Half a Loaf is Better than None: Pope Francis' Half Miracle.

Half a Loaf is Better Than None:

Pope Francis’ Half Miracle

Ed Mazza of HuffPostReligion reports that something very odd happened when Pope Francis was in Naples attending festivities for the Feast of San Gennaro (also known as Januarius) on March 21, 2015. The Saint's dried blood, inside a sealed glass ampoule, began to liquify when the Pope kissed the outside of the ampoule. Half of the contents became so immediately, while the remainder. Mazza reported that this was the first time this had happened in front of a Pope, since 1848, when it happened in front of Pope Pius XI.  This had been reported to happen prior to that, as often as six times per year.

Read:

Pope Francis Credited With Performing "Miracle" As St. Gennaro's Blood Liquifies

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/22/pope-francis-miracle_n_6920624.html

While some members of the onlooking crowd burst into ecstatic tears, and others cheered, Cardinal Crescenzo Sepe, archbishop of Naples, told the cheering crowd, according to Vatican Insider: “It is the sign that St. Gennaro loves Pope Francis: half of the blood turned to liquid."

With typical humility, Pope Francis responded: 

"If only half of it liquefied, that means we still have work to do; we have to do better. . . .We only have half of the Saint's love." 

According to Vatican Insider, the rest of the dried blood eventually liquefied that day.

Much as this impressed the faithful, skeptics suggested that the liquification might be the result of the relic being moved and put on display.

In any event, the Pope looked rather surprised himself.

So, what are we to make of this? I’m not very religious, but every time this story surfaces on the news, I end up crossing myself like any other good Catholic.

I’ve not been around much on The Populist Pope. There are two reasons and an “excuse” for that. First, much of what was being reported was simply a variant of what had been covered previously. Second, there were a series of recent misteps by Pope Francis. One reason was his manner of talking about women in old-fashioned derogatory terms. Another was his appointing a bishop to Chile who was cited for covering up sexual abuse in his diocese.

Indeed, the Pope was continuing to broach new issues and concerns, making pleas for mercy instead of strict judgment. However, as expected, not one scrap of doctrine was changed. So we were standing at the status quo. Open the door, let some air in, and talk, but everything and everybody is to remain stationary. This is why I remain unchurched. I admire the man just for even talking about such things and for making merciful gestures, but I feel ready for more.

Here’s the excuse. A busy life and an illness drained me of a lot of energy.

But when I read this “miracle” story, I had to come back and say something—anything.

Do I believe it’s a miracle? I’m sitting on the fence. Ouch! Part of me believes that it is so because I do believe that Pope Francis is a holy man. But, like he said, only half the work was done. I wonder if “the other half” means that he must now take steps to make actual changes. Is that what San Gennaro may be asking?

Not much is known about San Gennaro. He was born a patrician and became a priest during the 300s (ad). He hid fellow Christians during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian and was himself arrested during that year-and-a-half period.

Perhaps the spirit of San Gennaro is interested in people who have to hide their identities for fear of persecution. His interest might be concerned with Christians who are being persecuted in the Middle East today.

However, I would love to think that maybe San Gennaro might just also be saying that is is necessary to welcome more people into the Church, people who are routinely excluded because of their marital status or their gender or sexual orientation. Might San Gennaro be declaring: “Francis, you’ve talked the talk, now walk the walk. Make changes!”?

I’m no theologian. Most, I am sure would disagree with me very strongly on this point. I’m the last person to know what the spirit of a Saint from the 300s is trying to convey. It’s just nice to think about it.

In any event, we know Pope Francis will ponder about what he needs to do. He did, after all, according to Mazza, speak out against organized crime and then “shared a meal with prison inmates, including some who have AIDS and some who are transgender.”

Can’t argue much with that, can we? You know the saying that “half a loaf is better than none.” Well, half an ampoule of liquified blood is also better than none.

These days, even half-miracles are welcome.