Keep the Momentum

Did you guys see the Pope is in America? Pretty exciting stuff.

Among the myriad shared links, posted videos, and social reactions, one of my friends made the best observation: "Top trending topics on Facebook are Pope Francis, Junipero Serra, and the Little Sisters of the Poor. I give you the effects of an Apostolic Visit in the 21st century."

The Francis Effect is something to be reckoned with. Reaching back a few years, I, like many Catholics, had total faith in my Church, in its timeless teachings and truth, and in its mission to make Christ known, loved, and served, but I felt like we needed a PR makeover. We needed a way to communicate and share the awesomeness of our faith in a more effective way that spoke to more people, reached more people, and reengaged those who were falling away. Having stopped a few credits short of my journalism minor, I was not the man to create the vision.

Thank God for our pal Jorge.

Pope Francis has animated Catholicism and the Church with an authentic humanity that no ad blitz, PR strategy, or campaign platform ever could have executed. Francis goes out of his way to demonstrate his mundaneness as a human. He makes special effort to reach out to and embrace the marginalized. And he preaches orthodox-ly on the central tenets of our faith without changing them or watering them down.

And the Catholics love it. And the lapsed Catholics love it. And even non-Catholic Christians and non-Christians love it.

So what now? What do we do with all of the positive energy and glad tidings Francis is garnering for the Church in America? Though I am a few credits short of my Masters in Theology, that wouldn't qualify me in any special way to address this. Let me just come at it as a Mass-going, parishioner-registered, committed Catholic.

Everything Francis does - ev-vuh-ree-thin-guh - is informed and inspired 100% by his Catholic faith. When he stops to embrace a child who ran into the parade route, when he embraces the man whose face is marred by boils, when he washes the feet of Muslims on Holy Thursday, when he pays his own bill at the hotel, when he invokes Lincoln, Merton, King, and Day alongside Moses to the US Congress, he is living out the Catholic faith that has motivated, inspired, and sustained him as a man, a priest, a bishop, and a pope.

So when your non-Christian friends are attracted to Francis, engage with them on how Francis speaks to them in their faith tradition; learn how Catholicism and other faith traditions have common goals.

When your non-Catholic Christian friends affirm the faith life of our Pope, ask them why they admire him? Take the elements of Francis' faith that they identify with, and invite them to an increasingly tolerant, embracing perspective of Catholicism.

And most importantly, when your lapsed Catholic or I-was-raised-Catholic friends are captivated by Francis, invite them to come to Mass. At the core of his ministry, Francis is a priest, who most shares the faith that animates his life by proclaiming and preaching on the Word and then consecrating the Eucharist so as to share Christ with the sheep of his flock.

It is not a coincidence that Francis is an excellent human and Catholic. His thoughts, words, and actions are direct results of the Catholic faith that burns in his heart. He's not just a "good guy" who happens to be religious. His exemplary ministry proceeds inarguably from the convictions of his faith in Jesus Christ. If people from this increasingly large group really identify with Francis, challenge them to come reengage with the very source of Francis' vitality: the Eucharist, as celebrated at your local parish!

Often when I have been on retreat, and even more so as I've directed high school retreats, I see a vitality and energy in retreatants that is rarely found in the routines of everyday life. Something about the different space of a retreat center, the different timing of days on retreat, and the context of people vulnerably and authentically sharing creates a different atmosphere in which people realize a fuller sense of themselves, others, and God. It spawns a "retreat high," which drives people to want to stay on retreat, go on more retreats, and lead retreats. This is good, but it's best when it's reflected on, owned spiritually, and internalized to be lived out every day.

How can Francis' visit reinvigorate our faith lives to carry this joy and hope every day? How can we take courage and strength in the faith our Holy Father inspires in us to engage with non-Christians and seek common bonds? How can we reach across Protestant and Orthodox barriers to celebrate and mutually learn from an excellent Christian leader? And how can we invite distanced Catholics back into the core of the flock by building on our shepherd's outreach?

Don't let Francis' visit be a "retreat high." Take the positivity of his apostolic visit, reflect on it, and bring it with you into everyday life. Carry the joy of the Gospel from Francis and build bridges on the foundations that our Pontifex has laid.