Lefty Francis Hangover

Last updated on: January 28, 2015 at 12:11 am by Mark Shea

Lefty Francis Hangover 2015-01-19T11:38:18-07:00 Mark Shea

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

After bingeing on the hallucinatory drug that made them imagine the pope was just just about to make pot a sacrament, officiate at Michael Sam’s wedding, sprinkle holy water on Rome’s Planned Parenthood clinic, canonize Karl Marx, and call the Third Vatican Council to declare all religions/philosophies/lifestyle choices “cool”, the Left is suddenly awakening to the fact that the only people who ever believed their banana oil were a) themselves and b) panic-stricken right wing Francis-haters.

So, with a mixture of bafflement and growing rage, pundits are rubbing their eyes and announcing “Pope Francis might not be as awesome as we thought he was“. That is, he turns out to be Catholic and not, as Bill Maher concluded with the keen insight of a mole in broad daylight, an atheist. He thinks blasphemy is wrong, which has stunned Maher into surprised fury since, in Maher’s mental world, the Manichaean choice is between blasphemy and murder. He opposes abortion and contraception and gay “marriage”. He’s not going to be ordaining women. He’s, y’know, the pope, and therefore Catholic.

Such a hangover was perfectly predictable. It’s something any disciple of Jesus should expect. The gospel answers to deep longings in the human heart. But it also makes hard demands. Jesus’ pattern was that people followed him when they saw signs like multiplication of loaves and fishes. But when Jesus then said “It’s not about free food forever, but about what that sign *means*” it left people with a choice: stick with him when he doesn’t fulfill your hopes for a messiah who tells you how awesome you are or say, “This is a hard saying! Who can hear it?” and ditch him for the next celebrity you choose to anoint. He forces us to face the fact that he is the Messiah we need, not the Messiah we want. And those who cannot face that fact typically become, either passively or actively, his enemies. Let us pray for the grace to not take that road, because we all need it.

Francis is, above all, a disciple of Jesus. If you don’t get that, you don’t get him. He will never fit our political categories, left or right. I suspect he’s going to wind up reviled for the name of Jesus by our fickle race. And I suspect he is a saint of the Church. God bless and protect him once the left joins with the right to attack him.

Uncategorized

Pope Francis

Previous Post

January 28, 2015

10 Quotes from Nobel Prize Winning Scientists

Next Post

January 28, 2015 Ladies and Gents, the Inimitable Oscar Peterson

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 September 2006 June 2006 July 2005 April 2005 May 2002 April 2002 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz