The Eleventh Commandment

Oh, I am almost ready to go to Church! Pope Francis is just absolutely sending frissons of joy through my entire body, heart, mind, and soul. He is now emerging—again by simple example—as a leader in the disability movement.

Read: Pope Francis Blesses Man With Disfigured Face Displaying Healing Power Of Love 

 

When I first saw the above picture, I thought it was Pope Francis talking to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and that the part of the picture with Kerry had mixed up pixels. Then I read the text and found out it was a man with a severely disfigured face.

 
Huff Post Religion reported that "Vinicio Riva, the man with neurofibromatosis, told the media that he 'felt only love' as the Pope embraced him." I can believe it! Pope Francis is the most loving Pope I can ever recall in my nearly 65 years of living. He is a sweet man. He's the sort of person one can agree to disagree with and yet love, love, love so very much. It's the Pope's utter sincerity and total willingness to just keep reaching out to people of all sorts that makes him so appealing.

To look straight at a person with a disfigurement is an act of spiritual greatness that every single person on this Earth—no matter what his or her beliefs or non-beliefs may be—can achieve. To touch that person is even better than that.

Look at that picture! Look at Pope Francis' face. He is looking at Mr. Riva without a trace of condescending pity or disgust. Pope is simply listening to another human being and touching him. By doing this, the Pope draws us in, compels us to emulate him, and realize the importance of the inner being rather than the outside package. We see both men together; we cannot ignore Mr. Riva and pretend that he doesn't exist because he has a deformity.

 
Look at this one:

Can you see the pure love radiating from Pope Francis? I do. He's not faking it. It's not theater. It's a close embrace that is tender and profoundly spiritual. It's soul-to-soul. 

This is where our true journey into a higher level of consciousness starts. We leave the body for a time to appreciate the soul and the heart and the mind. We realize that the body is only one tiny dimension of Being.

Indeed, this is the beginning—the fundamental stage—of acceptance and welcoming those among us whose bodies are not perfect. This is growing away from society's obsession with beauty and sex objects. This is how we see a person's being—body, soul, intellect—all as one beautiful entity. 

If there is a better lesson in life that any spiritual leader can teach us, I don't know what it is. Pope Francis expresses the ultimate essence of G-d's love for all of Creation.

This Pope, in my view, is a reincarnation of St. Francis. He is also a Buddha, a Christ, a Moses, a Mohammed and more—come down to earth to show us a path out of the horrible corruption that worship of The Golden Calf has infected us with. 

If there were an Eleventh Commandment, it would be: "Thou shalt not dismiss diseased or disabled people; for they are made also in the image of G-d."

THAT is what Pope Francis said without words. And THAT is what resonated completely with me as a person with several disabilities. The Pope was telling us that Jesus was not sexy and stunning when he was on the Cross. It was a physically ugly sight, but it had a profound spiritual meaning that was very beautiful.

 
If we do nothing else, I would say, let us follow this "Eleventh Commandment." Lead on, Pope Francis.

 

 "TRADITION! UNHEARD OF ABSURD!"—and Extremely Beautiful

Back in the saddle. It's been a frantic time around here since I got back. I've not said much because it's just been more of the same—some excellent things and some things that are not-so-excellent.

But today's news story is a short one that is extremely good. Yazmine Hafiz of The Huffington Post tells us about how Pope Frances reached out to comfort a man with a severe disfigurement. The Pope cradled the man's head tenderly and comforted him.

Read: Pope Francis Kisses Sick Man With Boils Showing The Healing Power Of Compassion

I looked at the picture. It's ghastly. What are reported to be boils looks more like Proteus syndrome, the disease that the Elephant Man had. Whatever it is that this modern man has, I would hope it is nowhere near as painful and/or disabling. I remember once getting 16 boils under each armpit, and I had a fever and unimaginable pain with just those 16! If that man truly has got boils all over like that, he must be in agony. Boils on top of boils! It looks like all the plagues have descended on the poor fellow at one time. And if he has got Proteus syndrome, he must be in another kind of agony.

Pope Francis is staying true to Catholic doctrine with this action. Jesus healed the lepers and many other sick people. He did not shy away from them or shun them, as was typically done in that era and as still happens in far too many places today. Once again, this Pope is leading by example. He isn't preaching from "on high" that we should welcome and help sick people. He is showing us that none of us—no matter how powerful or healthy we may be—should be never above showing compassion to the least of us. No one is too good to do this, face-to-face, hands-on!

