The Work of God

Knowing that God is always involved in our lives--even the worst of events--leads me to realize that Pope Francis was the Pope we needed during the last twelve years. Although I was not in the Church back then, the years under John Paul II and Benedict XVI seem to have made people get a bit lazy about their faith. So then, let me ask the question: "what did we learn from the challenges of the last twelve years?" Did we just "survive" it and now sit back glad that it is over? Some have expressed that; we should not be like them.

Yes, there are those who I have read online that said things like, "Francis was the Pope most loved by pagans, atheists, and heathens who do not understand the faith." That would take a lot of knowledge to confirm something like that, but I get the point. So, I will ask, did Pope Francis bring anyone to greater faithfulness? Yes! Us. He forced us to look deeply into our faith, and many people said that they got so upset with things that he said that they ended up deciding it was time to stop being lazy and look for a more devout parish where they could be taught the fulness of the Catholic faith.

Therefore, as much as it was a trial, we cannot deny that the late Pope was used by God to get us to dig our feet in to the faith more firmly. It caused many to seek a more robust practice of the faith. It helped bad clergy (yes, they do exist!) to be seen for what they are. Many in reacting to confusing comments came right out and made comments (sometimes even in homilies--God have mercy on their souls!) that were clearly contradictory to the dogmas of the Church. People heard it and left. They went out and found Ordinariate parishes and Latin Mass parishes; some even went to Eastern Catholic parishes. Many people became more faithful. It may be mysterious, but is that not the work of God?