Reflection Paper On Pope Francis

Pope Francis has answered so many questions I had about our Faith, Church and the way we can be Christ to others in today’s world. This course has re-ignited my love for the faith and reinforced the fact that I am supposed to be working in stewardship. I was so scared when I said my yes to our pastor, being that I don’t have all of the theology that others might have. Pope Francis affirms you don’t need a degree to live a life that leads others to the Lord. #151 “We are not asked to be flawless, but to keep growing and wanting to grow as we advance along the path of the Gospel; our arms must never grow slack… The Holy Spirit, who inspired the word, “today, just as at the beginning of the Church, acts in every evangelizer who allows himself

Our local ad just came in this week and it features this quote, our Parochial Vicar as so excited he cut it out can placed in his office as a reminder. He turned to me and said “we will no longer be that parish that no one can find.” We are truly reaching wide to all in our community. The Church is our home and will be the one constant in our journey if we are open to receiving God’s invitation to draw closer to

#286 – “She is the woman whose heart was pierced by a sword and who understands all our pain. As mother of all, she is a sign of hope for peoples suffering the birth pangs of justice. She is the missionary who draws near to us and accompanies us throughout life, opening our hearts to faith by her maternal l love. As a true mother, she walks at our side, she shares our struggles and she constantly surrounds us with God’s love.” When I read this and I recall during the Papal transition we were experiencing a young girl in one of my 5th grade faith formation class, asked why can’t girls be leaders in the Church. My co-catechist’s face went pale, and I took a deep breath. What came afterwards was truly the Holy Spirit. I asked her a question: “What is the single most powerful human weapon God uses to defeat and guard us from evil?” She answered Jesus. I went on to tell her that God chose a young girl to be his most powerful weapon against evil and her name is Mary. Mary our Mother is the Queen. The most important thing she did was say “yes” to God. Girls are blessings that God uses in the church in many ways. Mary is the greatest example of a human leader in our faith, and yes she is a girl. Our Popes ask her for prayers and guidance, so you see we do have female leadership in our Church. The young girl smiled. I am grateful to our Mother for her love and her strength. She exemplifies the feminine genius God