As Jesus put it so aptly: "What you do the least of Me, you do to Me." I've always tried to live by that code, because it resonates very strongly with my own experience of how awful life can be when one is bullied or mocked because of having physical challenges. I also know what it is like to be on the bottom of the social/economic ladder.

This is why I wish so very much that other differences could be just as warmly cared for and accepted inside the Catholic religion, instead of being labeled as "disordered." This is why I would love to see an equality that does not distinguish between genders or gender identities or whatever else makes people different from one another.

Our Pope is a true, sincere Jesuit. He questions. He explores. He pushes the envelope out, seeking answers. But, in the end, he always obeys tradition—unlike Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, who sings of TRADITION, but then says "on the other hand. . . ." Even the very worst breaking of tradition ends up being accepted by old Tevye, because love, ultimately, is more important to him. Yes, at first, it does seem "UNHEARD OF! ABSURD!" but then it really does make sense.

However, Pope Francis is what he is. He is not likely to change. He will continue to teach, by example, those things that he was taught. He will shed new light on some of the finer and better aspects of Catholicism that have been ignored for far too long. Caring for and about disabled people is the next civil rights movement, I believe. And I would love to have Pope Francis lead this movement by example. We can choose to welcome that much and be glad for it even while we agitate and pray for other changes.

Unchurched I remain. Interested in Pope Francis, I also remain. I'm eclectic. I can take the many good things he has to offer into my own life. That is my TRADITION!

Actions Speak Louder than Words, Pope Francis

First, I'm sorry I was away so long. I had to prepare for our 12-day trip to Ireland and then spend some time getting things back to normal. I was going to wait till the weekend to resume writing as I had some lovely articles on Pope Francis' comments regarding capitalism, throw-away mentality, and poverty. I wanted to write more glowing posts about these things.

Quite sadly, some earth-shattering news reached my Facebook page and I am compelled to speak up about it. Unfortunately, I must harp on an rather overdone topic, because we never seem to finish with more outrageous stories about it.

Read: 

Melbourne Priest Greg Reynolds Defrocked And Excommunicated By The Vatican

Mr. Reynolds has been an outspoken champion of elevating women to the priesthood and of gay marriage. He finally decided that his own views on these topics were too divergent from the Roman Catholic church and chose to leave it to start his own sect—Inclusive Catholics.

But, oh dear, despite Pope Francis' recent kind words about how we must not be "obsessed" about gay marriage and abortion, back in MAY 2013, the Vatican sent a peremptory letter to Mr. Reynolds telling him that he was not only defrocked per his request but that he was also excommunicated.

Defrocking makes some sense. It's what's done when someone leaves the priesthood. Mr. Reynold's own sect allows for gay marriage and elevates women to the priesthood, per his beliefs. In Inclusive Catholics, Mr. Reynolds gives Holy Communion to people who attend services there. It's not Roman Catholicism, so it's appropriate to accede to his desire to be defrocked.

There also appears to be an unfortunate rumor that someone attending one of the services gave part of the Host to a dog. Mr. Reynolds did not do this.

But excommunication seems quite wrong to me. Why should this man be excommunicated? Why is he not allowed to participate in any Catholic rituals, such as receiving Holy Communion or marrying in a Catholic church, among other things. Because of the schism?

Schisms in Christianity are pretty old. I seem to remember reading that at one point in history there were two popes! There are all sorts of Christians around—many varieties of Protestants, Anglicans, Greek Orthodoxes, Coptics, and Mormons, to name the ones I know about. If this man deserves excommunication based on forming a new sect and giving Holy Communion, well then shouldn't all these other groups also be similarly punished for doing the same thing? Why single out this one man? His archbishop didn't call for this to happen.

Was it the dog? This man did not give Holy Communion to the dog. If we follow this kind of reasoning, then someone who pockets a Host and later brings it to a Satanic Black Mass would automatically make the priest who gave the person the Host to blame. That's absurd.

We can argue about dogs and Communion. I believe that all living things have souls, so it doesn't bother me if the dog got Communion. I wouldn't do it out of respect for tradition but, as long as it wasn't done for Satanic reasons or for mockery, it's just not that awful that a dog shared spiritually with humans in the church.

We can only conclude that this man was thrown completely out of the Catholic Church because of his outspoken and active support for gay rights and women priests. And again, what should then be done with Episcopalians and the Anglican Church in England? Should THEY be excommunicated too? How about the female ministers in evangelical Protestant churches. And, ooops, I forgot the Unitarians—my husband and I were married by a female minister in a Unitarian Church. What about THEM?

