Dear Pope Francis is the name of a book which contains letters and illustrations from children from around the world to Pope Francis. Each child poses a question to him, some serious, some fun, and he responds sincerely and lovingly. One letter is from Wing, age 8, from China who asks him if he likes to play soccer.
Pope Francis writes to her and admits that he really liked soccer, but he never had learned the art of the game that well. He said he didn’t have a nimble foot, but he loved to watch the teams play because of their teamwork and unity.
Then our Pope shares in his letter to Wing that to really play the game well, the team must play together, look out for the other, and not think about one’s ‘personal gain or showing off.’ He finishes by making the comment that ‘it ought to be this way in the Church, too!, then signs his letter, Franciscus.
We heard about this teamwork that was forming in the early church in our first reading. We learned of the followers preaching far beyond Jerusalem, and even to Gentiles. This was a new development to the apostles, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch to assess the situation.
When he arrived, Barnabas discerned it was indeed God’s grace at work to preach the gospel to Gentiles as well. For this new community, this was a momentous decision which obviously has had far-reaching consequences. Later, he and Saul spent a whole year there teaching people to be witnesses, and it was here that they were first called “Christians”, the team’s new name.
That was the ‘teamwork’ Pope Francis still wishes for the Church today. Despite the Church’s human frailty, the Holy Spirit continues to energize this worldwide team of followers. We are the church whose mission it is to be a community of the faithful, a sacrament to the world, a servant to the poor, and a herald of good news. For over 2,000 years this Church has been faithful in bringing Christ to the world…through the sacraments, by establishing schools and hospitals, literacy centers, and emergency places to care for immigrants throughout the world, etc. The church has this long history of promoting social justice and charity, working for the common good of all, and respecting the dignity of all people.
We are now part of that team of witnesses who stand on the shoulders of these great women and men. May we, too, be faithful to our call to preach the gospel wherever we are.
