Snowfall: A Poem

It begins with
    just one
       awkward
    downey flake,
freely floating
amidst an otherwise
    colorless sky.

Soon, others join
and in their fury
   they race
from the heavens
         to earth.

Pope Francis: Witness and Teacher

"People in modern times listen more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if they do listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses." - Pope Paul VI (1974)

Pope Francis is indeed both a Christian witness and a teacher!
The pope is constantly teaching us about God's love for the poor in his simple acts of pastoral care.

Check out this short video of his visit among immigrants living in a shantytown outside Rome:
http://www.romereports.com/pg160276-a-look-at-the-pope-s-powerful-visit-to-an-immigrant-shantytown-en

[video credit: Palio News - Rome Reports, romereports.com]

Silence and Activity

As always, we can look to Jesus to provide us with an example of how to be present to others and actively minister in both word and silence.

From Mark 1:29-39, we read about the sick and possessed who came to Jesus, looking for words of comfort, acts of healing, and restoration to their communities.

While Jesus chose to be with and heal the multitudes in the fishing town of Capernaum, he also recognized the need to be silent in the presence of God. And so Jesus rises early in the morning, finds an empty place, and is silent before God the Father.

Eventually, Simon Peter finds Jesus in the silence. Simon tells the Lord, “Everyone is looking for you” (1:37). Yes, everybody is indeed looking for Jesus! Jesus can be trusted and sought after because he is the One who both acts in the name of God and is silent before God.

Jesus, our Gentle Master and Teacher, has much to teach us about our ministry and activity, as well as the need for our silent attentiveness to God.