Now, it is not totally clear whether or not Pope Francis knew what the Vatican staff members were doing, as he cannot be in a thousand places at once. But what IS clear is that, when this came to light, the Pope did NOTHING to reverse this decision. He let it stand, despite his own words that this "obsession" was wrong. He was saying this, while, behind the scenes, the Vatican was just doing "same old, same old."

Now let me mention something about my trip to Ireland because it IS relevant. We stayed in Limerick and visited a number of places there and in surrounding areas in County Clare with relatives we had discovered online. We had a glorious time in Ireland. One thing really struck me. All over the place, in Limerick, I was seeing the rainbow flag flying. I had known before that Limerick was expecting a Gay Pride march as part of a yearly activity and as part of something termed The Gathering, which was a kind of call for people who had roots in Ireland to return for a visit. I had been surprised that even that march was allowed in that very Catholic country, but I figured, "what the heck? We'll attend and show our hetero support for the Irish gays."

But it really hit me when I saw THREE rainbow flags flying right in front of Limerick's Hunt Museum. I pointed to them and whispered to my husband "I don't know what these flags mean here, but I can tell you what they mean back in America." Then in a conversation with the cashier (everything in Ireland is a conversation—even the elevators talk to you), I pointed to the flags outside and  asked timidly: "What are those flags for?" "Oh," he replied quite casually and in a very normal voice, "it's for the gay pride." Shocked almost out of my wits, I asked: "Why aren't the priests and Cardinals out there picketing the museum?" "Why should they?" he asked me in turn. I turned to my husband and, in a dazed voice, asked: "Well how do you like that?!" (He approved, of course.) And then I explained to the lovely gentleman that, even in good old liberal New York City (where gay marriage is legal), if a museum flew that flag, the Cardinal would be screaming bloody murder in a New York minute.

I found this liberal attitude toward gays quite popular among the people I met. They were very confident that there was no problem between Church and State. Church was Church and State was State, and nobody was paranoid that the twain would ever meet. Even two religious relatives we met, when told about the compromise in New York allowing the churches to opt out of performing gay marriages, approved of this. Another relative agreed with me that homosexuality was simply genetic. And this man was NOT from the city. He lived way out in the country! The religious folk also came from the country.

In seeking to learn when and where the gay parade was taking place, we found information in two places. One was a supposedly "conservative" newspaper that simply provided the information (at least the paper was conservative in Frank McCourt's day, being against contraception) without any comment at all about it. The other source was, believe it or not (it WAS something out of Ripley's), an entire BROCHURE put out by the Irish bureau of tourism all about the gay-themed activities for The Gathering. 

Just think about that for a second. Could you imagine the uproar that would ensue in the United States if that happened here? There would be riots in the streets! The so-called Christians would scream their heads off and they'd be in front of the White House en masse and bombarding their Congresspeople about it. It would be a MESS of blood, fire, fists, and tears. And yet, in this Catholic country, all we had to do was walk into a little place in a mall and be handed a brochure with no questions asked! I called my state of mind about Ireland "flabbergastment" because, for the entire 12 days, that is what I was feeling. To me, this city was more Christian than so many of the so-called Christians back home in the United States.

Can you imagine my further shock when I looked through the brochure and found that there was a gay pride MASS at St. Mary's Catholic Church? Upon returning to New York and telling someone about this, the person said that they do this in New York too. Well, I never heard about it. All I ever hear around here is the Cardinal yelling about how terrible this all is.

So, now, what is the Pope going to do about IRELAND? Should he excommunicate the whole country? He may as well do Argentina while he's at it. And England. . .and New York and other states in the United States. What is the Pope going to do about St. Mary's in Limerick or the churches in New York that have gay services?

You get my drift, now, right? Why pick on one MAN who LEFT the priesthood, who had enough respect for the Church to renounce his right to represent the Church, because he knew he was departing from doctrine? 

Does anybody really believe that the people who attend masses for gay people aren't having sex with partners of the same sex? I have a bridge to sell you in Manhattan if you are interested.

I did not expect the Pope to endorse gay marriage or elevation of women to the priesthood (two of many reasons I remain unchurched), but I felt glad that he seemed to be opening up the discussion about such topics. I felt, for the first time in more than 50 years, that I did not have to be ashamed to call myself a Catholic (even as an unchurched dissident). Now the shame is right back.

