Pope Francis: Three Resurrections
Francis spoke about three resurrections to make the world more Godly.
The Pope was a master in many fields. One of the fundamental ones was launching processes. It was all about starting a new path, a new movement in the Church and in the world. In recent years, the Pope has seemed to speak of three resurrections that we need because the world is sinking deeper and deeper into death.
The first resurrection is a resurrection to fraternity, the awareness that all men and women are brothers and sisters to one another. Unfortunately, we increasingly view each other as a threat. We fear those who have different skin colors, profess different religions, or hold different political beliefs; those who support some faction within the Church. Because he is different, I begin to fear him. And when I fear him, I prepare for war.
This fear creates fertile ground for populism – that is, the desire to gain support in elections, increase viewership, or attract clicks on the Internet. The Pope said that all of us, regardless of religion, race, or political beliefs, are created by the same God. We are His children, and therefore we are brothers and sisters. We need fraternity to be resurrected within us because it is precisely fraternity that can transform our fear into trust.
The second resurrection concerns the heart. The Pope noted that the market and consumption are increasingly dominating our lives. According to this logic, we are deemed useful only to the extent that we can consume. Thus, we become just a number in market statistics, budget deficits, or presidential polls.
The Pope proposed a return to the heart, for it is the heart, what is deepest in us, that truly counts. It is in the heart where the encounter between man takes place and where the meeting of man with God occurs. We long for the heart, for someone to show us compassion and love. It turns out that the joy we experience does not come from someone fulfilling our whims but from their willingness to share their heart with us. This demonstrates that we are important and that we matter. Pope Francis understood that in a world ruled by the market, it is essential to return to the heart–to compassion, service, and love.
Pope Francis has also repeatedly called for hope. And this is the third resurrection that the world needs today. When I heard that the Pope had proclaimed a Jubilee Year and that his motto was 'hope' – 'pilgrims of hope' – I thought that this motto was born out of a deep disappointment with the world. We no longer say that we are to love another man, that we are to trust God. Our biggest problem is the fact that we are increasingly surrounded by darkness. The wars that are going on are becoming more and more brutal. Countries, economies, corporations — they are switching more and more quickly to cogs that can cause further conflicts. In time, it will be difficult to find a region of the world where peace reigns.
What is the most important message that the Holy Father left us with?
The Holy Father said that despite evil and death, despite darkness, wars, and terror, love has the last word. Because God has conquered death, evil does not have the last word. Therefore, we must allow ourselves these resurrections, as they will set in motion new processes within us that will make the world increasingly Godly. We need the resurrection of fraternity, the resurrection of the heart, and the resurrection of hope.
fr. george