The other, shorter, plain, mild but with eyes that bore right through your soul.
Reed Walsh, guestmaster at the Jesuit Residence in Manhattan, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency — the greatest spy force in the world.
Reed Walsh, you won't see on the nightly news… he lives in that magic world of the crime novel… he helps good guys find the bad guys…
Francis might well be on your nightly news… and in your daily paper… he lives in a little apartment in a big church in Rome. Helps the good guys recognize - and forgive - the bad guys…
The book man lives in my heart and mind.
The other guy came to visit my city, recently, and I swear he looked directly at my soul - right through my TV screen…
I felt I knew him - yet he was a man of mystery, as is the other guy…
Both are deep thinkers, deep feelers. Both are very, very complex men… don't be fooled by the smile and simple language.
You know a lot from the media about what makes the guy who was CIA tick… but you need to look quite carefully at this other unassuming guy… His inner machinery runs very deep… underneath all the quiet and unassumingness…
He is like a quiet giant volcano… what you see is only the tip…
He'll smile at you sweetly, say, "Please pray for me." And… "You try to put the Holy Spirit in a box… at your peril."
This quiet guy was a bouncer at a nightclub in Buenos Aires as a young man - he loved to tango!
This quiet guy has held some pretty heavy jobs: now the first Jesuit elected as the Pope!
Archbishop of Buenos Aires, President of the Bishops' Conference of Argentina, served as Jesuit Provincial in Argentina, got the second-most votes when the old Pope died in 2005.
Was active in political diplomacy and environmental advocacy
Trained as a chemical technician
Taught Lit and Psych in colleges
Got his Doctorate in Theology in Germany
No slouch, this little guy…
Don't be fooled by his meek smile…
As you know, the Jesuits are known as God's Soldiers, God's Marines, and The Company. No little club for the faint-hearted or meek or frail of heart!
The Society's commitment on earth is to accept orders anywhere and to endure any conditions. The Society of Jesus is also known as the papal "Elite Troops."
Jesuits have long been known as the trainers par excellence of lawyers and public officials. Jesuits priests often acted as confessors to Kings - and were noted for their intellectual ability and ability at debate among the European aristocracy.
The Nazi regime considered the Jesuits one of their most dangerous enemies! Many Jesuits were deported to concentration camps!
Maybe you wonder why I'm so devoted to the Jesuits?
Many years ago I was privileged to study the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius at a Jesuit Monastery in Wernersville, PA, with a crack cadre of brains and souls…
I was deeply touched by the intelligence, character and dedication of the Jesuits there and the high level and quality of humanity has remained a deep part of my own life.
As I watched this new Pope, the leader of so many men and women on this fragile earth, I pray he is strong enough to carry the mission he has been given in this trembling planet.
A man with his history and experience in governing, studies and commitments worldwide, is no simple soul.
This quiet man is not so quiet… he is not a "gentle Jesus, meek and mild." If you look at him hard you see he is a rock of ages…
But all of us, whatever our faiths or non-faiths, should be encouraged by the strength this quiet man shows — right through the screens of world-wide televisions…
Thelma Straw
P.S. What is my message to crime writers today?
Infuse your chapters with multi-layered people with many depths of emotion and feelings…
I'd like to share with you a very pleasant gift I just received... I never knew there was a channel on my TV for the Vatican ... and this afternoon, quite by chance , I turned on a special Mass withPpope Francis at the Vatican in St. Peter's Square!!! I feel there is a message in this , for me and you and all of us reading this little post... Thelma
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful tribute to the Pope. I'm sure he would be pleased, too, with what you wrote about him. I was one of the 80,000 people who won a voucher to stand in line to see the Pope contingency pass through Central Park. A friend and I waited three hours in line that day. Unfortunately we were so far back in the line that even if we did get into the park, the Pope and he entourage would have already passed. So, we stepped out of line, though I must say it was probably one of the most joyful crowds I have ever been clustered together with. Many people feel as you do. This blog post gives a great sense of person, and a milt-layered person.
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