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Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran
Mercy Ridge Hermitage
November 9, 2019
Another Kind of CPR
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Pope Francis
This afternoon I want to reflect a little bit on Pope Francis.
Our celebration of his cathedral church, Saint John Lateran in Rome, leads me to do this. I thought it would be a good moment to reflect on some of the things that Pope Francis is saying.
I have selected three ideas and we might remember them by the acronym CPR – which usually means cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. CPR here means: Creative, Patient, and Respectful.
Theme 1: Be Creative
So, first: Be Creative.
Pope Francis says: We need to “abandon the complacent attitude that says: ‘We have always done it this way.’ I invite everyone to be bold and creative in the task of rethinking the goals, structures, style and methods” of bringing the Gospel to people.
Francis knows that we are living in a different age. For one thing, it is a more and more diverse and pluralistic culture.
So, we may have to re-think how we do certain things. We have to ask: “How can we today, more effectively reach our youth and young adults and all people?”
We may have to change some of our mindsets and ways. Here in my parish of Church of the Nativity we work hard at trying to be as creative as possible in reaching out to and welcoming “Timonium Tim” the individual who is not in church and no longer feeling part of it.
And creative we are! It’s what drew me there and where I now make my home for a faith community.
Theme 2: Be Patient
The second theme: Be Patient.
Pope Francis uses one of Jesus’ images in the Gospel. He says: “An evangelizing community is always concerned with fruit because the Lord wants her to be fruitful.
“It cares for the grain and does not grow impatient with the weeds. The sower, when he sees weeds sprouting, does not grumble or overreact.
“They find a way to let the word take flesh in a situation and bear fruit, however imperfect or incomplete.” And Francis adds this:“the goal is not to make enemies, but to see God’s word accepted.”
So the Pope does not want us to exclude or label people in a negative way if they do not fully accept the message. This is why I have felt that the term “Cafeteria Catholic” is simply a bad, inappropriate expression.
Some call others this name if they do not accept one or another teaching of the Church. They call them “Cafeteria Catholics.”
I think we have to admit that we are all Cafeteria Christians of a sort. None of us lives the Gospel perfectly and, after all, the living out of it is the final test of following the Jesus.
If we are Cafeteria Christians, then automatically we are Cafeteria Catholics. So then this expression is useless and even harmful.
Pope Francis calls us to include everyone who seeks God (1) in Jesus and (2) through the Church, regardless of their imperfections. We are to be patient with one another.
Theme 3: Be Respectful
And then the third theme: Be Respectful.
Pope Francis says: “Instead of seeming to impose new obligations, [we] should appear as people who wish to share their joy. It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows, but by ‘attraction.’”
So Francis wants us to show what a good thing our faith is and how much it can bring to human life. When he speaks of not proselytizing, he means that we are not to try to force our faith upon others as the only way to avoid hell.
Instead, Pope Francis wants us to attract others by sharing our story, who we are, and by listening to who others are, to their story and the truth of their lives. He understands that we live in a secular age.
In this age, some people feel that they have an option to live their lives without religion or without an expressed faith. Pope Francis understands that the best way to draw others to faith in this age is to be respectful, no matter what, no matter how distant spiritually they may seem from us.
Conclusion
So, CPR – Be Creative, Patient, and Respectful.
That is something of the approach that Pope Francis seems to be lifting up. He invites us to pray and discern what we need to do to embrace this.
Like the other CPR, this CPR can bring us back to life, new and greater life in Christ!
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