A quote from Pope Francis:
Eugenio Scalfari: You think that mystics have been important for the Church?
Pope Francis: "They have been fundamental. A religion without mystics is a philosophy."
Do you have a mystical vocation?
"What do you think?"
I wouldn't think so.
"You're probably right. I love the mystics; Francis also was in many aspects of his life, but I do not think I have the vocation and then we must understand the deep meaning of that word. The mystic manages to strip himself of action, of facts, objectives and even the pastoral mission and rises until he reaches communion with the Beatitudes. Brief moments but which fill an entire life."
Has that ever happened to you?
"Rarely. For example, when the conclave elected me Pope. Before I accepted I asked if I could spend a few minutes in the room next to the one with the balcony overlooking the square. My head was completely empty and I was seized by a great anxiety. To make it go way and relax I closed my eyes and made every thought disappear, even the thought of refusing to accept the position, as the liturgical procedure allows. I closed my eyes and I no longer had any anxiety or emotion. At a certain point I was filled with a great light. It lasted a moment, but to me it seemed very long. Then the light faded, I got up suddenly and walked into the room where the cardinals were waiting and the table on which was the act of acceptance. I signed it, the Cardinal Camerlengo countersigned it and then on the balcony there was the '"Habemus Papam."
- “The light we bear in our souls,” interview with Pope Francis by Eugenio Scalfari in La Repubblica Oct. 1, 2013
Editor’s note: We can send you a biweekly email alert with content from The Francis Chronicles. Follow the directions on our email alert signup page.