I hope Inclusive Catholics eventually makes its way to New York City. I'd like to join up.

There is a saying that goes like this: "Put your money where your mouth is." This is what I want to say to the Pope:  "If you want people in your Church, Pope Francis, then put your money where YOUR mouth is. Your actions are speaking louder than your words."

 Them's Fightin' Words by Pope Francis

More fascinating and wonderful things from Pope Francis emerged during his recent trip to Brazil. Today, let's focus on two very surprising statements he made regarding women and homosexuals.

Visit: Pope Says Gays Must Not Be Judged or Marginalized

Let's start with women because that one is a lot simpler to discuss. Pope Frances says that he wants to see women assume higher-level administrative roles in the Catholic Church. He stopped short of agreeing to make women into priests. That's not quite so radical, as this involvement of women has been slowly evolving over the years, but it's good to hear the Pope support it. He is restrained by an interpretation of the Bible that shows Jesus choosing men as his apostles. I don't favor that interpretation. I believe that Jesus' selections were based on what was feasible in his culture during the period in which he lived. Since that time, society has evolved considerably, and now women can be prime ministers, secretaries of state, Queens, and—I hope one day—President of the United States. I'd love to see a female Pope.

Now here's where things get really interesting: Pope Francis made this startling comment regarding homosexual priests:

If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?

He also stated that homosexuality is not a crime and that we should not marginalize people who are gay.

Hmmmm. Is homosexuality a sin, then? Well, again, constrained by Catholic theology, the Pope says it is a sin, but still affirms that this does not justify maltreatment of gay people. Here, again, I differ with the theology. My definition of sin is doing something that will harm oneself or another entity (person, animal, nature). The other things that people call sins are merely expressions of cultural disgust at practices that have long been frowned upon. Human beings look at such practices and then attribute their own disgust to G-d.

Indeed, some scholars argue that homosexuality was not discussed by Jesus but appeared more in the Old Testament. We are evolving away from disgust to understanding and acceptance. Perhaps in the future, people won't even blink an eye at this. They will understand it as a natural part of being human with a certain set of genes. 

I believe that we sin by not being compassionate and understanding and by not fully accepting people who are different from us. When gay people marry, it upholds the institution of marriage as the gold standard. It makes me happy to know that people I love can enjoy what I am enjoying in my happy heterosexual marriage. My marriage is childless for physical and economic reasons. It is nonetheless a great marriage that was not formed primarily to procreate in this sadly overpopulated world. It was formed because two souls felt connected by G-d and wanted to share their life and love in this lifetime. So, if people love each other, I can't call that sin regardless of their genders. 

Despite these constraints, I am glad nonetheless that the Pope is pushing the envelope on these issues. He cannot make women priests and tell people that practicing homosexuality is not a sin—even if he thought so, he could not do these things! If he did, there would be a huge schism in the Church, and it would simply fracture. That is the last thing that this Pope wants. He wants inclusiveness as far as he can push it so that more people will want to be Catholics. What is more, he says that he welcomes the ideas of people who disagree with him. That is remarkable. None of this papal infallibility nonsense.  This is his compromise between the treacherous waters of Catholic theology and changes in our understanding of what it means to be human.

For a person of his generation and from the priesthood up through the ranks to the papacy, what he had to say was not bad at all. In Uganda, where the government and the priesthood hate homosexuals to the point of wanting to murder them, people must be freaking out. Their reaction to Pope Francis' words is likely to be: "them's fightin' words." Good for Pope Francis!

 Here's Where I AGREE with the Pope

Today's post was not sparked by any particular news about Pope Francis, but it is about three things in Catholicism that matter a great deal to me—faith, intelligence, and purity.

Far too many people think only in dualistic terms. If one believes in evolution, than, according to these terms, one cannot believe in G-d. No matter how much I try to explain this to people, they are fazed and confused. Yet, this is an area in which the Catholic Church has grown tremendously. Instead of throwing people who note what is going on scientifically into jails and turning them on racks, the Church tells us that evolution is real and so is G-d. I've never read any explanation for how this can be but I've always thought that evolution was simply how G-d was expressing Divinity. When we see all the amazing things that science shows us, it seems quite clear that all of this could not be an accident. There had to be a Divine Spark that let it all loose to happen. So. . . .

