Dear Caminoheads,
Today, I woke up to an email referring to a newspaper in the Vatican. I said that Pope Francis, dressed as Pope Francis, was outside St. peters, visiting a records shop where he used to go for souvenirs to bring back to Buenos Aires, before he was the Pope. Seems that a journalist saw him and a news was written.
Pope Francis said that walking is what he misses the most since he is Pope; he said this because when he lived in Buenos Aires, he didn’t drive or use the church vehicle, he would just walk to places or take public transportation, and now, he is caught…
I guess he could still walk if he dresses with other clothes instead the Pope’s clothes… but I don’t know if he can wear other clothing… Can someone check that?!
Anyway, why am I writing about this about the Pope in a post about JOY???… well, because he already put together the words JOY, PILGRIM, and WALK in one phrase. Read this:
Joy is a pilgrim virtue. It is a gift that walks, walks on the path of life, that walks with Jesus: preaching, proclaiming Jesus, proclaiming joy, lengthens and widens that path.
It then seems to me that we could reflect about JOY in the Camino, and the afterward realization that “JOY is a PILGRIM virtue”.
I guess we have homework… yesterday Ron urged us to reflect on our own experience of JOY, after his writing in the comment’s section yesterday (another comment you should check!!!) So, as the good pupil I have always been, I will keep exploring around these 3 letters.
Be careful, people thinking, Loves,
Cris
This picture is from when we delivered the prayer shawls knit by Grace in NZ. Terry and Phil donned them and I snapped the picture to send to Grace.
answer from the internet search: Can the pope wear regular clothes?
The answer is yes, the Pope sometimes wears casual clothes, but to avoid damaging the Pope’s image, the more ordinary outfits are kept out of the public eye. If the Pope puts on sweatpants, he does so behind closed doors.
Just the thought of the Pope in sweatpants brings a smile to the face. Is that Joy?