Peter CostelloMorning Homilies III
by Pope Francis, translated by Dinah Livingstone
(Orbis Books / Alban Books, £11.99)
Every morning Pope Francis begins his day with Mass in the chapel of St Martha’s Guest House, where he lives in community. At his Mass he also preaches a short homily relating to a passage in Scripture. These homilies are noted down and a report of them appears in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican daily. These in turn are collected and issued as small books of which this is the third to appear.
The usual style of communication from Rome is all too often very formal, to the extent that translated into another language through the medium of Latin, it becomes hard to understand.
But in these short daily remarks there is not anything that is hard to understand. The Pope is quite direct, but in a warm, welcoming and personal way.
There are those who like to start their own day with a short reading and prayer, albeit in a quiet reserved way. Here is undoubtedly a book which can be used in this way. The 64 pieces will prove greatly rewarding. Given the audience he is addressing, in his own home so to speak, these are friendly and immediate.
This is not the sovereign Pope of the past, but one’s local priest, with a ready wit and wide experiences to draw on.
Indeed, one of the homilies is entitled ‘A Friend to Pray With’, but this is about Moses talking to God, and proves that “just saying words and nothing else isn’t praying”. Prayer, Pope Francis suggests, is not a form of negotiation with God, but a relationship in which the Holy Spirit also participates.
One theme pursued throughout the pieces is that of a Church closed in on itself. It is easy to see this all around us where all too many people prefer to reject the world where they have to live and work out their salvation in, and cut themselves off in a sort of ‘safe-zone’ where they can challenge others while remaining unchallenged themselves.
In a narrow compass these homilies are rich in insight, guidance, and hope.
What more could a reader want?