Faith? What is that about? It's believing in things even when they are not necessarily evident. I've always believed that, when you pay it forward, the universe pays you back—and it's always been the case in my life. I've always believed that, when you pray, you get an answer. It may not be the answer you were looking for—no you did not win the Lotto—but it is the answer that G-d needs you to have. I remember feeling very low when someone I love had a third failed IVF attempt. I was mad at G-d. Then I talked to my dear one, and she said to me: "G-d has another plan. Eventually, it will all work out." I was stunned at her great faith against all these terrible odds that she was facing. Well, you know what? The doctors gave her a fourth attempt and it worked! She got her child. Now, THAT's a miracle, and it was given because she had faith.

Intelligence? Intelligence does not necessarily deny faith. Intelligence looks at all the mysteries of life and while examining them closely, still retains a sense of wonder. Intelligence knows that there are indeed "more things in heaven and earth, then dreamt of in your philosophy." Intelligence does not reject the paranormal out of hand. I've had far too many paranormal experiences to ever doubt it. And none of them ever prevented me from living life in a very practical and down-to-earth fashion.

Purity? That's a weird word. Almost nobody uses that word these days. It conjures up images of fundamentalists reading the Bible literally and demanding that everybody else do the same. But that's not my definition of purity. For me, purity simply means being absolutely true to oneself. It means being sincere and always attempting to turn toward the good and away from the bad (no matter how glamorous it may seem). It means honesty. Not the kind of nasty frankness that tells a person that she looks like a bathtub wrapped in gauze, even if she does. It's the kind of honesty that says rather, "I think that green is a lovely color for you." And most of all, it means that when you make a vow—whether it be in G-d's house or not—you KEEP IT! To me, the marriage bond is sacred. It's not just a physical and practical joining of two (or more) lives. It's a spiritual merging of souls. To violate that by seeking out thrills and being unfaithful is a sin against purity. If people in a marriage AGREE to have an open marriage, that is their business, and I don't aim to legislate it. But I can't stand it when people marry and then get bored and go rutting around. 

Rutting around. We live in a sex-obsessed society. Everything is sex, sex, sex 24/7. It's thrown at us from all the media—movies, books, art, you name it. Even the books I read in high school were full of illicit affairs. Even on the news, we see women's cleavages and legs. Why sex is so compelling is beyond me. What sex is is FUN. It's just a natural expression of being a human being. It feels nice. It's a great way to get high without drugs. But that's IT! It's no more than that. So why are people rutting around like cats in heat after it? Just how much of it do we need? After seeing so much of it shoved down my throat, sometimes the very idea of it makes me want to vomit. And that's a shame because it's not supposed to be that way. Sex should be a natural and good thing and it belongs between people when it has no potential to cause harm to anyone else. It doesn't belong in dirty books and magazines and movies. It doesn't belong on cell phones and facebook pages.

I'm sorry. I've been married more than 30 years, and any sexy dreams nonwithstanding, I have absolutely NO desire to break up a wonderful marriage with a wonderful man just for a thrill for a few minutes.

I'm fond of quoting Bob Dylan and Martin Luther King, Jr. Their words were always inspiring. I identify with the art and persona of Dylan. But when it comes to their sex lives—it's disgusting. I'm sticking with the Catholic Church on this (even though I married in a Unitarian church): My vows were made on an altar of G-d and I will not break them unless I am forced to (I believe in divorce). So far, so good. No reason to even imagine it.

Why are people so fascinated with Wills, Kate, and George? I think because it's about purity. Their love withstood a number of tests PRIOR to their marriage and now they have brought new life into being. We love their story because it is so very romantic. She had his picture on the wall and then she found him and married him. We love it because their eyes are not roaming around. They are looking at each other and at their newborn son. I never had any children, but I know that Kate and Wills have their priorities in order. We could do well to imitate them—decent people who are not cats in heat.

I think the Pope would agree with me on all counts here. That much Catholicism stuck with me—Faith, Intelligence, and Purity. Let's let Pope Francis guide us here. He is very much filled with faith. He is very intelligent. And he is very pure.

Bomb Physically and Spiritually No Good

The Huffington Post reports that a homemade bomb was found at a shrine where Pope Francis was scheduled to visit on Wednesday, in Brazil.

Visit: Pope Bomb Scare at Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida; Explosive Device Found Where Francis Is Scheduled to Visit on Wednesday

Now this is a really sad bit of news. The Pope came back to South America so soon after his election and happily greeted crowds on his first outings there.

