REFLECTIONS ON POPE FRANCIS - PART 4

Reflections on Pope Francis – and Pope Leo XIV!

As I continue my promised reflections on the Pontificate of Pope Francis, I do so this week in light of the election of Pope Leo XIV and his first messages to the Church and the world. In his first address and Blessing to the Church and the World (“Urbi et Orbi”) when elected Pope, Pope Leo XIV declared:

“Christ goes before us. The world needs his light. Humanity needs him as the bridge that can lead us to God and his love. Help us, one and all, to build bridges through dialogue and encounter, joining together as one people, always at peace.”

It was a timely reminder for us that while the world understandably focuses its attention on the human personalities of Pope Leo XIV and Pope Francis, that for us as Catholics each Pope serves as a representative of Christ, leading us to Christ, and inspiring us to lead others to this same Christ – just as the first Pope was chosen by Jesus himself precisely after his confession of faith in Christ: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” (Matthew 16:16).

One of the greatest exponents of this in our times is not a Pope, but a young woman by the name of St Therese of Lisieux. This weekend marks the Centenary of her

Canonisation which took place on 17 May 1925. In 2023, Pope Francis wrote a beautiful letter on this great, young Saint, and he was not alone in his admiration for St Therese, as he notes in this same letter that Pope Leo XIII gave her special permission to join the Carmelite Convent at the young age of 15; Pope St Pius X declared after her death that she would become the greatest saint of modern times; Pope St John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church in 1997 – even though her only theological work was her humble autobiography.

I have shared in my recent reflections on Pope Francis that at the heart of his life and mission was his own personal encounter with the love and mercy of Jesus, which led him to devote his entire life to sharing this love and mercy of Jesus with the world. It is no surprise, then, that Pope Francis chose to quote these words of St Therese in his letter: “If all weak and imperfect souls felt what the least of souls feels, that is, the soul of your little Therese, not one would despair of reaching the summit of the mount of love. Jesus does not demand great actions from us, but simply surrender and gratitude”. It is, as St Therese brilliantly taught, through humbly acknowledging our own littleness, our own need of the mercy of Jesus, that we too commit our whole lives to sharing this mercy with all, without exception – starting with the countless little acts of love and mercy to those nearest to us. Finally, I share Pope Francis's wonderful insight into the power of St Therese's “genius” – it was not to provide a complete analysis of the entire, rich doctrine of Catholic teaching, as other Doctors of the Church have attempted – but rather: “her genius consists in leading us to what is central, essential and indispensable. By her words and her personal experience she shows that, while it is true that all the Church's teachings and rules have their importance, their value, their clarity, some are more urgent and more foundational for the Christian life. That is where Therese directed her eyes and her heart.”

And so he concludes his letter:

“A century and a half after her birth, Therese is more alive than ever in the pilgrim Church, in the heart of God's people. She accompanies us on our pilgrim way, doing good on earth, as she had so greatly desired. The most lovely signs of her spiritual vitality are the innumerable “roses” that Therese continues to strew: the graces God grants us through her loving intercession in order to sustain us on our journey through life.

Dear Saint Therese, the Church needs to radiate the brightness, the fragrance and the joy of the Gospel. Send us your roses! Help us to be, like yourself, ever confident in God's immense love for us, so that we may imitate each day your “little way” of holiness. Amen.”