Friday, September 25, 2015

A Wonder

This Pope Francis is a wonder to me.  As an atheist, in case dear readers you hadn't figured that out, I really like this man and his return to the teachings of the Catholic Church which I loved so much.  My 12 years of Catholic schooling did teach me many great things as I have said before.  The Seven Acts of Mercy are the core teachings that I look too everyday.

I watched Speaker John Boehner, a Catholic, become very emotional while in the presence of the Pope.  Today he has announced he is retiring from Congress at the end of October.  We can only wonder why, but I have a feeling that famous Catholic tool called, 'guilty conscience' may have something to do with it.  At least I hope so.

I wonder if the Pope last night had a chance to catch any American TV.  If he had he could have watched the promos for new TV series starting in the next few weeks.  Every single one of them had guns, beatings, intimidation and angst.  It was a sight I hope the Pope did see so he might talk about the extreme violence we see from both criminals and police in this country.  Those TV shows reflect our culture and it would give him good insight into the problems of America.

The Seven Acts of Mercy, as not practiced by many pols.

  1. To feed the hungry.
  2. To give drink to the thirsty.
  3. To clothe the naked.
  4. To Shelter the Homeless
  5. To visit the sick.
  6. To visit the imprisoned
  7. To bury the dead.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Seems like there's no end to this religious lunacy even here in Abq...

http://krqe.com/2015/09/18/aclu-slams-court-ordered-religious-classes/

Anonymous said...

This Episcopalian loves Pope Francis. He is a breath of fresh air breathed into the spiritual lives of all who might have forgotten those 7 rules of mercy. He truly practices what he preaches.

Anonymous said...

Great post.

I'd never heard of the Seven Acts of Mercy.

It's interesting that both believers and atheists have a conscience.

Anonymous said...

I was looking for this earlier, a meme that quotes Rep Trent Franks as saying the pope doesn't understand the Bible:

http://tinyurl.com/ne3kxhs

I don't know about TV but on the internet people are having a great time quoting conservatives as they spasm and flail in reaction to the pope. Ever since he came to office they've been making memes contrasting what he says with Republican policies.

That's kind of a futile endeavor though, I think. I admire the catholic church for officially stressing the good impulses expressed in the Bible, but in any religion -- catholic, protestant, muslim, hindu, etc. -- you can have it both ways, or either way or whatever way just by emphasizing what you want to, which is how they do it. I think it's a matter of your religion conforming to your world view, of which politics is an expression, and not the other way around. Your world view determines your religion, and you start getting a world view very early, by listening to your parents, seeing how they relate to the world, by what happens on the playground, in classrooms. The clergy has adapted to this reality very well. They're products of it.

troutbirder said...

Well said....:)

Anonymous said...

Don't forget the 7 Spiritual Acts of Mercy
To share knowledge
To give advice to those who need it
To comfort the suffering
To be patient with others
To forgive those who hurt you
To give correction to those who need it
To pray for the living and the dead

Anonymous said...

I try to follow #1 and #6 but Jim and Bubba never listen.