Francis, in his writings and his talks, brings back an excitement lost to me since leaving the US in 1982. John Cassidy, in The New Yorker, captures some of this when he notes…
“Between the follower of Saint Francis of Assisi and the leadership of the G.O.P. lies a gulf that no politesse can disguise.”
My gut responds to that… and so many other of his quotes during his speech to the Congress.
“Building a future of freedom requires love of the common good and coöperation in a spirit of subsidiarity and solidarity…”
“A delicate balance is required to combat violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology, or an economic system, while also safeguarding religious freedom, intellectual freedom, and individual freedoms…”
“We know that, in the attempt to be freed of the enemy without, we can be tempted to feed the enemy within. To imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place. That is something which you, as a people, reject.”
And he spoke of Thomas Merton and Dorthy Day. It is interesting to reflect a bit, as I was introduced to both by my parents. It was mom who first told me of Catholic Worker and the Seven Storey Mountain. I read them off and on while young, but did I really embrace them? I spent time at St. Joseph’s, worked the occasional kitchen, but to what extent did either of their writings really penetrate my soul?
I read Merton and Day, but why do I feel now, listening to this Pope, that I missed something. Without a set of habits to reflect on what I read, did their thoughts impact me? Change me?