"You'll never be able to speak into their souls unless you speak the truth about your own wounds. You need to tell them what our Lord has come to mean to you in the midst of your disappointments and losses. All ministry begins at the ragged edges of our own pain...
Do you know the story of Rabbi Zusva?, he asked. He was a Chasidic master who lived in the 1700's. One day he said," When I get to the heavenly court, God will not ask me 'Why weren't you Moses?' Rather he will ask me, 'Why were you not Zusva?'" Thomas let that thought hang in the air for a moment, then continued. "Churches should be places where people come to hear the story of God and to tell their own. That's how we find out how the two relate. Tell your story with all of it's shadows and fog, so people can understand their own. They want a leader who's authentic, someone trying to figure out how to follow the Lord Jesus in the joy and wreckage of life. They need you, not Moses," he said..."
Although the new Pope is a Jesuit and took the name of Francis (he is the first Pope to use this name), it is not in honor of St. Francis Xavier (the founder of the Jesuits) but in honor of St. Francis of Assisi (founder of the Franciscans). According to the details we've been given, the name is not a surprise to those who know him. Like St. Francis, the new Pope is explicitly honoring "a saint that transcends the Catholic Church and is loved by all people, a saint who reached out for simplicity, poverty and care for the poor,".
Our prayers are that he lead his flock with compassion, humility and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
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