Pope Francis in 10 words !

Pope Francis is straight forward.  He is what he appears to be; an authentic Christian, and man of prayer and action, a servant leader and a true shepherd.  Recently, Greg Burke, senior communications adviser to the Vatican Secretariat of State gave a little behind the scenes read on the Pope.  He distilled the Holy Father down to 10 words/ideas.

1. Mercy — The story of the Prodigal Son is a recurring theme, and the pope repeatedly says that God never tires of forgiving and welcoming his lost children back home. “The church is waiting here for you with open arms,” is the message.

2. Moxie or courage — “We’re all going to get challenged by Pope Francis. Get ready!” People who live comfortably or live in developed nations will be especially challenged, Burke said, adding “This is good. This is the Gospel.”

3. Margins and missions — Francis is continuing with his predecessors’ criticism of a world divided into the haves and have-nots. The pope “is not a fan of cheap grace and feel-good religion. He wants to see Christians who are not afraid to get their hands dirty."

4. Prayer — Non-believers often don’t notice how important prayer is for religious life. For example, Blessed Mother Teresa was often looked upon by the secular press as “a social worker wearing a habit.” But, he said, the pope has constantly been stressing the importance of prayer and urging people to pray.

5. Encounter —The pope is asking people to embrace a “culture of encounter” where they experience God and meet with others, including non-believers. This attitude of encounter and communion also starts at home, with your family.

6. Joy —The pope “gets a thumb’s up on that,” he said, because he’s able to show his joy so plainly. According to Pope Francis, he said, the biggest dangers and temptations in life are “discouragement, discord, the doldrums and the devil.”

7. Service — By paying his hotel bill in person (even though he had just been elected pope), phoning people who write to him and doing other tasks that aides could do, the pope is leading by example, Burke said. The message is: “It’s not about power or privilege; if we’re here, we’re here to serve.”

8. Simplicity and humility —Living in a Vatican guest house instead of the apostolic palace, carrying his own briefcase on a trip are just part of how the pope is and people will have to “get used to it because we’ll see more of it."

9. Compassion — “Compassion and suffering with others is something Pope Francis has a knack for,” Burke said, and it’s especially evident when he embraces people and is totally present one-on-one with an individual, even in large crowds

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10. Energy — For a 76-year-old, the pope “has a lot of energy and we’re going to be in for an interesting ride!”