One of the world’s great holy ones has been in the news regularly. Pope Francis, leader of 1.4 billion Roman Catholics around the globe, was recently hospitalized. I’m quite sure prayers for his well-being were offered not only by Roman Catholics but also by many faithful people – Christian and otherwise – who value the compassion and clarity he has shown throughout his papacy.
About 10 years ago, Pope Francis issued a document following the Synod on the Family. Titled “Amoris Laetitia,” it upheld many church teachings (some of which, I admit, I disagree with as an Ecumenical Catholic), but it also shifted and expanded perspective. In this work, he recognized the complexity of family life today, the dignity of divorced and gay people, the importance of conscience, and more.
I’ve been praying for the Holy Father during his illness and thinking about this document, which offers so many beautiful passages on the importance of placing love at the center of our lives. I know Pope Francis’ exhortation comes from his faith in Jesus, who is constant in his call for us to “love one another.”
Here comes the guilty confession: I’m struggling with that. Lately, I haven’t been feeling very loving. I’ve been feeling upset and judgmental, angry and fearful. As a result, I haven’t been feeling very peaceful either.
I’m going to resist listing for you the many things causing me to feel this way. Instead, I want to focus on a possible antidote to this daily morass some of us find ourselves in. It’s an aspect of the spiritual life that is not just found in Christianity, but in all great religions.
For me, when I’m busy focusing on wrongs done, I am, unfortunately, living a path of resentment, not love. Pope Francis describes this beautifully in “Amoris Laetitia,” as he reminds people of St. Paul’s beautiful exhortation about love in the letter to the community in Rome:
“Once we allow ill will to take root in our hearts, it leads to deep resentment. The
phrase, ‘ou logízetai to kakón’ means that love ‘takes no account of evil;’ ‘it is not resentful.’ The opposite of resentment is forgiveness, which is rooted in a positive attitude that seeks to understand other people’s weaknesses and to excuse them. As Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do’” (“Amoris Laetitia” 105, quoting Luke 23:34).
For Jesus and for Pope Francis, the path to love involves showing mercy. It involves letting down any quick inclination to judge or condemn. Mercy invites each of us to humility, to listen fully, even when we’re getting worked up. For me personally, it also involves giving up the presumption of ill will on the part of others – at least until I have heard and thought about all the facts.
Recently a women’s spirituality group I facilitate read the book “The Road to Wisdom” by Dr. Francis Collins. It’s all about learning to listen to each other and talk more productively with each other. He reminds us that we, as people, share so many common values including belief in the virtues of love, beauty, goodness, faith, freedom and more.
That said, those of you who have known me over the years know that I am an activist. I’m not saying not to hold true to your convictions or act on your deeply held beliefs, particularly those that derive from your faith. Rather, I’m inviting all of us, me included, to look at how I behave when acting on those beliefs. Creating a backdrop of goodwill toward others is one of the steps Dr. Collins suggests may help us engage more lovingly across divides.
In his great sermon, Jesus reminds his followers – and us – that “Blessed are the merciful” and “Blessed are the peacemakers.” It makes sense that he includes both. I suspect there wouldn’t be much chance for us to make peace – whether in our families, our workplaces, our city or beyond – if we can’t find some shred of mercy for each other. I’m working on that in these Lenten weeks leading up to Easter.
Editor’s note: This column was written by the Rev. Trish Sullivan Vanni, Ph.D., pastoral director and priest of the Charis Ecumenical Catholic Community in Eden Prairie.
Interested in contributing a faith-based column to EPLN? Email editor@eplocalnews.org.
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