I have to ask, aren't there people we can agree to disagree with? Sure, very, very often, I gnash my teeth at some of the miserable things people say about various topics. The bigots and racists make me want to throw bombs myself. But something always stops me. Not just laziness or whatever. . . .I mean it's pretty bad karma to throw bombs around.

What IF somebody got killed that had nothing to do with any of the issues that made me angry? What IF it was a person who was loving and had a family who would be in terrible need? What IF the nasty person who said the rotten thing was eventually going to see the Light and change his or her ideas? And how exactly would G-d view me if I became a killer? I don't like the answers my conscience gives me regarding these questions. Visions of prisons and hells and terrible lifetimes in the future are enough to keep my momentary rages well in check.

I can go out and protest or write nasty things online about the rotten things people do and say. I can discuss these things with my friends and family. I can even decide to pray about the problem. And, one way or another, surely, my eyes are opened about the source of the rottenness. One way or another, I learn that there is a backstory. It doesn't excuse the badness but it does explain it.

G-d knows—and anybody who has been following this blog knows—I have my areas of disagreement with Pope Francis. Yet, I still perceive that he is a well-meaning person who is just trying to live according to what he has learned. I feel that he doesn't place himself above anybody else. I see that he tries to teach by example. He is not a bad man and he would not see me as a bad woman. I can learn from him. And maybe he will learn from people like me as well.

Bombs and guns we don't need. That is one thing that the Catholic Church has been saying for centuries and it's an area where I totally agree with the Church.

If somebody hates the Pope, then that person has a right to speak out and tell people why. But NO ETHICAL person—believer, agnostic, or atheist—has the right to kill the Pope or anybody else.

All I can say is THANK G-d the bomb was found before Pope Francis got there. G-d was looking after one representative on Earth.

Gotta Serve Somebody

Hello, dear readers. I've been absent, I know. Two reasons for that: (1) excessive heat/humidity made me feel exhausted and ill and (2) all the negativity surrounding the U.S. Supreme Court's (SCOTUS) decision to support same-sex marriage. Number 1 just made me need a lot of rest. Number 2 made me start wondering if I was an atheist or worse because I was highly repelled by the religious fanaticism expressed by antigays. To his credit, Pope Francis did not comment on the SCOTUS decision. We know where he stands: He doesn't want same-sex marriage in the Catholic Church, but he renders to Caesar what is Caesar's in the civil sphere. Some day in the future, when the Church becomes more progressive, maybe in another lifetime, I'll be a Catholic.

But, as you all know, this unchurched writer, still gets very impressed by things that Pope Francis does. In a very ironic twist of fate, the Italian Vanity Fair named him its Man of the Year. That made me laugh—a man so against vainglory on the cover of a magazine devoted to complete superficial narcissism. I love it. It shows that his example is reaching even the frivolous people among us.

Now here's a new one: Paul Brandeis Raushenbush reports in HuffPost Religion that Pope Francis demanded that a statue dedicated to him should be demolished.

Visit: PopeFrancis Statue Must Go, Says Pontiff, Who Demands Removal of Buenos Aires Cathedral Monument

Citing the dangers of a "cult of personality," the Pope called the Buenos Aires curia and said he wanted the statue eliminated immediately. It's interesting that he used a term that was invented by Communists to describe the problem—that's very eclectic of him.

I kind-of felt sorry for the artist,  Fernando Pugliese, who had sculpted statues that included Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa. He did all that work to express admiration for Pope Francis only to have it slapped down. It reminds me of when Bill Cosby received a People's Choice award. Instead of thanking his fans, he lectured them on how wrong they were to give him the award. I never liked Cosby after that. I felt that his response to the honor was arrogant and mean.

So why then would I admire this in Pope Francis? It's not exactly a gracious act to express horror at being honored. But there is something more to this. Giving an actor an award is one thing. Erecting a statue of a religious leader is another thing. Religious leaders are not supposed to be glorified in that way; they aren't supposed to be on a pedestal together with G-d, Jesus, Joseph, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. 

I would hope that Pope Francis might talk to this sculptor and thank him for his efforts anyway and explain that the best honor for this papacy would be for Mr. Pugliese to live a life that avoids vainglory. He's got my empathy anyway. It's a tough lesson and it sure hurts to get Zen-slapped that way.

I don't know if Protestant churches have any such statues in their churches—not even of Martin Luther King, Jr. I've seen statues of King in public and political kinds of spaces, but not in churches that I know of. Correct me if I am wrong. Synagogues don't have statues. I don't think mosques have them either.

