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In the 1963 novel by Australian Morris West (a popular movie in 1968) a Ukranian archbishop is elected pope.

The Shoes of the Fisherman movie is worth the two and three quarter hours of watching since it anticipates many of the issues that surface in the church and in the world in the following half century leading to the present.

While The Shoes of the Fisherman was popular almost sixty years before last year’s Conclave film there are as many surprises and intrigues, and both movies show clear evidence of the Spirit of God working powerfully in the midst of and through imperfect structures and people.

There is one scene in West’s book/movie where the new pope (Kiril) feels constrained by the restrictions of the Vatican walls and disguising himself as a priest to wander the streets of Rome one evening. A doctor asks his urgent help to fetch a prescription for a dying man and just as Kiril gets back to the house the man dies.

Kiril begins to pray a Catholic prayer but the family interrupt him to explain that the man who has died is Jewish. The pope pauses, shifts gear, then begins again to pray this time in Hebrew. 

The prayer he prays features in this weekend’s Sunday gospel reading:

‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied,‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. 

When Jesus is asked by a scribe to name the greatest commandment he quotes the heart of Jewish law which forms the “Shema Yisrael” prayer from Deuteronomy 6:4 prayed by the faithful Jew every morning and evening: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

If you’re like me there are a dozen and more things pressing for centre space in your life. While some of these things are unhealthy compulsions and temptations, other pressures are good things and valid responsibilities. But when we make these important things (eg. family and work responsibilities) the one central thing, we suffer stress and even life’s pleasures become a burden.

A healthy and happy person is one who keeps first things first. Once again, lest we forget: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

And if you haven’t heard this week’s Homily Studio you might like to take half an hour to join Rocio, John & Laurel by clicking on the image below.

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