Pope Francis provides a unique moment To discern and protect the Church with tenderness

Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey delivers homily at Mass of Thanksgiving for Pope Francis, saying the Church is embarking on a unique pilgrimage under a very pastoral, humble pope. Alfredo Cardenas, South Texas Catholic

“It is a very unique moment in the life of the Church,” Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey said about the selection of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the new head of the Roman Catholic Church.

Cardinal Bergoglio took the name Pope Francis, the first ever to use that name. He was also the first Jesuit and the first South American elected as pope. “It shows the Holy Spirit working in the life of the Church,” Bishop Mulvey said to local media on March 13.

The bishop met with the local media hours after the white smoke rose over the Vatican. The following day, May 14, he celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving at the Cathedral. He wanted to pray with his people, the bishop said. On Tuesday, March 19, the day of the pope’s inauguration, the bishop returned to the Cathedral to celebrate a second Mass of Thanksgiving.

“We’re all proud Americans today,” the bishop said in reference to Pope Francis’ South American roots. The bishop said his selection points to the vibrancy and maturity of the Church in the southern hemisphere. It may even “galvanize” the church in Europe, which faces many of the same issues that Pope Francis has had to deal with in Argentina.

It was very significant that the first thing the new pope did was to ask for prayers for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. “It was a very humble act,” Bishop Mulvey said.

Pope Francis, said Bishop Mulvey, is a “very simple man, very pastoral, very humble.” The world saw for the first time a pope bowing before the people and asking for their blessing and their prayers. This displayed Pope Francis’ humbleness and his ability to connect to his flock. “This speaks volumes to us for the future,” Bishop Mulvey said.

Avelina Villarreal, commented on the Diocese of Corpus Christi Facebook, that she thought the pope’s request for prayer was an “awesome blessed moment of silence.”

“We know what God’s message for the world to become with Pope Francis filled with the Holy Spirit on how we ought to be led to God’s kingdom as God wills it on earth as it is in heaven,” she said.

And Villarreal was not alone in her elation. “My heart is filled with JOY over the choice of Pope Francis! Thanks be to God!” Carolyn Hebert Underbrink commented.

Mary Bailey Arnold commented, “I feel his warm heart reaching out and firm conviction to the Gospel of Jesus Christ...like Jesus meeting the woman at the well...meeting us where we are, speaking to us with authority and mercy and love...wanting to quench our thirst for Truth and Life! Thank you, God, for the heart and soul and mind of Pope Francis.”

“I am very happy with the election of Pope Francis,” Deacon Russel Duggins at St. Joseph Parish in Beeville said in an email. “I think that he will be a blessing to our faith and lead us into the future with grace and truth in his heart. Thanks to the Holy Spirit for His guidance and pray that He will continue to guide us to do His will and not our own.”

Pope Francis’ background as cardinal of a large metropolitan archdiocese gives him the needed administrative experience, the bishop said. As a Jesuit, he is very well educated. Perhaps most important is the pastoral experience he brings, the bishop said.

“What I see is a man in touch with the people. He will be a great role model. A man of the people and for the people,” Bishop Mulvey said.

In his homily at his second Mass of Thanksgiving, Bishop Mulvey commented on Pope Francis’ initial acts, which were “unusual.” The pope celebrated his first Mass as head of 1.2 billion Catholics, not at St. Peter’s Basilica, but at a neighborhood parish church. He greeted parishioners leaving church, as would their pastor. He often gave his security detail heartburn as he delved into crowds to shake hands, kiss babies and bless the infirmed.

“I think we’re in for something unusual,” Bishop Mulvey said. “We’re used to great manifestations, but the Holy Father is calling us to the beauty of simplicity, the beauty of charity. He is calling us back to our roots.”

Bishop Mulvey referred to Pope Francis’ own homily at his installation Mass on the Solemnity of St. Joseph. The pope spoke of elements in the life of St. Joseph that are also elements in the life of the Church. Bishop Mulvey cited three of these elements that are “important as we move into the future.”

The first is the ability to “discern God’s will,” as St. Joseph did. The bishop said it was important to be “able to hear what God wants for His Church today.” Quoting Pope Francis, Bishop Mulvey said, that “discernment requires us to be constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God’s presence and receptive to God’s plans.”

The second element in St. Joseph’s life relevant in the Church’s life is being the “great protector.” As St. Joseph protected the Holy Family, the Church must protect “all creation, showing concern for every person.”

“That means protection of the person in he womb, the elderly, those in need,” Bishop Mulvey said. “It means caring for one another. To be protectors of all of God’s gifts.”

Our discernment of God’s will and our protection of God’s creation must be done with “tenderness,” Bishop Mulvey said, echoing the pope’s message. This is the third element in St. Joseph’s life that must be applied to the life of the Church. “Caring and protecting demands goodness,” Bishop said in quoting Pope Francis.

Pope Francis, the bishop said, “Brings a spirit of service, a spirit of tender compassion, a tender protection of all people.” Tenderness is the key, tenderness in the family, tenderness in society, tenderness in our communities, tenderness in our family relationships.

“He is not saying anything different, just in a different way; with the experience of being the pastor of a church,” Bishop Mulvey said. “He offers a new beginning.”