January 10, 2014
A Reminder from Pope Francis
by DRVC Website
In his Apostolic Exhortation,The Proclamation of the Gospel in Today’s World, Pope Francis reminds all of us that we are each “…God’s handiwork, his creation.” We are created in his image and each of us, whatever our abilities or disabilities, “…reflects something of God’s glory (274).”
Pope Francis calls us to a deeper encounter with Jesus. Perhaps our encounters with each other, as we try to see each other with our hearts as God sees us, will be the beginning for us of a deeper encounter with Jesus, with the Church to which we belong. That is something worth praying for…something worth living…something worth modeling for others whether we are parents, caregivers, priests, teachers, aides, assistants, or bus drivers. We, too, can be evangelizers, people who make “…the glory of the Father…(267)” visible in our world!
Pope Francis encouraged the active participation of persons with disabilities in society. He continues to remind us to work to overcome barriers of accessibility to persons with disabilities in Churches and public buildings. If not us…than to whom is he speaking?