Fr. Don's Daily Reflection - September 22, 2021
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”
Pope Francis on Sept. 15 aboard the papal flight from Bratislava (National Catholic Reporter, 9/15/2021) said the question of whether pro-choice Catholic politicians should receive Communion is "pastoral" and warned against bishops and priests who wade into politics.
"What should a shepherd do?" the pope said. "They must be shepherds with God's style. And God's style is closeness, compassion and tenderness."
Francis said: "If we look at the history of the church, we will see that every time the bishops did not act as shepherds, it was a ‘problem.’”
On the papal flight, Francis also reiterated his opposition to abortion, saying "abortion is homicide."
Francis was asked whether he had ever denied the Eucharist to someone who presented themselves for Communion and he said "never."
"No, I have never denied the Eucharist to anyone, to anyone!" he said. "I don't know if someone came to me under these conditions, but I have never refused them the Eucharist, since the time I was a priest."
He went on to share a humorous anecdote of celebrating Mass on one occasion at a nursing home. Afterwards, an elderly woman thanked him for Communion, adding that she was Jewish.
"Those who are not in the community cannot take Communion, like this Hebrew lady," he said, "but the Lord wanted to reward her, and I did not know it."
The reception of Communion, said Francis, is "linked to the community."
While there may be those that are "temporarily" outside of the church community, he said they "are sons (and daughters) of God and they need our closeness, our pastoral closeness."
"A shepherd can decide it with the style of God," he added.
"If you are tender as a person, this is just a theory, but being pastors, the pastors know how to act in every moment."
He said that one must distinguish between theological questions and pastoral ones, saying that: "As a pastor, you have to be a neighbor, and if you get out of this pastoral care of the church, you become a politician."
Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”