I've always found massive statues of people or beings extremely scary. Massive Buddhas are enough to give me nightmares, even though I love the gentle teachings of the Buddha. I never liked the statues of Pharoahs either. They are just downright creepy.

So, maybe it's a Catholic thing? Maybe the Pope got the creeps seeing himself made larger than life and graven in stone like that. I would not like to see a massive statue of myself like that either.

Now, here's the thing that's even more important here: Once again, Pope Francis is showing by example that vainglory is not a good thing—he firmly rejects it.

I can't count the number of times that I wished for fame, attention, and honor. Yes, that is one of my sins. That's a hard sin to get rid of. I'm human. I'd love to be the "Number 1" something or other. Yet, I seem destined to remain in the background, unhonored, unacknowledged, etc. I wonder: Am I a failure?

Recently, I got an answer to that question from a pagan source—a sample personal astrological reading about Career Strengths. It said this:

Not at home in a crowd, Billie can usually be found around the edges of a group, watching, perhaps criticizing, but always taking it all in. She runs cool, when others run warm (or hot). She thinks and plans, when others do. She serves, while others are served. She cares when care is needed. In the East (places like Tibet and China), Billie could be said to represent the Bodhisattva path, living to serve others.

Here in the West, the concept of serving others is considered a lesser position. In America it is considered much "more cool" to be served, than to serve. But this concept is slowly changing. (From CAREER ASTROLOGY-7-9_6-13-32 at Astrology.com)

The Bodhisattva path! Now that is strong stuff. That's talking about a soul who has wiped out all karma and comes back on earth to help enlighten other people. That's spirituality "on steroids," so to speak. That is the highest of the high. I'm far from being a Bodhisattva—way far from it—but it's nice to know that perhaps I have at least put one foot on such a path. Perhaps I can conquer my burning ambition to be famous and honored and simply use my talents to help people. Maybe I'll get a little recognition. Maybe it will always be simply one-to-one situations and incidents. In any event, I'll be helping people and serving G-d's purpose that way. I don't have to be a big celebrity to do this. It has to be what G-d wants—not what I want for my ego.

Maybe G-d gives certain people fame and honor for various reasons—honor for greatness in past lives, fame to push certain causes, and fame to teach lessons. Pope Francis is demonstrating that he is resisting vainglory passionately. He does not want the papacy to change him or his commitment to G-d and G-d's people. Oh that all famous and powerful people would heed this message-by-example!

You don't have to be Catholic to love this Pope. I do. Maybe I'm going to learn to feel fulfilled with whatever I can do instead of yearning for what is not mine.

Bob Dylan said: "It may be the Devil,/it may be the Lord, but you gotta serve somebody." Even the Pope knows this. The road to being a Bodhisattva is a very long one for me. Disagreements aside, the Pope is well ahead of many of us on that road, and he is lighting the way.

The Beauty of Nature

The Beauty of Nature

These flowers look like 4th of July fireworks. They were by a bench at Hampton Court.

Nobody is Better Than Anybody Else

Today's Inquisitr reports on how Pope Francis allowed a disabled teenager to ride with him in the Popemobile, once again showing the pope's genuine caring for people who are disadvantaged in some way. The 17-year old boy, Alberto di Tullio, was thrilled to say the least. So must the public be thrilled. I would expect no less.

Visit: Pope Francis Lets Teen With Down Syndrome Ride In Popemobile [Video]

• • •

Let me me frank here in an aside before I continue with this story:

When I blog about spiritual matters, I like to highlight positive things. There is so much negativity with respect to religion that many of us—myself included—tend to get disgusted with it and turn away. The latest developments in the Church have made me very angry and disappointed. Well, I did expect that, knowing about Pope Francis' theology. It's not like I was fooled or anything. This is one honest Pope.

It's hard to start disrespecting a man who is so obviously devoted, caring, and sincere. But, unfortunately, when developments in the church foster the same old prejudices, it makes me just want to take a break, and not say anything at all, even though I am furious within myself.

Here's what got me upset: The Boy Scouts finally entered into the twenty-first century (and caught up with the Girl Scouts) to include gay boy scouts. So, the Church goes and disavows the Boy Scouts. Three things hit me: (1) That old prejudice is still highly extant. (2) Pope Francis is not going to change it. (3) Why does the Church believe that having lesbians in the Girl Scouts is O.K? I think it's O.K., but I have never heard of the Church disavowing lesbians in the Girl Scouts.

