from time to time, I am asked to publish one of my homilies…… from the Fifth Sunday in Lent
Eight years ago when Pope Benedict inherited the chair of Peter, the sense was that the cardinals had voted to continue the papacy of John Paul II. Continuity was the catch phrase. It what make the verse from Isaiah stand out: “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new!” (Isaiah 43:18) Continue reading
In today’s first reading from Isaiah, we hear
Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! (Isaiah 43)
Pope Francis – Jesuit with a Franciscan spirit – may well represent a new category of religious sense in the public square. But that is no reason to forego some of the classic inter-religious jokes. Here is one from Fr. Tom Reese, SJ Continue reading
You can hear the reasons from Pope Francis himself:
Several days ago I mentioned that there would be lots of things written about Pope Francis and St. Francis of Assisi in the coming days – and that I was impressed that a writer for a news outlet would be daunting enough to try and produce something which included information about St. Francis. It is a complex task (as I hinted) and it is inevitable that things won’t be exactly correct. Even though I did list a short bibliography of recent books about St. Francis, someone contacted me and said that I should not criticize, especially since I had not written anything about St. Francis. So, I sent them the list of my posts – the same one I am posting here. I hope it is helpful, enlightening, and inspiring. Continue reading
John Allen, longtime Vatican reporter: “The real winner of the 2013 conclave was St Francis of Assisi:” http://ow.ly/j0HbM We live in hope!
Sacred Heart parish here in Tampa has an unusual history. It was established in 1860 (modern by world standards, ancient by West Central Florida standards) with diocesan priests, but was lead by the Jesuits of the New Orleans province from 1888 until 2005. Their missionary, church planting, and pastoral work was pretty amazing. In 2005 they withdrew from the parish and pastoral leadership of the parish passed to the Franciscan friars of Holy Name Province who remain to this day.
As a parishioner pointed out, are we perhaps the only parish who has a statue/altar for St. 
Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis of Assisi – as well as the tradition of both august religious orders? Fun to ponder – but in any case we are proud of our Jesuit roots (Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam – For the greater glory of God) and our Franciscan heritage (Deus Meus et Omnia – My God and my all)
Pope Francis
One of the great things about social media and its use by Cardinals, Bishops, and people from Rome these days, is that we have the chance to become “eye-witnesses” to the first hours and days of Pope Francis. I have seen some wonderful snippets of tweets, blogs, etc. that give me great hope about the possibilities of the man who would walk in the shoes of Peter: holiness in humility.
Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Pete diocese (the first blogging bishop) has a great article which encapsulates many of the stories from the first 24 hours. It is a great read by another church man who strives for holiness in humility.
Where were you when the white smoke billowed from the Vatican? I was on my way back to the parish when my cell phone kept rapidly beeping as one text after another poured in. Back in the parish office, I learned the Jesuit Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina had been elected and taken the name Francis – I assumed it was for St. Francis Xavier the great Jesuit missionary and that new evangelization would be the focus of his pontificate. A good choice and a great aim.
friarmusings 