Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, Bishop Emeritus of San Cristóbal de Las Casas and head of the Doctrine of the Faith at the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM), offers Exaudi readers his weekly article.

FACTS

Pope Francis has been buried, amidst multiple acknowledgments of his way of being, living, and carrying out his Petrine service. The date for the Conclave that will elect the next successor of Peter has already been announced: May 7.

There has been no shortage of voices that have continued to express their dissatisfaction with what Pope Francis did or did not do. This type of reaction has never been lacking. Therefore, they spread as much information as they can about what they consider his shortcomings and what, in their opinion, the new Pope should be like. This has always happened, and we must be mature enough to listen to what is said, but analyze it calmly, especially by gaining a deeper understanding of what Francis did and said.

It is not easy to summarize his life and ministry. There are many facets that could be highlighted. For my part, I consider it essential to bring up what he expressed in his first apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, on the proclamation of the Gospel in today’s world, published on November 24, 2013, in which he presents the kind of Church he dreams of and desires, and what marked his service.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Some accuse him of neglecting spirituality, focusing too much on social issues such as climate change, migrants, the poor, the discarded, and wars. None of that. They don’t know him! The foundation of everything, for him and for us, is Jesus Christ; but a Christ committed to the dignified life of the people. For example, he says:

“From the perspective of evangelization, neither mystical proposals without a strong social and missionary commitment, nor social or pastoral discourses and practices without a spirituality that transforms the heart, are of any use. These partial and disintegrative proposals only reach small groups and lack the power of broad penetration, because they mutilate the Gospel. It is always necessary to cultivate an inner space that gives Christian meaning to commitment and activity. Without quiet moments of adoration, of prayerful encounter with the Word, of sincere dialogue with the Lord, tasks easily become meaningless, we weaken from fatigue and difficulties, and fervor fades. The Church desperately needs the lung of prayer, and I am extremely happy that groups for prayer, intercession, prayerful reading of the Word, and perpetual adoration of the Eucharist are multiplying in all ecclesial institutions. At the same time, we must reject the temptation of a hidden and individualistic spirituality, which has little to do with the Word of God to see with the demands of charity and with the logic of the Incarnation. There is a risk that some moments of prayer become an excuse for not dedicating one’s life to the mission, because the privatization of lifestyle can lead Christians to take refuge in a false spirituality” (262).

And he insists on the vertical dimension: “The first motivation for evangelizing is the love of Jesus that we have received, that experience of being saved by Him that moves us to love Him ever more… How sweet it is to stand before a crucifix, or kneel before the Blessed Sacrament, and simply be before His eyes! How much good it does us to let Him touch our lives again and inspire us to communicate His new life! The best motivation for deciding to communicate the Gospel is to contemplate it with love, to pause over its pages and read it with the heart. If we approach it in this way, its beauty astonishes us, captivates us again and again. To achieve this, it is urgent to recover a contemplative spirit, which allows us to rediscover every day that we are the custodians of a good that humanizes, that helps us lead a new life. There is nothing better to transmit to others” (264).

“The whole life of Jesus, his way of treating the poor, his gestures, his consistency, his everyday and simple generosity, and finally his total dedication, all are precious and speak to one’s own life. Each time one rediscovers this, one is convinced that this is what others need, even if they do not recognize it” (265).

This vertical dimension, this Christ-centered spirituality, is one of the many things Pope Francis insisted on. But he always added the horizontal dimension, so that our following of Jesus may be complete:

“To be evangelizers of the soul, we must also develop a spiritual taste for being close to the lives of people, to the point of discovering that this is a source of greater joy. The mission is a passion for Jesus; but, at the same time, a passion for his people. When we pause before Jesus crucified, we recognize all his love that dignifies and sustains us, but right there, if we are not blind, we begin to perceive that Jesus’ gaze broadens and is directed, full of affection and ardor, toward all his people. Thus, we rediscover that he wants to use us as instruments to come ever closer to his beloved people. He takes us from among the people and sends us to the people, so that our identity cannot be understood without this belonging” (268).

“Jesus himself is the model of this evangelizing option that introduces us to the hearts of the people. How good it is for us to see him close to everyone!… Captivated by this model, we desire to be fully integrated into society, we share life with everyone, we listen to their concerns, we collaborate materially and spiritually with them in their needs, we rejoice with those who rejoice, we weep with those who weep, and we commit ourselves to building a new world, side by side with others. But not out of obligation, not as a burden that wears us down, but as a personal choice that fills us with joy and gives us identity” (269).

ACTIONS

May the memory of Pope Francis not remain in anecdotes, but in striving to be docile to his ministry. Let us be very spiritual, focused on prayer, on reading the Word of God, on liturgical celebrations, but also very close to the lives of our people, to their joys and sorrows, to offer them the full life that is Jesus.