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today Pope Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was laid to rest.

i’m not alone in sharing a deep affection for Pope Francis. on one hand we shared December 17th as our birthday, so that may play a part, but more than that when he chose the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi whom i’ve long felt a connection to since my childhood, he caught my attention. choosing Francis as his name was a deeply symbolic choice that represented not only his connection to the poor, the outcast, & nature, but also represented a needed refocus for a world obsessed with wealth, consumption, & othering.

a Papacy marked by integrity of message, a message that all are sacred & worthy of love, that all deserve dignity & inclusion especially those on the margins. even today at his funeral, the end of his procession was an honor guard made up of homeless, migrants, prisoners, & trans people. he understood that such symbolism coming from the Pope has incredible power to move people, to draw attention & move us closer to love.

Pope Francis was a voice of fierce compassion, speaking truth to power, calling all to rise to love, even imperfectly at times. without ever actually changing any Church doctrine, he pushed back on tradition that excluded, reminding all of us that “being woke” is simply being kind, inclusive, generous, empathetic, & compassionate.

i’m not alone in feeling a deep loss that a voice so sorely needed at this time, a voice that so powerfully counters the cruelty we are seeing has left us. but has he? it’s hard to believe that even death can stop such a force of love. i can only imagine he will continue the work of love from Beyond, in Catholic Christian parlance a Saint, in Buddhist parlance a Bodhisattva. the words don’t really matter, it is the movement of Love, which Pope Francis found so deeply in Christ, & embodied so well for us all, for a world in need. a movement we can continue with our own words & actions.

bows of gratitude for Pope Francis, for his life, his presence, & his service.

~j

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#PopeFrancis #Saint #Bodhisattva #OpenHeart #path #JinpaLhaga