In one of his first interviews after being elected, Pope Francis said, “That finger of Jesus, pointing at Matthew. That’s me. I feel like him. Like Matthew. It is the gesture of Matthew that strikes me: he holds on to his money as if to say, ‘No, not me! No, this money is mine.’ Here, this is me, a sinner on whom the Lord has turned his gaze. And this is what I said when they asked me if I would accept my election as pontiff.”
No, not me, not again! I just got comfortable with your last invitation, Lord: to change, to move, to do more. Why can’t I just hold on to what I know and what I have become comfortable with?
With these words, thoughts and feelings, I am assuming that all depends on me and my efforts. I have to keep reminding myself to trust in the Lord and rely on his grace and love.
Give me your grace and your love, O Lord, in their greatest abundance, these will be enough for me!
—David McNulty works for the Midwest Jesuits. Dave and his wife Judy are grandparents of six.