Running toward Jesus

I never met Pope Francis.

For most people, not meeting the supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church would not be significant. I guess it’s not in my case either. But I really wanted to meet him. He held a special place in my heart. He was down-to-earth and gritty and spoke with folksy wisdom. There are pictures of him hugging babies and embracing disabled people and kissing the feet of prisoners. Unlike some of his predecessors, Pope Francis shied away from the pomp of the Vatican and the allure of designer shoes. (No judgment; I’ve probably got more shoes than Benedict XVI.) Francis spent his birthdays with homeless people. He smiled in selfies with teenagers. He hopped off his popemobile to embrace people who couldn’t come to him. He donned a red clown nose on at least one occasion.

And through all of it, he reminded us to “run toward Jesus.” In what would be his final homily, delivered by Cardinal Comastri on Easter Sunday due to Francis’s illness, he told us to imitate the first Easter witnesses:

“Like Mary Magdalene, every day we can experience losing the Lord, but every day we can also run to look for him again, with the certainty that he will allow himself to be found and will fill us with the light of his resurrection.”