An Interlude: Words From The Pope

As a catholic, I have an soft spot for the papacy, even if the people in and around the church's hierarchy often drive me crazy. I have to remind myself that people are fallible, but it doesn't make the institution a failure. (Of course, the same rule applies to our government.)

The current pope has been an object of misunderstanding and division for many, but in his life he has written some gems of wisdom that allow the light I see in my church to shine through the fog of corruption and arrogance.

I would share this one:

In this context, I recall that Saint Thomas Aquinas wrote a specific treatise on the means of overcoming sadness. It is typical of his realism that he, too, names bathing, sleeping, playing, as suitable means to this end. Even more emphatically, however, he adds that the company of friends, which disperse the loneliness that is the foundation of our unhappiness, should be included among the means of dispelling sadness: free time should be above all a time to be with other people. - Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger, 1980

This commentary puts a grin on my face as I count the days until my family and I head to the beach for a week with some of our closest friends, taking a break from our quotidian concerns.

"Bathing, sleeping, playing...The company of friends." Sounds perfect to me.