Pope Francis, recounts the Jesuit community experiences since their recent arrival in China. He writes in US Catholic magazine that there were 200 persons attending at a recent prayer meeting; this scene is being repeated every day throughout the country. On Sundays throughout China it occurs in multiplicity. There are now thousands of churches in China, representing all Christian denominations alongside the native faiths of that land.

What is becoming clear is that the number of Christians in China is growing. With the incorporation of Hong Kong into China since 1997, including its free prevalence of all faiths, non-native faiths are now taking hold within the mainland. In fact says Sheehan, there are now more regular church attenders in China today than in all of Europe. China saw more than 20,000 Catholic Christian baptisms in 2011 according to the Church in China.The call to love your neighbor is taking hold.

There are also what Sheehan calls "cultural Christians," many young and educated persons who believe but do not belong. They are a growing group, in many ways coming to the forefront of bringing the Good News to all parts of China. They play a significant role in the future of their nation, carrying with them the ideas, values and philosophies of the Christ.

Their growing Church is a place which holds for her guiding principles, an all inclusive, all-encompassing view, without walls or buildings nor ideologies that omit the value of the dignity of a person. In this modern, industrializing world the Church forms a harbor, a counter-force for harmony, and a home.

This Church of China must stand for all; its aims must be lived, not merely proclaimed through work for charitable causes and advocacy for social justice. In other parts of Asia, this mission takes its fulfillment in solidarity with the Minjung of South Korea, the Dalit of India and the Burakumin of Japan, for example.

While the marginalized in Asia are not all Christians, the indigenous faiths of the region share same or similar deep concerns for Asia. As for the Church in Asia, she stands alongside others with a message of not just a church in Asia but the Church in Asia, uniquely representing her community. After all, building community is at the heart of relationships.

Who is St. Francis of Assisi?

In a nod of tribute to the newly elected Christian leader, Pope Francis, the simplexlife posts an article which first appeared here previously:

The Prayer of Saint Francis

Sung by Sarah McLaughlin

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Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
where there is injury, pardon
where there is doubt, faith
where there is despair, hope
where there is darkness, light
where there is sadness, joy

O Divine Master, grant 

that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console

to be understood as to understand

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive

for
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life

Who is Francis of Assisi that the world should recollect him still, nearly 1,000 years beyond his lifetime? The "Peace Prayer" of St. Francis has become a very well known attribute. However further search turns up that he did not write it at all, though it so well expresses the aims of Saint Francis of Assisi. It was written first in French about 1912, appearing in the journal, La Clochette, the poem written by an unknown author.
As for the flesh and blood Francis of Assisi, the saint's early life gave no indication of his future virtue. No one loved pleasure more than Francis; he had a quick wit, sang freely and often, delighted in fine food, clothes, women and ostentation. Handsome, cheerful, and chivalrous, he soon became most popular among the young nobles of Assisi, the very king of frolic. Still, he showed an instinctive sympathy with the poor, and though he spent money freely, he spent in such sums as to demonstrate a charity of spirit.

When about twenty, Francis went out with the townsmen to box and battle the Perugians (a neighboring region, Perugia) in one of the petty skirmishes so frequent at that time between the rival cities. The Assisians were defeated this time, Francis, was taken prisoner, was held captive for more than a year in Perugia. A low fever which he there contracted apparently turned his thoughts to spiritual matters, or at least to reflect upon the emptiness of the life he had been leading. 

With better health, Francis' eagerness to chase after after glory was restored; he wandered in search of opportunity for victory. Initially a military career appealed to him. His biographers record a story that the night before Francis was to set forth, he had a strange dream, in which he saw a great hall hung with armor, all marked with Crosses. "These", said a voice, "are for you and your soldiers." Francis had another dream in which the same voice told him to turn back to Assisi. With a change of heart, he did follow the voice this time and returned to Assisi in 1205 C.E..

His changed demeanor demonstrated that his heart was no longer attached to frivolities; a yearning for the life of the spirit had possessed him. As if to put his nature to the test, he exchanged clothes with a ragged beggar man and stood for the rest of the day without food or drink among the horde of beggars at the door of the church in Rome. He developed his beliefs strongly over time; the saint's convictions were simple and practical; he was no slave to theory or dogma in regard to the practice of Charity, or anything else. There was nothing fanatical or narrow about his way. He stuck to the roots of simplicity which figured so largely into his spiritual life and ideals, so that nothing threatened to stifle the spirit of prayer which he thought preferable to anything he had experienced prior.

Francis was nonetheless deeply a mystic in the truest sense of the word. The whole world was to him one shining, sun filled ascent, he climbed forward into the sky, ascending like a ladder, closer and closer to the source, to behold his love, his Lord.

This is a bit about who Francis is, and about those who would want to follow him. Watch, and the world is watching too!