Our 3rd Day was largely a day on the move\u2026 out of the big tent! This \nbeing the parish of Pope Francis before he was Pope Francis, we could \nnot pass up the opportunity to visit the parishes he helped build up and\n the people he accompanied\u2026 and the parishes and people who formed him \ninto the kind of Pope – and church – we are challenged to face today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But first we had the wonderful opportunity to listen to the thoughts \nof Austen Ivereigh on Pope Francis. In particular, he shared how Francis\n believes we need to be a more extroverted church, rather than inward \nlooking and continually striving for perfection in our beliefs. As well,\n he related how Francis is not afraid secularity\u2026 that it is an \nopportunity for us to revisit and renew our church in light of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then we went out to visit the church – the local church – that gave \nbirth to Francis\u2019s vision of our Church. Today was like spending time \nexploring the mind and heart of Francis through the parishes and people \nhe built up and accompanied. We can\u2019t forget, Francis is a Pope from the\n developing world, economically speaking. He brings this lack of \nperfection to our universal Church\u2026 we must not forget, we are a \ndeveloping church. Francis reminds of this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After personal and meaningful conversations with so many of the local\n people, Catherine, Michelle and myself celebrated a beautiful outdoor \nMass with all of our Assembly and with so many of the parishioners\u2026 with\n the youth group sharing with us the lively and well prepared musical \naccompaniment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Day #3 ends we are slowly gathering a deeper sense of our gifts as\n CLC members\u2026. in particular, that we are one community\u2026 throughout the \nworld. It is quite indescribable what a blessing it is to wake up and \nspend the day with CLC members from all over the world with so many rich\n and diverse experiences to exchange and get to know more fully\u2026. \nincluding those of our EA members of course:) The struggle is trying to \nmake sense of it all, to absorb it all justly and honourably\u2026. and \ntrying to get one\u2019s eggs and tea each morning in the midst of over 250 \nothers to sustain oneself:) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The photos of today are Michelle, Catherine, and myself just before \nsetting for our day of immersion (with our flag behind us as you can \nsee); the parish that Fr. Bergoglio (Pope Francis) was first priest of, \nalong with joy filled Sr. Nadia of Haiti in front of a proud parish \nbanner; a family visit within the parish (the blond lady on the left was\n confirmed by Fr. Bergoglio, and belonged to the youth group he lead); \nand finally a beautiful little statue of St. Ignatius in one of the \nchapels of the Fr. Bergoglio\u2019s parish we also visited, San Francisco \nJavier; along with the chapel itself. As you will see from out clothing\u2026\n it still remains cool here\u2026 but a beautiful, sunny, southern hemisphere\n winter day. We are quite south down here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blessings to each of you,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trevor<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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