Encountering Truth

For our honeymoon, Scott and I traveled to Italy. It was Spring, 2013 and we celebrated Easter there. At this time, Pope Francis has just been elected and there was pictures of him everywhere. There was a certain energy in the air of it being Easter and it's hard to describe. I found out later that Pope Francis washed the feet of prisoners at a youth detention center in Rome for Holy Thursday Mass just before Easter. This completely endeared me to the Pope. I had never encountered the beautiful architecture of the cathedrals I saw around every corner and it was my first time going to the Vatican. Everything was covered in history and tradition and a sense of sacred faith.

Ever since my experience there I have been drawn to learn more about the Catholic faith and draw insight from Pope Francis. I decided to read Encountering Truth* a few months ago and have really enjoyed it. The book is a collection of Pope Francis's morning homilies he gives from St. Martha's Chapel. A little after seven in the morning, Pope Francis gives short little devotionals to a small audience of offices workers, priests, nuns and some journalists as well as gardeners. 

There are a total of 186 homilies in the book each with a date and a couple of Scripture references. The last one I read was spoked on November 7th and was about God's "weakness of love and joy of mercy". I have loved reading Pope Francis's inclusive language as he reminds everyone that we all belong and that we are all loved. He said, "He is a God who seeks, he seeks all those who are far from him. Like the shepherd, who goes to look for the lost sheep. The work of God is to go and seek, to invite all to the feast, good and bad. He does not tolerate losing one of his own" It gives me such great security knowing that we have a Shepherd who seeks and save and rescues the lost. And we are all lost from time to time. 

I like the rhythem of reading a homilie once a day or once a week. Each one is spoken with such warmth and kindness. It gives me a nugget of truth to ponder all day long. If you are looking for a different kind of devotional to read daily that refreshes the spirit, I would really recommend this one. 

*I received a copy of this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for this review