House divided: a few years into the papacy of Pope Francis, I walked into a Catholic bookstore, looking for a First Communion gift. I had in mind a recently published children’s book about Francis. This store did not carry anything related to or resembling the current pope; I was directed to shelves of material about Benedict and John Paul II. I too felt sad, but also angry, vowing never to go into that store again.
Those people were not my kind of Catholic and no
doubt they felt the same about me: good riddance. Your reflection, Eric, makes me realize my own complicity in a “house divided.”
I think we have all been there Janet. I know I have too. Even in the story I shared today, I was sad because I definitely *had* a preference, when I was really honest with myself. I think awareness of those feelings, and that pull to tribalism, is a good necessary first step to interrupting the pattern. That, and a whole bunch of grace, mercy, and forgiveness from God....
House divided: a few years into the papacy of Pope Francis, I walked into a Catholic bookstore, looking for a First Communion gift. I had in mind a recently published children’s book about Francis. This store did not carry anything related to or resembling the current pope; I was directed to shelves of material about Benedict and John Paul II. I too felt sad, but also angry, vowing never to go into that store again.
Those people were not my kind of Catholic and no
doubt they felt the same about me: good riddance. Your reflection, Eric, makes me realize my own complicity in a “house divided.”
I think we have all been there Janet. I know I have too. Even in the story I shared today, I was sad because I definitely *had* a preference, when I was really honest with myself. I think awareness of those feelings, and that pull to tribalism, is a good necessary first step to interrupting the pattern. That, and a whole bunch of grace, mercy, and forgiveness from God....