I think it's the first time I've ever evoked religion in this blog. But the 10 tips for a happier life that Pope Francis conveyed during an interview for Viva Magazine, a weekly publication of El Clarin, an Argentinian newspaper, back in late July are worth sharing.
I was one of the many who'd fallen away from the Roman Catholic church. That happened during my college days and for nearly 20 years I rarely attended Mass. That changed when my son was born.
My wife and I had given up on having a child after many years of trying. Then, as if by miracle, she became pregnant, giving birth on my 40th birthday. Talk about the best birthday gift ever. I came back to the church because, for me, a higher power was at play.
I suppose I could have chosen any church at that point but I was raised Catholic having attended parochial grade school and high school. I felt comfort with Catholicism. It connected me to my late father who was devout and I love the rituals, even the smells of the church.
I did step back from the church for awhile when the child abuse came to light. I had to reconcile my personal relationship with God and that of the Catholic Church. I sometimes wrestle with it still.
For over a decade now I've been a reader for the noon Mass at St. Paul Shrine on Euclid and E. 40th. These days I read every Thursday, like today. I feel honored and humbled to be able to do this in such an historic church, which is home to Capuchin-Franciscan Friars and The Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration. Cleveland writer, Kristin Ohlson, wrote a book about the nuns at this church, Stalking the Divine: Contemplating Faith with the Poor Clares.
There was great joy when the Pope chose the name Francis as the friars and sisters at St. Paul felt an immediate connection. Little did they know just how positively provocative Pope Francis would be.
As far as I'm concerned he's the best pope in my lifetime. As these 10 tips to a happier life will attest.
1. “Live and let live.” Everyone should be guided by this principle, he said, which has a similar expression in Rome with the saying, “Move forward and let others do the same.”
2. “Be giving of yourself to others.” People need to be open and generous toward others, he said, because “if you withdraw into yourself, you run the risk of becoming egocentric. And stagnant water becomes putrid.”
3. “Proceed calmly” in life. The pope, who used to teach high school literature, used an image from an Argentine novel by Ricardo Guiraldes, in which the protagonist — gaucho Don Segundo Sombra — looks back on how he lived his life.
4. A healthy sense of leisure. The Pope said “consumerism has brought us anxiety”, and told parents to set aside time to play with their children and turn of the TV when they sit down to eat.
5. Sundays should be holidays. Workers should have Sundays off because “Sunday is for family,” he said.
6. Find innovative ways to create dignified jobs for young people. “We need to be creative with young people. If they have no opportunities they will get into drugs” and be more vulnerable to suicide, he said.
7. Respect and take care of nature. Environmental degradation “is one of the biggest challenges we have,” he said. “I think a question that we’re not asking ourselves is: ‘Isn’t humanity committing suicide with this indiscriminate and tyrannical use of nature?’”
8. Stop being negative. “Needing to talk badly about others indicates low self-esteem. That means, ‘I feel so low that instead of picking myself up I have to cut others down,’” the Pope said. “Letting go of negative things quickly is healthy.”
9. Don’t proselytise; respect others’ beliefs. “We can inspire others through witness so that one grows together in communicating. But the worst thing of all is religious proselytism, which paralyses: ‘I am talking with you in order to persuade you,’ No. Each person dialogues, starting with his and her own identity. The church grows by attraction, not proselytising,” the Pope said.
10. Work for peace. “We are living in a time of many wars,” he said, and “the call for peace must be shouted. Peace sometimes gives the impression of being quiet, but it is never quiet, peace is always proactive” and dynamic.
Posted by: |