Pope Francis in discursive mode

"The Calling of St. Matthew" by Caravaggio

a particularly meaningful painting for Pope Francis

Our pope seems a very interesting, reflective and holy man, judging from this transcript of an interview recently conducted by fellow Jesuit Anthony Spadaro.  It bears reading in its entirety.  I especially liked this part:

“I pray the breviary every morning. I like to pray with the psalms. Then, later, I celebrate Mass. I pray the Rosary. What I really prefer is adoration in the evening, even when I get distracted and think of other things, or even fall asleep praying. In the evening then, between seven and eight o’clock, I stay in front of the Blessed Sacrament for an hour in adoration. But I pray mentally even when I am waiting at the dentist or at other times of the day.

Prayer for me is always a prayer full of memory, of recollection, even the memory of my own history or what the Lord has done in his church or in a particular parish.... And I ask myself: ‘What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What should I do for Christ?’ ... But above all, I also know that the Lord remembers me. I can forget about him, but I know that he never, ever forgets me. ... It is this memory that makes me his son and that makes me a father, too."

Increase your Catholic Wordpower: Acedia

Acedia

According to the Oxford Concise Dictionary of the Christian Church, acedia (or accidie) is "a state of restlessness and inability either to work or to pray".   It can be a precursor to sloth—one of the seven deadly sins.  St. Thomas Aquinas identified acedia with "the sorrow of the world" that "worketh death."

 

John Cassian, (ca. 360 AD - ca. 435 AD) a monk from Southern Gaul who introduced Eastern monasticism into the West, wrote a great deal about acedia, including the following:

"[Acedia is] what the Greeks call ἀκηδία, which we may term weariness or distress of heart. This is akin to dejection, and is especially trying to solitaries. . . [W]hen this has taken possession of some unhappy soul, it produces dislike of the place, disgust with the cell, and disdain and contempt of the brethren who dwell with him or at a little distance, as if they were careless or unspiritual. It also makes the man lazy and sluggish about all manner of work which has to be done within the enclosure of his dormitory. It does not suffer him to stay in his cell, or to take any pains about reading, and he often groans because he can do no good while he stays there, and complains and sighs because he can bear no spiritual fruit so long as he is joined to that society; and he complains that he is cut off from spiritual gain, and is of no use in the place, as if he were one who, though he could govern others and be useful to a great number of people, yet was edifying none, nor profiting any one by his teaching and doctrine."

Another 9/11 hero remembered

Welles Crowther is his name.  Requiescat in pacem.