Tag Archives: faith

Surprise! The New Pope Is From The USA

There were lots of hopefuls in the Conclave. My personal favorite was the Cardinal Tagle from the Philippines. I certainly didn’t have a Cardinal from Chicago/Peru on my radar at all. Robert Francis Prevost was chosen by the College of Cardinals as the 267th Pope, and he will go by Leo XIV. The new Pope holds a math degree from Villanova and is an Augustinian.

Most of his career was spent as a missionary, so he knows how to be among the people, like Pope Francis. It will be interesting to see what he does and how much he will emulate Francis.

I am not a Catholic, but I hold the Catholic Church in high esteem. My hope is that he will energize the faithful and inspire them to reach out to those on the margins. God be with Leo XVI.

Edgar Beltrán / The Pillar, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Conclave, A Fictional Movie About Choosing A New Pope

This is a fictional movie about the choosing of a new Pope in the wake of a Pope’s passing. Right now, in reality, the College of Cardinals are about to begin this process for real since Pope Francis’ death on Easter Monday. There is a lot of Vatican politics and palace intrigue in this film, as one would expect. It’s also about faith, relationships, trust, and the Catholic Church’s traditions, and rituals that guide this film.

“Conclave” features an all-star cast of Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini.

Virtural Church, Real Spirit On A Winter Morning

Due to the icy weather this morning, our church canceled services. We still attended church, but virtually. My college roommate Joey is a United Methodist pastor. He led a service from his church that we watched this morning. His parishioners stayed home but he went in and streamed services via Facebook. It was good to see him in action this morning.

This reminded me of when everything went virtual due to COVID years ago. It was nice being in my pj’s this morning but my faith is best expressed in community with others and to be present in the parish house at St. Peter’s.

Quote Of The Day

If you want to do violence in this world, you will always find the weapons. If you want to heal, you will always find the balm.

Rachel Held Evans

A Relevant Sunday Message

I found this to be profound and very much in the spirit of who Jesus is and should be in the hearts and minds of those who believe in him. Jesus can be found in many places. If more of his children had this mindset things would be better for many people. May Jesus be with all no matter what.

When You Live…

For many in this scenario, they live in both realities. Of course, the best situation would be to live and love in God’s kingdom. But, the culture wars are where they have to fight to survive.