Pope Francis

We need to pray for this man.  He loves us and this world and most importantly, he loves God.  He wants us to love God and the world God gave us, which we are doing our best to destroy.  

Installed today as the 226th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, I believe Pope Francis is preaching, and living by example, the only message that makes sense in our day.  He echoes St. Francis of Assissi, whose name he chose for his ministry, and Jesus himself when he implores us to love each other, care for the poor, respect Nature, and make peace amongst each other.

"Please, let us be protectors of creation, protectors of God's plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment."

I'm praying for years of strength and wisdom for this man; maybe, just maybe he can help us change the world and the future.  God seems to have chosen someone who is already old (76 years of age) and not as strong as the job demands (he has only one lung).  But how often do we read in the Bible, and in daily life, that God uses the weak and least likely to help bring God's message to the world?  

From Abraham, Moses, David, the Virgin Mary, and Paul of the New Testament to Ann Frank, Mother Teresa, Georges Vanier, and countless others, to you and me; God equips the chosen.

I know I want to live as Pope Francis begs us to because it's the way Jesus wants us to live as I understand the Gospels.

But I'm as weak and powerless as they come, so I'll have to rely on God, just as Abraham and all the others had to find their strength in God. I know it starts with prayer, moves into my heart and my attitude, and then finds action in the small changes I can make in my daily life.  And the remainder of Lent and then the Easter season is the perfect time to begin!

Join me in prayer and ask God to bless Pope Francis, our world, and each of us!