POPE FRANCIS SET THE TONE

 

Pope Francis changed nothing in the doctrine and teachings of the Church, but he sure gave the Church a new feel. 

 

The leader of any group of human beings always sets the tone of the group, whether that be a nation, a corporation, a school, a hospital or the faith community. One insightful man put it out there in clear fashion: “I cannot define what it means to set the tone but I sure can feel it.”

 

You walk into a medical cli clinic. You can feel the tone immediately. Are they people of service or is this just a business like getting your gas tank filled at the gas station?

 

The best example of setting the tone is your own family. Probably the person who set the tone was your mother. You knew how far you could go as a child; and you always knew where the boundaries were set. Your father knew how to read the tone set by your mother!

 

Pope Francis will be best remembered for challenging Christianity and the world (i.e., governments and big corporations) to be a Church of the poor. May he always be remembered that Christians were to the noted for their dirty shoes because they have been out on the streets giving assistance to the poor and the misplaced of the society. 

 

Since when did dirty shoes become a sign of our faith and service to God?

 

When does a world leader live in a two-room apartment? And drive around in small cars?

 

The Church (i.e., each individual believer) must become a people of service and compassion towards those who are pushed to the margins . This is a shift, not to reforming the doctrines of the faith (which a pretty solid already) but to living our Christian commitment on daily life. 

 

People should only believe what they see in action. Pope Francis is leading the way. 

 

I believe in the faith of our Church because I experience generous believers bringing in groceries to be shared with families who are struggling to make the ends meet. They do not know these people. They care with a generous heart and they donate pasta, canned soup, toilet paper and bags of rice. 

 

I believe because committed Christians become involved with refugees and new Canadians. They take time to help them with their English, learn how to maneuver the Canadian banking system and help them obtain medical services. They take them grocery shopping and learn how we ‘do it here!’

 

After Pope Francis Christianity will never be the same!  The people of the Church will think differently about themselves. 

 

May the tone that Pope Francis has given to Christianity (all the churches – Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant) challenge us well into the next century.