Pope Francis

Following the death of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, on Easter Monday this week, there have been many stories and anecdotes about his life and deep faith cropping up in the news, on the internet, etc.  A repeated theme that I have noticed is how strongly his faith was rooted in his life of prayer, and how important the various sacred liturgies of the Church were in nurturing his faith.  Again we come back to the importance of full, conscious and active participation. 

It is so easy for us weak, fallen mortals, to say or read the prayers or the Bible without really absorbing into our innermost being what it is that we are saying or reading.

I have often noticed, however, that truly holy men and women naturally, without thought, make reference to the Bible, Psalms, or other prayers and readings when talking about or explaining the Christian faith.  I have seen it often in monks, nuns and other religious.  But also lay people.

And one story that I read this week made it very clear that this was the case for our late Holy Father.

“I ask Pope Francis about the enormous changes occurring in society and the way human beings are reinterpreting themselves.  At this point he gets up and goes to get the breviary from his desk.  It is in Latin, now worn from use.  He opens to the Office of Readings for Friday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time and reads me a passage from the Commonitorium Primum of St Vincent of Lerins: ‘Even the dogma of the Christian religion must follow these laws, consolidating over the years, developing over time, deepening with age.’ ”  (Fr. Spadaro)

This short reading comes up only once a year in the Divine Office.  And there are many periods of prayer in the Divine Office which the Pope, like all the ordained, must pray each day.

But clearly, he didn't just get through them as a mere duty.  He fully, consciously, actively engaged with all the liturgies that our mother, the Church, provides for our benefit.  They informed him and they became part of who he was.

We have much to learn from Pope Francis.

May he rest in peace.