Pope Francis has touched so many this year. Our Thought for Today gives him a special mention today!

Thought on Saturday – December – 14/12/2013

Time Magazine has selected Pope Francis as its Person of the Year for 2013. They have said he has put a huge focus on compassion and also his role as a new voice of conscience has made him stand out. The managing editor of Time Magazine, Nancy Gibbs said: “What makes this Pope so important is the speed with which he has captured the imaginations of millions who had given up on hoping for the church at all. In his nine months in office, he has placed himself at the very centre of the central conversations of our time: about wealth and poverty, fairness and justice, transparency, modernity, globalisation, the role of women, the nature of marriage, the temptations of power. The world is getting smaller; individual voices are getting louder; technology is turning virtue viral, so his pulpit is visible to the ends of the earth. When he kisses the face of a disfigured man or washes the feet of a Muslim woman, the image resonates far beyond the boundaries of the Catholic Church. And yet in less than a year, he has done something remarkable: he has not changed the words, but he’s changed the music.”

It is clear that Pope Francis certainly is one of the good news stories of 2013. He has reenergised a static, tired and stale church. It is astounding the difference a good leader can make. We will soon be beginning a new year and I have no doubt that new shoots will continue to appear thanks to his influence. So we pray for Pope Francis this Christmas and we ask the Holy Spirit to continue to inspire, encourage and direct him as leader of our Church.