the wall beyond the empty bottle

Yesterday my mother read to me a passage from Pope Francis' exhortation. Pope Francis was recently named Time Magazine's person of the year and, regardless of your faith (or whether you have any at all), what he said can be used to evaluate the way we are living and our own daily acts of generosity. His words are something to consider (apply them to a different context if you wish) in this reflective time of the year:

"I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security," he said. "More than by fear of going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: 'Give them something to eat.'"

Among all the interesting things I come across, sometimes a sharp, clearly articulated passage like this slices right through it all and gets straight to the wholehearted point.

xx

Lou