The Lesson is Love

Pope Francis is in a precarious position. He is a spiritual man in charge of a monster institution—and apparently he’s considered by some within the Catholic Church to be a bit of a rebel. A radical thinker. A threat, perhaps, to the centuries’ old dogma that, like the American citizens’ “right to bear arms” no longer applies. Society has evolved. The power balance has shifted, and for a long time now, the Church—all religion, really—has been losing respect, credibility, and members.

I was taught in Sunday school that the truth never changes. If that statement originated in a time when the earth was flat and the sun revolved around it, then that particular truth was not true at all … until you consider that truth is not necessarily true in the bigger picture or will remain true in the future, but is most definitely true in the moment.

Perception is everything.

One truth remains eternal:

It’s all about love.

And Pope Francis gets it.

This could be why there are rumblings among the masses. Francis is not out there passing judgment or heaping fire and brimstone on the heads of sinners. He is healing through love and service, teaching both by example, and he seems unconcerned that neither of these principles was copyrighted by the Vatican. In fact, he’s publicly allowed that someone can be of a different faith, race, sexual orientation, you name it, and still be a good person.

Radical thinking, indeed.

I am not a Catholic. I’m unsure that I am even a Christian anymore. Though I accept that Christ lived among us and was a great spiritual teacher, I’ve long grown suspicious of any religion associated with his name—but I believe implicitly in his message.

I believe in love.

I believe in being a good person, and that most of us are good people.

I believe that we are all connected to each other and to the infinite power that created us.

I believe that Pope Francis is not only what the Church needs now. The whole world needs him. He is helping to revive the message that was somehow lost in the struggle for dominance, for power and wealth and influence over kings and peasants alike.

It’s a message of love. Of compassion. Of patience and forgiveness. It’s the same message that Dr Wayne conveyed, and both he and Pope Francis have reminded me of something that’s almost as important as the message itself:

There are great spiritual teachers among us now, in this day and this age. There are also charlatans and wannabes, as there were in the past, but rest assured, if someone is speaking from his heart, your heart will know it.