Chasing Francis

"A miracle of humility in an age of vanity"  -  Elton John

I have always held a long deep respect for the Catholic tradition.  My western roots go long and far.  Even though I connect with Eastern Orthodox theology more than Catholicism, I still have my roots in the western church, a strong desire towards catholicity, and I greatly respect a combined liturgy with contemporary forms of worship (especially in the charismatic forms of the Catholic Church).  My experiences overall have been positive by my Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ.  I even had a Catholic seminary professor for a mentor for several years.

Pope John Paul II was such an inspiration to me for so many years of my Christian life that I was depressed for two weeks after his death.  I struggled with Pope Benedict but came to appreciate him as well.  But I knew something very strange and unusual was going on when Pope Benedict retired from being Pope.  This kind of thing simply does not happen and I knew something powerfull and spiritual was going on in all this.

Suddenly Pope Francis comes on the scene, the first Latin American Pope and a breath of fresh air since he literally is trying to follow the simple humble path of Saint Francis of Assisi.  Pope Francis is like the people's Pope.  He wants the church to be more inclusive, reaching out to the poor and disenfranchised.  He is so simple and down to earth and here it comes, so non-judgmental.  Even atheists and gays are welcomed by this Pope as he looks for new ways to build bridges and tear down walls that have kept Christians not only apart, but much of the world outside the walls of the church.

Here is a Pope who washes the feet of other religious leaders.  Who eats breakfast with the disabled and refuses all the luxury and trappings that go along with being Pope.   There are winds of change and renewal in the air with this new Pope.  Can you smell it?  Here is a Pope that wants to build bridges with Evangelical Christians and wants to decentralize the Papacy so there would be more power among a collegiality of bishops.  Here is a Pope who is willing in the spirit of Christ to give away power rather than exercising it over others.

It's almost like Pope Francis is a man in a hurry to start a revolution in the Catholic Church.  He wants all Christians to have a renewed encounter with Christ.  He yearns for a day that true unity and full communion can happen between separated Christians.  He is turning the Catholic world upside down or maybe more accurately, right side up like another much younger revolutionary did 2000 years ago when it came to the Jewish religion.  I wait in anticipation to see what God may do with Christianity where half the church is represented by Roman Catholics.  Christ's return may be closer than we think and seeing Christ get his bride ready for him may be sooner than we think.