{"id":8949,"date":"2014-02-24T13:30:23","date_gmt":"2014-02-24T18:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?p=8949"},"modified":"2014-02-24T13:30:23","modified_gmt":"2014-02-24T18:30:23","slug":"the-consolation-within-desolation-pope-francis-bookclub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/02\/the-consolation-within-desolation-pope-francis-bookclub.html","title":{"rendered":"The Consolation within Desolation [Pope Francis Bookclub]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In 2014, I\u2019m reading and blogging through Pope Francis\/Cardinal Bergoglio\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>Open Mind, Faithful Heart: Reflections on Following Jesus<\/a>. \u00a0Every Monday, I\u2019ll be writing about the next meditation in the book, so you\u2019re welcome to\u00a0peruse them all<\/a>\u00a0and\/or read along.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
An icon of the prophet Elijah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Pope Francis described the experiences of the prophets, an inheritance to which we are called, I didn\u2019t recognize myself in this description of their plight.<\/p>\n

These experiences of our ancestors in the faith should encourage us greatly. \u00a0When we realize we are chosen, we feel that the weight on us is too great, and we experience fear\u2013in some cases even panic. \u00a0That is the beginning of the cross. \u00a0At the same time, we feel deeply drawn by the Lord who by his very summons seduces us to follow him with a fire burning in our heart (cf. Jer 20:7-18<\/a>). \u00a0These two feelings are joined together because since the days of the patriarchs they have prefigured the abandonment that Christ felt on the cross as he fulfilled the Father\u2019s will to the very end. \u00a0The mission places us perforce upon the wood of the cross, for the cross is the sign that the mission has been received by the Spirit of God and not according the flesh.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Prophets feel they are far from God when they are overextended in His service, and they turn to Him for help, but are left waiting for a reply. \u00a0I almost never feel this kind of abandonment, because I tend to abandon first. \u00a0When I\u2019m in trouble, I tend to emulate what Colonel Graff wanted for Ender:<\/p>\n

Graff: \u201cHe can never come to believe that anybody will ever help him out, ever<\/em>. \u00a0If he once thinks there\u2019s an easy way out, he\u2019s wrecked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson: \u201cYou\u2019re right. \u00a0That would be terrible, if he believed he had a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graff: \u201cHe can have friends. \u00a0It\u2019s parents he can\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Call it pride or responsibility or learning the wrong lessons from group projects at school (\u201cIf you can\u2019t make your partners behave, Leah, you\u2019ll have to work alone\u201d) or a very steady diet of fantasy and science fiction growing up, but I\u2019m very reluctant to make plans that depend on someone else. \u00a0And, when I do, I like to avoid the imposition of an open-ended ask, but instead offer a precis of what I need, how I\u2019ve limited the ask, and how very all right it will be if the other person is unavailable.<\/p>\n

This is all useful, to a point. \u00a0My plans have fewer points of failure than most people I know and I think I\u2019m less prone than the median person to \u201ctrying to try.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 But I miss more chances to invite other people into my difficulties and use snags as an opportunity for intimacy. \u00a0And that\u2019s particularly important in a relationship with God. \u00a0Feeling neglected by God presupposes trust in and dependence on him, so shaking your fist at the heavens might represent more of a connection than knuckling down to sort things out yourself.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t fear that your prayers aren\u2019t being answered if you never actually imitate Christ and call \u201cAbba, Abba.<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2014, I\u2019m reading and blogging through Pope Francis\/Cardinal Bergoglio\u2019s\u00a0Open Mind, Faithful Heart: Reflections on Following Jesus. \u00a0Every Monday, I\u2019ll be writing about the next meditation in the book, so you\u2019re welcome to\u00a0peruse them all\u00a0and\/or read along. When Pope Francis described the experiences of the prophets, an inheritance to which we are called, I didn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":8953,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[227],"class_list":["post-8949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spiritual-practice","tag-pope-francis-bookclub"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Consolation within Desolation [Pope Francis Bookclub]<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 2014, I\u2019m reading and blogging through Pope Francis\/Cardinal Bergoglio\u2019s\u00a0Open Mind, Faithful Heart: Reflections on Following Jesus. \u00a0Every Monday, I\u2019ll\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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