"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike."
Historically and geographically, Saint Francis stands midway between Jesus and us. Born in the eleventh century in Italy, he saw an economic revolution as highways were cleared of brigands, merchants traveled more freely, traders used coins of valuable metals instead of bartering for goods, and banks were reborn to facilitate commerce. A person could be very wealthy without owning property; such was the power of money.
Universities appeared in major European cities; and scholars, speaking the universal language of Latin, moved freely from one school to another to spread new ideas and new ways of thinking.
Not long after that (1440) Gutenberg established the basics of his printing press including the use of a mobile, reusable set of type, and within ten years he had constructed a working prototype of the press. Europe was rapidly becoming, if not the most advanced, the most aggressive civilization in the world. Francis's friars rode that wave to all parts of the world, announcing the Gospel and bringing an alternate way of life.
Although the world has never lost its fascination with Saint Francis of Assisi, the Church and the twenty-first century are enjoying a rebirth of wonder in the man as the first American pope assumes the Poverello's name for his own. Pope Francis, on this day in the year 2023, is publishing a sequel to his ground-breaking Laudato Si; and he is introducing a Franciscan-Jesuit way of thinking to the Church. The Synod on Synodality may prove to be the most influential meeting of Church leadership since the Second Vatican Council.
The Holy Father hopes to introduce to the Church a more childlike way of listening to the Lord. Rather than surrendering to the wealthy with their weapons, money, and influence, or to angry ideologues with their redefined words, the Pope would have us seeking to know the will of God. We can do that by praying, speaking, listening, and engaging with one another. We must believe that God has something to say and will say it to us. And not just to the more powerful or the loudest parties.
The powerful and their sycophants have always assumed they know God's will. As King Henry said in The Lion in Winter, "I am the king. When I speak, God listens!"
And ideologies dismiss a personal God in favor of their deterministic theory of history. They think they see the future and can force everyone else to go there. (In 1973, ideologues in the SCOTUS believed the country would and should accept abortion. They set us on our present course toward dissolution of the United States.)
Like Saint Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis believes in God; and that God still guides his church. We have only to ask with one voice, one mind, and one heart what God wants. And we shall receive.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.