Tag: catholic

As the world continues to mourn and bury Pope Francis today …

But Cat? You’ve always said you’re a “recovering” Catholic? So, why are you even writing about him? Aren’t you kind of being a hypocrite? I’m so confused!

(Quite Literally … “No One”)

Yes, it’s true that I’m a “recovering Catholic“. An even truer truth is I’m in recovery from organized religion as a whole. Do I love my Jesus? YES, I DO! I’m some sort of oxymoronic rogue Christian FREAK about my truly blind faith in “Someone” beyond my conception. I’m either cursing up a storm, raining down hellfire and damnation down from my way to sanctimonious soapbox, or praying on my hands and knees like a child. Meanwhile, if you didn’t know a single thing about him, perhaps a few of the quotes I heard while watching the coverage of his passing said it all:

Pope Francis seemed to be CHANGING the church … bringing it into the modern world in a way that no Pope had before.

This is a Pope who wanted to build bridges … not to build walls.

He not only preached in word … he preached in deed.

He’s doing EXACTLY what Jesus asked him to do … he’s feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless …

The humility … the modesty … the accessibility of this man named Pope Francis.

He liked to push the line on some things, and not every Catholic was comfortable with that.

His most famous line when he was asked about gay priests … “As long as they have a good heart and are searching for God, who am I to judge?”

He brought to Rome that sense that the place of the powerful is with the least powerful and the poor and he tried to live that out. For example … Francis went to prisons. He goes to the peripheries … he washes the feet of inmates to show that the way to be a Pope is not to be on high, it’s to be down low.

The papacy of Pope Francis in one word: Mercy. Mercy, mercy, MERCY!

… but perhaps my favorite quote of all:

“Pope Francis understood the mercy that says “I see you, I understand you, I accept you, and I love you for who you are, what you are, where you are.” He recognized that people live in grey … none of us are perfect.”

Ah! That’s it! “People live in grey!” In grey … in grey … in GREY:

If you know me well, you know that grey is my favorite color, which is evident in my either predominately black and white or changing shades of grey artwork. What’s interesting about this one, though, is how poignantly it reflects upon the mental illness I fought so hard to overcome for the majority of my life long before it was diagnosed.

(“The Brighter Side Of Grey“)

Pope Francis truly lived that “the place of the powerful is with the LEAST powerful and poor” by “ruling” his kingdom by not “ruling” at all. Rather, he LED from far down below. Down with the lowest … down with the dirtiest …

DOWN WITH THE FALLEN!

“Tired eyes, barely open … crippled by a promise broken. I have seen an empire falling. Hopeless, can you hear me calling? Turn away from all that I know … burning this bridge behind me. Light the way and I’LL FOLLOW where you go!”

(… said Pope Francis to Jesus Christ by his works, deeds, and mercy for ALL of humanity, up to and including the lowest of the low and filthiest of the filthy and NOT just the “holier than thou”!)

Farewell and Godspeed, Jorge Mario Bergoglio! You truly were “The Peoples’ Pope”, and the least Catholic pontiff who ever graced this Earth. You seem to have believed you were absolutely NOTHING, which to me, made you EVERYTHING, and I’m honored to have stood in your presence. You clearly understood your assignment, and I “saw” you! Well done!