Right away, from early childhood, gay people are set apart. They are caught between believing in G-d and following what nature is telling them to do. If they want to participate in activities shared by their communities and friends, they have to struggle with the impossible task of rejecting their own sexual orientation. It CAN'T be done. Notably, this week Exodus (a so-called "gay reparative Christian" organization) has made an exodus and obliterated itself, because even its leaders could not "pray away the gay" in themselves. They finally came out and admitted this. Hooray! Let's pray away the antigay!

So, I just stayed away from the blog....I didn't want to disrepect the Pope, because I really like him in so many ways. But, I realize I cannot keep silent. That's not going to work. So, here's the game plan: I'm going to get off this progay rant today and come back to it in detail in a later post. Today, I will concentrate on the teen with Down's Syndrome.

• • •

Pope Francis extending himself in that deeply personal way toward Alberto is just another action in a long-series of actions designed to make people aware that he values people who are struggling with issues such as poverty or disabilities. Once again, he shows that he does not place himself above other people. He's not "too good" or "too elite" to associate with people who have difficulties with their socioeconomic status or how their bodies function (oh, but, if only that included homosexuals!—sorry this issue is really sticking in my head).

The time for a disability revolution is not yet at hand but I'm hoping that it will follow on the gay one that is currently taking place. While we disabled people are not barred from marriage or participation in whatever we are able to participate in, there are so many barriers that still separate us from what we could do if the barriers were down.

For example, attending church would be so much better if churches were made handicap-accessible. It would be absolutely wonderful to be able to actually tell WHAT priests are doing and saying if churches would only have assisted listening devices. I think it is reasonable to hope that the clergy will look at the Pope's actions and institute actions of their own to be more inclusive to potential parishioners who have disabilities. Pope Francis is leading by example. It is up to all of us to follow his lead. Let us think about what the disabled people we know may need and let us do our best to supply it without reservations or excuses. If the Pope can do it, so can we.  

In addition, let us never, ever put ourselves above another person because he or she lacks money, has a disability, or is—in any way, shape, or form—different from ourselves. This is critical! We are all part of G-d. We each have a Divine Purpose. Let us never fail to respect that. It is wise to always extend agape (universal love) to each and every innocent soul we encounter. We can argue about what is "bad" or "sinful—and indeed we shall—but let us direct any hatred we may feel against hatred itself. Despite some of his prejudices, I think, Pope Francis would agree with me about this.

Evangelizing Sweetly:

The Method of Pope Francis

Check out what Sister Mary Ann Walsh has to say about Pope Francis' great appeal to people. This article appeared on the HuffPost Religion site:

 

Pope Francis' Late Night Appeal

 

Sister Mary Ann has got it exactly right. She has analyzed how Pope Francis is appealing to people and helping to evangelize. 

 

As a person who is passionately against proselytizing, I find Pope Francis' method of demonstrating and discussing Catholicism highly attractive—so much so that if he were a priest in my neighborhood, I'd end up going to Church just to hear what he had to say! It might not make me a completely devout Catholic—because I still have those progressive views that are so important to my soul—but I would be exposed to—and understand better—a great deal of valuable Catholic thought and feeling.

 

Much of what the Pope is saying is very illuminating and inspiring. His kind of evangelizing is gentle and does not violate anybody's soul. It simply shows what is suggested and invites people to think and feel about it. This is exactly the way I believe all religious leaders should act and speak.

 

Pope Francis is inclusive. He demonstrates kindness and understanding. Instead of fire and brimstone, he offers Heaven. Instead of hatred, he illustrates love. This, after all, is really what Jesus Christ was all about. It's true that He had anger when He chased the money changers out of the temple, but, for the most part, he offered sweetness and healing along with his theological teaching. The Pope is doing the same thing.

 

I still have great problems with some parts of Catholic theology regarding gays and women, but I have never felt so close to Catholicism as I do now, ever since Pope Francis was elected. I actually feel that I now have Catholicism as part of my eclectic religion. I would look to this pope as a spiritual guide in many ways. He comes to my mind in many situations.

 

I never planned to blog about a pope. That was not even anywhere in my thoughts—ever! Yet, ever since I saw that man looking at the crowd in St. Peter's Square for the first time after his election, I knew that something magnificent had occurred. Something different and very unique had come to the Catholic Church. So, now, here I am blogging about Pope Francis. Here I am thinking about Catholic ways of being. Here I am, just like Sister Mary Ann notes.

 

Am I being evangelized? Maybe. But I don't mind at all. I am enjoying it.