ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS, Jesus, whose identity was hidden from them, met up with two of His grieving disciples on their journey home following the heartbreak of the crucifixion. While walking with them, He consoled them by explaining the purpose behind the Messiah’s suffering and death, encouraging them to see How God had fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies to wrestle with evil for man’s salvation. Then they recognized Him in the breaking of the bread, and overjoyed, they returned immediately to Jerusalem to share the good news with the apostles.
According to Msgr. John Urell, this story best illustrates the themes of encounter, accompaniment and encouragement, which were central to Pope Francis’s worldview and legacy. Msgr. Urell spoke on May 19 at a gathering of the local affiliate of the National Council of Catholic Women’s recent dinner meeting, speaking on the “Pastoral Legacies of Pope Francis.”
MSGR. JOHN URELL DISCUSSES THE PASTORAL LEGACIES OF POPE FRANCIS ON MAY 19. THE EVENT WAS HOSTED BY THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CATHOLIC WOMEN, ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCE OF LOS ANGELES AND HELD AT CHRIST CATHEDRAL CAMPUS. PHOTOS BY STEVEN GEORGES/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
“Pope Francis, in a homily, said something like, ‘Are we so caught up in our lives that no matter what happens in the world, we read it and then go on to the next thing?’
He added: “We think – So many are killed in this place, but I wonder how the Dodgers did? He was pointing to global indifference and how it permeates every one of us.”
The antidote to this indifference is to encounter each other, “to allow oneself to be moved with compassion and then draw near to touch and to say, ‘do not weep’. This is the culture of Encounter – it can be seen in the way one looks at people they have never met, in the shopping centers, at the supermarket, on the road or at a person quite different from us — their race, their origin, do we see the dignity in them?”
To illustrate Pope Francis’ theme of accompaniment, Monsignor shared a story of a young mother who had a disabled child. One day, she allowed her son to go to the store by himself, but he was late returning home. She waited outside for him, and when she saw him, she asked what had taken so long. He blurted out that on the way home, he saw his friend Susan, who had dropped her doll and it broke.
The mother said, ‘So you stopped to help her pick it up? No, the boy said, I had to stop and help her cry.’
“A culture of accompaniment means we stay there with people and get to know them,” said Msgr. Urell. “It’s so fundamental and is one of the things on which Francis built his legacy. He said we go to the peripheries, we don’t just hear and walk away, we accompany each other.”
Msgr. Urell suggested that in our prayers, we ask the Lord how he sees us.
“Sit with the Lord and say, ‘how do you see me? What do you see in me? What do you like?’ When you’re with someone you do not like, say to the Lord, ‘What is it you see in this person?’ This is the beginning of the culture of encounter.”
It takes time to encounter, accompany and encourage, but in it we give dignity to all people, and as St. Paul says in Romans 5:1-5.
“We even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. If we learn to build a culture of encounter, we will all make it safely home, together.