Open Mind, Faithful Heart: Reflections on Following Jesus

254 Pages·2013·1.14 MB·English

by  Pope Francis [Jorge M Bergoglio] et al.

Open Mind,
Faithful Heart
— Reflections on Following Jesus —
JORGE MARIO BERGOGLIO
POPE FRANCIS
Translated by
Joseph V. Owens, SJ
A Herder & Herder Book
Copyright
The Crossroad Publishing Company
www.CrossroadPublishing.com
English translation copyright 2013 by The Crossroad Publishing Company A Herder&Herder Book
The Crossroad Publishing Company, New York Originally published as Mente abierta, corazon creyente.
Editorial Claretiana, Buenos Aires, Argentina Chapter titles in the original Spanish publication have been altered in this English
edition.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
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The stylized crossed letter C logo is a registered trademark of The Crossroad Publishing Company.
ISBN 978-08245-1997-1 (alk. paper)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available from the Library of Congress.
Cover image: White Crucifixion, by Marc Chagall.
In the book El Jesuita, then Cardinal Bergoglio spoke of White Crucifixion as his favorite painting.
Cover design by George Foster
Book design by The HK Scriptorium, Inc.
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Printed in the United States of America in 2013.
Contents

Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Foreword
Gustavo Larrazábal, CFM
Prologue
José María Arancedo
To the Reader of the English Edition
Joseph V. Owens, SJ
I. Encountering Jesus
1. Jesus in Dialogue
2. Living in Constant Encounter
3. Believing in Joy
4. Joy and Perseverance
5. The Faith That Frees Us
6. Called Despite Our Fears
7. Nurtured by the Church
8. Cross and Mission
9. The Courage of the Cross
10. The Challenge of Sin
11. The Hopelessness of Sin
12. Testing and Temptation
13. Humility and Hope
14. United by the Grace of Memory
II. Manifestations of Light
15. The Light of Jesus
16. Staying Alert
17. The Hardening of Hearts
18. God’s Plan Unveiled
19. Passing On the Faith
20. The Son Reveals the Father
21. The Vision of the Wedding Feast
22. Faith beyond Space and Time
III. The Letters to the Seven Churches
23. Reading the Apocalypse
24. Ephesus—Recapturing the First Love
25. Smyrna—Overcoming Fatigue and Bitterness
26. Pergamum—Holding On to the Truth
27. Thyatira—Loyalty to Our Inheritance
28. Sardis—Restoring Self-Respect
29. Philadelphia—Love among Sisters and Brothers
30. Laodicea—True Friendship
IV. Human Prayer
31. Drawing Close to All Flesh
32. Abraham: Learning to Let Go
33. Prayer as Obedience to Mission
34. David: The Art of Surrender
35. The Solitude of Prayer
36. Moses and the People: Intercession vs. Murmuring
37. God Revealed in Weakness and Limitation
38. Job: Praying from Our Sores
39. Homeward Bound
40. Simeon: Led by the Spirit
41. The Mystery of Talking with God
42. Judith: Speaking Freely with God
43. Entering into the Humanity of Jesus
44. Freely Embracing Death
45. The Totality of Surrender
46. The Failure of Jesus
47. Jesus Christ the Priest
48. Holding Back Nothing
Notes
About the Translator
About the Publisher
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Back Cover
Foreword
In 2011, I was making one of my occasional visits to talk with my archbishop
when he told me that he was gathering together all his writings and other
papers. He wanted to have them in order since he would turn 75 in December
and so present his resignation to the Pope according to canonical norms. He told
me that to help him in this work he had secured the collaboration of Daniel
Pellizzon, a young man who was then studying for a licentiate degree in
theology at the Catholic University. The archbishop told me that he would
contact me when all was in order so that I could evaluate the materials and see
which might be worth publishing.
One thing that impressed me greatly was when Jorge (I always called him by
his given name) told me, “Make sure you know what you’re doing. I don’t want
you to get nailed”—that’s an expression meaning “suffer economic loss.” So it
was with all the books of his that we published; he invariably repeated that
warning to me. He even asked me if I needed help in order to publish the books.
We should remember that during the first years of his ministry as the archbishop
of Buenos Aires the country was immersed in a serious economic crisis and
publishing books was not at all easy.
The editorial team of the Claretian Press went through his many writings and
gradually put together various texts that we thought should be published. After
we had assembled and edited each work, the final step was to send it to “the
cardinal” so that he could give it his final revision and approval. We always
reserved the right to give the book its title and an appropriate cover.
With regard to the publishing process, I share with you a little story that
caused me some delight. After placing the book in the author’s hands, we would
anxiously await his reaction. The cardinal did not like to have his photo on the
cover, but since we were the “experts” in publishing, we did not always pay him
mind. Soon after receiving the copy of a new book, he would telephone me to
offer his commentary. I remember one time we had put his photo very
prominently on the cover, and I’m not sure if he was really angry, but he
certainly wasn’t pleased. He told me several things, and all I could do was laugh.
Finally, he thanked our press, and we bade each other a fraternal good-bye—he
with his unfailing, “Pray for me, and have others pray for me.”