Saint Peter received the charism, the gift, of being the leader of the Church on earth.  That charism remains today in the Pope and in the teaching of the Church (technically known as the ‘Magisterium’).  The way we live our lives and our morality flow from our faith.   We know that we can’t simply give lip service to the faith and live wild unfettered lives, making the excuse that we are just weak human beings!   So we need God’s help in our lives, and so also we can show His life- changing, life-giving, Presence to others.  We treasure the gift of the Eucharist as our food for the journey of life.  We treasure the sacrament of reconciliation -confession – where we bring our weak humanity before the Lord seeking His healing to overcome the evil around us and within us.  Every aspect of our lives revolves around the Lord, including our last days as we receive the sacrament of sick and begin our journey home.  Through Baptism and the life of faith we are united into one body, the Church, with Christ as our head and with Peter’s successor as our leader here on earth.  Let us pray for Pope Francis and his ministry of leadership and unity.

…And this shall be our anthem, “One Church, one Faith, one Lord!”