Grace Curtis
Abortion
America’s problem: This is the American genocide and no matter how hard pro-life supporters pray, people still remain unaware of what an abortion procedure is and that there is life in the mother’s womb.
Pope Francis says: “Every child who, rather than being born, is condemned unjustly to being aborted, bears the face of Jesus Christ, bears the face of the Lord, who even before he was born, and then just after birth, experienced the world’s rejection. And every elderly person…even if he is ill or at the end of his days, bears the face of Christ. They cannot be discarded, as the ‘culture of waste’ suggests!”
— Speech to Catholic healthcare professionals and gynecologists Sept. 20, 2013
Poverty
America’s problem: Everywhere you turn, in both the city and the country, there seems to be an impoverished person. The homeless are America’s new slaves; many of them need help, but the rest of the country turns a blind eye and views them as lesser humans. Unfortunately some people use homelessness as a scam to earn extra cash, leaving the public uneducated and misinformed about the actual issue of poverty.
Pope Francis says: “Poverty calls us to sow hope…. Poverty is the flesh of the poor Jesus, in that child who is hungry, in the one who is sick, in those unjust social structures.” (Pope Francis, Meeting with Students of Jesuit Schools—Q&A, 6/7/13)
Losing Faith
America’s Problem: Today God is outdated and our culture views religious people as fanatics and belligerent. This problem has brought many away from the Church and has left them searching for love in sin. Once they sin they feel like they can’t be faithful again, or they feel too average to do some extraordinary thing for God.
Pope Francis says: We are not meant to be a people divided! Leading by example, earlier today the Pope wished the Jewish people a peaceful Yom Kippur. This man is living prove that someone can be devout in their faith and still respect other beliefs.
“Even if the life of a person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by vices, drugs, or anything else—God is in this person’s life. You can, you must try to seek God in every human life. Although the life of a person is a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God.”
― Pope Francis, A Big Heart Open to God: A Conversation with Pope Francis
Perhaps if America listened more to the Pope, it wouldn’t have so many issues. Of course, this isn’t a post to bash America… we are the land of the free, but so many sins and problems hold us in bondage. Does Pope Francis have all the answers? No, definitely not. But he is a light to our darkened country of God’s love and mercy. And that, my brothers and sisters, is what we are all called to be. Please pray for the Pope’s safety and the softening of the hearts of America so God can enter each of our lives. Let this visit of the pope be a call to action for all of us to be God’s love in our own little communities. Let this quote serve as an inspiration for your week. God bless you.
“We need saints without cassocks, without veils - we need saints with jeans and tennis shoes. We need saints that go to the movies that listen to music, that hang out with their friends (...) We need saints that drink Coca-Cola, that eat hot dogs, that surf the internet and that listen to their iPods. We need saints that love the Eucharist, that are not afraid or embarrassed to eat a pizza with their friends. We need saints who love the movies, dance, sports, theatre. We need saints that are open, sociable, normal, happy companions. We need saints who are in this world and who know how to enjoy the best in this world without being callous or mundane. We need saints”.”
Christ be our light. Shine in our hearts, shine through the darkness. Amen.
Your sister in Christ