Father Francis

Rising sun slides through a foggy world.
Any Jesuit who names himself after St. Francis wins my heart.  The first thing that I think about when I think of St. Francis is his poverty.  In the square of Assisi he took off his wealthy clothes and walked away from his fine family and the comfortable life he had been living.
In Buenos Aires Cardinal Bergoglio lived in an apartment, did his own cooking, and used public transit -- not the usual life of a cardinal.  His modest use of material things challenges us to share generously what we have with others and to use stuff without becoming stuck to it.
Our Father Francis is showing us how to be a true disciple of Jesus by being poor.
After his election he ignored proper protocol and spent more time in prayer than he was supposed to.  By now we've seen him frequently at prayer. To be a disciple of Jesus means to learn from him.  We can do that only by spending time with Jesus in prayer. 
By his humility, poverty, and prayerfulness our holy Father Francis is showing us how to be disciples of Jesus.