Oct 11 – Memorial for St John XXIII, Pope
Pope John XXIII born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in 1963. Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was one of thirteen children born to Marianna Mazzola and Giovanni Battista Roncalli in a family of sharecroppers who lived in Sotto il Monte, a village in the province of Bergamo, Lombardy. He was ordained to the priesthood on 10 August 1904 and served in a number of posts, as nuncio in France and a delegate to Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. In a consistory on 12 January 1953 Pope Pius XII made Roncalli a cardinal as the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Prisca in addition to naming him as the Patriarch of Venice. Roncalli was unexpectedly elected pope on 28 October 1958 at age 76 after 11 ballots. Pope John XXIII surprised those who expected him to be a caretaker pope by calling the historic Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), the first session opening on 11 October 1962.
John XXIII made many passionate speeches during his pontificate. His views on equality were summed up in his statement, “We were all made in God’s image, and thus, we are all Godly alike.” He made a major impact on the Catholic Church, opening it up to dramatic unexpected changes promulgated at the Vatican Council and by his own dealings with other churches and nations. In Italian politics, he prohibited bishops from interfering with local elections, and he helped the Christian Democracy to cooperate with the Italian Socialist Party. In international affairs, his “Ostpolitik” engaged in dialogue with the communist countries of Eastern Europe. He especially reached out to the Eastern Orthodox churches. His overall goal was to modernize the Church by emphasizing its pastoral role, and its necessary involvement with affairs of state. He dropped the traditional rule of 70 cardinals, increasing the size to 85. He used the opportunity to name the first cardinals from Africa, Japan, and the Philippines. He promoted ecumenical movements in cooperation with other Christian faiths. In doctrinal matters, he was a traditionalist, but he ended the practice of automatically formulating social and political policies on the basis of old theological propositions.
- Wikipedia
Eze 34:11-16
Jn 21:15-17
As a shepherd keeps all his flock in view when he stands up in the middle of his scattered sheep…
We lived in the hills of Santa Ynez for a while. It was our version of sheltering in place during COVID. We had a small house, with a bit of land, surrounded by brush and oaks, farms, small vineyards and working ranches. During our time there, I got a chance to observe for myself, the nature of bovine, ovine and caprine creatures, in particular sheep and goats. I used to think that sheep were sweet, docile, fluffy, cuddly things. Yes, they are relatively more biddable than goats, but sheep are not exactly what I’d call docile. The ones I observed were wilful, clever, and only sometimes sweet. They were fluffy, yes, but that ‘fluff’ was often covered in dirt and bits of foliage, so you wouldn’t have wanted to cuddle up to them necessarily. During our time there, an incident occurred where they busted out of their enclosure, and with much gladness, escaped onto our land. It took several farmhands an afternoon to corral them, even with the help of dogs. The work was hot and frustrating. Herding sheep, as it turns out, is not that pastoral idyll from the Bible.
The work of Pope John XXIII, funnily enough, brought that whole experience back to me. How does one man motivate and mobilize so many disparate demographic groups toward a common cause? That’s the true skill of a shepherd isn’t it? Mobilizing. Motivating. Corralling even, as he attempts to save us from ourselves. And what a time to be called to that role of guiding God’s people! During his lifetime, Pope John XXIII had to navigate the seismic political, social and cultural shifts of World Wars I and II, the Cold War AND the Second Vatican Council! Most people would be fatigued by the experience of just one of those events, but all of them?
I know that being Catholic, we are sometimes called to defend our deference and study of the lives of saints. It’s in instances like this though, that I am glad for my faith, and our traditions. The characters in Scripture can sometimes seem far removed from our own time, and difficult to identify with. But the life of one who has had to endure war, strife, conflict, politics in a relatively recent historical setting? That we can imagine, and draw inspiration from. And that’s one of the best things about studying the lives of saints, isn’t it? To be inspired, to identify with, to have a near figure to look up to, and perhaps model our own behaviour on.
“We are all made in God’s image, and thus, we are all Godly alike” – Pope John XXIII
(Today’s OXYGEN by Sharon Soo)
Prayer: We pray for all who are working towards a more equal and humane society, because we are indeed all made in God’s image and are all Godly alike.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks for the Saints, who inspire us to be better versions of ourselves.
OXYGEN 
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