You might know that Pope Francis daily celebrates Mass at the chapel where he lives, Santa Marta. He reflections on the daily readings are available on the Vatican News website’s page, Word of the Day. As an ever work-in-progress homilist, I greatly appreciate his insights and the clarity (and brevity) of his homily. From Pope Francis:
Vigilance! But, three criteria, eh! Do not confuse the truth. Jesus fights the devil: first criterion. Second criterion: the one who is not with Jesus is against Jesus. There is no middle ground. Third criterion: vigilance over our heart because the devil is clever. He is never cast out forever! That will happen only on the last day.” (Homily, Santa Marta, 11 October 2013)
The synoptic gospels (Mark, Mathew and Luke) recount the story of Jesus being accused of working for the powers of darkness: ““By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” I can remember as a young person being frightened to know the devil was so familiar to the world that he/she had a name: Beelzebul. One of my vivid memories was as child hearing a fiery sermon by a preacher at the Pine Street Pentecostal Church. It was a Sunday night and we were outside listening. Again and again the preacher hoisted up and dropped upon the congregation the name of Beelzebul, the prince of darkness who leered, lingered, and lured the unwary soul onto perdition’s ways.
While reading the Old Testament, you probably noticed there are moments of violence in which the role of the antagonist is played by the Hebrew people. The Book of Joshua, following on the heels of the Moses and the time in the wilderness, presents a narrative of the way Israel took possession of the land of Canaan, making it the land of Israel – by conquest.
“…whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:19)
Forgiveness is one of those fundamental lessons we try to teach our kids from an early age: when siblings bicker or hurt each other, or if friends break a toy. And at the same time, we should ever be aware that we have not exactly mastered the art of forgiveness. The ability to forgive is a learning experience that often takes a lifetime. It’s not easy, but perhaps it’s not meant to be easy. Showing compassion and understanding in a world through which we cautiously pass takes an open heart instead of the guarded one we often carry. 
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It has been about a year since “social distancing” became an all too familiar expression. No doubt we can all look back on the year past and collect our own anecdotes. This post is from a year ago. It is eerily accurate and still funny. Enjoy.
One aspect of Francis’ changing life that has attracted recent attention is the movement of Francis from solitary figure, living a quasi-hermetical life for four to five years, now beginning to live in a growing community of brothers – all of whom are looking to Francis for spiritual and communal leadership. There was something attractive about Francis, his way of following the gospel, and perhaps the recent “commissioning” by Pope Innocent III gave a certain cache of legitimacy to this way of being Christian in the world. Eventually many people came to join the Franciscan movement, which soon enough became a religio and eventually an ordo, but those demarcations are eight to ten years in the future ahead of the Spring of 1209.
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