VIEWS

Prompted by my father, I am inclined to consider what I suggest is a more Catholic view of a nation where we are free AND morally obliged and eager to earn our keep by giving others something they need.

Happy Mother’s Day and Father’s Day to all you moms and dads out there. And to all of you who might be on the verge of becoming a parent, I say congratulations as well.

On May 7, the Arizona Legislature adjourned sine die at 5:45 a.m. after spending 117 days in session. In total, almost 1,400 pieces of legislation were introduced with just over 400 of them becoming law.

Among the keys to understanding Pope Francis are the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. In the first of the four-week exercises, you discover yourself to be a sinner, who is unconditionally forgiven and loved by God. This perspective leads the Holy Father to see the Church as a field hospital, as a mother and teacher, and as a fountain of mercy. It is within this Ignatian perspective that the teaching of Pope Francis is best understood, including his latest Apostolic Exhortation on love in the family.

Entre los puntos claves para entender al Papa Francisco están los Ejercicios Espirituales de San Ignacio de Loyola. En el primero de los ejercicios de cuatro semanas, descubres que tú mismo eres pecador, incondicionalmente perdonado y amado por Dios. Esta perspectiva conduce al Santo Padre a ver la Iglesia como un hospital de campaña, como madre y maestra y como una fuente de la misericordia. Es dentro de esta perspectiva Ignaciana que la enseñanza del Papa Francisco se entiende mejor, incluyendo su más reciente Exhortación Apostólica sobre el amor en la familia.

So there I was, reporting for a hometown newspaper, sitting in the modest home of a grandmother who’d become a mentor to young moms in her neighborhood. The widow of a Baptist preacher, she wasted no time in getting down to business.

“It is after having experienced God’s unconditional love and undeserved mercy that a person can become a messenger of mercy.”

Longtime readers know of my mother’s stroke. Since 2009 she has shown great strength and fortitude in not just surviving but striving to live a meaningful and happy life.

Anselmo fue elegido para dirigir la Iglesia en Inglaterra, en un tiempo en el que el Rey William Rufus quería a un arzobispo de Canterbury débil, un hombre al que pudiera controlar y utilizar para su propio beneficio. Anselmo, por su parte, no quería ser obispo; pidió no ser escogido, deseando permanecer en su monasterio en Bec, Francia, donde estaba sirviendo con gusto como el Abad.

Anselm was chosen to lead the Church in England, at a time when King William Rufus wanted a weak archbishop in Canterbury, a man he could control and use for his own gain. Anselm, for his part, did not want to be a bishop; he begged not to be chosen, desiring to remain in his monastery in Bec, France where he was happily serving as abbot. But once chosen, Anselm threw himself mightily into the task and fought resolutely for religious freedom. He did this without failing to love the king but with love of God first: setting an example that would be imitated and carried forward by other English saints such as the martyrs Thomas Becket (a later successor in Canterbury), John Fisher and Thomas More.